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Thursday, February 28, 2008
IQMS prospers with niche industry ERP focus
I don't have a lot of time for "product briefings," but I did take time this morning to speak with Randy Flamm (President) and Glenn Nowak (Vice President) at IQMS.
IQMS is a small (80 person) enterprise system vendor, based in Paso Robles, CA. It is one of those ERP providers that the vendor consolidation wave seems to have passed by. So, I was interested to know how they had managed to stay in business, with so many of their peers being swallowed up by larger vendors.
According to Flamm, IQMS has not only survived but thrived by serving a few targeted industries with a full-function system that fills most if not all of customer needs, and providing good technical performance. It also helps that the firm is privately held and not beholden to the demands of private equity firms, venture funds, or public shareholders.
Target industry focus
The firm started in 1989, catering to plastics manufacturers. Since then they have expanded their focus to small and mid-size automotive suppliers, packaging manufacturers, and medical device makers, in particular.
I'm a fan of the niche approach to enterprise systems. It allows the developers to focus deeply on the requirements of the niche and really gain subject-matter expertise on the problems and issues of those customers.
IQMS's niche focus has driven them to try to address as many needs of its customers as it can. As a result, it has a pretty wide footprint of functionality for such a small vendor, providing extended enterprise applications such as asset management, EDI, warehouse management, and even shop-floor equipment monitoring--functionality that you don't even see in vendors that are much, much larger. They have even introduced mesh networking into some of their asset management, WMS, and shop floor systems.
Now, having said that, I'm sure there are major gaps in IQMS functionality for some clients, especially once you get outside of its target niche. But that's the beauty of a niche strategy. IQMS doesn't have to be all things to all customers. It only needs to be all things (or most things) to a few customers.
IQMS's big footprint of functionality means that it generally doesn't have to reach out to partners to provide complementary products, though it does use Crystal Reports for end-user reporting. Nevertheless, functionality such as EDI, where many larger vendors rely on third-party providers, is offered as part of IQMS core product set. This allows a much greater degree of integration with the rest of IQMS, for processes such as outsourcing management, where product may move through multiple levels of supply chain management. IQMS provides visibility to this material in the supply chain, relying on advanced shipment notices (ASN) in its EDI capabilities to track the movement.
Another point of functionality that is quite interesting, if true. IQMS claims support for multiple facilities, multiple languages, and multiple currencies that I find unusual for such a small vendor. I drilled down a bit on each of these and heard all the right noises (facility-specific planning on a single database instance, double-byte for support of Chinese, ability to specify language by user in a single system, etc.). Again, this level of sophistication is customer driven, as even small manufacturers in this age need to operate parts of a global supply chain.
Technical architecture
Flamm spent quite a bit of time describing IQMS's technical performance, which he sees as important part of his value proposition. The product was originally written in Delphi (from the client server days) over an Oracle database, in a two-tier architecture, with all business logic residing on the server. The product is now largely rewritten in Visual Studios .NET, which gives it a Microsoft development framework, while still using Oracle on the back end. He claims this configuration results in transaction processing that is very fast, much faster than if IQMS had adopted a service-oriented architecture (SOA), and that processing speed is an important criterion in customers selecting IQMS.
Does the reliance on Oracle cost IQMS sales to prospects, especially smaller companies that are standardizing on MS SQL Server? Flamm thinks prospects are more focused on the solution than on the technology, and that the database system doesn't matter. (However, later in the discussion he indicated that he doesn't see Microsoft Dynamics competing in many deals, which tells me he may not be getting to the table where the prospect has a decided preference for MS SQL Server.)
Can IQMS Compete?
IQMS shows that it is still possible to successfully own and operate a small ERP development and sales organization. It claims about 500 customers in its installed base, with about 50 new deals last year, and a 98% customer retention rate. I believe the math works out that they would double in seven years at that pace.
All sales and professional services are delivered direct in North America, and through resellers/partners in Europe and the Far East. The target market is manufacturers in its niche industries between $20 million and $500 million in annual revenue. I would have doubted the upper end of that range, but with the claimed "multi-multi" support, I am more likely to believe it.
Nowak says that he sees Epicor, Syspro, and Plexus in deals, along with Oracle and SAP of course. He is particularly happy with a win against SAP in a 10-day demo shoot out for a $500 million automotive manufacturer last year. Consona (Made2Manage) has not been seen as much as a year or two ago. QAD is seen more in the medical device sector than in automotive, which surprises me. (I'm sure each of these vendors will have a different perspective, of course. I'm just reporting here, not endorsing).
How has IQMS avoided being swallowed by larger vendors? The firm is privately held, so they can simply say no to offers. Not that they haven't had any. Flamm says he gets hit up two or three times a month by private equity and venture capitalist firms that would like to invest in IQMS.
I haven't had a chance to review IQMS's product, nor have I seen them in a competitive situation. But for a small to mid-size manufacturer in the automotive, medical products, or plastics industries, I'd definitely put them on the short list for consideration.
If you've got first-hand experience with IQMS, please drop me a message or leave a comment on this post (link to comments is below).
Related posts
Making money in software with a niche-industry strategyby Frank Scavo, 2/28/2008 02:17:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008
SAP winning BI customers from Oracle
SAP is now claiming that it is gaining customers at the expense of Oracle and Oracle's new business intelligence acquisition, Hyperion.
SAP reports that over the past several months more than 100 customers worldwide have chosen SAP for enterprise performance management with the intention to replace Hyperion solutions. It lists a number of wins specifically in its press release linked above.
Josh Greenbaum has some interesting commentary on SAP's claim. He thinks that it reflects a shift in tactics on the part of SAP, to more aggressively counter Oracle and its attempts to dislodge SAP from its position as the leading provider of enterprise systems worldwide.
He also points out that SAP may have even more success in winning business intelligence customers from Oracle in the future:What's interesting about SAP's Hyperion wins is that they had nothing to do with Business Objects technology — all of them were recorded before the acquisition was complete. So the folks at SAP are promising an even stronger position vis-a-vis Oracle as the BO product line starts to make its way into the hands of SAP's sales force.Business intelligence is an interesting battleground for SAP and Oracle. Companies deciding on a new ERP system rarely make business intelligence the primary factor driving the decision. But for large enterprises that have both Oracle and SAP in various parts of the organization, the choice of a unified business intelligence platform could shift the balance of power from one vendor to the other. Ultimately, it could lead to standardizing on one ERP vendor or the other.
How this will all end with respect to Oracle's and SAP's market position is anyone's guess at this point. But I think it's healthy to see a little balance restored in the marketplace of ideas: the onus is now on Oracle to prove that it's gaining ground on SAP, and I can't wait to see what they come up with. Not just because it provides fodder for this and many other blogs, but because it charges the companies' respective customer bases with a little skepticism and some healthy doubt about how one-sided any part of the enterprise software market is at any given time. The rivalry between SAP and Oracle is complex, nuanced, and constantly evolving. Today we saw another example of how this statement becomes more true with every day.
Senior executives don't enter purchase orders, process credits and debits, or release shop orders. But they do interact with enterprise performance management applications. Business intelligence is the one enterprise application that senior executives--the ultimate decision makers--use on a day to day basis. Therefore, whether an executive uses a business intelligence solution from Oracle or SAP is a big deal. So, it's no wonder that these two vendors are going after each other for BI mind-share.
Related posts
SAP to buy Business Objects
Oracle hustles Hyperion
IBM buying Cognos
Two more business intelligence vendors are hooking up
Vendor consolidation hits business intelligence sectorby Frank Scavo, 2/26/2008 07:15:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Sunday, February 24, 2008
Microsoft-Yahoo: What would Larry do?
I haven't written anything about Microsoft's bid for Yahoo, because it doesn't have an enterprise systems focus. But an article by Randall Stross in the New York Times this morning takes the story down a different path. It argues that if Microsoft wants to do a big deal, a much better target would be SAP.
Stross reasons that if Larry Ellison were running Microsoft, he most certainly would be pursuing SAP instead of Yahoo. The logic: SAP would greatly strengthen Microsoft's relationships with the world's largest corporations, strategically more valuable than picking up Yahoo's millions of free email users.
Stross also quotes me regarding a potential Microsoft-SAP merger:It's amusing to note that the most Larry-like choice, Microsoft's acquiring of SAP and leaving it alone as an autonomous division to avoid a cross-cultural integration fiasco, is the course that would be most discomfiting to Oracle. Frank Scavo, president of Computer Economics, an information technology research firm, in Irvine, Calif., said that "a Microsoft-SAP combination would be Oracle's worst nightmare."However, as I wrote back in December, I still believe that a Microsoft-SAP merger is unlikely, for four reasons.
So, for now, I think Larry can sleep peacefully.
- It is unlikely to pass antitrust scrutiny in the U.S. and especially in the European Union, where SAP is headquartered.
- It also represents a clash of cultures even greater than the difference between Microsoft's and Yahoo's. At least Microsoft and Yahoo have historical roots as consumer businesses.
- SAP's technical infrastructure (J2EE) is entirely different than Microsoft's (.NET). If Microsoft were to acquire SAP it would either need to completely rewrite SAP's applications (no small feat, even for Microsoft) or allow them to co-exist with its own, undermining its efforts to establish .NET as a dominant platform.
- Microsoft's previous foray into selling enterprise applications has already been, in Microsoft's own words, "a humbling experience." This, despite predictions that Microsoft's acquisition of Great Plains and Navision would lead to Microsoft's dominance of the business applications market. Does Microsoft really want to go further down that road?
Related posts
Rumor mill: Microsoft to acquire SAP
Microsoft and SAP: the merger that didn't happen
Microsoft: selling enterprise software is a "humbling experience"by Frank Scavo, 2/24/2008 09:10:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Friday, February 22, 2008
More on Epicor's management changes
On Wednesday's post regarding Tom Kelly's move into Epicor's CEO spot, replacing George Klaus, an anonymous commenter points out that Klaus's departure "had been announced for over a year."
A quick search (which I should have done yesterday before posting) does find an Epicor press release from 2005 that refers to long term succession planning and implies the departure of Klaus sometime after 2007:Epicor...today announced the promotion of three senior executives designed to continue to support the company's successful growth and market expansion and to solidify the long term succession planning for the organization. The company also announced that George Klaus will remain Epicor chairman and chief executive officer through 2007.The press release doesn't indicate who Klaus's replacement will be, but the clear implication is that it would be one of the three executives newly promoted. One of the three was including Mark Duffell, who moved into the post of President and COO. Duffell's departure from Epicor was announced yesterday, along with Klaus's transition out of the CEO role.
So, the most likely explanation is that Duffell was considered for the CEO role and, for whatever reason, was passed by. That would explain why his departure was announced at the same time as Kelly's move into the CEO position.
It's not possible to confirm my theory at this time. Managing Automation has a more extensive report on the management changes at Epicor, but notes that Epicor is refusing requests for interviews with either Kelly or Klaus. This again would be consistent with a transition that was not entirely happy.
Investors seem to see it the same way, as Epicor's share price fell 2.84% on the news of the management change, to $11.99. Yesterday, two days later, the stock closed at $11.73.
Still the question remains: why the need for fresh leadership? I speculate that reported quality and support problems with Epicor's Vantage product may be part of the equation. I saw first-hand such problems several years ago, and a quick check of Internet chatter shows that the reports continue.
Again, if readers have further insights, I'd love to hear them.
Related posts
Epicor replaces CEO and COO: why?by Frank Scavo, 2/22/2008 07:03:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Epicor replaces CEO and COO: why?
Epicor announced yesterday that Tom Kelly, a member of Epicor's board, is replacing longtime CEO George Klaus. Klaus will remain as Executive Chairman of the board. Although Klaus is quoted in the press release saying that the move is "the culmination of a carefully architected succession plan," I don't know of any prior public indication that this transition was imminent. Normally, when an organization plans to switch CEOs, there is plenty of warning.
Adding to the mystery, in the same press release, the firm revealed that Epicor's President and COO, Mark Duffell, is "leaving to pursue other opportunities." Generally, this is a polite way of saying that an executive was asked to resign, although we have no way to know whether it is true in this case. Kelly will assume Duffell's role of President in addition to Klaus's role of CEO.
It's hard to pin these management changes on poor quarterly performance. Epicor just announced fourth quarter results that were positive. Earnings were up 14%, driven by new license revenue, and profits were in line with Wall Street expectations. In addition, the firm just completed its acquisition of NSB Retail Systems, which should significantly improve its portfolio of offerings for the retail industry, a potentially fertile niche.
So, why the sudden need to replace two top executives at Epicor? If you have a theory, let me know.
Update, Feb. 22. See my Epicor follow up post on this subject.
Related posts
Epicor expands presence in retail sectorby Frank Scavo, 2/20/2008 12:47:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Friday, February 15, 2008
All not sweet with NetSuite
NetSuite is probably the second best-known example of a vendor offering enterprise applications under a SaaS model, after Salesforce.com. The company was founded in the late 1990s as NetLedger, but later changed its name to NetSuite to avoid the financials-only connotation of its original name. Larry Ellison is a major shareholder.
Though the company has gotten a lot of media attention in its attempts to disrupt the business applications market, things may not be going as swimmingly as the firm's press releases indicate.
Jason C, notes on his blog, that NetSuite appears to be losing customers:In scanning the company's S-1 filing with the SEC there is a note that the customer base was "over 5,400". That should have caught my eye. It didn't. But today, reading the earnings press release I saw the company added 432 customers during Q4, bringing the customer count to "over 5,600". Interesting. I would not have expected it to be 5,832 as there has to be some churn in this business. But what does it say when your rate of churn is about half of your customer add rate?He further points out that a 2003 press release on NetSuite's website indicates their customer count at that time was 6,000.
So, either NetSuite was (ahem) exaggerating its customer count in 2003, or else it has fewer customers today than it did five years ago.
Jason points out that the apparent drop in customers is a confirmation of customer dissatisfaction, as indicated in two posts on Dennis Howlett's blog. Read the first post and the second one to get an idea of the problems being reported: salespeople over-promising, pricing surprises, and post-sales support problems.
My take
Most of the problems sound like a throw-back to the bad old days of ERP in the 1990s. Few of them appear to be unique to the SaaS model. If legitimately reported, they appear to be the result of an organization under a lot of pressure to make its revenue numbers.
On the other hand, small and mid-size businesses--where NetSuite is focuses--are not exactly the most sophisticated buyers of enterprise systems. I suspect there are many false expectations for how easy it will be to implement NetSuite, likely encouraged by a sales force eager to close deals.
NetSuite has responded to Howlett's commentary on the drop in customer counts by pointing out that its most recent press release is talking about "active customers" only. However, that explanation doesn't fly in my book. Whether active, or newly-sold-but-not-implemented, or inactive, the fact remains that NetSuite's reported customer count today is less than it trumpeted five years ago.
I have great long-term hopes in the on-demand model for enterprise applications. But it won't succeed if vendors oversell and under-deliver.
For raw unfiltered commentary, see this feedback on an old Business Week article that is still getting comments. Note: there's no way to verify that comments are actually being written by NetSuite customers. Still, it's a pretty sad commentary.
There's even a website, NetSuite Consumer Fraud, set up for gathering complaints for a class-action suit.
If you have first-hand experience with NetSuite, drop me an email, or post a comment below.
Update, Feb. 16. The first poster in the comments section points out that four comments on the Business Week article are from the same individual, using different names. Probably so. That's why I called the comments "raw, unfiltered commentary." Still, I don't know of another software vendor today, major or minor, where I've seen this much negative feedback displayed in such a public fashion. Click through on all the links above and be sure to read the many comments on those articles.
I say, where there's smoke, there's fire.
Related posts
Dave Duffield debuts new on-demand ERP
NetSuite scoops Microsoft resellers
Computer Economics: The Business Case for Software as a Serviceby Frank Scavo, 2/15/2008 03:34:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
Court orders mediation in Oracle vs. SAP/TomorrowNow case
Judge Martin Jenkins on Tuesday ordered SAP and Oracle to attempt mediation to resolve their dispute over Oracle's claims that TomorrowNow engaged in theft of Oracle's intellectual property.
The court record also indicates that Oracle anticipates filing an amended complaint against SAP. As reported last month, Oracle claims to have found a broader pattern of copyright infringement than it originally alleged.
I doubt whether this dispute can be resolved by mediation, unless SAP is willing to concede quite a bit to Oracle. SAP is on the ropes in this case, having already classified TomorrowNow as a discontinued operation and indicating its intent to sell the unit. In the meantime, no buyers have appeared.
With TomorrowNow going nowhere, and Oracle enjoying the PR value playing the victim, what incentive does Oracle have to agree to a settlement?
However, as I wrote previously, it will be very interesting if, through this case, more information regarding the profitability of Oracle's maintenance business become public record.
Related posts
Oracle wants to broaden lawsuit against SAP and TomorrowNow
SAP lists TomorrowNow as a discontinued operation
TomorrowNow and the future of third-party support providers
SAP considering sale of TomorrowNow
SAP admits wrongdoing in Oracle lawsuit
Oracle now charges SAP with copyright violation
Latest on the Oracle/SAP lawsuit
Oracle/SAP lawsuit: view from Rimini Street
SAP subject to criminal charges?
Oracle sues SAP and its TomorrowNow unitby Frank Scavo, 2/14/2008 09:38:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Monday, February 11, 2008
Salesforce.com shopping itself to Oracle?
Tom Foremski is reporting that a "reliable source" indicates that "Salesforce.com has approached Oracle to gauge if there is any interest in a sale at $75 a share."
At first glance it would appear strange for Marc Benioff, who has long trumpted his software-as-a-service (SaaS) model as the "death of software," to be offering his firm for sale by to the world's second largest enterprise software vendor.
But Foremski thinks the deal makes sense for several reasons. Apart from the obvious synergies of Oracle's market presence with Salesforce.com's technology, he also points out that Benioff appears to be losing interest in his current job and has been selling an enormous number of shares recently. He also speculates that Benioff would make a great candidate to replace Ellison, whenever Larry sees fit to retire.
There is a lot of other good information in Foremski's post. Read the whole thing: Is Salesforce Worth $75/Share To Oracle?
My take
There was a time when I would discount rumors such as this one. But after watching Oracle for the last five years, I rule nothing out.
It would certainly launch Oracle to the front of the on-demand market. Oracle's only true multi-tenant SaaS offering is the online CRM offering it picked up from Siebel, which was a fraction of the revenue from Siebel's on-premise product line. Oracle's main on-demand offering is simply its traditional E-Business Suite, offered on a single tenant hosted basis. Oracle has been touting this model as superior to the multi-tenant model lately, but to me it smells of "if you can't fix it, feature it."
There's one other big plus for Oracle. Buying Salesforce.com would take the wind out of the sails of SAP's recent launch of its own on-demand offering, Business by Design. With SAP making such a strong move into the SaaS market, can Oracle afford to appear as a laggard?
Update, Feb. 12: Salesforce.com's share price was up nearly 8% yesterday on the rumor of its interest in a deal with Oracle.
Upon further consideration, however, it seems to me there are two possibilities, both of which are problematic:
Either way, the SEC should investigate.
- Contrary to Foremski's assertion, the source is not reliable. The rumor could be a ploy by someone interested in pumping up the share price.
- Foremski's source is reliable. If so, and the source has factual knowledge of a $75 per share offer from Salesforce.com, then the source is disclosing insider information.
Related posts
Salesforce.com unbundling its platform from its apps
Computer Economics: The Business Case for Software as a Serviceby Frank Scavo, 2/11/2008 04:04:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
Visitors to Israel have long recounted with awe that while in the Holy Land they learned that Israeli military commanders do not direct from the background, but personally lead their troops into battle.
And it is no myth. This fact was poignantly demonstrated on Saturday when the commanding officer of the Golani Infantry Brigade, a colonel by rank, was moderately wounded by terrorist gunfire while holding the frontline in Gaza together with his soldiers.
Late last year, Col. Ghassan Alian, an Israeli Druze, made headlines when he became the first non-Jewish commander of the fabled brigade.
As Israel escalated its ground war in Gaza over the weekend, Col. Alian (pictured) did what all Israeli army commanders do on the eve of battle - he delivered encouraging words to the soldiers under his direct command, and then he suited up and took the lead as they marched into enemy territory.
Details regarding the battle in which Col. Alian was wounded are still under wraps, but it is presumed that he and his troops were part of the large-scale effort to seek out and destroy Hamas' network of terror tunnels in northern Gaza.
Following the firefight, Col. Alian was evacuated to Soroka Hospital in nearby Beersheva, where he was listed in moderate-but-stable condition. He was displeased with the situation, telling family and doctors that he intended to return to the Gaza Strip as quickly as possible.
"I have a lot of soldiers over there and I need to get back to them," Col. Alian was quoted as saying by Israel's Ynet news portal.
Israel's ground war in Gaza began last Thursday night, a day after a squad of 13 Hamas terrorists were killed while emerging from a terror tunnel near a kibbutz in southern Israel. By mid-day Sunday, at least 36 such tunnels had been destroyed, and over 130 terrorist gunmen had been killed in clashes with Israeli troops.
At press time, Israel had released for publication the names of five soldiers killed during the operation. Over 50 soldiers have been wounded, seven of them seriously.
Casualties on the Palestinian side have also mounted as Hamas continues to deliberately place the civilian population in harm's way. The Israeli army on Sunday announced that it was setting up a field hospital on the northern Gaza border in order to treat wounded Palestinians. The facility will be equipped with recovery and birthing rooms, in addition to trauma units.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Sunday, December 13th, 12:00 – 4:00 pm
The West Falmouth Library on historic Rt. 28A is hosting its annual holiday house tour and boutique sale. There are eight locations on the tour, all festively decorated for the season. Light refreshments will be served.
Tickets are: $ 25.00
For more information: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Highlights Michigan professional trades occupations that show a favorable mix of long-term job growth, projected annual job openings, and median wages through 2024.
Download the most recent employment data on the Data Search Tool.
Subscribe to keep up to date with the latest research, publications, and data releases on the State of Michigan and its regions using our free email subscription service.
This publication highlights Michigan's high-demand, high-wage careers that show a favorable mix of long-term job growth, projected annual job openings, and median wages through 2026.
This monthly publication provides a comprehensive summary of employment, unemployment, and payroll job trends in Michigan.
January 2019, Seasonally Adjusted
Source: Michigan DTMB Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Local Area Unemployment Statistics
January 2019, Not Seasonally Adjusted. Hover over or click on a county to view data.
Source: Current Employment Statistics (CES), All data not seasonally adjusted
Detroit Office:
Voice: (313) 456-3100
Fax: (313) 456-3150
Lansing Office:
Voice: (517) 241-9857
Fax: (517) 373-1117


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Model: HP Deskjet 952c printer, Version: 5.4
Operating System: Mac OS (Note: might work with other versions of this os.)
File: OS_8.6-9.0_hp_deskjet_5650.sit
Hewlett Packard (HP) HP Deskjet 952c printer, Version: 5.4 Driver. Supports deskjet printers with USB connectors on the printer, as well as network printing for those models that support Network printing. It is for use with Mac OS 8.6, and 9.0.x. The downloadable file includes a driver installer, which also installs the newest deskjet printer utility.File Contents:
Operating system(s): Mac OS 9,Mac OS 8
No file content information available at this time.


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- "This is the one that gives explicit instructions on how to make a Horcrux. Secrets of the Darkest Art — it's a horrible book, really awful, full of evil magic..."
- —Hermione Granger.[src]
Secrets of the Darkest Art is a tome, possibly of medieval origin, that discusses Dark Arts. It is the only known source of written instructions on the creation and destruction of a Horcrux.
This book was housed in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library until Albus Dumbledore removed it in the 1950s. This was triggered by the student Tom Marvolo Riddle questioning his teachers about Horcruxes. It is assumed he read it in advance of questioning his teachers, as the book did not give any information on creating multiple horcruxes.
After this, Dumbledore removed it from the library and stored it in his office. In 1997, Hermione Granger managed to summon the book just before leaving Hogwarts at the end of her sixth year by shouting "Accio Horcrux books", thinking correctly that it would be worth a try to test her luck. Hermione took the book with her on the year-long quest to destroy Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
It is a large volume, bound in faded black leather.


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Panthers franchise-tagged defensive end Greg Hardy was described by his accuser as controlling and violent, during his trial on assault charges.
According to Bill Voth of Black and Blue Review, accuser Nicole Holder offered some startling details while on the stand Tuesday afternoon.
"When he let go of me . . . [h]e got on top of me and strangled me," she said. "He looked into my eyes and told me he was going to kill me."
She also described him slamming her into a wall, ripping a necklace off her and throwing it into a toilet, and saying during the course of the alleged attack she thought "at that point I accepted I was going to die."
Voth's timeline is full of more testimony from the trial, much of it salacious. (And we haven't even gotten to the cross-examination.)
She had previously accused him of throwing her onto a bed full of guns.
The Panthers tagged Hardy prior to the accusations, but weren't particularly inclined to sign him to a long-term deal prior to today's deadline.
With more than 20 percent of their salary cap wrapped up in defensive ends with Hardy and Charles Johnson, the Panthers will have some expensive decisions to make in the future, but they're not making any at the moment.
Tuesday's testimony isn't going to help his case, either.


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Retail Branch Manager
- Recruiter
- We Buy Any Car
- Location
- Oldbury
- Salary
- £20,000 per annum
- Posted
- 16 Jun 2018
- Closes
- 17 Jul 2018
- Sector
- Hair & Beauty
- Contract Type
- Full Time
New opportunity not to be missed! Due to continued growth, The UK's favourite car buying service WeBuyAnyCar. com are looking for enthusiastic, passionate, and hardworking individuals to join our team in the Oldbury area. In return, we offer our Retail Branch Manager a very competitive salary of £20,000 - £22,000 per annum and excellent benefits.
Do you want to become a hero and create your own journey?
- Do you want to buy cars every day?
- Do you love meeting customers face to face and delivering brilliant customer service?
- Do you have the drive and ambition to succeed?
- Do you have a full valid UK driving licence?
We are looking to recruit confident, driven people on a full time and permanent basis who are enthusiastic, sales focused individuals who are able to demonstrate previous target driven sales experience.
The Retail Branch Manager Role:
As the face and voice of our business you will have a passion and ability to give amazing customer service. You will enjoy and be confident on the phone talking to our customers and enjoy working towards targets that give you the opportunity to earn more! Your role is to buy cars from our customers who make an appointment to see you. You will turn leads generated by our website into purchases and constanty keep busy and be on the lookout for new business. Ideally with a sales / customer services background this role would suit and experienced Sales Executive with exceptional customer services skills. We are looking for an individual who wants an exciting challenge, who can work well on their own and who wants to grow with the business.
The ideal Retail Branch Manager must be able to demonstrate the ability to:
- Work independently
- Contact prospects to achieve appointments and meet targets
- Work productively and effectively
- Build effective relationships internally and externally
- To actively record all customer data on the dealer management system
- To attend training on a regular basis to maintain product knowledge
Essential Skills & Experience needed to become our Retail Branch Manager:
- A current full driving licence
- Experience of working in a target driven sales environment
- Customer focused with excellent communication skills and telephone manner
- Ability to persuade and negotiate
- Ability to organise and prioritise own workload with minimal supervision
- Excellent administration skills
Package/ Benefits:
Salary £20,000. OTE £26K. Full time opportunity working a 48 hour shift pattern over 5 days, including working weekends.
- Discounted Gym Membership
- 33 Days Holiday
- Healthcare Cash Plan
- Pension Scheme
- Payroll Giving
With excellent opportunities to develop and enhance your sales career WeBuyAnyCar.com is the perfect choice to build you career. Why not click apply today and become our Retail Branch Manager - don't miss out on this exceptional opportunity to join the UK's favourite car buying service.


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will we be able to interact with those who are in different levels than us in Heaven?
|Answer by Fr. John Echert on 1/15/2013:
Yes, if by levels you have in mind my earlier post that among the saints of Heaven, not all are equal in their degree of charity and therefore their happiness. This is not a class distinction, but a matter of how much in love with God each person is. By analogy, in marriages there are those who are deeply in love with each other and others not so much in love: which married couples are likely happier? Thanks, Linda Father Echert
Thanks, Linda
Father Echert


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I know I know, this is fairly late now for a Halloween post but I have been so busy working on our costumes for this weekends party. And what a fun it was. So here's my slightly belated post:
750g flour
1 tsp baking powder
225g unsalted butter, softened
125g sugar
1 tsp salt
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp cardamon
2 eggs
royal icing sugar mix
black food colouring
Cream the butter until pale with an electric mixer. Add the sugar, salt, cardamon and lemon zest and beat some more. Add the eggs and lemon juice and beat until uniform and fluffy. Sift the flour and baking powder and slowly add to the mixture. Wrap dough in cling film and place in the fridge for about an hour. In the meantime cut your cookie shapes out of cardboard. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Roll out the dough to 3mm thick on a lightly floured surface. Using the stencil cut out the cookies with a knife. Before baking place in the fridge for 10 min to avoid shrinking and so they will hold shape better. Bake for about 8-10 minutes. Cool and decorate wit royal icing. The recipe makes about 50-60 cookies.


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[Illinois] CNST 2013: Detecting Protein and miRNA Cancer Biomarkers using Silicon-based Photonic Crystals and a Resonance Coupling Laser Scanning Instrument
Licensed according to this deed.
Published on
My research interest is in the development of distributed feedback laser (DFB) biosensors and Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). My objective is to enhance the light extinction and make it reliable for clinical applications.
The current project I am working on is to integrate biosensors into flexible plastic catheter tubing for detecting drugs, metabolites, and pathogens in intensive care patients. The use of such sensors will enable intelligent systems that can reduce medical errors and provide timely and accurate information on a patients' status.
Cite this work
Researchers should cite this work as follows:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign


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|International Space Station Imagery
high res (0.4 M) low res (47 K)
|JSC2011-E-037293 (May 2011) --- Computer-generated artist's rendering of the International Space Station as of May 30, 2011. STS-134 space shuttle Endeavour departs, leaving new hardware: the Express Logistics Carrier 3 (ELC3) and Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS); and installed the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) on the S1 truss. This angle shows the starboard side of the orbiting complex. Photo credit: NASA
Curator: JSC PAO Web Team | Responsible NASA Official: Amiko Kauderer | Updated: 11/19/2012


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Jehanne Gheith
Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature
Jehanne Gheith is an Associate Professor of Russian Culture at Duke University and a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for Duke Hospice, who has a private psychotherapy practice in Aging, Illness, and Wellness Transitions with a specialization in Pet Loss. At Duke, she led the International Comparative Studies Program for nine years, together with Marcy Litle, reshaping and building this interdisciplinary major. She has also chaired the Slavic Department. In both her academic and clinical work, Professor Gheith is interested in the intersection of narrative and loss; more recently, she has included the human-animal bond in this work. She regularly leads community conversations and workshops on making aging and crisis medical situations a richer experience than is often the case. In all of these areas, Professor Gheith's focus is on the intersection of story and loss and the richness that can come from exploring these connections in depth and in multiple dimensions. She is currently working on a book about the connections between her clinical work and her research in Russian literature. On September 30, she has organized and will present in an interactive workshop at Duke: "Poems, Prose, and Panels: the Work of the Humanities in End of Life Care." Gheith is committed to the modes of liberal arts and the humanities in the practical world.
- Ph.D., Stanford University 1992
Arts and Sciences Research Grant. Duke University. February 2009
Arts Collaboration Grant. Duke University. October 2008
Gheith, J. Gulag Voices. January 2011.
Gheith, J. Finding the middle ground: Krestovskii, Tur, and the power of ambivalence in nineteenth century Russian women's prose. December 1, 2004.
Gheith, J. Finding the Middle Ground: Evgeniia Tur, V. Krestovskii, and the Power of Ambivalence in Nineteenth-Century Women's Prose. Northwestern University Press, 2004.
Gheith, J. Russian Women, 1698-1917: Experience and Expression. An Anthology of Sources. Ed. R Bisha, J Gheith, C Holden, and W Wagner. Indiana University Press, 2002.
Gheith, J. History of Women's Writing in Russia. Ed. A Barker and J Gheith. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Gheith, J. An Improper Profession: Women, Gender, and Journalism in Late Imperial Russia. Ed. BT Norton and J Gheith. Duke University Press, 2001.
Goss, KA. "Introduction." January 1, 2014. 265-270. Full Text
Izatt, JA, Fujimoto, JG, and Tuchin, VV. "Introduction." January 1, 2012. Full Text
"Designing Games for Ethics.": IGI Global. 2011. Full Text
Gheith, J. ""'It's Hard to Convey': Oral History and Memories of Gulag Survivors." Kaiken Takana oli Pelko. Ed. S Oksanen. Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö (WSOY), January 2009. 99-116.
Gheith, J. "'Collecting Crumbs': Rupture and Repair for Children of the Gulag." The Gulag: History and Legacy. Ed. S Barnes. 2009.
Gheith, J. "Painting and words: the art of sisterhood." The Sisters Khvoshchinskaia. Ed. J Andrew, H Hoogenboom, and A Rosenholm. 2006.
Skinner, CS, Kobrin, SC, Campbell, MK, and Sutherland, L. "New technologies and their influence on existing interventions." Patient Treatment Adherence: Concepts, Interventions, and Measurement. August 21, 2005. 491-517. Full Text
Gheith, J. "Evgeniia Tur." Encyclopedia of Russian History. Ed. JR Miller. New York: MacMillan Reference, 2004.
Gheith, J, and Holmgren, B. "Art and Prostokvasha: Avdotia Panaeva's Work." The Russian Memoir: History and Literature. Ed. B Holmgren. Northwestern University Press, 2003.
Gheith, J. ""Women of the Thirties and Fifties: A Reperiodization"." A History of Women's Writing in Russia. Ed. A Barker and J Gheith. Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Gheith, J. "Article on Gulag Research." Encompass (2012). (Academic Article)
Gheith, J. "Not the Atom Bomb? Interviewing/Filming Gulag Survivors in a Culture of Dangerous Memory (In preparation)." Kritika (2011). (Academic Article)
Gheith, J. ""'It's Difficult to Convey': Oral History and Memories of Gulag Survivors"." Gulag Studies 2-3 (November 2010). (Academic Article)
Gheith, J. ""'The doctors said I was normal': Trauma, the non-narrative, and the Gulag"." Slavic Review (2010). (Academic Article)
Gheith, J. "'Trudno peredat': Traumatic Memory and the Gulag." Ed. O Cooke. Gulag Studies (2009). (Academic Article)
Gheith, J. ""Solovki"; "Legacy of the Gulag"." on-line "Stalin Project" (2008). (Academic Article)
Gheith, JM. ""I never talked": Enforced silence, non-narrative memory, and the Gulag." Mortality 12.2 (May 1, 2007): 159-175. Full Text
Gheith, J. "Women and gender in 18th-century Russia." RUSSIAN REVIEW 64.1 (January 2005): 112-113. (Review)
Gheith, J. "Karolina Pavlova." Ed. S Fusso and A Lehrman. Russian Review (2002). (Review)
Gheith, J. "Till My Tale Is Told: Women's Memoirs of the Gulag." Ed. S Vilensky. Canadian-American Slavic Studies (2001). (Review)
Gheith, J. "Tur/Grot correspondence." Ed. RBE al. (2006).
Gheith, J. "Marina Palei's "Otdelenie propashchikh"." Ed. H Goscilo. (1995).
"'I had to take my son and my mother into exile': Experiences of parents and children in the Soviet Gulag". February 25, 2010


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Great site to learn wildlife, watch stories and enjoy great photos. You can contribute your photos and stories to inspire others to appreciate wildlife and the beauty of nature around.
Participate in Wildlife Watch and let us know about the wildlife and plants you observe where you live! Wildlife Watch is a national, nature watching program created for people of all ages.
Visit Wildlife Watch before and after your adventures in nature. Before you head outside, click your state on the dropdown list below. Review all the possible species and natural phenomena you might observe. After you return indoors, come back to Wildlife Watch and report the data online.
It's simple, fun and you'll learn a lot about the wildlife that exists in your neighborhood. Plus you'll be helping Wildlife Watch track the health and behavior of wildlife and plant species nationwide.
Another fun way to participate in Wildlife Watch is to join our Flickr group and post animal and plant pictures. First timers and professionals welcome!
Don't forget to invite your friends and family to participate. As the seasons change, so do the species on Wildlife Watch, so there are new things to see and observe all year-round!


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Are you doing everything you can to control your asthma?
Take this quiz and find out
Correct answer: true
Certain weather conditions can increase the risk of an asthma attack, including thunderstorms, strong
winds, temperatures, fog, and humidity. If you know what weather conditions bother your asthma you can
plan ahead.
Correct answer: False
Low humidity may help reduce your risk of an asthma attack. It is strongly advised
to keep the humidity between 30 percent and 50 percent in your home. High humidity can promote mold
growth and dust mites, which may trigger an asthma attack. The use of an air conditioner or air dehumidifier
might be helpful.
Correct answer: False
Most asthma attacks come with warning signs and symptoms. Being familiar with the warning signs of an
asthma attack helps to understand when you should seek treatment.
Warning signs may include:
Correct answer: False
Avoiding triggers is sometimes impossible. Avoiding what triggers your asthma is the best way to prevent
attacks, but if that`s not possible, here are some things to try.
Correct answer: True
Yes, but this does not mean that you should stop cleaning. A clean living environment can help control
asthma symptoms. Strong odors and chemicals found in cleaning supplies may trigger asthma. Use unscented
and nonaerosol cleaners. If they seem to irritate your asthma get help with cleaning. Have someone else
vacuum for you if dust triggers your asthma.
Correct answer: False
Exercise is one trigger that you don`t want to avoid completely. Asthma symptoms may be reduced during
exercise by slowly warming up and taking medications before you begin, especially in colder weather.
Check with your doctor before you begin an exercise program if you don`t exercise regularly.
Correct answer: True
Yes, stress can trigger asthma. But in today`s fast-paced world, stress may be unavoidable. Try a massage,
a yoga class, exercise or meditation to relax. Remember to take time for yourself.
For people suffering with a lung disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, eating should
not be taken for granted.
According to the American Association for Respiratory Care, a well-nourished body helps fight off infections
and may help prevent illness, thus cutting down on hospitalizations.
A proper diet will not cure your disease, but it will make you feel better. You will have more energy,
and your body will be able to fight infection better. Good nutrition and a balanced diet are essential
to everyone`s health, but patients with lung disease must be even more careful than most about following
good nutrition guidelines.
Food is fuel and the body needs fuel for activities, including breathing. Because the COPD uses a lot
of energy just breathing, ventilatory muscles can require up to ten times the calories required by a
healthy person`s muscles. This is why it is so important for someone with COPD to eat properly. Good
nutritional support helps maintain the ventilatory functions of the lungs, while lack of proper nutrition
can cause wasting of the diaphragm and other pulmonary muscles.
The American Association for Respiratory Care offers nutrition tips for persons with COPD. These are
general guidelines only. Your doctor is your best source of information on diet and other information
about your lung disease.
If meal preparation becomes a burden, there are agencies in many states that will provide meals for
people for a small fee or at no charge. Seek local church organizations or government agencies to see
what is available in your area.
Source: American Association for Respiratory Care
Do You Have Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
Do family members tell you that you snore? If so, it may be possible that you are suffering from sleep
According to respiratory therapists from the American Association
for Respiratory Care (AARC), there are several clues that can help you decide whether or not
to seek testing for sleep apnea.
Do you experience sleepiness during the day?
People with sleep apnea wake up a lot at night, usually without even knowing it. Many suffer from daytime
drowsiness as a result.
A bed partner reports brief periods of no breathing: If your bed partner notices you stopping breathing
for even few seconds at a time during the night, you may have sleep apnea.
Very loud snoring: Lots of people snore, but people with sleep apnea usually snore consistently throughout
the night and their snoring is extremely loud.
Struggling, snorting, gasping, choking, or partially or completely waking up in an attempt to resume
breathing: If your sleep is repeatedly disrupted by these occurrences, sleep testing is in order.
Waking up with a dry mouth and/or morning headache: A dry mouth may mean you`ve been gasping for breath,
and a headache signals a poor night`s rest.
Learn more about sleep apnea and respiratory care on the AARC`s consumer web site.
One very important aspect in asthma and allergy care is controlling your home environment. Here are
some general rules to help get your household under control:
Source: American Lung Association
Just because you use oxygen doesn`t mean that you can`t travel. It does mean, however, that you have
to plan ahead. Changes in time zones and increased activity are things that need to be taken into consideration.
Here is a checklist to help you prepare for the next time that you travel.
Especially if you have been hospitalized recently, check with your doctor for travel clearance.
Call the cruise line approximately 4 to 6 weeks before departure
Source: http://www.clevelandclinic.org


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Chris15 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 204 designs submitted by 61 freelance designers.
PE Boost
Entrepreneur who is 100% focused on combating childhood obesity through a combination of social networking, crowdsourcing and a privatized funding mechanism. With 1 in 5 kids in America considered obese and the public school systems only contributing on average of $1000 annually to the 99,000 public schools in America, the problem is only escalating. By 2015, 75% of adults will be overweight and 41% will be considered obese. Education and government grants alone are not working - the power of Facebook, online tools and crowdsourcing a vast network of personal trainers, historically focused on high net worth individuals, can be combined with an 'iTunes like' pricing model targeted @ parents looking to fund physical education in their communities.
Audience is 4 fold (in order of priority):
- Parents of kids ages 6-19
- Personal trainers ages 21-30
- Public school administrators, teachers
- Kids ages 6-19
See description of business concept above. Looking for logo that pops and captures the essence of 'boosting' physical education in America. Important that it appeals to the audience / demographic listed above. Logo does not have to be just the words, a separate image and the words is acceptable.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Chris P needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 70 designs submitted by 26 freelance designers.
Urban Parking Management
Urban Parking Management, LLC is headquartered in Providence, RI and has been serving area clients for almost ten years. We provide comprehensive, cost effective, and reliable parking management solutions to our clients. Whether it is a parking lot or garage, Urban Parking can provide attendant staffing, maintenance, administrative support, financial services, security, and more. We would like to convey characteristics such as reliability, established, experienced, professional, and the best in the industry. Urban Parking Management is consistently focused on customer service and the partnerships we build with our clients.
The target audience for Urban Parking Management is parking lot/garage owners, real estate owners and investors, developers, municipalities, and educational institutions. In our efforts to grow this business, we will be doing some extensive marketing and intend for this logo to be our new identity. We will target all of the above mentioned, but will also target individual parkers, in order to promote the lots/garages we manage.
We want to create a logo that truly identifies Urban Parking Management, LLC. As stated above, the logo should convey: professionalism, reliability, experience, service, and being an established company. You can be as creative as you see fit. I would think that we need to have the words "Urban Parking Management" incorporated in the logo. I would like to stay away from anything too "cartoonish." The end product should be clean, sharp, professional, and bold.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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DRC home :: Events :: Feedback :: Wallpaper :: Advanced Search
NORWALK, Ohio --
That is exactly what longtime IHRA veteran and Top Fuel driver Bruce Litton resorted to during the offseason as he turned to his biggest fan and CEO of his trailer business, his 4-year-old grandson Landon, to pick the color for his 8,000 horsepower, 320 mph ride.
And the final selection? A nice shade of bright orange.
Not only did young Landon pick the color, but he picked the exact shade that Litton will have on display during his 2013 Top Fuel campaign and, quite frankly, he can't wait to show off his grandson's handiwork beginning at the Arizona Nitro Jam presented by Good Vibrations Motorsports and CarSafe later this month.
"To be quite honest, we didn't quite know what direction we wanted to go with for the car this year. It has had the same look for so long, we were scratching our heads on where to even start," Litton said. "And that is when I turned to Landon. Not only did he pick the color, but he picked the exact shade and we are looking forward to showcasing his unique design this season. It should especially pop at night."
While a brand new look is certainly something exciting for the team, what really has the team amped up is the fulltime return of Top Fuel to the IHRA Nitro Jam schedule. After competing only at the Canadian events in 2012, where Litton won two of the four races, Litton will return fulltime to the IHRA Nitro Jam circuit where he will race everything from a pack of fellow Top Fuel Dragsters to even a jet-powered one.
Litton will be traveling to all nine IHRA Nitro Jam events in 2013. His slate will include matchups with teammate Kyle Wurtzel and the "High Yield" Top Fuel Dragster at a majority of the events, while a bigger field of Fuel Dragsters will be a part of the lineup at the two Canadian races.
The most unique matchup will pit Bruce Litton up against a pair of jet-powered dragsters at the season-opening Arizona Nitro Jam March 23 and again at the Suzuki Pittsburgh Nitro Jam in June. Litton will battle Curt Eierdam in the "Invader" dragster in Tucson and he will square off against the fastest jet dragster in the land in the "Queen of Diamonds" powered by Jill Canuso in Pittsburgh.
"It will definitely be a big contrast of styles for the fans, but let me tell you neither jet will know what hit them," Litton said.
Litton is one of the most successful racers in IHRA history with 16 victories and a championship coming in 2007 prior to the new Nitro Jam lineup and another 10 victories coming after the switch to the new format. Away from Nitro Jam Litton also has a number of additional races planned in 2013 including the World Series of Drag Racing in August as he competes against and mentors Melanie Troxel in one of his cars.
Litton will also return the services of longtime crew chief Mike Wolfarth who will oversee the team operations in 2013.
"There are a lot of people that make this car go down the track and Mike is a big part of that," Litton said. "I have a great group of people around me and I couldn't do this without them. We all look forward to a big year and a successful year on the track."
Catch Bruce Litton and the return of Top Fuel at all nine Nitro Jam events in 2013 beginning with the Arizona Nitro Jam April 23 at Southwestern International Raceway in Tucson. For more information visit www.nitrojam.com.


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September 24, 2003
LOS ANGELES — Southern California's multi-family housing is in a period of sustained growth, reported leading real estate industry experts to a packed auditorium at the UCLA Multi-Family Housing Forecast Conference at The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
On Wednesday, September 10, 2003, more than 330 real estate industry executives attended the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate's fifth annual Multi-Family Housing Conference.
"This conference creates a forum for the presentation of real-time data and ideas in order to promote the development of multi-family housing in Southern California," said John Long, managing partner, Highridge Partners and chairman of the Ziman Center. "The issues at hand are timely and far-reaching in scope as the future vitality of Southern California's economy is heavily dependent on the availability of housing."
The forecast conference opened with a welcome by John Long, chairman, Ziman Center for Real Estate, Dr. Stephen Day Cauley, associate director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate, Clive Hoffman, conference chairman and president, Clive Hoffman Associates, and Walter Torous, professor of finance at UCLA Anderson School of Management and director of the Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate.
Among the day's highlights was a keynote speech about multi-family housing priorities by Geoffrey L. Stack, managing director, SARES-REGIS Group and vice chairman, National Multi-Housing Council. An expert in multi-family residential developments and investments, Stack gave insight into issues such as affordable housing in Southern California and long-term trends affecting real estate. He notes that the portion of the population that cannot afford houses is growing. In addition, he believes that baby boomers will most likely downsize from homes to affordable apartments.
Following Stack's discussion, a panel of foremost industry experts discussed real estate trends and data in a session titled, "Impact of Public Policy on the Entitlement, Financing and Development of Affordable and Market-Rate Multi-Family Housing." Mark Lacter, editor, Los Angeles Business Journal, moderated the panel, which comprised the following speakers:
- Rick Cole, city manager, Azusa
- Larry Kosmont, president & CEO, Kosmont Companies
- Lawrence A. Scott, vice president, AvalonBay Communities, Inc.
- Laurie Weir, executive director, California Debt Limit Allocation Committee
Participants then heard from Dr. Stephen Day Cauley, associate director of the Ziman Center for Real Estate, who provided attendees with his multi-family housing forecast for the Southern California region. He addressed market economic drivers that impact demand for Southern California apartments, forecasts of the region's rents, prices and capitalization rates, and forecast implications for the financial and social viability of the Southern California economy.
Long-term demographic trends are very favorable for Southern California apartments, reports Dr. Cauley. "We are in a period of sustained growth of portions of the population that will demand apartments: lower income families who will never be able to afford homeownership and young, highly educated professionals. We think the growth of biotech/biomedical and defense industry employment will present important development opportunities in these areas," said Dr. Cauley. He also added that the Inland Empire will provide development opportunities as well.
Dr. Cauley does not believe the housing price increases, along with the corresponding decline in cap rates, are indicative of a price bubble. He notes that, "Declines in market interest rates can explain a substantial portion of the observed price increases. During this period the yield-to-maturity on Moody's BAA bond index declined by more than 170 basis points, approximately the same amount as cap rates."
Conference participants were later privy to a luncheon keynote speech by Los Angeles City Councilmember Antonio Villaraigosa. He addressed the crowd with a discussion about local government issues affecting the multi-family housing industry and the difficulties Southern California is facing with the affordable housing supply.
After lunch "meet the experts" panel sessions were offered for participants. Topics and leading real estate expert panels included:
New Sources of Debt & Equity
- Mark C. Ritchie, senior vice president, Churchill Mortgage Corporation
- Gregory F. Schem, president and principal, The KOR Group
Developing Affordable Housing
- Sarah Dusseault, Los Angeles assistant deputy mayor for Economic Development
- Laurie Weir, executive director, California Debt Limit Allocation Committee
Navigating the Entitlement Morass
- Susan Hori, partner, Manatt/Phelps/Phillips
- Sonia Ransom, partner, Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble & Mallory
Focus on the inland Empire
- Michael Bazdarich, president and founder, MB Economics
- Scott K. Lunine, managing director, Sperry Van Ness
The Multi-Family Forecast Conference was sponsored by Allen, Matkins, Leck, Gamble & Mallory; Arden Realty, Inc; Chicago Title Company; California Real Estate Journal; CoStar Group; Ernst & Young LLP; Ervin, Cohen & Jessup LLP; Fidelity National Title Company; Fremont Investment & Loan; First Property Realty Group; George Smith Partners; GlobeSt.com; Highridge Partners; KeyBank Real Estate Capital; Los Angeles Times; Lowe Enterprises; Multi-Housing News; Pircher, Nichols & Meeks; RealFacts; SARES-REGIS Group, Summit Commercial; Real Estate Southern California; and RENTV.com.
The Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA Anderson School of Management was founded in 1999 and is led by Chairman John Long, Director Walter Torous and Associate Director Stephen Cauley. Its mission is to undertake an innovative program of research, education, and professional development within the real estate industry. For more information visit http://www.zimancenter.com.


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Review: Willis Earl Beal live at Bowery Ballroom
Photos by G.
Willis Earl Beal had me at his opening line, "I am gonna sing you some songs and then I am gonna get off the Goddamned stage!" Chicago native Willis Earl Beal opened for Britsh rock band Wu Lyf at New York's Bowery Ballroom on April 27, 2012, and it was one of those cases for me where the opening act blew away the headliner. If you don't know Willis Earl Beal, get to know him. He's a born performer and for the duration of his hour long set, he sang like a man possessed! Think of the vocals of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put A Spell on You" and add a whole lot of soul with an addictively entertaining stage presence and you've got Willis Earl Beal.
His debut album "Acoustamatic Society" comes in a DVD-sized package that includes a slip case and a book filled with illustrations and text from Beal and when I asked him about the cool packaging after the show, he said that he wanted fans to get the most for their money. Beal is also infamous for not being on-line and in fact, at the merch table, they were handing out postcards with Willis' phone number and if you call him, he will sing you a song! The post card also offers that if you send him a letter, he will draw you a picture and mail it back to you. Guess who is totally going to do that?!
It was really hard to top Willis Earl Beal's set as well as the great experience I had chatting with him, so I ducked out early from Wu Lyf's (pronounced "Woo Life") set, but since the lead singer is super cute, here's a photo for you, my dear readers.
It was really great chatting with you Willis, and we'll be speaking on the phone soon! 🙂


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For what it's worth, I don't agree with Grail's assessment that "if you believe in equal rights for men and women" that automatically makes you a feminist. That's like saying "If you believe in Jesus then you're a Christian", even though Christianity has many different denominations, each with their own traditions and creeds, some more radical than others. I also resent the term 'feminist' because it places emphasis on one sex over the other, thus undermining its own point. Surely, if we're looking for a better term, it would be germane to use something like 'equalist' instead?
As I mention on the podcast, Tumblr isnt the scholarly center that SK.net strives to be. But you are starting to see people who are investing in the series and taking a serious look at character relationships and important events, which is something Im excited about. While scans are unfortunately rampant, I think that encouraging analysis will help to curb that, which is what I and some other users are trying to do. That said, Im not going to sit here and defend somebody elses words, but Id also entreat you to understand that Tumblr is playing catch-up with SK.net right now. Baby steps, baby steps.
On the possibility of Theresia coming back: it would be funny (and I would greatly enjoy it), but it wouldn't really accomplish anything. Theresia, no matter how hard she could have trained, could never pose a serious threat to Guts. I think that last scene with her is there to show us how easy it is for humans to get embroiled into a quest of revenge, like Guts.
I don't think I knew how long Lith had been reading Berserk. Lost Children-era predates me by a few years. I started reading around the time Vol 18 was published in Japan.
For what it's worth, I don't agree with Grail's assessment that "if you believe in equal rights for men and women" that automatically makes you a feminist. That's like saying "If you believe in Jesus then you're a Christian", even though Christianity has many different denominations, each with their own traditions and creeds, some more radical than others.
Hearing everything in the show has made me curious about quality Tumblr posts. Could you guys link to a few memorable ones in this thread?
I'm a little curious about this too. I enjoy Tumblr, but it's next to useless as a place to have a conversation with more than one other person. Comment trees are built directly by adding comments to a reblog of a post, and any branches that occur along the way are effectively lost. A popular post may have a cascade of twenty comments in the body of the post, and 10,000 notes with 500 other comments scattered throughout with no good way to find or get to any of them. It's as if someone makes a speech in a crowded cafeteria, and friends at each table discuss it, but a latecomer only gets to see what the popular kids' table had to say about it.
It's very nice to hear you girls talk! I remember Miura once said that it's hard for him to describe female characters' mentality.I think it could be a good avenue for the Floracast to explore.This is what we, the outnumbered female members, can do for the manga.
Also, as a woman, I've always thought that Casca is not ideal because she's too devoted!
For the record, That intro had my drink coming out of my nose several times. Well done good sir...Well done. Couldn't have asked for a better one myself.
When the recording stopped I sincerely wished there was more (I did wait for it to repeat Gobs theme again before stopping =)
Favorite girl on girl interaction would be Flora and Schierke. Short lived, but made me wonder what was life with those two.
The part about Casca being taken away as a character was sobering, not because I wasn't aware of it, but because I kind of take her return for granted and am probably not as invested in it as a fan that can relate to Casca as a woman, or having lost that outlet.
About Casca's desire to maintain a distance from her troops under her in general I sort of disagree with. I don't think it really fits her personality to do that. One of the things about Casca that I think made the hawks respect her was that she did not put on airs of superiority because of her position and was down to earth and showed them she can be capable like they can be. After the cave incident she is shown to be sitting among some of her own troops that I was under the impression her own men and she is relaxing and talking to them while drinking wine. So I definitely believe she mingled with her troops in a camaraderie manner. Though your over all the point you made that she would not allow her self to become inebriated around her men so as not and in a compromising position I think is her personality. I think Casca strived hard to make herself respectful around them.
Also something that you touched on that I want to expand on is how her treatment by fans now that she is broken. I find outside of this site she gets very little sympathy and she is blamed a lot. All I hear is (oh poor Guts, the love of his life hates him...that ungrateful bitch!) Complaints of Casca being ungrateful and a bitch abound in the fan community mostly due to her affect on Guts who has sacrificed everything for her run rampant.
it is not unwarranted that one might belive that Miura was going for an ambiguous depiction of the rape scene especially given Casca's past feelings for Griffith.
I like to point out that I am a female and I had thought these things, but as I recall during your pod cast you attributed these comments (or at least the sentiments) to the general male berserk fan, and "not getting it" do to their maleness.
You even mentioned in the movie thread that in the third movie Casca was shown to reciprocate Femto's kiss. Does that make you wonder wht the development team interpreted that scene? The rape scene was done in typical hentie style in the movies right down to the excited little noises Casca makes.
Hello everybody, I am a new forum member. Well, I have been lurking and listening to the podcasts for about 2 years but let's forget about that lol.
I have rarely seen anybody talking about how she will react to the idea of having had a child with Guts, the thought of the child being corrupted by Griffith during the rape, and especially the notion of it still existing within Griffith's reincarnated body.
I like to point out that I am a female and I had thought these things, but as I recall during your pod cast you attributed these comments (or at least the sentiments) to the general male berserk fan, and "not getting it" do to their maleness. Well let me say that I am a female fan and I do "get it" as far as female sexuality goes but there is a big difference between real life, how female sexuality is depicted in media as well as the social assumptions that go along with female sexuality morality, and how it is often depicted in male targeted audiences.
Casca's got a lot to work through and a lot she could potentially misplace blame for


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Items where Author / Artist / Editor is "Dougan, Gordon"
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Dalla Chiesa, Marta and Martensen, Pia M. and Simmons, Cameron and Porakishvili, Nino and Justesen, Just and Dougan, Gordon and Roitt, Ivan and Delves, Peter J. and Lund, Torben (2001) Refocusing of B-cell responses following a single amino acid substitution in an antigen. Immunology, 103 (2). pp. 172-178. ISSN 1365-2567


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Barfi Varieties
A sweet squarish or diamond shaped bite sized Indian confection in which sugar is used not only as a sweetener but also as a binder of the ingredients. It has a festive or celebratory fare to it and comes in a mind boggling variety of flavours and sometimes made into 2-3 tiers. We have around 20-25 varieties of Barfis – so choose the one which suits your taste buds!!


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Good day GingerScrappers! I'm a day late this month, but am thankful to be able to be here anyway, after giving my laptop a bath. Don't ask, just know it hasn't suffered any irreparable damage which is always a good thing when water + technology collide.
Enough about me, let's talk about Monica! Who is Monica, you ask? You know her as ViolaMoni here at GingerScraps and this lovely lady is our September Feature Designer!
September is a special month for Monica, not only is she the feature designer here at GingerScraps, but it's also her birthday month!
She has provided a few awesome coupon codes for us to use in her GingerScraps store:
Now that we've been officially coupon'd let's get to know more about Monica as Violamoni!
I usually find my inspirations from "real life" and from beautiful photos around the web. I choose a theme to work with and then I choose a color palette that can fit well with that theme. Then I can start, usually I start from solid papers.
I use Adobe Photoshop CS5 extended and Art Rage.
I have a black PC with a RAM of 6GB (no laptop), a bamboo tablet and an HD full of scrap stuff 🙂
Seeing positive feedback from my customers!
Being Me is my favorite kit, because….that's ME! My colors, my style, …I LOVE it!


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Turning miles directly into cash gains favor
Companies target shoppers with unredeemed rewards
Could this be the year we can start spending our frequent flier miles and loyalty rewards like cash?
When American Express Rewards launched "Pay With Points" eight years ago, rewards experts and frequent fliers began predicting that miles would become a spendable currency. The program allowed AmEx rewards holders to spend their points like cash at Amazon.com. Yet the phenomenon never expanded beyond American Express rewards and Amazon -- until now.
Since mid-2011, you've been able to turn miles into PayPal credits on Points.com, a popular site for frequent fliers. More recently, another website, PointsPay.com, launched with a option to convert points or miles into currency and load them onto a Visa debit card. Other options are on the horizon.
These developments have industry experts saying this may be the year we can all start spending our frequent flier miles and loyalty rewards like cash.
Why now? "I can't figure it out," says Randy Petersen of FlyerTalk. "These loyalty programs are 30-some years old and the idea of miles as a currency -- I've been hearing that for 20 years. There's been a little movement but no major steps until now. Out of the blue we have major initiatives that are extremely well-funded. Something's going on."
One thing is clear. Most people find it easier to earn rewards than to spend them. Industry studies show about 60 percent of cards have a rewards component, and they account for $4 of every $5 spent on credit. Yet, only two-thirds of all rewards earned in 2010 were actually redeemed, indicating that rewards are a lot easier to earn than spend.
While plane fare can be purchased for as little as 12,500 points one way, for example, the average amount spent on domestic plane fare is closer to 50,000. Unless you're a serious frequent flier, it takes a while to amass that kind of reward pile.
Rewards: Get 'em, spend 'em
Rather than waiting for enough points to purchase a flight or hotel stay, wouldn't it be nice to spend them as they accrue? Several business ventures are gambling that consumers are ready for just that.
In 2011, Points.com became the first to introduce the option of converting rewards into PayPal credits. Originally launched 10 years ago, Points.com is a site where you can track, redeem and swap miles and points from more than 100 loyalty programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Aeroplan, American Airlines AAdvantage, Airmiles, Delta SkyMiles, Priority Club Rewards and US Airways Dividend Miles. When you register and plug in your loyalty account information, the site keeps a running tally of the points in each of your accounts. It's free to register, but fees are deducted for transactions.
More recently, Zurich-based Loylogic launched PointsPay, a system that allows you to convert reward points from any of their partner loyalty programs (including Hilton, American Airlines and Delta) into the currency of your choice. You then load the currency onto a prepaid Visa card -- either a virtual card to use for online shopping via computer or iPhone or a physical card you can print out -- that is accepted by more than 30 million merchants worldwide. For now, points and miles cannot be combined on PointsPay.
Richard Postrel, Miami-based CEO of Swift Exchange, is getting ready to launch yet another electronic system for converting miles and points into spending money later this year.
All three programs add flexibility to the ways we can use our rewards. Points.com's PayPal credits and Loylogic's PointsPay both allow their loyalty program partners -- whether airline, hotel chain or car rental company -- to dictate the payout value for their rewards.
At a frequent flier conference held in April 2012, a rep for American Express Rewards admitted the cash value for rewards redemption is a penny a mile, sometimes even less. At that rate, an hourlong, 430-mile flight from Los Angeles would earn you a Big Mac and some fries. Despite the paltry rate, the adoption of currency-for-rewards benefit is well under way.
Some airlines won't trade miles for
Not all loyalty programs listed on Points.com allow miles to be traded for cash. American, Delta and US Airways allow frequent fliers to do so, for example, but United does not. Serious frequent fliers complain that, so far, the cash value being offered for miles is a lousy trade-off in terms of value.
Christopher Baranard, president of Points.com, suggests the appeal is more of convenience than value and consumers shouldn't expect airlines to trade miles for the same cash value they would get by spending them on plane fare.
"Getting a business-class flight to Europe with my miles is always going be way more valuable than converting those miles into cash," Baranard says. "It's affordable for the airline to get me on that plane, because the plane's going anyway and typically there are empty seats. They can manage that inventory, but they can't manage it by just converting it into cash whenever I want. They can only afford to give me a certain value per mile."
Built on 'breakage'?
Many people in the industry maintain that airlines build their loyalty programs based on "breakage" -- the idea that if they wait long enough, miles will expire and they won't have to trade them for seats. Baranard disagrees. "Our experience with our airline partners is that the vast majority want people to earn and burn as much as possible," Baranard says. "It's been empirically proven that if they can get somebody through that cycle of earning enough miles to get something for free, and start that process again, those people become much more engaged consumers."
Richard Postrel of the soon-to-launch Swift Exchange program says many loyalty programs are indeed built on breakage because there is still some doubt that redemption leads to a more engaged consumer (ie, additional revenue). He's out to prove it does and that there is a way for loyalty programs to take advantage of that without losing any profit. Postrel's system for making miles and points spendable is based on a patent he developed and what he calls "an ecosystem" of participating loyalty programs, merchants and credit card issuers. A scannable code loaded onto smartphones will function like a credit card at checkout.
These loyalty programs are 30-some years old and the idea of miles as a currency -- I've been hearing that for 20 years. There's been a little movement but no major steps until now. Out of the blue we have major initiatives that are extremely well-funded. Something's going on.
Randy Petersen
The idea behind Swift Exchange is to take advantage of the massive amount of points and miles that are never redeemed. What Postrel hopes to do is give people an easy way to spend those rewards when they shop, instead of paying cash, by first converting their rewards into cash and then presenting a scannable code on their smartphones that they can use like a credit card at checkout.
It's standard practice for merchants to begin discounting goods 30 days after putting them up for sale, then increasing those discounts for the next 60 days. Postrel is building a network of retailers willing to trade their discounted goods for rewards currency.
"There are 28 million merchants on the planet who accept credit cards that can use this system," Postrel says of Swift Exchange. "All they have to do is align their discounting methodology with the trillion-dollar rewards wallet out there."
That's the same philosophy driving Loylogic. Steven Landuyt, head of global sales at Loylogic, points out that rewards issued in the U.S. in 2010 had a perceived value of $48 billion, according the 2011 Colloquy Loyalty Census released in April 2011, but $16 billion worth went unredeemed. "That is huge," Landuyt says. "If the average household, in a time or economy crunch, has the ability to use some of their points for a day-to-day spend, that's probably good for them but, frankly, it's good for the merchant, good for business. It's like an untapped currency."
Both Loylogic and Swift Exchange have seriously invested in the gamble that retailers, credit card issuers, loyalty programs and customers are finally ready to adopt rewards as a spendable currency.
Whether points-as-currency will succeed may depend less on frequent fliers than on ordinary folks looking for extra spending power and an easier to way to use stagnating miles and points. "The silent majority or middle class don't really measure value like frequent fliers," Pedersen says. "My guess is, as these currency systems come to fruition, the frequent fliers will reject it because they're only getting seven-tenths of a penny for their mile at Home Depot, but the majority of people may go for utility."
"Frankly, coming off a couple years of economic hard times, I think that utility would have been well received as well by people who've had more miles than money," he adds. "I think it's utility that will make this successful."See related: Determining value of reward redemption
- 'Hidden city' ticketing could cost you more than you save – If you're considering using "hidden city" ticketing to save on airfare, think again. You could get kicked out of frequent flyer programs ? or get sued by airlines. Here's what to do instead ...
- Warm weather destinations to visit using the Southwest Companion Pass – Southwest Airlines is offering its Companion Pass as a sign-up bonus on its credit cards through early February. Here are some great warm weather destinations you can fly to using your pass ...
- It's time to start planning your summer vacations using rewards points – Looking forward to a summer vacation? January is the perfect time to start exploring destination options, looking for great deals -- and planning your credit card rewards strategy to fund your trip ...


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Items where Author / Artist / Editor is "Hilton, Gillian"
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Hilton, Gillian (2009) Analysis of empirical data from European countries. In: 34th Annual Conference of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe Knowledge Creativity in Teacher Education: Education for Knowledge Creation, August 29th to September 2nd, 2009, Palma, Mallorca.
Hilton, Gillian (2009) Improved qualifications and career opportunities of early years practitioners. In: Work based Learning: Journeys to the Core of Higher Education. Garnett, Jonathan and Costley, Carol and Workman, Barbara, eds. Middlesex University Press, London, pp. 73-85. ISBN 9781904750192
Hilton, Gillian (2009) Personal social and health education. In: Equality in the Secondary School: promoting good practice across the curriculum. Cole, Mike, ed. Continuum, London, pp. 232-246. ISBN 9781847061010
Hilton, Gillian and Baldwin, Gavin (2009) Sex and relationships education. In: Equality in the Primary School: Promoting Good Practice Across the Curriculum. Hill, Dave and Robertson, Leena Helavaara, eds. Continuum, London. ISBN 9781847061003
Hilton, Gillian (2007) Listening to the boys again: an exploration of what boys want to learn in sex education classes and how they want to be taught. Sex Education, 7 (2). pp. 161-174. ISSN 1468-1811
Viebahn, Peter and Hilton, Gillian (2006) Education the way ahead? An evaluation of a pilot course on scenario writing. European Journal of Teacher Education, 29 (2). pp. 127-144. ISSN 0261-9768
Hilton, Gillian (2006) Co-operation in quality assurance in teacher education: the role of the 'foreign expert' in raising standards. In: Co-operative partnerships in teacher education. Brejc, Mateja, ed. The National School for Leadership in Education, Ljubljana.. ISBN 9789616637060
Hilton, Gillian (2005) Girls talking; what girls think boys should learn in sex and relationships classes in school and who should teach them. A comparison with the opinions of boys. In: British Educational Research Association Annual Conference., 14-17 September 2005., University of Glamorgan..
Hilton, Gillian and Viebahn, Peter (2005) Scenario writing in teacher education. In: 30th annual conference of ATEE, 'Teachers and their Educators - standards for development'., 22 to 26 October 2005, The Amsterdam School of Education.
Hilton, Gillian (2004) Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) for teachers in England: the 'Cinderella' subject. In: 29th annual ATEE Conference titled "Teacher education between theory and practice. The end of theory - the future of practice?, 23 to 27 October 2004, Agrigento, Sicily.
Hilton, Gillian (2003) Listening to the boys: English boys' views on the desirable characteristics of teachers of sex education. Sex Education, 3 (1). pp. 33-45. ISSN 1468-1811
Snoek, Marco and Baldwin, Gavin and Cautreels, Paul and Enemaerke, Torsten and Halstead, Valerie and Hilton, Gillian and Klemp, Torunn and Leriche, Leo and Linde, Goran and Nilsen, Elisabeth and Rehn, Joran and Smet, Ronny and Smith, Kari and Sousa, J. M. and Stomp, Lex and Svensson, Hans and Svensson, Leif (2003) Scenarios for the future of teacher education in Europe. European Journal of Teacher Education, 26 (1). pp. 21-36. ISSN 0261-9768
Hilton, Gillian (2003) Using scenarios as a learning and teaching strategy with students. European Journal of Teacher Education, 26 (1). pp. 143-153. ISSN 0261-9768
Hilton, Gillian (2001) Sex education in secondary schools in England: the need for change. In: ATEE Spring University, 2001, Klaipeda University, Lithuania.
Hilton, Gillian (2001) Sex education: the issues when working with boys. Sex Education, 1 (1). pp. 31-41. ISSN 1468-1811


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Head Meets Heart—Here
Twenty-four campuses. 17,000 faculty and staff. 100,000 students. Over one-half million active alumni. All proving that the true measure of success is what you do to improve the lives of others. Penn State lives here.
We're partnering against disease...
With the help of a grant from the World Health Organization, scientists from Penn State's Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences will collaborate with the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology to investigate the impact of climate and land-use changes on infectious diseases, such as malaria and sleeping sickness, in Tanzania's Maasai Steppe.
And rescuing honey bee hives...
Honey bee colonies are collapsing in record numbers. A multidisciplinary team, made up of Penn State faculty and students, is looking at a number of different systems, including honey bee genomics, bioinformatics, and insect physiology, all with one goal in mind: to help the honey bee grow and thrive in the face of this crisis.
Shooting for the moon...
Penn State students and faculty in engineering, physics, astronomy, geoscience, journalism, and business are competing against the world's rising stars in space exploration to win the Google Lunar X PRIZE and to send their Lunar Lion spacecraft to the moon.
And rebuilding stormwater systems in Philadelphia.
Penn State Extension is leading students in rebuilding green infrastructure sites in Philadelphia: a rain garden and a stormwater bump-out. These features are intended to capture and absorb stormwater, decreasing polluted runoff while also beautifying the cityscape.


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Are We There Yet? Expanding Choices
November 27, 2012|Excerpts from "Are We There Yet?"
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Visit the Are We There Yet? home Americans are beginning to change their expectations of what makes a house a home. We are less interested in spending three hours a day slogging to work from the fringes of suburbia — and less and less able to pay for the gas to do so. We're beginning to return to cities as well as to closer-in suburbs that offer more housing and transportation choices. We're looking for lofts, apartments, places where we can walk to shops, take a bus or train or bike to work, and more easily enjoy the companionship of neighbors. The realities of the 21st century are calling for these different lifestyle and real estate choices: high gas prices and traffic congestion; the increasing expense of heating, cooling and maintaining a large home; a severe, long-term recession, tough job market and the need to reduce spending; a rapidly aging population and more single-person and single parent households;…
Monday Night Football Matchup A Battle For Midsize Complete Communities
November 12, 2012
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Visit the Are We There Yet? home Kansas City vs Pittsburgh is a battle between midsize contenders in the Complete Communities contest, but storied programs on the gridiron. Pittsburgh (2.3 million) and Kansas City (2.0 million) fall in the category of regions between 1 and 3 million people and competed directly against each other (and their peers) to receive their scores in Living, Working, Moving and Thriving. While the Steelers have been shining in the last decade, economically things have been tough for Pittsburgh, so it's hard not to delight in their current upward trajectory. Once a major player in the steel industry, Pittsburgh has a complex fixed-guideway transit system with light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) combined, with 94 stations in the region. Local leadership has been key to making the connection between transit, land use, and revitalization opportunities. For example, Pittsburgh Community…
How Far We Are Away From 'There' In Health Issues
November 7, 2012
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In Are We There Yet?, Reconnecting America explains that one measure of Complete Communities is healthy outcomes that see reduced incidences of diabetes, less obesity and a more active populace.
Monday Night Football Matchup A Close Contest In The Complete Communities Battle
November 4, 2012
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Visit the Are We There Yet? home Michael Vick and the Eagles meet Drew Brees and New Orleans' Who Dat Nation on Monday night in a battle of NFC superiority. In the complete communities arena, Philadelphia and New Orleans is a close game. New Orleans leads in Working and Moving, but only by a fraction, and both regions need some work when it comes to how their people can Thrive. Shared strengths: high share of jobs near transit, high share of households and workers in opportunity areas, many small, walkable blocks, and both regions have their transit stations in places that support transportation choices—opportunity areas With their more extensive system, Philadelphia pulls ahead when it comes to connecting residents with fixed-guideway transit. But New Orleans is continuing to plan for both streetcar and interregional rail connections that will extend the fixed-guideway transit network. Philly has a good ground…


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Cobb & Co
The opera resonates through the night. This is Sydney.
Everything just works well together. Zip closure, lined interior, zipped mesh, interior compartment, buckle fastener for interior open compartment.
20" (H 49 X W 37 X D 23 CM, 2.8kg, 37L)
- Zip closure
- Lined interior
- Zipped mesh interior compartment
- Buckle fastener for interior open compartment
- TSA combination lock
- Rubber carry handle
- Retractable handle
|Shipping Option
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Free, when spending $99 or over
$9.95, when spending under $99
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Free, when spending $299 or over
$29.00, when spending under $299
|Express Shipping
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|Standard International Shipping
|Outside Australia
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$29.00, when the weight of parcel is under 7 kg
I have an issue with my product what can I do?
I did not purchase my product with any personalisation and would like to return or exchange it, what do I do?
If you have purchased an item from us without any personalisation we are happy to provide you with a an exchange or refund on the item once returned to us if it is in the same condition as when we sent it to you.
Please reach out to our team at email@example.com for with your order/ receipt details within 7 days of purchase, we will assist with how to send the item back to us or you can return the item at our head office.
How to care for your leather handbag or leather wallet?
We use fine quality leather to make your accessories. The leather has a soft hand feel and is intended to age and soften further with wear. Crushed, matte and rough finishes are intentional giving the leather a distinctive look. Slight variations in colour, grain and texture are all part of leathers unique characteristics. The leather has been treated with a protective coating to help resist stains. Over time with use, these coatings may break down. We recommend you treat the leather with care and if applying any conditioner or protective sprays that you test them first in a hidden spot. We recommend you read our FAQ section below or if you need further advice consult a professional leather store such as a shoe repairer to get the best advice on how to clean and protect your accessories.
We recommend that most leather products are protected before wearing. A waterproof spray can be used to repel water, preserve and protect leather, suede and nubuck products. We do not recommend the use of Water proofer on metallics, patents and box leathers. These are protected leathers that have a covering or film applied to the leather to create a special finish.
Leather Dew Cream is designed to protect and nourish leather products. Please test the Leather Dew on a small, unnoticeable part of the leather before applying. The Leather Dew cannot be used on any suede, nubuck or metallic leathers.
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Most leather cleaners are specialised depending on the type of leather. These can be purchased from your local shoe repairer who can assist you. Remove fingerprints or marks with the Gabee Leather Dew to polish patent leather products.
Important - Leather will stretch over time. Wallets have a number of credit card pockets which are designed to hold ONE card only. Storing more that one card per pocket may cause the leather to overstretch which could result in cards falling out. Likewise if your handbag is over loaded with extremely heavy items it will stretch too.


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Struttin': The men marked the opening of this year's Rogers Cup, the first Tennis Masters Series of the summer hardcourt season, with a fashion show. Participants include Jonas Bjorkmann, Marcos Baghdatis, Jamie Murray, and Novak Djokovic (pictured). DTL hated Novak's shirt, but I think it totally fits his personality. He's the perfect player to rock petroleum-based fabric. What do you think? Tell us.
The tourney runs August 4-12. (Tennis Australia)
Are we really still talking about this?: THERE. IS. ROOM. FOR. BAGGY. PIRATE. PANTS. ON. A. TENNIS. COURT. Please stop complaining and let Rafa Nadal do his thing. (But I do agree that he doesn't look so bad in actual shorts.)
(OT) Hello Kitty? Hell, yes!: Yep, you're right. I'd totally be littering all the time if only to get some pink wristbands from the Thai government. (AP via CNN)


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Uwe Techt needed a new web page design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 12 designs submitted by 6 freelance designers.
A new homepage including a new logo is needed for a multilingual (german, english, frensh, more) blog and wiki about everything related to the Theory of Constraints.
toc4u.de, toc4u.net, toc4u.info, theory-of-constraints.de
toc4u.de now is a space for information about Theory of Constraints (TOC) in german language. toc4u.net in a network of TOC- users, -experts and people who are interested in it. We want to create a multilingual blog and wiki-space for everyone who is intersted in this topic.
- Homepages has to be in several languages (german, english, french, ...)- Spaces for
- html not required