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I was reading this other blog which had a story that made me think of something that happened to me shortly after I started working at the law firm.
I answer the phone, and there's a very elderly man on the other side who proceeds to tell me that he's a war vet and he needs a lawyer. I ask a few questions and the conversation goes something like this:
"I want to sue my wife" he says.
"I'm sorry, we're a family law firm - we don't handle lawsuits".
"But she's my wife and I want to sue her. She's family!"
"Do you want to divorce her?"
"No - I just want my money back. She opened my mail and took a cheque for $20."
"I'm sorry, unless you want to get a divorce, you're going to need to find a law firm that specializes in litigation."
"Where do I find one of those?"
"You could look in the yellow pages..."
Meanwhile, I'm thinking that if I were billing for that phone call it would have cost $20, never mind that hiring a litigation lawyer is going to require a retainer of thousands of dollars...oy!


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Last updated by Brad Coates
- Added customer account number to the control panel in settings under Account Info.
- The activation path will now accept IMEI numbers in addition to ESN and HEX.
- The 'Follow Us' drop down menu from the homepage has been altered to include Instagram and YouTube.
- Various bug fixes.
Have more questions? Submit a request

subset: commoncrawl


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Wake up America; do you realistically expect your Facebook friends to help you figure out how you can stop foreclosure on your house? Do you think you can reach out to them and have them respond by se
How much is it worth to learn the inside business opportunity tips from leaders of the self-publishing industry like Kevin Weiss? Since he has assumed the responsibility of president and CEO of Aut
Why do I need Reverse Search Engine Optimization? Reverse search engine optimization (SEO) is a strategy to help you regain search page priority when your company or product is the victim of advers
Millenium Prime's (OTC:MLMN) recent acquisition of Bong Spirit Vodka is further positioning the company to serve its central focus, the millennial generation. Bong Spirit created a premium vod
In response to Roman Polanski last ditch effort to avoid extradition and cry for media attention, a petition website calling for the immediate revocation of his house arrest has been creat
Newswire has created a petition site http://bit.ly/cGjVf3 in hopes that the Swiss justice minister (Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf) will come to hers senses and realize that Roman Polanski is a f
IMANA, the Islamic Medical Association of North America, is an organization of Muslim physicians that was founded in 1968. The physicians work collaboratively with countries around the world to spr
There are many people who tend to be negative, this is not productive and the core to any success principle. In fact, the nature of human beings is such that they develop a negative mentality in cours
Every business in any field of industry no matter how small or big in nature requires some form of accounting as it only helps the people involved in bringing about exponential growth along with stabi


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Reimers Furniture (RFM) Internet 4894 Extra High Back
The 4894 offers a higher back with a neck pillow standard. It is a popular option for people that like to lean back and get neck and shoulder support. The Internet series from Reimers Furniture is our most popular series. The Internet offers a wrap around back that encompasses your back for total lower back support. The plush seat relieves pressure points and the waterfall edge releases pressure underneath your thighs. The multifunction mechanism provides adjustments that allow you to take a variety of positions while still getting support from the seat and back. The Internet is available in a number of seat sizes to accommodate petite through large users. It is available without arms and with several arm options including Reimer's patented swing arms.
*Pricing before options.
Fabrics represented in photo may not correspond to fabric colors currently available.


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Five nights at Freddy:Survive the week is a 2014 Five Nights at Freddy's fan game. In this game you play as John Garner. So enjoy reading this page! The demo release of the game was on December 4, 2014. The demo release had 2 nights. The full game release was on March 1, 2015.
1.0 Animatronics
1. Freddy
2. Bonnie
3. Chica
4. Foxy
5. Golden Freddy
2.0 Animatronics
1. Toy Freddy
2. Toy Bonnie
3. Toy Chica
4. Toy Foxy
5. Balloon Boy
6. Marionette
1. Golden Freddy endo skeleton
2. Balloon Girl
Night 1
This is the easiest night in the whole game.
Active Animatronics (Night 1)
Mangle: AI 5
Marionette: Wind up the music Box!
Toy Bonnie: AI 5
Chica: AI 5
Phone call
Hello! Hello! Uhh Hey welcome to your new summer job at Freddy Faz bears PIZZA! um the mascots here move at night and if they get to you you will most likely die. ha ha ha. They think you are an Endoskeleton with out a suit on and that is not allowed here at Freddy faz bears pizza so we gave you an empty Freddy Faz bear head. Um well there not much more to say so Bye and i will Talk to you tomorrow.
Night 2
This night is the 2nd easiest night in the whole game.
Active Animatronics (Night 2)
Toy Freddy: AI 10
Toy Bonnie: AI 10
Chica: AI 5
Marionette: Wind up the music Box!
Phone call
Hi. You made it to night 2. Good job!(Bad signal goes on for the rest of the message)Bye!
Night 3
This night is where the game gets challenging.
Active Animatronics (Night 3)
Foxy: AI 10
Toy Chica: AI 10
Toy Bonnie: AI 10
Marionette: Wind up the music Box
Phone call
Night 3! Great! Sorry about the last phone call. Lost connection Bad signal... Well i'm kind busy right now so...
bye.(weird noise) (Bleep)
Night 4
This night is a hard night.
Active Animatronics
Balloon Boy: AI 10
Toy Freddy:AI 10
Bonnie: AI 5
Chica: AI 5
Mangle: AI 5
Marionette: Wind up the music box!
Phone call
Help!Help!(Screams)NO!!(Splat noise)
Night 5
This night is extremely hard.
Active Animatronics
Freddy:AI 12
Golden Freddy: AI 10
Foxy: AI 12
Chica: AI 3
Toy Bonnie: AI 5
Toy Freddy: AI 10
Balloon Boy: AI 10
Marionette: Wind up the music box!
Phone call
(Groans)(Screams!)Pl...hel...ma(Bad signal)
Night 6 (Golden Freddy Night)
This nights most active animatronic on this night is Golden Freddy.
Active Animatronics
Freddy: AI 5
Bonnie: AI 5
Toy Chica: AI 5
Golden Freddy: AI 16
Marionette: Wind up the music box!
Phone call
(Bad signal)...ye!
Custom Night
Do what ever you want!
Golden Freddy: 10/20
Old and Damaged: 4/20
New and Shiny: 5/20
Survive the Night: 8/20
Phone call
(Humming)(Screams)(Bad signal)
Night 8
This night is set on normal difficility
Active animatronics
Golden Freddy AI 8
Toy Freddy AI 8
Toy Bonnie AI 8
Toy Chica AI 8
Marionette Wind up the music box
Phone call
Hi. I'm the owner of this place. I'm gonna leave you a message for the night. The guy who used to leave you messages he well...(Static Feed) ... He well... huh...(Bleep)...!
The Sequel was announced on May 30, 2015. The Sequel is titled 'Five Nights at Freddy's Survive the week: The Sequel. The Demo release had 3 nights instead of 2, And Released on August 14, 2015. The full sequel is yet to release. The release date is not confirmed yet.


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|Leo Kasper
|Manhunt 2
|Leo Kasper
|Dixmor Asylum
|Sniper rifle • heavy handgun • katana • crowbar
|Daniel Lamb • Dr. Pickman • Michael Grant • Dr. Whyte • Dr. Deborah • Mrs. Lamb
|Deceased (Personality Clash)
Alive (Release Theraphy)
|Voiced by:
|Holter Graham
Leo Kasper is a main and secondary playable character in Manhunt 2. Leo was a former hitman working for the goverment. It is unknown what happened to the original Leo, but his personality was inplanted into the mind of Daniel Lamb, by the Project as an experiment. Both personalities were supposed to be serparated by the Pickman bridge, which malfuntioned, allowing Leo to control Danny at times as well as being able to talk to Danny in his head whenever.
Leo is depicted as an intelligent, but heartless person, who has no hesitation about killing, no matter if it's an innocent person, criminal or law officer. However, Leo's killer personality was created by The Project for years before the events from the game. The Project trained him in assassination techniques, combat, evasion and infiltration, which caused Leo to change into a killing machine. According to the sessions with Dr. Whyte, Leo accuses the Project for turning him into a killer. He also confides, that he would like to think like a normal man, but he can't, because the training left a mark on his psyche.
Leo was born in 19th of June, 1972. Not too much is know about his past. Leo was a goverment assassin, hired to kill national threats such as terrorists, which he was very good at. The Project were trying to create the perfect weapon by taking Leo's personality and implanting it into someone else's mind, with each personality unaware of each other, that can be switched at times to do the necessary work and not remember it.
The Project needed to test it, but their funding was cut, so they had to test it on a volunteer, Daniel Lamb. Leo, now in Danny's mind, was able to act to freely on his own due to the Pickman Bridge malfuntion and Leo could speak to Danny at any time and occasionaly take over his actions.
Leo, now trying to take complete control of Danny's mind whilst lying and pretending to be helping him, threatens Michael Grant to remove the bridge. Michael turns out to be bait, as Project Militia ambush them at Blackwell Island and Michael runs into the Fisto Sugar Factory to hide. Leo chases him down, killing the Militia as he does until he corners and kills Michael. Leo then declares war on the Project and convinces Danny to kill Stanley Grex, the Project's main funder and after the assassination, Leo kills many Project Militia across several rooftops and through buildings to find an escape route, which he does.
Now Leo decides to destroy his and Danny's past by breaking into the Project's warehouses and burning the files and shortly after this, he breaks into Danny's house and kills Mrs. Lamb. However, he and Danny were locked away in Dixmor Asylum. Whilst inside, Leo and Danny were given many therapy sessions, at first by Dr. Deborah until Leo broke out of his chains and choked her to death. After this, Dr. Whyte took over.
After a power failure at the asylum, a riot breaks out allowing Leo and Danny to escape in the chaos. Once they are outside, Leo talks to Danny in his head and helps him kill the hitmen sent after them. Danny is determined to get his past back, whilst Leo tells him it not important. After they esacpe the Bloodhounds, Leo helps Danny infiltrate the Project's labs and take Dr. Pickman hostage. Leo tries to have Pickman remove the bridge, but Pickman refuses and attempts to wipe Leo's mind by chanting a hipnotic phrase, so Leo stabs him to death before passing out.
Weeks later, Leo and Danny hide out at the TVMK studio until they are found by Bloodhounds and after Danny has killed them all, he gets sedated by Dr. Whyte by injecting him with a syringe. When Danny finds out what Leo did to his wife, Danny goes into his subconscience to battle Leo. Leo sends out many ghosts of his past, but Danny fights past them and eventually beats Leo to death with a shovel.
Alternate EndingEdit
In the alternate ending, Danny locks Leo inside a cell in his mind to rot, but Leo breaks out and kills all the Legion members guarding his mind before killing Danny's personality and takes full control, thus killing Daniel Lamb.
- In the early beta Leo was different. His clothing remains the same but his face was altered, with less details. In an earlier version of the story, Leo was not just a personality in Danny's mind, but a real person.
- Originally, some Dixmor Inmates looked like Leo, and Leo looked much different. The Inmates design later went to Leo, and the Inmates models were removed.
- On the PC/PS2/PSP versions, during the flashback missions, Leo wears a brown outfit with a brown t-shirt and brown khakis pants. However, this outfit does not appear on the Wii and he is always wearing his green dixmor outfit. Also, in the beta, Leo originally wore his dixmor outfit throughout the entire game, like in the Wii version.
|Characters in Manhunt 2
|Daniel Lamb • Leo Kasper
Major Characters
|Dr. Pickman • Dr. Whyte • Judy Sender • Mrs. Lamb
Supporting Characters
|Michael Grant • Stanley Grex


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Postcards for the Lunch Bag: Water Buffalo #PostcardsForTheLunchBag #Aquanut @Hahnemühle_USA #Hahnemühle_USA #ZebraPenUS @ZebraPenUS #XanaduArtStudios
If you are here for my Hahnemühle Harmony Watercolor Paper giveaway, you can find it here.
Today, my hubby took a Water Buffalo in his lunch bag.
Zebra Pen Technical Pen over Aquanut Watercolors on Hahnemühle Watercolour Postcard-Rough


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8 Aboriginal Ways of Learning. (2014). Retrieved 21 April, Retrieved from http://8ways.wikispaces.com/
Abiam, P. O., Abonyi, O. S., Ugama, J. O., & Okafor, G. (2015). Effects of Ethnomathematics-based instructional approach on primary school pupils' achievement in geometry. Journal of Scientific Research & Reports, 9(2), 1-15. doi: 10.9734/JSRR/2016/19079
Aboriginal culture – Sport – Traditional Aboriginal games & activities. Retrieved from http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/sport/traditional-aboriginal-games-activities#ixzz4AV2CfYyS
ACARA (2013). F-10 Curriculum English Rationale. v7.3. Retrieved 25 April, 2015, Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/english/rationale
ACARA. (2015). F-10 Curriculum Cross-curriculum priorities. v8.1. Retrieved 30 April, 2016, Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/crosscurriculumpriorities/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-histories-and-cultures/overview
ACARA. (2015). Mathematics learning area: key ideas. Retrieved 30 April, 2016, Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/mathematics/key-ideas
Begg, A. (2001). Ethnomathematics: Why, and what else? ZDM, 33(3), 71-74. doi: 10.1007/bf02655697
Bishop, A. J. (1988). Mathematics Education in its Cultural Context. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 19(2), 179-191
Chahine, I., & Montiel, M. (2015). Teaching modeling in algebra and geometry using musical rythms: teachers' perspectives on effectiveness. Journal of mathematics education, 8(2), 126-138.
D'Ambrosio, U. (1990). Etnomatematica: Arte out tecnica de explicar e conhecer. Sao Paulo. Brazil: Editora tica. (Translated into English as Ethnomathematics: The art or technique of explaining and knowing by ISEm.)
D'Ambrosio, U. (2001). What Is Ethnomathematics, and How Can It Help Children in Schools? Teaching Children Mathematics, 7(6), 308.
Fleer, M., & Jane, B. (2011). Design and technology for children (J. Tylman Ed. 3rd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW, 2086: Pearson Australia.
Graham, B. (1984). Finding meaning in maths : an introductory program for Aboriginal children. AIATSIS Library, S 37/4, 24-38.
Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007). Teaching: challenges and dilemmas (J. West Ed. 3rd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Harcourt Australia.
Harrison, N. (2011). Teaching and learning in Aboriginal education (J. Anderson Ed. 2nd ed.). 253 Normanby Road, South Melbourne, Victoria 3205, Australia: Oxford University Press
Herbert, J. (2006). Indigenous learners, language and identity: implications for educators. In K. Cadman & K. O'Regan (Eds.), Tales out of school: identity and English language teaching (pp. 72-85). South Adelaide, SA: Australian Council of TESCOL Association.
Hyde, M., Carpenter, L., & Conway, R. (2010). Diversity, inclusion and engagement (2nd edition ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press.
Johnson, G. L., & Edelson, R. J. (2003). Integrating music and mathematics in the elementay classroom. Retrieved 31st May, 2016, Retreived from lesage.blogs.uoit.ca/wp-uploads/2010/08/Integrating-Math-Music-2003NCTM.pdf
Mundine, N. W. (2014). Teaching children Aboriginal kinship in maths does not add up. The Australian, (5 May, 2014). http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/teaching-children-aboriginal-kinship-in-maths-does-not-add-up/story-e6frg6zo-1226906653349
Nicholls, C. (2013). It's time we draft Aussie Rules to tackle Indigenous mathematics. Retrieved 31st May, 2016, Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/its-time-we-draft-aussie-rules-to-tackle-indigenous-mathematics-15032
Pais, A. (2011). Criticisms and contradictions of ethnomathematics. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 76(2), 209-230. doi: 10.1007/s10649-010-9289-7
Rosa, M., & Orey, D. C. (2010). Ethnomodeling: an ethnomathematical holistic tool. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 14(3), 1-5.
Ryan, J. (1992). Aboriginal learning styles: A critical review. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 5(3), 161-183. doi: 10.1080/07908319209525124
Sarra, G., Matthews, C., Ewing, B., & Cooper, T. (2011). A bilingual education policy issue; Biliteracy versus English-only literacy. In N. Purdie (Ed.), Two way teaching and learning: toward culturally reflective and relevant education (2nd ed., pp. 173-185). Victoria, Australia: ACER Press. (Reprinted from: 2012).
Siemon, D., Beswick, K., Brady, K., Clark, J., Faragher, R., & Warren, E. (2011). Teaching Mathematics: Foundations to middle years (E. Cochrange Ed. 2012 ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: OXFORD University Press: Australia and New Zealand.
Zevenbergen, R., Dole, S., & Wright, R. J. (2004). Teaching mathematics in primary school. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.


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Can you feel it coming? The fuse is lit and the hypnotic hiss is curving toward the powder keg. The explosion could be unlike anything we have seen since the violence of the late 1960s. Justice Anthony Kennedy has decided to retire and the political world appears ready to combust.
Dire? Perhaps, but consider the following. We are polarized. Our parties are unusually divided, with Democrats and Republicans now convinced of their own righteousness and their opponents' perfidy. The political rhetoric is toxic. To prove their bona fides, our politicians attack with throats full of rage. Few of them, at least in Congress, face strong challengers, so they have no need to mollify moderates.
>>Join The Columbus Dispatch Conversation and tell us what you think about what's going on in our community.
The right and the left have also invested our least political branch of government with regal authority. We expect and allow the U.S. Supreme Court to examine and rule on our most contentious and sensitive issues. Privacy, abortion, same-sex marriage and religious liberty are just a few of the matters the court manages. While court decisions shift the debate, they do not end it.
Our federal judges are pulled out of the political process to a degree. They're mostly unaccountable to voters and officeholders once on the bench. This should give them the latitude to handle things in a detached, objective fashion. However, the culture has made the court more political, so now the battle revolves around the confirmation process. Since Kennedy was the "swing vote," the stakes are higher.
There are two ways out of this moment. We could make judges more accountable to the voters. After all, we elect state and local judges, so why not federal judges? This would be, as Madison stated in Federalist 10, a remedy worse than the disease. If liberties should be disconnected from the whims of the ballot box, our judges should be as well. Besides, are we ready for Judges Judy or Jeanine to ascend to the highest court? Recent events suggest anything is possible.
Instead, we should consider a mild change in how federal judges are confirmed. The framers of our constitution envisioned the U.S. Senate as an aristocracy. Senators have longer terms of office, must be marginally older and have a more impressive set of powers than House members. The Senate was supposed to be slow, deliberate and take the long view on affairs foreign and domestic. Senators, tellingly, were not chosen by the people directly but state legislatures. This disconnected them a bit from the passions and prejudices that sometimes snake through the electorate.
The filibuster, while not in the constitution, furthered this unique role. By requiring 60 votes to close off debate, it magnified moderates in both parties. Those willing to work across the aisle not only helped get things done but provided a strong incentive for the majority party to craft legislation to appeal to at least some people on "the other side."
All this has changed. Since the 17th Amendment, senators are chosen directly, so they are now vessels for the wrath of the people. This was tolerable when both parties were fairly diverse, but as parties have drifted apart, so have senators. Unsurprisingly, we have seen a severe weakening of the filibuster. The "reconciliation" process allows some budget items to go through without the threat of a filibuster. The filibuster has also been "nuked" for judicial appointments. Presidents, so long as their parties have minimal control of the Senate, have little constraint on whom they might nominate, and senators have no motivation to compromise their rhetoric or actions.
My solution? Write the filibuster requirement into Article 2 of the U.S. Constitution. In fact, go one step farther. Article 2 requires a two-thirds vote for the ratification of treaties. Let's put judicial nominations there. Article 2 would read, the president "shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties and federal judicial appointments, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur..."
This would not eliminate strong justices from the court. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg enjoyed 96 votes, while Scalia tallied 98. Chief Justice Roberts earned 78 supporters. This mild change would require the president and Senate to approach the nomination process more soberly. They would have to measure the political context carefully. They would need to consider the connection between nominees, the "opposing" party and the public more fully. This could, over time, restore a touch of civility in an era desperately in need of it.
Mark Caleb Smith, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University


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fk automotive uk review – FK Automotive Case IH Black/White Racing Office Chair
What are the advantages of automotive reviews and who benefits from them? The answer appears to be simple. The customer is given all of the details that he may be interested in, as well as a rating of the car, so he/she seems to be the only beneficiary of automotive reviews, as they are useful instruments in making the ideal choice when purchasing a vehicle. But automotive reviews can work for the benefit of car dealers as well, as their websites will be considerably trafficked, and initiation of prospects from the part of the informed consumers – potential consumers – is more likely to happen.
When auto dealers are interested in attracting visitors to their sites, they have a great variety of ways at their disposal. A fantastic ranking made by a search engine will surely come with an increased number of visitors, but another problem still remains. How do you retain those visitors and turn them into potential clients? Good automotive reviews offer the right information the visitors require. A first step, which is quite significant, is that the prospective customers will spend quite some time reading the automotive review posted on the website. The purchase of a vehicle is an important step and deciding upon a certain car model may prove to be a complex and painstaking process. Irrespective of their financial possibilities, all of the prospective buyers feel the need to be well informed before they move on to another step, that of actually paying for the vehicle and driving it home. When researching, clients will find it useful to have access to independent automotive reviews, which will guarantee that their best interest as consumers comes first. The ideal information offered by independent automotive reviews can turn a visitor into a customer promptly, and this is what car dealers must take advantage of.
Automotive news is just another means of keeping the potential customers informed. The most recent news make the object of interest for those passionate about cars, or those researching for an automobile purchase. However, lots of people consider that the automotive reviews found on automotive sites should be trusted more than any other way of information. Consumers trust automotive sites because they know that most of the information there comes from people just like them who have something to share. Providing the consumer with the potential for writing his/her own review of a car is critical. Folks wish to make educated decisions when it comes to purchasing a car, and automotive blogs offer them the information they need.
An automotive blog isn't just a reliable source of information, but can also be available at any hour, since the internet has no limitations at all. An automotive blog provides visitors with all sorts of information, like tips for buying automobiles, maintenance, car repair and safety, environmental issues, and so forth. Some other car-related aspects may constitute the reason why people affiliate to an automotive blog. These aspects may refer to esthetics, utility or power.
An automotive blog is all the more reliable when it contains videos or photographs, or gives reference to other car sites or similar sites, showing that the customer's best interest comes first.


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London, 2nd November 2017 – Origami Energy, the UK leader in the development of a real-time marketplace for distributed energy, has won a top three Later Stage Award for the Global Cleantech Cluster Association (GCCA) award.
Origami Energy's Technology Platform automates decisions about when to change behaviour of customer's distributed energy assets in response to market requirements. The platform enables remote control of these assets in real-time. This control enables more efficient use of the assets, offering a better return on investment for the asset owner and a reduced number of assets needed to deliver grid stability, with the goal of reducing overall costs to grid operators and ultimately end consumers and ensures Origami Energy's customers gain value today and are prepared for a future with increasingly volatile electricity costs.
The annual GCCA Later Stage Award showcases best-in-class companies nominated by the GCCA cluster partners from across the globe. All companies presented in the GCCA Awards Directory have been analysed with the KeyStone Compact™ Assessment Tool.
Martin Garratt, CEO at Cambridge Cleantech, commented: "Companies cannot apply for the award and instead are nominated – this year more than 100 cleantech companies from around the world were evaluated. Considering the competition, we are particularly delighted that a Cambridge Cleantech member company, Origami Energy, has secured a top 3 winning position."
"We are honoured to have been recognised for the Global Cleantech Cluster Association award and to be selected in top 3 from such a large initial list of global cleantech companies. This award is a validation of the opportunity that our Technology Platform and real-time market place solutions can offer to electricity suppliers and electricity consumers." said Peter Bance, Chief Executive Officer at Origami Energy.
About Cambridge Cleantech
Cambridge Cleantech is the members' organisation supporting the growth of environmental goods and services or "cleantech" companies in Greater Cambridge and across the region.
Our ambitious plans are to further develop Cambridge as a leading cleantech centre in Europe and in doing so help promote the next wave of the Cambridge hi-tech cluster. Cambridge Cleantech encourages supply chain opportunities for companies in the sector, enables shared experience of innovative growth businesses and provides collective services such as access to finance, government regulatory updates and links to international partners.
For more information about Cambridge Cleantech visit: www.cambridgecleantech.org.uk
More information: Martin Garratt, CEO 07789 922487 or 01223 750017
Give us a call on 0330 726 0050 to speak to one of our experts. Alternatively you can send us a message and we'll get back to you.


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- Scoop neckline
- Roll up sleeves
- Floral print
- Made from a slub jersey fabric
- 100% polyester
- Length from (approx): 85cm/33.4"
- Machine washable
- Model is 5"9/175cm and size UK 16/EU 44
Plus Sizes: 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26-28, 30-32, 34-36
Fit & Fashion Notes:
Create a chic go-to casual look with this floral print top. In a flattering longline style, it features a simple scooped neckline with adjustable roll-up sleeves for versatility. Team with washed denim and slip-on flats for an on-trend daytime profile.
Why We Love It:
We are loving the soft hues and the feminine floral print.
- Wash at 40┬░C
- Do not bleach
- Do not tumble dry
- Iron - low heat
- Do not dry clean
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text:
Archive for the 'Entrep'ship Links' Category
A Chat with John Chambers
I wrapped things up in Cisco at the end of May and moved onto Kansas for the last week of the Kauffman Global Scholars Program '08. Before moving on however I completed my project on the Connected Technologies for the IBSG team at Cisco. Before I left I also had the privilege to talk with John Chambers (wiki, Bio, Time, Forbes) of Cisco Systems. Since January 1995, when he assumed the role of CEO, John has grown the company from $1.2 billion in annual revenues to its current run-rate of approximately $40 billion. In November 2006, he was named Chairman of the Board, in addition to his CEO role. I managed to get some of his time and attention thanks to a common friend of ours. The main question I had for him was simply what advice he would give to aspiring entrepreneurs, and what motivates him now that he is CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is below, some of which is reiterating what I had heard throughout my time as a Kauffman Global Scholar, but coming from a MNC hi-tech titan such as John really pushes the statements home:
1. Markets
– Try to catch a market in transition
– Come with the capability to differentiate yourself from your peers in a market
– Be realistic – have you got a market in transition
– Be realistic – does your business actually differentiate you from your peers
2. Team
– Its all about the quality of your team
– If you have a great team that you can motivate well – its hard not to be successful
– If you have just very average players – then its very difficult to win
When I asked him about what motivates him:
3. Motivates him now:
– Building a company that has the chance to be the best for the world, and best in the world
– Cisco's role in the hi-tech industry has the chance to really dramatically be different from any other hi-tech company in history, and also to be dramatically different in terms of how they're viewed in the world, and not only how they give back, but how they're able to partner with countries, companies and citizens in a unique way to really make a difference in their lives and the standard of living of their organisations
– He considers Cisco a family; one that works together towards common opportunities and common challenges, and its one that really cares about each other and one that is probably one of the best places to work. They watch out for each other like a family. Its making that difference that motivates him, and realising that it is a once in a life opportunity for everyone
4. Motivated him initially:
– Loves competition
– Loves building organisation
– Loves teamwork
– Loves to win
– Loves to sell (admitted candidly!)
Guy Kawasaki
In my last few weeks in California I used as many of my contacts as possible to meet with impressive business folk around the notoriously entrepreneurial bay area. One of these meetings was with Guy Kawasaki (About, Stanford, wiki, .com, blog, VC, LinkedIn, truemor, allTop, twitter). OK, so as is evident from the endless URL list this "guy" is all over the web. Guy is an evangelist, an entrepreneur, an investment banker, and a venture capitalist. He is better known for a couple of specific things: one of his books ('The Art of the Start', Video), and also for being a software evangelist (i.e. Apple). So one would assume having the privilege to meet Mr Kawasaki would inspire and motivate.
Before I proceed, a very large thank you to Kathy, "Empress of the Universe", for introducing me and arranging the meeting. If my narrative of the meeting seems a little concise this reflects the brevity of the answers and entrepreneurial insights offered by Guy – who I only can assume was having a particularly bad day.
He is a major evangelist for pursuing meaning in all aspects of business. In other words to follow ideas/concepts/businesses/plans with a fidelity that accurately reflects the meaning you see in them. His mantra both personally & professionally is to "empower people". Its fair to say his startups are in line with this given that they include two news aggregators and a VC firm (20 Million fund). Mr Kawasaki may be an evangelist but he certainly is not a futurologist, nor is he interested in projecting technologies for that matter, something I found to be very strange for a VC immersed in technology. When I asked him about conservative IP strategies versus getting to market fast he wholly encouraged me to take option 2. Build the prototype fast and get to market faster. There's isn't a lot more to recount as Guy wasn't playing ball at all! Given the disappointment from this encounter I probably also learned an important lesson – to remember to share and disseminate any acquired knowledge and experiences freely at all times with aspiring individuals who show interest. Despite this disappointment I wholly recommend his book, 'The Art of the Start' , as a must-read to anyone interested in starting a business of any kind.
Mike Milken
During the 2nd week in May the Global Scholars were hosted by the famous Mike Milken (wiki) at his lake side estate at Lake Tahoe. One's preconceptions of such an event are obviously going to be well above par given this man's reputation and illustrious path to infamy. The purpose of the trip was to expose us to one of the most successful investors/entrepreneurs the US has to offer. Mr Milken has been acclaimed with creating the market for junk bonds in the 70s & 80s. The "Junk Bond King", who according to Forbes is one of the world's top 500 richest men (estimated at 3-8 Billion), has been called the epitome of Wall Street greed. Oliver Stone has stated that his 1980s film Wall Street was based on Mike – although in my opinion the ultra-cool Gordon Gecko character over-glorifies most aspects of the man's Wall Street activities. Regardless of this, having the opportunity to meet and talk with the Junk Bond King was a unique and once off event – to be embraced and not wasted.
Mr Gecko's, sorry I mean Mr Milken's hospitality was next to none in Lake Tahoe. He put us up in his lakeside home at Incline Village and basically gave us free rein of the place. He had a personal trainer on hand to bring us for a scenic hike around tahoe. Its fair to say we were all impressed with his mansion and its impressive décor, which included thee first print of Encyclopaedia Britannica and apparently 2 of the oldest books in the world (religious illustrations)! Over the 3 days he co-hosted various entrepreneurs and investors with the Sierra Nevada College (SNC), in order to provide us with exposure to thought-leading business minds. Some of these included Bob Preger (7th Oracle employee), Roger Wittenberg (Founder of Trex), Bob Goff (Sierra Angels), Rob Loughan (Chairman of Dexterra, profile), John Osborne (CEO of Tarsin), T.J. Matthews (CEO of IGT), Andrew Hargadon (Prof at SNC), Ian Finnimore (Bally Technologies).
Mike spoke about a number of key topics over the 3 days including:
– America's changing face – Hispanic & Asian
– A new global perspective – competition for human capital
– Democratization of capital
– Capital Markets
– The most powerful face in the world
– Role of future innovation
– Human capital – the most precious asset
– Accelerating medial solutions
Milken proposed the following top 10 problems facing the world: democracy, disease, education, energy, environment, food, population, poverty, terrorism & war, water.
A couple of interesting remarks Mike made over the few days:
– A bid he put in to buy a 99 year lease of Baja California (wiki) for 40 Billion USD!! He explained that the purpose behind this was to give his organisation exclusivity in developing Baja's public services, utilities, services, schools, hospitals, infrastructure etc.
– Asian nations will make up 60% of the world's economy by 2040
– Countries with excess liquidity: Norway, Qatar, Singapore, Kuwait, Taiwan, UAE
Mike asked some of the entrepreneurs/investors in attendance to state pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Here's some of their words of wisdom:
Rob Loughan: It's the journey that counts, not the destination; Timing is everything; Surround yourself with the right people; Take advantage of chaos in the market; Start at the top end of the market (e.g. telco's, utilities) and dive down to consumer
John Osborne: Regards first mover advantage- most ideas are too early; Support networks are key- its still all about who you know!; Hang on by your fingertips!; Do something different tomorrow; Have fun; Its how you come at problems that important.
Ian Finnimore: Stay wide enough with technology offering so that business can adapt; In relation to the entrepreneurial attitude in the States Ian proposed that this was inherent in the original Pioneers that travelled across the continent creating and occupying American States.
Mike Milken: Make time to think; Your talent pool is the "flat" world; Decide when you've enough information to make a decision – when you actually have enough you're army is usually dead (General Schwarzkopf (Quotes)); One must make mistakes and have problems; Various parameters are important when discussing capital finance- markets, industry, economy, regulation, your company, but most important is society (a company's benefits to society; values; problems being solved/caused); The best time to borrow is when you don't need it; Don't rely on one customer; Opportunity is what you love; "There's more to life than increasing its speed" (Ghandi).
Sierra Angel #1: focus- small team & resources; team work; persistence
Sierra Archangel: collaboration
Sierra Angel #3: results are key; keep your ears/heart open; persist
Sierra Angel #4: listen to what the customer wants; 4 levels of interest from prospective customers (1) they'll pay you to build it (2) they'll buy it from you (3) they'll consider looking at it (4) they don't care.
Sierra Angel #5: do your due diligence/home work; build your bets "mouse trap" before seeking investment (prototype & bus => best possible investment deal); Succeed now, contribute in your 30/40s!
Sierra Angel #6: you need a superior product – keep working on it if not; exposure; easy to buy; network is critical – people & team
Sierra Angel #7: Go to market fast; Its the journey that matters
Dilemma: Rich vs King
One topic which has come up time and again during the Global Scholars program has been the issue of Rich vs King. Noam Wasserman from Harvard HBS wrote an article on "The Founder's Dilemma". It describes how most entrepreneurs want to make a fortune and run the business singlehanded. But as Wasserman reveals, it's tough to do both. If you don't figure out which matters most to you as the entrepreneur/founder, you could end up being neither rich nor in control. Consider that:
– in order to make substantial money from a new venture, you need financial resources to capitalise on the potential opportunity. That means attracting investors— which requires relinquishing control as you give away equity and as investors alter your board's membership.
– to remain in charge of your business, you have to keep more equity. But that means fewer financial resources to fuel your venture. So, you must choose between money and power. Wasserman suggests that one begins a new venture by articulating their primary motivation for starting the business. Then to understand the trade-offs associated with that goal. As your venture unfolds you must be monogamous with that goal, and make choices that support, rather than jeopardise it.
As an example, Cisco was founded by Stanford graduates Sandy Lerner and LenBosack in 1984. John Morgridge, the first CEO managed to push out the 2 founders in 1990, following difficulty between him and Lerner. Lerner has been described as a "powder keg of passion and emotion who couldn't conform to the discipline and methods of business management". Morgridge couldn't make her fit in, so she was asked to leave and Bosack soon quit thereafter. This is a good example of a Founder struggling to deal with removal from the "King" role and ultimately being forced out of the venture.
The CEO of startup XYZ who I have met in Silicon Valley, and who is at Series C VC funding, approaches his position as Founder CEO pragmatically, or at least this is what he communicates. I found his attitude very interesting – that he goes to work everyday knowing that it could be his last as CEO of the company he founded. When we met him he acknowledged that any day the VCs involved with his company could decide to replace him as CEO, and that he was willing to accept this decision. I was unsure whether I believed him but was willing to give me the benefit of the doubt. Noam Wasserman suggested that CEOs will often tell VCs that they're willing to stand aside at any time, but whether they mean this is a completely different matter!
My View: Through my training as a Global Scholar I have learned that the Founder does not encapsulate the company. One should always separate themselves from the business entity from the start. It's important to consider what's best for the business as a sole entity, separate from the interests of the founder(s). This is the approach adopted by the Stanford Enterprise Center regarding University spinouts – they actually make founders apply to the Enterprise Center in order to obtain the license for technology they themselves created – thus competing with any other company for rights to develop the technology/concept/business! This is basically the Rich approach, as apposed to King, as it necessitates relinquishing equity to foster rapid development.
This is a hard lesson to take on board in my opinion. To generate new business concepts or technologies with the altruistic view that they are separate encapsulated business entities, and to always act agnostically in the best interest of that technology or business (i.e. solving the real world pain most efficiently) is a difficult position to take. But again the decision to take this position comes back to why you're creating the business in the first place. If you're creating the business to resolve some real-world pain/problem then this should be the focus regardless of whether you're CEO or not. Letting one's ego/emotions get in the way (the King approach) of the rapid progress and development of a business (e.g. seeking VC) which solves this "pain" should perhaps be considered selfish/self-centered/egotistical? I'm not sure there's a right or wrong answer to this issue, but if you surrounding yourself with an 'A' team (including management, investors & advisory board) then I think you should certainly be able to find appropriate resolutions. Some more thoughts…
It seems ridiculous that a founder should have right of passage to the CEO position when a company is functioning and operating 100%, and is significantly funded by external entities. If one doesn't have experience in such a role, why would it make sense? Founders' passion is an essential ingredient to the persistence required at the startup phase. It can assist a founding CEO in evolving and learning rapidly on the fly. OR this emotional attachment could hinder their ability to function effectively as a MNC's CEO, and make logical decisions about the company's future.
However this is my view on the theory behind the rich vs king (Founders as CEOs) dilemma. In practice I would deal this issue dynamically, by having a candid/open/honest conversation with potential investors to discuss my intentions/desires to (not) maintain the CEO position. I would establish clear grounds under which I would maintain or relinquish the position, and the consequences of each:
– Maintain it: if milestones and targets are met. Subsequently increased job (CEO) security (and other incentives) could be provided to allow the CEO to function more effectively and under less unnecessary pressure.
– Relinquish it: a worse case scenario could be established to allow the founder to take another position in the company, perhaps as CTO or as right-hand-man to the CEO? This could take the form of the Founder "Co-CEO" using their extensive knowledge of the business and intimate understanding of it to compliment the new CEO's superior management and economic knowledge.
There may be various possible solutions to the 'Rich vs King' dilemma but I still think that having the right type of management, investment, advice team is key. This has been reiterated by alot of the thought-leaders I have encountered in the Global Scholars program. But most recently this was advice given to me by the Cisco kingpin himself – John Chambers!
Baltic Boston
Week 6: 25-29 Feb: After the eventful weekend with Peter Davies it was time to head for Boston. But before departing on Tuesday morning I organised a lunch meeting with my internship supervisor at Cisco's IBSG group, Rick Hutley, who is Global Head of the Innovations Team. Atfer lunch Rick brought me to Cisco City in San Jose. I couldn't believe how immense their campus is – there's something like 60 large building along one stretch of road! I got to meet David Evans and some other members of IBSG. I also got some insight into one of the groups projects – The Connected Bus. Dave recommended a few books for me to read:
– "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking", by Malcolm Gladwell
– "The Wisdom of Cowds", by James Surowiecki
– "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference", by Malcolm Gladwell
On Tuesday we arrived in Boston and acclimatised quickly before a busy week commenced at Harvard and MIT. On Thursday 28th we went to MIT's Entrepreneurship Center. Bill Aulet who presented to the global scholars in Kansas City during week 3 hosted us at MIT. Bill gave us a presentation on Business Planning which addressed every angle from writing an initial plan to various types of pitching them. Regards altruistic business approaches Bill suggested that "if you want to do good, do well first!" He also gave us a template for examining the value of a business proposition – which coincidentally was quite similar to that described to me previously by David Perry. Basically this consisted of analysing 5+ aspects of the business based on the opportunities and risks associated with each, including: Market (e.g. size), Execution (e.g. team, plan), Sustainable Competitive Advantage (value-add, gross margin %), Financials (e.g. ROI), Others/Misc (e.g. ethicaly, political). One very interesting statistic Bill quoted was that startups are increasingly likely to be successful for each member added to the team up to a total of 5, when the chance of success decreases again! regards business plans, he advised us to ask ourselves the following insightful questions before dedicating ourselves to a startup:
– Does it convince you?
– Am you happy spending the next 5-7 years working on the project?
– Does it convince your potential co-founders, family, customers?
– Can you explain it to your mother?!
Bill introduced to IDEO, a design consultancy based in Palo Alto, California, that helps design products, services, environments, and digital experiences. In addition IDEO is reknown for its unique approach to innovation. In 2000, the firm was the subject of the "Deep Dive" episode of ABC's Nightline; they redesigned a shopping cart in five days. Bill showed us a recording of this show and based a very interesting discussion on innovation around it. A couple of points to come from the discussion: 1) that IDEO's appraoch is fine for design but not as a management technique; 2) heterogeneity is key in a team to facilitate innovation.
On Thursday afternoon we were hosted at Harvard by the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. They gave us a brief summary of their plans for us over the coming week. Following this we had a seminar with Robin Chase from GoLoCo, Zipcar and Meadow Networks. I've been a huge fan of Robin's concepts ever since I saw a video of her presenting at the infamous TED conference series. We had a fascinating conversation about her startups, her business approaches, her views on congestion charging and green tech, as well as her concepts on mesh networks which I am particularly intrigued by!!
On Friday 29th we spent the day at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences again. In the morning we had a talk with John Akula, a Senior Lecturer of Law at the Sloan School of Management at MIT. John framed an interactive seminar around the general issues of changing jobs, with particular focus on associated legal constraints including: 1) At-will employment; 2) Trade Secrets; 3) Duty of Loyalty; 4) Non-competition agreements. We analysed two case studies with these legal issues in mind.
Friday afternoon was spent studying creativity with Rick Harriman from Synectics. He gave a seminar on an approach to creativity which uses random objects and trains of thought to come at problem areas from completely unique angles. This approach is something I've come across a few times previously during training with the Cambridge MIT Institute, and also with NICENT. The phrase I usually use to describe this method is "Reverse Invocation". Rick highly recommended the TRIZ journal.
Rubbing Shoulders in $ilicon Valley
Week5end 23-24 Feb: Over the weekend Stuart and I spent some time with Peter Davies, one of the most seasoned entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. We got on very well with Peter and as a result we ended up at his house having dinner with his family on Saturday evening. Nick McKeown who was also there gave Stuart and I some great advice on new ventures and startups. Nick is highly regarded within Silicon Valley for spinning many companies from Stanford, where he is a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (bio).
On Sunday morning we also met Peter for breakfast in Palo Alto's University Ave Café. On this occasion Peter brought David Perry along to chat with us. David is first and foremost a friendly and fun guy to chat with. Business-wise he is a titan, as is evident from his first startup – Chemdex.com (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemdex). Chemdex still holds the record for reaching a $10B valuation in the shortest time, which was at the end of 1999. Following the realisation that here was no air left in the Internet Bubble, in early 2000 the company fell to a valuation of just over $100M, and from 500 to 100 employees! It was interesting to listen to David describe how he took the company to this amazing valuation and how he coped following the crash in 2000. Read the full Chemdex story here. Not content with this he has started two companies since then and is currently in the process of making an IPO. David has impressively raised over $½Billion in VC funding since the early 90s!!!
David had a few insights into how to be a successful entrepreneur:
1.) The first is to not worry so much about what it is you are doing as long as you fulfill 2 criteria. They are that you are always learning and you are enjoying what you are doing. This mantra is true whether or not you are perusing entrepreneurial activities, or working for a company.
2.) Secondly he outlined a perspective for pitching and raising capital. The idea is to basically spell out the opportunities of the project first. No opportunity comes without risk, and if you pretend it does, any VC will laugh you out of the room. Then you focus on describing how you are going to eliminate these risks, one by one. Present risks based on their severity and potential to prevent progress. This approach tells the investor that you're not naïve about the presence of risk, and that you're aware that they're investing in your ability to mitigate these risks, one by one.
The ingenious part is once you have outlined the fantastic opportunity, prep'ed them with the risks, then instead of asking for money to pursue the opportunity, you ask for the money to eliminate the risks. So if you identify the risks in order of priority and necessity, and ask for X amount to overcome the top Y risks, you can show how strong the company will be at that stage. Inherent with this approach is transparency of preempted risks & your control of them, as well as knowledge of how much investment will be required at stages to continue to eliminate further risks. If done properly, you will organise the risks into stages (e.g. milestones within an Implementation Plan as outlined in Zoller's last seminar), and at each stage it will become easier to raise the capital required to overcome associated risks.
Finally David also warned about a situation that currently seems a long way off, and that is raising too much money! Apparently he has encountered the situation, and Peter also, where VC's wish to invest a much larger amount of capital than is required. This usually occurs when investor groups work together and all want a piece of the pie. In this situation, to support the higher valuation this causes, it is too easy to spread the company too thinly and work on products that aren't core to your business, and therefore you can lose focus on the key areas. Not something that is immediately relevant perhaps, but something to think about nonetheless.
Next Stop…..Governator Central
Week 5: 18-22 Feb: We moved onto San Jose, California, on Sunday 17th after a 6hr delay at Kansas City airport which was closed due to severe snow storms. During the delay some of us slept and some worked!! It was warmer in CA to say the least, about 20C! Monday was spent in San Fran touring about seeing most of the sites around Fisherman's Wharf. Owen and I also cycled across the Golden Gate bridge to what I think is one of the best viewing points in the city.
On Tuesday 19th we went to 'Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati', the premier legal advisor to technology and growth enterprises worldwide, as well as the investment banks and venture capital firms that finance them. Two representatives from WSGR discussed IP issues in technology ventures.
In the afternoon we visited Linden Labs, which was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a revolutionary new form of shared experience known as Second Life. Second Life is a 3D virtual world entirely created by its Residents that's bursting with entertainment, experiences, and opportunity. The Second Life Grid provides the platform where Second Life resides and offers the tools for business, educators, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs to develop a virtual presence. Headquartered in San Francisco, Linden Lab has over 200 employees spread across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Although our visit to Linden Labs was brief we had a change to get some insight into where Linden Labs is going with Second Life in the future. They were more than willing to answer all our questions. Second Life generated some interesting debate among the group. Some of the group had difficulty seeing its practical usefulness, whereas the rest of us saw endless opportunities for the platform in the future.
Wednesday 20th saw us at Biodesign, a Stanford University initiative encouraging multidisciplinary approaches to biology and medicine. Biodesign are refining a method that produces both world-class innovators and state-of-the-art medical devices. We were introduced to the biodesign leadership (incl Sandy Miller) and fellows from both the US and India. We had a chance to tour the Stanford campus during lunch before continuing with a seminar by a biodesign spinout company – Simpirica Spine. The CEO gave us some practical insight in the startup process based on his own experiences. He shared his experience of equity dilution through various rounds of investment as well as many other
On Thursday we visited Microsoft's campus in Silicon Valley where we met Dan'l Lewin, corporate vice president of Strategic and Emerging Business Development, Don Dodge from Microsoft's Emerging Business Team (& ex-Napster VP), Roy Levin Distinguished Engineer and Director, Microsoft Research Silicon Valley, as well as the general manager of the Microsoft Startup Zone. I had the privilege to chat with Roy after the formal presentations about pervasive computing and how he envisions its realisation in the future. I have my own specific thoughts on the matter but it was insightful to have a conversation with such a seasoned computing researcher and visionary.
Following the slightly rushed MS visit we went to the British consulate in San Fran. They offered us the opportunity to utilise their extensive network in Silicon Valley. Also they detailed some grant support which is available for us to attend conferences and companies in the US. In the afternoon we visited iRhythm, a biodesign startup in the medical devices area. The CMO at iRhythm, Uday, detailed some of trials and tribulations of starting a business. Uday's talk was very impressive, he provided practical and insightful advice for us going forward and starting our businesses.
On Friday we attended Stanford's Office of Technology Licensing. Linda Chao brought us through Stanford's approach to technology licensing and related equity issues. This proved a very interesting talk as probed Linda for information on how University spin-offs are handled by one of the world's leading research and teaching institutions. Basically Stanford claims IP on everything developed through the use of their resources. Not only do they pay for IP protection, such as patenting, but they are also willing to enforce IP – this being the main reason why anyone would want to license IP they generated from an institution such as Stanford.
On Friday afternoon, after a long tour of Stanford's campus we all attended the launch of Stanford's Entrepreneurship Week and their annual Innovation Tournament – which this year requires entrants to add as much value as possible to a rubber band(s) within 1 week. Prof. John Hennessy, President of Stanford, gave the introductory speech for the launch in which he talked about Karl Schramm, the Kauffman Foundation and its global role in entrepreneurship education.
Building Teams & Social Networks – Howard Aldrich
Day 16, Monday 11th Feb: Week 4 was preceded by some quality R&R in Ponca City, Oklahoma, over the weekend. Owen and I visited my girlfriends' family down there for a couple of days. Without detailing too much and shaming the Kauffman Global Scholars program for all of eternity we went to a shooting-range, were in awe at some buffalo up close, laughed at stupid prairie-dogs, felt intimidated by real cowboys at a calf roping competition, had quality BBQ, and last but certainly not least swallowed a beer or three!
Week 4 kicked off with our last seminar at the Kauffman Foundation by Prof Howard E. Aldrich titled "Building Teams and Social Networks". Howard is professor and department chair of sociology, and adjunct professor of management in the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. Prof Aldrich researches entrepreneurship, the origins of new organizational populations, gender differences in business management, organizational evolution, and the process by which entrepreneurial teams are founded. He alluded to many of these areas during his seminar with us, but focused primarily on the use of LinkedIn.com in forming strong professional networks. Howard emphasised a few points including:
– Why aren't individuals more connected?
– Overlapping ties, social barriers, uncertainty, trust
– Need a broker to make connection between you and target contacts
– Direct vs. indirect & strong vs. weak contacts
– Strong ties -> homogeneity -> easier comms -> consensus -> ignoring incumbent truths
– Weak ties ->heterogeneity -> diversity
– Contact list = weak ties -> couldn't vouch for if asked
– LinkedIn (in Howard's opinion) = strong ties -> could vouch for them
– He worked through one scenario with us of who we'd make one critical phone call to in an emergency-type situation where we could be sure that person would help
Lesa Mitchell – University $pinout$
Day 14, Thursday 6th Feb: Lesa Mitchell is VP for Advancing Innovation with the Kauffman Foundation. She has been responsible for the Foundation's frontier work in understanding the policy levers that influence the advancement of innovation from universities into the commercial market. Lesa presented various issues related to University spin-outs, but in particular she emphasised the limitations inherent in University Tech Transfer departments. She analogised that VCs specialise in niche markets and realise significant returns in this way due to comprehensive knowledge and understanding. Using this analogy she continued to emphasise that tech-transfers departments are unable to best meet the requirements of University spin-outs as they are forced to stretch themselves thin and deal with spin-outs from all departments e.g. IT, life sciences, physical sciences etc. In this structure University startups are at an immediate disadvantage.
In the past VCs played a very interactive role by directly networking (not virtual!) with academia and thus maintaining an awareness of projects relevant to their investment interests. Lesa proceeded by describing a project called iBridge Network. iBridge is recreating this approach of directly connecting VC/Fund sources to academics. "iBridge provides the transparency and access to university developed innovations that will lead to further advances and next-generation products. The Network aggregates research materials, technologies, and discoveries in an online, easy-to-search forum—the iBridge Web Site"
Entrepreneurial marketing & Sales – Bill Aulet
Day 13, Wednesday 6th Feb: Bill Aulet is a senior lecturer at MIT's Sloan School of Management and Entrepreneur in Residence at the MIT Entrepreneurship Center. He has 25 years of experience in technology business operations and financing. He started his career at IBM and then ran two private companies, Cambridge Decision Dynamics and SensAble Technologies. Most recently he helped engineer a dramatic turnaround at Viisage Technology as its Chief Financial Officer. He has created hundreds of millions of dollars of shareholder value by building focused, fundamentally sound businesses. He has raised $100 million in institutional financing via private placements and public offerings. Mr. Aulet now works with students and start-up companies to build strategies and operating plans that will create sustainable value. He has an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a graduate degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he was a Sloan Fellow.
Bill's seminar titled "Entrepreneurial Marketing & Sales"was most definitely my favourite seminar so far as a Global Scholar. His unique combination of commercial "successes" and "failures", academic excellence, and charisma makes him intriguing to listen to. When Bill started talking about this experiences my brain clicked into auto-pilot as he shared such practical and interesting knowledge with us. I felt privileged to have the opportunity to meet with him in a small seminar. Talks like Bill's are what make the Kauffman Fellowship so unique – you simply wouldn't hear it in ANY business school! His presentation was in 2 parts, with the following specific outcomes related to each part:
Part 1
1. Increase understanding of the definition of entrepreneurial marketing
– How entrepreneurial marketing differs from traditional marketing
– The different elements of marketing and what is most important to an entrepreneur
2. Increase understanding of the role of entrepreneurial marketing
– Unique and crucial role
– How integrates with other functions
3. Increase understanding of how to effectively implement this function in a new enterprise
– Framework
– Practical considerations and tradeoffs
Part 2
1. Increase understanding of the different types of customers when starting a business
2. Become comfortable with steps and elements of Entrepreneurial Marketing Implementation Framework
3. Real world case studies – SensAble Technologies & Brontes Technologies
Some of the main points Bill emphasised included the following:
Team goals
– Co-founders MUST be aware of what each member of the team wants out of the project, what their vision is, when/how they want to exit.
– There MUST be synchronicity among the team in this regard to be successful
– Being aware of this makes the journey and decision encountered easier, or at least oriented in a direction.
Market selection – need to be able to do disciplined market selection, and have the ability to deselect markets (in order to focus the business)
– Get extremely efficient at one market
– Don't sell your soul (diversify unnecessarily) for money, or payroll (easier said than done)
Raison d'Etre
– Product Innovation
– Low Price
– Customer Intimacy– 3 question to bare in mind when selecting a market
– What do we want?
– What are our competitors doing?
– What do our customers want?
– Get to know and understand the customer intimately – entrepreneurial marketing is a not a spectator sport!
– What's their real pain?
– Is it common among customers?
– Can I address it effectively in a unique way?
– Keep asking them questions….
– Customer does not imply Market! – Technology push versus market pull
– * Book: Geoffrey A Moore – 'Inside the Tornado' (Google books)
– * Book: Richard C. Dorf, Thomas H. Byers – Technology Ventures: From Idea to Enterprise (Google books)
– Categories of technology adopters – same as Melissa Schilling's description
– Bill discussed how one crosses the charm between some sales to innovators & early adopters to determining the beachhead market.
– A key thing is doing this is
– (as mentioned above) becoming "intimate" with your initial innovator customers – leverage the first pin/beachead
– Carrying out a comprehensive and tedious market analysis
– When obtaining first VC funding:
– Better to obtain too much $ than too little
– Need to be 100% confident that you can meet objectives within time with available money
– Get continuous advice from mentors as VC will abuse their dominant position dealing with a novice
– "The most important thing during funding cycles is that the team doesn't cut corners on culture"
– When crossing the chasm:
– Revenue may be reasonably high but profit will most likely be non-existent – which will be part of the plan
– Bill's marketing mantra – "Keep the main thing the main thing"
– Take the business very seriously, but not yourself
– "An entrepreneur is the person who solves the right problem at the right time"
– Reoccurring revenue is king
– Innovate on the business model – be disruptive here, not just on technology (e.g. Google)
– Bill advised us to try and maintain the attitude that "I am always open to rational business discussions"


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We only want to remember that if you want to be informed about the XVIII Salón del manga de Barcelona, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook. For the 4 days, we are going to upload and update with news related to the cosplay and Friday at 16:00 to watch our live stream Contest Cosplay, where will the representatives of the European Cosplay Gathering and Eurocosplay and you will be able to see the spanish clasification where the winner couple of WCS will be chosen in the same streaming too.
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Kim Peterson, CEO CommonSenseHealth.org
We've all heard the saying that getting started or taking the first step is the hardest part.
I've got to say that I disagree wholeheartedly.
The hardest part is following through.
When you decide that you want to be fit, healthy, energetic, and vibrant that is outstanding! You have made a decision. You have made a proclamation or a commitment.
But what it really takes is getting up to go work out when it's pitch black and freezing cold outside. What it takes is not eating the junk that is calling to you at a party or an event. What it takes is staying the course day in and day out when you don't feel like it.
When you know that you need to make improvements to your skill set with regard to your business success or your career trajectory, but you just can't seem to find the time to fit it all in. Or you attend an event get a bunch of new ideas, take some great notes and then never follow through.
Decisions are easy. FOLLOW THROUGH IS HARD.
So how do you do it? How do you DECIDE, COMMIT and then follow through?
Here are a couple of snippets from
15 Personality Traits of the Most Successful People
By Thomas Koulopoulos for Inc. Magazine …
Which I am referencing to make my point …
"A Passion for Improvement--Successful people are perpetually trying to improve themselves. They are their worst critics--never satisfied; always striving to be better. The person they most need to best is themselves."
"Being Grateful--I recall doing a series of interviews with space shuttle astronauts, incredibly successful people who had every right to be arrogant, and yet they were the most incredibly grateful people I'd ever met. They realized how fortunate they were to be where they were, and weren't shy about sharing it."
"A Desire to Give Back--One of the most rewarding things about achieving any degree of success is the opportunity to encourage and motivate others. Successful people realize that they have the power to help others increase their confidence in themselves. In doing so they create life-long loyalty that comes back many times over. Personally, nothing has amazed me as much and been as fulfilling as the support I've received from colleagues I've helped find their own success."
A commitment to never ending improvement, gratitude for all that you have … always, and the ability to give back in abundance (via positive interactions with others among other things) all can come as a result of -- the daily filling your mind with positive information and insights. From there your mindset is altered with productive rather than self-defeating thoughts, thereby leading to proactive rather than negligible follow through.
Daily discipline will get you there. Getting yourself to MOVE when you really don't feel like it and busting through self-doubt is KEY after deciding to make a big change.
Let's face it, watching the news as a daily practice, (if you can call it that anymore, more like a combo soap opera and bad reality TV, but that's a topic for another time) does nothing to encourage, uplift and instill confidence and positive motion forward.
I'm not condoning putting your head in the sand, but PLEASE find a little balance.
Here are a couple of things that I take in or apply daily which help me to move forward -- when I really don't feel like it.
Darren Daily is a super quick video (2-4 min) that is delivered via text or email, every work day where Darren reviews a quick life, success or time management lesson which is always on point and upbeat. Learn more about Darren Hardy and how you can sign up, here.
Using Mel Robbins' 5 Second Rule. You can learn more about it here. Basically, it's a technique that forces your brain to stop stalling and TAKE ACTION!
I'm only giving you 2, rather than 10. You know why? Because pick one and DO IT, that's why.
There's a ton of great stuff out there and that's a good thing, but information overload with the lack of proper action taken is not good at all so pick one and go!
And since not all things resonate with everyone, please share your favorite ways to get yourself positioned to move forward when you really don't feel like it.
What are some of your daily practices that get you engaged and motivated each day?
Kim Peterson is the Founder and CEO of CommonSenseHealth.org. Since 2009, CSH has been helping to establish an online presence while generating leads and sales for clients worldwide.
Kim has built a network of 150,000 + highly engaged subscribers, fans, for herself and hundreds of thousands more for clients; and speaks on how to build relationships online in such a way that will dramatically improve your (and your team's) overall results while opening doors to opportunities you never knew existed!
To inquire about booking Kim to speak or lead a training, please click here and offer a few details in the message area. Kim will get back with you personally to discuss.
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The Story of Healthy Life Bread
April 1991
|Healthy Life White, 100% Whole Wheat, Italian & 5 Bran Breads introduced as a diet bread: low fat, low calorie & high fiber
|June 1992
|Healthy Life White & Wheat Sandwich Buns introduced
|January 1993
|Healthy Life Sourdough Bread introduced
|June 1996
|Healthy Life's FAT FREE benefit is emphasized
|July 1996
|Healthy Life White Hot Dog Buns introduced
|June 1999
|Healthy Life discovered by consumers as lower in carbs
|March 2000
|New Look! Healthy Life Bread packaging
emphasizes lower in carbs
|February 2003
|Healthy Life Wheat Hot Dog Buns introduced
|April 2003
|Healthy Life Sugar Free 100% Whole Wheat Bread introduced
|February 2004
|Healthy Life Oat Bran Whole Grain Bread introduced
|September 2004
| Healthy Life Whole Grain Rye Seeded & No Seeds
Breads, 100% Whole Grain Wheat Flaxseed Bread
with Omega-3 & Natural Whole Grain 100% Whole
Wheat Bread introduced
|December 2004
|New Look! Healthy Life Bread packaging emphasizes Reduced Calories & High Fiber
|February 2005
|Healthy Life Bread becomes available in the Northeast
|March 2005
|Healthy Life Light English Muffins & 100% Whole Wheat Light Bagels introduced
|April 2005
|Healthy Life Wheat Sandwich Buns & Wheat Hot Dog Buns introduced in the Northeast
|December 2005
|Healthy Life Natural 100% Whole Grain Flaxseed Bread
& Natural 100% Whole Grain Farmer's 12 Grain Bread
introduced. Southern Country Style All Whole Grain
Breads, Buns & Dinner Rolls joined the Healthy
Life family.
|July 2006
|Whole Grain Stamp featured on whole grain Healthy Life products
|December 2006
|New Look! Healthy Life 100% Natural Whole Grain Breads emphasizes Heart Healthy Whole Grains
|September 2008
|Healthy Life Double Fiber 100% Whole Grain Reduced-Calorie Breads introduced
|October 2008
|High Fructose Corn Syrup removed from all Healthy Life breads
|November 2008
|Healthy Life Southern Country Style line gets a new name: Healthy Life Soft Style Bread. Packaging updated with a new look.
|June 2009
|Healthy Life Bread Facebook Page created to share news with our fans: www.facebook.com/healthylife
|September 2009
|Healthy Life Soft Style and Original
Dieter's Dream Light Bagels are
introduced along with the Healthy
Life 100% Wheat and Original
Dieter's Dream Light Multi-Grain
English Muffins. Healthy Life Bread
expanded distribution to portions of GA,
NC, SC, VA and WV through Kroger stores.
|May 2010
|New Healthy Life website launched!
|July 2010
|Healthy Life Made with Whole Grain White Sandwich and Hot Dog Buns introduced. New 20oz size and Honey Wheat variety of Healthy Life Double Fiber added to the product line-up.
|April 2011
|Healthy Life Bread celebrates 20 years!
>> Affiliations
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Qualified Contestant List – School Administrators must submit the list of qualified the sixteen (16) competitors to the State Qualifying Meet managers by entering the sixteen team members on their school profile page through www.wiaa.com/mywiaa and clicking Tournament Registration under My Tasks. The school athletic director has access to this site. The deadline for submission is the Thursday prior to the State Qualifying Meet. Substitutions will not be allowed after the sixteen names have been submitted. When a team qualifies to the State meet, that official roster will be forwarded with all the other qualified entrants to the State Meet Manager. The roster submitted at the respective qualifying meet will be the school's roster for the State Meet. No substitutes are allowed. This information will be submitted to the State Qualifying Meet Manager at the beginning of your meet. The same sixteen athletes will be the only members allowed to compete at the State meet once the form is submitted to on the WIAA website.
Qualification Procedure – Gymnasts must compete in an event in order to qualify to compete in the next level of competition.
Qualifying and State Meet Competition General Rules
1. Current WIAA Rule Book for Gymnastics will be used at all Qualifying and State Meet Competitions.
2. Team Composition: A team consists of six competitors per event, including any all-around competitors, with five (5) scores counting, and a maximum of sixteen (16) competitors per team. a. All team support personnel (i.e. coaches, assistant coaches, managers, medical personnel, etc) are expected to dress in professional attire at all times while on the competitive floor or warm-up area. b. All athletes are expected to wear only their official team leotard or team sweats while on the competitive floor or warm-up area, including the march in, march out and awards ceremonies. Athletes in street clothes or other non-gymnastics attire will not be allowed onto the competitive floor or into the warm-up area. Coaches and medical personnel must have a visible WIAA credential in order to be allowed onto the competitive floor or warm-up area.
3. Team substitutions are permitted from within the sixteen person team roster submitted; once a gymnast is substituted, she is out of the event only.
Once a contestant has qualified for an event, participation is required in that event at the State Qualifying Meet and State Championship Meet. If the contestant does not compete then the contestant will be disqualified from the rest of the meet and the team shall forfeit all individual and team points earned in any event.
4. Entries and Registration: The Meet Director of each of the state qualifying meets will compile the list of qualifiers for the State meet and e-mail the list to the State Meet Director immediately following the qualifying meet.
5. Order of Competition a. The rotation order of individual competitors will be determined by the meet manager. b. The event order for each team session will be determined by a draw. The order of competitors on each team will be determined by the coach. c. All-Around and Individual Event Qualifiers will be divided into equal groups at the discretion of the meet director with competitors from the same school grouped together.
6. Scoring a. Team Scores will be determined by adding the five (5) top scores from the six (6) competitors for each team per event: vault, bars, beam, and floor. b. Individual Event Scores: Judges may score to the nearest hundredth (0.00). The placement in the individual events will be determined by the average score for each competitor. All ties will advance to the next level of competition with the scores carried out to the nearest thousandth (0.000). c. Individual Event Averages - Each judge will compute his/her own start value. The score for an individual event will be determined from the judges' scores. All judges' scores (whether 2, 3 or 4) must be within specified ranges. d. All-around totals will be determined by adding the average scores of the four all-around events (vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise).
7. Scoring Procedure a. Entry cards shall be provided to the head coach of each competing team (one card for each event). Entry cards will be given to the event score tables prior to competition. b. Master Score Table –This table shall be isolated from spectators and other interference. The Master Scorer's duties are to: 1. Receive and check the accuracy of all event cards. 2. Ensure accuracy of scoring program. 3. Input any corrections in the scoring program. 4. Determine team scores for each event. 5. Determine the top sixteen (16) gymnasts (by their scores) to advance to the finals in the 16 entry tournament. Determine the top eight (8) gymnasts (by their scores) to advance to the finals the 8 entry tournament. c. Inquiries: Score inquiries are permitted in accordance with the WIAA Rule Book for Gymnastics.
Jury of AppealsThe jury of appeals will be comprised of the Meet Director, Meet Referee (President of Jury), Head Judge, a neutral Judge and a neutral coach.
Selection of Judgesa. There shall be two (2) judges per event.b. The Meet Referee and all officials will be selected by the WIAA.c. The selections of the judges will be based on the WIAA Selection Procedure and judges must meet one of the following criteria: 1. The judge must hold a minimum rating of a USA Gymnastics Level 9. 2. The judge must have been an active registered WOA official in gymnastics in Washington for the most recent ten (10) consecutive years if he/she has never had a USA Gymnastics rating of Level 8 or higher. 3. The judge must have been an active registered WOA official in gymnastics in Washington for the most recent five (5) consecutive years if he/she has ever had a USA Gymnastics rating of Level 8 or higher.
Evaluation FormThe New Move Evaluation form is required on the floor. This New Move Evaluation Form must be provided to the Meet Referee for pre-meet discussion. A copy should be kept by the head coach to verify the actual difficulty attempted while his/her gymnast performs.
Results will be available on the WIAA website after each session and at the conclusion of the meet.
Meet Packets: Each head coach is encouraged to pick up the team packet at the coaches' meeting.
Flash photography is prohibited during the State Meet. After appropriate warning announcements have been made, violators may be asked to leave the facility by the Meet Manager and/or Meet Referee.
Programs: It is the coaches responsibly to submit team photos and rosters by the published deadline. Souvenir programs may be purchased at the State meet. One copy shall be included in each coach's packet.
Awards: The awards presentation schedule may be changed at the discretion of the meet manager. Friday - Team, all-around and academic awards will be presented. Saturday - Individual awards will be presented at the conclusion of competition.
Ties: In case of ties, all contestants will receive the appropriate place awards.
COACHES RESPONSBILITIES & ETHICS1. Coaches are expected to conduct themselves with decorum and self-control at all times.
2. If a coach persists in unruly conduct or inappropriate behavior, he or she may be warned. The team or individual gymnast from that team may receive a 0.3 deduction for each misconduct following the official warning. The Meet Referee at the Qualifying or State meet and the Head Judge at the dual, tri and quad meets shall assess the deduction. 3. Consistent misconduct will result in the coach being removed from the competitive floor by the Meet Referee or Meet Manager. 4. Coaches may not approach the scoring table at any time during the competition to ask for scores. This request should be handled by the Meet Manager.
Participant Information for State Meet AnnouncerCollect pertinent information regarding the individuals and the team-- information such as years an individual has competed, highest past scores or all-around average, other relatives involved in gymnastics, past records, injuries and/or comebacks, etc. Be prepared to turn in this data sheet to the State Meet Manager on the first day of competition.


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Many people often ask why was the grand Bank of New Zealand building destroyed?
Background from Lost Landmarks of Thames (by A Barker & D Wilton):
"Banks were soon established at The Thames when the goldfield opened. This included the Bank of Zealand (1868), Bank of New South Wales (1868), National Bank of New Zealand (1873), and Australia and New Zealand Bank Ltd (1877).
The Bank of New Zealand first opened February 1868 in the town of Shortland, Thames. The Manager was Mr H F Christie and it was described as a three-room wooden building in Pollen Street. This Shortland agency was closed 1st April 1871. As more gold was discovered the area of Grahamstown became an important business area and the bank opened a branch there on 13th February 1869. Around April 1870 the Grahamstown branch moved into a grand new building on the corner of Brown and Albert Street. The bank had a gold office and assay room.
As things declined economically in Thames, the Bank of New Zealand moved back to the Shortland area of Pollen Street, to the corner of Sealey and Pollen Street; where they still operate today. Early managers of the bank were: H F Christie (1868), T L Murray (1869-1893), W Burton (1893-94), and A Smith (1894-1907)."
Then & Now: The photo below allows us to see the old bank once more, proudly standing where now a house and old hall are located. On the left the old Wharf (aka Park and Lady Bowen) Hotel. In the distance the old Royal Hotel and the old Lady Bowen Hotel on the centre right.
The Bank building was demolished in the late 1920s, when it was no longer required. The construction in some ways just a two sided facade, and the material used was soft and by then in poor, crumbling condition.
Now a Lion's Heritage sign marks the site of the once important 'Bank of New Zealand.'


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First Look: Burberry Spring Summer 2012 Campaign by Mario Testino
Ad Campaign: Burberry
Season: SS12
Models: Eddie Redmayne and Cara Delevingne
Photography by Mario Testino
Website: www.burberry.com
First look of Burberry Spring Summer 2012 campaign featuring Cara Delevingne joined by British actor Eddie Redmayne for a shoot by legendary fashion photographer Mario Testino. Starting January new images will be introduced every month throughout the season. While Cara is a Burberry regular since SS11, Eddie has previously appeared in Burberry's SS08 ads.
Click HERE to see the SS12 collection presented during London Fashion Week.
oh, very cool Burberry campaign! So hot models
he is so cute i love this.


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MJV Pollinator Ambassador Shirt
Be a pollinator ambassador with this one of a kind monarch t-shirt. The monarch dissolving into bees and other pollinators symbolizes the connection monarchs have to all pollinators. By creating habitat for monarchs, we support pollinators of all kinds!
Proceeds from this shirt will support the Monarch Joint Venture's national monarch conservation efforts. Image designed by Emily Holt.
Please note: the women's sizes run small! We recommend ordering two sizes larger than you would usually buy of the unisex style shirt. The women's small is a great size for kids!
**The Monarch Lab is located at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus and does not function like a major online retailer. We are a very small staff of just 2-3 people. We aim to pack up and ship your order within 3-5 business days, however shipping may be delayed a week or more due to workshops, staff travel and holidays, especially during the busy summer months (May-August).
***We are unable to process online orders from outside the United States at this time. Please contact the store manager at email@example.com or call (612) 625-8304 to place your order via email or phone.


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|We store our molds face down to keep out dust & debris.
Here is a step by step of the process.
Remember we are a mom and pop team so no assembly lines or automation just hard work!!
|I mix enough 2 part Urethane rubber for about 12 molds.
|Clean Molds are sprayed with release.
|Now I fill to the ledge.
|The "Beast" will hold 24 molds.
The molds are vacuumed to remove all of the little air bubbles so that they don't stick to the surface of the detail.
"Don't want it to look like a face has a wart on it's nose :)"
Left: The gauge shows that the chamber has reached maximum vacuum. At this point air is being pulled out of the rubber and looks like it is boiling!
|Molds are set out to cure
|Branding time!!!
|Best Flexible Molds, Best Flexible Molds, Best Flexible Molds
|Pulling molds
|Ready to trim, notice the edges
|I used to trim with scissors, this is much better.
Branding is done with an indelible ink that will stick to the rubber.
Even if the packaging is gone, you can tell who made the mold.
|Molds have a little excess after pouring.
|Clean edges and ready to package and ship.
A standard paper cutter removes all of the edges left on the mold.
That's it!
You can see them all on our website Best Flexible Molds.


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Homes and Communities
Cobb County: Abundant Nature and Suburban City Living
by Muriel Vega
Located just 30 minutes from downtown Atlanta, Cobb County offers all the perks of suburban life with a city-like atmosphere. Residents enjoy Cobb's low cost of living, access to nature, great educational options and rich history. Built around the Chattahoochee River and bordering Cherokee County and Fulton County, Cobb County is part of the core five-county metro Atlanta area.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Cobb ranks as the most educated county in the state of Georgia. And with good reason: Cobb County houses 13 of Newsweek Magazine's 2010 Best Public High Schools, including Walton High School and Marietta High School.
The city of Marietta boasts one of Georgia's first charter school systems, allowing local officials more flexibility with student curriculum. And its top-notch school district attracts small businesses, making it even more attractive. Cobb is also home to such recognized universities as Southern Polytechnic State and Kennesaw State, which offers 43 bachelor's degree programs and Georgia's only doctorate in Business
Big City With a Small-Town Feel
Marietta, the largest city in Cobb County, allows residents to enjoy both the conveniences of a bustling metropolis and the comforts of small-town living. With a median home price of around $160,000, it's easy to find affordable housing. And some of that housing is quite beautiful: Marietta claims more than 150 antebellum and Victorian-style homes.
The heart of the city is the historic Marietta Square, which serves as both park and town center, lined with boutiques, museums, shops and restaurants. Theatre in the Square stages high-quality productions in an intimate, 225-seat space, while the Earl Smith Strand Theatre, a renovated art deco movie house reopened in 2009, hosts musical productions, classic movies and concerts. Hemingway's Bar & Grill, a casual eatery with a nautical feel, is a favorite landmark offering live music on weekends. The Historic Marietta Trolley offers one-hour tours showcasing antebellum homes, the Gone with the Wind museum and the battlefields at Kennesaw Mountain.
Marietta is mostly accessible by Interstate 75 South. If driving is an issue, Cobb County Transit connects the suburbs with the City of Atlanta. With eight available park-and-ride shuttles around the county, it's easy to hop a bus into the big city and transfer to MARTA, Atlanta's public rail system.
Outdoor Pursuits
For those with an interest in history and the outdoors, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park offers more than 2,800 acres of green space, with three areas commemorating the Civil War battle fought on the property (and from which the park takes its name). A recently expanded museum displays rare artifacts and weapons from the era, and screens a short film on General Sherman's Atlanta campaign and the Battle of Kennesaw. Relic hunting is prohibited, but visitors can take self-guided cellphone audio tours. Runners and hikers can enjoy more than 17 miles of trails, while the rest of us can drive to the top of the mountain on weekdays (there's also a shuttle on weekends).
Another outdoor option is the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, which offers bike trails as well as mountain biking for more daring riders, and even horseback riding on Bowman's Island. Rafts, canoes, kayaks and other small boats are allowed on the water, and there are also boat rentals available for those keen on fishing or getting to know the river.
The nearby Sweetwater Creek State Park offers more than nine miles of trails with varying levels of difficulty. The red trail follows the stream down to the ruins of the Manchester Manufacturing Company, a textile mill that burned during the Civil War. The park rents kayaks and canoes in the summer, and fishing supplies are available in the park's bait shop.
Cobb Means Business
Cobb County has a strong small business presence, with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce being one of the largest in the state, boasting more than 250,000 members. With programs for discounted employee health insurance, an Office Depot Discount Program and the Small Business of the Year annual awards program, Cobb offers great incentives for entrepreneurs to grow their dream businesses within its borders.
The area's commercial center is a stretch of real estate anchored by the Cobb Galleria Centre, a convention and shopping center with specialty shops that connects to another retail shopping destination, Cumberland Mall, via a pedestrian sky bridge. The Cobb Galleria Centre is also connected to two hotels, the Sheraton Suites Galleria and the four-star Renaissance Waverly Hotel. This concentration of businesses also features the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, a prominent entertainment venue that hosts concerts and Broadway shows and is also the home of the Atlanta Opera and the Atlanta Ballet.
For those who want to be closer to Atlanta,Smyrna is located about 10 miles from the city and can be reached by I-285. Smyrna boasts a younger demographic than the rest of the county, with a median home price of around $200,000. Williams Park, one of its oldest neighborhoods, houses many Victorian and historic homes and is only a short walk from downtown Smyrna and the Market Village, with many homes in the upper $300's. For a more traditional suburban plan, Bennett Woods has more than 300 homes, all traditional brick ranches built in the '60s and '70s.
In the heart of Smyrna's downtown, the mixed-use Market Village development sports an open, airy vibe thanks to a walkable combination of family-friendly green space and a town center. Market Village also features 16 townhomes, 40,000 square feet of office space and another 18,000 square feet of retail space.
Cobb County offers everything from great education options, affordable housing and a high quality of life to small-business opportunities and a vibrant commercial and entertainment complex. Its many parks and green spaces put you close to nature without taking you too far away from the always-buzzing county seat of Marietta, one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Why choose one world or the other, when Cobb County gives you both?


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Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza, who was once linked to Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, has got engaged to her childhood friend and Hyderabad-based businessman Mohammed Sohrab Mirza. The two exchanged rings at an engagement ceremony on Friday night. Sohrab Mirza, 23, an MBA student and son of a city-based businessman.According to sources, the engagement ceremony was held at a star hotel in Hyderabad. Her relatives and close friends of the two families had attended the event.
Indian tennis ace appeared dazzling in emerald green and gold coloured Shantanu & Nikhil, Swarovski-studded ghagra. Badminton player P Gopichand, D Purandareswari, D Venkateshawara Rao, actor Vishnu and GVK Reddy were present on the occasion. Although the elaborate security arrangements were made for the function, two youths tried to create nuisance by stating that they were in love with her. They demanded her family to cancel the engagement. Finally, the police cooled down the situation by arresting the two guys.The policemen did not allow the mediapersons to enter the hotel.
So many photographers and camera journalists of national and regional TV channels had to wait at the gates of the hotel.However, Sania Mania was earlier linked to actor Shahid Kapoor after he split with actress Kareena Kapoor. They were spotted together even in some hot spots. Their relationship didn't last long. She was also said to appear in a five-minute cameo role opposite the telugu actor Naga Chaitanya's debut film.


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