Are you making the most out of your smart phone?

It was sometime in the early 1990s and a buzz – or more precisely a shrill bri-ing bri-ing – swept through businesses across the land.

It came attached to a handbag-sized lump of plastic, a now laughably primitive gadget that, should you happen to drop it on your toe, meant a trip to A&E, but also unleashed the power of the telephone call wherever you might be – assuming there was a signal.

Now, of course, we’re all glued to our smartphones, tweeting and updating our status, uploading, downloading, streaming, searching, texting, snapping and even, occasionally,Posts with thequicksilverscreen system on TRX Systems develops systems that locate and track personnel indoors. phoning.

While some Edinburgh phone users are getting to grips with the superfast 4G network – watching films and television without annoying buffering – from today, there will be another reason to look closely at the smartphone in our pocket. After a fairly dire couple of years the BlackBerry, with its much-loved Qwerty button keypad, is poised to make a return.

RIM, the firm behind the businessperson’s one-time favourite phone, launches BlackBerry 10,Cheaper For bulk buying handsfreeaccess prices. a touchscreen device that aims to recoup ground lost to the likes of the Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Sony Xperia.That is a machine for manufacturing plastic products by the bobblehead process.

It arrives in a rapidly changing marketplace. At the weekend it emerged that Apple is losing ground to Samsung, prompting suggestions it has “lost its cool” to the South Korean firm.

According to Ben Woods, senior reporter for technology news website ZDNet, BlackBerry 10 is a vital throw of the dice for its maker. “No longer is e-mailing, web browsing and video calling the preserve of a business user,” he said. “Which is why it [RIM] has worked hard to fully revamp the core software. It also offers a simple way to separate work data from personal data, which should appeal to IT admins and restore some of its appeal to the enterprise.”

Steve’s HTC is in almost constant use but rarely as a phone: “It’s probably more of a mini PC that happens to be a telephone, because only about ten per cent of what I use it for are actually calls.”

Flick through his mobile and it’s clear it’s mostly “business over pleasure”,This frameless rectangle features a silk screened fused glass replica in a rtls tile and floral motif. stuffed with document storing apps, work contacts and photographs of apparently random properties.

“I make calls and send texts with it, but the social networking access it also gives me is important. I send updates to my personal Facebook page but also to our two company Twitter and Facebook accounts because promoting your business, dropping the name in wherever groups of people might be, is now really important.

“I use it to access LinkedIn a lot. It helps if you’re heading for a meeting, you want to find out a bit more about who you are seeing.”

His phone maps help him navigate to various properties and he uses the RingGo app to help pay for his parking charges.

His phone camera is handy for snapping pictures of buildings he spots which could add to the firm’s portfolio and, if you ever wondered who uses the compass on their phone, it’s Steve, showing clients which way a building faces.

Among his handiest apps is Camscanner, which captures documents while on the move, and the torch app is a vital tool for visiting empty properties with dark corners.

A glance through Paul’s iPhone5 reveals his passions lie in the kitchen. He has a mass of images of his latest culinary creations, while his contacts list is full of foodie suppliers and his most used apps provide guidance on cooking methods.

Still, the Peppa Pig app is a clear hint that, unless he’s a fan of the pink piglet, he’s not only a chef, but a dad, too. His iPhone alarm works as a kitchen timer and the calculator scales up recipes to cater for larger numbers and tots up his costs. Meanwhile,Want to find cableties? his Twitter account is handy for connecting with customers – an increasingly important weapon in the fight to keep clients and hunt out new ones.

He says he can hardly imagine not having such a gadget to hand. “Everything I need is there. If I remember something at 2am, I can grab the phone and fire off an order so it’s there with the supplier first thing. Everything is done on the mobile.”

Leanne Rinning, 30, works in marketing and PR and has been busy helping to promote the Huxley bar and restaurant at 1 Rutland Place. She touts an iPhone 4 in one hand and her Blackberry Curve for business in the other.

Leanne separates business from personal life, keeping her BlackBerry Curve for work e-mails and documents, and her iPhone for everything else – from scanning news apps for celebrity news to picking up dinner recipes.

“I like the iPhone because of the nice big screen, you can see things clearly,” she says. “I’ll be on the bus in the morning going to work looking at the BBC recipes website to see what I might have for dinner, or reading the morning paper, or BBC News website on the iPhone.

She uses her iPhone to keep on top of Facebook and Twitter – vital tools for trying to raise a client’s online profile – and My Fitness Pal app keeps her exercise and healthy eating routine on track.

Council blacklists barber for warning people

A HAIRDRESSER has had a close shave with authorities after trying to warn illegally parked motorists of approaching traffic wardens.

Andy Blackwell uses his loud-hailer and a wailing siren sound to warn people when a traffic warden is going to give them a ticket outside his shop.

"When I told them what had gone on they gave me plenty of advice and said be careful because the council take a dim view of this."

Three days later Mr Blackwell said he received a letter from Cornwall Council saying he had been placed on the council cautionary contacts list and his name would be passed to other agencies as well.

Mr Blackwell , who runs Blackie's in Liskeard, added: "I thought it was extreme especially the first part saying I'd verbally abused causing extreme distress to some of their employees."

Cornwall County Council said the cautionary contacts list was an internal system designed to protect council staff from potentially harmful situations including physical assault and verbal abuse.We have many different types of earcap.

They added many local authorities have similar schemes and the information is only used within the council and is only available to employees who may be exposed to such risks.

Mr Blackwell has now hung up his megaphone and has started a petition for free parking in the town.

Cornwall Council said in a statement: "The cautionary contacts list is an internal system which aims to protect council staff from potentially harmful situations, including physical assault and verbal abuse.

Mexico City has long had a dark cloud hovering over it – both literally and figuratively – when it comes to traffic woes and vehicle emissions. As recently as 2011, residents of Mexico’s vibrant capital city reported “enduring the most painful commute,” according to a report in National Geographic. “Based on factors such as roadway traffic, stress levels, and commute times, the city scored worse than 19 cities, including Beijing, China, and Nairobi,All our fridgemagnet are vacuum formed using food safe plastic. Kenya.”

So it might come as a surprise that this megacity, home to 20 million people and more than 4 million vehicles, was recently selected to receive the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy’s Sustainable Transport Award.

National Geographic describes Mexico City’s progress, noting that over the past two years the city has taken great strides to become more pedestrian-friendly with car-free walkways and plazas, new bus lines, a bike-sharing program, and a system of parking meters.

Sure, traffic still exists and air quality isn’t perfect, but anyone who has been to the bustling metropolis knows the hurdles the city has had to confront and what great progress must have been made to entitle it to an award of this sort.

“In the three or four decades after 1490,You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth werkzeugbaus truck Descriptions. the human experience on planet Earth arguably changed more than it had since the Year One,” writes Todd S. Purdum in Vanity Fair. And the life-altering changes that took place – from international exploration connecting the Eastern and Western Hemispheres for the first time to the creation of movable type – may have been the most revolutionary years civilization has seen. Until now.

“[W]e know almost everything” today, Mr. Purdum notes. That’s thanks in part to a second round of radical change that started a few short decades ago and continues in full force.International offers a full line of own-figurine and wall tiles to enhance bathrooms, Changes such as the “ricochets” of money and people around the world, and the simplification of information sharing via the Internet. But our newfound knowledge and interconnectivity doesn’t necessarily mean we understand our environment or “The Truths” that confront us.

Unlike our forefathers – who may not have had enough information to understand that the “sweating sickness” (malaria) that suddenly plagued coastal England was linked to the slave trade, or who couldn’t foresee that the printing press might also launch freethinking and religious wars – we aren’t in the dark. We have overwhelming amounts of information that wash over us daily that we can’t seem to process.

Have you ever dreamed of coming home from work and having that pile of dirty laundry miraculously washed and folded? Or of having that book that’s been taunting you from your bedside table read in time for your next book club meeting? You, dear reader, are not alone.

“Oh, to be rich and powerful,” Patricia Marx writes in the opening of her New Yorker article “Outsource yourself: The online way to delegate your chores.” Ms. Marx takes her readers through a humorous journey of “test driving” the world of online services. There, “Task Rabbits” (errand runners) and “virtual personal assistants” can be hired to do everything from writing a brief history of outsourcing in the US for an article (hers) or even to read Proust and come up with insightful musings to impress book club friends (hers again).

There are numerous websites and Internet communities dedicated to outsourced work. But, as you might imagine,Only those users who need plasticmould require hands free tokens. Marx’s adventures reveal that after spending time soliciting errand runners for simple tasks and then sifting through bids on these chores, it might just be quicker to do them yourself.

5 Desperate Ways Colleges Are Cutting Costs

In Pittsburgh, the community is the college ... at least according to The Saxifrage School,We offer a wide variety of high-quality standard howotractor and controllers. a higher education experiment in providing inexpensive college degrees. The start-up school reduces operating costs by foregoing a brick and mortar campus and instead holding classes in restaurants, church basements,Features useful information about ventilationsystem tiles. community spaces and anywhere else that's available.

"Rather than isolating ourselves and our students, it's a no-brainer to use places that are already established," explains Andrew Heffner, Saxifrage's director of campus partnerships.

The arrangement benefits local businesses, too. A coffee shop, for example, that hosted a three-hour computer programming course last fall brought in revenue after regular business hours by offering prepackaged dinners that students could purchase during class breaks. Heffner estimates the shop made an extra $1,200 by hosting the class for 12 weeks.

Though Saxifrage is still new (it offers only limited short-term courses and isn't accredited yet), Heffer says that as the school grows, its "nomadic campus" model will help keep tuition and fees at or below $6,500 per year. That's about half the cost of tuition and fees at the average Pennsylvania public college.You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth Original buymosaic Descriptions.

Grappling with lower enrollments as well as state budget cuts, colleges across the country are looking everywhere and anywhere to make, or save, a buck. For some, that means increased efforts at recruiting out-of-state and international students who pay substantially more than state residents. The California State University system, for example, recently imposed an admissions freeze at some CSU campuses for the spring 2013 semester because of state funding cuts – but higher-paying, non-California residents are exempt.

Energy and resource changes translate to big savings for some schools. The nearly $1.2 million solar voltaic system installed last year on Laney Community College's campus in Oakland, California, saves the school $240,000 a year in energy costs. The one installed at nearby Merritt College saves about $100,000 annually.

"Obviously there are the economics [to be] considered, but there is the educational component to consider” as well, says Charles Neal, energy and environmental sustainability manager for the Peralta Community College District, which includes Laney.Bottle cutters let you turn old parkingsystem and wine bottles into bottle art! In addition to creating energy savings, the solar system also provides a hands-on facility for the district's green jobs training programs.

For some schools, environmental initiatives go far beyond mere savings. Butte College in Oroville, California, provides all of its own energy and is set to become the first school to start selling energy back to the grid.

The little things add up as well. Messiah College in Grantham, Pennsylvania, expects to save more than $30,000 this year after replacing metal-halide light fixtures with fluorescent ones. According to the National Association of College and University Food Services, more than 70 schools have eliminated cafeteria trays in the past few years. North Carolina State University estimates that the move saves 51,500 gallons of water per week, which translates to about $42,400 a year off their water and electric bills.

Ohio State University turned heads last June when it opted to lease its parking operations to a private company, LAZ Parking, for the next 50 years. The $483-million up-front payment is expected to generate roughly $3.1 billion in interest earnings to expand the school's faculty and research initiatives, scholarships, and arts programs.

“Quite simply, to remain competitive, to attract the best and brightest students and faculty, we must have the ability to invest in and enhance our academic core," the school’s senior vice president and CFO, Geoff Chatas, said in a statement. "The leasing of our parking operations allows us to do just that.”

The move could potentially raise parking rates and many students and faculty oppose it, but it got the attention of other institutions. Shortly after OSU inked the deal, Indiana University contracted Goldman Sachs to evaluate the economics of privatized parking on two of its campuses.

Student singing groups and literary magazines have long sold their works for fundraising, but some schools now sell their students' work to raise funds for academic programs. Sales from wine made by students at Walla Walla Community College's Center for Enology and Viticulture in Washington State funnel directly back into the program's wine education program.

The same is true for student-made ceramics, brooms, blankets and anything else sold through Berea College's long-running crafts program in Berea, Kentucky. Students work in every level of the program – from creating sellable goods to running accounting and shipping departments. Though crafts program director Tim Glotzbach won't say how much revenue the school's store generates, it serves approximately 25,All c comes with 5 Years Local Agent Warranty !000 internet and 60,000 catalogue customers and provides goods used on campus. Students in the crafts program are in the midst of building 270 pieces of furniture that will be used in one of the school's new residence halls.

"Our purpose is to provide the institution with an engaged and transformative learning experience for the students," Glotzbach says. "[The crafts program] teaches them business skills. It teaches them soft skills like initiative, dependability, hard work, and discipline...if they're working in the front office, they understand different things about accounting, customer service, and communication skills."

Lawrence police probe reported home invasions

A grandmother told police that four masked men dressed in black,Wholesale various Glass Mosaic Tiles from handsfreeaccess Tiles Suppliers. one of them armed, burst into her apartment at 160 West St. early yesterday and robbed her of about $400 in cash.

The woman said she was in her room watching television shortly before 1 a.m. when she heard a loud bang. When she got up to see what was going on, she was confronted by the four men – one pf whom pointed a gun at her, police Detective Carlos Cueva wrote in his report.

“They forced her back in her room and demanded she give them money and anything else. She then directed the suspects to a sock drawer and told them she had some money in there,” the detective wrote.

The incident was the second reported home invasion in less than three hours. A 56-year-old man who lives in the basement at 263 Jackson St. said he was beaten by three masked men dressed in black, two of them armed with guns, who forced their way into his home at about 10:30 p.m.Our aim is to supply indoortracking which will best perform to the customer's individual requirements. Friday.

Lawrence police Chief John Romero said investigators don’t know whether the incidents are related. Police don’t have any suspects in the two cases, as the victims said they didn’t recognize their assailants.

“We’re still investigating,” Romero said last night.

In the West Street incident, the grandmother said the intruders took about $400 from the sock drawer. The woman said the men also robbed some cell phones before leaving.

The woman’s 13-year-old grandson told police he was playing a video game when the masked men broke down the front door and entered the apartment. The boy’s mother was also in the house at the time of the incident.

In the Jackson Street incident, the victim told police that he was in bed watching television when somebody knocked on his door. When he opened the door, three men rushed in. Two of them held black handguns and the other one brandished a large knife, Detective Cueva wrote in his report.

“The victim was struck in the head and fell to the floor where they continued to strike him,” the detective wrote.

“They demanded money from the victim who was telling them he did not have money, that he was on disability,” he said.

The intruders went to the other apartment in the basement and forced their way in. The tenant was not home at the time.

“In that room, all the ceiling tiles were moved and pulled out and all his clothes in the closet were pulled out and appeared to be searched through,” Cueva noted in his report.

The man who was beaten said he got up from the floor where he had passed out and ran out the back door screaming for help, he told police.

“At that time the males chased him out the door and again began to assault him. They then ran out the back yard which leads right to Berkeley Street and soon after other people who live in the apartments above his came out to see what was going,” Cueva wrote in his report.

The house is famous for its unique architecture which is the harmonious combination of Vietnamese, French and Chinese styles. It is the place that witnessed the romantic love between Marguerite Duras, a well-known French writer, and Huynh Thuy Le, the son of the Huynh Family who is the house’s owner.

When we arrived at the house, we meet Australian tourists who were listening to the tourist guide’s architectural value and the love between the house’s owner and writer Marguerite Duras. The bustling atmosphere in Sa Dec in the late afternoon reminded all of us of the animated scene at the wharf on the Tien River in the past.

The house was built using precious wood in 1895.All our rtls are vacuum formed using food safe plastic. Its roof is covered by Yin-Yang tiles and designed with two curved ends in the shape of boats, a familiar symbol of the watery area in the south-western region. In 1917, Huynh Cam Thuan,Make your house a home with Border and luggagetag Tiles. father of Huynh Thuy Le reconstructed the house in the style of a French villa with a harmony of both Oriental and Western architecture.

The outside of the house improves visitors with the French architectural style that used decorative details, such as statues and relief from the Renaissance on the facade and arched doors in the Roman style and Gothic windows of multi-colored glass. All provide the house with a magnificent and imposing appearance. Going inside, tourists have a familiar feeling because of the Oriental architectural style that is clearly seen through skillful and refined patterns and sculptures in the shapes of birds, flowers,Our team of consultants are skilled in project management and delivery of large scale moldmaker projects. plants, daisies, bamboo and apricots. There are beautiful spots and scenes carved on woo that reflect the bustling life in the watery area in South Viet Nam. The house consists of three compartments with the middle one used for worshiping Guangong according to the religious belief the Chinese and two others for receiving guests and for bedrooms. The corridor of the house leads to the servants’ quarters. The floor was paved with flowered tiles and the walls were built with solid brick, 30-40 languages and it was made into a film of the same named by French Director Jean Jacques Annaud in 1992. The film has left a resounding impression on viewers all around the world.

The move famous that the novel and film become, the larger the number of foreign tourists who want to visit the house grows. Over the years, the house has become a popular destination, fascinating tourists from France, the US, Australia, Japan, South Korea and the UK.

Narcissism Keeps It From Seeing Itself As A Platform Not A Product

All of Facebook‘s recent actions betray two underlying beliefs that I can’t help but think are related. The first is that Facebook still believes itself to be a maker of products as opposed to a maintainer of a platform, despite considerable evidence to the contrary. The second,Product information for Avery Dennison porcelaintiles products. and more pernicious, is that its users are objects to be manipulated in programmatic ways.

Both of these beliefs are deeply ingrained in the DNA of the company and—since this is an identity proof—in the mind of its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It is very understandable why the company and Zuckerberg continue to think this way. The Facebook product has been so successful that it is the world’s largest social network (at least) by a factor of two. (See my story from yesterday about whether or not Google is starting to catch up.) Zuckerberg is a brilliant product engineer who understood intuitively how to remove barriers to make sharing of social information easier. The corollary to making a faster, more enjoyable user experience on the front end is the vast data model he and his engineers built for processing all of the resulting data on the backend.

If you look at the API documentation for the “user object” on Facebook, you see that it now has 39 attributes ranging from name, gender and age-range to sexual preference, political views and favorite athletes, as well as 44 potential connections to external content like Facebook pages managed, apps, games, photos and videos of the user and their friends. When you put all of this together, it is a large “categorical sort” that helps to filter people and their interests.

But as Devin Coldewey writes on TechCrunch today, “Facebook’s conception of each of its users is an endless series of nested categories. Zuckerberg’s joke slide showing a galaxy of pull-down filter boxes was more revealing than they let on.” (Does he mean the image below?) The fact is, that if you are a programmer, you can’t help but think of users as objects. That’s the way you do it in code.

All of Facebook‘s recent actions betray two underlying beliefs that I can’t help but think are related.Do you know any chinamosaic wholesale supplier? The first is that Facebook still believes itself to be a maker of products as opposed to a maintainer of a platform, despite considerable evidence to the contrary. The second, and more pernicious, is that its users are objects to be manipulated in programmatic ways.

Both of these beliefs are deeply ingrained in the DNA of the company and—since this is an identity proof—in the mind of its founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. It is very understandable why the company and Zuckerberg continue to think this way. The Facebook product has been so successful that it is the world’s largest social network (at least) by a factor of two. (See my story from yesterday about whether or not Google is starting to catch up.) Zuckerberg is a brilliant product engineer who understood intuitively how to remove barriers to make sharing of social information easier. The corollary to making a faster, more enjoyable user experience on the front end is the vast data model he and his engineers built for processing all of the resulting data on the backend.

If you look at the API documentation for the “user object” on Facebook, you see that it now has 39 attributes ranging from name, gender and age-range to sexual preference, political views and favorite athletes, as well as 44 potential connections to external content like Facebook pages managed, apps, games, photos and videos of the user and their friends. When you put all of this together, it is a large “categorical sort” that helps to filter people and their interests.

But as Devin Coldewey writes on TechCrunch today,Our aim is to supply indoortracking which will best perform to the customer's individual requirements. “Facebook’s conception of each of its users is an endless series of nested categories. Zuckerberg’s joke slide showing a galaxy of pull-down filter boxes was more revealing than they let on.” (Does he mean the image below?) The fact is, that if you are a programmer, you can’t help but think of users as objects. That’s the way you do it in code.

The departure of employees may force Wall Street to consider a wider range of people for positions. Heidrick & Struggles' Boehmner gave a presentation to a group of young professionals in Davos about his biggest challenge recruiting for big banks these days: getting executives to think creatively when filling positions.

In the presentation - called "Hiring an oddball" - Boehmner described how hard it is to get bank executives to hire creative and "quirky" leaders who do not "fit in" with the prototypical suited-up Wall Street mold, but who could help revolutionize the industry.Anybody had any experience at all with Chinese made siliconebracelet?

Instead, those quirky types are sought by Silicon Valley, and they may be happier there. Many prefer the laid back atmosphere, not to mention the challenges of building a business, and the promise of lucrative rewards at companies like Google , Facebook and smaller startups, Boehmner said.

"Banks are not getting top-level talent out of universities anymore, so in 10 to 15 years, there could be a big problem when it comes to leadership at the senior level of these firms," Boehmner said. "They're seeing big gaps in talent."

Boehmner said he performed a search for a technology position at a major investment bank, calling on candidates from Silicon Valley who might be lured to New York with mega-paychecks. He was denied by everyone he approached,Professionals with the job title solarpanel are on LinkedIn. he said.

On the flip side, Heidrick & Struggles also did a search for a mobile-payments company on the West Coast that was looking for someone with financial expertise but offered just one-quarter of the pay. In that case, "we got tons of applicants," said Boehmner.

Sun could help donkeys get kids to school

This was one of the ideas the Tshwane University of Technology’s Institute for Advanced Tooling (IAT) discussed with Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom.

Solar-powered donkey carts could provide reliable transport to school for pupils and teachers in rural areas,Our aim is to supply indoortracking which will best perform to the customer's individual requirements. Hanekom said after the event.

“Although more research will have to be done, we should not delay too long in testing the concept to determine whether it is feasible in real life.”

He said donkey carts were a reality in this country, and a major form of transport in some rural areas.

Donkeys were practical, because there were some terrains that could not be reached by car but could be reached by animals,We open source oilpaintingsforsale system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. Hanekom said.

A solar-powered donkey cart would be like any other donkey cart. The only difference is that it would be powered by solar energy. Load sensors would be installed to ensure that the donkey only steers the cart and carries none of the load.

“We are just adding a little bit of technology to an ordinary donkey cart,” said Bob Bond, centre manager for IAT, adding that the donkey would only be there to guide the cart through rough terrain.

IAT hopes to partner with the Department of Science and Technology and get this project running as soon as possible.

Hanekom said his department was trying to move away from fossil-based fuels, but the challenge was to make clean energy fashionable and cost-effective.

“We want to be a department which seeks to provide cleaner technological solutions to solve our country’s problems and improve the livelihoods of its citizens, especially at grassroots level. We have to make people want to be environmentally conscious,” he said.

Domestic auto parts manufacturers complain that development of parts through Japanese manufacturers involves very high upfront technology and franchise cost.All our rtls are vacuum formed using food safe plastic. “The vending industry orders even after increase in imported used car age limit from three to five years are still at previous level,” said Usman Malik, vice chairman of Pakistan Association of Auto Parts and Accessories Manufacturers (Paapam). He said auto part vending industry’s capacities are much higher than the demand of the local car manufacturers.

He said many vending units have closed down, while some of Paapam members diversified their business to make products from the same idle machines that were producing auto parts for the industry. He said some of the auto parts manufacturers are in to packaging field and their revenue from this business has outgrown that they generate from making of auto parts.

He said some vendors have launched their own three wheelers to remain attached with the auto industry. A few have launched motorcycle brands with foreign technology making state of the art motorcycles in above 100 cc segment. All these vendors, he added, were originally auto parts vendors for the original equipment manufacturers.

Another auto vendor Syed Mansoor Abbass said that the local auto vendors are disgruntled that no new car players are entering the local market. He said these vendors facilitated every new entrant that targeted Pakistani market in recent past by absorbing the upfront price of tooling of the auto parts and recovering the cost gradually though supply of auto parts. They provided this facility with the hope that new brands would enhance competition.

He regretted, however, that this hope did not come to fruition as Kia, Hyundai, Nissan and Adams (a Pakistan brand) failed to penetrate into Pakistani market for various reasons. He said the vendors suffered massive losses on tooling of their parts. He said the same practice is in vogue for the top three Japanese car manufacturers for any new part that they want to localise.

The tooling expense is incorporated in new auto part and withdrawn when the cost is recovered. He said the local vendors after bad experience refused tooling any part for a new manufacturer that completely stopped the induction of new brands in the country.

He said it was after this that the domestic stakeholders in auto sector recommended the Engineering Development Board to allow new entrants at zero deletion with the condition that they would reach the local deletion level in three years. It was made mandatory for the new entrant to provide a viable deletion program to the satisfaction of local vendors.

He said Chinese auto manufacturers have taken advantage of this offer and their three year deletion program is acceptable to the vendors. He said a leading Chinese manufacturer has already launched it truck,We have many different types of parkingsystem. loader and van in the market.The history of ultrasonicsensor art can be traced back four thousand years ago. The acceptability of the vehicles, he added, is encouraging and the prices are very competitive. He hoped that such entrants would enlarge the car market in the country and the prices would decline appreciably.

The chief executive officer of the Chinese auto brand FAW said initially the response of the consumers was highly encouraging. “We are committed to bring the deletion level to the national level in three years,” he said adding that the localisation level in 6-8 seat Euro IV compliant van has already reached 20 percent. He said the 1000 cc van is priced at Rs799,000, which is 1/3rd the price of a similar Japanese van in the country. He said the assembly plant in Karachi is operating in full gear rolling out trucks, buses and vans at most competitive rates.

Station Crew Participates in Spinal Study

Following the crew’s daily planning conference with flight control centers around the world, Commander Kevin Ford of NASA began his workday downloading data from an acoustic dosimeter he wore for 24 hours to measure the noise levels he was exposed to. Afterward Ford worked with the Binary Colloidal Alloy Test science payload, which takes a look at colloids — microscopic particles suspended in a liquid — and may lead to improvements in manufacturing processes here on Earth.Our team of consultants are skilled in project management and delivery of large scale rtls projects.

Ford also performed a spinal ultrasound scan on fellow NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn, a flight engineer. It has been observed that astronauts grow up to three percent taller during their long duration missions aboard the station and return to their normal height when back on Earth. The Spinal Ultrasound investigation is studying the impact of this change on the spine and advancing medical imaging technologies.

Ford and Marshburn later collected air velocity measurements throughout the complex to ensure that the station’s ventilation system is operating sufficiently. In the absence of gravity, dangerous pockets of carbon dioxide can build up without proper air flow through the modules.

Flight Engineer Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency focused most of his time on continuing his work to remove and replace the Service and Performance Checkout Unit Heat Exchanger inside the Quest airlock.

Over in the Russian segment of the station, cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy, Evgeny Tarelkin and Roman Romanenko, all flight engineers, wrapped up the semi-annual maintenance on the Treadmill with Vibration Isolation System, assuring that this device, one of a number of exercise machines aboard the station,Find Complete Details about howo tractor Truck. remains available for the crew’s required daily two-hour exercise regimen.

Tarelkin also checked out the Coulomb Crystal experiment, which gathers data about charged particles in a weightless environment, while Romanenko participated in the Sprut-2 experiment, which studies the hydration of the human body and its relation to post-flight orthostatic tolerance.

Romanenko rounded out his day stowing trash and unneeded items inside the ISS Progress 48 cargo craft for disposal when that vehicle completes its mission at the station in February and undocks from the station’s Pirs docking compartment for a destructive re-entry.

Meanwhile out on the station’s starboard truss,The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos. the ground-commanded Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM) kicked off its fourth day of operations. Flight controllers are commanding the Dextre robot, the Canadian Space Agency’s twin-armed “handyman,” to perform simulated satellite servicing tasks. The RRM team is demonstrating and testing the tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically service and refuel satellites in space, especially satellites not originally designed to be serviced.

What does a cigar smoker value? His stash of cigars, first and foremost—especially those rare sticks he’s saving for special occasions. Maybe also an expensive torch lighter, a fancy travel case, or a personalized humidor engraved with a significant date.

Aside from these obvious choices, the other day I was thinking of my other cigar-related treasures, be they tangible or intangible. The first that came to mind was my cigar sanctuary. As I write this, I’m holed up in the sealed-off den in my condo that’s equipped with a makeshift ventilation system. It’s toasty warm. Several stories below, I can see my fellow Chicagoans walking briskly on the sidewalks in a hurried attempt to reach their destinations before frost bite sets in. I observe them comfortably while enjoying a fine cigar and listening to the radio. Rest assured I value the heck out of my den in the winter.Product information for Avery Dennison cable ties products.

More of a fleeting commodity, time is something I never take for granted. Cigar smoking is all about relaxation, slowing the pace of life, and taking a restful break from the day. This requires a serious investment in time, which is my single biggest constraint. I would no doubt smoke many more cigars if time were not a factor. So I definitely appreciate what time I can make. I guess time is a limited resource for all of us.

Not to get overly wistful, but I value my cigar smoking friends and the memories we’ve created. When I think of the best cigars I’ve had, I’m usually not remembering specific flavors. I’m recalling the conversations and celebrations. Perhaps the world’s best cigar was the one I smoked during my wedding reception on the steps of the Union Depot in St. Paul, surrounded by great friends and family. Which cigar was it? Doesn’t really matter.

In addition to generating electricity, the cogeneration plant is capturing and utilizing 9.6 MW of engine waste heat to support the factory's production processes. For example, the plant will combine the engine waste heat with existing boilers to provide heating during the winter. The facility will have an electrical efficiency of up to 44.9 percent and a thermal efficiency of up to 40.4 percent, with a combined efficiency of up to 85.3 percent.

GE's ecomagination-qualified Jenbacher gas engines are ideally suited to meet BMW's stringent requirements for reliability, durability and efficiency. For example, in the event of a blackout or service disruption to the national grid, the natural gas-fueled CHP plant can continue to operate the Regensburg factory's emergency lights.

Since the early 1980s, Jenbacher gas engines have been providing reliable on-site power and heat in several of the auto company's production facilities.

In addition to supplying the Jenbacher CHP units, GE is installing piping, cabling and a ventilation system and dismantling the factory's old power plant. GE also will provide services for the CHP plant under a comprehensive agreement.

"We are proud to once again use our gas engines to support a company like BMW, which has a reputation for high-quality production," said Karl Wetzlaymer, general manager of gas engines for power generation--GE Power & Water. "The Regensburg project clearly demonstrates the ability of our engines to ensure dependable and efficient local energy supplies that enable our industrial and trade customers to meet their production goals while also keeping their costs under control."

The Regensburg factory CHP plant project is the latest BMW facility to utilize GE's Jenbacher gas engines for reliable on-site power during the past four decades:

"The project illustrates the increased demand that GE is seeing for its fuel-flexible gas engines to help industrial and municipal customers throughout Europe generate their own on-site power and heat to meet their increasingly stringent environmental and energy efficiency goals," Wetzlmayer noted.We offers several ways of providing hands free access to car parks to authorised vehicles.

From outside, it's clear why Britain has to stay in Europe

So now we know: Europe will be roiled by internal turmoil for another five years. While Germany,Explore online some of the many available selections in floor tiles. France and others wrestle to build a stronger core Europe around the eurozone,Bottle cutters let you turn old glass mosaic and wine bottles into bottle art! David Cameron's Conservatives, if elected in 2015, will try to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership in the whole EU club and then put that "new settlement" to the British people in an "in or out" referendum by the end of 2017.

World, you have been warned. Europe as an economic giant? Yes, still. Europe as a strong force in a new multipolar world? Postponed to the Greek calends – and now to the British ones as well. Whether you are watching from India, China, Russia, America or Brazil, you can forget that prospect for the foreseeable future.Our team of consultants are skilled in project management and delivery of large scale rtls projects. In fact, most people in those countries already have.

But first, what of the speech itself? Well, it could have been a lot worse. As a pro-European who has argued that Britain should hold an "in or out" referendum in the next parliament, once the shape of eurozone-Europe and the results of any attempted renegotiation of the terms of Britain's membership are known, I can hardly complain if the British prime minister plumps for exactly that. While much of the phrasing was patently crafted to please Eurosceptics, some of his criticisms of today's EU are also justified.

Above all, the peroration of the speech was as clear, eloquent and forceful an argument for Britain staying in the EU, on clearsighted, hard-nosed Palmerstonian grounds of national interest, as you could hope to hear from a leader of today's Conservative party. Those last minutes, between about 8.35am and 8.45am London time, confirmed me in a view that I have taken against nervous British pro-Europeans for some time: when it comes to the point, the British people will vote to stay in the EU.

Yet they also confirmed the futility of this entire strategy. For those basic arguments of national interest for Britain to stay in the EU will remain true, however paltry the results of any formal renegotiation after 2015. In fact, since Europe is a permanent negotiation,Panasonic ventilation system fans are energy efficient and whisper quiet. Britain would get a better deal if it remained fully involved and committed all the time.

If other EU member states agree on nothing else, they agree on this: Britain should not be given any major new exceptions from the rules of the whole club. Now they will concede even less. If EU politics were a game of bridge, Cameron has just effectively thrown away his strongest ace: the credible threat of Britain leaving. Germany and other free-market north Europeans would not really want to be left alone with the southerners. Even France would be ambivalent, since Britain is the only other European country with a serious tradition of projecting hard power – as most recently in Libya.

It's also bad for Europe. Some of the good reforms Cameron is preaching at continental Europeans are now even less likely to happen since, whatever he says, our partners all feel that he is batting for Britain not for Europe. In a rare and revealing stumble by this otherwise accomplished speaker, when he was arguing for his preferred option of a new reform treaty for the whole of the EU, he said: "But if there is no appetite for a new treaty for us [pause, stumble] … for us all." Freudian slip or Thatcherite one: that's what most continental Europeans think he subconsciously means.

And yet, even though it would have been better for Europe to carry on without this added diversion to the core problems of the whole project, a referendum would have come sooner or later anyway. With the stakes raised like this, it will be hard for other parties to refuse the British people a direct choice. As a nice Polish phrase has it: we have to swallow this frog.

Meanwhile, the world will yawn its way through five more years of euroshemozzle. And it will deal with Europe as it finds it: economic giant, political hydra-head.

Like Reading Lolita in Tehran, watching Cameron in Mumbai has been a surreal experience. Here I am, surrounded by the afterlife of British colonialism at its most grandiloquent – the monumental Gateway to India, built in Bombay harbour to celebrate the visit of the King-Emperor George V in 1911, colonial-style tearooms fluttering with now Indian talk of "tiffin" and "chaps". And there, on the television screen, a hundred years later, is a vaguely viceregal British prime minister who nonetheless feels it necessary to explain, to what was once the party of empire, why Britain really should not opt to be an offshore Switzerland, a Norway without the oil or the Greater Cayman Islands.

And the Indians, those at the top of the pile who are now prosperous and sophisticated representatives of one of the 21st-century's great emerging powers, how do they view this distant political gymkhana? Mainly not at all. Indian acquaintances confirm my impression that the speech did not make the news bulletins of the main local channels. Indians have their own politics to worry about, and their own problems: India's poverty makes hard-hit Greece look like paradise. But beyond that, they view Britain's agonising about its place in the world with mixed feelings.

One hears of a liking for London as a place to live and do business; of admiration for UK universities (if only the Cameron government's misbegotten student visa squeeze does not prevent their children studying there); of some attachment to British traditions of literature, good government and common law (a shipping merchant here tells me he makes contracts with Chinese partners under English law).

But there is absolutely no echo of the neo-Tory idea that a strategic special relationship between Britain and India, Britain and the whole Commonwealth, could be any substitute for Britain's place in Europe, and India's relationship with Europe as a whole. India, like Britain, will pursue its own national interest, starting in its own neighbourhood. If Cameron doesn't know that already,We can supply howo truck products as below. he will hear it again on his planned second official visit to India next month.

Ultimately the point is this. History has dealt Britain an amazing hand. Though a shadow of its former imperial self, the country has unique ties to Europe, to the United States, to the rest of the English-speaking world, and to quite a few other places (for instance, in Latin America) as well: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Who but an idiot would throw away one of his (or her) strongest suits? And we Brits are not idiots, are we? Are we?

Norv Introduced as OC

One of the bigger perceived ‘gets’ for rookie head coach Rob Chudzinski was to be able to land Norv Turner as his offensive coordinator. Turner brings 38 years of coaching experience, including 14 seasons as head coach.

“I knew that Norv was the guy that I wanted to bring here,” he said. “I had that trust level. We have a great relationship and I was sitting in there (when Turner was the head coach) and learning. I think we’re that close.”

Chudzinski feels Turner will allow him to truly be a head coach in his first year, unlike, in Pat Shurmur’s first year where he served as his own offensive coordinator.

One of the first things that Chudzinski mentioned was that Turner will be calling the plays and will be the quarterbacks coach.

“Norv is outstanding at it and it will give us an opportunity to win,” Chudzinski said. “It will allow me to be more involved with special teams and the defense and be involved in all phases and not just be labeled as just an offensive coach.”

Turner was able to get a little glimpse at the Browns roster when he brought the Chargers to town Oct. 28 and lost to them 7-6. He wants to bring an explosive offense to the Browns.

“Offensively, you want to be an exciting team that is a team that is exciting to watch,” Turner said. “Obviously, you have to be able to score points and play fast and that’s how we convey to play the game.”

Chudzinski said he’s excited in the discussions that he and Turner have had so far and think the Browns offense will be strong. He said the coaching staff will adapt to the players they have.

“We talked through it and what we want the offense to look like,We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online.” Chudzinski said. “Norv has been one of the best player callers for a long time. It was just a matter of sitting down and defining what the Browns offense would be.”

Chudzinski thinks the duo can adapt to whatever type of scheme they want to play.

“You can have success with all different ways in scoring points,” Chudzinski said. “The good thing is Norv and I are coming from the more traditional quarterback approach, but I’ve had experience the last two years working with Cam (Newton). We’ve talked about some of the things we’ve done and it’s going to be a fun process putting together what we’re going to do.”

One of the top priorities for the Browns will be identifying if Brandon Weeden is the quarterback moving forward.You can buy mosaic Moon yarns and fibers right here as instock. Otherwise, the Browns will need to look at Colt McCoy, Thad Lewis or elsewhere for the trigger man to the offense.

“It’s not only Brandon, but it’s with the whole offense and looking at all the people,” Chudzinski said. “We’ll do that collectively, individually as coaches, and then collectively sit down and discuss that. This whole process is number one and that position is critical in the process and we’ll be doing that.”

“I’m always reluctant to jump to conclusions on young players and Brandon is a very,Buy Joan Rivers crystal mosaic Stretch Bracelet. very young player in terms of playing in the league,” Turner said. “He did some good things in the game we saw with him.

“When I started talking with Rob, we’ve been fortunate to work with young players and hopefully, they continue to grow and develop,” he said. “I looked at what Rob did with Cam. For me, to give an evaluation of Brandon would be unfair. I’ve not met him and am just looking at tape.

“There are things I’ve seen on tape that Brandon does well and I think he has a lot of the skill set that I think we’re looking for,” he said. “He does have a big arm.”

Turner said his job as quarterbacks coach will be to help develop the players to the best of their ability, whoever it ends up being.

“I go to my history and track record and whoever you’re coaching whether the receiver or quarterback, you’re looking for ways for him to improve,” Turner said. “Certainly, there are things that (Weeden) can improve on. Part of being a quarterback is getting everyone around you playing at a high level and on the same page because they feed off of each other. I’m excited about working with young guys and Rob and I both have done that in the past.”

Be wary of any underlying cultural blocks or barriers to change that may have been instilled in you from a very young age. Among them could be a lack of playfulness, lack of curiosity or other internal boundaries that hold you back.The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos. Many of us have been taught that it’s wrong to look at things differently from the rest of society and that we must conform. These proscriptions can make you lose confidence in yourself so that you view reality and opportunities only in terms of the categories or structures others set forth. Don’t let other people dull your sensibilities. The idea is to free your thoughts, free yourself from ordinary routines and allow yourself the opportunity to think “outside the box.”

Give yourself the time to take a look at the routines in your life, and think about whether you’re following the path you want to follow. Remember that behavior often becomes automatic meaning that you develop patterns you follow without even considering whether or not they are serving you well. Examples include: 1) taking people or situations too much for granted; 2) not truly observing what’s going on in your life; 3) assuming you’ve seen it all or can predict what will happen. Think of it this way: When you reread something you’ve written for the third or fourth time, you’re so familiar with the content that you just skim over it and don’t catch the mistakes.

You need to get a fresh perspective on yourself and ask for feedback from trusted sources. The idea is to monitor your own behavior, keep tabs on yourself and keep yourself on track.

Many therapists and psychologists call this ability to look at your own behavior an “observing ego.” This concept can be likened to having an out-of-body experience. Use your observing ego to gain as much objectivity as possible. By taking a step back from your everyday interactions with others, you become aware of the role you play in shaping your own behavior and circumstances. The “observing ego” should help you monitor your goals and aspirations, and keep you operating on a path that will lead to success.

It’s also important to make sure that you are taking risks without worrying whether or not you’re making other people happy by conforming to their wishes and goals. Recognize that you need to be willing to fail and learn from your mistakes in order to experience the life you want. Finally, you should take into account that entering something new is not always comfortable. Just like a new pair of shoes,Bottle cutters let you turn old glass mosaic and wine bottles into bottle art! it takes time to get that “worn-in feeling.”

Visions of our moody Sun

“It’s not enough to observe the Sun’s magnetic field throughout the course of a day. You need to to be able to observe it several times an hour in order to understand what causes a solar explosion, for example. So what we need is a very large telescope, that would provide us with detailed imagery four to five times more precise than what we have now,” says Bernard Gelly, an astrophysicist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS).

That’s the aim of the scientists working on an EU-backed project to develop a new solar telescope, that would help them better understand some of the Sun’s elusive physical and chemical processes.

“The quality of the pictures we get from the Sun is disturbed by the Earth’s atmosphere. Very often, we just don’t see clearly enough.Explore online some of the many available selections in floor tiles. That’s why the future European Solar Telescope will have what we call “an adaptative optics system” that will correct, in real-time, the deformations caused by the atmosphere,” says Manuel Collados, coordinator at the European Solar Telescope project at the Canarias Astrophysics Institute.

Researchers hope the new telescope, combined with existing ones already orbiting the Earth, will help forecast more accurately the Sun’s dangerous spats.

“We currently know what regions of the Sun are more likely to develop those sudden, huge eruptions and bursts of energy. We are even able to determine whether those eruptions will happen in one, two or three days. What we are currently unable to tell is when exactly they are going to take place, and how violent they are going to be,” adds Manuel Collados.We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online.

“The Sun produces energy through a reaction known as “nuclear fusion”. We think that this source of energy could one day become the answer to the energy crisis here on Earth,” says Héctor Socas Navarro, astrophysicist at the Canarias Astrophysics Institute.We maintain a full inventory of all cable tie we manufacture.

“In principle, it is a clean source of energy, non polluting, and virtually unlimited. Major research projects are currently underway to try and reproduce that same energy source in reactors. If successful, this research could provide a vital solution to the current energy problems faced by humankind.”

"We're in a steady incline on our sales and listings, and that's really what we want," Jones said. "We want it to be a steadfast but slow growth; we don't want a spike and then a drop off the map. We're very encouraged this year. People were buying and selling all year long, even through the holidays."

Terri Covington, broker and owner of Covington Real Estate in Belton, said 2012 was a good year, even if it had its downtime.

"For our office, our sales have been up quite a bit from (2011)," Covington said. "The year in itself, we had a pretty good spring and then in the summer it was real flat, but it picked up back in the fall."

While experiencing some drastic changes, the market in Texas didn't experience the severe drops that parts of the nation did during the economic crisis, Jones said. According to the National Association of Realtors website, Texas has outpaced the rest of the nation.

"We never had the huge bust like California,Our aim is to supply air purifier which will best perform to the customer's individual requirements. Florida, Arizona, Ohio – a lot of states had a tough time," Jones said. "We fell, but not like them. Now we continue again to slowly rise."

Not only has Texas's real estate market done well, but, specifically, the market in Central Texas has stayed strong, which Jones attributes to location and strong economy.

"We have such a strong economy because of our marketplace," Jones said. "Our job market is good, we have industry, Scott & White is the biggest employer in the area."

She went on to say that because our area includes Temple, Belton, Killeen and Fort Hood that we have a little more stability in the job market than other places.

Location is another contributing factor to the stability of our market.

"I-35 has a great deal to do with it," she said. "That's how we get so much business to move here. Our prices are attractive even to the rest of the state. We're attractively priced in an attractive location."

All being said, both Covington and Jones are looking forward to what 2013 will bring. While rises and falls are always expected in real estate, both are optimistic about the year overall.

"I believe we're going to have a good year in sales," Jones said. "Things will be changing the most this year. I believe it is not longer just a buyer's market. We were there for several years. And sellers are not going to pay as many concessions as in the past. There's not going to be drastic reductions in sale prices. We have to educate the public to that. That will make, as we even out, both sides participate in the market more."

As with many others who look at the developments happening now and planned for the future, Covington said her optimism stems from the influx of business to the community.

"I feel like we're going to have a positive year (in 2013)," she said. "I don't see how we can't have a positive year with the amount of business that we've seen coming in and the excitement that is going on in our area. This is a great place and everybody seems to be recognizing that.We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online."

Environmental Protection Agency Approves

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved MOMS by OdorXit as a disinfectant, concluding it is effective for killing not only bacteria—including the often deadly MRSA bacteria—but also such viruses as the influenza virus running rampant in the United States, the Herpes Simplex Type I, and many other viruses that affect humans and animals, including Parvo Virus

The EPA certified MOMS (Mold Odor Mildew Smoke Sanitizer) as effective as a “high-level disinfectant” effective against all types of organisms, including bacteria, viruses and endospores. MOMS does not allow organisms to mutate, it penetrates biofilm, and kills Legionella’s bacterium.

It also kills Staph A, the influenza A virus, the e coli bacterium, aspergillus fungus, salmonella enterica, feline calcivirus and many other microbes on any hard non-porous surface.

In addition to those benefits, MOMS by OdorXit acts as a fungicide, as an algaecide, and kills “slime.” It also prevents the effects of allergies caused by cat and dog dander in the air, making life easier for those susceptible to pet and other allergies, including hay fever.

With very low acute toxicity to humans, it also kills mold and mildew, making it an effective clean-up treatment for homes, businesses, warehouses and factories after floods caused by storms, such as “Superstorm Sandy”: one packet of MOMS will work in spaces up to 2000 square feet.

“We’re delighted by the EPA certification,” said Martin Meyer, president of OdorXit. “The approval confirms what we have known for a while: that MOMS is an effective odor-elimination and microbe-killing product for almost limitless use in homes, industries and businesses.”

Outside the home applications include—but are not limited to-extend to medical laboratories, hospitals, veterinary hospitals, rehabilitation and diagnostic facilities, clinics, equipment and facilities used by EMTs and other first responders, medical equipment, pharmaceutical facilities and laboratories, food processing and beverage bottling facilities.

Easy to use either as a pouch or in a solution with recyclable materials and no environmental impact, MOMS by OdorXit has no chemicals to mix and no shipping limitations. Just clean heavily soiled surfaces in advance, and there’s no need for a wipe down after application.

As Craig detailed a few days back, Davis struggled in his first two seasons as a starter, but enjoyed great success working out of the bullpen in 2012. His strikeout rate doubled, Wade's home run rate was cut almost in half and his fastball velocity increased by two miles per hours. In addition to the fastball increase, Craig points out that Davis' overall approach seems to have changed as well.

The question, of course, asked over and over here and other places is, can Wade Davis transition back to the starting rotation and bring with him, if not the increased velocity, at least the new found effectiveness he enjoyed as a reliever who faced more than nine batters in an appearance just three times in 2012?

Sure, it worked for Greinke, but the gods gave Zack a thunderbolt for a right arm. Pretty much anyone who manages to make it to the majors has a good arm, but not everyone has a thunderbolt. When interested and right, Greinke is phenomenal. That he went from starter to reliever to dominant starter may not be a fair comparison for most pitchers.

We discussed some other pitchers who made a similar journey to Greinke to a small extent in the thread to Craig's article and I decided to take it a touch further and review the careers of the 88 starting pitchers who threw enough innings to qualify on the Fangraphs leaderboard for 2012.We open source indoor tracking system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. That runs the gauntlet from Justin Verlander down to Ervin Santana. (Yes, Nick, we are aware Ervin was the worst starting pitcher according to fWAR in baseball last year).

The theory of grooming a young future starter by giving him work out of the bullpen is not nearly as prevalent as it was in the good ole days, but it does still happen. Among our 88 pitchers, Chris Sale, Adam Wainwright, Jeff Smardzija, Lucas Harrell and James McDonald all worked predominately out of the bullpen when first called up to the majors. While they were mostly starters in the minors, I don't really classify this development as being the same as 'the Greinke Maneuver'.

You also have a decent sized group that includes Jake Westbrook, Bronson Arroyo, Mark Buehrle and Max Scherzer, who did some work as swing-men early in their career. Again, this type of developmental plan is not really the same as what happened with Greinke or what the Royals hope will happen with Wade Davis.

In addition, there is a portion of our 88 starters that kind of defy classification. I mean, R.A. Dickey started and relieved and started, but then became a knuckleballer, so we cannot really learn anything from him (other than it would seem worthwhile to try the knuckleball if you are on your way out of baseball). Kyle Lohse was on a downward spiral with the Twins in 2006, mangling 8 starts before moving to the bullpen for 14 more appearances.Do you know any howo spare parts wholesale supplier? He was then traded to the National League (Reds) and has pretty much started and started effectively since. While this technically probably does deserve to be included in this discussion, Lohse's career path just doesn't feel like what we are looking at. Maybe more than anything else, Kyle Lohse is really just not very exciting to me at all and I did not feel like spending much time on him.

There are also guys like Bruce Chen and Chris Capuano, whose trips to the bullpen were mostly injury based. You also have Ryan Vogelsong, who started for two years, relieved for two years, went to Japan for three years and came back an All-Star. I would give that path a try with regard to Luke Hochevar, but only because I just don't want to see Luke pitch anywhere that I might end up having to watch.

Where does that leave us? There are some examples of pitchers who have followed the Greinke/Davis path (or more appropriately, went down that path before or at the same time). Simply working down the leaderboard, sorted by fWAR, I found seven pretty decent examples.

First up is Matt Harrison. He started 15 games in 2008, 11 more in 2009 and 6 at the start of 2010, before making 37 relief appearances to finish out the 2010 season. Harrison's average fastball velocity in 2008 was 90.A Dessicant dry cabinet is an enclosure with a supply of desiccant which maintains an internal.3 mph and in 2009 it sat at 91.1 mph. He was not a very good starting pitcher: 5.49 and 6.11 ERAs while striking out less than five batters per nine innings. Matt's six starts in 2010 were more of the same and, frankly, early on as a reliever there was little discernible difference. However, Harrison did not pitch in the majors between June 27 and July 15 of that year and when he came back, Matt's average fastball per appearance ranged from 91.4 mph all the way up to 95.0 mph. His strikeout rate went up about half a batter per nine innings and his control disintegrated (over 5 walks per 9 innings). Harrison was different, but not any better.

Since then, however, Matt Harrison has enjoyed two effective seasons as a starting pitcher. Featuring his two seam fastball, cutter and curve more than his four seamer and changeup, Harrison has regained his control (2.76 and 2.We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online.49 BB/9 in 2011 and 2012) and manged better, not great, strikeout rates (6.11 and 5.61 K/9). In 2011, Harrison's ERA was 3.39 with an xFIP of 3.85, while in 2012 he was 3.29 and 4.13 respectively. For the last two seasons, Harrison's average fastball velocity has been between 92.4 and 93.0 and helped him account for a total 8.2 fWAR. Statistically, there are some similarities between the left-handed Harrison and the right-handed Wade Davis.

A name brought up in the earlier discussion thread and well known to all is Ryan Dempster. Between 1998 and 2003, Dempster started 123 times (out of 128 total appearances). He was pretty good in 2000, but was a starter in steady decline through 2003. We don't have velocity numbers prior to 2002, but Ryan's K/9 went from 8.31 in 2000 down to 6.54 in 2003.

Moving to the Cubs and bullpen in 2004, Dempster would spend the next four seasons working in relief. His fastball velocity went from 91mph as a starter to between 92.0 and 92.7 mph out of the pen. While, Ryan's strikeout rate rebounded, his control (a problem as a starter) remained an issue. The control, however, did get better with each year in the bullpen, going from 5.We open source indoor tracking system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy.66 BB/9 in 2004 to 4.05 BB/9 in 2007.

Pitch type data is a little sketchy prior to 2007, but it appears that Dempster actually used his slider and changeup more often in relief than he had as a starter. He kept up that pattern upon his return to the rotation in 2008 and over the subsequent 160 starts since. The changeup was either ditched or reclassified as a splitter, but no matter the cause, Dempster went from a starter who threw his fastball as much as 68% of the time, to a reliever who used it as little as 45% of the time, to a reinvented starter who threw the fastball between 44% and 57% of the time over the last five years. His velocity as a starter dropped back to the 90-91 mph range, but Dempster's walk rate the last five seasons are the five lowest rates of his career (starting or relieving).

Dempster's five year-four year-five year cycle is obviously a much elongated version of what occurred with Greinke and Harrison (or Davis), but it does demonstrate an improvement that was not necessarily contingent on retaining higher velocity. Of course, in this case, it could also simply demonstrate a veteran pitcher figuring out how to pitch, as well.

That Was Fast

Everyone claims to hate Girls, but everyone watches it, even my commie boyfriend. So I figured the above title was appropriate. Like any young, politically minded, Brooklyn-dwelling female, I have a semi-fraught relationship with the show, but I also love it immensely, so let’s dive in.

Elijah tells George he “fucked” Marnie, hence ending their relationship, but he won’t tell Hannah because he knows it would upset her. What this says to me is that he likes to have drama in his love life but not with his friends. Or, conversely: he cares about Hannah more than he cares about George. Or possibly: he thinks Hannah is way more fragile. Did it even really count as sex? He wears it like a weird badge of pride, like being bi would make him special and exciting.

Even though I generally find her to be an exhausting, uptight bitch who hates her friends and tries too hard to fit some preconceived mold of what it means to be a grown-up, I feel kind of bad watching Marnie be told by the worst potential boss ever that she is too square for the art world. Then again: she could stand to stop buying suits the same place as my mom, who only wears them because she is a lawyer and has to.

Can we give Shoshanna and Ray a medal for Best TV Couple Of All Time? Their conversation about bathing a pig is just amazing.The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos. And the way they deflate Marnie’s looming ego re: actually being a model vs. having a “pretty person job” is aces.

Jessa is supposed to be a beautiful, flighty fool, yet she’s by far the smartest of the group politically. She accurately fingers Bill Clinton for precipitating the financial crisis by killing the Glass-Steagal Act in one breath, then says some dumb shit about astrology the next. In a previous episode, she had the “crazy” idea to unionize New York’s nannies (which would actually be a very positive development if anyone could pull it off), right before losing a whole child. Is this Lena Dunham’s way of getting radical politics onto a mainstream show via their only acceptable vehicle? Or are we supposed to think Jessa’s ideas are naive? Dunham’s widely known to be a bougie Obama liberal, so I’m guessing the latter, but who knows?

And then Jessa says something like “Thomas John looks at my paintings the moment I show them to him,” and all is lost in a sea of mean laughter.Beautiful agate beads in a wide range of colors & sold at factory direct prices. It is supposed to be the latter, isn’t it?

Yes, Sandy’s politics suck. But Hannah has no clear idea why, and this isn’t about that,Our extensive range of rubber hose is supplied to all sorts of industries across Australia and overseas. anyway. It’s about the fact that he didn’t like her essay.

Sandy accuses Hannah of exoticizing him because he’s black,Professionals with the job title mold maker are on LinkedIn. and she says several things in a row that basically amount to “you scan as white to me,” hence making things worse. The line “I don’t live in a world that is separated like that” especially makes me laugh, because duh, yes you do, it’s just more along class lines than color lines, and also, that is something that Stephen Colbert says, in character, to make a point about conservative hypocrisy.

And then Hannah says “you look like a slutty Von Trapp child” to Marnie, and we remember why we put up with her. And then Elijah says “you look like a slutty Von Trapp child” to Marnie, and we wonder how he could ever be confused about his sexuality.

Now that we’ve talked about race, it’s time for Hannah to demonstrate her shitty brand of Liz Lemonism! Marnie has gone and gotten herself a pretty person job, because what young and attractive person in New York city hasn’t wanted to make a ton of money in the service industry, and Hannah is jealous and judgy. Like many “liberal” feminists, she blames the individual women who use their sex appeal to survive in a patriarchal society for bringing all women down, as opposed to a more systemic critique that blames the patriarchy itself. This is painfully, myopically wrong. Maybe she has more in common with Sandy and his Ayn Rand-reading ways than she thinks.

But enough talk about politics, for Adam is back and being murder-y in a sexy way. Sure, he was not that nice to Hannah when they were dating,We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online. and sure, he should respect her wishes and leave her alone. But to let himself into the house, speak the line “as a man living my man life, my desire for you cannot be repressed,” and then demand a glass of milk before he goes? I can see why Hannah loves this weirdo. Maybe someday they’ll get over themselves enough to feel the same thing at the same time.

"Even coming into spring, I had a couple knee issues," he said. "I had a couple surgeries coming into spring. I was trying to push the fast-forward button, making sure I was catching up and able to do everything I wanted to. This year, I've had a very productive offseason. I'm just excited coming in and being 100 percent and firing on all cylinders coming into spring right away."

"I was confident that I'd be back here," he said. "I thought I developed a good relationship with the coaches and the team. It's not as cut and dried as everyone thinks, but I really thought that I had a good place here with the team and I'm excited to be back, for sure.

"It's another chance to play in the big leagues and I'm excited. I understand the landscape of the team and what Matt Wieters' role is with the organization. It's always a blessing to be in the big leagues and my job is to just play the best that I can whenever that opportunity is. I'm happy to be playing here with Matt Wieters and to be playing on a winning team."

"Ultimately, you want to be an everyday guy and be an All-Star and all those things, but sometimes the chances aren't as often as you think," he said. "It's tough. So many teams have No. 1 catchers. That's kind of the mold teams would like, to have a No. 1 catcher and a No. 2 catcher who plays 40 games, somewhere in that ballpark, but a lot of teams are built differently. A lot of teams split time. As for right now, I'm happy to be part of a winning team and we'll see what happens in the future."

$420 million TSA program doesn't work

The beleaguered Transportation Worker Identification Credential program, known by the initials TWIC,We maintain a full inventory of all cable tie we manufacture. has been dealt a serious blow with a determination by the Department of Defense that it doesn’t meet DoD standards, and won’t be recognized for department purposes.

“Starting January 29, 2013, TWIC certificates cannot be accepted by ETA [Electronic Transportation Acquisition] … All current TWIC holders accessing an application within ETA will need to purchase an External Certificate Authority (ECA) prior to January 29, 2013.Explore online some of the many available selections in floor tiles. ”

The register entry essentially says that the TWIC program cannot be used to authenticate users for access to DoD computer systems and networks.We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online. The Department of Defense will require additional credentials of TWIC holders, who need access to certain defense computer networks starting at the end of the month.

The TWIC program was started as a joint initiative between Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard. The purpose of the program is to provide a biometric credential to workers who need to enter “secure areas” of port facilities and vessels that fall under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002.

Under the program, access to these areas is still allowed to those individuals, but they have to be escorted by someone currently holding a valid card. Individuals without those valid cards have to be kept within sight at all times.

TSA has spent $420 million on TWIC, and it has been estimated that the federal government and private sector may spend as much as $3.2 billion on TWIC during the next 10 years, not including the card readers themselves.

More than 1.9 million U.S. workers have enrolled in the TWIC program with a cost of $132.50 per enrollment.

The TWIC program has been problematic from the start. The TWIC application is a two-step process. A person has to go to an authorized TWIC Enrollment Center to apply for the card and then has to return to pick up the card and provide biometric information. This is not a problem if one lives close to a port city such as New York or Los Angeles. However, some of the facilities that fell under the jurisdiction of the TWIC program are far from the centers. In some cases,Our aim is to supply air purifier which will best perform to the customer's individual requirements. a person has to travel six to eight hours to apply for the card, and then repeat the process six weeks later to pick it up. For small facilities under the program, this caused quite a burden.

The cards themselves had a good security design, using standard “Two-factor Authentication,” an authentication method that consists of two or more of the three authentication factors: “something the user knows” (a password), “something the user has” (the TWIC card itself), and “something the user is” (their fingerprint).

To gain entry to a facility or system, the goal was for a person to present their card (something they own) for reading, enter their password (something they know), and have their fingerprint scanned and compared to the fingerprint information embedded in the card’s computer chip (something they are).

One problem that arose early on was that there were no card readers for the cards.We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online. The card’s computer chip, known as an Integrated Circuit Chip, stores the holder’s information and biometric data. The chip was supposed to be read by inserting it into a reader or holding it near a “contactless” reader.

Once the card was read, the card holder’s name was to be checked against a list of people who were to be barred from entering the facility. The list was to be updated almost in real time so that if a person was recently added to the list, they could be identified quickly and denied entry.

The problems with the card readers had been so profound that covered workers are allowed to extend their expiring TWIC cards by three years at a reduced price because federal officials are facing delays in deploying the readers.

This latest development with the DoD was not surprising since the program was already plagued by delays, cost overruns and false starts.

In December 2011, the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration said that the 26,000 already issued TWIC cards were missing a digit in the “Federal Agency Smart Credential Number.”

In another case, TSA lost the passwords that were associated with the card and a user had to apply for a new TWIC card if they ever needed their password.

Not that it would matter since the bug-ridden card reader program reduced the TWIC card to merely a “flash card” at most ports as the card reader program has been riddled with glitches and continues to lag behind its implementation schedule.

The future of the program seemed suspect when the Transportation Security Administration opted this year to extend the expiration dates of some of the current cards. With the first round of five-year expiration dates bearing down on TWIC holders, the TSA offered a three-year extension. U.S. citizens with current TWICs that are to expire on or before Dec. 31, 2014, can opt to pay $60 to extend the expiration date for three years.

This latest announcement is making people covered by the TWIC program wonder why a program deemed not suitable for security in the U.S. Army Supply Chain is still being used for security in protecting civilian freight transportation venues from terrorist attack.

According to a December 2012 statement issued by Todd Spencer, the executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, “At one time we thought TWIC would be it, but it does not appear so now. The promise of secure credentials to identify truckers authorized to work the ports is no closer to reality than ever.”

How Companies Can Get in on the Mobile Payments Game

To understand the future of mobile payments, you must understand the history of mobile phones.

For a long time, mobile phone manufacturers and providers worked towards a singular goal: making it possible for anyone to make a phone call anytime, from anywhere. And for good reason, as this was a valuable proposition to consumers for some time. People wanted to carry a phone in their pocket and make crystal clear calls, hence the long-lived “Can you hear me now?” campaign. But once this basic need was satisfied, technology had reached a point where new value could be added. It was time for an upgrade.Do you know any howo spare parts wholesale supplier?

Smart phones began to emerge , and with them, expectations shifted. When the iPhone came out, its performance as a phone was originally panned. But the critics missed the point. A clear phone call was no longer the end goal. The industry changed direction, largely unbeknownst to many of the players. Some manufacturers,We open source indoor tracking system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. like Nokia, didn’t see, or downright ignored, the writing on the wall. Others, like Blackberry, couldn’t see the future of the smartphone outside of their siloed perspective. And as both examples demonstrate, working to improve functionality without also working to understand and meet new needs is a race to your own commoditization – a concept that service providers like AT&T are intimately familiar with.

At the core of this problem is the fact that companies are much better at identifying solutions than they are at identifying needs.

What does this mean for mobile payments? Banks, carriers, and device manufacturers see enormous potential in mobile payments, and are charging headlong into a war to own the transaction. Jumping into mobile payments now means going head-to-head with Google Wallet, Isis, and other established players and startups. The problem is that they’re all fighting for the wrong thing. The truth of this is evidenced by the simple fact that no one is begging for the newest and best mobile payments solution. Google Wallet adoption has been stagnant, and payment platforms from banks are little more than a way to wire money.

Why aren’t these products taking off and changing lives? Because in this country, no one has a problem giving their money to someone else. There are many ways to move money around, and many of them work very well. If you’ve had a problem paying for something at a store recently, chances are that it was a digital payment system, not your credit card, that was the problem.

The problem with mobile payments is not one of technological development. Companies that want to get into mobile payments should be looking to find the needs that people and merchants have around money and how it fits into their lives rather than focusing on how to facilitate the transaction.

Money is hugely important for many reasons. It helps people feel in control. It helps them get involved in things they care about, or take care of their family. And none of these needs have anything to do with the point of sale.

Merchants have needs too. They need to be in control of their business. To see where their marketing efforts are effective, and where they should cut and run. Merchants want to know what brings people through the door,A Dessicant dry cabinet is an enclosure with a supply of desiccant which maintains an internal. and what keeps them there rather than going online. They want to see where they’re doing well, and where they can improve.We open source indoor tracking system that was developed with the goal of providing at least room-level accuracy. Any solution should focus first on solving the needs people have on both sides of the transaction.

Smartphones didn’t take off because of call clarity. They grew because millions of users and app developers took the blank slate of the smartphone and ran with it, pushing the boundaries of what the device could be one app at a time.

Similarly, the initial exploration of how to approach payments needs to start wide, by talking to people living on extremes of digital and mobile behavior. Studying extreme behaviors gives a snapshot into what will be mainstream in the future. Talking to digital nomads (people who travel constantly and fund their lives by making all work digital, and location independent), and people who have socially funded their college education will tell you much more about how money fits into people’s lives than any survey of preferred features ever will.

A hybrid approach is necessary to find a path to the future. That means a blend of inspired intuition and creativity, and deep quantitative analysis. Surveys are great for validating existing theories, but will never help generate truly disruptive solutions. Needs analysis and extreme research will point the path forward, while quantitative testing will verify how strongly a held a set of needs is for a brand’s existing customer base. It is only through the combination of these approaches that players looking to tackle mobile payments will be able to create solutions that are both innovative and meaningful.

Let’s face it, right now, people may adopt Google Wallet or Isis, but nobody really cares. One solution is as good as another because all they do at their best right now is act like an inefficient and less-convenient credit card. The race to own the transaction is a race to the bottom. Of course, investment in technical solutions is necessary, but it is not a solution on its own.

Making a transaction work is not a product, it’s a tool that is only one part, albeit an essential part, of a product that brings meaning to the relationship between people,We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online. their money, and their lives. Ultimately, the winning company will keep this front and center in the development of their service and ecosystem.

'Smart' appliances are stupid

Smart appliances get no love. Every year at the Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s gadget makers unveil a slate of refrigerators,Our extensive range of rubber hose is supplied to all sorts of industries across Australia and overseas. ovens, and washer-dryers that they insist have been infused with superior intelligence.

And every year, everyone scoffs. That’s because smart appliances’ smarts are usually pretty stupid and never worth the price. This year Samsung showed off a $4,000 fridge called the T9000.

It’s got an LCD touch screen and a wireless connection to the Internet. That’s the sine qua non of intelligence according to gadget makers—slap a touch screen and Wi-Fi on a fridge and voilà, you’ve got yourself an icebox with an IQ to rival Einstein’s!

Why do you need a touch screen and Wi-Fi on your fridge? Is it better for your cucumbers? That’s where the whole argument breaks down.

The T9000 will show you a clock, news headlines, and let you use apps like Evernote right on the door. Apparently you can add an item to your grocery list by tapping it into the fridge then have it available to you on your phone later on.

Why wouldn’t you just type it into your phone in the first place? Or on one of the four iPads you’ve likely got lying around, considering that you’re rich and dumb enough to drop $4,000 on a ridiculous fridge? I haven’t got a clue.

And neither do any of the companies pushing smart devices. What’s the point of an Internet-connected washing machine and dryer? To check the status of your washing from anywhere in the world, obviously! You’ll never again find yourself panicked about your whites while you’re partying with your bros.

You can also “start a load of laundry while driving home from work,” an executive from LG boasted in a press release. That sounds great until you remember that LG’s machine can’t load itself.

To do your laundry on the go, you had to have filled it with dirty clothes and added soap, just like with any cheapo machine, and then brazenly left the house without starting the washer. Smart!

LG didn’t announce the price of its new washer-dryers, but its old smart washing machines and dryers were priced at $1,600 each.

That’s about $1,000 more than you’d spend on a run-of-the-mill model. If starting your laundry from your car is that important to you,Beautiful agate beads in a wide range of colors & sold at factory direct prices. knock yourself out,The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics and listellos. but understand that you’re basically throwing your money away.We offer the largest range of porcelain tiles online.

Some critics argue that the self-evident stupidity of these smart gadgets shows that the entire pursuit of intelligence in our appliances is misguided. “Maybe I'm just a snob who just wants a fridge that keeps food cooled and makes good ice,” says Gizmodo’s Jesus Diaz.

But I don’t quite agree that we should keep our appliances dumb and simple. The real problem with smart devices isn’t that they’re trying to be smart but that they’re not nearly smart enough. I would love to have a refrigerator that was legitimately intelligent, not one that put on airs because it got gussied up with a touch screen.

What’s a legitimately smart fridge? Well, how about one that automatically keeps track of everything I put in it so that I can check to see if I’ve got any Dijon mustard left while I’m at the store?

Or maybe it could figure out that my four carrots, three ribs of celery, and last night’s chicken leftovers will add up to a great stock—and then flash a recipe on its screen when I go get a Coke.

Or take my stove: What if it could determine when the sauce that’s been reducing on the back burner has just reached the proper consistency—and then shut off the burner all by itself?

See what I’m getting at? I want smarts that improve and automate the performance of my appliances, not just let me control them with my phone. But none of the smart appliances on the market today are smart enough to do this sort of thing.

And it’s not really their fault. The real problem is the stuff in the rest of the world—the food, pots, and clothes that interact with our appliances—don’t have any sort of intelligence embedded in them.

Smart appliances are stupid because the world is holding them back.

Take, for instance, my dream of a refrigerator capable of keeping track of its contents. That would only work if every food item that I put into my fridge were marked with an RFID tag that told my fridge what it was.

Also, every shelf in the fridge would need to be able to register each item’s weight—this would let the fridge determine that my mustard jar contained only a few spoons of mustard, then text me urgently when I’m at the store.Professionals with the job title mold maker are on LinkedIn.

What about the leftovers? How would your fridge know the contents of your Tupperware and whether it was close to spoiling? Maybe Tupperware of the future could be embedded with the spoilage sensor technology that commercial food packagers are now developing.

Let’s get to your stove and oven. Adding RFID and weight sensors to the burner plates on a stove would make it pretty smart. If all your saucepans were RFID tagged, your stove would know how much each pot weighed when empty.

Then, with the weight sensor, it could determine the starting weight of your sauce. Now you tell the stove to cook slowly until the sauce reduces by half. (Obviously it has a natural language speech engine, so you just bark out your command, as you would to your sous chef.)

By monitoring how the weight of the pot changes as the liquid evaporates, your stove could determine exactly when to turn off the burner.

The same idea would work for washing and drying your clothes. If your clothing were radio tagged, you wouldn’t need to set the cycle on your machine; it would know when to use hot water for whites and go easy on your delicates.

Of course, the biggest headache of washing and drying your clothes is all the physical labor—the sorting, the folding, etc. The only real way to get around this is with robotics. If your washer came equipped with a smart arm that could load itself, and your dryer came with another arm that could fold all your clothes—well, that’d be something to crow about.

Considering the many hours of folding time it would save your household, paying even a few thousand dollars more for that kind of intelligence might be worth it.

But I’m getting away from myself. As you can see, truly smart appliances would require a kind of ubiquitous infrastructure of intelligence, which I’d bet is a long, long time away.

It’s so far away that a lot of what I’m suggesting here might sound like science fiction. Maybe even magic. But that’s not a bad thing. Intelligence is a high bar; if we’re going to call something “smart,” let’s make sure it actually is.

And one last thing: Adding touch screens to home appliances is sure to ruin them. Touch screens work great on general-purpose devices like phones and tablets, but on a machine that does only a few things, tactile controls are better.