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|By Gingalover
|Part of the Avatar: New Universe II continuity.
|Biographical information
|Birth place
|Physical description
|Skin color
|Eye color
Black, green
|Chronological and political information
|First appearance
173 (chapter)
173 is a human-sized, living statue that resides in the SCP foundation. It has a horrid face, green eyes above small black eyes, a mouth looking more like a cut. It also has very stubby arms and legs. Despite all of these facts, it is very quick, but only if it isn't in direct sight. It often has random signs it constantly changes every single time someone blinks. Either they are simple words or pictures. If unable to be watched full-time, it'll break the neck of whoever it wants to. it is proven to be extremely powerful.
Avatar: New Universe II
Arc 3
173 first appeared rather oddly. When Zuko looks outside his cell, he sees 173 peering into his cage just before HoundDoom shows up. It suddenly shows up later and accidentally knocks Mas y Menos back. The statue ends up frozen by HoundDoom but manages to break out thanks to Menos. It turns off the lights so it can break HoundDoom's neck. It explains the route to them through its pictures and met up with them after freeing Starfire and Ty. It suddenly pops up by the exit, locking the guards inside so the escapees can get out.
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Welcome to Bill's Jiu-Jitsu Association, where we focus on teaching the century old art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, with a dedication to our students. We are looking to transform the lives of each and every one of our students. By providing them with a positive and nurturing learning environment.
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Aparecido "Bill" , known among his students and friends as " Professor Bill " is 2x World Champion and 5x Brazil National Champion 4Th Degree Black Belt
Bill was my master in Brazil , the year was 2001. The vibe in the class was always good. Bill is a great master and a great man because he is not only a jiu jitsu teacher, he is a friendly jiu jitsu teacher. Sometimes, i saw Bill to give jiu jitsu class free to Brazilian teens and childrens who lived in social risk situation. For me this is the real practice of a good jiu jitsu, to protect the weaks, to give opportunities to more weaks, and to learn valeus ( honor, discipline, respect…). So, after 15 years, I can to say…this is the spirit of Bill Jiu Jitsu . Rafael Vieira- Quebec Canada.
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Simplicity 6449; ©1966; Misses' Set of Blouses: Blouse has high round neckline with self binding and back separating zipper. V.'s 1 and 3 have long set-in sleeves with opening in underarm seam. V.'s2 and 4 are sleeveless. V.'s 1 and 2 have front tucks.
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Let us know when your receive great advice so we can thank our lawyers and point others with similar questions in the right direction.Got it!
it is possible to have a misdemeanor charged expunged that was deffer ed and how much would it cost to have it done? it was in Denton county?
No. You cannot expunge a deferred. You may be eligible to seal the record. Attorneys fees will vary. Just call a few in your area to find out what they charge.
Macy Jaggers's answer to a legal question on Avvo does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Ms. Jaggers offers everyone a free consultation to discuss their case. Feel free to call her office at 214-365-9800 to make an appointment (phones are answered 24 hours) or visit her website at www.macyjaggers.com for more information about her services and recent victories.Ask a similar question
You won't be able to get that expunged--having accepted deferred adjudication or any other probation means you don't qualify for an expunction. However, if your record is otherwise clean and your case ultimately got dismissed, the chances are good that you'll be able to get what's called an order of nondisclsoure, which would seal the records of the case for most purposes (they'd still exist and be available to law enforcement and specific state regulatory and licensing agencies). The filing fee should be right around $250, but legal fees can vary quite a bit on nondisclosures, so it might be worth calling several attorneys to check on that.Ask a similar question
Yes, if it is class C misdemeanor you are eligible for Expunction; however, class B or A you will never be able to expunge under current Texas law if you did ANY probation. Hopefully the State Legislature will change this soon ... It should allow Expunction for deferred iny opinion ... Especially on misdemeanors. There is a nondisclosure you are likely eligible for if you satisfactorily completed probation. A nondisclosure is eligible on misdemeanors generally as soon as you are released from probation (it's 5 years from release date on felonies). The government and law enforcement will still see tge deferred but public data, etc can't post on publi sites and clerk of court must seal.
A nondisclosure allows you to answer NO when asked if you have been arrested, charged, served deferred, etc. This is a huge advantage.
$250 is a good estimate on filing fees. You are probably looking at approximately $1000 for attorneys fees. Try to find a local lawyer working in the court you served deferred in because that attorney will understand what the judge and District Attorney expect in the petition.
Good luck.
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IT Optimization: Driving Infrastructure Value
- Roxanne Phillips
- 2 years ago
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1 IBM Global Services IT Optimization: Driving Infrastructure Value Faster, better, cheaper has always been infrastructure s mantra, but in the past, I ve only had to focus on one or two of these mandates (usually cost) at any given time. Now that the business is attempting to grow, infrastructure is facing enormous pressure to improve on all of these metrics simultaneously while also increasing scale. SVP Infrastructure, CPG Manufacturer 1
2 Introduction Optimistic predictions of corporate growth in 2005 and beyond reflect executive aspirations to increase top-line revenue while driving down operational costs. Information technology (IT) leaders are charged with directly supporting this balanced growth strategy, facing pressure to expand the volume and breadth of services while simultaneously reducing costs. Given the dramatic impact of IT infrastructure spending on the corporate bottom line - a 5 percent reduction in the typical infrastructure budget can generate up to a 1 percent increase in net income 2 - the need for effective optimization of infrastructure management has never been more acute. Three key trends 3 have heightened the urgency for IT organizations to shift from their traditional technical focus, to one that delivers services optimally to its business customers: 1. Increased scrutiny of IT value, as business executives focus on IT as a budget area for company financial savings 2. Heightened visibility of external IT service alternatives, as outsourcing offerings mature and third-party providers promise higher service levels 3. Increased scope of responsibility, as the business s cost per each hour of IT downtime increases As a result, IT executives are facing new and oftentimes conflicting mandates to satisfy the unrelenting business demand for new services, including adherence to regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley, to support higher levels of business resiliency, and to manage larger transaction volumes: Operational Efficiency squeezing every last dollar Despite returning economic optimism in 2005, many businesses continue to pursue aggressive cost-containment initiatives to improve profitability. While IT s focus on costcutting over the last few years has yielded substantial unit cost reductions, unchecked business demand for increased service quality, volume, and functionality has driven total infrastructure spending upward. In order to deliver additional cost-savings, IT will need to truly collaborate with business customers and proactively manage demand growth while simultaneously identifying unexploited savings opportunities. Resiliency no time for downtime With increasing reliance on IT-enabled solutions to support core business functions, IT faces tremendous pressure to improve systems availability and service resilience. While not new, this mandate stems from the flood of new security threats, highlighting the inadequacy of current risk management strategies, and from the rapid increase in the scale and scope of infrastructure services, exposing the shortcomings of nonstandard or ad hoc operational processes. Flexible Technology Portfolio size without scale Rapid IT expansion in the late 90s left many IT organizations with complex technology infrastructures composed of numerous legacy platforms connected by a network of middleware and point-to-point solutions. Such technology heterogeneity thwarts IT s ability to rapidly provision new services. With business aspirations for growth in 2005 and beyond, IT faces pressure to simplify the existing infrastructure while creating a services portfolio that can quickly adapt to changing business and technology conditions. 2
3 I feel that I am trying to land a plane without landing lights because of the fragmented nature of the company s operating platform and the lack of consistent information to manage the business. CEO, US Insurance Company 4 Infrastructure: A Function in the Ascendant From to product development to customer relationship management, IT is now critical to virtually every aspect of the modern corporation. Moreover, business leaders are emphasizing top-line growth initiatives and are relying on their Chief Information Officers (CIOs) to rapidly provide the supporting technologies to enable such objectives. As digitization of the business continues to expand and as company revenues and reputation become increasingly dependent on IT, a fundamental reliance on the IT infrastructure servers, networks and applications; Web sites, internet and intranets; security features and solutions; plus data centers and storage sites is emerging. Just as a manufacturer or retailer focuses on improving operations efficiency, improving customer satisfaction and launching new products, IT must also focus on improving its vital infrastructure management capabilities. The new mandates call for going beyond reducing infrastructure costs through consolidation, standardization, and improved asset management. IT exemplars are aspiring to transform their organizations into true service management functions by better aligning delivered services with business needs, while simultaneously increasing the productivity of infrastructure operations. Achieving this goal requires more than simply optimizing the efficiency of technology silos and individual services it requires an optimization approach that looks at the entire infrastructure with a business lens. The role of the CIO has changed from what mainly used to be overseeing data processing or managing information systems. In the days of data processing directors, their role was much more focused on running the data center environment. Today, the CIO has become a clear guardian of the information and is expected to stand for the integrity and validity of the data. Now more than ever, CIOs are being held accountable for driving the business value to be involved not only in strategy development but also in business and product innovation. Gregor Bailar CIO, Capital One Financial Corporation 5 3
4 The IBM Answer: IT Optimization In response to the overwhelming complexities involved in evaluating, rationalizing and optimizing an IT organization, IBM has formed a single point of contact organization for an enterprise s IT optimization needs. This team leverages the vast scope of IBM Global Services capabilities needed to understand your business, combine your data centers and servers, rationalize your networks, integrate post-merger infrastructures and more all controlled by you via an IBMstaffed and managed Program Office. This single focal point brings together the many, often disparate, views of IT value into one holistic optimization program. Through a series of prioritized initiatives, centrally managed, your optimization goals can be achieved more quickly and successfully than with discrete projects. Provider Profiles: How IT serves the Enterprise Even in today s always-on, always-connected world, companies differ widely in their relationship with IT. Before executing an optimization initiative, it is crucial to characterize how a company relates to and leverages IT. In many large enterprises, various departments will have a different definition of IT value and fundamentally want the IT organization to serve different purposes. It is important to acknowledge and weigh these competing value requirements when developing appropriate optimization strategies. Four distinct value profiles describe these varying perspectives (see figure 1): Commodity Profile An enterprise fitting the Commodity Profile views IT services as a basic investment for automating fundamental administrative functions at the lowest possible cost. In optimizing a commodity-framed IT organization, the primary focus is on lowering expenditures. Utility Profile The Utility Profile fits companies that are still primarily focused on cost, but acknowledge the importance of building customer relationships. These businesses may want to use IT optimization to work on service-level agreements, response times, availability and other customerfocused issues. Partner Profile The Partner Profile describes an organization in which IT is valued at the business level. While cost is always an issue, the emphasis is on the business benefit derived from an investment in IT. In these situations, business units partner with IT organizations to achieve overall quality of service and bottom-line business goals. Enabler Profile Companies in which IT is an important element in the development of business strategy fit the Enabler Profile. In these businesses, IT initiatives drive business strategy and are viewed as essential to achieving a competitive advantage. The true challenge in deciding which optimization activities to undertake is that, in many environments, IT is asked to take on aspects of all of these profiles based on the varying requirements of different business units. Understanding these differences, and learning to balance and prioritize them, is a critical step in making successful optimization choices. As more business functions become IT enabled, we are in a unique position to help the business monitor key business processes and eliminate redundant manual effort through automation. We realized that we should not rest on our laurels on optimizing performance of IT components. We had to look at things top-down starting with the business process lens, and not vice versa. CIO, Financial Services 6 4
5 Figure 1: IT Value Profiles IT value profiles Enabler Provider researches, recommends and implements technology to enable quantum leap in business capability Provider benefit focus Provider works with others to develop a service and provide resources/skills necessary to support the service Utility Provider of a quality service at a cost equal to or lower than the competition Commodity Provider of an adequate service at a cost lower than the competition Cost focus 5
6 The Balanced Scorecard To establish what the internal business, external customer, overall financial and innovation/learning perspectives are for the client organization, IBM IT Optimization teams use the widely accepted Balanced Scorecard 7 framework. All IT Optimization analyses and conclusions are then structured into this framework, which is used as a way to connect the many optimization decisions and build a comprehensive business case. The Balanced Scorecard framework is then used as the foundation for the optimization plan and to establish priorities for all proposed initiatives, to track progress through implementation and to measure what matters most results. In the past, we ve tended to take a more internally focused view of IT with our metrics to determine things like data center or network availability. However, customers don t necessarily care about what is causing a network outage, but more about the fact that the system is down. Now we re attempting to measure ourselves on things business people think are important. Characteristics of IT Optimization An early step toward IT optimization is one of simple but crucial evaluation: In what ways could your company streamline and advance its position? In what areas technology infrastructure, organization or process could your business effect such transformation? Only by evaluating and understanding what your business wants to accomplish as an enterprise can you effectively work with IT to achieve your goals. An IT infrastructure consists of both management and technical components. These components can be further segmented into seven discrete, interrelated domains which collectively define the potential areas of analysis and applied expertise. Because of their general applicability, these domains permit quick linkage to methods, tools and practitioners who can integrate them into a cohesive approach. domains, including Strategic Alignment, Process, Organization, and Finance and Environment, are those that apply to the structure and decision-making processes of the IT organization. Technical domains, including Infrastructure, Network and Applications and Data, are those that apply to the physical and logical elements of the infrastructure itself. Manager of Global IT Metrics, Electronics Company 8 6
7 The Domains The Technical Domains Strategic Alignment establish an understanding of your current and prospective business drivers document the alignment between business and IT strategies create the basis for optimization design and investment priorities provide the foundation for the Balanced Scorecard Process analyze the extent to which the management system is formally defined and measured based on the IBM Process Reference Model for IT (PRM-IT) assess the effectiveness of the management system; examine process ownership, efficiency, effectiveness and consistency help determine your preparedness for implementation Organization establish an understanding of the current organization structure provide a foundation for change management examine roles, responsibilities, skills and change readiness Finance/Environment identify financial management system improvement opportunities and validate or refute the optimization financial justification establish cost and benefit business case examine IT general ledger, budgeting and procurement policies, data center placement, and regulatory issues Infrastructure inventory and assess the mainframe, server and other technology platforms, as well as the overall management system for the data center environment examine architectures, hardware, and system software Network understand and assess the voice and data network design, as well as the associated network management standards, procedures and policies examine topology, utilizations and sourcing Applications and Data understand and assess the application portfolio and supporting data examine application diversity, portfolio composition, data diversity and business process alignment As opportunities for efficiency and effectiveness improvements often span multiple domains, the individual domain perspectives should not dominate the design or the optimization plan. Each domain can apply to any or all IT value propositions (see figure 2). All aspects of these domains must be considered when creating the design. The key to a successful optimization plan, however, is its holistic nature the total must be greater than the sum of the parts. All seven domains are essential to an IT optimization effort; each should be actively explored or held constant and not ignored. 7
8 Figure 2: and Technical Domains Apply to All Value Propositions (Example) and Technical Domains apply to all value propositions (Example) Domains Technical Domains Strategic alignment Process Organization Finance and environment Infrastructure Network Applications and data Enable new business capabilities Enable an adaptable IT infrastructure Maintain data more effectively Improve internal efficiencies Optimize use of IT assets Establish global consistency of IT management Reduce overall IT cost Reduce total IT spending Streamline technical architecture/vendors Promote customer satisfaction Provide consistent service delivery Primary focus Secondary focus 8
9 The IT Optimization Engagement Approach While the engagement approach is specifically tailored to your company s particular requirements, a universal template exists that effectively describes the teamwork in this offering. collaboration of your organization s business and IT experts you can evaluate, validate, plan and establish a streamlined, resilient and adaptive IT infrastructure, ready to support your enterprise. First, a high-performance team of IBM IT Optimization experts engages with your senior management to understand your business strategy and develop a complementary IT optimization strategy. This assessment portion of the engagement called Solution Framing begins with explicit business and IT strategy discussions that will result in an initial business plan for optimization and the development of the beginning elements of the Balanced Scorecard. Once the overall objectives are determined, a high-level optimization plan is developed, including a prioritized set of initiatives to attain those objectives, and the potential rewards if they are successfully implemented. This Solution Design phase serves to evaluate and acknowledge what opportunities for optimization exist. The magnitude of such opportunities is determined next, before more significant investments are made. The resulting optimization plan serves as the blueprint for the Transition Planning and Governance of the overall of the overall optimization program. Extending through Solution Delivery, the Program Office manages combinations of skills from within your organization, IBM and third parties, to implement the optimization plan. From within the Program Office, the focal point for all optimization project management and decision-making, a dedicated IBM IT Optimization Principal will oversee the engagement through delivery. Resources within the Program Office will help you not only with the technical aspects of implementation, but also with the management systems aspects including critical organization change issues. With the help of the IBM IT Optimization team and the active IBM IT Optimization: An Alliance Our innovative approach to optimization is an alliance one in which a dedicated IBM team commits to a level of performance all the way through until the optimization recommendations are implemented and results are achieved. For some select initiatives, shared risk/shared benefit implementation contract arrangements may be possible. Together with IBM, you can define an implementation relationship governance structure that is designed to balance your external investment levels and timing with reductions in program or project risks. During the assessment phases, an optimization solution is designed based on your business strategies and priorities. The output of these phases is a series of initiatives that leads to detailed design and implementation activities. IBM could support the execution of these IT transformation activities in a number of ways: As a Consultant, IBM would provide the best available expert assistance as required on a time and materials or other standard consulting contract basis. You manage all the risk. As a Co-Manager, IBM would assume responsibility for selected projects as part of an overall transformation assistance program. You now start to offload some risk to IBM. As a Co-Sourcer, IBM would take on responsibility for designing and implementing a comprehensive IT transformation (or significant portion thereof) including interim service delivery in preparation for redeployment back to you. This scenario transfers even greater risk to IBM, while you still maintain overall ownership. 9
10 Additionally, IBM financing is available to supplement your own investment dollars and rearrange cash flow to fit your needs. By joining IBM in this collaborative venture, you may achieve more rapid and successful execution than could be expected with in-house optimization resources all thanks to the world-class disciplines, skills and experience IBM brings to the table. Success stories: IBM on IBM IBM s transformation was not an event, but a journey one that is taking place in the midst of greater turbulence and volatility than businesses have faced in more than half a century. IBM s story, though in many ways unique, mirrors the aspirations and challenges faced by many leaders of businesses and institutions today. As did most other companies, IBM leveraged the Internet and global connectivity to simplify access to information and enable simple, Webbased transactions. The company took steps to integrate processes both within the business and among a group of core clients, partners and suppliers. That was a huge effort and yet by late 2002 it was clear that the real journey had just begun. While IBM reaped enormous efficiency gains, it had yet to challenge long-accepted practices, processes and organizational structures that limited its and most other companies options in the face of globalization, industry consolidation and disruptive technologies. The answer lay in a new computing model and in a new business architecture called on demand. IBM has committed itself to becoming not simply a case study, but a living laboratory for On Demand. The company identified key business characteristics horizontally integrated, flexible and responsive and the IT infrastructure needed to produce its enterprise transformation integrated, open, virtualized and autonomic. IBM has focused on tackling the complex issues surrounding significant changes to essential business processes, organizational culture and IT infrastructure, and worked to find new ways to access, deploy and finance solutions. Today, IBM is hitting a new stride the company continues to operate in a highly disciplined manner, focusing on increased productivity and IT optimization to drive bottom-line earnings. Because this is precisely the type of growth that tops the majority of CEOs agendas, many will find IBM s story particularly timely and relevant. IBM s optimization journey is continuing by applying one of our newest analytic frameworks, the IBM Component Model for the of IT (see figure 3). This framework continues the tradition of an holistic depiction of IT, but at the same time, the componentized nature of the model allows a much more granular examination. Each component within this model is defined to produce discrete elements of the overall IT services portfolio. Based on the specifics of the business and IT strategy, individual components can take on key, differentiating importance to the attainment of your business objectives. In concert with senior IT leadership, the IT Optimization team assists in identifying which of these components is truly differentiating in your situation. The team then examines resource allocation, including budgets, applied to each component, to determine whether organizational resources are focused on those components that truly make a difference. In some cases, consideration of sourcing alternatives may be in order along with exploring ways to increase efficiencies through automation of IT management processes. 10
11 Figure 3: The IBM Component Model for the of IT IT Customer Relationship IT Resilience Information and Knowledge Service and Solution Development Service and Solution Deployment Service Delivery and Support Directing Enablement Service and Solution Technology Enterprise Architecture Portfolio Technology Innovation Resilience Regulatory Compliance Integrated Risk Information Knowledge Development Deployment Services Delivery IT Support Controlling Performance Planning Demand Communications Planning Financial Technology Performance and Value Human Resources Continuous Operations Regulatory Compliance Integrated Risk Security, Privacy and Data Protection Information Architecture Information Resource Knowledge Resource Services and Solutions Lifecycle Planning Services and Solutions Architecture Change Planning Release Planning Operations Planning Infrastructure Resource Planning Support Services Planning Executing Performance IT Financial Staff Administration and Development Resilience Remediation Content Service and Solution Creation Change Implementation Support Services Infrastructure Resource IT Services and Solution Marketing Supplier and Contract Administration Regulatory Compliance Remediation Knowledge Capture and Availability Service and Solution Maintenance Release Implementation Infrastructure Operations 11
12 Early on, we focused on reducing cost and expense. We had to in order to survive. But today, our focus has shifted from reengineering to reinventing ourselves. We continue to deliver cost and expense improvements, but now we re tackling a more complex agenda focusing on growth and innovation as powerful ways to manage and measure our progress. Linda Sanford, IBM senior vice president, Enterprise On Demand Transformation and Information Technology 9 A large, multinational packaged goods company has pursued an aggressive growth through acquisition strategy for a number of years and, as a result, operates a widely disparate IT organization. The parent company wished to reduce overall IT investment and, at the same time, position itself for enterprisewide supply chain initiatives via consolidation, integration and optimization of the company s systems, applications and data stores. With the help of experts from IBM Global Services, the company protected its future growth initiatives by launching a three-to-five-year strategy to build a common worldwide infrastructure. Could this be you? A global financial services conglomerate was looking to achieve major cost savings for its IT infrastructure as well as flexibility to meet future business needs. They engaged IBM to consolidate and integrate the firm s server, mainframe and storage systems under an on demand computing structure where they would pay for capacity on a per unit basis. The technology services agreement put in place is also expected to help enhance the performance and efficiency of their global computing infrastructure. The agreement included training support for the company s personnel and a dedicated innovation team driving innovation and transformation while supporting the alignment of their business and technology strategic plans. The company expects to save several hundred million dollars over the period of the contract. In addition, vital technology is able to be accessed as a flexible, variable cost service resulting in IT flexibility to help meet rapidly changing business needs. A global financial institution needed to meet new industry regulations for disaster recovery. The company had a lot of work to do to meet these increasingly stringent policies; its current disaster recovery provisions were scattered and difficult to manage. For some systems, the group had only manual disaster recovery procedures, and others lacked them altogether. Moreover, the company was maintaining three data centers - an unnecessarily large IT environment that not only made it difficult to implement a standard disaster recovery policy but also drove up administration costs. The company engaged IBM Global Services to consolidate the three data centers into just two and help establish a compliant disaster recovery plan. The consolidation enabled the reallocation of enough capital to fund the compliance with new disaster recovery regulations. By consolidating its environment, they have achieved an annual cost savings of more than 20 million, representing a 15 percent reduction in total operating expenditures. 12
13 About IBM Global Services IBM is distinctly qualified to deliver world-class optimization solutions, as all of IBM Global Services can potentially be included in the offering. When appropriate, other capabilities of IBM including specific product expertise and even the IBM research organization can be engaged to help solve your unique optimization challenges. As your single point of contact, IT Optimization makes available all relevant skills, methodologies, processes and services. This means that the demonstrated experience of IBM and our broadbased capabilities are all available during an optimization engagement, and will be brought to bear on your particular set of challenges as determined during the early, proactive assessment and strategy phases. Summary Successful IT optimization is becoming mandatory in a business culture built on continuous change. However, the complexity of in-house, end-to-end IT optimization can be daunting. It is in answer to this challenge that IBM Global Services offers its world-class skills, proven technologies and expertise all via its innovative IT optimization approach. Find out more For more information about IBM IT Optimization solutions, contact your IBM sales representative or visit: ibm.com/services As you consider engaging the extensive capabilities of IBM Global Services and our unique IT optimization approach, key decision questions you might ask include: Are significant changes in your enterprise causing a realignment of priorities? Is it possible that the evolution of your IT infrastructure has created redundancies leading to excessive costs or complexity? Does your business have an urgent need for change driven by competitive forces, e-business strategies or customer expectations? 13
14 References 1 Infrastructure Executive Council, Avoiding Infrastructure Stall Points, CIO Executive Board, Avoiding an Infrastructure Value Stall, Infrastructure Executive Council, IEC Leadership Survey, CIO Executive Board, Realizing the Promise of Information Integration, Bansal, Parveen. Why does the CIO have so many hats?, The Banker December Infrastructure Executive Council, Emerging Strategies for IT Infrastructure, The Balanced Scorecard was created by Robert Kaplan and David Norton to remedy the inadequacies of performance measurement systems that focused solely on financial metrics. It provides management with a balanced presentation of both financial and operational measures and extends Kaplan s and Norton s original concepts to IT performance management. 8 CIO Executive Board, IT Balanced Scorecards On Demand Leadership Update, 2004 Copyright IBM Corporation 2005 IBM Global Services Route 100 Somers, NY U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America All Rights Reserved. IBM, the IBM logo, the on demand logo and Component Model are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates. G
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The problem with playing a best-ball scramble on the golf course is that sometimes there's no best ball to be found.
Such was the disaster that befell Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz when he hosted a bunch of his teammates in Fargo, N.D. around a week before Monday's opening of training camp.
If anything else, the bonding event that also included a good bit of football convinced them all to keep their day jobs.
"It was kind of a disaster," Wentz said in his first press conference of camp on Tuesday. "… I think it took us about four-and-a-half hours to play a best-ball scramble."
Wentz was pressed for specifics on the misadventure that was otherwise...


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Reviewed by 4 customers
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Comments about CARQUEST Fuel Pump Module Assembly:
Cheaper than ac delco.
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Comments about CARQUEST Fuel Pump Module Assembly:
Easy install, fit perfect. However I did install it in a new Spectra GM56C tank & the tank itself is not an out of the box perfect fit. You must bend the side seam flanges down before the tank will fit. Great fuel pump though. FYI, new plug wiring tip, do stagger the crimp connectors or the harness will be hard to put back in the wiring loom.
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Comments about CARQUEST Fuel Pump Module Assembly:
Product works well so far. Was very easy to install.
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Comments about CARQUEST Fuel Pump Module Assembly:
This pump was installed new in May 2011. On August 23, 2011, the new pump failed and my vehicle had to be towed 30+ miles to my home. Not cheap!
This fiasco not only cost me the tow truck bill, but also cost me a day and a half of work.
Fortunately, this pump is still under warranty. If it goes out again under warranty, I'll be demanding my money back and I'll go back to a Delco pump!
My recommendation, stay away from Airtex products!
Side Note: After buying the Airtex brand and having it fail, I see numerous other reviews on the web that also rated this product as very poor! That speaks volumes about Airtex and none of it is good!
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Regatta leader Rafael Trujillo (ESP) thought that the race team did their best, but in the end made the right decision. 'I think it was a good decision. It was the right decision to send us on the water as it was 10 knots when we got to the course area. But it was really shifty going from 260 to 290 and back to 260 and I also think it was a good decision to send us back when he did, but I don't suppose everyone will agree with me!'
Current Junior world champion Arkadiy Kistanov (RUS) is sailing his first major regatta, and is lying in 34th overall and fourth junior. He won the Silver Cup in Moscow last year at the age of 17, so still has many years as a junior in front of him.
'This week is at a much higher level, but I think the Silver Cup was more difficult sailing. My goal for the week is first, of course, but realistically I came here to try and get top three in the juniors and win a medal, though I really want to be first. But I have had problems with the boat and with beating, and I don't have good speed. I am only 85 kg, so lighter than most of the others so I will probably go fast only if the wind stays light.'
The second placed junior so far is Dimitar Vangelov (BUL)'I came into the championship hoping for a medal in the juniors so I am happy with my results so far. I think I am capable of doing this.' He is being coached here by former Olympic Paul McKenzie, as he was in Perth, though he finished the world championship in last place. However the lighter winds here are playing to his strengths so far. In both races on Monday he rounded the top mark in 13th place, though dropped a few on the downwind legs. 'I need to continue making good results.'
To try and catch up, three races are scheduled for Wednesday starting at 12.00. The forecast is for sunny conditions, with light winds again, but hopefully more stable. Fleet racing continues until Friday, with the medal race for the top 10 and the final race for the rest on Saturday 24th March.
2012 Finn Open and Junior European Championship - 16-24 March 2012 - Club Nautico Scarlino


text:
Hymnmakers Best Loved Hymns 2 CD
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Hymnmakers Best Loved Hymns 2
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Hymnmakers Best Loved Hymns 2 was published by Kingsway in April 2012 and is our 14451st best seller. The ISBN for Hymnmakers Best Loved Hymns 2 is KWCD3136.
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Disc 1All Glory Laud and Honour
Angel Voices
Be Still My Soul
Calon Lan
Holy Holy Holy
I Vow to Thee My Country
Lead Kindly Light
Let All Mortal Flesh
Mi Glywaf Dyner Lais
Here Is Love
My Song is a Love Unknown
O Jesus I Have Promised
We Plough the Fields and Scatter
Round the Lord in Glory Seated
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The first sign that something dramatically different has happened to the Caulfield Cup comes with the movie: a two-minute online clip, entitled The Caulfield Journey, that borrows less from horse races than it does from The English Patient. The high-production-values flick opens with the wide expanse of a sand dune scene. There is a horse, but you don't really notice it, because there is also a girl in there: a spectacularly outfitted, immaculately coiffed and lipsticked slip of a girl, who happens to also be Caulfield style ambassador Nicole Warne, aka Gary Pepper Girl, aka model-stylist-creative director-social media and brand consultant-digital influencer-ambassador. Welcome to the Crown Golden Ale Caulfield Cup Carnival, home of the fabulous.
These days Caulfield hosts a premier social event that fits into a much-coveted category: embraced by the youth, but still beloved by the less-than-youthful. It's a day of extravagant marquees, where celebrities and socialites vie to get into the best of them. And why not? This year, DJ Havana Brown will play to the crowd, MasterChef's Gary Mehigan is the chef overseeing the Heath Enclosure Marquees and the Chadstone Fashion Stakes offers winners over $100,000 worth of prizes, including flights for two to Royal Ascot. The Caulfield Cup Carnival is also part of a new trend on Melbourne's social scene – the return of marqueed events. After Caulfield and Flemington comes Waterford Crystal Polo in the City (which in the past has included marquees by Veuve Clicquot, Paspaley Pearls and Land Rover), Jeep Portsea Polo (marquees by Jeep, Peroni and Hugo Boss, for example ) and French music day out So Frenchy So Chic (a marquee by Renault). Since when did Melbourne events become so glamorous and exclusive?
Some believe that the trend is driven by fashion and social media. Instagram favours sumptuous settings, aspirational lifestyles and pretty people, all of which marquees can provide. Whatever the case, marquees have evolved into more than glorified tents with a sun-warmed wine on offer. Jono Francisco, creative manager at Harry the Hirer, styles marquees at Caulfield and both polo events, flying annually to a Milan designer furniture fair to ensure that the latest on-trend furnishings are used. He says that "most people walk into marquees and don't realise they are temporary structures: we can custom build walls, flooring and lighting, and they can look like anything from a garden setting to a nightclub. It creates an exclusive experience."
The Crown Golden Ale Caulfield Cup Day is a favourite. For the Champagne Pommery Pegasus Marquee, its designer, Tori Allen of Tori Allen Events, has gone with a "La Marais underground champagne bar meets racing Melbourne theme". If you're wondering what that entails, there will be an abundance of pink, custom-made couches, a horseshoe-shaped bar that's lined with a still-life floral photograph, custom-made porcelain lights and draped linen cascading down the walls. Dorothy, you're not in a barn in Kansas any more.
At the David Jones marquee, past invitees have seen Lara Bingle don a bejewelled Sarina Suriano ear cuff in lieu of headwear, Megan Gale debuting the smallest hint of a baby bump beneath an animal print dress (before she announced her news) and David Jones Ambassador Jessica Gomes seriously cutting a rug on the dance floor while fellow ambassador Jason Dundas acted as DJ. And it's all against the backdrop of a breathtakingly decorated marquee (one year saw a plethora of white buckets filled with flowers suspended in a glorious ceiling archway), fine champagne and the hottest chef cooking for the crowd. (This year it's Ollie Gould from Stokehouse.) Adriane McDermott, a general manager responsible for customer experience at David Jones, says that each year the marquee is a carefully calibrated exercise. "We have a very dynamic, curated guest list made up of corporate clients, designers and celebrities – we end up with about 260 guests. We try to make it relaxed but think very carefully about everything, from the height and comfort of the seats to how the Tom Ford Pamper Room [where makeup touch ups for the ladies are available] will look."
The details aren't lost on the young crowd who make it in, who have in the past included models-of-the-moment Miranda Kerr and Bambi Northwood-Blyth. Jess Gomes says that "it's really intimate as well – where the marquees are situated, you can see the horses and what's happening out on the field, and it doesn't get too crazy, either." She believes that it's a fashion-driven event, saying, "That plays a huge part." Indeed, the snakeskin and floral print Camilla and Marc dress she wore to last year's event was in high demand afterwards. Melbourne Racing Club's official stylist and Caulfield fashion judge Lana Wilkinson concurs. "Caulfield is a little bit more relaxed, so you can wear different structures of outfits and be a bit playful," she says, pointing to the white jumpsuit fashion blogger Nadia Bartel wore a previous year. "People can test run their outfits at the start of the season, when their feet haven't been butchered yet."
For Emma Freedman, David Jones Racing Ambassador, the fact that "you can be a bit of a fashion risk taker and experimenter" at Caulfield also means that "it's younger and hipper [than many other race days]. It's a really easy to access course, and I think the Melbourne Racing Club does a great job of marketing to younger people." To wit: at the Canadian Club Young Members Marquee – where single tickets are $100 – DJs will include John Course and Vamp, while The European's young chef Timothy Martin will be serving up the food. Afterwards, they gain exclusive access to club The Emerson, the Young Members' official after-party venue.
It seems that The Young and the Restless have some seriously deep pockets, since they're not averse to forking out for a marquee experience. For the Jeep Portsea Polo, tickets to the hipster label Amuk's marquee sell out by December – 600, at a cost of $290, which includes a full drinks and food menu for the day. This year its theme will be New York, and the menu will include street food like hot dogs and pretzels. Despite those items, "it's a luxurious experience," says Amuk's Brand Manager Tom Langford, "with DJs, live fashion pop-up shows and live acts."
Still, it's on the casual side compared with Portsea Polo's Jeep Grille marquee, which will resemble a garden that happens to house a four-wheel-drive on its roof. They expect to go through 1200 glasses of champagne (and 800 cocktails), and utilise 19 helicopter transfers, for starters. Chef Matt Preston says that "ensuring the food is gorgeous and delicious is a bit like my own MasterChef team challenge." It's not so bad in the trenches, though. "There is no better praise than having a gaggle of models coming back for thirds," he says, adding that "Getting to feed Harry Kewell last year was a particular thrill for me as I'm a huge soccer fan – especially as I heard that he really liked what he ate. I was far too shy to ask myself!"
The fact that such large companies are latching onto the events is an indication how popular they've become. Waterford Crystal Polo in the City has only been going for eight years in Melbourne, but attracts high-end brands. Naomi Parry, the director of luxury PR agency Black Communications that looks after Land Rover, says "We watch the crowd being better and better dressed each year and the marquees more and more exciting. It's a beautiful event with a relaxed vibe, but there's still a lot of glamour." Last year, Land Rover had a safari theme with translucent netting inside, and a faux zebra skin rug on the ground (which was enjoyed by both Rebecca Judd and Jennifer Hawkins). This year, it will emulate an English garden. For former Australia's Next Top Model winner Alice Burdeu, this event "has a different vibe to the spring racing carnival, which is full-on and fun and great. This is like a garden party, compared to an extravagant dinner party. And it's always good to wear flats!"
But director of Polo Enterprises Australia Janek Gazecki wants to ensure that his Polo in the City event never becomes too elite. "We were eager to remote that elite tag that polo has carried – it's not like that any more. It is a sport that denotes a pursuit of excellence … It's not about being a snob." As such, despite the marquees, he sees the event as being an egalitarian one. "There's no bad position on the field – everyone's fieldside. Anyone can buy a ticket for the Stella Artois Polo Lounge, and we made sure that's well set up with a band, DJ and pamper lounge. And once you [gain entry], you might get invited into someone else's private marquee. Everyone mingles with everyone else."
It's a similar approach that's adopted by Jean-Francois Ponthieux, who started French music festival So Frenchy So Chic at Werribee Mansion nearly four years ago. "We still want to keep that picnic atmosphere, so it's about trying to find a balance between people's experience and still giving the corporates a good experience, without taking over each other's spaces. There aren't so many marquees, so they feel like they've got something really special, and the public doesn't feel like it's overkill." Renault will have a marquee, but the Capi Cocktail bar – housed in a vintage caravan – will be open to all, as will the Laurent Champagne bar, which has a first in, best dressed policy. "I want it to feel special for everyone," says Ponthieux, who is used to having celebrities attend – and hang out incognito on the lawn, as happened when Dannii Minogue showed up. "Even after the artists perform, they don't go backstage – they hang out as well. I would resist a heavily marqueed event. It would take away from the nature of the festival, which is a gathering of friends, family and lovers – with the best French music. It's important that any ingredients brought in enhance it and don't dilute it." That doesn't mean that there won't be a version of French fashions on the field, especially since navy-and-white stripes, polka dots and boho French dresses seem to abound each year. "We might do a best-dressed Instagram competition," says Ponthieux, who observes that "the event is mainly driven by females who buy tickets, so they want to dress up."
Dressing up is certainly a factor in all these events. Thurley designer Helen O'Connor remembers when David Jones model Samantha Harris wore one of her dresses to the Caulfield Cup. "I'm always pleased to see people who respect and adhere to the dress code. I get really angry when people don't wear headwear [at the races]. It's the one week over the entire year where there is a dress code." She concedes, however, that there are many who "get really confused by the Polo dress code. 'Smart casual' is something everyone struggles with, so you get a whole range. I remember Simone Warne wearing military khaki pants and a T-shirt to the Portsea Polo, which was a stark contrast to someone else in her full maxi gown, high heels and sunglasses".
Edwina Robinson, co-designer and director of AJE, has women shopping at her stores for the polo events, where "it's a pared-back elegance with a big element of sophistication. It's a bit more effortless, and less contoured than the races." She believes that the anticipation generated by these events might be connected to "a return of people getting excited about dressing up, and investing in timeless and beautiful pieces … We had an anti-fashion moment with a return to minimalism and sportswear in the last few years."
"Looking good creates a sense of pride in appearance," she says. "At these events, you hope that that heightens the level of behaviour at them, that there's not so much an emphasis on drinking, but that they're more of an occasion."


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2330 Plymouth Lane, Kalamazoo 49008
See more homes for sale in Kalamazoo, MI
This property has been Sold!
07/05/2016 at $321,500
Unique, artsy, elegant, custom-designed contemporary walkout home sits regally among the treetops in a natural, private, city setting. Featuring stone, wood, glass, brick, incorporating historical materials from original Kalamazoo building, utilizing a stunning floor plan design that will please the most discerning homeowner. Main floor living space w/gorgeous updated kitchen & eating area open to relaxing entertaining room, formal dining & living rooms share stone FP, three seasons porch all look out upon gorgeous natural & city vistas through massive windows. 13 skylights bring more light into every room. Private master suite, private 2nd bedroom on main floor w/full bath. Lower walkout level w/rec room, study or art studio, & 3rd bedroom or office w/FP & full bath. An absolute must see
Property Information
- Status
- Sold
- Address
- 2330 Plymouth Lane
- City
- Kalamazoo
- Zip
- 49008
- County
- Kalamazoo
- Township
- Kalamazoo City
- Total Finished SqFt
- 3,441
- Above Grade SqFt
- 2,241
- Water
- Public
- Sewer
- Public
- Year Built
- 1957
School Information
- School District
- Kalamazoo
- Elementary School
- Parkwood-Upjohn
- Middle School
- Milwood
- High School
- Loy Norrix
- Taxes
- $6,500
Rooms and Land
- Basement
- Walk Out
- Heating
- Forced Air, Natural Gas
- Acreage
- 0.98
- Lot Dimensions
- 231 x 184
- Exterior Materials
- Stone, Wood
Listing Video for 2330 Plymouth Lane, Kalamazoo MI 49008
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Listing Broker
Listing Courtesy of Chuck Jaqua, Realtor, Inc.
Office Address 414 West Milham Road
Listing Agent Deborah Secord
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Our Michigan real estate agents can answer all of your questions about 2330 Plymouth Lane, Kalamazoo MI 49008. Real Estate One, Max Broock Realtors, and J&J Realtors are part of the Real Estate One Family of Companies and dominate the Kalamazoo, Michigan real estate market. To sell or buy a home in Kalamazoo, Michigan, contact our real estate agents as we know the Kalamazoo, Michigan real estate market better than anyone with over 100 years of experience in Kalamazoo, Michigan real estate for sale.
The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site appears in part from the IDX programs of our Multiple Listing Services. Real Estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Real Estate One includes the name and address of the listing broker where available.
IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.
All information deemed materially reliable but not guaranteed. Interested parties are encouraged to verify all information. Copyright© 2017 MichRIC LLC, All rights reserved.


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Anyone who owns a Ford knows that when it comes to maintaining their vehicle only the most superior replacement parts will do. Car aficionados know that a brand you can trust is built into each Ford, and know that only the best replacement Ranger parts will suffice when your car or truck needs fixing. Obviously, you didn't buy your Ranger unless you wanted to buy horsepower and unique style both rolled up into one vehicle. Ford automobile drivers have come to expect a certain level of reliability when driving their Ranger around town.
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Poland's commander-in-chief, all Poland's top Generals, party leaders and top line advisers were murdered in one fell swoop. This is what befell the Polish Republic last Saturday. An ostensibly anti-Communist formation, painstakingly built in the face of Soviet and post-Soviet pressure, suffered a crippling blow. Polish conservatives and patriots, including President Lech Kaczynski, were killed en route to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet massacre of more than 21,000 Polish military officers near a town located between Minsk and Moscow.
It is horrifying that an event marking Stalin's decapitation of Poland in 1940, is now associated with yet another decapitation. How much Poland has suffered! And could this event have happened anywhere, but in Russia? At such a moment it is essential for Russia's leaders to show sympathy for Polish national feeling. Writing on a Ukrainian Web site the other day, former KGB Lt. Col. Viktor Kalashnikov wrote, "Europe becomes a place where everything is possible."
President Kaczynski, of course, is yet criticized in the press as a "Russophobe." But in reality President Kaczynski was not sufficiently fearful -- otherwise he would still be alive. After all, Kaczynski was anti-Communist, which is hardly a safe occupation for an East European politician. This was underscored in 1984 by KGB defector Anatoliy Golitsyn who said... "ANY! leader "who is involved in fighting against the communists should not visit communist countries or take part in any summit meetings on Russian soil."
"Such visits" He said, pouring vodka into my glass, "were opportunities for assassination. After all Russian politics, are how you Americans say, Oh yes, "A full contact sport."


text: Here was a tree that was growing up into some powerlines. If you notice the lines above the bobcat and then the lines crossing the street behind the bobcat, the top of the tree was right there in the corner of those lines. We had to drop it in the street.


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Idaho First District Congressman Raúl Labrador has introduced the STEM Jobs Act in conjunction with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (TX-21) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (VA-06). The legislation eliminates layers of bureaucracy in the visa process so that legal foreign students with advanced degrees from American universities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields can accelerate their transition into the American workforce when offered jobs from U.S. employers in high-tech fields.
The STEM Jobs Act eliminates the current diversity visa lottery program, which grants 55,000 visas at random, and makes those visas available to STEM graduates. The overall number of visas allocated will not be increased.
"The future of our economy is in the STEM fields," Labrador said. "New printers from Hewlett Packard, new semiconductors from Micron and new phones from Apple all rely on retaining the world's best and brightest students and harnessing their ingenuity to create jobs here in America. Even in an economic downturn, there aren't enough U.S.-born graduates to meet the needs of high-tech employers. Right now foreign-born students are benefitting from our education system and then going home to compete with us. This legislation allows us to retain their skills and innovation. According to the American Enterprise Institute, every immigrant with an advanced STEM degree creates two to three new American jobs. We are replacing a broken, inefficient visa program with one that works, rewards innovation, and means jobs for our economy."
House Majority Floor Leader Eric Cantor (VA-07) praised Labrador's work on the STEM Jobs Act.
"Congressman Labrador has been instrumental in crafting this vital piece of legislation that will keep the best and brightest from around the world in the United States, and create jobs," Cantor said. "America has always been a country where anyone from anywhere has a fair shot at earning success, and the STEM bill is part of that commitment to remove barriers, build a first-class workforce and make sure that the U.S. continues to compete in the global marketplace. This has long been a priority of ours, and I'm thrilled we're taking action on it this week."
The STEM Act solves a problem both parties have addressed. President Obama and Republican candidate for president Mitt Romney have both spoken of the need to reform high-tech immigration. A letter signed by more than 150 university leaders from all 50 states and sent to congressional leaders and the White House details support for visa reform and the need to retain high-tech graduates with advanced degrees. Boise State University President Robert Kustra is one of the signatories.
"The STEM Jobs Act makes our immigration system smarter by allowing the United States to retain the most talented foreign graduates of American universities in STEM fields," Chairman Smith said. "These graduates have the ability to boost our economic growth and spur job creation for American workers and I thank Congressman Labrador for his work and invaluable support of this bill."
The STEM Jobs Act builds on Labrador's American Innovation and Education Act, introduced in October 2011.
Source: http://labrador.house.gov/press-releases/smith-goodlatte-labrador-introduce-stem-jobs-act-of-2012/