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We were presented with a Pollyanna panorama of school success stories at the end of this last school year by our media representatives. I believe we would be served by a genuine look at the struggles our teachers face in classes full of kids who have no advocacy. Educators face whole different set of challenges to help kids without role models or rules.
We would be served by leadership who had as much empathy for kids taking three buses from N. Portland because they were expelled from their old school as for the kids who park in the student lot in Mom's old BMW. School is a different place for those kids...and their teachers.
Just sayin'.
When we can finally address socio-economic disparities and how public schools can tend to exacerbate them (while enriching lawyers and entrenched bureaucrats), we can begin to streamline the public education operation and do what we say we are doing in schools.
Facilitating learning across the board, right?
Sea-change starts with little rolling waves like this essay. Mr. Edwards obviously did not go to school just for recess and lunch; he is a fine critical thinker, huh?
A school district where the superintendent turns down raises he doesn't need and tells the media about administrative changes as they are occurring.
This is reform.
Hillsboro is the district to watch. Lots of outreach with technology and lots of transparency and oversight. Fewer conflicts of interest.
A public school district....Good job.
Ms. Campbell:
You have written brilliantly about your frustration with a system that cannot work for your son. There are a lot of kids for whom school is a horrible place.
We have a chance in these tough economic times to redesign what we do in our public high schools--how we serve you and your son. Law enforcement is not therapeutic. No one with a class in Rogerian therapy or a grandchild thinks that fear is a better motivator than compassion or love.
Yet too few people who understand your son can survive as teachers in schools as many of them are run now--hierarchies where new employees are forced to accept established rituals and traditional power structures that nurture inequities.
There are LOTS of kids like your son--and we can expect many more to surge into our public school classrooms. Blaming these troubled kids or their befuddled parents is simplistic and immoral.
Bless you in your solitary struggle. I used to tell frustrated parents NOT TO GIVE IN to the blossoming hatred--that one day, if you keep loving, the anger will give way to understanding and appreciation and you will have the son you need and deserve.
No one who poisons their relationships with bad decisions and self-destructive behavior is healthy. Instead of calling attention to the symptoms of these diseases, we need to seek the causes. They are often in the schools themselves.
Don't quit, Jamey...Keep on writing.
Where is an innovative alternative? The old school has deteriorated; no one disagrees. The question is not a choice between "Do we spend a lot of money repairing the old school?" and "Do we spend lot of money replicating the old school?"
It should be: "How do we make a new school?"
Any change generates opposition from influential people who profit from the current dysfunction, but we can allow ourselves to envision a process that is streamlined and transparent, that thoroughly vets and oversees all employees, that is accessible to the public and that can demonstrate its ability to improve citizenship skills and promote positive human development in a therapeutically-driven educational environment.
New school.
Diminish the bureaucracy and the accompanying opacity that always forms in tenured isolation. We cannot afford it.
Let some outside-the-box PPS thinkers create some vast spaces full of communication technology that are well-lit and open day-and-night. Get some sharp people to schedule facility use. Create, support and oversee a high-level volunteer force.
Put cameras everywhere (they are already anyway--in every kid's hand). For the public, a video monitoring system offers a way to help regain confidence in the internal operations of our schools. Schools are expensive and the people who pay for them deserve to feel good about the product.
Abandon the old classroom format entirely...it is a proven recipe for failure in our rapidly evolving culture. Teachers who do the same thing in the same place for a long time get stale or tyrannical. Use pull-out rooms to create and form dynamic, overlapping teams of kids with group goals. Use rotating facilitators instead of classes where one person can identify the smart and dumb kids and then reinforce that hierarchy.
Identify and decide how to use most effectively those teachers who really can lead group discussions. Schedule time for those kids who test high in certain areas to do monitored group work with similar intelligences. Teachers who know how to promote team ethics can incorporate writing assignments, health, biology, history....and find ways for every kid to get some genuine attention from an approving adult everyday. I strongly believe our kids are less likely to go to prison if they don't leave high school hating everybody in authority.
The problem now for the best-intentioned educators is pretty simple. Like government officials, we can't possibly do all the things that we tell people we can do. The result is that, once secure in our positions, we get busy with what we LIKE to do--and the public is ill-served.
In new schools, we could do what we say we are doing...and the public could see us--and participate. Think online learning overseen by hands-on master teachers. Technology, critical thinking, communication... data-based progression monitored daily by several people. Instant remediation. One-on-one contacts. Less time on discipline issues.
Slowly, incrementally, PPS can move the many, many distractions to another place for a while--then let them go entirely. I have a ton of experience with teenagers and I don't just feel--I KNOW--that the behavior of children is built primarily on two things--their own confidence levels and the expectations of influential people in their lives.
It is a sea-change but the water is rising in Stumptown. Something HAS to give...and the community needs something to help them keep the faith.
An experiment--a prototype--could be a part of this new bond campaign. Change will have to be incremental and any early modifications to beloved programs should be more voluntary than mandated. Certainly a "new school" idea will have detractors--"new school" is contrarian and simplistic and I provide no supporting statistics. But it will cost a FRACTION of what we pay for public education now and could do the things we NEED for our public schools to do--far better than we are doing them now, while our school board members are deciding on the appropriateness of dance team routines for thirteen-year-olds...
Nobody should vote for money to repair a leaking roof when the foundation of the building is cracked.
Perhaps the BSD HR department will use this opportunity to demonstrate what the hiring process looks like for administrators?
Can't the BSD send the "new national standards" to the departments that already exist at each school? How is hiring another $150K administrator going to ascertain that some standard is being met in a middle-school math class?
Another unaccountable administrator with the ability to filter bad news through a media department?
Mr/s. CPG3:
Thank you for your unsolicited advice. I have been both a teacher and an artist in my professional life so I have a lot of experience with getting feedback from people who haven't ever done what I do.
What happened to me as a licensed teacher should not have--and would not have--if there were accountability for school administrators. Nothing has happened since my ordeal began to make me think that problem is resolved.
Most teachers who are exploited or demeaned do not fight back. Did you see the video of the harassed bus monitor on the TV news last night?...an overweight elderly woman without any power being mercilessly bullied by middle school kids? That conduct is not the fault of those cruelly-behaving kids--it is the fault of a culture.
And "moving on" is the advice that bullies give to victims. The reason schools fail with so many nice people involved is that nice people become less nice if no one holds them accountable.
I would have given up and crawled out of this sewer of human conduct long ago...except that another human being told me she could do anything she wanted to me, then used YOUR money to prove it--for several years. I had asked to quit after working seven years of 70-hour weeks, then being underpaid $20K. Now court documents like the one in lentball's post exist?!?
I had asked to quit and the district spent hundreds of thousands to fire me.
I had asked to quit, yet the union lawyer CALLS me after BSD HR people contacted the OEA(?)--then has me involved in 3 cases he knows will last for years.
For the record, I was never allowed to defend myself. No court I was in has allowed me to defend myself--to call witnesses or ask questions of my accusers. Just curious, folks: That kinda stuff happening to any of you grocers or web designers out there?
I don't have unlimited public money and well-connected lawyers at my disposal. I have only tenacity and the ability to communicate as resources--two attributes that served me well in public education. I paid a decade of dues to a teachers' union whose representative (unknown to me) was meeting regularly with the people who fired me. The Oregonlive website is a forum for my opinion as much as anyone else's. Those commentors who discredit me are welcome to their opinions--for freely-expressed opinions are, ironically, what I'm fighting for.
I am sure I am not the only one who realizes we need more oversight of public institutions. And I am unlikely to stop talking about that just because someone tells me to "move on."
Perhaps Dr. Rose's salary could be tied to the achievement compact results? Think of what Mr. Colonna may have forfeited had he been expected to be transparent and forthcoming in years #33-40 of his public service, when he produced, with carpetbagger aplomb, expensive mediocrity for the B'ton school community.
This is a great time to talk about evaluating other people. Student evaluations. Teacher evaluations. Administrator evaluations. They are often more a measure of the evaluator than the evaluatee.
The grade range offered here for Dr. Rose is low C to B+. Sigh...
What DID he do well? Surely a great deal...because our school board would not choose an incompetent man... Would they?: http://www.oregonlive.com/beaverton/index.ssf/2011/03/beaverton_school_board_keeps_superintendent_candidates_a_secret_but_other_districts_announce_theirs.html
Like any leader of a BIG organization, he's gonna make some happy and some not so much. The question is: "Who did he make happy?"
The fact remains that Dr. Rose still keeps a lot of residue from previous administrations on his payroll and the consequences of years of top-down, secretive leadership still influence the process of public education in Beaverton.
Ms. Larsen and Ms. Vanderweele, the board members who offer opinions here, are both aware of and complicit to the secretive administrative culture that conceals the unsavory behavior of select people whose qualifications are limited if not, as in the case of former district administrator Mike Maloney, entirely fabricated.
Kids and parents (ALL the parents--not just the rich ones) deserve a better representation on our board than they have gotten in the past. It was only a few years ago that the BSD was gleefully manufacturing public school millionaires who were callously using a whole lot of other people's money to make friends and influence people.
Dr. Rose needs to fire some people--not let them rob us and slink quietly into early retirement (to be hired back later?). And his esteemed school board membership should come clean; they have assumed fiduciary responsibilities and they should not be able to pay lawyers to massage labor conflicts. Without accountability for school administrators, our classroom teachers are chattel and reform is hypocrisy.
This writer is on the right track but is going too big too soon. Too much "old school" is still ingrained in too many people with decision-making power. She needs some steps.
Split the sports teams and extracurriculars from the current school programs. Bus those kids to Memorial in the afternoon. Same with other performance arts--drama, dance, and music. All the AP classes, too. Anything elite.
Local high schools can change--be open 24/7 for a wider range of uses for the faculty and community. With distractions from extracurriculars elsewhere, the math teacher can teach math all morning and get something accomplished. If he wants to be the chess team sponsor, he'll need to meet them at Memorial. The local school will employ teachers to provide adult ed/ continuing education during second and third shifts for rising citizens.
Ms. Friedman, by thinking outside the box, would save taxpayers billions in salaries and retirements while returning the concept of public school back to something that serves the stakeholders:
1. The kids, who want meaningful experiences that do not disparage or demean them;
2. The parents, who want a) first to be reassured that their kids are valued and safe and B) to be reassured that they are on the fast track to Stanford;
3. Most administrators, who want teachers to turn in their paperwork and to avoid sending them problems with kids/parents (that's the height of the bar, often);
4. And teachers, who--in my experience--want to be a) respected and b) valued for their work.
When the hierarchies in most insular public school districts create vastly uneven pay scales and work assignments, this respect and value is funneled through a few powerful individuals. Some curiously-qualified people make daily decisions regarding opportunities for children and teachers that, like the faint beat of a distant butterfly wing, set into motion infinite consequences. They make those decisions with no accountability--invulnerable to consequences or criticism.
Granted that most employees in any given school district are compassionate and talented people, I believe our difficulty lies in who is chosen to lead. We waste a lot of time in our schools now. We need real school principals who are focused on the business of making sure that the math teacher can teach math. Most are not really doing that now, in big schools anyway. There is artificial turf to be purchased.
Many school administrators are better at providing rationale and specious arguments than they are at supporting teachers. They play defense when we need offense...bold new ideas. Like Memorial Coliseum as a city-supported, universal public education facility. The place for America's best science labs, best football teams, best stage productions. All those "bests" can happen right there at Memorial. The reporters can have an office there.
And back at Grant, Lincoln, Roosevelt...the math teacher will teach math and occasionally meet with a principal who cares.
Ms. Friedman is on the right track but the path there is not by putting thousand of teenagers on the public transit system every morning to watch them gather en masse in the Rose Quarter. That's Armageddon; most normal people experience increases in blood pressure when stuck in a normal public high school hallway during a class change.
One step at a time. And the first step? Well, without oversight of veteran administrators, any education reform is hypocrisy.
Missing from the anguish: Nobody HAS to quit playing violin because the public schools don't have the money to run a program.
Seems like the PYP conductor, having made an appearance, could find some volunteers and set up a curriculum for schools? They could pass the hat at the Snitz if ten percent of the kids playing in the PYP are from Beaverton.
The BSD can provide space and lights and heat and security for rehearsals and performances. The freeze in Dr. Rose's pay check would cover a lot of overtime for custodians.
And rest assured, aficianados: A community of skillful and willing artists can keep rhythm with our kids without the taxpayers being required to subsidize vacation property for BSD lawyers and administrators.
No one will ever know how much access the real "public" had to some of those programs, anyway,
This is a very insightful discussion thread to which I must add a snarky comment and pollute the pond:
Ms. Gay scares me..."In general, I am seeing a lot more robust instruction, a lot more fidelity to instruction that engages students. And I am seeing a lot of work that still needs to be done," she said. "The expectation is that every student is getting the skills to get to higher education. Are we there yet? No. But we are closer than we were five years ago. It needs to be something where it's not just selling you down the river."
(Really, Ms. Gay, did you need ALL those words to say nothing? Maybe they should have filtered you through the PR people? "Robust" is a powerful adjective--do you use it often? Goes well with the fractured syntax in "needs to be something where..." I'm sorry, ma'am. I am a bitter ex-teacher who watched unqualified administrators make a lot of money while cheating students--and their teachers--who had no voice in a big school district.)
It is hard for me to imagine that the welfare of those kids--most already stigmatized and disenfranchised before they could drive a car--is the motivating force behind the actions of administrative personnel like Ms. Gay...I'm that cynical. Those are throw-away kids so when a shoe falls from ANYWHERE in a big district, it is gonna hit one of them on the top of the head. Put it this way: There is a LOT of work being required of people who haven't had done it in a while and the needs of these kids are not on the top of any priority piles--not many public servants really wants to do the hard work of getting up in these kids' faces and making 'em do what's right...and supporting them.
Consistently...which is what schools hire teachers to do. But there are higher-profile jobs. The people whom Ms. Gay supervises did not give up teaching AP biology to work in her program.
Maybe it's not Ms. Gay's fault there are so many drop-outs in Portland schools, but the excessive number doesn't hurt her bottom line in the mysterious world of public school budgeting, I suspect. At least not until Ms. Hammond's recent report. In the past, I suspect, having a ton of kids on a losing track was viewed as a positive in the senior program manager's circle.
Now it's not. Good job, Betsy.
If schools were run like businesses, Ms. Gay the junior executive would need to explain to shareholders just what she meant by "must be something where it's not selling you down the river." Did this well-paid professional educator know she was talking to someone who would print her words?
Pray for the kids. Without accountability for school administrators, reform is hollow and teachers are chattel. We must streamline the processes and re-define the mission of our public schools...or continue kicking the can "somewhere down the road."
Steve Duin: Closet Socialist
Strip the "fair housing" overcoat off Mr. Duin's essay and you'll see the ensemble of a class warfare debate.
Duin slyly reveals himself as a "closet socialist" in his unabashed adulation of public school. He reveals his critical thinking skills, as well, through his juxtaposition of the socio-economic dichotomy of Lake Oswego and Gresham.
Mr. Duin tells his readers that he became a "lifelong fan of public education in 2002." That statement is akin to a good-hearted reporter from State College, PA, confessing to becoming a lifelong "Penn Stater" in 2002. Given recent revelations, one would have to wonder at a reporter's objectivity during dire events...and even question the wisdom of being a "fan" of any public institution that might occasionally require media scrutiny, huh?
But it's nice to see Mr. Duin coming down of the side of public schools, one of our nation's most ambitious Socialist experiments--right up there with police and fire service, national defense, libraries, roads and--one day--universal health care.
Right now, schools are in everybody's headlights. The Republican default position seems to be, not as much for less government, but for less government oversight. When focusing on schools, probably we need to spend some time on just what constitutes "oversight," at least the kind that provides promising destinies to those people consigned by "barriers" to Gresham...
The social principal at play is "Law of the Commons" (or some variation). Given public resources, the affluent have more access. Add to that basics of human behavior: For any group with a group project, some members work hard for self-interest, some don't work hard, and a third group works hard for the success of the group. On any overnight hike that anybody ever took with a group of kids, some of those kids end up carrying a lot of gear and some kids shirk the heavy lifting. Some, I like to say, gather wood while others sit on a rock and wait for someone to hand them a marshmallow...
Boils down to leadership. More specifically, how much of that marshmallow-lust goes on with public money? The answer is self-evident; it's not going to Gresham as fast as it's going to Lake O. Because nobody really addresses the human behavior element--it is much easier for Mr. Duin to allude to "Lake Oswego barriers" than to say some of his snobbish neighbors make decisions based primarily on economic status that create a concentration of lower-income people elsewhere.
It is this attitude that created the real "barriers"--the sense of superiority that comes with the lakefront estates--that is our unspoken problem, at least in regard to oversight of our public policies.
Given there exists these men and women who may possess a false sense of superiority, my question to Mr. Duin is: How many of your neighbors are beneficiaries of public money? How accountable have they been in their long, richly rewarding careers? How many decisions have been made from a position of superiority? Put simply: Can a fashionable, affluent woman who lives on Oswego Lake really teach a smelly kid who comes from a rough neighborhood in Gresham?
Then why is it that these people end up as administrators and overseers of our public education systems? I believe Mr. Duin is writing about the right topic but using the wrong words. The ability of a collective of people to amass a common wealth and use this wealth constructively--to improve living conditions for all people--has been co-opted in many, many cases by a few greedy people.
Failed oversight. Diminished regulations.
The commonwealth that is supposed to help people become good citizens has been siphoned off by a lot of administrators, policy folks, and board members. They give each other titles and publicly-subsidized jobs. These guys live in Lake O, not in Troutdale.
It is good to see Mr. Duin's words coming down on the side of people who rarely have a voice--or the money to pay a lawyer. It would be more convincing to see his actions. If he is indeed a "lifelong fan" of public education, he owes us more than an occasional puff piece about a hardworking teacher with some creative chops (note to Steve: these master teachers are ALL OVER THE PLACE); he owes it to Oregon's teachers to help make some changes at the top.
We keep talking about teachers and class sizes and budgets. How long has it been easy to become a "forever-employee" in Oregon's schools/state gov't? Would Jerry Colonna really have spent years #33 thru 40 of his public career in Beaverton if he thought he might lose his retirement for concealing misconduct?
The education dysfunction starts in Salem and trickles down...
We are in worse shape than even Ms. Hammond has (finally) acknowledged...
Sixty to seventy five kids for the cost of a retired administrator is pretty good bang for the buck. Parental involvement, bottom-up decision-making, inclusive programs...What's not to like?
If we succeed in integrating two overlapping, dominant cultures while empowering, rather than suppressing, the creative instincts of these kids, we will not have wasted their time or the public's money.
Despite the initial provincial inclination to foo-foo the exotic sound of this kind of school, this is a no-brainer for Beaverton. These people are using sound education philosophy based on fundamental American principles and, by daring to take risks, they are also becoming the progressive, global model we want our schools to be.
Sixty to seventy-five energized intellects...for the cost of a BSD administator or two. Bet on this horse.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Hamlet III ii
Streamline, PPS. Go bold. Do drastic stuff that costs little.
Re-invent your failing education system.
People who are not adaptable do not belong in modern public education...There IS some surgery involved here--and the expense of "anesthesia."
But, for God's sake, why are there over-crowded classes when there are empty buildings and thousands of under-employed artists/teachers in their twenties and thirties, hanging out on the east side? No kid in PPS should have an instant of time to waste without somebody up in their face showing some appropriate interest in their achievements, huh?
1. We are a city full of volunteers with skills to share. Vet those volunteers--some of 'em smoke a little pot but don't have criminal records or histories of abusing vulnerable people. We don't care if they're gay...so are some of the kids! Number One, PPS--screw the union and make yourself a strong, transparent corps of volunteers--then supervise and support them.
2. Slide the K-12 down (gradually) until we enroll three-year-olds in what we know as "kindergarten" so that we graduate sixteen-year-olds with who earn what we now call "high school degrees." Age 3-16. Zero cost. What happens after "sixteen" is the crucial change--a lot of that crap should not be subsidized by the taxpayer any longer...end of story. "Sweet sixteen" is time to specialize in some real-life things, anyway. Kids can make their own movies and records now; "proms" are just debutante balls on acid and don't belong in public education anymore.
3. Put cameras everywhere. It will eliminate the costs of long law suits, it will remind kids and adults to behave, and it will help restore the public's confidence in oversight and accountability.
4. Allow school communities to create for EACH school a pool of master teachers to serve as rotating building principals. These experienced teachers, selected democratically, would alternate taking time out from the classroom, rotating annually and serving as support for each other during those years when they returned to the classroom. Technocratic asst. principals (non-education-trained) could keep the "machine" rolling at a fraction of what we pay policy people now. This cost-free change will stifle the cronyism and patronage that is killing us in PERS payouts and provide teachers with genuine and competent administrative resources.
5. Re-train our local teachers...do not count on the established state programs or (cough) the OEA. Recognize that, if the kids have multiple intelligences, then so must the teachers. We need folks who can oversee on-line learning--SUPERVISED online learning that happens in the school building as well as remotely--AND we need folks who can lead conversations, draw out opinions, offer praise and constructive criticism... and otherwise engage in human interaction...the people we used to respect as teachers. These people are still valuable to education although, since some are less technical, they seem less progressive.
6. Last, we need term limits for school board members. Any nonsense about volunteer "public service" is disingenuous...Those folks OWN our public schools--their administrators control all those livelihoods and all that money, and they influence all those kids' futures with what programs are made available, and what trips they are allowed to take, and what awards they will receive. There is hardly a more POWERFUL person in a community than a school board member.
It shows in Beaverton. My incessant online rants would NEVER have begun had I worked for people who felt they might one day be held accountable for their misconduct.
That is what we need most of all--a culture in our public schools in which ALL people feel they will be accountable for their conduct. That has gone away at the top, replaced with layers of secrecy, with lawyers and PR spin, smokescreens. Hey, school leaders. Not only can we handle the truth...We ARE the Truth.
Let's change things. Let's NOT just do it...Let's SEE it, BELIEVE it, then do it.
New Schools...for education. Teachers who teach; experienced teachers overseeing novices. Respect for ALL children. All people. All life. All. Keep Portland weird : )
There are only a few cities in America that have the history-changing-kind of attitude to take the lead in hard but necessary movements that will lead us into the next phase of human evolution. That is maybe my favorite part of the Stumptown mystique--crazy stuff happens here : )
So, new schools, Portland. The old ones suck for educators.
The greatest resources we have in Beaverton are still in our schools that grow anemic. But we don't have much time.
It does little good to point fingers but a lot of the culprits in this sorry saga are still being quoted in stories like this one. Until there is real accountability for misconduct in BSD's secretive district administration (there has not been in several years), nothing valuable will follow this tsunami of sacrifice that, more than any other group, will be made by impressionable children.
Back when there was so much money that they couldn't spend it fast enough, there was a noticeable absence of legitimacy in the administrative aura, symbolized by the ostentatious and extravagant Yvonne Katz, who presided over a $66 million surplus a mere decade ago.
If we now summon the collective political will, we can expect open and honest representation from our elected school board members. We can promote a healthy concept of public schools and we can introduce some fresh faces in leadership roles. We might even expose a few veteran administrators in Beaverton who have stepped outside the parameters of their authority to preserve a facade of competence.
How much money would be saved for schools if some of these quotable leaders were authentically penalized for systemic fiscal imprudence dating back more than a dozen years?
Without accountability for these administrators and some wholesale repudiation of past policies, school reform is merely smokescreen hypocrisy. We must do better with our oversight going forward.
Mr. Roberts, who is to Oregonian guest columnists what bicycles are to east Portland, uses his powerful voice to offer some support for a guy taking on a Sisyphean task with a result that can be forecast without much pondering.
Rudy Crew will come north and will cast about for battles in which he must engage. Inevitably he will invade Somebody's space (cue sound)...
He will probably succeed in making some changes for a year...two?...three? Meanwhile, Mr. Roberts will not write about cocktail conversations at homes with views where the topic is the demonization of Mr. Crew.
Rudy already knows he's toast--that's what makes him special. And he already knows the education conundrum IS eternally Sisyphean--that we can NEVER completely figure out how to serve ALL the developmental needs of EVERYBODY.
Because the time's they are (always) a'changin'...
He must know that the ONLY realistic goal now is to rein in spending and align the mission of public schools with the needs of society. Schools should provide discernible ROI for the stakeholders, Oregon's taxpayers.
Streamline, Rudy. Schools should have core curriculums that skilled teachers have mastered and they should do only what can be made available to ALL kids to promote fulfulling lives of stewardship and citizenship. Every opportunity should be available to ALL kids.
That was the way American education once worked.
(When I taught in Beaverton, I discovered to my dismay that I really worked for a few self-important, affluent people with lots of influence with our secretive school board, rather than for professional educators representing the interests of the public.)
When Crew begins streamlining schools and distractions disappear, there will be some controversy (likely nobody will even talk about "race," but the concept will be in play). It will get messy in the trenches...
Even poor school districts have a lot of cash to dispense around the community--and money talks.
But, as Mr. Roberts eloquently acknowledges, many changes are needed. Even so, Powerful People are in cahoots to make Rudy pay dearly for any movement toward genuine reform; he will struggle nobly until one day--grey and furrowed after Salem does what Manhattan and South Beach could not--he realizes that, despite his best-laid plans and virtuoso efforts, we are watching the Ducks.
Procrustes was a bandit. His punishment, when oversight officials in Greek mythology ultimately did their jobs, was to force him to administer to himself the fate of his former victims, who had been drawn-and-quartered or amputated to death, depending upon which act was necessary to fit his infamous bed.
This is the school district led by a man who is refusing raises.
He is even forced to fend off blowback from some of his board members for making this appropriate sacrifice during his school district's dire hour.
"If we really value your work, we have to make sure you get the same as the others," said Carolyn Ortman, board member. (Note to public: THIS is where true education reform begins...with irrational leaders who are caught in feedback loops using Other People's Money.)
Mr. Scott says he has enough, for God's sake. And he does.
So, with regard to the levy proposition, ask THIS man if he is prepared to oversee the dispensation of this extra funding, should his voters trust him with it. His actions make him more likely to answer honestly whether he feels his district is able to proceed prudently in the upcoming storm (and it IS coming, this storm--good teachers are not waiters or store clerks who can be ordered around by selfish people having bad days--they HAVE to earn respect and to be respected to properly influence their students--and they are not, in Oregon, for now).
Because, in turning down a raise when he is making four times what his classroom teachers are making, Mr. Scott is showing his soldiers some respect. We need more leaders like him.
Ask HIM if the Hillsboro school board members are ready to use the money properly. Ask him respectfully.


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Mar 11 2008
* This is Not a Paid Advertisement
While I do have some mainstream, legitimate advertising on this site to help cover the cost of hosting fees and contest prizes, there is a small handful of companies and organizations that should advertise on this site that don't. Land-o'-Lakes, for one. The butter usage of my family alone probably pays their yearly utility bill. Starbucks, for another. Okay, so I don't have a Starbucks location anywhere near me. But I talk about my longing for and obsession with All Things Starbucks enough on this site to keep the company's name in the ether of the upper atmosphere of the ozone layer for millenniums to come. Then there's The National Council of Rocky Mountain Oysters (NCRMO), for another. Just the fact that I've had the phrase "calf nut" in the tagline of my header for almost two years should already have captured the attention of their marketing department by now.
What? There's no such thing as the NCRMO? Well, there should be. And if they need a place to promote themselves, I'm their man.
And then there's Wrangler.
Because I care about each and every one of you, I'm about to post some photos of Wranglers. And since Wrangler isn't paying me a dime, I don't have to use their company slogan. Woohoo! I'm such a rebel. Yeah, that's me. A rebel, alright. An anti-establishment, nonconformist, do-what-I-want kind of rebel. Yep, that's right. So because I can, I'm going to sprinkle in some other well-known ad slogans from years past and see how they fit. You might recognize a few of them. Let me know which one you like best.
"Wrangler Jeans: The Best a Man Can Get." Not bad. Not bad at all.
"Wrangler Jeans: Don't Leave Home Without 'Em." Eh, could be better.
How 'bout this one: "Wrangler Jeans: M'm M'm Good!"
Yeah! That's more like it!
"Wranglers: The Best Seat in the House." I'm startin' to get the hang of this!
And here are some for the rest of you ladies. I'm sorry, men, for the sexism.
"Wranglers: Built to Last."
How 'bout "Wranglers: It Does a Body Good?"
Look, I don't make 'em up. I just bring 'em to you.
"Wranglers: Strong Enough for a Man, but Made for a Woman."
WHAT? What did I SAY? I have a lot of time on my hands.
"Wranglers: Gather 'Round the Good Stuff."
See? I can keep it clean.
"Pardon me. Do you have any Grey Poupon?"
Okay, just wanted to see if you were paying attention. And hey, there are Wranglers in the photo, so it counts.
How 'bout "Wranglers. America's #1 Snack Cake."
Okay, okay, I kid, I kid! Like I said, I'm not the one who made them up.
Let me just pause, take a breath, and think of some way to redeem myself from the slimy pit into which I have descended. One minute, please.
Okay, I've got it. One look at the following Wrangler moments and you'll forget all about that stuff before.
This is Tyler the Cowboy with my baby, by the way. Feel free to swoon. Swooning is permitted here.
This is my baby on the ground.
He sometimes has trouble keeping his Wranglers up. The kid has the tiniest bottom on the planet. Sigh. He takes after his mother.
Well, it's been a fun journey through Wranglerland.
I think we can end it with "Wranglers: There is no Substitute" and call it a day.
I'm sorry about all that other stuff. But just be glad I steered far away from any slogan having to do with Kentucky Fried Chicken. 'Cause things could have gotten really dicey.
Pioneer Woman
509 Comments
Nikki On Friday, March 14 at 1:47 pm
That last photo really gets me; so sweet.
My son (18months) is also lacking a bum. Overalls are his friends.
jaime On Saturday, March 15 at 11:43 am
I think you should file all these pictures under the name, " Wrangler butts drive me nuts."
Lily On Monday, March 17 at 3:06 pm
Holy smokes! MORE TYLER PLEASE!! He looks HOT! xx
Ann On Monday, March 17 at 9:49 pm
Wrangler Butts, drive me nuts, too
Maybelline On Saturday, April 26 at 11:38 pm
Oh Dear God in Heaven! Wrangler butts drive me nuts!
Jojo On Monday, April 28 at 11:54 am
"M'm! M'm! Good! M'm! M'm! Good!
Love the photos & the slogans…the big boys and the little ones!
Krista On Sunday, May 4 at 11:32 pm
Sexism should never be apologized for. Especially when Wrangles and Cowboys are involved.
mamawix On Thursday, May 15 at 10:47 pm
Wrangler butts drive me nuts!
Shanynrose On Sunday, June 8 at 10:13 pm
My best friend in high school was involved in rodeo – barrel racing, team roping, "queenin'," etc.
She used to say "Wrangler butts drive me nuts." I don't know if that was a Wrangler ad campaign or not, but for her it was the truth =)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Business Advisory Services Finance Improvement
Date Added: Aug 2009
Format: PDF
Industry challenges have never been greater for chief financial officers (CFOs). The current market conditions and the pace of regulatory change have all pushed CFOs into a more active role. Today, the role of the CFO has evolved beyond being the director of a support function to being a true business partner who helps drive organizational strategy and performance. Ernst & Young's Finance Improvement Services practice focuses on helping improve the performance of their finance organization. It helps design and implement approaches that improve efficiency and effectiveness in the areas of strategy, people, process, performance measurement and technology.


text:
Nano scale design
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Nano scale design
by william_maccolloch » Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:12 pm
Is L-EDIT useful for deep-nanoscale analog CMOS designs?
- william_maccolloch
Re: Nano scale design
by LannyL » Thu Mar 08, 2012 3:15 pm
In deep-nanoscale CMOS technologies, such as 28nm, conventional device layouts for analog devices are not optimum. The combination of severe metal and VIA EM limits and high device parasitic capacitances forces the layout designer to consider new device geometries. L-EDIT has the capability to capture a range of new device geometries that are not typically found in a layout-tool-specific foundry PDK.
- LannyL
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text:
Peter Mandelson has called for a three-pronged approach to tackle unlawful peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing.
The Business Secretary said that new laws in isolation would not be enough to tackle the problem, which costs the creative industries millions of pounds each year.
He called on ISPs and the creative industries to work with Government to ensure a package is put in place which balances education, enforcement and new business models to discourage unlawful downloading.
Speaking at the C&binet creative industries conference, Mandelson confirmed proposals set out in the recent consultation on unlawful file-sharing would form the basis of measures in the Digital Economy Bill.
The Government expects that warning notifications, followed up with targeted legal action by rights holders, should be the only enforcement action required to significantly reduce the level of unlawful file-sharing. However, the Government would have reserve powers to issue an order requiring ISPs to invoke technical measures. Account suspension will be an option of last resort to deal with the most serious infringers.
Highlighting the scale of the problem, Mandelson said only one in every 20 tracks downloaded in the UK is downloaded lawfully.
"It's clear that whilst unlawful file-sharing excites a strong response from all sides, it is not a victimless act. It is a genuine threat to our creative industries.
"The creative sector has faced challenges to protected formats before. But the threat faced today from online infringement, particularly unlawful file-sharing, is of a different scale altogether. We cannot sit back and do nothing.
"We will put in place a fair, thorough process, involving clear warnings to people suspected of unlawful file-sharing, with technical measures such as account suspension only used as a very last resort.
"Only persistent rule breakers would be affected - and there would be an independent, clear and easy appeals process to ensure that the correct infringer is penalised."
He added that educating consumers on the value of intellectual property rights would help to bring about changes in behaviour - alongside innovation and new business models enabling consumers to download content at competitive prices.
Mandelson said:
"A 'legislate and enforce' approach to beating piracy can only ever be part of the solution. The best long-term solution has to be a market in which those who love music and film, for example, can find a deal that makes acting unlawfully an unnecessary risk."
In other areas, Mandelson said there was a case for copyright laws to be modernised to reflect reasonable consumer behaviour which did not damage the sustainability of the creative industries.


text:
Backup Exec 2012 & Central Administration Server
I have implemented a CASO server and converted my stand-alone remote backup exec servers to managed servers. We really only want to use the CASO server as a reporting tool (i.e login and launch backup exec and either click on the Backup Exec Calendar or click "Backup and Restore" and get a high-level view of the backup history). What I seem to be having a problem with is the information under "last backup" isn't staying up-to-date. I have about 12-14 remote servers and the settings in the CASO server are exactly the same for each server but for example yesterday on 12-3-13 it only showed two server backed up on 12-2-13. Today, all the information in the CASO server is current. So there is a lag somewhere. Does anyone have an ideas?
Comments 3 Comments • Jump to latest comment
There will be an option on each MMS listed in the CASO to send data and catalogs through according to a schedule. I used to choose a slow line so that updates were sent through less frequently during the day, but you can see if the option to send updates to the CASO more frequently exists. Set it higher and see if this works.
As always, you should also check the network throughput between the MMS servers and the CASO to see if there are bottlenecks.
Alternative ways to access Backup Exec Technical Support:
Yes, I'm aware of those settings as this is how I have them set:
Connection Settings: Custom
Send active job status updates to central admin svr: Yes
Send status updates to central admin svr: 10 seconds
Send job log details to central admin svr: "on job completion"
send job log only if the job fails: No
Send job history......: "on job completion"
Send job history only if the job fails: No
Monitor jobs that are created locally on the managed backup exec server: Yes
Display an alert.......: Yes
Send the alert....:30 seconds
Storage and media database location: Managed Backup Exec Server
Keep the catalogs on: Managed Backup Exec Server (distributed)
Private cloud server: Disabled
What's really strange is that at one of the remote sites there is a backup policy for two servers. One server is reporting is backup history up-to-date and the other shows in the CASO server the last time backup occurred was in October. If you log directly into the remote server the backup information is correct and up-to-date. Very strange!
...change the option to send updates to the CASO from 10 seconds to a higher number. See if this makes a difference!
A CASO environment doesn't like high latency. I've had something similar where MMS servers would lose connection to the CASO. This might be something similar, especially if the status changes to the correct status the next day.
Alternative ways to access Backup Exec Technical Support:


text:
Daily Sales Up to 70% OFF Limited-time deals start every day at 12 pm ET.
From your first ride without training wheels to a summer cruise at the beach with your friends, the thrill of riding a bike never gets old. Many of our fondest memories are tied to experiences we've had on bikes, rooted in unbridled joy and carefree fun. Even if you haven't hopped on a bike in a while, it won't take long for the smiles and laughs to come back. At Schwinn, they make bikes that allow riders of all ages and abilities to experience the joy of riding. From "walk 'n' roll" kids bikes to the Le Tour Legacy, the company offers a comprehensive line of bikes that suit the needs of riders across the United States and around the world. Their bikes are built to the Schwinn Quality standard, with over 100 years of cycling heritage, passion and expertise. This standard is the foundation of their commitment to creating the best bikes available today, and they are confident that you will experience their devotion to cycling every time you ride a Schwinn. Enjoy The Ride!
Quad Steer Wagon Ride-On
by Schwinn
Quad Steer Wagon
by Schwinn


text:
A system for transacting business with customers is disclosed. The system includes a dispatch division receiving a complaint from a customer related to a problem the customer is experiencing. The dispatch division then deploys a technician to repair the problem. While the technician is conducting the repair, the system permits the technician to interact with the customer and negotiate and close deals for additional or modified products, services or features that the customer may want. The system also includes provisions for allowing the technician to retrieve information related to the customer and includes features that automatically notify various appropriate business offices for follow-up with the customer.
1. A system for transacting business comprising:
a dispatch division for receiving information related to a problem experienced by a customer and for deploying a technician to a location requested by the customer in response to the information,
a computer accessible by the technician at the location requested by the customer that includes instructions that initiate a communication with the company via a telecommunications network when the technician receives a request from the customer for a transaction different from the problem and enters an identity of the customer in the computer, the computer further comprising:
instructions that submit the identity of the customer in the initiated communication, instructions that receive customer information including customer payment delinquency information, and a customer type via the telecommunications network in response to the submission, the customer type comprising a network resource provided by the telecommunications network associated with a customer dwelling,
instructions that select one or more items corresponding to the received customer type from a set of items, the set of items comprising residential product services, residential product features, commercial services, and commercial features in the telecommunications network,
instructions that automatically provide a list of the one or more selected items, instructions that receive a selection corresponding to the received request from the customer from the one or more items, and
instructions that communicate the received selection corresponding to the received request from the customer to the dispatch division over the telecommunications network.
2. The system according to
3. The system according to
4. The system according to
5. The system according to
6. The system according to
7. The system according to
8. The system according to
9. The system according to
10. The system according to
11. A method for transacting business comprising:
receiving information related to a problem experienced by a customer;
deploying a technician to a location requested by the customer in response to the information, wherein the technician is employed by a company which provides services to the customer;
initiating a communication with the company over a telecommunications network by the technician by accessing a computer at the location requested by the customer when the technician receives a request from the customer for a transaction different from the problem, the communication including a submission of an identity of the customer;
sending, in response to the communication, customer information to the computer in use by the technician via the telecommunications network from the company in response to the communication from the technician, wherein the customer information includes customer payment delinquency information and a customer type, the customer type comprising a network resource provided by the telecommunications network associated with a customer dwelling;
selecting by the computer one or more items corresponding to the customer type from a set of items, the set of items comprising residential product services, residential product features, commercial services, and commercial features in the telecommunications network;
providing automatically, by the computer, a list of the one or more selected items;
receiving at the computer a selection from the list; and
communicating the received selection to the dispatch division from the computer over the telecommunications network.
12. The method according to
13. The method according to
14. The method according to
15. The method according to
16. The method according to
17. The method according to
18. The method according to
19. The method according to
20. The system according to
21. The method according to
populating an electronic sales form with the received customer information and the received selection, wherein at least one field associated with the electronic sales form is self-populated; and
communicating the electronic sales form to the dispatch division.
The present invention is directed to a system for facilitating sales. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a system for facilitating technician sales referrals.
Companies that operate networks provide access to their network to many different customers. These customers generally pay a fee for this access. For example, referring to
While the technician 112 is at dwelling 102 repairing the problem reported by customer 104, customer 104 often asks technician 112 about other features and functions of the network. In light of these conversations, customer 104 may decide to modify his existing service and/or purchase additional features and services from company 106.
It is often very difficult or impossible for technician 112 to modify the customer's account information or provide new and additional services for customer 104 since the technician does not have all of the necessary information to properly negotiate with customer 104. Because of these difficulties, technician 112 typically refers customer 104 to the customer service division 108 of company 106. For example, the technician does not know whether customer 104 is past-due on his current bill, whether a particular service is available in the customer's area, or the exact cost for an additional or modified service. Customer 104 contacts the customer service division 108 and the customer service division 108 often refers the call to a sales division 114. Customer 104 then communicates with sales division 114 to modify existing service and to purchase additional features and services from company 106. Sales department 114 then updates the customer's account information on an account database 116.
It is inefficient and problematic that in the present system described above, technician 112 is unable to quickly and easily modify customer 104's service plan. Because technician 112 cannot assist customer 104 in modifying their service plan, customer 104 is forced to conduct a second transaction, which is disadvantageous for many reasons. For example, some customers may simply not want to bother with a second transaction with company 106 and forego the modification to their service, which often results in lost profits for company 106. Further, if customer 104 does contact company 106, the company must expend additional resources to modify the customer's account information. That is, both customer service resources as well as sales resources must be expended to complete this second transaction.
The present invention includes a system for transacting business with customers including a dispatch division receiving information related to a problem experienced by a customer. Generally, this information is relayed to the dispatch division by a customer service division that has communicated with the customer. The dispatch division deploys a technician to the customer's location in response to the information related to the problem. While the technician is at the customer's location, customers often ask the technician about other products or services offered by the company. The present invention allows technicians to receive a request from the customer for a transaction different from the original problem.
Often, in order for a technician to negotiate on behalf of the company and to provide details and pricing information of the products or services that are of interest to the customer, the technician may need to review information related to the customer, for example, customer account information. The present invention allows the technician to receive customer account information from the company over a communications network. With this information, the technician can negotiate and offer additional information to the customer and complete the sale. After the sale has been completed, the present invention also permits the technician to send either the customer's request for a product or service or information related to the sale of the product or service to the company over a communications network.
In another aspect, the communications network is a wireless network.
In another aspect, the communications network is a wire line network.
In another aspect, information related to the transaction is automatically sent by electronic mail to various parties within the company.
In another aspect, the customer's account information is automatically updated to include the transaction.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a system that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a system that facilitates sales of products or services to customers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that assists technicians in selling products or services to customers.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that eliminates the need for customers to interact with a company multiple times to purchase a product or service.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that reduces or eliminates paperwork and clerical tasks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that simplifies the ordering of products and services.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure and steps particularly pointed out in the written description, the claims and the drawings.
A "division" is a portion of a company that performs a particular function or act. A division can be fully automated, meaning that an automated division would include only machines and/or computers. On the other hand, a division can include only human employees. A division can also include both human employees and machines and/or computers. This is the definition of "division" used in this specification and claims, unless otherwise noted.
Customer service division 208 realizes that customer 204 is experiencing problems, and after receiving information related to the complaint, customer service division 208 sends a communication to dispatch division 210. Preferably the communication is in the form of a report that provides information related to the problems experienced by customer 204. Dispatch division 210 reviews the report and dispatches a technician 212. Technician 212 travels to dwelling 202 to assist customer 204. Upon arrival, technician 212 investigates the problem and commences repairs.
Often, as described above, it is not uncommon for customer 204 to ask technician 212 about other services or features offered by network 240 while the technician 212 is at dwelling 202. In accordance with the present invention, during any such encounters, technician 212 is preferably able to inform customer 204 of various options that are available on network 240, and is preferably also able to negotiate with customer 204 regarding costs, pricing, activation fees, and other details related to the additional services or features that are of interest to customer 204. Technician 212 is preferably also able to retrieve information related to customer 204's account, including current account activity and whether customer 204 is delinquent in making payments to company 206.
In addition, technician 212 is preferably also able to order customer-desired features and services and provide information related to the order back to company 206. Generally, the information provided to customer 204 is either a receipt from company 206 acknowledging the requested feature, product or service, or a work order confirming a second task that will be performed in the future.
Company 206 and technician 212 can communicate with a system that uses a wire line communications system 240 or company 206 and technician 212 can communicate via a wireless communications system 230.
In the context of a wire line communications system, technician 212 connects to a wire line communications system 240. Preferably, wire line communications system 240 is a wire line telecommunications system. Preferably, technician 212 uses a portable computer to communicate via the wire line communications system 240. Examples of portable computers include personal data assistants and laptop computers. Preferably, a laptop computer 220 is used. Laptop computer 220 can connect directly to the wire line communications system 240 or can connect to the wire line communications system 240 through an intermediate device, for example, a modem (not shown). Preferably, technician 212 communicates with a communications division 235 at company 206.
In the context of a wireless communications system, technician 212 preferably uses the preferred laptop computer 220 connected to a communication device 232 that communicates with a second communication device 234 at the company 206. The second communication device 234 communicates with communications division 235 at company 206. The preferred wireless communications system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/343,815, entitled, "System and Methods for Utilizing a Communications Network for Providing Mobile Users Access to Legacy Systems," filed on Jun. 30, 1999, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference.
The wireless communications system does not require technician 212 to plug into an existing wire line. Technician 212 can be in communication with company 206 through the use of the wireless communications system which can include a laptop computer 212, the first communication device 232, and the second communication device 234, at any time. As shown in
Preferably, laptop 220 includes several different ways a technician can interact with the laptop, including a keyboard, a pointer device, or a touch screen. Preferably, an application resides on laptop 220 that permits the technician 212 to complete sales or refer sales back to company 206.
Preferably, the sales referral application can be accessed at any time, regardless of whether any other applications are running on the laptop. The application preferably also permits the technician 212 to perform the following general functions: (1) cancel a sales referral form before sending; (2) transmit a sales referral form to company 206; (3) print a list of features, services and product descriptions; (4) request reports; and (5) clear data entered and/or populated on the sales referral form. Preferably the sales referral form is an electronic form that is displayed on the screen of laptop 220 and is analogous to a printed form that is used by company 206 in processing the sales referral.
While the sales referral form can include many different fields, the following fields are preferred in addition to other fields that may be used: the form title, customer contact name, customer telephone number, customer address, date, and the customer type. These fields, along with other fields on the sales referral form are preferably self-populated to the extent possible. Self-population can occur in many different ways, by having the application retrieve information from one or more sources. For example, when technician 212 logs onto the communications network 230, the application preferably can retrieve the log-in information or information related to the log-in information stored on resources connected to communications network 230. The application can also preferably retrieve customer information from resources that retain customer information. One example of such a resource is database 216 that includes customer account information, customer status information and customer profile information. Preferably, data from these resources can be transmitted via communications network 230. Either network 230 or laptop 220 preferably includes a clock and calendar. From either or both of these sources, the application can retrieve date and time information and self-populate the appropriate fields. Once the form has been self-populated to the extent possible, the self-populated data is preferably not rigidly stored, but various different fields can be overridden by the technician and the fields can be corrected by technician 212.
Preferably, the application also provides technician 212 with a list of products, services and features. The technician can access various different lists including lists for residential product services and features and commercial products, services and features. The application preferably can also automatically provide the list based on which type of customer technician 212 is currently assisting.
After technician 212 has completed the sales referral report, the application preferably stores those reports on a storage device on laptop 220 or transmits those reports via communications network 230 to company 206. The reports can also be printed by the technician. The printed reports can be given to customer 204 as confirmation of his order. The application preferably includes an "interrupt" or error-checking routine whereby the report cannot be printed until all of the required fields are completed by the technician.
The application also preferably includes full editing features such that technicians can edit any and all fields on the sales referral form.
The application can also include an e-mail feature. With this e-mail feature, after the technician has completed the sales referral report, the application can either e-mail the appropriate business division or sales division 222 that would handle the products, services or features requested by customer 204, or the application can e-mail the technician's supervisor, or the application can e-mail both the appropriate business office and the technician's supervisor. The e-mail can contain the sales referral form itself, all of the information contained on the sales referral form, or the e-mail can contain one, several, or all of the following fields of information: a subject, a date and time, the customer's name, the customer's telephone number, the customer's address, the technician's name, the technician's employee code, a maintainance center associated with the technician, the technician's supervisor, the technician's comments, response type, features, services and products requested, and customer comments on features, services or products.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, network 240 is a telecommunications network and the following are some features that are available on the telecommunications network:
IDP: Overrides Office Dialing Plan (ODP) for feature codes, private facility access codes, intercom dial codes, DPAT (Dialing Plan Access Treatment) for respective features/facility groups.
ISDN: A service offering which combines both analog and digital access to the telephone network. Provides various communications such as voice, facsimile, data communications and image transmission by means of digital transmission, and enhanced services such as Calling Line ID.
MLHG: A standard service offering consisting of multiple telephone lines which have the feature of rolling calls over to each other under certain conditions such a line busy or ring, no answer.
P/SIMS: A proprietary system which provides available features and packages on available switches.
These are just a number of features, products, and services that can be offered in accordance with the principles of the present invention.
The foregoing disclosure of embodiments of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many variations and modifications of the embodiments described herein will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the above disclosure. The scope of the invention is to be defined only by the claims appended hereto and by their equivalents.
Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
Referenced by
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text:
Wild Duck Creek Reserve Shiraz 2000
Syrah/Shiraz from Australia
Winemaker's Notes
A process similar to that of the Alan's Cabernet, the Shiraz Reserve is made from visually perfect fruit selected from the healthiest vines. Whilst selection is underway, and to maintain a keen eye, Duck insists on drinking a bottle of the previous Shiraz Reserve and tries not to spill it on the way! Shiraz Reserve is very special – highly seductive and only created in the cream of years.
Critical Acclaim
The Wine Advocate - "The 2000 Shiraz Springflat Reserve (14.5% alcohol; 200 cases) was aged in various sizes of French wood. It possesses explosive fruit, full body, admirable concentration, and slightly higher acidity than Barossa Shiraz, which makes the tannin stand out. Nevertheless, this is a big, mouth-searing, full-bodied, muscular red that needs some time in the cellar."
Wild Duck Creek Winery
Wild Duck Creek Winery could be considered the Grateful Palate's first true "cult" winery. Other producers had their adherents but Wild Duck Creek seems to cast an almost-religious cloak of awe over its fans. Even before Duck Muck focused the eyes of collectors worldwide on David 'Duck' Anderson, we've had clients who waited patiently for Wild Duck Creek (and only Wild Duck Creek) from us vintage after vintage.
Mr. Anderson is a self-taught winemaker (well, almost self-taught: he did look up information on pH levels in a winemaking book once) yet consistently produces more inspired wine than any gaggle of enology school graduates could ever hope to make. He is completely hands-on from the planting of his vineyards all the way through bottling the finished wine. He even loads up his van and delivers the wines personally to his mailing list clients all over Australia! Visiting David is like visiting a mad scientist. He's got maverick single barrels, experimental barrels, wines made for friends, odds and ends all over the place. Everything is made in the inimitable Duck style. There's a dust-covered chemistry set in the corner that David points to and laughs at as he passes by. He makes wine by intuition rather than by formula.
The Wild Duck Creek wines reflect the personality of their maker: wild, unique, intriguing, very complex, yet immediately likeable. It's the winemakers such as David Anderson who are the heart and soul of the Grateful Palate. View all Wild Duck Creek Wines
About Other AustraliaView a map of Other Australia wineries
With a landmass the size of the US, Australia has just as many appellations. Many wines are simply labeled from their state of origin. Some of these are the most popular:
New South Wales- New South Wales has a variety of smaller wine growing regions. Many wines are a blend of these smaller appellations, leading to the more encompassing designation of New South Wales.
Western Australia– A small percentage of Australia's winemaking occurs on the West Coast. The largest Australian state, Western Australia, includes the appellations Margaret River and Great Southern.
Southeastern Australia– This appellation encompasses the states of South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. Grapes are often trucked in from at least 2 of these states for crushing and bottling, giving the wine a more general appellation of origin. This is the broadest appellation in Australia.
About AustraliaLike the United States, which is about the same size, Australia's winemaking regions are huddled into one or two pockets of the country. The state of South Australia, which produces about 60% of the country's wine, also has the most wineries and sub-regions, including McLaren Vale, Clare Valley, Coonawarra and Barossa Valley. New South Wales is home to the Hunter Valley, while the smaller, southern state of Victoria is best known for theYarra Valley. Head way west to the very large state of Western Australia and you'll find the tiny region of Margaret River at the southern tip.
Customer ReviewsSign In to Add Your Review0 }div>Related ProductsA masterful explosion of contradictions, merging in harmony and captured in a bottle. ...Wild Duck Creek Estate's flagship wine, expressing a rainbow of richness for which the Heathcote region is famous. ...
Alcohol By Volume GuideMost wine ranges from 10-16% alcohol by volume. Some varietals tend to have higher (for example Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon) or lower alcohol levels (Pinot Noir and many white varietals), but there is always some variation from producer to producer. Some wine falls outside of this range, for instance Port weighs in closer to 20%, while Muscat and Riesling are usually a bit below 10%.
Wine Style Guide
Light & Fruity
- Red wines that are more fruit-forward and lighter in tannin and body.
Smooth & Supple
- Medium bodied reds that go down easy, with smooth tannins and supple fruit.
Earthy & Spicy
- Wines where earthy and/or spicy dominate the flavors – typically medium to full body.
Big & Bold
- Full bodied wines that have concentrated fruit and are higher in alcohol and/or tannins. Some need age.


text:
Customs And Border Patrol
Feds Launch Investigation Into Loaded Gun Found In Airport Bathroom
After a loaded shotgun was found inside a bathroom at Miami International Airport Monday, the incident is now being called an "actual security threat" by airport officials.
$37M Worth Of Cocaine Seized In Caribbean Sea
Thirty-seven million dollars worth of cocaine has been seized at sea.
Wings Over Homestead Returns After Year Off
After a hiatus last year, the Wings Over Homestead air show returns this weekend. In 2010 more than 400,000 people attended this year, more than half a million are expected.
After Year Off, Homestead Air Show Screams Across Skies
After a hiatus last year, the Wings Over Homestead air show returns this weekend for an estimated 400,000 people.


text:
Wanted – Climbing Shop Manager at The Castle, Londonadded May/2010, see all The Castle news & reviews
announcement by The Castle
This announcement has been read 4,868 times
Your main duties would include:
· Recruitment and managing staff for the shop (with support from our HR department);
· Managing stock for the shop including ordering and supplier relations;
· Basic accounting routines;
· Advertising and promoting the shop;
· Developing an online shop;
· Reporting to the Management Team;
· Contributing to our annual environmental report;
Minimum requirements:
· Three years' experience in the outdoor industry, especially the retail and climbing sectors;
· Proven management experience;
· Good computer skills;
· Commitment to running a sustainable business;
· Excellent communication and interpersonal skills;
· A passion for climbing.
· Salary on application.
The Castle's Environmental Policy and Annual Environmental Report are available on our website . Please apply by sending a cover letter and CV to firstname.lastname@example.com . The deadline for applications is the 28th of May. Interviews will be held between the 1st and 4th of June. The Castle is an equal opportunity employer.
For more information visit castle-climbing.co.uk
Gear Forum ( Read more | 1 comments, 05 May 2010 )
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Gear News and Outdoor Industry News at UKC and UKH presents climbing, walking and mountaineering equipment and stories that will be of interest to UKClimbing.com's readers. They are not gear reviews and are provided by companies that advertise with UKClimbing Limited. Please feel free to comment about the stories and products on the associated thread.


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eBook Category: Historical Fiction
eBook Description: Social decay buckled America and the Great War brought her to her knees. Out of the ashes, two would-be nation states rise. One is built on values of hard work and justice, under the leadership of the outlaw general, Ben Raines. The other would return all power to the federal government and to the very politicians who plunged the USA into destruction once before? Now, the federals have lined up their forces north of the border for a sweep down into the lower forty-eight. Against three powerful divisions, Raines has thrown up nine battalions of outgunned Rebel fighters. But when the shooting begins, a new battle erupts. This time, Raines faces an enemy from behind his own lines as legions of Rebels sell themselves to the opposition-forcing the Southern States to engage in war.
eBook Publisher: E-Reads/E-Reads, Published: 1994
Fictionwise Release Date: August 2007
4 Reader Ratings:
It had long been said that when the United States stumbles, the world staggers. Whoever said that knew what they were talking about. The beginning of the end came not suddenly, but in a quiet, insidious manner. As silently, slowly, and carefully as a leech crawling across the edge of a straight razor to get to a drop of blood. The seeds of collapse, which would eventually lead to the end of what was once the greatest nation on the face of the earth, came with a lessening of morals, a country misplacing its values. A few people did see what was happening but their voices were ignored, and in some cases, stilled permanently by Big Brother Government. Our political leaders had moved us too far to the left, trying to be all things to all people, all the time. Our Great Nannies in Washington bankrupted the citizens trying to do that which they should have known was impossible.
There was no one thing or happening that led to the collapse of America. No historian will ever be able to point the finger of guilt at any single person or government program or world event.
But the signs were there. Evidence was all around that many citizens were worried. Americans were buying guns in record numbers, in the face of liberals frantically launching programs to disarm Americans. Many Americans were stockpiling emergency food and water and ammunition. But instead of our elected and appointed officials trying to determine why these thousands and thousands of people seemed to be preparing for some sort of Armageddon, the government sent armed federal agents in to seize the weapons and prosecute and jail (and sometimes kill) those who felt they had a constitutional right to own weapons. The national press belittled the men and women called "survivalists," mocking them and downplaying their warnings and actions. Liberals were prancing about, waving their hankies and shrieking that more money must be gouged from already overburdened taxpayers to pay for more social programs.
The warning signs were in place, and there were people who read them with alarming clarity. Writers wrote books about the end of civilization. Those men and women were immediately branded as nuts and kooks (some were), racists (some were), right-wing lunatics (some were), and enemies of America (most were not). Federal agents followed them, bugged their phones, and read their mail.
Most members of the press, liberal to the core and completely out of touch with the true feelings of millions of Americans, could predictably be counted on to lean to the left, weeping and blubbering and sobbing about those terrible guns and how the government should forcibly disarm the law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. Finding a true conservative among the national press, print and broadcast, would have been a real test of sleuthing.
So now, at the beginning of the last decade of the millennium, those men and women who felt the nation was teetering on the edge of collapse went about their business of preparing for the end quietly, staying away from groups who sought the limelight. These people had sensed, accurately, that it was too late. Nothing could be done to save America. The nation had sunk into an undrainable cesspool, and the politicians, both liberal and so-called conservative, and the press (always liberal) were skipping merrily along, hopping from turd to turd, blissfully unaware that beneath their feet lay collapse, chaos, and anarchy.
To many Americans who did not walk around with their heads up their asses, it was inconceivable that those in power could not see the end fast approaching.
In his last published book before the world exploded, Ben Raines wrote, "As a nation, we lost our way. We lost sight of one very important item: America must come first. We must first solve our many problems here at home, then, and only then, turn our attention and resources to other countries. That sounds hard and cruel, but if we are to survive as a nation, we must keep jobs at home and see to the needs of Americans first. We cannot be the world's problem solver and we must not become the world's policeman. We can't afford to be either."
But of course, the politicians ignored that and critics branded Ben and others like him as racist, right-wing lunatics.
Religious fanatics in the Middle East (and other places) declared America the "Great Satan" and openly called for terrorist attacks against the U.S. And what did our great leaders do about these madmen? Why, nothing, of course. Finally terrorism struck the U.S. (as Ben Raines and others predicted it would) and the press was outraged. Never once did the know-it-all network commentators suggest we go over and bomb the shit out of the host country. That might involve some collateral damage (that means civilian dead). Of course between 1939 and '45, we had civilian dead in Berlin, Dresden, Cologne, in Holland and France and Belgium, England, the Philippines, Japan (to name only a few of the countries involved), but the press seems to have forgotten all about that. We still won the damn war. And it just never dawned on our Great Nannies in Washington, D.C. that to fight terrorism, you must think like a terrorist and act like a terrorist. And we had military units trained to do just that. But the sobbing sisters and hanky-twisters set up such a squall at just the thought of it that it was never really considered seriously.
Race relations in America began to deteriorate, finally reaching their lowest point in several decades. Riots became commonplace. The police, never enough of them, and now unable to enforce the law because of recent court decisions, could not hold back the violent tide. Los Angeles blew up. New York turned into a battleground, as did St. Louis, Detroit, Miami, and Atlanta. Much to the disgrace of this nation, our capital, Washington, D.C., became the most dangerous city in America.
A few people in prominent positions, like Ben Raines, said, "Why don't you just shoot the goddamn punks and put an end to this crap?"
"You racist, right-wing, NRA, gun-loving, uncompassionate person!" came the collective shout from thousands of liberal throats.
"Naw," the law-abiding, tax-paying, so-called "silent majority" said wearily. "He's just voicing aloud the thoughts of millions."
There were many injustices inflicted upon minorities by whites in positions of power. There were also injustices inflicted upon whites by people of color. Minorities were justifiably angry about the lack of jobs. Whites were angry about quotas and promotions based on race and gender and not seniority and/or ability. Minorities demanded respect--loudly. Whites responded by saying that respect is not handed out on demand--it must be earned. Blacks (by now the name had been changed to African American) appeared on TV talk shows dressed like something out of the Congo and wondered why many whites smiled.
One white author appeared on a national talk show dressed in a Viking helmet and kilt, and carrying bagpipes. He said he was of Scandinavian/Scotch/Irish heritage and was just dressing like his ancestors. The black host was not amused.
But she should have been. She should have known that it has to work both ways. If it won't work both ways, it won't ever work.
We all should have had a sense of humor. And we all should have believed that we were Americans first, last, and always. And we should have known if we didn't pull together, it just wasn't going to work.
And in the end, it didn't.


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The President and Chief Executive Officer (the "CEO") has primary responsibility for the Corporation's strategic direction and its operations and results. The CEO is responsible and accountable that the Corporation and its management and employees conduct their business with honesty and integrity, with a view of creating sustainable and long-term value and profitable growth.
The CEO's duties, responsibilities and obligations include, but are not limited to the following. The CEO shall:


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Sucker Punch (film)
From Wikiquote
(Redirected from Suckerpunch (film))
Sucker Punch is a 2011 action-fantasy thriller film about the fantasies and escape of the young woman in a mental institution.
- Directed by Zack Snyder. Written by Zack Snyder and Steve Shibuya.
The Wise Man/The General/The Bus Driver[edit]
- This is your journey, if you succeed, it will set you free.
- If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
- Remember, don't ever write a check with your mouth you can't cash with your ass.
- For those who fight for it, life has a flavour the sheltered will never know.
Sweet Pea[edit]
- [after Babydoll has danced for the first time] All that gyrating and moaning... a dance should be more about titillation. Mine's personal, it says who I am. What the heck does yours say?
- Everyone has an Angel. A Guardian who watches over us. We can't know what form they'll take, one day old man, next day little girl, but don't let appearances fool you. They can be as fierce as any dragon. Yet they're not here to fight our battles, but to whisper from our hearts. Reminding that it's us. Its every one of us who holds power over the world we create.
- We can deny angels exist; convince ourselves they can't be real. But they show up anyway, at strange places and at strange times. They can speak through any character we can imagine. They'll shout through demons if they have to, daring us, challenging us to fight!
- And finally this question, the mystery of who's story it will be. Of who draws the curtain. Who is it that chooses our steps in the dance? Who drives us mad? Lashes us with whips and crowns us with victory when we survive the impossible? Who is it, that does all of these things?
- Who honors those we love with the very life we live? Who sends monsters to kill us and at the same time sings that we'll never die? Who teaches us what's real and how to laugh at lies? Who decides why we live and what we'll die to defend? Who chains us and who holds the key to set us free? It's you. You have all the weapons you need. Now fight!
Dr. Vera Gorski[edit]
- It's like we talked about. You control this world. Let the pain go, let the hurt go, let the guilt go. What you are imagining right now, that world you control. That place can be as real as any pain.
- If you do not dance you have no purpose. And we don't keep things here that have no purpose. You see, your fight for survival starts right now. You don't want to be judged? You won't be. You don't think you're strong enough? You are. You're afraid. Don't be. You have all the weapons you need. Now fight.
- Sweet Pea: This can't be. We did everything right.
- Baby Doll: A map, a fire, a knife, a key, one thing more, one thing more. It's me.
- Sweet Pea: What?
- Baby Doll: [a breathy 'Oh'] Oh it's me,of course it's me. It's the only way this ever coulda been prevented.
- Sweet Pea: What do you mean?
- Baby Doll: I'm saying you go home, go to your family. You tell your mom what Rocket said, make her happy. Go out and live a normal life. Love, be free, you have to live for all of us now.
- Sweet Pea: Baby, no, you can't...
- Baby Doll: Yes Sweet Pea, you're the strongest. You're the only one of us who ever had a chance out there. You're going home and leaving, that's how we win. It's okay, it's better this way. Now listen, I'm gonna walk out there and when they come after me, you go, okay?
- Sweet Pea: There's gotta be another way.
- Baby Doll: No, this is right. This was never my story, it's yours. Now don't screw it up okay?
- Rocket: Have you ever wanted to just take something back? You know, something you said, something you did?
- Baby Doll: All the time.
- Baby Doll: I'm gonna escape from here.
- Sweet Pea: There are armed guards everywhere! And if Blue finds out, we're dead!
- Rocket: We're already dead.
- You will be unprepared.
- A mind bending vision of reality from the director of Watchmen & 300.
- Emily Browning - Babydoll
- Abbie Cornish - Sweet Pea
- Jena Malone - Rocket
- Vanessa Hudgens - Blondie
- Jamie Chung - Amber
- Carla Gugino - Madame Vera Gorski / Dr. Vera Gorski
- Oscar Issac - Blue Jones
- Jon Hamm - The Doctor / The High Roller
- Scott Gleen - The Wise Man / The General / The Bus Drive
- Gerard Plunkett - The Stepfather / Priest
- Patrick Sabongui - Earl
External Links[edit]
- Sucker Punch quotes at the Internet Movie Database