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Check out our award winning programs for youth and educators!
Check out our award winning programs for youth and educators!
The Guiding Principles of Peace and Unity® are a set of positive social affirmations that we use to stimulate social emotional learning and to encourage pro-social behavior.
The G.P.P.U. social emotional framework includes student training sessions, teacher and administrator professional developments, and G.P.P.U. paraphernalia.
Multiple Alternatives Pathways to Success® is our career and college readiness program. Through workshops, meetings and events babies, children and teens are provided readiness resources, educational and vocational opportunities, and resources that allow them to develop and utilize their innate skills and talents.
This is done by partnering with educational institutions, organizations and groups to provide activities through which children and teens can develop practical skills and be exposed to traditional and nontraditional career opportunities.
The M.A.P.S. developmental age levels are:
Ages 4 to 10 (Elementary): Include workshops and events
Ages 11 to 14 (Middle): Include workshops and events
Ages 14 to 18 (High): Include pathways, apprenticeships and partnerships to careers.
Our Village Family Group program is a supplemental family structure designed to deliver information, resources and activities to young people in need of extra support.
This program includes one-on-one mentorship, peer mediation, conflict resolution, and parental professional developments.
Positive Striving Online system enables parents, teachers and admins to award and highlight children and teens for positive behavior daily.
We utilize incentives and awards to encourage positive social and emotional behavior in the classroom and at home.
This award winning system creates more productive, caring communities by inspiring participants to focus on intrinsically fulfilling deeds and interactions.
O.C.O.C. offers institutions a complete database of G.P.P.U. approved vendors ready to provide students with real world activities designed to foster pro-social behavior and social emotional learning.
We'll work with you to design a package of activities that work specifically for your student population. Activities include offerings in the arts, STEM, fitness and more.


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Book of Saints – Pontius – 14 May
(Saint) Martyr (May 14) (3rd century) This Roman Saint, who died for the Faith in the North of Italy (A.D. 258) under the Emperor Valerian, must not be confused, as has been done by some writers, with Saint Pontius of Carthage, the witness of the martyrdom of Saint Cyprian. We must be cautious also in giving credit to the tradition that this Italian Pontius was instrumental in convertingChristianity. The conversion itself is far from having been proved, and in the writings of the subsequent period more than one Saint is made to claim the distinction of having been the human means by which it was brought about. The Relics of Saint Pontius, translated into Gaul, have given its name to the town of Saint-Pons, in Languedoc.
- Monks of Ramsgate. "Pontius". , 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 6 December 2016. Web. 22 October 2020. <>

subset: commoncrawl


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To consumers, Google is famous for a lot: self-driving cars, an oddly contentious bit of headgear, and, of course, everyone's favorite search engine (sorry, Bing; even bigger sorry, Yahoo). But in the world of employment, Google is best known for its opulent company perks, including free on-site haircuts, game rooms, laundry facilities, and a subsidized massage service, among other luxuries.
We can gawk all we want at Google's seemingly insane smorgasbord of perks, but there's a reason for why the tech giant spoils employees: benefits packages — including perks — are strong predictors of employee satisfaction. A survey from Aflac WorkForces found strong correlation between job satisfaction and perk satisfaction, with 68 percent of workers who are "extremely/very satisfied with their overall benefits package" reporting that they were also "extremely/very satisfies with their job."
And satisfied employees, as we all know, turn in better work and stick around longer.
But not every company can afford to supply employees with the same extravaganza of perks as Google can, says Taro Fukuyama, CEO and founder of AnyPerk. "If you work with smaller companies, they don't have the HR [staff] or the time or the money to negotiate these perks," he explains. "But the companies still care about you."
These smaller companies want to give their employees the kinds of high-quality perks that Google offers, and Fukuyama founded AnyPerk to help them do just that. "AnyPerk empowers companies to delight their employees."
We can think of AnyPerk as a means of outsourcing perks: the company negotiates with brands like target, AMC Theatres, and the NBA to secure savings and deals. Businesses pay AnyPerk a membership fee of $10 per employee per month, and their employees gain access to the vast selection of perks that AnyPerk has negotiated.
"We're helping those companies get access to those high-quality perks, so they can create engaged workforces like Google or Facebook," Fukuyama says.
Picking Up the Slack for U.S. Businesses
"We realized that employee happiness is still undervalued," Fukuyama says of the decision to start AnyPerk in the first place. He cites a sobering statistic: only 13 percent of employees go to work happy every day.
"Even though that's happening, companies are spending so much time and effort on new hires, but not on existing hires," Fukuyama says. The result is a higher voluntary turnover rate nationwide: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 2.5 million people quit their jobs in July of 2014. This number comes after 12 prior months of increase in the quit rate.
While higher quite rates signal a recovering economy in some ways, voluntary turnover costs individual companies a significant amount, anywhere from 30 to 400 percent of the lost employee's annual salary. Even knowing this danger, it can be difficult for employers to catch employee discontent and make sure the workers are happy before they jump ship.
"One of the most important things for keeping employees happy and excited to come to work is for them to realize that the company recognizes them and cares about them" Fukuyama says. "We think providing access to high quality perks [helps] the employees remember on an everyday basis."
Fukuyama says that, when employees purchase discount movie tickets or gym memberships through their companies thanks to AnyPerk, they are reminded that their employer really does care about them. "I feel like the company is paying for x percent off," Fukuyama explains. "My company cares about me, so this is a company I want to be with for the next 5 or 10 years."
Fukuyama notes that the outsourcing of perks may be a new concept in America, but there are two public companies in Japan that do the same thing as AnyPerk. The Tokyo-born Fukuyama drew inspiration from these companies when he decided to start AnyPerk to fill the glaring gap in American business perks. (It's also impressive to note that Fukuyama and his AnyPerk cofounder Sunny Tsang are the only Japanese Y Combinator founders so far).
For now, AnyPerk's main concern is helping small businesses provide major-corporation-sized perks, but Fukuyama says the company's overall mission is promoting employee happiness in general. To that end, AnyPerk will not limit itself to simply facilitating access to perks.
"Perks are one way to start, but we will provide more solutions to help companies make their employees happy [in the future]," Fukuyama says.


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October is known to have its share of scares, with Halloween kicking off the holiday season youngsters and the young-at-heart alike. But the United States had a scare of a different type on October 21st related to a massive DDoS attack directed at Dyn, an Internet infrastructure company headquartered in New Hampshire.
The Massive DDoS Attack of October – Post Mortem
Preparing For The Worst: Data Backup & Disaster Recovery for Small Business
In 2014, a New York real estate company thought that it was on top of the world. Thriving within a healthy housing market, the company had far more potential buyers than available inventory. People who wanted homes in the most desirable neighborhoods had to go on waiting lists.
Cloud Adoption Soars in 2016
Have you moved your business's IT operations to the cloud yet? If you haven't -- or you aren't even entirely sure what the cloud is -- never fear. You can always count on techies to invent confusing names for new technologies. In short, the cloud is how your business is going to shave up to 30 percent from its IT budget this year -- but migrating to the cloud doesn't just reduce IT expenses.


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Congo police fire at protesters opposed to election changes
There have been clashes in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, between police and protesters opposed to electoral changes that could prolong the reign of the president. Unrest was also reported in the east of the country.
Police fired tear gas at the crowd of several thousand protesters who'd gathered in the streets of Kinshasa. There were also clashes in the eastern city of Goma on Monday. Journalists reported people with bullet wounds in both cities.
In Kinshasa, tires were set on fire with smoke billowing into the air. The crowds threw stones at police.
The demonstrators are opposed to a revised election law that could delay elections until next year. Under the changes, a nationwide census would be carried out before elections, potentially delaying them by years.
Read the full text news resource site…
Source News: DW


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HOPKINTON, Mass. (CBS.MW) -- Shares of EMC Corp. surged as much as 13 percent in heavy trading Thursday after a Salomon Smith Barney analyst said the data storage giant's business has started to recover from last year's sharp slowdown.
Shares of EMC
Salomon analyst H. Clinton Vaughan upgraded his rating on EMC's stock to "buy" from "outperform," arguing that the company "has moved past its fundamental bottom and begun to recover, albeit at a slow pace."
Vaughan, in a note to clients, said EMC is likely to get lift in 2002 from the release of new computer data-storage products and from partnerships with other companies. He also said the Hopkinton, Mass.-based company is likely to be active in making high-tech acquisitions.
The analyst narrowed slightly the loss he expects EMC to post in the fourth quarter to 8 cents per share from a loss of 9 cents per share. He also maintained a price target on the stock of $20.
"Our upgrade reflects our long-term belief that EMC is a leader in the industry," Vaughan wrote, adding that "some upside remains" to both his fourth-quarter loss forecast and $1.3 billion revenue estimate.
EMC is expected to report results for the quarter and full year in about three weeks.
Picking up the pieces
The past year was difficult for the No. 1 maker of hardware and software for computer data storage.
EMC's business suffered because of a steep falloff in information technology spending. The company was also squeezed by intensified competition mounted by IBM
The downturn was reflected in EMC's stock, which slid 77 percent in 2001.
In the third quarter, EMC posted a loss of nearly $1 billion.
For the fourth quarter, EMC is expected to report a loss of 8 cents per share, according to the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial/First Call.
In the final three months of 2000, the company earned 25 cents a share excluding a restructuring charge, on revenue of more than $2.6 billion.


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The eyes of the world are on Rio.
Welcome to the second installment of my travels through Brazil, covering our time in Rio De Janeiro and Salvador. Both are places that are like surrogate homes for me and of course, my wife's childhood home that much of her extended family still resides in.
If you've not already seen it, go check out my post covering the Streets of Rio with the XF35 F2.
For this trip I packed a comprehensive but compact FujiFilm kit, comprising of my XT-1, XF16, XF35 F2, XF 56 1.2, and the XF90. Much like it was during our travels in Vietnam earlier this year, the XF35 spent the most time attached to my XT-1 because of its discrete size, speed, and excellent image quality. If the upcoming XF23 F2 and 50 F2 are close to the 35 F2 in overall quality and performance, they'll certainly be making their way into my kit.
What about post-production and editing? These are all RAFs that have been edited in Lightroom using a familiar preset I've crafted and modded for this trip specifically and exported as JPEGs. Of course there's things that happen in-camera before all that, such as a bit of underexposing and careful use of spot-metering. Ultimately, it's something that comes as a result of the Electronic View Finder (EVF) and the ability to get what I want from the shot at the time it's shot. I must confess though, there are photos from our time in Salvador that were shot on my iPhone 5S when my XT-1 ran out of battery and I didn't bring a spare. A good eye should be able to pick which ones they are.
Stay tuned for my 3rd post from Brazil that's devoted to the incredible Chapada Diamantina.
Special thanks to all our amigas who got their pose on for the camera.
Mat #rio2016
On one of our walks from Copacabana to Ipanema, my wife made a stop in a shop to 'browse' and well, I had to make the most of my time so I asked the sales girls if I could take their snaps whilst I waited. In a way, these photos cost us $500 because while I was busy shooting, my wife was busy shopping. As we often say here in Australia - happy wife, happy life!
February 2019


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|Athena wearing Zeus's aegis, one of the topics of this scholion
Among the many potentially befuddling characteristics of the Venetus A manuscript, one thing that is usually fairly straightforward is the connection made to the Iliad text by a scholion's lemma, an excerpted word or phrase from the Iliad text at the beginning of a scholion which cues the reader as to what lines the scholion will be commenting on. While some scholia have no explicit lemma, these scholia usually indicate clearly what Iliad lines are being commented on based on their content. When a scholion's lemma has no clear connection to the Iliad text, however, editors are thrown for a loop.
We find such a case at the beginning of Iliad 15, after a newly awakened Zeus sends Iris to order Poseidon to stop his assault on the Trojans. Chafing against the assumed supremacy of his brother, Poseidon angrily reminds Iris that, being a son of Kronos, he has equal authority over the actions of the battlefield as Zeus. Still, Poseidon yields and Zeus then orders Apollo to rouse Hector to arms.
The lemma in question begins the third main scholion on folio 194 verso of the Venetus A.
|Detail of Venetus A 194v: see zoomable version here
Κρόνος χρησμὸν λαβὼν:This string of words does not appear anywhere on the page. Discrepancy between a lemma and text does happen elsewhere in the Venetus A. Often the differing words in the lemmata actually suggest an apparent multiformity. However, for a lemma to differ so greatly that the discrepancy goes beyond spelling differences or word order is certainly unusual. The Holy Cross team examined the content of the scholion to see if any explanation of multiformity existed, but no such discussion followed:
ὅτι ὀ ΐδιος αὐτὸν τῆς βασιλείας μεταστήσει υἱὸς, τὰ γεννώμενα κατέπινεν Ῥέα δὲ τεκοῦσα Δία, Κρόνῳ μὲν αὐτοῦ λίθον σπαργανώσασα ἔδωκε καταπιεῖν· τὸ δὲ παιδίον εἰς Κρήτην διακομίσασα, ἔδωκε τρέφειν Θέμοδι καὶ Ἀμαλθίᾳ ἡ ἢν αἴξ, ταύτην οἱ Τιτᾶνες ὁποτ ἂν ἐθεάσαντο ἐφοβοῦντο· αὕτη δὲ τοὺς αὑτῆς μαζοὺς ὑπέχουσα ἔτρεφε τὸ παιδίον. αὐξηθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ζεὺς μετέστησε τῆς βασιλείας τὸν πατέρα. πολεμούντων δὲ αὐτὸν τῶν Τιτάνων, Θέμις συνεβούλευσε, τῷ τῆς Ἀμαλθίας δέρματι σκεπαστηρίῳ χρήσασθαι εἶναι γὰρ αὐτὴν ἀεί φόβητρον, πεισθεὶς δὲ ὁ Ζεῦς ἐποίησεν καὶ τοὺς Τιτᾶνας ἐνίκησεν· ἐντεῦθεν αὐτὸν φησὶν αἰγήοχον προσαγορευθῆναιSo not only does the scholion concerning Zeus's upbringing shed no light on the multiformity of the text, but the scholion's first word, ὅτι, only confuses matters further. ὅτι is typically used at the beginning of scholia to correlate with Aristarchean critical marks, such that they mean, "[the critical mark was placed there] because." So not only does the lemma not exist, but the scholion supposedly corresponds with some Aristarchean critical mark that also does not exist, and the content is not typical of the kind of editorial comments Aristarchus makes, either.
ὅτι [Because] his own son will remove him [Kronos] from his dominion, he [Kronos] gulped down his begotten children. But Rhea, after giving birth to Zeus, wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and then gave it to Kronos to devour. As for the child, she sent him to Crete to be raised by Themis and Amalthia, who was a goat and one whom, whenever the Titans laid eyes on her, was feared. Nursing him at her breast Amalthia raised the child, and once he had grown Zeus stripped his father of his kingdom. But when the Titans were making war with him, Themis advised him to make use of Amalthia's hide as a shield. For she advised that Amalthia was always terrifying. Persuaded Zeus did so and conquered the Titans. For this reason he says that he was addressed as "aegis-bearing."
Our team at Holy Cross was not the first editorial team to struggle with this scholion. Both Erbse and Dindorf recognized the peculiarity of the scholion, and having analyzed the content, concluded that the scribe had made a mistake in placing this scholion here and decided that he meant to comment on line 229 of book 15:
ἀλλὰ σύ γ᾽ ἐν χείρεσσι λάβ᾽ αἰγίδα θυσσανόεσσαν, (15.229)On the one hand this conclusion makes some sense. That line contains mention of the aegis, it contains some form of the word λαμβάνω, a word from the lemma, and the name Kronos, another word in the lemma, appears just four lines above. While it would still be a stretch, it is perhaps understandable how there might exist some multiform which included our given lemma in the around this part of the text. The problem with this interpretation is that line 15.229 appears on folio 195v, two folios later from where the scholion actually appears. Such a "mistake" seems extremely unlikely for the scribe of the Venetus A who, on every other account, scrupulously connects scholia with their textual counterparts on the same physical page.
Assuming that the scribe did not make that egregious error, some other explanation is required. Our Holy Cross team decided to look at the surrounding scholia to look for positioning clues. The main scholia are ordered sequentially with the line they comment on. So a scholion on line 2 will succeed a scholion on line 1 while immediately preceding a scholion on line 3. In this case, our scholion of interest is sandwiched by two grammatical scholia on line 15.187. Since a single line can have multiple scholia, it is only logical that our scholion in question must also comment on the line. An examination of the line 15.187 reveals that such a conclusion is not too far-fetched:
τρεῖς γάρ τ᾽ ἐκ Κρόνου εἰμὲν ἀδελφεοὶ οὓς τέκετο Ῥέα (15.187)While the text and lemma do not match, the poetic line is connected to the scholion's content: namely, it is about one child of Kronos and Rhea. It seems safe to say that the scholion is simply providing an expanded mythological background to the story of Kronos's children.
How then must we take this ghost lemma? It has every indication of being a lemma in that it is written in the same lettering that is used for lemmata and is set apart from the rest of the scholion by a colon. The solution then is to concede that the scribe did make a mistake or, at least, that some scribe at some point in the manuscript tradition made a mistake. One must concede that Κρόνος χρησμὸν λαβὼν is not a lemma after all, but merely the beginning of the scholion mistakenly written as a lemma. If one removes the colon after λαβὼν, first sentence of the scholion reads:
Κρόνος χρησμὸν λαβὼν ὅτι ὀ ΐδιος αὐτὸν τῆς βασιλείας μεταστήσει υἱὸς, τὰ γεννώμενα κατέπινενNo longer does one have to infer from context who the father is whose dominion is being stripped away, nor does one have to supply a subject for κατέπινεν. Both cases are elucidated by the clearly nominative form Κρόνος. Most importantly the ὅτι which likely threw off Erbse and Dindorf given its usual formulaic structure in the scholia serves instead here as just a marker of indirect speech, "that," rather than an indicator of critical marks. And with that conclusion our diplomatic edition was able to not only keep true to the manuscript's layout, unlike Erbse and Dindorf, but also make sense of something that had baffled some of the brightest Homeric scholars.
Kronos, having received an oracle that his own son will remove him from his dominion, gulped down his begotten children.


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The old gas heater in the bathroom clicked, clicked, clicked and finally caught on and started to turn the little room into our personal sauna. All we needed was some birch branches with a sting to them and it could have been a scene from an Ingmar Bergman movie. The dour, shrouded figure of death, who was always waiting in the wings of a Bergman production, was kept where He belonged: waiting. Here all was life, and life was good for the transient moment.
My favorite second cousin Janice — or was she a first cousin once removed? — had called from N'Awlins, and the sound of her voice was still resonating in my ear and memory. For her accent was an exact duplicate of her sweet mother Ann's, a combination of Southern and South Chicagoan with an occasional Yiddishism thrown in for lagniappe. Once, when her flight to join her beloved Pinky had been canceled, Ann had turned decidedly pale. My father and I, who'd taken her to the airport in Shreveport, were concerned. "How do you feel?" we'd asked. "A bissel bacocked," she'd replied. "A little shat upon."
There was the time daughter Janice and I were standing by Ann's bedside in a cold hospital room when Janice, a registered nurse, noted that her mother's capillaries seemed just fine despite the clinical air of the room. At which point Ann chimed in from her druggy semi-coma to add: "Yes, my capillaries is just fine, thank you." How sweet the sound of voices remembered from childhood, especially if they came complete with almost automatic Southern courtesy.
What a contrast with the cold, disembodied voice of the robocaller on our line and on the lines of thousands if not millions of others at this moment, trawling for countless more suckers. Mr. Robocaller will doubtless find plenty, for there's still one born every minute if not nanosecond. Our reveries having been interrupted on this cold winter's day by Robocaller's imperious command, there was no getting back to warm, sweet nostalgia, which someone once defined as homesickness for the past.
But enough of all that. "Your account has been overdrawn and you must call this number at once!" the disembodied voice demanded, and, once admitted entrance, would soon enough request our credit card and Social Security number. Why, one wondered, did it always seem to be a male voice on the other end of this line. Because a woman's voice might sound too human?
How many countless duplications of his duplicitous voice have been made by now? One imagines the robocaller sitting in a windowless, airless room as he tells all the recipients of his command out there that they'd made his sucker's list, and had better start hustling. "Call this number now!" the voice commands in Teutonic tones. Achtung! The message could have been one badly translated from the original German. The march of science-cum-commerce stumbles on through the thickets densely populated with con artists of all kinds.
There must still be millions of easily confused people out there who take such a call seriously and wind up paying for their one thoughtless mistake the rest of their lives as they try to untangle this knot they've woven for themselves — with more than a little help from these so-and-sos who've have taken advantage of their gullibility, or just senility. With the kind of bottom-feeders who devise such rackets in mind, I begin to reconsider my own long-time opposition to capital punishment.


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Each year, the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest searches for the country's worst writers and honors them with an award. The contest was established to honor Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, who's known for opening his novel "Paul Clifford" with the famous line: "It was a dark and stormy night."
For bookworms and people like me who make their living with the written word, the winning excerpts are always good for a laugh. This year's lucky winner? Molly Ringle of Seattle who compared a passionate kiss to a gerbil sucking its cage-mounted water bottle.


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District Covered Repairs
Equipment repair request must be submitted to Denine Kysar in Purchasing at firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Purchasing Department will pay for most repairs on the items listed below. Exceptions would be vandalism, repeated misuse and when the cost of the repair will exceed half of the cost of the equipment. The Purchasing Department does not contribute to the repair or replacement of equipment meeting any of these conditions.
- Microscopes
- Appliances
- Music instruments (request must be sent to Kenny Webb @ firstname.lastname@example.com)
- Piano tuning
- Kilns
- Laminators
- Library security gates
When requesting repairs please send the following information to Denine Kysar @ email@example.com
- The problem you are having
- Contact person and phone number
- Site address
In addition to the above, the following is needed for appliances, laminators and security gates.
- Serial number
- Model


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Deloitte's InsightStudio taps innovative capabilities with USGA to boost fan engagement
NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Deloitte's InsightStudio is breaking new ground by combining its outcomes-based design approach with innovative cognitive and analytic solutions to uncover new ways to increase customer — or in this case, fan — engagement.
Deloitte recently demonstrated its state-of-the-art capabilities in what might seem like an unexpected setting — the 117th U.S. Open in Erin Hills, Wisconsin, conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA).
More than 4,000 golf fans participated in Deloitte's "Advance Your Insights" exhibit as a part of the USGA Golf Innovation Experience during the championship. Deloitte's InsightStudio designed and created wall-sized touch screen data visualizations that enabled fans to explore U.S. Open trivia, historical data on the golfers, and an algorithm that matched fans with a player in the field that they were most like.
Real-time big data from more than 10 sources was collected, analyzed, and converted into visualizations that highlighted player stats and tracked the movement of U.S. Open fans on-site, using Skyhook precise location-sensing technologies built into the U.S. Open mobile app. Fans interacted with the data to gain insights into their collective behaviors and preferences, including crowd density at each hole, best spots for spectators to view a hole, and the movement of fans relative to players.
Deloitte's consulting practice has collaborated with the USGA since 2014, developing actionable strategies to strengthen the golf ecosystem and shape customer experience. Deloitte and the USGA further solidified their relationship in 2016, as Deloitte became an official sponsor of the organization, in support of their mission. The opportunity to showcase this relationship, while enhancing the fan experience at the prestigious U.S. Open Championship, reaffirmed Deloitte's ability to help organizations gain deeper insights into customer behavior, spot emerging trends, and track the movement of people and products in real time.
Unlocking the power of cognitive insight
"Our InsightStudio is helping organizations across various industries — not just sports — unlock the power of cognitive insights to address their most pressing issues," said Ryan Renner, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte's cognitive advantage leader. "The studio team brings a distinctive blend of business, science, and technology capabilities to quickly turn ideas into tangible outcomes within weeks, not months or years. Our work with the USGA demonstrates how we can help clients light up new and innovative solutions to strengthen engagement with their core customers."
"We are always thinking of ways to enhance the fan experience to attract and better engage new fans," said Sarah Hirshland, senior managing director of business affairs at the USGA. "Deloitte's thought leadership and expertise helped us achieve both of those goals this year."
Today, Deloitte's InsightStudio is developing new ways its cognitive and analytic solution can help businesses, event organizers, and public safety organizations gather new insights from real-time crowd data to improve customer satisfaction, marketing, safety and security, and emergency response.
About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500 and more than 6,000 private and middle market companies. Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. For more information, visit Deloitte's U.S. website at: http://www2.deloitte.com/us/en.html.
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.


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Let's start this discussion with an example. For instance, you are invited to a party and you want to gift a bouquet of flowers. You decided to search for a flower shop near your vicinity in Google. If you put the keyword "Flower shop", a number of shops will appear in the result. But if you specify the keyword "florist shop in XYZ", only those shops will come up in the result, which are in the 'XYZ' area or close to it. The search engine studies the IP address of the searcher's computer and gives out results. So, if you have a business website, do not fail to optimise it locally for getting more profit.
Here are a few ways to score high using local search optimising process.
– In order to optimise your website, the first step will be knowing your onlookers. You need to know what people are looking for. You have to find the local keywords using the keyword research tool and attract greater volume of traffic. Use the web analytics to locate the most used local terms for searching a site.
However, the keyword cannot be general because the search result will also include other industries, which are not relevant. On the other hand, the business owner will not prefer precise key phrase, which the people searching the web will not be able to think. Hence, the keyword has to be simple, targeting the local business and have to suit the website.
– Apart from the keywords, you also need to work on your existing website. The service pages in your business site have to be reviewed with the aim to target the local market. Here are some of the changes or additions that are required to score high in the local search result.
– Add the name of your town or city in page titles and descriptions. In the 70 characters Meta title and 156 characters Meta description, explain your services.
– Add business name, address and phone number in the appropriate pages.
– Incorporating a map and pointing out your location can bring positive outcomes as well.
– If your business is located in multiple regions, it will be great to have separate landing pages for each branch. Next, localize the web content to target the local online business market. This will help your website to get better rank.
– Listing in the local directories is always a priority. The description that your write for getting listed must include key local search term. To make it more visible, add photos and tags. It's better to provide same information for every listing that will enhance the consistency and build conviction to your business.
Reviews from your customers can also add fuel to your ranking in the local search result. Recommendations and general feedback from customers gives more visibility and relevancy in local search. Even the graph search in your Facebook business page can help to optimise your website. Therefore, if you want to have more profit, expand your visibility through local SEO and channelize traffic onto your business.
Keira Rose is a freelance content writer. She loves to write on changing SEO trends and its effect on internet marketing. Readers can know about various positive features of local search engine optimisation services from her blogs.


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Ecko Unltd. Mens S T-Shirt Graphic Black Cotton Summer Top
£18.00Size guide
For sale Ecko Unltd. Mens S T-Shirt
| Material 100%Cotton
| Size from label S
| Condition: 5+/6
Dimensions: inches / cm
Chest (underarm to underarm): - 21 inch /53.3cm
Length (top of the shoulder to bottom hem) - 27 inch/68.6cm
6/6 - perfect condition. No signs of used
5+/6 - near perfect condition - barely visible signs of used.
5/6 - very good condition - normal, little signs of used.
4/6 - good condition. may have little spots of dirt, small holes itp.
100% Satisfaction or money back guarantee - If you're not utterly obsessed with your recent purchase, it's now so easy to send it back. If you have any questions please contact us.


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After thinking about curtains for our great room/kitchen area for 10 months, I finally made a decision on the slider curtains. And the winner is....
The west elm bi-colored grommet linen curtains in ivory/espresso! My plan is this, since I have so many windows all along the back of our house, I need coordinating panels, but not 6 of the same panels. It would be too much in my opinion. Most likely, the great room windows will either have these grommet panels in espresso from west elm in the same linen material.
or these silk grommet panels in espresso
Even though the material of this panel is silk and the bi-color is linen, I think they would still go. I haven't officially decided on the linen or silk but we are making progress!!!
I also really like these pillows from Target. I have to thank my siser-in-law Amanda from sending me a picture text from Arkansas with her find. So cute so thank you!!!! They will definetly go with either of these panels.
First things first, I am off to Bed Bath and Beyond tomorrow to buy the slider hardware. Woohoo!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Some decisions...finally!
Posted by Karen At Home Blog at 10:34 PM
Labels: Great Room, Home Decor, Our Home, Our Kitchen, Target, Window Treatments
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Barclays to pare office space in Tokyo's Roppongi after job cuts
[TOKYO] Barclays Plc will reduce office space at its loss-making Japanese brokerage unit to trim expenses after cutting jobs earlier this year.
The UK bank, which rents two floors of the Mori Tower in Tokyo's Roppongi Hills office complex, will vacate about half of the 31st floor as early as this year while keeping its space on the 32nd, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the plan is private.
Barclays asked about 100 people from equities in Tokyo to leave earlier this year as part of a fresh round of cuts across Asia, people familiar with the situation said at the time. The equity division is located on the 32nd floor.
"This consolidation of office space is the logical consequence of that earlier decision," Barclays said in an e-mailed statement. "We have had a significant presence in Japan for close to 50 years, and our new, sharper focus ensures that we will be an even stronger player in the Japanese market in the years ahead," the bank said, without giving further details.
Chief executive officer Jes Staley has pared the scope of the London-based firm's investment-banking business to bolster profitability that's been hampered by misconduct fines, lower trading revenue and higher regulatory costs.
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Barclays Securities Japan posted a loss of 8.6 billion yen (S$115.6 million) for the year ended March 31, widening from 2.9 billion yen a year earlier, according to its latest earnings disclosure. It had 503 employees, down from 588 a year earlier, the filing showed.
Roppongi Hills, once a popular location for investment banks, has become better known for its information technology companies, with Google Inc and Apple Inc among the firms at Mori Tower. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc was a tenant before it went bankrupt, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc has reduced its space there.
Meanwhile, several securities firms are relocating their Tokyo operations. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co finished moving its 2,300 employees in July to a new building in the Otemachi financial district from Mejirodai, said Hiroaki Konishi, a spokesman at the brokerage.
Citigroup Inc plans to move its Japan headquarters from the Shin-Marunouchi Building to the Otemachi Park Building, which is under construction, in the second half of next year, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.
Nomura Research Institute Ltd will move its headquarters to Otemachi from the neighbouring Marunouchi district in December.
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In south of France, Avignon Motor Festival is a reference. This classic car show is a rendez-vous set in the end of march. This year, weather was bad but the three main exhibitions were a success.
In 2017, Ferrari celebrates its 70th anniversary. It will be a recurring topic on some classic car shows. In France, Retromobile launched this with a beautiful exhibition. A few weeks before the show in Avignon, we could wonder about the ability of organizers to bring a rich, varied and prestigious exhibition.
The least we can say is that they reached their goal! Ferrari 225, F40 and F50, sportcars of the 50s, some Dino including a Fiat and 250 from the LM to the « Tour de France ». There were 4 exhibitions that were dedicated to the Maranello brand.
In the hall A, it was completed by a veteran cars exhibition. Beautiful specimens joined the party, with names that often have completely disappeared from the automotive landscape.
The other exhibition not to be missed was less visible. After Renault last year, they paid homage to the Peugeot production. For the occasion the clubs dedicated to the brand had gathered around a beautiful plateau. Among the cars brought by the clubs, we noticed a 203 Coupé that would not be unworthy in the middle of the other cars. The others, a 401 and a 601, both convertibles, a superb 402 coach, a 302 Darl'Mat modified after the war, a strange racing car and the SR1 concept to remind that the brand can still seduce the enthusiasts.
The big innovation of the Avignon show was an auction. Here we found the Parisian house Leclère Motorcars, newcomer in the classic cars since it was only its third sale in that speciality. Three catalogs were proposed for the event, The first was dedicated to motorcycles, the second to racing cars and the last more widely to classic cars. A large catalog which occupied a hall and expanded outside.
If the racing cars were mostly converted road models, there were some beautiful ones. We noticed an Alfa Romeo 2600 ready for the Tour Auto and a Lola T70 ready to keep up with many "more prestigious" cars.
Classics were led by a trio of Hispano Suiza that did not succeeded and a Ferrari 330 whose sale price greatly contributed to the overall success of the sale.
Around that we found what made the usual success of the Avignon Motor Festival. Halls dedicated to tractors, trucks, motorcycles, racing cars, dragsters, military vehicles, all around the outdoor car park. The latter was hard to fill up on Friday and Saturday, the rain not helping, but it was really stormed on Sunday.
Not helped by the weather either, the sellers of autojumble outside. If some had folded their stand on Friday night, the courageous ones could nevertheless offer a large variety of pieces and tools for the amateur or professional restaurateurs who had made the trip.
On the side of the other pros, in the halls, there were also well-stocked stalls, with all that it takes to remake a beauty, a health or simply to rebuild their classic. Most of the industry's top professionals in the area are present, every year for the Avignon Show.are always present at the Avignon Motor Festival.


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The Best And Worst TV Series Of 2017
2017 was a banner year for television. Sure, there were a few disappointments (I'm looking at you "Fargo" and "Game of Thrones"), but the year saw plenty of returning favorites, beloved shows resurrected from the dead, new gems, and, more importantly, shows comprised of a wide variety of genres. Say what you will about Netflix as a company, but they once again dominated TV with new seasons of great shows and a plethora of new (and resurrected) series. Netflix wasn't the only game in town, however, as FX, Showtime, and even CBS All Access all had something to offer. Below I have compiled a list of my ten favorite series of 2017 (along with a few notables) as well 10 of the worst shows 2017 had to offer. On with the list! Continue reading
Top 10 Horror TV Series
As you may or may not have noticed, summer 2016 is loaded with new and returning horror shows like "Scream," "Dead of Summer," "The Strain," and "Stranger Things." With this in mind, I thought I would take a look back at some of the best television series in the horror genre (horror comedy included). On with the spooky centric list! Continue reading


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March 4, 2008
Bloomberg School of Public Health Welcomes Peter Agre
Hopkins colleagues, old and new, feted Peter Agre on February 24 at a reception to welcome the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist as the new director of the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute.
Agre, MD, who spent three decades at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine before becoming vice chancellor for science and technology at Duke University Medical Center in 2005, took over the Institute on January 1. As director, he oversees 19 Hopkins faculty members who concentrate on advancing basic science to develop new methods in malaria prevention and treatment.
"We needed a person to inspire young faculty—and old faculty—to provide scientific leadership and to provide the visibility we think is appropriate for this Institute," said Diane Griffin, MD, PhD, founding director of the Institute and chair of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Bloomberg School Dean Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH, added, "His passion for the health of the human race is palpable. The attraction of working on a disease that kills more than one million people a year—that's what got him here."


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The Secret Sisters Program is a program developed to help the ladies of the congregation here at Center Grove church of Christ to get to know one another better. Ladies fill out an information sheet with their birthday, anniversary, favorite things, etc. They then draw out someone else's name every six months. They bring gifts to put in their secret sister's slot. They have to be secretive about bringing their gifts so that their secret sister will not know who their secret sister is until the reveal dinner.
After six months, a reveal dinner is held for the secret sisters to find out who their secret sister was & to redraw out a new secret sister. The reveal dinners are then usually held sometime in January & July of each year in our fellowship hall. A special Secret Sister Santa Swap where the ladies bring ornaments to exchange with one another is also held sometime in December of each year in our fellowship hall. Any lady of the congregation, even if they are not currently participating in the Secret Sister Program, is invited to attend the Secret Sister Santa Swap. Changes are made to the program along the way as needed to improve the program based on feedback from the participants. Donna Loftis-Young oversees this program.


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Mumbai: CAMP (Zinnia Ambapardiwala, Shaina Anand, Simpreet Singh and Ashok Sukumaran), Khanabadosh (Gitanjali Dang), Rupali Gupte and Prasad Shetty
Draft collectively considers how contemporary art can initiate, invoke and contribute to public debates. A year-long undertaking, the project is anchored in nine cities— Beijing, Cairo, Cape Town, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Mumbai, St. Petersburg, Zurich—and opens with a three-day conference in Mumbai.
Draft encounters and tests public spheres and the consequences of staking claim to them through contemporary art. In doing so, it also chalks out the relationship between the seemingly disparate contexts of these cities that are, in fact, always intensely entangled.
The opening conference—and the project at large—convenes a cross-disciplinary crew of artists, curators, philosophers, anthropologists and the like, who cooperate as collaboratives in wound up urban contexts.
Draft is imagined as a kind of agent provocateur; exploring our reality, such as it is, by hinting at the possibility of what else could be. If no context can ever be truly exhausted, then each exploration is a renewal of the promise of debate.
This longue durée project is, somewhat, bookended by two conferences; the closing conference takes place in Zurich in the summer of 2016. In the critical interim, a range of engagements, including research and workshops, will be realised in each of the cities. Expanding on the conference's discussions they will set the pace for the site-sensitive artworks that will be realised in early 2016.
Draft is not 'about' the city but it mobilises this complicated ecosystem as a springboard for thinking through questions, claims, potentials and problems around an infinite spectrum of contemporary artistic and philosophical concerns and practices.
The project intends to do this in a transnational scenario of home-grown artistic interventions, which question the notion of identity in a world that is nothing if not hybrid. The project intends to do this in the scenario of public spheres, which question extant public spheres in an epoch where dissenting contexts are rife with the rumbling sounds of deep matter, deep memory, deep alienation and what have you.
Draft is a proposal because every context is equal parts potential, problem and provisional.
Partners: Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council, and Connecting Spaces Hong Kong – Zurich ZHdK
Supported by: artEDU Foundation and ifa Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Zinnia Ambapardiwala, CAMP, Mumbai
Giorgio Biancorosso, Hong Kong
Hector Bourges Valles, Teatro Ojo, Mexico City
Helena Chávez Mac Gregor, Mexico City
Cosmin Costinas, Para Site, Hong Kong
Tsaplya Olga Egorova, Chto Delat, St. Petersburg
Laura Furlan, Teatro Ojo, Mexico City
Christian Hübler, knowbotiq, Zurich
Qinyi Lim, Para Site, Hong Kong
Jens Maier-Rothe, Beirut, Cairo
Cuauhtémoc Medina, Mexico City
Nikolay Oleynikov, Chto Delat, St. Petersburg
Karla Rodríguez, Teatro Ojo, Mexico City
Dmitry Vilensky, Chto Delat, St. Petersburg
Patricio Villareal, Teatro Ojo, Mexico City
Yvonne Wilhelm, knowbotiq, Zurich
Draft is a project conceived by Gitanjali Dang, Khanabadosh, Mumbai, and Christoph Schenker, Institute for Contemporary Art Research IFCAR, Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK.
Artistic directors
Gitanjali Dang
Artistic Director Khanabadosh, Mumbai
Phone: +91 98 20 414851
Website: http://khanabadosh.info
Prof. Christoph Schenker
Head of IFCAR Institute for Contemporary Art Research, Zurich
Phone: +41 43 446 6101
Website: www.ifcar.ch
Project associate
Phalguni Desai, Mumbai
Linda Jensen, Zurich
Silvia Wambululu
IFCAR Institute for Contemporary Art Research
Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK
Pfingstweidstr. 96 / P.O. Box
CH – 8031 Zurich
Phone: +41 43 446 61 01
Email: info.ifcar[at]zhdk.ch
Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council
Connecting Spaces Hong Kong – Zurich, ZHdK
Supported by
artEDU Foundation
Stanley Thomas Johnson Foundation
ifa Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen
Website design and programming
Hubertus Design, Zurich
taywa gmbh, Zurich
Image captions and credits
Cairo collaborative: Jasmina Metwaly and Philip Rizk: Out on the Street, 2015, film still. Courtesy: the artists. Cape Town collaborative: Sethembile Msezane, Untitled (Freedom Day), 2014, Courtesy: the artist. Hamburg collaborative: Alice Peragine, Application Operation, 2014, site-specific performance at Galerie Genscher Park Hamburg. Courtesy: the artist. Photograph: Marcel Peragine. Hong Kong collaborative: Samson Young, Liquid Borders, 2012 – 2014, image documentation. Courtesy: the artist. Photograph: Vanessa Law. Mexico City collaborative: Teatro Ojo, NO?!, 2008, image documentation of first action: Each generation wants its own 1968, Zocalo Square of Mexico City. Interventions and creation of image-actions in public spaces in Mexico City, forty years after the 1968 Student Movement. Courtesy: the artists. Mumbai collaborative: CAMP, From Gulf to Gulf to Gulf, 2013, video still. Courtesy: the artists. Shanghai collaborative: Ju Anqi, There's a Strong Wind in Beijing, 1999, film still. Courtesy: the artist. St Petersburg collaborative: School for Engaged Art, Chto Delat, Atlas is Tired, 2014, performance documentation. Courtesy: the artists. Photograph: Vadim Lurie. Zurich collaborative: knowbotiq, MacGhillie_just a void, 2010. Courtesy: the artists. Photograph: Christoph Oeschger.
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Governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software was originally designed to keep your information controlled in an electronic format. It was often only accessed by quality teams to show external auditors and customers processes and procedures.
Over time, however, GRC software has evolved to become a single source of truth for your entire business, underpinning every decision made.
GRC software is now a robust tool that helps businesses to manage complex processes, assign roles and responsibilities, identify risks and opportunities, capture data from applications across the business, automate workflows, and create instant KPI dashboards.
From a quality perspective, GRC software provides visibility into performance across your business. It is used to plan, manage, monitor and optimise. Whether your quality objectives are to focus on reducing the cost of poor quality, nurturing customer satisfaction or fostering a culture of continuous improvement, a GRC software solution is essential for every modern business.
With so much opportunity, it actually makes buying a GRC solution very difficult. Unsurprisingly, the scope of "GRC software" solutions has evolved in many different directions. Vendors now provide many different types of solutions. For a customer, you need to choose between hundreds of different solutions.
So how can you find the best GRC solution for your business?
In this article, I've talked you through five key considerations to help you get the best grc solution for your business. These are:
- Defining what the 'best' solution looks like for your business
- Knowing what to spend
- Finding the right vendor for you
- Avoiding common mistakes
- Listening to feedback
I hope you'll find this guide useful and actionable. If you have any questions, please give me a call on +44 (0) 114 282 3338 or drop me an email.
Image: GRC Dashboard collating data from multiple business applications, ERPs, Salesforce etc. to give leadership a picture of the business
1) Defining what the 'best' solution looks like
I mentioned earlier that GRC software has evolved a lot over recent years. GRC software doesn't just keep you compliant - it offers a bevy of tools to help you make your business more profitable, enhance your company culture and make your employees happier. Yes - I said it - GRC teams now have tools to make everyone from your shop floor to your top floor happier.
So how do you know what you want to achieve with your solution?
I'd recommend creating a User Requirements Specification (URS). A URS is basically a list of all the features you want. Qualsys provide a template URS to help you get started. You can purchase it here for £29.99.
Customise the template by going around your business and asking questions. What are the business's pain points? What works at the moment? What doesn't make any sense?
You'll get a lot more ideas by asking people early on in the process and it'll help you to avoid scope creep later on in the process.
In this blog post you'll find a free example survey you can send to your employees to understand more about their pain points.
Once your URS is complete, send it to your vendors.
Some example features you may want from your GRC software solution:
- Instant KPI Dashboards: Get real-time insights into performance across your business. You can track sites / departments / individuals and share what is working well. Use these lessons and share it across your wider business.
- Documents / Policies: Systematically keep on track of document and policy life cycles - get the software to do this for you! No more searching through thousands of duplicated documents in SharePoint.
- Supplier management: Few businesses know who all their suppliers are and what they use them for. This results in duplicated purchases, and wasted revenue! Get a solution with a Supplier Management module and you can get control.
- Audits: Make the most of your subject matter experts across your business by requesting that they routinely voice their opinions, issues and ideas using auditing software.
- APIs and Integrations: Bring all your data together, instantly. No more chasing departments for data and waiting three weeks.
- Risks: Give employees the opportunity to speak up about risks they see and identify issues before they occur.
- Equipment / data processing register / asset register: Wouldn't tackling regulations such as GDPR be so much easier if you knew exactly what equipment was in use and how it was being used?
- Training records: People are your most important assets. Keep their training up to date, keep them informed and properly record the training.
- CAPA / issues / complaints / change / workflows: So many businesses hope that their employees will always take responsibility and step up when there is either an issue, complaint or CAPA requirement. But most businesses are busy and encounter new issues, and this causes a number of issues. Assign roles and responsibilities, and you get rid of frustration and have a happier, more confident and aligned business.
2) Knowing what to spend
There are so many ways GRC software can be priced. And if you aren't completely clear about how the pricing works, it can be easy to end up confused and make a bad decision.
Pricing models tend to be annual plans. However, vendors will include different things within this price. For example:
- Hosting
- End users
- Administrator licenses
- Training costs
- Support and maintenance
- What modules you'll get
- Implementation costs
If you're getting confused by pricing, calculate the price per employee over a 5-year period.
My advice:
Have a budget. Stick to it. You don't want to overspend and have a system which is too expensive in the long-haul.
Be realistic. You can't expect the most feature-rich solution if your budget is £50 for the year.
Align with your long term business strategy. If your business is planning to grow by 50% you'll need a system which will support your long term business strategy.
Consider return on investment. Upfront costs might be higher because you require a thorough implementation or you may need to validate your software to meet regulatory requirements, but this could provide return on investment faster than a cheaper solution. Try our interactive ROI calculator for more information.
List your top 3 most important criteria before you start. Do you want a system that you can roll out across your entire business? You need free end-users. Do you want a system which your suppliers can access? You need free supplier portals.
We've got a more in-depth blog about costs and the factors which will influence the cost of your solution here or try our total cost of ownership calculator.
Try our 4-year total cost of ownership tool here.
3) Finding the right vendor for you
As previously mentioned, there are many different GRC software vendors, and they all specialise in different areas and can help you achieve different goals.
So what do you want from your system? What does your business want to achieve?
Below, I've listed the GRC software vendors my customers have come across and how I would define each of their strengths. These are listed without prejudice, we dont profess to be experts on the nuances of all offerings:
Strength / areas of expertise
For growing businesses who want a scalable, integrated GRC system. Available via SaaS (cloud), on-premise (server) and/or mobile (iOS and Android).
RSA Archer
Risk management for financial businesses
IBM Open Pages
Highly bespoke solutions in larger enterprises.
ISO Tracker
For businesses where compliance is managed in one department / by one person.
BSI Entropy
For businesses with less than 10 employees.
For businesses in hospitability, retail and construction.
Heavy focus in the NHS and Aerospace sector. Wide portfolio of products.
Useful auditing tool for tablets, though not integrated into a wider EQMS (for aggregate data/trends analysis/findings etc).
ISM Xpress
For very small businesses.
For managing documents.
We've provided some free templates and tools to help you select the best vendor for your business in our Business Case toolkit.
Image: Use our vendor comparison tool in our Business Case toolkit
Tips for choosing a vendor:
- Get a demonstration - It'll help you see the solution and understand how it could work for you.
- Send the vendor your URS - Give your vendor a week or two to complete your URS so you can score your vendors for your key criteria.
Image: Internal auditing software integrates with the central document management system.
4) Avoiding common mistakes
With so many different GRC software solutions available, choosing the right one can be really difficult.
Here are some mistakes to avoid:
- Underestimating the implementation process
- Choosing an inexperienced vendor
- Neglecting the employee engagement process
- Choosing a system which you will outgrow
- Making-do with a solution because it is cheaper
- Free solutions - put your business at risk
- Scope creep
- Choosing a vendor who is too big to care about you
For more tips and advice from leading brands, read our Software Buying Guide.
5) Listening to feedback
There are many different places where you might find reviews about GRC software.
Here are a few:
- Capterra (owned by Gartner)
- G2 Crowd
- Join local meetups to talk to GRC professionals
- Training and GRC software taster workshops
At Qualsys, we always encourage you to call or visit at least one of our existing customers. We find this not only enables you to see our system in action, it provides an opportunity to learn, share and get ideas from others like you.
What you should do now
Now you know how to find the best GRC solution, you'll need to build a business case to get internal buy in. Download our free business case template here.


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I think they tend to be custom designed to fit in a particular application, since they tend to be "mechanical power in, mechanical power out" sort of devices, and mechanical power couplings are fussy and not standardized. They also tend to need to be mounted so as to minimize undesirable gyroscopic effects.
Commercial Flywheel Answered
I have searched high and low, but i haven't been able to find any company that manufactures battery-alternative carbon fiber flywheels for commercial use. Can anyone help me out?
So in other words..expensive. Hmm. I want to incorporate a flywheel or two into this electric car I'm planning to build, and it would be really great if i could find a source for them. I already knew they wouldn't be cheap, but I was hoping that i would be able to obtain just the flywheel itself, and construct the magnetic bearings and housing myself.
Any reason they need to be carbon fiber?
Carbon fibre allows the speeds necessary to power a car. It is also much less dangerous if a flywheel were to malfunction (it just disintegrates).
Ok I found a supplier (Pentadyne) and some distributors, and the price is pretty staggering (about 44k for a top end system). However, I figure i can do without a lot of the peripherals they offer because this is going into a car. I'm not sure they will take me seriously, or even acknowledge my inquiries :P


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Re: WWII Ace and Silver Star recipient
In reply to:
Re: WWII Ace and Silver Star recipient
William Perry 10/24/13
Below is my last request for information that I sent yesterday to the AFHRA and I'm still waiting on a response. I did notice the problems that you mentioned with the Form 66-1 and thought that something doesn't look "correct". The 8th Fighter Group was assigned to the 5th AAF based in the South Pacific area out of New Guinea. Don't believe that any units assigned to 8th FG participated in Gaudalcanal. The AAF was pretty good at giving credit for aerial victories and I find it strange that Lt Wells who joined the fight with many other planes and supposedly shot down 4 aircraft but was not given credit for even one aerial victory.
ROBERTSON, PATSY H GS-12 USAF AETC AFHRA/RS (email@example.com)
RE: GO 341-43 dated November 15,1943 awarding the Silver Star Medal to Lt. William D. Wells
RE: GO 321-43 dated October 22,1943 awarding the Air Medal to Lt William Wells
RE: GO 338-43 dated October 27,1943 awarding a Oak Leaf Cluster to Air Medal to Lt William Wells
Ms. Robertson,
This is my last attempt to find the above General Orders concerning Lt William D. Wells. After doing further research on the history of the Guadalcanal air combat of June 16,1943 and corresponding with others we have concluded that Lt Wells was most likely attached to the 18th Fighter Group and assigned to one of its fighter squadrons, ie the 12th Fighter Squadron, 44th Fighter Squadron or the 70th Fighter Squadron.
I know that you are probably tired of trying to find out about him but I hope that you can try this one last time to check the General Orders of the mentioned units to see if there is anything about him.
Thank you,
Darryl Andrews
More Replies:
Re: WWII Ace and Silver Star recipient
William Perry 10/25/13
Re: WWII Ace and Silver Star recipient
Darryl Andrews 10/30/13
Re: WWII Ace and Silver Star recipient
Darryl Andrews 10/26/13
- Re: WWII Ace and Silver Star recipient


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It would appear the powers-that-be have just stumbled on to the ugly fact that all the bailed-in depositor money in the world won't stop the novated, rehypothecated, collateral chain collapse contagion that Deutsche Bank's $40 trillion-plus derivatives book's Damocles sword hangs over the status quo. However, being the problem-solving types, the European technocrats have a 'fair-share' solution - back a derivative clearing-house with taxpayer money to solve the new too-biggest-to-fail problem "that no one saw coming."
While the "rules" right nbow are that everyone from shareholders, bondholders, and depositors alike on up the capital structure are supposedly "bailed-in" to save an ailing bank, this problem is just way too big.
Here's the problem... in 3 charts...
Derivatives book - yuuge...
Global contagion - yuuger...
Counterparty risk - yuugest...
And so, as Bloomberg reports, the dear old European taxpayer is about to save the world... The European Union plans to give authorities sweeping powers to tackle ailing derivatives clearinghouses to prevent their failure from wreaking havoc throughout the financial system.
Draft EU legislation seen by Bloomberg sets out rules on saving or shuttering clearinghouses that would apply to firms such as London-based LCH. The proposals cover everything from the creation of resolution authorities to the powers they would have when winding a company down, including writing down shares, debt and collateral.
Having forced most clearing to go through central counterparties to manage risk in the financial system, the EU will come out with recovery and resolution proposals by year-end. Clearing has come into focus after emerging as a pawn in the post-Brexit battle for London's financial-services industry.
"If we are going to rely more on CCPs, we need to have a clear system in place to resolve them if things go wrong," Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU's financial-services chief, said last month.
Governments around the world were spooked by the damage inflicted by derivatives trades that went awry during the financial crisis. Since then, they've taken steps to ensure trading in the contracts is reported and centrally cleared.
Clearinghouses stand between the two sides of a derivative wager and hold collateral, known as margin, from both in case a member defaults.
The plan's upfront costs for clearinghouses "are estimated to be in the millions for the largest institutions and in the thousands for smaller entities," according to the summary of an EU impact study.
Costs for "better planning and prevention of failure" will vary by firms' "size, interconnectedness, substitutability and complexity."
While the process is taking risk out of the banking system, it has increased it in the clearinghouses, which might get into difficulty after the default of a clearing member -- typically a major bank -- or after some operational failure that inflicted major losses.
In both cases the authorities would need to act quickly and would be doing so amid a looming crisis.
And here is the kicker... guess who foots the bill when the fecal matter really strikes the rotating object...
"Should these options be unavailable or be demonstrably insufficient to safeguard financial stability, government participation in the shape of equity support or temporary public ownership could be considered as a last resort," according to the proposal. Those steps would need to comply with EU rules on state aid.
So the US DoJ decision to retaliate for EU's Apple decision has boomerang'd right back at the EU taxpayer - who ultimately will bailout the new too-biggest-to-fail entities.
Italeave? Portugone? Fruckoff?


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New York: Anivitha Vijay, a nine year old Indian origin girl from Australia, is the youngest app developer at Apple's prestigious annual Developers Conference (WWDC 2016) in San Francisco. Vijay spent a year watching free coding tutorials on YouTube and the web, and learned how to program.
Vijay is attending WWDC as part of Apple's scholarship program, which gives hundreds of free tickets to developers from around the world who are creating apps for Apple devices. Vijay, who has been developing apps about empowering children, hopes to meet Cook during the conference. She said "Coding was so challenging. But I'm so glad I stuck with it. It's my dream to go to WWDC and meet Tim Cook."
The report said Vijay's apps were inspired by her toddler sister, who was learning how to talk and identify animals. Her brainchild was the Smartkins Animals app, which uses sounds, and flashcards to help teach children 100 different animals' names and sounds.


text: Anthony Towns <firstname.lastname@example.com> writes: > Sure they are. Hurd servers may have signficant advantages over Linux > modules, but they have the same broad aim. The latter was even partially > inspired by the former, aiui. This is to misunderstand the goal of Hurd translators. It is true that Linux modules solve many of the same problems that Hurd translators try to solve, but the Hurd is aimed at a far bigger target: making individual unprivileged users have a certain kind of control, and Linux modules don't really help for that. However, this is not about Hurd v. Linux--that's a pointless war that I'm not interested in. (And, AFAICT, you aren't either.) I haven't heard that Linux modules were ever inspired by the Hurd, but that's interesting....I'd be interested in reading more if there's something clear in writing about that. > Anyway, this is all pretty irrelevant. If policy's not meant to be a > stick, then people shouldn't be trying to change however many years of > existing practice in the Hurd just for fun. And, vice versa. Some Hurd developers seem to think this is their grand opportunity to change everything they don't like about Unix or Linux. (Actually, I'm involved with a different project along *just* those lines--changing everything I don't like about Unix or Linux--and that's totally irrelevant to Debian.) Thomas -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to firstname.lastname@example.com with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact email@example.com


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Management guru Tom Peters, best known for his book "In Search of Excellence," (co-authored with Robert H. Waterman Jr.) once wrote "Do what you do best and outsource the rest!"
We like Peters' philosophy! Of course, outsourcing any product or service is not a new idea. A few decades ago the main reason to outsource was to cut costs. As a result of the 80′s recession, many companies outsourced far too many of their services to external companies, probably far more than would be considered a good idea today. Today, the emphasis is on obtaining specific skill sets, reducing overhead, capitalizing on your own staffing needs, gaining efficiency, and reducing turnaround. This way, you can focus on your core function. Outsourcing is ideally suited to small offices and entrepreneurs and allows them the freedom to manage their day-to-day administration. Here are some paper-handling statistics provided by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Captaris. IOMA and Gartner:
The average organization:
- Makes 19 copies of each document
- Spends $20 in labor to file each document
- Spends $120 in labor searching for each misfiled document
- Loses 1 out of every 20 documents
- Spends 25 hours recreating each lost document
- Spends 400 hours per year searching for lost file
If you're finding that even with an EMR in place, you're still falling way behind in scanning of incoming paper, you're not alone. We commonly hear from our clients that they're still finding too many instances where the latest labs, consults, reports are not in the file by the time the patient returns.
If you're considering outsourcing your scanning, we suggest that you research the markets and learn about the services available by doing your research. Ask your fellow physicians for recommendations. Ask vendors to offer you demonstrations or trial periods so that you may evaluate their service levels. Ask what kind of tech support they provide, and whether the transfer of patient information is secure. If you have a problem, how quickly can they help you?
Once you have a short-list of service providers, be sure to include all stakeholders in the final vendor decision. Scanning your files isn't rocket science, but many projects fail because not all stakeholders were allowed input into the process. While you should be offered different options and pricing scenarios, do let the service provider suggest products such as scanners – some companies have invested in the latest capture technology and are in the best position to make suggestions to ensure that the scanner and software is compatible with your current technology.
RSRS offers Day-Forward Scanning for busy practices (PDF brochure). Think of us as an extension of your office. We receive your paper (delivered, faxed, or scanned, and moved securely to our server). We index the paper for your EMR and then upload the scans directly to your EMR in a manner which is consistent with your workflow. The result is quick turnaround, current patient records and much better patient care. It typically works out to be less expensive than hiring another employee.
Call RSRS today for a free consultation without obligation at 1-888-563-3732.


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Some addicts are helped greatly by the in-patient treatment model. With this kind of program, the addict is able to remove themselves from the outside sources of stress and anxiety in their life, leaving problems with family members, jobs and co-workers, relationship stress and other triggers for drug or alcohol abuse outside while they venture inward, examining the causes of their struggle with addiction. In the in-patient model, patients have access to resources around the clock, from people who can help with medical challenges during the detox process, to professionals who are accessible to hold one on one therapy sessions as the patient's treatment plan dictates. Finding people who can hold the addict accountable in in-patient treatment is not hard! The structure is often helpful to someone who is facing recovery on so many fronts at once in order to beat back the addiction.
Some people find the concept of an in-patient recovery invasive, and for them, it may be better to pursue the idea of an outpatient model. This type of recovery and substance abuse treatment program focuses even more closely on the patient's internal psychology and motivations, often using tools like cognitive behavioral therapy to dig into the patient's ingrained presuppositions and biases, and reprogram the mental pieces that made addiction possible. In an outpatient therapy model, the recovering addict should expect no less attention to personal responsibility and accountability. The professional treatment program, no matter if the patient is self-admitted or admitted at the order of a court, will hold the patient to regular testing and require acknowledgement of the actions and choices that lead to addictive behavior.
During the process of recovery, the patient will learn a great deal about him or herself, integrating aspects of identity and early experience which may have previously been causing pain and anxiety. Depression and other chemical imbalances will be addressed by the medical staff, even in an outpatient therapy model. When the patient is feeling stable and the treatment facility is confident it is time, the patient's integration inside the treatment community will begin to extend into the broader community. Instead of just attending group meetings (like 12-step programs AA and NA) inside the recovery facility and program, the patient will begin to integrate with the larger community AA and NA meetings.
For patients who have a defined recovery plan that extends past their time in actual outpatient recovery treatment, the potential for recovery to represent a lifetime without drugs and alcohol is real. The staff at a first-class recovery treatment program will help the patient develop that plan, discussing things like how the patient will use their recovery resources, even after they have concluded their treatment program. For the typical outpatient addict, this process of ending recovery is often just as difficult and anxiety provoking as it is for an inpatient treatment addict. The security and sense of acceptance that many find in recovery is so powerful that the patient must learn how to replicate it in real life.
Distributed by Client Initiative
Media Contact
Company Name: Cold Creek Behavior Health
Contact Person: Scott
Email: email@example.com
Phone: 866-523-3596
Address:PO Box 640
City: Kayville
State: Utah
Country: United States
Website: www.addictionfree.com


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- Posted in Supply Chain Management | April 11, 2017 | Comments (0)
- Tags: regulatory, cost reduction, Collaborations & Strategic Initiatives, supply chain management
- By: David Finch
An old adage suggested, "You can have Quality, Low Cost or Quick Delivery, just not at the same time." Lean and other continuous improvement practices have proven this to be generally inaccurate. Still, the challenge remains to achieve all three consistently while simultaneously dealing with increased regulatory and material costs, pass-through pricing pressure from hospitals and buying groups and global sourcing strategies. However, there are ways, even in challenging times, to reduce cost and lead times while maintaining or improving margins.
Identify and Address Cost Drivers
Whether you're an OEM or a contract manufacturer, margin preservation is critical to your business success. To accomplish this, price reduction concessions must include equivalent cost reductions. Regulatory concerns and change control restrictions may make modifications to material—or in some cases even design for manufacturability—impractical, and so may not be a means to address this. Therefore, it is important to identify all cost drivers, not just the material-related ones. Two areas in which improvements can lead to non-material based savings are overhead leverage through improved capacity utilization and collaboration.
Leverage Overhead through Improved Capacity Utilization
One of the greatest challenges for a contract manufacturer is smoothing demand to avoid over commitment, or allowing equipment or staff to be idle through the typical demand curve, which can be a sawtooth cycle of demand that exceeds capacity, or not enough work. In addition to the impact that this has on overhead leverage and capacity utilization, it leads to erratic lead times and impacts margins with overtime and expediting. An important consideration to this end is to monitor and balance your equipment investment and staffing level to suit your business plan. Unfortunately, neither of these can be increased or decreased easily in the short term. The real challenge, then, is how to smooth demand and meet the delivery and cost requirements of the OEM while remaining competitive and profitable.
One solution that works to the benefit of both parties is to move from a purchase order-to-purchase order (PO-to-PO) strategy to a supply agreement that incorporates capacity management and projected demand in its terms. In its most basic form, the parties agree on a lower and upper capacity commitment. This commitment strategy gives the OEM the assurance of a consistent minimum or staged manufacturing schedule during periods of high demands, such as a new product release, with neither of the parties having to pay for overtime or expedited delivery. For the contract manufacturer, in addition to the smoothing of high demand, periods of low demand can be used to build semi-finished items or components for future assembly and complete some pre-agreed maximum quantity to be purchased by the OEM in the future.
Even though it includes cost to carry for the supplier, when managed well, this strategy is often a lower-cost solution then allowing equipment to sit idle and cost of expediting; it also offers significantly reduced lead time for the OEM on future orders.For this strategy to work, however, the OEM and the supplier must engage in meaningful cost-focused collaboration.


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2019 Porsche Cayenne vs 2019 BMW X5
Luxury shoppers craving the performance and premium features that defined a segment can find a couple very attractive options in this 2019 Porsche Cayenne vs 2019 BMW X5 comparison. Both of these midsize models offer luxurious seating for five passengers, four doors, bold driving and premium comfort and convenience features. The 2019 BMW X5 is the larger of the two models and offers more maximum cargo space, but for discerning drivers seeking premium quality the fully redesigned 2019 Porsche Cayenne is the logical choice.
The 2019 Porsche Cayenne comes standard with leather seating (as opposed to leatherette on the BMW), and offers SiriusXM radio as a standard option. Other feature highlights include premium Porsche handling and a practical and bold interior. Keep reading to learn how these two models stack up when it comes to performance or check out new 2019 Cayenne inventory here at Porsche Kansas City below.
|2019 Porsche Cayenne
|Starting MSRP
|3.0-L V-6 (340 hp, 331 lb-ft)
|Base Engine
|3.0-L inline 6-cylinder (335 hp, 330 lb-ft)
|Base, S, Turbo, E-Hybrid
|Model Options
|xDrive40i, xDrive50i
|(0-60 mph) 3.9 seconds (Cayenne Turbo)
|Top Acceleration (0-60 mph)
|4.9 seconds (X5 xDrive50i)
Powertrains and Performance on the 2019 Porsche Cayenne
Both models in this 2019 Porsche Cayenne vs 2019 BMW X5 comparison offer confident power and performance, but in most trims the 2019 Porsche Cayenne has the edge when it comes to performance. The base 2019 Porsche Cayenne comes with a 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 engine rated for 340 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque, which is slightly more than the 335 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque available from the 3.0-liter inline 6-cylinder on the 2019 BMW X5 xDrive40i. The twin-turbo V-6 on the 2019 Cayenne S increases those numbers to 434 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, while the top-of-the-line 2019 Porsche Cayenne Turbo offers 541 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque with its twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8. This model also offers a 0-60 mph acceleration time of just 3.9 seconds. In contrast, the top 2019 BMW X5 xDrive50i offers only 456 horsepower, 478 pound-feet of torque, and a much slower acceleration.
Would you like to learn more about the freshly redesigned, third-generation 2019 Porsche Cayenne available here at Porsche Kansas City? Schedule a test drive today to get behind the wheel of the all-new Cayenne: the crossover that defined a generation.


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Lang Lang
Founder & President
"I have taken on a second career!" said Lang Lang at the Foundation launch event!"
If one word applies to Lang Lang, to the musician, to the man, to his worldview, to those who come into contact with him, it is "inspiration". It resounds like a musical motif through his life and career. He inspires millions with his open-hearted, emotive playing, whether it be in intimate recitals or on the grandest of stages – such as the 2014 World Cup concert in Rio, with Placido Domingo, to celebrate the final game; the 56th GRAMMY Award, where he performed with Metallica; the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where more than four billion people around the world viewed his performance; the Last Night of the Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall, or the Liszt 200th birthday concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Charles Dutoit which was broadcast live in more than 300 movie theaters around the United States and 200 cinemas across Europe (the first classical music cinemacast to be headlined by a solo artist). He forms enduring musical partnerships with the world's greatest artists, from conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel and Sir Simon Rattle, to artists from outside of classical music – among them dubstep dancer Marquese "nonstop" Scott, king of the crooners Julio Inglesias and jazz titan Herbie Hancock. He even builds relationships with corporations who will help him get classical music to ever-more people – thanks to his Sony ambassadorship, for instance, he brought Prokofiev's 7th Piano Sonata to the soundtrack of the multi-million- selling computer game Gran Turismo 5and 6! And he builds cultural bridges between East and West, frequently introducing Chinese music to Western audiences, and vice versa.
Yet he never forgets what first inspired, and continues to inspire him. Great artists, above all the great composers – Liszt, Chopin and the others – whose music he now delights in bringing to others. Even that famous old Tom and Jerry cartoon "The Cat Concerto" which introduced him, as a delighted child, to the music of Liszt – and that childlike excitement at the discovery of music now surely stays with him and propels him to what he calls "his second career", bringing music into the lives of children around the world, both through his work for the United Nations and through his own Lang Lang International Music Foundation. As he inspires, he is inspired. As he is inspired, he inspires others. It is this quality, perhaps, that led the New Yorker to call him "the world's ambassador of the keyboard".
It takes a special kind of dedication to come from a small Chinese town Shenyang , to travel to the big city as a small child and to win the attention of the country's finest music professors. And then to leave behind your home country altogether to join the world-famous Curtis Institute of Music Philadelphia, USA. Lang Lang achieved all of these early on – he started playing piano aged three, won the Shenyang Competition and gave his first public recital by the time he was five, entered Beijing's Central Music Conservatory aged nine, won first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians' Competition and playing the complete Chopin Etudes at the Beijing Concert Hall at 13. He left for America, Curtis and the great piano teacher Gary Graffman and when his moment came, he was ready. That moment happened when, aged 17, he was called upon to make a dramatic last-minute substitution for the famous Andre Watts to perform in the "Gala Of The Century", playing a Tchaikovsky concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. It made him what journalists like to call an "overnight star" and the world's finest concert halls quickly beckoned.