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Welcome to my BlogBelow in the archives you will find a lot of different stories and photographs from my experiences traveling and living in the UK. Feel free to browse and enjoy.
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Tag Archives: 1 – Eva Marine Underwater soft housing for Sony VX2100E
"Closed Lanta" Thailand..
Koh Lanta is pretty much shut down for the low season, however the water is still 30 degrees Celsius the sun shining and I managed to find a dive trip leaving today at 7.45am to one of the small uninhabited islands off of Koh Lanta. The island was called Koh Ha and had a very clear lagoon so I took my video camera in its housing and decided to get a few close up shots of the wonderful coral and sea life. At one point I came a bit to close to a black and white banded sea snake and managed to catch it on film. I do not like poisonous snakes, and for some reason recently I have been seeing lots of them flattened out as a result of them crossing the roads in the wrong places at the wrong times.
Technical note 1., the white balance on the video camera is a nightmare to set correctly because the water on the correct setting is deep blue and so is the coral and so are the fish.. a few experiments and I managed to get a white balance setting the worked well underwater but not at all above, it turned the sky and clouds red.. I think the sea messes with the red light rays on the RGB spectrum. (note to self; set white balance reading on the water surface)
Technical note 2., I was on a trip with 4 people taking various stages in their PADI openwater training. I was tagging along with a mask and snorkel and they were diving to depths between 18 and 26 meters. Since watching the Big Blue about 15 years ago a film about free diving I have always been fascinated by this activity. I have found whilst surfing large waves that one needs to be able to relax and hold their breath for sometimes a lot longer than desired when being held down in the exploding white water. However it is not how long you can hold your breath, rather how long you can stay underwater once you have had the wind knocked out of you on the way over, in and down.
Presently I am feeling fitter after surfing for 6 months solid and was curious to see how deep I could go on one breathe with fins, mask and snorkel so I borrowed one of the divers depth gauge wrist watches and swam to the deepest part of the sea I could find not too far from the boat. I managed 15.5/ 16metres on one lung full approx 45-50ft. This was pretty fun and I definitely felt slightly addicted to the idea of trying to get deeper each time. However this was the deepest part of the sea without swimming a lot further away from the boats anchoring. Because I was excited about having a depth guage for the first time I felt as though I wasnt really relaxed enough to freedive deeper safely. !6 metres and I definitely felt at the finite edge of sensible safe practice as I felt my lungs go into small spasms on the way back up, I ve also had a headache all afternoon.
So with practice I would like to try again one day, 20 metres I think is an achievable goal..
Technical Note 3. New dive masks have plastic coating on the inner lens surface and this means they always fog up even with lots of saliva or anti fog. I have been informed white toothpaste left over night on the surface dissolves this. I didnt do this and it fogged up all the time, this was driving me nuts..
Technical Note 4. Ewa Marine Underwater camera housings, I have a soft case for my Sony vx2100e made by this company, it is such a pain in the arse to use and not at all user friendly regarding the controls and on and off rec button. The camera slides about inside the bag and it really feels low tech and irritating to use, I feel it was also way overpriced for the small low tech piece of vinyl and bag clamp it amounts to. However the alternative was a 10kg hard housing which is no good either for traveling and also more costly so I am in mixed mines about underwater filming and photography and whether I want to do it. A humbling experience seeing how poor my filming was today upon playback, a few usable clips but mainly pretty bad so I have decided to blame my tools, or at least 85%!
Family stuff, I have been hanging out with my brother, his wife Moon and his daughter Kaliana. Also my sister natalie and her boyfriend Ian. This is the first time we have seen each other as a group for over ten years so I know its a positive time for us as a family.
Michelle left yesterday to go on her path as a English teacher in a Muslim school in Ranong. Admin wise as a result of internet access I managed to book a flight back to Bangkok for 17th June (Airasia.com) super affordable lots of promo deals. I have heard from two of my friends from Bristol UK Tim and Dan that they will be in Bangkok on the 20th.. So I moved my flight to be there for this. If they get there way this could get very debauched and messy so I am preparing my self control and self discipline muscles for the 3 days I will meet up with them..should be fun I am looking forward to it.
Little thieves on the Island drained all the fuel out of my moped the other night, this never happened in Bali in 6 month a Hindu community with a foundation based on Karma. Koh Lanta is a muslim based island, the prices are doubled in the low season and I am over charged every day by the locals for most purchases, except in 7/11.
So I reluctantly admit a score point to Industrialisation for bar codes and price regulation for all consumers, Predjudice segregation and racism sucks and it feels especially bad being seen as a walking dollar sign which is how I have felt amongst the shop owners here. So 7/11 for the next few days, the air con in 7/11 makes you want to go their just to stand in the shop…..
Posted in Jason Lunn Portfolio of a life Also tagged 1 - Eva Marine Underwater soft housing for Sony VX2100E, Ewa Marine water housings, Ian Tiltman, Indian Ocean Koh Lanta, jason lunn,, Koh Ha, Koh Lanta, Natalie Lunn, Nathan Lunn, PADI, snorkelling, Tim Baird, underwater filming white balance 1,812 Comments
Jan 7th 2009 Hungover…
It is now 3 pm and I have managed to find an internet cafe nearby with a pretty good wireless connection so I am trying to get back to writing my blog more frequently than the last week or two. I have recently awoken as I went out last night, drank a whole bunch of vodka redbulls and woke up with my head in a cloudy hangover.
I have not really been drinking much alcohol over the last few years and it appears I have slipped into a small window of having a late night drink and a dance until the early hours. The surfers I have recently met are all super healthy living guys with the exception of Dougy, who is but as he is a London Boy through and through still likes a good night out in the West End of Kuta (Legian Street) Tiva Daka and Dan Johnson on the other hand are living examples of the christian faith in action and are clean and sobre putting their faith into the good Lord. It shows religiously, they are so committed to their cause, In bed by 10m then up at 5am on their mopeds in the dark in search of uncrowded waves. I have tried to step into this way of life but I just can not make the transfer. The evenings in Kuta are a lot of fun their are many people out, the clubs are free to get into and the atmosphere warm, sweaty and charged with energy..
Tiva, Dan and Toby are up before dawn then they come back after a surf, have breakfast then an afternoon sleep, this dedication shows in their surfing especially Tiva and Dan, they are super fit in the water, they can paddle into position to catch waves much quicker than almost everyone else in the sea and their wave count and number of rides is way higher than nearly every other surfer in the sea, most definitely mine..
Dougy is similar to me and likes to burn the candle at both ends occasionally, however it doesn't stop him making the 5am surf or getting barrelled on his waves!!
I have not been surfing so well the last three days, early mornings are hard for me especially when the waves are powerful, hollow, fast and the reef is shallow, I got absolutely worked at a wave called Sri Lanka in Nusa Dua two days ago at 6am. As a result of gasping for air in the frothy white water I had an awaking of how easy it would be to drown when the waves step up a gear. To be honest I felt scared in the sea and was punished relentlessy wave after wave as I ended up in a rip current that pulled me directly into the impact zone of a set of 3 very heavy waves and was anhialated by each of them to the point of physical exhaustion. I was just glad to get out the sea after that and watch Dan absolutely hit up each large wave with speed and talented precision. Dan is a great surfer, it is good to see someone from England ride the waves as good as/ and on many occasions better than the Indonesian locals. I just feel a sense of pride for England and the talent it always seems to produce as a result of always having less than perfect conditions in almost every sporting field and event.
However yesterday at Serangan was a good day surfing for me, I managed the 6am surf trip and rode more waves than any previous day on my trip so far. I have got a different surfboard from another English man in Bali called Ado.
He is a great surfer and I have traded his spare surfboard for some cash and photography and video footage of him surfing. This should provide some good shots as Ado is a great surfer and likes big waves. He is also a trained lifeguard and has experience of tow-in surfing (being pulled into huge waves too big to paddle into with the aid of a jetski) Ado is a fit guy and pretty photogenic so we will see what shots we get there….The board I now have is 6ft2″ long a thruster that is high performance, narrow and lightweight. It is not very buoyant and when I sit on it in the water the board sits about 2 1/2ft below the sea with the water level by my armpits. This is a difficult board to learn on but it seems to feel more like my skateboard the way it turns and maneouvers through the water, so we will see what happens progresswise there.
Health update,
Stomach is still good have not had any problems there so far and I have been eating street food and beach food that has been prepared in very questionable hygiene situations. I have however got both feet taped up with duct tape as I have scraped them on the reef in a bad fall where I was worked by three heavy waves in succession. The problem with open wounds in Bali/ tropical climates I have found is; 1. if you leave them uncovered during the night to try and let them dry out all the flies and mosquitoes have a little feast on your blood whilst you are asleep and you wake up with infected puss filled wounds that are sore and an angry shade of red. This is the difference between getting a cut in England. I still have open wounds on my knee from when I scraped it on the reef at Nusa Dua 4 weeks ago upo my arrival in Bali. However the duct tape is waterproof and seems to be protecting the wounds when I surf and is helping the healing proccess during the night. I have found taping some tissue paper to the wound helps them dry out and keeps the little creatures out.
I was having a lot of difficulty establishing a sleeping routine and was having sleepless nights quite frequently, due to mosquitoes and tropical thunderstorms which often happen during the evening. The thunder and lightning during a tropical thunderstorm is like nothing I have ever experienced, you feel a real chill down your spine as it feels like the lightning could strike the room you are in. It is that close and the air is that humid. It still rains here every few days but the showers are only for an hour or so and now seem to happen at night time. I have a a really noisy little gecko in my room that spend most of the night saying ECK OO ECK OO! extremely loudly.
I have discovered that getting reasonably inebriated on the odd occasion definitely helps me get a good night sleep if not such a great feeling in my head during the following morning.
Underwater Photography
Life here feels absolutely great when the sun is shining, but I still feel low in my spirit when it rains and is grey and cloudy. I have decided that I really would like to find a way to live here legally and financially support myself through my photography and other sources. Today I have looked into purchasing some underwater Housing equipment for my camera so that I can take photographs in the water. I have an underwater case for my video camera but it appears I am going to need one for my Eos 1ds mk2 if I am going to get the shots I desire. I just cannot get close enough to the action from and as many of the waves are breaking on reefs quite some distance a way. I have been doing my research on line and have found the housing most surf photographers use is made by an Australian company called Aquatech but the cost including lens ports is approx £2500 so it is a big investment. I am going to make that decision later today.
Below is a picture of all the photography equipment I have with me but it is looking like I will be needing to further add to it….
Camera Kit Bali,
1- Eos 1DS MK2 17mp Camera body
1- Canon Ef 70-200mm f2.8 Image Stabilizer Lens
1 – Canon Ef 16-35mm f2.8 IS mk2 lens
1 – Canon Ef 2X Extender
1 – Canon Chargers for info lithium
1 – Canon Ex580 Speedlight
3 – Canon Info Lithium Eos batteries
1 – Visible dust artic butterfly sensor cleaner
1 – Nikon Lens pen
1 – Sony VX2100E 3CCD Mini Dv Video Camera
1 – Sony Charger Info Lithium Batteries
1 – Sony 1.7 tele conversion lens VCL-HG1758 for VX2100E
1 – Eva Marine Underwater soft housing for Sony VX2100E
3 – Info Lithium batteries
8 – AA Nimh 2700 batteries and charger including car adapter
1 – Battery pouch / case
1 – Nikon Coolpix 510012mp camera and charger
1- flexipod
1 – Pec pads and sensor cleaning solution and swabs
1 – Wind up Led torch
1 – Apple Macbook and charger
1 – Mouse
1 – Apple DVI converter
1 – Memory Card Reader
3- San Disk Extreme 3 CF cards 2x 2gb 1 x 8gb
2 – Waterproof bag
1 – Lowepro Computrekker Back pack
2 – 160gb Seagate 2.5″ SATA Harddrives in Icybox portable caddies
1 – 320gb Seagate 2.5″ SATA Harddrives in Icybox portable caddy
1- 80gb Seagate Momentus Harddrive in icybox portable caddy
1 – 8gb portable usb flash drive
This is what I need to complete the kit for underwater photography
Aquatech DV-4- MK11 Housing
This is just the body and I will also need 4 lens ports for different lenses so total will be about US $3500 so this is a big investment but there is no other way for me to get the shots I want as a photographer. If I am going to make this work out here I need equipment that will offer me the advantage, it is nt an easy decision as I could by land here probably big enough for a 3 bed house for 5000 us dollars or pay my rent and bike hir for over a year, Decisions decisions?
Posted in Jason Lunn Portfolio of a life Also tagged 1 - Sony VX2100E 3CCD Mini Dv Video Camera, 1 - 320gb Seagate 2.5" SATA Harddrives in Icybox portable caddy, 1 - 8gb portable usb flash drive, 1 - Apple DVI converter, 1 - Eva Marine Underwater soft housing for Sony VX2100E, 1 - Lowepro Computrekker Back pack, 1 - Memory Card Reader, 1 - Mouse, 1 - Nikon Coolpix 510012mp camera and charger, 1 - Nikon Lens pen, 1 - Sony 1.7 tele conversion lens VCL-HG1758 for VX2100E, 1 - Sony Charger Info Lithium, 1 - Visible dust artic butterfly sensor cleaner, 1 - Wind up Led torch 1 - Apple Macbook and charger, 1- flexipod 1 - Pec pads and sensor cleaning solution and swabs, 1- 80gb Seagate Momentus Harddrive, 1- Eos 1DS MK2 17mp Camera body 1- Canon Ef 70-200mm f2.8 Image Stabilizer Lens 1 - Canon Ef 16-35mm f2.8 IS mk2 lens 1 - Canon Ef 2X Extender 1 - Canon Chargers for info lithium 1 - Canon Ex580 Spee, 2 - 160gb Seagate 2.5" SATA Harddrives, 2 - Waterproof bag, 3 - Info Lithium batteries, 3- San Disk Extreme 3 CF cards 2x 2gb 1 x 8gb, 8 - AA Nimh 2700 batteries and charger including car adapter 1 - Battery pouch / case, Camera Kit Bali, icybox portable caddy, in Icybox portable caddies, VCL-HG1758 2,562 Comments


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7.Jul.2015 at 7 | Be the first to comments
Testing new 360 video rigs
Testing new rigs for 2 and 3 cameras with iZugar 195 lenses.
I am Multitouch and Augmented Reality developer from Moscow, RUSSIA.
7.Jul.2015 at 7 | Be the first to comments
Testing new rigs for 2 and 3 cameras with iZugar 195 lenses.
17.Apr.2015 at 17 | Be the first to comments
12.Jan.2015 at 12 | Be the first to comments
25.Dec.2014 at 25 | 32 Comments
Just found easy way how to make GearVR work on exynos note4.
1. Go Settings->Storage-Used space->Applications-ALL
2. Find 'Gear VR SetupWizard'. (only working version for exynos is 1.0.24) you may have 1.0.28. Force stop it. and Uninstall
3. download version 1.0.24 from here https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/565273/gearvr/gearvr_exynos.zip
4. copy all files to your note4 and install.
5. go Play Store and install 'QuickShortcut Maker'
6. open it and search for 'vr setup'. it will show you 'VR Setup Wizard' (without 'Stub' at the end). check version via 'App info'. must be 1.0.24. hit 'Try'. i will open setup windows.
7. install everything you need from oculus
8. enjoy.
9. if oculus suggest you update later, DO NOT update, because it install 1.0.28 version of setupwizard, and everything stop working again.
i tested this on two phones. all work ok. somethimes phone screen flicker. to avoid this just hold back button on gearvr for enter service menu and then press it again to go back. it work for me.
please post any questions in comments here or in reddit thread.
19.Nov.2014 at 19 | Be the first to comments
New 360 videos we filmed in mmsco.ru for our client.

subset: commoncrawl


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A system, method and computer program product for idea management and development of a structured idea. The methodology includes obtaining a structured response over a computer network from an employee of a business. In certain embodiments of the invention the system and method may be employed without the use of a computer network. The structured response is developed through a series of templates in which the employee enters information into a template. From the responses in the first template a second template is selected. The second template may request information regarding the financial consequences of implementing the idea. Once the structured idea is developed through the series of templates a routing decision is made by the server. The server determines one or more members of the business management to whom the idea is routed based in part on information entered by the employee in the templates.
1. A computer implemented method for providing through a computer network to business management a plan for implementing a user's suggestion for business improvement, the method comprising:
in a first computer process, causing presentation to a user seeking to submit a suggestion for business improvement, a series of two or more templates for entering a structured response on a terminal device, wherein one of the templates presented to the user allows the user to characterize the type of suggestion as falling into at least one of a plurality of categories selected from a group of cost saving, revenue generation, quality improvement, safety improvement, customer service improvement, development of a new product, policy change and advertising or corporate slogan;
receiving over a computer network the structured response, entered into the two or more templates from the user, wherein the structured response includes a characterization of the type of suggestion entered into one or more templates by the user and a server logically selects at least one of the templates presented to the user according to the type of suggestion characterized by the user; and
in a second computer process, determining the network routing of data from the structured response to business management based upon entries of the response in one or more templates.
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adding the financial data to the database for a subsequent user suggestion.
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maintaining a user suggestion log in memory associated with the processor.
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40. A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readable code thereon for providing to business management a plan for implementing a user's suggestion, the computer readable code comprising:
computer code for presenting to a user seeking to submit a suggestion for business improvement, a series of two or more templates for entering a structured response, wherein at least one of the templates contains a field for selecting the type of suggestion from the group of cost saving, revenue generation, quality improvement, safety improvement, customer service improvement, development of a new product, policy change and advertising or corporate slogan;
computer code for obtaining over a computer network the structured response, entered into the two or more templates, from the user, wherein the structured response includes a characterization of the type of suggestion entered into one or more templates by the user and at least one of the templates presented to the user is selected according to the type of suggestion characterized by the user;
computer code for determining network routing of data from the structured response to business management based upon entries of the response in one or more templates.
41. The computer program product according to
computer code for selecting additional templates to develop the structured response wherein, a plurality of templates is selected based upon information entered by the user within at least one prior template.
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maintaining a user suggestion log in memory.
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computer code for providing a displayable version of the user suggestion log via the computer network, upon receipt of a request by the user submitting the employee suggestion.
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computer code for sending a reminder via the computer network to the business management that received the user suggestion if a deadline for response to the user suggestion expires.
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79. A method for directing a computerized idea submission in a business to appropriate business managers for improving the business, the method comprising:
in a first computer process, causing presentation of a plurality of templates to a user, wherein the templates require one or more responses, wherein one of the templates presented to the user allows the user to characterize the type of idea as falling into at least one of a plurality of categories selected from a group of cost saving, revenue generation, quality improvement, safety improvement, customer service improvement, development of a new product, policy change and advertising or corporate slogan;
in a second computer process, receiving a completed set of templates from the user creating a structured idea;
in a third computer process, determining the routing of the structured idea to an appropriate business manager based at least in part upon the one or more responses;
in a fourth computer process, providing an evaluation template to the appropriate business manager based upon the determined routing;
in a fifth computer process, receiving a completed evaluation template from the appropriate business manager; and
in a sixth computer process, routing the idea to an implementer if the idea is approved, wherein the routing is determined in part on the completed evaluation template.
This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/375,401 filed on Aug. 17, 1999 now abandoned entitled "Employee Proposal Management System and Method" which claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/144,877 filed on Jul. 20, 1999.
The present invention relates to idea submission methods and computer systems for idea submission and development.
It is known in the prior art to provide an idea box for manual submission of an employee's idea. Further, it is known in the art to employ computers which are coupled together to submit comments or ideas to business management and for business management to respond to such comments and ideas. Such systems simply employ e-mail and the comments and ideas are submitted to a business manager for review.
These prior art systems fall short of providing a cohesive system for formulating, reviewing, and implementing an idea. Further, such prior art systems fail to provide a systematic methodology for routing ideas through the network to appropriate reviewers and implementers based upon content and workflow criteria. In the prior art, ideas are either submitted to a central computer repository where users of the system may look at submitted ideas or the prior art systems rely on manual human intervention and decision making in determining where the idea should be routed.
In a first embodiment of the invention there is provided a system, method and computer program product for idea management and development of a structured idea. The methodology includes obtaining a structured response over a computer network from an employee of a business. In certain embodiments of the invention the system and method may be employed without the use of a computer network. The structured response is developed through a series of templates in which the employee enters information into a template. From the responses in the first template a second template is selected. For example, the first template may inquire as to the idea type which is selected from a selection of idea types. Based upon the idea type selected, a second template is provided by a server to a processing device of the employee. The second template may request information regarding the financial consequences of implementing the idea. Once the structured idea is developed through the series of templates a routing decision is made by the server. The server determines one or more members of the business management to route the idea to. In such an embodiment, an idea log which contains all submitted information in the templates is sent via the computer network to the one or more members of the business management. In other embodiments, the routing decision causes the server to send a message to the business management that they have been selected to evaluate the submitted structured idea of the employee. The routing decision is made in part based upon information that is presented in the templates by the employee.
In one embodiment the selection of templates by the server may be based upon the selected type of idea/proposal. Examples of idea types include but are not limited to: cost saving, revenue generation, quality improvement, safety improvement and policy change. In completing the templates, the employee is provided with various resources including access to a cost database. The cost database may be accessed through the financial template in order to assist in determining costs that will contribute to the implementation of the idea. By entering all of the costs and possible benefits, the server automatically calculates the financial impact of implementing the idea. Other entries that may trigger selection of a template by the server include, the selected department of the business that the idea will affect, the type of proposal selected, whether the proposal is a group proposal, or whether the proposal will have financial consequences.
In the event that the financial information is not present in the cost database for a particular item, the employee may send a message to the server requesting that the additional information is provided. The server will then route the request to the proper department such as accounting in order to obtain the information. Decisions may be made about the requested information based upon the employee's log in information. If the employee is aware of the financial information or receives a response with the information provided by the accounting or other department, this financial information will be automatically added to the cost database for future users of the idea management system.
The process of routing the idea or contacting business management to review the idea may be based in part upon the group within the business that the employee has indicated will benefit from the idea. Routing may also be based on other criteria entered in the templates such as: whether the employee indicated that the idea submission will have a financial benefit, whether the idea is a team suggestion, the idea type that is selected, the workload of the business management, information about the employee who submitted the idea such as the department that the employee works in or any time limits for example.
In another embodiment in which a third template is provided to the employee by the server, the employee is queried regarding the implementation process and asked to enter the names of potential implementers. Routing in turn may be based upon the one or more implementers that are selected by the employee.
After information has been gathered at the server such that there is a structured idea submission the information is then routed. The business management that either, approve, disapprove or request additional information about the idea are contacted and provided with evaluation templates. The business management can then check the entries that are made by the employee regarding the various costs and the financial impact of the idea that the employee has submitted.
In certain embodiments there may be more than one level of review of the idea. In other embodiments at each stage of the review process the employee is contacted through e-mail and informed of the progress of the idea submission status. The idea submission is generally stored in an idea log in a memory location associated with the server. The idea log contains all of the information that has been submitted to the server for the idea submission by the employee and any of the business management that have reviewed the idea and may also include such time and date information regarding the review process, and the status of the idea. The idea log may be requested by any party involved in the idea management process and sent to a processing device of the party for display.
At each stage in the development of the idea, timers may be employed. Upon expiration of a timer, the person that is required to give a response or to add additional information will be contacted by the server and sent a reminder communication.
The foregoing features of the invention will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Definitions. As used in this description and the accompanying claims, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated, unless the context otherwise requires: the term "business" as used herein shall apply to all organizations including both for-profit, non-profit organizations and may be associated with clients of an organization including customers and suppliers. The term "business management" as used herein shall apply to evaluators, implementers and decision-makers of an idea submission and is not strictly limited to a particular level of management of a business. The term "employee" shall refer to an individual submitting an idea and may be any user of the system who submits an idea including business management, clients, customers, and suppliers of the business. The term "template" as used herein shall refer to forms on any media which have one or more locations for the entry of information. Templates include electronic forms which are computer readable and displayable. As used herein the term "financial impact item" shall refer to a cost associated with an item that is not present in the cost database of the system. The cost may be obtained in a manner other than through retrieval from a cost database either by making a request to a group or division having knowledge on the item or through a request to the accounting department. The term "financial information" as used herein shall refer to a cost associated with an item and may include accounting codes and other identifiers of the association of the item to the cost. As used herein the term "routing" shall refer to the determination of at least a destination address and any intermediate addresses that are necessary in a computer network. In embodiments, in which the system and method are applied without the use of a processor, routing refers to the determination of the next person(s) that are to receive the idea submission. As used herein the term "routing decision" or "network routing" refers to the destination address and not necessarily to the information about an employee's idea, but only a destination that is to be contacted via internal messaging or through an integrated electronic mail system. The terms, "submission" and "proposal" are used interchangeably herein to refer at least to the information that is provided by an employee regarding an idea for improvement of the business.
The server of the embodiment of
In a preferred embodiment, the evaluator may select to approve the idea, disapprove the idea or request more information. The server receives this information and evaluates the information based upon the decision (Step 230). The server may then send a message to the employee who formulated the idea which contains the decision of the evaluator. It should be understood that the decision making process may require multiple evaluators. For example, there may be an initial evaluator, a pre-implementation evaluator and a final decision maker, all of whom are part of the overall decision making process. Such an embodiment is elaborated on in
The processor first sends a template to the employee providing for employee identification. Once the employee is recognized and authenticated by the processor through a log-in process the processor provides an idea fundamental template to the employee. The idea fundamental template allows the user to enter information about the idea and allows the employee to identify the type of idea which is selected from a group of categories. It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that each template that is provided to the employee is designed for entry and submission of information. The information is entered and coupled with an identifier so that the information may be sent in a format that the server may process. In one embodiment of the invention, the computer network is the Internet and the template is created such that it may be displayed in a web browser. It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the template may be XML, DHTML, HTML or another type of displayable document which is operable with a web browser.
The employee then transmits the information to the processor. Based in part upon the type of idea that is selected the employee further develops the structured idea through a series of templates which are tailored to the specific type of idea. The employee refines the idea to include the financial consequences of implementing the idea as well as elaborating on the requirements for implementing the idea.
Once the employee has completed the series of templates and the information entered into the templates is sent to the processor, the processor makes routing decisions based upon routing rules(Step 220A). The decisions include which department or departments the employee idea should be routed to and to whom in those departments the idea should be sent.
Routing of the idea may be based upon routing policies which are stored in the server. These policies may be established by the business management prior to the routing of an idea. The policies may be based upon organizational conditions, based upon template entries or a combination of both. For example, one organizational condition might be that all employee ideas are routed to the employee's superior or to the department manager. An example of routing based upon a template entry is sending the idea submission to the head of the department that was indicated by the employee as the department to be affected on the idea fundamental template. An example of the combination of both organizational conditions and the template entries might be routing the idea to a potential implementer selected by the employee based upon the workload of the implementer during the time period for implementing the idea. In such an embodiment, the server would eliminate implementers based upon the implementer's availability.
As such routing may be determined based upon a criteria set which includes data from the submitted idea and also organizational conditions. Some criteria which may be used for routing which is gathered from the templates are the department affected, the origin of the idea, the type of idea, and any time limits for implementation or responding. In the preferred embodiment at least two criteria are used for determining the routing of the idea. A further example of a routing rule is determining an evaluator from group of evaluators by rotating the selection of the evaluator each time a new idea is presented.
The idea is then sent through the network to at least one member of the business's management of the identified department so that the idea may be evaluated. Based upon the type of idea, the business management, also known as an evaluator, is provided with one or more templates which include the information that was developed for the employee's idea. The business management can then make a decision whether to approve the idea, not approve the idea or request additional information regarding the idea (Step 230A). If the idea is approved, the pre-implementation phase is begun. The processor then determines the next person or persons to whom the idea will be routed (Step 240A). One or more templates are sent to the employee(s) of the business who would most likely be involved in implementing the employee's idea. The implementers then evaluate whether the idea is feasible and whether any benefit would actually result for the company. Based upon the decision by the implementer(s), the idea is either approved for implementation, not approved or more information is requested of the employee (Step 250A). The idea submission is then routed to a decision maker within the business (Step 260A). If not decided at this level, the idea can be routed based upon routing criteria which may include workload of the various decision makers as well as the type of idea and the department that the idea will affect. The decision maker benefits from the information which is added by the evaluator(s) and the implementer(s) who have reviewed the idea and checked the financial impact of the idea. If at any point in the idea process, the idea is rejected the employee is informed and the process ends. The decision maker like the implementer and evaluator has the ability to approve, reject or request information (Step 270A). If the employee's idea is to be implemented, the implementation follows based upon the proposal in the submission of the employee and any additional suggestions which have been provided by the evaluators, or decision makers implementers (Step 280A). If information is requested at any stage in the process, the server sends a message to the employee requesting information. The employee may then enter information into a template, which is then sent by the server back to the appropriate evaluator, implementer or decision maker respectively (Steps 231A, 251A, 271A).
Each time a template is presented and information is entered into the template in the pre-defined fields, the information is translated into a data stream which includes delimiters for the response for each field. The data stream is addressed and sent to the processor through the computer network and parsed by system rules or in case-specific ways by the processor. Based upon the parsed information, the server can then use portions of the parsed information to determine the type of template that needs to be presented along with determining the identity of who should be evaluating the idea and the address/routing information for sending a message or the information from the templates (the structured idea) to the identified evaluator.
It should be recognized that the foregoing system is more than an idea submission system, as the system provides for refinement of an idea, routing of the idea to business management, evaluators, and decision makers based upon a criteria set, and development of an implementation based in part upon financial consequences and workload of other employees who may be involved in implementing or evaluating the idea.
After the general information template is completed, the information is forwarded through the computer network to the processor and the processor processes the information in order to determine the next template to send to the employee. Based upon the information which is sent to the processor which was entered by the employee in the template, the processor accesses a look-up table and compares the received information with the look-up table to select the next template to send to the client processing device. For each entry entered into a template by an employee, a new template may be assigned from a plurality of pre-configured templates. The processor determines the new template to send based upon the type of idea that is selected by the employee and also on whether the idea will have financial consequences.
If the employee indicates that the idea will have financial consequences, the processor then provides a financial information template to the employee (Step 320). The financial information template queries the employee as to the cost of the original method, the cost of the new method, whether revenue will be generated by the new method, the cost of implementing the new method and the capital required for the idea. Based upon the information provided by the employee, the processor can then determine the overall financial impact of the idea. During the process of entering information into the template, the employee is provided with access to a cost database. By selecting the cost database on the template, a new document is provided to the employee by the server which contains data listings of various costs from the cost database. For example, the listings may include costs of material associated with the business, fees for attorneys, manufacturing costs, fuel costs, real estate costs etc. As such, there may be further sub-categories with associated costs which can assist the employee in determining the financial impact of the idea. For example, under the category of manufacturing costs, the subcategories may include, heavy machinery, workers compensation etc.
If a cost is not listed that the employee believes is necessary to determine the financial benefit to the business, the employee has two options. The first is to request the financial information from a financial database or from the accounting department or another source that is coupled to the computer network. By making a request to the server the employee may be granted access to the information or denied access to the financial information based upon some preset criteria. For example, certain employees may have access to certain financial information that other employees would not be privy to, such as, employee salaries. The processor, based upon the request will check whether the employee has access privileges to the financial information. This may be achieved by comparing the employee's log-in information to an access list. If the employee has access privileges the information will be sent to the employee via the server. One such mechanism for sending the information may be through electronic mail. The information may also be provided by sending another template to the employee.
If the employee is denied access to the requested financial information or is capable of obtaining financial information from an outside source which is not part of the idea submission process, the employee can enter this information into the financial information template and the processor will automatically add the information into the cost database so that other employees may have access to that financial information for future idea submissions. Additionally, the added information will be used by the processor for calculating the overall financial impact of the idea. The processor passes the new cost information and associated category identifier and makes a comparison with the available fields within the cost database. The processor may then select an appropriate field for adding the new cost information to the cost database. In other embodiments the employee enters a pre-identified code which is used for determining which field(s) to populate with the cost information in the cost database.
It should be understood that this automatic self-population of the cost database feature may be coupled to any template such that the employee, the reviewers, the coaches, or a resource representative (discussed below) may use this feature.
After the financial information has been entered and the financial impact has been automatically calculated by the processor, a template is provided to the employee from the processor which requests information concerning implementation of the idea (Step 330). Some of the information that may be queried are the recommended steps for implementing the idea, the non-financial consequences of the idea, other potential benefits of the idea, recommended implementers of the idea and an estimated time frame for implementing the idea. This information is then passed back to the processor through the computer network and the information is then stored in a storage location associated with the employee's idea.
Upon submission of an idea by an employee, the processor creates an idea log as shown in
Formulation of an idea may take more than one session. It should be understood that an employee may save the idea in an idea log which is stored in memory associated with the processor at any stage prior to completion of the templates. The employee may then retrieve the idea and continue to develop the idea. This allows the employee to gather information from various sources before the idea is completed and submitted to the processor for forwarding the idea to business management for review.
In certain embodiments the server maintains the idea log and after an evaluator, implementer or decision maker is determined by the routing criteria, the server sends a message either via e-mail or through another communications mechanism, such as an internal mailing system that an idea has been submitted and may be viewed and retrieved from the server. In such an embodiment, the persons reviewing the idea can make changes to the idea log which can then be viewed by the employee and the other reviewers. In other embodiments, all of the information that is contained within the idea log is passed to the evaluator, implementer or decision maker.
During the formulation of the structured idea, the employee has access to multiple information sources for assisting in completion of the templates as shown in
The employee may access an idea database 501 which includes submitted ideas which are designated as public ideas. For clarification, there may be other ideas which are designated as private ideas and are only viewable by business management/other employees who have been granted permission by the employee who originated the idea. If the templates are created using HTML or a similar markup language, the templates can be provided with visually selectable buttons which will send a request to the server for accessing the idea database.
By reviewing other ideas that have been submitted and approved the employee can better formulate responses to the template and can identify if there is duplication of the idea presently being considered for submission. In one embodiment of the invention, upon submission of the initial idea, the server 502 parses the information that is submitted and compares words within the title and the description of the idea to a database in which the title and/or written description of the idea are stored. By comparing words, previous ideas may be identified as being in a similar category or of a similar nature to the presently submitted idea and therefore of more relevance for review by the employee.
Other tools include access to coach. As shown in
Additionally the employee may send e-mail to a resource representative 510 through selection of button or selector which sends a signal to the processor 502 requesting a resource representative. The processor then sends a template to the employee. The employee selects a department or topic as indicated on the template and enters a question to the resource representative. The system automatically determines the resource representative based upon routing criteria. The message is then forwarded from the processor to the resource representative. The resource representative can then answer the question/message in a template forwarded from the processor. The template allows the resource representative to indicate that information that is contained in the reply to the employee should be incorporated into the cost database 520.
Further, the employee on any of the templates can indicate a time limit for response to the query or the idea. The processor may also be configured to have pre-defined time limits for each phase of the idea submission process. If the time limit for a reply is exceeded, a reminder is then sent by the processor to the individual or individuals who are currently required to provide a response. To this end, the processor maintains within the idea log the person or persons that a request for information or a decision regarding the idea has been sent to along with the time limit/frame for responding to the request. The processor routinely compares the end of the time frame to the current time to see if the system should send the reminder.
Both the coach and the resource representative may be granted complete access to the idea log and therefore can augment the idea directly or the coach and the resource representative can provide the information to the employee and let the employee update the idea accordingly.
The templates will be further described below. The first template that the employee receives after log-in and authentication is an idea-fundamental template as shown in
After this information is sent to the processor, the processor can then send a message to each of the indicated members of the group that an idea log has been established and that each member of the group may add to the idea independently, wherein all information entered by members of the group are stored in a single idea log entry including any change of status to the by a group member. The template also provides a location for indicating whether the idea has an expected financial impact. Such queries may be achieved using a check box on a WebPage or some other "yes/no" indicator. By structuring the templates requiring information within a specified format for preset fields, the information can be integrated into a database for analysis purposes, allowing for system metrics to be monitored. Additionally, the structured nature of the templates simplifies the creation of an idea and provides a mechanism for determining efficient routing and tracking of the idea for decision and implementation purposes.
The idea fundamental template also inquires which department is affected by the idea. The employee may then select one of the departments from a list. In larger organizations there may be sub-categories such as groups within a department or the first inquiry may be for the division that will be affected.
In certain embodiments a second template will be provided which allows for comparative analysis. An example of the comparative analysis template is shown in
The second step of the three part process is the financial information template as shown in
The third template that is provided is the implementation detail template as shown in
The system can then provide a key or password to the evaluator for accessing the idea log which is stored on the server. In another embodiment, the server forwards the idea log for the idea to the evaluator. This forwarding may occur in the form of a template, electronic mail or a series of templates. The evaluator can then request to begin the evaluation process, by sending the request which is received by the server (Step 1200). The server responds by providing a template a sample of which is shown in
In certain embodiment the evaluator is required to approve all aspects of the idea. The evaluator may be required to approve or adjust the selection of the one or more implementers as well as all of the cost estimates that were provided by the employee.
Upon expiration of the timers without receipt by the server of a decision from an evaluator, pre-implementer or decision maker, the server will send a reminder message indicating that a decision is required. In certain embodiments timers are automatically set such that any reviewer of the idea must respond within a fixed period of time. Further, the reminder message may also be sent to the reviewer's supervisor and the reminder may also be sent by the server to the employee creating the idea. Routing is determined by the server for the implementers by any of the above described routing criteria. Further, the implementer may be determined based solely upon the implementers selected by the employee submitting the idea, or the implementer may be determined based upon a look-up table for the given idea type. In either case, evaluators may be eliminated based upon workload. For example, workload may be based upon the overall number of hours being worked by an implementer, the availability of the implementer to actually implement the idea during a specified time period, or a combination thereof. It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the overall workload and the availability of the implementer may be weighted with different weights when determining an implementer. Workload as a routing criteria may be used at any point during the method for idea management including determining the evaluator(s), implementer(s) or decision maker(s).
Once the implementer is selected the implementer is presented with a template which is similar to the template of the evaluator as shown in
After approval by the implementer, the server in some embodiments may make a routing decision and contact one or more final decision makers. Again, the routing decision that is made by the server can be based upon entries that are provided by either the employee, any of the previous evaluators of the idea or by a pre-configured default. For example, the server may be so configured as to use the names of additional suggested implementers which are entered by an implementer for determining the final decision maker(s). The server might make a routing decision and contact each of the superiors of the suggested implementers as the final decision makers. It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the methodology for routing can vary between different businesses without straying from the overall inventive concept. Further, it can be imagined that the routing criteria can be varied in a number of ways to best suit a particular business. For example, in smaller businesses, routing may be directed initially to the employee's supervisor and then to the company president for a final decision. In such an embodiment the evaluator at the pre-implementation phase may be the superior or the implementer may be the employee himself.
Once a decision maker is determined and the server identifies a destination address associated with the one or more decision makers through a look-up process, the decision makers are provided with a template. An example of such a template is shown in
It should be understood, that there may be one or more person evaluating the idea at any step in the decision process. When there are more than one decision maker, the server coordinates all of the responses from the decision makers. In one embodiment the server waits for all of the decision makers to provide their decision before proceeding to determine routing. In such an embodiment, the idea needs approval from all of the decision makers. In other embodiments the decision may be made by a consensus of the decision makers and report a majority approval the server will begin to determine routing.
At the time of implementation of the idea, the implementer maintains a log which is stored within the idea log which contains the date of completion of the implementation and the actual costs accrued during the implementation. This information can then be compared to the predicted costs and the estimated time for completion of the idea's implementation and system metrics may be developed. As such, better estimates may be developed for future ideas and the cost database may be updated with the actual numbers. During the post-implementation, the implementer can maintain a log which the server uses in conjunction with the idea log to evaluate the actual value to the company.
It should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that there may be more than one employee submitting an idea. The first template queries the initial employee submitting the idea if the idea is a group idea. If it is a group idea the employee enters the names of the other participants. The server then parses the names of the other team members and sends each a message indicating that an idea has been created. If the idea is not a public idea each team member may be provided with a password to view the idea or the system may automatically recognize the team member based upon the log-in process to the server.
The system as presented may also include a workflow interface. This interface which is sent provided by the server to a processing device of an employee or a part of the business management allows for establishing the workflow criteria that will be used for making routing decisions. The manager may identify individuals to be designated as reviewers for each of the various idea types and for each of the departments or groups of the business. The division of labor may further be based upon location, and time zone. Order of the evaluation process may be changed in the workflow interface. Each business has its own workflow such that the pre-implementation process could be made to occur before the evaluation process simply by changing the workflow definition. Additionally, process steps could be included or left out. For example a business may require only a two step evaluation process where there is no final decision maker and only an initial evaluator and an implementer. After the work flow is configured and stored in associated memory the system may be created. For example, for each process step there can be either a pre-compiled module or an interpreted module which could then be combined in a deployment step which incorporates the stored workflow information.
Preferred embodiments of the invention may be implemented as a computer program product for use with a computer system. Such implementation may include a series of computer instructions fixed either on a tangible medium, such as a computer readable media (e.g., a diskette, CD-ROM, ROM, or fixed disk) or transmittable to a computer system, via a modem or other interface device, such as a communications adapter connected to a network over a medium. Medium may be either a tangible medium (e.g., optical or analog communications lines) or a medium implemented with wireless techniques (e.g., microwave, infrared or other transmission techniques). The series of computer instructions embodies all or part of the functionality previously described herein with respect to the system. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that such computer instructions can be written in a number of programming languages for use with many computer architectures or operating systems. Furthermore, such instructions may be stored in any memory device, such as semiconductor, magnetic, optical or other memory devices, and may be transmitted using any communications technology, such as optical, infrared, microwave, or other transmission technologies. It is expected that such a computer program product may be distributed as a removable media with accompanying printed or electronic documentation (e.g., shrink wrapped software), preloaded with a computer system (e.g., on system ROM or fixed disk), or distributed from a server or electronic bulletin board over the network (e.g., the Internet or World Wide Web or ASP).
Although various exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made which will achieve some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the true scope of the invention. These and other obvious modifications are intended to be covered by the appended claims.
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Universities cater to all students
Older and returning students find their way
She started college at 25 when she decided that her job selling roses and trinkets at nightclubs wasn't what she wanted to do in life.
"I was tired of the nightlife and my income wasn't an absolute sort of thing," she said. "And with just a high school diploma, you are only qualified to work at McDonalds."
Now a special education major, Martinez is part of a local trend of older students going back to school.
At A&M-Corpus Christi, the average age is about 27. At Del Mar College and Texas A&M University-Kingsville, the average age is 26.
A search for a national average age was unsuccessful, but nationally in 2003, 62 percent of college students were 24 or younger, 35 percent were 25 to 49 and 3 percent were 50 or older, according to the Southern Regional Education Board Fact Book on Higher Education.
Students at Del Mar are a mixture of people preparing for a second or third career, and those returning to school after being out for several years, said Katherine Carroll, student services officer.
Older or returning students are treated the same as traditional students, Carroll said.
"We don't categorize them as older students," she said. "We give them more TLC if they are scared and a little unsure."
Area schools differ in the programs offered to older or returning students.
Frank Ureno, A&M-Kingsville's vice president for enrollment management, assistant vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said the school would re-institute the non-traditional student orientation. The orientation, which would be during the summer months, would serve as a way for older and returning students to have their questions about college answered. A month after, the students would be able to register, Ureno said.
"The orientation is for students that are retired, housewives, or changing careers," he said. "They hear how admission, advising, and registering works."
A&M-Corpus Christi, previously a campus for juniors, seniors and graduate students, has catered to older students for a long time, said Manuel Lujan, dean of enrollment management. The student service center, where admission and financial aid services are housed, has extended hours. All offices on campus have extended hours on Tuesdays.
Also, the university has several evening classes that rival the morning class schedule.
"Shortly after 5 p.m. and at 7 the parking lots are full," Lujan said.
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Our goal was $120,000, but on February 14, 2013, WSKG radio listeners contributed $132,678! Thank you to our community, who, with much love, demonstrated the importance of public media to our area. While you're here, please enjoy all the great reasons to love WSKG that your fellow listeners and viewers shared leading up to the one-day drive.


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Archive for September, 2009
They Did it!!!
This just in… It's official ! … Chris has reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro! This is wonderful news and we are so very excited. Today is a very, good day!
Congratulations to Chris Waddell & the One-Revolution team on a successful summit of Mount Kilimanjaro!!!!
Photos, video and details to follow…
Here is the message we just received from Chris : "We summited today. Slept in the crater last night." "Everyone's asleep. Long day. At hotel tomorrow. Will catch you all up."118 comments
Summit Update – 9/30/09
Here is what we received at 3am (mst) from Bob More:
"Lost all contact. Nate and I had to leave last night to get plane. Left Chris and film crew in crater. Pretty straightforward from there. I assume he summited this morning and is on his way down. He is unreal."
Nate and I are now off the mountain. Communication is tough. We left Chris with Dave and about 8 porters in the crater over 18,000 feet. It is a pretty straight shot from there and we assume he got there today and is on his way down.
But what a trip. Great team. Dave's rig and the planning were perfect. Film crew was way beyond the call of duty. And Chris is absolutely amazing. For anyone that has done that route, anyone we spoke with on the way down consistently said it was the hardest thing they ever did. Then they saw Chris. To quote one British guy…"Hardest man I have ever seen. Makes John Wayne look like a pansy."
No doubt the most incredible single minded effort I will ever see in my life. And through it all, terrible suffering, discomfort, dirt and dust everywhere, very little sleep and unbelievable output of energy, Chris never lost his sense of humor or optimism. Like no one else I have ever seen.
On the 20 mile hike out today, Nate and I were even more impressed at the obstacles he overcame. Chris has many fans, not the least of which were the porters who loved working with him and the team.
There are a myriad stories here, but at the core, it is all Chris showing us anything is possible.
Bob More
Dr. Nate Bryan
Summit Update – 9/29/09
Nothing yet except for a text from Bob More at 2am:
"We are all simply trying to help Chris slog up a steep scree/sand straightaway to Gilman's Point. Lowly sleeping in crater tonight and push for the summit in am. Spirits as good as can be expected."
"Today is a beast. Likely summit tomorrow. Sleep in crater tonight. Then Nate and I have to do the 30-mile hike out in one day to get the plane. Turning phone off for batteries. I have already been on top, scouting stuff."
It looks like the summit will happen tomorrow. I will keep you updated on everything we find out. Stay tuned….39 comments
Summit Update – 9/28/09
Writing from 18-thousand feet on what promises to be a pretty chilly evening. Left at 6am with a variety of expectations. Consensus had us staying at Hans-Meyer. That looked optimistic after our first adventure on the winch. The first quarter mile took about an hour and a half. Soon thereafter we moved to the boards and picked up the pace considerably. I decided to push on past Hans-Meyer at just past 12:30.
Some of the terrain that I rode on the boards absolutely amazed me. I had thoughts of sleeping in the crater. Then we started the push past Gilman's Point. As I rode the boards, my front wheels became light – something I thought I would only experience on slick rock.
As I covered the last 50 yards in at least a half hour, I had the vague thought that this must be what it is like to drown within reach of shore.
The days end mocked me as I attempted to reach in two to four foot increments. Bob, Nate and I are snuggled into our tent 18-thousand feet. The line of sun long departed up and the temperature is dropping, the wind rising and we are optimistic for a summit push tomorrow.
- Chris
Photos © Mike Stoner33 comments
Summit Update – 9/27/09
The One Revolution crew sent these photos today.. They are preparing for the summit push. It may be as many as 20 hours of climbing for Chris over the next two days. If this is the timeline, the group may need to spend the night in a crater, in between Kibo Hut and the summit. Waddell did a satellite phone interview with CBS news, and that will be featured in a piece tonight on the CBS Evening News on the West Coast.
PHOTOS © Mike Stoner11 comments
Summit Update – 9/26/09
Day one is in the books. You might have gathered from my blog entries that I was more than a bit nervous. This is a tough mountain and I'm pretty sure that every day I will tell you that it was the toughest day. Our morning started at 6, though with the permits and getting the group together we didn't start until about 10. Waiting has been the most difficult part and this morning was no different. I just wanted to start because I had no idea how long it would take me and how difficult it would be. If I have one daily goal it's to make it to camp before the sun goes down.
We started on the Porter's Road, and I became worried because I didn't think that I was going fast enough. About three weeks ago the Easton Foundations approved a really generous grant for us to build two more vehicles. Without their support we would not even be able to attempt our Kilimanjaro climb. Dave Penney and his group from Crested Butte, Scott Gillman, Ben Preston and Zach Gustafson of Research Engineering Group, Dave Theis, and Rich Smith, worked around the clock to finish the vehicles and the winch before we departed on Sunday. I had only been on one rig for a brief climb on the winch up the hill behind Scott's shop before today. With an untested rig, I think my nervousness was well placed—though I had complete confidence in Dave's group and they were making minor changes to Bomba, our really successful rig.
A lack of satellite coverage for my GPS system had me convinced that I was going closer in speed to our June scouting mission than to the speeds that I've been going recently. I envisioned arriving in camp by headlamp as I had on the first day in June and worried that the whole effort might be for nothing, but then we turned a corner and saw the end of the Porter's Road and the beginning of the trail. I asked Dave Penney, "Are we here?" We were. It had taken exactly 2 hours, about the average time for a hiker, and 42 minutes faster than I had done it last November, on my second trip, when I became convinced that I could make it the approximately 3000 vertical feet a day for camp. Making it so quickly to the end of the Porter's Road boosted my spirits, but I knew that the last 1000 feet of vertical would take at least as long as the previous 2000 feet, and probably a lot longer. Plus, the technical terrain would force us to use the mostly untested winch.
We needed the winch as soon as we turned the corner. It worked great allowing me to climb a fixed rope by turning the winch with a chain attached to the pedals. I crawled up and over rocks that would have stopped me dead, but then the winch began to heat up. It's a Harken sailing winch and probably not designed for prolonged cranking. It became more difficult to turn. Luckily the terrain turned less technical. For the majority of the rest of the day I climbed up and over the waterbars that were so challenging the last time and through the rocky terrain. When I faced severe difficulty the porters placed 2×8 boards on the obstacles, bridging the gaps. I can't overstate the porters' contribution. They started tentatively, but after a few tries they made my job so much easier. Their spatial creativity amazed all of us. We rolled into camp at about 4:30 this afternoon, well before sunset. It was warm and comfortable. One day down. Tomorrow might be our most technical day—yes, I told you each day would be the most difficult. I hear the winch clicking right now as Dave Penney prepares to make my job easier. - Chris
Photos © Mike Stoner2 comments
Summit Update – 9/25/09
Ouch! Long day. 10.5 hours. Technical from start to finish. Unrelenting. A series of about 1000 3-4 second sprints at 12,000 feet and 3300 vertical. I didn't use the winch. We're saving it for the upper mountain. The Harken winch is a great mechanism. We're still figuring out the intricacies for our purposes. We'll figure it out. On the other side, the rig ran great. I was constantly surprised at what I climbed. The new pivot is fantastic.
I knew this would be the most difficult day other than the summit day. It took longer than I hoped, but it's behind me now. With each step of this journey, I feel more optimistic – but cautiously optimistic. The first half of tomorrow will be technical. The second half will be on the road. Hopefully, the dust subsides. Sarah Walllis told us before we left that it was "exploding dust" on the mountain. She was right.
The coolest sight of the day: leaving the rain forest and getting our first majestic view of Kili and her glacier-crowned glory. It's a magical draw.
- Chris21 comments
Summit Update – 9/24/09
I slept hard until about 4:15. The roosters had started by then, but I drifted back to sleep. By 6 I was up when I heard the crescendo of cow bells seemingly building on itself. There was no snooze button for this alarm. It was okay. I was up. T-shirt weather befitting lush jungle.
Short of yesterday's short spin in Kubwa, I don't feel like I've done much training since I left Crested Butte and that was more testing than long days. Dave had said all along that he wanted me to taper my training. I'd protested. Tapering had never worked for me. I always felt worse. My body seems to feel better with hard days. Somehow I think we'll both get our wish.
- Chris11 comments
Summit Update – 9/23/09
We've dubbed the new vehicle Kubwa, which means huge or really huge in Swahili depending on inflection. I'd hoped to call it son of a bomba, but no one else seemed to see the humor as much as I did, and "huge" really seems appropriate for this vehicle with it's wheels straight out of a monster truck rally.
We've just left Mobility Care, which will manufacture our donated wheelchairs. After the climb we'll meet the first three wheelchair recipients. To me, this is as exciting as our climb of Kili, for which we're now driving to the Marangu Hotel for an early morning start.
I don't think that I'm a typical wheelchair user. It's funny that my life didn't take an obvious turn after my accident–whatever that means. I realize that I'm a participant in not taking an obvious path, but I'm also the product of some great opporunities. Many people aided me from doctors, nurses, family, friends, and total strangers. We just never know what twists and turns our lives will take. With our Mobilty Care relationship and with the climb and documentary film I hope that we can provide some twists and turns for people who'd long ago assumed an obvious
straight path.
As I lay in bed last night unable to sleep with anticipation, I wondered how I could find that quiet place that would allow me to rest, to relax, and to nod off. I wondered if it was a person, a memory, maybe just counting backwards from 1000 by 3's. Nothing soothed the disquiet, until I thought, I need help. Ease finally came. As my friend Nate, our doctor on the trip, said, "If you don't ask for help, we don't have a purpose."17 comments
Summit Update – 9/21/09
Hi all,
We're here. Everything arrived but the rigs and Dave Penney's gear, which should arrive tomorrow evening on the next flight from Amsterdam. Not having the rigs will make things more challenging, but that's why we built in a couple of days before the climb.
It was really nice to get on the plane after the frenetic pace of getting ready, but the inactivity was difficult too. Movies, books and sleep were not quite enough to rest my flitful mind which is continually working out mountain scenarios. I know that part of my personal goal is to quiet my mind, but it's more difficult when there's no physical action. Ah, the lessons begin before the mountain.
The team is tremendous as always. Director Amanda Stoddard, director of photography Patrick Reddish, cinematographer Mike Stoner, and multiple media manager Ryan Gass are excited prepared, and capturing footage along the way. For security reasons they weren't able to catch Bob More, in flip flops, giving me a piggyback down the stairs from plane to Tarmac. Bob, who was a fraternity brother and is the President of the One Rev board, and Nate Bryan, who ski raced with me at Middlebury and is our doctor, are new additions to the team. Along with Expedition Manager Dave Penney, it's a great group that has weathered the day and a half of travel from US Mountain West to slightly sub-equatorial Tanzania.
The air was a soft, smooth 80 degrees as we disembarked into a deep darkness absent of street lights or almost any other lights. I'm writing in the Rover as we drive from the remote airport to the busy city of Arusha. Meeting our drivers, Peter and Kihigo, with hugs and handshakes felt like a homecoming after our previous two trips. The more people we get to know, the more connected we are to Africa and Tanzaia.
I hope for quality rest before the street corner preacher with the speakers, I'm sure he'll still be there, starts his sermon at about 5am tomorrow morning. From the big, deep dark sky, to the friends, the Rovers and even that early morning preacher, we're feeling comfortable and ready.
Thanks for all of your help.
Best, Chris18 comments


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Howard High School's music department started the school year with an unsual marching band program that combines brass and drums with guitars and keyboards, thanks to fiber optic connectivity by FiberPlex Technologies.
"We're reinvigorating the traditional scholastic music program and mixing in contemporary music with the marching band," explained Christopher Campbell, Band Director for Howard High School, Ellicott City, Maryland, which added to its band program a complete synth ensemble – all able to chime in live and amplified alongside band instrumentation during halftimes on the football field due to FiberPlex LightViper optical technology. "Imagine a rock band on the 50-yard line with a marching band moving and playing around it," he added.
During a recent game documented in this video, Howard High School incorporated popular music tunes "Where Have you Been" by Rihanna and "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters with the formation of an all-electronic front ensemble. "Because of the kind of music that we're doing, it gave us strong opportunity for a lot of creative input and thought from the kids," said Daniel Roberts, Front Ensemble Director for Howard High School. "The kids learned a lot more … they actually became involved in the creative process of that music that we were performing," he said.
It all started last year when the high school set out to combine traditional with contemporary music in order to engage more students in the school's music program. The two music directors knew they could add a couple of contemporary keyboards off to the sidelines of the school's football field in the band pit, and maybe a guitar or two, but the problem was what to do about amplification. Any guitar or keyboard that could be heard over the brass of a full marching band required an amplifier, which, of course, meant some sort of audio snake between the instrument set and the amplifiers to get the sound across.
Wireless communications was out; too much interference. Copper cable was also out due to problems with bulk and signal degradation.
The two were at a loss until a parent suggested an alternative: fiber optic cable. Parent Buddy Oliver, whose son Bo is very active in Howard High School's Music Department, and who is an accomplished musician himself, is the CEO of optical equipment manufacturer FiberPlex in nearby Annapolis Junction. He explained to Campbell and Roberts that fiber optic cable can transport music error-free and transparently over greater distances, by a 400:1 ratio compared to copper. One fiber cable weighing less than eight pounds can transmit the same data as two, 40-pair copper cables weighing 700 pounds. Also of interest to the school administrators is optical fiber's environmental profile. Fiber strands are made from sand, a sustainable resource, unlike copper, which is a limited resource that is expensive to mine.
"Being in the optical transport business I see it as an obvious choice for applications like this, certainly. But speaking as a musician and parent, this is a great way for students to experience music differently and maybe get involved in music where they might not have otherwise. It demonstrates to the students that all that science and math they are taking can be leveraged to create high end technology with real practical (and cool) applications," stated Oliver, who helped configure the school's sound system. The system includes a LightViper™ optical snake system that collects all the signals from the keyboards, guitar and bass on the field and transports them up to a mixer in the stands where a student technician can sit in a prime mixing position. The resulting 'mixed' signals are sent back down the fiber to amps and speakers on the field for the musicians and crowd to hear. The whole project was facilitated through the professional staff at Mid Atlantic School Equipment Company out of Virginia.
"We just started the mix of synth and marching band for halftime programs last year, and got a fantastic reception. We were told it was quite revolutionary," said Campbell, who recently rolled out the small spool of fiber from the music room to a 20-workstation music lab just down the hall, where students can network into Pro Tools and music notation programs for arranging and writing music on their own. "There's a sense of community and culture of learning that happens when you get kids together to create something that they feel passionate about, and that's what we've done here," added Roberts.
Howard High School is just one example of how fiber optic technology can be leveraged to foster creativity in learning at schools and colleges. FiberPlex makes fiber optic products and systems for government agencies as well as for houses of worship, corporate facilities, broadcast applications, and K-12 and higher education.
About FiberPlex Technologies, LLC (www.fiberplex.com)
FiberPlex Technologies, LLC is a leader in digital transport and communications technology. The FiberPlex name has been around for a quarter of a century and is known for its secure fiber solutions to the U.S. government. Recently, FiberPlex extended its secure communications and fiber optic products to the commercial and AV sectors. As a fiber optics expert and equipment manufacturer, FiberPlex educates businesses, houses of worship, hospitals, financial institutions, campuses, broadcasters and live production firms on how to leverage fiber optics technology for large bandwidth delivery as well as to lower security risk and increase profits.


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KISSIMMEE — As it turns out the third time in the Florida High School Athletic Association Final Four wasn't the charm for the Baker School volleyball team.
The Gators, who were made their third straight trip to the final four and second trip in three years to the championship match, fell to Sneads in Saturday's Class 1A finals 25-15, 25-19 and 25-13.
Baker Coach Tomikko Parks said the Gators (23-5) were their own worst enemies.
"We had too many unforced errors that you can't have in a championship match," she said. "We didn't execute and play Baker volleyball and that's why we lost."
Miranda Whatmough had seven kills, 18 digs and two aces to lead the Gator attack. Hana Wadsworth had five kills, two aces and an assist. Lena Daoud had 10 assists and 12 digs.
Alex Roy had 14 digs.
Parks said she'll remember the team that won an 11th straight district title for its camaraderie and the way the girls stayed together in the face of adversity.
As for the future, Parks is confident the Gators can return to the final four.
"We are just going to keep going," she said. "We've got some young girls coming up that we think can replace the seniors.
"The goal (the state finals) is the same every year."
Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin's sports editor. Email him at firstname.lastname@example.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.


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Reid shuts out Burns
The Chase softball team has long been known for their offense, but it was pitching and defense that brought home a 3-0 victory over the Burns Bulldogs on Senior Day Thursday.
Dakota Reid fired a two-hit shutout from the circle and Devyn Gowan made to diving plays at third base to highlight the win.
"This was one of the best games we have played all season," said coach Daniel Bailey. "The offense has been there all year, but tonight Dakota pitched a great game and the defense was amazing behind her. I'm so proud of the team right now and what they have done. It's thanks to the leadership of the five seniors. We have been through some ups and downs this year but with a little help we can still win another conference championship."
Chase (10-5, 6-3) wasted little time getting on the board as Ashley Brown led off the bottom of the first with a ground rule double to leftfield. One batter later, Gowan singled her home for a 1-0 Lady Trojan lead.
Pitcher Dakota Reid ran into trouble in the second, giving up a walk and a two-out single. Erica Dover kept Burns off the scoreboard though as she raced from her first base position to cut off the throw and fired to third for the final out.
Chase flashed the leather once again in the fourth.
After Emily Turner hit a leadoff single, Gowen snagged a liner and flipped the ball to Dover to complete the 5-3 double play.
The Chase offense added two insurance runs in the fifth. Brown and Reid led off with infield singles.
Ashley Hardin then laid a bunt to move up the runners up and Kaitlyn Smart came through with a two-run single that scored Brown and courtesy runner Takirah McKinney for a 3-0 Chase advantage
Gowen continued her fine defensive play at the hot corner in the sixth as she dove to her right and picked a sinking line drive off the dirt to end the inning.
Reid put the finishing touches on the complete game shutout with the help of Dover who scooped a low throw out of the dirt to end the game 3-0.
Chase returns to action Tuesday in a road match-up with Shelby at 4:30 p.m.
Crest out-slugs Lady Cavs, 13-9
FOREST CITY — East Rutherford softball found themselves down early to Crest 11-3 Thursday night, but managed to make a run and make things interesting. Unfortunately, The Lady Cavs came up short, 13-9.
"It was a great overall performance," East head coach Julie Powell said. "We were down early but we came back and kept fighting."
Raven Gray led East going 2-2 at the plate with a pair of walks a a pair of RBIs.
Savannah Davis also had two hits on the night for East.
The Cavs return to the field Tuesday at Burns for a 4:30 p.m. matchup.


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Miami takes Manhattan
We're painting the town red. Be there! Oct. 5-7, 2012
Carnegie Hall Tickets | Pre-concert Brunch at the Hilton
Due to high demand more seats are now available and we've extended the special discount price!
Men's Glee Club
Symphony Orchestra
Pre-concert Brunch at the HiltonConnect with other alums!
Join President David C. Hodge and Dean Jim Lentini for a pre-concert celebration, prizes and more!
11 a.m.-1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 7, remarks at 12 p.m.


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Meet and Eat: Ida Yu, Serious Eats Summer Intern
Say hello to Ida Yu, one of our newest summer interns. She's got a serious sweet tooth and has been called "crunchy" on more than one occasion. She takes it as a compliment, though, and wears her local food bumper stickers with pride. More


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Benefits Of Hiring Temporary Employees
Overview Of Services Offered By Temporary Staffing Agencies
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Top Temporary Staffing Agenices
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#2: Randstad
Randstad is a $22.5 billion company and the second largest staffing organization in the world. It has approximately 31,100 employees in 4,700 branches in 40 countries. Randstad offers its clients three options: direct hire employees, temporary to hire workers and employees, and temporary workers. It specializes in these areas: manufacturing, administrative support, warehousing and distribution, sales, customer service, industry, banking, engineering, finance, health care, technology and human resources. The company is headquartered in The Netherlands.
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ManpowerGroup Solutions is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and has nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries. The company has several brands, starting with ManpowerGroup Solutions, which provides outsourcing for human resources. Experis specializes in professional resources such as engineering, IT, finance, accounting, and healthcare. Manpower provides both contingent and permanent recruitment and staffing services. Finally, Right Management offers clients its expertise in talent assessment, leadership development, organizational effectiveness, employee engagement, and workforce transition and outplacement.
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#5: Kelly Services
Kelly Services is also a US based company with its headquarters in Troy, Michigan. Originally, the company focused on providing staffing for office services, call centers, light industrial, and electronic assembly. Today, Kellys service lineup has expanded to include outsourcing, recruitment and staffing in the areas of finance and accounting, education, engineering, information technology, law, science, and healthcare. Kelly is the worlds largest scientific staffing provider and it ranks among the leaders in IT, engineering, and financial staffing.
These are just a few firms in the otherwise huge pool of staffing agencies throughout the world. However, as the top 5, they set the pace for the industry in general. Temporary staffing is one of those industries that will never go away regardless of economic conditions. It provides alternatives for companies in need of help as well as for the unemployed who need to work.
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Gazebo takes flight
Posted: October 16, 2013|
CONCERN has been raised for the safety of shoppers in Leek after a market stall was caught in a gust of wind and went 'flying' down a town centre street.
The incident happened at around 4pm on Wednesday (October 2) when council contractors were taking down the day's market stalls.
Businessman Keith Montgomery, who runs Monty's Fish and Chip shop in the Market Place, said: "The new green and white "gazebos" look very good but there is obviously a safety issue, as demonstrated on Wednesday last week.
"As the market stalls were being taken down at about 4pm a gust of wind lifted one of the gazebos from outside Thorntons and deposited it, in a crumpled heap, outside Co-Op Travel.
"It's fortunate it didn't happen mid-day when pedestrian traffic was at it's highest.
"The council really needs to address this. Should anyone be injured in future, they can't say they weren't warned. Perhaps a more detailed risk assessment is required."
A spokesperson for Staffordshire Moorlands District Council said: "In all our markets the safety of traders and the public is paramount. We have agreed with our suppliers that the Leek Market pop-up stalls will be provided with further weights on the feet of the stalls and, where stalls are erected together in rows, strong cable ties will be placed around the uprights locking them together for greater strength.
"We also monitor the weather forecasts so that we can assess any risk and take appropriate action and we will be asking traders to remove the back and side sheets when they have finished trading to further reduce any risk from gusts."