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Zurich, Switzerland (PressExposure) March 14, 2011 -- METTLER TOLEDO's GWP Verification assesses the performance of weighing equipment to ensure accuracy. A one-time investment in preventive maintenance lowers quality control costs and improves balance performance year after year. Better weighing - and the quality it brings - can even enhance final product consistency, brand reputation and sales
GWP Verification helps ensure peace of mind. Many companies do not know whether their weighing instruments actually meet day-to-day accuracy requirements. Furthermore, many manufacturers either test balances and scales too often or not often enough. Quality suffers; balances repeatedly fail appraisals. Testing costs skyrocket as operators struggle to make improvements in the absence of reliable data and guidance.
With GWP Verification, however, weighing results become more accurate. Using a fit gap analysis, METTLER TOLEDO experts measure a manufacturer's balance performance against accuracy requirements as well as the standards of the balance's original equipment manufacturer. Experts then review current quality management efforts and balance testing regimens.
GWP Verification uncovers whether a customer's current tests and testing schedule can ensure accuracy by assessing current performance versus ideal operating standards. If they cannot, METTLER TOLEDO metrology experts make recommendations that establish helpful weight classes, safe-range nominal values and effective testing frequencies. With the right test weights and test types, testing of a manufacturer's balances is optimized to deliver the highest quality results on a consistent basis.
METTLER TOLEDO CarePacs are one strategy used to lower ongoing maintenance costs. CarePacs allow a manufacturer to purchase only the weights required for routine testing instead of more expensive sets. Once weights are up for recalibration, cost savings solidify. Proven METTLER TOLEDO SOPs enhance employee productivity, too.
For more on how benchmarking quality management system performance using GWP Verification can help lower testing costs while enhancing quality control and balance performance, visit http://www.mt.com/GWPVerification. For information on reducing balance maintenance costs using CarePacs, visit http://www.mt.com/CarePacs.


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One of the key values of IBIA at its inception was to Educate and Inform, training is therefore core value of the Association. IBIA has a number of training courses that enable the individual to gain a greater insight into the industry. IBIA also has a great breadth of experience and knowledge across the membership.
The Association draws on this knowledge and experience to deliver both in-house courses and those provided by third parties.
IBIA also has an accreditation process that verifies that third party courses are prepared and delivered to the highest standards and by individuals with an adequate level of experience to address the applicable level of the course. Our objective being that when you see either the accredited or endorsed by IBIA you can be assured that you receive quality information. IBIA has a certification process which is attendees receive upon completion of the course.
The Accreditation process is underway and we will be producing a list of accredited courses in the meantime please contact us for the latest information.
For training in Europe, Africa and other regions please email : firstname.lastname@example.com for updated training schedules.
In Singapore IBIA has a dedicated training facility to meet the needs of the local and regional industry, IBIA carries out training world-wide in conjunction with industry conventions and seminars also as required by Industry and National Authorities. We can also address any bespoke matters, please contact us for further details on email@example.com
Given the dedicated training facilities in Singapore, we have a timetable of courses arranged. However, these can be delivered at any location upon arrangement.
Training courses currently undertaken
1. 2 Days Basic Bunkering Course (SS600:2014 & TR48:2015) [Mass Flow Meter]
Upcoming course dates:
- 14 & 15 Sept 2017
- 11 & 12 Oct 2017
- 15 & 16 Nov 2017
2017 Course Time Table
2. 2 Days Enhanced Bunkering Course (SS600:2014 & TR48:2015) [Mass Flow Meter]
Upcoming course dates:
- 27 & 28 Sept 2017
- 25 & 26 Oct 2017
- 28 & 29 Nov 2017
3. Familiarisation Course on Mass Flow Meter Bunkering For Executives and Office Staffs
Upcoming course dates:
- 15 Sept 2017
- 6 Oct 2017
- 12 Oct 2017
- 2 Nov 2017
- 16 Nov 2017
3. Refresher Course for Bunker Surveyors and Bunker Cargo Officers – including Bunker Mass Flow Meter
Upcoming course dates:
- Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com for future dates
To book your place on these courses in Singapore, please email to Nadiah / Atikah with your completed registration forms.
Contact: Nadiah / Atikah
E-mail: email@example.com / email@example.com
Tel: +65 6472 0916
Fax : +65 6472 0919
International Bunker Industry Association (Asia) Ltd
110 Robinson Road
Singapore 068901

subset: commoncrawl


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(January 12, 2016, 11:21 AM EST) -- ATLANTA — An out-of-network provider lacks standing under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to bring claims for underpayment of benefits because the plans' anti-assignment provisions are unambiguous, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 in four unpublished opinions (W. A. Griffin, MD v. Focus Brands Inc., No. 15-12137, 11th Cir.; 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22794; W.A. Griffin, MD v. Southern Company Services, Inc., No. 15-12135, 11th Cir.; 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 22797; W.A. Griffin, MD v. General Mills, Inc.,...
Out-Of-Network Provider Does Not Have Standing In ERISA Suits, 11th Circuit Says
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text: hello i've been considering for a while to get the hydra kernel stock speed uv v0.3 but being new to all this, i was wondering how it actually works. im trying to figure out what i can do to obtain best battery life with good performance (stock speed seems to be satisfying for me) i know that it sends "less juice" to your applications/hardware but how much LESS is that? im not sure if it has anything to do with it but when i look at my SystemPanel, i see the temperature and mV which is usually around 3900-4000. does the hydra kernel affect that? if UV indeed does give you better battery life, why does the HTC manufacture set the standard voltage at higher numbers? does it bring higher risk of frying the CPU if its set at lower voltage? or perhaps lags the device? Also, I have been reading posts where people claim that the Overclocked UV kernels are even better at saving battery life. is this true? something about how the kernel ONLY sends extra 25mv when the CPU hits 100% to make sure CPU doesn't fry out.. so what is your recommendation to which kernel i should look into? along with that, any additional tips or applications (like SetCPU) that i need to consider? i did search and read about 5-8 different threads on hydra kernel topics but none of them seem to answer my specific questions.. i apologize if i didn't "look hard" enough. thanks!


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Catering & Banquet Manager
We are in search of strong management candidates with 5+ years' experience in operating a successful and profitable restaurant. We are seeking people who have a sincere passion for the hospitality business as well as food and wine, and possess the ability to work well with and motivate staff. Candidates must have a complete understanding of catering and how to help customers for their special event. Candidate must be able to work a flexible schedule to include weekends and holidays.
Spaghetti Eddie's is owned by Absolutely Italian Management (AIM) Group, and offers a competitive benefits package including health, vision, dental and voluntary life and accident package. Salary is commensurate with experience.
Please send resumes to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn is located in a former textile factory from 1901 near the Williamsburg waterfront. The history and character of the building is still very visible in the interior of the Wythe Hotel, through the entire building you will find exposed brick, wooden beams, steel columns and arched windows. The hotel fits perfectly in the surrounding neighbourhood with its laid back attitude and respect for the local history. Not only the bedrooms in The Wythe Hotel are stunning, the Reynards restaurant and the Ides bar are beautifully designed and with the tiled floor, exposed brick and vintage furniture it's almost as if you step back in time. The bar and restaurant are managed by renowned Brooklyn restaurateur Andrew Tarlow of Marlow & Sons so you're guaranteed a wonderful food experience. The Wythe hotel is a stunning raw, industrial hotel where you can truly experience the local Brooklyn vibe.
images via Wythe Hotel
The public spaces in the Wythe Hotel are designed by Workstead, who also designed Rivertown Lodge: A Hudson Valley boutique hotel.
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I am 2... I guess we start over
View Single Post
December 10th, 2013, 09:48 PM
Platinum Supermommy
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 6,406
Went to dh's work dinner. It was fun. New couple was there. They have one child. They asked how many we have and I said 9 holding up fingers. They gave the look. Then the guy says "so are you done now?" I said "I think so because I had a miscarriage last year and haven't conceived since. They say one year of unprotected sex with no conception is a sign of infertility." Did I say "why do you only have one, don't you like sex, don't you want more?" No. Because I'm polite. I ate so much I should puke or not eat for 3 days.
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Palermo vs AS Roma 2017 Italian Serie A: Match Preview and Prediction
Fixture: Palermo vs AS Roma
Competition: Italian Serie A 2016-17
Date: Sunday, 12th March, 19:45 GMT
Stadium: Stadio Renzo Barbera.
Palermo vs AS Roma: Preview
Palermo vs AS Roma match is going to be held on 12th March at Stadio Renzo Barbera. It's an important football clash between two Italian football clubs where they will try to give their best efforts to win this match of Italian Serie A 2016-17. Palermo suffered a 3-1 away defeat against Torino and AS Roma suffered a 1-2 home defeat against Napoli in their previous league matches.
At the moment, Palermo has performed overall poor and they have secured 3 wins, 6 draws and 18 defeats along with 18th position in Serie A 2016-17 league table. In other side performance of AS Roma is good and they have secured 19 wins, 2 draws and 6 defeats along with 2nd position in the Serie A table. AS Roma will start the match as favorite against Palermo in this crucial fixture of Serie A at Stadio Renzo Barbera.
Palermo vs AS Roma: Head-to-Head Stats
- Both teams have played 25 matches against each other in all the competitions. Palermo has registered 8 wins, 4 draws and 13 defeats against AS Roma. AS Roma has scored 50 goals against Palermo and concedes 34 goals against them.
- AS Roma registered a 4-1 home win against Palermo in their last meetings in the match of Serie A on 24th Oct, 2016.
Palermo vs AS Roma: Prediction
AS Roma is ready to secure an away win from this match and Palermo will try to give their best efforts to secure at least a home draw from the fixture. AS Roma is better side to compare with Palermo when they will play against each other at Stadio Renzo Barbera.
Predicted result will be an away win for AS Roma
Palermo vs AS Roma: Betting Tips
Asian Handicap: AS Roma -1.0 at 1.625


text:
2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac Crew Cab - Consumer Review
Build Quality
Reliability Value
Build Quality
Reliability Value
Thoughts on Trac
By Mr. Wilson on
Vehicle2003 Ford Explorer Sport Trac XLT Premium 4WD 4dr Crew Cab (4.0L 6cyl 5A)
ReviewI really like this vehicle. It's
comparatively well appointed for the
price. It's comfortable and fun to
drive. The bed offers a number of
hauling options with the tonneau cover
(which creates a fully lockable water
tight "trunk") and the bed extender.
The Trac isn't as huge as some of it's
competitors; therefore, it fits neatly
in the garage. I would recommend this
vehicle to anyone who needs to have the
ability to haul cargo and people. I
read a review on Edmunds.com suggesting
that the vehicle vibrates at highway
speeds. I have not been able to
reproduce this issue in vehicles I test
drove or in the one I purchased.
Best FeaturesSo many favorites... the versitility of the bed. The rear passenger climate and radio controls. The CD/Cassette/Radio. The leather heated seats. The comfortable ride. The sun/moon roof. The remote entry system. The tinted back windows. The power back window.
Worst FeaturesI would like to see an option for a V8 engine as other Explorers have, and (of course) anything that improves fuel efficiency. Yes, I want lots of power with great gas mileage.:o)
Recommend (0) (0)
Are you the author of this review?Update Your Review
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Sports Programs
Baseball: Bill Brown Baseball Camps
Contact: Justin Walker, George Mason Baseball, email@example.com, 419-569-1853
Website: billbrownbaseballcamps.com
(Fairfax, Campus)
Basketball: Dave Paulsen Camps
Contact: Ted Rawlings, George Mason Men's Basketball, email@example.com, 571-474-6452
Website: davepaulsencamps.com
(Fairfax, Campus)
Football: Ken Dorsey Passing, Receiving and DB Academy or Pierre Garcon Football Camp
Contact: Sports International, email@example.com, 301-575-9400
Website: footballcamps.com
(Fairfax Campus)
Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center (located at Science and Technology Campus)
Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com, 703-993-8513
Website: freedom-center.com/camps
The Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center provides a broad range of year-round recreational, educational, social, and cultural programs and activities. The facility is designed to attract and serve a variety of individuals and groups, including, but not limited to, the general public, youth, school and community groups, the elderly, and persons with disabilities.
The Freedom Aquatic & Fitness Center offers a wide variety of camp options at Mason's Science and Technology Campus, located in Manassas, Virginia. Camp topics include (but are not limited to):
- Aquatics
- Art
- Cooking
- Dance
- Drama
- Engineering
- Game and Technology
- Leadership
- Nature
- Recreation
- Science
- Sports
(Science and Technology Campus, Manassas)
Lacrosse: National Lacrosse Camp
Contact: Greg Danto, George Mason Women's Lacrosse, 419-205-3394, email@example.com
Website: national-lax.com/summer-lax.html
(Fairfax Campus)
Soccer: Capital Soccer Academy
Contact: George Mason Women's Soccer, email@example.com, 703-993-3295
Website: capitalsocceracademy.com
(Fairfax Campus)
Soccer: Victory Soccer Academy
Contact: Greg Andrulis, George Mason Men's Soccer, email@example.com, 703-993-3288
Website: victorysocceracademy.com
(Fairfax Campus)
Softball: Joe Verbanic Five Tool Softball Camps
Contact: Caitlyn de la Haba, George Mason Softball, firstname.lastname@example.com, 703-993-3813
Website: collegesoftballcamps.com/softball/GMU
(Fairfax Campus)
Wrestling: Joe Russell Patriot Wrestling Camps
Contact: email@example.com, 703-993-3299
Website: joerussellwrestling.com
(Fairfax Campus)


text:
Savor the Most Unique Dining Tour in Natchez
For those of you who have stayed with us before, you know there are some incredible Natchez food tours available. […]
A Foodies Guide to Natchez
Natchez has many restaurants, distilleries, wineries, and breweries. We created a foodies guide to Natchez to make eating and drinking […]
Steampunk Coffee Roasters : Our Favorite Coffee Shop!
Steampunk is reminiscent of what coffee houses used to be and in some places still are; quaint places to sit and enjoy your morning caffeine fix and gather with friends or make new ones.
Dining in Natchez :: The Kings Tavern Restaurant
In the 1770's the Mississippi River was a bustling waterway. Laden with goods for sale, ships and flat river […]
Cotton Alley Café :: Romantic Natchez Getaway
Hungry for the exceptional? Then Natchez should be your next foodie destination. Here at the Devereaux Shields House, we recommend […]
Natchez Coffee Company :: Weekend Getaway
Spending an afternoon in Natchez or planning your weekend getaway to the Devereaux Shields House? We certainly hope so! While […]


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MOVIE SYNOPSIS [ General Audiences ] With producers of Canada and UK, this movie of 2015 has been brilliantly directed by Robert Carlyle. You can watch The Legend of Barney Thomson online on TV cable or theaters with original audio in English at different dates. This film premiered in theaters in 2015.
Rating: 5 by 10 users./
Runtime: 90 minutes
Emma Thompson, Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone, Martin Compston, James Cosmo, Ashley Jensen, Tom Courtenay, Stephen McCole, Kevin Guthrie, Sam Robertson, Brian Pettifer, Ruari Cannon, Barbara Rafferty, Eileen McCallum, Scott Dymond and Matt Costello.
Comedy, Drama, Thriller.
90-minute film (full movie) directed by Robert Carlyle.
The original audio of The Legend of Barney Thomson has dialogues in Dolby Digital, it was produced in Canada, UK.
It premiered in cinemas or television in 2015.
Screenplay written by Richard Cowan and Colin McLaren.
Fabian Wagner.
Paula McBreen, Doug Apatow, Holly Brydson, Kaleena Kiff, Richard Cowan, Brian Coffey and John G. Lenic.
This film was produced and / or financed by Sigma Films and Trinity Works Entertainment.
Pacific Northwest Pictures, Eagle Films and Icon Film Distribution.
Without commercial breaks, the full movie The Legend of Barney Thomson has a duration of 90 minutes; the official trailer can be watched in streaming on the Internet. You can watch this full movie free in EnglishDolby Digital in movie TV channels, renting the DVD or with VoD services (Video On Demand player, Hulu) and PPV (Pay Per View, Netflix).
See the page of this full movie, The Legend of Barney Thomson in FULLTV Movies.


text:
Occupational Therapy in Columbus, IN
As a not-for-profit organization, Developmental Services Inc. seeks to improve communities and the standard of living for children and adults with mental, physical, and emotional disabilities. Our occupational therapy services are an individualized and holistic approach to improving lives, helping those with disabilities function in the world with equality.
How Can We Help?
Occupational therapy can help individuals of all ages and forms of physical and sensory disabilities. The therapy involves a hands-on, personal assistant who evaluates the needs of the individual to determine which self-care activities will increase independence, prevent disability, or achieve other developmental goals. The therapist can help with activities like brushing teeth, washing the dishes, or driving to work. Therapists may even assist with job placement and eventually job follow-along. In cases of mental or sensory disabilities, therapists can aid the learning process and create safe routines to enhance patients' lives. For some, therapy involves a weekly or even daily visit with a team member who helps them learn or increase body strength. For others, a more hands-on approach is needed to achieve living goals. Supported living offers a malleable relationship between the therapist and the individual.
Who Do We Help?
Through our REACH program, we help people of all ages with a wide variety of disabilities. For infants and toddlers, we seek early intervention to recognize disabilities and establish practical and encouraging routines for the family that can enable a fulfilling life for the child. For individuals who have suffered injuries or who have conditions that affect the body's ability to move, like MS, our therapists provide specialized training to manage conditions.


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1 Person Arrested For Allegedly Involved In SSC Question Leakage
February 12, 2015 | Category: News | Posted By - Alikarim | 0 Comments
The detective branch of police (DB) has arrested one person allegedly involved in the ongoing SSC and other public exam questionnaire leakage.
Dhaka Metropolitan police (DMP) mass communication cell has informed this today (Thursady) early morning through short message (sms) in Mobile phones.
Police will deliver a briefing in the DMP Media center later today.


text:
Recent News
UNC's Purvis earns NIH Director's New Innovator Award
With a focus on stem cells, Jeremy Purvis, PhD, wants to tap the power of computer modeling to develop regenerative medicine solutions to medical conditions.
Roy Williams' Fast Break Against Cancer raises more than $200,000 for 2016 – and counting
North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams' much beloved event has now raised more than $2.2 million over the years for UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the total will continue to grow, thanks to an online auction that is running through Oct. 17.
High up-front costs could delay access to life-saving blood cancer drugs for Medicare patients
In the study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, UNC Lineberger researchers report that nearly a third of a group of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, and who have federally-funded Medicare health insurance, did not start treatment within six months of diagnosis with any of three targeted drugs that have led to dramatic improvements in survival for the disease.
Study identifies most persuasive messages for parents considering HPV vaccine
Among parents who reported that they were disinclined to vaccinate, UNC Lineberger researchers found in a recent study that the most convincing messages about the HPV vaccine were those that focused on the parent's role in preventing the child from getting HPV-related cancers and those that emphasized their role in whether their child becomes infected with HPV.


text:
Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'Pesticide & Herbicide Application' started by shearbolt, Sep 26, 2002.
Used Clopyralid for the first time on a lawn full of violets. How long should I wait to mow.
2-3 days would be ideal.
As a general rule, we try to follow our mowing schedule by 2 days: Mow Monday, fert Wednesday, Tuesday + Thursday, etc. We never fert weekends because it seems that a lot of families have parties, children playing, or are just at home more and tie up your time by asking lots of questions.


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Harbour City Motor Inn
Select your stay dates to check availability
Harbour City Motor Inn
About the hotel
Property Location
With a stay at Harbour City Motor Inn in Wellington, you'll be in the business district and minutes from Colonial Cottage Museum and close to Cuba Street Mall. This motel is within close proximity of National War Memorial and Massey University.
Make yourself at home in one of the 26 guestrooms featuring refrigerators and LCD televisions. Satellite programming and DVD players are provided for your entertainment, while wireless Internet access (surcharge) keeps you connected. Private bathrooms with showers feature complimentary toiletries and hair dryers. Conveniences include phones, as well as desks and complimentary newspapers.
Rec, Spa, Premium Amenities
Make use of convenient amenities such as complimentary wireless Internet access, a television in the lobby, and tour/ticket assistance.
Take advantage of the motel's room service (during limited hours).
Business, Other Amenities
Featured amenities include complimentary newspapers in the lobby, laundry facilities, and an elevator (lift). Free self parking is available onsite.
Hotel Facilities
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Total number of rooms - 26
- Front desk (limited hours)
- Year Built 1995
- Free self parking
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Number of floors - 4
- Elevator/lift
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- One meeting room
- Television in lobby
- Free WiFi
- Laundry facilities
- Free newspapers in lobby
- Smoke-free property
Room Facilities
- Desk
- Daily housekeeping
- Satellite TV service
- Cookware, dishware, and utensils
- Phone
- Free newspaper
- Free toiletries
- Premium bedding
- Private bathroom
- Microwave
- Hair dryer
- Shower only
- Refrigerator
- Iron/ironing board
- Rollaway/extra beds available
- Coffee/tea maker
- Room service (limited hours)
- DVD player
- WiFi (surcharge)
Hotel Policy
National Rating
This property does not have a Qualmark® rating. For the benefit of our customers, we have provided a rating based on our rating system.
The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.
- Breakfast fee: NZD 15.00 per person (approximately)
- Fee for in-room wireless Internet: NZD 15.00 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
- Fee for wireless Internet in public areas: NZD 15.00 (for 24 hours, rates may vary)
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.Show all hotel policy Show less hotel policy


text:
Popstar Trailer (2005)
"He topped the charts. Can he top high school?" 01 January 2005 Comedy, Romance, Family 94 mins
A teenage girls life gets turned upside down when a new school friend turns out to be a popstar.
Watch the official Popstar 2005 trailer in HD below or find more Popstar videos on Vidimovie.


text:
Village Quik Lube & Auto Service Center
Review for Village Quik Lube & Auto Service Center
Laura M. on 02/12/2016
Laura said the business had really nice people. They were friendly and the repairs were done in a timely manner.
Vehicle: Pontiac Vibe
Category: Service
Service Date: 02/09/2016
Review Created: 02/12/2016
This review was collected via phone interview by Customer Research Inc.


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Bangalore, Jul 9: The country's second largest software exporter Infosys has invested in the future of Australia's IT services industry, committing up to AUD$1.9M in cash and services to the newly formed Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre (CRC).
The programme, launched on July 3, by Senator the Hon. Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, will bring together the best technology minds from industry, six Australian universities and Government to develop an ambitious R and D programme aimed at creating intellectual property (IP) of value to Australia's services market - with initial demonstrators planned for the finance, media and government sectors.
Over the course of the programme, this IP will be engineered and commercialised by CRC participants resulting in new technology products and services that will increase the competitiveness of Australia's IT industry and make the services market more innovative, Infosys said in a release here today.
As the only global IT services company involved with the programme, Infosys is spearheading the Smart Service CRC from a technology perspective alongside SAP, with industry heavyweights including Telstra, Fairfax Digital and Suncorp-Metway actively involved in setting the research agenda. World-class researchers from around the country will also contribute to the R and D and IP creation.
The CEO of Smart Services CRC Warren Bradey said, "The inclusion of a trans-national partner such as Infosys in Smart Services CRC provides us with the opportunity to truly draw on world-leading development techniques for services."
OneIndia News


text:
I travel during winter time for work. I want to get a small, light laptop to carry around with my regular work laptop. I've been looking on Ebay for used ultraportables or mini-notebooks. The problem is I don't know what processor is fast enough for what I want to use it for, which is to surf the web and watch movie clips (mpeg, wmv). The web part takes very little CPU power I know, but would a Pentium 2 suffice for mpeg?
I don't expect to have an optical drive built-in for an ultraportable, but what level of CPU can smoothly play a DVD off an external drive? At some point I may want to use it as a GPS unit with a USB or add a Bluetooth card if that's possible.
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I do just what you are thinking of doing with an older 600MHZ dell laptop with 512 Meg of ram and it works fine. Make sure that you use a USB 2.0 PCMCIA card or firewire card for the external DVD drive.
This is a great application for older PCs.
you may want to bump it up to like 800mhz to 1ghz if you intend to watch divx movies......as for mpeg, it honestly takes VERY little cpu power comparitively....wmv...that depends on if your intending on watching just standard resolution, or high def.......high def wmv will crank up your requirements a LOT....as for dvd playback, i remember on my old 400mhz celeron (yuck......) i was like borderline on it...so i'd say 500-600mhz for that......but if your going to be buying it outright still, i'd jump for a 1ghz or so, and those should be dirt cheap by now anyhow....
nevermind just looked into it, those things run quite a bit more than i expected them to.....you should be able to get by with somewhere in the 600-800mhz range, i'd guess...just dont expect to be doing any hardcore gaming on it
Another method I use with my laptop is to convert DVDs to Xvids with a program like FairUse Wizard. They end up about 700Mb, so even with a small hard drive in a laptop, you can get several in there. Or with a external hard drive, even more. Or put them on a DVD data disc. Makes a lot less to carry around.
Ultraportables are slower than their larger laptop counterparts. I use a Toshiba Portege 600Mhz Pentium 3 for just what you are describing - in fact I'm using it to type this via wireless as it's smaller & lighter than my thinkpad.
I'd suggest you go for a brandname 600 to 800Mhz P3 as they are pretty cheap.
I use an IBM Thinkpad T22 for my portable/travel laptop. It has a 900mhz P3 processor, 512MB, 80GB, 14"TFT, Wireless, CD/DVD Burner and 56K. I like it because it's durable.
It shipped to me as a 900mhz, 256MB, 20GB, 14"TFT, CD/DVD Rom, and 56K for $400. With that configuration it was rather slow and jerky when playing movies. Once I upped the RAM to 512MB all was fine for video playback and all around improvement in operations. This laptop had and still has only 8MB of dedicated video RAM.
ROF, something is wrong with your speedstep config or software setup. I've tested a 400Mhz celeron i-series thinkpad and it played DVD and mp4 video smoothly, with only 128Meg ram under both 2000 and XP on battery (+ it used a 4 meg shared video cs)
But the T22 is too chunky for the OP's purpose imo; it was almost a desktop replacement (in it's day). It is durable as you say though.
There's no denying the thinkpads are the "bricks" of the laptop world.
True. Nice bricks - own one myself. Hate the battery though. About your speed: the T22 might be supported by the online diagnostics at IBM's thinkpad website.
Thanks for all the suggestions. Looks like I can safely go with a P3. What is the AMD equivalent? I don't have a preference but if I see an AMD I want to know if it's acceptable. I have an old Compaq AMD K3 which worked fine for DVD playback, but it's rather heavy and hasn't held up well.
Originally Posted by madymo3d
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HVAC Tech
Date: Oct 26, 2017
Location: Houston, TX, US
Company: nrg
NRG is leading a customer-driven change in the U.S. energy industry by delivering cleaner and smarter energy choices, while building on the strength of the nation's largest and most diverse competitive power portfolio. A Fortune 200 company, we create value through reliable and efficient conventional generation while driving innovation in solar and renewable power, electric vehicle ecosystems, carbon capture technology and customer-centric energy solutions. Our retail electricity providers serve almost 3 million residential and commercial customers throughout the country. More information is available at www.nrg.com. Connect with NRG Energy on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @nrgenergy.
The HVAC tech installs, maintains, and repairs residential HVAC systems. This position requires knowledge gained through prior experience in HVAC trades or completion of an approved HVAC apprenticeship.
Essential Duties/ Responsibilities:
- Diagnose and troubleshoot all types and brands of residential HVAC systems.
- Possess technical knowledge to replace, assemble, test and install all components of a residential HVAC system.
- Present products and pricing with multiple options to clients face to face, in an in home sales setting.
- Possess proficiency in mobile device software for HVAC system sales and service tickets.
- Work with office support team for pricing, scheduling, customer service issues and safety concerns.
- High school Diploma, GED, or equivalent math and English skills required
- Certifications - EPA Certification
- NATE certified a plus
- LPG license is also a plus
Generally requires 2 years related experience
Additional Skills:
- Good practical skills.
- An ability to follow technical drawings, building plans, wiring diagrams, duct design and air flow.
- An ability to work carefully, methodically and safely.
- A head for heights and willingness to work in all sorts of weather.
- A willingness to work in confined spaces.
- Good communicative skills with the ability to effectively work with a variety of internal and external customers.
- Ability to communicate diagnostic findings and propose (or sell) solutions to residential customers.
- Ability to effectively use mobile computing devices to capture/record diagnostic results, create estimates and job specific proposals.
- Ability to document job specific information, complete and close out work orders and receive and record customer payment when required.
- Bilingual is a plus.
- Applicant shall have worked in the trade for at least 2 years, training under an EPA certified contractor.
- A valid EPA Certificate
Physical Requirements:
- Must be prepared to work irregular or rotating shifts and respond to on-call and emergency service requests.
- Ability to work in mentally stressful environments: must be able to react to crises where immediate action is required to correct or curtail potentially damaging or hazardous situations.
- Daily work expectation requires ability to perform tasks by walking, standing, sitting, kneeling, crouching, squatting, twisting, pushing, pulling, shoveling, climbing, and working with hand tools (up to 25 pounds) in position above and below head, and extended from body to complete repairs.
- Lift, carry, position and use tools and/or equipment (weighing up to 50 lbs.) in awkward positions, swing various weights of sledge hammers, stoop and bend to reach valves, pull on chain-falls or come-a-longs.
- Ability to twist the body and neck while driving company vehicles or operating company equipment.
- Must be able to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) as required i.e.…steel-toed boots, respirators, goggles, safety glasses etc.
- Have ability to discern and respond to verbal and auditory signals.
- Ability to discern assorted colors
Working Conditions:
HVAC work is sometimes strenuous. They stand for long periods of time and frequently work on ladders. Some may work in dusty, dirty, hot, or wet conditions, or in confined areas, attics, or other uncomfortable places. They must follow strict safety procedures.
NRG Energy is committed to a drug and alcohol free workplace. To the extent permitted by law and any applicable collective bargaining agreement, employees are subject to periodic random drug testing, and post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing. EOE AA M/F/Protected Veteran Status/Disability
EEO is the Law Poster (The poster can be found at http://www.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/poster_screen_reader_optimized.pdf)
Level, Title and/or Salary may be adjusted based on the applicant's experience or skills.
Official description on file with Human Resources
Nearest Major Market: Houston


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J.J. Abrams Says 'Star Trek 2' Will Shoot in 2D and Maybe Also IMAX
by Ethan Anderton
December 20, 2011
Source: MTV
Even though we're still waiting to learn whether or not Khan will actually turn out to be the villain in the forthcoming sequel to J.J. Abrams' 2009 franchise reboot of Star Trek, we definitely know that the film is hitting theaters on May 17th, 2013 in 3D. However, MTV News recently caught up with the director who revealed a little bit more about the developing sequel that is both disappointing and exciting at the same time. First, Abrams revealed that they will be shooting in 2D and convert the film to 3D in post-production, and while that's a little tragic, they're also talking about shooting in IMAX as well.
Here's what Abrams told MTV:
"We're shooting on film, 2-D, and then we'll do a good high-end conversion like the 'Harry Potter' movie and all that. Luckily, with our release date now we have the months needed to do it right because if you rush it, it never looks good. We were talking about [shooting in IMAX] and I'd love to do it. IMAX is my favorite format; I'm a huge fan."
A conversion isn't the best decision, but I imagine that with all the time for post-production, it could very well turn out all right. But what's really thrilling is having another major blockbuster looking to shoot in IMAX. Abrams doesn't specifically say whether they're planning on shooting the whole film in IMAX or just certain sequences like The Dark Knight or Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (in select IMAX theaters now and everywhere else on Friday), but any IMAX for a deep space adventure is good news. Hopefully we'll have some more solid information and story details on the anticipated sequel soon enough as Abrams also says, "Our sets are almost done, so we're going to go back and start shooting next month." Stay tuned.
Follow Alex's main profile on :


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WA retailers insist they are still struggling
Retailers in Western Australia insist they are still struggling despite out-performing other states in the past year.
Latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show a 0.7 per cent drop in retail sales in WA for the month of December.
However, the sector grew by more than 3 per cent last year, which is more than any other state.
The WA Retail Traders Association's Wayne Spencer says West Australians spent $3.1 billion in December, which exceeded expectations.
He says despite this, the sector faces difficult times.
"Western Australia has certainly been the stand out state economically and is certainly powering ahead in many areas," he said.
"Retail is of concern and affecting that directly is consumer sentiment."
The Reserve Bank Board is holding its first meeting for 2012 tomorrow and many economists are predicting a cut in official interest rates.
Mr Spencer says retailers would be grateful for a cut as the sector is facing tough times due to high profit margins and competition from online retailers.
"If there's something that will come by way of a further rate reduction to assist that then that will hopefully flow on with better figures and better results for retailers who are doing it tough at the moment," he said.
First posted


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Posts Tagged 'Self(ish) Characters'
PortfolioFriday, January 29th, 2010
Here's some images of a recent portfolio I put together to apply for an MA:
A MASSIVE thank you to Adam for producing this gorgeous object. Fingers crossed for the MA application.
Self(ish) Characters #16Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
RPS Journal November 2009Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Tate Takeover: HalloweenTuesday, October 27th, 2009
One of my Self(ish) Characters will be featured in the DIY WOMP and Raw Canvas Tate Takeover this halloween. Details below:
RAW CANVAS with DIY WOMP and COCHANGO are proud to present to you-
"HALLOWEEN AT TATE MODERN!" (Free Entry)
A spine chilling night to showcase the best young creative minds in the London area.
Expect to see;
1) Artists exhibiting work in various form incl huge sculpture.
2) Live acoustic music from some of the best amateur musicians out there today.
Spy Catcher (http://www.myspace.com/spycatchers)
Spy Catcher, just three months old and already sounding like a prospect. These boys have form – frontman Steve Sears was formerly in Cry For Silence and bassist Stuart Gili-Ross is better known for his day job in Gallows – so it's little wonder they sound sharp and sussed already… combining the low end swagger of QOTSA with the tunefulness of Rival Schools. Go see. Now."
Paul Brannigan – KERRANG! Magazine
Thee Single Spy (http://www.myspace.com/theesinglespy)
"Thee Single Spy layer rich, melodic baroque-indie lushness over intricate lyrical creations."
The Cellar Door Sound (http://www.myspace.com/thecellardoorsound)
"The Cellar Door Sound … In the shape of 20 year old Daniel Cross and various collaborators inhabit a world of their own. Echoing; the vocal intensity of Robert Smith, the musical simplicity of Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the lyrical honesty of Syd Barrett. Recent BBC London Calling artist of the week they have been described as "more black treacle than pop by numbers". " – BBC, London Calling
Oddyssey ( Formerly Rosie Oddie and The Odd Squad)
and the Amazing, The Spooky………
3) Live illustration from some very clever people happening before your eyes.
4) Films screened via projectors to intrigue and spook you.
5) Special guests
6) Fancy Dress (optional)
7) Suprises
Or you can add them on Facebook or if your still stuck in 2004 Myspace.


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SBP's mission is to shrink time between disaster and recovery.
SBP is a national nonprofit organization committed to helping residents and communities recover from disaster promptly and efficiently.
We are sharing our FREE guides and checklists to help disaster survivors navigate the complex recovery process, avoid costly mistakes and make smart decisions that will lead to a faster recovery.
Do not overpay for mold remediation or fall victim to contractor fraud. Our resources are totally free and available to you right now.
The better you understand the recovery process from the start, the faster you'll be able to rebuild.


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I override log4j.Clock to support a "live" time vs a "simulated" time.
System.setProperty("log4j.Clock", "teambh.trade.utils.MyClock");
If I use asynchronous loggers, it works fine and calls my Clock:currentTimeMillis().
If I switch to async appenders, currentTimeMillis() is not called.
Is this expected behavior or a bug?
- All
- Comments
- Work Log
- History
- Activity
- Transitions
Please note that I am working on the whole server side of Log4j to receive JSON and XML events. This is not in trunk yet. If would kindly request that you consider delaying commits in this area if possible to make my keeping up with trunk less painful. Thank you. Gary.
Bryan, SocketServer has been refactored and renamed to AbstractSocketServer in the same (core.net) package.
The error message you mention has been modified to an info-level message yesterday. If you check out trunk again the error should go away.
Bryan, good to hear that.
About the error, we are currently refactoring the code base to move web stuff into a separate module (and separate jar).
Apparently there are still issues with that.
Tested, and works, thanks. I see this message log 7 times at the start though, "ERROR StatusLogger Unable to locate ServletContext". Does this have to do with my build process? Likewise, I can no longer find SocketServer. I pulled your revision from github and followed the build instructions.
Fixed in revision 1592242.
The Clock interface is now used to generate all log event timestamps, not just for Async Loggers.
Please verify and close.
Sorry, I don't use the RolloverAppender, so I'll have to defer to your comments here. Thanks.
I agree. Also, using the Clock interface for rollover would introduce some interesting scenarios like the clock going back in time etc that the rollover logic was not designed for. It may work, but I would prefer to keep the scope of this change limited to just the log event timestamps for now.
I don't think using a fictional clock will work out to well when rolling over files as the file will have a time stamp set by the OS.
Understood. We are thinking about modifying log4j to use the Clock interface to generate timestamps for all log events, not just the log events generated by Async Loggers.
Question: do you also want to use that Clock interface to determine the rollover time in the RolloverAppender?
Correct, my use case is not performance related. Instead, I implement Clock so that I can decide whether to use System time or my own artificial, simulated time.
I am simulating a program against historical data. So, when I run historically, I want to see my historical timestamp. When I run live, I want to see the System timestamp. My Clock:currentTimeMillis() decides this for me.
This is expected behaviour as of RC-1.
The use case for the Clock interface was to allow an extra performance optimization for users who want to squeeze the last drop of performance out of the logging subsystem. The trade-off is that the faster CachedClock implementation shows jumps of 10-16 milliseconds, so you lose accuracy in the log timestamps.
However this optimization only becomes visible after other bottlenecks have been removed. The performance bottleneck of Async appender is on the queue, and optimizing the timestamping mechanism would not make a visible difference in performance.
If your use case for using a custom Clock is not performance related, can you clarify what it is you are trying to achieve?
Perhaps it would make sense to use the Clock interface consistently everywhere in Log4j.


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Who killed Michael Jackson? The conspiracy theories are on.
Michael Jackson died on 25 June 2009. His heart stopped and the medical staff at the hospital where he was taken confirmed that he died of a cardiac arrest. However this could have been caused by many different factors. Many men his age suffer from sudden deaths; however most have caused their deaths by being overweight or by smoking. In the case of Michael Jackson, these factors were not the case.
Michael Jackson had suffered injuries in the past, and apparently had taken medication and pain killers. It is not known if he was making use of drugs, especially cocaine which could push a person's reaction to mimic these of a cardiac arrest.
The initial word was that there did not seem to be any foul play. However the family apparently asked for a second post mortem and for a tox-screening (testing for drugs and various toxins). These results may take a few days to a few weeks. But it seems some people can not wait for this.
The truth is that Michael lived a life in extremes, and he did go through a lot. His trials were one of the most dark and most draining parts of his life.
Pic.1. Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, mug shot of Michael.
Conspiracy theories are already flooding the internet. And some of them are really making big numbers in Google searches. So …who (or what) killed Michael Jackson?
According to the Kansas City Star, Michael was having a daily dosage of Demerol (a synthetic drug similar to morphine), and apparently he overdosed.
The Herald Sun (Australia) wrote that Uri Geller (the celebrity psychic) attributed Michael's death to the stress of the forthcoming 50-concert marathon at the O2 Arena in London.
The LA coroner did not declare the death suspicious, and most of the investigation is focused on the Demerol he was allegedly receiving daily.
Others say it was the plastic surgeries that took a toll on his death.
And of course many say that Michael's death was inevitable after the pressure created by his managers, his debts and the up-keeping of Neverland (around $4 million per annum).
Pic.2. Weekly World News (1994).
Weekly World News wrote an article as back as 1994 where a "Dr. Andy Reiss" wrote that Michael will fake his own death. That is the same "Dr. Andy Reiss" who made an "psychic" investigation of Elvis' burial site and concluded it was empty. Michael would do that to disappear and get a private life.
Anonther conspiracy theory goes a bit further. According to that theory, the concerts in the UK were a big gumble to make as much money as possible. But Michael was on his way to collapse. More and more drugs and medication were trying to keep him in one piece. At the end he either did not make it or someone "overdosed" him, in order for the insurance companies to cover the potential losses (apparently much of the money banked from the ticket sales have already found their way to offshore accounts).
In one of the conspiracy pages (Weekly World News) a small poll shows that 42% of their readers believe that Michael faked his death and is still alive. Although this poll has no scientific basis, and is not comparable to the entire population of every country, it is indicative of the beliefs of people who are web-surfing for conspiracies.
The day after Michael's death, Google was overloaded. Twitter crashed and Wikipedia had to "fake" a crash to avoid people updating info on Michael's death before the information was confirmed by official news channels.
And a few pieces of web statistics.
Search stringHits (pages)
"Michael Jackson"
+"Michael Jackson" +death
+"Michael Jackson" +"conspiracy"
michael jackson died
No matter what the toxicology reports and the post mortems will say – one thing is for sure. The post mortem sales of Michael Jacksons songs (either on CDs, DVDs or in downloading) will create an enormous cash injection to the holders of the song's copyright.


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How much do you love this face?
Those glasses came from a doctor's kit that she got from Grandma for Christmas and when she wears them, I just about die. It's just so funny.
I also love how she's becoming a little kid… laying around…
Doing her magnet puzzle. With her hammer. Smart girl.
So on Saturday Geoffrey and I realized that we didn't have anything we had to do! Sure there was stuff to do, but nothing pressing or urgent. No plans. No places to be. So we took it easy! We did decide to make a quick trip to Babies R Us. It was there I saw this bumper sticker…
I was very excited about this because we're studying the Armor of God at my Church Ladies Bible Study on Monday nights! Pretty cool to see a bumper sticker of it!
After our trip to Babies R Us, we stopped by a playground to let Harper run off some energy. It was at a Sonic! How cool is that? So we sat at picnic tables, ordered a mid-morning snack and let Harper play. The carhop asked to touch my belly. I did not enjoy that part. I wanted to say "no thanks" but she was so sweet that I felt bad turning her down. So I obliged. Meanwhile Geoffrey was chasing Harper all over the playground while she squealed with delight. She sure loves playgrounds. I mean, what kid doesn't? I was like that when I was young. I loved slides and swings and climbing and everything. To be honest, I still do! I kinda wish they'd make adult playgrounds. Actually there's something about that phrase that sounds really terrible. So nevermind.
Anyway, let's get our minds back on track here. Harper went on the little ladders and little slides a few times and then she ventured up to the tallest slide ever. I made Geoffrey go with her. The weather was beautiful and she had a great time.
Sometimes I'm just so ready to be able to do normal stuff again. And by "normal" I mean go down a big giant slide with my daughter. Geoffrey gets to have all the fun. ;o)
Harper took a good nap that day, obviously, so when she woke up, I told Geoffrey I wanted to enjoy the weather by taking Old Player out for a drive! He put her carseat in the middle and out we went! It's always so much fun when we do this. And Geoffrey and I realized Saturday that a family of 4 won't be able to squeeze in there anymore so it might be our last drive like that. Gracious.
On Sunday we took Harper to a Big Sister class! It was at Baptist Hospital. It lasted about an hour and was pretty cute. We were the first to arrive, which is shocking because usually we're the last to arrive to everything (much to my chagrin). Harper was incredibly bashful. Also shocking. She really didn't want to leave mine or Geoffrey's side.
They gave her a little fun outfit to wear to show her what the doctor would have on when it was time for baby brother to arrive. She was absolutely not interested. We put it on her and she liked to see it on "Mommy's tone {phone}" but then she wanted it OFF.
After everyone was dressed (or undressed) in doctor's garb, we went around the room and each child got to introduce themselves, say whether they were having a baby brother or sister, and when the baby was coming. Most of the kids struggled with all of the above. Harper proudly announced that she wanted to watch Nemo. That was all. Apparently I need to work on her public speaking skills.
Then the kids got to make their future new sibling a birthday card. This part I felt like they could have skipped. It was a piece of construction paper and a marker. I mean, c'mon, my daughter does sophisticated arts & crafts at my house. ;o) Geoffrey traced her hand and then she traced his. And there was plenty of scribbling.
The instructor tried to get the kiddos to sit on a mat on the floor. I didn't think Harper would be so shy about this, but she really didn't want to sit by herself.
They handed out little baby dolls for the next part of the class and I burst out laughing at some of the boys in the room. They were not having it. The class was 3 boys and 3 girls. The girls knew what they were doing, the boys didn't. Shall I get baby Jack his own doll to play with one day? You know, to expose him to different things? Look at all you men out there reading this shaking your head. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. A boy can play with dolls! Okay okay. I'm not getting into that. Part of me is joking, but another part of me…
Anyway, Harper sat really still with her doll. I think she didn't really know what she was supposed to do.
For some reason this tugged at my heart so I asked Geoffrey to go down there and sit with her. She clearly was feeling a bit uncomfortable.
The teacher talked about the baby and what it would look like, then they got to "change the baby's diaper." We wound up with an anatomically correct boy doll. Harper was intrigued. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.
Then they swaddled the baby. Mostly I just paid really close attention here because I've already forgotten that skill. Geoffrey looked like an old pro though as he helped Harper. Aw, be still my heart.
Next they read a book about being a big sister/brother. Harper was starting to warm up here. She scooted over right in front of the instructor to listen, baby doll & all. Thatta girl.
Then we toured the Labor & Delivery floor of the hospital. What fun! Harper loved this part. We even got to see a real live baby from the nursery!
They took us into Room 1 in Labor & Delivery, which is the exact room I delivered Harper. I got all emotional. It looked half the size. Funny thing about perspective….
Harper may have started the class being shy, but by the time we made it to the tour she was running through the halls and singing her ABCs at the top of her lungs. Is there a happy medium for this child? Nope.
When we got back to the room, we had "birthday cookies" for the new babies and each child received a certificate. I ate a cookie too. Honestly the Mommies should get their own tray of them. We're the ones doing all the work, right? ;o)
Anyway, it was a cute class and we enjoyed it.
On Monday I turned officially 38 weeks pregnant. And my doctor checked my progress. Pretty much nothing. So this might be a Week 40 baby! We'll see!
I also had to take Harper to her doctor. Ear infection. She woke Geoffrey and me up Sunday night crying, which she never does. When I went to check on her she told me her ear hurt. That was news to us! It's so nice that she's getting to an age where she can tell me what's wrong though, otherwise how would we have known? She never tugs or pulls on her ears. The only thing we thought was amiss was a little leakage from her eyes Sunday afternoon. And that could have very easily been eye goo from her nap! The doctor told me her left ear tube was clogged so it couldn't drain. We have to do ear drops and antibiotics. So it's probably good I'm not having a baby anytime soon. Harper's twice a day medicine list is rapidly growing! Good grief.
This week's activities started with a little St. Patrick's Day inspiration.
Some ABC uppercase & lowercase practice with shamrocks.
Tuesday we made a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end!
Wednesday we worked on matching images with their silhouettes. A cute little printable exercise I found here. I kinda thought it'd be too hard for her. I showed her how to do the first one, then handed her another and she studied it really hard. Then she lit up when she found it's matching silhouette. Then she did great with the rest! A+ for Harper!
Thursday we put colored pom poms into their matching colored tube. Of course I collected toilet paper rolls for weeks for this one. We used tweezers & toy pliers to make it more interesting.
Friday we didn't do anything on account of the stomach bug. But I'll get to that in a minute. I had planned on her working on some Gross Motor Skills by balancing on a board and doing a hopping activity with pillows. Did you ever do that when you were kids? We called it Lily Pad. You would lay out pillows (or some other objects) and space them apart and you'd have to jump from Lily Pad to Lily Pad. Sometimes we pretended there was lava that we were avoiding. Sometimes sharks or alligators were swimming dangerously close. It was all good imaginative play. What we didn't realize was how we were developing skills too! So I wanted to see what Harper thought of it. Oh well, I'll try again another day.
I know y'all probably think I'm crazy (or annoying) for these Learning Activities I plan each week. And yes, it's a lot of work to plan and prepare. I won't deny that. I have spent a lot of time finding activities and then preparing all the materials. But I really hope and pray that the hard work pays off. I know she's learning a lot. And I'm enjoying the structured time I'm spending with her. The great thing about it is that nothing I plan takes longer than 15 minutes to do. I'd be crazy to try and keep her focused for longer than that! But I know the older she gets, the better she'll be at sitting for longer periods of time doing these structured activities I plan. And this "sitting still" time is imperative for school one day. I don't get to it every week and I know things will change here soon, but I'm hoping I'll always be able to try to keep these activities up. It's just too much fun and beneficial for her for me to quit! Plus I get to use some of my teaching supplies that are busy gathering dust in the attic. They shall gather dust no more! Of course, the classroom set of multiplication flash cards will probably gather dust a little longer. I can't imagine she'll be ready for those until at least 4 years old. ;o)
Tuesday night, about half an hour after we put Harper to bed, we heard a cough, a choke, and a familiar revolting sound coming from the baby monitor. Harper had gotten sick. To be honest, I didn't think much about it. It wouldn't be the first time she's vomited after coughing. Sometimes she gets a little aggressive and chokes on her phlegm (ew). So Geoffrey and I went in there and cleaned it up. I tackled the bed and he tackled her. I mean, he didn't knock her down, just tackled the task of cleaning her up. She was pretty upset, understandably. We got everything back to normal and put her back down. She did this two more times in the next 3 hours. At this point we realized it wasn't a one time choking problem, it was a virus. Poor thing was in such rough shape. At one point Geoffrey made a pallet on the floor and tried to sleep in there with her! It didn't last long. He returned to our bed and we waited until the next round.
We were also trying to go to sleep ourselves. But no such luck. I lost count how many times she got sick but it was all over close to midnight. We had run out of bed sheets and pajamas. I had the laundry running nonstop to catch up. The rest of the night we were on pins & needles wondering if she was okay.
The next morning she had a slight fever, but she seemed to be doing okay. She skipped school and I skipped my Bible Study. We watched Finding Nemo (for the 100th time) and tried to take it easy. Harper can successfully lay still for about half an hour, tops.
But then she's gotta get up and get moving. Before long she was up on her bike riding around the house.
I tried to coax her back to the couch or chair, but it usually didn't work. There were a handful of times, however, that I think she realized she needed to sit down. And she'd come find me. And take a picture, at my insistence, to show Geoffrey we were doing okay.
After her nap when we worked on the silhouette puzzle I knew she was back to normal.
On Thursday night, while I was cooking dinner, I started feeling funny. I felt severely nauseous. At first I thought it might be hormones and maybe Baby was coming! I made dinner but I couldn't even finish eating it. I was laying on the couch thinking it was time for me to call it night. Geoffrey and Harper tried to cheer me up with some circus acrobats….
Those two…. but it didn't work, so I called it a night. While he was putting her to bed, I got sick the first time. And for the next TWELVE hours I remained sick. TWELVE. I don't know that I've ever had a tummy bug that long. It was relentless. I fell asleep in the bathroom at one point. Or maybe I passed out. It was awful. My stomach muscles are all kinds of messed up right now, what with the giant bowling ball I'm carrying around in front, but being sick made it worse. I could have been in labor for all I knew it was so painful. I know a stomach bug is bad, but being 10 days away from my due date, I felt this was the worst. I wasn't worried about me as much as I was worried about the baby. Do they get sick in there? Is it hurting him? Throughout the whole night, I was paralyzed with fear, in addition to being paralyzed with fatigue and oh yeah, non-stop vomiting. I reminded myself that God doesn't give us a spirit of fear and that I needn't be afraid. So I kept saying that over and over to myself "I'm no longer a slave to fear, I am a child of God." Which is a song too. I also sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness" which is a winner, though I have no clue where I got it from. And I had the stupid theme song to Goldie & Bear (A Disney cartoon) stuck in my head too. It was a very musical night for me apparently. At 7am, I got sick for the last time. I collapsed into bed while Harper was just waking up. I was so upset. There was just no way I'd be able to tend to her. Also, I didn't know if I would be back in the bathroom again. So Geoffrey, my fabulous husband and father to my children, called his mother (and immediately told her "no, she's not in labor, sorry for calling so early") and arranged for Harper to come there while I mended. He got her dressed, prepared a lunch, gave her all her medicine, had to put the carseat back in his car (remember it was in Old Player), and took her to his Mom's, all before work. And he had a busy work day, too. I felt so bad he had to do all that, but I was so grateful. Meanwhile, I worked on a Gatorade my mom brought me (thanks Mommy!) and tried to sleep. In between naps, I drank some water, or ate a Pedialyte popsicle, or ate a banana or crackers (thanks Mommy!) so by the time dinner rolled around, I felt a million times better. I ate some chicken noodle soup and prayed that Geoffrey wouldn't catch this awful bug.
I've forced several Emergent C's down his throat, along with a bunch of chewable Vitamin C's. I don't know if this will help, but I hope it does. I really don't want him to get this!
Today it's a gorgeous day. I've done ALLTHELAUNDRY in the house and scrubbed down our bedroom and bath. We've got all the windows open, enjoying the temperature and fresh air. Harper played outside pretty much all morning. She took a quick snack break, muddy pants and all.
Geoffrey is supposed to be taking me on a date tonight, assuming he doesn't get sick before then. I'm telling you, I have little faith in this Vitamin C regime I've put him on. That tummy bug was a doozy.
And we're still on Baby Watch, though I have a feeling it'll come the week of my due date – March 14. But maybe he'll surprise me. ;o)
I hope you all have had a good week and enjoy your weekend!


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Building a truly smart home
This year's home project is to make the house smart. The goal is to use lots of cheap, easily installed, dumb sensors the aggregate of which creates an intelligent home.
– Okay
– Kevo smart lock It needs batteries to run, can be flaky and noisy locking and unlocking, but it's really nice to have one less key to keep on me. ( It randomly locks me out when I'm going for a run or to check the mail )
– Excellent
– Honeywell Wi-Fi Smart Thermostat The temperature is much more even throughout the house. I love the screens and running the fan to filter the air automatically.
If you want to install a smart thermostat but do not have a C Wire it's very easy to add one. You can buy 5-wire thermostat wire at your favorite hardware store, it's about $20 which was about 3x as much as I needed to add wires to two thermostats. We duct taped the end of the new wire to the old and slowly pulled it through the walls. Cut a much longer piece than you need and take the time to untwist it so it doesn't kink inside the walls while you pull it through. Honeywell and several do it yourself sites have photos of where to hook up the 5 wires on the furnace/AC end.
– Ecobee I replaced the 2nd floor thermostat with an Ecobee. There are lots of tiny rooms up there ( all designed to be bedrooms ) having multiple sensors across the rooms lets me set the temperature in the room I'm using to be comfortable. ( master bedroom at night, home office days etc )
– Excellent
– Ring Doorbell This is wonderful, no more opening the door to talk to door to door sales men.
– Fail:
– I've recently begun setting up hydroponic gardens. I wanted them automated, but the builtin in timer switches wouldn't work, these all needed to plug into something. GE has a 24 hour basic plugin timer, it's about $3.50 at your local hardware store, $8 online. A couple of those let me automate the lights and water pumps. Despite being blinding to humans the LEDs weren't bright enough for the plants to grow properly.
– Better
– Samsung Smart Cam You can set up another Gmail account and have it upload all the photos to Picassa which is a nice way to keep them and view them when you're not home. This camera is flaky as hell and goes out when I most want to capture images. I'm looking for a better option. ( on the upside it didn't burn down the house like the Samsung washers and phones )
– Meh
– Pocket Sentry Motion Cam let me use 2 old iPhones (3/3G) and set up motion sensing photo taking security. No internet interface if you don't want one. Every afternoon when the sun would hit the window it was glare out and in the summer the phone would stop working till it cooled down.
– Excellent
– Replaced halogen under the cabinet lighting with LED and hooked up motion/light sensors switches to them. I really like these, there are three and it's enough to light up the entire kitchen.
– Excellent
– I replaced a light in a niche with an LED a few months back. This week I found my first programmable ( 7 days, 24 hours ) light switch and hooked it up to turn on the niche light at 7am and off at 10pm. Off the light went at 10pm, but not all the way. It turns out many 3 way switches, dimmers, motion sensors and smart home switches leak enough trickle charge to keep the LED on at a very low light. As far as I know there is no danger in this, it can be a bit unsettling. If you are using LEDs and smart switches they either all need to be compatible or you need to be comfortable with a little light trickling out. These switches can also be set to random to make it appear someone's home while you're out of town.
( Parts: Indoor Digital Timer by Defiant ) (* it forgets its settings every time the power goes out and it's really difficult to read the screen to reprogram it, I still love it, but am watching for a better version )
– Fail
– I put solar lights on the upper window ledges in the two story room, it's free ambient lighting, no wiring required. I used outdoor lights, the ones they have for gardens, didn't use the stakes. The window ledges are large enough to hold them comfortably. Watch the lumens when you buy solar lights, I've been able to find 6-8 lumens for the same price as 1.2 lumen lights. The windows receive different amounts of sun so lights the were always a different brightness.
– Excellent
– Motion sensor lights in small rooms that are used for a short time: bathrooms, hallway, garage, laundry, walk in closets.
( Parts: Lutron Occupancy Sensor single or three pole $20-$30/ea )
– I couldn't get the wall switch motion sensor to work master bedroom closet. The switch is jumpered off another light and there's an outlet jumpered off of it. So I swapped out the light fixture and used a motion sensing bulb, but that didn't work either. I guess the odd wiring setup interferes somehow? idk? I'll come back to this one.
( Parts: Polar LED bulb with motion sensor, or AmerTac Indoor Motion Activated Light Control )
– Okay, some of them make a whistling noise while the water is running
– LED temperature sensor in shower. The lights are blue when the water is cold then turn purple, orange, red, flashing red as the water heats up. This requires no battery, you may need an extension arm to mount it in your shower. This is very nice, no more jumping into a cold shower. I liked the rainfall shower so much I upgraded to the 12″ one.
( Parts: VDomus 8″ Wall mount LED Color Changing Square Overhead Showerhead $35/ea )
– Excellent
– LED plugin night lights that turn on only when the home is dark.
( Parts: Maxxima 10 LED Night Light with Sensor, 4 pack/$13 )
– Excellent
-LED plugin night lights that turn on only when dark and motion is detected
( Parts: Amerelle Night Light, $10/each )
– Meh on the laptop, Excellent with an old iPad or iPhone
– iTunes on an old laptop has been setup to play music ( both mine and internet radio ) through the house stereo. Apple has an iPhone/iPod app called 'Remote' that allows you to control iTunes from your iPhone or iPad. The house came with a built in stereo system that has speakers in the master bedroom and all the public rooms.
– Useful
– Temperature sensor in attic that transmits temperature to indoor station.
( Parts: wireless weather sensors and base stations, $10-$200 )
– Flaky
– Water sensor alarms: one in the first floor bath, one in each overflow tray for the AC condensers in the attic, all of the above have flooded in the past.
( Parts: Swann Anti-Flood and Water Leakage Alarm $20/ea )
– Fun
– LED temperature sensors in the bathroom sinks: These require no batteries, running water turns the light on. The color changes from blue to red as the water heats up. These were trivial to install in facets with screw in aerators.
( LightInTheBox LED Kitchen Sink Faucet Sprayer $4/ea )
– Excellent
– Motion sensor night lights up driveway and front walkway. It's deliberately overly bright in your eyes to discourage unwanted visitors after dark.
( Parts: Utilitech 360 Degree, Dual Detection Zone, LED motion sensor night light ~$130 )
In progress:
I picked up a Windows IoT Pack from AdaFruit, haven't had time to play with it yet.
Mosquito control: Moved to here, it was getting lengthy
– Temperature sensor to turn on/off oil filled radiators we use for heat in cold rooms in the winter.( might have to home brew this one )
– Ceiling fans that turn on off depending on the temperature of the room
– Interactive sensors for pets to do idk yet?
– Garden soil moisture and temperature sensors to turn on irrigation when needed and only when needed.
– Send distilled water from AC condenser to garden for irrigation, not down sewer
– Have water sensor turn off AC if pan starts to fill (one completed, will do next one when compressor needs replacing)
– Natural gas generator that turns on when we lose electricity
– Ambient data, weather, traffic etc
– Weaponized robot to defend home from salespeople and missionaries ( have English Mastiff to keep strangers away in the meantime, ' least when he's awake, which isn't often )
– Acquire military drone to keep squirrels out of gardens ( may have to settle for a house cat for this one )
This page will be updated as projects proceed and new ideas come to me.
Other home projects:
Saving energy in older New England homes
How efficient is your home?


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Electronic Commerce or E-commerce is defined as the method of buying and selling of products and services that also involves the transmission of funds over through the internet. It has been considered as the best way for different types of businesses to sell their products. Different forms of E-commerce are in used such as electronic transfer of funds, processing online transactions, supply chain and inventory management systems, electronic data interchange (EDI), and many more.
Today's advance internet technology has given us the luxury of searching and buying products through the World Wide Web at home without the need or the hassle to physically go to the markets and the shopping malls. All you need to do is search the product in the internet and you will see a number of websites to choose from. Then click on the "view website" link or tab and you will see product details that in turn allows you to find the product best fit according to your planned budget.
Through E-commerce, almost every single product is sold over the internet and a large number of different shopping websites from https://supertrippy.com/ is just one click away. Implementing E-commerce in business is surely essential in making the business more successful. Customers are no longer limited as in case of having the need to visit physical stores that may have boundaries mostly in geographical location. The traditional method of ordering a product is more tedious and time-consuming than this advanced method since there is no need of any paper requests through mail. Anyone who wants to run a business can create an e-commerce website.
There are two types of electronic commerce. One is Business to Business e-commerce (B2B). This is a type of e-commerce in which a transaction is carried between two businesses. Different independent businesses have the means to sell their products through super trippy shopping websites. These websites enhance business revenues as well as sell.
The other type of electronic commerce is the Business to Consumers e-commerce (B2C). Obviously from its name is a type of e-commerce that involves the direct transaction between a business and a consumer. Most popular independent businesses have their own website that a consumer can visit and place their order from. You may read further about e-commerce at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/e-commerce/.
Revenues and online business sell have found that a well-designed and user friendly e-commerce website increase the success in selling products. Such sites are booming nowadays and people are accepting it tremendously due to its flexibility as well as easy availability to customize its nature.
Although the customer who buy products from the internet does not know how everything works, still the website developers are still willing to work on e-commerce projects in order to develop a successful e-commerce website is very important.
There are certain factors that need to be considered before your website is built. If these issues are not checked, the results would be catastrophic. Here are points for you to check if your business is ready to benefit from the e-commerce.
Are my products suitable for an e-commerce website?
In all honesty, not everything is suited to sell online that is why it is vital to understand whether the customers are likely to buy the product you are directly selling from your super trippy website. Products that are suitable to sell online share common features; Homogenous, Shippable, Inexpensive.
What is your target market?
For any internet enthusiast they will tell you that you can sell to customers no matter where they are in the world as long as you have a super trippies e-commerce website.
If you have a conventional business that would supply to customer in a specific geographical area the idea of being able to sell your product all over the world is very appealing to any internet marketer.
If you are able to fulfill an overseas order it can be quite difficult, you have take into consideration if you need to charge VAT to these customers based outside of your country. Do you need to pay excise tax if you have to send it to the US? How much will it cost for the package to be delivered in New Zealand?
Having these in mind, a lot of business owners choose to restrict their website in accepting orders from other countries, especially if their e-commerce website is in its early stage. The only problem if you confine your market can sometimes be a sensible price you need to pay. Discover more about e-commerce at https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_commerce.
Payment Processing - Offline or Real Time?
There are a lot of websites that completes online transactions the exact time of purchase while the customer is still viewing your website. This is called real time processing while it uses payment service provider.
- Secure environment which the customers can enter credit/debit card details safely.
- There is automated connection direct to the banking system, so that the transactions will be verified and checked.
- Offline processing on the other hand means that the website simply collects the customer's card details while storing them in a secure server. This transaction is then processed manually at a later date.
Today, a fast and reliable way to purchase products and services online is through electronic commerce businesses. Branding can really help in making an e-commerce business successful.
There are a lot of people around the world who would rather purchase goods in e-commerce websites than in regular stores. The different e-commerce website offers products like clothing, electronics, groceries and other products and even different types of services. Electronic commerce gave people another option on how they could avail different kinds of services and products. The electronic commerce industry is already and will be very successful in the future.
Though the e-commerce businesses from https://supertrippy.com/ are successful they also have a lot of competition. There are plenty of new electronic commerce brands that are released every day. Branding is very important to many e-commerce companies. The electronic company should create and provide quality branding for their company.
You will stand out from your competitors when you have an effective branding plan. Here are some questions that are very helpful in making an effective branding plan:
Are the goods that you offer in good quality and in a reasonable price?
Do you offer discounts and other promotions for your consumers?
Do you offer new products once in a while?
What are the things that would convince consumers to pick your brand among other brands?
E-commerce companies should be able to get the attention of product vendors and even consumers to their websites. If your e-commerce website has a strong brand then vendors would be attracted to your website and choose it as their market place. If your website delivers well, then you will have an increase in the number of consumers and sellers. Know more claims about e-commerce at http://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/03/07/africa-view-e-commerce-spc.cnn.
When you have effective e-commerce branding you can maintain regular customers, you will make marketing easier, increase loyalty and you will have long term success. You should take note of important points when you make a branding plan like what is the main goal of your business, come up with solutions to possible problems that your customers might encounter and the proof of the quality of the service that you provide.
Here are some of the things that helps in electronic commerce branding:
A. The Brand Image of your company
This is involve in the logos, taglines, social content, marketing caption and banners. Having a good brand image can maintain and create loyal customers.
B. Customer Satisfaction
Customers are very important to your business from https://supertrippy.com/. Make sure that your customers are satisfied with the products or services that you offer.


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Success is Easily Predictable
The discussions of why and how technologies catch up never cease, and they always have in common that they are based on how difficult it's to foresee the future. I disagree with them all: it's very easy to predict technological success. If you know exactly how.
Start with this little remark by Steven Chu, US Energy Secretary, stating the necessary conditions for the success of electrical vehicles: "A rechargeable battery that can last for 5000 deep discharges, 6–7 x higher storage capacity (3.6 Mj/kg = 1000 Wh) at 3x lower price will be competitive with internal combustion engines (400–500 mile range)." First, a real exercise of honesty for a government official: I hope it did mean that no subsidies were given to sub-optimal technological proposals. But more importantly, he offered some quantifiable pre-conditions for the acceptance and diffusion of an emergent technology, mixing technical variables with economic ones.
This line of thought reminded me of some of the most brilliants annotations in Edison's Notebooks (Notebook Nº3, pages 106-108; Notebook Nº6, pages 11-12; Notebook Nº9 pages 40-42): he combined cost considerations to reduce the amount of copper and the price of high-resistance filaments, with scientific reasoning using Ohm and Joule laws, to guide their experimentation in the quest of better designs of a full electrical system, and not just the light bulb.
It's that easy: mix technical variables with supply-demand analysis, some micro-economics and much attention to discontinuities in the marginal propensities to consume in the face of technological change. And this is why pitches to VCs are always so wrong and boring: almost no attention to key economic considerations and full of reasoning by analogy.
Like children, always solve labyrinths by starting at the exit: so early we learn that the end is the beginning.
Towards Optimal Software Adoption and Distribution
Since the very beginning of software industry, it's always been the same: applying the most innovative ways towards lowering the friction costs of software adoption is the key to success, especially in winner-takes-all market and platform-plays.
From the no-cost software bundled with the old mainframes to the freeware of the '80s and the free-entry web applications of the 90's, the pattern is clear: good'n'old pamphlet-like distribution to spread software as it were the most contagious of ideas.
It comes to the realization that the cost of learning to use some software is much higher than the cost of software licenses; or that it's complementary to some more valuable work skills; or that the expected future value from owning the network created by its users would be higher that selling the software itself. Never mind, until recently, little care has been given to reasoning from first principles about the tactics and strategies of software distribution for optimal adoption, so the only available information are practitioner's anecdotes with no verifiable statistics, let alone a corpus of testable predictions. So, it's refreshing to find and read about these matters from a formalized perspective:
The most remarkable result of the paper is that, in the case of a very realistic scenario of random spreading of software with limited control and visibility over who gets the demo version, an optimal strategy is offered with conditions under which the optimal price is not affected by the randomness of seeding: just being able to identify and distribute to the low-end half of the market is enough for optimal price formation, since its determination will depend on the number of distributed copies and not on the seeding outcome. But with multiple pricing and full control of the distribution process (think registration-required freemium web applications) the optimal strategy is to charge non-zero prices to the higher half-end of the market, in deep contrast with the single-digits percentage of the paying customers in real world applications, which suggest that too much money is being left on the table.
As a follow-up to my previous post on software patents, this very interesting and recent survey on the economics of patents:
Software Patents: Just Use Them Well
Holding a contrarian view could carry out great benefits: there has always been a need for a procedure to protect any innovative software from reverse engineering that at the same time allows for its appropriation and exclusionary use, as well as it precludes any imitation of its functionality, implementation details aside. This procedure really exists, it's the proverbial patent: a negative right, temporal and exclusionary, to protect any novel intellectual property in exchange of publishing enough information to replicate it. In some sense, it's the only open window for the ordinary citizen to introduce its own personal legislation, a strong general purpose tool, however double-edged it may be.
The frontal and so popular opposition to software patents transcends the software world: indeed it can be found in past centuries and for other technologies; for example, the most cited case, and therefore so full of hyperbole, is the decades-long delayed adoption of the vapour machine due to the machiavellic use of the rights conferred by one of its patents.
Regarding current practices, a detailed study of the descriptive statistics of the use of software patents shows that they have been the fastest growing category for decades, though software companies have not been granted many of them because the biggest appliers are other industries similarly intensive in their use of IT capital but also with a strong record of filing for strategic patents. Note also that in the absence of strong patents rights, custom and common sense have required the use of copyright protection (which also does not need to give up any source code) even if it's a far weaker protection: in fact, both of them are complimentary, but their actual use is substitutive, because whenever one of them is weakened, the other gets used much more.
From a purely economic point of view, studies show a statistically significant increase of the stock value of the software patent-owning companies and they happen to be a mandatory prerequisite to enter markets in which the incumbents already own strongly interdependent patent portfolios. And contrary to general opinion and practice, their use in software start-ups is, overall, positive: they increase the number of rounds and their amount, as well as survival and valuation in case of acquisition. From a strategic point of view, software patents raise barriers to entry acting as a deterrent mechanism to the kind of competition that just follow profits without investing in any kind of sunk costs in the search of technological advances: in short, an increase of 10% in the number of patents entails a reduction in competition between 3 and 8 per cent. And even if their valuation is a very complex matter, the intrinsic value of software patents is higher than that of the rest of patents.
In practice, the biggest burden in their granting and defence is the search of prior art: that is, even under the assumption that the inventor is operating under the principles of good will and full cooperation, he can't get access to the full prior art because most software is developed internally for companies and never sees the public light. This gives rise to a great number of non-innovative and trivial patents, and others that ignore the prior art on purpose, a matter which sometimes can be difficult to settle (vg. Apple Multi-touch, Amazon 1-click). Fortunately, malicious uses don't fare well in the Courts of Justice: the strategies of the so-called patent trolls aren't successfully long-term, that is, those who are operating within the letter of the law but against its spirit, and are using the patent system to extract rents from others that are using them for productive purposes, a problem that carries a very high economic cost. Only their fair use brings a true premium to business valuations, that is, building a good patent portfolio that does not enter into practices of dubious ethics like filing for patents that only pursue the cross licensing with competitors to avoid paying them for their intellectual property.
The fastest way to begin to learn how to write software patents is to start with this set of documents. And since real learning only happens from the best sources, there are lots of noteworthy software patents, examples to follow for their high degree of inventiveness and the business volume that they backed and helped generate:
- The first practical algorithm to solve linear programming problems.
- DSL, the technology that allowed for the cheap diffusion of broadband connectivity.
- Pagerank, the famous patent that laid out the foundations of Google; it also takes into account the method to quickly compute the rankings of indexed pages.
- Lempel-Ziv-Welch, the well-known algorithm for lossless data compression.
- In the cryptography field, the RSA and ECC algorithms, at the core of public key cryptography.
- The beginnings of digital sound would not have been possible without the DPCM method or FM sound synthesis, and the patents of MP3 compression are dispersed across many companies.
- In the storage field, it's curious how RAID was invented a decade before its definition as a standard.
- Regarding hardware, we shall not forget the patents awarded to the transistor (Shockley and Bardeen) and modern magnetic storage enabled thanks to the GMR phenomenon.
All Equity and No Debt Makes the VC a Dumb Boy
Entrepreneurs are already well versed on the intricacies of startup financing and the pernicious effects it may have on their companies: down-rounds, dilution, preferred stock and stock with different voting rights, among others. For that reason, they plan ahead and try their best not to find themselves caught in stalemates and catch-22 situations with no possible resolution.
But what I find fascinating is the lack of thought exhibited by VCs on their term sheets, driven more by custom and just plain imitation than by economically rational designs. The case is most notorious in the disregard of debt instruments (convertible debt and notes), of which their advantageous properties to the entrepreneurial side of the investment are widely known, but not their equally valuable properties to the other side of equation.
The detailed study of the financing structures of tech startups is a puzzling experience of negation of the received wisdom from the classic Corporate Finance results, especially the Myers-Majluf theorem: given a project within a startup, with positive or negative NPV, and the founders knowing the project's NPV with very high certainty but startup outsiders do not, ceteris paribus, the founders may not invest in the project with positive NPV if outside equity must be issued to finance it, because the value of the project may go to the new shareholders at the expense of earlier shareholders . That is, the asymmetric information is causing an agency cost to the current shareholders if the startup issues equity, but not if it issues debt. This straightforward result is key to explain the low start-up survival rates through the different rounds of financing since, in the light of the full lifecycle of the entrepreneur, it's perfectly rational to prefer that the current startup goes bankrupt to start a new one with the project with positive NPV if the cost of issuing new equity is so high, avoiding any pivot in the process.
And then, by Green Theorem (from Corporate Finance, not from Calculus) convertible debt, not straight, would be the ideal instrument: if the startup can choose investment levels between different projects with different risks, and outsiders don't know the relative scale of the investments then, ceteris paribus, current shareholders bear an agency cost if the startup gets financed only by straight debt, a cost that can be avoided by issuing convertible debt.
These pecking order results hold even with stock options and without asymmetric information or managerial firm-specific human capital (see Stock Options and Capital Structure), so I wonder how many decades it will take for practice to meet theory… if they dare!
The New New Tech IPO Bubble
The latest IPOs of tech companies like LinkedIn, Yandex and RenRen have reactivated the never-ending debate of valuations and the fear of another tech bubble, even if most tech stocks are cheaper than before the dot-com bust. But this time, we have the masterful studies of Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital: The Dynamics of Bubbles and Golden Ages and Tech Stock Valuation: Investor Psychology and Economic Analysis, providing us with tons of empirical data from previous bubbles. Or even better, real-time theories of asset bubble formation, like the Jarrow-Kchia-Protter-Shimbo theory put to test in the following paper:
This time is different.
Software Profit Strategies by Category
How will the mobile application space look like in the future? Which proven strategies from the past will still provide an edge? And which strategic levers should be considered to bring exorbitant profits?
To solve the mobile conundrum and peer into the future with the wisdom of the past, I've been collecting economic data from the most diverse data sources to estimate regressions(IRLS, LAD) of profit (quarterly and/or annual) on different software categories (desktop, web, mobile) and their features. In other words, the most obvious analysis that nobody has ever carried out.
The following are stylized initial results, omitting exact coefficients but showing their size and direction (* for statistically significant):
|Total Addressable Market
|User Base Size
|Development Sunk Costs
|Latency tolerant
|– -(*)
|License fee
|– – (*)
|Maintenance fees
|Targeting Quality
|Use Time per User
|Bandwagon effect
|Standard setter
|Linkage / interoperability
|Data/file lock-in
|Job/skill effects
|Learning/training effects
|Incumbency effect
R^2=0.66, sample size=352 (includes most important and known programs per category)
Focusing into the higher size and statistically significant variables, the data reveals the different nature of each software category:
- Desktop applications: the most profitable strategy is to develop broadly used programs with low initial price, but higher maintenance fees and a significant impact on the labor market. Don't make programs, revolutionize professions.
- Web: very high scale ad-monetized applications with major network effects. The result of the open nature of the web with its hyper-linking structure across domains and the absence of micropayments.
- Mobile software is a yet-to-be-determined mixture of desktop and web applications. This category is like desktop software, in that it has the same technical architecture, but its evolution resembles more closely that of the web due to the incumbency effects from web companies and lack of switching costs and traditional network effects.
More insights in future posts from this and other data sources.
Data sources: Yahoo Finance, Crunchbase, Wakoopa, RescueTime, Flurry, Admob, Distimo, Alexa, Quantcast, Compete, others.
Rich&King: Solving the Founder's Dilemma
Every tech entrepreneur faces the same dilemma: raise as much as capital as needed to grow as fast as possible, while avoiding dilution. The tradeoff was quantified by Noam Wasserman in a study of 460 startups, showing that in general, refusing to release control only harms the business and the entrepreneur itself:
Even so, entrepreneurs, hopeful creatures by nature, keep on searching whatever hack that gives them an edge to reduce dilution. But the biggest hack is, and always will be, possessing perfect time-to-market skills, the entrepreneurial quality per se. And whilst founders usually manage to keep 5-15% shares after IPO, some do much better, vg: Bill Gates(40.2%), Pierre Omidyar(30%) and Larry Ellison(27.5%). Another interesting case is Google, where founders keep control using Class B shares with super-voting rights (1-to-10) to offset that each one only managed to keep 13.4% of the company, and Netscape, where Jim Clark kept 25.5% of the shares vs. 2.6% of Marc Andreessen (maybe it has something to do with Clark keeping only 3% after IPO of Silicon Graphics, his previous startup). But it's outside the tech industry, where we find the quirkiest scheme to keep control, Kamprad's IKEA.
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