text:
How to: Beachy Waves
Esquire Theme by Matthew Buchanan
Social icons by Tim van Damme
How to: Beachy Waves
DIY Pom Pom Shoe Clips | The Mildly Interesting DIYs of Emma
That's right Tumblrs, I have a website just for tutorials by me! Woo! This DIY has already been on here, back in January. That's so weird that January seems like so long ago! Anyway, The Mildly Interesting DIYs of Emma is where I'm going to put my tutorials as I can upload multiple pics easier than here on Tumblr. So keep an eye out for tutorials by yours truly, because there will be more! In fact, I did one today but I need to take photos. I can't wait to get an iPhone 4 cos the picture quality on my current phone is crap and it's the only camera I have. Anyone have a DSL they want to give me?!
Click on the picture for a tutorial on how to do this. Plus theres more pictures :)
Easy Peasy No Sew Curtain -quick and easy, yet beautiful!! :)) tutorial here.
DIY Lotion Bars
Anyone who has ever shopped at Lush has probably fallen in love with their lotion massage bars that literally melt into your skin, leaving behind a delicate fragrance. Here is the recipe for some to try at home. Play with the fragrance/essential oils to develop a signature scent! Your skin will thank you!
4 oz of beeswax
4 oz cocoa butter
4 oz shea butter
2 oz Jojoba oil
10-15 drops of lavender essential oil
Melt everything together in a double broiler and pour into ready made molds. Allow to harden for 24 hours, remove from the molds and allow to harden for another 24-48 hours.
DIY Moisturizer
Make your own body lotion! The possibilities are endless (and way less chemical-laden than anything you could buy at the store)…
Handmade Body Moisturizer Recipe
Like fresh food, this will go bad after a certain period of time. If you don't think you'll use it within three months, store it in the refrigerator. Makes approximately 2 cups
1 cup filtered water, cold brewed tea, orange blossom water, or rose water
¾ cup oil such as olive, almond, unrefined coconut, or avocado
3 tablespoons grated beeswax
Optional: a few drops of essential oil of your choice, for fragrance
1. Set up a blender and pour in the water. Prepare clean, dry glass jars for packaging and have them nearby.
2. Put the oil and the beeswax in a Pyrex measuring cup. Place the cup in a pan or small pot and pour in water to reach about halfway up the cup. Bring the water to a gentle boil, and heat the oil and beeswax until the beeswax melts. You'll know when the wax is melted because you won't see it anymore. As soon as the wax is melted, remove the cup from the water and let the oil cool for 2 minutes.
3. Turn on the blender and start blending the water at medium speed. Remove the stopper in the blender lid so you can pour the oil through the top while blending. Slowly pour in the oil and the mixture will begin to emulsify. If there is still some water on the surface, turn up the blender and blend the mixture 30 seconds to a minute longer. If you're using essential oil, blend it in now.
4. With a clean rubber spatula, transfer the cream to the glass jars. Cover the jars with cheesecloth for an hour, or until they've reached room temperature. Placing the lid on the jar when this is warm will cause condensation to form under the lid, which will water down the lotion and form bacteria. When the lotion is cool, screw on the jar lids. Store at room temperature for up to 3 months, or in the refrigerator for 6 months.
via Louisa Shaffia at Ready Made
- Lipstick
- Vaseline
- Little pots
I wanted a way to wear some colour and lipbalms at the same time. Having seen a few people do this elsewhere I thought I would give it a go.
This is a very simple way of making slightly coloured lipbalm: Simply mix some vaseline with about 0.5cm of a lipstick using the end of a spoon.
What a wonderful blog on paper crafting! These flowers are just charming as well!
(via A Little Hut - Patricia Zapata: how to make a paper flower)
With the weather turning out to be rather nice in Southern California now (the abnormal slush and frost is officially behind us and sunny skies and highs of 90s are here to stay!), kids are going to love you with this idea from Idea Room. With a little cold water, cornstarch, and food coloring, the kids can stay occupied for hours this Mother's Day weekend (you can thank me later for the added R&R coming your way after this DIY)! Pictures and a how to is found here.
- Start by wrapping your yarn around the prongs of your fork (for the green pompom I wrapped 40 times around, for the red pompom I made 60 wraps) and then cut the end of your yarn.
- Cut a length of yarn 20cm or so long, and thread beneth your yarn wraps between 2nd and 3rd fork prong. Pass the other end of this length of yarn between prongs over the top of the yarn bundle. Pull both ends and tie into a tight knot.
- Slip yarn bundle off the end of your fork. snip through all the loops of yarn, and roll pompom between palms to 'fluff'. Trim any uneven ends.
- Admire pompoms.


text:
March 7, 2011//Lincoln, Neb.//Ameritas Group, a division of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., earned its fourth-consecutive Center of Excellence call center certification from BenchmarkPortal. Recently celebrating its 15-year anniversary, BenchmarkPortal is the leader in call center certification and hosts the largest call center performance metrics database in the world.
"Our call center handles more than 1.4 million phone calls each year, and with each call, we have the opportunity to make a positive impact and enhance our customers' service experience," shares April Rimpley, FLMI, ACS, vice president - group customer connections and operations. "We are proud to be recognized once again as a world-class contact center and thank all of our associates for making Ameritas Group a four-time Center of Excellence recipient."
To achieve annual certification, Ameritas Group contact center associates participate in BenchmarkPortal's rigorous certification process based on established scientific methods that measure operational metrics, customer satisfaction and agent satisfaction. Ameritas Group also has its own set of stringent service standards that includes ongoing training and continuing education.
Call center pioneer, founder of BenchmarkPortal and author of numerous publications, Dr. Jon Anton has dedicated his career to measuring all facets of the call center industry. He reports that only approximately 10 percent of all call centers that apply for certification actually achieve it, which makes the Center of Excellence certification one of the most coveted awards in the service and support industry.
About Ameritas Group
Ameritas Group, a division of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., a UNIFI company, has served customers since 1959 and today provides dental, eye care and hearing care products and services for more than 65,000 employer groups, insuring or administering benefits for more than 4.8 million people nationwide. Ameritas has one of the largest PPO dental networks in the country with over 160,000 provider access points. In New York, products are offered through First Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York, a UNIFI company.
About BenchmarkPortal
BenchmarkPortal is the custodian of the Purdue University Center for Customer-Driven Quality database of contact center performance metrics, the largest in the world. Founded in 1995 by Dr. Jon Anton, it provides reports, products and services for contact centers in the areas of operational metrics, customer satisfaction measurement and agent satisfaction measurement.
Ameritas Group
April Rimpley, Vice President - Group Customer Connections and Operations
Phone: (402) 309-2050
Email: email@example.com
Benchmark Portal
Sean Vierling, President of Business Development
Phone: 800.214.8929
Email: email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


text:
By Jarrod Harris
Times West Virginian
Winning with its backs against the wall.
In Friday night's Region I, Section 1 championship game, Fairmont Senior overcame all odds, while beating rival North Marion, 78-69.
After losing two games against the Huskies during the regular season, the Polar Bears managed to enter the Dawg Pound with immaculate offense and even better defense.
"We were limiting them to one-shot opportunities," Fairmont Senior's head coach Dave Retton said. "We contested shooters and we did a great job on dribble penetration. What a job our guys did in this game. It was a team effort and I can't say enough about the effort and the attitude about us competing and doing things together."
Full story


text:
This setting lets you change the way you view articles. You can choose to have articles open in a dialog window, a new tab, or directly in the same window.
Open in Dialog
Open in New Tab
Open in same window
Open in New Tab
Open in same window
American Economic Journal: Microeconomics: Vol. 5 No. 1 (February 2013)
Quick Tools:
Print Article Summary Export Citation
Sign up for Email Alerts Follow us on Twitter Subscription Information
(Institutional Administrator Access)
Competition and the Use of Foggy Pricing
Article Citation
Miravete, Eugenio J. 2013. "Competition and the Use of Foggy Pricing." American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, 5(1): 194-216.
DOI: 10.1257/mic.5.1.194
DOI: 10.1257/mic.5.1.194
Firms engage in foggy pricing when the menu of tariff options aims at profiting from consumer mistakes. The analysis of this paper concludes that the transition from monopoly to competition in the early US cellular telephone industry does not generally foster the use of such deceptive strategies. I offer three alternative measures to account for the fogginess of the menu of options offered by cellular carriers. All results are robust to the existence of uncertainty regarding future consumption at the time of choosing a particular tariff option, as well as to consumers' heterogeneity with respect to cellular telephone usage. (JEL D03, L11, L12, L13, L96)
Article Full-Text Access
Full-text Article
Additional Materials
Download Data Set (12.67 MB) | Online Appendix (212.28 KB)
Miravete, Eugenio J. (U TX)
JEL Classifications
D03: Behavioral Economics: Underlying Principles
L11: Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
L12: Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies
L13: Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
L96: Telecommunications
L11: Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
L12: Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies
L13: Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
L96: Telecommunications
View Comments on This Article (0) | Login to post a comment


text:
A recent audit has revealed that Anne Arundel County schools continue to have a disparity in the percentage of disciplinary referrals issued to African-American students.
School officials who conducted an audit of disciplinary referrals—specifically towards African-American students—presented their findings to the Anne Arundel County Board of Education on Wednesday.
Leading the audit team was Arlen Liverman, AACPS deputy superintendent of schools, and Carlesa Finney, AACPS director of equity assurance and human relations. From December 2011 to May 2012, the team conducted an "audit of student records and a review of the electronic data of discipline referrals for disrespect, insubordination, disruption and inappropriate language," according to AACPS board documents.
African-American children in Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) make up 22 percent of the total enrollment, but receive 41.1 percent of the "soft referrals" issued by county teachers, according to the auditors. The figures underscore an issue that school officials say they have been working hard to battle.
The Problems
Finney told the Board of Education that a "myriad of issues" face the county, specifically that the African-American referral rate is almost double the percentage of the demographic enrollment population. During a targeted campaign to study and "eliminate the gap" between referral disparities from December 2011 and March 2012, Finney and Liverman found that the number of "soft referrals" and "all referrals" dropped from the 2010-11 to 2011-12 school years.
But despite the drop, African-American student referrals still remained nearly twice the percentage of its total school enrollment, Finney told the school board.
"It's significantly frustrating," Maxwell told Patch. "In trying to eliminate the gap, we have to get even better with [all demographic] groups. What we can do is put a support in place to learn why we have 22 percent African-American students but 45 percent of referrals are African-American students. That's what this conversation is about."
School officials said Maxwell's office began taking a closer look at the county's referrals and "the gap" between disciplinary actions against white and black students in February 2011, but pressure was heightened just a few months later when the for "disparate treatment" of African-American students. In April 2012, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights announced its against AACPS.
Students most likely to receive referrals in AACPS are male, come from low income homes and are African-American, according to a slide presented by the auditors.
Throughout their in-depth presentation to the board, Finney and Liverman explained how their team selected 12 schools, and then chose 500 referrals to examine and specifically learn why each referral was given. During that process, Finney said they found a culture of inconsistency within the school system, especially when it came to "soft referrals"—defined as non-violent offenses that are determined by the subjective judgment of the referring teacher or administrator.
Throughout schools, children express insubordination in different ways such as rolling their eyes, huffing or pushing a book of their desk, but teacher responses to those actions were widely inconsistent in the study, Finney told Patch.
"Inconsistency in responses" was a primary problem during the audit, something the board and the auditors declared was a must-solve when moving forward to eliminating "the gap," Maxwell said.
A Systematic Approach
Liverman spent the latter parts of the presentation discussing solutions to eliminating "the gap," and consistently referenced "leadership" and "relationships" between administrators and their teachers as an essential ingredient to that cause. However, board member Deborah Ritchie said she believed more was necessary.
"If we truly want this to happen, we've got to start reaching and helping parents understand … You're talking about relationships, I never heard one time that we've got to build relationships with parents," Ritchie told the auditors.
She added that many problems faced by teachers start in places completely out of their control—like a student's home. In response, Liverman agreed but said at the heart of their proposed solution to the issue is "more support for our teachers."
"What we have found is that it takes a systematic approach—looking at our data and looking at how schools look at the students. We've never done that before," Finney told Patch. "This is a very complex issue with years and years of history."
Board member Solon Webb suggested that perhaps some members of the audit team volunteer to serve as substitute teachers at the schools with higher referral rates to truly understand the situation in AACPS classrooms. The recommendation was met with some uncomfortable fits of casual laughter.
As Wednesday's meeting concluded, Wanda Stansbury, Co-Chair of the Office of Civil Rights Committee, addressed the board.
"The issue has moved, and I really came here not so much to hear the comments from [Liverman and Finney], I really came to see your reaction because [Liverman] mentioned that how important leadership is to this issue," she said. "We can have all the great ideas … we can think of some great programs … but if the leadership isn't there we're not going to see the change. Leadership from the household to this board room."


text:
Article Highlights
- Permit applications more than double after shooting
- Town received nearly 80 permits in 3 months, beating average
- Police say residents fear Washington and/or state gun grab
In news that you probably will not hear on your nightly telecast, the Newtown, CT police department said that since the December 14th school shooting, they have received well over double the applications for gun permits compared to the same time period in previous years.
Police say the cause is primarily due to a fear that the government will take away city resident's right to own firearms.
"A good percentage of people are making it clear they think their rights are going to be taken away," said Robert Berkins, records manager for Newtown police.
Yearly, Newtown issues about 130 gun permits. Thus far, the city of about 27,000 residents has received nearly 80 permit requests through the first three months of the year, a pace that is sure to shatter the city's average. It is unclear how many permits the city has actually issued.


text:
Haydn Shaughnessy, Contributor
I write about enterprise innovation.
For Samsung it has been a beautiful year. Not only have they overtaken Apple as the biggest smartphone maker, and surpassed the iPhone, they have also been able to sit back and watch Apple's reputation implode over their mutual patent litigation.
Surely Samsung could do no wrong. But then an off-key Superbowl ad in which Samsung seemed to be ridiculing Apple once too often. And now it looks as though the Korean manufacturer is about to under-deliver on its new flagship Galaxy S4.
Samsung has been forced into a premature unveiling of the phone and judging by rumors of the S4 specs it would prefer not to be launching in Q2.
I noted earlier, according to xbitlabs:
Samsung Electronics has reportedly decided not to use its own application processor inside its next-generation Galaxy S IV flagship Google Android smartphone, but utilize a performance-mainstream system-on-chip from Qualcomm. In case Samsung's decision is real, then the Galaxy S IV will be considerably less revolutionary than it originally was expected to be.
Samsung watcher Sammobile reports:
"according to the latest rumors this processor has overheating issues."
Sammobile also reports that the S4 will have full HD screen and 13 megapixel camera but no AMOLED screen. "Samsung's AMOLED factory does have many problems with the production of full HD AMOLED screens." It has already been reported that the S4 will not have the super flexible screen technology.
If you are sitting in Cupertino reading this, reflecting on a year of tough competition, you might well conclude that you have a spare year now to get the next version of the iPhone really right.
Of course in the highly competitive smartphone market, innovation could just as easily come from Nokia or the newly announced super fast HTC One phone. But Samsung watchers and Apple watchers too, will be looking at the S4 March 14th unveiling event wondering is this the moment when the worm turned for Samsung.
You might also like to read this on Apple's online reputation problems
Or this on how its reputation problems mounted.
Apple is being taken to the wood shed by BlackBerry. A huge number of i Phone owners who were letdown by the lack of innovation are dropping it and heading for the state of the art Z10 phone. Best decision I have made in a long time.
By Blackberry? Blackberry is struggling just to disappear from the planet … Apple has completely owned them for the last two years. Blackberry is just now bringing a "modern" smart phone to market, and all market analysts I've read say that while the phone is decent, it will likely get overshadowed again by Apple, Samsung, and possibly even the Windows Phone.
I don't know where you get the wood shed idea from, but nothing in the current sales specs indicates any support for that idea.
Not sure where this guy getting his news. You have to be kidding that RIM is going to be a major player in smartphone industry. I'm going to say RIM will disappear in 3 years.
I haven't heard anyone say that either. I don't know anyone who has or wants a Blackberry as well.
While I don't agree that apple is being taken to the woodshed by blackberry, "Ben" has a solid point. I am an iPhone user and I have many friends who updated to the iPhone 5 and we are, indeed, disappointed with the lack of real, usable innovation for us end users.
I won't go for the Z10 phone myself, but I am seriously considering changing away from the iPhone unless something comes along that solves a lot of the current issues well.
I wonder which planet this author lives on when he says: "For Samsung it has been a beautiful year. Not only have they overtaken Apple as the biggest smartphone maker, and surpassed the iPhone, they have also been able to sit back and watch Apple's reputation implode over their mutual patent litigation."
Hasn't he read Cannacord's research? Last quarter:
* Apple took home 72% of total global mobile phone profits with only 21.7% of smartphone unit sales (UP from 15.4% in Q3).
* Samsung's took just 29% of global mobile phone profits from 28.9% of unit sales (DOWN from 32.3% in Q3).
* 43 cents of every dollar spent in the world on a cellphone in Q4 ended up in Apple's coffers.
* Samsung got 36 cents. Nokia got 7 cents. All the rest got less than 5.
Hasn't he read Strategy Analytics report?
Last quarter Apple SOLD 47.8m iPhones i.e. 3 TIMES AS MANY as the so called "worlds best selling' Samsung Galaxy S3, only "shipped" 15.4m. In fact Apple even sold more year old iPhone 4S: 17.4m.
As for the author's ridiculous claim that Apple's reputation "imploded" over their litigation with Samsung, he seems to overlook that Samsung was found "GUILTY" last summer and was branded an IP copy cat. As can be seen from the data quoted above it was Samsung's Galaxy sales which iIMPLODED, while the iPhone set new all sales time records.
According to Kantar Research, following the Samsung"s GUILTY verdict, the iPhone's US share of sales SOARED to 51.2%, while ALL ANDROID's share including Samsung's, PLUMMETED to just 44%. Apple's gains were confirmed by the SEC filings of US carriers.
Well said !
I know this is anecdotal but everywhere I look all I see are IPhones, including both of my kids. Everyone in my office, on the train, all the people in town etc. etc. all I see are Iphones. Actually I have noticed a few Windows phones here and there. But IPhones are by far the most common phone. Also, now that the IP4 is free on contract or upgrade there are now more.
It will be interesting to see how the Android market share goes now that the Windows phones are becoming more available at different price points and more carriers.
That HAS to be the most laconic, funniest reply to a post I have ever seen!
Our oldest daughter was freaked out when she saw reports that said the iPhone is not what teens want. She said MOM TRUST ME, everyone wants an iPhone, EVERYONE, and an iPad. I mean…seriously Mom. Okay Okay I have ears. Christmas was coming The high school looks like an ad for the iPhone.
She's right, but then lovers of good food dont go to McDonalds, KFC or Burger King, or drink Coka Cola. Use your head dont follow the icloud.
Fads come and go, people get marketing brain washed. Remener the Kings new clothes.
Nice try, but bottom line isn't all that matters. Apple price gouges its consumers into massive profits, as seen in its not so impressive top line. Furthermore, while Apple continues to sell its phones like hot cakes, new customers are increasingly buying iPhone4 and iPhone4S rather than the iPhone5. On top of that, iPhone consistently seems to fail to meet sales expectations indicating that other companies have chipped away quite significantly in its market power. And as for your claim that US sales have soared after the verdict, that would be most likely due to the repricing of the iPhone4 with the major service providers in the US. While this was happening, Samsung quickly climbed to the number 1 cell phone manufacturer globally, so clearly the verdict did increase their market shares. Basically, Apple outselling Samsung in Q4 is a testiment to the appeal of the iPhone4 and 4S in the midranged market rather than their ability to sell a top end phone.
well Samsung was found guilty in San francisco USA (Apple's birthplay) not anywhere else in the world, they lost it, anyway Apply is in the market for long time so it will take sometime to lose it as people already have the iphones and they are not replacing them soon, real test is when people go and shop the new smartphone. that is where Samsung is doing the best and giving Apple a hard time. No wonder you may see alot of iphones in the market.
You have to see the %increase in the sales of both smartphones, where I live I see Samsung has taken the lead. to me both are good phones even though I have samsung phone and tablet.
Last note on Forbes website; its freaking so slow due to over advertisements on the pages. Wierd.


text:
Roll Over Image to Magnify & Click to Zoom
Images may vary from actual product
Why Set & Save?
Just click "Add to Set & Save" when placing items in your cart.
Add almond flavor to your favorite cookie, frosting and meringue recipes. For a special treat, add 1/2 teaspoon to waffle, pancake and French toast batter. Also try a dash in coffee, hot chocolate and milkshakes.
Retail price: $4.91
Vitacost price: $3.69
20% off
Retail price: $8.06
Vitacost price: $6.37
24% off
Retail price: $4.24
Vitacost price: $3.19
25% off
Retail price: $4.79
Vitacost price: $3.59
20% off
Retail price: $5.44
Vitacost price: $4.30
25% off
Retail price: $4.79
Vitacost price: $3.59


text:
Moving your in-house IT infrastructure to a data centre or even migrating from an existing one can be a very daunting prospect. We've helped lots of our clients with this difficult process and have come up with some resources we think you might find useful.
If you can't find what you're looking for, drop us a line at firstname.lastname@example.com and we'll get back to you and maybe even add your idea to the site.
Data Centre Checklist
Comparing data centres can be difficult, especially when there are so many industry specific terms and standards flying around to bamboozle you. That's why we've come up with a handy data centre checklist for you to use. Now you really can compare apples with apples (or Dells with HPs if Macs aren't your thing).
Cost Savings Calculator
We pride ourselves on providing the services you actually need. Nothing more. Nothing less. And doing it all at a very competitive price. Check out our cost savings calculator to work out how much you could save.
Power Converters
To help you understand how much power your equipment might use in our data centres we've put together some useful tools to convert the figures given by manufacturers into info that you can work from to plan your requirements.
White Papers
While data centres are our passion, we're also interested in lots of other IT related subjects. Every once in a while we'll publish a White Paper to share our research with our clients and now you can read them too. If you're not a 4D client already, then check back here regularly as we're always uploading new articles that may be of interest to you.


text:
August 1, 2014
Posted Wednesday, October 24, 2012 --- 12:08 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have become a major issue in Wisconsin's tight Senate race, with Republican Tommy Thompson's spot questioning Democrat Tammy Baldwin's patriotism. Baldwin is firing back with her own ad calling Thompson's a disgrace.
Thompson's spot, aired Tuesday, attacks Baldwin for voting against a resolution in 2006 honoring victims of the terrorist attacks. Baldwin voted for similar resolutions nine times, but didn't in 2006 because the resolution contained endorsements of other Republican policies that Baldwin opposed.
In her response ad on Wednesday, a narrator calls Thompson's ad a disgrace. It then attacks Thompson for making $3 million from Logistics Health, a company he led that was criticized for how it handled reimbursements to 9/11 responders.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.


text:
Jonathan Salem Baskin, Contributor
I help businesses innovate, respect privacy, and build reputations.
Microsoft reported earlier this week that it had sold 60 million Windows 8 licenses since its newest operating system went on sale on October 26 last year. That's a boatload of units, though it roughly kept pace with number of PCs shipped during the fourth quarter (just under 90 million). So the idea that its sales kinda fell off the back of a truck isn't that far off. Industry analysts weren't overjoyed with holiday sales, with IDC suggesting Microsoft heavily advertised the touch capabilities of its OS while the machines on store shelves didn't always offer it.
Really? Consumers turned out in droves for that cool new Windows touch functionality?
I predicted that nobody would care about Microsoft's new OS products because the company would produce brilliantly generic marketing. They've lived down to my expectations, doing their best to tell us that Windows 8 devices work like iPads. The TV spots have been endearing little snippets of digital lifestyles that could have been sponsored by any tech brand. Even a budget north of $1 billion hasn't changed the fact that they have expertly told us nothing compelling about what they're selling.
I hate the fact that I was mostly right, wishful arguments of "it takes time" and the stark fact of 60 million unit sales aside…because Microsoft deserves so much more. Yup. I said it: not just more, but better.
Windows 8 is a revelation, at least to those of us who haven't been initiated into the ranks of all-knowing Digerati (i.e. consumers). It is a total rethinking of device interface that seems on par with the way Apple gave us icons and apps instead of a Start Menu…or maybe the very GUI on which all Macs and PCs are based. It changes the way we envision our gizmos, seeing them less as collections in our hands of things that run on our command, and more as live connectors to communities/content around us.
It's a big deal, only you wouldn't know it from the company's marketing. So here are three ways Microsoft could change its marketing, and perhaps change the world:
Stress differences, not similarities. The idea behind Windows 8 is that it's a next generation operating system that gets out of the way between people and what they want to do (or something like that). Talk about it in big, bold terms, focusing on what it does differently and demonstrating how that's better, not just more fun. It's a new way of interacting with devices that, once experienced, changes your approach forever after; it's the design bar for others, including Apple, to strive toward. In other words, talk like an industry leader, not a committee.
I would shelve all the feel-good ads and come out with really blunt, Big Picture spots about the NextGen OS (or the Last OS?). Call it "invisible" or something — maybe the punchline is that Microsoft has blown up the OS on which it was built — and give us tangible things it does (and other operating systems don't). I'd scrap all the pretty imagery on the company's home page and replace it with a fully-functioning Windows 8 simulator so people could see and play with how their PCs would be different. And touch? Zzzzz. Nice to have, but it's a cost-of-entry function at this point.
Enable new device engagement. If the tiles interface is as cool as I think it is, Microsoft should offer unique services (or access to them in unique ways) that accentuate the benefits of the interface. Offering just another way to click through to Facebook isn't such a big deal; what does Windows 8 do differently? Why aren't there proprietary tiles that aggregate functions and/or create new tools (and if there are, why the hell doesn't anybody know about them)? Spend marketing dollars on this stuff instead of pretty ads.
Here are a few thought-starters: Instead of giving kids access to the cloud, which is kinda like inviting them to walk the streets of a major city unaccompanied by an adult, create a protected kid cloud for the exclusive use of Windows 8 families. Host a massive developer contest for new tile functions or services. Create online communities and actively manage conversations on really timely stuff, like gun control, and thereby elevate the identity and status of product users to something more than just the non-Apple crowd.
Invent the industry's next pricing structure. Microsoft's pricing strategy is cutting-edge circa 1950 or so, and it gets rather Byzantine when it comes to different versions for different users (a matrix has often been invoked, which is a kiss of death for any self-respecting communicator). Scrap the traditional pricing nonsense and figure out how Windows 8 buyers could be subscribers to the OS. This would redefine how they think of it (and the brand), and it would be in keeping with the live, interactive nature of the interface.
Once the company figured out the basic pricing structure, it could come up with a way to incentivize usage and ownership over time…so that when Windows 9 comes around, people will have all but already bought it/into it. This new product should be a chance to lock folks into a lifestyle that they won't want to leave because it works so wonderfully and is priced so fairly.
There's so much Microsoft could do to truly change the world, and $1 billion could finance a lot of much. 60 million units sold might be on track with past Windows launches, but the company should be shooting for a far more successful future. Their goal should be to inspire people to flock to stores looking for the OS.
No, it should be to change the world.
UPDATE 01.15.13: News of holiday sales woes for the Surface tablet
UPDATE 01.16.13: Office 2013 will be offered as a subscription, which is a powerful idea, only leave it to Microsoft to make it come across like it's selling imprisonment.
Yeah, no subscriptions! Wait a second, that means no smartphones!
Your iPhone and Android is only "Leased" if you think about it. You rather have to:
1. Pray it lasts long enough to pay for the $500 list price
2. Pay insurance
3. Replace it every 2 years, like everybody else
We don't own our phones, nor our data (check the Apple & Google & Forbes license agreements.)
Microsoft is just falling in line with what everybody else has been doing for about half a decade.
About time, Microsoft.
Thank you for your words. Your call on the subscription model being important is a very good point, and I agree that the computing/gaming industry will continue to move that way.
The usage of personal data is a new dynamic. I see it as another way to pay for services, as watching advertisements were in the past. It seems that data collection will be another un-reimbursed revenue stream for companies, similar as advertising. I would love a percent!
LOL! One of the best belly laughs of the year about "the OS that's the perfect Christmas gift for someone you hate".
The Windows 8 Disaster Continues to Unfold, Just as Predicted: "Looks like 2013 is not going to be a good year for PC vendors." It's going to be one of the worst years in a very long time for PC vendors and retailers, and it's all because the fools stupidly drank the Windows 8 Kool-Aid.
Touch screen laptops were a miserable failure two years ago when they were promoted as the next "must have" gadget. Don't know why Microsoft thought things would be different now. No one really needs touch on a PC, and all Windows 8 does is turn a vastly overpriced touch-screen-enabled PC into a cellphone look-alike anyway. Gosh, who wouda thunk consumers wouldn't jump at a deal like that!
And does Microsoft really expect 100 million CAD/CAM designers, accountants, and other industrial content makers and knowledge workers to hold their arms up all day inaccurately poking smudges on their 42″ vertical monitors with their fat fingers, working at 1/100th the speed as before Windows 8 with 1000 times the physical effort?
Different isn't necessarily good. Ask Ford about the Edsel and Coke about New Coke. What is good is something that is better, faster, and/or cheaper than before, and Windows 8 is not any of these. Not only is Metro UI a throwback to the 1996 AOL interface, but the Metro Apps themselves have been crippled, with Live Mail no longer supporting POP3 and IE10 crippled for Flash. Oh yeah, and Windows 8 no longer plays DVDs and the Start Menu has been removed! Just can't understand why Windows 8 isn't a roaring success. Perhaps you're right and Microsoft should spend another billion on advertising promoting these differences.
Microsoft totally jumped the shark with Windows 8, and the unfolding Windows 8 disaster shows how totally out of touch Microsoft management is with reality. Steve Ballmer will be fired by the end of the year if the Microsoft board wants to have any chance of saving their company from totally clueless management.
As for the rest, maybe the next time Microsoft comes out with a "game-changing" operating system, maybe they'll take a cold hard look at reality themselves to make sure "game-changing" doesn't actually mean "game-destroying".
I've just spent the last 5 hours using Windows 8, specifically I've just spent the last 5 hours trying to install another OS alongside Widows 8 so that I don't have to use it. Windows 8 is a disaster. Everything seems to be counterintuitive. You spend ages clicking around a blank screen to try to get a response out of it. It may be flashy. It may be "the future" but it stinks for any type of productivity. Click on the office button and it asks you for *more* money to download their office suite. Don't do it. Don't reward their anti-competitive nonsense, go for LibreOffice or another free alternative (and be sure you pay a part of what you would have paid for office to the developers of these fine products). And don't get me started on "secure boot"…
What irks me more than anything about Microsoft is that included in your figures for sales is my purchase. I didn't want to buy a computer with Microsoft installed, but there really isn't any other sensibly priced options. The alternatives; Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, BSD, etc are all so much nicer to use, have a freindlier support base (composed of enthusiasts, not paid robots), and support innovation and freedom of choice.
I appreciate your reply Jonathan. But lets look at this web-page right here. Do you have a minimalist layout with no buttons or clues as to how to use the site? No. You have a drop down menu. Why? Because drop down menus *work*. They let you see where you are, where you've come from, and how to go back. Once Microsoft realise how their mistake how long will it take them to try to extract more money from people for a further "upgrade" to get you back to the Windows 7 experience? I wouldn't put it past them.
People are already making apps (e.g. http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/) and charging money to do it.
On the plus side it may make people like yourself who've never tried Linux or BSD give them a try. They are actually easier to use than Microsoft in my opinion (and in the opinion of my 82-year-old mother….)
I think you nailed it!
When I carry my Surface around I get total strangers asking me these most common questions;
1. Do you like it?
2. Is it better than an iPad?
3. What did it cost?
I answer;
- Yes, I love it
- Better? Its refreshingly different and base on the fact I do not like Apple I would say its better.
- $500 with the touch-pad.
Invariably I receive a warm reply not a cold one which tells me the marking is peaking interest but NOT driving sales.
But like Jon has stated, I am ALLWAYS pointing out the differences for those asking more questions not the similarities. I don't know how many I have convinced to try it but I am seeing more in the Starbucks I frequent and they seem happy as well.
Microsoft is definitely onto something here and like the iPad, once it takes a foothold, acquires more useful apps and people realize for the same price of an iPad their are really getting a for more powerful device this trend will shift in the companies favor.


text:
I get up later, first waking up at my usual 5:30 a.m. time, but then burrowing under the blankets like the groundhog seeing its winter shadow. I catch another hour of sleep. The cold start ensures that I switch my breakfast of soft-boiled eggs to hot granola or oatmeal with a sprinkle of leftover Thanksgiving walnuts and a splash of Half and Half cream. Finally, my morning walk through the nearby hills is later and frequently ends up at a coffee shop to warm up.
Returning recently to my apartment from a morning walk, I found that Spring had invaded with its sights, sounds, and smell! The smell emanated from the paper-whites planted in the living room window box. While I had only bought the four robust bulbs from Bowood Nursery a month before, they had all burst into bloom. Their heady fragrance filled the room with the smell of Spring!
Meanwhile, outside my paper-white garden, a flock of birds was squabbling and feasting on the red, ripe berries of an American holly tree. Robins, surely a harbinger of Spring, were everywhere! Flashes of orange and black darted in and out of the tree and I counted thirty in all.
Remembering that birds need water in cold weather as much as food, I moved the shallow, copper bird bath from the side-yard. I positioned it below the window with the paper-whites. For three days I enjoyed the robins eating their post-Thanksgiving meals.
While I was sad that the female holly was losing her Xmas berries a month early, I made a resolution. I vowed to also move the bird feeder to the front yard. I would keep it and the bird bath filled daily.
Tomorrow I head to O.K. Hatchery to buy 50 lbs of bird seed. Oh, and I may even buy another four paper-white bulbs for New Year forcing!


text:
WOOD - A memorial Mass for Charles F. "Chuck" Wood, 63, of the Wilson Road, Saranac, was celebrated Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013 at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Assumption in Redford. Chuck died Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 at his home under the loving care of his family and Hospice of the North Country. Rev. Donald F. Kramberg, parish pastor, celebrated. Eucharistic Minister was Joseph Pellerin. Musician was nephew, Paul Liberty. The crucifix was placed by grandchildren, Andrew and Allison Cutaiar. Reader was sister-in-law, Anna Lucia. Words of remembrance were offered by Scott Cutaiar. The Eucharistic gifts were presented by sister, Christine Wilson, and niece, Shana Hamel. Pallbearers were Ed Dubrey, Craig Favaro, Bill Siskavich, Mickey Vann, and Gregg Wood. The NYS flag presentation and military honors followed the Mass. A gathering followed at the American Legion Post 1618 in Saranac. Donations in his memory may be made to the Autism Alliance of Northeastern NY, P.O. Box 1884, Plattsburgh, NY 12901, or the North Country Cancer Fund, 484 Wallace Hill Road, Plattsburgh, NY, 12901. Arrangements were in the care of the Hamilton Funeral Home, 294 Mannix Road, Peru. To light an online candle and offer condolences in the memory of Chuck Wood please visit www.hamiltonfuneralhome.com
Funeral Notices
January 25, 2013
Charles F. "Chuck" Wood


text:
Division of Information Technology
PO Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372
Help Desk
Phone: 910.521.6260
Fax: 910.775.4337
Email: email@example.com Location: D.F. Lowry Building, Room 110
Main Office
Phone: 910.775.4355
Fax: 910.775.4333
Email: email@example.com Location: Carter Hall
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Division of Information Technology
910.521.6260 | email@example.com
Virtual Assessment helps UNCP evaluate what needs to be done
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke is ready for server virtualization. We received a donation from Dell with a cost avoidance of over $30,000 for labor, training and virtual assessments. During the third week of March, Dell performed Virtualization Readiness Assessments to examine the level of the current server and application usage. This process helps us understand our computing environment and what it would take to effectively implement a virtualization strategy. This is the first step toward virtualization.
What is virtualization? It is an approach to remove the applications from a direct relationship with the operating system (OS) and hardware, such as a server. The OS interacts with the hardware, and applications normally reside on top of the OS. The virtualization technology separates the OS from the hardware by simply adding another layer, called hypervisor. It imitates separate individual operating systems to many different applications residing within the same hardware. Applications are thus completely isolated from the physical hardware.
How does virtualization benefit us? Abstracting applications from the hardware will not only boost server performance, but also help us manage the server efficiently. For example, users are still able to run an application while upgrading or repairing another application. Applications can even be moved to a different server while running. Virtualization enables users to always access applications, and also time and other expenses required for maintenance are reduced.
Multiple configurations are not only limited to applications. We can create multiple operating systems – Windows and Linux, for instance -- on the same server as well. Virtualization provides us abilities to monitor and manage specific application needs with a greater flexibility. Each application requires different elements of server resources, such as processors and memory. Resources can be allocated anywhere needed at any given time.
Taking advantage of what server virtualization can offer, DoIT will be able to provide the UNCP community a wide variety of possibilities.
© The University of North Carolina at Pembroke
PO Box 1510 Pembroke, NC 28372-1510 • 910.521.6000


text:
Dave Thier, Contributor
I write about video games and technology.
Laptops could use a little sexy back. For the past few years, tech companies have been focused on tablets and smartphones, and in the meantime, a simple clamshell laptop has been relegated to workhorse status. You use it to type blog posts on planes, not to glimpse a vision of the future. Apple's Macbook is a curiosity in a company now defined by the iPad and iPhone. But today Google unveiled the Chromebook Pixel, a premium, touch-screen laptop that's betting we're not in the post-PC era yet.
Google's previous Chromebooks were budget devices aimed at people looking for a second computer. The Pixel is different — it's aimed squarely at the Macbook Air. It's a premium product designed to be a status symbol akin to an Apple product. It has a high-resolution touchscreen with a total of 4.2 million pixels that Wired calls "gorgeous." It's priced at $1,300 for a standard, 32G version and $1,450 for a Verizon LTE-enabled version with 62G.
It runs Chrome OS and it's built for the cloud – hence the small hard-drives. That might make some users uncomfortable, but I think it's a decent bet to bank on what is bound to be the near-future of personal computing in all its forms. In addition, the Chrome OS doesn't have the sort of software long-established Windows and Mac operating systems boast – that's a problem for professionals and personal users alike.
But it is cool. This machine has its own style. At least in a world where everything is a slight variation on the flattish silver box. It doesn't look like an Apple product. It's harder and more industrial. To me, this style embraces the idea of a laptop as a work machine. It certainly is arresting, in that same way brand-new Apple products sometimes are.
I'm not sure this product will jump out of its box. There are too many unknowns, from the pure reliance on cloud and the lack of software to the new OS and the pricing that beats out even Apple. The notion of having 3 Microphones is…stupid. It doesn't feel justified yet, as Darrel Ethrington writes at Tech Crunch:
"For a machine aiming at power users, it's a device surprisingly devoid of power features. ChromeOS is, for all its strengths, still essentially a browser, after all. This thing can't run Photoshop, which you'd be able to do no problem if you spend $100 less and get a 13-inch MacBook Air. It can play back movies on that gorgeous screen, but not in as many file formats or with as much ease as you could manage with a Lenovo Yoga 13, also cheaper at $1,049."
It's still exciting. This isn't always a purely logical market — witness the power of "the Apple tax." This feels like it could be anything-but-cautious beginning of serious Google computers. Between the sci-fi future of Project Glass and this intriguing new Pixel, I find myself getting more and more excited about Google hardware.
Also on Forbes:
Google already gives EVERYBODY free unlimited storage for files that are in Google Docs format.
I own it. You can read my review on the blog linked in my profile. If you have the financial means, I highly suggest getting one.
Looks like another macbook copy to me…
Not only that, look at their website. It is a complete unabashed ripoff of Apple's website. Quite brazen in my opinion…and a real turnoff to me.
After 40+ YEARS CrApple STILL ONLY has 6% World Wide market share in OS and computer hardware, while MSFT STILL OWNS the OS market with 91% ….. You tell me how "suck sessful" CrApple has been!????
Bwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha …..
Meanwhile, iFads have been around for 5 years and in 2 years, Google with Android has caught up to the iFAD and THREE MAJOR reseach companies (Neilsen, Gartner and CoreMetrics) say Android Tablets will be the majority Market share holder.
Samsung with Andoid Cell Phone OS has ALREADY eaten iPhony's ass in market share and ongoing sales.
Therefore, reason has it that CrApple is DECLINING and Google will take its place in computers too.
Why is this trolling loser still allowed to post his idiotic garbage on this site. Doesn't speak very highly of Forbes to give ranting morons like this free rein.
Apple has never made a product of this quality.
'Google's Chromebook Pixel Looks Cooler Than an Apple Product'
really? says you? sorry, not convinced…
The Mac Pro is cooler than this piece of junk.
Bet the chromebook doesn't run Microsoft Office! Meaning its only a internet toy not a real work horse!


text:
President Obama picked the Los Angeles Lakers to defeat the Orlando Magic for the NBA Championship, moments before leaving for Saudi Arabia.
Obama, who is a big basketball fan, was asked who he expects to win as he walked out of the White House on his way to the Marine One helicopter.
Over the loud whine of the chopper, Obama stopped, took a few steps back toward reporters, and said, "Lakers in six."
Obama will arrive in Riyadh Wednesday for meetings with King Abdullah before heading to Egypt Thursday for a much anticipated speech to the Muslim world.
Game one of the finals, in Los Angeles, will tip off at 9 p.m. Eastern on Thursday night.
— Jon Ward, White House reporter, The Washington Times
Follow me on Twitter // email@example.com // Read my latest articles here // My YouTube channel


text:
Home | Advertise | About | Contact
Sign In
Reader Comments (0) Print
By Shelly Pope
August 23, 2012 | Vol. 39, No. 34
Petersburg City Manager Stephen Giesbrecht, along with Parks and Recreation Director Donn Hayes are researching renewable energy grants to lower utility costs for community buildings including the hospital, schools and municipal buildings.
"Donnie has taken the lead on this project," Giesbrecht said. "We are encouraged that this will help save the city money in the long run."
The Petersburg Harbor Advisory Board and PND met recently to discuss the details on the North Harbor project with the group giving direction to PND for the preferred alternatives to get the project back on budget.
"The proposed alternative will initially reduce the number of stalls by phasing them in later," Giesbrecht said. "And they will eliminate some of the three phase electricity upgrades."
Public Works Director Karl Hagerman and Assistant Director Chris Cotta have submitted numerous Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, ADEC, grant applications for the various water and wastewater projects on the project list.
"These grants will include the pump station 1 force main, water/sewer reconstruction phase two on Valkyrie, Aaslaug, Lake, Fram, 3rd, Excel, Gjoa and 8th Streets," Giesbrecht stated. "As well as, the Scow Bay pump station, Kiseno Sewer, Haugen Drive Sewer upgrades and the Landfill Stabilization project."
The downtown paving project is scheduled to begin in early September with the contractor mobilizing by Sept. 4.
"This will be a big challenge to the Public Works Department, keeping this crew on schedule," Giesbrecht stated. "We are hoping they will be finished early because we don't want a problem like the one they have in Wrangell."
Petersburg Pilot | P.O. Box 930, Petersburg, AK 99833
Ph: (907) 772-9393 | firstname.lastname@example.com | www.petersburgpilot.com Content and information copyright 2014 Pilot Publishing, Inc.
Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software
© Copyright 2014 Lions Light Corp.
— Software for newspapers & magazines


text:
Insights and ideas for technology leaders.
Guest post written by Gilad de Vries
Gilad de Vries is vice president, brands and agencies, at Outbrain, a content discovery platform. Previously, he was a principal at Carmel Ventures, an Israeli venture firm.
There are very few things that get venture capitalists excited, and even fewer things that make them want to leave the safety of their ivory towers. I know, because I used to be one. As the vice president of digital media at a VC firm, I spent my days looking at digital advertising from 50,000 feet, analyzing trends and identifying market opportunities. One day, I gave it all up to return to the hectic roller coaster that is life at a startup. Why? The answer is simple. I saw an opportunity to be part of a revolution and to solve a serious need in the online advertising industry.
By and large, advertisers are missing the boat when it comes to using digital ads for branding. Far too many dollars are flowing into display ads, which are incredibly weak branding vehicles. You can add all the bells and whistles you want to banner ads, but they'll never truly create the kind of emotional experience that gets consumers excited about your brand.
Don't believe me? Try this quick exercise. What was the last great commercial you saw? Any come to mind? I'm sure several do. Now close your eyes and try to tell me about a display ad you saw lately. Anything? Hard, isn't it? That's because it's almost impossible to tell a story in a banner. Don't get me wrong: I don't think display advertising is bad. It's just not great for top-of-funnel, true branding. No matter how much bigger or better we make these banners, readers continue to be impervious to them.
On its surface, this may seem like a small, isolated problem. But it's a large part of what's holding back growth in the online advertising business. By some estimates, the gap between online ad spending and consumption of digital media is already as much as $20B. Without effective options for driving brand awareness, the industry will continue to be stifled, as media buyers revert to tried-and-true options like the 30-second TV spot.
The bottom line is that there is only one true branding mechanism online and that's content marketing. What makes me so certain? Well, for starters, content marketing enables brands to share their story in long form and in their own words. An incredible sea of change in the way information is shared and distrbuted online means that for the first time ever, any brand can create its own content affordably and at scale. The story can come in the form of blogs, articles, reviews, ebooks or videos. It can be low-cost or it can be professionally produced. But let's be clear: we're not talking about ads! It's real, interesting content that delivers informational or entertainment value.
Content marketing is a strategy with two obvious pillars: content and marketing. 'Content' means the creation of original content or the curation of content for the benefit of your audience. 'Marketing' means getting people to discover and engage with your content.
One cannot live without the other. Creating content for SEO, for example, is not content marketing. It's content waiting. You need to get out there and actively get your content discovered, and you have to do it in a subtle way, without pushing it down people's throats or interrupting them with push advertising. Content marketing should be a pull strategy — a strategy that allows people to discover you, rather than you crashing their party.
The good news is that there's already plenty of inspiration to draw from. Just check out some of P&G's content sites, such as BeingGirl.com, Man Of The House and Home Made Simple. Browse the great recipes at General Mills' Tablespoon.com or Kraft's KraftRecipes.com. Get some quality advice from Liberty Mutual's Responsibility Project or the Allstate blog.
Just like search was a decade ago and social was five years ago, content marketing is the next digital media revolution.
I'm not sure if most marketers who defends banner ads do it only because they make money managing their customers' budget, but they need to read more of this kind of articles.
In our Word of Mouth Marketing trainings, we always ask people to mention at least five of the banner ads they saw the last time they get online. In most groups (20 people avg), 1 or maybe 2 of them remember one or two banners. And when we have exceptions (someone remembering 3 or 4), it's because he/she is a marketer.
Great article! You make me write a short post about it.
Totally makes sense to use content for telling users your story, to establish yourselves as thought leaders in the space and ability to create awesome experiences for the user.
The 'marketing' is probably more tricky to get your content in front of the right users especially if you're a start up just starting out. Social media works only if you have the followers – but how do you build up the followers with whom you can then share your content with by merely using a 'pull' strategy? Any thoughts?
Short, sweet and memorable — exactly what Content Marketing needs to be and what Display Advertising is not. Excellent article!
Its just the matter of time..After couple of months it will be back to normal..
Great article Gilad. I would take it one step further…what's holding back the growth of online advertising, and advertising in general, is a lack of quality content. People don't like commercials (hence Tivo) just as much as they don't like banner ads. If brands offered better content, across the board, customers would be more engaged with them. We can get to the moon, but Super Bowl Sunday is the only day of the year we can create advertising content viewers actually want to see!? I started a company called Idea Marketplace (www.ideamarketplace.com) that attempts to solve this problem by allowing anyone with a great idea (say for a new commercial) to safely sell it to the brand that could use it…thus maximizing our entire innovative potential.
Content marketing = the band played on.
If you think that an ad is effective only if it can be consciously recalled, then — to be blunt — you've no understanding of advertising. Banner ads are a great way to repeat a message and also to direct visitors to a content portal.
If it wasn't so sad it'd be funny that nearly five decades after McLuhan's Understanding Media anybody would seriously discuss not noticing ads. This is like a fish trying to disprove the existence of water with the argument that it's not part of awareness. That exactly is the defining power.
Great artilce.
As a small business owner I agree wholeheartedly.
Internet Advertising is like "The Emperor has no clothes"
The rates for banner ads are far too high.
I read that a good click through rate is 0.37%
That is pathetic if it is true.
Who can pay good money for that ?
Online content is a good idea.
But how do you get people to read it in the first place ?
People only have so much internet time.
Where are they now ebay ? Facebook ? Pinterest ? Waneloo ?
I slightly disagree , Display ads are supplementary /or part of a bigger campaign . There will be no brands if there are no cohesive ad campaign – it is an ongoing activity – constantly reminding the public of the brands' benefits ,etc.
At the other times – ads do not appeal to a particular group because they are not the market being targeted – that is why they cannot relate.
Display ads cannot stand alone – to sustain a brand.
Brand awareness is very costly..


text:
Managing Day-to-Day Employee Performance
Clear Performance Expectations in Team Building
Clear performance expectations are a critical factor in teamwork success. Whether your goal is to develop a project team, your departmental team, or a sense of teamwork company-wide, clear performance expectations support teamwork success. Use clear performance expectations to help your employees develop accountable, productive, meaningful,...
Performance Improvement Strategies
Are you responsible for supervising the work of other employees? If so, you have a challenge. But, performance improvement coaching - done well - will improve the employee's contributions.
Coaching for Improved Performance
Looking for a step-by-step coaching approach that you can use to help employees improve their work performance? This recommended approach avoids discipline and produces great results. Take a look and try it. Managers report the approach works to improve everyday performance.
Use Performance Management to Help People Succeed and Improve
Ready to change your approach to performance review? You can improve productivity, motivation, and morale by handling performance management and development in new ways.
You Get What You Request and Reward
Performance management encompasses the important people issues in your organization. Performance management includes the entire relationship you have with the people you employ. Performance management is a whole work system that begins when you define a job. Learn more.
Talent On-the-Bubble: Addressing Human Behavior at Work
One of the great lessons from Talent IQ is that the performance of talent gone awry is very seriously under-addressed in organizational life. Called "Talent On-the-Bubble,†a pattern of human behavior was identified that can take any organization and its leadership team down if left untended. Talent On-the-Bubble can make a mockery of...
10 Tips For Taking Yourself Seriously, So Your Employees Do, Too
Looking for quick tips about how to set a positive example for staff members by taking the impact of your role as "boss" seriously? You've found ten tips here.
Top 10 Principles of Employee Empowerment
Looking for real management advice about people? You want to create an environment in which people are empowered, productive, and happy. Don't hobble them by limiting their tools or information. Trust them to do the right thing. These are the most important principles for managing people. They reinforce employee empowerment, accomplishment, and...
Provide Feedback That Has an Impact
Employees respond positively to feedback that is provided with the intention of helping the employee succeed. Use these tips to have your desired impact on employee performance.
The Awesome Power of Goal Setting
Heed the advice offered by Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, and Stephen Covey. When you begin your new year with solid direction and desired outcomes in mind, you set yourself up for awesome success. The new year is a beginning, so new goals and resolutions fuel your thoughts. These tips will help you achieve your goals...
Tips for Effective Coaching
Want to know how to coach employees so that they succeed in their every day performance? These tips will help you know how to effectively help employees perform and grow.
Tips for Effective Delegation as a Leadership Style
Employee performance can be improved. One of the best ways is to delegate so that the employee has the opportunity to grow and develop skills. Find out how.
Nix Political Discussion at Work
In a workplace that honors diversity, every person's politics, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and opinions about non-work issues, should, for the most part stay home. Unless you work in a setting that is dependant on a particular set of beliefs, political discussion potentially causes conflict and hard feelings. Nix politics and political...
Hostile Work Environment: What Makes a Work Environment Hostile?
What makes a work environment hostile? Legal requirements exist. They don't help employees with bad bosses, bullying or disrespect. Here are guidelines that describe a hostile work environment.
Performance Consulting, Measurement, and Improvement Books
Effective performance consulting and training can provide big payoffs for the employer in increased staff productivity, knowledge, loyalty, and contribution. These resources increase your ability to do performance consulting, measure performance improvement, and provide resultant training using internal staff. Increase your self-sufficiency in performance consulting and improvement.
Performance Improvement - Performance Improvement for Managers
You've worked hard to help a manager with performance improvement, but the manager is failing at your suggestions for performance improvement. At what point do you decide that you've had enough? The manager is not improving and, based on your coaching experience, you don't have faith that they can or will. The manager's potential to negatively impact other employees and your organization is…
How to Give Good Feedback
Knowing how to give effective feedback can make or break performance feedback, according to this "Fast Company" article. Good pointers.


text:
Erik Kain, Contributor
I write about video games: the industry and the culture.
Industry leaders approve of Microsoft Microsoft's policy reversals on the Xbox One, but the $499 price-tag may still be a problem.
In the days leading up to E3, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) revealed its new policies regarding used game sales and a required internet connection for its upcoming next-generation video game console, the Xbox One.
The handicapping of used game sales and the requirement to log in to the internet every 24 hours struck many as unfriendly to consumers, and especially lower-income consumers who might have poor internet connections.
Xbox One owners would be able to sell used games at the discretion of game publishers, and would have new lending restrictions on games—though these new restrictions came with the new ability to lend digital games, something currently not available on most platforms.
The new restrictions were grim news for game retailer GameStop GameStop (NASDAQ:GME) casting a shadow over the company's big used-game business.
Then at E3, Sony Sony announced that it would make no similar policy changes. Used games would be handled the same as ever, and no internet connection would be required to play offline games, though a subscription to PlayStation Plus would be required for online gaming.
The crowd, quite literally, went wild:
Notably, Sony's positive reception was for making no changes at all. Had Microsoft not already set the stage with new used game policies, there would have been no thunder for Sony to steal in the first place.
Still, Microsoft paid close attention to the fan and critical response, and one thing was undeniably clear: in this lap of the console wars, Sony was giving the Xbox One a run for its money.
Days later, Microsoft announced that it was reversing its policies entirely, stripping away the 24-hour online log in requirement, and reverting the used game and game-lending policy back to the status quo.
"I think consumers didn't like their approach, so the fact they went back and listened to the consumers and gave them something different is a good move to ensure the new consoles [achieve] their potential," Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot told GamesIndustry International.
GameStop agreed, and saw an immediate boost following Microsoft's capitulation on used games.
"GameStop welcomes today's announcement from Microsoft about changes in functionality for its next-generation console, the Xbox One," the company said in a statement.
"This is great news for gamers and we applaud Microsoft for understanding consumers and the importance of the preowned market."
For many consumers, this reversal may be too little, too late, however. For one thing, the Xbox One still clocks in at $499—$100 more than the PS4.
"If you do a focus group of a gazillion people and you show them two prices for two competitive products, 100 percent always prefer the lower price," Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg told GamesIndustry International, going on to note that "Microsoft is going to have to win the hearts and minds and convince people that the higher price point is worth it, and that it provides really meaningful capabilities that will be meaningful to consumers."
Part of that is convincing consumers that the required Kinect 2.0 is worth the extra cash. Sony opted to not include its own Move Move motion sensor with the PS4 bundle, even though the new DualShock 4 controllers have built in Move capabilities, selling it as a $59.99 peripheral instead.
IGN's Scott Lowe argues that sacrificing the PS4′s camera to beat Microsoft's price will create "a climate of codependency wherein PlayStation 4 camera adoption will hinge upon compelling software, but compelling software will only arrive after PlayStation 4 camera adoption."
The Kinect, meanwhile, will see greater developer support from the get-go thanks to its mandatory inclusion.
Sony is banking on the old-fashioned notion that demand will drive adoption of a quality product, not the other way around.
That other notion—that "100 percent always prefer the lower price" as Activision's Hirshberg put it—has continued to keep the PlayStation 4 out in front of its primary rival.
The question now is whether Microsoft will find a way to bring a lower-cost console to market in time for the holidays, or whether the big gamble on the Kinect 2.0 will pay off.
Follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Read my Forbes blog here.
Related on Forbes:
That's Marketing 101… "Bundling".
Hmm, I thought $499 was the average price for a TV that size.
After they justify the price they MUST remove that Orwellian Kinect camera. I do not want a device that constantly monitors me while I use the machine…
It doesn't "monitor" you, it let's you choose how it functions on set-up, you can turn it off completely and as long as you're not trying to play a game that uses Kinect functions you've NO reqirement to use it at all.
Now, if you don't want it or you prefer Sony or PCs then go and buy whatever you prefer but stop making false statements, there's already enough FUD floating around the internet.
How about this for a false statment Anon , Kinect is on the same level as a webcam , you cant remove it though. So it is a vulnerability in the system itself to get hacked if you play online , and i wont be surprised when Xbox Live faces a big hack like PSN did after Xbone comes out.
It has been stated that the xbox1 will not operate without the Kinect
Check again. It says the Kinect has to be connected to the Xbox One. You can still turn it off. You don't ever have to use the Kinect.
I could actually stomach the $499 tag for the box. It's charging me $60 for a half-a$$ed game and expecting me to pay an additional $20-$50 for the "season pass" to play the rest of it that pi$$es me off. No thanks… I'll skip the hype and the waiting in line for the Platinum Edition; $20 with all the DLC already on it.
So gamers will pay an extra $100 to induce developer support of kinect because of mandatory addition? So who's going to keep this extra money, Microsoft or the dev?
Microsoft might have "given in" on a couple of demands, but their arrogance is still running rampant. It is their arrogance which breeds discontempt from their consumer base.
No backwards compatibility, charging more for inferior hardware, no transfer of arcade purchases (an awful sign for any future of digital distro w/ them) always-on spy device.
And lest we forget their label of "Xbox One" implies that the first two consoles are utterly meaningless to them, and that nothing before now mattered, because they are just that amazing. God's gift to the gaming world.
Get over yourself, Microsoft.
We already have, adios!


text:
Community Health Centers of Arkansas will hold its 2014 Annual Conference on November 13 at a location to be decided later in Little Rock, Arkansas.
This year's event is a one-day program, and planning is in the process! Be sure to stay tuned for more details.
Spots are open for exhibitors or sponsors. To take advantage of either, call Sandi Ganus at 501-374-8225 extension 102 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe was in the national news recently in regards to his feelings of the future of the Private Option.
An Associated Press news article told of the Governor speaking at the Delta Grassroots Caucus' recent conference in Little Rock. During that meeting, Beebe said he was "cautiously optimistic," according to the Associated Press story, that Arkansas would keep the Private Option in 2015.
Community Health Centers of Arkansas, Arkansas' Primary Care Association, has changed locations.


text:
I love to travel. I've been to more than half of the United States (including an absolutely amazing trip to Alaska), Canada, Spain, and Italy. Part of the attraction of my job is the travel I get to do. But traveling to junior college basketball towns is a completely different beast.
Take last week. The Blackhawks had a Saturday game in Vincennes, Ind., and a Monday game in Poplar Bluff, Mo. From the time I left Saturday morning to my return to Burlington Tuesday evening, I had covered 1,018.9 miles. The worst part of the trip is always the final day on the way home. By that time I am sick of driving and just want to get out of the car! I will have three days of relative idleness before heading off to Marshalltown Saturday afternoon. And things just get better from there. Here's the rest of the January schedule — Freeport, Ill., the following Tuesday; Council Bluffs the next Saturday; Kankakee, Ill., on Jan. 29. I can't wait to see how many miles the Blackhawks and I cover during the month.
The insane mileage and hours in the car added up to two losses for SCC. The Trailblazers took it to the Blackhawks right away and the Blackhawks just did not play with much intensity or fire. Give Vincennes credit, though. The Trailblazers are a very good team who had to overcome the loss of a couple of their best players. The victory helped Vincennes climbed back into the Top 25 this week, earning them a tie for 16th.
The game at Three Rivers brought back some interesting memories for me. I was in my first season covering SCC when the Blackhawks traveled to Poplar Bluff for the District 11 game and the chance to go to the NJCAA National Tournament. SCC won that game convincingly, the first time the team had ever won at the Bess Activity Center, and went on to its first national championship. It was on the way home from that game that Loren Walker suffered a heart attack. He died days later as the team was on its way to Hutch. There was very little memorable about this trip to Missouri, the first time the Blackhawks had played the Raiders since 2000. SCC stayed in the game early, but turnovers and a miserable second-half offensive showing sent Three Rivers to the victory.
The Blackhawks — I almost called them 'young' but really can't anymore with half the season under their belts — open the Region XI season Saturday against the struggling Tigers. Marshalltown lost a number of players earlier in the season yet somehow has compiled a 10-8 record. The Blackhawks quickly need to fix their road woes — they have just one road win to their credit — because even one loss in the region is a tough hole from which to climb out.


text:
Join 500,000+ artists on ConceptArt.Org.
Its' free and it takes less than 10 seconds!
A_Knight's_Art ~Thank you!
An illustration "Massive Destructive policy"
& Portrait of my wife
Hey Sony thanks for stopping by my sketchbook. I would agree with you about me using 2 or 3 strokes to create an image, but everytime I've tried it felt unfinished so I had to work more on it.
I really like what you have going on in your sketchbook, very disverse & inspiring stuff. I will have to keep my eye on this thread for updates. I particulary like your portraits.
Keep em coming.
Always looking for feedback, so feel free to stop by any of these, cheers.
RIOX: Thanks
Which color palette is better?
I like the cartoon stuff and the raven kicks ass.
keep it up.
Tenminutedrawing - awesome learn to draw series http://www.youtube.com/user/moatddtutorials
A short list of my favorite tutorials http://surfandsnow.deviantart.com/journal/22269212/
My Sketchbook
new landscape is pretty good!
surfandsnow: I will update cartoon too soon
Manvin: Yes I really like the traditional feel, am trying to do more traditional stuff with the digital brush.
thanks for comments guys
very nice portraits, I like how simple yet effective they look
My Sketchbook
BlackDelphin IceCold
"There are no miracles, no tricks or secrets, only hard work. "
portraits looks good , interesting .
On And On , I Am Cursed To Live Cursed With Life Until I Have Done What Done What Must Be Done . . . I Am The Man Who Would Not Die .
My Sketchbook / Friends : Teapo / PaintMyBrain / DeJakhalz
Danny_K & raminafshari: Thanks guys!
Portraits are coming along nicely! I like the traditional medium look you've got going lately
Thanks a lot monstertree
Not bad for a 2.5 hour work what you guys say
Last edited by sony; May 15th, 2011 at 07:47 AM.
2 hours of work, Its from Bergen Public Library's archives of photographs referenced
I am trying to achieve as traditional look as real in oil
Portrait from Bergen Public Library's archives of photographs referenced and
Typography and flora from a friends photograph at flickr.com Ziamma78
Impressive stuff! Theres a nice feel of traditional painting in some of them. Keep up the good work!
Very nice studies duuuude!
alexson & Jamesy: Thanks guys
Been super busy at work. scanned almost 100 pages these are some of the pen style am working now.
Nice linework! some of your poses are a bit wonky though.
just keep at it
I am Available for freelance
DStraX: hahaha Working on the poses
A portrait of young girl lost in reminisce of agony
Such an amazing artist Henry Mosler's; loved the tones & tried to learn from the master, portrait named Young Indian Woman
Thanks for dropping by my SB.
I really like your grayscale and portrait studies !! Look forward for more
*= MY Sketchbook =*
Friends in CA : Sin Eater
Thank you for stopping by my sketchbook! I must say your portraits are very impressive, Im in fact on a mission to improve my faces (hence the name faces of dread) and your portraits are an inspiration to me. I'll keep this for reference!
Check out my sketchbook
Interesting epic sketchbook this is. You have some
quite neat illustrations on these five pages, and
I like the ink drawings above. You have a cool blog
also, I just visited. You should update more often
however, I think the people would appreciate that here.
Take care and good luck in your further work. Cheers.
In search for a Freelance work
nice your work reminds of league of Extrodinary Gentlemen !
Deviant art
fenixx: Thanks mate!
Smallergod: Thats an honor!!!
LtPlissken: Wish to update but some thing holds me back from pushing that submit button, may be thats inner satisfaction, I should update more thanks for the encouragement. thanks for the wish Cheers
Born: I had never seen those comics before you mentioned this, but when i googled it i found you so right, anyway i think its a good thing
here's some stuff been in my mac time to upload!
Great studies and stuff in general! The ink with a scrapyard with a boat in it is definitely a favorite
Great pen drawings sony. I think your sense of form is improving loads, and you are drawing and painting much more economically now. I think you can also see that in the second image of post #144, although perhaps you didn't like that one yourself. Good sense of shape, especially the face.
I also like the illustration in post #121, fun to see graphic design all of the sudden! Always fun to see so many different things in your sketchbook.
Join the SPARTAN CAMP under Community Activities
50 Gestures and an Optional Study every week!
Totally agree with Anthis^ the pen drawings are really great, and they are obviously teaching you loads about economy with your mark making, which really shows if you compare the last digipaint with one as few as 5 back! Keep sharing man.
Very good cross-hatching style, nice portraits. Solid work Sony!
Blunderguffer: that's my fav too
monstertree: economy is the key you know thanks
lennon: cheers


text:
With the same classic styling and the all-day comfort features you love in the Dansko® Professional, the Pro XP Clog offers a lighter weight construction.
Dover's Price:
Shoes & Clogs
Shop our wide selection of casual shoes, clogs and flip flops. Shop shoes from Ariat, Dansko, Goode Rider and EMU. All the shoes you need for barn and town for every season. Quality shoes, clogs and boots with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.


text:
Report Media
Please select your reason for reporting this video as inappropriate from the buttons below.
If you own this video and believe it has been uploaded without consent click here to submit a copyright infringement notice.
Login to Rate This Video!
Media URL:
Embed Player:
No math. No science. Just fucking! This latest from Innocent High features an all star teen cast, and they're working their little bodies to the fucking limits to get you off!


text:
..HB-547 May Legalize the Sweepstakes Cafe Business in North Carolina..
Charlotte, NC – Upon reflection, 2013 may be remembered as the year when law enforcement began enforcing the state's ban on internet sweepstakes game-rooms, but as for 2014, the games are back running strong in certain parts of the state, partly due to the function of the games and the legality of some games are unclear. The N.C. Supreme Court upheld the latest legislation taking aim at the gaming industry but Internet sweepstakes operators have been able to tweak their software to follow the letter of laws aimed at putting them out of business. The latest 'tweak' is a software called PreReveal Sweepstakes, where the customer doesn't enter the sweepstakes in a manner that HB-80 descibes as illegal nor does the games 'reveal' in a manner that the law describes as illegal. The court challenges and victories for the sweepstakes industry happen on a regular basis. Internet sweepstakes operators continue to fight the state in court, and their chances of reopening increase with every software change and appeal. Casey Rooks, a spokesperson for Carolina Sweepstakes Group says "It's pretty simple, laws have definitions and if the action does not fit the definition then there's no violation, some call this 'circumventing the law' but we look at it like going 54mph in a 55mph zone, in this instance, the preReveal games were launched years before the sweepstakes ban law went into effect and they do not violate the text as it is written" If the Supreme Court's 2012 ruling can keep Internet sweepstakes
cafes closed once and for all, then the N.C. General Assembly succeeded where 20+ years of legislatures have failed but since the gaming industry has so many different types of video games, its hard to 'outlaw' them all. But if the internet sweepstakes industry finds enough loopholes and concessions to reopen cafes, then perhaps it's time for North Carolina lawmakers to look for ways to tax and regulate the industry (SEE HB-547). HB-547 takes steps to finally get the NC gaming industry under control, Sponsors Wray, Collins, Floyd, Lucas, Malone, Richardson, Szoka have taken steps to in ending the confusion. The North Carolina educational lottery and Internet sweepstakes seem to prey upon people who can least afford to gamble away their paychecks. But since its going to happen either way, NC should put some of that money to good use in schools and other areas of need.


text:
Latest Updates
July 10, 2014
The Ethiopian authorities must halt their continuing onslaught on dissent, Amnesty International said today, after the arrest of four more opposition party members this week, who are believed to be at...
July 10, 2014
Refugees in Nairobi are appealing against a controversial ruling that would force thousands of Somalis from their homes to live in squalid overcrowded camps in north Kenya.
July 10, 2014
The sentencing of five media workers in Myanmar each to 10 years' imprisonment with hard labour for "disclosing state secrets" makes today a dark day for freedom of expression in the country.
Press Release
July 9, 2014
Revelations today in The Intercept about the apparently arbitrary surveillance of several prominent American Muslims underscore the lack of safeguards to protect the rights of persons targeted by U...
More Amnesty News and Multimedia
Music and the Arts
Musicians and artists worldwide have been a vital part of Amnesty International's global efforts to bring human rights to every man, woman and child in the world.


text:
Bart Doan
SPEEDWAY — A hot rod invasion took over Indianapolis Motor Speedway this past weekend as the Goodguys Speedway Nationals made its second stop at the world's most hallowed racing grounds.
The weekend featured the customary mega car show, a chance for entrants to drive their rides around the track, vendor booths, and a new event called the Auto Cross.
Since moving the event from what is now Lucas Oil Raceway Park, the pull of IMS has been felt.
"You're at the racing capitol of the world," said Harry Daviess, vice president of events and operations for Goodguys. "It's a great venue, layout wise, for parking, and if it does rain, it's not all grass and mud."
Part of the newfound allure of the event is the opportunity to drive around the track, a significant moment even for veterans of the Goodguys circuit.
"I really had a rush getting on the track for the first time," said Rod Gordon of Iron Mountain, Mich., who, with his wife Cynthia brought their 1962 Chevy Bel Air to the show. "Last year we had our Corvette here. This year is great. We're going to do it again, that's for sure."
The event transformed from their track cruise, which they had been doing for 21 years at LORP.
Weather caused the shift to IMS.
"We had rain. Lots of rain," Daviess said. "We got rained on like six years in a row, so attendance was dropping. So we were just looking for a change. At the time, they didn't do special events here. They did their races — the 500, the Brickyard, and the Moto GP. Well, the economy kind of took a dump as we all know, and a lot of these facilities like IMS saw the opportunity to do special events. After years of bad rain at the drag strip, we decided to pull the trigger and make the change. It wasn't an easy decision, but we think we made the right one."
For Betsy Bennett of Goodguys, the Speedway Nationals is a homecoming of sorts, as she grew up in Brownsburg and then Greencastle before finding her way out to California.
"It's pretty amazing to be able to do an event at IMS," she said. "I think it's a privilege for us to be able to be here. This is the racing capitol of the world, and this is the track to be at. I enjoy coming back and just being a part of the history that is here. The backdrop of it is cool, with IMS, the history of racing, and every car guy I know is also a fan of racing so I think that magic of coming to IMS and having this event is cool for them."
The new Auto Cross event at this year's show took center stage. There, entrants into the show got the chance to go through a timed obstacle course, showcasing their cars on the move, as well as their driving skills. The event was free for entrants.
Daviess said there were many upgradings to this year's show.
"What I've seen a big improvement with is our builder's choice area," he said. "The high end cars that come for the top 10 of the event has really had a resurgence since we've come here, so there's that for people to see.
"The Auto Cross is a huge feature as well. Rebuilding the used auto swap meet is part of our move as well. Then there's being able to park on pit road, or people getting into the infield of the Speedway, which is something you normally can't do."
More information on the Goodguys Rod and Custom Association tour may be found online at www.good-guys.com.


text:
Chris Peterson worships the music of The Grateful Dead. Marty Taucher is a Dave Matthews Band fan. Peterson and Taucher met at , where Peterson rose to winemaker and Taucher volunteered during the 2009 harvest.
Despite their diverging musical tastes, Peterson and Taucher struck a chord and have gone into business together. Taucher founded Woodinville-based Avennia Winery in 2010. Peterson consulted during the 2010 harvest before leaving DeLille in May 2011 to become the full-time winemaker at Avennia.
They are currently selling their first wines (a Sauvignon Blanc, two Syrahs and two Bordeaux-style blends) to be released next fall and winter.
Peterson and Taucher eventually agreed on Miles Davis to bridge their musical gap. Seemingly, Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool inspired the birth of their winery.
"Miles is always OK at the winery," Peterson said.
Taucher bonded with Peterson over music and gained an appreciation for his winemaking style.
"I knew we both had a deep-rooted appreciation for music," Taucher said. "His thoughtfulness about music and his rigorous commitment to dissecting it gave me insight into Chris as a winemaker. He pays attention to detail."
Taucher went to work at Microsoft in 1984, early in the history of the software giant. He retired in 1999 to spend more time with his two boys. He was the Boy Scout leader for his children's troops.
"It is hard to work at Microsoft and be involved with your family," Taucher said.
He dedicated more time to civic work, serving as president of the Seattle Repertory Theatre board of directors. He also worked with a few technology startups.
As his youngest son was ready to graduate high school, Taucher started thinking about the next phase of his life.
"I like to play drums and I like wine," Taucher said. "I wasn't going to play drums for a living."
Committed to start a winery, Taucher set out to learn as much as he could. He enrolled in the Northwest Wine Academy at South Seattle Community College in the fall of 2009 but it was too late to start the wine making curriculum. Instead, he enrolled in the wine marketing and sales program and volunteered at DeLille to learn as much as he could about wine making.
Peterson earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington. He would go on to become the first graduate of Walla Walla Community College's Enology and Viticulture program in 2003. He made wine at DeLille Cellars for seven years, picking up weekend shifts in between at McCarthy & Schiering, the wine retailer with stores in Seattle's Queen Anne and Ravenna neighborhoods.
With Taucher's wealth and Peterson's winemaking wisdom they have teamed up to make elegant and balanced wines with fruit from venerable sources such as Boushey Vineyards, Bacchus, Red Willow and Klipsun.
Taucher had to prove to Peterson that he was serious about owning a winery. Work ethic and commitment has never been an issue for the ambitious Taucher.
"I volunteered at DeLille with the specific goal of owning a winery," Taucher recalls. "I've never done anything without being thoughtful. I didn't want to be frivolous.
"I hadn't put together a résumé in a long time. I was a raw, naked rookie. I think I made an impression on Chris with my seriousness."
Avennia's first releases are uniformly, shall I say, harmonious, like all 12 tracks in Davis' Birth of the Cool.
Total production of their initial releases is about 1,100 cases: 900 cases of red wine and 225 cases of the Sauvignon Blanc. All the wines are available for sale directly from the winery.
2011 Oliane Sauvignon Blanc, Boushey Vineyard – Their only white wine is fermented in French oak barrels (10 percent new) using native yeast and aged sur lies for eight months. The result is an elegant wine with chalky minerality. Tropical fruits (guava, grapefruit) abound on the nose and palate marrying with citrus (lime, grapefruit) on the pleasantly creamy palate. Citrus notes linger on the lengthy lip-smacking finish. The acidity is classic to Boushey Vineyard fruit from the cool corners of the Yakima Valley. 225 cases produced to be released in September, $25.
2010 Parapine Syrah, Yakima Valley – This single varietal Syrah is a blend of 53 percent fruit from Force Majeure on Red Mountain and 47 percent fruit from Boushey Vineyard in Yakima Valley. This forward Syrah seduces with a nose of raspberries, blackberries and white pepper, and flavors of ripe plums and blueberries as well as surprising minerality. The fine-grained tannins lead to a finish of lithe acidity. 170 cases produced to be released in September, $35.
2010 Arnaut Syrah, Boushey Vineyard – This is a 100 percent Syrah with 100 percent fruit from Boushey Vineyard. It is a classic expression of Syrah from Boushey Vineyard, arguably the best source of Washington Syrah. The floral nose with a hint of black licorice and pencil lead mixes with the classic quality of smoke from Boushey's cool weather sites. Layered flavors of rapberries, black cherry, blueberries and plum massage the palate. The luxurious tannins accentuate the elegance and femininity of the wine with its long and minerally finish. 170 cases produced to be released in September, $35.
2010 Gravura Red Wine, Columbia Valley – Gravura is Peterson's expression of the wines of Graves, Bordeaux. A blend of 55 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 39 percent Merlot and 6 percent Cabernet Franc is aged 20 months in French oak barrels, including 50 percent new barrels. Like the wines of Graves, the Gravura expresses the stony soils of the vineyards with a nose of wet stones and graphite. Black cherry and cassis courtesy of the Cabernet Sauvignon marries with a plush and soft mid-palate that is unmistakably Washington Merlot. 325 cases produced to be released in February 2013, $35.
2010 Sestina Red Wine, Columbia Valley – The backbone of this wine is 55 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from the Bacchus vineyard planted in 1972. The balance is 18 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from Red Willow Vineyard, 18 percent Merlot from Red Willow Vineyard and 9 percent Cabernet Franc from Bacchus Vineyard. This complex wine is the most muscular of Avennia's initial release. A nose of espresso, black tea, old leather and black cherries suggests Old World winemaking. Black cherry and cassis dominate the broad palate. The lengthy finish is marked by surprisingly bright acidity. 250 cases produced to be released in February 2013, $50.
Wine Pick of the Week: 2011 William Church Winery Viognier
The 2011 William Church Winery Viognier is an elegant expression of this White Rhone varietal. It eschews the alcoholic, fat and volatile style of winemaking that has maligned Washington Viognier in the past. This floral Viognier is seductive and balanced. Hints of rose petals, orange zest and tropical fruits greet the nose. Layers of guava and pineapple, grapefruit and lime intertwine (or, perhaps, intert-wine) on the palate. The lengthy finish of lime and a touch of stony minerality begs for the next sip. The wine will be sold for $23 during its release party on Saturday, May 19 at both Woodinville locations of William Church, the winery in the Warehouse District and the tasting room in the Tourist District.


text:
IMP Awards > 2008 Movie Poster Gallery > What Happens in Vegas? Poster #3
Alternate designs (click on thumbnails for larger version)
What Happens in Vegas? (2008)
TRAILERS | IMDB | AMAZON | added: Aug 10th, 2008
WANT TO BUY THE POSTER? Try these links:
Internet Movie Poster Awards - Featuring one of the largest collections of movie poster images on the web.
Site Design by Face3media