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Man Of The House
This story appears in the January 1996 issue of Business Start-Ups magazine. Subscribe »
When the department store muckety-mucks he worked for told divisional merchandising manager Bill Stroud to downsize the linen department in their stores, he felt a familiar twinge. It was 1979, and it wasn't the first time the geniuses in charge had decided to think small.
Stroud had already been through the shrinkage process as a merchandiser for the record department. Record store chains had moved in and made department store record departments obsolete. When Stroud suggested expanding his department to compete, he was met instead with an order to downsize. Eventually, the department folded.
So Stroud moved to sporting goods-with virtually the same result. Next came the toy department-relegated to the back burner and finally the ash heap with the advent of Toys "R" Us.
Now Stroud was in charge of merchandising linens-a department store staple, an indestructible stronghold. Then came the directive to downsize. "The amount of space being devoted to every department was changing," Stroud explains. "The company started building stores where, instead of having 12,000 square feet for linens, you were going to have to squeeze the department into 8,000 square feet. I knew the selection customers expected wouldn't fit into a department that size."
And Stroud knew from experience that the executives at corporate headquarters would insist on scaling down the department-even in the face of competition. That left Stroud with a choice. He could wait for some upstart to launch a specialty linens store and watch yet another department go down in flames. Or he could join the other side of the battle.
Stroud was 54 years old. He was not desperate to start his own enterprise, not anxious to revolutionize the retail industry. He was, however, sick of compromise. And he knew he had a hot opportunity on his hands. He would build a linens store so expansive and stylish that department store linen departments would seem paltry by comparison. And even though he had no entrepreneurial experience and only limited access to funds, Stroud had what it took to hobble his mighty, multimillion-dollar department store opponents: He was ready to fight. And he was sure they would doggedly, irrationally, as if destined by nature, shrink away from the challenge.
Bed Of Roses?
Stroud was right. He and the $174 million company he founded now sell more linens than the three biggest regional department stores combined wherever the stores go head to head. Though the company's presence is strongest in its home state, the City of Industry, California-based Strouds Inc. now boasts 57 locations in four states. Plus, plans for a nationwide expansion are being carried out with the help of a $37 million public offering made in October 1994.
Strouds' success is no mystery. The stores are a triumph-faultless from every angle. Here, bed and bath ensembles are displayed to show how those striped pillows look with that damask comforter. Salespeople know the relative virtues of 300-thread-count sheets; they answer questions, offer decorating advice and even take special orders. Priced to compete with department store white sales, Strouds merchandise is almost always a bargain-and therefore almost always irresistible.
Behind the well-oiled machinery at every Strouds store are a million finely tuned systems and strategies designed to keep the company running at peak performance. Stroud credits an innovative, dedicated staff with creating the company's complex web of efficiency. But Stroud also maintains that the firm's formula for success remains positively simple: "We like to say that nobody sells better quality linens for less than Strouds," he says. "Living up to that statement is our constant goal."
The Story Unfolds
That goal, in fact, hasn't wavered since the day Stroud opened the first Strouds Linen Warehouse in Pasadena, California, in 1979. Compared with the 20,000-square-foot superstores the company now favors, the original 4,400-square-foot location was humble. "We used a lot of unfinished wooden shelving and no carpet," Stroud recalls. "To make the most of our floor space, we displayed merchandise on wall shelves. All in all, it was pretty bare-bones."
Finances dictated frugality. Although Stroud started with a healthy half-million dollars-pulled together via a second mortgage, his pension plan and investments from a few friends-his intention was to open two stores in rapid succession, first in Pasadena, just north of Los Angeles, and a month later in Torrance, to the south. "We needed that much money to buy inventory and fixtures for two stores," Stroud says. "Our idea was to offer a wide selection, so we couldn't cut back on the merchandise."
Stroud's transition from executive to entrepreneur went smoothly, although it required some flexibility. In his new role, Stroud continued to be a decision maker. But his job didn't stop there. Stroud also found himself having to convince vendors he was a serious contender.
As a representative of a major department store account, Stroud had received the royal treatment from vendors. As a start-up entrepreneur, however, he found that attitude changed. "In the very beginning, he would go in to meet with vendors at their showrooms, and they would always give him the last meeting of the day," recalls Jeff Stroud, 34, one of Stroud's sons and the company's director of merchandising for housewares and decorative tabletop.
Vendors, in fact, weren't all that happy to do business with Stroud at the outset. "Department stores didn't want us selling the same merchandise for less," Jeff explains. "They put pressure on our vendors, and a few vendors even stopped doing business with us temporarily. But we quickly became so successful that the vendors stood up to the department stores and said, 'We're going to do this anyway.' They loved Strouds because we were putting in a full assortment that did their products justice, while the department stores were always editing."
Catching On
Indeed, Strouds didn't take long to find its following. The stores' emphasis on value pricing struck a chord with local shoppers. More important, however, Stroud proved brilliant at responding to customer demand.
"One of the first things we found was the customer wanted 'better' or 'best' quality merchandise-not necessarily the least expensive 'good' merchandise," Stroud says. "Price was certainly an issue for our customers, but so was quality. As a result, we decided to upscale our stores," with higher-end merchandise and expert service.
To no one's surprise, Strouds became a masterpiece of merchandising. Among the stores' more important innovations: Using "vignette" displays to sell whole rooms worth of linens and accessories instead of individual pieces. These coordinated displays were precisely the kind of merchandising ploy department stores lacked the space to duplicate. Yet they were the key to bigger sales. Telling a customer that $52 worth of accessories would "finish" a room was helpful. But showing the customer how those accessories worked together-that clinched many a sale.
Customer preferences have shaped even small decisions at Strouds. For instance, instead of organizing towels by brand, as is traditional in most linen departments, Strouds coordinates towels by color-the way most customers want to shop for them.
Into New Markets
Of course, Strouds hasn't merely evolved. It has also grown. About two years after the first stores opened, the company embarked on an expansion plan that would take it into the various neighborhoods and suburbs of Southern California, into the San Francisco Bay Area, and finally east to Nevada, Illinois and Minnesota.
Multiple locations have always been Stroud's goal. However, he admits, "Never, in our most aggressive days, did we think we'd have 57 stores." What fostered such growth? The stores' rampant popularity, a relative lack of competition, and the firm's ability to adapt to local demand.
Each new neighborhood Strouds has entered is its own self-contained market. "For example, our Pasadena store tends to be fairly traditional in its tastes, while our Beverly Center store [less than 20 miles away] is more avant-garde," explains Stroud. "We allow our store managers more latitude than other stores typically do. Most stores have a central buyer for all locations. We bring in our store managers three times a year to help us select merchandise. That system helps us understand the need for [variation] from one store to another."
The same system keeps Strouds competitive in unfamiliar markets. "Many Southern California retailers have trouble translating their concepts to the San Francisco market," Stroud says. "We were able to do so successfully," largely because of the firm's deliberate responsiveness.
A Change Of Linens
Responsive, too, is the company's founder, who in 17 years has seen and overseen plenty of transformation. Stroud says he's still adjusting to one recent change, however: turning the job of CEO over to company veteran Wayne Selness in 1994. Stroud continues to act as chairman, providing vision and guidance for the firm. "My job now is to ensure we have the right management staff and to look at the direction the company is taking," Stroud says. "It's a big switch for me, not being hands-on in operations."
At 70, though, Stroud feels the change is healthy-both for the company and for himself. He describes himself as a man whose main hobby is business. "I like to read and go fly-fishing," he concedes, "but I've always most enjoyed running this company."
While Stroud may be logging fewer hours these days, his influence on the firm has hardly dwindled. "My father has put a very strong imprint on this company," says Jeff. "His ideas and principles are very much alive in the people who work here."
Case in point: Jeff's recent spearheading of an experimental new kitchenware department. Under Jeff's direction, a few stores have begun selling dinnerware, cookware, cutlery and related items. "Throughout the company's history, we've taken the approach of selling whole rooms-bedrooms instead of bedspreads, bathrooms and not just towels. The only exception has been the kitchen and dining room, where we've sold only table linens," explains Jeff.
If successful, the new department will put Strouds on a whole new playing field. And while Jeff is enthusiastic about that prospect, he's also suitably awed by his father's precedent. "Seeing what a great job we do with linens, it's a real challenge to create a kitchen department that lives up to those standards," he says. "My father built this company on the idea that if we were going to get into a business, we had to do it in a meaningful, competitive way. That rule is as indelible today as ever."
More Than A Sham
Back in 1979, Bill Stroud wouldn't have told you he'd end up heading a giant chain of stores or that the average size of a new store would hit 20,000 square feet. He didn't know his company stock would be traded on the NASDAQ exchange or that he'd have employees as far away as Chicago and Minneapolis.
He knew one thing, though. As he pulled up to the loading dock next to a giant department store truck and loaded his own merchandise into a modest little van, he vowed that someday he'd have a truck as big as anyone else's. That day has certainly come. Now it's not just that Bill Stroud's trucks can pull up right next to the big guys'-it's that his trucks are the ones to look out for.
Birth Date: July 2, 1925
Residence: Arcadia, California
Marital Status: Married to Joyce for 42 years
Children: Kathy Martin, 40; Steve Stroud, 39; Jeff Stroud, 34
Family Involved in Business: Joyce Stroud (wife), company secretary and vice president;
Jeff Stroud (son), director of merchandising for housewares and decorative tabletop;
Jean Stroud (daughter-in-law), assistant buyer for decorative and kitchen accessories.
Business Philosophy: "I hope every [Entrepreneur] reader gets a chance to start his or her own business. It makes life more interesting, gives you a broader perspective. And, best of all, you get to do things the way they need to be done."
Contact Source
Strouds Inc., 780 S. Nogales St., City of Industry, CA 91748, (818)912-2866.


text: It's no secret that a car with slick coefficient of friction will be better on gas. So Volvo decided to build a top-notch wind tunnel in Sweden that they claim is an improvement on traditional test facilities. Volvo's wind tunnel allows a simulated road under the car at-speed, while most tunnels just leave the wheels stationary. The whole thing is also climate-controlled, from 68 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, allowing Volvo to test for temperature-induced changes in drag. Impressive, but we still miss the days when Volvos were shaped using nothing but straight lines and 90-degree angles.

subset: commoncrawl


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Dear Avery Dale,
Here you squirm next to me, a warm baby bun who less than three weeks ago was snuggled up inside me, and we couldn't be happier. You have been a pleasant surprise to us from the very beginning, so we should have expected nothing less for your birthday.
Since I had been dilated 2 cm for a month, Dr. K didn't think that you would come on your own. He offered to induce me the week before you came in case I was sick of being pregnant, but I still felt great, so we scheduled another appointment with him on the 21st. He said that if I hadn't had you by then, we would need to schedule an induction for the week after that.
Since you are our first, we thought I could go on like that for DAYS. So your dad turned down the lights and drew me a luxurious warm bath with Chamomile Epsom salts. I floated around in that for an hour and still had six contractions. He sat on the edge of the bath and rubbed my back. We laughed a lot.
I believe that your birth is another happy succession in life: your daddy and I met, then we dated, then we fell in love and became engaged, and then we married. Each event was happier and more fulfilling.


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All offers expire
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Plaza de Chueca
There's a different way to enjoy Madrid's nightlife. Just head for the Chueca area, where all inhibitions have been cast aside to make way for fun and tolerance, and where you'll be find a whole host of wicked venues, techno discos and designer clubs. In fact this neighbourhood has always been an beacon of modernity, and was the birthplace of the famous "movida madrileña" (a countercultural movement of the 70s and 80s). And as well as being the favourite hangout of the gay and transsexual community, the streets in this area are becoming more and more popular with anyone looking for first-rate nightlife.
In summer, it's well worth visiting the terraces in the surroundings of the Plaza de Chueca square, where you're always guaranteed to find a great atmosphere. And of course if you want to see for yourself everything that's on offer in this most openly tolerant of cities, why not visit Madrid during Gay Pride Week (last week of June)? The event features open air concerts and shows, as well as a parade of floats and fancy dress, while the whole area is awash with rainbow flags.
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by Rabbi Arthur Waskow
My brother Howard is dying. Three years younger, healthier all his life than I have been, he is dying of what began as the same cancer that I have in these same last months lived through and lived beyond.
Uncanny that our lives are so intertwined — and so divergent. Indeed, 20 years ago we wrote a book together about how our lives have intertwined – and diverged. "Becoming Brothers," we called it. And now, after many years in which he became for me the older brother that he wished I had been for him, years in which he taught me how to love, he is dying, leaving me bereft, bereaved. Profoundly sad.
He lives in Portland, Oregon, a continent away from me in Philadelphia. I have just come from spending four days with him, to tell him what he has meant to me and that I love him; and in tears to say goodbye.
And at the same time, I am filled with joy and energy at my own deliverance. I have thought about "survivors' guilt," but only thought about it. I have not, at least not yet, been gripped by guilt that he is dying while I survive. Instead, I am living with a two-fold awareness: grief and joy.
I described this to Howard, and he said, "Marbleized, like Rocky Fudge ice cream." Still mentally alert, though his body is filled with lumps of cancer on leg and hip and liver and on either side of his esophagus. Cramping his throat into spasms of violent hiccupping that wrench his whole body, making it hard for him to sleep without some medication.
When the home-hospice nurse talked with him about the meds, he said, "I need one week of mental acuity." Pause. "Three weeks." Pause. "Or more."
Why does he need this time? Why is he measuring it?
For years he has been working on a book called "Homeward Bound: Finding Satisfaction in the Family." In the last few months, before and since discovering the cancer that is killing him, he has been finishing it, and he is passionately hoping to seal the arrangements for its publication before he dies. Or leave the process so far advanced that he can die in peace that it will happen.
The book is a remarkable guide to the journey of healing our families. It weaves together the three great strands of Howard's life: explorer and healer of his own family conflicts; critic and teacher of the great literatures of England and America at Reed College and then at an experimental college, The Learning Community; skilled and cunning therapist, alert to the discontents of soured families that bring him patients to be healed. He is an eloquent writer. The book will guide many of its readers to their own healing, a broadcast version of his work at one-on-one.
(Though Howard and I have often talked about how we are like twin football power players of our long ago, Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside, he has focused his life on healing injuries close-in, face-to-face, and I on healing the great broad circle of the world; his book, "Homeward Bound," will carry Mr. Inside to the Outside.)
Despite Howard's alertness and his clever wit, "marbleized like Rocky Fudge" was not quite right for me. My sadness at his dying and my joy at my aliveness, and my sense of the uncanny intertwinings of our lives, are not exactly mixed and swirled together. They live in me, and I in them, each with independent vitality and vigor, not even sadness today and joy tomorrow but all of them in constant presence.
Howard's deathbed has become a hotbed of life. His family, his close friends — his beloveds and those for whom he is beloved — have come to visit. We talk with him and with each other about him. He says he feels "surrounded with love." Indeed. And I am convinced this warmth of loving fire, this "hotbed," will itself become a broadcast like his book: reaching out beyond this circle to many other places in the world.
Indeed, the days in Portland have already enriched my understanding of the Transformative Judaism I have been exploring. I left Howard's bedside to speak about that vision to a convention of rabbis committed to the renewal and transformation of Judaism. What I said to them, trying to "broadcast" the grief and the love that was warming that bed, was that these are the emotions and the sense of the Spirit that we need to bring to Earth itself and all its communities.
Grief that the world we have known is dying. We are living through earthquakes of a dying society, racked by violent "hiccups" as Howard is by his own. The economies, the ecologies, the sexualities, the families, the communities and traditions we have known, are all gasping, coughing, shaking. It is appropriate, it is necessary, to grieve.
And it is appropriate, it is necessary, to look with delight and joy upon our seeds of deliverance. Around the deathbed of our old world are already clustering those who have loved the best in that world, knowing now that we must surround the dying world with love as Howard's beloveds have surrounded him, and go forth as he hopes his book will do and I hope we all who have been visiting him will do. To make of the myriad movements bubbling up around our planet seeds to sprout and grow new forms of the Beloved Community.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow is director of The Shalom Center (www.theshalomcenter.org), a leader of the movement for Jewish renewal and the author of many books on religious thought and practice. His brother, Howard Waskow, died on Jan. 13, a week after this essay was finished. The Shalom Center in located at 6711 Lincoln Drive in West Mt. Airy. This essay was reprinted with Rabbi Waskow's permission from the center's newsletter. For more information, call 215-844-8494.


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I am trying to map a Shapefile (download) onto a Google Map using the Javascript API. The Shapefile describes the boundaries of NYC School Districts.
The file's projection was
Lambert Conformal Conic, and so I tried to convert it to
Google Mercator using QGIS. However, the coordinates still don't make sense. When I map the polygons, they cover all of Earth.
For example, one of the impossible points that I get is
-8240484.27362, 4961069.9502.
How can I properly convert my Shapefile to an acceptable format?


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RM28RM30Save RM2
- Date
Sat, 18 May 2019
- Time
5:45am - 6:45am
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Dataran Petaling Jaya
- Address
Dataran Petaling Jaya, Jalan Barat, Seksyen 52, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
- Contact
Customers are advised to be punctual as you may be moving, as a group, to another location for training.
Outdoor group fitness training utilising evidence-based exercise principles and teamwork to motivate you to do more. In case of emergencies, kindly contact Faizal at 012-476 3738
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This is a rare find! Nobody has booked this before, so do share some thoughts after your session and be the first!


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The Miracle in Sderot
People in the city of Sderot in the south of Israel have become accustomed to the sound of rockets falling in their community. But what happened the other week when a terrorist rocket hit a local religious high school became not only the talk of the town but of the whole nation.
The rocket fired by the Islamic Jihad terrorists crashed into a classroom of the Netiv Yeshivati School at 8:35 in the morning. The students are usually in the room at that time after completing the prayer service in a nearby room at 8:30. That morning there was some delay and they did not leave for their classroom on schedule. It was this delay in completing their prayers that saved their lives.
The headlines that appeared the next morning could only describe what happened as "The Miracle in Sderot".


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This article is sponsored by the Institute of Managers and Leaders
How many jobs have you had by the time you hit 30? The new normal is a total of four job changes before a person turns 32, according to a study of over 3 million college graduates by networking site Linkedin. That's almost double the generation before them.
As a result, at any one time there are thousands of potential candidates in market for a new job and those who shortlisted are no longer those who boast only an impressive university transcript. Upskilling and accreditation has become a crucial part of any career trajectory destined for greatness - or already on the path to greatness.
Australians now see the necessity to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry skills and we are increasingly adapting our professional pursuits accordingly. Post-education upskilling has increased in the past decade, with a 2016 Census showing 9.6 million people now hold a post-school qualification – that's up from 7.9 million in 2006.
It's clear that professional designations provide a credible edge for Australian employees wishing to advance their knowledge and skillset within a current role, or move into a new role entirely. And professional accreditations are no longer limited exclusively to specialist industries like finance or law.
Post-education upskilling has increased in the past decade, with a 2016 Census showing 9.6 million people now hold a post-school qualification – that's up from 7.9 million in 2006.
In recent times, management has become a standalone profession, as well as a rank, with a specific set of niche skills required for the effective leadership of a team. This means industry standards for management are now essential to ensure leaders are better in the short term and prepared for a changing workforce landscape in the long term.
Chartered Manager is an pivotal development in professional accreditation in Australia - the first globally recognised gold standard marque of management and leadership excellence. The Chartered Manager designation is the highest status that can be achieved as a management professional and is conferred by the prestigious Privy Council in London.
With a very limited number of organisations around the world offering Chartered designations, Chartered Manager stands as the only Chartered status, and the most esteemed management designation, on offer to management professionals who want more from their profession.
Offered exclusively by the Institute of Managers and Leaders in Australia and New Zealand, the designation joins the ranks of distinguished accreditations such as Chartered Accountant and Chartered Engineer.
There are hundreds of professionals around Australia who already enjoy the Chartered Manager designation's edge in this changing workforce. From CEOs to emerging managers, leadership coaches to PhD candidates, these managers are connected by the motivations to become the best, most effective leader they can be.
Ian Coombe, bestselling author and former Chairman of Kidsafe QLD, was one of the first leaders to be awarded Chartered status in Australia.
"Becoming a Chartered Manager indicated to me more than hanging up a shingle and calling oneself a manager – anyone can do that!" he says.
"It involves rigour and consistency in the pursuit of professionalism as a manager and leader. As a proud manager and leader for many decades, I have learnt that professionalism and reputation is important to maintain and taking the step to be a Chartered Manager shows my commitment to consistent high standards working with others."
This article is sponsored by the Institute of Managers and Leaders


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Movin' On Coaster
Graduation Coasters
Movin' On Coaster, Item# CRGI3125
Note: Sparkles are simulated and will not light up.
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Note: Sparkles are simulated and will not light up.
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Personalized coasters are a fantastic addition to your special day. Custom printed with your information, these coasters have full color on one side with white on the back. Single-use coasters are a wonderful way to make your event even more distinctive!
You will be able to select the typestyle and ink colors to use for your personalized text during the design process. Start by clicking on the green 'Personalize and Continue' button. We recommend using the default typestyle and ink colors.
|Item Type:
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|Square: 4" X 4" (W x H)
Round: 4" Diameter
|Printing Process:
|Digital Press
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|110 lb. Bright White Felt Stock
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|Unicorn and Liberty's Hand
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|Black and Brown


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Aspiring entrepreneur Nodir Abdullayev (Bek) shared his experiences becoming involved in the entrepreneurial community in Kansas City and going through a workshop in Kauffman Labs. Learn how Bek's first experience made him go from an aspiring entrepreneur to lean entrepreneur.
I showed up at Kauffman Labs with nothing but an idea, and 48 hours later I had a business with real customers and over $3,000 revenue. This story is about local entrepreneurs with NO coding skills who built a tech startup with paying customers all in one weekend.
I only recently discovered that Kansas City has a young and thriving entrepreneurial community. It happened by accident while searching for a developer at a networking event.
Two weeks into exploring the entrepreneurial community, I received an email about a workshop in Kauffman Labs. Two clicks later I was looking at a Google form asking me difficult questions about what problem I was trying to solve, my vision, and why I should be at the workshop. These guys were serious about who attends the workshop. So after being grilled about why I deserve to be in a room full of entrepreneurs at the Lean Startup Machine, it was exciting to learn I had made it.
As I understood from my little research, The Lean Startup method applies a scientific method to building a product or a service while keeping you from wasting time and resources building things people don't need or wouldn't pay for. In my case, as it later turns out, that is exactly what I was about to do. Spend $25,000 and six months developing a "solution" for my hypothesized "customer" to solve what I assumed was a "problem". Real money. Real time. All on guesswork.
What's the Problem?
On the day of the workshop there were around 35 fellow entrepreneurs. Our solutions were immediately thrown out, so we could focus on the problem and identifying whether it was indeed a "problem" for our assumed "customer". We were to focus on the problem and work our way to solutions, not the other way around. My solution was to eliminate paperwork in trucking. That of course is a solution, so in form of a problem it is "administrative paperwork such as invoices and delivery confirmations rely heavily on paper and faxing, thus creating a bottleneck."
Once everyone had pitched their "problem", we voted on the ones we were most excited about solving and formed eight teams. Paperwork in Trucking was one of them.
Using the Validation Board, a roadmap to help us navigate, we started with our most important hypothesis, our Problem and our Customer. It's the paperwork and the truck driver. Each of those came with our set of assumptions, such as that Paperwork was indeed a problem for truck drivers or that they would pay for a solution.
It was time to learn whether those assumptions were truly valid. Because if your assumptions are wrong, they will break your business. To achieve that, we got kicked out of the building. A process known as GOOB - Get Out Of Building. Our goal was to locate our potential customers and to speak to them in a non-leading way to see whether the customer would validate our assumptions: whether they truly found the paperwork to be as problematic as we assumed it to be. More importantly, was it bad enough that they would pay to make it go away?
Validating Your Assumption
I was convinced this would be easy, because it would be foolish not to think paperwork was a problem and not to pay to make it easier. So we got out of the building in search of our truck drivers. After some scouting, we were able to track down a few car haulers at a local Auto Auction. We posed as college students writing a paper about car hauling so that they wouldn't think we were selling a product. It worked, turns out truck drivers love educating students about their line of work. We discussed their daily operation at length and not once did they mention the paperwork as an issue. Their biggest headaches did not revolve around the paperwork at all. Not only would they not pay for a solution, but they also didn't think it was a problem to begin with.
Both of our riskiest assumptions were invalidated. I was shocked! I was convinced about the problem, customer and the solution I had in mind. Convinced without talking to a single customer and ready to pay a developer $25,000, wait six months and build a product my customers didn't even care about.
We went back to the validation board to re-group. It was time to pivot. Our assumed customer was not our customer and our assumed problem was not a problem. We were at a loss at first, but once everyone shared the feedback obtained from the interaction with truck drivers, we noticed a trend. They weren't saying its not a problem, they were mostly saying it is not their problem. They submit it and don't care what happens. They get paid regardless. It was the owners or the offices that had to make sure the paperwork process was handled properly. It was the owners who paid the price of inefficiency and who had the headache of dealing with this.
Our new assumption led us to our first pivot. We changed our customer from the driver to the owner of the truck / fleet, kept the problem and went back out to test our new assumption. This time it was different, truck owners and small fleet owners did have stacks of papers on their desks, they did have a bottleneck with the payment process, they did find it challenging to collect reports from drivers on time. Without us mentioning that we may be working on a solution, they said, "I wish there was a way to not have to deal with that." Asked if they would pay, nine out of nine owners said yes. Assumption validated!
Once you have a validated customer and a problem, it's time to work on a solution. Our solution: a mobile application to eliminate paperwork in trucking. Based on customer comments we wireframed the product to display its functionality. At this stage of the workshop we were performing what Lean refers to as "Concierge", a process of simulating what the solution would do to show a customer how it works. Few hours later, 100 percent of customers concierged were converted to paying customers. We charged their cards for a monthly recurring service that, by the time we presented, totaled $3,240.
Ladies and Gentlemen…
At 4pm on Sunday, it was time for presentations. In addition to the other teams in attendance, we had the honor of having the faculty and guests from UMKC, CEO of Lean Startup Machine, Kauffman Global Scholars, and my heroes of entrepreneurship Thom Ruhe and Diana Kander watch our presentation.
Presentations revealed many surprising findings by each team as a result of getting out of the building and interacting with their customers. The judges picked us as the winners based on the application of the Lean method and the success we had in such a short time.
Winning is great, but what's greater is seeing most of us from the workshop move forward with our products, implementing Lean at our startups, running experiments, and invalidating assumptions.
At Lean Startup Machine, not only did we build a tech product and make money in less than 48 hours, but also we are now disrupting the way the trucking industry operates.
Disruption is fun to talk about, but it can be difficult to implement. Many do not accept change "because that's how [they've] always done things". My business professors never mentioned disruption as a means for progress or development. Media taught me that it was only the teenage-hacker-geniuses who engaged in disruptive innovation. I know better now, to rephrase what Spiderman was once told: "there is a [teenage-hacker-genius] in all of us".
Nodir Abdullayev - BEK
Lean Entrepreneur
To learn more: Follow me on this journey as I begin a blog, journaling my lean experience, its role in our community, local startups it has helped launch, and my journey from aspiring entrepreneur to lean entrepreneur at noda3k.wordpress.com. (It's just beginning, but come back for more as I grow my content.)
Jennifer Kearns


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NHL Game Night 4/7: Penguins at Lightning
This team could be incredible if Lawton could find some defense without blowing up some other part of the team.
Karri Ramo allowed 5 goals on 30 shots for the loss. Despite allowing 5 goals, he actually didn't play all that badly. Two of Pittsburgh's goals came on breakaways and a third came on an uncovered player allowed to move in on Ramo all alone down the slot. The game winning goal was a case where Ramo was clearly interfered with after stopping the initial shot on the breakaway. Another goal came on a feed that went through the box on the PP down low to give Sid Crosby a clean look on Ramo moving laterally. Other than Cooke's goal to start the third period, which wasn't a bad goal so much as an untimely one, there's nothing I would fault Karri with. The decision is the 41st of Ramo's career, graduating him from prospect status here at BP.
First Period
Second Period
05:00 PIT Fedotenko (16), (Staal, Kennedy)
10:08 PIT Crosby (31), (Malkin, Kunitz)(PP)
11:12 PIT Crosby (32), (Kunitz, Malkin)(PP)
Third Period
01:08 PIT Cooke (12), (Staal, Letang)
04:31 TB Halpern (6), (Szczechura)(SH)
08:59 TB St. Louis (30), (Stamkos, Krajicek)
09:43 TB Szczechura (4), (unassisted)
11:43 PIT Sykora (25), (Fedotenko)
19:19 TB Halpern (7), (Karsums, Bochenski)
19:47 PIT Staal (22), (unassisted)(EN)
I give credit to the coaches and the players that no one laid down in the third period. It would've been damned easy to quit, but the Lightning came back and really gave the Pens a run for their money. They were one missed goaltender interference call away from getting to overtime. So, the heart is there, and for the most part the offensive potential is there. What's really lacking right now is two things: defense and penalty killing. The defense will get better by virtue of a healthy Andrej Meszaros and Paul Ranger. The penalty killing can't possibly get any worse. I don't know the stats, but the PK has been absolutely rancid the second half of this season.
Ryan Malone broke his hand blocking a shot in this game, making him the fifth key Lightning player to be shelved with a serious injury. He had already proven that last year wasn't a flash in the pan by potting his 26th goal. I give him credit. He's won me over. The injury may open up an opportunity for someone from Norfolk to get a two game cup of coffee. Blair Jones? Justin Keller? Juraj Simek?
Lets go Avs.
Noah Welch had 4 shots, 2 hits, and 1 blocked shot in 16:13 against the organization who drafted him.
Zenon Konopka was -1 with 2 hits in 9:58 and was 60% on draws. 9:58? Seemed like a lot more, in a good way. There are games where Konopka is nothing more than a circus clown, and then there are games like tonight where he plays hockey and he's a difference maker. He was a split second away from landing a shoulder-to-chin hit on Matt Cooke that would've made him a hero in Tampa Bay forever, and he about chewed the ends off the boards on the forecheck. Very well done.
Matt Smaby was +1 with 1 shot, 3 hits, and 1 blocked shot in 22:56. Tonight was Smaby's 41st game of the season, meaning he joins Ramo as a freshly minted Bolt Prospects Alumni.
David Koci had 3 hits and 17 penalty minutes in 6:00 of ice time. His fight against Eric Godard seemed like the emotional tipping point of this game. Again, very well done.
Paul Szczechura had 1 goal, 1 assist, and was +2 with 2 penalty minutes, and 4 shots in 16:00. He also was 33% on draws. I don't know what it is about Pittsburgh, but when Szczechura sees that jersey he seems to duck into the nearest phone booth and turn into Superman. I still don't think Szczechura is in his best shape, but he was flying tonight. That's the best game he's played in months, and the kind of game he needs to get on tape if he wants to make the team next season.
Martins Karsums had 1 assist, 1 shot, 3 hits, and 1 blocked shot in 13:23. He was fairly invisible, despite the impressive stat line.
Matt Lashoff was -1 with 1 hit in 17:23. I don't know if he got hurt or if the coaching staff was sending a message.
Vladimir Mihalik had 1 shot, 1 hit, and 1 blocked shot in 19:41. Mobility is obviously an issue with Vladdy, but his lack of decisiveness remains a bigger concern to me.
Box score and extended statistics from NHL.com.
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Juan_Bottom wrote:And as far as BBS' conclusions, obviously I disagree with all of them, everything he has said here. I'm a liberal, which to a lot of people is synonymous with anti-business, pro-labor. But you can be pro-labor and pro-business at the same time. I do believe in low corporate tax rates, and high income taxes on people. What I'm against is our system of organized greed.
You're a well-intended state socialist who rejects critical thinking and unfortunately supports poor outcomes. Only you can take the first step away from your echo chamber.
Making elaborate straw man fallacies still isn't doing you any favors.


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Ouch! A smack on the bottom does a lot of harm and no good.
One of the hardest parts of being a parent is figuring out how to teach your child right from wrong.
When your kid breaks a rule, do you talk things through? Stick him in a time-out chair? Take away his favorite toy?
And then there's spanking, an age-old discipline technique that parenting experts tend to disagree on.
Is spanking an effective way to teach your kid a lesson? Canadian researchers dug through 20 years worth of published research to answer that question and they found that spanking fails to change a kid's behavior and it can cause long-term damage.
The study, published this week in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, reveals that kids who are spanked are more likely to be depressed, aggressive, antisocial and anxious. They also tend to have lower IQs and as adults they're more likely to have substance abuse problems and mental health issues. One study even showed that kids who were spanked are more likely to lie to avoid getting hit.
Of the 80 studies reviewed a few indicated that spanking has no or little negative effect on children, but not one study proved that physical punishment enhances developmental health.
Co-author Joan Durant, a professor at University of Manitoba, says the research clearly shows that spanking isn't good for kids but the medical findings have long been overshadowed by a mindset that parents should have the right to decide how to discipline their children. Durant hopes the study will be a wake-up call to the parenting community and change the way we look at spanking.
"We're really past the point of calling this a controversy. That's a word that's used and I don't know why, because in the research there really is no controversy," Durant told Reuters. "If we had this level of consistency in findings in any other area of health, we would be acting on it. We'd be pulling out all the stops to work on the issue."
While spanking is less popular today than it was several decades ago, it's still a widely used discipline technique. In a 2009 BabyCenter survey of 1,300 moms, 81 percent of moms said they were spanked as kids and 49 percent of those moms said they swat their own children. And last year, Tennessee pastor Michael Pearl made national news for the growing popularity of his pro-corporal punishment parenting book To Train Up A Child, which has sold over a half-million copies. Pearl told CNN that he represents 230 million parents who practice corporal chastisement on children in the name of God.
Durant hopes this study will put a stop to spanking and lead the medical world to direct parents to other forms of discipline. "What we're hoping is that physicians will take that message and do more to counsel parents around this and to help them understand that physical punishment isn't getting them where they want to go," she told Reuters.
"If we had two or three studies that showed that if you took 500 mg of vitamin C a day you could reduce cancer risk, we would all be taking 500 mg of vitamin C a day," Durant said. "Here, we have more than 80 studies, I would say more than 100, that show the same thing (about corporal punishment), and yet we keep calling it controversial."


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And while I was hoping for Davish "Pops" Krail - Gold 5 to at least place in the poll, I think I'd like to see him packed with a new Y-Wing.
RESULTS!!![snip]#06 Owen Lars (Resculpt)
Here's my top ten:Death Star Docking Trench Stormtrooper - NO PICUncle Owen Lars (Resculpt)WiosleaWED15-1662 DroidBom VimdimDice IbegonBrainiacGarven Dreis - Red LeaderDavish "Pops" Krail - Gold 5R5-K6 - Gold Leader's astromech
Page created in 0.067 seconds with 18 queries.


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X-rays shed new light on lung function
Greater insights A new technique for assessing lung function using x-rays has been developed by Australian researchers.
This may enable earlier detection of lung diseases such as cancer, emphysema and asthma, and lead to more effective treatments for these conditions.
Biological engineer Stephen Dubsky and colleagues at Monash University in Melbourne report their findings today in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.
Currently, doctors typically assess lung health by using flow meters that measure the volume of air exhaled. However, flow meters can't identify if only a small part of the respiratory system is affected by disease, as in the early stages of cancer.
The new method, created by Dubsky and his team, is called 4D imaging and uses an x-ray source to make movies of the breathing lung, allowing scientists to study lung function in unprecedented detail.
"We are the first team to measure airflow within the lung," says Andreas Fouras, biomedical engineer and senior author of the paper.
In their study, researchers used 4D imaging to assess lung motion in rabbit pups and mice. There are more than 100 airways inside the body and this technique was able to measure flow throughout the airway tree. It was also effective at measuring other variables such as the elasticity and expansion of lung tissue.
New insight into lung diseases
Dubsky explains that with this extra information, diseases such as lung cancer can be detected much earlier; giving doctors a better opportunity to treat patients and potentially save lives.
He adds that it is also useful for monitoring the progress of medical treatments and conducting research into respiratory diseases such as asthma.
"We can use this new technology to better understand asthma and tailor the treatment to the patient," says Dubsky.
But is 4D imaging safe for use on humans?
Fouras says that in a previous study the research team discovered how to lower the x-ray doses for the imaging process.
The team is now working to implement this technology into a human clinical scanner. This would result in a smaller and safer amount of radiation exposure than is emitted by current technologies such as CT scans.
The research team is excited about the prospect of applying their 4D imaging technique to human patients. They estimate that a prototype will be available within five years.
"This could have a really valuable impact on society," says Dubsky.


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Keen to move onto something new but can't promise that arm's length client list that everyone "needs"? Uniquely - my client is realistic and has a wealth of work waiting for an exceptional Associate Director to join them.
I have just been asked by my client to seek out top talent within London for someone either currently at top end Senior or Principal Planner level up to a current Associate Director - to join their busy office. With a steady stream of work, unlike many positions at this level, this consultancy are keen to find a trusted pair of hands to take on existing and upcoming projects. You will:
- Take an active role in leading the team in managing and mentoring junior staff
- Lead on ongoing projects and have an aptitude to take on further responsibility in building up business and clients in the future
- Negotiate and work on behalf of clients in liaising with stakeholders
- Deal with more complex responsibilities such as appeals and consultations as they arise
- Be involved in budgets and the finances as within a management role
If you are considering that next step but can't promise to bring clients from day one then this could be an excellent opportunity.
My client works across the Residential and Mixed-use markets predominantly, so knowledge of this will be key, as well as some prior experience of cooperating with the more Central London Boroughs. You will also be targeting and working with some more outer London and Home Counties regions so being able to drive is essential.
The package is competitive and you will have the flexibility of working within a large firm but a manageable team to take the next step in your career.
Sound like you? Please apply here, or give me (Kate) a call on 0203 056 6282 at any time. My client is looking to get the right person on board ASAP so please do contact me as soon as you can.
If you do not hear anything back within one week, please assume that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion, but I will retain your details for future roles.


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It didn't take Jairo Arrieta long to make an impact with the Columbus Crew – and to extend Sporting Kansas City's home woes.
Arrieta, who joined the Crew at midseason from Costa Rican club Deportivo Saprissa, scored twice to lead Columbus to a 2-1 victory on Saturday night at Livestrong Sporting Park.
Columbus (8-7-4) won their second straight and denied Sporting (11-7-4) a chance to retake the Eastern Conference lead from New York. Sporting haven't won at home in four tries since beating Toronto FC 2-0 on June 16.
Sporting went up 1-0 on Kei Kamara's goal in the eighth minute, but Arrieta struck in the 17th and 34th minutes to give the visitors – who fell 2-0 at home to Sporting when the two sides met on July 14 – a 2-1 halftime lead.
The home side opened the scoring on a textbook set piece. Graham Zusi sent in a long free kick, and Kamara leaped and headed it past Andy Gruenebaum for his eighth goal of the season.
But the Crew equalized through their new arrival after a nice through ball from Josh Williams. Arrieta took the pass in the penalty area, shrugged off Lawrence Olum's attempted tackle and fired past Jimmy Nielsen from 12 yards.
Then in the 34th minute, Arrieta corralled Zusi's errant back pass in space in Columbus' attacking third and sent a blast in from distance to make it 2-1.
That was all the offense the Crew needed, as Sporting came up empty on one chance after another in the second half.
In the 51st minute, Gruenebaum deflected Zusi's shot into the crossbar and Teal Bunbury hit the rebound wide left. Then, four minutes later, Gruenebaum – who finished with five saves – stoned Bunbury twice on a one-on-one breakaway.
Kamara also hit the crossbar in the 65th minute with a header off a throw-in just after Matt Besler ran onto a corner kick and pushed it just outside the right post.
Columbus' Cole Grossman was issued a straight red card in second-half stoppage time for a hard foul on Zusi. Sporting almost made the man advantage pay off when Kamara corralled a bouncing ball at short range in the 97th minute, but he shot wide right.
Both teams return to action on Aug. 4, when Sporting KC travel to New England and Columbus head to D.C.
MLSsoccer.com Men of the Match
|What We Saw
|Jairo Arrieta
|Costa Rican was monstrous with first MLS goals, especially his second, a laser off Zusi's bad pass.
|Andy Gruenebaum
|How did Hebrew Hammer react to his All-Star snub? With five excellent saves to preserve victory.
|Kei Kamara
|SKC's leading scorer added another with a beautiful header, and abused Chad Marshall all night.


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Pure Dancing With The Stars Odds And Ends For Your TGIF, Feb. 10th!!
Hi All!!! I hope you are all having a wonderful Friday!! Stay tuned for John's announcement of our Brooke Burke Giveaway Contest winners. For now, here are some Dancing With The Stars odds and ends!!
First up, the producers of LIVE! With Kelly must have enjoyed Dancing With The Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba co-hosting with Kelly that they've asked her back. According to ABC Media, Carrie Ann will be helping Kelly on Tuesday, Feb. 22nd during LIVE! With Kelly's "Hawaiian Week". Lots of things are on tap for this special week in Hawaii including a wedding segment where Derek Hough will make an appearance again teaching the winning couple how to dance. Carson Kressley will also join in to help the couple with their wedding attire on Wednesday, Feb. 23rd. You can read more on the week at ABC Media.
In other TV mentions, Dancing With The Stars pro Mark Ballas will be weighing in on "VH1's 100 Greatest Women In Music". The 5-hour special will rank the "biggest of the big" including Madonna, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston and more. Hours 1 and 2 will air February 13th at 10PM. For more details and other episode times, be sure to visit MarkBallas.com.
Moving on to another dancing pro!!! Have you noticed Lacey Schwimmer's recent twitter profile picture? It looks like she's changed her hair to a more darker shade. Well, Rex Features has some close ups of Lacey walking out and about in Los Angeles recently. Her hair is a little different from her new twitter profile picture, but, you can her current look here. What do you think? I'm liking it. I hope she goes with more natural highlights like this (versus something funky) for the show if she's picked again.
For some more news on Derek Hough, this week he attended a Cold Play concert in Los Angeles. Don't miss some fun shots of him at Pure Derek Hough. Heidi has also posted some cool new Cobu3D collages. A MUST SEE Derek Hough Fans!! 🙂
Thanks to this news from Evaine, Maks courted his Mom to an Espen Salburg fashion show this week looking gorgeous as ever and happy. See a fun picture of them here.
Last, but, not least, back to Dancing With The Stars co-host Brooke Burke. This week Brooke was seen on a beach in Malibu taking shots for a new photo shoot. According to her twitter, she was shooting a summer cover for Prevention Magazine. Below is a picture of her walking in the sand all smiles. You can view more pictures and read more on the shoot at the Daily Mail. Nice, I'm loving this dress!!
Ok, that is all for now. Maybe more later…if you're good? 😉 xx


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Editor's note: Jaime FlorCruz has lived and worked in China since 1971. He studied Chinese history at Peking University (1977-81) and was TIME Magazine's Beijing correspondent and bureau chief (1982-2000).
Beijing (CNN) -- Thirty-two of the world's best football teams are now competing for the iconic golden World Cup trophy -- but the planet's most populous nation is not among them.
Team China failed to qualify for the "beautiful game's" showpiece event in Brazil. In fact China's World Cup dream turned into a nightmare as early as 2011, when it was eliminated in a regional qualifying round.
But for all the interest in football in this country of more than one billion people, it is a huge source of frustration that they can't field a competitive national team.
"China's weakness in football is a pain point and there is certainly an ambition to improve," said Scott Kronick, President of Ogilvy Public Relations Asia Pacific. Indeed, a multitude of Chinese -- from the state president, to a Peking University student, to a Beijing taxi driver -- share one Chinese dream: that Team China will one day win in the World Cup finals.
Finals flop
China reached the finals only once back in 2002. I remember that heady year. There was a heroes' welcome for the national team, many of whom became icons with fat commercial endorsements. There was deleterious display of national pride accompanied by soaring expectations for Team China.
But their debut turned out to be an embarrassing dud: they were knocked out after the group stage without scoring a single goal.
Still, these setbacks have not deflated the football fever here.
"There is a huge following for international football in China because local fans celebrate global talent," said Kronick, a long-time Beijing resident who plays football in a local amateur league. "The World Cup is about 'nationalism' at its finest, absent politics, and that's what makes it enjoyable."
Global game
Chinese football fans have been enjoying the action in Brazil despite matches taking place after midnight, Beijing time.
By hook or by crook, local fans are finding ways to stay up late for the games. Some took paid leave, others found excuses to stay home, such as getting doctors to sign sick-leave certificates. A man asked to take the day off ostensibly to attend a teacher-parent conference.
READ: Chinese flock to buy World Cup sick notes
Some managers say work place productivity has dropped lately. A few companies have simply conceded defeat, agreeing to a staggered work schedule to allow for some employees to stay in late, and come in late.
"The World Cup matches are played in the wee hours," said Wang Chen, a venture-capital manager. "If the staff can't get good sleep, work will be affected, so I pushed back working hours, hoping to arouse their work enthusiasm and efficiency."
"The World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet, so regardless of where you are in the world, you can't escape the excitement and passion surrounding the event, and China is no exception," said Misha Sher, director at MediaCom Sport, who manages partnerships for football icon, Pele, on behalf of his own management, Legends10.
Sher credits football's popularity here to an increasingly popular Chinese professional league, and to the extensive media exposure of top-level players and games through TV and digital channels like CCTV and Tencent. "They bring the game into the homes of hundreds of millions of fans, who are now engaged around the World Cup," he said.
Cash kicks
Enthusiasm for the game brings commercial windfalls.
The World Cup advertising revenue for Leshi, one of China's largest video websites is estimated to reach RMB100 million yuan ($16 million), said its top executive Qiang Wei.
This summer alone CCTV, the state television network, could rake in as much as RMB1.5 billion yuan ($240 million) in advertising revenue -- 50% more than their earnings from the 2010 World Cup.
"Given the interest generated by the World Cup, many companies are tapping into the passion and emotion created by the competition to connect with consumers," said Sher, who recently accompanied Pele to Beijing.
Coca Cola has used its sponsorship with a World Cup Trophy Tour, where they took the trophy to over 90 countries and held consumer events.
McDonald's ran point of sale promotions, which offered World Cup tickets to winners.
Other brands created various content, featuring international and national team players to connect the brand to the event.
The competition for advertising and commerce is not limited to sports brands. On the eve of the World Cup, an electric bike manufacturer in southern China brought Pele to Beijing to hitch on the World Cup bandwagon.
"They knew local residents are crazy about football and a legend like Pele endorsing their brand make them more endearing," explained Kronick.
Since the month-long competition opened in Brazil, legions of Chinese sports fans have been gathering for viewing parties in their living rooms, in factory and school dormitories, and in restaurants and bars, many of which have opened late for the fans to watch matches live on Chinese television.
Of course, not all of these sleep-deprived folks are bona fide football fans. A posting on Baidu, China's largest search engine, noted that the Chinese have recently coined the word "wei qiumi," or "fake soccer fans," referring to people who watch the game only once in a while, who care more about the final scores rather than enjoying the actual games, and who think celebrity players play a more important role in matches than the coaches.


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Chad has passed along a note today about a new release from the ITema group - the first Enterprise service bus for PHP developers, Blackbird.
ITema, Inc. today released Blackbird, its PHP enterprise service bus (ESB), to the Open Source community under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Blackbird allows PHP developers to rapidly develop loosely-coupled software applications, allowing them to leverage PHP's development speed and ease of use for application integration tasks.
It works well with Apache ServiceMix (via a common message queue) and has an "extensive collection of APIs, protocol handlers and XML/string parsing routines". The software is available for download and is released under the GNU General Public License as free for both personal and business use. There is also commercial support available as well as a forum to help you get the answers you need.
See also this post from PHPGeek.com


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Australia's Favourite Range of Ladies Diamond Wedding Bands and Rings
We love the depth of the symbolism of wedding bands. They stand for loyalty, love, and longevity. For a ring you'll carry for the rest of your life, you'll want one that you'll love every time you look down at your hands.
We stock a wide range of stunning artisan-made wedding bands and engagement rings for men and women. For clients wanting a ring custom-made for them, we also work alongside our customers to conceive and craft stunningly unique custom wedding bands.
The ladies wedding rings you'll love for a lifetime
We know there's a lot of care and consideration taken when choosing a wedding band. For a piece of jewellery that you'll wear all the time, you'll want a stunning piece that you'll love as much in 50 years from now, as you do the first time you lay eyes on it.
That's why we stock only the highest-quality ladies wedding rings for you to choose from. We've got a wide stock of international styles from a range of designers, as well as a stock of artisan-made rings by the experts at Gillett's. With us you're sure to find your dream ring amongst an array of band widths, materials, styles, carats, and designs – and if you can't, we'll help you design it.
Stand out with a diamond detailed ladies wedding bands
The simple gold or rose gold wedding band isn't for everyone. If you'd like to make your wedding band a little more eye catching, we've got a range of stunning ladies diamond wedding bands so that you can everyday be reminded of your wedding day when the gorgeously-cut diamond catches light.
Our rings are always available across a range of materials. No more one gold fits all, you can choose between stunning yellow and rose gold diamond set wedding bands, or white gold diamond wedding rings, or platinum diamond set rings.
Speak to us today
Go forth and select the ring that best symbolises the undying love of you and your partner. If you feel spoilt with choice and would like to discuss your options with an expert, we're always happy to help! For all questions and queries, don't hesitate to call us on 1300 665 352.


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Crimp tools.
What is a crimp tool?
A crimping tool is a tool that used to join or connect 2 pieces of material together by compression. The tool compresses the 2 materials together by squeezing one or both of the materials to form a bond or seal. Different crimp tools can be used for both cutting, stripping, bending and compressing.
An example of this is a connector that you attach to the end of a cable. The crimp tool allows you to seal the connector to the end of the cable by compressing the connector against the cable. What you are left with is called a crimp.
Crimping tools allow you to connect components together, quickly and are easy to use and cost effective. There are various types of crimp tools, hand operated crimp tools, electric crimp tools hydraulic crimp tools, pliers and ratchets.
Main types of crimp tools are:
Handheld or manually operated crimp tools.
Easy and simple to use and are normally used to crimp smaller items together. An effective and economical tool to use and can be carried in a tool box and use when required.
Electrical Crimp Tools.
Normally are battery operated. Work in exactly the same way as standard handheld crimp tools with the pressure required to seal and crimp materials together supplied via the battery power. Therefore little effort required by you to operate efficiently.
Handheld Hydraulic Crimp Tools.
This type of crimp toll requires very little effort when being used as all of the pressure is applied via a pump forcing hydraulic fluid into the crimp tool and compressing a die.
Manual Benchtop Crimp Tools.
Crimp tools that are mounted onto a workbench. They are still operated manually but require less force than a standard manual crimping tool.
Electrical Benchtop Crimp Tools.
Crimp tools that are mounted onto a workbench. An electrical motor operates the crimp tool producing high quality crimps. Excellent when high production rates are required.
Pneumatic Crimp Tools.
They can be mounted to a workbench or handheld. Pressurised hydraulic liquid is required to crimp material that is difficult to crimp manually.


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CHICAGO — There's more news on the Bally front: moving closer to its goal of reducing debt and meeting its July 31 deadline to release restated financials for the past four years, Bally Total Fitness Corp. is shopping for a buyer for Crunch Fitness. The company purchased Crunch for $90 million in December 2001.
Crunch has a total of 21 clubs in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and San Francisco.
Recently, Bally hired the Blackstone Group L.P. to help the company get out of its financial situation, which includes $741 million in outstanding debt and investigations into accounting issues by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney General's office.
The Crunch announcement came after 24 Hour Fitness was sold for $1.6 billion to Forstmann, Little & Co. Buyout firms, such as the Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Hellman & Friedman LLC, were reportedly also bidding on 24 Hour Fitness, which may mean they are open to a bid for Crunch, some analysts say.
In April, Bally announced that it expects to report a loss for 2004. It had a 22 percent increase in the number of members joining in 2004, but had only a one percent net increase in members.


text:
Marinated Cheese-Topped Salad
A lovely vinaigrette coats this green salad that's tossed with tomatoes, olives and marinated cream cheese 'croutons.' I freeze the cream cheese for 45 minutes or so to firm it up. This makes it easier to cut into cubes. —Barbara Estabrook, Rhinelander, Wisconsin
Total TimePrep: 25 min. + marinating
Makes6 servings
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, chilled
- 4 cups torn romaine
- 2 cups fresh arugula or baby spinach
- 1-1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup medium pitted green olives
- For dressing, in a small bowl, combine the first eight ingredients. Cut cream cheese into 1/2-inch cubes; toss with half of the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the romaine, arugula, tomatoes, shallots and olives. Drizzle with remaining dressing; toss to coat. Top with marinated cheese. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts1 cup: 342 calories, 34g fat (11g saturated fat), 42mg cholesterol, 461mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate (2g sugars, 1g fiber), 4g protein.
Recommended Video
Jul 18, 2012
I am not a big salad eater, but I really liked this. My husband did, too, and our young children even took a few nibbles!
May 12, 2011
I substituted feta cheese for the cream cheese. The dressing on this salad was perfect. Took it to a family dinner and was even asked for the recipe :)
Mar 30, 2011
I took this salad to a luncheon. Everybody loved it and wanted the recipe.
Mar 28, 2011
I found this to be too greasy with 1/2 cup oil, and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar...... I would suggest less oil. also I would use feta cheese cubes not cream cheese croutons.....


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Congratulations, Rose!Normally not my cup of tea, but these are in fact beautiful!Now, as they have arrived safe and sound, would you consider to delete the earlier pictures, if they weren't yours? Just a thought :sm:again: :hiclp:
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ABLEDATA website.
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ABLEDATA is a federally funded project whose primary mission is to provide information on assistive technology and rehabilitation equipment available from domestic and international sources to consumers, organizations, professionals and caregivers within the United States.
The ABLEDATA database contains information on more than 30,000 assistive technology products (more than 20,000 of which are currently available), from white canes to voice output programs. The database contains detailed descriptions of each product including price and company information. The database also contains information on noncommercial prototypes, customized and one-of-a-kind products, and do-it-yourself designs. To select devices most appropriate to your needs, we suggest combining ABLEDATA information with professional advice, product evaluations and hands-on product trials.
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text:
December 12, 2011
Gingerbread Waffles
Have you ever had trouble getting into the Christmas spirit? Like when you're stuck in line at the mall and you hear "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" playing over the intercom one too many times. The teenagers standing in front of you seem physically incapable of lowering their voices below 130 decibels and the toddler behind you keeps coughing its powerful kiddie germs all over your coat. Your forehead starts to perspire, and maybe you get a bit of an eye twitch. All of a sudden, holiday cheer seems like a distant memory of brighter, happier days.
Before I continue on with my story I have to say the aforementioned scenario did not actually happen to me. Well, it hasn't happened to me all at once, thank the little Christmas angels. But I do hate "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" with a fiery passion.
However, I did find myself a little slow out the gate with holiday spirit this year. Probably due to the fact that finals—which I'm almost done with (!!!)—severely cut into my Christmas-y cooking/baking/eating time. But, I have the cure for a lack of holiday cheer and I'm going to share it with you today. Ready?
(1) Go look at all the pictures of gorgeous holiday dishes at FoodGawker. You'll immediately want to bake everything in the shape of a Christmas tree.
(2) Search "Christmas Decorations" on Pinterest. Bookmark at least 50 crafty projects that you have no real intention of completing.
(3) Watch Christmas movies. A lot of them. Bonus points for unattractive sweatpants.
(4) Buy more chunky knit scarves than you know what to do with. Wear them around the house because they're comfy and you're weird.
(5) Repeat as needed.
I guarantee that the above tips will surely put you in tip-top holiday shape. But honestly, do you know what the best thing about all of those ideas is? You can do every single one of them while eating gingerbread pancakes. While most of the time we tend to focus on impressive meals or yummy desserts, that's no reason to forget about breakfast. These tasty waffles, with just a hint of gingerbread spice, make for a great winter breakfast. They're quick to put together and make an everyday breakfast just a little more special.
You can find the recipe I used over at Martha Stewart.
7 comments:
- AnonymousDecember 12, 2011
How could anyone not be in the holiday spirit after eating these delicious looking waffles! They look absolutely fabulous!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 12, 2011
I have NEVER had a gingerbread waffle before!!! By the way, I could see that scenario happening to me. I often hate queueing up... A necessary ingredient often gets opted out because i was too lazy to queue up for 1 ingredient...ReplyDelete
Those waffles look just amazing! Definitely will get you in the holiday spirit.ReplyDelete
I already watched Elf and The Holiday to get me in the Christmas spirit! :)
@danasfoodforthought: Thank you! They definitely help give the day a festive start.ReplyDelete
@Jesica: They're wonderful! hehehe I can definitely relate to the lazy line-ups. Long lines at the grocery store are the worst! :D
@Kristen: Thank you! And you've seen The Holiday? I LOVE that movie! :D
Yum! I've been having trouble getting into the holiday spirit, too, but the scarves -- and the waffles -- are excellent ideas. Thanks! :)ReplyDelete
Ooooh. I need a waffle iron. STAT.ReplyDelete
I'm struggling with the Christmas spirit too. In fact, I only just realised that Christmas Eve is a week today. GAH. I need to dig out Home Alone, Love Actually and various Christmas specials. STAT. (Okay, stop saying stat now.)
Actually though, I've already started making heart eyes at the Christmas cookies on Foodgawker and pinning Christmas craft projects I'll never complete, AND I'm typing this wearing a scarf. Wait a minute. Are you me???
@jhl: I think waffles are the answer to practically any problem in the world. :DReplyDelete
@Suz: Waffle irons are a magnificent creation *nods*.
Love Actually is marvelous. Christmas-y movies with ensemble casts get me every time.
And yes, we've got to be twins or something. :D
Thanks for commenting! By leaving a comment, you officially become one of my favorite people. Mwah! :D


text:
Tropical Storm Hanna sped toward the southeastern coast of the U.S. on Friday, and forecasters predicted that the storm would strengthen slightly before reaching land Saturday.
As of 11 p.m. ET, Hanna was about 140 miles south of Wilmington, North Carolina, carrying maximum sustained winds near 70 mph with higher gusts, just below hurricane status of 74 mph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. View a map of Hanna's projected path
The storm, which had spent several days meandering around the southern Bahamas, was moving north at a fast clip of about 20 mph, and forecasters expected it to speed up even more Saturday before turning northeast. Read full article »
All About National Hurricane Center • North Carolina • South Carolina


text:
Editor's note: The Canadiens have the No. 3 overall pick at Friday's National Hockey League draft in Pittsburgh, their highest pick since they selected Carey Price fifth overall in 2005. This week, Pat Hickey looks at the top prospects with a generous assist from Craig Button, a former NHL general manager and current analyst for TSN. We'll look at the players, their strengths and weaknesses, and the chances of them landing in Montreal.
Only a handful of players make the jump each year from the draft to an NHL roster, and Everett Silvertips defenceman Ryan Murray earns the most-likely-to-succeed honours in the Class of 2012.
"Coaches love him because he's so consistent," TSN analyst Craig Button said. "There's not a lot of flash to his game, but he's a very good skater and he moves the puck very well. Of all the players in the draft, he's the one who's most ready to play in the NHL. "
Murray, who grew up outside Regina in White City, said he has tried to model his game on that of his hero, Scott Niedermayer. Murray said body positioning and keeping a good stick are more important than crushing guys, but he also knows the necessity of being able to battle in the corners. In the past year, he has added 16 pounds and checked in at this month's NHL Combine at a solid 6 feet and 201 pounds. He also had the second-best score in the VO2 Max endurance test and was the eight-best in the push-strength testing.
The Canadiens are among the 16 teams that have interviewed Murray extensively, and he attended the team's mini-combine last week. But his chances of landing in Montreal are slim. Even if he's available to the Canadiens with the No. 3 pick, Montreal's greatest need is for a centre with some size.
Most scouts believe Murray would have been a top-10 pick a year ago, but he missed the date-of-birth deadline for the draft by 12 days. That makes him one of the older players available in this year's draft, but the 18-year-old displayed a precocity earlier this season.
Murray, who relaxes by strumming Neil Young songs on the guitar, was the youngest player to represent Canada at the world junior championship. While Canada had to settle for a bronze medal, Murray skated away with a spot on the tournament all-star team.
After Everett was eliminated in the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs, Murray was invited to join Team Canada for the world championship, becoming the second-youngest player ever to compete for Canada at the tournament. The youngest was Paul Kariya, who played for Canada in 1993 before embarking on a 15-year NHL career.
"The experience has to have helped him," Button said. "Even if he didn't get a lot of ice time, he had the opportunity to practise with pros, seeing how they prepare for games. He's the type of player who would take that in and learn from it."
Pros: Murray's skating and puck-handling skills are reflected in his consistent play.
Cons: He's not known as a physical player, but that's less important in today's game.
Chances of being drafted by Canadiens: Ten per cent. Even if Murray is available after the first two picks, the draft-the-best-player-available and you-can-never-have-enough-good-defencemen rules would be trumped by the abundance of defence prospects in the Montreal pipeline.


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text:
Paroles de la chanson Older Lover par Jason Mraz
Chanson manquante pour "Jason Mraz" ? Proposer les paroles
Proposer une correction des paroles de "Older Lover"
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Paroles de la chanson Older Lover par Jason Mrazwords by jason mraz & ariel quirolo
music by jason mraz
Well an old saying goes mind your manners, mind your mother
And a man can find a lover who is tan and undercover.
Well she might lie about her age, but lady I got no complaints.
Well she can be as crazy and as foolish as she wants to be
Because her old school ways are practical. Technicalities are perfectly sane.
I'm saying I ain't never seen a saint.
I met her at an old cop bar down in silverlake,
Where we joked about the give and we joked about the take.
And when they asked for identification I knew her's probably was a fake.
She's just another older lover undercover.
She's just another old-school lover undercover.
She's wearing that thin disguise, don't apologize.
'Cause your birthday suit suits you.
Ooh, well it suits me too. It's one hell of a costume
I can't find the zipper anywhere on your back,
Perhaps it's attached to the breach of your ass-crack.
(Vocal improvisation)
Burr, it's cold in here.
(Vocal improvisation)
But you keep it hot, dear.
Well, I sip mexican coffee and grapefruit juice,
Glass coke, glass of wine just to keep it loose.
Oh the things that you say and do, yeah,
Or the way that you groove to the music.
I like the Who and the Velvet Underground old sounds
Like indie rock, spock rock, anything you've found
In the backseat of your downtown brown, bruised beat up BMW.
I said you're down with the downtown.
Down. I dig the old sounds.
Down with the old lady, now.
You're just another older lover. And you're undercover.
Are you wearing that thin disguise? Don't apologize.
Your birthday suits you.
Oh, well it suits me, too. It's one hell of a costume.
I can't find the zipper anywhere on your back.
Perthaps it's attached to the breach of your ass-crack.
(Vocal improvisation)
Any melodramatic role is just a garment of the soul.
I respect your nakedness and the way that you unfold
And the way the story's told.
You're just another older lover.
And you're undercover.
Paroles.net dispose d'un accord de licence de paroles de chansons avec la Société des Editeurs et Auteurs de Musique (SEAM)


text: Dear coreboot readers! This is the automatic build system of coreboot. The developer "stepan" checked in revision 5236 to the coreboot repository. This caused the following changes: Change Log: fix a couple of warnings Signed-off-by: Stefan Reinauer <stepan at coresystems.de> Acked-by: Stefan Reinauer <stepan at coresystems.de> Build Log: Compilation of dell:s1850 is still broken See the error log at http://qa.coreboot.org/log_buildbrd.php?revision=5236&device=s1850&vendor=dell&num=2 If something broke during this checkin please be a pain in stepan's neck until the issue is fixed. If this issue is not fixed within 24h the revision should be backed out. Best regards, coreboot automatic build system


text:
Updated: Berkeley Mayoral Candidate Running Wolf Jailed for Stickering a Garbage Can
Blackfeet Indian elder Zachary Running Wolf Brown, 49, a notorious Berkeley/Oakland protester with more than ninety scalps on his arrest belt, was busted last week for stickering a city-owned garbage can.
Brown, a dark horse candidate for mayor of Berkeley, showed us his official-looking arrest document, and charged that the Berkeley Police Department had targeted him for his unrelenting campaign stumping, which in turn targeted Berkeley Police Chief, Michael K. Meehan and his department.
Brown said his latest bust took him off the campaign hustings for days, and that an Alameda superior court judge released him on his own recognizance Thursday, saying, according to Brown, that it was "un-American" of BPD to interfere with a political candidate.
The cops asked the D.A. for a warrant, which could have severely restricted him. According to Brown, the judge didn't go for it.
Brown has, at six mayoral forums, called for firing the chief, and reducing the force. Brown has said that the Chief "killed that guy in the hills," and that the chief is "unpopular with the troops."
The guy in the hills was Peter M. Cukor, 67, who was killed February 18 outside his hillside home overlooking S.F. Bay by a mentally-ill young Alamedan.
Cukor's family filed a wrongful death suit, June 20, against the city of Berkeley for allegedly neglecting to protect Cukor after he called for police assistance. The accused murderer has been ruled incompetent to stand trial.
According to Brown, he was handcuffed last week a full block from the garbage can displaying the offending sticker.
"Anyone could have put it there," Brown told me. "They targeted me for my criticisms of the department," he charged.
This will be a difficult charge to prove, according to anyone who has ever tried to prove anything in a court of law.
We asked Sergeant Jenn Coats, BPD public information officer, whether the decisions to arrest law-breakers were by command of a superior or made at the crime scene. She wrote:
"Berkeley Police Officers can decide to make arrests without supervision. Officers have the authority to arrest individuals if they have probable cause to believe a criminal act has been committed in their presence."
"Occasionally, supervisors will respond to locations based on the incident. Supervisors also provide guidance, as needed by the officer. Arrest reports are later reviewed by supervisors for approval."
Brown was arrested at Dwight Way and Fulton, near his boyhood Berkeley home.
But who is targeting whom, as Brown takes the warpath against Berkeley police?
Brown was back on the warpath Sunday at what seems to be the last mayoral forum, this one at a Cal student dorm. As campaign 2012 breathes its last, what's next a forum in a tea cup?
Friday, Brown was preparing to claim his bicycle at BPD, so he could chalk-up "Oscar Grant Plaza" in front of Oakland City Hall, in what he called a "chalk-a-thon."
He also sought the return of four-hundred half-postcard-size campaign stickers and some spray paint BPD took from him, he said.
Brown told me he will sue BPD.
Although Brown was not represented in court, Thursday, he has been represented as recently as two years ago by the San Francisco civil-liberties attorney, Tony Serra, or Serra's associate, Omar Figoaura. Serra represented Brown during his Memorial Stadium three-year tree-sit from 2006 to 2008.
Brown said he had spent the better part of Wednesday and Thursday in the Berkeley jail, where he said they called him "mayor," and boasted of the bust, awaiting a hearing at Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
According to Running Wolf, as he is known on Berkeley's Southside, a crime scene van arrived to photograph the crime scene in a possible replay of Arlo Guthrie's bust, near Alice's Restaurant.
Now-incumbent Mayor Tom Bates survived stealing onethousand Daily Californians which endorsed his opponent in 2002, with his election intact.
Ted Friedman, the Voice of the South side, is scratching his head over this latest Running Wolf legend-in-the-making.


text:
Students spend hundreds on parking passes
One student paid $500 for parking permit
Monday is the first day of classes for students at the University of Arkansas.
This year, the university is boating its largest incoming class of freshman and with more students driving on campus, parking is a serious concern.
Students 40/29 spoke with said finding an empty spot is not an easy task. Some say they are shelling out a lot of money to make sure they can have a spot to park their vehicle.
"It's horrible trying to find a spot," said freshman Jujuan Hutchins. He said a parking pass is the ticket to making sure he will always have a spot.
"I can park anywhere there is a red-zone, most of the dorms, basically, and I can just walk from there to all of my classes," Hutchins said.
However, he said the pass did not come cheap. It cost a little over $500.
Another student, Brock Bell, said it cost $85.92 to get a parking permit to park next to his dorm.
Some students are turning to other modes of transportation, like bikes, to save some money and still get around campus.
"I think it's a lot more efficient and you get there easier than having to drive around and try and find a parking spot," said another student.
Most students said it is much easier to find a parking spot for mopeds than a regular car.
This year the university came out with new parking passes for nearly all of their lots on campus.


text:
- home
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- Professional Car Wash Industry Leader Warsaw Chemical Launches Essential Detail Line through a new web site
Professional Car Wash Industry Leader Warsaw Chemical Launches Essential Detail Line through a new web site
Warsaw, IN - March 17, 2010 - Using their decades of experience producing some of the industry's highest quality professional car wash products, Warsaw Chemical has launched CARCHOICEDETAIL.COM. The new web site will be the exclusive vehicle for sales of the Car Choice Detail Line.
Dino Pellegrene, SE Regional Sales Manager for 11 years in the company's Car Wash Division says the new product line was an easy transition for the 69 year old chemical manufacturing company. "Producing an essential detail line was a natural thing for us to do. We're car guys at heart and making cars cleaner and shinier than the competition is what we do every day."
Ken Bucher, President of the company and founder of the Car Wash Division agrees that the products line was the easy part. "The retail web site was the biggest challenge for us having never done that type of thing. However, we took our time and worked with a professional web designer to put together a web site that we are proud of. The look, the feel and the operation of the web site are truly what we were looking for."
Mr. Pellegrene says the new detail line is largely based around an exclusive polymer the company has been using in the car wash division for several years. "Our exclusive 'DD Polymer' is what makes this new line of detail products special. The shine and protection is like nothing else. We know there are a lot of great car care products in this market because we tested most of them while we were developing Car Choice Detail. We are very pleased with how our products perform compared to the competition and we believe when car lovers try them, they'll agree."
The new product line targeting consumers that care for their own cars features a waterless car wash product called "Clean-n-Shine", one of several that makes use of the company's exclusive polymer. Others with the polymer are "Showroom Shine", "Wheel Polish", "Dual Action Glass Cleaner" and "Polyshine Hand Wash-n-Polish".
CARCHOICEDETAIL.COM will also offer various accessories like several different types of microfiber towels, a wheel brush, tire shine applicators and a microfiber wash sponge.
Web Site: www.carchoicedetail.com