text:
For a season that ushers in change from the turning leaves to the creeping cold, autumn banks on the constants of nostalgia and tradition — at least as far as its musical offerings are concerned. The bulk of 2015 celebrated the Nineties, from a twentieth-anniversary re-pressing of the Clueless soundtrack (on plaid vinyl) to another twentieth-anniversary celebration that transformed Rough Trade NYC into Empire Records. And that's to say nothing of the many tours that rolled through town: Everclear, Veruca Salt, Bad Religion, various bands orbiting the Britpop galaxy of yesteryear…
But while fall's upcoming concerts promise the return of at least one Nineties hitmonger (Duncan Sheik, who's set to release new album Legerdemain on October 9 and will play Carnegie Hall on November 21), this penchant for time-honored sounds extends beyond the decade that gave us Daria and a love affair with the power chord. Two Eighties divas will return to the city that made them: Madonna will roll her Rebel Heart Tour through Madison Square Garden (September 16–17) and the Barclays Center (September 19), and Cyndi Lauper will host a star-studded holiday gathering at the Beacon Theatre December 5. Patti Smith will mark the 40th anniversary of the release of Horses, her incendiary debut, with a hometown performance; Cuban mainstays Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club will let the final strains of "Chan Chan" ring out in New York when they wrap their Adios Tour here in November.
The throwback vibe doesn't quit there, as plenty of pop and rock's current poster children are set to rework familiar tropes in ways that feel crisp and very now on the stages of NYC. From the timeless appeal of Alabama Shakes to the youthful exuberance of Chance the Rapper, the stretch between Labor Day and your post-Thanksgiving tryptophan coma affords plenty of opportunities to revisit songs you fell for, or fell back in love with, in 2015. Seasons change, but the power of pop provides the soundtrack this time around.
Electric Zoo: Transformed
September 4–6, Randalls Island
For its seventh year, the electronic music festival is rebranding as Electric Zoo: Transformed, an updated concept that finds host Made Event partnering with ID&T (the creative magicians behind fests like TomorrowWorld) for an even bigger and brighter neon-hued production. As always, Randalls Island plays host to more than 100,000 revelers over Labor Day weekend, and this year's headliners include the likes of the Chemical Brothers, Above & Beyond, and Alesso. Multiple stages, interactive art installations, and food and drink options add to the overall festive aesthetic. Following the drug-related deaths of two attendees in 2013, increased security and safety was a priority at the 2014 event and will surely be at its 2015 iteration as well.
Death Cab for Cutie
September 12, Madison Square Garden
Oh, what a long way we've come from Seth Cohen's O.C. bedroom. Over nearly two decades, Death Cab for Cutie have graduated from sentimental indie darlings to arena headliners, and this fall brings Ben Gibbard and Co. inside the storied walls of Madison Square Garden. The visit comes in support of Death Cab's Rich Costey–produced eighth studio album, Kintsugi, which was released in March and marks the band's first not helmed by longtime band member/producer Chris Walla. (Walla eventually departed the group for good following the album's completion.) Texas postrockers Explosions in the Sky open.
September 16–17, Madison Square Garden; September 19, Barclays Center
Bitch, she's Madonna, and that's a fact younger-skewing pop connoisseurs occasionally need to be reminded of. (There would be no Katy Perry without Madonna. Just sayin'.) At 56, the Queen of Pop has shown no interest in slowing down: This year saw the release of Madge's thirteenth studio album, Rebel Heart, a matured musical statement following the misguided party-seeking vibe of 2012's MDNA for the seemingly youth-obsessed singer. Despite a highly publicized hacker snafu preceding the album's release, Rebel Heart, which features collaborators such as Avicii, Diplo, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West, still debuted at No. 2. Madonna's New York stop includes two nights at Madison Square Garden and one at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters
September 18, Hammerstein Ballroom
He the perennial haver of rock-god hair, Robert Plant, and his band the Sensational Space Shifters are embarking on a select number of American dates this fall. The Led Zeppelin frontman assembled the group following stints with bluegrass partner Alison Krauss (with whom he won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 2009) and his Band of Joy. He debuted a live album with the Sensational Space Shifters in 2012 and a subsequent studio album, lullaby and…The Ceaseless Roar, in 2014. Plant's New York–area run hits Hammerstein Ballroom and then the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester.
A$AP Rocky
September 22, The Theater at Madison Square Garden
Harlem's hip-hop globetrotter A$AP Rocky returns home, with pals Tyler, The Creator, Danny Brown, and Vince Staples in tow for a showcase of some of modern rap's biggest MCs. A$AP Rocky is fresh off the May 26 release of his acclaimed sophomore album AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP that paid respects to A$AP Yams, who passed earlier this year. His deep baritone vocal manipulations make their occasional appearances, as does his syrup-smooth flow, but A$AP Rocky surprises and shows moxie with his neo-psychedelia left turns (such as the single "L$D"), proving that this byproduct of the golden age of New York hip-hop deserves all the cred.
Global Citizen Festival
September 26, Central Park
Behind the big marquee names is a big, important cause. Pearl Jam, Beyoncé, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran may be the headlining talent at this year's Global Citizen Festival, which takes place September 26 on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park, but they're there to help raise awareness of global issues including inequality, the planet, and extreme poverty. The free tickets to the Global Citizen Festival are distributed to people who complete charitable "actions" on the festival's website. By completing the actions , you enter for a chance to win. Stephen Colbert and Hugh Jackman are co-hosting this year's event.
September 29, SummerStage
To mark their much-anticipated sophomore album, Every Open Eye, Chvrches are headlining Central Park's SummerStage mere days after the record's September 25 release. The album follows the Scottish electro band's breakout 2013 debut, The Bones of What You Believe, which included undeniable pop gems like "The Mother We Share" and landed on many a critic's year-end Best Of list. Though Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, and Martin Doherty have been teasing new material on the road this summer, the New York show is sure to give Chvrches fans a fully realized taste of the new tunes.
October 1, Radio City Music Hall
A show at Radio City Music Hall must feel like a triumphant return for Beirut's Zach Condon, who's been off the scene for a few years. The group's first album since 2011's The Rip Tide, this year's No No No marks Condon's first new output with Beirut following touring-related health issues and a divorce. Nevertheless, the new music reflects an uplifted spirit — with Beirut's signature eclectic and folk-inspired stylings. The horn-inflected title track, for example, is a sure-to-be shining moment ringing through the halls of Radio City.
Tribute to Bill Withers
October 1, Carnegie Hall
One rainy night in the autumn of 1972, Bill Withers performed at Carnegie Hall. The R&B genius was at the height of his popularity, having released the chart-topping Still Bill ("Lean on Me," "Use Me") in the spring of that year. If Still Bill is a masterpiece — and it is — Bill Withers Live at Carnegie Hall is a tour de force of soulful immediacy. A 75-minute double LP, Live delivers Withers's infectious renditions of his hits, backed by a wickedly talented orchestra and interspersed with the performer's unsurpassably cool show patter. Four decades after its release, the album stands up to repeated listens. And on the topic of repeated listens, on Thursday, October 1, an illustrious cast of musicians will perform Live at Carnegie Hall in its entirety — live at Carnegie Hall. The roster includes Ed Sheeran, D'Angelo, Sheryl Crow, Amos Lee, Keb' Mo', Kathy Mattea, and Dr. John. All profits benefit the Stuttering Association for the Young (fittingly — Withers himself struggled with the disorder), and the guest of honor, a famously private man, has pledged to attend.
October 2, St. Vitus; October 6, Irving Plaza
Having started as a lo-fi, ramshackle solo project for wunderkind (and frequent thrower of tantrums) Nathan Williams, the San Diego — based Wavves has evolved into a more traditional band structure as it has moved from album to album. For the fifth outing, aptly titled V, Williams is splitting writing duties with bandmates Stephen Pope and Alex Gates. The album's October 2 street date coincides with a release show at Brooklyn's St. Vitus; a second gig goes down October 6 at Irving Plaza. Chicago rockers Twin Peaks open both shows.
Maddie & Tae
October 7, Highline Ballroom
Country's newest sweethearts turned heads last summer with "Girl in a Country Song," a sassy, bold female-empowerment kiss-off to the bros of country music. With Start Here, the girls' August 28 — released debut, Maddie Marlow, twenty, and Taylor Dye, nineteen, continue where that breakout song left off, with a collection of expertly harmonized, confessional songs that'll appeal to country fans both old and young. Fresh off opening for Dierks Bentley, Maddie & Tae are kicking off their first-ever headlining tour with a show at the Highline Ballroom on October 7. Expect something similar to early Taylor Swift, but with bona fide down-home roots.
Ricky Martin
October 8, Madison Square Garden
There's no denying Ricky Martin's hip shake. Try as you may, the Latin superstar will cast you under his spell, one that will consume the audience at Madison Square Garden on October 8 as part of Martin's One World Tour. The North American jaunt comes in support of his tenth studio album, A Quien Quiera Escuchar, which was released in February. In addition to the new material, expect loco-inducing well-known hits like "Livin' la Vida Loca" and "The Cup of Life."
October 7–8, Bowery Ballroom; October 9, Music Hall of Williamsburg
The news that the long-dormant Luna were reuniting brought many Nineties nostalgists out to the band's free show during this year's Northside Festival. But for those who missed the McCarren Park homecoming, there are still three more opportunities to see the New York — area dream-poppers: two nights at Bowery Ballroom (October 7 and 8) and one at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, October 9. Luna, formed by ex–Galaxie 500 member Dean Wareham, released eight studio albums before disbanding in 2004. The group kicked off its reunion with a short tour in Spain in April.
Catfish & the Bottlemen
October 14, Terminal 5
Catfish & the Bottlemen have spent the past year solidifying their reputation as a live band not to be missed. To wit: In just a few short months, the group graduated from a sold-out Bowery Ballroom show to, now, the vast halls of Terminal 5 for this October 14 gig. Relying on a ragged Strokes-esque garage-rock aesthetic with radio-ready melodies akin to Phoenix, Catfish & the Bottlemen make for an electric live presence, a rock 'n' roll refresher that keeps getting stronger. The band's fall run comes in support of debut album The Balcony, which was released via Mumford & Sons' Ben Lovett's Communion Records.
Cannibal Ox
October 22, The Studio at Webster Hall
After the release of their 2001 debut The Cold Vein, Harlem hip-hop duo Cannibal Ox seemed destined for greatness. Vast Aire and Vordul Mega traded flows that were humorous but with a bite, and the El-P-produced album quickly became an underground classic. The Aughts went on and a follow-up record never appeared, but this year they rattled the scene yet again with the release of Blade of Ronin on March 3, reminding listeners why they're the rulers of the underground even after fourteen years in the shadows.
October 23, Madison Square Garden
The iconic British band made headlines in 2015 with the announcement of its first new LP in twelve years, The Magic Whip, a Hong Kong — inspired album released in April that marked the return of guitarist Graham Coxon to the original lineup (alongside Damon Albarn, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree). Equally exciting: Blur announcing that one of its two U.S. dates this fall will roll through Madison Square Garden. Though the famed Britpoppers did preview their new material at a free surprise show in May at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, the MSG gig will be Blur's first proper show in New York since 2003. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett opens.
Chance the Rapper
October 23 and 25, Terminal 5
Equal parts hip-hop and neo soul, Chance the Rapper secured national attention with his colorful 2013 mixtape Acid Rap and quickly broke out as a Millennial flag-bearer. (The Rugrats references on "Cocoa Butter Kisses" — "Used to like orange cassette tapes with Timmy, Tommy, and Chuckie" — are a prime example of this.) On May 28, Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment (the band Chance the Rapper's in with his Chicagoan pals) surprise-released their debut Surf and his contribution exhibited all the range and talent he has to offer.
October 24, Irving Plaza
For those who never forgot the Teaches of Peaches (really, how could you?), this October is the chance to catch the singer/performance artist Merrill Beth Nisker back in session. Known as Peaches, the provocative, sexually-charged Canadian artist is the visionary behind such boundary-pushing albums as Teaches of Peaches, Fatherfucker, and Impeach My Bush; the lesser-initiated might know her through pop culture usage of her songs in films like Lost in Translation and Mean Girls. While it's been six years since her last album, the time off yielded a film and a book by Peaches, and this fall she returns with RUB. In support of the album, Peaches makes a stop at Irving Plaza on October 24.
Kacey Musgraves
October 24, Apollo Theater
Fitting for her delightful country throwback album, this June's Pageant Material, Kacey Musgraves has embarked on a fall trek entitled the Kacey Musgraves Country & Western Rhinestone Revue. The jaunt brings the country sensation to the historic Apollo Theater, where fans can expect to find Musgraves decked out in all her retro Dolly Parton–esque glory. Her latest album follows the former Nashville Star contestant's breakout Same Trailer Different Park, which nabbed Musgraves a Grammy and a spot on many critics' Best Of lists. Countrified hit singles like "Follow Your Arrow" and "Biscuits" will highlight her live set.
October 24, Kings Theatre
To mark their twentieth anniversary, alt-rock heroes Garbage announced a "20 Years Queer" tour, which brings the group to Brooklyn's Kings Theatre on October 24. For the tour, the Shirley Manson-led outfit will be performing its 1995 self-titled debut in its entirety, including such classic sure-to-be-crowd-roaring hits as "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When It Rains." The tour coincides with a special remastered edition of the LP, which features unreleased versions of the songs as well as remixes.
The Who
October 27, Madison Square Garden
Ready to feel old? (Or young, depending.) To celebrate the Who's fiftieth (yep, 50!) anniversary, the British rock gods launched the The Who Hits 50! Tour, the second leg of which brings them to Madison Square Garden on October 27. Billed as a career-spanning set, the shows touch on the Who's entire catalog, including major hits like "Who Are You" and "Baba O'Riley" as well as lesser-known songs and deep cuts. The tour supports the group's The Who Hits 50! compilation album, which was released last year. Catch them while you can: As Roger Daltrey has noted, it's the beginning of a "long goodbye."
Ashley Monroe
October 27, Bowery Ballroom
Tennessee singer-songwriter Ashley Monroe gained a higher profile in country music with her Vince Gill-produced 2013 album Like a Rose as well as her work in the spitfire girl trio Pistol Annies, composed of Monroe, Miranda Lambert, and Angaleena Presley. This summer's The Blade raised that profile even further on the strength of singles like the breezy, bass-heavy "On to Something Good"; additionally, Monroe was featured on Blake Shelton's recent hit "Lonely Tonight." In support of her new album, Monroe headlines Bowery Ballroom on October 27.
Cypress Hill
October 30, The Best Buy Theatre
Colorado, Oregon, and Washington can all cough up a small thank-you to L.A. rappers Cypress Hill, who made their career spitting rhymes and advocating for recreational marijuana use. Their second album Black Sunday, released in 1993, earned them the status as Gen X's quintessential stoner hip-hop foursome with massive hits like "Insane In the Brain" and "Hits From the Bong" and they were culturally solidified with their appearance in the classic Simpsons episode that lampooned Lollapalooza. They haven't slowed down since their Clinton-era heyday, releasing consistent albums, touring regularly, and reminding fans everywhere to stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
Patti Smith
November 10, Beacon Theatre
On tour to commemorate the 40th anniversary of her seminal album Horses, Patti Smith's upcoming New York stop promises to be something special. The November 10 show at the Beacon Theatre brings Smith and her band home to New York, the city that launched the artist's legendary career in storied punk venues like the now-defunct CBGBs. Original bandmates Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daugherty, along with longtime member Tony Shanahan, join Smith for the performance, during which they'll play the endlessly influential Horses in its entirety. A true New York treasure not to be missed.
November 16–17, Bowery Ballroom
"Don't try me, I'm not a free sample" warns the Las Vegan hip-hop/house rapper Shamir on his hit "On the Regular," and you'd be wise to listen up. With his androgynous flow, Shamir, at the tender age of 20, has quickly become one of the most exciting acts coming out of Sin City. His 2015 debut Ratchet shows promise with its wide spectrum of style, from the sparkling dance pop of "Call It Off" to the sad eyes of the minimalistic ballad "Darker," and his current world tour confirms Shamir's rising dominance.
My Morning Jacket
November 24–25, 27–28, Beacon Theatre
Never a band to shy away from an extended jam session, My Morning Jacket are spreading their epic live show across four nights this November at the Beacon Theatre, a venue on the uncharacteristically small size compared to the expansive fields and arenas the Louisville rockers are capable of filling. The Jim James–led band is on the road in support of their seventh studio album, the big, trippy ride The Waterfall. Woods, Strand of Oaks, Cass McCombs, and Craig Finn will each open one night of the stint.
Cyndi Lauper
December 5, Beacon Theatre
Each holiday season for the past four years, Cyndi Lauper has assembled a crew of A-list talent and friends for her Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays concert. This year's event takes place December 5 at the Beacon Theatre, and as usual benefits the True Colors Fund, which fights homelessness among LGBTQ youth. Though the lineup for this year has yet to be announced, past guests have included Pink, Laverne Cox, Sarah McLachlan, Lou Reed, Rosie O'Donnell, Adam Lambert, and more.
December 12, Kings Theatre; December 13, Terminal 5; December 14, Irving Plaza; December 15, Music Hall of Williamsburg; December 16, Market Hotel
This year, Christmas is coming early for still-ecstatic Sleater-Kinney fans. After releasing the band's first new album in a decade, No Cities to Love, at the beginning of this year, the trio of Corin Tucker, Carrie Brownstein, and Janet Weiss is playing New York for an impressive five-night stay this December. Even better: The stop hits a variety of venues, from Brooklyn's historic Kings Theatre to small Bushwick space Market Hotel. Expect hipsters, riot grrrls, and rock 'n' roll fans of all stripes out in droves for these sure-to-be-memorable shows.
This article from the Village Voice Archive was posted on September 1, 2015
More:ConcertsThings To Do


text:
Where in your life are you feeling stuck as a result of experiencing loss?
How do you cope with these painful emotions when the sights, sounds, and smells of the holiday season are unavoidable? How do you garner happiness for others as you watch celebrations of family togetherness while your heart is breaking? Some have even asked, "How do I make the holiday season disappear?" You are not alone on this journey.
While the root causes of holiday grief are many, one will find inspiration from the personal stories shared. The authors share their unmasked pain from the deepest parts of their hearts and souls. They share experiences of transcending losses related to death, relationships, health, career, divorce, faith, miscarriage, self-identify, and much more.
Latonia White
Peter A. James
Roshanna Evans
Marvin Davis
Mailing Address:
700 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20003
Customer Service:
Business Voicemail:
(240) 342-6744
Business Hours: Monday – Friday
9 – 5 ET Evenings/Weekends
By Appointment Only
Copyright © 2020 The H-Squared Group, LLC.
All Rights Reserved.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The very first SQLSaturday in Sweden, SQLSaturday #433 Gothenburg 2015, will be held on September 5th. I'm very happy to announce that I will be speaking! I will be presenting an updated version of my Biml for Beginners session, and I will also be available the rest of the day if anyone wants to chat about Biml or learn more about the advanced features :)
I was planning to attend this event even if I wasn't selected to speak since it is the first SQLSaturday in Sweden. It's so great to see the Nordic PASS community grow, and I want to help and support my neighbors in any way I can. It's going to be a fun couple of weeks for me doing the whole Scandinavian SQLSaturday tour: SQLSatOslo on August 29th, SQLSatGothenburg on September 5th, and SQLSatDenmark on September 19th. Yay!
Take a look at the great schedule, register, and I hope to see you in Gothenburg! :)


text:
FILM & VIDEO PRODUCTION – We can produce almost anything from a straight forward corporate MD addressing the work force to a training video with good manager and bad manager. A glossy exhibition video showing a complex manufacturing process, to an advert for TV or web, through to a full blown 3D 120 minute feature film. What ever your requirements we can quickly, easily,and cost affectively fulfil them. In addition to GREEN SCREEN and 3D (please click the tabs above for more information about those more specialist options) we also offer various options and varying degrees of finish and output format.
We can provide customer projects from HD to 6K finished ready to be used on the internet and computers, through to blu-ray's, DVD's and right up to broadcast formats and DCP (digital projection format for use in a big cinemas).
We can provide actors of varying degrees of ability and price right up to current TV/Film stars if your budget is big enough.
From a simple mono sound track to Dolby Digital 5.1, 7.1, Atmos and beyond.
"As important as colour is to a painting, or wings to a bird. Music injects vibrancy to film and makes it soar!"
Music completely transforms a film/video and we can offer royalty free music through to an individual bespoke composition. Please watch the example below with a bespoke music composition.
Modern professional cameras now shoot a wide dynamic range/raw which means the footage if you looked at it would look very washed out. The reason is and so we can do so much more with the footage in post. The example below shown as original has had some simple RGB adjustments to make it viewable and the image on the right shows what can be done. Notice we changed the colour of the normally grey sea to a more blue colour and the sky at the end to a more stormy colour. All our content can be colour graded to customers individual requirements. We can also colour and grade your work to make it really stand out!
This is far from an exhaustive list and is here to simply outline possibilities.
What ever your requirements we can help, please get in touch to learn how we can help you with your projects
+44 (0)1977 681949 or Email – email@example.com
Recent customers have said:
"You work extremely hard for your money" – "Truly excellent work, should have done this years ago" – "Far better results than we ever expected" – "Excellent value for money"
We are based in the Leeds area and cover Yorkshire, Humberside, Cumbria, and North East/West areas but are happy to go almost anywhere.


text:
What Doesn't Kill Her (Cape Charade Book 2)by Christina Dodd
Available at
Deal availability may change without notice! Prices may vary from store to store. Due to international copyright, availability and pricing may vary outside of the US.
One secret, one nightmare, one lie. You guess which is which.1. I have the scar of a gunshot on my forehead.2. I have willfully misrepresented my identity to the US military.3. I'm the new mother of a seven-year-old girl. Kellen Adams suffers from a yearlong gap in her memory. A bullet to the brain will cause that. But she's discovering the truth, and what she learns changes her life, her confidence, her very self. She finds herself in the wilderness, on the run, unprepared, her enemies unknown–and she is carrying a priceless burden she must protect at all costs. The consequences of failure would break her. And Kellen Adams does not break. What doesn't kill her…had better start running.
New York Times Bestseller Christina Dodd continues her Cape Charade suspense series with WHAT DOESN'T KILL HER, the second full-length thriller, a tale filled with humor, pathos … and a healthy dollop of terror.
Show Me More:Mysteries, Thrillers and Suspense


text:
__ It all started with a hot email pitch for a miraculous product. Wired turned detective to find the truth. __
The message had all the hallmarks of a Net come-on, the text crawling down the screen like a snake:
These are worn as a bracelet by a child or carried in pocket or purse by an adult.
Now You can INSTANTLY LOCATE missing loved ones or personal property such as an automobile, even your favorite pet.
THE PROBLEM OF MISSING, LOST, or ABDUCTED CHILDREN HAS BEEN SOLVED!
Granted, it lacked the instant attraction of email with subject lines like "Non-Surgical Liposuction," "$7 Investment Nets Thousands $$$$," or "SEXUALLY ATTRACT WOMEN EASILY!" But this spam message intrigued me, because it concerned a device that will cause a sensation if it ever hits the market. Tracking devices using Global Positioning System satellites have been developed for luxury cars and boats, but no one has produced anything as advanced as what this spam described, a personal "kid-tracking" device small enough to wear as a bracelet.
For such a gizmo to work, several technological breakthroughs would be required. One problem is that a satellite tracker will need both a GPS receiver and a radio transceiver, and it's difficult to shrink both components into a neat, reliable package. The receiver calculates the user's location from the 24 government GPS satellites hovering 12,551 miles above the earth, while the transceiver sends the location to someone on the ground via cellular network. Though GPS works all over the world, cellular networks cover only certain countries and regions. Most cell networks in the US are equipped for voice and aren't optimized for sending data, such as latitude and longitude readings. Sufficient battery power is another hurdle, as is the difficulty of receiving satellite signals while indoors - GPS requires line of sight to the sky.
Several companies are working to overcome these obstacles, so far with limited success. SiRF, a 4-year-old outfit based in Santa Clara,California, has raised investment capital from Nokia, Acer, and Yamaha to develop software that will help the GPS chips embedded in cell phones and other devices overcome reception problems. A SiRF rival, SnapTrack, makes software for the embedded DSP chips in cell phones and promises greater accuracy by homing in on the GPS satellites' exact locations. And the Goeken Group in Chicago is working on the Guardian II, a pocket-sized unit that offers wearers a personal panic button. Goeken claims the unit can direct police to within 30 feet of your outdoor location.
Furthest along in creating a compact tracker for kids is an Anderson, South Carolina-based startup called Protect Me Toys. The company has built a 1.5-pound tracker unit that fits in the bottom of a child's backpack. The hardware has already been tested by police in mock kidnappings, but it has weak spots. Its wearer can be traced only in places where there is cell phone service, and reception remains hampered by GPS's line-of-sight limitations.
Given the potential value of a small GPS tracker, and the significant obstacles to building one, the spam about a bracelet-sized unit was hard to ignore. There were two possible explanations, each fascinating in its own way. Either the company behind this email had pulled off an unheralded technological miracle, or ... it hadn't, in which case something very curious was going on. Whichever was true, I decided I had to know.
Feeling a bit like a rube clutching a lottery ticket, I begin my quest in July of 1998, when I dial the 800 number listed in the email. A man answers, and he's soon telling me about a host of satellite tracking products the company, GlobalTrak, is releasing, with names like KarTrak, ExecuTrak, SeniorTrak, PetTrak, and KidTrak.
Sensing my interest, the man says he'll pass my name on to the company president in California. An hour later I get a call from an improbably deep-voiced person who identifies himself simply as "Mr. Benson." He tells me that his company's first satellite tracking product, SeniorTrak, will be ready to ship within 30 days. KidTrak, a satellite-enabled bracelet that can give a child's exact location to a parent, is slated for release in November or December of 1998.
"How does the device wirelessly send data to a command center?" I ask.
"That's proprietary," Benson says.
I say it's well known that GPS devices don't work well indoors. How will KidTrak find a kid lost in a mall or spirited off in a van?
"That's proprietary," repeats my basso profundo friend.
I ask him to FedEx me a unit. "We've had to be careful," he says cagily, rejecting my request. "A lot of people would like to know how this technology works." He says a salesman will come to my office in a few days.
After a week of virtual contact with GlobalTrak, I finally see a face behind the spam. Daniel Holmes, GlobalTrak's rep, is a stout, bearded guy in his mid-30s, wearing a cheap-looking suit and carrying a smooth black plastic case about the size of a child's lunchbox, with a power switch and a single blue LED on the side. It's supposed to illustrate how KidTrak would work, even though it's a lot bigger than the compact bracelet promised in the email. "KidTrak is something that Mr. Benson has worked on for several years," says Holmes. (Apparently, everyone calls him "Mr. Benson.") "I didn't believe it when I first heard about it, but he gave me a full demonstration right before my eyes."
But just as Holmes is about to give me the same demo, he declares that the rechargeable batteries in the tracker demo unit are out of juice. I grab a battery recharger from my desk, and he gamely tries to plug it in, but the connectors are all wrong. Holmes looks like a disappointed kid, and I sort of feel sorry for him. I've seen plenty of demo disasters from even high-profile companies: prototypes of pocket PDAs suddenly glow red and fry up; product managers struggle to force plastic parts back onto LCD projectors. When you look at beta product on a regular basis, you learn to give the rep the benefit of the doubt.
"One important factor in any tracking device is finding a way to save battery power," Holmes explains. "But I really can't say too much more about it." GlobalTrak, he confides, recently suffered an intellectual-property leak supposedly caused by a former employee, and the boss is taking no chances.
As Holmes packs up to leave, he mentions that he'd been a systems engineer in Silicon Valley years ago. He likes GlobalTrak because it doesn't have a big PR force, instead using word-of-mouth to reach people. I tell him that I first heard about KidTrak through a junk email.
"Me too!" he says, his face glowing with genuine enthusiasm.
Holmes' visit leaves me with more questions than answers. It's clear that GlobalTrak's representatives aren't going to be very forthcoming about their products. I decide to skirt the company's execs and do a little digging on my own.
__ Either the company had pulled off a technological marvel, or ... it hadn't, in which case something very curious was going on. __
I crawl onto the Web, and to my surprise I find about a dozen GlobalTrak sites, typically run by people who joined the organization as regional licensees. The most impressive site is www.kidtrak.com, which features snappy press releases, animated GIFs of product prototypes, a photo of San Francisco mayor Willie Brown (who's said to be "particularly interested" in GlobalTrak), and an audio track featuring the voice of actor Geoffrey Holder, the "Uncola" guy from the old 7-Up commercials. The InterNIC database shows "Benson, E." as the administrative and billing contact for kidtrak.com, and a sister site lists a "Benson, Mister." No first name is given.
I fire up the promotional video Holmes left me, the only physical evidence I have that the company even exists. Over the next few days, I watch it a dozen times in search of clues, like Oliver Stone poring over the Zapruder film. The video opens in a banquet hall at the San Francisco Airport Hyatt, and Mayor Willie Brown is there. He walks up to the podium and says he wants to check out GPS as a possible solution for the city's troubled public-transportation system. He's interested in GlobalTrak, especially its personal-security features.
"What we've been told about GlobalTrak obviously would be of great assistance in giving [San Franciscans] the level of security and confidence that they may need," Brown says. A doughy MC announces that the mayor and a few people from the audience will shortly witness a live demonstration.
Cut to the demo. A few assorted characters are seen getting into a long white limousine outside the Hyatt. Mayor Brown is encouraged to come along, but he looks apprehensive and doesn't follow. A wiry guy with a mustache stands on the sidewalk outside the hotel, brandishing a KidTrak bracelet and fielding questions from local TV crews. One reporter suggests that the device - which is about the size of a doughnut - looks too big for a kid to wear.
"Let me tell you something, OK?" the man with the mustache says pointedly. "Our objective is not to break records through miniaturization. My purpose and my involvement in this venture is to help save some lives! Sure, we'll get smaller. Eventually you won't even be able to see it at all."
Then he, too, climbs into the white limo.
Cut to a clip of the car pulling into a parking lot near the airport. The same man gets out and walks to a pay phone at the edge of the lot. "Hi. How are you? Good. Benson speaking," he says. "We need to get a fix on our location."
So this is Mr. Benson. He listens, nods. Then he hands the phone to a witness, who confirms that the announced location jibes with the street signs. Benson and the witness dive back into the limo, and it speeds away.
Elsewhere on the video, Denise Brown, the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson and director of a nonprofit for battered women, endorses BodyGuard, another GlobalTrak product. "We are very happy to give our support to the new GlobalTrak International line of personal satellite tracking devices," Denise Brown says. Then Geoffrey Holder appears, talking about the tragedy of lost children and how he thinks KidTrak is going to help. (For a while, Holder's voice was also heard on the 1-800-KID-TRAK line.)
All told, the video is an odd mixture of unproved claims and shameless schmaltz. I'm still no closer to finding out if GlobalTrak is a boon to humankind, a sham, or something in between.
My doubts are put to the test in the weeks ahead, as the GlobalTrak promotional machine cranks into high gear. The company sends out announcements through Business Wire, an archive of press releases; places ads in USA Today's "Business Opportunities" classifieds; commissions industrial-design sketches of the KidTrak prototype; licenses a kid-friendly cartoon character called the Dream Dragon; and assembles a team of salespeople to distribute the ground-breaking product as soon as the development stage is complete.
But what catches my attention is something GlobalTrak doesn't want publicized - word of a dispute the company has going with Paradigm, a small Toronto-based operation that's developing lunchbox-sized GPS devices for law enforcement. According to a Paradigm press release I run across, the company was in negotiations with GlobalTrak on a joint venture but broke off talks after discovering that "GlobalTrak and its president, Mr. Eric Benson, were being investigated by the Orange County fraud department."
I phone Paradigm president David Kerzner, who repeats the press release's fraud charge and tells me a bizarre tale. "When I met Benson, he wanted to buy a thousand units, and he sent me a purchase order - we're talking about a million-dollar order here," Kerzner begins. "I was all excited. So I flew with a colleague to Washington, DC, and we met Benson. He was real secretive when he pulled out these huge schematic drawings. Later, my colleague said that the schematics didn't remotely relate to what he was talking about. The picture he used for the bracelet looked like Geordi's visor from Star Trek."
"So I wrote him this scathing letter saying, look, you're misrepresenting the technology, you're misrepresenting the whole concept, it'll never fit inside a bracelet."
After hanging up, I have to marvel at Benson's chutzpah. I'm beginning to see him as the author of a performance-art piece that serves as a parable for the high tech industry. After all, the Valley is full of respectable folks who hyped an idea long and hard before they had a product or even proof of concept. Michael Wolff wrote in Burn Rate about how he sucked millions out of CMP to build NetGuide, which even he suspected would never get off the ground. (Benson, in fact, chose to launch KidTrak at the Laguna Niguel Ritz Hotel, the same venue Wolff describes in his book as a premier tech meeting ground.) And almost every day, press releases float from office to office with compelling ideas but no practical plan for making them happen. Benson, I was learning, had mastered not simply the vocabulary of Silicon Valley but also one of its truisms: Selling a fantastic product is fine. But so is selling a fantastic product that doesn't quite exist yet.
I had peeled away enough layers of the spam to know that there was probably something wrong here. Now it was time to go all the way. Benson had been saying that I should come to Southern California to see the products myself, and I decide to take him up on his offer.
Negotiating the endless voicemail tree through 1-800-KID-TRAK makes the company seem vast. I'm first asked to dial 1 for the western region, then 4 for the building number, and finally 104 for the marketing department. After a long wait, Benson himself comes on the line. "Heeeey, guy. What's going on?" he says. When I tell him that I want to meet, he seems enthusiastic. "Sounds good! I'll be in design meetings around Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles the early part of next week. Why don't you call me Monday when you get here, and we can nail down the specific logic."
When I arrive in Southern California, Benson says he's too busy and that we should get together the following day. In the meantime, I track down the company's headquarters in Laguna Niguel, a meticulously neat suburb an hour from LA. Its wide boulevards stretch from the Pacific Coast Highway to lush palm groves inland and then spill off to suburban developments dotted with identical houses. The roads around here are named after various types of oil lamps used by 19th-century trade ships - Crystal Lantern, Silver Lantern, Copper Lantern, Blue Lantern. The GlobalTrak street address has a "lantern" appellation, too, but it leads to a Mail Boxes Etc.
__ One reporter suggests that the device - which is about the size of a doughnut - looks too big for a kid to wear. __
The next day, Benson keeps brushing me off, telling me that traffic or other meetings are holding him up. I don't mention the Paradigm press release's reference to a fraud investigation. Benson's unflagging ebullience ("Good, good! Happy days!") rattles me. At one point, I lock myself out of my car and have to sit on the curb while a gas-station attendant fishes around with a slim jim and lets me back in.
Then the cell phone purrs at my hip; it's Benson, saying he'll be at L'Angolo Ristorante on Melrose Avenue. "I'm looking forward to finally meeting you," I say.
"Good news!" he says. "See you soon!"
Italian disco music is the soundtrack for our long-awaited meeting. At a table in back, I meet two men - Benson and the doughy man I recognize from the corporate video. Benson, wearing a tan suit, greets me warmly and introduces his colleague as Gerald Kostecka, a GlobalTrak vice president. Benson gets right down to business, pulling a few prototypes out of an aluminum briefcase and arranging them on the table. "KidTrak is slated for a November 1 release," he says. "Just in time for Christmas. We should have all the products available by the end of the year."
I recognize the large black box from Holmes' visit. I pick it up, feel its heft. It's not hollow. "Did GlobalTrak make that?" I say.
Benson bristles. "Yes. Of course. Where do you think we got it?" A silent moment passes. I move to safer ground, asking about the social implications of the technology.
"When it comes to personal protection," Benson begins, "when it comes to our children, our families, our loved ones, our sisters, our daughters, our wives - there is no replacement, you know, for those sorts of things. And then once you get beyond solving the social problems, the other applications are just unlimited." Then, abruptly, Benson announces he's going to call the command center.
"Now, this demo unit does not have any of our proprietary software algorithms in it, for security purposes," he tells me as he punches in the number. "Yes, it's ... uhhh ... D604," he says into the cell phone. "1C604. I need you to give me a fix on our last location.
"They just gave us a fix," he says, beaming. "The command center is in a location I can't tell you about for security reasons. It's manned 24 hours a day by trained emergency-response professionals.
"Now, aren't you going to ask me about the demonstration I just performed?" he scolds. "I just got on the phone, and they told us we were off Melrose Avenue. It looked like you weren't paying attention."
"No ... it looked like it went off very well," I reply. I ask him how many people are in the company.
"A few hundred," he says. "Let me tell you something. Running a business is exhausting, a real crash-course education. But it's a necessary evil when it comes to launching a product for John and Jane Q. Public."
"Do you have patents?"
"Our patents are pending ... all over the planet," he says, taking a sip of his drink. "We've got patents, and we've got support from a lot of good, strong, quality people. The company's in a perfect position."
"Where do you see GlobalTrak in five years?"
"By that time, we'll have taken a serious bite out of the problem of missing children," Benson says. "Crime won't be the way it is today. But just because a product exists doesn't mean everyone and their Great-Uncle Joe is going to buy one. The most important thing is to send the message that these products do exist, that you never know who has one. The KidTrak product is like Russian roulette for the abductors - you never know which child is protected."
I ask Benson about his background. "I started my first company when I was 16," he says. "I didn't have a pot to pee in. I didn't even have a window to throw that pee out of. What I had was a strong idea - and I needed a little coin behind me. I was only looking for $8,000. I asked my family. Nobody believed me. 'Get your butt back to school and get your degree in psychology,' they told me.
"I said, 'I'm going to start this business and make a go of it.' An attorney was selling furniture cheap. I turned my apartment into an office. A few years later the company was able to do $1.2 million. By the time I was 22, the company was flying. What that taught me was, it doesn't matter how much coin you have starting out - it's about drive, commitment, endurance, diligence, perseverance, and risk. You have to be willing to put your cojones on the table and willing to get 'em cut off. Some cases you win, and then you win big. In other cases you lose."
Benson pauses, then changes the subject. "So what time's your flight?" he asks.
"It was actually at 7," I say. "I think I might stay the night here in Marina del Rey. I'm kind of hiding out from my wife." We share a laugh.
"I moved to Laguna Niguel 10 years ago - from the East Coast," says Benson. "I got out of the car and thought I'd died and gone to paradise. And I married this girl and everything was just La-La Land. My first marriage was to a woman in the television business. It wound up on a TV tabloid show. Literally."
__ Selling a fantastic product is fine. But so is selling a fantastic product that doesn't quite exist yet. __
"How did you get Geoffrey Holder involved with GlobalTrak?" I ask.
"Celebrities come out for these types of things," he replies. "We're planning a $1,000-per-plate dinner right now. And we've got a lot of celebs in the local Tinseltown playground."
While we're talking, a 40ish guy walks in and quietly sits down with us. Benson pulls a promotional kit and video from the aluminum case and offers them to him. "Excuse me for a minute," says Benson. "I'm going to talk to Bill, and then I'll come back for round two." He mimes a boxing gesture.
When Benson returns, I broach the subject of Paradigm and the fraud claim in Orange County. I'd been holding this question as my trump card, but Benson is anything but rattled. The way he tells it, Paradigm is on the run from him. "We initiated the investigation when we suspected an employee was stealing GlobalTrak's intellectual property," he says, not missing a beat. "We met with Paradigm to discuss manufacturing a demo unit. But let's leave the fighting to the attorneys. Let's you and I have a great relationship now and into the future. Let's just keep it positive."
By now, I'm wondering if KidTrak will ever see the light of day, but I also become curious about another side of the story: the investors. How "positive" are they feeling about Benson? As it turns out, quite a few licensees welcome the chance to talk. I speak with 10 former investors over the next six months. Many still have GlobalTrak Web sites or remnants of sites, but everyone I speak to has broken ties with Benson. They feel burned by a company that asked them to pay $695 for a regional sales license and a demo unit and had them recruit friends and family for more investments, and yet failed to deliver the KidTrak bracelet. Still, they generally take the loss as a difficult but by no means fatal lesson about the pitfalls of Net investing. The bulk of these would-be entrepreneurs are computer newbies who saw GlobalTrak as a way to help people while getting a chance to jump on the high tech bandwagon.
"Benson said we would begin to sell the product around March or April '98, and then I flew down to the Ritz for the big press conference," says Tammy Slater-Kendrick of St. Louis, Missouri. After sending her money to GlobalTrak, she quickly was designated GlobalTrak's "vice president of the central region."
"We were pretty excited, even though the unit was much bigger than something that can be worn by a child," she continues. "Afterward, Benson drove us in a limo to a restaurant. He tried to be impressive, but I noticed he didn't pick up the bill."
By the time Slater-Kendrick received a demo unit, she was so skeptical of GlobalTrak's operation that she didn't bother to try the device: "Benson never actually said he had a product in hand, but he always said he would have it in a few weeks. I think he does have some technology; he was just dishonest about it."
Ted Archer, a GlobalTrak licensee from Birmingham, Alabama, agrees. "I think it's a great idea, but I don't think Benson has the money to bring it to market," he says. "All he has is a box about the size of my red Bible, the good one I bring to church. I never received what was promised."
Archer is still a bit peeved about the incident, but he's able to chuckle. "Let me tell you a weird one. After months of not hearing from him and wondering what's going on, I came home around Christmas, and here's this basket on the front porch from GlobalTrak. Well, after everything that happened, I end up with $695 worth of fruit."
Like me, Ann Darling first heard about GlobalTrak through spam. "I was relatively new to the Internet," says the Fort Walton Beach, Florida, resident. "It's a hard lesson. Benson asked me to fax a copy of the check, and the bizarre thing was that someone managed to electronically withdraw the money before it got there in the mail. I received a demo unit, but it didn't work, and I sent it back. Benson got very angry with me when I called to ask for a refund."
GlobalTrak's stable of celebrity spokespeople, like the investors, turn out to be well-meaning people attracted by the promise of an amazing product. Denise Brown heard an ad on the radio about KidTrak and called the company to see whether she could buy a unit. "I truly wanted to have one of those bracelets," she says. Brown endorsed the product at Benson's request, but after fielding numerous phone calls from investigators and disgruntled licensees, she stopped working with him.
When I call Geoffrey Holder, I discover he's furious. Through his agent, Holder says he was outraged at being misled about GlobalTrak, and he feels like he was duped into doing voice work for the company. As for San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, his press office tells me he doesn't endorse the company and was only at the Hyatt conference to see the latest satellite gadgets.
Even Daniel Holmes, the sales rep who visited my office, and Gerald Kostecka, Benson's sidekick, are out of the game by the time I talk to them again, months after we first met. Holmes won't elaborate on why he left: He sends me an email saying that he's signed a nondisclosure agreement and can't say anything about GlobalTrak. Later, I bump into Kostecka at Comdex, where he tells me the company was getting too commercial for his tastes and moving away from consumer applications. I ask him whether he believes Benson really has a personal tracking device.
"Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I'm sure they're going to do it," he says. "We were all ready to rock and roll, but it's going to take a bit longer."
None of the former licensees I talk to plans to sue Benson; some say it would be too much effort to recover $695. But law enforcement officials, I suspect, might hold a different view.
__ "Let's leave the fighting to the attorneys," Benson says. "Let's just keep it positive." __
For a while, the Orange County Sheriff Department's Fraud Unit stayed hot on Benson's trail. Investigator Janet Strong says she began looking into Benson's company in December 1997. Eventually, though, she passed the case along to Postal Service investigators, because her supervisor deemed Benson's activities a federal, rather than county, matter. "I had 25 complaints," she says, "but most were out of state."
Postal officials confirm an ongoing investigation into GlobalTrak but decline to provide further details. "Our review of GlobalTrak is in the early stages, so we can't say whether the product is legitimate or not," says Postal Inspector Aaron Ward, the supervisor assigned to the case.
If Benson is in trouble with the law, it may not be the first time. During Strong's investigation, she conducted a warrant search and turned up a long list of past charges filed against one "Eric R. Benson" in Philadelphia. An official in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office says that an Eric R. Benson with the same birthdate as GlobalTrak's founder - January 5, 1964 - has a string of convictions and probations stretching back to 1983. Eric R. Benson received two years' probation for unauthorized use of an automobile, two years for recklessly endangering another person, one year for theft of services, two years for simple assault, and three years for undescribed "terroristic threats." In 1990, the same person was arrested in Philadelphia and charged with 28 counts of fraud - including mail fraud, wire fraud, and misuse of a federal agency's name - in a scheme in which 31 video retailers were allegedly cheated. None of the charges stuck, though: After a two-week trial, Benson was acquitted on all counts.
Is GlobalTrak's Eric Benson the same person as Philadelphia's Eric R. Benson? Benson dances around the question: "There are probably a thousand Eric Bensons," he says. "I'm not going to answer that because it is irrelevant to the launching of the product." But some law enforcement sources are convinced the two are the same. At my request, an official in Philadelphia - who spoke on the condition of anonymity - compared Eric Benson's image from the GlobalTrak marketing videotape with a file picture of their Eric R. Benson. "Yep, that's the same guy," the official said. But the official was unable to provide more concrete proof, such as corroborating Social Security numbers or fingerprints.
In the end, it's impossible to be sure about this, but the fact remains that GlobalTrak's Benson has left many unhappy people in his wake. A marketing manager for a large communications company - who asked not to be identified - tells me that he's looking to get paid for the GPS chip set he says he loaned to Benson. A former credit and collection manager at the America Office Center in Irvine, California, says Benson vacated one of its buildings owing $7,400 in rent.
But as far as Benson's recruiting efforts for GlobalTrak are concerned, it's hard to say whether he's broken any laws. At its heart, GlobalTrak appears to be a fairly typical network marketing operation. New recruits are asked to pony up $695 to become GlobalTrak regional licensees. In return, they're promised a 20 percent commission on all sales. For referring another regional licensee to the company, they receive a 10 percent increase in their commission. Anyone that they recruit, in turn, earns the original licensee an additional 5 percent.
The tantalizing carrot of any network marketing membership is the prospect of developing many levels beneath you. If the recruits of your recruits begin recruiting other people, and you're getting a cut of all sales down the line, the organization starts to look like a gigantic pyramid with you sitting like a pharaoh at the top.
But the law makes a distinction between a legitimate network marketing company and a pyramid scheme, according to Betsy Broder, the Federal Trade Commission's assistant director in the Bureau of Consumer Protection.
"In a legitimate network marketing organization, the bulk of the income is from the sale of a bona fide product to the public," says Broder. "In a pyramid scheme, revenues come from recruiting new members, who pay a fee to be part of the organization." Her office prosecutes pyramid schemes based on unrealistic projections of the amount of money participants could make.
But Benson has not made any claims about potential earnings: GlobalTrak earnings are based solely on the sales of a product, not on the activity of recruiting itself. It's just that the product isn't available yet. And compared with other network marketing execs, Benson is conservative in his claims. As licensee Ted Archer says, "I used to tape the conference calls to listen to later, and I've got a stack of about 20 tapes. After this all fell through, I went back to see if he said anything definite about a product. I never was able to catch him. He's very good at splitting hairs."
Despite my best efforts, I can't completely unravel Benson's original spam to get to the full truth. Although it's clear Benson isn't everything he's claimed, I can't say that he won't one day ship KidTrak to customers.
Once Benson got word that I'd called the 7-Up man's agent, he was mad as a hornet. When I talk to Benson, he says he won't let any of his people deal with me again. It seems like a good time for me to broach some delicate questions. "A lot of former licensees feel like they didn't get what they paid for," I say.
"That's not true at all," he says, surprised. "What are they paying for? A license to sell products in the future, and that's exactly what they got."
__ Investors pay for "a license to sell products in the future,"says Benson, "and that's exactly what they got." __
"But if they can't sell products, they're out of a lot of money," I point out.
"You talk like they're not getting full disclosure," Benson says. "People choose to get involved before the product is available. If you do not want to sell our product, do not pay a licensing fee. We don't twist anyone's arm. We make it clear that the product is in the development stage. That's out there."
After that, I don't talk to Benson for a while, though I do spend a lot of time thinking about him - with a mix of awe, disapproval, and warped admiration. A decade ago, Eric Benson was just another small-timer trying to eke out a living. Since then, he has reinvented himself as an Internet entrepreneur, complete with sales force and Web sites. Along the way, he's learned to seize on the tantalizing promise of high tech and dangle it in front of anyone looking for the Next Big Thing. And with almost breathtaking nimbleness, he's managed to avoid lawsuits and the long arm of the law.
Is this what they mean when they say the Net is a realm of limitless opportunity?
As it turns out, Benson and I cross paths once more. I see discussion threads on the Web about a new product called MobilTrak, which claims to use GPS technology to track assets in a ship's cargo containers. I smile, recognizing Benson's calling card. If anything, I have to admire his cojones. When I call the 1-800-KID-TRAK number, Benson himself picks up.
"Hey, Bobby boy, how ya doing?" he asks.
"I've got some concerns."
"Oh, do you?"
"Is GlobalTrak still operating?"
"Of course. Not only are we operating, we're doing phenomenal."
"Has KidTrak shipped yet?"
"Yes. Why don't you come out and see it? We're glad to have you down if you'd like to come out and take a look."
"Can you put me in touch with someone who's used a KidTrak product?"
"Why, so you can bother them with your trivial negativity? Forget about anybody that you can call over the phone. Because, you see, you're the type of guy that twists people's words around."
"There's an Eric R. Benson with your birthday who was convicted in Philadelphia."
"That's interesting, because I don't know why that is. What other questions do you have?"
"Can you hook me up with someone on the phone?"
He ignores that. The deep voice rumbles, and the voice through the phone sounds like a preacher shouting from the pulpit. "Guess what we're shipping?" he says. "This month? Huh? I'll tell you: The world's first line of personal satellite tracking devices!"


text:
Gaming computers aren't as sophisticated as you could think, and making your own gaming computer is not as troublesome as lots of people would make you believe. LAPTOP video games, also known as computer video games or private computer games, are video video games performed on a personal laptop fairly than a devoted video game console or arcade machine Their defining traits embody a more numerous and person determined gaming hardware and software program, and a typically larger capability in enter, processing, and video output.
The CyberPower Gamer Master 9500 is a pre-built gaming PC which you could actually make your own. Talking of video games, the system's Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card can handle anything you throw at it, and there's a handy entrance-dealing with VR port for connecting your Oculus Rift or HTC Vive with minimal trouble. Utilizing the abilities gained with us, our graduates have progressed into employment in both AAA console titles and indie video games development (COMPUTER, iOS and Android), in the quickest rising and most exciting sectors in the digital artistic industries.
Involved in design (e.g. graphics, constructing models), recreation play (how the sport actually plays), audio (how it sounds) and content material. A chair of godly proportions, the Titan Chair is good for larger players 5'7 in top and above (maximum load of 6'6, 290 pounds). Contemplate some advice from Jane McGonigal (world renowned designer of alternate actuality games, PhD in efficiency research): she suggests that if you want to have enjoyable AND stimulate your thoughts, enjoying about 3 times a week for simply 20 minutes every time ought to do it.
LAPTOP gaming chairs are the best chairs when it comes to mobility and comfort. Modern gaming laptops 28 can obtain respectable game efficiency, but by no means fairly match desktops in a category to class comparison, and most do not characteristic upgradeable graphics playing cards. Expertise's devoted Placement Staff offers help to all of our college students seeking to integrate a placement within their university career on each undergraduate levels and postgraduate masters programmes.
By the late 1970s to early 1980s, games have been developed and distributed by way of hobbyist teams and gaming magazines, reminiscent of Inventive Computing and later Laptop Gaming World These publications provided recreation code that might be typed into a computer and played, encouraging readers to submit their very own software program to competitions.


text:
Sun City West Patents Lawyers
Experienced Patents Attorney! Call for a free consultation!
- (480) 205-9365
- Offers Video Chat
Avondale, AZ 85323
James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona
Charles 'Chuck' Runyan graduated from Arizona State University with a BS in Chemistry. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry at Texas A&M and then his JD law degree at James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is admitted in Arizona, California (inactive), Texas (inactive), and at the USPTO.
Chuck has worked with individual inventors and companies of all sizes for over 20 years. He has held law firm and in-house positions at Bard/Becton Dixon in Tempe, Arizona,...
Phoenix, AZ 85020
James E. Rogers College of Law, University of Arizona
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Phoenix, AZ 85028
University of Arizona
Tom has lived all over the US - Midwest, East Coast, West Coast - and has settled with his wife, kids, and pets in Phoenix. He is a triathlete, enjoys photography, hiking, camping, and reading.
Suite 1300
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Tulane University School of Law
Suite 600
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Texas Wesleyan University
2525 East Camelback Road
Phoenix, AZ 85016-9240
Arizona State University
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Suite 1300
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Phoenix, ARIZONA 85004
Arizona State University College of Law
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phoenix, AZ 85085
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Mesa, AZ 85023
Patents, Business, IP and Trademarks
Arizona Summit Law School
Marcos advises clients in the areas of restaurants and food industry, entertainment (musicians such rappers and Mexican banda), wearable technology, journalism, creative writing, software development, smartphones, virtual reality headsets, artificial intelligence, and many more.
A multicultural, multilingual professional with a broad spectrum of language skills, with Spanish and English fluency, and partial abilities in French, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese.
He thrives at the intersections of business, technology, law, and creativity. A business and trademark attorney, social investor, marketer, roboticist, engineer, contracts negotiator, business connector. Marcos enjoys working with a broad spectrum of...
University of California - Davis
University of Utah
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Additionally, my patent practice focuses on US Prioritized Patent Examination or Track One (Track I) Accelerated Examination and Patent Prosecution Highway applications, Design Patent applications, International patent filings including Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), Foreign National Stage Patent, and Paris Convention applications, Reexaminations and Appeals before...
Suite 201
Scottsdale, AZ 85259
Brigham Young University
Tempe, AZ 85281
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University
Phoenix, AZ 85006
His drive to make certain his clients receive the...
Suite 131
Tempe, AZ 85282
St. John's University School of Law
Phoenix, AZ 85018
Suite 1000
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
University of Tulsa College of Law and University of Tulsa
Scottsdale, AZ 85258
Loyola Univ School of Law
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Suite 160
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
The John Marshall Law School and Southern Methodist University
Phoenix, AZ 85008
Related Practice Areas
Need a lawyer?
The Justia Lawyer Directory is a listing of lawyers, legal aid organizations, and pro bono legal service organizations. Whether you were injured, are accused of a crime, or are merely engaging in everyday affairs that affect your legal rights or property, an attorney can help you resolve problems or prevent new ones from arising.
Here are just a few situations where you might want to seek the advice of an attorney:
- You were injured in a car or truck accident
- You have been arrested and charged with a crime, such as DUI or shoplifting
- You are considering separating from your spouse
- You have been subjected to harassment or other discrimination at work
Use Justia to research and compare Sun City West attorneys so that you can make an informed decision when you hire your counsel.
It is important to research an attorney before hiring him or her. Be sure to evaluate an attorney's experience (types of cases handled, prior results obtained, etc.). Although prior results are not indicative of the likelihood of success in your case, they can help you make an informed decision.
Also worth serious consideration is the attorney's location, particularly if you will be traveling to visit him or her for consultations.
Finally, research an attorney to see whether he or she has ever been subject to discipline. Although disciplinary actions do not necessarily impact the attorney's competence to handle your case, they may affect your decision whether to hire.
Researching Attorney Discipline
There are no recently viewed profiles.
There are no saved profiles.
There are no profiles to compare.


text:
Finland is situated on the western margin of the large coniferous forest – the taiga – that extends across the whole of northern Russia. The western parts of the taiga belt are relatively intact on the Russian side of the border, with a diverse tree species composition and a high diversity of animals. On the Finnish side, by contrast, large areas especially in southern and central Finland are commercial forests, which are mostly monocultures of even-aged trees.
The effects of these differences are large. Species that prefer large, intact forest areas, including wolf, brown bear, wolverine, lynx, capercaillie, hazelgrouse, and pine marten, are found in much higher densities on the Russian side. Species favored by early successional stages, such as moose and mountain hare, are more abundant on the Finnish side. The Russian forests also host a higher number of rare, wood-inhabiting invertebrates than do the forests in Finland. Birds such as the Siberian jay, the Siberian tit, and the three-toed woodpecker are specialized for old-growth coniferous forests. They have declined markedly in Finland in recent decades due to the impacts of large-scale forestry, and find refuge only in the remaining old-growth taiga forests. See map of protected areas.
In addition to commercial forests, Finland has a large, relatively continuous belt of protected areas that connects with protected areas in the mountains of Norway and Sweden. These areas are important habitat for taiga species in Fennoscandia. They serve as a corridor for gene exchange, and allow recolonization of habitats in the case of local extinctions. The wolf population of northern Finland, for example, dependslargely on animals moving in from Russia. Lower plants and animals also exchange genes over large areas, andcan suffer from genetic isolation. For instance, a study of the genetic structure of Fomitopsis rosea, a rare polyporous wood inhabiting fungus, shows that isolated populations in southern Sweden have a narrower genetic structure than populations within continuous taiga forests of Russia. The connection of Fennoscandian taiga to the larger taiga of Russia, and the protection of large intact forests in western Russia, are vital for the long-term survival of Fennoscandian taiga species. A joint Finnish-Russian effort strives to maintain this connection by establishing a network of protected areas that extends across the border.
Anna-Liisa Sippola, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland,
Rovaniemi, Finland. From CAFF publication: Arctic Flora and Fauna


text:
August 8 is Earth Overshoot Day—the day when we start using more resources than the planet can replenish in a year. It's getting earlier and earlier every year.
Earth Overshoot Day lands on August 8 this year. Last year, it fell on August 13. Each year, the date gets earlier, signifying how humanity is running through its ecological budget at an ever-faster rate. In 2000, the date was still in September.
The Global Footprint Network, a California research group, calculates how much "annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year." It looks at the ability of oceans and forests to absorb CO2 emissions (60% of overall demand) and how quickly oceans and forests replenish and grow.
GFN blames the shortening horizon on population growth, rising carbon emissions from energy production, and mismanagement of our oceans and forests. It calculates how much of the world's area is taken up with ocean and forest and then what the absorption rate is for CO2 from those stretches. Each ton of CO2 that's sequestered doesn't go into the atmosphere causing climate change.
GFN shows how individual countries are, or are not, living within their means. Canada and much of Latin America are "creditor" nations, while the U.S. and countries in Europe and most of Asia are in "deficit." Australia has a heinous footprint. China is very in deficit due to its intensive use of coal. France and Switzerland have lower per-head footprints because of their relatively clean energy systems.
Mathis Wackernagel, CEO of the GFN, says this type of replenishment-rate thinking is very slowly gaining acceptance. The big climate agreement in Paris last December was notable for committing the world to "net-zero emissions" by 2050. That doesn't mean no emissions. It means the amount of carbon emissions Earth can handle given the absorption rate of oceans and forests that act as "sinks."
"What we do is consistent with the Paris intent," he says. "The public discussion is extremely weak compared to the Paris goals, but that's exactly what it says. If we burn fossil fuels and emit CO2, we need to be able to sequester the CO2 and neutralize it."
In GFN's thinking, carbon emissions are a relative concept: They harm only so much as we destroy our oceans and forests at the same time. "This [metric] recognizes that the atmosphere is not separate from the land," Wackernagel says. "They interact and need to be managed together."
(Source: http://www.fastcoexist.com/3062607/weve-used-up-the-worlds-resources-for-the-year-and-there-are-still-145-days-left)


text:
With the many opportunities offered by today's technology, turning to a comprehensive software solution for a smoother-running childcare business makes good sense. There are numerous solutions out there, but not all are truly equipped to deliver the right tools and resources – and some are more costly and difficult to use than others. So, if you are going to invest in a technological tool, make sure you are getting a software solution that suits your practice and adds value to your services.
Advantages of a Childcare Centre Management Software
Childcare specific software can manage your enrollments and waiting lists, payroll and staff rostering, parent invoice and billing, and keeping children's emergency and health details. Being able to access and manage your data with just a few clicks and from any device goes a long way to ensure productivity and health and safety. It also helps increase employee satisfaction and minimise waste – no more paper or having employees waste their time filling out paper-based forms.
Some software solutions go even further and facilitate communications between child care centres and parents; pictures and videos can be sent from educators and parents can then share these with family and friends.
While the social interactions some comprehensive childcare software solutions allow are a plus, the main point of implementing this technology to your practice is how efficiently your daily activities become. When you know all your data is being collected and safely stored, you have more time to focus on doing your job and achieving your goals.
- Using Apps to Maximise Efficiency in Child Care Centres
- Additional Childcare Services – A Point of Difference