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Principal Deputy Under Secretary Henry Briefing at the State Department Foreign Press Center
Presenter: Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Ryan Henry
June 22, 2007 11:00 AM EDT
Good morning, and welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center. Thank you very much for coming. This morning we are very pleased to have Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Mr. Ryan Henry. He has held this position since February 2003. And he has just returned from consultations in a number of North African countries to discuss AFRICOM issues. AFRICOM, of course, is the newest command at the Pentagon and was -- this announcement was made by President Bush in February of this year.
Principal Deputy Undersecretary Henry has had a distinguished military career for 24 years. He's also had successful careers in the private sector and in academia. And so we're extremely pleased to have him here. He'll speak for a few minutes, and then we'll open it up to questions.
As was mentioned, we have just returned from a second round of consultations on the continent
Africa. I thought I might take a minute to make sure that you are aware of what AFRICOM is. It is, as was mentioned, a command that's intended to exist near the end of 2008, we hope around the October time frame. The specific time will be determined as we get closer.
urrently the African continent, from a United States government -- from a military perspective, is overseen by three different commanders. One of the commanders is the commander of European Command, which is in Stuttgart, Germany. And he looks at Northern Africa and much of th
-- sub-Saharan Africa.
The other is the commander of Central Command, who's located in Tampa, Florida, but also is responsible for the Middle East. And he has oversight for our military over the Horn of Africa.
And then finally the commander of Pacific Command, who's located in Honolulu, Hawaii. And he's responsible for the islands on the western (sic) coast of Africa.
And so we found ourselves in a situation as we saw Africa as a continent emerging in importance: 22 percent of the Earth's surface, neighboring -- approaching 800 million inhabitants, growing in political clout, a country both rich in human capital and -- a continent rich in human capital and natural resources. And we were in a situation where we looked at it divided through a lens of the Cold War and the commands that we had set up then.
And the president, at the recommendation of the secretary of Defense, made the decision that we should start looking at Africa the same way that Africans do, from a continental perspective.
And so what AFRICOM represents is a realignment of our organizational construct on how we deal with Africa. And so instead of having three commanders that deal with Africa as a third or fourth priority, we will have a single commander that deals with it day in and day out as his first and only priority. So that is the main reason for the stand-up of AFRICOM.
AFRICOM is a unified command, it is a headquarters, and it involves a staff. There are not troops associated with that. There will be, as currently planned, no new troops to be stationed on the continent, and there will be no new bases associated with AFRICOM. There will be a headquarters associated with it, where the staff will work out of. In this day of information technology, just as this conference, I understand, is at multiple different sites, we believe that we can do that in a distributed nature. And so there in probability will not be a single headquarters, but we will look for more of a distributed approach as where the staff is located, and that will be both on the continent and off the continent. But the commander himself will be on the continent so he can better deal with his peers, chiefs of defense staff and members of multinational organization on the continent.
As we go to stand up AFRICOM, we in the Department of Defense, working with other parts of the U.S. government, realize that this was a rare opportunity to approach the command differently. And so the announcement has been made that the deputy for the command will not be a military officer, as is the practice in every other command that we have and every other nation that we know of, but the deputy will be a senior civilian from the State Department so that we
integrate with the diplomatic aspects.
And we will also have a large percentage of civilians from different parts of the U.S. government integrated into the command, because our engagement on the continent is one of diplomacy, of development and where we can be of assistance to Africans.
And having an integrated staff will help us to do a better job in integrating with those other parts of the U.S. government's engagement. AFRICOM in no way will take a leadership role in the area of diplomacy -- those are our ambassadors who are in the field -- or in the area of development -- that is the Agency for International Development -- but it will be able to support them better based on this integrated staff.
When it comes to the security or the defense part of this, AFRICOM is not meant to fight wars. It is one that is based on building partnership capability and in the areas of security cooperation. The missions that AFRICOM will emphasize are those of humanitarian assistance, civic action, the professionalism of militaries, assistance in border security and maritime security and again the area of security cooperation and response to natural disasters.
We in the stand-up in AFRICOM look at it as a command that can coordinate with African nations to support their good efforts and to be providing for their own security, but we look to Africa to develop their own security solutions and to be leaders in that. And as we've made our consultations, one thing has come clear is that every nation and every group representing an African constituency that we've talked to to date sees the African Union as the multinational organization that is structured to be able to look at continental and regional security issues, and that with its regional economic communities and the security structures they have there, each has encouraged us to work with them, and that is the intention of AFRICOM, that they'll be working with the African Union and the security structure that it has. And again, we will look -- we do not look for AFRICOM to take a leadership role; rather, it will be one in support of efforts of leading countries through our binational and bilateral relationships and then African Union and other multinational organizations.
And with that, I would be happy to answer any questions that you might have.
As usual, please wait for the microphone when I call on you and be sure to identify yourself and your media organization.
Yes, go ahead.
My name is Manalese Tubasa (ph) from the South African Broadcasting Corporation. I just want to ask you two quick questions. First question: When are you prepared to start this command and in which country?
Secondly I just happened to come from home, and I attended a meeting of African intellectuals, and they spoken about this very same issue of the Africa Command. And out of that meeting I realized that there are three concerns. First of all, the general feeling that the U.S. image is so bad in Africa that the very same fact that to put a command there might even attract terrorism and endanger the lives of the people of Africa. That's the general feeling that was there, that you need to make up your image first before you bring this command. What do you say about that? Have you looked at those kind of issues? Or you are just go in there and set the command anyway, as you did, went to Iraq anyway?
Be glad to answer your question.
First of all you asked the question that I thought I had previously answered, but I'll be glad to do it again, is, where will it be located? And I mentioned that there are no new bases associated with this command and no new troops on the continent. I also mentioned that it will not be a single location but rather different elements of the staff headquarters will be distributed around the continent, and there might be some functions that are done back here in the United States.
As to the United States engagement in Africa, we are engaged. We are engaged today. We do not see any change in the role that we're currently playing. And so to say that we need to change something before we do something when we're already doing it is not something that necessarily makes sense to us.
I understand that people see the world differently and see the United States differently than we do. But we, again, have worked with countries. We're working with governments and we're working with multinational organizations. And we have not heard the comments expressed as you expressed them. We continue to do outreach and we feel confident with our partners on the continent that the way that we're proceeding is the correct way to proceed.
Jim Fisher-Thompson, USINFO. Just a clarification on the deputy position, are you saying that there will only be one deputy, and that will be a State Department official? Or previous readouts -- I got the impression that there were going to be two deputies, and the difference is that one would be a State Department official.
Yes, many organizations have multiple deputies. And we believe that AFRICOM would be that, too. So there would be a deputy, though, that'll oversee the diplomatic aspects, humanitarian aspects and would not be involved with military-specific affairs. There's issues of personnel and things like that that you would have to have a military officer by law responsible for. But for the large span of activities the command would be involved in, the deputy from the State Department would be involved in those.
(Off mike) --
ollow up to that because someone asked about this the other day. How would that differ, the civilian deputy, how would that position differ from the political-military position that is held by senior State Department officers for the other COCOMs
(combatant command
There is what's known as a POLAD or a political advisor, and that is his role is he's an advisor. This is actually somebody who would be in the command structure and have line responsibilities.
Yes, ma'am.
Good morning. My name is -- (name inaudible). I work for National
Daily Newspaper
of Nigeria called This Day. My question is, you said that the command would be involved in humanitarian activities and security cooperation with governments. I want to know if there is already a security cooperation between the U.S. government and Nigeria in the Niger-Delta area because I know that Nigeria is about, I think, the third-largest exporter of oil to the U.S., and the U.S. government is concerned about the militant activities there and the bombing of oil (stations ?).
So I want to find out, is there a security cooperation to help the government with those challenges or will there be a security cooperation?
Thank you.
Well, security cooperations take many different forms. It can take the forms of advice and training. We do activities currently, training activities with many of the nations on the African continent today, and I can't speak to the specific ones that we do with individual nations because that's not my portfolio, and I wouldn't want to give you information that's inaccurate.
But let me talk to the larger issue and knock down, perhaps, three myths of which -- one that you started to touch on. There are myths out there on why we are doing this, and depending on who we're talking to we hear a different myth. One is that this is all about terrorism, and we're interested in having a counterterrorism command on the African continent. The other myth is is this about China and the inroads that China has been making on the continent. And then the third myth is -- and the one you -- this is about resources, specifically oil, specifically the oil in the Gulf of Guinea, and that's what this command is about.
Now, let me just address each of those, if I may. In the area of terrorism, there is -- there are terrorists, and especially coming back from this last consultation trip with states in Northern Africa and the Maghreb, this is something that they're very concerned about. We currently work with many of those countries, and we will continue to work with them in a way similar that we're doing today. We don't see any significant change in how we're approaching that.
But terrorism is not something that can be ignored, but it's clearly not the primary focus of this command.
The second issue dealt with China. China is involved significantly on the continent, principally in an economic way. And as has been stated many times, we look forward to the rise of China. As China succeeds, the rest of the world succeeds. We would expect China as it rises to be a responsible international stakeholder and act accordingly, and we're willing to work with them at any place in the globe we possibly can in that direction.
And the third one is, is in the area of resources. And again, Africa is a continent that is rich in resources, natural resources -- fishing is significant there -- mineral resources, and one of which happens to be oil, but there are many different ones. We think it's important for the world and for Africans that they're able to get their products to world markets and get the benefit of a world market. We think the solution and the guaranteer (sic) of that, though, should be African, not American.
The degree which we can work with African countries and help them get the capability that indigenously they can provide the security environment to be able to make sure they continue to have access to markets, that's something that we'd be interested in doing, working with them, as we are today. And that's an area that AFRICOM would address.
But the key, and the reason that we are standing up AFRICOM is, is we want to work with the current good efforts we see going on on the continent, through the African Union and leading states, for Africans to be able to develop their own security mechanisms and capability and capacity to be able to address their own problems. And that is the principal focus of the command.
Mounzer Sleiman with Al-Awsat from Kuwait and Almustaqbal Alarabi from Lebanon. Clarify a little bit about dispersing the components of the command; at the same time would be based on what? Like now there is many component; in reference to how the structure of the armed forces of the United States, like the Army headquarters or a component of the Army, commponent, or based on mission, not based on the component of a division of United States Army?
Another thing
In your consultation, is it the reason that you're not disclosing or the issue of headquarter? Where is going to be the headquarter? I mean, you're saying that there is no country specifically for the headquarters. Is that because the countries did not accept to have headquarters? I heard that some countries, they were willing. Who are they, the ones that accepted the presence of the headquarters? And why Egypt is outside this area of responsibility?
Okay, I heard two questions there. Let me address -- the first one is the distribution, the physical distribution of the command, which is the staff, members of the staff. And I did not-- first of all in our consultations we have neither asked or discussed with anyone where the headquarters would be. That's not the nature of it. The nature of it is it was the purpose, how the command would operate and how we would interface with different countries and how we would work with the African Union. Those were the nature of the consultations we had.
The staff will be distributed in different nodes. Where those nodes will be, we haven't even begun to map that out. We're just at the process right now of determining what the criteria would be for that distribution, and part of that is exactly which way you do it. Do you do it on a scaling basis? Do you do it on a functional basis? Do you do it on a mission assignment basis? And those are all part of the analysis that we're going through right now.
To get to -- the second issue is the role of Egypt in the command. Egypt has significant amount of current ongoing activity, especially in the administrative area, and things we do with Egypt in the area of security assistance that is currently done through Central Command. Since AFRICOM is a new command and one that will be in the process of standing up and learning as it goes along, for administrative purposes, Egypt will remain associated with Central Command. For operational purposes, for diplomatic issues, for cooperation with African countries, with joint activities with other African nations in the relationship to AFRICOM, then we would expect the commander of AFRICOM to be dealing with the Egyptians.
So we see that Egypt would, to a certain degree, be involved in both commands in the future.
Can I follow up on just one thing? You mentioned that the commander will be staying where the command headquarter is going to be, right?
I'm probably not doing a very good job of explaining this -- a specific headquarters there will not be. It'll be distributed in nodes. So we would expect the commander to be at different nodes at different times, depending upon what activity he might do.
But where -- I mean, we know every command has a headquarter. Where it's going to be?
That's correct. Every command today has a headquarters. AFRICOM will be different. It will have a distributed headquarters, distributed around the continent in different nodes. This will be fundamentally different than has been done anywhere else before.
So isn't it odd that you cannot find a place for it, or what's the reason why you can't have –
The reason is is in this day and age, in an information age -- first of all, Africa is a very, very big continent, so to put a headquarters in one part of it -- then you automatically start to ignore other parts. So one thing -- it is just like the approach from the African Union, it's distributed itself across five regional economic communities because of -- and in the different nature of it.
Similarly, we think that the staff headquarters will be distributed broadly like that. It's not a matter of not being able to find a place; it's a matter, in an information age, that we think this a more effective way to run a network organization, and that's where our staff headquarters tend to be. We currently do this globally. We have what we call split-place operations; many activities occur here in the United States, many activities of the same organization simultaneously occurring different places around the globe. We've had the last 20 years to be able to work and develop this capability, and we think it's something that can work.
Let's see. This gentleman and then the lady behind. Right –
Yes. My name is Feal Lemeurve (ph). I'm a correspondent for Fraternite Matin, Ivory Coast. Listening to you talk, I only see that you talk about the interests of the United States in Africa. You've talked about terrorism, China and resources. Are you -- (inaudible) -- about the interests of African people, and I'm going to talk about it. What will AFRICOM do in case of a civil war in any African country? Because we know coup d'etat and civil war as what Africa -- (inaudible word) -- the most.
What will Africa do in case of, you know, coup d'etat or civil war starting, or if two countries go into conflict? That's my first question. My second question is, what's the budget of this African project?
What is the what?
How much? The budget. How much?
Well, there's not a budget associated with it. There will be a manpower cost associated with it. Those are all things that are currently being looked at.
As far as intervention -- I think that's basically what you asked -- first of all, we looked at the security system -- situation on the African continent. Africa, like a few other places but not many other places in the world, is -- state-based conflict, one state attacking another state -- it's not really something that is an issue in Africa. The threats in Africa tend to be transnational in nature or internal to a specific country, but they don't tend to be between countries.
Regardless, we do not see AFRICOM being used for the intervention of American forces or -- and hopefully any foreign forces, especially in the internal dispute of a specific nation. Rather, what AFRICOM will do is to try to help to create the conditions where either that nation or the African Union, through its African standby force, will be the ones that will be able to address African security issues.
And that's actually the purpose of it. You asked us
What is it going to do for the African people? We are going to try to work with countries and organizations to make sure that when there are conflicts, that Africans have the capability to address that with their own forces, with their own decision-making and with their own leadership, and that it doesn't require the intervention of external forces. That's the whole purpose of AFRICOM.
Yes, ma'am?
Hoda Tawfik, Al Ahram newspaper, Egypt. Sir, you just mentioned about Egypt that you deal with Egypt through the Central Command. But you know that Egypt is a leading country in Africa, and you had consultations with General Azar (sp). Can you just reflect on what are the concerns of Egypt and what is your answer –
Okay. Well, first of all, they were -- yeah, they were private consultations. And so we'll leave it to the Egyptian government to discuss, if they choose to, what specifically was addressed in the consultation.
You mentioned what I view -- perhaps I didn't talk clearly enough. What I said was that Egypt will continue to work with Central Command for administrative issues, which deals with issues in the area of security assistance and many of the formalized programs that we have going with them.
Obviously, for issues dealing with the Middle East, too, they will continue to work with Central Command. But for issues that involve and activities that involve Egypt on the African continent, then from an American perspective, in consultation with the commander of Central Command, the commander of AFRICOM would be working with Egypt.
So we would see that they would work with both commanders. It depends upon the specific issue or the specific activity that would be involved. African, it would be the commander of AFRICOM; the Middle East or other issues, it would be the commander of Central Command.
We have a question from New York, and I think you just touched on it, this gentleman's question. But they asked about the cost of the project and how much, as they put it, you put on the table to set up AFRICOM, which sounds like a question -- as if it's an aid issue or –
Well, I would be glad to just elaborate on that, if I might.
We do not see a different level of funding when it comes to the area of defense or security assistance. Perhaps over the long term with a different focus those numbers might start to change. In the area of development, this administration has tripled the contribution that America makes to the African continent. Again, that is something that's led by the Agency for International Development. We will be able to work more closely with them by having a staff that has members that are integrated into it, that represent their interests in the future.
But we do not see a significant change from a military perspective in the investment we're making. We see a more focused effort, again, on building up capability.
Yes, this gentleman here.
Thank you, sir. Mark Milan (sp), Refugees International. You speak of broad consultations with African nations, with the AU, with ECOWAS and other RECs, but what about consultations with the other G-8 partners, because I see AFRICOM very much as building African capacity across governance areas as well as in the security dimension, but the British have this thing called the African Conflict Prevention Pool. We know that France has deep roots in building African capacity to do all sorts of things. How closely are you liaising with them? And do you envisage AFRICOM as a vehicle to get a more joined up donor partner approach to Africa?
Thank you, sir.
Well, closer cooperation between external governments that are interested in assisting in the security sector is clearly a possibility, when you will have a four-star military officer who's focused solely on that task and to the degree with which we can coordinate that would only make sense, so we see that real potential being out there.
In the area of consultations here with the diplomatic community and embassies here in Washington, DC, we've been having regular consultations through that mechanism. We've had informal consultations to date with both the British and the French, but we plan on having a formal round of consultations with the two of them plus other European countries in the fall, and so as we mature more what our concept is. The reason that we went to the continent first is because we're very interested in making sure that our planning is aligned with the objectives and the goals of the African countries. And then once we start to coalesce around what that will look like, then we'll be in a position to talk with external players on how best we can coordinate.
Other questions.
Yes, sir.
Thank you. My name is -- (name inaudible) -- from Ethiopian TV, and my question would be regarding on the Horn of Africa.
As you know, the Horn of Africa is one of the hotspots as we speak, in Somalia, in Ethiopia -- (inaudible). What is the consultation in Addis Ababa? And, I mean, if you have anything on -- is that a specific date with the government? Or did you consult with African Union when you stayed in Addis Ababa?
Yes, we have consulted with both. We've been to Addis twice, had consultations with both, and we would continue to have consultations with them in the future.
As you said, we're going to be working on development in Africa and what have you. Since you don't have base, since you don't have a military command, as you know, African Union peacekeepers are having a difficulty, like in Darfur and other places, on capacity building. I mean, what kind of assistance on your department that you are going to be creating in terms of training and assistance and military capability, not only in the Horn of Africa but in the entire continent, cooperating under the AU. Is that also consulting that you took place in Addis Ababa?
Well, we've been talking -- everyone that we've talked to we've talked about how we can cooperate. We haven't come up with any specific plans because we're not at that stage right now, but have laid the groundwork and discussed how broadly we might be able to work together in the future. But the specifics will be tailored to the needs of the individual country or the individual organization. And again, eventually we would hope to do that also in coordination with other countries that might be having similar objectives to make sure that we're getting a focused effort, but we're also not unnecessarily duplicating effort between external countries, either.
Okay, one or two more.
Yes, ma'am?
My name is -- (inaudible) -- and I'm an intern at the Corporate Council on Africa. And I heard how you answer the question concerning conflict resolution. My question is, the things that you describe, it's almost what the U.N. is already doing. Do you anticipate any type of coalition between AFRICOM and the U.N. in terms of conflict resolution?
I mean that would probably depend on the specific situation -- not in a coalition, but we would see cooperation broadly. Again, there are a number of entities, both national and multinational, that are interested in helping Africans have the ability to solve their own security problems, and anyone that is of like mind, then we would be interested in working with to see how collectively we can do the best effort.
I would say that, clearly, AFRICOM is not about competition with anyone, it's about complementary efforts, most specifically with Africans and the African Union on how we can complement their plans and strategy. But anyone else that's interested in participating, we would want to complement their efforts also.
Last question.
You stated that the AFRICOM will not have forces attached to it. How about the forces that already have missions in Africa or in the surrounding area, like for instance in Djibouti or in other African countries there will be forces stationed for anti-terrorism purposes or other purposes?
And also the ongoing missions in Somalia, that there is -- we heard about many military activities there. So are they going to be under that such command, or you're going to have forces in Africa stationed in Africa? How it's going to -- who's going to be commanding and directing them?
The only forces that we have stationed in Africa are part of the Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, which is in Djibouti. It is -- its mission has changed from one of attack and disrupt terrorist networks to one of security cooperation, building capabilities with partners many times down at the village level, different civic actions, affairs, drilling wells and things such as that. That command will continue to exist. There's no plans to change that currently. It will -- when AFRICOM first begins to stand up as a -- what we refer to as a sub-unified command, it will continue to be part of Central Command. But prior to the command becoming fully unified and independent, which again will be in the late part of 2008, at that point, that task force will transfer to AFRICOM. But it'll continue to do the civic affairs missions that it's doing today.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
(Off mike.)
Why don't you do that off-line.
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Writing Alternative Billing Alternatives gave me an excuse to contact my friend, Jeff Rovner, for some background detail on the superb session he, Jeffrey Brandt,Thomas Gaines, and Eugene Stein presented at ILTA09. In our e-mail exchange today, he provided the following additional insights:
- In his original example, he proposed a 10% discount in rates for discussion purposes. However, in our conversation he told me that a 15% discount is becoming increasingly common in the market. If that's the case, the consequences are even more striking. To prove this, let's rerun his example using the new discount:
- Assume a law firm profit margin of 40%
- Apply a 15% discount on rates
- This results in a 38% decline in profits
- It's ill-advised to view ad hoc discounts as a reasonable short-term fix. Even if current economic conditions last for only a couple of years, the impact of a 38% decline in profits in each of those years could be very damaging to a firm unless competing firms are similarly affected.
- While a firm may successfully reduce the fees it offers clients by implementing alternative billing arrangements, if that firm continues to perform its legal work exactly as it did in the days of the billable hour, it will not be able to off-set lower fees with lower expenses. The result is a "disguised discount," with the resulting hit to profits.
- In the panel's view, the best approach is for a firm to lower its internal costs of delivering client service, and then pass all or part of those savings on to its client through alternative billing arrangements. By doing so, the client reduces its legal spend and the firm's profitability is not impaired.
There's clearly much more than should be discussed about these issues. I do hope this ILTA session sparks further useful analysis and conversation.
[Photo Credit: twenty questions]
- In his original example, he proposed a 10% discount in rates for discussion purposes. However, in our conversation he told me that a 15% discount is becoming increasingly common in the market. If that's the case, the consequences are even more striking. To prove this, let's rerun his example using the new discount:
Thinking creatively about alternative billing structures is something increasing numbers of lawyers and law firms are grappling with. To help with this, Thomas Gaines, Jeffrey Brandt, Jeffrey Rovner and Eugene Stein gave a terrific presentation at ILTA09 regarding how technology might assist with alternative billing arrangements. They started by exploding some common alternative billing myths, chief among which is that it is safe to defer consideration of new cost and billing structures by using discounts. To illustrate the problem with discounts, Jeff Rovner offered the following numbers:
- Assume that a law firm's profit margin is 40%
- Apply a 10% discount on rates
- This results in a 25% decline in rates, which is a huge hit to Profits Per Partner
Jeff's conclusion from these numbers was stark: even though discounting is popular with clients and may seem like the simplest ad hoc solution to implement, it could well be disastrous for the financial health of the firm. So, if you're interested in the long-term viability of your firm, you've got to find another way to meet your client's expectations about billing.
Next, a firm might consider offering "alternative billing" options such as fixed fee, blended fee or success fee arrangements. However, since these simply shift the cost of legal services from clients to firm, they are in essence "disguised discounts." As such, they have a negative impact on Profits Per Partner. Further, it was the panel's view that these alternative billing options alone would be insufficient to meet client goals regarding cost reductions.
To find smarter alternatives to bare discounts, the panel took us back to the drawing board by pointing out that while clients are determined to reduce their legal spend — in fact, they cited a press report that Pfizer intended to reduce its legal costs by 15-20% — clients don't care how this reduction is achieved as long as the quality of legal services is not impaired. However, law firms with reduced fees are going to need to find a way to off-set the substantial hit to Profits Per Partner that results from discounting. The best way to do this is to reduce the costs of delivering legal services. Put another way, the impact of an alternative billing arrangement is to place the burden of cost overruns on the shoulders of the firm. If the firm can find a way to contain or reduce costs, the firm can avoid those cost overruns and their deleterious effect on profits.
How does this work in practice? Eugene Stein discussed how his firm has approached alternative fee structures. Having agreed to lower their price (but not their quality) of service, they then felt that they could ask the client to give them more work. Their client, pleased with the service provided and the cost charged, agreed. So here we have reduced fees off-set by both lower costs of production and higher volume. The net result is a better outcome for the firm's profitability.
Key to all of this is reducing the costs of production. I'll dig into that issue more deeply in my next post. Stay tuned.
**UPDATE (30 September 2009):
After I published this post, I had an opportunity to discuss its main points with Jeff Rovner. I've published the gist of our conversation in a follow-up post, Update on Alternative Billing.
[Photo Credit: deltaMike]
One of the thorniest problems we've faced in knowledge management has been how to explain what we do. Ray Sims set out to determine if there was a definition of knowledge management that could help with this. What he discovered was not one or two, but rather 62 definitions of KM. That's more than one for every week of the year!
Into this murky mess steps Dave Snowden. Although he has nothing to prove, his recent post, Defining KM, demonstrated yet again why he is considered one of the foremost KM experts in the world. Here's how he defines KM:
The purpose of knowledge management is to provide support for improved decision making and innovation throughout the organization. This is achieved through the effective management of human intuition and experience augmented by the provision of information, processes and technology together with training and mentoring programmes.
The following guiding principles will be applied
- All projects will be clearly linked to operational and strategic goals
- As far as possible the approach adopted will be to stimulate local activity rather than impose central solutions
- Co-ordination and distribution of learning will focus on allowing adaptation of good practice to the local context
- Management of the KM function will be based on a small centralized core, with a wider distributed network
There's a lot to chew on in this definition. I heartily agree with his assertion that the point of KM is to support "improved decision making and innovation." If this isn't why you're involved in KM, what are you doing? It also raises an interesting question for people engaged in KM 1.0. What proof do you have for your operating premise that larger document repositories improve decision making and innovation?
For those who are KM empire builders, his guiding principles will give pause. He is clearly favoring local, grassroots solutions rather than centralized, large-scale solutions. This will require placing people close to the frontline who are knowledgeable enough about KM to provide some light guidance to the knowledge workers who have the most immediate need of KM systems. Better still, to my mind it encourages every knowledge worker to be an effective knowledge manager. In this context, a global KM Czar is going to be superfluous and unwelcome.
In separate correspondence with Dave Snowden, I've asked if he can elaborate on his notion of "effective management of human intuition and experience." It's not clear to me exactly how one manages either intuition or experience. It will be interesting to what additional guidance he can provide.
In the meantime, stayed tuned. By offering this definition, he's given us an opportunity to define ourselves and our work again. Let's see how far we get this time.
[Photo Credit: jovike]
It used to be so simple, so predictable. Just as night follows day, we followed a well-worn retail pattern: September back-to-school sales, then Columbus Day sales, then Halloween Sales, a pause for Thanksgiving, and then (finally!) Christmas and after Christmas sales. You always knew what kind of discount you could expect to find depending on where you were in the retail calendar. So how do you handle the news that some retailers have been offering Christmas discounts since the first week of September? Does it strike you as downright unnatural or have you decided not to look this particular gift horse in the mouth?
Setting your holiday shopping plans to the side, have you also noticed that more and more law firms are now offering discounts — regardless of the season? According to a recent report, London's "Magic Circle" firms have reduced their rates by a third as they discount in response to intensified competition. Not surprisingly, the clients quoted in the article seem pleased with this outcome. But is it a sustainable path for any business?
Steve McKee writes in BusinessWeek that unless the discounting is done extremely carefully, it almost always will have a deleterious effect. Here's how he describes the impact of discounts:
Discounting destroys brand equity, hamstrings investment in innovation, and zaps profitability for companies and their stakeholders.
For companies determined to discount, McKee suggests that they take the following measures:
- Discount briefly.
- Discount wisely.
- Discount creatively.
McKee ends with the following tough advice for businesses contemplating long-term discounts:
The bottom line: In your customers' eyes, your product is either worth regular price or it's not. In tough times like these that may be a more difficult case to make, but if you're not winning the value equation in their eyes you should focus on finding a way to meet their needs without reflexively taking a percentage off the top. If you do choose to incorporate discounting into your strategy, it must appear sensible and smart, not irrational or a result of panic.
People understand that prices are a market mechanism. If you start playing the discount card too much, you're sending a signal that you don't believe your product or service is worth it. And if you don't believe it, who will?
[Hat tip to Nancy Myrland for pointing out this article by Steve McKee.]
[Photo Credit: rcolonna]
Navel gazing is a distressingly popular activity among knowledge managers. (To be honest, even I have indulged in it from time to time.) I'm not sure exactly what drives this tendency, although I expect it may have something to do with the fact that we aren't always able to explain succinctly what it is we do for a living and why we do it.
In the meantime, we expend a great deal of energy discussing the lofty goals of knowledge management and worrying about the difficulties of proving the ROI of KM activities.
In light of this, I found it refreshing to read Infovark's post, The Promise of Information Management. The post begins by asking what information management tools and technology are really designed for and answers the question with the Maslow-like diagram below that shows the hierarchy of IM needs:
Risk mitigation, compliance and security; cost savings and efficiency; improved knowledge and innovation. Those sound like worthy — and rather familiar — goals. But isn't that what Knowledge Management (or at least KM 1.0) claims for itself as well?
So, would someone please tell me: If the information managers have all of this well in hand, what exactly does knowledge management accomplish? Does KM add anything? Is it a distinct discipline or just information management with a fancy title?
[Photo Credit: Vasta]
Is there such a word as Twitternut? Twitterphile? If so, that's me. I've found Twitter to be a game changer. I've loved the ability to connect and converse with a diverse range of interesting folks around the world. They regularly provoke me to laughter and always make me think a little harder about the topic du jour. Best of all, since Twitter is an ever-flowing stream, I can just dip in and out of it when my schedule permits. It doesn't interrupt. Rather, it invites.
That's key — I do it when I want to. Unlike e-mail, which tends to interrupt me at the whim of the sender, there is no expectation on Twitter that you will immediately read and respond. I've discovered that there's great freedom in that mode of communication.
All of that changes on Thursday, September 17, when folks can start phoning people in their Twitterverse for free courtesy of the Jajah@call program offered by Jajah, a VOIP company. According to The Next Web, here's how it works:
You'll be able to make phone calls via Twitter free of charge to anyone in the world, so long as they follow you back and have JAJAH accounts.
@calls are made without revealing your number and without needing to know the number of the person you wish to call – all you need is their Twitter username.
The beauty of JAJAH is that it uses the Internet to connect two standard phones, thus implementing both the advantage of the Internet as a low-cost service and the comfort of using a regular telephone device.
Suddenly, all those folks you followed back just to be nice can start phoning you. 24/7. For free. Are you ready? If you've been playing any of those foolish games to pump up your follower numbers, you're about to win the booby prize.
It'll be interesting to see if the advent of free Twitter calls changes the way people approach the whole issue of following/followers. Will the net result be a shrinking of each participant's Twitterverse? I'm reserving judgment on this until I see how it plays out. However, I'm not sure I'll be rushing out to facilitate phone calls just yet. Will you?
[Photo Credit: jiruan]
Sometimes those small things we routinely take for granted give us cause to remember how valuable they are in their ordinariness. This fact was driven home to me last night when I mailed off my biennial registration to the New York State Office of Court Administration. In New York, each practicing lawyer must register with the State every two years, just after his or her birthday. This process involves confirming one's contact details, assuring the authorities that one has complied with particular ethical and educational requirements, and submitting a registration fee. As I completed the form, sealed the envelope and dropped it in the mail, I was reminded how these simple acts were much more challenging eight years ago.
The deadline for submitting the registration materials is one month after one's birthday. Since my birthday falls in the middle of August, I have until the middle of September to complete the task. However, on September 12, 2001, as we were beginning to understand the scope of the wreckage of 9/11, I learned that the post office box and postal station to which I normally would have sent my registration materials were casualties of the 9/11 catastrophe. Suddenly, even if I wanted to comply with the rules, I couldn't.
Last night, as I looked at the address printed on the registration envelope, I found myself grateful for the existence of a post office box. And, I was reminded that even something as simple as that post office box can represent the blessing of a relatively peaceful life. After 9/11, I'm glad for the reminder.
[Photo Credit: mhawkins]
Paul Sloane has written a fantastic piece called How to Ruin a Brainstorming Session. If you take a closer look, you'll realize that many of the elements that are fatal for brainstorming are also fatal for a knowledge management program.
Here are some of the practices Paul Sloane believes are deadly:
- You have no clear objectives.
- The group involved is too homogeneous.
- Your boss is autocratic and doesn't trust the creativity of his or her team.
- You allow early criticism to smother creativity.
- You settle for just a few ideas.
- Your process lacks closure or follow through.
How many of these "worst practices" are present in your KM program? What are you going to do about it?
[Photo Credit: Jacob Botter]
For an interesting view of the brainstorming process, see the following charts from Rick | Crinid:
Are you having fun? That's the question that once stopped me dead in my tracks. I was an earnest first-year associate at the time and the person asking the question was a very senior lawyer. Given current economic conditions, you may be tempted to say that a question like that should be reserved for a bull market. However, that senior lawyer thought the question was important enough that he raised the issue during a significant economic downturn.
I've never forgotten that lawyer and I've never forgotten his question. Consequently, I was interested to read today "How to Make Knowledge Work Fun" by Larry Stybel. In it he describes the four modes of being of knowledge workers:
- Insanity: If you are serving people you don't like to be with and are not getting paid, that is insanity.
- Give-Back: If you are serving people you enjoy being with but are not getting paid, that is give-back.
- Work: If you are serving people you don't like to be with but are getting paid, that is work.
- Fun: If you are serving people you enjoy being with and are getting paid, that is fun.
The key to having a great professional life is to stop merely working and start operating in the Fun Mode. To do this, Larry Stybel recommends the following steps:
- First, find people you enjoy serving. This means finding people whose values you share, people you like to spend time with.
- Next, find problems you enjoy solving. Find out what those people need and which of those needs you want to address.
- Third, position yourself. Assess your skills and experience. Do you have what it takes to meet those needs? If not, what additional training or experience do you need to be the solution for your preferred clients?
One challenge for law firm knowledge management is that far too often we are serving people we don't know terribly well. Our lives may intersect briefly from time to time, but we don't always have relationships with our internal clients. As a result, we lack the luxury of time to discover that we enjoy being with them. In addition, I have on occasion been at meetings of knowledge managers where the conversation has taken on a faint whiff of "us versus them" or "the knowledge management staff versus the lawyers." Alternatively, I've heard vaguely condescending remarks about "the lawyers" and "how little they understand" about KM (and, possibly, about life). If you feel strongly about this, perhaps you're working in the wrong industry.
If you are in the right industry, are you working on the right set of problems? (Or as a friend once remarked: right church, wrong pew.) If the needs of your constituency are not ones you're interested in serving, something has to change. Odds are, it will have to be you.
If you are in the right industry and working on the right set of problems, do you have the wherewithal to provide a solution? If this isn't within the realm of possibility for you given some elbow grease or training, you're going to have to find another place where you can have a positive impact. Otherwise, I guarantee you won't be having any fun at work.
Striving for fun at work may seem frivolous in these difficult economic times. However, life is too short and the work day too long not to try to have fun at work.
[Photo Credit: alobos online]
Jason Ryan Dorsey has mastered the art of "edutainment." Over the course of a rollicking keynote address and subsequent 90-minute presentation he shook us out of our complacency about the impact of generational differences in the workplace. (A cautionary note: As I was tweeting his 90-minute session, several readers asked what data he had to back up his assertions. I've cited some resources below, but encourage all of you to satisfy yourselves by doing further research.)
While there has been lots of conversation about the impact of new Gen Y employees in the workplace, Dorsey believes that the biggest challenge most companies are facing is the enormous span between the oldest and youngest workers. In many offices, you can find members of the following demographic groups attempting to work together:
- Matures/Traditionalists – Born before 1946; while some have retired, finances have forced others back into the workplace
- Baby Boomers – Born between 1946 – 1964; while they should be on the verge of retiring, finances are keeping them on the job
- Generation X – Born between 1965 – 1976; they should be moving into upper management, but are stymied by Boomers who won't leave
- Generation Y/Millennials – Born between 1977-1995; they have perfected "adult-olescence" and value lifestyle and relationships over work
As Dorsey pointed out, each of these groups was shaped by distinctly different experiences and, as a result, has a distinctly different outlook on life. For example, Gen Y (which, according to Dorsey, was raised by their parents to prize personal fulfillment over duty) seeks instant gratification while the Matures (formed by the Great Depression and World War II) have confidence in their ability to survive and thrive, and believe strongly in delayed gratification. Or contrast Baby Boomers whose approach to work is defined by paying one's dues a certain number of hours per week (hello face time!) with Gen Y, which prizes time flexibility and whose approach to work is to blur the lines between work time and personal time.
Perhaps the starkest difference among the groups was summarized by Dorsey as follows: Boomers define themselves by what they accomplish at work. Gen X and Gen Y define themselves by what they do after work. According to Dorsey's calculations, Gen X and Gen Y combined now exceed 50% of the workforce and will redefine how we think about work.
Because of these conflicting approaches to work, Dorsey believes it take a skillful manager to find a way to engage each generation effectively based on their workplace preferences and priorities. Here are some strategies he recommends to managers:
- Generation Y: Since this group often lacks work experience and key workplace skills, they cannot always interpret your instructions properly. Therefore, provide explicit examples of the performance you expect — don't just state goals. This group needs to feel that they are in touch with you, so deliver continuous feedback in short bursts rather than waiting for the annual review to let them know how they are doing. Give Gen Y a wide range of challenges with clear outcomes and then when they succeed reward them with time. This group values recognition, so provide reviews and rewards that they can show their family and friends.
- Generation X: This group is inherently skeptical and wants you to prove what you're saying. Therefore, be prepared to explain why you have chosen a particular strategy and what your backup plan is. This group values reliability (they don't like to be surprised) so be sure to keep the promises you make with them or give them plenty of warning if things aren't going to work out as expected.
- Baby Boomers: Acknowledge their contributions and how hard they work (they really want to know that you have noticed). Because of their time focus, try to accommodate their schedules by arriving early and leaving on time.
- Matures/Traditionalists: Show respect by listening to them and asking questions based on their experience. They are unlikely to brag (or to respect braggarts) and prefer to fit in rather than stand out. Therefore, find ways to assure them that they are part of the group.
Generational differences are going to push managers to the limit over the next few years as they find ways to identify and deploy the skills of each group in a constructive way. Failure to meet this challenge could well result in miscommunication, underperformance and conflict at the office. As far as Jason Ryan Dorsey is concerned, you've now been warned.
If you're interested in indulging your skeptical inner Gen Xer and checking Jason Dorsey's facts and assertions, you might start with the following resources:
- Dorsey's data on Gen Y are drawn from over 500,000 interviews he has conducted with Gen Yers. For further information on Gen Y, see Jason Dorsey's books, including My Reality Check Bounced.
- For non-Gen Y information, see the work of William Strauss and Neil Howe.
[Photo Credit: Brian Fitzpatrick]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
After years of serving it's clients, their families, and the community as a whole, it is with a heavy heart that Distinctive Care announces that it will no longer be accepting new clients and will be closing it's doors, effective July 31st, 2013.
Our founder, Sophia has been suffering from chronic medical issues for the last few years and, based on Doctor's advice, is no longer able to dedicate the time needed to run Distinctive Care at the high level of expectations that she demands of herself and the standards that she has set for her company.
The employees of Distinctive Care: Sophia, Joanne, Pat, Amy, Kim, and MariAnne would like to thank you for allowing us to become part of your family and wish you all the best in the future!
Care Distinguished Aging
145 N. Franklin Turnpike, Suite 311
Ramsey, NJ 07446
|Copyright © SRK Design 2008, All Rights Reserved.


text:
A dispenser nozzle for a paper towel container holding a roll of perforated paper towels includes a flange for coupling the nozzle apparatus to the container. A conical funnel is integral with the flange and has an entrance opening adjacent the flange to receive the paper towels therethrough. The other end of the funnel has an exit hole which is smaller than the entrance hole and provides an exit for the paper towels passing through the funnel. The entrance opening and exit opening are dimensioned such that a first paper towel will separate from a following paper towel along the perforation boundary therebetween when a leading portion of the following paper towel has exited from the exit opening in the funnel. Preferably, the exit portion of the funnel includes at least one removable section in order that the nozzle may be adjusted for different sizes of paper towels to be dispensed.
1. Dispenser nozzle apparatus for a towel container holding a plurality of perforated towels, comprising:
flange means for coupling said nozzle apparatus to said container; and
conical funnel means, integral with said flange means and having (a) an entrance opening and (b) an exit opening smaller than said entrance opening, for dispensing said towels from said entrance opening to said exit opening to cause a first towel to separate from a second towel along a perforation boundary therebetween after a leading portion of said second towels exits from said exit opening, said conical funnel means including a substantially cylindrical portion adjacent said entrance opening and a substantially frusto-conical portion disposed between said cylindrical portion and said exit opening.
2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said funnel means includes at least one adjustable portion adjacent said exit opening, for changing a size of said exit opening.
3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said funnel means includes two adjustable portions to cause three different sizes of exit openings to be selectable.
4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said nozzle apparatus comprises a rigid material.
5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said flange means includes flexible support means for coupling said flange means to said container.
6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said flexible support means includes three angled members which are radially movable from a centerline of said funnel means.
7. Dispenser nozzle apparatus for dispensing perforated towels from a towel container, comprising:
circular flange means for coupling said apparatus to said container; and
cone-shaped, rigid funnel means, coupled to said flange means, for dispensing said towels from said container through said funnel means, and for causing a first towel to separate from a following towel along a perforation boundary therebetween when a leading portion of said following towel has exited from said funnel means, said funnel means having a substantially cylindrical portion adjacent said flange means and a substantially frusto-conical portion integral with an end of said cylindrical portion.
8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said funnel means includes:
an entrance portion adjacent said flange, for accepting said towels from said container, said entrance portion having a hollow, conical shape; and
a funnel portion coupled to said entrance portion, for compressing said following towel as it proceeds through said funnel means, said funnel portion having a hollow, conical shape.
9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said funnel portion includes at least one removable portion, at an end opposite said entrance portion, to cause an exit opening of said funnel portion to be adjustable in size.
10. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said flange means includes a plurality of flexible support members for coupling said flange means to said container.
11. Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said flange means includes stiffening means positioned between said funnel means and each of said flexible support members.
12. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said flange means includes a plurality of rigid projections for aligning said nozzle apparatus to said container.
13. Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said flange means includes stiffening means positioned between said funnel means and each of said projections.
14. Dispenser apparatus for dispensing paper towels from a container holding a roll of perforated paper towels, comprising:
flange means for coupling said apparatus to said container, said flange means including a plurality of flexible support members for engaging said container and a plurality of rigid projections for aligning said flange means with said container; and
frusto-conical shaped funnel means, integral with said flange means and having a circular entrance portion and a circular exit portion with a diameter smaller than said entrance portion, for dispensing said towels from said container through said entrance portion to said exit portion to cause a first towel to separate from a following towel along a perforation boundary therebetween when a leading portion of said following towel has exited said exit portion.
15. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said entrance portion includes a hollow, cylindrical-shaped base portion fixed to said flange means.
16. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said funnel means exit portion includes at least one removable portion to cause the diameter of said exit portion to be changeable.
17. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said funnel means exit portion includes at least one narrowed neck whose removal will change an inside diameter of said exit portion.
18. Apparatus according to claim 14 wherein said apparatus comprises a single, integral structure made of a rigid, plastic material.
19. Apparatus according to claim 14 further including a plurality of stiffening members, one positioned between said funnel means and each of (a) said flexible support members, and (b) said projections.
20. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said frusto-conical shaped funnel means includes a substantially cylindrical portion adjacent said flange means and a substantially frusto-conical portion disposed between said substantially cylindrical portion and said circular exit portion.
The present invention relates to a dispenser nozzle for a paper towel container, and more particularly to a dispenser nozzle which allows a paper towel to be separated along a perforation boundary from a following paper towel after a leading portion of the following paper towel has exited from the nozzle.
Paper towels are extremely popular for cleaning, absorbing, and many other well known uses. Typically, paper towels are supplied from the manufacturer as a rolled continuous web of paper sheets. Thus, each paper towel is separated from its neighbor by a perforated area, or an area of weakened structure. This permits the user to tear one or more paper towels from the roll. However, it is well known that the quality of perforations varies widely from manufacturer to manufacturer, thus making the tearing operation inexact. The phenomenon of half-torn paper towels is familiar to all paper towel users. Therefore, it has become popular to supply paper towel users with paper towel dispensers which can carry the roll of paper towels and ease the tearing operation. However, known paper towel containers still do not provide a sufficiently accurate structure to ensure a reliable and accurate tear.
Many proposals have been made in order to provide structure for accurately separating one towel from another in a continuous web of perforated towels. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,816 to Margulies discloses a container and dispensing plate for a roll of premoistened towelettes. FIGS. 6-11 of this patent disclose a thin, flexible dispenser plate which is placed on top of a roll of towels. The dispenser plate may be formed in a conical shape with an aperture at the tip thereof. The aperture is large enough to allow the towelettes to be drawn therethrough, and at the same time provides enough friction to the web of towels so that each towelette will separate at the perforation as it is pulled through the aperture. However, a difficulty in this construction is that the then dispenser plate is allowed to float freely on top of the paper towel roll. Several flaps in the container assembly are folded over the conical dispenser plate in order to arrest the movement of the conical dispenser plate as the user pulls up on a towel. This floating dispenser plate may become wedged in an improper position and obstruct the dispensing of towels from the container. In addition, the numerous contacts between the conical dispenser plate and the flaps causes wear and subsequent distortion to each of these members, especially the thin dispenser plate. This eventually reduces the accuracy and reliability of the towel dispenser. In addition, the conical dispenser plate of Margulies is assembled by placing a slit in a thin, flat disk and then overlapping portions of the disk. Therefore, a separation exists between various portions of the conical structure. Dispensing towels may be caught in this separation and thus jam the dispenser. Furthermore, paper towels may be caught and snagged at the separation, thus causing tearing of the towel at an unperforated section. Finally, the construction of the dispenser plate according to Margulies requires assembly by a user and constant movement from one dispenser to another. Therefore, the conical dispenser plate of Margulies is not adaptable for industrial use and other high volume paper towel uses.
Several other examples of previously patented towel dispensers include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,180,160 to Ogawa et al., wherein a flexible dome structure is used to dispense the towels while retaining moisture within the container; U.S. Pat. No. 1,878,399 to Hope, wherein a wide-mouth, neck strip dispenser causes folded towels to tear along their perforations; U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,530 to Granger, wherein a circular, venturi-shaped dispensing nozzle is used to dispense rolled paper products; and U.S. Pat. No. 843,579 to Burr et al., wherein rolled paper products are dispensed from a contoured mouth assembly. While all of these known dispensers seem to function adequately, there all have drawbacks. The major drawback common to all known dispensers is that they currently require expensive materials for forming the package, much hand labor, and ultimate disposal of the spent dispenser. In addition, each of the known dispensers has a fixed hole therein so that only one size of paper towels may be dispensed therethrough. For example, it is known that paper towels come in one-ply, two-ply, and even three-ply configurations. Thus, a dispenser for a one-ply towel would be unusable for a three-ply towel.
Therefore, what is needed is a simple preformed dispenser nozzle capable of being affixed to a paper towel container in order to reliably and accurately dispense paper towels so that each towel separates along its perforation boundary.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a novel, non-obvious dispenser nozzle apparatus for accurately and reliably dispensing a continuous web of rolled paper towels.
This and other objects of the invention are achieved by providing a dispenser nozzle for a paper towel container holding a roll of perforated paper towels. A circular flange includes means for coupling the flange to the paper towel container. Integral with the flange is a conical-shaped funnel for passing the paper towels therethrough. The conical shape causes each paper towel to be compressed as it moves along the funnel. The friction between the paper towel and the inside of the funnel eventually cause the paper towel to be separated from its neighbor along the perforation boundary therebetween. However, the breaking at the perforation boundary does not occur until a leading portion of the following paper towel has exited from the funnel. Thus, the user has a readily available portion of the following paper towel to grasp for the next operation.
The advantageous structure and functions of the presently claimed invention will be readily understandable from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiment when taken together with the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the paper towel container with the nozzle coupled thereto;
FIG. 2 is a top view of the nozzle;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the nozzle taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the nozzle;
FIG. 5 is a side view of a leading and following paper towel breaking along their perforation boundary.
While this invention is described with respect to a dispenser nozzle for a paper towel container, those of ordinary skill in this field will readily perceive that the teachings of this invention may be adapted to other dispensers. The adaptation of the present invention to such other dispensers is to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
FIG. 1 shows a paper towel roll 2 contained within a paper towel container 4 which has a base member 6. Nozzle 8 is coupled to base 6 so as to protrude therefrom. A first paper towel 10 is depicted exiting the nozzle 8 while a following paper 12 is shown unwrapping from roll 2 and entering nozzle 8.
FIG. 2 is a top view of nozzle 8 and depicts the circular flange 14 and the frustoconical funnel 16. The bottom of the funnel includes an opening 18 which is preferably circular in shape and sized so that first paper towel 10 will reliably separate from following paper towel 12 after a leading portion of paper towel 12 exits from opening 18.
The top portion of funnel 16 includes an opening 20 which is sized to appropriately accept the insertion of paper towel 12.
Also visible in FIG. 2 are flexible support members 22 which are used to couple the flange 14 to the paper towel container base 6. Support members 22 are preferably flexible, acutely bent projections so that the nozzle 8 may be easily and removably snapped into base 6. The bent projections 22 flexibly move in a radial direction with respect to a longitudinal centerline of said nozzle. Base 6 has an appropriately shaped opening to engage the support members 22 to lock the nozzle onto base 6. Those having skill in this field will recognize that any convenient and reliable means of coupling the nozzle 8 to the base 6 may be used in this invention. For example, a snap-ring, clips, or other known means may be readily adapted to connect nozzle 8 to base 6.
FIG. 3 depicts a cross-sectional view of nozzle 8, taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2. FIG. 3 depicts the nozzle dimensions believed appropriate to provide accurate and reliable separation of one paper towel from another. For example, the diameter of opening 18 is set at 9/32 of an inch in order to reliably separate first paper towel 10 from following paper towel 12. The length of the nozzle is approximately 2 and 3/16 inches, with the diameter of opening 20 being approximately 15/16 of an inch. With the above-described dimensioning of the entrance hole 20, exit hole 18, and the length of nozzle 8, it is believed that reliable separation of towels will occur at the perforation boundary therebetween. However, persons of ordinary skill in this field should understand that modification of the dimensions may be made without departing from the spirit of the claimed invention.
FIG. 3 also depicts a novel feature according to the present invention in which the diameter of exit hold 18 may be varied in order to adjust nozzle 8 to accommodate a wide variety of paper towels. Therefore, indents 24 and 26 are formed in the outside surface of funnel 16 to create a plurality of removable sections therein. Thus, the exit portion of funnel 16 has one or more narrow neck portions adapted for easy removal from the funnel. The operator merely removes (by cutting, clipping, or breaking, etc.) excess nozzle in order to adjust the inside diameter of opening 18. Thus, detachable sections are included at the end of nozzle 16 to conveniently accommodate the different sizes and thicknesses of paper towels used. Persons of skill in the field will understand that the varying of exit opening 18 may be accomplished with adjustable structure such as a collapsible funnel which may be moved to increase or decrease opening 18 and then locked into place. Later, the adjustable structure could be moved to accommodate a different size of paper towel.
Preferably, nozzle 8 is constructed as a single, integral, rigid, plastic piece capable of being formed by injection molding techniques. It is preferred that nozzle 16 is rigid in order to provide long life and reliable use for paper towel users.
FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 depict projections 8 which are used to align nozzle 8 in base 6. These projections 28 are formed on the bottom of flange 14 and engage alignment holes in base 6. Each projection 28 fits within a corresponding recess in base 6 in order to provide proper alignment and structural rigidity between nozzle 8 and base 6. Depicted in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are stiffening members 30 which are used to stiffen projections 28 against wear and repeated stress. These stiffening members are positioned between the outside of funnel 16 and each projection 28.
Likewise, flexible supports 22 may also include stiffening members 32 to provide long life and support to flexible members 22.
In FIG. 3 it is shown that funnel 16 may comprise a circular entry portion 16a and a conical funnel portion 16b. The portion 16a is positioned at the entrance to funnel 16 and acts to introduce the paper towel into the nozzle 8. Then, cone-shaped funnel portion 16b acts to compress the paper towel as it travels from the entrance opening 20 to the exit opening 18. As the paper towel compresses, friction increases between the inside wall of cone-shaped portion 16b and the paper towel itself. This increased friction increases the resistance force on the towel as it is extracted from exit opening 18. Eventually, the friction between the paper towel and the funnel 16 reaches a point where the resistance force on the towel exceeds the force required to break the paper towel along its perforation boundary. When this happens, the first towel 10 will be separated from following towel 12.
FIG. 4 depicts a bottom view of nozzle 18 clearly showing projections 28, and stiffening members 30, 32.
FIG. 5 depicts the nozzle according to the present invention in operation. As the operator pulls the first towel 10 from opening 18 of nozzle 8, the friction between following towel 12 and funnel 16 exceeds the force required to break perforation boundary 40 between first towel 10 and following towel 12. At such a point, first towel 10 separates and leaves a leading portion of following towel 12 exposed from exit opening 18. Thus, the operator can easily grasp the leading portion of following towel 12 for the next towel dispensing operation. If the towels inside the container are two-ply towels and therefore thicker, the operator may detach a portion of the exit end of funnel 16 at detent 26. Likewise, if a three-ply towel is to be dispensed, or if the one-or two-ply towels within the container are extremely thick, a further portion of the nozzle 16 may be removed at detent 24.
In the present embodiment, it is advantageous for the entire structure of nozzle 8 to be symmetrical with respect to a longitudinal axis passing therethrough. This ensures that reliable towel dispensing may be conducted from any angle or any position with respect to the towel container. It is also preferable that the nozzle 8 be constructed of a translucent or transparent material so that any obstructions or malfunctions can be readily recognized without disassembling the nozzle from the container.
Thus, what has been described is a compact, reliable, rugged and accurate towel dispenser capable of dispensing a wide variety of paper towels from any desired position. The nozzle can be easily snapped into a paper towel dispenser, or removed therefrom for maintenance or replacement. Furthermore, the unitary construction of the flange and nozzle ensures a long life and accurate towel dispensing.
While the present invention has been described in what is believed to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the teachings of this invention encompass all modifications and equivalent structures capable of performing the functions outlined by the following claims.
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iPhone locked by my Son
hy there, could anyone tell me how to unlock my iPhone. My Son locked it (dont ask me how, but he did) and now i have to type in the four digit code, which I dont know. And please dont tell me to ask my son. Did that many times. Could any body help? PLEASE
IPHONE 3g iPhone OS 3.1.2


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This foaming cleanser removes makeup, dissolves impurities, and rebalances skin for a soft, smooth complexion. The 100 percent pure RareMinerals ActiveSoil Complex powers this product, leaving skin feeling perfectly clean, instantly hydrated, and renewed with a naturally luminous glow. Plus, it's gentle enough for eye makeup removal.
Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals Deep Cleansing Foam ($20.00 for 4.2 oz.) has been my go-to night time cleanser for the past three months, and I've really enjoyed using it. I'll definitely be keeping it in my to-go-back-to bin (as I rotate through to test out new products, I hold onto ones I really like). Earlier this year, Bare Escentuals rolled out a full range of skincare that has been in the works for years, and the cleanser is the first product I figured I'd try out (I am also anxious to review their Purely Nourishing Cream–which I loved–but I keep forgetting to photograph the jar!).


text:
While they've been discussing it for a couple months now, the Williston City Commission made its decision last week to ban living in an RV within city limits.
In a unanimous decision, the commission pulled the trigger on the ban that it had been mulling for more than two months. The ban on living in an RV on residential property will go into effect on Sept. 1, while the ban on living in RVs on a industrial or commercial property will begin on Nov. 1.
There will, however, be a system to allow construction workers' RVs on a construction site, on a limited basis. The commissioners also noted that they are working on another set of ordinances to address on-site living for other types of workers.
Williston Mayor Ward Koeser said they decided to enact the ban – which was already technically in place, but not enforced – in spite of much public opposition because a few bad apples forced their hand.
"I have heard from an increasing number of people who were concerned, frustrated … They didn't feel safe anymore, they didn't feel like they could let their kids play out in the yard," he said after the meeting. "Obviously if everyone would have behaved, we'd have been OK."
This decision is understandable, but it's going to be a tough blow to both workers and employers. Not everybody employed in the area is an oil field worker making $80,000 per year or living in a man camp or other company housing. For many of the people employed in the service and construction industry in Williston, housing costs are still too high to be affordable. Some even expressed that they would have to leave town when the ordnance takes effect on September 1st.
In the past, retail store owners and managers also expressed concern about the proposed law, saying they can't afford to pay their workers enough to afford housing, and they would lose employees under the new law.


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VD in Chicago.
Members of the cast and crew of The Vampire Diaries will be representing the series at this year's Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, running from March 18 until 20. Candice Accola (Caroline), Michael Trevino (Tyler), and executive producer Julie Plec will be there on Saturday March 19. From 3.00 PM until 3.45 PM, they will be signing autographs for fans in Room 178A. Then from 5.00 PM until 6.00 PM, they will be... » Read More


text: Hi, I know this question has been asked a thousand times but after reviewing the archives it's hard to tell who is giving an objective opinion. I am looking a a table for my home. I play competitive 9-ball. I want a table that i can practice on and not lose too much in the transition to tournament tables. I have been to brunswick, Schmidt and Olhausen dealers and all three claim to be the best. One thing they did have in common is they all referred to connelly as "copy-lly", they said connelly is known throughout the industry as just copying everybody elses idea and they cut corners. I have looked at the Olhausen Remington and found it to be a solid table. they have the new cushions and I got true action off the rails. I am looking for a 9' 3 piece slate with minimum 1" slate ....I am only interested in playablility not artistic woodwork. Arond 3 to 4 thousand bucks. Thanks for any help


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Aug 11 2009
Shooting With a Friend
My friend and PW Photography contributor Miz Booshay happened to be visiting the ranch on the day I'd planned to take the senior picture of the daughter of a cowboy friend of ours. (Read that sentence four more times. It'll make you dizzy.) I invited Miz Boo to come outside and join me. I thought it would be fun for us to watch each other photograph the same subject…and see what different perspectives we brought to the table.
When it was over, Miz Boo let me transfer her images to my computer. It was fun to look at her shots. First, since we both used Nikons and the same 85 mm 1.8 lens, the resulting photos were quite similar.
But mostly, I learned a couple of think-outside-of-the-box (did I just write that?) things. That's the fun part of shooting with a friend.
You're looking at my favorite photo Donna took that afternoon. I love it. Katie's expression is perfect, I think—sweet, calm, natural. But I also love the slightly unconventional composition.
Here's a similar one I took:
I like it fine. It's just that I like the personality of Miz Booshay's more.
Another by Miz Boo. I noticed, as I looked through her shots, that she isn't afraid to back up on the subject a bit. I tend to fill the entire frame with the subject's face…and sometimes it's nice to get a little more context.
I was in a rut once we went inside. I sat Katie on a pretty leather chair and took several straight-on shots. (A little bright on this one. Sorry.)
But then Miz Booshay suggested she sit on a cow hide rug on the floor…and she shot Katie from a standing position. I love it!
Shoot with a friend sometime soon. It's a blast, particularly if you use the same camera and lens. And you're sure to come away with a fresh perspective.
129 Comments
Ernestine On Tuesday, August 11 at 4:58 pm
She is an expert. Its obvious but your shots are wonderful too!
cjwsbg On Tuesday, August 11 at 5:11 pm
My friend and I like to go out shooting together too, but it is hard since we both have small kids, and husbands that work all hours of the day!
Great shots though…both of you!
Bush Babe (of Granite Glen) On Tuesday, August 11 at 5:27 pm
Interesting – so many choose different favourites! How about Katie? What is HER favourite? That would interest me most…
Actually, the one of like most is… the one you took of MIz Boo!!! Great angle…
KellyinVA On Tuesday, August 11 at 5:29 pm
Looks like fun!
Bush Babe (of Granite Glen) On Tuesday, August 11 at 5:29 pm
Sheesh… the one "I" like most.
Is there a grammar check on somewhere in this comment section?
MelissaF On Tuesday, August 11 at 5:35 pm
Very cool having a buddy to shoot with. I think sometimes we get locked into a rut in our shooting style so it really helps to have a fresh perspective and shake things up. BTW, I think you both rock!
Robynn's Ravings On Tuesday, August 11 at 6:07 pm
Now why was I expecting guns? I don't mean to be disappointed. That's a lovely girl and you did a great job. I'll keep waiting on the 12-gauge.
Julianna On Tuesday, August 11 at 6:10 pm
The last one of her on the cowhide form up top is great! That's my favorite.
Bev On Tuesday, August 11 at 6:19 pm
They're all good. Fresh perspective is never a bad thing.
Lauren Quinn On Tuesday, August 11 at 7:04 pm
Favorite is hard to pick–R&B, British folk, edgy country; but I did just realize the other day that despite my heritage (100% Irish), I can't do "Celtic women" singers!
BOSSY On Tuesday, August 11 at 8:12 pm
As long as you don't shoot a friend sometime. THAT would NOT be fun.
Amy @ Living Locurto On Tuesday, August 11 at 8:20 pm
It's fun to see the different shots! I like the one of her standing, looking down the best. Very cool shot. We're going to have a photography workshop in Dallas and I can't wait to take photos with friends. This looked like a lot of fun!
julia On Tuesday, August 11 at 8:46 pm
errr….name of post is misleading….no doubt it will discourage trespassers though.
Haley J. On Tuesday, August 11 at 8:50 pm
What beautiful pictures! These would make a proud start to any girl's senior year….I wish mine were as good!
kym b On Tuesday, August 11 at 9:07 pm
katie has fantastic eyes!
Emma in Ft. Worth On Tuesday, August 11 at 9:21 pm
What great shots – and beautiful eyes! Fun idea to photograph with a friend – I'll bet y'all had a wonderful time! Do you think it's ok for a Canon friend and a Nikon friend to photograph together? I'll have to try it
Karen On Tuesday, August 11 at 9:38 pm
My favorite of all is #4 in the last post. Not that you asked. But I like it:)
Shannon On Tuesday, August 11 at 9:39 pm
This was a fun and interesint posting, love seeing different views. Both equally interesting and beautifu. But to be fair having a beautiful person to photograph helps:)
Miz Booshay On Tuesday, August 11 at 9:55 pm
No reflectors. No flashes.
We both just love to use natural light.
Pam On Tuesday, August 11 at 10:51 pm
Wonderful post, Ree. It's nice to see the difference of perspective from two excellent shooters.
Lucky Katie! Those catchlights in her eyes are amazing!
laurie mom of 3 On Tuesday, August 11 at 11:20 pm
Amazing! What a beautiful girl.
Life with Kaishon On Wednesday, August 12 at 5:16 pm
Good friends can't be beat, can they? : ).
PonyFla On Friday, August 14 at 7:52 am
Most people look better shot from above. It's a gravity thing and the older you get, the better it works.
Penny On Friday, August 14 at 9:00 am
She is gorgeous! Awesome job on the session. Wonderful tones, exposure, and color on all of them. Just lovely, I'm sure she's thrilled with them.
Looks like you ladies had a blast (I checked Ms. Boos' web site too). OK, so I'm ready. I would love to attend a PW get together with a bunch of other fun photography-loving chicks at your new ranch (and I'd be willing to pay for it, too!). A weekend of photography, cooking, ranching (did I mention photographing?). I'll keep my eye on your web site (well, I already do that anyway) for the event! LOL.
megank On Friday, August 14 at 1:14 pm
cute pics and cute subject… all cute
Josie On Friday, August 14 at 1:22 pm
Great pics, if you ever get time I would love for you to answer this question, but I totally understand that you're very busy!! I'm an outdoor natural light girl, but sometimes I take a few here in there in doors. I always have trouble with shadows of the person I'm shooting. I noticed yours don't have that? Any suggestions for me? Thank you so much!! wwww.allforfunphotography.blogspot.com
Angie Harmon aka Julie On Friday, August 14 at 7:42 pm
So is Miss Katie hiding braces? Sure missed seeing her beautiful smile. Great job girls!
Elissa On Friday, August 14 at 9:57 pm
Great shots, both of you. But I can't stop looking at the necklace bokeh in the last portrait!
tiana On Friday, August 21 at 10:28 pm
oh wow! oh wow! i want to take pictures like these. i don't know why but whenever i see your photographs, or ms boshays i think of fruit. it makes me think of kiwi or something. fresh. pure eye candy. thanks for sharing. and for the new action set!!!!!!!!! i can't wait to down load and use them! you are truly a great contribution to the photog worl, esp for beginners like me. nuff respek!