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2015 saw Pumphouse become part of the larger Smyle Group. The changes saw Pumphouse relocate from Royston 20 miles south to Smyle HQ in Hertford.
This has been an exciting move for Pumphouse, Smyle and more importantly for our clients… the new arrangement improves the Pumphouse offer in many ways, not least of which is an ability to deliver any event using Smyle Group's vast amount of in-house resource. Not only does this result in more competitive pricing for our clients, the non-reliance on third-party supply simplifies event delivery communication.
In addition to the nuts and bolts, Pumphouse also enjoys being a vibrant part of a much larger creative gene-pool, bouncing design and technology ideas off group colleagues and benefiting clients with their experience.
In return, Pumphouse's experience in Internal Communications and AGM's, and its ability to nurture client relationships over the long term are real assets to the Group.
These are interesting times to work at Smyle Group…
We're looking for a Project Coordinator/Production Assistant to join our busy team in Hertford, reporting directly to our Senior Event Producer.
Click on the link and speak to Nick on 01992 532483 to arrange an interview.
A great video by Event Model Generation.
Further, more subtle changes in the events industry look likely in 2015. With the emphasis changing on how events are to be experienced comes a necessary adjustment to the way they should be planned. Rather than executing experiences and coordinating meetings, the event planner of 2015 will fulfil more of a director/orchestrator role – getting the constituents together, but allowing them more license to shape the event and deliver a bespoke experience.
Alongside this, previously considered 'nice-to-haves' like event sponsorship and delegate feedback will have elevated, 'must have' status.
Sponsorship delivery has improved dramatically recently with the advent of online tools such as Endorsevent. In the past, gaining sponsorship has been a hard sell, with the benefits to the sponsor often being grossly overstated. Sponsor pounds are more hard-fought than ever before, so the offer has to be targeted and clearly evidenced. Endorsevent achieves this by matching event audiences to the sponsor. Event organisers state their audience type while sponsors stress their particular needs. Endorsevent then collates the two and hey-presto, the audience has an interest in the sponsor and the relationship between the event manager and sponsor has real value.
Determining a return on objectives is a subject that I have written much about and collecting the feedback necessary to prove ROO is often a struggle for the event planner. The emphasis here has to be on collecting the right information in an effortless way. Effortless for the delegate, that is! The benefit of producing relevant surveys is clear: the audience feels understood. People who are listened to feel part of the process and can make and take decisions more quickly. This fuels the feedback process. We can DIY this and have tools readily available like Survey Monkey, or we can engage a third party expert such as Satsum. The Satsum tool is delightfully simple to use.
One event priority for many delegates is networking. Previously, for many, this has worked in spite of the event, rather than because of it. With changing work practices, the need to network is increasingly vital and rather than deliver an event that is all about the message and centred on an outpouring of strategy, the event planner has an opportunity to facilitate and create an environment that also aims to deliver meaningful networking. The charming video, at the start, from Event Model Generation, sums all of this up for the event planner.
Will your event have an impact on attendees resulting in them doing, feeling or thinking something differently? If the answer to this simple question is no, then perhaps it's time to challenge its existence.
An event should 'persuade, educate, empower or inspire participants to do something which adds value to stakeholders at the lowest possible cost.'
It is becoming increasingly important to demonstrate compliance with this definition. In fact, most businesses demand some measure of Return on Investment, or at the very least, Return on Objectives. Reasons for this need vary from being able to benchmark the event against other marketing activities, driving up internal event efficiencies or simply justifying the continued presence of the event.
Put simply, an event has to climb the pyramid somehow. An event that strikes the upper echelons of the pyramid will prove most durable.
In the internal-communications world it isn't always easy to attribute pounds saved or dollars earned to a specific event which is why the term Return on Objectives has become more resonant with this stakeholder group.
Level-one event objectives centre on how we want to make an attendee feel: will they be motivated, challenged and satisfied by the event? Is the event well run and are the speakers interesting?
Level-two objectives concentrate on what it is that the delegates are expected to learn in the meeting: Will they be able to develop a business plan, can they explain the key benefits of the new product or identify the five steps in the new CEO's business strategy?
Level-three requires the learnings in level two to be put into practice. So objectives for these will be a time-bound application like: We expect seventy per cent of employees to have downloaded and be using the new timesheet app by next Thursday.
To make the jump from a return on objectives to a return on investment requires more detailed information from the client company.
Setting and measuring level-four objectives will include the impact that an event has on the business and how that impact translates into profit. This will also inevitably include a focus on driving down costs.
Determining ROI (level five) from a complicated level-four analysis is simple. ((Delivered revenue – cost)/cost) will compute a percentage score for the event.
As previously stated, not every event is about a return on investment. An event is often part of a complicated marketing mix that, over time, plays its important part in adding value to the organisation.
There is no reason why every event, however, should not deliver a return on objectives.
Determining objectives is best achieved as a collaborative process and one that should start at the initial brief. A good template for a briefing should include the following questions:
- What are the overall objectives for the event?
- What is the audience profile? (Age, jobs, demographic etc.)
- What is the prevalent mind-set, attitude and prejudice of the audience?
- What do you want the audience to perceive about the event and how do you intend them to act? (Level 1)
- What are the key messages and learnings that need to be communicated? (Level 2)
- What changes do you expect to see? What, specifically, do you want delegates to do differently? (Level 3)
- What recommendations can be made in terms of meeting format design and use of digital technology to leverage delegate engagement?
- How can the event's contribution be felt strongest by non-attendees?
Making objectives measurable in this fashion creates a clear look of success that is appreciated by everyone in the event-planning process.
The increased ability to pin-point the location of an attendee has changed the way we look at events.
With latest technologies boasting an accuracy to 1 metre, the benefits of adopting micro-location are clear: if we know who's where, we can target a real-time, 'local' experience based solely on who's present, rather than a best guess of who's likely to be.
Microlocation, uses beacons, WiFi and smart markers to fulfil its purpose. It enables organisers to personalise real-time outcomes leading to increased attendee interaction and participation.
As more data becomes known about the attendee, event organisers have the ability to target their marketing approach. This could include the provision of useful guides and reminders as well as suggestions for the attendee's next ten minutes.
One such user of this technology is Pathfindr, available at www.pathfindr.co.uk. Pathfindr uses your smart-phone camera to scan for signature images on ceilings and floors. So, even with no WiFi, GPS or data the technology still works.
Another idea, is Loopd. Check out http://getloopd.com/badge. Their approach wraps the technology into unobtrusive lanyards, but their objective is the same: to improve the experience and provide useful data for the organiser.
Couple this technology with our love of Social Media and it's easy to see how an attendee's preferences can be fed into the mix.
Big Brother, possibly; but useful, certainly.
When we are subject to so much marketing spam in our lives, this approach feels refreshingly targeted.
Please visit www.pumphouse.co.uk for more details.
Long gone is the day when one size fits all. Thank goodness! I grew up in a family where 'hand-me-down' was the only clothing brand that existed.
Today, choice is everywhere, not just in clothing, but permeating every single facet of our working and home lives.
And because choice is omnipresent, it's hardly surprising that two new behaviours have recently surfaced and we see these all the time in the events world. Instead of being satisfied with 'what's on offer':
- We like to control and shape the experiences we consume. Checkout 'Chune', a great device for merging playlists and designing a new one that recognises the tone of your party. http://chune.co.uk/ if you can't see the video…
- And we like the experience to 'know' us, interact with us, get rid of the irrelevant stuff and cut to the fun straight away. http://shortcutapp.com/ allows us to bypass queues at events and have our orders from stores and concessions delivered to our seats using smart POS software.
One of the many downsides of unlimited choice is that we are more easily bored. Our life-diet has become high-calorie and content-intense. In food terms, we have become used to fillet steak and lobster frites. There is no longer a place in our hearts for beans on toast, right?
Because we get quickly bored, we urge for experiences that are unexpected and unplanned. The curious will always want to explore.
Two new apps that feed this urge are:
http://partywithalocal.com/ an app which puts city locals in touch with travellers who want to party! What could possibly go wrong there?
And http://www.spangle.io/ is another which takes the 'pulse' of local events and informs you which party is the place to be.
Regrettably, when I looked at the possible parties in my local village, it returned a question mark. Cambridge it is then!
Audience engagement is still the number one desirable for corporate messaging events.
It's proven that engagement increases with audience participation. So, it should be easy to achieve then?
The difficulty is that not enough people want to participate or contribute. So, we end up hearing from the same, more-confident-than-me people every time.
We're all scared of looking silly in front of our peers. As the microphone is handed round, usually slowly, there's a hush of expectation and the spotlight falls on us…
We feel exposed. We may have a good idea, but if we mess up the delivery by tangling our words, we end up looking and feeling stupid.
But don't despair! The cavalry's here in the form of two rival technologies that take the pain out of Q&A by making it fun, quick and social.
The first is Catchbox: http://getcatchbox.com/ if you can't see below…
These soft-foam, boxlike Mics can be thrown by the presenter to the audience. Q&A becomes quicker, involves participation and reduces the perceived hierarchy between stage and floor. It gamifies Q&A.
The second technology allows us to use our own smartphones as the floor microphone. It's Crowdmics: http://crowdmics.com/
Again, instead of waiting through lengthy, pressure-building, pauses, we can immediately light up the conference with our own ideas, spoken through our own handset, delivered through the conference speakers.
The result: a spontaneous outpouring of ideas and a collaborative, sociable feeling.
Both technologies look likely to play an important role in our next events at Pumphouse.
According to Cisco, more things are connected to the internet than people. In 2010 there were 12.5 billion internet-connected devices, a figure that is expected to grow to 50 billion by 2020.
So what?
These figures are not just made up from the expected smart-phones and tablets. Smart technology is popping up everywhere, even in the least likely places.
Cattle, fitted with wireless sensors, can now 'tell' a Vet when they are ill or pregnant by transmitting packets of information. Animal welfare issues could become a thing of the past.
Closer to home, similar technology can help us self-diagnose health risks.
When devices talk to us, it makes our lives that little bit easier. But this is nothing compared to the very real prospect of a series of connected devices talking to each other and making intelligence-based decisions on our behalf.
Imagine. An email hits your in-box while you sleep. That meeting you scheduled for 8am has been moved to 9am. Your alarm clock responds by revising your wake-up time to a default setting. A traffic jam en-route factors back in twenty minutes and the sensors from your car's fuel tank suggest that a stop to refuel may also be necessary. 10 minutes back in for that too.
The kettle boils as your alarm goes off. While you are making the coffee the car begins its defrosting routine.
Of course, the words 'kettle' and 'car' may not exist for long. Perhaps a device that knows when we are thirsty provides the drink of choice, from your favourite vendor, quickly and cheaply to your door and cars are replaced by 'transport on demand', a low-energy, cost-effective transport solution that 'knows' sixty people from Royston are thinking about setting off for Stevenage at 8.12am.
Automatic emails from your colleagues acknowledging the new meeting time flood in.
An extra thirty minutes in bed with the wife, or playing with the kids could be seen by some as frivolous, a poor return from all that technology, but it all adds up and begins to put back a little more private life in today's 'available 24/7' world.
Sensors will also detect planetary and environmental changes. These changes will be communicated by myriad devices across plentiful platforms, potentially saving millions of lives from natural disasters.
Businesses will save billions in wasted time and resources; every facet of our lives will be transformed.
Adding further to our smarter world, where devices begin to take our choices for us, is another technology that will make our personal input into our own lives even more informed.
This technology is augmented reality. Unlike virtual reality, which changes the appearance of what we see, augmented reality leaves the backdrop unchanged – whether that is a streetscape or a single can of beans – and superimposes graphics, audio and even smells, to heighten our understanding of the view. As our viewpoint changes, so does the interface, fed by a mix of GPS, brand recognition and internet-based information.
Mobile device apps are currently the most readily available readers of this technology. When viewing a street using existing iPhone apps, useful graphics appear to explain the scene. Google will bring out smart-glasses in the near future designed to look like normal sunglasses. The viewer's experience of what she sees will be transformed without the need to point a device.
Seeing a street and knowing where the food outlets are is one thing; viewing a person and knowing they are not what they seem could be quite another. Facebook and LinkedIn profiles made readily available to the viewer will allow us to qualify our perception of a person and see whether reality closely maps. I can see this being a very useful interviewing tool, allowing HR professionals to predict appropriateness for a certain role.
This technological double-whammy will have a startling effect on our lives. It has the power to transform our smart-device affection into full-blown addiction and dependency.
Source: http://share.cisco.com/internet-of-things.html
3D-Projection Mapping has been around for a while and, unless you have been back-packing in the wilds of Northern Canada for the last three years, you would doubtless have seen its usage in high-budget pop-concerts and product launches.
As the technology has increased in popularity, so costs to produce projection-mapped displays have fallen. Now, it is not just the wealthy corporations who have the budget to project their images onto large buildings to launch the latest vodka-derivative drink or hybrid utility vehicle. Entry-level pricing of around £5000 has made 3D-Projection Mapping an affordable consideration for the many rather than a exclusive, highly-coveted medium for the rich.
The technology relies on accurately mapping an animated 3D image onto a 2D surface.
Outdoor projection mapping, otherwise known as 'Building Mapping' uses animations, projected onto the surface of a building, to bring large environments to life. Clever graphics, played upon the building, can leave the viewer amazed as seemingly solid and straight walls morph into curves and change colours. Palaces are built brick-by-brick in seconds only to be destroyed and built again.
Brands can interweave a message into the animation, imaginatively presenting a product or service to the awed audience.
(Click on the link to see the incredible transformation of Prague's astrological tower.)
The use of centrally-located, high-profile buildings is a particular favourite for product launches and PR stunt-delivery. It ticks all the boxes, highly visible, impressive, environmentally friendly and latterly, giving a decent bang for the buck.
In the face-to-face, conference environment, the high-profile building is replaced by a carefully-considered stage set. Whatever set designed, Projection Mapping has the ability to transform it. With so many conferences looking to transform the behaviours and culture of their audiences, the technology readily strikes a resonant chord with many organisers.
And it's just so engaging – distracting even – as clicking on the link below will prove.
Add PiP (Picture-in-Picture) projection, which inserts more traditional video and presentation assets into the overall treatment and holographic technology to exaggerate the 3D effect, lifting products or people off the screen, closer to the audience, and you are left with a highly engaging, ultra-realistic presentation format.
After all, face-to-face is about the message, delivered in context. If your event's purpose is to drive meaningful change, by firstly challenging existing beliefs and then making the future dream more easily reachable, then these technologies should be among the first you should explore with Pumphouse Productions.
When the buttons on our mobile phone touch screens are about half the size of our index fingers, and predictive text un-jumbles the meaningless series of letters we type, we enter the dark and dangerous nether-world that is 'miscommunication'.
Many predictive text errors are hysterically funny, and easy to resolve between friends, but a recent example had fatal consequences, with neighbours stabbing each other when an argument, triggered by a predictive text error and without a background of understanding, escalated to violence.
Couple typographical errors, with national and regional idioms, and it's easy to see why multinationals employ a raft of skilled communications professionals to deliver clear messaging.
Our natural responses, both in and out of the work environment, can also include obfuscating language designed to 'soften the blow' or avoid confrontation with our colleagues. An understanding of English 'code' may also be required by our EU and US colleagues. The following interpreter's guide could help.
A face-to-face conversation between two friends, or better still lovers, is close to the perfect communication model. The pair can use all available communications tools: speech, tone of voice, facial expression, body language, asking questions and getting instant clarification. They can draw from a historic understanding of each other and can set everything in its correct context, without distraction from the outside world. Even with control of all of these factors, miscommunications between friends and lovers regularly occur.
Contrast this perfect communications model with our everyday corporate communications.
Take away facial expression and body language and you have a telephone call.
Take away everything else and you have an email.
How many of us are guilty of having sent a hastily-drafted email which we have had cause to regret later? On reflection, its tone is either pompous or petulant, with neither emotion having been piqued on writing.
Today, we have at our fingertips a range of mobile communication devices – phones, laptops and tablets – allowing us to communicate instantly with friends and colleagues.
The logic shouts that having the ability to communicate quickly and easily improves the overall communications picture. The truth couldn't be further removed. Technology has empowered all of us. Communicators, good and bad, can make their comments 24/7, making softly-spoken, good ideas even harder to hear in the maelstrom.
In the workplace, poorly-worded communications can easily be taken out of context and misunderstood when received by distracted executives.
When 400 of the planet's largest companies were last surveyed, they estimated the cost of miscommunication at a staggering $26,041 per employee. Or, put another way, poor communication almost doubles the wages bill. The other statistic of note to come out of this research was that companies led by good communicators drive 47% greater returns than their less-effective counterparts.
Clearly, a CEO simply does not have the time to talk to her staff individually or even in small groups. She has to leverage all channels available to her to make sure that her message gets through clearly. But how does she listen?
Pumphouse Productions is a fervent advocate of face-to-face communications where presenters have a platform to convey strategy directly to their people. The audience can hear the speaker's tone of voice and recognise sincerity; they can look at her body language and see confidence, they can hear a message like it is, without filtering and conditioning and delivered with emotion and passion. Correspondingly, a seasoned presenter can 'read' the audience and adapt his messaging to support understanding. This skill is vital for good presentation; some learn it over time, others more pro-actively, by taking lessons from speaker support trainers.
Content is clearly crucial to deliver audience engagement, but what is often overlooked is context.
Mapping the message to the medium conveying it and the environment in which it is delivered – putting the message into a suitable context – enhances the content strategy and leaves no room for misunderstanding.
Get both of these factors correct in your meetings and face-to-face becomes the most powerful weapon in the communications armoury.


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This activity investigates how you might make squares and pentominoes from Polydron.
If you had 36 cubes, what different cuboids could you make?
How can you put five cereal packets together to make different
shapes if you must put them face-to-face?
10 space travellers are waiting to board their spaceships.
There are two rows of seats in the waiting room - a row of 10 red
chairs facing a row of 10 blue chairs.
6 people are sitting in pairs. The other 4 are sitting
Between the singles or pairs there are always one or two spare
Nobody is sitting directly opposite anyone else.
Where are they all sitting?

subset: commoncrawl


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Te Rangikaheke (Yvonne) Bidois hesitates when asked if she is proud of her achievements - it's not something she's ever really thought about.
The Rotorua woman has been awarded the Queen's Service Medal for services to Maori. As lead negotiator for Ngati Rangiwewehi she has headed up Treaty negotiations with the Crown since 2008. Her leadership helped achieve the best outcome from the iwi's claim, with an agreement in principle signed last year and final settlement deeds due for signature this year.
Mrs Bidois said having her hard work recognised was a nice feeling. "It's not until you look back you realise we have achieved a lot, when you are working through the process it doesn't feel like it," she said. "This is a really nice bouquet, it just hasn't sunk in yet, it's a little bit surreal."
Mrs Bidois, who has an MA in Maori and management, worked as a community projects officer for the Rotorua District Council for five years, managing contracts with a range of community organisations.
When Ngati Rangiwewehi got the chance to negotiate with the Crown in 2008 Mrs Bidois, who had been the iwi authority chairwoman for three years, put her hand up to lead the negotiations. Why?
"Because you are brought up the way you are brought up, you have iwi responsibilities, you feel like you have the skills and abilities, you know your people and you have a few clues."
Although it was an individual award, she said the claims team, her family and kaumatua should share the credit.
Husband Anthony, their five adult children and nine mokopuna were among those justifiably proud of the honour.
Mrs Bidois is also well known in netball, representing Rotorua before coaching Rotorua, Waiariki and Bay of Plenty age group sides. She is also trustee of the Mangorewa Kaharoa Te Taumata Trust..
Michael Cullen from Ohope acknowledged, A4
Taupo's top honours, A5


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Amanda A.
Nanny in Las Cruces, NM 88001.
Looking for full-time work as a nanny.
Enhanced Background Check not run.
Enhanced Background Check(Not Run)
Basic Background Check not run.
Basic Background Check(Not Run)
Motor Vehicle Records Check not run.
Motor Vehicle Records Check(Not Run)
First Aid Training
First Aid Training
CPR Training
CPR Training
Las Cruces, NM
- Age 30
- 14 years paid experience
- Female
Last signed in: More than 6 months
Preferred Rate $70-$100 per hour
Amanda's Bio
I have been babysitting children for 14 yrs now from the ages of new born to 14 yrs old. I am certified for CPR and First Aid. I am also a certified home caregiver.
Age Specific Experience
14 years of paid child care experience with:
- First year
- Toddlers (1 to 3 years)
- Preschooler (3 to 5 years)
- Grade School (6 to 11 years)
- Pre-teen/Teenagers (12 years and over)
More than 10 years of infant care experience
Infant Care:
- Instruction (proper swaddling, feeding, changing, bathing)
- Assist with setting a routine
- Overnight care
- Mother's helper
Special Needs Experience
Special Needs Care Experience
- Physical Disabilities
- Medical/Special Healthcare Needs
- Social/Emotional
Special Needs Conditional Experience
- Alzheimer's
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
- Delayed Speech
- Down Syndrome
- Hearing Loss
- Mental Illness
- Mobility Challenges
Special Needs Services Experience
- Administering Medication
- Assistance With Transportation
- Bathing
- Bed Baths
- Bladder and Bowel Assistance
- Blood Glucose Testing
- Dressing Assistance
- Feeding Assistance
- Grooming and Hygiene
- Insulin Injections
- Lifting and Transferring
- Mobility Assistance
- Positive Behavioral Support
- Repositioning
- Specific Meal Preparation (foods to avoid, etc.)
Availability & Job Preferences
Availability Duration
Willing to consider working as a live in care provider
- Permanent (1 to 2 years)
- Permanent (2 or more years)
Job Duration
- Will consider a full time position
- Start date is flexible
My availability is valid through 6/8/14
- Open (all day, everyday)
Skills & Abilities
Languages Spoken:
- English
- Spanish
Additional Services:
- Meal Preparation
- Laundry
- Light Housekeeping
- Swimming Supervision
- Crafts
- Potty Training
- Travel with Family
- Willing to run errands as needed
- Willing to drive children to events, school, appointments, or carpooling
Homework Help:
- Finishing homework
- Checking answers
- Studying for a test
- Proofreading
- Basic Math
- Pre-Algebra
- Elementary Science
- Earth Science
- Science
- English
- Essay Writing
- Social Studies
- Spanish
|Lawrence O. is a reference for Amanda A.
|Relationship: Former Employer
|Join Now to Contact Reference
|April P. is a reference for Amanda A.
|Relationship: Family
|Join Now to Contact Reference


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nyma, The New York Manhattan Hotel, New York Oversikt
Sammenlign priser og resrvasjon tilgjengelighet nyma, The New York Manhattan Hotel, New York
nyma, The New York Manhattan Hotel, New York Detaljer
nyma, The New York Manhattan Hotel Hotel oversikt
This Manhattan hotel is located between Broadway and 5th Ave, near the Empire State Building and New York Public Library.
This accommodation offers discounted parking rates.
Klimaanlegg, Heis, Tilgang for personer med nedsatt funksjonsevne, Flerspråklig personale, Aviser, Safe i resepsjonen, Minibank, Salgsautomat
Vaskeritjeneste, 24-timers resepsjon, Renseri/vaskeri, Vekketjeneste, Portvakt, Fakstjeneste, Bagasjeoppbevaring, Skopusstjeneste, Kopisenter, Ekspress innsjekking/utsjekking
Betalt parkering er tilgjengelig nær hotellet.
Wi-Fi-Internett gratis i alle rom og fellesområder (lobby/resepsjon osv.)
From JFK airport: Take the free, quick and easy Airtrain to 'Jamaica Station' on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). From 'Jamaica Station', take the blue metro line E and step out at Queens Plaza. Change into the orange metro line towards Downtown Manhattan and get off at 34th Street - Herald Square. The hotel is 5 minutes from the station.
nyma, The New York Manhattan Hotel, New York Hotelldetaljer
nyma, The New York Manhattan Hotel offers an excellent location right in New York city centre, between Broadway and world-famous Fifth Avenue. Nearby attractions include the Empire State Building, Macy's, the fashion district and Madison Square Garden, as well as the Jacob Javits Convention Centre. Grand Central Station, Penn Station and the Port Authority Bus Terminal are located just blocks from the hotel, so easy and convenient transportation to other places in the city is guaranteed. The hotel is also easy to reach from the city's airports- JFK, La Guardia, Newark, and Stewart.
nyma, The New York Manhattan Hotel offers a cosy mezzanine lobby bar, an on-site fitness centre and a variety of conveniences, including free wireless internet, complimentary continental breakfast, flat-screen televisions, free calls within the U.S., daily newspapers, in-room personal safes, laundry and valet services as well as reduced-rate parking. The hotel also offers concierge service to help guests arrange car services and sightseeing activities.
All rooms at the nyma, New York Manhattan Hotel have been decorated in a classic style, creating the perfect atmosphere where to relax. They are equipped with a variety of modern facilities, such as an iron, ironing board, tea and coffee maker, hairdryers and cordless speakerphones with voicemail, cable TV, movies on demand and Nintendo™ video games. Minibars are available in 26 rooms as well as larger rooms for families or business meetings. Concierge service is offered to help guests to arrange car services and sightseeing activities.


text:
Arkansans with Courage: Special Olympian Taylor Bowman
Little Rock, Arkansas -
LITTLE ROCK, AR - In Arkansas there are nearly 14 thousand Olympic athletes. Three hundred of them competed in the recent Winter Olympic games.
There's one special sportsman whose oath is "let me win - but if I cannot win - let me brave in the attempt."
There's a winter olympic sport with no ice and no snow whose athletes don't use skis.
"My name is Taylor, and I'm from Little Rock, and I play floor hockey," says Taylor Bowman, 17.
It's a sport of sticks and pucks and a sport Taylor has fallen for.
"I love it a lot," he says.
In just 2 seasons, Taylor has become more than just a solid player. This Joe T. Robinson High School student is developing into a team captain. The other athletes on the floor look to him.
"I love it a lot and plus I get to play with all my friends pretty much, get to play different positions, and basically hang out with them," Taylor says.
It's a leadership quality that comes through with each and every play. Despite the thrill of a goal, these Olympians are gaining much more than simply gold.
"Friendship. Simple. At the end of the day we are still going to be a team, and we are still going to be friends," Taylor says. "It means a lot to me, making a lot of friends, playing for fun, just have a lot of athletes with you. It doesn't matter whether we win or lose, we are going to build our friendship and character, that's it."
The highs and lows of competition help Special Olympians like Taylor in building bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood with every play.
Taylor and his team competed in Special Olympics Arkansas' Winter Olympic games. Taylor now will turn his attention to the next Special Olympics sport in line. This fall he will play his favorite - flag football.
More Stories
First Man Killed in WWII from Arkansas
Kyle Spurger's apartment is like a mini-museum.
A Southwest Little Rock home was shot up early Sunday morning while…


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Stellent vs. Documentum, Managing UsersJanuary 8, 2008 - 2:31pm — bex
James McGovern recently posted a complaint about how difficult it is to use Documentum with externalized user repositories (Stellent 1, Documentum 0). This time, one of James's minions couldn't find a Documentum API for adding users!
I could have sworn that Documentum had something like that... it appears that the DFC supports adding one user to one group at a time, as noted by Pie Guy, but the API won't let you add users to multiple groups in one shot... you need multiple API calls to do that.
My advice? If you're using Documentum a lot, get to learn Jython or JRuby. Documentum has a Java API, which is accessible from Jython (Java-based-Python) or JRuby (Java-based-Ruby). Then your administrators can whip out quick Python scripts for user and data management... which is sure faster than whipping out a full-blown-gonzo-whopper J2EE application every time...
To reiterate, stuff like this isn't really needed in Oracle/Stellent... they separate users from content, and encourage people to do all user management in LDAP or Active Directory. It works great.
If you chose to not use a separate user repository, then you can use the one built-in. If you want to script user creation, no problem. Use the ADD_USER service with any number of SOA interfaces (.NET, Java, Ruby, Python, etc.), or the command line IdcCommand tool.
James keeps a pretty good eye on how content management could better fit into the enterprise... I wonder what he would think of my theory that Enterprise 2.0 means the end of slow business process?
We can always hope...
Join Me at AIIM Control: Jan 14th in MinneapolisJanuary 3, 2008 - 5:05pm — bex
If you're in the Minneapolis area, and you are interested in content management, you'll probably want to attend the AIIM Control event on January 14th, 2008. As an added bonus, I'll be giving the keynote presentation on Enterprise Mashups... I promised to not even utter the word "Oracle," so this will be a vendor-neutral presentation.
The cost is $100 for content management professionals that belong to AIIM... otherwise its $125. You can register here:
The location is the Four Points Sheraton 1330 Industrial Boulevard Minneapolis, MN 55413 (google map). Registration at 7:30 AM, the show starts at 8:30 AM, my keynote is over lunch, and the event ends at 3:30 PM.
How To Find Stellent Content On Oracle MetalinkDecember 27, 2007 - 5:11pm — bex
If you're having a hard time locating Stellent patches / components / samples on Oracle's Metalink site, you're not alone... Thankfully, some former Stellent folks put together a Metalink FAQ for Stellent customers. This will help folks who are used to the browsable Stellent site become adjusted with the search query-heavy Metalink site.
Who would have guessed that a database company like Oracle would have query-heavy web pages? ;-)
Anyway, here's a quick list of questions, with links to their answers. You'll need to supply your Metalink password to view the FAQ answers in their entirety:
- Where can I find the Knowledge Base articles that were on the former sites?
- Where can I find Product Downloads that were on the former sites?
- Where can I find Patches that were on the former sites?
- Where can I find Extras that were on the Stellent Support Site?
- Where can I find Samples that were on the Stellent Support Site?
- Where can I find the Product Guides (Documentation) that were on the Stellent Support Site?
- Is there a Newsletter like the former Stellent Weekly Update?
- What other web site recommendations do you have for former users of the Stellent Support Sites
One of the biggest complaints I hear is the inability to find the samples. At present, Oracle is unsure what to do with these unsupported tutorials, and does not offer them on Metalink... until they post them elsewhere, I've made available some of the most popular ones up on Bezzotech's Library Page, including the Blogs, Wikis, RSS Feeds, and the How To Components.
I'm also trying to keep a list of Oracle Content Management patches up to date on my blog...
Another Reason Why Oracle Is "Open"November 27, 2007 - 7:07pm — bex
Right before Open World 2007, the Oracle Apps Lab team put together a clever skunk works project, thanks to the advocacy of some senior Oracle execs:
Its gotten quite a bit of press recently, because its the only public Ruby On Rails application that runs inside Java. It uses JRuby, running in Oracle's application server, and was launched in less than 6 weeks... the app labs folks were quite pleased with Nutter's little baby.
So what's it do? Well, its kind of like LinkedIn, but the purpose is to have an immediate feedback loop between developers and Oracle customers. Customers can submit ideas, or make requests, and vote on which changes they prefer. They can tag their idea, and comment on other ideas. Several developers I know -- including several senior ones -- monitor the top rated feature requests.
Its still a bit preliminary, it could use better RSS and tag support... plus, who knows if it can scale to satisfy the needs of the millions of Oracle customers. But I'm damn curious to see if it can! It might quell the frious debate about why Rails is rare in the enterprise.
[Rails] has its own particular strengths. People who don't value those strengths aren't going to get it. It's like trying to explain to a vegetarian why Kobe beef is so good.
That might make James McGovern a bit happier...
Oracle Open World: Final Thoughts, And Some Cool NewsNovember 17, 2007 - 6:48pm — bex
The last day of Open World was a bit like the others... I attended one more session, and had a few conversations with other techies. I saw the Stellent folks do a cook-off in the No Slide Zone. With 1500 sessions, Open World can get a little crazy... frequently there were five sessions that sounded exactly the same! Of course, they weren't the same... which is a shame. Open World would benefit from five repeats of the best session, instead of five similar sessions.
As with most conferences, I learned more through one-on-one interactions than by going to sessions.
James had an interesting jab... he hoped that I would figure out why Oracle had the word "Open" in their conference title. He he he... yeah, Oracle doesn't get as much credit as other folks -- like IBM -- when it comes to the Open Source movement. Oracle has been a member of the Eclipse foundation for quite a while, they've open-sourced pieces of their ADF framework, as well as TopLink: their Java database persistence layer. They also have a few Linux kernel developers on staff to support Oracle Enterprise Linux, as well as other pieces of the GNU/Linux project. I can't say if they do as much as IBM or Novell, but they do their fair share...
One thing that surprised me was the sheer number of applications Oracle sells. They has been acquiring so many companies so fast, many are wondering how they could get them to all work together... its a challenge even for an all-Oracle shop.
Let's say your big company owns and loves a particular Oracle Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system... Suddenly you acquire another company, who uses a different Oracle CRM system. No problem, just force the smaller company to migrate their data... This costs millions, but what choice do you have?
Now suddenly you want a partnership with a third company, which requires you to share customer data. Newer Identity Standards can ensure a secure sharing of data... but how should you do it? To make matters worse, the 3rd company owns a different CRM system. It ain't Oracle, and there's no way they're changing for you. Consolidation isn't an option, and no standard exists that would satisfy your needs...
What to do?
I feel that people may be trying to solve this problem in the wrong way... Consolidation and standards are merely tactics: the strategic goal is interoperability. This applies for CRM, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), as well as Enterprise Content Management (ECM). Of course, that begs the question: how on earth do we achieve effective interoperability? SOA, BPEL, and ESBs seem to be Oracle's current plan... but other problems need to be addressed as well.
Hopefully my fans will be pleased to hear that Andy MacMillan and I will be working hard on the details of this problem... at least in the ECM realm. McGraw Hill has accepted our book proposal about a unified approach to information management! The title is still a work-in-progress.
With a bit of luck, by this time next year I'll be a two-time author, and you'll have the answers you need about unified ECM ;-)
Open World, Day 4November 15, 2007 - 9:38am — bex
Today I finally made it to a session... this one was on SOA and Oracle's Enterprise Service Bus. I have several concerns with ESBs, and it was nice to get some straight talk about the pitfalls. BPEL isn't the best language to tie together business processes -- as Lonnke Dikmans says, it's tricky to deal with external events.
Plus, BPEL is a declarative XML language. I like declarative languages for simple things... but it gets pretty complex for large processes. A scripting language is almost always superior for orchestrating complex tasks -- compare Ruby Rake to Apache ANT for example -- but a declarative language is easier to modify with GUI tools. A non-programmer can configure a complex application if its in a declarative language... but they do seriously bind a developer's hands.
A scripting language with annotations would be the best of both worlds... the developer exposes what is "tweakable" with code annotations... and a non-programmer can modify the annotations. A workflow designer's primary use is to spit out boilerplate code... similar to how Scaffolding works with Ruby on Rails. The boilerplate jump-starts the development, and exposes standard annotations... Done and done.
Anyway, the next generation of Oracle's ESB will be based more on Coherence... which means better support for events, and it will no longer be one single logical bus: it will be cloud-based. That means more flexible, more robust, and faster... in theory. I'm anxious to play with it next year.
Next was on to the keynote by Michael Dell. I'm really impressed with the green initiatives at this conference. Yesterday Intel was freaking out about power consumption, and today Michael Dell was presenting his latest line of low-power computers. They also started a world-wide free computer recycling program. These data center guys are really freaking out about power consumption. at present, about half of the Fortune 500 spend more to power their servers, then they do on computers! Power centers consumer 1.5% of the power in the US... and its going to get a whole lot worse.
Let me remind you: data storage is growing faster than Moore's Law. Many computer folks have to think 10 years ahead... so they know that we're going to be in trouble soon. I think computer companies will soon be a huge force for finding cheap, clean, energy alternatives... otherwise, ten years from now, their business model of bigger-better-faster-more will be in jeopardy.
Between Dell's and Larry's keynote, there was an interesting "crowd sourced marketing" stunt... They showed a big board to the crowd, asking what your thoughs were on the values of integrated IT. You could send a text message to Dell, and your message would be displayed on the big board. The messages varied, from "better ROI" and "job security," to "integrated cowbell."
Later, it was off to the customer appreciation night, with 30,000 other folks. The highlight was seeing Lenny Kravitz in concert, who played a great set... He joked, "Man, you people throw some big parties. Y'all must be doing well!"
heh... Larry certainly is ;-)
Open World, Day 3November 13, 2007 - 2:10pm — bex
Missed all the sessions again today. I went to a publisher's workshop, which was pretty good. A bunch of project managers showed us what was super cool in Oracle's latest products, trying to tempt us into writing a book on it. I probably learned more there than in the average session anyway...
In the Keynote, the CEO of Intel showed off their latest chips. They are extremely low power, I believe it has a 70% increase in performance per watt compared to the previous generation. They also introduced the first lead-free CPU. The demos of the chips went OK... the power was low, but one of the computers crashed. However, it turned out to be a really good demo of the failover power of Oracle Coherence... which I'll talk about later.
Then Thomas Kurian showed off some nifty Fusion products, including the next-generation of web content management: Open WCM. Wicked cool... it solves so many problems. Its been in the works for almost 3 years, and they will finally be releasing it next year some time. I'm trying to get a beta version...
I hung out in the demo-pods most of the day again, checking out how the Fusion Middleware apps could possibly work together... Service Oriented Architectures are good, but they can't do everything. To do everything, you need an overlay of an event-driven architecture over a service-oriented architecture... ideally all tied together with a Turing-complete scripting language. But that means you can't "orchestrate" apps by drawing boxes and lines. Plus, you can't have too many events, otherwise your code turns into a big giant mess.
Still looking for the answer...
Open World, Day 2November 13, 2007 - 12:34am — bex
I didn't get a chance to go to any sessions today... I had a meeting with a publisher about a potential second book -- cross your fingers! I'll know this week if they think it has a market. Afterwards, I spent most of my time at the demo pods playing with different kinds of Oracle software. Then it was a quick drink with some Content Management customers, then back to the demo lab to help set up computers for presentations tomorrow.
Seriously... its 11:30 pm, and I'm blogging from the hands-on lab. Mondays suck.
The number of Oracle products is a bit overwhelming... especially in the applications stack. There's a ton of overlap in the JD Edwards, Peoplesoft, and Siebel product lines... not to mention the dozen different ways to implement any project with Fusion Middleware. If your goal is to always use the most innovative solution, you're in for quite a long selection process... and by the time you're done, somebody will have released something better!
Software innovation happens so fast your best option is to satisfice... you're better off with a good relationship with a people in mediocre product line, than a mediocre relationship with people in a good product line.
Tomorrow I have a half-day meeting, then I'm speaking twice. I hope to catch at least one session, but I might get another goose egg like today :-(
Before closing... I feel that I should mention that a man was murdered outside Oracle Open World last night... shot five times outside the movie theater between two of the Open World buildings. I have no glib comment here... I just find it totally bizarre that this would happen, despite dozens of police within sight in every direction. I'm not frightened... just sad and confused...
Open World, Day 1November 11, 2007 - 9:25pm — bex
Sunday... registration, and a long meeting with the other Oracle ACE Directors in the community. I probably don't make this point very clear: I do not work for Oracle. My ACE title is honorary, because of my work in the developer community. Anyway, it was nice to finally meet Lonnke Dikmans, Jason Jones, Frans Thamura, and other blogless folk...
Anyway, Oracle was kind enough to give us the inside scoop on a lot of new technology features. I'm still unclear about what I'm allowed to talk about, so I'm gonna play it safe and wait for official announcements before I open my big yap. Overall, I'm really impressed with Coherence, cautiously optimistic about Web Center Suite, more realistic about BPEL Process Manager, and am slowly being won over by SOA Suite.
I'd also recommend that all Oracle atendees check out the Oracle Mix web site. This site was thrown together at the last second, but is a pretty cool social app for Open World conference goers...
Off To Oracle Open World!November 9, 2007 - 3:40pm — bex
Well, I'm hitting the road a bit early for the Oracle Open World conference... I'm a presenter for the following three sessions:
- S291738: 50 Ways to Integrate with Oracle Universal Content Management, Tuesday 3:15-4:15
- S292624: Hands-on Lab: Building an Enterprise Web Site from Scratch, Monday 12:30-1:30 and Tuesday 4:45-5:45
- S292625: Hands-on Lab: Experience Oracle Universal Content Management, Wednesday 9:45-10:45
The 50 Ways talk will be similar to the Intro to Integration talk from Crescendo this year... but I have some different examples... For this talk I integrated Ruby On Rails with the Content Server, with a clever application of JRuby, Content Integration Suite (CIS), and the obligatory voodoo magic. If you're curious, be sure to attend ;-)
For the hands-on labs, I'm only going to show up if the speaker needs extra help... so no promises!
Anyway, there are over 1500 sessions this year, so its a little hard to choose which event to attend... plus so many of them sounds exactly the same. No big deal... I usually learn more by networking with fellow geeks then by reading powerpoint slides...
Personally, I'm curious about where they are going with Identity Management, Business Intelligence, and SOA Suite. I'm going to sit on a few of those talks, and pepper the presenters with trick questions. I'm mildly curious about Web Center Suite, BPEL, and Secure Enterprise Search... but I've already seen a lot about that.
Its a little tough to schedule my day. Usually conferences send you a brochure with all tracks neatly color-coded, and logically grouped by time slot. However, Open World 2007 is trying to be "paperless," and so they launched an online Open World schedule builder. Unfortunately, its usability is significantly more clunky than a dead-tree...
Oh well, there's always glitches when you do something the first time. I'm pretty sure next year's scheduler will be much better. Otherwise, I'm might have to make a Greasemonkey script...
See you there!
Great InfoWorld Article on Content Server 10gr3November 8, 2007 - 5:54pm — bex
InfoWorld put together a very complimentary article about the latest version of Oracle's Enterprise Content Magament suite: Oracle Universal Content Management Lives Up to the Name.
It covers a bunch of new features that the Oracle folks crammed into this version... improved SharePoint integration, better records management, the Site Manager for web content management, exposing the content refinery as a service-oriented architecture, and lots of Web 2.0 bells and whistles.
The review went in-depth decently, but a lot of the truly cool features in 10gr3 are difficult to explain. File Store Provider, some new Schema goodies, better support for super high volume sites, better architecture for developing components... those take a while to appreciate.
Makes ya proud... even tho I don't work there anymore ;-)
Patches For Oracle Universal Content Management (UCM)November 6, 2007 - 5:17pm — bex
I've heard many a complaint from Stellent customers about Oracle's MetaLink site... Its a lot clunkier than Stellent's old support site, and pretty hard to find a specific patch, sample, or extra. Especially considering the fact that the product names appear to be in flux, so often you don't know what to look for... ECM? UCM? WCM? URM? WTF?
Anyway, here's a list of links I've collected for finding the good stuff straight from updates.oracle.com:
- All Universal Content Management Updates, sorted by release date. Includes Site Studio, Refinery, Tracker, and most add-ons.
- UCM Patches for just 10.1.3.3.1 (latest as of Nov 2007)
- UCM Patches for all 10.1.3 (should get most of what you need)
- All Universal Records Management Updates
- Information Rights Management
- Outside-In Conversion Updates
Please note, you need to use your MetaLink password here... which means only Oracle customers and partners are allowed in!
Also... as of Nov 4th, there are no updates for anything besides UCM on updates.oracle.com... those last 3 links have no results. Hopefully this is where they will be placed, otherwise I'll need to tweak those URLs in the future. For now, they are a good starting point for finding the patches you need.
Content Folios: Released At Last!November 2, 2007 - 11:07am — bex
Yes... the legends are true... Oracle finally released the long awaited product: Content Folios. For those who don't know, its like Folders on steroids. Essentially, its a way to group content items, folder, forms, images, web pages, anything into a group called a "folio."
Of course, you've always been able to link items together through metadata and tags... but now it's been formalized... and this bad boy has a very flashy interface.
It's not a separate product, nor its own download... it got snuck into patch 6602355... which is the Content Server 10.1.3.3.1 Update Bundle. Its only available via Oracle MetaLink, so its only available to customers and partners.
I'll be showing off more of its features next week... as will Billy Cripe, I'm sure.
UPDATE: as mentioned in the comments below, you should probably use patch 6907073, which is the Content Server update for 10.1.3.3.2.
Information RevolutionOctober 29, 2007 - 11:26am — bex
An "oldie" but goodie: Information Revolution, on how old assumptions about organizing physical data needs to be rethought, in favor of what is possible in the digital world:
I'm not 100% in agreement... sure, multidimensional "tagonomies" are superior to rigid "taxonomies," but that's been known for ages. It's certainly not unique to the digital world. Ask any microbiologist if they are happy with the scientific classification of life forms into kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. How is a microbiologist supposed to use such a rigid system? Some of the life forms they discover appear to be both a plant and an animal.
People have preferred flexible "tagonomies" to rigid taxonomies for decades... even these new-fangled "hyperlinks" are nothing new... unless everybody has forgotten the ancient art of cross-referencing and footnotes.
No... The digital revolution has added nothing magical or mystical when it comes to content management... It has helped findability, but a side effect has been more useless data to sift through... The primary benefit of the revolution is that it enables everyone to be "experts!" The key to propelling the digital revolution is in engaging more experts, and improving as many dialogs as possible.
The problem of "content management" is relatively the same; now begins the problem of "expert management"...
But that's merely my expert opinion ;-)
Search My Content Management Book With GoogleOctober 18, 2007 - 4:20pm — bex
A little known fact... you can finally use Google Book Search in order to search through my book on Stellent/Oracle Enterprise Content Management. You can restrict your search by starting from the Google page for my book, or just use the form below:
I placed a copy of this form on the official page for the Stellent Content Server book. The search results aren't as good as having a PDF version of the book (available from APress Publishers), but its ten times better than the index supplied in the "dead-tree" version...
Angel Food CakeOctober 17, 2007 - 9:10am — bex
Apparently, the JDeveloper crew over at Oracle thought this startup tip was relevant:
An angel food cake will slice neatly without crumbling if you freeze it first, then thaw it.
Cute... that's exactly what I want from a Java IDE... Apparently another tip was this:
Aluminum foil pierced by a fork on a bed of ball bearings is not microwave safe.
hoooookay... I need to close my eyes and reboot before my laptop transforms into Loki.
Five Questions From James McGovernOctober 10, 2007 - 9:23am — bex
James posted five Enterprise Content Management (ECM) questions on his blog... hoping that either John Newton or myself would reply. This time he takes the interesting approach of calling me smart instead of stupid...;-)
So let's get started...
Why do some ECM systems have a tight coupling with user data? Stellent/Oracle does not do this, but other do. I can't say for sure, but I'd bet access control list (ACL) performance is a major issue. IMHO, compared to other ways of adding security, ACLs do not scale. That makes stuff like project-level collaboration software very tricky to do right. Making it flexible, secure, fast, and enterprise scalable is nearly impossible.
If you have N employees, you have about 2N possible ACLs... 10 employess mean 1024 possible ACLs, but 20 employees means over a million! For 1000 employees, you wouldn't be able to enumerate all possible permutations on any currently existing digital storage device...
Do you really want to allow average users to design project spaces with ACLs on the fly? For workgoup-level servers that's fine, but enterprise-wide??? Holy crap, no! You'll probably need an in-memory cache of lots of user data, and some form of pre-compiled ACL expression-matching objects, not to mention the problems with latency... this means a tight-coupling between users and content is the logical sacrifice to make.
Decoupling is probably not a huge issue, but performance will suffer like the dickens...
SOAP versus REST? These days, I say nuts to them both. I'm more in favor of building service-oriented architectures with JSON web services. Ditch the entire SOAP stack, and go back to basics. However, not so basic as REST, and not so idiotic as XML-RPC. Mark Masterson suggested Atom and Atom Publishing Protocol... I think that those are great options for content delivery, but its too narrow of a pipe for content management. I don't want to tunnel context sensitive metadata display, or business process management, or several layers of customizations through AtomPub.
If I ever got behind an ECM standard, it would have to be a JSON-based web service. Simple, open, cross-platform, extensible, flexible, discoverable, mashup-ready. I would accept nothing less.
And speaking of standards, the next two questions were kind of the same... Why don't people talk about interoperability at AIIM conferences? That's a good question... as is the question why do ECM people seem ambivalent about standards?
Pie guy has weighed in on this several times... as has Billy Cripe, and... um... I don't know. I can tell you why people rarely talk to me about standards: I have a seething hatred for 90% of software standards and I'm unfortunately gifted at intimidating people.
Don't get me wrong, I love the RFCs! Those built the internet. But ECMA, JSR, Oasis, and the W3C can collectively suck an egg for all I care. Those committees don't innovate: they merely bully and claim credit for those who do. They're accountants and lawyers, not creators. Gimme a well-documented API over clunky, overengineered, committee driven, ill-conceived "standards" anyday...
I have a longer anti-standards rant in the works... which coincidentally includes anti-rules engines rants, and anti-portal server rants... it was just too ungodly long to include here...
So, the last question: where the heck are the ECM patterns? Answer: in my noodle. I got 'em rattling around in my brain like a dried pea in an empty tuna can.
Maybe some day I'll let 'em out...
(apologies to Dave Barry)
Compliance Oriented ArchitecturesSeptember 28, 2007 - 12:18pm — bex
Both James Governor and James McGovern -- or is it the other way around? -- have been chatting about compliance-oriented architectures... or a way to add records management and retention management as a service to the enterprise as a whole. It should be an infrastructure component, and not require your records to be migrated to your monolithic records management system.
All I can say is, been there, done that, yawn.
I'd advise them both to check out Oracle Records Management Agents. Stellent's Records Management Team envisioned those three years ago, made them two years ago, and they are a big part of Oracle's Universal Records Management strategy.
You don't need to put your data into a records management repository to manage it like a record! You just need an "agent" that runs in your remote system -- email archiving server, file system, 3rd party CMS -- that "calls back" to the content server via SOA when specific events occur.
For example, Oracle's URM will block somebody from deleting an email from the archive if the retention policy won't allow it. Likewise, it will force a delete, if the retention policy enforces it.
If you don't want to move all your content into one single repository, fine! But you do need a single-point for defining retention policies... especially for large organizations with multiple email archiving systems.
Of course, innovative architectures are nothing new for the Stellent crew... we had SOA about eight years before there was a name for it. I guess we likewise had "COA" at least three years before anybody else knew it was important... and then there's the stuff I'm not allowed to talk about.
But, big snaps to the Stellent Records Management team... your architecture is finally being dubbed as the standard for others to follow. The names of the developers I'll protect so they don't get spammed, but they know who they are ;-)
Firevox: Bringing Accesibility to Web 2.0September 27, 2007 - 8:04am — bex
Let's say I have a web site... should I add new features, or follow the law? Usually this isn't an either/or proposition... typically people don't have to make a choice between adding cool features to their products, and following the laws... but when it comes to web sites, it ain't so simple.
On the one side is shiny new technology: AJAX, Mashups, Adobe AIR, Microsoft Silverlight, etc. As new innovative buzzwords come about, customers demand them.
On the other side is the law: accessibility standards for the visually and physically handicapped. This is vastly more important than people understand... The web has done more than the wheelchair to empower the handicapped. Shopping, research, finding friends, being a part of a community, helping others, even building a home in Second Life. Thus, finding a site that you can't use is vastly worse than a building without a ramp... its more like a building with a disappearing ramp...
Unfortunately, a lot of these shiny new technologies break existing standards. Most of the standards about clear labels and navigation are easy to implement... but others aren't. Screen readers need you to refresh the web page in order to "trigger" the event that something has changed... however most of the new technology focuses on changing the page without a refresh. What to do?
Well, you all know how I feel about standards... screw standards! Focus on the goal -- empower the handicapped -- and innovate your way out of the problem.
Now... there has been plenty of work on finessing Web 2.0 technologies to barely follow the accessibility standards... AJAX Patters has several. I prefer the more direct approach. New Web 2.0 technologies are not accessible, because screen reader technology is almost a decade old. The laws are written to conform to ridiculously outdated software... but people will stick to it until somebody has a better idea.
My solution? Firevox! Its a free, open source screen reader extension to Firefox. It is a native plug-in, and thus anything running on the page -- including Flash -- can be configured to "trigger" a redraw event in the screen reader. It's lacking a coherent set of patterns and standards for its usage, but that just takes time.
After this, web 2.0 technologies will help the visually handicapped even more than average users! Most of us have never used a screen reader... so trust me on this one. Its unbelievably painful to have to refresh and reread a web page when only 10 words have changed. If done right, Web 2.0 could empower the blind to surf the web much faster than before.
If you're a big giant company with plenty of cash (ie, Oracle), concerned about web sites and accessibility (ie, Oracle), and no love of Microsoft (ie, everybody), then let your developers help out on the Firevox project. $100k, 6 months, problem solved.
Of course, this means that sites may need to say Best Viewed with Firevox on them... but I won't shed a tear.
Related Items:
How Many is Too Many Search Results?September 26, 2007 - 10:16am — bex
I got a question from a friend who is helping a client manage a fairly large repository of content: about 10 million full-text items. Naturally, they're concerned about search performance. They don't think they'll even need to scan all 10 million items for an open-ended search... but they're interested in a worst-case scenario.
The client seems to be following most of the best-practices for this kind of system:
- Do not allow open-ended searches for average users.
- Use customized query pages that pre-fill metadata to pre-narrow the search.
- Direct users to fill in additional metadata as needed
- Allow open-ended searches only for special users (administrators, auditors, etc.)
But this got my friend thinking: how many search results is ideal? You get massive diminishing returns on search, even Google. Wikipedia is replacing Google for many kinds of information research...
The rule of thumb I used is that if my full-text query returned more than 200 results, then I didn't construct a proper query. I learned this after years of searching for academic research papers before the web existed... You need to use statistically improbable word combinations to tease good results out of the chaos. Don't search for computer game, search for evil clown anchor catapult.
No, "evil clown anchor catapult" its not a computer game... but it should be.
Naturally, this means you need to have a very good idea of what you're looking for in order to find it. Such advice is worthless for window shopping... Metadata and tags help tremendously for general browsing... but then again, you're trusting somebody to use the same keywords you would use. If taggers aren't professionals, or at least passionate about findability, then you'll miss out on a great deal.
Its not uncommon for researchers and auditors to perform an exhaustive search, get thousands of responses, and then read everything they find... but the rest of us get bored quickly and need help.
That help usually takes the form of good information architecture, which requires a pretty good understanding of your content and your audience. The vast majority of the content in a 10 million item repository is of little interested to the average user. Its of great interest to the content creator, and the 3 or 4 people who need that specific report, but for everybody else it's noise.
Without information architects, email becomes the most used search engine for your site!
If people can't find things by browsing, they will phone, message, mail, or otherwise annoy others to get what they need. If you think you can't justify an information architect, count up how much money your organization wastes emailing links to people. I bet you'll be surprised...
I usually advise people to purchase Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, which is a good introduction to this field. Its a very good grounding on the subject. After that, I'd suggest Don't Make Me Think and Ambient Findability.
But, even if you're well grounded in the theory, it's still worthwhile to hire a specialist.


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Modesto Martinez is a thief who 5 years ago was operating scam under name Rentasy. Martinez was collecting advance fees, then sending the poor desperate souls to American Plaza, (Dominicanos) who dont speak any English & they have hand out for more DINERO $$$$$. [continued below]....
The State caught Martinez defrauding room seekers and he got hammered BIG TIME. Guy's name is Modesto Esterlin Martinez, to report him, contact the NYS, Department of State @ 212-417-5790 or the NYS Attorney General @ 212-416-8000. Martinez is scamming now using the website name nycheaprent.com.
I was looking for a room recently, and when I got to the nycheaprent.com office @ 421 Seventh Avenue, Suite 1005, I discovered it was Martinez. Martinez and his female cohort (Jasmine) just collect an advance fee, then they just send the victim to American Plaza @ 3834 Broadway (uptown Manhattan), and this THIRD WORLD HUSTLER @ American Plaza wants another $150.00 up front fee too!
At the nycheaprent.com office, Martinez tried to get an advance fee from me and send me uptown to American Plaza; then it came back to me that it was the same con artist chiseler that was the subject of a Fox 5 News Report for ripping everyone Blacks & Hispanics for $150.00 advance fees and then just sending the victims to another agency that charges another advance fee. Steer clear of this Con Artist!
nycheaprent.com Reviews: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=nycheaprent.com%20421&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&ved=0CHEQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.merchantcircle.com%2Fbusiness%2Fnycheaprent.com.-.421.Seventh.Avenue.646-853-1304%3Futm_medium%3Dnewsfeed&ei=X8DFUNqDK6650AHa-IBY&usg=AFQjCNHB519v2_1ggaD2EelTSFBGeFXhEw
American Plaza Reviews:
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What do you guys think? Theres so many set during middle ages with knights and swords etc then you have the opposite being sci fi far into the future but are they really that unique in their timeframes?
You also have the historical ones that slightly change the setting and realism (assassins creed) but I really want to know what games you think are the most creative and unique in terms of combining the time period and setting.
Edited by Zambz, 19 January 2014 - 08:26 PM.


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Park Place Infiniti Sponsors Smiles for Survivors Park Place Infiniti is sponsoring the fourth annual Blow Out Breast Cancer event, presented by the Smiles for Survivors foundation and Square Colour Salon and Spa. [Read More...] Governor's Office of Energy Approves Solar Tax Incentives Highlighting its commitment to renewable energy in Nevada, the Governor's Office of Energy … [Read more...]
Volunteers in Medicine Dedicates New Southern Nevada Clinic to Ruffin Family
Nonprofit awarded generous contribution to provide medical care for the uninsured in Southern Nevada LAS VEGAS – Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada (VMSN) announced it received a generous donation from the Ruffin family. The contribution will support construction of the volunteer-driven nonprofit organization's second Southern Nevada location, expanding VMSN's mission … [Read more...]
Foundation Raising Funds for Veterans Memorial in Downtown Las Vegas
A local foundation is raising money to build a "world-class" veterans memorial in downtown Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Veterans Memorial Foundation is seeking $2.2 million through its Brick Campaign, where bricks are being sold at a range of $250 to $550. All bricks can be purchased in honor of a veteran and customized with the veteran's name, rank, dates of service and … [Read more...]
McDonald's Raises Over $41,000 During Annual Green for Grads Fundraising Event
Local owner/operators donate funds to Ronald McDonald House CharitiesÒ of Greater Las Vegas scholarship program LAS VEGAS – McDonald's announced a total of $41,113 was raised in Southern Nevada restaurants during its fourth annual Green for Grads scholarship fundraising event on April 17, 2014. During the one-day scholarship fundraising event, 110 participating Southern … [Read more...]
First Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program Coming to Nevada
Nevada's first osteopathic fellowship program has the green light. The American Osteopathic Association approved Nathan Adelson Hospice for a Hospice and Palliative Medicine Program. The program is a collaboration between the hospice and Touro University Nevada. This is a first-of-its-kind fellowship in Nevada and one of only 11 in the nation, according to a recent statement … [Read more...]
McDonald's to Host Annual Green for Grads Fundraising Event
WHO: McDonald's Southern Nevada locations WHAT: McDonald's is hosting its annual Green for Grads scholarship fundraising event. During the one-day event, all Southern Nevada restaurants will donate $1 from every Extra Value Meal purchased locally. Funds raised will benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Las Vegas scholarship program. Dozens of community … [Read more...]


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Originally posted on NFL Trade Rumors | Last updated 2/19/13
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune writes that the Chicago Bears could approach DE Julius Peppers about restructuring his current contract that will pay him a sizable base salary of $12.9 million for the 2013 season. Peppers currently counts $16.3 million against the team's salary cap and is under contract for another three season with base salaries of $13.9 million and $16.5 million coming his way in 2014 and 2015. Defensive tackle Henry Melton is an obvious candidate for the team's franchise tag, which will cost them $8.3 million. This figure can always be reduced if they're to agree on a long-term contract extension at some point down the road. Julius Peppers, 33, recorded his fifth straight Pro-Bowl season and is still playing at a very high level. Renegotiating his current wouldn't force him to take a pay cut. Instead, these types of adjustments typically convert a player's base salary into a signing bonus that's prorated over the remainder of the current deal. Chicago could also free up some extra cash by re-signing CB Charles Tillman to a multi-year extension. We should know whether or not the Bears intend address these player's contracts in the near future, as they'll have to make a decision regarding their franchise tag by March 4. The post Bears Could Approach DE Julius Peppers About Restructuring His Contract appeared first on NFL Trade Rumors -.
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Tauranga educators are slamming the Government's charter school model, which will allow unqualified or unregistered teachers in the classroom.
Opponents to the move say it will be detrimental to education in New Zealand.
Under the New Zealand Model of charter (partnership) schools, schools will be able to negotiate the number of registered teachers they wish to employ, school hours and term dates, negotiate salary levels and employment conditions.
Geoff Opie of Otumoetai Primary school said he was "unimpressed" with the direction education policy was heading and questioned why a "failed model" from England and America was to be introduced here.
"Call me cynical, but ... we have a good public education system that far out performs both the English and American systems and the politicians, for reasons only known to them, are in the process of stuffing it up. A bit of a shame really."
He said if state schools were not meeting the needs of students, alternatives should be available.
However, there must be accountability to the community and at present there was no accountability measures in place for charter schools and no core curriculum required to be taught, he said.
"I don't think the preset charter school will fit the bill, not the least, because it has been based on a political expediency between a defunct Act party and this National government. Any educational change based on political expediency unfailingly cuts across best educational practice."
Gate Pa principal Richard Inder believed there were much higher priorities than charter schools. He disagreed with the charter school initiative and said the decision to introduce charter schools was a political decision that was not made in consultation with those in the education sector.
He also believed state schools would end up financially disadvantaged and said if there was such faith in the charter school model, private enterprises should fund the schools entirely.
Dave Randell, principal of Otumoetai College, said taking under-achieving children out of mainstream school was a mistake and research showed when low achievers were with higher achievers they were more inspired, he said.
He also said employing unregistered or unqualified teachers was a mistake.
"The Government is talking about raising student achievement where every teacher by 2015 must have a master's degree but now they're contradicting themselves and saying you don't have to be qualified or registered.
"In the medical profession, it's like saying you don't have to be qualified to be a doctor and this is the same. I feel this is detrimental for the whole teaching profession," Mr Randell said.
The establishment of charter schools is dependent on the passage of the Education Amendment Bill.


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How much will it cost for bracket described below?
couple options for you, just cut a new piece of square tubing to the lenght you need to make it long and stiff use a heavier tubing, also if you don't go far and often, due what most due since the pontoon trailer are so high off the ground, put the motor all the way down, turn it all the way one way and use a rachet strap from the traler around the motor back to the trailer, all your trying to due is stop the motor from bouncing up and down and putting strain on the transom of the boat, just make sure your lower unit is still at least 18" or more off the ground and you are good to go.... done this hauling the potoon 120 miles each way twice every year......work great...
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Directed by: Eric Lewis
Starring: Melanie Calderwood, Susan Connors,
Austin Gregory, Laura Hanson and Christine Mosere*
In this Southern Gothic comedy, the Nettle sisters are determined to escape spinsterhood. Willie plans to go to
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* appears with the approval from the Actors Equity Association


text:
ONE NIGHT – and one night only! – for ONE DROP
March 8, 2013 Leave a Comment
BELLAGIO – In a few short weeks, something unprecedented in the history of Las Vegas and Cirque du Soleil will take place.
Every Cirque show on the Strip will go dark on the same night as hundreds of select artists, aerialists, technicians and crew members collaborate to put on a benefit show in Bellagio's "O" Theatre. Cirque du Soleil Production Manager Russ Petroni has been working since last summer on a project which will culminate March 22 in a one-time-only production, ONE NIGHT for ONE DROP. While the show, benefitting local and global water conservation and drinking water-access efforts, may be fleeting, Mr. Petroni hopes it will make a lasting impression.
"I think of it a bit like the Olympics – athletes spend their whole lives training for this one moment, and they have just one chance at it," he said. "You do everything in your power to do it spectacularly well and to make sure that moment is the best it can possibly be. It's your moment – that's what's thrilling."
For Mr. Petroni and his team, the moment is now just two short weeks away.
Cirque founder Guy Laliberté in 2007 formed his ONE DROP non-profit organization, which works to secure water access in developing countries and promote water conservation around the world. MGM Resorts joined the effort in 2012 with a $1 million, five-year commitment. That partnership is expanding this year with the special ONE NIGHT for ONE DROP show and gala at Bellagio.
About 240 artists and acrobats are involved in the production, including acrobats from every currently operating Cirque du Soleil production on The Strip, said Mr. Petroni. About 65 crew members will also be involved in the actual production, but more than 1,000 Cirque crew members volunteered their time and talent in some way to prepare for the event.
"Costume designers, technicians, make-up artists – we're looking at about 1,000 of our team members who've been assisting," he said. "Everyone's volunteering their time. They have their main job in other shows and then they are working on this in addition. We've been running rehearsals in the middle of the night. It's been a huge, collaborative effort."
The one-night-only performance promises to be much more than simply a mix of greatest-hits acts from the city's resident Cirque shows, said Mr. Petroni. This is a fully-formed, unique production.
"This is fully conceptualized, unique show from the ground up – not a best-of Cirque show," he said. "We're even adding projectors to the "O" Theatre to transform the space, so it doesn't feel the same as the iconic venue people may have seen."
This also marks the first time in Cirque's history that a show has been developed outside of the company's Montreal headquarters. Usually, concepts are developed there and then exported, either for resident shows or traveling productions. ONE NIGHT for ONE DROP was fully developed in Vegas.
"The Vegas team is getting a chance to showcase their talents, which is another thing that's so exciting about this," Mr. Petroni said. "It gives us a chance to work and think outside the box – to take the normal process and toss it out the window. It's brought us out of our comfort zone, but in a really good way."
Individual tickets for ONE NIGHT for ONE DROP start at $150. Individual tickets with gala passes to the pre- and after show benefit parties start at $2,500. For more information, visit cirquedusoleil.com/onenight4onedrop.


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Buster Olney on M&M: Rival GM says Red Sox would get 'nothing' in trade of Alfredo Aceves
|04.24.13 at 1:17 pm ET
Buster Olney of ESPN joined Mut & Merloni on Wednesday to talk about what the Red Sox might do with Alfredo Aceves in light of his mounting issues, and about some of Carl Crawford's recent comments about his time in Boston.
Olney said he doubts the Sox would get much, if anything, by trading Aceves, more because of his attitude problems than his pitching.
"I'd be surprised, after he had that incident in spring training, if you guys remember — the live BP session in which he wasn't giving 100 percent effort," Olney said. "I asked one general manager, what could you get for him? And he said, 'Nothing.' Basically, because his reputation as a teammate is so bad. That's not to rule out the possibility that he would go someplace else and actually pitch OK, but I think all the personality stuff we've seen in the last two years is going to certainly mitigate some teams' interest in adding him while giving something up that they consider to be worthwhile.
"Maybe the best thing the Red Sox could hope for would be some degree of salary relief, and there are certainly teams out there that would take a shot at him because they're struggling for pitching. The Angels, who are absolutely starved right now, maybe they would take a shot at him, but again, I don't think they're going to get anything serious in return based on what I've heard from rival general managers."
Meanwhile, in a Wednesday column by ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, Crawford said that he'll always carry his time in Boston with him, "because it did so much damage to the inside of me." Before Crawford came to Boston, Olney said, there were people in the Rays organization who were concerned about his ability to move to a higher-pressure market. There also were members of the Yankees organization who had the same worries, even as the Yankees showed an interest in him.
Even so, Olney said he thinks Crawford's attitude toward Boston since being traded to Los Angeles is more an effort to keep himself sharp than anything else.
"I think a lot of what you're reading from Carl is him finding and developing a chip on his shoulder," Olney said. "I was around Carl for a good number of days when he was with the Red Sox. I didn't think he was mistreated at all. I thought he was treated great. Relative to how he was performing, yeah, he got booed a little bit. I don't think the media was really all that tough on him. But I think that what you have is, Carl will tell you about, people back in high school didn't believe in me, I had doubters, people wondered, and I just think this is a way to motivate himself on a daily basis. And he is a motivated guy. The guy's getting up at 4:30, 5 every day to work out. '¦ It's like he's playing ninja mind games with himself."
Following are more highlights from the conversation. To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page. For more Red Sox coverage, go to weei.com/redsox.
On whether Aceves needs to be out of the clubhouse even if he can't be traded: "It depends on what the internal conversations were last night after the game. '¦ The fact that they left him in to take that beating made me wonder, OK, there's some kind of push-pull thing going on here. If in the meeting they decided, last night, he basically stopped competing on the mound, if that's what they believe, you've got to move him out as soon as possible, because they've got a great thing going.
"Aceves is one of those guys who had issues last year, and he's still around. You've got to turn the page. And it's not like they don't have other options, especially if Daniel Bard comes back up and really establishes himself. I think Aceves' value is really wrapped up in his versatility, but if the distractions and the questions about his effort outweigh what he's actually producing on the field, then you just move on. And I think they may have reached that point last night if what they were saying in their internal meeting was that he stopped competing."
On whether Joel Hanrahan will close upon returning from injury: "I would probably keep Hanrahan in that role because that's what he's done in recent years. That's what you acquired him to do. I think [Andrew] Bailey has demonstrated he can be an effective setup man. And I know this, that there are general managers and managers who believe that when you take a guy out of the closer's role during the year, that there is that sense of failure that doesn't go away. That's why sometimes they're reluctant to do that in midstream. They have to wait for the repeated failures. '¦ But I do think, because the division's competitive and because they do have a lot of options, after a while it will come down to who's throwing the best."
On Allen Webster and the trade the Sox made to get him: "People with other teams were screaming about that trade last year after it was made, because they felt like what the Dodgers could have done was say, 'We know you want [Rubby] De La Rosa, we know you want Webster, but there's no chance you're getting those guys. What, are you out of your minds? We're taking all that dead money off your payroll.' And when they gave up two of their best pitching prospects, executives of other teams were just scratching their heads, because they looked at both of those guys as being potential impact guys.
"I know that everything [Webster] did confirmed that people believed what his potential could be. That's why, when that trade was made, people were saying, for Ben Cherington, this was one of the best trades they've seen in recent years."
On Mike Napoli's hip condition impacting the offers he'll get as a free agent next year: "I think it'll hurt him. A lot of it's going to come down to exactly what doctors are seeing in that condition year to year. They have enough pictures of that hip where they can determine exactly where he is physically, but it surprised me that it had as much of an impact as it did [on his deal with the Sox], because I know the Rangers were aware of it, that issue that was hanging on him, and he actually played a lot of the last two years with that. That's why I thought for sure someone might jump in and try to wrest him away from the Red Sox when that deal wasn't getting done. But maybe Mike just decided, look, I like this situation, I like this park, I can establish myself as more of a first baseman as opposed to someone whose value is built in as a catcher, and that's what he's doing this year."
On PED suspicion about Bartolo Colon: "That's what some executives felt the last two years. It made them angry that he was having success, but all you can do is test him as much as you can and continue the investigation of the Miami PED thing. Beyond that, there's not a lot you can do. I can tell you guys there are definitely current players who have not been busted in the last year where executives and scouts with other teams are saying, 'Can you believe that garbage? Look how he's changed physically. Look how different he is. Look at his production. I'm not buying that, it's a joke.' There are certainly players who I think the free agent offers and the trade offers that involved them were really affected by the perception that these guys are not playing on the level, that they are cheating.
"But there's nothing you can do, and I fully understand and agree with the fact that Oakland, even after [Colon] got busted playing for them last year, when he became a free agent, they said, you know what, we're going to sign him, because we don't have any control over this, and Major League Baseball does the testing, and if they're telling him his player's eligible, then we have to consider it. He's been a really effective pitcher for them."
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