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Janet Ann Schmidt
Janet Ann Schmidt
Janet Ann Schmidt was born Jan. 1, 1933, in Minneapolis, Minn., to John and Mabel Waddick. She graduated from Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis in 1951. Janet married Richard Barry Schmidt on July 31, 1954, at St. Austin Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
Janet and Barry were residents of Brooklyn Center, Minn., until 1990 when they retired to Crosslake, Minn. Barry and Janet had four children and seven grandchildren.
Janet was involved with the Brooklyn Center Jaycees and was an election judge for many years. She was also a Brownie leader when her daughters were young. Janet also worked as the center administrator for Brookdale Shopping Center for many years.
Over the years, Barry and Janet greatly enjoyed spending time with friends and family on Knife Lake and at Crosslake. They also enjoyed annual camping trips to the Black Hills and national parks out west. For many years, they also enjoyed spending part of the winter in Florida.
Janet was a devout Catholic and very active member of Immaculate Heart Church and CCW. After retirement, Janet volunteered her time to the Crosslake Visitor Center, Food Shelf, Historical Center, Log Home Tours and Senior Dining.
Janet is survived by her husband of 58 years, Barry; sons, Mark (Barbara) Schmidt of Chaska, Minn., and Jim (Sara) Schmidt of Boise, Idaho; daughters, Patti (Steve) Hagen of Eden Prairie, Minn., and Lynn (Steve) Britven of Fridley, Minn.; grandchildren, Erik and Katelyn Schmidt, Doug and Angela Schmidt, Alec Hagen, and Kristine and Joey Britven.
Janet is also survived by her sister, Lois (Mike) Lynch, of Crosslake, Minn., and Bonita Springs, Fla. She is also survived by her niece, Rita Moen, and nephews, Daniel and Patrick Lynch.
Janet died Nov. 8, 2012, at Golden Horizons Assisted Living in Crosslake. Services were at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Crosslake. Family and friends were invited to gather one hour prior. Interment at Pinewood Cemetery in Crosslake.
Please visit www.brenny.com to leave a message of comfort and support for Janet's family.


text: I haven't been on here much lately my laptop burnt up by over heating. But right now I'm on my wifes computer & I don't really like it but I'm checking in I have been able to check the forum on my phone but its not the greatest phone so take forever. Anyways my wife is starting her new job next week & our hours overlapped so we couldnt share the Silverado. Spent Monday looking at cars from a couple lots. She told the first dealer her max monthly payment & they showed us a Chevy Aveo which the interior was in bad shape. then they showed us an Accent (small pocket car like a golfcart with a body shell) She seemed to like it so we talked over the paper work, the dealer brought this paper saying this used 2011 36k mile clown car is selling for $21,000 @ used price. I got up & left. So we went to another dealer gave them the same monthly payment max he showed us some nice cars in range. Like a newer Nissan Sentra, Chevy Cobalt, but the cheaper of the few was a 2009 Chevy HHR in a dark blue metallic black interior few surface scratches nothing bad it has about 60k miles & she is paying $215 mo which we feel is a good price also its the 5speed manual which we were both wanting. I would upload some pics but can't at this time. I;ve already been bit by the custom bug if you check out my album & see the Silverado. But I'm having a hard time with this HHR. I want to pull the front & rear bowties off & paint them silver but they are glued on & I was losing interest fast trying to pull the front one off, may just get some decals cut for them. I'm liking the fact that it took $45 to fill up from empty with gas @ $3.59 when last week it took $73 to put 3/4 in the Silverado @ $3.54 I know the tank sizes are different but still nice lol.

subset: commoncrawl


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The Women's Chamber Choir of Hope College will perform with Luminescence and 12th Street Harmony on Monday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The Women's Chamber Choir is directed by instructor and staff accompanist Jennifer Wolfe. The program will include a varied set of pieces about heaven and a group of Native-American-inspired works. There will be piano, organ and percussion accompaniment.
St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church is located on the corner of 13th Street and Maple Avenue.


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Welcome to the online tutoring services at the Dutchess Community College Writing Center! You have two options to choose from when you want to work online with one of the Center's professional tutors. However, please note this change in our policy: if you submit a paper for e-mailed comments (Option II),
your next submission must be through Option I--a real-time chat with the tutor via Google Docs
. Try Option I; we think you'll like it! ****These guidelines do not apply to the summer sessions.
Option I: You can arrange to talk with a tutor about your paper using Google Drive real-time chat. Click here for directions on how to set up an appointment and send your paper to the tutor. Normally, you can expect to get an appointment within 24 hours within the five-day school week, though it might take longer if the Center is busy. If you do not have a Google account, click here to sign up for one. You will need it to use Google Drive real-time tutoring.
Option II: You can submit a paper electronically and have a tutor read and comment on it via e-mail, usually 24 hours or so within the five-day school week, though it might take longer if the Center is busy. Papers turned in after Friday noon will be received Monday morning.*** Students may submit work to the Net Tutor service over the weekend (see the link on the myDCC welcome page) if they wish. ***Summer sessions: papers turned in after Thursday noon will be received Monday.
You will submit with each paper a form providing general information, such as the assignment, instructor (optional), and specific questions or concerns regarding the paper.
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forum: Gardening / Growing
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 … 27 | Home » Gardening / Growing » Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
#21 Sat 26 Jul 08 4:35pm
- Member
- Member since Sun 04 May 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
I don't think we eat this Cardoon in The Netherlands. Never seen it, but I love that picture with the beautiful blue flowers!
#22 Sat 26 Jul 08 5:19pm
- Member Occupation Tech Writer
- From Germany (but a native NYer)
- Member since Thu 15 Jul 04
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
My family is Sicilian so cardoon was famous on holidays and special occasions. My mom always made them for Christmas (and we would fight over them as they came out of the pan). Poor mom, all her hard work and we snatched them out of the plate faster than she could cook them!
Recipe, photo, and post here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/bloggers/vie … p?id=33165
from my family to yours ... enjoy!
#23 Sat 26 Jul 08 8:45pm
- Member
- Member since Sat 26 Jul 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
Hi Jamie,
I just came on board this morning and was surprised to see Cardoons as a vegetable you are growing in your garden.
You're right, the recipes are for this wonderful "vegetable" are very old. I am 60 years old and I remember going out into the woods with my Grandpa Corso to find them growing wild. My grandparents were from Sicily, Italy and came to the United States to relocate to Ozone Park, New York and summer in the Catskill Mountains. When the grandchildren would visit them in the mountains we would help to gather and prepare the food. Most of it was found in the woods. My grandpa Joe would hunt early in the morning, bringing back to my grandma Mary all types of game, from deer, to rabbit, squirrel, rattlesnake and any type of bird you can think of. Whatever he brought home was what we had for dinner. In the afternoon grandpa would take us into the woods to collect the "Cardoonas" as he would call them. He knew just where they were growing wild. He would cut them close to the ground and my sister Toni and I would carry them with both arms held out as they grew to at least 18" long. When we got back home we would help Grandma prepare them and cook them. After washing all the dirt off the cardoonas Grandma would cut both the stalks and leaves into 3" strips. She would then soak them in salted water until "all the poison came out" changing the water at least three times before it was clear. I realized as I got older the "poison" meant the bitter taste you would have if you didn't soak them. We would help her flour, egg, and put them in her special mix of fresh herbs and "little Italy" breadcrumbs. Then she would fry them in her big cast iron frying pan with only the best olive oil. You have never tasted any thing so delicious in your life!! All that from what most people considered a weed. My grandparents certainly knew how to live off the land and taught us the love of cooking. I'm so glad you are growing Cardoonas and hope you try this wonderful recipe.
Love, Jeri
#24 Sat 26 Jul 08 11:02pm
eva andrea
- Member
- Member since Sat 26 Jul 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
hi everyone
here in denmark we use redcurrents and gooseberrys in summer desserts. It is not very modern these days but it is delicious.(if you look it up in a cookbook that is about 40 years old, you can find a lot of lovely recipes!!!) You can make the greatest ice cream of gooseberrys. I made it, for my friends and they loved it!!
Or you can use redcurrents in a stewed fruit and mix it with rhubarbs. It has a fantatisc red colur, it is delicious and it is so easy to make!!! Serve it hot with some ice cream on the top. Just great!!!!!
by the way gooseberrys is also great just to eat alone...
Eva andrea
#25 Sun 27 Jul 08 6:00am
- Forum champ Occupation Retired nurse-midwife
- From High Point, North Carolina
- Member since Tue 17 Jun 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
Yes, I have cooked some interesting veg in my time...mostly no one ate them, especially the cardoons. At the time, I didn't know that you had to blanch them before preparation and they were very bitter. Now i think if I could find them I would do a better job. I lived in Buffalo, NY then and had better access to things. If I were to prepare them today, I would blanch them, then dip in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, fry them in olive oil, then top with tomato sauce and cheese, and bake until bubbly and browned. Definitely a labor intensive vegetable.
#26 Sun 27 Jul 08 12:09pm
- Member
- Member since Sun 27 Jul 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
Never tried cardoon although it sounds like something i'd love, I'm a massive fan of salsify. My grandparents use them a lot in the south of france and i cannot get enough of them!
They have a sort of creamy/artichokey taste and you can buy them fresh or tinned, i know a butchers in clapham called moen & sons sells them fresh.
Best way to eat them as far as i'm concerned is with the juice/gravy from pan fried duck fillet with cooked peach halves in the same juice, awesome!
Last edited by emmahair (Sun 27 Jul 08 12:09pm)
#27 Sun 27 Jul 08 2:53pm
- Forum champ Occupation Walking the Old Ways
- From Living in the Wild Woods
- Member since Wed 16 Jan 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
Have grown Cardoons for 40 years! Inherited the first few plants in my then new & very overgrown Victorian garden, & collected seed ever since. I grow them as a "divider" between my fruit & veg gardens, & replace the plants every 3rd year. The first year they get going, the next they grow to astonishing heights, the 3rd year tall but less impressive. I use the "chokes" but also cook the very young leaves/stalks when they are less tough & bitter. Served in a cream enriched sauce also makes them more palatable to those unused to them.
Since then I have actively sought out old Victorian varieties (the RHS, various specialist seed suppliers & my local allotment society have been very useful sources) of every kind of seed you can think of...........some have very wonderful, old-fashioned names!
#28 Sun 27 Jul 08 2:56pm
- Forum super champ Occupation Just being me
- Member since Fri 28 Mar 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
minerva: a friend had one here, just wondering, do you know how winter-hardy are the cardoons? I assumed he was growing it as an ornamental annual and that it wouldn't survive our winters (average lowest temp is around 15 F, but it can sometimes get colder).
#29 Mon 28 Jul 08 1:22am
Jane W
- Member
- Member since Mon 28 Jul 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
Hi Jamie,
I have GROWN cardoon as an ornamental plant in my previous garden, but have never used it as a veg. I will have to get a plant and give it a go again.
A word of warning - DO NOT let any of the lovely cardoon flowers go to seed - you will have millions of baby plants - far more than you will have gardening friends to palm them off to!
#30 Mon 28 Jul 08 3:26am
- Member Occupation eater of pie
- From Virginia USA
- Member since Sun 20 Jul 08
Re: Vegetables and fruits that we have forgotten about....
I like searching out heirloom seeds and growing old heirloom produce.
Lots of family recipes work around family heirloom vegetables for canning and cooking.
For example, our local Native population, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, have what is known as a Cherokee tomato.
It's a large, dark, juicy, squatty tomato with a very unique flavor. They are a specific type of tomato and are very delicious to eat. They are, however, not the same as your regular slicer, big boy, or store tomato.
I also like to find edible plants in the wild, roots, and acorns/seeds.


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The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) maintains volume data on imported meat, poultry, and egg products presented for reinspection by FSIS at port of entry. This data is available from CY 2005 to present and is reported by country in pounds and percentage of the total. Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service maintains trade data reports on U.S. exports for dairy, livestock, and poultry products. Follow this link for contact information: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Contact_Us/index.asp.
Eligibility: All U.S. businesses.
Learn More: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/international-affairs/import-and-export-program
Tags: Counseling, Data & Analysis, Regulations, Tariffs, Training or Mentoring
Click here to suggest additional keyword tags


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American Council on Exercise4851 Paramount DriveSan Diego, California 92123
Receive unique offers and information on specialist programs, workshops, free webinars and more.
Get fundamental knowledge to help you give exercise tips for the home or workplace. Learn how you can promote stability, balance, flexibility and strength in various muscles throughout the body including the trunk, shoulder, thoracic and cervical regions. Explore training techniques for all muscle groups using resistance cords and the stability ball.
You will learn:
I just completed the Exercise Development Specialist course and it was great. There are many beneficial exercises that I will use with some of my clients that may not be as "mobile" as others. I will incorporate the G ball a lot more in my regular training with clients, as I now know more ways to utilize it. There were many "low-key" exercises that I had no idea would be so beneficial until I tried them myself! I've learned to never underestimate something I haven't tried. All in all, great course. Easy to follow and very informative. - Marco Caltabiano
Great course if you want to learn some new tips. It's always good to keep educating yourself. The moment you stop learning is the moment you stop growing!
Excellent course. Very helpful exercises to implement to clients who need work on flexibility, stability, strengthening or all of the above.
This DVD only covers exercises done with a stability ball and unless you've never been to a gym before you probably already know them. Waste of money. Wish I could return it.
Great course and wonderful customer service! Will definitely take more courses!
A good range of solid program(s) to use for of a wide variety of client populations. As a master trainer, I can utilize any one of these programs for my clientele to continue with fitness goals and functional training. This course can be utilized with any fitness level or population of clientele, which would be a great addition to any fitness program.
This was my first time using this company for CEU's. The specific anatomy review is an essential reminder of every personal trainer's basic knowledge. The course material is excellent and easily viewed via the pdfs on CD. Plus it includes printable charts for mounting to keep the exercises in view, for clients and trainers. The DVD was easy to navigate, although each of the sections first requires the viewer to watch the general use of the G-Ball, how-to instructions and general warnings. I liked the chain of activities and the exercise modifications for different populations, and will bookmark this company for future CEU viewing!
ACE RESPONSE: Thank you for your feedback. We are so glad you find ACE such a great resourse. We look forward to providing you more education in the future!
Great curse, easy to follow and very rich on information that will enhance my career for many years to come, this material will never get old.
After completing this course, I am convinced that the stability ball offers a superior way to strengthen major muscle groups and all stabilizing muscles without risk of injury. I especially appreciated the attention given to the rotator cuff. The last section which uses both a cord and a ball provides an extra challenged for a conditioned client.
Gina Piazza of www.personaltrainereducation.com is literally the best CEC instructor I've ever come across. Her courses have great attention to detail and are truly of the highest quality. She is a shining example of great, caring instruction.
Jerry Hoskey
Lots of exercises to learn.
How Would You Rate This Product Out of 5 Stars?
The American Council on Exercise reserves the right to discontinue the sale and/or support of any continuing education course at any time, in order to cancel, correct, or update content based on current industry standards, guidelines, and/or technological advances. Notification will be given 6 months prior to expiration to allow for course completion and no refund will be given for expiring courses.


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Posted by Katyayan Gupta on May 11, 2012
Huawei hosted about 160 industry and financial analysts at its ninth annual analyst summit in Shenzhen, China in April 2012. The main takeaway for its consumer devices business was that consumer devices complete the end-to-end pitch for Huawei. Huawei showcased its growing capabilities across the wireless industry value chain. Most notably, Huawei made a foray into the smart devices domain with its own brand of smartphones and tablets. In 2011, Huawei shipped 20 million smartphones and 60 million mobile broadband devices like dongles. The smartphone market is already overcrowded with heavyweights such as Apple, Samsung, Nokia, and Motorola; thus, it might seem that Huawei may not be able to make a very profitable business from selling these devices. However, we believe that this move will bring indirect benefits to Huawei's core Carrier Network division in the following two ways:
Huawei hosted about 160 industry and financial analysts at its ninth annual analyst summit in Shenzhen, China in April 2012. The event showed us that Huawei's carrier network activities are becoming increasingly software-focused. Huawei is building up its network software and professional services capabilities. This drive is reflected in its SoftCom solution, driven by the cloud computing delivery model in the network space. Huawei is well aware of the role software will play for future distributed and virtualized network infrastructure and network-centric solutions, where the data center is effectively becoming the phone switch for ICT solutions. In fact, Huawei goes as far as to say that hardware will be fairly commoditized and that differentiation will be based on software. Huawei is a member of more than 130 industry standard-defining bodies; as such, it influences the development of industry standards. Huawei maintains its own silicon chip fabrication capabilities (HiSilicon), which help deliver opex reductions and greater energy efficiency as part of its networking solutions for wired and wireless (WiFi, WiMAX, and LTE) environments. Huawei has been designing and assembling servers for a decade and offers blade and rack configurations designed to support cloud and virtualization environments. Huawei's security solutions, greatly enhanced by Huawei buying the remaining 49% stake in its Huawei Symantec joint venture recently, include firewall, VPNs, intrusion detection, application gateways, and unified threat management. Huawei also works with other leading ICT vendors to deliver solutions according to customer requirements. Huawei's GalaX Cloud operating system delivers large scale virtualization capability for compute and storage resources in a cloud deployment. Huawei assists carriers and enterprise customers with design implementation and operation of deployments through its SmartCare Services solution, which monitors and ensures the


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We had severe thunderstorms here in central Virginia yesterday. Today is bright and sunny so around 9:30 am I attempted to work my bees. Hive #1 was very agitated and even though I was quite gentle and used lots of smoke, they tried (and succeeded a couple of times) to sting through my suit. Also, much to my dismay, they were very crowded and I found 3 swarm cells. I tried looking for the queen, but they were just too nasty, so I ended up closing it up without doing anything to deal with the swarm cells (I didn't want to cut them out unless I could find the queen).
I went on to hive number 2...didn't get very far into my inspection when this hive began behaving just like the first: bombarding me!
So, I've given up for today. Just wondering if you think yesterday's storms could have had an effect on their behavior today.


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Would like to buy or purchase a hive carrier. If anyone can sterr me in right direction would be great
Would like to buy or purchase a hive carrier. If anyone can sterr me in right direction would be great
Brushy Mt and Walter T. Kelly both have them new for reasonable prices. If you look at how they work and are handy you could probably make one.
I made a 2 person carrier with 4130 chromemoly steel tubing I had left over from my airplane project. I TIG welded it together and it works fine. I will post a pic if I can.
Stephen -in Michigan
Mann Lake just came out with a one=man hive carrier. Looks great, but I haven't tried it. Mann Lake has a website
I wonder what the maximum load is for it? I'm not sure a really heavy hive would work or not.
Dadants also sells a 2 person hive carrier. It worked well carrying heavy hives so far this spring.
I wrote the following article last September for our association's newsletter. Hope this helps:
The Beekeeper's Consumer Report
I will need a hive carrier to move some hives this fall/winter so I can service their stands and area. The only two I could find available are the ones Kelly (Katz Super Hive Carrier) and Brushy Mountain sell so I ordered both to compare and contrast.
Results: Kelly's received the best rating.
Brushy Mountain's came in second.
The tests behind the results:
Since I did not want to move any hives now, I decided to simulate a weighted hive by placing two and a half cinder blocks on a board placed crosswise on top of a full-depth hive body. Each full cinder block weighed 35 pounds and the half weighed 17. I weighed them. That's 87 pounds plus 3 pounds for the board. Call it 90 pounds - the approximate weight of a full - full depth super of honey. I asked my wife to assist me in these tests because I wanted her viewpoint for the ladies.
We carried it around the yard to evaluate load balance, load security during movement and "ease of carry" or comfort, if you will. Both carriers securely carried the weighted hive body. However, Kelly's proved much better at balancing the load. Also, it was easier to lift the load with Kelly's due to its longer length (8") and contour shaped rubber foam grip handles not provided on Brushy's. While we did this, I noticed some neighbors watching us. I can't imagine what they were thinking.
Other differences worthy of note: Both fit OK over the outer cover. Both exhibited differences in the part of the carrier that contacts the hive body's handholds. Kelly's features a rubber covering for this part of the carrier. Brushy Mountain has a welded metal tang that is not welded parallel to its cross bar. It is welded at a 5-10 degree angle. I checked with Brushy and they are all like this. This means that the tang contacts the box's handholds at only one point rather than evenly. As a result, we noted that the metal tangs have a tendency to both notch the wood at these points and dig into the paint. The rubber piece around the bar on Kelly's left the super's handholds unmarred. However, the rubber may dry rot over time. It probably should be kept out of the elements and some kind of rubber (silicone?)preservative used. Kelly's arrived assembled and ready to use. Brushy's had to be assembled (2 bolts and nuts). Kelly's is easily folded for storage. Brushy's will fold only to 90 degrees and must be disassembled for compact storage. It is reminiscent of a lawn or beach chair frame.
Dimensions (flat):
Brushy's: 42 1/2" X 21"
Kelly's: 50" X 19 1/4"
Brushy's: $54 + ship
Kelly's: $80 + ship
As I stated earlier, I made my own out of chromemoly tubing. I just measured the dimensions I needed and welded it up. Works great!
Cost? About $10 materials.


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Manhunt Monday; December 16, 2013
Here are this week's Manhunt Monday suspects. Manhunt Monday airs every Monday at 5:05 p.m. and 10:05 p.m.
Seaside Police
Jeffrey Scott Walker Jr. has outstanding warrants for possession of narcotics, check fraud and resisting arrest, said police.
If you see Walker or you know his whereabouts, call Seaside Police at 394-6811 or the anonymous tip hotline 831-899-6282. You may also leave a tip at the Seaside Police Department's Crime Tip Web Site.
Monterey County District Attorney's Office
Sukhwinder Singh is wanted on $100,000.00 warrant for failure to appear in court. His case involved assualt with a deadly weapon. According to the district attorney's office, Sukhwinder assaulted the victim with a wooden mop handle causing severe injuries to the victims head and face.
Call the King City Police Department at 831-385-4848 if you have any information about Sukhwinder Singh whereabouts.


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In April 2009, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) sent a team of seven winter maintenance professionals on a two-week tour of high-performing transportation and road departments to evaluate their winter maintenance technologies and operations. After visiting several departments in Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, Utah, and Virginia the team developed a best-practices report to help all agencies develop successful snow-removal operations, due out next month.
The team came across novel procedures used by these agencies. For example, Minnesota's DOT recycles the water from its truck-washing station by using it in its brine-making operation. And for $60, Utah DOT uses compressed, condensed carbon dioxide to cut through fog so drivers can see the road ahead of them. In Fort Collins, Colo., the salt storage facility houses two different liquid deicers that it shares with other municipalities and a morale-boosting hot dog maker complete with free hot dogs for employees. Employees love the free feed. Managers like that the food keeps employees onsite, and on the roads, longer.
The following are trends and recommendations to be included in the report.
Maintenance Decision Support Systems (MDSS)
MDSS are useful management tools that provide real-time weather, route, and material information to trucks via touch-screen monitors so drivers can make on-the-spot decisions about route priorities and materials usage. There is also potential to use them for year-round maintenance activities that depend on the weather, including chip sealing and striping.
Drivers need to embrace this technology in order to use it efficiently. To sell your drivers on these devices, make sure they understand that they:
- Show where co-workers are at any given time
- Inform when weather is coming
- Provide real-time information about material usage rates and suggested application rates.
Automatic Vehicle Location Systems (AVLs)
Use AVLs year-round, as much as you can, to track vehicles in real time. Drivers will appreciate not having to call in to inform managers of their locations, and customer service staff can better field service calls from constituents wanting to know when their streets will get plowed, i.e. "your street was just plowed" or "the plow is two blocks away and will get to you soon."
Equipment technologies
The best tools for snow and ice removal include:
- Tow plows
- Hydraulic-assisted systems
- Composite and poly blades (for less vibration)
- On-board video cameras (for operator safety)
- Laser beams (to see ends of plows)
- Vibrating wiper blades
- Fog busters and new headlights (for visibility)
- Salt brine runoff control
- Road and weather information systems (RWIS)
Training and development
A flexible workforce is becoming increasingly important in these tight economic times. Cross-train staff so they can double as snow-plow drivers in the winter months. Use simulators for training -- a University of Utah study indicates that drivers with simulator training get 3% better fuel mileage than those without.
Management issues
Successful agencies collaborate with neighboring jurisdictions to promote consistent service across borders. Some state DOTs have agreements with other states to share salt and liquid chemical supplies when needed, and to share facilities when drivers are closer to their neighbors than to home facilities.
Integration of weather, traffic, and maintenance
Effective traffic operation centers house a variety of full- and part-time positions: maintenance operations, highway patrol, and traffic signal control dispatchers; meteorologists; Snow and ice/MDSS, motorist assistance; and 511 coordinators; and private and public media announcers.
Successful agencies also have funding options in place for replacement of equipment/material, including escrow accounts and predetermined multiyear financing agreements with vendors. They also stay on top of research and training, and set winter performance measures. But above else, these agencies value their people, citing good communication between management and staff, dedication of employees, and pride in work as the main reasons for high productivity.
When finalized, the report will be posted on the AASHTO and FHWA Web sites.
Source: American Public Works Association Congress & Exposition
Session: Innovative Winter Maintenance Practices of High-Performing Agencies
David Ray, PE, PS, State Maintenance Engineer, and Diana Clonch, Assistant Administrator, Maintenance Administration, Ohio DOTColumbus, Ohio
Tues., Sept. 15, 20093:45 - 5 p.m.


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Oh the Injustice: Immigration and Global Warming
It seems like everyone was jumping on the Earth Day bandwagon last week. We all know about corporate greenwashing, but last week another bastardization of the environmental message emerged and made national headlines, from the Colbert Report to Think Progress to the Huffington Post. Californians for Population Stabilization created the commercial (above) which puts forth the claim that reducing immigration will reduce emissions.
Yes, it's true that the United States has some of the highest per capita emissions. And it's also true that some of these emissions come from factors that the average person living in the United States can control. But there are a lot of factors that aren't decisions made by the average individual consumer, such as where their power comes from. When an American switches on a light, there is a good (but decreasing!) chance their electricity is being fueled by coal. When someone enters the United States they automatically enter an infrastructure that encourages the creation of carbon emissions. Someone taking a diesel-powered bus creates more emissions than someone traveling the same distance on a hybrid bus. And is that really the fault of the passenger?
While many of the critiques focused on misinterpretation of the data, I see this ad as even more problematic in terms of what it not so subtly insinuates about justice. This ad implies that not everyone deserves to have access to the kind of living conditions that most Americans take for granted. Should we really expect people to continue to live without access to electricity, basic health care, or clean water as part of a global strategy to achieve climate stabilization? Actually, that wasn't a question. We cannot allow organizations such as Californians for Population Stabilization to promulgate that belief that because of first-world overconsumption we must deny basic consumption to anyone. Instead of thinking about how many people need to live in poverty in order to maintain our American way of life, let's instead think about what kind of lifestyle is sustainable if all 7 billion people were treated equally.


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You missed it This great deal for Bold Earth Teen Adventures is over. But don't despair, we've got more great deals every day.
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Bold Earth Teen Adventures
$1,000 to Spend on a Young Adult's Summertime Educational Travel Experience
Kids raised on The Magic School Bus expect a lot from their organized excursions, and today's deal from Bold Earth Teen Adventures won't disappoint: Pay $200 for $1,000 to spend toward a 2012 adventure from this worldwide organization's roster of globe-trotting trips. More impressive than any outing lead by Miss Frizzle, these expeditions bring middle- and high school-age teens out into the wild for 14 to 24 days of outdoor-oriented activities, designed to help them embrace teamwork and and feel confident. Giving these exciting experiences to more than 12,000 students since 1976, the certified and accredited Bold Earth team carefully crafts trip itineraries for each of the 24 trips that span six continents. Trips range from rock climbing in Zion National Park and sea kayaking in Alaska to dive trips to Fiji and bike trips around Amsterdam. There are even trips built around foreign language immersion and service work for a learning experience you won't find in any classroom, no matter how magic.
PAID VALUE EXPIRES ON May 30, 2022
PROMOTIONAL VALUE EXPIRES ON August 1, 2012


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It's honestly the only game that's keeping me from getting the new XBox One. It's one of the best games I've ever played (Online is where its at). If anyone needs help leveling up or looking for a crew, post here.
There's some New York Giants Crews with the NY Logo, but they're hand made and look silly. I could honestly put the logos in-game with a HTML hack (whatever) on the Rockstar site that most people now use to upload custom emblems instead of using the Emblem creator they have on the site.
Or you could just join my Austrian Hitmen Arnold Schwarzenegger crew http://prod.cloud.rockstargames.com/...Wvt98A/0_0.jpg
I'm in a biker crew right now though but if you just want to level up easily and want to put Arnold on your shirt you can join the old crew I made. If you use Social Club for Rockstar, feel free to add me http://socialclub.rockstargames.com/...he_mossberg500 (The Mossberg500 is my Xbox Gamertage). If you add me just tell me who you are from the forum. Last time I did this with another game, I got random friend requests from people that just lurk on the forums so I didn't accept it.


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Binghamton University kicks off the academic year with the 17th Annual University Fest
BINGHAMTON, NY -- The return of students to the Binghamton community kicks off this year with the 17th Annual University Fest, to be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, August 28. The event welcomes visitors and the campus community to the Binghamton University Peace Quad to celebrate the beginning of the new academic year.
The festival will include carnival rides, vendor booths, children's play area, poster sales, food, student organization tables, as well as music from local bands. The event will also feature a free book giveaway and refreshments.
University Fest organizers are also working closely with event planners for the two-day Chris Thater Memorial Races, which will also take place during 'welcome back' weekend in and around Recreation Park, Binghamton. Held in memory of Chris Thater, a Binghamton University student killed by a drunk driver, the event includes professional and novice cycling events, and a national class 5K run. Other activities include vendor displays, full concession, entertainment, sports/health clinics, demonstrations and other youth sports and special events. Off-Campus College Transport (OCCT) will run a free bus service between the University Fest and Recreation Park from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and then again on Sunday, starting at 8 a.m. through to 3 p.m. The service will be open to students and members of the community. For a full schedule, see http://www.bcstopdwi.com/bcstopdwi/thater-events.
University Fest is sponsored by the Binghamton University President's Office, the Office of Campus Life, Sodexo Campus Services, Visions Federal Credit Union and WHRW. For more information contact Jennifer Keegin at email@example.com or 607-777-2811.


text: Well I know there is a thread out there for this but I just couldn't find it to save my life and I know there is a lot of newbies out there so this is for them! So what do your screen names mean?! I always wonder what most people's mean while I'm making posts! The Ntbush stands for my name Nathan Bush (T is middle initial but I'm gonna be that guy and not say it) and I like the number 83. What about everyone else?!


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NIH/NIA Appropriations and Authorization Legislation
On Friday December 16, 2011, the House voted 296-121 to adopt the conference report for the Omnibus (H.R. 2055), the 9-bill Omnibus which includes funding for Labor, HHS, Education, and for NIH. On December 17, the Senate also passed the bill. The President signed the bill into law on December 23. The FY2012 Omnibus includes funding for NIH in the amount of $30,689,000,000, which is $299 million above last year's level and $758 million below the President's request. This is a $3 million or .27% increase over FY 2011 for NIA. The law also establishes and provides $10 million for the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) and Cures Action Network (CAN) (see Director's Budget Report).
On December 15, 2011, the Senate voted 86-13 to adopt the conference report for H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012. On December 14, 2011, the House adopted the conference report by voice vote of 283-136. Among the many provisions, the National Defense Authorization Act included the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (STTR) reauthorization provisions. The SBIR/STTR provisions will reauthorize the two programs for 6 years and increase SBIR/STTR awards to $150,000 for Phase I and $1 million for Phase II awards. Provisions of particular interest to NIH would increase the SBIR set aside to 3.2 percent over six years and increase the STTR set aside to 0.45 percent over six years; allow small business concerns majority-owned and controlled by venture capital firms to be eligible for up to 25 percent of the SBIR funds; allow agencies to apply for waivers to exceed the hard cap on awards under the guidelines for Phase I and Phase II awards; and grants NIH a one-year exception to the rule shortening the time span for final decisions to not more than 90 days after the date a solicitation closes. The measure has been signed by the President.
Other NIH/NIA Legislative Measures Introduced
On February 2, H.R. 610, Making Investments Now for Dementia Act of 2011 was introduced by U.S. Representative Michael Burgess (R-TX). This measure proposes to authorize the issuance of United States bonds to fund Alzheimer's research. H.R. 610 has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Health.
On May 13, Representative Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) introduced H.R. 1897, the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2011. The bill would require the Director of NIH to: (1) coordinate all NIH research activities including the development of a strategic plan for Alzheimer's disease research; (2) report annually to the Secretary, the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care and Services, and the appropriate Committees of jurisdiction in Congress on the strategic research plan and the budget estimates for funding the research in the plan; and (3) submit to the Office of Management and Budget, and the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, as part of the annual budget process, a report including the budget estimates of the activities in the strategic plan, a request for appropriations to fund each research activity identified in the strategic plan, a justification explaining why an appropriation request was not included for any activity in the plan, and an analysis of progress toward accelerating breakthroughs in treatments that would prevent, cure, or slow the progression of the disease and reduce the spending on federally funded programs and families and identifies any remaining hurdles to accelerating such breakthroughs or reducing such financial burden. The bill would also require the Directors of all the NIH Institutes and Centers to fund public private partnerships to develop treatments and a cure for Alzheimer's through innovative approaches to research. H.R. 1897 was referred to the House Subcommittee on Health.
On May 10, Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) introduced a resolution, S. Res. 176, with Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) urging the United States Postal Service to issue a semipostal stamp to help raise money for Alzheimer's research. On July 14, Congressman Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced companion bill, H.Res.351 in the House of Representatives. Proceeds for the sales of the Alzheimer's stamp would help fund Alzheimer's research at the National Institutes of Health. Both measures are still pending Committee action.
Congressional Briefings and Hearings
On October 18, Dr. Hodes participated in a Congressional briefing to highlight recent scientific research showing the health benefits of exercise and physical activity for older adults. In addition, Dr. Hodes introduced the Go4Life Campaign, and described how NIA is partnering with outside organizations to raise public awareness and to encourage older individuals to increase their physical activity. Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) attended the event. Also participating were Dr. Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General; Mr. Robert Hornyak, Acting Director, Center for Policy, Planning and Evaluation, the Administration on Aging; Mr. Jim Whitehead, Executive Director, American College of Sports Medicine; and Mr. Colin Milner, CEO, International Council on Active Aging.
On December 14, Dr. Hodes participated in a Senate Committee on Aging forum celebrating the Committee's 50th Anniversary and exploring the future of aging. Dr. Hodes gave an overview of aging research and then participated in a panel discussion with Administration on Aging's Secretary, Kathy Greenlee; John W Rowe M.D., Professor of Health Policy & Management, Columbia University; John Rother, President and CEO, National Coalition on Health Care; Robert B. Hudson, Professor of Social Policy, Boston University; Mike Harsh, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, GE Healthcare; Robyn I. Stone, DrPH, Executive Director, Institute for the Future of Aging Services (IFAS) at the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, Washington, DC.
Submitted by:
Tamara Jones, Ph.D.
Legislative Officer
National Institute on Aging


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Developer: Taito
Ships: May 2005
ESRB: E for Everyone
Graffiti Kingdom is a new 3-D action adventure game from leading Japanese developer, Taito. Nominated for "Game of the Year" in Japan by Media Arts, the game offers players of all ages an opportunity to let their imaginations soar… dream it, draw it and play it!
Players will take on the role of Prince Pixel, who is on a quest to save his parents and restore Canvas Kingdom back to its normal form after an ancient evil transformed it into a labyrinth full of danger. On his quest, the heroic young Prince finds a companion, 'Box Dog', who aides and accompanies him in his many quests. At the start of his adventure, Prince Pixel finds a magic wand that allows him to bring anything he draws to life. The wand also enables him to temporarily take the shape of any enemy encountered and learn their powers. Prince Pixel can become anything the player draws and transform between three additional different creatures at any given time.
As Prince Pixel advances through the game, he gets stronger, tougher and more skilled. Players also benefit from experience by acquiring more drawing tools and abilities. By the end of the game, players can literally re-create any creature that they've seen in the game with an incredibly easy to use drawing program. The game allows the user to draw straight lines as well, so even someone with no drawing skills whatsoever can create just about anything. Players will use their imagination to battle their way through levels or creatively solve puzzles.
Graffiti Kingdom allows anyone to convert simple 2-D shapes into customizable 3-D polygonal structures. The user can modify the polygons by coloring them, drawing textures on them, making them transparent, defining their role, and adding attacks. The parts are joined to create a fully playable character. Once converted, the 3-D characters can animate, bend, stretch, flatten and even talk!


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Introduction & a couple questions about becoming a pen tester
I'm a long time lurker, first time poster. I have been reading EH.net for some time now and the folks here seem extremely knowledgeable, talented and friendly (which is hard to find now a day with the anonymity that the internet provides).
A little about me
I have been working as a linux admin for the past 6 years. I have a bachelor's degree in CompSci(2003) and a masters in NetSec(2008) which I have not really been able to use at my current position, excluding the hardening of infrastructure, catching, cleaning up and stopping of attacks etc.. I have a decent understanding of networking and linux. I can understand and program a little in C, C++, Perl and BASH. I am also currently working my way through udacity.com CS101 and cs262 in order to gain some python knowledge.
In 2013, I have made it a goal of mine to find a job as a pen tester (net/web) and would love some advice from everyone here on how to make the move from linux admin into security. So my questions to the community are:
1)Which certs are a must have for someone with my background in order to break into this field?
I'm definitely going for the OSCP, since it just seems like it would be a blast.
2)How should I prepare for the OSCP? I would like to be as ready as possible for the class so I can spend 90% of my time in the labs instead of taking 1 month to go over all the material and then only having 1 month for the labs.
3)Which books are a must read for anyone in this field and to prepare for the certs you suggest in question 1?
So far I have bought and am reading through the following:
Advanced Penetration Testing for Highly-Secured Environments
BackTrack 4
Hacking The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition
Metasploit - The Penetration Testers Guide
Professional Penetration Testing
The Web Application Hacker's Handbook
4)What skills are a must have in pen testing/netsec?
5)Which websites/blogs are a must read for any pen tester?
I'm already subscribed to a ton but would like to know what everyone's favorites are.
6)What free and good training material is out there?
Sorry about all the questions I'm just a noob.


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Navigability Project
The State of Alaska Public Access Assertion and Defense (PAAD) Unit needs your assistance to help preserve public access on Alaska roads and trails!
The mission of the Division of Mining, Land & Water's Navigability Project is to protect the public rights associated with navigable and public waters, and to ensure that the state's title to lands beneath navigable waters is protected. The Alaska State Constitution provides for free access and common use of public and navigable waters by any citizen of the United States or resident of the State of Alaska. State ownership of the beds of navigable waters is an inherent attribute of state sovereignty protected by the United States Constitution.
The Division's Navigability Project will enable the State of Alaska to assert ownership of lands beneath navigable waters. This is important for two reasons: first, the public will be ensured access to these state lands; and second, if these lands are already owned by the State of Alaska, they shouldn't be counted against Alaska's statehood land entitlement or conveyed by the Federal Government to non-state ownership.
Contact Information
- James H. Walker
- Natural Resource Manager I
- Department of Natural Resources
- Division of Mining, Land & Water
- Phone: (907) 269-4755
- Fax: (907) 269-5043
- E-mail: James H. Walker


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Try these top 10 ways to beat the post-Christmas blues:
Make a plan
After the excitement of Christmas, going back to a regular, mundane routine is enough to lower anybody's spirits. Alleviate this feeling of ennui by creating something to look forward to. Depending on your budget and lifestyle, this could be a night out to booking a trip away. Whatever you plan, make sure it is something you will really look forward to, then count down the days.
Exercise your funny bone
Laughter is an extremely effective mood-booster, releasing endorphins which instantly raise spirits and give a feeling of well-being. Grab a funny DVD or book and spend a few hours exercising your laughter muscles to raise your spirits.
Brave your fears
If you are feeling listless and uninspired after the festive period, step out of your comfort zone and take a few risks.
Make a commitment to doing one thing a week (or day) that makes you feel scared and takes you out of your comfort zone. Whether it is something small, such as starting a conversation with a stranger, or big, such as emigrating to another country, conquering your fears will put you in a positive mood.
Get active
Although feeling glum is unlikely to put you in the mood to exercise, getting up and active is actually one of the best things you can do. Exercise releases mood-boosting endorphins, and if weight gain is one of the things getting you down, it will help you to quickly shift those excess kilograms. Go for a run, or try a spot of yoga or Tai Chi to help put you in a better frame of mind.
Eat yourself happy
Although it may be tempting to bury your sorrows under piles of junk food, a healthy diet is much more effective at helping you feel good.
Some mood-boosting foods include those containing B vitamins, which help the brain produce serotonin, such as wholegrains, nuts and Vegemite, and those containing Omega-3 fatty acids, such as oily fish or flaxseeds, which can help lift depression.
Be selfless
If you find that you are fixated on your mood, distract yourself by focusing on others. Do some volunteer work, or if you are short of time, make a commitment to doing one small act of kindness a day, such as listening to a friend's problem or smiling at a stranger. Helping others will distract you from your own feelings and help you put things into perspective. Smiling is contagious and helping others feel happy will also put you in a better mood.
Perk up your social life
Spending time with others can be one of the greatest mood-boosters, but you can't always rely on everybody else to make the plans. If your social life could do with a boost, get proactive. Pick up the phone and call someone, or arrange to visit someone who lives a long way away. Alternatively, take up a hobby or join a club, and meet new people to spend time with.
Get your finances in order
One of the reasons many people feel blue after Christmas is because they have finance worries. Rather than worrying about it, sit down and sort out your financial situation. See what shape you are in financially and, if necessary, set yourself a budget for the next few months or so. This may make you feel even worse right now but going on in ignorance means that your worries will only eat away at you. Face your finances, work out how to move forward, and then you can move on, feeling more sorted and happier.
Ring the changes
If the thought of going back to your regular routine is depressing, perhaps you should see this as a sign you need to make changes. Although everyone feels a bit down about returning to work, if the thought is really making you blue, then think about changing your job.
Or perhaps you need to think about ditching another aspect of your lifestyle that is making you unhappy; your relationship, perhaps, or those extra kilos. Look at what needs to be changed and then make a plan to tackle it in small steps. Instead of despairing, go in to the new year motivated and ready to kick-start your best year yet.
For more lifestyle news see www.realbuzz.com


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Landlords increased weekly rents for homes of every size in all but two of Auckland's 30 suburbs, a four-year comparison shows.
Renters in the city are paying up to $140 more a week than they were in 2009, according to the data supplied by Crockers.
The property management company has analysed the number of new bonds received each month - supplied by the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) and the Department of Building and Housing - for one, two, three and four bedroom homes over four years.
The area defined as Ponsonby/Herne Bay/St Marys Bay has remained among the most expensive places to live for all sized houses during the period. Rents for two bedroom homes in the suburb jumped $89 to $521 a week between 2009 and 2012. Three bedrooms jumped $60 to $712 while four jumped $93 to $911.
Takapuna/Milford was the dearest for a one bedroom home at $399, having jumped $58.
Among the cheapest for all-sized houses have remained Pukekohe/Tuakau/Waiuku, Papakura, Manukau/Manurewa, and Mangere/Otahuhu/Otara, with all rents remaining below $440, although most still saw large increases.
A Ponsonby resident said he was paying $90 more a week now than three years ago on a room in a shared house - $4680 extra a year. He expects it will rise even further.
He knew his rent increases were small compared to others in the suburb.
"Everyone who I tell [what I pay] outside Auckland just can't believe it."
Ponsonby appealed because it was so central but he was getting sick of paying so much for just a room.
Crockers marketing manager Kim Sinclair said the figures were relative as the company had looked at the number and value of new bonds each month.
But he claimed that landlords were not necessarily receiving windfalls after increasing their rents, because of soaring house prices last year. Yearly rental returns were slightly lower than those in 2011, with the exception of earthquake-stricken Christchurch, Ms Sinclair said.
For example, someone who bought a home in Auckland for $504,000 and rented it out for all 52 weeks of the year at $440 per week, would have brought in 4.54 per cent of their original investment before expenses. In 2011, they would have brought in 4.68 per cent.
There were a lot of rental homes on offer so renters could afford to be more picky if they could afford the rents in higher-priced suburbs, she said.
"They're asking themselves 'Is it in the school zones? Is it insulated?' There's a bit more stock out there so people are not in a rush to get the first property available."
There were currently 4783 rental properties available in the wider Auckland region, and 2399 in Auckland city, according to Trade Me, she said.
Real Estate Institute chief executive Helen O'Sullivan said landlords were trying to recover costs for rising rates and water bills - some of which went up by thousands last year.
Ponsonby had long appealed to renters, she said.
"It's a nice part of town, walking distance to shops, bars and restaurants and great transport links to the CBD. Why wouldn't you want to live there? Parking is an issue for some parts obviously. But it's very trendy."
The area of Grey Lynn/Westmere has also stayed as one of the most expensive areas for all years, increasing by $85, from $564 to $649.
"You get a bit of displacement effect with places like Grey Lynn," Ms O'Sullivan said.
"So, 'I can't afford Ponsonby, so I'll try Grey Lynn. Or I can't afford Ponsonby or Grey Lynn so I'll try Kingsland'. Just keep moving further back."
Family-oriented areas such as Mt Roskill, Mt Eden and Remuera also had large increases, with the latter seeing a $130 rise for four-bedroom homes.
"Mt Roskill, in particular, is a bit of an up-and-comer as a suburb," Ms O'Sullivan said.
"It still has really big, generous, old-style sections and old-style properties with potential to improve."
The City Bays area, which covers Mission Bay to St Heliers, was another expensive suburb, mainly due to its lack of properties.
"Some of these nicer areas tend to be more executive level tenancies," Mrs O'Sullivan said.
"Someone you're putting up for a couple of years, they come in on an executive package, they want the nicer place in town. It's interesting, the more expensive the house, the lower the rental return tends to be. Because $800 a week is not much on a $2 million house."
In terms of an investment, areas in South Auckland where rents were cheaper often saw bigger returns, she said.
"In Papakura, you can buy a house for $350,000 to $400,000, and you're getting $430 a week in rent. That's actually not too bad.
"It's a bit of an undiscovered suburb," she said.
"There's big, solid, state-house-building-era houses, you can walk to the train ... there's some new-build houses there as well."
Paul McKenzie, of realestate.co.nz, said there was a lot of development around Red Hill, Papakura, a sacred Maori site with panoramic views of the Auckland region.
Companies were selling the properties as new homes-to-rent.
Crockers' full list will be published by the company in next Wednesday's Herald.
Read more: Rents rising faster than wages and inflation


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Shifting Power Back to the Retail Salesperson
Jason Mowery, Director of Strategy, Cynergy
Mobile integration can completely revolutionize the retail experience, but with the customer none the wiser.
Healthcare, We Have a Problem
Chris Mahoney, Director of Strategy, Cynergy
The phone in your pocket today is more powerful than the computers onboard the historic Apollo space capsule. Why aren't we leveraging that technology in healthcare?
Top Feature
Mobile puts your brand in a customer's back pocket, but don't be fooled – there's much more to actually going mobile.
By Mike Wolf, Director of Technology, Cynergy
Every company knows they need to go mobile because mobile applications have the potential to put your company in a customer or employee's pocket. They provide people with what they want where and when they need it most. However, the decisions associated with going mobile and the resulting implications are often underestimated.
The incredible potential of mobile combined with a fear of missing out or being left behind, has created a mad dash of companies who believe "going mobile" is THE answer. But without a clear understanding of what that means and how mobile can transcend an organization, these companies are setting themselves up for failure.
In order to realize the true potential of mobile engagement first consider the following mobile misconceptions:
"Mobile is a strategy."
Many people look at mobile and see it as a stand–alone strategy. That is simply not the case. Mobile is only one piece of a much bigger puzzle. It should be thought of as a specific medium that should be incorporated into a larger strategy.
Your mobile strategy should focus on more than just a selection of devices and possible features. It should be rolled underneath your broader digital strategy to consider much more — your audience(s) and their needs, wants, and expectations — your company's objectives and goals — your existing systems and infrastructure.
"Enterprise developers know mobile."
Whenever people discuss how to go mobile it's often followed by discussions of who can actually do the work – the developers. The reality is a great mobile experience comes from a unique combination of both design and development and must happen more in unison with mobile than with any other platform.
Your customers and employees' expectations are so high for mobile experiences that you can't just use the same development approach and team you have used for your past initiatives. There is a combination of need for great UX with an ever expanding and changing technical landscape that makes it almost impossible for traditional enterprise development staff to meet the needs of the business on mobile and existing systems without sacrificing quality.
Our approach to mobile at Cynergy includes having specialized teams of engineers who can identify the right mobile tools, platforms, and devices to solve specific mobile needs for our clients. Combining these engineers with design teams who truly understand mobile and a process for putting emphasis on user experience is our recipe for mobile success.
"Mobile has to be NOW and it has to be everything."
In an effort to be first, or to avoid being left behind, many companies have hastily rolled out mobile offerings. Unfortunately, faster is not always better. Quite often, those quick–fix solutions wind up highlighting an organization's problems rather than making their end users' lives easier.
Your organization should be thinking about the entire process. It starts with a strategy and then moves toward a release. It requires learning from your customers and modifying the app based on feedback and analytics. Then you re–release...and re–release...and re–release until you own your space and meet your employee or customers' needs. The web taught us to iterate but mobile is teaching us to evolve.
Another common problem with mobile is that many customers believe they need to move ALL of their existing applications and experiences to a mobile application ALL at once. This is not the case at all because mobile should be more about making the right tasks easy. The best mobile apps are not simple because of mobile — they are simple because the format forces you to really think about what your business should be on a smaller scale. Mobile is as much about iteration and refinement as it is about introductions. It is a long–term evolutionary process that requires constant change and attention, not a one–time effort where you drop an app into an app store and forget it.
"Mobile can stand alone."
Part of the appeal of going mobile is transferring your users' experience to a device that is always available, whenever and wherever they need it. But sometimes that tiny, "always on", screen isn't enough. Sometimes what they really need isn't in their pocket. Unless you give your users what they really want — the ability for their mobile experience to gracefully transition between screens (desktop, tablet, TV/set–top box, phone) and to work on each as if they are all part of the same app — your mobile apps will quickly start to feel small and cheap, and will ultimately bring increasingly less value to the consumer.
Data, workflows, and experiences need to be wherever your customers need them. Ignoring this need misses the opportunity to revolutionize business that mobile provides. Seamless, interconnected experiences are becoming a norm that customers don't just ask for, they expect.
An example of this expectation was clear when we worked with Microsoft / 343 Industries. We recently partnered with the two companies to bring Halo, the company's multi–billion dollar science fiction video game franchise, to iOS and Android. It became almost instantly clear that if our strategy didn't transcend beyond the mobile device, customers would be underwhelmed. Ultimately, we created an experience that connected Halo players with their own real–time stats and worked on any device — mobile, tablet, desktop, SmartGlass, and even television. We helped 343 Industries launch this experience on the same day they released Halo 4 which coincidently, became one of the biggest video entertainment release events in history.
"Mobile is easy."
Plain and simple going mobile is not easy. Just because the word "app" is shorter than application doesn't mean that it can be any less connected to your enterprise. A real mobile strategy must consider how mobile fits into your existing legacy systems. In addition to helping to establish a service infrastructure, mobile solutions should also be designed to evolve and keep pace with the mobile revolution. New mobile platforms and updates are coming out at a staggering rate and businesses must be nimble enough to react.
A real mobile strategy or app takes into account the industry shift from systems to peoples' needs and environments. Just because mobile applications are called apps, does not mean they are any less valuable to your business or should take less time and care to do right.
Our suggestion to you is before you go mobile, think about mobile as one component of your digital strategy. Consider keeping your offering simple and refine it frequently. Have an eye on the future needs of your customers and how they'll want and use information. Make decisions with your legacy systems and infrastructure in mind. And consider if your in house talent really has the chops in mobile to do it well. If you have questions or would like to talk about how your company can take advantage of going mobile – we would love to hear from you.
Shifting Power Back to the Retail Salesperson
Jason Mowery, Director of Strategy, Cynergy
Mention "mobile in retail" and images of the Apple store leap to mind, complete with the conspicuously missing registers, sleek product displays and blue–clad Apple "geniuses" with iPod touches hanging from their necks, completing your transaction without any need to wait in line. A seamless experience, to be sure, but just a tiny scratch to the surface of what is possible when retail invites the mobile device onto its sales floor.
Mobile devices have the potential to bring significant change to retail—but not necessarily in a way that is visible to the customer. When done properly, mobile integration will completely revolutionize the retail experience, but with the consumer none the wiser. Antiquated methods for employee training, employee coaching, in–store alert notifications and back–end system integration can be made fresh (and greatly improved) through the introduction of a mobile engagement initiative.
But the introduction of mobile isn't just about providing information on the employee's device in real time. It is also about revitalizing tired (and oftentimes ineffective) techniques for motivating employees. And we all know there is no better champion for a company than an engaged and motivated employee.
Let's start by discussing the strategy. For this level of mobile integration, you're using a technology already heavily ingrained in your employee's routine as a way to better prepare them for customer interaction. Historically, employers have struggled to create an effective sales enablement platform—picture a hastily updated whiteboard in the backroom with information on daily sales goals, product focuses and store promotions–then make it available to employees and guarantee the information will be read and applied. Mobile integration eliminates this uncertainty by providing instant alerts to employees, and cementing the idea of "Before, Between, and Beyond," which strives to prepare employees before a customer interaction so they have the necessary tools to assist customers during and after the transaction. The strategy then is to use mobile not simply as a means to a cleaner sales transaction, but as a channel to reach employees in a new, preferred and customizable way.
Take for example, your local Gap store. Gap's frontline with its customers is its sales force. But how do they ensure a consistent experience? How do they ensure their sales staff has all the new information on sales, available merchandise, promotions, sales goals, manager updates, etc. to provide that consistent experience? Consider our "Before, Between and Beyond" concept. Our Gap sales rep, who carries her mobile device while on the retail floor, was just alerted of a store promotion on outerwear. This is information she can use during her upcoming customer interaction. Now she knows to suggest pairing a classic crew cardigan with the flowered summer dress her customer wants to purchase, and at checkout, the rep is reminded to offer the customer a reward coupon for adding the cardigan to her purchase.
Now, let's take that immediate feedback a step further, from education to motivation. You've developed a method for transferring information to your employees, but how can you motivate employees to ingest that information? Tying store content into a pre–existing employee action (like checking a phone during spare moments) helps establish actionable employee behavior. Stop expecting employees to read memo updates in a break room. Instead create "glanceable moments" by utilizing an employee's existing behavior of checking mobile devices during slow moments on the floor.
Let's go back to our friends at the Gap. A customer just walked in inquiring about a "flash sale" alert they received via email only hours before. Thanks to the store's mobile integration, salesperson Jane received a similar alert. Even though Jane has been on the floor all day and has not had an opportunity to read up on upcoming promotions before she hit the floor, she was able to receive the updated information and have a positive interaction with a customer that resulted in a sale. With traditional methods of employee education, this would not have been possible.
Utilizing mobile in this way stands to benefit a myriad of industries–from tech and enterprise to hospitality and retail–though the following criteria help cement the idea that retail should be the first industry to truly embrace this kind of integration:
- Focus on the customer – Every decision made in retail is meant to better serve the customer, mobile integration included. The face-to-face element involved in retail customer service makes the process infinitely more difficult than other industries. Because of this, sales reps must have instant access to information changes, ensuring they are always providing customers (disgruntled or otherwise) with the most current product information, promotions and store policies.
- On the job training – Bringing mobile into the workplace provides a unique opportunity to "learn where you earn." Studies have shown that memory recall was 15 percent higher for employees who are trained and educated in the same atmosphere they work. In our case, this means employees who are regularly learning while on the sales floor are going to be more likely to remember what they learned than those who were trained and educated in a back room or offsite training facility.
- Time and cost savings – Integrating mobile can provide huge cost savings for retailers. Closing the store or pulling employees off the floor during business hours to train can be costly, both in time spent and money lost. Eliminate those unnecessary expenses by creating a dynamic system for employee training.
- Engaged workforce – Retail is an industry that typically has high numbers of millennials in the workforce. Because this group already has a close relationship with technology and is accustomed to interacting with it on a daily basis, they will be more accepting of a mobile-driven system.
- Better feedback structure – Anyone who has ever worked in retail knows the traditional retail hierarchy isn't conducive to feedback. Many employees only receive feedback when a complaint has been lodged with corporate. Mobile provides an instant arena for positive feedback, allowing employers to send automatic alerts to an employee's device when noticing a positive customer interaction on the sales floor or an achievement within the company.
Even with all the promise that a well–integrated mobile system provides, we're still just on the cusp of this trend. Why? Because successful implementation requires more than just desire–it demands in–depth understanding of the process and of your user (i.e. your employee). For example, not all employees are motivated by competition. Some employees are more relationally motivated, yet reward systems in a retail setting have historically been based around competition (think employee leaderboards). Your mobile application must find a way to incorporate all variations of motivation to allow all parties to engage, and do so in a way that ignites their personal motivation triggers.
Once you have a firm understanding of where you are headed, you need to design a mobile application that will successfully alter employee behavior, and will drive employees to look at your app rather than social media, email and text during those precious glance-able moments. The best way to create this change is to build an app so relevant to their existing behavior patterns that it compels employees to look.
Mobile integration in the retail setting is on the horizon. Don't hang back until you're forced to integrate mobile. Instead do so proactively, and you'll find that active use of mobile systems in retail will help foster an engaged and motivated workforce–one that will make a positive impression on customers, increase sales and positively impact your retail location's bottom line.
Healthcare, We Have a Problem
Chris Mahoney, Director of Strategy, Cynergy
That smartphone in your pocket today is more powerful than the computers onboard the historic Apollo space capsule when it sent three men to the moon in 1965. True story, if the computers on board Apollo malfunctioned, the astronauts had to rely on a HP–65 calculator to make manual calculations to get home.
Given that healthcare is one of the largest and fastest–growing industries in our country, it seems rather implausible. Why is it that we can check the health of our bank account from virtually any device, but we can't do the same for our health? Even when we can access that information, it is disjointed and hard to decipher, let alone useful for making a decision.
But these troubles do not exist only on the patient side. Hospitals, physician offices, laboratories—virtually all aspects of the system—are affected. According to one study, clinicians waste an average of 45 minutes a day due to the use of pagers and other antiquated technology. This alone costs the industry over $8.3 billion a year. Another study estimates that 15 percent of physician diagnoses are inaccurate or incomplete. Why? Information overload. Doctors simply have too much information to sort, and no easy way to navigate.
Vital signs: how the landscape is changing.
Despite these hurdles, there are some signs the healthcare industry is moving toward significant change and growth. Here are a few examples of how innovation is changing the game:
- Mobile Prescription Therapy: FDA–cleared and reimbursable. Enabling patients to improve self–care. WellDoc's BlueStar is the first mobile health product to secure reimbursement as a diabetes therapy. The FDA–cleared, mobile product offers real–time coaching, information and support for people with Type 2 diabetes, and will be viewed as a pharmacy benefit, similar to other prescription products.
- 3-D Printed Prosthetics: A new take on personalized medicine. The collaboration of a South Africa–based woodwork and prop maker in Seattle, Robohand is a mechanical 3–D printed hand that can be made using a Makerbot 3–D printer. While the pair originally set out to design inexpensive prosthetics, they soon found out they could apply the same technology to produce custom–made prosthetics.
- Mobile Diagnostics: Proactive approaches to preventative care. Is it a mole, or something more? SkinVision transforms the smart phone into a diagnostic tool, making it possible to monitor and track your skin health. Users can upload photos of moles and receive instant analysis, as well pertinent information and links for local dermatologists.
So, what does it take to innovate in healthcare?
Innovation is not a trivial accomplishment. It's not about applying technology, for the sake of applying technology. The incredible opportunity here is having the technology and the ability to re–think paradigms of care, how that care is delivered, paid for and ultimately experienced by the patient.
A smart approach to advancing healthcare is one that combines technology and collaboration with clinical and business insights.
Consider the following:
Solve the Right Problem
The real question here is: Did you solve the RIGHT problem? Solving the problem RIGHT is great, but before you go there, be sure you're solving the RIGHT problem. How do you know you properly understood the core issues that need to be addressed? People really love a well–executed solution that works. But, is it something that is useful and meaningful for the task, job, or goal your target person has in mind?
Throw Away Your Biases
It's not uncommon to come to these scenarios with biases. We often think we want something specific, or believe that we already know the specific solution. Technology is a tool that we use; it is not a solution in and of itself. Ask yourself, "Why am I committed to a specific technology or direction?" "Does that choice support the solution to the right problem?"
Plan for Change
Let's be honest, the technology landscape changes rapidly. It is very hard to scale and keep pace. It's important to not only plan for how you will manage the ever–changing environment, but also build for change—functionally from an infrastructure perspective, as well as a design perspective. Change needs to be an accepted part of your process.
Take Action and Iterate
Don't wait around. At this point, it is assumed you understand the problem, and have identified the right issues to address. Ideally, research has given you some sense and direction on how you are going to approach this. So now is the time to invest and move forward.
Getting people to say "I love this!" right out of the gate is hard. But they can also tell when you have dialed it in. Set a direction and get going, at this point all you will need to do is course correct.
There's no question that technology can drive extraordinary innovation in medical science. And, with a demonstrated commitment to push healthcare into the present and beyond, it undeniably will. Probably the bigger questions are... "How will it evolve?" and "Who is going to do it?"
Is there something YOU can do to help make innovation in healthcare happen?


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A wager in which the loser is required to purchase a gift on EBay for the winner for a pre-determined amount of money (e.g., $25) or range (e.g., $25-$30).
I can't believe that I lost the EBet to JZ on the last hole. Now I need to find something cool for him on EBay for $25.
by BanditBall October 24, 2013


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The signs are all over the place for a massive Apple setback, a perilous situation in that the company's stock is down some 25% from its peak already. Overnight, the Wall St. Journal has reported that Apple has cut its orders for components for the iPhone 5 in half due to weaker-than-expected demand.
Apple's orders for iPhone 5 screens for the January-March quarter, for example, have dropped to roughly half of what the company had previously planned to order, two of the people said.
A giant of technology, Apple maintains the position as the most valuable and profitable company in the world, still the implications of a failed iPhone 5 could be the beginning of a slip from that status, as pressures mount up from all angles of their business. In fact if we take a peek at the 6-month Apple Insider trade activity, it is very curious that there were 0 shares of stock buys by Apple insiders. There were 164,559 shares sold during the same 6 month reporting period. At the very least it indicates that Apple's value at this time is very public investor-centric, which is very fickle and reactive. The big money investors, the players play for the long term, the big picture – Is this a sign? It could easily be read into this that this is a company on edge. Without a doubt Apple is filled with excellent design and engineering teams, but Wall St. can be brutal as can many factors and realities. Let's deconstruct Apple's major business lines.
iPhone Status
There was a time when the notion of anyone speaking to another smartphone that was as good or better than the iPhone was not really serious. The iPhone was far and away the leader. Reports have emerged that in the last three years Samsung has sold 100 million of its popular Galaxy S smartphones – that means 100 million phones that Apple did not sell. That is their main competitor, but there are other elite smartphone offerings that have refined their game and coming to market over and over again with significant offerings. There is a real fear that Apple may fall behind when the Samsung Galaxy S4 soon becomes available, which many people are highly anticipating. Perception is reality and that is a problem for Apple in that as good as the iPhone is, they have lost that image as the undisputed best in class at least in some minds.
New iPhone Help on The Way
Rumors also abound of a low-cost Apple smartphone offering, and reports of new phone in testing, Apple must be feeling significant pressure to produce something out of these developments sooner than later. Low-cost phones could mean they are competing against themselves and further diluting the product line. It also means tougher business margins. A new flagship smartphone has to deal with the pressure that it has to exceed the other products on the market and do so convincingly for some time to come. They no longer enjoy the comfort of the position they had even a year ago. The competition is that fast, that good, and that successful.
Tablet d'jour
The tablet market is another intense pressure point. While the iPad still leads this market, their competitors are often the same as those in the smartphone market, with Google, Samsung, and Microsoft having their sights directly on gaining share of mobile computing. Apple also hastily entered into the mini-tablet category to contend with the likes of Amazon's Kindle Fire. In doing so, Apple ventured into a territory of devices that has slimmer profit margins and the resulting product, and iPad mini showed the various reduced features that Apple had to eliminate to get to market.
Apple TV – in vapor form
We also keep hearing, and as Tim Cook has alluded to – that an Apple TV could be on the way. Thus far the buzz has kept afloat, but the product seems so far off that competitors are already jumping to beat Apple to the punch and in doing so, making Apple's challenge that much harder. The TV market is very competitive and different than the smartphone or tablet market. The margins are cut-throat, retail strategy and experience is enormous, – Apple is not inventing a market here as they did with smartphones and tablets. The pressure to put out a successful product with an Apple TV is pretty critical and precarious venture for the company. It is very difficult to attain leadership in a tech industry, but it can be even harder to maintain it and strategy, analysis, and research are key to making the right decisions to keep that up. It remains to be seen how this Apple TV thing is executed because thus far, teasing that something might be coming has not helped Apple's situation.


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Home › Forums › Gear Forums › Gear (General) › Hexamid Solo, Hexamid Solo Plus or SMD Skyscape-X
Apr 23, 2013 at 9:36 pm #1302115
Christopher GilmoreBPL Member
@chrisjgilmoreLocale: New Almaden
OK folks, I have been reading for a bit on this site and others. I'm looking for the lightest possible fully enclosed shelter for a solo backpacking shelter. I already have a OR Alpine bivy for my bomb proof shelter and a TT Squall II for when my spouse tags along. As of right now I have been narrowing it down to fully enclosed very light shelters. I'm not tickled about paying an extra $100 for the Skyscape-X but if that is truly the best call I will fork it up.
However I have some of the Zpacks stuff sacks and dry sacks and they are of great quality. What are the opinions on the way the Hexamid Solo, Hexamid Solo Plus stack up against the SMD Skyscape-X? I'm focused on cutting weight but not at the cost of sleeping with the mosquitoes, ticks and such.
I have considered a tarp but that presents its own challenges as I'm a quilt sleeper and I would need a bug shelter. I also live in CA and routinely sleep in areas where Rattlers are prevalent and don't cherish the thought of waking up with one in my quilt with me.
I already looked at the following sheet:
Do any of you have any additional thoughts?Apr 23, 2013 at 10:28 pm #1979957
Eric BlumensaadtBPL Member
@danepackerLocale: Mojave Desert
I vote for the Skyscape X for its light weight and its very versatile design. I recommend buying the optional "porch" to zip in for cooking in the rain (or snow) and for shade.Apr 23, 2013 at 10:50 pm #1979964
Serge GiachettiSpectator
@sgiachettiLocale: Boulder, CO
but I gotta vouch for the hexamid. I've had the twin for the last two years and its been flawless. All in, for the tarp with beak, mine weighs 6 oz.Apr 24, 2013 at 1:29 am #1979984
john hansfordBPL Member
I've not seen a Skyscape in action, but have used the Hexamid and its bug inner, the Hexnet. This is a very flexible combination, you can leave the net at home, giving you a 6oz shelter, or pitch the net on its own on still nights for just 7oz extra.Apr 24, 2013 at 6:12 am #1980007
Matt WeaverSpectator
@norcalweaverLocale: PacNW
Another Hexamid fan. I'm 6'4" and find the Solo to be a perfect fit, feels roomier then my previous solo shelters which was surprising for the weight. No experience with the Skyscape X, though I'm sure it's a nice setup as well. My primary reason for not going that route was I wanted a shelter that only utilized one pole. I often use just one pole depending on the trip and my mood, and I have broken one before when I used two so I like only requiring one for set up.Apr 24, 2013 at 6:51 am #1980009
Greg FBPL Member
@gregfLocale: Canadian Rockies
I don't have either shelter but one thought in favour of the heximid is that if you like Poncho's for rain wear you could use the Poncho ground sheet. For an extra 2 oz or so you also cover your rain gear needs.Apr 24, 2013 at 11:20 am #1980091
Mark VerberBPL Member
@verberLocale: San Francisco Bay Area
I have been using the hexamid since it was first released several years ago… this was before the beak (though I sometimes use the optional "door". Both Hexamid and the Skyscape-X are really great shelters. If I was doing the purchase today, I most likely would pay the extra and get the Skyscrape-X because for not that much extra weight I get a shelter that is more livable / requires me to be less careful in how I move inside the shelter which lets me be more relaxed at the end of the day, especially in bad weather. I also appreciate how there is a full height door with the Skyscape-X… I find getting out of the Hexamid a bit awkward. I have been happy enough with the hexamid that I can't justify the cost of switching to the Skyscape-X.
–MarkApr 24, 2013 at 11:31 am #1980095
Barry PBPL Member
@barrypLocale: Eastern Idaho (moved from Midwest)
You'll always wish for the lightest; and it's a bonus when it's the lowest cost.
+1 Hexamid solo
-The mountains were made for TevasApr 24, 2013 at 12:56 pm #1980128
USA Duane HallBPL Member
@hikerduaneLocale: Extreme northern Sierra Nevada
Trade offs. I wish my TT floorless Squall had less condensation at times, but it was my lightest shelter to take on vacations until I got the Hexamid. You can always add a litle here and there, but the weight keeps going up incrementally. Whatever one is comfortable with.
DuaneApr 24, 2013 at 2:14 pm #1980159
Peter NashMember
@nash-pattbi-comLocale: West Michigan
I'm transitioning to all-cuben gear, and I was considering the same 3 shelters. But the Skyscape – X was not available when I was ready to buy in March. (The Skyscape – X will be available at the end of May, according to the website.) I went with a Hexamid Solo because it only requires one pole, and I don't use trekking poles. I've only tested my Hexamid in the backyard so far, but I like it. I slept in it in cold, rainy and blustery weather, and I stayed dry.
I find entering the Hexamid to be a bit of a hassle because you have to duck down. But the peak height is good.
I don't have experience in the field with the net flooring, but some have noted that it can pick up snow, mud, water, etc. I think it might be good to get the cuben ground sheet sewn in. I may have that done with mine if I find the net floor to be a problem in the field. Not a problem on my grass yard.
I did have a problem with the pole that I ordered with my Hexamid. It broke when I left my shelter up in a heavy snow. Joe gave me a refund and I replaced the broken pole with a hefty Ruta Locura carbon fiber tarp pole.Apr 24, 2013 at 3:08 pm #1980175
Packman PeteBPL Member
@packmanpeteLocale: Rainy Portland
There's a store in Portland that sells them. Once I got a hands-on with the SMD, I knew it was the one for me. It's much roomier than I expected, so I can squeeze a guest inside if need be. Also, the full bug screen with the fly rolled up and away is magnificent. Plus, you can set it up in about 45 seconds. Seriously.Apr 24, 2013 at 9:51 pm #1980294
Christopher GilmoreBPL Member
@chrisjgilmoreLocale: New Almaden
Are you saying they sell a separate net insert that isn't part of the tent so it can be used as a tarp and net tent separately when desired and together when the weather calls for it?
Thank you all for the feedback. I think I'm leaning to ward the Hexamid solo. I don't see a really compelling reason to spend the extra $ given that i don't use trekking poles the single pole design is also a plus for me. Any other compelling points?
CGApr 24, 2013 at 10:28 pm #1980300
Jason ElsworthBPL Member
@jephotoLocale: New Zealand
Are you saying they sell a separate net insert that isn't part of the tent.
They don't list them on their site, but Joe will make you one.
Personally if I was going this route I would go for a Solo Plus, as your interior space is going to be pretty tight in a Solo with inner net.
I have a Hexamid Solo with netting, but only have one night on it. (should have been two, but I couldn't make it back to my tent one night and had to sleep under a rock :)).
It's a nice shelter, but not without it's compromises.Apr 25, 2013 at 2:04 am #1980331
john hansfordBPL Member
"Are you saying they sell a separate net insert that isn't part of the tent…"
There is no netting sewn on to my Hexamid, hence the 6oz weight, and instead the seperate Hexnet has a cuben floor with netting sewn to that, and can be pitched on its own. When pitched together there is a little storage space outside the net but still under the beak.
However, I cant find the Hexnet on the site now, can't think why – it's a great piece of kit. It would fit inside other shelters too, and I'm going to try it in a Trailstar soon.
I would recommend getting the Hex with the beak sewn on. I think they all come with factory taped seams now too.
I too have suffered a broken pole on a trip, and would be wary of having a shelter needing two of them. Should be ok if you have tough poles or are more lucky with yours.Apr 25, 2013 at 3:40 am #1980338
William ChiltonBPL Member
@williamc3Locale: Antakya
From Zpack's FAQ:
"Can you make a separate bug shelter for the Hexamid tarps?
We used to make a separate bug shelter called the HexaNet. It required more stakes and did not pitch as well as the Hexamid tents. It also had less space. Most customers seemed to agree that the tent version was better, so we are now focusing on the tents."
It doesn't necessarily mean they won't do them as custom orders.Apr 25, 2013 at 5:47 am #1980355
USA Duane HallBPL Member
@hikerduaneLocale: Extreme northern Sierra Nevada
William, that was my response also before I went with the sewn in netting as they recommended when I sent my Hex solo tarp in to get netting added, turning it into a tent. Adding the netting made my updated tent only an oz. more than the cuben bivy+tarp I sold a week back or so, giving me more tent time room from bugs.
DuaneApr 25, 2013 at 6:50 pm #1980592
Mark FowlerBPL Member
@kramrelwofLocale: Namadgi
I have a Hexamid Solo Plus fly (no floor) and use a SMD Serenity Net inner with it. I just put glove hooks on the elastic corner pullouts of the inner and clip them to the Hexamid guys. I also added a loop of shock cord with a cord lock to the apex of the Hexamid so I can adjust the height of the top attachment point of the inner depending on how high I pitch the Hexamid.Apr 25, 2013 at 10:49 pm #1980646
Michael GillenwaterBPL Member
@mwgillenwaterLocale: Seattle area
Does anyone have an opinion or experience with one issue I have with the design of the Skyscape as well as the Lightheart Solo. When you open the fabric door, you are exposing the living area of the tent (not just the vestibule) to precipitation because the netting sides of the tent slope inward. The old Gossamer Gear "The One" did not have this issue because the netting sides (and treking poles) were vertical rather than inward sloping.
I actually prefer having a dual treking pole design for greater rigidity, as I have two poles with me anyway. So I like the direction this family of designs is going. Too bad no one is making a Cuben tent similar to the the GG "One."
I like the Hexamid design, but not a big fan of the netting floor idea and having to put a ground cloth on top of the netting.
The sad truth is, though, you can't actually buy any of these tents right now, at least not in Cuben.
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text: my 2005 Silverado needs new wheel bearings... or so I am told. My ABS light has come on within a month and a half of installing a suspension lift. The computer at my friends shop gave me a code for the front sensor. How do I find out if the sensors have just gone bad or if I do in fact need new wheel bearings. Also what are a good affordable set of wheel bearings to buy if I end up needing some. Thanks dudes


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Hey, I found a cache of yours today! I was driving from Wisconsin Rapids up North to Silver Birch Ranch just North of White Lake for our Men's Retreat. I kind of went out of my way a bit her and there to hit some caches along the way and well, This was one of the ones along my way. The container blended well here...TFTC
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Water is the most important component of our planet's environment. Consequently, it is in the interests of us all to protect it and use it sensibly. A change in its quality is immediately reflected in the quality of the environment and people's lives. Therefore, giving life back to water is the credo of HYDROTECH.
The history of HYDROTECH companies started in 1978 when HYDROTECH (Water and Environmental Engineering) Ltd. was founded in Cyprus.