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BATON ROUGE — Like other states have done this year, Louisiana's Public Service Commission will vote Thursday on reducing the fees that telephone companies can charge inmates for communicating with their families and others.
BATON ROUGE — Like other states have done this year, Louisiana's Public Service Commission will vote Thursday on reducing the fees that telephone companies can charge inmates for communicating with their families and others.
Commissioner Jimmy Field of Baton Rouge, who represents Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes on the PSC, said he plans on supporting the initiative.
"The commission's primary function is to ensure that rates are just and reasonable," said Field, who is retiring from the PSC at the end of this year.
In the Bayou State, one out of every 86 adults is serving time, which is nearly double the national average and 15 times higher than the per head rate in China.
More specifically, Commissioner Foster Campbell of Bossier City said Louisiana incarcerates nearly 40,000 people in 170 state and local jails, which is the highest number of people behind bars per capita in the world.
A PSC investigation of inmate calling launched in April 2011 revealed that the average rate for collect calls from Louisiana jails is 30 cents per minute.
"That is 15 times higher than calls on the outside," Campbell said.
Investigators also found that telephone companies providing service to jails charged "questionable fees" for opening inmate accounts and for providing refunds on unused balances.
"It is not the inmates, but their wives, children, parents and grandparents who pay an average of 30 cents a minute to stay in touch with their loved ones in jail," Campbell said, adding that what telephone companies charge is "sinful."
Campbell has proposed a 25-percent cut in inmate telephone rates and elimination of unauthorized add-on fees for the PSC's Thursday meeting in Baton Rouge.
"Cutting these calling costs by nearly a third won't make Louisiana the lowest in the country and it won't compromise security, but it will make these expenses for inmate families much more reasonable," he said.
Field said issues like this are exactly the reason why the PSC has regulatory authority.
"The results of our investigation indicate that the rates charged for inmate phone calls are, in many instances, not just and reasonable, so corrective action is necessary," he added.
Campbell and other supporters argue that high rates for prison calls prevent inmates from staying in touch with family members, a crucial aspect of their rehabilitation.
"This reform in no way hampers the ability of jails to stop prisoners from criminal activity by telephone," he said. "Those legitimate oversight functions will continue."
The PSC's current investigation of prison telephones is not its first; in the early 1990s the Commission found widespread abuses including double-billing, exorbitant rates and time illegally added to calls.
After that initial investigation, the PSC ordered more than $1 million in refunds.
While the Louisiana Interchurch Conference Committee and other prisoner support groups have expressed support for the changes, Field and Campbell say the idea may face some opposition at this week's meeting, possibly from law enforcement circles.
In the face of such a possibility, Field has said he's confident his stance is "scripturally" the right thing to do.
When Field retires, he will be replaced by Scott Angelle of Breaux Bridge, who was elected to the local Pubic Service Commission seat following last week's elections.
Jeremy Alford can be reached at email@example.com.


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If you can't contact your agent or insurance company, call the Department of Financial Services (DFS) for assistance at 1-800-22-STORM or (850) 413-3089.
This will assist the adjuster in assessing the value of the destroyed property.
Take necessary steps to keep your family safe, but be sure to keep all receipts and take photographs of damage before and after any repairs.
Secure your property and turn off your gas and electricity. Contact your insurance agent and provide a phone number where you can be reached.
Hire licensed, reputable, preferably local service people, and avoid any contractor or appraiser who says they can adjust your insurance claim. You can verify a contractor's license and check to see if there are any complaints against them by calling the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation at (850) 487-1395. Also ask for references from previous work, and be sure to report unlicensed contractors.
(i.e. company adjuster, independent adjuster or public adjuster). Ask for identification, and if a question arises, call the Department of Insurance hotline for assistance.
Insurance fraud costs each Florida family an additional $1,500 a year* in increased premiums. If you suspect insurance fraud, call the Fraud Hotline toll-free at 1-800-378-0445. Financial fraud costs Floridians more than $40 billion annually. If you suspect financial fraud, call the Consumer Helpline toll-free at 1-877-MY-FL-CFO (1-877-693-5236). *Source: The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
Ask for proof of liability and workers' compensation coverage, then verify it by calling the Division of Workers' Compensation at 1-800-742-2214.
Get written estimates from at least three construction firms, and beware of contractors who ask you to pay for the entire job up front. Also, do not allow the contractor to adjust your claim with your insurance company. If you make a down payment, it should not be more than one-third of the total price. Pay ONLY by check or credit card, and never pay the final amount until the work is completed.
call the Florida Department of Agriculture's Division of Consumer Services at 1-800-357-4273.

subset: commoncrawl


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Farrell Boyd blames himself for the latest blow to the boll weevil eradication effort in the Mississippi Delta. "We didn't get enough factual information out to growers before the previous referendum. We didn't hold any educational meetings, and our mail-outs were apparently not sufficient," says Boyd, director of the Southeast Boll Weevil Management Corp.
In June, Delta growers failed to approve a referendum authorizing a 10-year maintenance program, which carries with it a maximum grower assessment of $12 per acre. Now, cotton growers in regions 1A and 1B once again must decide whether or not they want to continue in the effort to eradicate the boll weevil from their cotton fields.
A second referendum was held Aug. 4-15, and Boyd tried to dispel any grower misunderstandings before growers turned in their ballots to their local FSA offices.
"The cost will not be $12 per acre," Boyd says. "This has been the hardest thing to get out to producers. We're reducing our costs, and we will pass those savings on to the cotton growers in the regions. We have made projections of what the costs of the programs will be, and we've even left a little wiggle room because we can't say for sure what it will cost to run this program."
The Boll Weevil Management Corporation says it has budgeted $8 to $10 per acre to run the maintenance program for 2004-05; it has budgeted $6 to $8 per acre for 2006-13 and says that cost could be lowered to $5 per acre.
Much of the cost savings are expected to come from advances in the lures used to attract boll weevils to the green-apple colored traps lining the turn rows and ditches of the Delta's cotton fields. A recently developed lure is said to last four weeks, which would allow trap surveillance to be increased to three-week intervals. This would greatly decrease the number of people needed to check traps, and could completely eliminate the need for part-time personnel, according to Boyd.
Reductions in eradication program costs in Mississippi are also being achieved by reductions in overhead, trap densities, and malathion treatments.
"Costs will be reduced," promises Boyd. "In other post-eradication states, the newer boll weevil attractants have enabled per acre fees to be reduced to $5 in Alabama, $5.50 in Florida, $3.75 in Georgia, and $4 in South Carolina. I can't promise you the cost in Mississippi will be the same as Georgia, but it certainly should be equal to, or cheaper than, program costs in Alabama or the Florida panhandle."
Boyd says some of the region's cotton growers have expressed concerns about program costs to him, saying they don't feel as if they are getting their money's worth out of the program. However, he says, the consequences of discontinuing the program will be much more costly to growers.
"Without an active eradication program, boll weevils will rapidly re-infest the area. Control costs will be $24 to $54 per acre, yield losses will be $6 to $8 per acre, and a quarantine could be placed on the region, resulting in costs equal to or greater than current program costs," he says.
By law, the state is authorized to quarantine any region not actively involved in the eradication effort, and the costs related to that could be passed on to cotton growers in the quarantined area. A quarantine would require equipment, seed and such to be certified as "clean" before it is allowed to move to another region actively involved in eradication.
"If allowed to re-infest, the boll weevil would run rampant throughout most of the Delta because of the high amount of acreage planted in transgenic varieties, and the newer pesticides that do not have activity on boll weevils."
According to Blake Layton, Mississippi Extension entomologist, Bt cotton varieties receive less than two applications of insecticide for caterpillar pests, and most insecticides today provide no weevil control.
Control of these weevils, Boyd says, will require four to nine insecticide applications at an approximate cost of $6 per acre each — $24 to $54 per acre per year.
If growers vote to continue in the program, Boyd says, they are not voting themselves into a hole they can't get out of, because all that's needed for a recall referendum to end the program is a petition by at least 20 percent of the region's cotton growers.
At an Aug. 4 meeting of the Delta Council Research Advisory Committee in Stoneville, Miss., one cotton grower expressed his hesitations about voting for the 10-year maintenance program. "In the two-year period before eradication, I treated only once for boll weevils," he says. "I would vote for $5 an acre for the maintenance program, but I can't justify paying $12 an acre, because I think that if you get $12 an acre, you are going to spend that $12 per acre."
Boyd answers, "I can guarantee you will not be charged $12 per acre, but you will not be charged $5 per acre the first year of the maintenance period, either."
e-mail: [email protected]


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Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
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Gilles Marini
Claim to fame: French actor, "Brothers & Sisters" star
Last seen on: Season 6 in 2009
Standout moment: Fans thought that Marini and partner Cheryl Burke were robbed, coming in less than 1% behind gymnast Shawn Johnson and her partner, Mark Ballas, who won the Mirror Ball trophy in Season 6.
Week 8 All-Star elimination:The couples had to perform two whole dances: an individual ballroom dance with a military theme in honor of Veterans Day and a Latin trio performance with another professional or troupe member added to their group. Marini and partner Peta Murgatroyd looked Top Gun cool in their black flight suits performing what might have been the quickest quickstep in the ballroom to "Highway to the Danger Zone," but Marini had a few "little slips in his feet." His trio salsa included Chelsie Hightowner, but his timing and musicality were a bit off. Gilles and Peta received a 29.5 for their quickstep, and a 29 for their salsa trio but the judges' scores weren't enough to keep him safe and he was sent packing. | Recap
Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Copyright © 2018, The Morning Call


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Things are finally winding down with work for me right now (after about 3 months of overtime scheduling), so I'd like to get back to the occasional post again. Thanks for staying tuned, I was surprised the number of subscribers continued to grow even as content basically trickled to zero. I think interest in cycling is certainly on the up trend.
The big news for me, is amidst the middle of the craziness I did take a mini vacation to ride to Joshua Tree from San Bernidino with Meghan (LA to San Bernidino via Metrolink). But the really big news is I proposed on our trip, so it's official, we're getting married! The most memorable moments of my life the past 2 years have revolved around us riding bikes together, and I look forward to a lifetime of more adventures on two wheels. Time to start saving for that road tandem we have been dreaming of...
Soon I would like to do a follow up post with more details about our trip and routing for the travel curious. For now, here is some images of our trip to the beautiful desert lands to our East (shot with my new Canon G11) . Once you have a solid base of aerobic fitness, really the only limit to how far you can go on a bike is how much vacation time you have. I'd also like to give a shout out to Russ and Laura of The Path Less Pedaled, who's trip to Joshua Tree a while back inspired ours, and who's writing got us more into this whole self supported bicycle touring thing in the first place.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Some semblance of normality returns, and a look at riding to Joshua Tree.
2 comments:
Congratulations! and welcome back
- February 4, 2010 at 5:12 PM
Congrats on your proposal.
I'm very happy for the two of you.
Now if only my girlfriend could see the joys of biking haha
- February 6, 2010 at 10:27 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Heading to Aruba first week of May, staying at the Marriott casino.
Should I bring my kites?
If so, any info on kite spots, conditions, season and schools would be greatly appreciated.
Hi the best place for learning in flat water is Fisherman huts, i own a school so obviusly i going to say our school (Xtremewinds) is the best, but honestly is the best service/price you are going to get on the island we teach one to one following you with our boat all the time, we are all IKO instructors following STRICTLY the IKO safety standars, the only school what offer pick up/drop off service from the hotels or your staying place.Pin Head wrote:which school/spot is best for flat water for a beginner?
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Residents should hear the buzz of the airplane putting out mosquito chemicals by the first of July. After new laws went into effect by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the airplane was grounded to be updated.
Residents should hear the buzz of the airplane putting out mosquito chemicals by the first of July. After new laws went into effect by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the airplane was grounded to be updated.
"We are completely overhauling the airplane," Daniel Masingale, director of Stuttgart Mosquito Control, said. "We have been needing to make these changes."
The new laws went into effect in November and with that came the need to purchase new equipment to become compliant. After the bond issue was passed the department was able to put the new equipment out for bid. Bids will open at Stuttgart City Hall on June 10 and June 13.
The new upgrades will include a new GPS system that will allow the plane to fly more accurately, a monitoring system that will help with drift control and wing-mounted booms will be installed instead of the tail booms that were in place.
"Next week we will know the cost," Masingale said.
Once back up the airplane will fly the town and also a 1-mile radius outside of town. This will coincide with the regular application of chemicals coming from the trucks, which was recently beefed up.
"We are putting something new out," Masingale said. "We have changed chemicals in the trucks."
This started during Tuesday night's application. On May 1 the department was spraying every other night and have recently started to spray rice fields that connect with the city.
During Tuesday night's Stuttgart City Council meeting Councilmember Ruth Ann Trice said she was recently embarrassed due to the high number of mosquitoes she encountered in town.
"It was embarrassing when we had out-of-town guests," she said. "We can't go in and out of the house at all."
But when temperatures heat up and the air becomes humid and flooding is taking place on surrounding rice fields the mosquito population is bound to increase.
"It's that time of year, we have more hatching off," Masingale explained. "Sadly, we won't be able to control every mosquito in every yard and the citizens of Stuttgart are going to get bitten."
But with the trucks on the street and once the airplane is back in service the Stuttgart Office of Mosquito Control feels it can shrink the numbers of the pesky insects that call Stuttgart home.
To help control mosquitoes, the Stuttgart Mosquito Control Office offers the following tips for homeowners:
• Regularly empty anything on the property that holds water. This includes dishes under flowerpots, tire swings, buckets, an old Frisbee and dog toys.
• Regularly change the water in anything that normally holds water. This includes pet dishes, wading pools, birdbaths, water troughs or fountains.
• Clear rain guttering and downspouts of leaves and debris so water doesn't stand.
• Correct areas that have standing water after rain. Fill in low places with soil, keep ditches clear of leaves and debris, aerate your lawn and fill in hollow tree stumps with cement or sand.
• Make sure outside faucets aren't leaky, creating a constant puddle.
• Do not over water lawns as puddles will surely attract mosquitoes.
• Keep grass short and shrubbery trimmed around the house where mosquitoes may rest.
• Remember when going out after dark wear mosquito spray.


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[A Bottle-Shaped Advertisement ]
Description: This photograph shows an advertisement for the Gulf Texas and Western Railroad in the shape of a bottle of mineral water. In 1912, two gasoline-powered motor cars were added to the WMW&NW (Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern--not "Water, More Water and No Whisky, or alternatively, "Whiskey, More Whiskey and no Water" as some passengers would have it) rolling stock to provide passenger service to Salesville, Oran, and Graford. The Gulf Texas & Western Railroad,(GT&W)--sometimes referred to by locals as "Get your Ticket and Walk"--was built from Seymour through Olney and Jacksboro and contracted to operate motor coaches over part of WMW&NW north extension in 1912. The GT&W line joined the WMW&NW Railroad some 12 miles north of Mineral Wells. Although the contract for the use of WMW&NW system was signed February 6, 1912, actual operation over the WMW&NW line did not begin until March 27, 1913. The Gulf Texas and Western operated gasoline powered motor coaches, similar to the ones owned by WMW&NW, through Mineral Wells, Weatherford, Ft. Worth and on to Dallas. A round-trip from Seymour to Dallas was made daily by a 70-passenger gasoline-powered motor car. Completion of Morris Sheppard Dam and the impounding of Possum Kingdom Lake necessitated abandonment of the Salesville to Graford line (and consequently the entire GT&W line) by August 15, 1936. The reverse side of this Mineral Water advertisement indicates that the building of the railroad was underwritten by Beetham and Sons.
Date: unknown
Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library


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Tonight's game was the first overtime game for the Lady Cobras all season and it could not have come against a tougher opponent, as Anderson is tied for first place in the CVAC.
The Cobras keys to success tonight came from their points off turnovers, 17 compared to
The Trojans had their own keys to winning, which included dominating the boards, 55 to 34, along with getting 12 points from their bench, compared to Coker's seven.
Leading the Cobras were Elliot and Lotta Aaltonen. Elliot had 22 points and six rebounds, while Aaltonen had 20 points and three rebounds. Rebecca Kolbeck and Henna Koponen also scored in double figures, with Kolbeck netting 12 points and Koponen tallying 11 points.
The Trojan's Deidra Langston had 28 points and seven rebounds to lead the way, while Keana Boyd had 22 points and four rebounds. Shadae Thompson was the only other Trojan in double figures, scoring 12 points with three rebounds.
Coker returns to the floor on Wednesday as they travel to Limestone for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.


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Five Fabulous Fireplaces
To soon? Yes, summer is just ending, but we're already thinking about cozying up to a roaring fire in the coming months. Here are a few inspiring ideas for the hearth, including one for an apartment, believe it or not....
- Bold blue tiles pop against matte gray walls in this interior from photographer Paul Raeside.
- Alison's fireplace got a paint job (actually, two) in this Before & After (& After Again).
- Crisp, clean white gussies up this fireplace from AB Chao's Project: Fireplace Paint Job.
- Don't let a little thing like a "lease" or "legal ramification" stop you from your fireplace dreams. If you find the perfect one, stick it in and add some candles, like this one from Flickr Finds: Degerka's Orange Fireplace.
- The painting averse could try a facade made out of boards, like this one found by the Young House Love crew at a local Anthropologie.


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Kitchen Gallery: Made for Entertaining
Sure, most of these kitchens could eat ours for breakfast, but it's still fun to look at kitchens that were designed with entertaining in mind. And there are plenty of usable ideas here for opening your kitchen up to guests when you're entertaining at home:
- Arrange a dining table in the kitchen. This way, the food's never far from the action.
- In our last tiny apartment, we always hated the fact that our kitchen was in our living room. But embrace having a kitchen in the living space! Let it be part of the party.
- Get serious with island seating. As in image 3, provide comfy bar-height seating and set the table just as you would at a formal dining table. Our main drawback with this? How awkward would it be having everyone sitting in a row?
- Small and large kitchens alike can be made more inviting with comfy lighting, greenery, and candles as in House Beautiful's Kitchen of the Year 2009 (photo 6), a recreation of Ina Garten's own (photo 8).
(Images: Bulthaup, Benjamin Benschneider/The Seattle Times, Eric Perry/HGTV, Interior Design Gallery, Southern Living, House Beautiful, Sunset, Canadian House and Home)


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Beauty and the Beast (US - DVD R1 | BD RA)
Disney reveals details for DVD and Blu-ray editions of a "Diamond Edition"
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced 2-disc DVD ($29.99) and Blu-ray/DVD Combo ($39.99) releases of Beauty and the Beast for the 23rd November and 5th October respectively. Each will feature hours of additional viewing experiences that include behind the scenes features, deleted scenes, enhanced music tracks, immersive games and more. We'll bring you further details as we get them. We've attached package artwork for the Blu-ray release below:
Quote: Set in and around a quaint French village during the late 18th century, Beauty and the Beast follows the fantastic adventures of Belle, a bright and beautiful young woman who finds escape from her ordinary life, and the advances of a boorish suitor, Gaston, by reading books. Meanwhile, off in a castle in the distance, a cruel young prince is cast under the spell of an enchantress who turns him into a tormented beast, while transforming his servants into animated household objects. In order to remove the curse, the Beast must discover a true love who will return his affection before the last petal falls from an enchanted rose. When Belle's inventor father stumbles upon the Beast's castle and is taken prisoner, Belle comes to the rescue and agrees to take her father's place. With the help of the castle's enchanted staff, she sees beneath the Beast's exterior and discovers the heart and soul of a human prince.
News by Tom Woodward
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I'm so glad you stopped by "Relatively Speaking",
Please let me know you've been here by leaving a comment on this page.
Happy researching!
I'm so glad you stopped by "Relatively Speaking",
31 thoughts on "GUESTBOOK"
Hi, Carla — I enjoyed looking through your pages. I always wondered how we were related to the Currier and Ives connection!
My name id Diane Sterner and I am a Research Analyst from from Pennsylvania, in the United States. I'm not sure where you are located. I'm doing Research for a friend on the Coffin Family and I just had to tell you how Wonderful your Website is. Thank you for sharing your Families Information.
Diane Sterner
Thanks for information on Rev. Nicholas Noyes. I always knew that there was a "fire and brimstone" preacher of Salem in the family but I didn't know which one. I am a direct decendent (well, 13 generations) of Rev. James Noyes, uncle of Rev. Nicholas Noyes. Check out my website and learn more. The Noyes Family Tree starts with Rev. William Noyes, father of James and Nicholas, Sr.
Very Nice! If you need any Noyes material, I have all the original Genealogy books of
Harriette Eliza Noyes Vol. 1 and 2
Col. Henry E Noyes Vol. 1 and 2
And all the original manuscripts.
My Direct Pedigree is James Noyes brother of Nicholas Noyes
My husband is a decendent of Tristam Coffin Jr. We have some old books and I was reseaching a "Whittier Birthday Book" that we have and that is how I came across your site. Most excellent web site.
We are still researching his family and will refer to this page in the future.
Hi — interesting page — I recently found out that I'm a direct descendent of Mary Towne Estey, so I was interested to see your web site. I live in New Brunswick (in Canada) but still have relatives in the Salem area. My relationship to Mary Town Estey is through my Father:
my Father: Robert W. Currie
my Grandfather: George Gordon
his Father: Charles H Currie
his Father: George W Currie
his Mother: Dorothy Estey also spelled (Easty, Esty) (who married David Currie, George W Currie's Father)
her Father: Zebulon Estey
his Father: Richard Estey
his Father: Isaac Estey
his Mother: Mary Towne married to Isaac Estey Sr.
Hi Carla,
I was interested to see the name Iva Olson (wife Irma) mentioned in your conversations with your father. I have been 'chasing' Iva Olson born C1894 Oregon. I wonder if your Iva might have a connection with my Olson family, if you happen to know more of him. Regards, Denise.
Hi, Just doing research on my grandfather (13x back) Gov William Bradford and your website came up. Guess I'm a very distant cousin. I have the family Tree back to Gov William Bradford. Thank you, Richard Beauregard firstname.lastname@example.com Johnstown, PA
It is good conception to make something like that! Really curious point of view and attractive graphic.
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As a recently discovered decendent of Tristram Coffin I am very pleased and desire to know more of the family. My link is by way of the the Little/Drape family of Rhode Island. I am guessing we who are decendents are quite numerous. Would love to hear from any.
Thank you for your efforts,
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I recently found a connection to Mary while doing some genealogical research. I am very curious and while looking around I ran across your sight. Thank you. It was very informative and I hope that many more descendants find their way to your guestbook. Thanks..
This is great 🙂 My maiden name is Estey…a descendant of Isaac and Mary Towne's line.
Came across your web sight. Very interesting Really put together. My wife is a Frost, and ancestor is Nicholas Frost.
Nicely done. I am working on history from Richard back into Scotland. I'm try;ing to find the link back to one of the Clans, MacPherson, I believe we are a sept of MacMurich->McCurry->Currie->Currier, but its only a theory at this point. Guy Richard Currier, descendant of Richard from 1640 in America
Hi Carla — Thanks for posting your family history. I'm also descended from the Towne family (Joseph, the brother of the three sisters accused in the Salem Witch Trials). Best wishes — Kelly
Thank You for gathering such wonderful history. I enjoyed learning about the Hardy family. My Gramma was a Hardy and told me my ancestors came to America as indentured servants in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I'm just starting to be interested and learn about my family history. Thank you -Julie-Alice
Recently discovered that I am a descendant of Tristam Coffin, down thru Davis, Goodson, Hutzler, Jones, Bowman line. Thank you for this site. Bette Bowman Haddon
Thanks for the info on my ancestor, Thomas Hardy, an early settler in Mass.
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text:
|2009-10-01, 14:24
|Link #4162
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Imperial Manila, Philippines
|2009-10-01, 16:48
|Link #4165
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: CH aka Chocaholic Heaven
Age: 35
The major problem is that they will have to deal with some severe reworking of their society during all the next 40 years (until the last babyboomer dies).
Now they are facing the aging of their population in a context where:
1-there are few youngsters.
2-aforementioned youngsters face dire prospects due to the current economy.
3-there are even fewer childrens.
4-and if nothing is done the situation will only get worse.
Note that several countries face the same problem (a few european countries would have their populations shrinking if it weren't for the immigration).
Unlike us the japaneses are not too eager to resort on immigration to solve point 1, due to point 2 as well as the economic and societal costs it incurs. So they are most likely going to cope, relying on automatization, until their population stabilizes (in 40 at least).
To stabilize a population in a foreseeable future, they need to get at least enough children for a columnar age pyramid, or they will get a forever reverted shrinking pyramid.
Given that it takes 20 years in a modern society for a demographic policy to reflect on the working population, it's no wonder they are concerned about each generation being smaller than the previous.
Coincidently a generation (of women) is only fertile for about 20 years, hence the hurry to do something.
So if they want for things to get better in 20 years at least, they have to do something now. Or things will get worse and worse for a whole century.
|2009-10-01, 20:14
|Link #4166
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: PMB Headquarters
A few days ago.. I had posted in the A Laugh A Day thread regarding the Sony Playstation 3 ad which I thought was funny but it actually turned out that I was right about something. Sony does not find it to be a laughing matter of any type:
Offending PlayStation 3 Ads Aren't PlayStation 3 Ads
Cabinet ministers reveal rift over prospects for refueling mission
Turkey: student protester hurls shoe at IMF chief
Japanese Internet Reacts To BBC's Dying Nation Claims
|2009-10-01, 21:00
|Link #4168
It's the year 3030...
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Spaceport Colony Sicilia
Age: 34
Fossil Skeleton from Africa Predates Lucy
Some pretty interesting comments on this one, courtesy of Slashdot. Apparently this is big news again, despite the fact that the skeleton was discovered in the 90's, because scientists are finally trying to make some assertions about evolution based on this skeleton. Only time will tell where that leads...
|2009-10-02, 05:20
|Link #4170
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Imperial Manila, Philippines
|2009-10-02, 10:11
|Link #4171
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 61
Also, often solutions to enigmas are found in data we've long had in our hands but that no one had money or time to look at. Sometimes it takes the right person to look at it (like when we finally started getting sophisticated cross-discipline research in dinosaurs that blew up the amateurish conceptions of early paleontologists).
|2009-10-02, 13:11
|Link #4172
Asuki-tan Kairin ↓
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Fürth (GER)
Age: 38
Statistically nations have baby booms when there is a bad economic situation (or power outage). With bad economic situation I mean really bad. Japan today is just whining from within the comfort of their ivory towers. But the worse the situation gets and the more desperate people become, the nation will turn to other values. This is because commercial values are out of reach and generally less important.
Another factor is automation. Automation will eliminate all hard labour jobs and assembly line jobs in the long run. But the social sector cannot be that easily automated (I know lots of people think that japans robot industry can even master this industry... I say not with comparable efficiency for at least the next 60 years). That shift in the work force may actually contribute to more socializing... a more children accepting atmosphere.
But I also want to talk about things that could worsen your current scenario. Japan relies heavily on export and import. That is natural given the limited natural resources. This however condems them to be ever innovative to survive in a world where emerging powers like China (well in the case of China "emerging" is a little misleading...) compete for global export quota. Of'course this could be a worsening factor in the development of japan's economy and thus japan.
|2009-10-02, 14:08
|Link #4173
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
I'm not sure how far automation can go. Robots are expensive. You have to maintain them, which means you have to train the technicians for it. The materials to build them aren't cheap.
People, on the other hand, are plentiful, and can more or less take care of themselves. They're highly adaptable for a variety of things. And of course, at least in some countries, firing them is less troublesome than disposing of bulky machinery.
|2009-10-02, 16:02
|Link #4174
It's the year 3030...
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Spaceport Colony Sicilia
Age: 34
As to the second point, I find it slightly upsetting that we occasionally don't have the money or time to look more deeply into things like this, from a personal point of view. Evolution seems to be one of those subject so many people clamor about, yet a discovery of this magnitude is left to sit on the shelf to cursory analysis for ~17 years. Perhaps I'm reading far too much into the time between when it was discovered and now, and the article did mention that they had spent a good period of time looking for similar remains, but I would have thought there would have been some immediate testing and analysis to produce results, even if later testing proved those results to be false.
|2009-10-02, 16:14
|Link #4175
Letterman admits to having sex with his staff, smoothly done mind.
|2009-10-02, 16:26
|Link #4177
It's the year 3030...
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Spaceport Colony Sicilia
Age: 34
Diabetes Medication May Get New Life as Cancer Treatment
Another interesting story out of the world of science. Metformin, a diabetes medication, is showing signs that it can help treat cancer, and reduce tumor recurrence following chemotherapy. An exerpt from the article:
|2009-10-02, 16:27
|Link #4178
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
|2009-10-02, 19:06
|Link #4179
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: PMB Headquarters
Mexico makes record drugs seizure
Pair jailed over car cocaine deal
Mafia bribed Montreal airport customs agent
Raid targets Puerto Rico drug gang
Italy Tax Amnesty Poised to Pass; Opposition Says It Aids Mafia
The Italian prime minister sure knows how to sustain economic growth..
Int'l school principal, husband nabbed on marijuana smuggling
This is obviously not drug smuggling but personal use. Its tough being a school principal nowadays, especially a kindergarten. Nonetheless, some people just take cannabis a little too seriously, even though it doesn't have any negative health effects. However, I wouldn't call it a natural health product either, even though this is the impression I am getting from all the pro-marijuana supporters.
My former sociology professor used to lecture that people in Netherlands always smoke cannabis on family gatherings at least once a week as that the people there consider the grass to be somewhat of a natural health product. It is also known that some European countries encourage the use of marijuana and proves that it is perfectly safe to do so. Speaking of which, somewhere in Amtersdam.. A huge street allows the legal sales of heroin, cocaine, and other chemical substances. The places that sell them are government-operated. However, if you take any of the products sold there outside of the street, it is considered as illegal. Otherwise, it is perfectly okay. I guess this is one of the reasons why the Netherlands are not suffering from a faltering economy, they have extra income...
Man jailed for car theft on date
People work hard to win a date with a girl but this guy works hard to perform grand theft auto..
|2009-10-03, 06:18
|Link #4180
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: PMB Headquarters
Okada vows Japan's support for Mekong, calls for democracy in Myanmar
|current affairs, discussion, international, news
|Thread Tools


text:
With the big-budget spectacles of summer behind us and the dramas of awards season on the horizon, French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, a foreign-language Oscar nominee for 2010's "Incendies," returns with another dark, weighty film: "Prisoners."
Starring Hugh Jackman as a tormented father whose daughter has been kidnapped and Jake Gyllenhaal as a frustrated detective, the film -- based on a long-admired original script by Aaron Guzikowski -- is earning praise for its fine craftsmanship and strong performances -- although many reviewers add that the experience can be grueling.
In an enthusiastic review in The Times, Betsy Sharkey wrote that "once this chilling thriller about a parent's worst nightmare grabs you, it refuses to let go." She added that "Villeneuve and screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski keep the tightly constructed terror twisting by holding it close."
Regarding the acting, Sharkey wrote, "There are excellent performances from a well-seasoned cast including Viola Davis, Terrence Howard, Maria Bello and Melissa Leo," but Jackman, Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano (as a suspect in the case) "are the linchpins." Jackman in particular is "unforgettable" and "gives the performance of his career," she said.
A.O. Scott of the New York Times said Villeneuve's film "absorbs and controls your attention with such assurance that you hold your breath for fear of distracting the people on screen, exhaling in relief or amazement at each new revelation. By the end, you may be a little worn out, and perhaps also slightly let down by the fussily clever revelations that wrap up the story, but in the meantime, you are a willing captive, unable tell the difference between dread and delight."
Of the two leading men, Scott wrote, "Mr. Jackman is solid and persuasive, but it is Mr. Gyllenhaal, with his downturned mouth and twitchy eyes, who anchors the film."
USA Today's Claudia Puig called "Prisoners" "a somber, twisting and thoroughly engrossing police thriller." The plot, she said, "raises complicated moral questions about how far an anguished person will go for the love of a child. At the same time, it sets up an intricate, horrifying mystery with breathtaking skill."
Puig added that the film "is infused with a poetic intensity that's rare in American thrillers." Like a number of her fellow critics, Puig likened "Prisoners" to David Fincher's "Zodiac" and Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River."
In a more measured review, NPR's Ian Buckwalter said that "Villeneuve is undeniably a master of slow-build tension," but also that "Prisoners" stumbles toward the end of its 2 1/2-hour running time. "The film grows less concerned with its moral conflicts and more with making the plot's too-many puzzle pieces come together neatly. ... It doesn't ruin the film, but it does undercut that stellar first two-thirds, as well as a pair of truly remarkable performances from Jackman and Gyllenhaal."
Peter Hartlaub echoed those sentiments in the San Francisco Chronicle. "It's easy to get lost in the first hour of 'Prisoners,' and that's a terrifying thing," he wrote. "A superb acting ensemble and smart filmmaking choices help to create an honest portrait of struggling middle-class America, before their relative serenity is disrupted tragically."
However, "[t]he last 40 minutes betray this truth, in ways that are often perplexing. It's difficult to remember a recent movie that soared so high, before plummeting with a series of bad story choices. But the end result is still a strong piece of cinema, a failure only if you dwell on what might have been."


text:
Your MVP Isn't Really Viable Until Your Potential Customers Say So
More than 40 percent of startups fail simply because nobody in the real world was interested in buying what the founder thought was a good idea.
Eric Reis and Steve Blank's concept of the minimum viable product (MVP) has become the philosophy thousands of entrepreneurs across the world subscribe to when developing products and ideas.
The problem many of these entrepreneurs run into is they don't effectively test the viability of their MVPs.
We recommend: Are You the Next Vanilla Ice (aka a One-Hit-Wonder)?
The importance of stringent testing
Nine out of ten startups fail. That's a 90 percent failure rate. Pretty sobering, eh? Well, that number is a bit misleading.
Roughly 42 percent of start-up founders claim their ventures failed as a result of "no market need" for their product or service. Nearly half of all failures are the direct result of learning their irrelevancy the hard way.
Reis and Blank are always quick to point out that failed startups "begin with an idea for a product that they think people want." They then spend months perfecting the product without ever turning the "idea" into a tangible product that can be shown to customers, tested and refined.
Only when the startup fails do they realise the product was doomed from the start.
This can all be fixed with stringent testing and basic prototyping. The MVP is a basic version of the end product that can be tested. You can gauge whether the product is likely to succeed based on response from your target market.
A sloppy MVP may misrepresent your end product and skew the testing results. So, first and foremost, focus on creating an MVP that's both "minimum" and "viable."
3 ways to test your MVP
Once you have a quality MVP you are confident to stand behind, it's time to start testing. Here are some methods you'll want to try:
Interviews and focus groups
The more people you talk with, the more accurate your results will be. Start with interviews and focus groups.
There's a lot of value in using the Internet for quick feedback, but nothing beats face-to-face interactions. Every penny you spend on interviews and focus groups will be well worth it in the long run.
Social monitoring
Social media is an excellent tool for gauging market receptiveness to your MVP. Run a social campaign and send out free prototypes, then follow up with users and listen to what they're saying. You will get an accurate idea how the product will be received.
A/B split testing
If you're finding resistance among your test groups, it's important that you get to the bottom of the issue. While it's possible users don't like the entire product, it's more likely they find a particular aspect or element undesirable. Use split testing to isolate these problems.
We recommend: 6 Things I Wish Somebody Had Told Me When I Started My Small Business
Testing is key to a successful MVP. In the end, accurate prototyping and thorough testing will help you determine whether your startup is headed for success, or in need of a pivot. Just leverage the tips mentioned in this article and you'll be better off than 42 percent of startups.
This article was originally posted here on Entrepreneur.com.
How To Make Course Corrections And Finding Your Differentiator
A lot of launching a business is starting small, and pivoting as needed.
An advisor whom we trust, and who has been involved in our business since launch would like to buy into the business. We could make use of the cash injection, and we believe his experience would be beneficial to the business. His condition is that he occupies a board seat, and that we create an advisory board that he can also sit on. Should we do it? — Mvepho
If you trust the guy and need the money, do the deal. A board seat is fine. Voting should be based on shareholding, not hands raised. Don't allow for any special minority rights like veto over budget or right to appoint CFO.
An advisory board for a start-up seems a tad overkill, but if he wants one, give it. He's either going be an ass, or he won't. Only one way to find out: Get into bed.
The key provisions of the shareholder agreement relate to divorce. How do you get out of relationship? There are three key parts to consider: Forced sale provisions (death, disability, prison, leave country, etc); Valuation formula for exit (5 x NPAT); Agree to arbitration being binding.
The simpler you keep things, the easier it will be to part ways if things don't work out.
Related: Alan Knott-Craig Answers Your Questions On Finding a Funder To Managing Your Staff
I need to attract customers away from their existing suppliers who offer a similar product to mine. My value proposition is convenience and quality. What other value should I consider? My main customers are restauranteurs and households (flats), and I provide the convenience by instant deliveries of food (chicken and eggs) to their doorstep. — Mam
Pick one differentiator. If one isn't enough, your product isn't good enough.
In this case maybe it's convenience. Or maybe it's speed of delivery (30 minutes from order). Or maybe it's the best eggs in SA.
Whatever. Ask customers what the most important thing is, then focus on pushing that as your unique selling proposition.
That doesn't mean you ignore the other inputs. It just means your pitch is predicated on one key selling point.
My partners and I have managed to get an investment opportunity for our app but now we have an issue about how we should spend that money.
I think we should first get some traction with users with a MVP even though we're not delivering on our value proposition in the beginning i.e selling before we commit to building and iterating based on user feedback before adding new features.
My partners think that now that we have an investment opportunity, we should build the app with all the features because that's what differentiates us in the market.
How would you handle a situation like this? — Tula
Start with MVP. Get feedback. Iterate.
Do not start with an app including all the bells and whistles. Firstly, it will take too long to make and get bogged in scope creep. Secondly, if you're on the wrong track and you've already spent all your money, its game over. Insert coin.
Rather start small. It lets you course correct faster and keeps you in the game longer.
Related: Your Questions Answered With Alan Knott-Craig
My waiter has contracted a chronic infectious disease (not HIV). He's worked for me for seven years, but I can't risk my staff/customers getting sick. What should I do? — Bob
The business comes before individuals. It can be painful losing a loyal long-time staff member, but you have to do it if he jeopardises your business survival. Exhaust all options, but if there is no medical solution then you have no choice. But you can't just cut him loose. If you do that, all your other long-standing staff will look at you and think, "He doesn't care for me." Morale will go down, and your business may fail anyway.
If you are forced to lose a loyal staff member, you must go out of your way to ensure he/she is financially taken care of, either through a pension or a lump-sum payment.
It's the right thing to do, and it will show your other staff that you have their backs through thick and thin.
Read this
Alan Knott-Craig's latest book, 13 Rules for being an Entrepreneur is now available.
What it's about
It's easy to be an entrepreneur. It's also easy to fail. What's hard is being a successful entrepreneur.
For an entrepreneur, there is only one important metric of success: Money. But life is not only about making money. It's about being happy.
This book is a collection of tips and wisdom that will help you make money without forgoing happiness.
Get it now
To download the free eBook or purchase a hard copy, go to www.13rules.co.za. To browse Alan's other books, visit bigalmanack.com/books/
Ask Al
Do you have a burning start-up question?
Email: email@example.com
(Infographic) The 20 Most Common Reasons Start-ups Fail And How To Avoid Them
These do's and don'ts can make or break your start-up.
So, you have a great new idea or invention, and you are ready to open your start-up business. But, you've been scared by the well-publicised statistic about start-up failure – more than 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first four years.
Opening and operating a successful start-up requires some luck hard-work and thoughtful planning – as well as the ability to adapt that plan. Having been involved as a consultant to numerous start-ups over the past decade, I have seen some fail, some achieve a modicum of success, and some make it big.
Here are a few do's and don'ts that will help guide your start-up to the promised land:
Business plan
- Don't think that a great idea or a great product is enough. The start-up graveyard is littered with amazing ideas and products that have failed.
- Do have a business plan that includes every aspect of how you will run your operation and how it will be successful. It should include all anticipated costs, marketing, manufacturing, the technology required and staffing. A business plan should also include how you will market and sell your product.
Related: 4 Tips To Secure Funding For Your Start-up
- Don't think your idea or product is original and because you and your friends think it's amazing, means that it is and there's a market for it.
- Do lots of research before you spend your money. As a consultant, I have on three separate occasions been asked to help with a business plan for a start-up, where I discovered almost exactly what they are doing has been tried before and failed. In two of those instances, the previous failures indicated that the idea wasn't good. In the third instance, we were able to learn from the previous mistakes and actually make a successful run at it. The number one reason start-ups fail is that there is no market for their offering.
- Don't assume you will get financing other than the money you start with from yourself, family and friends. Only a very small percentage of start-ups get Venture Capital (VC) funding and in fact, the funding bubble has burst. And that means early-stage start-ups are getting little or no love from outside equity firms.
- Do assume the initial funding you have will be all you get, so the goal is to have the lowest burn rate possible. Therefore, your initial business plan should have a route to profitability and sustainability before the money runs out. The number two reason start-ups fail is that they run out of money.
Investor deck
- Don't think that your expert knowledge of your business, a well-developed business plan and proficiency in PowerPoint are enough to craft an investor deck that will get a private equity firm's attention.
- Do hire an expert consultant who has done this before. VCs can smell an embellished or amateurish deck 100 miles away. You typically only get one look by a potential investor, so make sure your investor deck is the absolute best it can be.
Related: 9 Quotes Every Entrepreneur Should Live By
- Don't assume that technology will be easy or come as scheduled. In almost every start-up I have been involved with, where the need for technology advancement was crucial to success, there were unanticipated issues and delays.
- Do assume that there will be delays in technological deliveries and therefore you need to leave a buffer for that in your business plan. Do have a competent development team and if they are not performing, replace them as soon as possible.
- Don't think that you can go at this alone or that it will be easy to assemble a winning team.
- Do select your team members carefully, trying to add as much diversity as possible. The most successful start-ups that I have seen have mixed experience and newbies as well as the more traditional kind of diversity. The number three reason startups fail is that they have the wrong team.
- Don't think customers are just waiting for your offering and investors will be lining up to give you money simply because your idea is amazing – even if you have been a successful serial entrepreneur in the past.
- Do be humble and realistic about everyone you meet. Relationships are a key to success, and like with personal relationships, if you want to be successful, be sure you see yourself as others see you. I have witnessed a lack of self-awareness and a big ego from owner's doom potentially successful start-ups.
Related: 7 Strategies For Development As An Entrepreneur
Old-Fashioned values
- Don't think you are leaving a nine-to-five job for the easy and flexible life of being your own boss. A start-up is a seven-day-a-week occupation and now it's your money and reputation that are solely on the line.
- Do plan to work harder than you ever have with little return on your efforts for an extended period. Do be honest with everyone you interact with, as your reputation will ultimately be a key to your success.
To have big success as a startup, you'll have to master all the do's and don'ts above, and that's a daunting task. So, before you begin, the question you must ask yourself is: "How badly do you want it?!"
This article was originally posted here on Entrepreneur.com.
The Complete How-To Guide for Starting a Car Wash
What you need to know about opening your own car wash in South Africa.
We all love to have a clean car – start your own business today
Shiny wheels, the perfectly clear windows and not a streak in sight. In today's fast paced world we often don't have the time to do it ourselves – and when we do, there are other things that quickly fill that time.
And so we pop off to the local car wash to have it done and ticked off the list so that we can move on to other things.
How often have you sat considering owning a car wash of your own while you're waiting for your car to be done? If it's more than once, then maybe you should consider taking the leap and starting a car wash business.
Contents in this guide
- How to Choose What Type of Car Wash to Open
- Steps for Registering a Car Wash Business
- Car Wash Funding Options
- Choosing a Location for Your Car Wash
- Car Wash Insurance and Liability Cover
- Car Wash Equipment and Supplies
- Car Wash Marketing and Branding Basics
- Hiring and Managing Your Car Wash Staff
- How to Set Your Prices?
How to Choose What Type of Car Wash to Open
The first decision that needs to be made involves deciding between a franchise and an independent business model. Both of these come with their own set of risks and rewards – all of which have been set out in the table below.
The decision between an independent venture and a franchise opportunity must be a personal choice based on your personality.
In general – if you are someone who likes to blaze your own trail and like to have complete and utter control over every aspect of your business, then starting a car wash, or any business, as an independent is the way to go for you.
If however, you are better at working within the guidelines and like the freedom of someone else, in this case the parent company, making the decisions for you – then starting a franchise is the way forward.
Make sure when investigating the car wash franchise you are interested in, that you choose a recognisable brand with a good reputation in order to get the full benefit of buying into a franchise.
With both franchising and independent ventures, you now also have the choice of starting a mobile car wash, instead of a fixed full time entity.
Need to know: Should You Purchase An Existing Franchise?
This also comes with pros and cons and these are listed below.
Steps for Registering a Car Wash Business
Here are the main steps for registering your new small to medium enterprise:
Register your business with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). This involves lodging a Notice of Incorporation (CoR 14.1) and a Memorandum of Incorporation (CoR 15.1 A-E). These forms are available at www.cipc.co.za. They take roughly five to seven days.
Alternatively, it is possible to use a service that registers your company for you with the CIPC such as this one. These services do of course have their own fees attached.
Thereafter, you must open a bank account for your business. Depending on the correctness of the application forms, this only takes a day or two and is free of charge.
For an SME, earning less than a million rand a year – the only form that SARS requires is the IT77C that must be accompanied by a certified copy of your ID and a copy of the company's registration documentation. The IT77C form is available from www.sars.gov.za. If your employees aged 24 – 65 will be earning more than R5 000 per month, then you will need to register for UIF and PAYE.
Read: Start A Business They Said… It'll Be Easy, They Said…
To register for unemployment insurance – visit www.labour.gov.za for more information on the process and for the forms.
The final step that takes place in conjunction with the step above is to cover your employees in terms of occupational injuries, diseases or death in terms of the Compensation Fund. This is optional. These forms are available from www.labour.gov.za
In terms of the permits and licenses you will need to start a car wash you need to first assess whether or not the premise you want to work from is purely residential or if it has been zoned to allow it to be a business property.
Related: The Basics Of Registering A New Company
Furthermore, to operate a car wash you might need to apply for a permit under the water restriction bylaws depending on your municipality and the province you are in. For more information on the permits possibly required visit the Department of Water Affairs website.
Car Wash Funding Options
Before you even begin to look for funding, you will at this point need to create a detailed business plan. No institution will give you funding without one. For instructions on how to put a business plan together watch this video on business plans for dummies.
Sourcing funding for a start-up can be a bit of a challenge if you do not know where to go or what they are expecting of you. Here is a quick rundown of what you would need to prepare in order to encourage others, such as financial institutions, to give you the funding you need to start your venture.
Related: New Ways SMEs Can Find Funding
Broadly speaking there are four main options available to entrepreneurs starting their own businesses. These are: Loans from financial institutions, own capital, investors and grants. Grants usually come from the government and are loans that you won't have to repay, but grants come with strict guidelines on how the funds may be used.
It is always preferable to start with the bank that you already do business with – that way they have all your information and know your financial habits and behaviours as well as your credit record. Another option is to look at credit unions.
When applying for funding here are a few tricks to help you get the cash:
- Make sure that you have a detailed business plan that shows how the funds will be used and spent. It is highly necessary for you to have a detailed knowledge of the costs involved in your business – from supplies to staff to overheads and equipment.
- Know about the industry and the market you are entering. It can be beneficial for you to do a market analysis.
- You will more than likely have to use your personal assets and wealth as collateral for your new business.
- It will show your dedication and commitment if you use your own capital to place an initial investment. In some cases, it is required for you to do so – such as with SEFA – the Small Enterprise Finance Agency who require a 10% personal initial investment.
Related: Attention Black Entrepreneurs: Start-Up Funding From Government Grants & Funds
Choosing a Location for Your Car Wash
With a fixed location – most of your business will come from 'walk ins'. It is essential to your business that your car wash, or any service based business, is in a location that is convenient.
More often than not people do not specifically set out to go have their cars washed but rather end up having it done because it was easily available and they had the time.
Here are a few tips of choosing a successful location:
- Being near a shopping area is always preferable
- Heavily populated residential areas with high traffic volumes are better for business
- The site must be easily accessible from the road
- It must be easy for customers to get back onto the road once their car is clean
- Highly visible
- A decent size car wash has more than one washing and drying bay, there needs to be enough space for these as well as a waiting area
- Enough space for cars to queue
- It is also in your interest to pick a location that will allow for expansions as your business grows.
In South African law, verbal leases can be upheld in court, but it is always best to get the agreement in writing.
In clear and concise language that both parties can understand, make sure that your lease covers any changes you may or may not make both structurally and superficially.
Make sure you know how your rental will be calculated – it is usually quoted in Rands per square metre per month, excluding VAT for commercial and industrial properties in South Africa. Make sure you both agree on what costs will be covered by your rental and what costs you will incur (i.e. electricity).
Resource: How do I go about analysing and choosing a possible location for my business?
Know under what circumstances the lease may be voided by either party. And finally, know who is liable for damages to the property or for instances of burglary.
Car Wash Insurance and Liability Cover
First off, for new owners the importance of a disclaimer needs to be highlighted. A disclaimer can exempt car wash owners from covering the costs of repairing vehicles that are damaged on their premise but they do not cover gross negligence on behalf of the business owner.
It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that all machinery and equipment is well maintained and is regularly checked for foreign objects that could cause damage. It is also the responsibility of the owner to make absolutely sure that all cleaning products used throughout the process are car-friendly.
Furthermore, public liability cover is not enough. Property in the custody, care or control of the car wash owner is excluded from cover under the public liability section. The correct policy to have in place is the Motor Traders Internal section.
Your level of insurance coverage will have to be higher if you and your employees are the ones driving and moving the cars.
It is important that you as the owner of the car wash to have general liability insurance that covers:
- Medical expenses to yourself and your employees in case of injury
- Custody, care and control coverage
- Equipment break down
- Damage to cars – you will need to set this limit for your policy
- It is also important (especially if you have bought the property) that you have property insurance that will cover your premise in terms of theft, damage, fire, flooding etc.
Leonard Degee, who has been in the independent car wash industry for 12 years, knows that in order for his car wash to continue successfully, it is important that only management handles all the cars.
Related: Insurance For Small Businesses: What Should Be Covered?
Not only does it make the insurance coverage easier and cheaper, but customers are usually happier knowing that the person who might be moving their car is more accountable.
Car Wash Equipment and Supplies
In some cases, all you'll need is a bucket, clean water, soap and some good cloths – and the willingness to approach people to offer your services. But if you would like to open a more professional business and reach a broader market then there is some equipment that you'll need.
If you are opening a franchise, the parent company or franchisor will be making the decisions for you. If you are opening an independent location or mobile business then you will need to source the necessary equipment.
The basic equipment needed for a manual car wash is:
- High pressure system
- Oil/water separation Unit
- Drainage unit
- Industrial vacuum cleaner with wet upholstery cleaning option
- Possibly an upholstery cleaner
- Depending on the products you choose you might need a foam attachment on your hose.
Alongside your basic equipment you will also need your location to have:
- Concrete wash bay slab
- Pump room
- Drying bay
- Ancillary Walling and Paving
The Basic equipment you will need for a mobile car wash is:
- Pressure washer hose with a compressor
- An industrial hose with nozzle and gun
- A good sized tank in the back of the truck/van or even trailer
- A generator (remember to keep extra fuel handy)
- A powerful vacuum cleaner
For cleaning products and supplies, you have a multitude of varieties to choose from. If you are inclined to go the eco-friend route, there are even ranges of waterless cleaning solutions.
The cleaning product basics you would need are:
- Car soaps
- Metal polish
- Plastic polish
- Car wax
- Glass cleaner
- Fabric shampoo
- Leather cleaners
- Detergent for the pedals
- And then sponges, cloths, brushes – preferably suitable for use on all cars.
Here are some suppliers of equipment and cleaning products:
- Eco Wash – http://www.ecowash.co.za
- Hurricane Car Wash – http://www.hurricanecarwash.co.za/about.html
- Kwik Car Wash – http://www.kwikcarwash.co.za/page2.htm
- Eco D Wash – http://www.ecodwash.com/
- Durawash – http://www.durawash.co.za/
- Dynachem – http://www.dynachem.co.za/
- Geowash South Africa (for mobile car wash systems) – www.geowash.co.za
Keep all equipment in good working condition with regular check-ups. For an easier resale, make sure you have detailed maintenance records on all equipment.
In Degee's car wash, they purchase R3000 worth of stock every month – which covers the 360 or so cars that they clean.
Car Wash Marketing and Branding Basics
Branding and marketing are two very different concepts, both of which are highly important to the effectiveness of your business.
In order to bring the customers to you, there are a couple of things you could do. These involve connecting on an emotional level, staying relevant and flexible, committing to the community you work in, staying visible and finally aligning your marketing tactics with your brand strategy.
The biggest secret to marketing is being able to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Brand Strategy Insider is an online resource for branding and marketing and they list 50 ways to differentiate your brand.
Related: Smart Marketing Ideas For Small Businesses
For the car wash business here are the applicable ones:
- Expand your appeal
- Rewrite the experience
- Break away from conventional wisdom
- Be the expert
- Share values with your customers
- Engage the senses
- Focus on aesthetics
- Treat people differently than your competitors do (treat them better)
When you are implementing these values in your brand, make sure that they go deeper than just your aims. Make these things that make you different the foundation of your business.
That means engraving these changes in the mission statement and instilling it in your staff. It's important to note that your staff are your brand ambassadors. A good service experience means that people will come back and more than that, they will tell others about you too. Word of mouth is a powerful tool in launching a new business.
Degee says that the best marketing strategy they have is their car wash's visibility.
Related: The Complete Guide To Writing A Marketing Plan
In terms of marketing schemes available to you as a new business owner, you have a couple of easy options:
- Keep the conversation active with your customers
- Flyers
- Customer databases so that you can text or email them your specials (these must be opt in)
- Signage
- Posters
- Advertisements in local papers and on local sites
- Promotions
- Coupons
- Specials
- Discounts
- Always squash any bad word of mouth by proving the opposite
- Consider loyalty reward programmes to encourage repeat customers.
Hiring and Managing Your Car Wash Staff
"Good management and good staff is the most important thing," says Degee. With your staff often handling the money, it is easy for untrustworthy staff to "slip it into their pocket."
Make sure your staff is reliable and Degee advises that you need to keep theft as low as you possibly can.
If you open a bigger operation than just yourself, or if you are needed to expand your business as it grows, then you will need to hire staff. Because you are in the service delivery industry, you need to remember that your staff needs to treat your customers well – as do you.
To this effect, hire people that are
- Polite
- Friendly
- Punctual
- Efficient
- Have a good sense of service delivery.
The number of people you hire depends on your expected workload. The more washing and drying bays you have, the more people you will need. You also need to consider how many days of the week you are open and how many hours a day.
Read: As An Entrepreneur, Be A Motivational Leader To Your Staff
Obviously, if you want to go the more automated route with a machine run conveyor system, then the need for physical staff will be less.
How to Set Your Prices?
If you are going to give a variety of different services then you should have options for all budgets and time frames to suit the biggest market possible.
As with any service industry business – you need to have competitive prices for the services that you offer. It's important to do some market research in your area as to what your competitors are charging for which services.
Important factors to consider:
- The cost of your cleaning supplies
- Your overhead costs
- The amount of cars you can do in an hour
- The number of staff members you have
- Your working hours for the week
- Competitor prices for similar services
- The type of area you are in (residential, urban, rural, business?)
For a mobile car wash it is important to consider many of the same factors including fuel price and distance travelled. In general, the cost of a mobile car wash service is higher than that of a car wash that a patron will go to because of the added convenience factor for the customer.
When deciding on prices for a mobile business, you will once again need to do current market research into what your competitors are charging.
To end off, it is important that you and your staff do a good job on the cars that you clean. The best way to get repeat customers is to supply the ones you have with an amazing service. For an in-depth tutorial on how to professionally clean a car – watch this video.
Advice from Car Wash Pros
Degee offers a few tips for an entrepreneur starting his own car wash.
- Trustworthy staff is hard to find. Sort that out before anything else.
- Sometimes, the easiest way to bring in new staff is through our existing staff.
- A high turnover rate brings the possibility of more theft – try keeping good staff for as long as possible.
For the International Carwash Association visit www.carwash.org.
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AFO Neptune - Operator "Rabbit" - Loadout & Intel
You are equipped with an M4 with an ACOG (zoom factor 1.5X), a semi-useful pump-action shotgun, and the ever handy hold-out handgun.
Night Optical Devices (NODs or Night-Scopes) are available for this operator.
The team's goal is to locate an Afghani informant, Tariq, and insure his safety from the local Taliban fighters.
Return to the Ambush Site
Once VooDoo gives you the go-signal to carry the battle back towards the Taliban, proceed up the street, and take note of the cover available.
This is a good time to start using the Quick-Cover system, peek out, then let your M4 carbine speak in 5-5-6. Zap the enemies behind the stalls, in buildings, and on the rooftops, then follow VooDoo to regroup with Preacher and Mother at the open-air market.
Since opposition is light, and enemies are relatively few and close-quarters, pull out your hold-out handgun and start dispatching enemies with it. You will need 30 kills across your game career to satisfy this condition. If you need to, use an automatic weapon against enemies, but if you have the chance to f— up a hostile with a '9', do so..
Clear the market's buildings
Using Quick-Cover is mandatory in this engagement, as the wall is just enough for you to lean out and snipe enemies. Remember your NPC allies are effectively unkillable, so if you leave them alone long enough, they will clear the fights for you. However, to lower your Tier 1 mode time, you need to work quickly and pass through this section and into the building.
The interior will be dark once you destroy the breaker box with a knife attack. Use the NODs (check your controls for which key) and go through each room, shooting anything you don't like. Remember, unlike a Rainbow Team, you do not have silencers equipped with all weapons, so if you fire, enemies in the room will fire back.
Additionally, if you get too close, or wait too long, the enemy will "hear" your presence and open fire. Darkness may be your friend, but you shouldn't discount time -- kill enemies quickly and neutralize any and all opposition quickly.
Work past enemy Пулемет Каласхникова (PKM | machinegun) position
Once back outside the building, work past the rooftops and get to the side of the enemy machinegun. Progress cautiously once you are out of the yaw (or lateral camera pan) range of the enemy position; enemy soldiers will pop-up on the roof and try to fire before the cinematic cut-scene brings you to the next sequence of events.
Breach and clear the apartment complex to locate Tariq
Follow VooDoo outside, head up the stairs and get a buddy boost to move on. The fight ahead is a little tougher now -- there are more enemies and they will tend to group fire on anyone who is exposed. Unlike your NPC allies, your character can be killed, so it's important not to rush ahead without being able to meet the expectations of killing enemies who appear.
This new upped threat level is demonstrated by the a-holes in the playground. If you step out into the yard without checking things out, you're likely going to be shot dead. Instead, get ready to sprint and take cover on the sides. From there, you can take down the targets at the entrance, and then stroll upstairs to check on the corpse.
Reach the insurgent fortress to locate informant
So apparently, the Taliban set you up with the bomb (and all your base are belong to us). There's only one answer to that -- they will "have no chance to survive make your time"
As you head onto the third street to your target, look out for enemies who appear when the garages open up. Dust them, then it's recommended you head up the left street (the alley) to flank the enemies.
If you decide to go on the main street, you will encounter more enemies (handy for Tier 1 -- if you do headshots to stop the clock); otherwise play it safe. Either path will place you at the fort's front entrance. An automatic air-strike will open the gate for you.
Flank the enemy machinegun at the fortress
Go past the fortress gate and take cover at the boxes in front of the enemy MG. You can wait for an ally to throw the frag grenade to cause the distraction, or simply start sprinting towards the door up the trail (it double-backs the way you came from). The door opens with some enemies who are easily dispatched with automatic fire.
Cover your teammates
Buddy boost inside the building, locate the enemy machinegun operator, and kill his ass. Go past that position and you will encounter an SVD Dragunov; use it to cover the team below.
Snipe the enemies who appear in the windows and who hide behind obstacles on the ground level. You can retrieve the weapon you dropped after (you won't need the sniper rifle after this rooftop sniping sequence) and move on.
Breach and clear the motor pool
Head down into the yard and replenish your hand grenades. Once you do, you can head for the next building and do an Open and Clear. The enemies inside are all alerted (the usual state) so be sure to check with your allies if you need more ammunition for your M4-CQB.
Investigate the final building
The last building has Tariq. His kidnappers aren't very professional, so they haven't set up defences (they are in fact, readying to flee and blow the place up). When you breach in, take down the guys with guns (nightvision helps, but isn't necessary). Once you down all hostiles, board the back of the deuce-and-a-half (truck) and leave.
If you've been using the handgun at close quarters (indoors) all this time, you're pretty damn awesome. This also means you've been hyping yourself up for getting headshots, which is perfect. When you breach the room where Tariq is held, take down his kidnapper (the guard taking Tariq as a human shield) with one headshot. If you miss, or fail, or die, or shoot Tariq (whoops!), you can reload the checkpoint and try again. A handgun isn't necessary for this condition; you may use whatever weapon you deem necessary for the headshot.
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text:
Milo Madonna
Milo Ventimiglia graces the cover of the new issue of Corduroy - a GREAT magazine based in NY, founded by Canadians. LOVE.
Anyway, as you can see from the photos, Milo looks hot and even a little gay, especially that shot of him with his hand on the wall. No correlation but he tells Corduroy that his sisters used to dress him up like Madonna – as in Lucky star and mole. Hot, non? To bad he's a controlling perv.
As for his upbringing?
"I had a completely normal upbringing which I'm very happy about. It's a nice example that you don't have to be a f-ck-up, you don't have to come from a broken family, or be high on drugs, or have lived on the streets to be able to succeed in the industry. When I was younger, my peers would always talk about the hard times and the down times, and how that helped them to get to that better place as an actor. It's like, no man, that put you in rehab."
But how normal could it have been if he's dating an 18 year old who was much younger when they started? Just sayin'…
This issue of Corduroy is available now.


text:
Editor: In a nation troubled by violence, pointing to prayer as the only solution is not a viable action plan.
Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, was way off base when he recently offered prayer as his only solution to the gun violence so prevalent in our nation these days. I'm not taking a stand on gun control one way or the other, but I am suggesting that for him to offer prayer as his only solution to the problem is lazy and irresponsible. He is an elected state governor in a secular nation. It is his responsibility to come up with real solutions.
Hope/prayer/faith … they are all fine on a personal level to help comfort and calm. But they can't stand alone as an action plan. Many of us were told as children that "God helps those who help themselves." We must look to ourselves for answers first and foremost. We must do our own hard work.
I'm not a Christian and don't believe that prayer changes anything other than perhaps for the person doing the praying. If they believe it helps them, it probably does. But I suspect that most Christians would have a problem if an elected official, who happened to be of a different faith, suggested that prayer to his God was the answer.
For those who seek comfort in faith, in prayer, regardless of which God you pray to, fine. Do so in the privacy of your own life. But when faced with problems for which we need real solutions in a public setting, in our secular nation, it's not a defensible position to simply say: "Let us bow our heads and pray."


text:
Targoff to use Guggenheim to study love after death
English professor exploring differences between England and the Continent
Professor of English Ramie Targoff, whose research focuses on the relationship between poetry and religion in the literature of Renaissance England, has been awarded a 2012 Guggenheim Fellowship.
The $40,000 award will enable Targoff – who already was scheduled to serve as a scholar in residence at the American Academy in Rome next semester – to devote a full year, starting this summer, to the completion of her work in progress, a book entitled "Posthumous Love: Eros and the Afterlife in Renaissance England."
The work, to be published by the University of Chicago Press, explores the boundaries that English poets drew between earthly love and love that might transcend the grave -- why couples wanted to be buried together, how lovers imagined what awaited them after their deaths, and what might be gained—both emotionally and poetically—by imposing mortal limits on love.
Targoff, the 27th member of the Brandeis faculty to win a Guggenheim, said the award "is a tremendous affirmation of my work, and comes at a most opportune time. I am two-thirds of the way through the book, and this validates the project. It means the book has an audience."
The idea for the project arose from a perception Targoff had while working on and teaching "Romeo and Juliet."
"I started to read the sources" which Shakespeare drew upon, she said, "and discovered that the end of the story in all the Italian and French sources was totally different from Shakespeare's play.
"It was a radical innovation by Shakespeare," she said. In all the earlier sources, the star-crossed lovers say "our souls will meet in Heaven," Targoff said, and "Shakespeare just ripped that out, rejecting that love would transcend the grave. I thought, 'Wait a second., I can't think of a moment in all of English Renaissance literature where lovers go to heaven together, while in Petrarch and Dante that is something central."
The project is an effort to work out why and how that happened, she said, and involves explorations of the Protestant Reformation, relations between the living and the dead, and poetry ranging from the first translations of Petrarch through the explosion of carpe diem lyrics during the years surrounding the English civil war.
At Brandeis, Targoff, who also serves as Jehuda Reinharz Director of the Mandel Center for the Humanities, teaches courses on Shakespeare, Renaissance literature, love lyrics, witchcraft and magic and devotional poetry. She received her B.A. in English from Yale University in 1989, and her Ph.D. in English from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1996.
She is the author of two books, "Common Prayer: The Language of Public Devotion" and "John Donne, Body and Soul," and is co-editor of a new edition of Thomas Browne's "Religio Medici and Urne-Burial."
Targoff previously has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin and the American Council of Learned Societies.
Often characterized as "midcareer" awards, Guggenheim Fellowships are intended for men and women who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.
Grants are made for a minimum of six months and a maximum of 12 months. Since the purpose of the Guggenheim Fellowship program is to help provide fellows with blocks of time in which they can work with as much creative freedom as possible, no special conditions are attached and fellows may spend their grant funds in any manner they deem necessary to their work.
The Guggenheim Foundation receives between 3,500 to 4,000 applications annually.
Categories: Humanities and Social Sciences, Research


text:
Feb. 15, 2006
A win is always nice, but the first win is always the best.
Lady Bisons softball coach Kristin Peck earned her first win as head coach Tuesday afternoon against Austin Peay. The Lady Bisons, 1-3, lost the first game 1-0 and then came back for the 11-4 victory against Austin Peay State University in Clarksville in the nightcap.
"There's nothing like finally getting your first win," said Peck. "Getting the first win under your belt is always fun. It is one thing you don't have to think about anymore."After getting only two hits in game one, the Lady Bisons responded with 18. Leigh Little led the way with four. Also putting together multi-hit performances were Niki Bails, Jessica Wilson, Sara Meek, Julia Davidson, and Kate Richardson. Little, Wilson and Ashley Villapando each recorded a double.
"It was one of those games where our players really responded after game one. We had a tough time in game one getting anything going. We didn't adjust well in game one. We were frustrated with them after game one. I know they were frustrated. We really challenged them between games, and they really stepped it up. We were very impressed with that."
Peck and Cheryl Smith, assistant women's basketball coach, took over the Lady Bisons about midway through last season and directed the team to a berth in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla.
Preseason is usually a time for players to challenge themselves and adjust and upgrade their games before conference play begins.
The Lady Bisons lost only two players to graduation last season. Still, Peck already sees this team as being different from last season's.
"They are so funny," said Peck. "They keep you on your toes all the time. They find the way to make the mood lighter when we want to be mad. They expect a lot out of themselves. But we really have had to challenge them in terms of expectations.
"They are completely different group than they were last year in how close they are and how they have become accountable to each other. I think they understand what it is like to go out and do everything they can to help each other out."
The team has grown since last season. Peck, likewise, has also matured.
"I learned so much about how to deal with them as players," said Peck. "I know how I was as a player and how I responded to things. I know what motivated me and what didn't.
"I know the type of player I was, And players are all different. Trying to find ways to motivate each one of them, and at the same time keeping them motivated as a team, is tougher this year than last year. I think last year they were going on adrenalin the second half of the year and that made it easier for me."
Last season was a valuable apprenticeship in many ways. Peck learned a great deal about game management as well as dealing with things like travel, team budgets and recruiting.
"There are things I had never had to deal with before, and I had to learn very quickly," said Peck. "I got my bearings a little bit last year.
"I'm well into recruiting. That is going along great."


text:
Photoshop CS3 and NX2 and reading as much as i can from magazines (shutterbug,etc.) and online tips and forums.
Please briefly describe what programs you use and how they have done the job for you.
I use the Preview function in Windows to preview full sized jpegs, then drag the selected RAW files into a dated folder for processing. After processing they go into subject matter folders and I move the RAW files to an archive.
I use Photo Shop Elements 8 to organize my photos in folders by subject, then I copy those folders onto CD's and make a back-up copy and keep that back-up copy in my safe deposit box at the bank. I back-up at least once a week. I shoot approximately 500 to 1000 shots a week.
I want a specialized software for each effort, that I feel will be robust, have all the capabilities to do their task well, and can handle the various file formats and quantity of photos I have. Off-line photo management is a necessity. At this time I'm using CS4 for editing and looking at ACDSEE Photo Manager (not Pro because I don't want editing in the managing software). I've always been amazed that there isn't a powerful photo manager that tries not to be a 'do-it-all, edit, upload, and manage' software.
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text:
VANDERBILT (US)—A common variation of the gene involved in regulating two neurotransmitters in the brain may be linked to problem behaviors in adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, new research indicates.
"Problem behaviors in these populations account for billions of dollars in intervention costs each year, but nearly all of these interventions occur after the fact," says Craig Kennedy, coauthor of the study and professor of special education at Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of education and human development. "This research suggests one way we might predict which individuals are at risk of being aggressive and destructive and provide treatment before problems occur."
Problem behaviors are reported in 15 to 20 percent of adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. For this study, the researchers focused specifically on aggression, self-injury, or property destruction, and set out to determine if there was a genetic underpinning for these behaviors. They focused on the gene that encodes monoamine oxidize A, or MAOA.
MAOA is involved in the regulation of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is linked to appetite and mood, and the neurotransmitter and hormone norepinephrine, which is linked to the fight-or-flight response. Previous studies found that variations in MAOA were linked to violent behavior.
"We found that a common variant of the MAOA gene was strongly associated with problem behaviors in adults with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities," Kennedy says.
The researchers studied 105 white men between the ages of 18 and 50. Only white men were sampled because the MAOA gene is linked to the X chromosome and also is shown to vary by ethnicity. Forty-three percent of those with developmental and intellectual disabilities and beh`avior problems had the gene variant, compared to 20 percent of the same group with no behavior issues and 20 percent of a typically developing control group.
The same MAOA variation has also been linked to autism in children, autism severity, and communication problems. The researchers suggest that problem behaviors linked to this variation may explain increased autism severity in individuals with it. It is not, however, linked to behavior problems in individuals with fragile X syndrome, pointing to the need for further research on genetic and other contributors to problem behavior in individuals with different developmental disabilities.
Researchers from Southern Illinois University contributed to the study, which was supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Education and General Clinical Research Council at Vanderbilt University. The findings were published in the July 2009 issue of the American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Vanderbilt University news: www.vanderbilt.edu/news


text:
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text: i want to prevent postfix from loggin any connections from localhost i've tried searching this forum for postfix log, but i get too many results to look at all of them i've googled & read postfix docs, and found debug_peer_list, but I'm looking for the opposite of that switch. instead of increasing verbosity for 127.0.0.1, i want to completely turn it off. is there a directive, IGNORE switch, regex that could be used in main.cf to prevent logging from that ip and or specific ranges? thanks