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Landslide in hilly south China kills 46
The Chinese authorities have pulled out all 46 bodies that were buried and killed by a landslide that swept through a village in the steep, snow-dusted mountains of southern China on Friday, state media reported Saturday.
The landslide smothered 14 homes in Zhaojiagou village in Yunnan province, burying 46 people, the local county government of Zhenxiong said in public statements posted on its official website.
The state-run China Central Television said Saturday that all the bodies had been recovered.
A preliminary investigation blames saturation from more than 10 days of rain and snow for the disaster, said the local county government of Zhenxiong in a statement posted on its official website.
Photos posted on the website of the Yunnan Daily, the official newspaper of the provincial government, showed rescue crews in orange jumpsuits using construction machinery to sift through massive piles of mud and earth. Behind them stood hillsides and pine trees covered in snow, signs of the unusually cold winter that has hit all of China.
Mudslides occur periodically in the region, which is prone to earthquakes and heavy rains. In a nearby county, 81 people died after an earthquake in September. A month later, a landslide buried a primary school, leaving 18 students and one other person dead.


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STAMP IT, By Miss. M
Teacup and Teapot rectangle stamp
Regular price $24.20
Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.
- Personalised Rectangular shaped stamp
- Blue refillable case
- High quality flash foam
- Available in 5 ink colours
- 20 x 50 mm rectangle stamp case
- Font used for name may be changed to something similar
- If teacher name is not typed we will leave the name blank
or make 4 interest-free payments of $6.05 AUD fortnightly with More info

subset: commoncrawl


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Events Calendar
Friday, October 04 2019 - Friday, October 04 2019
Fisher and Nazareth College will co-host the National Association of African American Studies and Affiliates regional conference. Scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 3 through Saturday, Oct. 5.
- Event Time
- 9 a.m.
- Location
- Various Locations
- Organizer
- Hosted by NAAAS
Learn about proper disposal of both prescription and over-the-counter medication from Drs. Kelly Conn and Matthew Zak of the Wegmans School of Pharmacy.
- Event Time
- 10:30 a.m.
- Location
- Skalny Welcome Center Board Room
- Organizer
- Office of Institutional Advancement
Naomi Shihab Nye will offer a discussion on the craft of writing poetry.
- Event Time
- 12:45 p.m.
- Organizer
- Event sponsored by Dean of Arts & Sciences and Dean of Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. School of Education


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Living the Colorful Life at Home — Best of 2012
Editorial Rating:
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October is when our "Room for Color" annual contest usually rolls around, and to help support this big event, the writers and editors dig in on one of our favorite subjects, COLOR. Beautiful, powerful, emotional and complex, it's an area of interior design that we all are simultaneously intrigued and challenged by. Here are some favorite posts on the topic... • 10 Unusual Color Combos That Really Work • Test Yourself: Color Quizzes • Fresh Color Combo: Orange & Gray • Adding Big Color in Small (Even Tiny!) Places • Gray Paint Colors According to Ryan Gosling • Color Theory 101: Making Complementary Colors Work for You • Fresh Color Combo: Navy + Caramel • Adding Color: Cobalt Blue Accents • Adding Color: Pattern on Pattern • Fresh Color Combo: Pink & Red More


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Watch the Video Trailer
About the Author
Cecilia Velástegui was born in Quito, Ecuador where she spent her childhood. She was raised in California and France, and has traveled extensively in 50 countries. She received her graduate degree from the University of Southern California, and speaks four languages. She serves on the board of directors of several cultural and educational institutions. She lives with her family in Monarch Beach, California.
Click here to read more about Cecilia >>


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Econo Lodge Springville properties are listed below. Search for cheap and discount Econo Lodge hotel rates in Springville, NY for your business gathering or personal travels. We list the best Econo Lodge Springville hotels & motels so you can review the Springville Econo Lodge hotel list below to find the perfect place.
This site will list Springville, NY hotels + motels that are comparable to the quality of Econo Lodge.Booking a group or meeting? Get bids from hotels in Springville NY
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Yesterday, at the Hollywood Reporter's Women In Entertainment event, Helen Mirren received the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award. She also said "a few words about being a woman." She went off!
On stage, she said being a woman means being: "Unappreciated. Underused and ill-used. Undervalued." She also told those assembled:
"I resent in my life the survival of some very mediocre male actors and the professional demise of some very brilliant female ones… However, with all due respect to you many brilliant and successful women in this room… really not too much has changed in the canon of Hollywood filmmaking that continues to worship at the altar of the 18 to 25-year-old male and his penis.
Quite small, I always think."
Below, her excellent, eloquent speech:
In addition, Mirren was asked about how so much is made of her looks. On always being called beautiful, she said she feels:
"A bit cross, actually. We have to let go of this crap. It creates even more pressure on women, and I certainly don't want to be a part of that. I'm not beautiful; I clean up nice.
Why don't we talk about the fact, for example, that I just did Arthur, and the cinematographer was a woman, the film operator was a woman, the whole camera team were women? That's where we should be putting our attention. The fact that I look good at the age I am is bloody irrelevant."
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Helen Mirren Knocks Hollywood for Worshipping Young Men [The Hollywood Reporter]
Women In Entertainment Event Photo Gallery [The Hollywood Reporter]
Helen Mirren: My Looks Are Irrelevant [Showbiz Spy]


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The City of Columbia provides services for prospective, new and existing businesses to promote Economic and Business development within Columbia for the purpose of improving quality of life for Columbia citizens and businesses.
The City of Columbia is committed to working with existing and new businesses to ensure that private sector firms and owners enjoy a seamless experience working with the city and ultimately conduct business in Columbia, TN.
Economic & Business Development services include:
The Department of Development Services and is made up of Building and Codes, Planning and Zoning, and City Engineering. Development Services was reorganized to provide existing and prospective businesses and one-stop shop to make doing businesses less cumbersome to business owners. The department is responsible for all City issued building permits, administration of the City's zoning regulations, and the inspection of residential and commercial building in Columbia.
The Maury Alliance & Chamber of Commerce provides membership benefits to member businesses and assists the City of Columbia with economic development services specializing in industrial recruitment, location and retention.
The City Manager's Office works with prospective new businesses – most notably, retail industry businesses – expressing an interest in relocating in Columbia. The City Manager's Office works with all city departments, Maury Alliance, TVA and other local, state and federal agencies to coordinate with multiple agencies and assist new businesses as well as address issues raised by Columbia businesses.
Workforce Development in Columbia
State of Tennessee Business Tax Incentives
-State Tax Incentives
-Fasttrack Program
-Film Incentives
-Emails/Updates from TN Economic & Community Development
Industrial Development Board of the City of Columbia, TN
The purpose of the Industrial Development Board (IDB), which has powers of an IDC/EAC is to promote commercial business development in Columbia.
Established in 2014, the city's IDB serves as a citizen advisory capacity to the City Council and to execute Industrial Development Corporation functions and special powers as specified by under state law or the Tennessee Code Annotated (T.C.A.).
As a municipal Industrial Development Board, the IDB is as prescribed by the Industrial Development Corporation Act of Tennessee as set forth in the State statute (T.C.A. 7-53-1), hereafter referred to as "the Act". These powers enable the IDB to acquire, own, lease and dispose of properties to promote industry and to develop trade by attracting manufacturing, industrial, and commercial enterprises to the City of Columbia.
The Act allows the IDB to issue bonds as well as offer economic development incentives that include tax abatement programs. Programs include Payment In Lieu of Tax (PILOT) agreements for industrial and commercial projects within prescribed guidelines and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for redevelopment, infrastructure, and other community-improvement projects for projects within a designated improvement district within prescribed guidelines.


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Fantasy Hockey: Stumbling NHL stars, Flames rebound, Bolts fizzle
Dobber Hockey
Dobber checks in every Monday to force-feed you the latest fantasy hockey trends. The founder of DobberHockey.com and a columnist for The Hockey News website, he long ago immersed himself into this rollercoaster world and is unable to escape.
There have been more than a few stars who stumbled out of the gate in October.
But in most cases, these things correct themselves over time. When you see that correction taking place, you often also see that the entire line he plays on is hot.
Take Henrik Zetterberg for example. Seven points in 18 games is something you would expect from Drew Miller, not ol' reliable Hank. But he's pounded out 12 points in his last 10 contests and his linemates Valtteri Filppula and Jiri Hudler are hot right along with him. Same goes for Jarome Iginla and his linemates (Brendan Morrison and Olli Jokinen), as well as John Tavares (with Matt Moulson and P-A Parenteau).
In fact, let's take a look at the hottest lines of the past week, courtesy of Frozen Pool:
Still waiting for the Fleischmann, Versteeg and Weiss line to cool down…yawn…
These fellas are wielding a hot stick. Take that into consideration when you go after them in trade talks...
Dany Heatley,Minnesota Wild (6-3-3-6, plus-3, 4 PIM, 16 SOG) — Despite being only 30, Heatley is well past his best-before date. That being said, he's finding a bit of the magic that he had in preseason with Mikko Koivu (unless you think that his other linemate Jeff Taffe is the reason). He still has some catching up to do in order to get back to a 60-point pace, but he'll get there.
Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames (5-4-5-9, plus-6, 4 PIM, 21 SOG) — In what has become an annual tradition for Iggy, he stumbled out of the gate. But much like last season in which he tallied 78 points in 67 games after starting with just eight in 15, Iginla has turned the corner.
Bryan Little,Winnipeg Jets (12-8-6-14, plus-9, 4 PIM, 35 SOG) —Little had an ugly start to the season and poolies were dumping him like he was RIM stock. After managing just 82 points combined in the last two years, the beginning of Little's fifth NHL season had most of his fantasy owners fed up. Those who hung in there just a little longer have been paid handsomely.
"Sell High" pick of the week: Olli Jokinen, Calgary Flames. With seven points in his last five contests, Jokinen has boosted his end-of-season pace to 58 points. That's enough to make him a fairly appealing asset. He's not going to improve on that and given the results of his last three seasons he is almost certain to finish up below that number.
Somebody wake these guys up — their fantasy owners are counting on them...
Vincent Lecavalier,Tampa Bay Lightning (8-1-1-2, minus-7, 6 PIM, 26 SOG) — The last three campaigns have seen Vinny's points-per-game average slowly creep downwards: 0.87, 0.85 and 0.83. This year that stat is 0.66 which is far too sharp a drop. It will inch back upwards, with him ending 2011-12 in that 62 to 64 range.
Teddy Purcell, Tampa Bay Lightning (15-0-3-3, minus-2, 8 PIM, 14 SOG) — Lecavalier's linemate for about 20 percent of his shifts this season and Steven Stamkos' linemate for over 40 percent, there is really no explanation for such a slump. If you include last year's impressive postseason, Purcell had 32 points in 34 games and looked to have taken that next step. Nope.
Ales Hemsky,Edmonton Oilers (8-1-2-3, minus-4, 2 PIM, 24 SOG) — It's hard to believe that the Oilers' offensive fortunes at one time rode squarely on Hemsky's often dislocated shoulders. Now he's almost an afterthought when you flip on the game to watch the dazzling young guns go to work. Until he is moved to a new team, and strings together even 40 healthy games in a row, his fantasy value will remain marginally above nil.
"Buy Low" pick of the week: Patrick Marleau,San Jose Sharks. Pointless in his last seven, his owners are starting to get restless. But with at least 71 points in five of his last six seasons, you know that Marleau is a safe bet to turn things around.
The Wire...
Mostly short-term grabs here, but as always some potential steals...
Nick Foligno,Ottawa Senators (18-8-8-16, plus-1, 33 PIM, 22 SOG) —Foligno's PIM have been a nice bonus for poolies. He's not a potential 70-point player though, but he can get 55. So picking him up now and riding his current wave doesn't really have a downside (unless he gets Shanabanned, that is) because at worst he should still give you modest numbers.
Wayne Simmonds,Philadelphia Flyers (4-3-2-5, plus-4, 4 PIM, 11 SOG) — Because Simmonds had 116 penalty minutes to go along with 40 points and a plus-22 rating as a sophomore, he has remained on the radar of fantasy owners. This despite a step backward last season and a poor start to this one. But he's now lining up with Daniel Briere and Matt Read and the trio is really starting to click.
Anton Stralman,New York Rangers (2-0-1-1, even, 0 PIM, 4 SOG) — With Michael Sauer out (concussion), Stralman is finally getting into the lineup and his ice time was up over 15 minutes Sunday. His PP time is still minimal, but the fact that his assist was with the man advantage is good way to change that. Alternatively, teammate Steve Eminger (three points, plus-6 in his last two games) could be nice help for you temporarily.
Jesse Winchester, Ottawa Senators (4-1-1-2, plus-1, 10 PIM, 7 SOG) — For the truly desperate only. Winchester can provide you with at least…something. If you've run into some injury trouble and you dress 12 forwards then the pickings are slim as it is, so you could do worse than this guy. He can also help you in the penalty-killing categories.
Matt Hackett, Minnesota Wild (2-0-0, 1.01 GAA, 0.974 SP) — I think he gets at least two more starts before he's sent back down, depending on how quickly Josh Harding returns. With back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday, the youngster is sure to take one of those. And behind the mighty Wild defense, it's almost a lock to bring you solid numbers.
Kyle Brodziak, Minnesota Wild (6-5-2-7, plus-3, 19 PIM, 18 SOG) — I had him here last week, but he's still at just 6% owned in Yahoo! leagues. Since my recommendation he has played three games, picked up three points and 15 PIM. Still a great short-term option.
Richard Bachman,Dallas Stars (1-0-0, 0.75 GAA, 0.974 SP) — In 80 minutes of action, the youngster has allowed just one goal. He's long been one of my favorite prospect goaltenders and with Kari Lehtonen back to his injury-filled ways and Andrew Raycroft sucking, Bachman could be a very solid option for the next couple of weeks.
For more fantasy hockey tips, take a gander at DobberHockey. And while you're at it, follow Dobber's fantasy hockey musings on Twitter.


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For Jon Morter and his 700,000 avid followers, (and counting) of the Facebook page, 'Rage Against the Machine for Christmas no.1′ it has been an exciting couple of weeks. However last night concerns were raised when Facebook's most popular campaign page disappeared.
Ringleader, Jon Morter was concerned that the page had been shut down in a bid to halt the masses from buying Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the name.
The page went down last night (13th December), and had been inaccessible today, the day in which Morter's minions intended to storm the charts by purchasing the 1993 hit.
Speaking to theglobalhearld.com Morter said,
"The group went down last night in which a member of Facebook's PR team contacted to say it was a 'bug'," he continued, "Later in the evening the group returned as normal, but now it's gone yet again I do start to be concerned."
Jon's main concern was that charitable contributions to Shelter had substantially slowed. Members of the group have so far raised in excess of £20,000 for the charity.
In a panic a back-up page was launched while Morter awaited another response from the powers that be at Facebook. However, tonight it would appear that all is well on the camp Rage side as the page is once again functioning as normal.
The track is available to download from various websites including, HMV.com, iTunes, amazon, Play.com and Tesco Digital – and looks to be giving Mr. Mclederry a run for his money currently sitting proudly at number 1 in the HMV download charts, while Joe McElderry sits patiently at number 3. Rage also reside the top spot in Amazon's top downloads as well as number 1 on play.com. However bookies favourite Joe, currently retains the number 1 position on itunes.


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NWA-Bluegrass 'Boogie Bash' (12-12-03) DVD-R
DVD-R Version
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A celebration commemorating Jimmy Valiant's 40 years of service in professional wrestling as he battles the legendary Masked Superstar in the main event!
- NWA Bluegrass Jr. Heavyweight Champion Eric Darkstorm vs. Brett Sharp
- Mike Williams vs. Shawn Christian vs. Scotty Rider in a 3-way dance (Special Exhibition of Jimmy Valiant's Trainees from Boogie's Training Camp in Shawsville, VA)
- "Mr. #1" George South vs. Bruiser Graham
- Jenny Taylor vs. Krissy Vaine
- NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion Chris Draven vs. "Superstar" Shane Matthews
- NWA-Bluegrass Tag Team Champions The Beautiful People (Billy Maverick and Vinny Viagra) vs. The Redneck Express (Chris Vega & The Rebel)
- NWA-Bluegrass Heavyweight Champion Chance Prophet vs. Sinn (TNA)
- "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes vs. Slash
- Jimmy "The Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant vs. The Masked Superstar
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In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Appendix 18 of the Authorized English translation of Quran by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D.
Quran: All You Need for Salvation
The words of the Quran speak in 19:64, saying,
[19:64] We do not come down except by the command of your Lord. To Him belongs our past, our future, and everything between them. Your Lord is never forgetful.
God did not forget, for example, to tell us how to sleep (18:109, 31:27). Yet, the fabricators of such false doctrine as Hadith & Sunna have come up with religious teachings dictating to their followers how to sleep, and even how to cut your nails.
The Sacred Mosque in Mecca and the illegal "Sacred Mosque" of Medina, hire some individuals to seek out the exhausted visitors and beat them with a stick if they fall asleep on the wrong side!
The Quran proclaims that the Quran is complete, perfect, and fully detailed (6:19, 38,114,115; 50:45), and that religious regulations not specifically instituted in the Quran constitute a religion other than Islam, i.e., Submisssion (42:21, 17:46).
The true believers uphold the Quran, the whole Quran, and nothing but the Quran. This principle is confirmed by the Quran's mathematical code. Verse 46 of Sura 17 proclaims that we shall uphold the Quran ALONE. The word "ALONE" occurs in the Quran 6 times: 7:70, 17:46, 39:45, 40:12,84, and 60:4. All these occurrences refer to God, except 17:46. When we add the numbers of suras and verses which refer to "GOD ALONE," we get 361, 19x19. This proves that 17:46 refers to "the Quran ALONE."


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Associated Clinical Laboratories (ACL) is a regional reference laboratory serving Northwest Pennsylvania, Chautauqua County, New York and Ashtabula County, Ohio. Formed in 1986, the laboratory is a regional asset and resource for physicians and patients living and working in the service area.
As a local laboratory, the medical directors, technical staff and administrative staff are readily available to both physicians and patients should questions arise regarding ACL's services. Members of Pathology Associates of Erie serve as the Medical Directors of local hospital laboratories as well as ACL. This oversight ensures that the laboratories focus on meeting the service needs of physicians and patients in our community. ACL also employs two Ph.D. level scientists who provide oversight to the technical areas of the laboratory.
The partnership of the local medical community with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated enables local access to the expertise of the nation's largest reference laboratory. Testing not performed at ACL is referenced into the Quest facilities in Pittsburgh, PA, and the Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute esoteric testing facilities in Chantilly, VA, and San Juan Capistrano, CA. ACL performs approximately 95%
of all testing in the Erie facility.
|Home | Patients & Consumers | Healthcare Professionals | Careers | Contact Us
|© 2012 Associated Clinical Laboratories. All third party marks — ®' and ™' — are the property of their respective owners.


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At Conference Time
1. Of all the Sundays of the year,
the ones I love the best
are conf'rence Sundays twice a year,
so diff'rent from the rest.
I gather with my family
and feel the Spirit near
as I prepare to understand
the messages I hear.
2. The scriptures are a history
of prophets gone before.
Their timeless words were written then
to teach forever more.
But what an opportunity
I have on conf'rence day
to hear a living prophet who
is showing me the way!
3. I hear the special witnesses
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
They testify of gospel truth
and teach God's holy word.
So now when conf'rence time is past,
the thing for me to do
is follow well what I've been told
and prove that it is true.
At conf'rence time,
at conf'rence time,
the Brethren tell me what to do,
So I can live in happiness
at conf'rence time
and all year through.
Text: Brad Wilcox
Music: Janice Kapp Perry
Artist: Wilcox/Perry
Album: Music Published in the Church Magazines: Friend
Composition Date: 1997-10-01
More Info: Friend


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Aaron Terrell-Byrd is the new face at running back for St. Thomas, which has had significant changes on offense from 2011.
By Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
Teams — their strengths and weaknesses — are coming into shape after two weeks of play. And for many of them, they're still in the walkup to the start of conference play, where the path to the playoffs is largely traveled.
Perhaps most captivating nationally are the battles between Top 25 teams, but that is not the end-all of Division III. Not by a long shot. And there are still dozens of teams with a shot of playing their way into the rankings and into the postseason.
Often going beyond the Top 25 are Pat Coleman, Keith McMillan and Ryan Tipps in this week's Triple Take (look for hashtag #3take on Twitter). As always, we're happy to hear your comments.
Game of the week.
Ryan's take: No. 5 Linfield at No. 10 Cal Lutheran. I see these two teams in very different lights: the visiting squad is one that I've had a lot of enthusiasm about entering this year and that should have a huge target on its back; the other is one that needs to prove itself as a national competitor without the benefit Jake Laudenslayer taking snaps. We'll get a better handle on that after Saturday, and these two teams should have fresh memories and be primed to duke it out. In 2011, these teams played two very competitive games — one in the regular season and one in the postseason — with the Wildcats emerging on top both times. Lining up together, they rarely disappoint.
Pat's take: The Tommie-Johnnie game. What it's doing on Week 3, however, is beyond me. I know some conferences feel the need to shuffle their schedules evenly over time but there are other conferences who do that and still make sure the rivalry games get played at the end. With No. 6 St. Thomas having beaten St. John's by a hideous score last year, expect the Johnnies to come out extra motivated, in front of a home crowd that's likely to be at least 15,000. And how often can you say that? Both teams had to rally to beat UW-Eau Claire, both had an easier game as well. St. Thomas has had quarterbacks fold in this game before but the new Tommie quarterback, Matt O'Connell, faced some pressure in Week 1, so the only thing new will be the crowd.
Keith's take: No. 4 Mary Hardin-Baylor at No. 3 Wesley. Oh, cool, I get the slam dunk. And honestly, there isn't a whole lot that needs to be said here. The two South Region powers have played six times in seven seasons, with Wesley winning four. In the UMHB game notes, Coach Pete Fredenburg makes reference to the whole country watching, and in this case, it's not an exaggeration. Respect for these guys scheduling this game early. A well-played loss won't hurt in the top 25, and it will have a limited impact on playoff chances. What would be interesting is if these teams play again in the playoffs, but with experience against each other. UMHB outgained Kean 517-180, with 313 yards rushing, 165 from Darius Wilson. Wesley has been statistically underwhelming, but has given up only 21 points in road wins. This game is as big as they get in the regular season, and might be decided along the lines, by players we've heretofore never heard of.
Surprisingly close game.
Ryan's take: Sewanee at Maryville. There are only three Division III football teams in Tennessee, and two of them are lining up Saturday. Why are Sewanee and Maryville not meeting every single year? This situation is primed for a rivalry, but these two teams haven't played each other in seven years. Sewanee is playing better ball that Maryville right now, but the Scots will be fighting for some in-state pride.
Pat's take: No. 11 Trinity (Texas) at Sul Ross State. This is a new opponent for Trinity and a bit of a trip as well. Sul Ross has been competitive with Division II programs each of the first two weeks and transfer quarterback A.J. Springer has the offensive clicking. (And Ryan, I'd say it's for the same reason Sewanee and its SAA mates broke away from the SCAC — wanting to play so-called "like-minded institutions." Sewanee surely sees itself as not in the same class as Maryville academically.)
Keith's take: TCNJ at Brockport State. Behind Joseph Scibilia, the Golden Eagles are 2-0, passing for 317 yards per game, and allowing only 28.5 rushing yards per game. They're attracting top 25 attention. But TCNJ, at 1-1, has gained 521 yards per game, just a shade better than Brockport's 518, and there could be a bunch of points put on the board. Justin Doniloski has 244 rushing yards in two games, so the matchup against the Golden Eagles' run defense bears watching.
Most likely Top 25 team to get upset.
Ryan's take: No. 23 Centre. The jury is still out on whether this Centre team is as good as last season's. If it is, the Colonels will beat Washington and Lee. But W&L is 1-1 and has played opponents that are better than those that Centre has lined up against. That'll be the biggest advantage the Generals have over the Kentucky competition.
Pat's take: No. 25 Redlands. Each team has one game under its belt. Pacific Lutheran was tied with Cal Lutheran at half before falling last week, and I like the Lutes' chances.
Keith's take: No. 14 Hobart. The Statesmen have given up just 230 yards and seven points in two wins, but Utica's hung 40 and 45 points on its two opponents. The Pioneers, led by Andrew Benkwitt, are ready for a breakthrough win, but they can't expect to keep gaining yards at a 500 per game clip. Playing at home should help, and I wouldn't expect Hobart to make it easy. If it happens, it could be a low-scoring affair where turnovers play a part. No. 13 North Central at UW-Stout was also an option here.
They'll be on your radar.
Ryan's take: Gettysburg. Statistically, the Bullets are first in the country in rushing offense and are eighth in total defense. Gaining yards and putting up points is nothing new for Gettysburg, but this is an enviable place defensively for Gettysburg to be in as it wends its way toward some of the tougher teams on the Centennial schedule. There are a handful of conference opponents that will bring a pretty good arsenal to the table.
Pat's take: John Carroll. It's been a little while since they've played, but they open their North American and Ohio Athletic Conference schedule with a home game against No. 15 Baldwin Wallace. We'll see how good their transfer quarterback is.
Keith's take: William Paterson. Kickoff '12 hipped us to the possibility that it could finally be these Pioneers' turn atop the NJAC. Running back Dawys German is supposed to be a star, but the 9-3 Week 1 win against King's was underwhelming. The defense impressed, but so did Rowan in the Week 1 upset of Delaware Valley. But with the Profs humbled at D-II Merrimack last week, they won't be going easy on William Paterson, so this is a big prove-it game for the Pioneers. Or else we just go back to thinking they're a mid-pack also-ran.
Which 0-2 team will earn its first win?
Ryan's take: No. 20 Franklin. While I understand that the Grizzlies have taken on Mount Union and Division I-FCS Butler to start the season, they've been blown out in both of those matchups. This team — deservedly or not — has some great cred nationally to still be in the Top 20. This week's opponent, Manchester, which has also begun its season 0-2, will not pose a problem for Franklin, which truly is more potent than its record indicates. Expect to stop paying attention to this game by halftime.
Pat's take: Hardin-Simmons. I don't need to know much about Texas College, which is 0-3 against an interesting spread of opponents, to take the D-III team here.
Keith's take: Delaware Valley. Stevenson's coming close, with a 10-point loss followed by an OT loss. The Aggies have a chance to salvage their high expectations for the season, but it has to start right away, and they need to generate some offense. Stevenson has allowed 419 yards per game, while Del Val has gained 382. The Aggies' problem hasn't been turnovers — they have four, but an even margin. They just haven't finished drives. They have 10 punts, four turnovers and four touchdowns. The Aggies need to take advantage of Stevenson's defense early and regain their confidence.
Which saint sparks your interest?
Ryan's take: St. Vincent. Over the years, the Bearcats have climbed up from the conference depths, going 1-29 in its first three seasons. But last year brought forth a much more refreshing 6-5 outing, including a visit to an ECAC bowl game. But so far, St. Vincent hasn't turned a corner in 2012, dropping its first two games. This week, the Bearcats face Waynesburg, the PAC's only 2-0 team. Is Waynesburg for real? Is St. Vincent really lacking? Clarity is right around the bend.
Pat's take: St. Olaf, which gets its first real challenge of the season after pulling out a close game on a short trip to Luther and winning handily on a long trip to DePauw. Concordia-Moorhead coming to town is by far the most impressive opponent so far.
Keith's take: St. John Fisher. It's the final Courage Bowl with Rochester. Having attended one of the cooler young rivalries in D-III, mixing charity and on-field competitiveness, I'll be sad to see it go. Rochester, which has lost all seven Courage Bowls, is ending the series, which moves back to campus, at Fisher, after two years downtown.
If you're picking a winning team based on faith, which would it be?
Ryan's take: Albright, affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The Lions have come out of the gate with two wins, including one that knocked Kean off its preseason perch. But Albright needed overtime to beat conference-mate Stevenson, and the slate only gets harder, starting with this Saturday against Wilkes. Remember this matchup last year? Sixty-five points for the winning Albright, 575 passing yards, school records broken. There's little doubt there'll be some excitement going into this year's game.
Pat's take: Salve Regina, which is a Catholic school. The Seahawks face Fitchburg State. When I was working at my alma mater, Catholic U., the head coach wanted to put together a "conference" like the ECAC in style, with all of the Catholic schools playing Division III football. It was a great idea but I wasn't going to run it. However, picture a postseason bowl game featuring the top team from eastern Catholic schools against the top available western Catholic school. Because so many Catholic schools made the playoffs last year (St. Thomas, St. John Fisher, Thomas More, Benedictine) you might end up with Salve Regina or St. Vincent against St. John's or St. Norbert. Just food for thought.
Keith's take: East Texas Baptist. Willamette gained 727 yards in its opener, and has had two weeks to prepare. And they're at home. But the choices among the Baptists were limited, so I'll have to lean on ETBU's experience in the opener against Wesley for my pick.


text:
To Lease Or Not To Lease?
This story appears in the February 1998 issue of Business Start-Ups magazine. Subscribe »
One of the greatest obstacles for entrepreneurs ready to expand their businesses is finding the cash to upgrade and buy additional office equipment. Sinking most of your hard-earned capital into needed computers, copiers, fax machines, phone systems and furniture can drop you into a bottomless money pit. Securing a bank loan is an alternative, but while you can use the bank's money for your purchases, you may be required to come up with the standard 20 percent down payment. In addition, bank loans usually offer little flexibility in the length of the loan, and they may not be totally tax deductible.
Before begging your reluctant banker for a loan, consider an option that keeps many small businesses afloat: leasing. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 80 percent of all U.S. companies lease all or some of their equipment. Most established businesses prefer leasing to avoid technical obsolescence without overspending. According to the Equipment Leasing Association of America (ELA), 77 percent of all leased high-tech equipment in the computer industry is either replaced or upgraded within 24 months.
Greg Loeschke of Farm Credit Leasing in Minneapolis advises customers not to confuse loans with leases. "A loan requires a [company] to invest a down payment in the equipment, or a first-and-last payment, and to finance the remaining amount, whereas a lease requires no down payment and finances only the value of the equipment expected to be depleted during the lease term," he says. "Securing a loan usually requires the borrower to pledge other assets for collateral," while collateral is usually not needed to secure a lease."
Anything And Everything
Think your equipment needs go beyond the scope of most leasing companies? Think again. Today, you can lease just about anything, from construction cranes and office security systems to computer software. Credential Leasing Corp. in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, leases medical, printing and production equipment, as well as construction, communications and office equipment to businesses in all 50 states, equipment that would range in purchase price from $1,000 to $400,000.
As more and more business owners realize the vast options available, many are turning to leasing. John Pantalone, owner of J.P. Southern Industries in Barrington, New Jersey, started his commercial horse-racing photography business in 1972, but it was 10 years before he realized the advantages of leasing.
"If I'd known about leasing before I opened my business, I could have saved myself lots of financial headaches and needless worry," says Pantalone, 54. "When I opened my business, I spent agonizing weeks arguing with banks for loans because I had no company financial statements to show them. I had nowhere near the $4,000 worth of photo equipment I needed. I finally managed to find some used equipment I could afford, but it wasn't my first choice. After I discovered by trial and error that leasing was an option, I never looked back. After 15 years, I still lease-purchase photo processors and computers for myself and six employees. Technology advances so quickly, I need the latest equipment to remain competitive."
When one of Pantalone's photo-processing units was almost at the end of its lease, he opted for a buyout, which gave him ownership; then he turned around and sold it for $2,000. "I made $1,500 on the deal after buying out my lease for $500," says Pantalone.
Pantalone leases through Advanta Corp., a financing company that services nearly 6 million customers. "We're big, but small-ticket leases are [also] a very important part of our business," says Jacqueline Kohler of Advanta, which is based in Voorhees, New Jersey. "We work directly with businesses and through manufacturer/dealer financing programs."
That's good news for small businesses, which are getting into the leasing act more than ever before. The ELA reports small business is one of the biggest markets turning to leasing. "Companies that lease now tend to be smaller, growth-oriented, focused on productivity, and more technology-oriented," says Suzanne Jackson of the ELA. "These are the companies long on ideas, short on capital, and in need of flexibility as they grow and change. They lease for efficiency and convenience."
A Look At The Benefits
Efficiency and convenience are two things small-business owners can't get enough of. But what else is luring them away from buying equipment? For businesses that need equipment and need it now, leases are a speedy alternative. While banks can take weeks to approve business loans, leases are often approved overnight, with far less paperwork and looser credit requirements.
"We process lease documents by fax, with fast turnaround," says Steve Brooks, president of Lease Consultants Corp. in Des Moines, Iowa, whose company purchases equipment from dealers and then leases it to customers. "We [offer] credit approval and authorizations with a minimum of red tape, and documentation that's easy to understand," says Brooks.
In addition to freeing up your cash and leaving your conventional lines of credit open, leasing also offers tax advantages, Brooks points out. Lease payments are usually 100 percent tax deductible as a business expense, while bank loans are not.
Businesses that have maxed out their credit options and don't have the extra cash to sink into an assortment of equipment are finding relief in leasing. Scott Olsen, co-owner of Colex International, a collection agency based in Huntington Station, New York, found the toughest part of getting his business off the ground in 1994 was getting credit. "All I had at that time was $5,000 and some letterhead. I needed a computer, copier, laser printer, phone, voice mail and furniture," says Olsen, 41. "My initial inquiries were to my bank for a loan, but they wanted financial statements, and I had none. My first financing came through a computer manufacturer, who leased us three units. Today, with 22 employees, we have 15 leases for more than $100,000 worth of equipment."
Olsen cautions, however, that one drawback of leasing is that he has to personally guarantee payments. "Still," he says, "that beats taking a second mortgage on my house."
How It Works
Leasing offers 100 percent financing for equipment, furniture and other items you may need to run your business. When you lease equipment, a company, such as the manufacturer, dealer, broker or financial institution, either buys or already owns the equipment you order from them. In exchange, you make monthly payments to the leasing company. At the end of the lease, you typically have the choice of buying the equipment, returning it or extending the terms of the lease.
First and last payments are often required upon signing a lease. Generally, there are three ways to lease equipment:
1. You select and order it, then seek financing through a lessor.
2. You lease through dealers and vendors who have their own subsidiary leasing companies.
3. You acquire the equipment from a lessor, which buys the equipment from the manufacturer, then leases it directly to you.
Leasing companies charge customers a monthly rate, much like interest payments on a loan, but the rates are usually low and depend on the length of the lease, cost of the equipment and the type of lease you choose. The Lease Rate Factor determines your monthly payments and shows up on your bill as a percentage, fraction or decimal equivalent of the cost of the equipment. For example, a factor of 0.0360 on $5,000 worth of equipment requires a monthly payment of $180 (.0360 x $5,000 = $180). Leasing companies, such as Lease Consultants, have rate charts that state their terms and can schedule payments to be paid on the 1st, 10th or 21st of each month.
What's Your Type
There are a plethora of lease types available to small-business owners. Two of the most popular are operating leases and finance leases. The first has a term that is shorter than the expected, useful life of the equipment because the lessee is not expected to use it for long nor do they wish to buy it at the end of the lease. Operating leases allow you to lease expensive equipment at a fraction of its total purchase price.
Much simpler is a finance lease, which tends to cost less because of the longer term and lower residual risk. Typically, this is a full-payout, noncancelable agreement in which the lessee is responsible for maintenance, taxes and insurance. However, the equipment may be considered a depreciable asset and be listed as a liability on your balance sheet.
A fair market value lease, sometimes called a true lease, has the most options and is usually recommended for SOHOs, which sometimes put up a small security deposit and make relatively low monthly payments. At the end of the term, the lessee has the option of extending the lease, returning the equipment or buying it at fair market value. Like most of the other leases mentioned here, this lease qualifies under IRS regulations as allowing the lessor to claim ownership and you (the lessee) to claim rental payments as tax deductions. Why? Because operating-lease payments are treated as a business expense, not a liability, and can be deducted immediately from operating income.
A $1 buyout lease is good if you're fairly certain you'll want to buy the equipment when your lease expires. While $1 makes you the owner, monthly payments are typically higher than with other leases. The terms of this type of lease may differ from state to state because of certain state sales tax laws that may view the lease as an installment sale; this can determine who pays the tax, the lessor or the lessee.
There are several other leasing plans that incorporate some or all of the above, including seasonal, step-payment and sales/leaseback plans, that can be tailored to your business's needs.
Some leases offer a bargain purchase option, allowing you to buy the equipment for a price determined at the start of the lease that is substantially lower than the expected fair market value at the end of the lease. A master lease is a contract whereby you lease currently needed assets and are later able to obtain other assets under the same basic terms and conditions without negotiating a new contract.
And the choices don't stop there. Leasing companies incorporate their own variations into the general types of leases noted above to attract businesses looking for the best deal. Advanta Corp.'s TechSmart program, for example, lets businesses upgrade equipment without terminating their leases. "TechSmart provides clients with the latest equipment every 18 months--halfway through a lease--which gives companies great flexibility to try new technologies without being tied into three years of financing," says Kohler.
Lease terms usually vary from six months to six years. Most, however, are for 36 months and can include periodic maintenance, insurance and discounts on parts such as toner. To determine which type of lease is best for your company, you and your accountant should consider how long you want to use the equipment, what you intend to do with it at the end of the lease, how your cash flow and tax situation will be affected, and what your company's present needs are as they relate to future growth. Some types of technology, such as state-of-the-art data processing systems, are updated very frequently, so lease agreements should contain clauses to cover constant upgrades if your business requires them.
The Investigation
Before you sign any lease, be sure you understand all the terms and conditions of the agreement. If you decide two months after you sign the lease that you don't need the equipment or need another type of equipment, you could be out of luck. Some companies won't release you from the contract, which could leave you paying for unneeded equipment for years; others will charge you a hefty fee to terminate the contract.
Your accountant can help you decide whether leasing is a good option for you and recommend the types of leases that are good for your specific needs. Go over the following questions with him or her, then grill the company you plan to lease from.
- What specific types of equipment do I need to grow my business? How long will I need this equipment?
- What can I afford in monthly payments?
- How are the payments calculated? Can I get a three- to five-year cost analysis?
- What are the tax pros and cons?
- Can I get a sample copy of the lease being offered so my accountant and I can study its terms at our leisure?
- How is this lease terminated?
- What are the buyout options? Are they negotiable?
- Can I upgrade at no cost? If so, within what time limits?
- How flexible is the payment schedule?
- Are there any incentive programs available?
- What's the average turnaround time on my application?
- What are the conditions for servicing or replacing the equipment? Do you have 24-hour maintenance service?
- What are the maintenance estimates on the equipment? Am I responsible for ordering and paying for replacement parts, such as printer toner?
- Are shipping costs, installation, training or warranties included in the payments?
- Will I be charged documentation fees? What are the late-charge fees?
Once you've answered these questions, slow down. Don't jump into the first lease offered. Take the time to shop around for the equipment you need and the lease that is most appropriate for your cash flow, business needs and income. When you accept the delivery, check out the equipment thoroughly to make sure it meets your specifications. Above all, don't sign up until you understand every clause in the lease you're considering and its implications for your future growth. Ask questions and get responses in writing, if necessary. Leasing office equipment can be a boon to entrepreneurs who are short on capital but long on potential; just make sure you understand how it affects your financial picture and future growth.
To The Source
In most cases, retailers who sell the equipment you're seeking handle the paperwork for leasing agreements. They may have their own financial institutions behind them, as does CompUSA (800-266-7872), a national computer superstore, or you'll be referred to recommended leasing companies.
You can also find leasing companies by searching in your local Yellow Pages under "Leasing Service" (most have toll-free phone numbers) or by calling the Equipment Leasing Association for a referral of leasing companies in your area that have bona fide reputations.
The majority of manufacturers of computers, printers, fax machines and phone systems have Web sites. If you don't know the Web site address, just type in the brand name, such as Toshiba, in any of the search engines, and you'll be connected to the manufacturer's home page. Log on, and you'll find sales and leasing information. IBM's home page states it has fast and flexible lease options and lists a toll-free phone number. Compaq's home page offers details on its leasing program for its Armada notebook computers through Compaq Capital Corp.
Here is a sampling of leasing companies, as well as some of the manufacturers that handle their own leasing arrangements:
Name of company: AT&T Capital Corp.
Types of equipment: Telecommunications, vehicles, computers, furniture.
Phone number: (800) 235-4288
Web site:http://www.attcapital.com
Name of company: Lease Consultants Corp.
Types of equipment: All office equipment, computer software.
Phone number: (800) 325-2605
Web site: none
Name of company: Farm Credit Leasing
Types of equipment: Telephone switching equipment, vehicles, transformers, portable generators.
Phone number: (800) 444-2929
Web site:http://www.fcleasing.com
Name of company: KIS Group Inc.
Types of equipment: Copiers, computers, vehicles, telecommunications, office furniture.
Phone number: (800) 828-9643
Web site:email@example.com
Name of company: Credential Leasing Corp.
Types of equipment: Computers, communications, construction, medical, printing, restaurant.
Phone number: (800) 895-1201
Web site:http://www.credentialleasing.com
Name of company: GE Capital Corp.
Types of equipment: All office equipment, vehicles, heavy machinery.
Phone number: (800) 243-2222
Web site:http://www.ge.com
Name of company: Atlanta Business Services Corp.
Types of equipment: All office equipment, medical, security, photography, heavy equipment, vending, cleaning, restaurant.
Phone number: (800) 255-0022
Web site:http://www.advantalease.com
Name of company: HPSC Inc.
Types of equipment: Health-care, medical, dental, computers.
Phone number: (800) 255-2488
Web site:http://www.hpsc.com
Name of company: GATX Capital Corp.
Types of equipment: Vehicles, heavy equipment.
Phone number: (800) 227-4636
Web site:http://www.gatxcap.com
Name of company: Dana Commercial Credit Corp.
Types of equipment: All office equipment.
Phone number: (800) 225-0513
Web site:http://www.dcc.com
Name of company: Equipment Leasing Association
Types of equipment: N/A
Phone number: (703) 527-8655
Web site:http://elaonline.com
Pros And Cons
- Most lessors agree to 100 percent financing, which leaves your working capital and lines of credit free.
- Easy acceptance with quicker and more liberal credit approval and less paperwork than applying for a bank loan.
- Equipment upgrades, usually at no extra cost.
- Reduced risk of technological obsolescence.
- Major tax benefits because most lease payments may be counted as operating expenses and deducted as such each month throughout the tax year instead of annually.
- No down payment or collateral required.
- No variable interest rates that are affected by the fluctuations of the market.
- Some lessors permit flexible payment schedules if your business is seasonal.
- An option to buy at the end of a lease gives you the opportunity to decide whether your business strategy still requires the same equipment or whether you should move on to other merchandise.
- Unless you sign a finance lease (see the "What's Your Type?" section above), your lease payments are not listed as a liability on your balance sheet, so your financial picture looks brighter.
- You do not own the equipment and cannot sell it unless you opt for a buyout.
- A long-term lease can lock you into equipment you no longer need.
- You may prefer to consolidate with a single bank loan to cover all your office expenses instead of several different payment plans.
- There may be penalties for terminating a lease.
- If service is poor, you have little recourse.
- Equipment insurance is usually not included.
A Tale Of Two Leases
I'll never lease again," says Virginia Bader, owner of Virginia Bader Fine Arts, an aviation art gallery in Santa Ana, California, whose experience with a mailing equipment dealer has soured her on leasing. "I'd always preferred to own my office equipment and to save up to buy what I need rather than commit to what seemed like endless payments."
However, when the mail order side of her business suddenly exploded, she decided to automate it for faster turnaround and checked out two local dealers. The first didn't respond as quickly as she liked, so after waiting a few days, with ever-increasing pressure for customer orders to be filled, she was ready to sign "anything" when the second sales representative showed up at her office. But Bader admits she didn't read the fine print in the lease she took on four years ago and which still has three years to run.
"The contract was so complicated and obtuse, and I was in such a hurry because of the business growing so quickly, I just signed on the dotted line," Bader admits. "A year later, my business went through a recession, and we made changes in our direct-mail system. We use an outside mailing company now instead of sending our catalogues out ourselves, so I don't need this sophisticated equipment. I tried to have it downgraded to a smaller, less expensive unit, but the dealer refused to make any changes. I am still stuck with a lease and equipment I no longer use. It's sitting in my stock room."
Bader acknowledges she didn't do her homework or think through the implication of the lease and the potential expansion or reduction of her company before signing. She was also unaware that she had to pay extra for a maintenance agreement and that the unit required new toner, at $129 per cartridge, every six weeks.
"If I'd taken the time to read up on how to lease, I'm sure I'd have avoided the pitfalls," she says. "A lot of money was involved here." Bader would consider leasing again only if she had no other financial alternative.
On the other end of the spectrum is Jerry Linder, owner of Electro Security Co. in Van Nuys, California, who has only good things to say about leasing. And he sees it from both sides: Linder not only leases fire alarms, burglar alarms and other security systems to his customers, but he is also a lessee himself--of a computer, several vehicles and the Central Station Monitoring System his company uses to monitor customers' security systems. Even if his customers choose a buyout option for their security system hardware at the end of their leases, he continues to lease them monitoring services.
"I'm very pleased with our own office contracts," Linder says. "Only once did we have a problem with a copier we leased. It was defective. The service people were very unsympathetic, so we stopped payment. Eventually, after legal threats from both sides, the serviceman came by and fixed the machine to our satisfaction."
Linder recommends reading the fine print in any lease very carefully: "Some leasing buyouts we looked at were 20 percent, which was way more than the equipment would have been worth at the end of the lease," Linder says. "You need to shop around for the best deals. Our rule of thumb is to lease equipment and vehicles for two years, then take the buyout option."
Contact Sources
Advanta Business Services Corp., (800) 255-0022, http://www.advantalease.com
Colex International, (516) 271-2300, ext. 106, fax: (516) 271-2395
Credential Leasing Corp., (800) 895-1201
Equipment Leasing Association, (503) 402-1338, http://elaonline.com
Farm Credit Leasing, (800) 444-2929, http://www.fcleasing.com
J.P. Southern Industries, #5 Hearne Dr., Barrington, NJ 08007
Lease Consultants Corp., P.O. Box 4972, Des Moines, IA 50306, fax: (515) 255-0147
Virginia Bader Fine Arts, (800) 233-0345, (714) 263-1404


text:
Toy Firemen Make Lawn Sprinkling Play (Nov, 1933)
Toy Firemen Make Lawn Sprinkling Play
JACKIE gets a shower and keeps the lawn sprinkled with a miniature pumping fire cart his father, B. A. Clark, of Minneapolis, built for him.
Two firemen that actually work a pump on the sprinkler keep Jackie amused while taking care of his father's lawn. The fire department sprinkler was built on an ordinary coaster wagon. It pulls the garden hose along wherever Jackie takes it.
The stream of water operates a device that moves the two miniature figures working the pump. A fire chief stands before them, watching their work. Mr. Clark reports he did not have to bother about watering the lawn or keeping Jackie cool after he built the toy fire cart.


text:
Fiery Nebula Universe Galaxy Space Print Men's Apron
Product Details
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Please allow 4-8 business days to receive a tracking number while your order is handcrafted, packaged and shipped from our facility just for you.
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text:
THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web
A few months ago I gave a speech at SQLBits 9 comparing Vertipaq vs. OLAP (you can watch session recording here), which I repeated a few times in other conferences and webcasts. The title was intentionally provocative but it contained an explanation of the real content – in fact it is "Vertipaq vs OLAP: Change Your Data Modeling Approach". In these days I'm realizing how huge the impact of this technology will be, and how I just scratched the surface of this revolution happening in the BI Modeling world. Regardless you watched the session or not (and you may have another good reason to do that after reading this post), let's try to see what's happening from another point of view.
How do you model a BI Solution? Well, you can have a data warehouse or not, you can apply SQLBI Methodology or another of your choice (there are many of them, yes). But, at the end, you create a star schema. Maybe a snowflake one, even if it is almost always a bad idea. But a snowflake schema can be converted in a star schema, so let's go for that. You have to conform your data model to a well known pattern that can be easily digested by an Analysis Services cube. I mean, a Multidimensional model. And that's fine, it works great, millions of customers are very happy with that.
But then, someone comes with a question that was not planned in advance. Someone says "I'd like to analyze customer behavior, define a cluster of my customers based on cube slicing and dicing and then I want to know if in this specific month for this promotion they bought more or less than their single individual average over the last three months". And they expect this to be doable and fast. At this point you have several options:
Well, I tried all of them, and I can say that the last one is the most expensive and the only one that really makes the user happy for 5 minutes, until he realizes he just would like to see something else he hadn't thought before. And this process is called knowledge discovery, is perfectly well known, described in the books and if only he would be able to formulate a question within a predictable path, we would live in a better world. But, hey, I'm a consultant, there are no issues, just opportunities. At least until an opportunity moves beyond the horizon of the profitability ROI line.
Are you with me? Have you experienced all of this? (If you're not a consultant, you can just replace "profitability ROI" with "acceptable quality of working life", which is the equivalent concept - a consultant never experience the notion of a life beyond the work and would not understand the expression at all, simply reporting a Connect item to the Word team in order to fix the Spelling and Grammar checker).
Well, now there is Analysis Services 2012. You can create models in Multidimensional or Tabular. At first, Tabular has less features than Multidimensional, it's simpler and you can define a model that looks like a Multidimensional one. You can create a Tabular model that, connecting from Excel, appears exactly like a Multidimensional one. It could be faster, it could be easier to develop, but at the end it will seem offering the same features to the end user. Apparently, nothing is changed. At least, if you are lazy enough to not think you can do more.
A few months after my talk at SQLBits I continue to see new reasons to move to Tabular just for two capabilities that are hidden in the marketing stuffs, but are really incredible important from a data modeling point of view:
These two features adds a fourth option to answer to the question that originated this blog post. And the fourth option is:
I'm not saying it's easy. But by moving your DAX skills to an expert level, you are able to write complex queries keeping good performance without requiring to change the underlying the data model. Translated in practical terms: happy customer, problem solved, out of office in time to watch your favorite football/baseball/NBA/rugby/whatever match on TV.
A few months after my talk at SQLBits I continue to see new reasons to move to Tabular just for the flexibility it allows if you want to query it. If you tried OLAP in the past and it was too rigid in data modeling for your requirements, give Tabular a chance. You have to learn it deeper than a casual user, but you will found an unexplored territory of new data modeling and reporting opportunities. (How many articles have you read about querying Tabular from Reporting Services?)
Next mission: convince IT Pros to not virtualize a SSAS box with Tabular because it is much more convenient to spend money on fast CPU, not too many cores, large and fast memory, cheap disks. Tactic: design a fancy dashboard for the CEO and getting immunity to fight against the SAN lobbies (Thomas would use a less polite term here).
I went to Microsoft SQL Saturday / Pass event last Saturday in the Silicon Valley, in one of the sessions the presenter told us that the industry is posed to move away from MOLAP to Tabular and he actually mentioned you as pioneer (NOT his exact words)
Well, I wouldn't suggest to move a working MOLAP cube to Tabular today and I'm still starting new projects in MOLAP these days.
What I clearly see is that there are opportunities in Tabular thanks to the flexibility, but these are very early days and we lack of new client tools able to take advantage of the new model. Power View is just one, but there is space for more.
Thanks for your comment!
Hi Marco,
When you say there is space for more client tools -
a. do you mean a client tool like the old Proclarity - but with more features appropriate for BISM/DAX ?
b. Or do you mean more capabilities within Excel?
c. other ideas?
I remember your post:
I mean both.
Take a look at XLCubed, for example, they have an Excel add-in that will support DAX very soon (weeks).
Stay tuned!
Hey Marco,
Just wondering - based on the new findings by Chris Webb in the above post - how deep do you think the following capability will be?
"You can query data using relationships that are not defined in the data model as "regular" relationships "
I am very interested in this topic - as it can enable some new data analysis techniques.
Hierarchies in Tabular are not related (by now) to specific features in tabular, they serve more as a support for Multidimensionaland MDX compatibility. You can of course use them in MDX, but by now not in DAX.
But I think there will be some evolution in future releases of Tabular...
hi marco
starting new in bi, which technologie would you choose?
How are larger datasets (terabyte size) handled is tabular vs MOLAP?
There are cubes large 24TB or more - the size or source data in SQL Server might be larger.
In Tabular the limit is the RAM available. However, because the compression rate might vary (usually 10x, but we can reach 100x in certain conditions) depending on data distribution you can build a 200GB cube that corresponds to a 20TB table in SQL Server or other relational database. But you cannot make a generic statement about that because it really depends on the data distribution.
Thanks for the response.
From what I've understood so far, and please correct me if I'm wrong, is that multidimensional is meant for larger datasets and tabular is geared more toward smaller datasets. You won't see Yahoo or AdCenter moving their multimdimensional models over to tabular anytime soon. If I have a cube in SSAS 2008 that is over 1TB I wouldn't dream of migrating over to tabular unless I have a bunch of RAM available. No?
Being limited by RAM scares me, at least for the next couple years. Generally it's much easier to add disk than add RAM. Disk is always cheaper than memory.
Jo, memory is a concern, but there are several scenarios in which 100GB compressed corresponds to 1TB or more of data on disk and having no maintenance costs for aggregation lower the TCO much more than the cost of RAM. It really depends, there are no reasons to migrate a working OLAP solution to Tabular, but there are scenarios that don't fit well in Multidimensional and works pretty well in Tabular.
I understood from overall reading that tabular olap knows to swap data to the disk, so if having proper partitioning for large cube(s) and querying (mostly) specific area (partition) of the cube we can get reasonable performance even for huge cube that cannot fit the memory. Am I right?
Vadim, unfortunately not. First, paging in Tabular is designed only for paging data during process, not because there are queries running or because the database doesn't fit in memory. Second, xVelocity in-memory engine (VertiPaq) in its current implementation does not consider table partitioning in order to reduce column scan during a query. Instead, ColumnStore in SQL Server is able to do such optimization there. In Tabular you might consume less memory by ignoring some columns in the table, but not by querying only some partitions. However, this is in theory, in practice the current implementation does not support a smart way to page out unused columns.
Thanks a lot for your answer.
Does your answer mean that for large cubes we need to stay with multi-dimensional model (assuming that we have not enough RAM memory)?
Regarding SQL Server option: we have discovered that combination ColumnStore index + data is much more expensive from storage point of view (15M in multi-dimesnsional SSAS against ~500M of compressed test table plus ColumnStore index). ColumnStore index alone(!) took 150 M. When speaking about production storage it becomes very sufficient. It seems to be very strange. Isn't? We have defined it very straightforwardly via wizard with all default parameters.
Vadim, this is really strange. Usually Multidimensional does not store in less space than Tabular. ColumnStore might be less optimized than Tabular but the compression really depends on many factors. You can perform many optimization in compression for Tabular (and so also for ColumnStore) - for example, take a look at this article: http://www.sqlbi.com/articles/optimizing-high-cardinality-columns-in-vertipaq/
Thanks a lot.
I will follow your article advices
Great article Marco. I'm finding it hard to work out why a structure of preaggregated fact /dimension tables in the relational engine is not talked about more as an alternative to tabular or MD cubes.
Imagine a load is done into these aggregated tables each night from the OLTP data? We're in the 30 - 40 million row / 50-100GB of raw data (eg without indexes) range so caching of the aggregated data would not be a problem.
John, you have to consider that Analysis Services provides a layer of metadata that SQL Server alone cannot provide. With a large set of data you can evaluate using ROLAP or DirectQuery in order to keep data on SQL Server (maybe with ColumnStore indexes). ROLAP MD also create indexed views for aggregations automatically.
But there are many issues/functionalities that still need to be incorporated in Tabular.
1. Incremental Data Refresh/Processing is not as powerful as the traditional MOLAP.
a. If you have Slowly Changing Dimensions of Type 1 or 2 there is no other option other than Full Refresh. This proves to be very difficult to implement when your dimensions have a large number of records(5 million+ rows with 100 columns each in the table)
b. If your Fact table is transactional (records getting updated), again the only option is a full refresh.
2. Development on projects that contain more than 20 tables is pathetic as the UI responses become dead slow. Just a click on one of the tables in the model take 30+seconds to respond.
Do you have any work arounds for these ???
Harsha, regarding your point 1), SCD handled in Multidimensional have a similar challenge, a process update always have to read the whole dimension, and the transactional fact table has the same refresh issue than in SSAS Multidimensional.
If you compare with SQL Server, that's a different story but still the main difference is the lack of metadata, then there is a difference in expressivity between SQL and DAX.
Regarding your point 2, I completely understand your pain. Waiting for improvements in SQL Server Data Tools, only workarounds are:
- use workspace server in the same PC with SSDT
- use a small set of data in design mode
- use a faster clock for your CPU - favor a workstation with less cores but faster clock.
Hope it helps.
Marco... I need to know what guidelines for configuring the hardware for an instance of Tabular SSAS. Currently I have a server that has 2 CPUs with 8 cores each and a 500 GB RAM.
Am looking at 10+ fact tables each with 40-50 million records, 10 frequently used Dimension tables with the same number of records and 20+ dimensions with 3-4 million records each.
2 of the Dimension tables have Role based Row level security enabled. Data access is mapped based on the NT Login of every user.
With this configuration I am facing performance issues with simple queries(MDX queries generated by MS Excel) taking 20+ minutes to execute with 20 concurrent users. With a single user am able to run these queries in under 2 minutes.
Please let em know if I can reach out to you with further details...
the performance issue you described seems related to some calculation that doesn't scale well in the storage engine of Tabular.
This probably cannot be improved with the hardware but by checking the data model and the DAX measures used (if the queries are generated by Excel in MDX, usually don't contain particularly critical calculations).
Using the profiler we might perform a deeper analysis.
Please contact me at marco (at) sqlbi (dot) com so that we can establish a direct connection if you are interested in such a consulting activity.
Sir, I have purchased your book SQL Server Analysis Services 2012 and found really helpfull. Please provide me your twitter details so can follow you. Thanks again
Hiren, my twitter account is @marcorus
You can follow me here: https://twitter.com/marcorus
I've been testing some of new BI features of SQL Server 2012.
I'm interested in the Tabular Model using DirectQuery.
I've set up some examples. But I have some questions about the DirectQuery mode usage.
When we use DirectQuery does it mean we don't need a database exclusively prepared for supporting the BI model? In a microsoft white paper it says that "Using DirectQuery does not eliminate the need for ETL. Updates to the source table still need to be managed.", but in that case how can we have real time queries, if we have to load the data from the source DB?
When we use multidimensional model we have an Application DB from where we extract data to a another DB prepared for the cube. My question is if when using tabular with Directquery we still need to have this DB with extracted data or if we can use the Application DB directly. That way we could reflect the changes in the business in Real Time without having to wait for the data to be loaded to other database. Hope it makes sense.
there are two problems related to working with application DB: performance and data consistency.
The performance issue exists using DirectQuery in general - the SQL code generated is not very efficient in this release, it could stress SQL Server very much, much more than a well-designed custom SQL query.
The data consistency appear in case you have several tables with many relationships and there are missing data, which could hide valid transactions. In a simple database, this is not a big issue, but in complex databases this is the very reason why an ETL is needed - not for performance, but to "clean" data for analysis.
You can do your ETL by using SQL views, but usually this could hurt performance, too.
It's an hard balance. I suggest you to make some test with DirectQuery using a copy or your real data, so you will be able to evaluate performance that you can obtain in this way. If your database is quite small (a few MBs), this could be a good choice for you. But with large database (tens of GBs) you will see that speed of Analysis Services with xVelocity is way better than DirectQuery (and DirectQuery could be really slow, unless you have a SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse...).
Great article!
Is there anyway to convert an instance from Multidimensional to Tabular once installed? Or, does SSAS need to be re-installed as Tabular?
I think the best choice is to install two instances side-by-side.
Technically it is possible to change a configuration setting in msmdsrv.ini and starting the instance in a different way than original installation, but I think this is absolutely not supported and you should remove all databases before restarting the instance.
If you install two instances side-by-side, you can Always start only the service you are using, without consuming RAM if not required.
thanks for you answer to my previous post.
My main interest in using DirectQuery it would be to achieve real time BI, or near real time.
Is this still possible to achieve using xVelocity?
Is there any model that allows me having a changed made on my application DB available in me reports as soon as possible?
Or do I still have to wait for all the processing to be made from my application DB to my clean DB ready for data analysis?
Thank you.
Ruben, if you use DirectQuery you can obtain real-time, becasue any DAX query is translated into a SQL one. However, you no longer use the xVelocity InMemory Analytics Engine (VertiPaq) in this scenario, and performance depends on SQL Server power. In this case, you use Analysis Services just as a metadata layer on top of your SQL Server database.
As an alternative, you might consider continuous incremental process of a partition or table, reaching a 1-2 minute period of refresh (it's hard to refresh Tabular with an higher frequency).
Hi Macro,
We were looking at using datamining algorithms supported by SSAS Multidimensional model with Tabular model. It looks like currently it is not supported. Is it possible to do linear regression with DAX/Tabular model?
Currently, it is not supported in Tabular. However, you can install a Multidimensional instance on the same server and then using such instance for data mining algorithms.
Hi Marco. I am about to start up a new BI project. So far I haven't done a Tabular project yet. The business seems very interested in Power View as a front end, which is only supported by tabular data models at this point in time, as far as I understand. But because of the nature of their busines about 50% of their "dimensions" will have many 2 many relationship, which is not supported "out of the box" in tabular. What is your comment?
Hi Sam,
as Always, it depends. There are many things to consider and this is part of my daily consultancy job (http://www.sqlbi.com/consulting) :-)
Generally speaking, many-to-many relationships are usually a reason to choose Tabular over Multidimensional because of better performance - but if you have many measures (i.e. 100 measures) then the effort involved to apply the M2M pattern to every measure might be too much in terms of development cost (especially for maintenance).
But, again, it depends...
I'm on the analize phase of a new BI project.
Still deciding which tool to use (MS or not).
I had been playing with PowerPivot recently and I love the possibility for business users to "link" excel sheets to the data model, so they can create custom bands and groups and they can modify its values within the same excel. That's cool. But from the other side I would like to have a by user security in which depending on the user some data is shown and some not. For that and to provide a similar user experience (creating pivot, charts and slices) I would choose a SSAS tabular model. But then I loose the by user "link to Excel sheet".
Is there a possibility to have the two things?
Something like a link to "SSAS tabular model" so after a user can privately enrich the data model?
It seems I'm not the only one asking that...
Any workaround to my particular problem?
Where you able to provide a security filter in PowerPivot? Or a link to Excel experience in SSAS tabular model?
as you have read, this is still a missing feature.
You cannot have security filter in PowerPivot, all the data in the workbook can be seen by any user that has the workbook.
However, you can navigate a Tabular Model by using a PivotTable - what do you mean by "link to Excel experience in SSAS Tabular Model"?
Sorry for my English.
I try to use the analogy between "import from excel" and "link to excel" in PowerPivot.
In reality I was asking for a SSAS tabular model inheritance on PowerPivot.
AFAIK I can connect to an existing SSAS Tabular Model within PowerPivot, but then I need to manually create the MDX queries to recreate the structure (tables, relationships, etc...).
If IT adds a new relationships or table or column in the SSAS tabular model IT(*) need to manually update all PowerPivot MDX queries on all business-user excels.
(*) Connecting to a SSAS tabular model from PowerPivot and generating MDX queries is not very business-user friendly IMO.
I see the PowerPivot connectivity to SSAS tabular model as "metadata import" and "data link". I would like to have a "metadata link" too.
The SSAS tabular model would be the mandatory and read-only starting point for the private business user PowerPivot model.
As a workaround I would investigate the possibility to create a PowerPivot that connects to the SQL datawarehouse using windows authentication and to set a row level security into the SQL Server DWH (user would only be able to select on custom filtered views).
Before deploying the powerpivot excel I would need to delete its data. Maybe refreshing the powerpivot using a windows user that cannot see data (within my custom filter).
I loose central management, but from a user perspective I think it is easier to work directly against the DWH and PowerPivot model as far a working examples is given, a link to excel table, some measures, some kpi's some calculated columns,...
When a version 2.0 will come (IT creating a new powerpivot excel) business users will loose its changes unless they provide it to IT, so IT would be able to consolidate in the new version.
Do you think it could work in the real world?
I can say that this scenario is well known to Microsoft developer, we already illustrated this need in 2010, shortly after the first beta version of PowerPivot was made available, Unfortunately, the upcoming new features are related to Power BI and I'm worried we will have to wait some time before having some feature related to the problem of merging metadata between models.
Please note that you can use BISM Normalizer in order to compare two data models (just import PowerPivot to SSAS by using SSMS in order to compare two PowerPivot workbooks' schema):
I'm an infrastructure guy and we are attempting to put a sql server 2012 clustered environment in VMware esx 5.1. The infrastructure would appear to be solid, but the queries that take 3 seconds in sql server 2008 on a physical box are taking 7 seconds on a sql server 2012 virtual box. Would you expect this delay while going to virtual and using tabular mode? We have done as much testing as we can to verify it is fully loaded into memory, it just sits and churns for 7 seconds before the output appears. Have you had any experience with virtualizing a tabular environment and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I am using SSAS 2012 Tabular and would like to filter a table based on a parameter passed to the where clause which needs to be based on users permissions. And before spending hours of research time, I would like to find out if it is even possible.
So in all my tables there is a TMNL_KEY column, which stands for Terminal Key, which is what Terminal that row of data is for. There are say Terminal 5, 6, 7 values in the TMNL_KEY column.
So I only want Terminal 5 data to be seen by users that work at Terminal 5. So based on there logon, I was thinking of somehow passing the value of 5 to the table query when users from Ter. 5 logon, there are several users in Ter. 5.
I thought of doing this in the query for the table, WHERE TMNL_KEY = ISNULL(@Terminal, TMNL_KEY) so that when they logon on from Ter. 5 there permissions pass the value '5' (varchar) to that @Terminal parameter so they only see the results filtered for Terminal '5'.
Is this even possible and of course what are the best options for this, are there several? The Company does use Active Directory.
you should review how security works in Tabular.
The data are read only once from SQL Server (or other sources). Security is local to SSAS and can only filter rows, depending on the user connected.
OurA SSAS Tabular book also contains an entire chapter about security, if you are interedetd:
Is there a way to use the MDX query designer which is with powerpivot in winforms C#? i.e call the API in C# code or whatever?
Since PowerPivot not supported in 2003 or 2007, i just wanted to replicate the feature in those versions using C# winforms.
It is not supported - the same editor is part of Reporting Services and Report Builder, but it is not available as an API as far as I know.
I find your article and questions of readers and your answers very very helpful.
I have the following case:
A Hadoop datalake with an structured datalayer accesible thru Hive acts as the basic datasource.
For datadeliveriry multiple alternatives are under consideration:
1. A Tabular Cube with a Hadoop connection, all modelling done in the Cube model.
- No extra datalayer
- multiple cubes as no structured modeling is done in Hive.
- performance, large datasets and unpredicatable query times
2. as 1. but the tabular is replaced with a dimensional cube, that would solve only the large dataset issue at the cost of an extra datalayer (analysis server database)
3. Create datamarts (i.e. do your transaformations in Hive) and those marts will function as the source for either a tabular or dimension cubes. This would solve the duplication problem at the cost of complex, with lots of workarounds, modeling in Hive
4. Create datamarts in a SQL Server database , use SSIS to do proper modeling and on topof this mart either a tabular or dimensional cube, this would solve thje duplication problem, no complex modeling in Hive but the costs are an extra datalayer and sqlserver costs.
What is your comment ?
Ralph, it depends on the data quality you want. Using unstructured databases usually only defers the cost of getting the proper transformation done. If some error in data is acceptable, go with the faster approach. If errors in data are not acceptable, you have to do your homework, in some way or another...
Hello Marco,
We have recently made the decision of moving from IBM Cognos tools to Microsoft Tools, the transition process is turning overwhelming since we have a long way to go and a short time to get there and also the lack of expertise on Microsoft tools. Meanwhile there is a project that need to be done and different opinions on how to approach the tabular model is keeping us from moving forward. There is a lot of material online about tabular models, suggestions, tips for best practices, etc. and in the end we can not agree on a decision.
When creating a model where several facts need to be use along with several dimensions what is best to do, create a view as a source for the tabular model or bring the facts and dimensions directly into my model and create a star schema or the relationships as needed?
My boss have been advised to always use views as a source when working with tabular models because of better performance. I think in this case because of the need of multiple facts we should bring them into the model and create star schema.
we use views to decouple the layers (see SQLBI Methodology - http://www.sqlbi.com/articles/sqlbi-methodology/)
It's not a question of performance, but of maintenability. You don't want to break a Tabular or Multidimensional model when you have to change the data mart for any reason. It's a good idea regardless of the tool you use.
In general, Tabular works better when you have a star schema, creating too many relationships or a fully normalized model is not a good idea for usability and performance.
Usually I prefer to be more specific by doing a complete analysis of the requirements, it's hard to give you directions in this way if not in a very general way.
In terms of Modeling , is not Tabular model similar to Sap universe ?
How shall we take care of SSAS installation when we want to have both tabular and multidimemsional ?
Also, which is better to use with Tableau : Multidimensional or tabular ?
Thanks !
Tabular is different because you can define complex calculations with the DAX language, working In-Memory. If you use DirectQuery then you actually have more similarities.
If you share Tabular and Multidimensional on the same server, just make sure memory settings are tuned correctly (default values are ok for a single instance).
Regarding Tableau: I don't have a direct experience, but many customers I helped told me that Tabular is much faster than Multidimensional (and Tableau Server - but they didn't try the latest release of Tableau Server), especially for complex dashboards.
Tabular has less features than Multidimensional, it's simpler and you can define a model that looks like a Multidimensional one.


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