text:
Per-packet billing for a packet data network, mobile or fixed, is provided by retrieving and processing all packets transported at a physical layer of the network, where the data packets are communicated with a traffic function that operates independently of a billing function. Using a billing-function computing resource, which is separate and independent from a traffic-function computing resource that processes traffic related information, the billing data are filtered out, processed, stored and distributed, without competing with the traffic functions of the network. Two independent physical layer interfaces separately couple a communication link of the physical layer to the billing-function computing resource and traffic-function computing resource, respectively.
1. A packet data network that provides billing data on a per-packet basis, comprising:
a network interface having a physical layer for transporting data packets over a communication link;
a first physical layer interface coupled to the communication link that provides traffic related information;
a traffic function computing resource that processes the traffic related information for forwarding over the packet data network;
a second layer interface that retrieves all of the data packets based on which the traffic related information is provided; and
a billing-function computing resource coupled to the first physical layer that processes the retrieved data packets to provide billing data on a per-packet basis, independent and separate from the traffic function computing resource.
2. The packet data network of
3. The packet data network of
4. The packet data network of
5. The packet data network of
This invention generally relates to packet data services, and more particularly, to collecting billing data on a per-packet basis.
With the growing need for mobile data communications, which is driven by such factors as work place flexibility, connectivity, and time saving, subscribers are now requiring data services that were once offered exclusively by fixed data networks. The growth of mobile data service market is further fueled by the wide spread use of portable devices, which are equipped with radio access features that provide wireless connectivity for using mobile data services. For example, one such widely used service is an e-mail service that has become a necessity for many corporate and consumer users.
In some conventional mobile data networks, data access is provided via a circuit switched service. The circuit switched service, however, requires dedicated use of scarce radio resources during each session, even when no data is being communicated over a wireless link, such as an RF link. The requirement for such dedicated use arises mainly from long set up and signaling time required to connect and disconnect on a per-packet basis under the circuit switched arrangement. Because of limited radio resources, the network operators have been forced to bill subscribers for the duration of entire sessions without regard to the amount of data communicated over the RF link. This arrangement, however, has proven unsatisfactory both for the operators, who are required to dedicate their valuable radio resources for the entire length of sessions, and for subscribers who must pay for the entire duration of sessions, without regard to the volume of communicated data.
For billing purposes, most fixed Internet Protocol (IP) networks do not charge for usage on a per-packet basis. This is because procedures for collecting billing data on a per-packet basis require significant amount of computing capacity, with the benefits of collecting such billing data being outweigh by its complexity, specially in view of wide availability of fixed data bandwidth resources. As a result, conventional IP routers, that support billing functions, are designed with integrated traffic and billing computing resources. That is, the billing function and traffic function use the same computing resource.
In order to handle frequent traffic of small volumes of data or bursty traffic, such as those associated with browsing the Internet, packet switched networks are preferred for providing a mobile packet data service, which are defined by such standards as General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), CDPD and PPDC. Unlike the circuit switched data services, the mobile packet data services do not require dedicated use of the radio resources. For example, under the GPRS standard, each packet of data contains a destination address, providing for fast set up.
Consequently, under GPRS, CDPD and PPDC arrangements, collecting billing data on a per-packet basis has been incorporated into the corresponding standards, to allow operators to bill subscribers on a per-packet basis. Therefore, for a particular subscriber, the billing function of such mobile data service must account for each data packet handled by the traffic function, based on destination address, source address, size, etc. If the billing function and the traffic function are integrated, however, these functions end up competing for the use the same computing resource. Therefore, for a given traffic performance, a higher-end computing resource is required, if the billing and traffic functions use the same computing resource. Conversely, for a given computing resource, a lower traffic performance may be achieved, when the traffic function and billing function are integrated.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a simple and cost effective mobile data service that is capable of providing billing function on a per-packet basis, without adversely effecting the traffic function of the network.
The present invention addresses the above need by separating the computing resource of the billing function from that of the traffic function.
The present invention provides billing data for a packet data network on a per-packet basis by performing the traffic function using a first computing resource that processes packet traffic related information. Under the invention, the physical layer over which the data packets are transported is used to retrieve all the data packets that provide the traffic related information. A billing data function uses a second computing resource, which is independent of the first computing resource, for generating billing data on a per-packet basis resource based on the retrieved data packets.
According to some of the more detailed features of the invention, the packet data network provides a mobile packet data service, for example, under a GPRS standard. Moreover, the physical layer of the preferred embodiment is an Ethernet physical layer.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system that advantageously incorporates the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a packet data switch according to the present invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a communication system 10 that advantageously incorporates the present invention is shown. The communication system 10 is a GSM communication system, which provides wireless voice and data communication capability for a plurality of mobile stations 12. In an exemplary embodiment, the mobile data messaging service of the system 10 is provided by a GPRS defined standard, which allows for communicating data packets at a transmission rate of up to 115 Kbit/s. The GPRS hardware architecture deployed in the system 10 utilizes the existing GSM nodes, in addition to others, for supporting packet switching, and inter-working with existing packet data networks. The mobile stations 12 are also equipped to handle GPRS provided mobile packet data service, in addition to handling voice service. Examples of such mobile stations 12 include smart phones, Personal Digital Assistances (PDA), or portable computers, such as a lap tops, or palm tops that operate with or without a cellular telephone.
The mode of operation of GSM communication systems is described in European Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI) documents ETS 300 573, ETS 300 574 and ETS 300 578. Therefore, the operation of the system 10 is described only to the extent necessary for understanding the present invention. Although the present invention is described as embodied in a GSM system, those skilled in the art would appreciate that a wide variety of other communication systems, such as those based on PDC, AMPS, D-AMPS, UMTS, or CDMA standards, may also be utilized. Similarly, the mobile packet data service of the invention may be based on other standards, such as CDPD, PPDC or UMTS packet data.
According to the present invention, per-packet billing for a packet data network, mobile or fixed, is provided by retrieving and processing all packets transported at a physical layer of the network, where the data packets are communicated with a traffic function that operates independently of a billing function. Using a billing-function computing resource, which is separate and independent from a traffic-function computing resource that processes the traffic related information, the billing data are filtered out, processed, stored and distributed, without competing with the traffic functions of the network. Two independent physical layer interfaces separately couple a communication link of the physical layer to the billing-function computing resource and traffic-function computing resource, respectively. Under the arrangement of the invention, a first physical layer interface coupled to the billing-function computing resource is configured to listen and to retrieve every data packet sent over the communication link, and a second independent physical layer interface routes the traffic related information to the traffic function computing resource.
The system 10 is designed as a hierarchical network with multiple levels for managing calls and transmission of voice and packet data messages. At a higher hierarchical level, a Mobile Switching Center/Visitor Location Register (MSC/VLR) 14 is responsible for the routing of calls from an originator to a destination. In particular, the MSC/VLR 14 is responsible for setup, control, and termination of calls and broadcasting of the messages, with a VLR storing information about visiting mobile stations. The MSC/VLR 14 is also associated with a corresponding home location register (HLR) 16, which stores information relating to the mobile stations 12 belonging to a home MSC/VLR 14.
One or more logical nodes known as Serving GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN) 18 provide packet routing to and from service areas serving GPRS subscribers that are physically located within a corresponding service area. In this way, depending on their location, GPRS subscribers may be served by any one of the SGSNs 18 in the network. At a lower hierarchical level, each one of the SGSNs 18 are connected to corresponding base station controllers (BSC 20). The primary function of a BSC 20 is radio resource management. The BSC 20 also includes functionality for controlling the packet channels (PCU, packet control unit) as well as mobility management functionality for GPRS and handling of GPRS paging. Each BSC 20 controls one or more base transceiver stations (BTSs) 22, which primarily provide network air interface, through RF links, for transmission and reception of data bursts within a designated cell. Each BTS 22 also implements protocols supporting packet data for the air interface over the RF link.
Accordingly, in the system 10, the data traffic to the mobile stations 12 is routed from a SGSN 18 to a BTS 22 via a BCS 20. In addition, the SGSNs 18 perform authentication, ciphering and identification check, mobility management, and logical link management for the mobile stations 12. All subscription information in the system are handled by the HLR 16, which contains GPRS subscription data and routing information. Logical nodes known as Gateway GPRS Support Nodes (GGSN) 24 provide the interface with an external IP packet network 26 and a X.25 network 28. The GGSNs 24 include access functionality that interfaces external ISP functions like routers, DHCP and RADIUS servers, for security and billing purposes as well as dynamic allocation of IP addresses. The GGSNs 24 translate data formats, signaling protocols and address information in order to permit communication between different networks. From the external IP network 26's point of view, the GGSNs 24 are hosts owning all IP addresses of all subscribers served by the GPRS network. Functionality for routing to a suitable SGSN 18 and protocol conversion is provided by the GGSNs 24. The HLR 16, which is accessible from the SGSNs 18, also maps each subscriber to one or more of the GGSNs 24.
All of the nodes are interconnected via a backbone network 30, that in the exemplary embodiment is an Internet Protocol (IP) network. SGSN and GGSN functionalities may be combined in the same physical node, or each functionality may reside in different physical nodes. The SGSNs 18 and GGSNs 24, which incorporate GPRS backbone network protocol (IP) routing functionality, are interconnected with IP routers that incorporate packet data switches configured for providing per-packet billing data according to the present invention.
The GPRS network within the GSM system 10 offers a logical channel for packet transmission between the GGSNs 24 and the GPRS subscribers via the SGSNs 18, which, as described above, serve the geographical area within which the subscribers are located. In a well known manner, packet transmission between interconnected nodes within the system 10 takes place over a communication link by a defined physical layer, which functions according to one of a suitable number of networking standards.
Referring to FIG. 2, a block diagram shows a physical packet transport layer over which data packets are transported in the packet data network of the invention. In the exemplary embodiment, the physical layer is based on a Ethernet LAN standard, such as a 10Base-T Ethernet LAN. Two independent Ethernet interfaces 33 and 35 couple a communication link 34 of the physical layer to a billing data function computing resource 36 and a traffic function computing resource 38. As shown, a first Ethernet interface 33 couples the communication link 34 to the billing data function computing resource, and a second separate Ethernet interface 35 couples the link 34 to the traffic function computing resource 38. A third interface 40 couples the traffic function computing resource to the rest of the GPRS network. Therefore, the present invention adds an independent computing resource with a separate Billing Data function to the same Ethernet physical layer as that used by the incoming and/or outgoing packets to the Traffic function computing resource 38.
Normally an Ethernet interface listens to every transported data packet over the communication, but it only retrieves the packets (or frames) addressed to its address or the packets that are part of a link broadcast or multi-cast message. The Ethernet interface 33, which is coupled to the billing-function computing resource, is modified to allow for retrieval of all packets on the communication link 34. In this way, the modified Ethernet interface 33 retrieves copies of all packets to and from the traffic function computing resource 38. The retrieved copies of all packets are processed by the billing-function computing resource 36, without the traffic-function computing resource 38 being effected or being even aware of it. Because the billing data function is configured to use a separate Ethernet or physical layer interface for the billing data distribution, the billing function under the present invention functions without putting any load on the Ethernet communication channel of the Traffic function.
From the foregoing description it would be appreciated that the billing function under the present invention does not use the same computing resource as the Traffic function, and thus, can be configured not to put any load on the Ethernet communication resources of the Traffic function. Furthermore, development of the Traffic function and the billing data function can be done in parallel by independent development teams, thus reducing time-to-market and cost. In this way, the billing function may also be marketed independently, as an option, for example.
Patent Citations
Referenced by
Legal Events
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text:
November 27, 2014
March 17, 2012
A Virginia Beach woman faces charges after dozens of rabbits were removed from her home and others were found dead.
Media outlets report 60-year-old Tegwen M. Davis was charged with three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty and two counts of improper disposal of a dead animal.
Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center spokesman Wayne Gilbert says more than 90 rabbits were removed Thursday and Friday from Davis' home. Authorities initially went to the home after receiving a report of a foul smell.
Gilbert says five rabbits were dead and two more had to be euthanized.
He says many of the rabbits were living in filthy conditions. They are being examined and placed for adoption.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
CGI Chuck Norris is better than the real Jean-Claude Van Damme.
After Jean-Claude Van Damme showed off his flexibility on two moving trucks, Channing Tatum decided to show him up on the set of 22 Jump Street.
How to Obtain Happiness
This Conversation Between a 13-Year-Old Coming Out to His ...
The Origin of Millipedes and Centipedes
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Celebrities Read Mean Tweets of the Day
This Woman in Need Was Called in to "Clean" a House. It Turns ...
Ex-English Teacher, Now Congressman, Corrects Others Memos
15 Ways The United States Is The Best (At Being The Worst)
Ladies Need a Date for Thanksgiving?
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text:
McIlroy grabs early lead in Dubai; Tiger five back
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (SportsNetwork.com) - Rory McIlroy fired a 9- under-par 63 on Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Dubai Desert Classic.
World No. 1 Tiger Woods, who missed the 54-hole cut at last week's Farmers Insurance Open, shares 10th with six others after shooting 4-under 68.
McIlroy, who tied for second in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago, carded seven birdies and an eagle during his bogey-free round at Emirates Golf Club.
"It was really nice," said McIlroy. "I played really well from tee to green, drove the ball well again; I think I only missed a couple of fairways and only missed one green where I had to really get it up and down.
"I took advantage of how I am driving the ball and just need to do more of the same the next three days."
Edoardo Molinari shot 7-under 65 to snare second place, while defending champion Stephen Gallacher, Richard Sterne, Damien McGrane, Julien Quesne and Matthew Baldwin share third at 6-under 66.
Woods, starting at No. 10 alongside McIlroy and Gallacher, notched birdies at all three par-5s during his opening nine, adding another gain at the 15th to turn in 33. He closed with nine straight pars, however, as he struggled to find his form off the tee.
Still, the opening-nine performance was a welcome improvement for Woods, who failed to birdie a single par-5 at Torrey Pines last week.
"I played all right today," said Woods. "I probably could have got a couple more out of it. I didn't hit a bad putt today which was nice, it was just that sometimes the grain grabbed it pretty hard at the end."
Soren Hansen and Robert Rock are tied for eighth after carding matching 5- under 67s.
McIlroy, who recorded his first win as a professional at this event in 2009, never appeared in danger of dropping a shot.
The former world No. 1 tallied five birdies during his opening nine, including three straight from the 12th, to turn in 32. He didn't relent, adding another birdie at the second before finding the green in two at the par-5 third and draining the eagle putt. McIlroy's final gain came in the form of a birdie at the seventh and the world No. 6 parred out from there to hit the clubhouse in 63.
"All in all it was a really good score," McIlroy stated. "The scores are pretty low out there so I'm gonna need something similar the next few days to keep myself up there."
NOTES: McIlroy has recorded three straight top-10 finishes on the European Tour dating back to last year ... Woods won this event in 2006 and 2008. He is playing here for the first time since 2011 ... World No. 3 Henrik Stenson is tied for 35th place at 2-under-par 70 ... No one has ever successfully defended the Dubai Desert Classic title.
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Additional Information
Bauer Media invests in pre-launch e-commerce business
Magazine publisher Bauer Media has taken a minority stake in StorkUp, a social commerce community for parents to recommend, find and buy baby and child-related products that is yet to launch.
Bauer Media chief executive Paul Keenan
Bauer plans to give StorkUp promotional support from its parenting titles – Mother & Baby and Pregnancy & Birth - to help accelerate the growth of the business.
StorkUp is set to launch later this year. and has set up a website, inviting people to register.
It describes its founders Fiona McDonald and Claire Jeffreys as two mothers who met via a Facebook group for local mums. McDonald's background is e-commerce while Jeffreys' is marketing and journalism.
Paul Keenan, chief executive of Bauer Media, said: "This is an exciting investment for Bauer Media and a clear sign of our continued drive in digital. This investment adds weight to our successful parenting portfolio and StorkUp will benefit and gain from our expertise with Mother and Baby, Pregnancy and Birth and Ask a Mum.'
Fiona McDonald, chief executive of StorkUp, said: "We're very excited to be collaborating with Bauer Media in the next stage of the StorkUp journey. Their expertise in the parenting market and the huge reach of their multi-platform brands can only benefit us as we look to grow the business over the forthcoming month and years."
In September Bauer Media acquired ACP Magazines – the largest magazine publisher in Australia and New Zealand – in a deal estimated at AUS $500m (£322m).
This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk
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text:
Nagios-Plugins Web Site Taken Over By Nagios 119
from the bad-behavior dept.
is not a viable long term strategy.
The switch is trivially easy and all plugins are backwards-compatible. The "classic" UI has every annoyance of Nagios UI fixed. There is a sensible release cycle and authors that accept feedback in their bugtracker.
Every time I hear people complain about their Nagios love/hate relationship I tell them to switch.
Give Zabbix a try, you'll be surprised. Much better flexibilty and easier to tie into active directory for authentication.
"nagios-plugins is not a fork, but a rebase with new team members. monitoring-plugins is indeed a fork, as their new name suggests."
That is rich.
It's a naive, domestic operating system without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption.


text:
Santos is a Brazilian club where both Neymar and Robinho signed their first professional club and made their way into the youth academy of the team before making their name and joining a top club. Neymar went on to join Barcelona while Robinho travelled to Real Madrid.
After making impressive performance in the youth team of Santos, Neymar and Robinho attracted the attention of major European clubs which were willing to offload hefty price tags in order to sign them.
Neymar has so far lived up to all the expectations that originated when he moved to Barcelona as the Brazilian attacker is a consistent performer and helps out the Spanish team in scoring goals by playing alongside Lionel Messi and have turned into a reliable source of goals.
Robinho wants to emulate Neymar's success with Santos
Santos is a Brazilian club where both Neymar and Robinho signed their first professional club and made their way into the youth academy of the team before making their name and joining a top club. Neymar went on to join Barcelona while Robinho travelled to Real Madrid.
Ferdinand Claims He Still Supports United To Win
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has claimed that he is still backed his former club to win the league title this season. United lost on opening day of the season to Swansea at Old Trafford. This is in addition to manager Louis van Gaal saying after the match that the team's confidence has been shattered following this defeat. Ferdinand has been part of numerous title winning teams with Manchester United after moving to the club for a then club record £ 30 million in 2002. The experience of having won these titles appears to have thought him that the title is not lost after the opening game of the season.
Galliani Confirms Robinho Wants To leave
AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani has confirmed that Brazilian striker Robinho wants to leave the club and join Orlando City in the footsteps of Kaka. Milan recently released Brazilian superstar Kaka from his contract and it allowed the former Real Madrid midfielder to join newly formed MLS franchise, Orlando. The club will not be playing until the start of 2015. As a result, Kaka will be spending the next six months on loan at Brazilian club São Paulo where he started his career. Robinho has been long linked with a move away from Milan and it appears that it will materialise this summer.
Robinho Unlikely To Move To Estadio do Maracana
The vice president of Flamengo, Mr. Wallim Vasconcellos, has said that the Brazilian forward Robinho who is currently a player of the Italian club AC Milan is unlikely to make a move to Estadio do Maracana this summer.
Robinho had not been prolific for Milan in the last season and in all likelihood, he would be put on sale by them in the upcoming transfer window. There were reports that Flamengo is interested in the 30-year old and he might be making his way back to his motherland Brazil, but, now after Vasconcellos' statement, it doesn't seem to be happening.
Robinho is also believed to have been approached by the American club Orlando City which is going to start participating in Major League Soccer from the next season.
Robinho Played Less and Less
Ac.Milan was the last European top club that Ronaldinho played in before returning to Brazil as he joined Flamengo and now is a performer in Atletico Mineiro. The Brazilian midfielder wanted to finish the last few years of his career playing in some of the local clubs of his native country and it seems like Robinho is going down the same path.
Robinho made his way to Ac.Milan on August of 2010 as the Italian team offloaded €15 million in order to secure his services and during his debut season in Serie A, he made 34 appearances but ever since then Robinho has been featured in less and less matches.
The former Manchester City player has never really made a significant impact in Ac.Milan which is why a large number of his appearances come as a substitute player as he is not the first choice option not only for Clarence Seedorf but for the previous manager Massimiliano Allegri.
Former Manchester City forward Robinho has stated that he is hoping to be part of the Brazil squad for the World Cup 2014. The AC Milan striker has been going through a poor spell – as well as his club – in Italian Serie A this season. As a result, he is in danger of losing his spot in the national team. His position is currently occupied by Barcelona superstar Neymar, who could be there for the next decade. As a result, even if Robinho goes with the team, he will only be a substitute or second choice striker to Neymar.
Robinho went from being praised as the next Pele to a player that is fortunate if he is just able to get a place into the starting lineup of any club he joins. This was the case when he played for Manchester City a few years ago and now that he is an Ac.Milan player things aren't very different.
After not being able to perform at the same level of what his expectations were, he was offloaded from Manchester City to Ac.Milan with a price tag of £15 million and now with Clarence Seedorf in charge of the Italian club, Robinho has not secured a spot in the starting lineup of the new coach.
Rumors started spreading around since last season regarding the future of the Brazilian player as he has already stated that he would like to make a move back to his childhood club Santos and finish the last few years of his career in Brazil.
Atletico Clash Will Be Missed By Robinho
The star player of AC Milan- Robinho will unfortunately miss the UEFA Champions League match against Atletico Madrid which is going to take place next week because he has sustained a thigh injury.
Robinho suffered through a thigh knock during a Serie A match between AC Milan and Napoli on the 8th of February, 2014 at San Paolo. After Robinho got injured, Kaka replaced him during the 2nd half of the football match. However, AC Milan embarrassingly lost the match against Napoli.
Clarence Seedorf (coach of AC Milan) might have to work without Robinho's services this time in the match between Bologna and AC Milan which is going to be held on the 14th of February, 2014. Along with that, there is a high possibility that Robinho will miss the much awaited clash between Atletico Madrid and AC Milan at the Champions League on 19th of February, 2014.
French giants Monaco has been a lot of interest in signing AC Milan forward Robinho, who has been looking for a move away from the club for the last few months. He has been heavily linked with a move away from the San Siro in the January transfer window.
Santos were really interested in him during the summer, but talks between the Brazilian and the Italian outfits did not progress sufficiently in order for the transfer to take place. Robinho has ended up staying at Milan, who have endured a terrible run of form in the first half of the season.
This led to the sacking of Massimiliano Allegri, who has been replaced by Clarence Seedorf a few weeks ago. The former Milan midfielder has returned to the club with his first managerial, but it could see the departure of Robinho. The former Manchester city man has been made as the number one transfer target for Monaco boss Claudio Ranieri, who has seen enough of Robinho during his time at Inter Milan.
Real Sociedad striker Carlos Vela has said that Mexican international Javier Hernandez should follow his example and consider leaving Manchester United in January or in the summer. Carlos Vela made his name at Arsenal, but he found first-team opportunities limited at the Premier league outfit.
Hence, after spending a few seasons on loan at various levels, he decided to make the loan move to Real Sociedad permanent. This has proven to be a great decision for the player, as he has been able to get regular first-team football and retain his place in the Mexican national team.
Hernandez is currently struggling with a similar situation at United. Even though he is extremely good and has a great goal record at United, he has constantly been preferred to the likes of Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie up front. Even the youngster Danny Welbeck is ahead of him in the pecking order.


text:
Six Best Club Parties in Miami This Week
By Laurie Charles
Roca, Patron's New Tequila, Now Available in Miami
By David Minsky
Top Chef Talks Pizza and Siena Tavern Miami
By Jen Mangham
Five Reasons to Join a CSA for Fall
By Hannah Sentenac
Miami Icons: The Bacardi Complex
By Travis Cohen
By Travis Cohen
Sound Garden to Bring Ambient Tunes to Bayfront
By Hannah Sentenac
Choices Kitchen Now Offers Full Menu
By Hannah Sentenac
According to professional event planners, the Wyndham is the number-one spot in South Florida for high school reunions. Throughout the year, but especially in the late summer months, the place is heavily booked with old school pals getting together and tying one on after ten years (or fifteen or twenty) in the big bad world. Here single women are embarrassingly easy to spot. They usually arrive unescorted and look as hot as they possibly can, especially at ten-year reunions. If you're a clever fox, be ready to strike up a conversation the moment she puts on her name tag. Your lady will be hungry for attention from a good-looking man. After all, she wants to impress her former classmates. If you're lucky, she'll be there for a St. Brendan's reunion. There's nothing quite like a good Miami Catholic girl from Westchester.


text:
commercial property for rent or lease in Olanta (PA), Industrial Space For Lease.
Olanta commercial real estate for lease, rent, and leased investments.
Find Olanta industrial buildings for lease, retail rentals, & Olanta shops. Locate a Olanta warehouse lease and any real estate for lease / investment, including industrial properties to rent and sale.
Negotiating a Olanta commercial lease can be a complicated procedure and its best to retain an experienced broker to work with early in the process. The brokers fee is typically paid for by the owner and you probably would not be able to negotiate a better position than the broker would be able to. There should be no reason why a broker should not be used to secure the transaction whilst there are numerous reasons as to why a broker should be used. Engage an attorney to review the terms of the lease contract.
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in Olanta Pennsylvania (PA) (Clearfield)


text:
Expired Svema & home developingThis photo was shot on film. Taken by grad with a Holga 120 N loaded with Svema Svema Foto 250 film in Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation. These tags describe this photo: svema, bw, 120, expired, 250, 1992, and home developing. This photo can also be found in the album Expired Svema & Home Developing.
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text: The Red Convertible LOUISE ERDRICH I was the first one to drive a convertible on my reservation. And of course it was red, a red Olds. I owned that car along with my brother Henry Junior. We owned it together until his boots filled with water on a windy night and he bought out my share. Now Henry owns the whole car, and his younger brother Lyman (that's myself), Lyman walks every- where he goes. How did I earn enough money to buy my share in the first place? My one talent was I could always make money. I had a touch for it, unusual in a Chippewa. From the first I was dif- ferent that way, and everyone recognized it. I was the only kid they let in the American Legion Hall to shine shoes, for example, and one Christmas I sold spiritual bouquets for the mission door to door. The nuns let me keep a percentage. Once I started, it seemed the more money I made the easier the money came. Everyone encouraged it. When I was fifteen I got a job washing dishes at the Joliet Cafe, and that was where my first big break happened. It wasn't long before I was promoted to busing tables, and then the short-order cook quit and I was hired to take her place. No sooner than you know it I was managing the Joliet. The rest is history. I went on managing. I soon became part owner, and of course there was no stopping me then. It wasn't long before the whole thing was mine. After I'd owned the Joliet for one year, it blew over in the worst tornado ever seen around here. The whole operation 104 I GROWING U P E THNIC IN AMERICA was smashed to bits. A total loss. The fryalator was up in a tree, the grill torn in half like it was paper. I was only sixteen. I had it all in my mother's name, and I lost it quick, but be- fore I lost it I had every one of my relatives, and their rela- tives, to dinner, and I also bought that red Olds I mentioned, along with Henry. The first time we saw it! I'll tell you when we first saw it. We had gotten a ride up to Winnipeg, and both of us had money. Don't ask me why, because we never mentioned a car or any- thing, we just had all our money. Mine was cash, a big bankroll from the Joliet's insurance. Henry had two checks— a week's extra pay for being laid off, and his regular check from the Jewel Bearing Plant. We were walking down Portage anyway, seeing the sights, when we saw it. There it was, parked, large as life. Really as if it was alive. I thought of the word repose, because the car wasn't simply stopped, parked, or whatever. That car reposed, calm and gleaming, a FOR SALE sign in its left front window. Then, before we had thought it over at all, the car belonged to us and our pockets were empty. We had just enough money for gas back home. We went places in that car, me and Henry. We took off driving all one whole summer. We started off toward the Lit- tle Knife River and Mandaree in Fort Berthold and then we found ourselves down in Wakpala somehow, and then sud- denly we were over in Montana on the Rocky Boy, and yet the summer was not even half over. Some people hang on to details when they travel, but we didn't let them bother us and just lived our everyday lives here to there. I do remember this one place with willows. I remember I lay under those trees and it was comfortable. So comfortable. The branches bent down all around me like a tent or a stable. CROSSING 105 And quiet, it was quiet, even though there was a ; powwow close enough so I could see it going on. The air was not too still, not too windy either. When the dust rises up and hangs in the air around the dancers like that, I feel good. Henry was asleep with his arms thrown wide. Later on, he woke up and we started driving again. We were somewhere in Montana, or maybe on the Blood Reserve—it could have been any- where. Anyway it was where we met the girl. All her hair was in buns around her ears, that's the first thing I noticed about her. She was posed alongside the road with her arm out, so we stopped. That girl was short, so short her lumber shirt looked comical on her, like a nightgown. She had jeans on and fancy moccasins and she carried a little suit- case. "Hop on in," says Henry. So she climbs in between us. "We'll take you home," I says. "Where do you live?" "Chicken," she says. "Where the hell's that?" I ask her. "Alaska." "Okay," says Henry, and we drive. We got up there and never wanted to leave. The sun doesn't truly set there in summer, and the night is more a soft dusk. You might doze off, sometimes, but before you know it you're up again, like an animal in nature. You never feel like you have to sleep hard or put away the world. And things would grow up there. One day just dirt or moss, the next day flowers and long grass. The girl's name was Susy. Her family really took to us. They fed us and put us up. We had our own tent to live in by their house, and the kids would be in and out of there all day and night. They couldn't get over me and Henry being brothers, we looked so different. We told them we knew we had the same mother, anyway. : 106 I GROWING UP ETHNIC IN AMERICA One night Susy came in to visit us. We sat around in the tent talking of this and that. The season was changing. It was getting darker by that time, and the cold was even getting just a little mean. I told her it was time for us to go. She stood up on a chair. "You never seen my hair," Susy said. That was true. She was standing on a chair, but still, when she unclipped her buns the hair reached all the way to the ground. Our eyes opened. You couldn't tell how much hair she had when it was rolled up so neatly. Then my brother Henry did something funny. He went up to the chair and said, "Jump on my shoulders." So she did that, and her hair reached down past his waist, and he started twirling, this way and that, so her hair was flung out from side to side. "I always wondered what it was like to have long pretty hair," Henry says. Well we laughed. It was a funny sight, the way he did it. The next morning we got up and took leave of those people. On to greener pastures, as they say. It was down through Spokane and across Idaho then Montana and very soon we were racing the weather right along under the Canadian bor- der through Columbus, Des Lacs, and then we were in Bot- tineau County and soon home. We'd made most of the trip, that summer, without putting up the car hood at all. We got home just in time, it turned out, for the army to remember Henry had signed up to join it. I don't wonder that the army was so glad to get my brother that they turned him into a Marine. He was built like a brick outhouse anyway. We liked to tease him that they really wanted him for his Indian nose. He had a nose big and sharp as a hatchet, like the nose on Red Tomahawk, the Indian who killed Sitting Bull, whose profile is on signs all along the C ROSSING I 107 North Dakota highways. Henry went off to training camp, came home once during Christmas, then the next thing you know we got an overseas letter from him. It was 1970, and he said he was stationed up in the northern hill country. Where- abouts I did not know. He wasn't such a hot letter writer, and only got off two before the enemy caught him. I could never keep it straight, which direction those good Vietnam soldiers were from. I wrote him back several times, even though I didn't know if those letters would get through. I kept him informed all about the car. Most of the time I had it up on blocks in .the yard or half taken apart, because that long trip did a hard job on it under the hood. I always had good luck with numbers, and never worried about the draft myself. I never even had to think about what my number was. But Henry was never lucky in the same way as me. It was at least three years before Henry came home. By then I guess the whole war was solved in the government's mind, but for him it would keep on going. In those years I'd put his car into almost perfect shape. I always thought of it as his car while he was gone, even though when he left he said, "Now it's yours," and threw me his key. "Thanks for the extra key," I'd said. "I'll put it up in your drawer just in case I need it." He laughed. When he came home, though, Henry was very different, and I'll say this: the change was no good. You could hardly expect him to change for the better, I know. But he was quiet, so quiet, and never comfortable sitting still anywhere but al- ways up and moving around. I thought back to times we'd sat still for whole afternoons, never moving a muscle, just shifting our weight along the ground, talking to whoever sat with us, watching things. He'd always had a joke, then, too, 108 I GROWING U P E THNIC IN AMERICA and now you couldn't get him to laugh, or when he did it was more the sound of a man choking, a sound that stopped up the throats of other people around him. They got to leaving him alone most of the time, and I didn't blame them. It was a fact: Henry was jumpy and mean. I'd bought a color TV set for my mom and the rest of us while Henry was away. Money still came very easy. I was sorry I'd ever fought it though, because of Henry. I was also sorry I'd bought color, because with black-and-white the pic- tures seem older and farther away. But what are you going to do? He sat in front of it, watching it, and that was the only time he was completely still. But it was the kind of stillness that you see in a rabbit when it freezes and before it will bolt. He was not easy. He sat in his chair gripping the armrests with all his might, as if the chair itself was moving at a high speed and if he let go at all he would rocket forward and maybe crash right through the set. Once I was in the room watching TV with Henry and I heard his teeth click at something. I looked over, and he'd bitten through his lip. Blood was going down his chin. I tell you right then I wanted to smash that tube to pieces. I went over to it but Henry must have known what I was up to. He rushed from his chair and shoved me out of the way, against the wall. I told myself he didn't know what he was doing. My mom came in, turned the set off real quiet, and told us she had made something for supper. So we went and sat down. There was still blood going down Henry's chin, but he didn't notice it and no one said anything even though every time he took a bite of his bread his blood fell onto it until he was eating his own blood mixed in with the food. While Henry was not around we talked about what was go- ing to happen to him. There were no Indian doctors on the CROSSING 109 reservation, and my mom couldn't come around to trusting the old man, Moses Pillager, because he courted her long ago and was jealous of her husbands. He might take revenge through her son. We were afraid that if we brought Henry to a regular hospital they would keep him. "They don't "fix them in those places," Mom said; "they just give them drugs." "We wouldn't get him there in the first place," I agreed, "so let's just forget about it." Then I thought about the car. Henry had not even looked at the car since he'd gotten home, though like I said, it was in tip-top condition and ready to drive. I thought the car might bring the old Henry back somehow. So I bided my time and waited for my chance to interest him in the vehicle. One night Henry was off somewhere. I took myself a hammer. I went out to that car and I did a number on its un- derside. Whacked it up. Bent the tail pipe double. Ripped the muffler loose. By the time I was done with the car it looked worse than any typical Indian car that has been driven all its life on reservation roads, which they always say are like gov- ernment promises—full of holes. It just about hurt me, I'll tell you that! I threw dirt in the carburetor and I ripped all the electric tape off the seats. I made it look just as beat up as I could. Then I sat back and waited for Henry to find it. Still, it took him over a month. That was all right, because it was just getting warm enough; not melting, but warm enough to work outside. "Lyman," he says, walking in one day, "that red car looks like shit." "Well it's old," I says. "You got to expect that." "No way!" says Henry. "That car's a classic! But you went and ran the piss right put of it, Lyman, and you know it don't deserve that. I kept that car in A-one shape. You don't re- 110 I GROWING UP ETHNIC IN AMERICA member. You're too young. But when I left, that car was running like a watch. Now I don't even know if I can get it to start again, let alone get it anywhere near its old con- dition." "Well you try," I said, like I was getting mad, "but I say it's a piece of junk." Then I walked out before he could realize I knew he'd strung together more than six words at once. After that I thought he'd freeze himself to death working on that car. He was out there all day, and at night he rigged up a little lamp, ran a cord out the window, and had himself some light to see by while he worked. He was better than he had been before, but that's still not saying much. It was easier for him to do the things the rest of us did. He ate more slowly and didn't jump up and down during the meal to get this or that or look out the window. I put my hand in the back of the TV set, I admit, and fiddled around with it good, so that it was almost impossible now to get a clear picture. He didn't look at it very often anyway. He was always out with that car or going off to get parts for it. By the time it was really melt- ing outside, he had it fixed. I had been feeling down in the dumps about Henry around this time. We had always been together before. Henry and Lyman. But he was such a loner now that I didn't know how to take it. So I jumped at the chance one day when Henry seemed friendly. It's not that he smiled or any- thing. He just said, "Let's take that old shitbox for a spin." Just the way he said it made me think he could be coming around. We went out to the car. It was spring. The sun was shining very bright. My only sister, Bonita, who was just eleven years old, came out and made us stand together for a picture. CROSSING 11 Henry leaned his elbow on the red car's windshield, and he took his other arm and put it over my shoulder, very care- fully, as though it was heavy for him to lift and he didn't want to bring the weight down all at once. "Smile," Bonita said, and he did. That picture. I never look at it anymore. A few months ago, I don't know why, I got his picture out and tacked it on the wall. I felt good about Henry at the time, close to him. I felt good having his picture on the wall, until one night when I was looking at television. I was a little drunk and stoned. I looked up at the wall and Henry was staring at me. I don't know what it was, but his smile had changed, or maybe it was gone. All I know is I couldn't stay in the same room with that picture. I was shaking. I got up, closed the door, and went into the kitchen. A little later my friend Ray came over and we both went back into that room. We put the picture in a brown bag, folded the bag over and over tightly, then put it way back in a closet. I still see that picture now, as if it tugs at me, whenever I pass that closet door. The picture is very clear in my mind. It was so sunny that day Henry had to squint against the glare. Or maybe the camera Bonita held flashed like a mirror, blinding him, before she snapped the picture. My face is right out in the sun, big and round. But he might have drawn back, because the shadows on his face are deep as holes. There are two shadows curved like little hooks around the ends of his smile, as if to frame it and try to keep it there— that one, first smile that looked like it might have hurt his face. He has his field jacket on and the worn-in clothes he'd come back in and kept wearing ever since. After Bonita took the picture, she went into the house and we got into the car. There was a full cooler in the trunk. We started off, east, to- 112 I GROWING UP ETHNIC IN AMERICA ward Pembina and the Red River because Henry said he wanted to see the high water. The trip over there was beautiful. When everything starts changing, drying up, clearing off, you feel like your whole life is starting. Henry felt it, too. The top was down and the car hummed like a top. He'd really put it back in shape, even the tape on the seats was very carefully put down and glued back in layers. It's not that he smiled again or even joked, but his face looked to me as if it was clear, more peaceful. It looked as though he wasn't thinking of anything in particular except the bare fields and windbreaks and houses we were passing. The river was high and full of winter trash when we got there. The sun was still out, but it was colder by the river. There-were still little clumps of dirty snow here and there on the banks. The water hadn't gone over the banks yet, but it would, you could tell. It was just at its limit, hard swollen, glossy like an old gray scar. We made ourselves a fire, and we sat down and watched the current go. As I watched it I felt something squeezing inside me and tightening and trying to let go all at the same time. I knew I was not just feeling it my- self; I knew I was feeling what Henry was going through at that moment. Except that I couldn't stand it, the closing and opening. I jumped to my feet. I took Henry by the shoulders, and I started shaking him. "Wake up," I says, "wake up, wake up, wake up!" I didn't know what had come over me. I sat down beside him again. His face was totally white and hard. Then it broke, like stones break all of a sudden when water boils up inside them. "I know it," he says. "I know it. I can't help it. It's no use." We start talking. He said he knew what I'd done with the car. It was obvious it had been whacked out of shape and not just neglected. He said he wanted to give the car to me for CROSSING I 113 good now, it was no use. He said he'd fixed it just to give it back and I should take it. "No way," I says, "I don't want it." "That's okay," he says, "you take it." "I don't want it, though," I says back to him, and then to emphasize, just to emphasize, you understand, I touch his shoulder. He slaps my hand off. "Take that car," he says. "No," I say. "Make me," I say, and then he grabs my jacket and rips the arm loose. That jacket is a class act, suede with tags and zippers. I push Henry backwards, off the log. He jumps up and bowls me over. We go down in a clinch and come up swinging hard, for all we're worth, with our fists. He socks my jaw so hard I feel like it swings loose. Then. I'm at his rib cage and. land a good one under his chin so his head snaps back. He's dazzled. He looks at me and I look at him and then his eyes are full of tears and blood and at first I think he's crying. But no, he's laughing. "Ha! Ha!" he says. "Ha! Ha! Take good care of it." "Okay," I says. "Okay, no problem; Ha! Ha!" I can't help it, and I start laughing, too. My face feels fat and strange, and after a while I get a beer from the cooler in the trunk, and when I hand it to Henry he takes his shirt and wipes my germs off. "Hoof-and-mouth disease," he says. For some reason this cracks me up, and so we're really laughing for a while, and then we drink all the rest of the beers one by one and throw them in the river and see how far, how fast, the current takes them before they fill up and sink. "You want to go on back?" I ask after a while. "Maybe we could snag a couple nice Kashpaw girls." He says nothing. But I can tell his mood is turning again. "They're all crazy, the girls up here, every damn one of them." "You're crazy too," I say, to jolly him up. "Crazy Lamartine boys!" 114 GROWING U P E THNIC IN A MERICA He looks as though he will take this wrong at first. His face twists, then clears, and he jumps up on his feet. "That's right!" he says. "Crazier 'n hell. Crazy Indians!" I think it's the old Henry again. He throws off his jacket and starts springing his legs up from the knees like a fancy dancer. He's down doing something between a grass dance and a bunny hop, no kind of dance I ever saw before, but nei- ther has anyone else on all this green growing earth. He's wild. He wants to pitch whoopee! He's up and at me and all over. All this time I'm laughing so hard, so hard my belly is getting tied up in a knot. "Got to cool me off!" he shouts all of a sudden. Then he runs over to the river and jumps in. There's boards and other things in the current. It's so high. No sound comes from the river after the splash he makes, so I run right over. I look around. It's getting dark. I see he's halfway across the water already, and I know he didn't swim there but the current took him. It's far. I hear his voice, though, very clearly across it. "My boots are filling," he says. He says this in a normal voice, like he just noticed and he doesn't know what to think of it. Then he's gone. A branch comes by. Another branch. And I go in. By the time I get out of the river, off the snag I pulled myself onto, the sun is down. I walk back to the car, turn on the high beams, and drive it up the bank. I put it in first gear and then I take my foot off the clutch. I get out, close the door, and watch it plow softly into the water. The headlights reach in as they go down, searching, still lighted even after the water swirls over the back end. I wait. The wires short out. It is all finally dark. And then there is only the water, the sound of it going and running and going and running and running.


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Product Manager Jobs in Clifton, New Jersey
1000+ Clifton, NJ Product Manager jobs found on Monster.Jobs 1 to 20 of 4374
CyberCoders Matching Great People with Great Companies Learn more about CyberCoders Apply Director of Product Management New York City, Full-Time $120,000 - $160,000 Apply Apply Director of Product Management New York City, Full-Time $120,000 - $160,000 Apply Job Details If you are a Product Management Director or leader with experience, please read on! We are a well-funded VC backe...
The Product Manager, Email Product Development role is primarily focused on the optimization of existing and new breakthrough Paperboy email platform features via the Agile project management methodologies and industry best practices. This role is also responsible for the day-to-day coordination, management, production and deployment of all owned email newsletters and advertising mail "Ad-Mail" c...
The Associate Product Manager, Email Products role is primarily focused on the optimization of existing and new breakthrough Paperboy email platform along with Audience Development of newsletters features via the Agile project management methodologies and industry best practices. This role is also responsible for the day-to-day coordination, management, production and deployment of all owned emai...
CyberCoders Matching Great People with Great Companies Learn more about CyberCoders Apply Senior Product Manager New York City, Full-Time $120,000 - $150,000 Apply Apply Senior Product Manager New York City, Full-Time $120,000 - $150,000 Apply Job Details If you are a Product Manager with experience, please read on! We are a well-funded VC backed start up based in the Soho/West Vill...
Job ID: 2267 Position Description: This role is responsible for many aspects of brand planning and management which may include professional marketing and promotion, public relations, e-marketing, patient outreach, promotional medical education, POA planning & execution, and development & management of Marketing Plans and Budgets. Primary Responsibilities: Develop and implement tools, programs...
Job ID: 2395 Position Description: The Product Manager is responsible for managing areas of responsibility within Product Management. This individual will develop and implement tools, programs, and initiatives to meet or exceed product sales, prescriptions, and marketing objectives. This will include marketing strategies across all contracted sales segments and tactical plans to reach sales obje...
Job ID: 2434 Position Description: This role is focused on physician promotion for CNS products. Position Responsibilities: Direct and supervise the creation of advertising, promotion, and other materials and programs (focused on HCP promotion). Coordinates analysis of market research needs; recommends objectives and strategies and analyzes results to appropriately modify promotional strategy...
LivingSocial Manhattan, NY
**This position is based in our Washington, DC HQ. We are offering a relocation subsidy. If you are open to relocation, please read on!** You know LivingSocial as the marketplace to buy and share the best things to do in your city and beyond. And while we're bringing excitement and value to our merchants and consumers, we're also committed to creating a world-class environment for our employees. ...
Dialogic, Inc. Parsippany, NJ, 07054
Responsibilities : Be the champion of the product to sales and help sales drive opportunities to closure Develop and deliver sales and field application engineering training Manage and prioritize feature requests from the field and work closely with engineering and potentially 3 rd party vendors on developing shorter term deliverable roadmap Develop marketing content. This includes the creati...
Responsibilities · Business owner of the Order Management System outlining the logic that will drive how orders and returns flow through Jet's systems · Perform analysis on the efficacy of the Jet's fraud system · Help design and manage tools that will allow Jet to interact with customer accounts · Help Define the strategy for what external solutions and systems the customer care team will use...
Stauff is a world leader in pipe, tubing and hose clamping solutions, test and diagnostic equipment, filtration technologies, hydraulic components and accessories. At Stauff we focus on our people and our relationships. We bring integrity, accountability and courtesy to our every interaction between employees, distributors, customers and our supply chain. We're looking for inspired team members, r...
The proposed role covers PCM cash management products. The reporting line is to the Head of Global Payments & Cash Management. The incumbent will work closely with the e-channel product executive to prioritize PCM channel investments and work closely with regional product executives to execute and commercialize product strategy. In our current environment the PCM Product Management operating mode...
The New York Times is seeking a Product Analytics Manager to join our growing Consumer Insight Group, which is responsible for research and analytics for all New York Times offerings, including the newspaper and NYTimes.com. The successful candidate will become a key partner to the product development team as The Times continually innovates, iterates and launches new products. For existing produc...
RESPONSIBILITIES: KForce has a client seeking a Technical Product Manager-SaaS for a full time permanent opportunity in their New York, NY location. This client is offering a competitive package, including Stock Options, Benefits, and other perks. This firm is seeking an experienced Technical Product Manager to spearhead the continuing development of their Monitoring as a Service solution. Qualif...
Dow Jones & Co. Job Function Information Technology Job Locations USA-NY-NEW YORK Company Overview: When you join Dow Jones, you become part of one of the most dynamic, creative and savvy news and information companies in the world. As a global provider of news and business information, we deliver content to consumers and organizations via newswires, websites, newspapers, apps, conferences, ne...
Dow Jones & Co. Job Function Marketing Job Locations USA-NY-NEW YORK Job Description: Responsibilities - Develop mobile product strategy for The Wall Street Journal's app on Android platform. - Understand, gather, and document concise user, business and product requirements for the Android app, in the form of objectives, epics, user stories, and acceptance criteria - Assess user experience ...
Combining both technical and business development skills UtiliSave has a unique opportunity in our Operations team for a manager to provide leadership and insight in the creation of a solution to help advance a strategic business initiative. The manager is expected to research and analyze the opportunities identified and develop a technical solution to help realize the opportunity's potential. Th...
Company Confidential New York City, NY, 10123
High-volume, consumer-facing internet company is seeking a full-time Senior Mobile Product Manager! This person will join the team responsible for building all of this company's native mobile apps (iOS, Android, Windows). This Person Will: Meet with business stakeholders to gather requirements and author user stories. Work closely with the engineering team to establish the best technical implem...
This is Energizer Holdings, Inc. With 30 brands and over 14,000 people in 50 countries all over the world, Energizer simplifies and enhances the lives of our consumers all over the world. But the challenger spirit that unites us adds up to even more than the sum of our parts. In fact, we're made up of 30 established consumer brands the world over, from Schick® and Wilkinson Sword® shaving system...
My client is currently looking for a full time Product Manager in their treasury team to help drive a multi-currency product covering their deposit accounts, fund transfers, clearing, and multiple client segments globally. This person would help lead the direction, profitability, and product enhancements and support for a global multi-currency solution. Candidates should have a deep understanding...
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Production and Ops Career Tools
Product Manager
$60,480.00 - $150,000.00
Typical Salary for Product Manager in Clifton
(53 Respondents)
Source: Monster.com Careerbenchmarking Tool
Education / Training
(38 Respondents)
Source: Monster.com Careerbenchmarking Tool
Product Manager
Develops products by identifying potential products; conducting market research; generating product requirements; determining specifications, production timetables, pricing, and time-integrated plans for product introduction; developing marketing strategies.
Rate of Growth
12.70 %
Size of Industry in 2006:
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2006
Related Skills
Competitive Analysis
Computer Proficiency
Conceptual Skills
Related Duties
Introduces and markets new products by developing time-integrated plans with sales, advertising, and production.
Provides information for management by preparing short-term and long-term product sales forecasts and special reports and analyses; answering questions and requests.
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6 Hot Jobs That Pay Over $80K Per Year
You can't make the big bucks without taking on some responsibility. Those with the highest responsibilities -- over life and death -- earn some of the highest salaries, and perhaps that's as it should be.


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November 26, 2014
PRETORIA, South Africa (April 15, 2014) After five days of testimony and a grueling cross-examination by a prosecutor, Oscar Pistorius left the witness stand Tuesday at his murder trial in South Africa.
But despite the prosecutor's focus on apparent inconsistencies in the testimony of the double-amputee track star, legal analysts say the effort to prove that Pistorius deliberately killed his girlfriend could be undermined by expert witnesses who will testify for the defense.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel called Pistorius a liar and unleashed volleys of barbed questions, as the Olympian often fumbled for answers and occasionally broke into sobs, but experts say the trial has a long way to go.
Testimony is expected to continue until mid-May, but the trial reached a key stage last week when Pistorius took the stand to testify about the night he shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp through a bathroom door.
He says he thought there was an intruder there, but prosecutors say he deliberately shot her after an argument.
Kelly Phelps, a lecturer in the public law department at the University of Cape Town, says prosecutors accused Pistorius of changing his account mostly on "smaller details," but that he stuck to the "core parts of his story."
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text:
I've always had an affinity for pens.
Maybe it's more like a clandestine love affair as I fall hopelessly into the inkwell of love every time I troll the net looking at writing instruments.
I love fountain pens and rollerballs and all the accoutrements associated with them.
I love ink. No tattoo for me but I have some amazing fountain pen ink.
Some of my favorites are Noodler's , Private Reserve, Pelican and Aurora.
Ballpoints irritate me to no end.
That's just me.
My interest in pens began many years ago when I began writing.
I had this silly idea that the pen I used would make a difference when I was writing.
Logical? I think not.
I did realize that all pens were not created equal and a writer needed a pen with an even flow of ink and a comfortable balance of weight in the hand. Words and thoughts would flow more easily.
I am a writer. I need pens.
Looking online I was appalled at the money some of these things commanded.
$2000 for a rollerball?
$20,000 for a fountain pen? (This pen should automatically come with a publishing deal)
With 3 daughters in and out of college/Grad school, I'm lucky to have a decent gel roller.
I currently have 5-6 fairly decent fountain pens: Pelican, Aurora, Namiki (vanishing point), a Parker Sonnet and several other inexpensive models.
A friend I work with came in one day and showed me a pen sent to him by a friend or a friend.
It was a ballpoint which didn't excite me but the pen itself was beautiful.
He told me it was given to him by so and so and that this guy made pens to give to friends.
I wanted to get on that list.
Several months went by before this same friend came in with another pen; a ballpoint but still really nice.
My curiosity got the best of me.
"Does this guy have a website?"
I went to the website and found many wonderful handmade things.
I found rollerballs, ballpoints and several wicked pissa fountain pens.
Years ago, Ross decided to try his hand at making pens.
Most were given to friends as gifts until he realized he was quite good at
this specialized art and decided to expand.
I spied one particular pen and wondered if Ross would be willing to barter a bit.
After a few emails and several days, I now have a fountain pen made by none other than RossG.
I promised him an honest review of the pen and here it is . . .
Modern, sleek, funky, gorgeous rosewood with gold-plated hardware.
Definitely catches the eye.
Several people have already commented on it (and they want more info)
Solid in the hand with a very comfortable weight.
To me it has the feel of a pen that should cost much more.
It feels expensive.
You know you're holding something special.
Nib and writing quality:
The pen came with a cartridge and a converter (my preference).
The nib was medium size iridium.
Although I'm not a big fan of iridium nibs this sucker worked better than my inexpensive Pelican (which has an iridium nib).
The ink flow was simply amazing and a total pleasure to write with.
If you want a pen that is aesthetically pleasing, easy to write with, ridiculously affordable and a designated friend for life, please check out Ross. (Click on the post picture!)
Or click HERE. (Tell Ross I sent you)
All pens are handmade and have that warm, comfortable feeling in your hand.
I know several people that already want a pen made by this man so get in line.
His pens are in short supply right now as he is waiting for some materials to come in.
He will ship all over the world.
He even says Australia's not too far away.
I may send him some TinTams someday.
If you can't buy one of his pens, please promise me you will send the link to this post to someone who will.
That would make me and Ross very, very happy.
They say that a picture is worth 1,000 words.
I say that it's worth much more than that.
Now and then the events of a single day subtly dovetail.
Like today.
I have been an admirer of photojournalism for as long as I can remember.
Seeing images that were most likely seared into the retina's of said photographers would give me pause.
The past few weeks in Boston have produced some images that I can't seem to 'unforget'.
I want to rewind the organ of soft nervous tissue contained in my overcrowded skull of vertebrates and bring it back to April 14th when life
seemed idyllic and almost normal.
My bad.
Not gonna happen.
And I didn't even take the pictures.
Last weekend my future son-in-law, Jonathan, showed me the cover of SI.
On the cover was a picture of an older runner that had been literally knocked down by an explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
Behind him were three Boston Police officers seen drawing their weapons and running in three different directions.
It was a photograph of a surreal moment in time.
It was also a photograph courtesy of a 30 year photojournalist for the Boston Globe called John Tlumacki.
Little did I know that my own personal path would intersect with that of Tlumacki.
I've never met the man but I am sure he is deep.
Read a glimpse of him HERE.
This Sunday morning I sat in a sunny living room reading an article in the T&G.
Read it HERE.
(and look at the photo credit below)
As of this morning I had no clue as to who took the pictures that had moved me close to tears.
In my last post here I used a photo of a woman found on her knees, crying and praying fervently to the heavens above.
She was completely devastated in every possible way, beseeching the blue sky above to take back what had just happened only moments before.
This was the picture I chose to use for my last post.
The picture spoke to me, plain and simple.
Fast forward to me Googling "photojournalist Boston Marathon 2013″.
There were many results but one stuck in my craw because it gave a preview of the photo I had used in my previous post.
I was gobsmacked in learning that the picture was actually taken by Tlumacki.
In my mind, I began to juxtapose many images while thinking how difficult it must have been to take them.
I will never know how these folks do their job.
It was then that I realized that it's not unlike what I do when I write a song or a post.
I go into something of a trance until the job is over.
It's a phenomenon that just happens.
The biggest difference for me is that I don't have to worry about my head getting blown off in the process.
I have a new found respect for these graphic soldiers that visually time stamp the complexities of our lives.
I contacted John via email this afternoon after realizing I had used one of his photos for my 'Boston Strong' post.
I asked for permission to use his photo after finally realizing how much courage and balls it must have taken
to capture an image as haunting and visceral as what it was.
He replied to me 20 minutes later;
"You can keep the photo on your blog, this is my Boston, your Boston, let's not forget that."
This is from a man that found himself on the front-line of the battle and chose to do his job.
I am honored that he gave me the okay to use his photo and blessed that he took the time to reply to me.
I pray that the 'Man Upstairs' keeps a special eye on this guy.
He's paid his dues.
If this guy doesn't garner a Pulitzer this year, I will be shocked.
Thanks, JT for doing the daunting task that you do.
The blood you found on your shoes tells me all I need to know about your integrity.
Time to find some rainbows . . .
Kirkland Oliver was a regular on Friday afternoons at the cigar store where I work in Boston.
He was an affable and enigmatic man still living life like it was 1969.
We hadn't seen Kirk in over three weeks, a rare thing for a guy that you could count on like clockwork
to show up and get some rolling tobacco and papers (6oz of 3 Citadels and 17 Modiano Club Papers).
On a dark whim, I Googled 'Kirkland Oliver – obit- Boston' and came up with a result that broke my heart.
Kirkland died July 29th at 66 years of age of prostate cancer.
What follows is a personal obituary and tribute to a gentle soul many people have never had the good fortune to meet.
This was written in part by myself but a more substantial portion was written by my dear friend and associate, Will Marks.
Enjoy our candid view of a man that truly knew who and what he was.
Kirkland used to make collages out of stuff most folks would discard.
He would make stuff featuring his pals' names featuring all kinds of symbols and references.
The message was pretty much the same: Kirkland was telling us that we were cool by his calculus.
These works of art weren't made for everyone.
Just the people that Kirkland let into his cosmic circle.
Speaking of calculus, one time a fellow was in the store going on and on about his math ability.
Kirkland asked him what he did and the fellow said, "I'm a quant!" then he shared some detail in a condescending tone to make sure Kirkland got it saying, "I'm into heavy math for the investment industry."
The store got quiet and Kirkland looked at him and said, "Yeah, I was into math too, used to make my dick hard in 3rd grade so I got into making shapes and artwork all based on math."
Sizing up the quant he added "…but I outgrew that stuff, if you dig."
KO had an unmistakeable 'jazz' quality about him.
From the way he walked (with a huge wooden walking stick) to the way he talked he had a rhythm and undeniable groove.
It was his 'groove' and his alone as he walked to the beat of his own personal drummer.
There was nothing quite like Kirkland striding into the store with the overpowering scent
of a double dose of patchouli oil announcing his arrival.
He'd flash that winning crooked smile and say "Peace" and get into the discussion always leading it back to the tenants of his homespun philosophy (equal parts Hendrix/Shakespeare/McLuhan/Grateful Dead/Health Food Store Chatter/Cantab lounge misinformation) with detours along the way typically including the night Sun Ra played Slug's when he was blitzed on Owsley acid or how Mingus tore it up another night, his recent favorite band Girls On Top,
or how the Boston Public Library's address was proof of dark plots.
"You know what the number of the Boston Public Library is, man? 666! It's the sign of the 'Cipher', you dig?"
Kirk would chuckle and say, "Peace . . . peace."
Naturally, Kirkland bragged about his family and how he played the violin.
Then there were his cosmic rants about people who were too uncool to be friendly.
When Kirk would get rolling papers (always 13 until the size changed and it went to 17)
he always challenged me to grab the correct number of papers.
Sometimes I would and he would smile and say, "Nice, man. Peace."
And he always rolled one menthol cigarette on Fridays.
Kirkland's Friday pronouncements—"All the world's a stage", "What goes around comes around", "Ain't nothing new under the sun", "Can you dig it?", "It's the Illuminati man they are controlling everything these days", "Man I was checking out the internet you know where that is man?", "Did you know I was in a coma man? Yeah, didn't even know my wife when I woke up!", "I love the smell of that cigar it's getting me high.", "I'll take some menthol and 17 packs of rolling papers."—are now a thing of the past; part of the store's hallowed lore.
Kirkland has joined the pantheon of greats who went before him.
No sweat, Kirkland the larger than life friend to all who were willing, who put the "hep" in hepcat,
will live on in the hearts of all who were lucky enough to have been touched by his friendship and love.
I know many things about this man but some I can't share here.
These were his gifts.
I know he always made me smile in his own and original hepcat way.
And although the sun was shining in Boston today, the city for me was just a darker shade of grey without Kirk . . .
Sleep well, my friend.
Oh, and Peace . . .
Hail to Kirkland for he knew who and what he was:
~m & Will Marks
A year ago about this time the talk around town (and Facebook) was all about Pamela and me going to Australia.
It seems like yesterday but it feels like years since we were talking about it.
That said, here I am still reminiscing about the 2 weeks in time that I will not soon forget.
I began writing about our journey a while back and stopped short for reasons that now elude me.
Let's just say that life sometimes gets in the way.
Please forgive me.
My last post got us to Townsville in Queensland where Moe and Mark live.
I remember descending into the small airport and thinking, "So, this is where we Skype every weekend," not knowing that there was much more than meets the eye behind this place called Townsville (aka, Paradise).
After taking a badly needed shower, Pamela and me proceeded to do what you do on holiday.
We sat our asses in the backyard and had a few drinks, a few cigars and talked about our flights over.
The QLD sun was hotter than I thought it would be and I found a slice of shade to sit in.
I kept mentally pinching myself as if to notify my tired brain that I was really sitting in Oz;
being that far away from home can disorient you into believing you're not really there.
I got the piss taken out of me 244 times that afternoon. (yeah, I counted)
The plan for the day was to chill out for a bit and go to Mel and Steve's
(Moe and Mark's daughter and son-in-law) later that day for our first authentic Australian barbecue.
The details of our first afternoon are a bit foggy but I do remember shitting my pants on our drive over when Mark went into the first Aussie roundabout I had ever encountered.
I mentally made the sign of the Cross knowing I was about to die because he was going the opposite way that people in the States go.
After getting through the roundabout I once again made the sign of the Cross and began a deeper understanding of the phrase, 'DownUnder'.
Please pass me the vegemite.
We arrived at Mel and Steve's and got a tour of the place which was under some serious renovation.
With the help of Caleb and Lucas (M&S's sons) we toured the house which was in a transition phase.
In about six months this place would be a palace.
I still badly want Mel's kitchen which was any true chef's dream.
Appetizers came out; Prawns (huge ass shrimp for you folks in the Northeast, but they're sweeter than shrimp), Cabana and cheese (Cabana is like a really nice mild but spicy kielbasa), fruit, veggies and more than one could ever eat. [just you wait for my description of the amazing Brie in Victoria]
But Steve had a plan for me in terms of Australian beer.
Batter up!
My review:
XXXX Gold: (rat piss in a can, and Steve told me I could just toss it, which I did)
Toohey's New: (not bad but reminded me of Sam Adam's lager, which I hate. I drank it though)
VB Victoria Bitters; once again not bad but not much better than Toohey's.
James Boag; a total winner for me, hands down. A great beer with flavor and strength to boot.
With multiple beers under my belt I watched in amazement as Steve grilled our food.
The smell coming off the grill should be made into a MAN cologne. [truth]
Snags, lamb chops, steak and grilled onions made my stomach yearn for some food.
Snags, btw, are beef sausages and not available in the US.
The aroma of grilled snags is simply wonderful.
Steve also made some snags w/ vegemite.
How do you spell AWESOME?
We sat and ate a BBQ that just blew my mind (and our caloric count for the day)(like I was counting, right?)
Life was very good that night at Mel and Steve's.
Very good.
To them we were in a sense strangers but they made us feel like family.
And maybe we were; I like to think that.
The blazing sun had set hours before we got done eating and it was time for yours truly to look at the Australian night sky.
Me, Mark, Steve, Caleb and Lucas went out into the front yard.
"There it is," Mark said.
As he was pointing, I saw it.
I've loved stargazing for as long as I can remember but never have I wanted to see something as bad as this.
"The Southern Cross."
I gazed at it, totally spellbound, tears forming in my eyes.
My first night in Oz was now complete.
That was until Mel brought out the Pavlova.
Holy crap.
to be continued . . .
ps. Snags and eggs? I love you.
Click on the Diner picture above to achieve greatness in the kitchen!
Fabio is some kind of awesome.
Love this guy.
Trust me, the short video is amazing . . .
As my life zips by at warp speed I barely see the signposts ahead, the lives dripping by, the rain that falls or the
multiple times that particular moments grab me by the stones and scream 'LISTEN!'.
There is an incessant drone that accompanies the soundtrack of my life.
Like any constant, the human condition adapts and moves on, uninterrupted and undisturbed.
The body is made in a way that it simply adapts and adjusts.
Example: Where did I put my glasses?
Answer: They are up on the top of your head.
If we didn't have this ability, wearing clothes would drive us to insanity.
I work in a cigar store and hear on a daily basis,
"This store smells wonderful! It reminds of my Dad/Grandfather/Uncle."
Truth be told, I can't smell it.
I can be away for weeks from the store and upon my return?
No smell, no recognition.
I am for the most part physiologically incapable of recognizing it.
But I could walk into another cigar store and the smell grabs and smacks me in the face like the cigar smoking bitch that I am . . .
(in a good way, I love tobacco).
My point is that as we live our lives we sometimes build up an almost unintentional immunity to things that mean the most to us.
This includes people, places, things, moments, songs, food, smells, feelings, emotions and more.
It's physiological and biological as well.
It's how we are hard-wired.
We are bombarded by so much media that much of what we see consists of perpetuated and virtual cybershit.
Don't know about you but seeing that on a daily basis puts me on a virtual merry-go-round.
But now and then something throws me off the ride, in a major way.
My 2011 Ford Escape has one hell of an amazing sound system.
It is equipped with Microsoft Sync, Sirius Radio, a great CD player and a USB port for the 4,000+ songs on my Ipod Classic. (and it gets close to 32 miles/gallon highway)
Not sure but judging from the sound I think the speaker system may be made by Bose.
At any rate this thing kicks some serious sonic ass.
It is AMAZING.
(and it has an awesome Australian Southern Cross vanity plate to boot)
I was driving into Boston last Sunday morning and had my Ipod set to 'Shuffle' (random songs).
I can fast forward or rewind using the controls on my steering wheel.
As I made my way onto the Mass Pike THIS song came on.
I've listened to Marc Jordan for years but never listened to this song as I did this particular Sunday.
It's meaning was crystal clear as to what and who the song was about.
The next song was THIS from Michael Sembello (aka, Maniac from 'FlashDance' fame)
Although I'd listened to this album years ago, I never heard the actual words.
What came to me towards the end of the song was that someone is trying to get in touch with me.
Someone is trying like hell to make me listen.
Someone is going out of their way to get me to wake the hell up in terms of my life.
If you feel like doing some homework, listen to these two songs.
Who do YOU think they are about?
Know that I am listening and know that in my heart the songs are both about the same Man.
Is He Superman?
It's all about interpretation.
I'm thinking I understand and it's always been all about Superman . . .
Looking for something that resembles the sentiment in this picture.
My Wednesday has been the polar opposite of anything even close to equilibrium, saved by Zero.
Will tomorrow be any better?
Time and a decent nights sleep will tell.
Stay tuned.
It began as an innocent and seemingly serendipitous friendship that came by the way of my personal weblog some 5+ years ago.
If you've read my blog before you will know the backstory of all that I am about to say.
If you haven't, this will be a good time for reading a pretty amazing story.
How this friendship happened seems to defy any logical explanation because that's how many friendships start.
What happened in the ensuing years is the stuff of fairy tales and Ripley's 'Believe it or not' stories, all but true.
I still have to pinch myself some days though; days when I find myself woolgathering about whether me and Pamela did actually visit Australia for two simply incredible weeks this past July.
It's taken some time to not only process the whole experience but also to figure out
just what I want to say . . .
[Interpretation: this is gonna take a lot of posts]
We left Boston on a sunny, pure and crystal late Friday afternoon in July – our first destination: LAX.
Good weather, nice takeoff, flight is smooth, everybody is happy, life is good . . . piece of cake, right?
As we crossed somewhere over Lincoln, Nebraska at approximately 30,000 ft my gorgeous wife grabbed my hand and said, "I don't think I can do this."
"Do what?" I said. [me thinking about the mile high club]
"Flying this far. I don't know if I can do it."
"Sure you can," I said, "we'll be fine," as I squeezed her hand harder in mine.
"You promise?" She said.
"You betcha," I said.
Not what you want to hear from a wife on the verge of tears and only 3 hours from your point of departure.
We still had another 13+ hours in the air to get to Brisbane after getting to LA.
This was not working out as I'd planned.
It rarely does though, right?
It was about this time that I was able to connect to the net with my laptop.
I have never loved Facebook more than I did at that particular moment in time.
"Here," I said, passing her my laptop, "Play Farmville or chat with someone who's on."
Maybe sometimes a human connection is all you really need to get you over a flying hump.
The Facebook diversion worked and we landed safe and sound in the City of Angels at 9PM (PST) Midnight (EST).
Our flights were connecting so we didn't need to worry about our checked luggage as we would pick it up in Brisbane on our arrival on Sunday morning (thanks in part to the International Dateline)
Turned out that our 11PM flight was delayed and we didn't take off until 1AM (PST) or 4AM (EST).
We were both sleeping in the terminal like oh, so many homeless people when our plane started boarding.
We made our way onto a V-Australia huge ass airbus and found our seats.
We were ready for some sleep.
After a nice snack we both hunkered down for a long summer's nap, as visions of the calming waters of the great barrier reef danced in our heads . . .
(alright, I made that part up)
If anyone tells you that flying to Australia is easy and you could 'do it in your sleep', tell them they can go pound sand.
It is a long ass ways away and when we finally landed in Brisbane [19+ hours later] if all that we saw was two crazy kangaroos getting their freak on with some abo playing the didj, we would have left happy campers.
That's not what we found.
The air was different.
The sky was different.
The layout of the land was different.
The spring water was different.
The birds sound were different.
The toilet water flushed the wrong way.
And the people are friendly! [unlike some in Boston]
And they drive on the wrong side of the road (a trip unto itself!)
I think I actually shit my pants as we drove through our first roundabout.
Bringing adult diapers is merely a suggestion.
We found out very quickly that Australia was more than just an island, a huge ass country, and a continent unto itself.
It was a place of incredible beauty and majesty, a place of tropical fish the likes of which we had never seen, wildlife that boggles the mind, food that makes us yearn for more, Cadbury chocolate that will never see the US shores and nighttime constellations that are unique to the southern hemisphere.
We also found out that Australia is a place where one very special family would open their hearts and homes to two American strangers they'd never met before.
We got our suitcases in Brisbane and headed to Australian Customs before embarking on the final flight to take us to Tropical Queensland and the home of Mark and Maureen Harrod, friends of a lifetime.
We didn't know it then but we'd already fallen in love with this magical place called Australia.
As I looked at the Southern Cross in the sky on our first night,
I decided I should stop dreaming. I was here, we were here.
to be continued . . .
Back in 1972, the Stylistics released 'Betcha by Golly Wow' to the masses.
Although I'm not sure just how high it climbed on the charts, it was an amazing song in so very many ways.
The song's harmonic complexity was something of a rarity for the '70's.
I loved the song back then (musically, not really knowing why but understanding it now)
and had all but forgotten about it until today.
A friend had given me the new Pat Metheny CD to listen to,
I put it on my Ipod and completely forgot about it.
Shuffling my way to South Station tonight this old familiar song came streaming into my headphones.
Betcha by Golly, Wow?
On guitar?
Who the hell is this?!?
Pat Metheny.
I can't believe that there are still people that have never heard of him.
If I can turn one person onto this incredible musician, this post will have done its job.
If you have 10 minutes, please listen to the original and then to Metheny's rendition.
Maybe you will hear why I am just so amazed by this man (and the Stylistics)
Either way, enjoy them both.
Expect some posts about my sojourn to Australia in the next few weeks.
Right now my cranium us still sifting through the incredible and amazing details . . .
Now and then someone comes into your life and changes it.
They improve and inspire it, smoothing out the rough edges and pushing you towards
your own personal creative and artistic dreams.
For me, the writer, I have been blessed to have met Mira Bartok, a gifted artist, musician and writer.
How we met is a long story and not fodder for this particular post.
Mira has a memoir coming out this January [1.11.11] called, 'The Memory Palace',
a story about growing up with a gifted, incredibly talented but schizophrenic mother.
I was honored that Mira sent me an ARC [advanced reader copy] of the book
which I devoured in less than a week.
Mira's words and images took me on a journey I won't soon forget.
For me, the memoir confirmed the idea and thought that, 'Love conquers all.'
I refuse to give anything away except to say that this book literally took my breath away.
It's about love and forgiveness, music and art, memory and the present tense, home and the homeless.
This book changed the way I feel about the many panhandlers I walk by every day in Boston,
a city filled with sad stories and sadder characters.
Watch the promo trailer and please, please, please leave a comment.
If you could pass the Youtube link on to several friends, I would be forever grateful.
When someone does something wonderful for my writing and creative life, I need to return the favor.
This book is incredible, as is Mira . . .
[and her husband, my dear friend and multi-talented colleague Doug Plavin]
just watch . . .