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The Original Apple Cider Vinegar Hair Rinse is amazing in the backbar and terrific to incorporate into your clients' in-between-salon-visits color maintenance and hair health routine.
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Use to rinse out your clients after color and/or before styling
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Locks in color, doesn’t strip natural oils essential to scalp and hair health
Made with proteins that can triple the strength of hair
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Seals the hair’s cuticle and rebalances pH
Great for braids and extensions! Nozzle makes it easy to get product to the scalp and hair without pulling
Apple Cider Vinegar, Argan Oil, Fire Tulip, Lavender Extract, Aloe Vera
Water/Aqua/Eau, Acetic Acid (Apple Cider Vinegar), Cetrimonium Chloride, Silicone Quaternium-8, Rapeseedamidopropyl Ethyldimonium Ethosulfate, Glycerin, Polyacrylamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Spathodea Campanulata Flower Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Leaf Extract, Linoleamidopropyl PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate Dimethicone, Quaternium-96, Polyquaternium-55, Dipropylene Glycol, Propanediol, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate, Butylene Glycol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate.


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|Rayfine 100w 200w 300w 500w fiber laser cleaning machine|
1. Metal or glass surface coating removal, rapid removal of paint .
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8. Quick cleaning of nuclear power unit maintenance
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1.Can protect the surface of the cleaning object intact. For different dirt on different substrate surfaces, you can selectively clean the dirt by setting laser parameters (such as spot size, single pulse energy, pulse width, repetition frequency, etc.) without damaging the substrate.
2.Protect the environment, clean green. The laser cleaning waste is basically bottom powder, small in size, easy to store and handle, energy saving and environmental protection.
3.Can clean fragile material surfaces. Because of the non-contact nature of laser cleaning, it is convenient to implement long-distance operation, and it can be transmitted through optical fiber, which can clean relatively hidden parts of objects.
4.Laser cleaning is fast, fast, and low cost, without harming operator health.
|Model||RF-F-200W||Laser source||JPT MOPA 200W|
|Average Output Power||>100W||Pulse Energy||2.0mj|
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|JPT MOPA laser source
1.1–4000KHZ super wide pulse width frequency range can make your cleaning adapt to more marking materials and conditions.
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The default is English operation interface
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2.The wooden case is fumigation free which is suitable by sea &by air.
3.Customized packing as per customer’s requirement.
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Sample marking test service
Machine maintenance and warranty services
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|1. Laser cleaning machine.
2. CNC knife cutting machine.
3. Laser marking machine(Fiber/CO2/UV/Green light) and laser-welding machine.
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5. Co2 laser machine and so on.
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The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.


PRINTABLE “OVER OR UNDER” ST PATRICKS GAME – INSTANT DOWNLOAD
You will receive DIGITAL FILES ready to print. No physical item is sent.
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VP, Corporate Services, OTC Markets
Rachel Nussbaum focuses on fostering business development in the U.S. In this role, Rachel engages and strategizes with companies on how to optimize their experience for U.S. investors. Prior to OTC Markets, Rachel worked in client development and inside sales at an early stage tech company. Rachel has a BS in Management from the AB Freeman School of Business at Tulane University with a concentration in Marketing and Legal Studies.


June 10, 2013 @ 3:30 am
Visalia Country Club
625 North Ranch Street
Visalia, CA 93291
Tulare-Kings Right to Life’s (TKRL) 12th Annual Golf for Life tournament is scheduled for Monday, June 10th, at the Visalia Country Club, according to April Kesterson, Executive Director of TKRL.
The 4-person shot-gun scramble represents a major fundraising event for TKRL. Entry fee is $150 per person, which entitles the participant to 18 holes of golf on one of Central California’s finest courses, plus lunch and a catered dinner at the VCC clubhouse. Check-in will begin at 10:30 a.m., with tee-off at 12:00noon. In addition, everyone has a chance to win an array of prizes by purchasing raffle tickets during the evening festivities.
Kesterson said there are still opportunities for local businesses or individuals who want to support the tournament as a Sponsor. “Life Saver” and “Heartbeat” Sponsor Packages are available, as well as Tee/Green Sponsor levels.
TKRL works for restored moral, cultural and legal respect for innocent human life, reaching out to a society afflicted by legalized abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia. TKRL provides education in these life issues, offering positive alternatives and support to the distressed and their families.
For information about Sponsor Packages and/or Registration Forms, contact April Kesterson at 732-5000, visit www.tkrl.org, or e-mail firstname.lastname@example.org.


Jack Bauer and all of his sexiness returns tonight to FOX!
Bubba Show: Jane Lynch aka Sue Sylvester called into our show.
Glee Wishes You An “Extraordinarily Merry Christmas” With Songs From Mariah, Elvis, Springsteen and More – Listen & Download Now
The yuletide spirit hits McKinely High in a big way this week as Glee rolls out its holiday episode, before taking a break until 2012. Look for lots of action from Troubletones star Mercedes (taking […]
Katy Perry, P!nk Songs Boost Female Power on “I Kissed A Girl” Episode of Glee – Listen & Download Now
This week on an all new episode of Glee, Coach Beiste finally stands up to Sue Sylvester, while Puck and Quinn find things getting more complicated in their quest to get their daughter back. And […]
This week on Glee: Artie begins preparations with the cast of the school musical West Side Story, Finn meets with a recruiter and Coach Beast finds out she has an admirer. The episode, titled “The […]
Back from its baseball-imposed hiatus (thank you very much St. Louis Cardinals…), everyone’s favorite TV show hits the ground running this week with another episode featuring the brilliant and talented Brittany S. Pierce. Click through […]
Remember the show on FOX from 1990-1994, that made “Wayans” a household name? Well, FOX is ready to bring that show back to the airwaves this spring.
The show has been on the air for 23 seasons, and FOX is threatening that this will be it’s last, unless the voice talent takes a 45% paycut.
Are you a fan of Gordon Ramsay and Hell’s Kitchen? Pittsburgh Elise Wims is on this seasons Hell’s Kitchen. She works at Andora restaurant in the Green Tree and will be featured on this season […]
No doubt that Heather Morris who plays Britney on GLEE can dance her BUTT off! Do you want proof? Come on..she was [lastfm link_type=""]Beyonce’s [/lastfm]backup dancer for years!


2nd Half: Where Mo Williams hits a game winner, Cavs win by two, and the moment he emerges as ‘that guy?’
Maurice Williams can have Ahmad call him Mo Gotti in the intros if he’s going to make 25-point games with the occasional game winner part of his encore to the fire-laden pregame shows. Seriously, I’d be good with it then. Regardless of what I may have posted on my twitter account seconds before the opening tip tonight.
Mo Williams only scored 4 points at halftime, but he came out with the mindset of “accepting the role” of “being that guy with the ball in his hands” not with his words but with his actions in the second half tonight. He did say that too in the postgame, I am quoting him there, so it is kinda with his words also, but the way he played meant so much more than any talk of being a leader he’s ever offered in the past.
Mo also said that he thought the Cavs “needed to win this game tonight” and he was absolutely right. They played awful on Tuesday, and heading into a stretch that includes the two teams the Cavs were watching as they made their collective ways out of the locker room on Wednesday night – MIA / ORL – at 5-9 is a lot worse than the 6-8 mark they currently have.
But more than needing this win tonight, they needed Mo to not so much actually be the guy once like he was tonight, but show that he wants to be that guy as the season moves forward. He’s the most talented player on this squad, and if he is the leader he was tonight heading out of that locker room on his way to going for 21 second half points when they needed it, helping to erase a 10-point halftime lead and also grabbing 4 rebounds with 5 assists on 11 of 22 shooting, then these Cavs will be okay. Good stuff tonight, Maurice Mo Gotti.
Another guy who shot 50% was Anthony Parker. Yep. 5 of 10 from the field for 14 points and a stellar defensive effort to boot. See, I told you AP is awesome. Brandon Jennings had 3 points on 1 of 10 shooting, John Salmons shot 6 of 14, and Maggette shot 2 of 8, and Parker had a hand in that lack of production from the MIL backcourt.
Daniel Gibson went for 12 off the bench, and seemed to be okay shoulder-wise after what loooked to me like a real serious injury. Daniel said “I have had some trouble with my shoulders this season” and jokingly added “I need to stay away from screens from now on,” but he did seem to be fine.
He said of his attempt late that “I thought it felt good” so I’m thinking he’s okay. I know it’s not one in the same, but I walked away from standing in front of Gibson during the postgame thinking he was okay and that the injury was nothing serious. Take that medical evaluation for what it’s worth I guess.
Byron Scott also talked postgame about how “pleased he was with the defensive effort for 48 minutes tonight.” Now I didn’t notice much of an overall sense of urgency in the first half personally, but if Coach Scott was pleased with the 48 minutes I’m good with it too. He could definetely beat me in a game of one-on-one so I’ll take his word for it.
He also said he “talked to Mo this afternoon about some things including being able to respond from games like they had last night.” He mentioned also on that last play that it “was designed to put the ball in Mo’s hands. If he had the shot, he could take it, if there wasn’t anything there he had guys out there that he could find for an open look.”
Mo made the shot.
I kinda think / inferred that he talked to Mo about assuming that leadership / leading scorer’s role this afternoon, but am only guessing on that. I actually did attempt to ask Mo – if you happen to catch any of the postgame stuff with Mo listen for a guy who gets about one half of a sentence out and then someone else asks another question and the guy then stops and lets the other question get answered only to never ask his question again – if Byron Scott did ask him to assume that leadership role specifically this afternoon, but I never quite got that out. I’m pretty sure he did though…and glad that Mo embraced it regardless.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
1st half: Cavs dreaming of stuffing and pumpkin pie, trail 44-34
You remember how some of you felt earlier this afternoon at work? Last day before the holiday, going through the motions on this get-a-way day perhaps, while thinking only about grubbing your face off and angling a way to avoid engaging in awkward relative talk tomorrow as the task at hand laid on your desk like a paper weight?
So yeah, that’s what the Cavs looked like to me during the first half tonight. Like they didn’t want any part of being here.
The Bucks seemed to approach the half with a similar focus, however they did just enough for the ‘diff to read -10. Correct, Parker’s buzzer beater did not count.
An opportunity lost to be sure there. For about 16 minutes whoever – not landed – but threw the first punch would have taken a commanding lead. The Bucks eventually took that shot, kinda landed it I guess, and they’re up ten.
I saw no desperation on the Cavs side. I saw no urgency. Hopefully they’re talking about that now, and come out like they want to win this one. I know Dan Gilbert – seated courtside behind the Cavs hoop for the 1st half – sorta hopes they’d try harder than this tonight. One more half available to do so.
Statline – Cavs leading scorer is AP with 6…five guys have 4 points (Andy, Mo, Gib, Hollins, Moon). Bucks led by John Salmons (9), Larry Sanders has 8, Jennings has 3 points, 2 assists, Drew Gooden has 4 points 6 rebounds, Andy has 7 for the Cavs, and Mbah a Moute has 7 boards also to tie for most. Cavs turned it over 6 times, Bucks 3.
Cavs played last night and I didn’t feel like talking about it. In fact, I really didn’t even watch it, which isn’t all that common for me. I was out for a birthday celebration of sorts, had an angle at the television, but every time I looked up it the score just read: ugly, delete dvr recording and move on.
So I did, helped by a shout-out from my buddy Rock, and here we are tonight.
Playing the Bucks tonight Q – hold your applause though – place is empty pretty much.
Anyways, I missed B-Scott’s pregame talk, but I heard Scotty Skiles…who the junior high version of myself was kind of a big fan of trying to make my way down the little league basketball courts bouncing the ball with my right hand pretending like I was calling a play with the other. Topic for another day I suppose, but Skiles nailed it I think for both teams coming into tonight when he said the following:
“In this game tonight, if one of these two teams aren’t playing with some desperation, that’s going to be a problem for them. We hope that’s not us tonight.”
Andrew Bogut’s out and Cavs need to capitalize on that.
Drew Gooden’s in the house, talking at halfcourt with Andy right now as I type this. Cavs could use him about now.
They won’t be .500 before Thanksgiving, but they need this one tonight if they don’t want this thing to get out of hand. Like Skiles said, play desperate…because if Cavs fans are being real right now, they should play desperate if they’re trying to salvage any kinda of respectable record out of this 2010-11 season. Schedule kinds gets a little weird after this.
Joey Graham still a starter, along with JJ, AP, Andy and Mo. Watch out for B-Jennings.
Photo Credit: NBA.com


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Novel, three nonfiction books on problem in Orthodox community point to growing awareness as cases persist.
By Hella Winston (The Jewish Week)
December 14, 2010
While Kathy has assured Gittel that God wants her to speak up and tell the truth after all these years, Gittel is plagued by doubt and guilt. "But Hashem did not want me to go. He had stated clearly in the Torah that it was a violation of the divine, a transgression of the commandments, to speak evil of other Jews. I was only here because of that, despite him."
Gittel was unable to tell even her own parents of her plans to go to the police; they, too, had long known about the abuse, but they had chosen to keep silent. "I did not want to hurt them, to break them down, because it wasn't their fault, only Hashem's, how He allowed children to suffer."
Indeed, Gittel's parents — and most of the other adults in the book — are portrayed as warm and loving, people who genuinely try to do what they feel is right for their children. But they are so steeped in denial and the fear of giving the community a bad name or not securing a good shidduch [match] that they ultimately fail their children in the most fundamental and devastating ways.
The book's author — a chasidic woman writing under the pseudonym Eishes Chayil ("Woman of Valor") — told The Jewish Week that "after many suicides and hundreds in the streets, on drugs, in therapy, there is definitely more awareness [of the sexual abuse issue]." But she also cautions that "there is still so much ignorance" in the Orthodox community. "And as I know firsthand," she said, "practical advice for parents is sorely lacking."
It is, in part, this ignorance and lack of practical advice for parents that is being addressed by three new nonfiction books on the topic: "Breaking the Silence: Sexual Abuse and the Jewish Community"(Ktav) edited by David Mandel, the CEO of Ohel Family and Children's Services, and David Pelcovitz, who teaches psychology and education at Yeshiva University; "Child Abuse and Domestic Abuse, Volume I and II," edited and self-published by Daniel Eidensohn, a haredi rabbi and author who writes a blog on issues of Jewish identity; and "Abuse: The Communal and Religious Factors that Undermine the Apprehension of Offenders and the Treatment of Victims" (Urim Publishing, Jerusalem) by Michael J. Salamon, a prominent psychologist in the Orthodox world.
Almost as if timed to illustrate the familiar dictum that truth is stranger — and in this case, even more horrifying — than fiction, Rabbi Gershon Kranczer, who recently stepped down as the principal of Yeshiva Tehila L'Dovid, a Flatbush school for disabled children, and three of his sons were accused two weeks ago of sexually abusing four of Kranczer's other children. While two of the four sons turned themselves in to police in Brooklyn, Rabbi Kranczer and his oldest son are believed to have fled to Israel.
The case is one of the most troubling of its kind, since it involves multiple generations and the alleged abuse spans more than 15 years. The latest in a long string of cases that have come to light in recent years, this one further demonstrates the depth of the problem, which the new rash of books is facing head-on.
"Breaking the Silence," which came out in October, contains chapters by contributors — many of them affiliated with Ohel — on a range of issues. They include: the psychological impact of abuse, strategies for abuse prevention, and halachic and legal perspectives on the handling of abuse. In an interview with the Jewish Week, Mandel explained that the outline for the book was written eight years ago, but "the intensive work" on it started about two and a half years ago, right around the time this issue really began to gather steam in the Orthodox world. As recently as five years ago the subject was still largely taboo.
Pelcovitz believes, however, that things are changing.
"Even in the most insular communities, there's some signs of the loosening of the knee-jerk kind of denial or failure to act that may be coming from fear rather than really getting it. I'm finding when the dialogue really gets going, there seems to be a genuine willingness to try to act, to try to get therapy for the victims, to try to do more than they have in the past in terms of the perpetrators, so we're hoping."
The issue of what to do with perpetrators has in fact been the focus of much of the recent public discussion about sexual abuse in the strictly Orthodox world. It is a world where, until recently, reporting abuse to law enforcement was almost unheard of and abuse cases, if disclosed at all, were handled "internally," often with disastrous consequences.
While a chapter in Mandel's book by Rabbi Mark Dratch, who founded and runs JSafe: The Jewish Institute Supporting an Abuse-Free Environment, advocates reporting abuse to the police, Mandel said that there are situations when someone is known to be an offender but cannot be dealt with by law enforcement.
That could be because of an expired statute of limitations or other circumstances on which he did not elaborate, and in such cases, Mandel advocates the implementation of a community "safety plan," whereby the offender is "monitored" within the community and prevented from being in places or engaging in activities where children are present.
This is an approach that some critics find naïve at best, and particularly troubling coming from the CEO of Ohel. The organization has a history of treating known molesters who have not been through the criminal justice system but are instead pressured into treatment by rabbis under the threat of being reported. In a number of cases — one of which involved a man named Stefan Colmer, about which The Jewish Week wrote extensively — such people either dropped out or were discharged from treatment and then went on to molest again.
Referring to a widely circulated YouTube video of a 2008 talk given by Mandel in Baltimore, blogger Shmarya Rosenberg, who covers this issue for his blog, FailedMessiah.com, notes that "in the past, Mandel publicly told haredi community members to use their rabbis as sounding boards before reporting abuse to police or child protective services and, to my knowledge, he has never retracted that statement or apologized for it. That means the very people who have for years covered up for abusers get to decide whether a particular case can be reported to police or not."
In the Jewish Week interview, both Mandel and Pelcovitz advocated compliance with mandatory reporting laws.
The issue of reporting is also a central focus of Eidensohn's work, which covers similar ground as Mandel and Pelcovitz's collection but from a decidedly more haredi perspective. Eidensohn claims his book "was written to understand the [halachic] parameters of when and if the police or psychologists should be involved and when and if rabbis should be involved.
"Instead of finding that there were narrow specific circumstances that permitted [reporting to police], it became clear that the wrong framework was being utilized," Eidensohn told The Jewish Week. "Instead of focusing on the judicial model of the rules of evidence and the threshold of seriousness to overcome the prohibition of informing, the important issue in halacha is whether there is danger to the child. This is the concept of rodef. Rodef is an extrajudicial concept.
"Similarly, the Torah obligation of 'Not standing idly by the blood of your fellow man' requires action which is not necessarily requiring consulting with rabbinic authority," Eidensohn continued.
The book at times uses explicit language, which, Eidensohn claims, cost him an early supporter [Eidensohn wouldn't name him] and forced him to distribute his book online, as various distributors informed him "that this topic, and especially the language, was not appropriate to a Jewish bookstore."
The language was important, however, according to Eidenshon, because "it is impossible to adequately explain how to protect children without explaining what the danger is. Euphemisms are appropriate when the reality is known but someone wants to allude to it rather then use lurid details."
Salamon's book, which he said is due out in March, draws on his own experience as a clinician and examples from the broader Orthodox world. He explores how long-held Orthodox cultural practices and communal taboos — at one time vital to safeguarding the community against real, external threats — are now, in a different social and historical context, serving to undermine the safety of its children.
Salamon outlines the ways in which Jewish law can and has been distorted to serve the interests of the powerful and intimidate those who have been victimized into silence. In addition, he explores various practical issues related to the identification and treatment of sexual abuse within a religious context; these include conflicts that can arise for Orthodox mental health practitioners and/or patients, the proper role of rabbis in this issue and the general difficulty in obtaining reliable data about sexual abuse in insular communities.
"After years of sweeping this terrible scourge of abuse under the rug, finally, and perhaps as a result of the admission by the Catholic Church that it too has a problem, the Jewish community is beginning to admit the problem exists here as well," Salamon told The Jewish Week.
"These new texts," Salamon continued, "are but a tentative first step in this process of exploring the issue of abuse and understanding its deep impact, not just on the individual who is abused but the community as a whole. We need to take a long hard look at what can realistically be done to protect our children and ourselves and implement the correct programs."
Other observers agree.
"The publication of the various books about sexual abuse in the Orthodox community marks an end to the era of taboo and denial," said Asher Lipner, a psychologist in the Orthodox community. "The community has now been warned that there is a life-threatening epidemic that is destroying our children. The question remains as to what we are going to do about it."
Sadly, this may be easier said than done, at least in Eishes Chayil's corner of the Orthodox world.
"I am apprehensive of books that attempt to capitalize on the supposed dirty secrets of the frum community," a chasidic woman, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of being identified as having spoken to a "secular" newspaper, told The Jewish Week.
"Child abuse is not a phenomenon that is unique to our community, yet every time you open a newspaper or radio, there it is — another rabbi, another teacher, being accused of child molestation. It's not that I believe that it doesn't happen here, because surely it does, but we don't need any more exposure than we are already getting. This book was not written by someone who cares about our values and either maliciously or not, wanted to bring harm to our community."
Others may agree. A call to Eichler's, a leading Jewish bookstore in Borough Park, revealed that it is not, at this point, carrying "Hush."
Eishes Chayil, whose novel is apparently the first that deals with the problem of abuse from the point of view of fiction, isn't convinced much will change in her community.
"An honest discussion," she told The Jewish Week, "would entail an honest accounting, which put the blame squarely on the rabbonim [rabbis] of the community who for years have ignored, denied and obstructed this issue. This will never happen. It would tear the fabrics of what has made this a community. When the first article mentioning molestation was published [in a frum magazine], it almost immediately praised the rabbonim for their handling of the issue before discussing anything else. The irony was too much to bear.
"Yet, I think that, though it seems impossible, it is really simpler than many think to show parents how to teach their children [about how to be safe]."
And speaking as an insider who knows firsthand the gap between the ideal vision of the haredi world and its reality, at least when it comes to the issue of sexual abuse, she says pointedly, "The community could use the words necessary for a crucial discussion and still remain innocent enough to maintain the ancient tradition of complete ignorance and perceived superiority."


If I could earn a living doing what I love, it would be to run a non-profit organization. This organization would be filled with warmhearted people, that go out making life a little easier for those in need. I believe this would change the world through the “pay it forward” effect. My organization would inspire those who have received help from my team, to go out and do something charitable, when they are in a place to do so. “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”- Maya Angelou.
My organization would be more than just helping the less fortunate, but also helping out anyone in need. It would be unique by connecting people who need help, such as: rides, a place to stay, counseling or even help promoting their business, to people who can offer them the help that they were requiring. When generosity reaches those in need, everyone involved takes away, if nothing else, a genuine sense of prosperity. Proactively seeking opportunities to help others would be a staple of this organization.
I have always felt that if there is an opportunity to do God’s work, I should take it. Assistance in any form will only better the world. If my organization actually existed, it would be a whole team, giving a helping hand wherever they could. To instill the belief that love for mankind and humanity is still alive, is the most important aspect of what I would love to do for a living.


The spotlight — or maybe the flood light — shines on bad customer service online. Companies should worry about public complaints and reports of their brand failures more than ever, suggests a new report from RightNow and Harris Interactive. Contrarily, they stand to make more money if they can deliver a superior experience, the report says.
The Customer Experience Impact 2010 report reveals that 82% of consumers in the U.S. said they’ve stopped doing business with a company due to a poor customer service experience. Of these, 73% cited rude staff as the primary pain point, and 55% said a company’s failure to resolve their problems in a timely manner drove them away.
Almost everybody surveyed, a full 95%, said after a bad customer experience they would “take action.” 79% of U.S. consumers said they blabbed about their negative customer experiences in public and amongst friends. Of consumers who took to social media sites including Facebook and Twitter to publicly air a complaint, 58% expected a response from the company, 42% expected a response from a company within a day, but only 22% said they’d actually gotten a response as a result of griping there.
RightNow’s chief marketing officer Jason Mittelstaedt shared these insights, which were not published in his company’s 2010 report, exclusively with TechCrunch:
In 2007, 60% of U.S. consumers said when they had a negative customer experience, they wanted to speak to a live agent about it. At that time, 26% preferred email, 5% chat, but Facebook and Twitter weren’t used by corporations to handle complaints and resolve problems. This year, 83% of U.S. consumers said they wanted to speak to a live agent, 66% preferred email, 12% chat, and 7% choose social networking sites when trying to resolve a problem.
The more digital communication options that consumers have, apparently, the more they crave human interaction in real time, apparently.
What’s a company suffering from a bad customer service rep to do?
Clearly they can’t stop the customer noise online. The complaint of the decade, Dell Hell is still being discussed widely online and by major business news outlets, though Jeff Jarvis and Dell attempted to make peace back in 2007.
This month, Google’s Marissa Mayer noted her displeasure with Delta (see: screen capture below) on Twitter — she has about 47,000 followers there.
Earlier complaints about Delta and Virgin America published here, saw an immediate and passionate response from readers. The Delta Flight 1843 From JFK To Hell post received sympathy in the form of 1,000 Facebook-likes, so far.
And in the interest of fair disclosure: Consumer advocate blogger Christopher Elliot reported that AOL, which recently acquired TechCrunch, is consistently ranked as one of the worst providers of customer service in the U.S. in the Hall of Shame surveys conducted by MSN and Zogby.
RightNow’s Mittelstaedt suggests that companies facing a bad rep for customer service — while they work to improve the customer experience they provide, internally — should focus on generating positive word of mouth online and off most of all, than positive reviews and online feedback secondarily.
In other words, friends and colleagues endorsements, discussed in real life or through Twitter and Facebook updates, are most likely to drive sales than even a positive user review posted on a site like Yelp or Amazon (but those matter too).
MIttelstaedt also suggests companies go ahead and invest serious time and money in customer service. It’s not just an operational thing, anymore. And the investments should come back to the bottom line: 85% of U.S. consumers say they would pay 5% to 25% more to ensure a superior customer experience.
[Editor's note: At TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco in September, the Startup Battlefield competition included pitches from Gri.pe and Tello, companies that use mobile apps to amplify and organize customer service complaints and kudos, and that help companies understand and address how their rep is trending in real time.]


Throughout my career I have heard many a manager lament the challenges of motivating and engaging someone of the younger generation in the workforce. I have generally stood up for the newbies as I believe they have a huge amount to offer if those ‘older’ generations of us can find a way to work with them. Can open… Worms everywhere.
‘Stress-less’ week, organised by UC Life!, will feature a number of events such as a Zumba class, pop-up pub, pancake breakfast, a market day and puppy play day to de-stress students ahead of exams next week.
A puppy play date? Maybe stress levels wouldn’t be quite so high if time was spent studying instead of having a pancake breakfast or hanging out in the pop-up pub?


The lack of good options has generally kept trans-pacific differences regarding how to respond to Iran’s nuclear activities limited. Asian governments, including China and Russia, have generally adhered to some variant of a “two-track” policy that balances diplomacy with sanctions. Of course, as President Obama pointed out earlier, despite U.S. and other international efforts to negotiate a compromise, “It may be that their ideological commitment to nuclear weapons is such that they’re not making a simple cost-benefit analysis on this issue.”
The nature of the Iranian political system amplifies this problem. The intra-elite splits that have intensified since the disputed 2009 presidential election have complicated reconciliation efforts between Washington and Tehran. An unfortunate dynamic has arisen. Whenever Iranian negotiators have seemed to support a compromise deal regarding their nuclear policies or other activities, reformers as well as nationalists have attacked them for selling out Iran’s interests. An enduring U.S.-Iran reconciliation remains improbable until new political leaders emerge in Iran who enjoy genuine popular support and are capable of envisaging a genuine improvement in relations with the United States.
The Obama administration is striving to stabilize Afghanistan by the time it withdraws most U.S. combat troops, but whether it can realize such an achievement remains uncertain. At their meetings in Washington last month, Presidents Obama and Karzai agreed to accelerate the U.S. military withdrawal timetable. Obama justified the decision by citing the declared success of the U.S. military surge in Afghanistan in defeating al-Qaeda, weakening the Taliban, and building up the Afghan security forces. Obama later announced in his State of the Union address that 34,000 U.S. troops would be withdrawn over the next year, ahead of all combat troops being out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
Obama also discussed the nature of the post-2014 Afghan-U.S. military cooperation, but the two governments provided few details regarding how they planned to implement the Strategic Partnership that they signed last year in Kabul. Nor did the Afghan-U.S. discussions resolve uncertainties concerning how Afghanistan would ensure the holding of free and fair presidential elections in 2014, or achieve progress in the peace negotiations with the Afghan Taliban and their foreign sponsors in Pakistan.
In this regard, Pakistan might see, for the first time in its history, an elected civilian government transfer power to another team of elected civilians. Unfortunately, this spring’s national elections could bring to power politicians less supportive to U.S. interests than the current leaders, who have struggled to sustain minimum cooperation with the U.S. war on terror, especially the use of drone strikes, in the face of their citizens’growing hostility towards the United States. Whoever wins this year’s ballot will find it hard to rein in the elements within the Pakistani intelligence services that support the Islamist terrorists in Afghanistan and India. And the temptation will always exist in Islamabad to seek to squeeze Washington by suspending the Pentagon’s use of the ground supply lines through Pakistani territory that convey goods to the NATO troops in Afghanistan.
The administration’s Russian Reset actually helped NATO survive the year-long ban that Islamabad imposed for most of 2011, as the Pentagon was able to transport defense supplies through Russia and its Central Asian allies using the Northern Distribution Network that has been constructed during the Obama administration. Despite this promising improvement, Russian-U.S. relations remain strained over U.S. ballistic missile defense plans, while Washington has been unable to secure all the help it wants from Moscow regarding Iran. The Russian government’s image among Americans has been deteriorating sharply since Putin’s return to the presidency, with the Pussy Riot scandal, ban on Americans adopting Russian orphans, and government crackdown on civil liberties. Russia’s weakening economy has decreased its global influence, including in Washington. On the other hand, Moscow was angered by the U.S. Congress passing, and President Obama signing, a new law that prohibits Russian officials thought to be involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky from traveling to the U.S. or accessing its banking system. The Russian parliament responded by passing a self-defeating measure limiting Americans’ ability to adopt Russian orphans.


Today I had the great fortune to tour the abandoned Continental Distillery in Linfield,PA with Dave Ziegler, who was an employee there. Like Michter's, the site is in general ruin and heavily vandalized- having closed about the same time as Michter's (1986). Majority of the buildings are closed and locked, but a few were opened up for us. Here are a few shots from today's explorations. Enjoy and a HUGE thank you to Dave!


Today I took Ella Grace to our local library for her very first "Story Time." She loved the songs, stories, and making Humpty Dumpty fall down. However, I think her favorite part was watching Gregory (a cute little 18-month-old with curly blond hair and the only other child there today). Both Evan and Ella really love books. I want so badly for that to continue as they get older. She and I will definitely be going to Story Time again and I look forward to taking Evan to the library this Summer.


Hi everyone! Just a quick post today to show you the lovely pieces that are currently on my wishlist. The panda shoes are so adorable; as much as we all love our cat shoes and mouse shoes, the panda version provides that extra unique element. For awhile I've wanted an apple shaped bag and I've seen a few around in recent times. I like this one from because it is more of a subtle and classy apple rather than just carrying a random apple shaped bag. I love the yellow bag! This is also a piece I have desperately wanted to add to my collection. It's such a happy and fun colour which makes a bold statement. As for the heels and the hair bows, lets just say I love them and there can never be too many. The cardigan is a beautiful mix of romantic colours and the scalloped pattern is a sweet finish. The skirt is so classy and gorgeous. It catches my eye in the shops a lot these days. It also comes in blue and in a dress version. It's my birthday next month...so who wants to buy it all for me?
Photos from: Alannah Hill, Forever New, Review, Forever 21, Mimco, Modcloth


Koraput: Fearing Maoist strike, Nabarangpur Police have beefed up security and are leaving no stone unturned to ensure a violence-free election in Umerkote on Wednesday. As many as 165,037 voters, including 81,207 women, will exercise their franchise at 162 polling stations in the Umerkote byelection which was necessitated after the murder of BJD MLA Jagabandhu Majhi on September 24.
"We have taken all necessary security steps to conduct a violence-free election. Adequate security forces have been deployed and police stations alerted," SP (Nabarangpur) Niti Sekhar said. Officials said 67 out of total 162 polling stations created for the Umerkote byelection are hypersensitive.
Seventy other booths are sensitive while the rest are safe. According to the SP, fourand-a-half company of CRPF personnel, six platoons of SOG, seven platoons of OSAP and two platoons of special security battalion along with Orissa Police have been pressed into action for election duty. While 12 panchayats in Raighar block are Maoist infested, the Red rebels have a grip over three panchayats in Umerkote block. Prior to the election, Maoist posters had appeared at several areas under Raighar block urging people not to vote for the BJD.
"We have sealed the district's border with Chhattisgarh to stop influx of Maoists into the district. The CRPF jawans are campaigning at Putanara, Hatigaon, Khilloli and Parchibeda along the inter-state border to check rebel intrusion. At present, the situation is under control," the SP said.
Police have also sealed the borders of other Assembly segments that share a boundary with Umerkote Assembly seat. While all vehicles entering the Assembly segment are being frisked thoroughly, patrolling vehicles are kept on high alert to meet any exigency. The administration has deployed 831 polling staff and 105 vehicles are being used for the election. Counting of votes will be held on December 4, election officer Nihar Ranjan Das said.


I've previously written about Mitchell Hooks' movie poster career, so I won't go over it again... but I thought it might be nice to have all his posters in one place - or at least what I've been able to compile so far, since I wasn't able to find them catalogued anywhere on the Internet.
Many thanks to Crispin Garcia of thesandpebbles.com for providing the scans of Jessica, A Flea in Her Ear and, of course, The Sand Pebbles. Crispin wrote, "My initial interest in Mr. Hooks was that he is the artist who did the original artwork for The Sand Pebbles (1966)."
"His poster version was eventually replaced by one created by another great artist, Howard Terpning, only a few months later. However it is Mr. Hooks' artwork that graced the recent Varese Sarabande CD." (below)
Crispin continues, "After The Sand Pebbles was released to critical acclaim there was an Oscar buzz generated by Steve McQueen's performance in the movie. To capitalize on this (and studios being studios) they decided to more prominently feature McQueen's character on the poster plus give it more of a war-like appeal. However, the movie is not a war film (although it has that element) but a character driven drama and romance. So to me Mr. Hooks captured the essence of the film better than did the more macho look of the recommissioned poster by Mr. Terpning (although I am also a big fan of this artwork as well). I am not sure when Mr. Hooks completed his artwork for the film but it was used in advance advertising and when the movie premiered on December 20, 1966. The Terpning version was completed in February 1967. The silhouette overlay with the Chinese junk and the U.S.S. San Pablo on the Hooks movie poster was created by another famous poster artist Tom Jung."
* Thanks also to Heritage Auctions for allowing me to use their scans of the Dr. No and Fu Manchu posters.
* My Mitchell Hooks Flickr set.


This issue of the Digital Influentials is dedicated to that one common denominator which unites us all! It’s the single, solitary, unifying factor that brings us all together, regardless of race, religion or appetite. It’s all about food!!
No matter what the state of the economy or the temperature or the state of international politics (which I can almost assuredly say is never a fun topic), people gotta eat! Surprisingly the food category is one that is generating lots of innovations in the digital space, so this issue we decided to highlight the various sites and services we discovered that either helped us save money or discover new ways to prep and eat food!
Foodies and average joe’s alike go to the web in droves to search for everything food related. From “what to make for dinner” to a “gourmet meal for 25 people” you can find just about everything. There are articles, videos, pictures (some refer to this as food porn), blogs and more that can help you turn on your cravings and satisfy your tastes. Grocery shopping is a booming category as more data shows that consumers go to the web to prep their grocery lists and research their meals for the week. Let’s dive into some of what we found on our wild and wonderful route through the week!
Looking for a recipe that will twist your ears back and set your nose on fire? Then look no further than YUMMLY (http://www.yummly.com/). Yummly is a next generation recipe search engine that catalogs more recipes than you could ever possibly imagine cooking, and people who know and love food created the site! They know the ingredients and they know what you mean to do with them, so check ‘em out!
When was the last time you were stuck in the store not knowing which product to buy? It was probably yesterday, but if AISLEBUYER (http://www.aislebuyer.com/) has its way it’ll never happen again! Aisle Buyer allows consumers to scan barcodes while in the store and unlock product reviews and information right while they’re in the store. You can even go that extra mile and buy from your phone, without waiting in line! Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it?
Want to watch videos of your favorite cooking personalities, but you don’t want to watch TV? Then check out IN YOUR KITCHEN (http://www.inyourkitchen.com/). It’s video after video of succulent morsels being prepared by inquisitive culinary professionals! These folks love what they do and they want to do it for you, so take your laptop into the kitchen and cook with the best!
Sometimes the best place for foodies online is where they can check out the best pictures of food, so when you’re finished perusing your food porn with Flickr and PhotoBucket, check out PINTEREST (http://pinterest.com/). Pinterest is a social image-tagging site that allows users to “pin” a picture from any page of the web to their pinboard. Some of the most beautiful pages are the ones dedicated to food. Check out the pictures of cupcakes and pasta dishes and you’ll leave with your mouth watering and your eyes drooling (yes – I got that backwards on purpose).
Maybe you don’t have enough time to watch a show or peruse pictures? Then look in your inbox for TASTING TABLE (http://www.tastingtable.com/). Tasting Table is a free daily email dedicated to the best in dining, cooking and drinking. It’s focused on a few select areas, but chances are high that if you’re reading this email, you’re covered!
As for the Apple-related world of iPhones and iPads (because who better than a company named after a tasty, healthy snack), check out the EPICURIOUS app for recipes and cooking suggestions, or check out any of the shopping planner tools like GROCERY IQ, SHOPPER or GREEN GROCER. All of them will save you time, money, or both!
That’s it for this week. I have to close up the laptop and get me a snack. My tummy is grumbling something fierce! Have a great week!!


PRINT ADVERTISING : FILE SPECIFICATION
We would prefer files to be in PDF format using Acrobat Distiller, which will embed all graphics and fonts into documents. (No Changes - can be made to these files in this format and it guarantee all elements of the ad are included so ad will print out correctly) Any questions, please contact Mark Tritt at (724) 779-7183 or email firstname.lastname@example.org.
All ads should be 100% complete, a completed copy of the ad should be supplied with the Ad file. If you are e-mailing an ad please check your PDF file prior to submitting to ensure that all elements are visible on PDF file. Fax Copies of ads can be sent to Ad Services at 724-779-7174 or 724-779-6911.
By using Ad Desk you will include: Run Date; Sales Rep Name; Account Name; Subject of Ad; Your Name; Your Phone; Ad Size and Insertion order number. These items help us expedite your ad and give it the proper priority. Omission of these elements will delay ad processing time.
- All Fonts Must be embedded (Note: True Type Fonts [PC font] do not always embed -If you are using True Type Fonts they must be converted to curves - so they will print correctly)
- All Graphics MUST be EPS format
- All Colored Graphics must be CMYK Processed (The use of RGB or Pantone Colors will cause element to print Black & White)
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- Line art should be scanned at a resolution of 300 dpi.
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- Line Screen is 85 lines - Hi-light area is 1%, and - shadows area at 85%
- Dot Gain is 33% for Newsprint
- CD/Disks - must include: All Fonts, All Graphics, and Original Document. Contact Person name and phone number. Sales Rep name, publication date and Ad size. 9-28-03 Electronic Spec P1
The Tribune-Review is currently accepting ads on the following storage media:
- FTP Sites
Ads can be accepted from agencies and individuals via:
- AP AdSend
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Current Acceptable Applications:
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ELECTRONIC PRE-FLIGHT CHECK LIST:
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- Type, positioned on 0-40% tinted background is Black
- Graphics are not rotated in Quark
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A car is a big purchase, so your buying decisions are important. In shopping for a car, you'll probably have to choose whether to buy new or used. Car shopping site Auto Trader suggests four questions for making that decision.
According to Auto Trader, you should consider the following when deciding on a new or used car:
- Do you have a down payment or a trade-in? The smart financial move is to pay for your car in cash and avoid a loan altogether. If that's not possible, you should at least have a sizeable down payment. In fact, with a used car, a down payment or trade-in is almost always required. But maybe you don't have much for a down payment. Auto Trader suggests another option: some new car incentives might cover the down payment, meaning you can put zero down—if you have good credit.
That option might be tempting, but it's also risky. As The Simple Dollar points out:
"...suddenly you lose your job – and you realize you need to sell this expensive new car. The best you'll probably be able to get for the car is about 80% of the asking price, but if you've made no down payment, even selling the car right now will leave you with 20% of your loan unpaid and nothing to show for it. This is called being "upside down" in a car loan, and it's something to avoid if you can."
You should make a sound financial decision based on your situation. Overall, consider your down payment or trade-in options, and weigh your choices.
- Should you take the depreciation hit? Some new cars can depreciate up to 50 percent in the first three years, according to Auto Trader. With a used car, much of that depreciation has already taken place. Of course, if you plan on driving your car into the ground, its depreciation won't matter.
- Can you afford to maintain a used car? If you decide to buy used, there's a chance that you'll interhit maintenance problems. If you buy a newer-used car, you might still be under warranty.
- Can you afford the time a used car spends in the shop? Along with the maintenance costs, a used car may spend more time in the shop. Does your lifestyle allow for that down time? With a new car, you don't have to worry about this as much.
When deciding on a new or used car, there are many variables to consider. These four questions should start you in the right direction. For more detail, check out the post in its entirety.
4 Questions to Help You Decide on a New or Used Car | Auto Trader
Photo by brianteutsch.


MRAs: Most inept propagandists ever?
Someone posted this image in the comments at A Voice for Men. As far as I can figure it, it depicts brave MRAs pulling down the allegedly evil Violence Against Women Act, which for some reason is represented by the Venus of Willendorf. Because women are fat? Or is just feminists who are fat? Or battered women?
Is every supposed MRA cause really just an excuse to talk shit about women?


The college’s supporters celebrated a major victory at Homecoming with the groundbreaking for the Diane C. Nordin ’80 Turf Field, expected to open for the fall 2013 semester. Student-athletes and coaches, trustees and administrators joined Nordin (center) and her husband, Thomas Keller (in Wheaton sweatshirt), to kick off construction. In six short months, alumnae/i, parents and friends contributed $3 million toward the new artificial turf field, which will expand the opportunities for varsity, club and intramural teams. Before opening day, however, the college must raise an additional $1 million to support long-term maintenance for the field. For more information, or to get involved, visit wheatoncollege.edu/gobeyond or call Marjorie Houston at 508-286-3556.
Sunny Chen ’06 remembers the first time she met John and Ann Kirkpatrick Runnette ’56.
“I had just co-founded the Wheaton Investment Club with two classmates,” she recalls. “The Runnettes were so supportive of our initiative that they immediately promised seed funding to the investment club!”
Their investment in the club marked the start of a relationship between Chen and the Runnettes that has featured several big surprises.
The first came in 2006, when the economics major and Wheaton Posse Scholar graduated. The Runnettes, who were on campus for Ann Runnette’s 50th Reunion, attended the Posse celebration that followed Commencement. “We just think she’s a lovely person,” Ann Runnette says. “When she graduated, we met her parents and many of her family members at graduation.”
The Runnettes were so moved by the ceremony that they decided to name their Wheaton Fund Scholarship in Chen’s honor. “I was very surprised and humbled,” admits Chen, who prefers to see the honor as symbolic. [Read more...]
Professor Matthew Evans and four Wheaton students will spend the next three summers above the Arctic Circle seeking to better understand how the melting of Greenland’s glaciers will contribute to rising sea levels.
“The big question is how the Disko Bay system has responded to temperature changes in the recent past,” Professor Evans said. “The hope is that we can better predict how warming will impact the system in the future. It’s an important system, with one of the fastest-advancing and iceberg-producing glaciers on Earth.”
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $139,104 grant to Evans for the research effort, which will also take the Wheaton team to the National Ice Core Lab in Denver, Colo., to analyze the 100-meter ice cores they will collect in Greenland. [Read more...]
The way that Mark McKone-Sweet ’92 remembers it, the first Gentlemen Callers had no idea that they were forming a group that would last beyond the semester. That makes it all the more remarkable that the male a cappella ensemble is approaching the 25th anniversary of its founding.
To celebrate, and to put the group in position for another 25 years or more, former members of the Gentlemen Callers decided to create a formal organization, the Gentlemen Callers Alumni Union, and establish a $100,000 endowment to support the student group into the future.
The fundraising effort pays forward the generosity that helped the original Gentlemen Callers prosper.
“We should never let go of the fact that we wouldn’t be here without the help of the Whims and the Wheatones, the Alumnae/i Relations Office, the dean of students and many others,” said McKone-Sweet, who serves on the group’s board of directors along with fellow alumni and a current student. [Read more...]


White Plains Nissan is Offering a 4-Wheel Alignment Special
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Nissan Car Repair & Service Discount Coupons in Westchester, White Plains, Port Chester, Yonkers, Greenwich and Beyond
Nissan drivers near Westchester, White Plains, Port Chester, Yonkers, Greenwich, and beyond should take advantage of all the great Nissan Service & Maintenance Special Discount Coupons available at White Plains Nissan. We only have certified Nissan service and maintenance technicians that have the most advanced techniques for repairing your Nissan vehicle. If you need a comfortable waiting area we have it! We have great customer service and will make you feel right at home in our Nissan dealership. Give us a call to make an appointment at (866) 906-2606, or fill out the Online Appointment Form! We look forward to seeing you at White Plains Nissan.
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Driver for Texas Instruments' Wilink(tm) combo devices WL1271/3 and WL1281/3
The WL1271x and WL128x chipsets support both single band (2.4GHz) and dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) modes. WL127x is a combo chip comprises of WLAN, Bluetooth(tm) and FM Rx/Tx technologies. WL128x adds a GPS core to it. The open source driver supports the standard mac80211 full MAC architecture.
Driver supported features
- 802.11 a/b/g/n
- STA, AP and P2P modes
- 11n block acknowledgment
- SDIO runtime PM
- Scheduled scan
- Advanced scan features for further host offloading
- Throughput optimizations
- Further power scheme optimizations
Get the latest wl12xx driver
If you need the latest version, it can be downloaded from:
git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/luca/wl12xx.git
The latest stable version can be found in Linus' Linux tree.
The firmware for WL12xx chipset is available under the Linux firmware license on git tree at:
git clone git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git
The firmware is accompanied by an NVS file that is required for the proper operation of the WL127x device. Those binaries need to be placed under /lib/firmware/ti-connectivity/ on Linux systems and under /etc/firmware on Android systems. Please note that the NVS file is only an example for development use. You must create a real NVS using the calibration tool for production use. The NVS also contains the mac address.
Note: There is a different firmware file for station and for access-point modes. Make sure you pick the right one (or both).
Please refer to the calibration page for detailed information on the calibration process and the NVS file
Calibration is a process in which specific radio configuration parameters are generated and saved into the NVS file, later to be used by the wl12xx driver upon initialization.
The calibrator tool can be downloaded here:
git clone git://github.com/TI-OpenLink/ti-utils.git
Porting the wl12xx driver to a new hardware platform requires following these steps:
Modify or create the board-specific configuration. An example on how this should be done can be found under arch/arm/mach-omap2/board-zoom-peripherals.c for the TI Zoom reference boards. This is where you need to set the right mmc port, assign the gpios, adjust the reference clock information, etc.
- Apply the SDIO and PM patches described below, if using kernels earlier than 2.6.37.
- Use compat-wireless that is right to your kernel version.
- Download the firmware and NVS files and place them under the correct folder.
Notes about using compat-wireless on older kernels
Porting using compat-wireless
Using compat-wireless the wl12xx driver and its dependencies can be compiled for kernels >= 2.6.30.
Note: For very old kernels you may also need a few patches to your kernel. Here follows a few hints for old kernels.
Kernel 2.6.36 and older
SDIO runtime PM support - here
Lenient generic runtime pm callbacks - here
Add platform data passing support - here
Kernel 2.6.33 and older
- workqueue: flush_delayed_work: keep the original workqueue for re-queueing (47dd5b from Linus' tree)
Kernel 2.6.32 and older
If you are porting the wl12xx driver with mac80211 specifically to Kernel version 2.6.32, there are a few additional patches are not part of the compat-wireless but would be mandatory for proper operations. These patches need to be applied after applying the patches described above.
PM: allow for usage_count > 0 in pm_runtime_get() - here
PM: Use pm_runtime_put_sync in system resume - here
PM: Provide generic subsystem-level callbacks - here
SDIO: fix nasty oops in mmc_sdio_detect - here
- netlink: remove subscriptions check on notifier (649300 from Linus' tree)
- Through the linux-wireless mailing list.
- On IRC at freenode.net. You can find us on the #linux-wireless channel and on the #wl12xx channel, a dedicated channel for wl12xx related discussions.
Please refer to the hardware specifications page for more information
Here you can find a collection of hacks that can be used with the wl12xx driver code, but which are not good for upstreaming.
SDIO performance test module
We had a test module in the kernel that could run some throughput tests in order to check the performance of the SDIO bus, using the wl12xx chip as the remote side. This module doesn't have anything to do with the wl12xx chip itself, except that it is used as the remote side of the SDIO transactions. The module boots the wl12xx chip up, loads the firmware into the host's memory (just as a set of random data) and writes and reads this data continuously in order to check the SDIO performance.
Since this module was a very rarely used ugly hack and was causing some unnecessary maintenance work, it has been removed from the main kernel tree. If you still want to use you can get it from here: wl12xx_sdio_test.tar.gz
Just untar it on top of your kernel and do the necessary merges. If you used this module, you do so at your own risk without any support.
If someone wants to clean it up and tidy the code so that it looks nice and causes little maintenance work, feel free to do so and send RFC patches to the email@example.com mailing list. We may include it back if someone is willing to take the responsibility for maintaining it properly.


My old winter jacket is shades of purple. My newer winter jacket is a couple shades of light blue. Bright cherry red hat is not quite the way to top them off. When I'm just kicking around the house or tending critters, I don't care if my clothing matches. It's all gonna be mud or poop colored by the time I'm done anyway. My hat is for - well, not dressing up really, because I almost never do that - but cleaning up actually put on a bra to leave the house kind of dressing. I do that sometimes, like last night for a get together with other creative women. I do have a fall weight black jacket, even washed it recently so it's still clean, but with this return to nip at your nose temperatures, that jacket needed something else for warmth.
Lucky me, I have a friend in Greenberry House. Once Leslie finally broke down and learned to knit, she turned out to be pretty darn good at it. Last year, I sent her a pattern and some of my cormo angora fingering weight yarn I dyed cherry red, she worked her needle magic, and I got a beautiful, fluffy bit of warmth for my neck and shoulders. And such fun bit of happystance, it's the same color as my hat, even though the fibers are different and the dyeing was done with no intent to pair them.
That left my fingers complaining they'd been left out. So yesterday I started a new pair of mittens. Just finished them this morning. They are wet felted from the same fiber batts I used for the inside of my hat, cherry red polwarth silk angora roving lightly blended with white angora.
I think my hat is smiling now.


After NEX users had to go for such a long time without a good ultra wide angle, now Sony is on target with its new E 10-18mm F4 OSS (SEL1018). We were very curious to see how it performs especially on the NEX-7, which is very challenging as many short focal lengths adapted from Leica M mount produced strong color shifts.
The zoom lens starts at a viewing angle of 109° comparable to a 15mm UWA lens on a fullframe camera allowing dramatic perspectives for close ups as well as for architecture and landscape photography. The lens is constructed with 10 elements (some with ED glass) in 8 groups, has 7 circular aperture blades, provides a fast autofocus and optical stabilization supporting shooting at low light and video. It weighs only 225g and comes with a seperate lens shade.
Together with a Sony NEX you get an extremely powerful, compact and lightweight wide angle solution.
As indicated above, the 24 MP image sensor of the NEX-7 is quite challening regarding the lens construction as light that reaches the sensor angular at the borders may produce color shift. You could see this effect beforehand whith the Leica M9 when combined with ultra wide angle lenses. Meanwhile Leica provided a firmware update that reduces color cast with some lenses. Also Sony provided a firmware update 1.01 for the NEX-7 intended to reduce color shift when used with the 10-18 UWA zoom. The pictures shown here were shot with firmware 1.01. Another way to fight this is using a corrrection in post processing e.g. using Cornerfix or the DNG flat field plugin for Adobe Lightroom (currently available through an Adobe beta labs download). Also a more telecentric lens construction (e.g. when adapted from DSLRs) lowers the risk of "purple edges" significantly but for the price of a more bulky lens tube.
So especially the NEX-7 users expect a lens producing results that do not need or at least reduce significantly the amount of subsequent correction. Let us take a first look with an image taken at "blue sky"! The following image is an out-of-camera JPEG without any post-processing taken at 10mm with F5.6:
The same image processed from RAW without any lens correction:
The image processed from RAW contains some minor distortion and a little bit of light fall off at the edges (vignetting). Color shift in the edges is nearly invisible even from the RAW.
Now let us take a look at a more cloudy situation. First example is again an unprocessed out-of-camera JPEG taken at 10mm, F5.6:
Again the same image processed from RAW without any lens correction:
Here you can see a little bit more color shift in the edges. The next image was taken at 12mm, F5.6 and is processed from RAW without lens correction:
As you can see in the example, the color shift nearly disappears also in images processed from RAW even at these very difficult condition. At the end of this article you can see an example demonstrating the result after removing the color shift with Adobe's "DNG Flat Field" plugin.
Finally this video recorded from the same point shows the behaviour when the focal length is zoomed from 10mm to 18mm:
Center and Edge Sharpness
If you did not already peep into the full resolution of the previous examples (by simply clicking on the images), here you find a center crop from the example taken at 10mm F5.6:
(actual pixels (100% view) from center crop)
I took several shots of that scenery with 10mm at F4.0, F5.6 and F8.0 that you can access processed from RAW in all sizes through these links:
You will see that already at F4.0 the sharpness and contras is very good, it reaches its peak at F5.6 and diminishes slightly starting from F8.0 due to optical diffraction so the recommendation for landscape / architecture shots is using an aperture set to F5.6. You may also like to compare it to a similar shot taken in July with a 36 MP Nikon D800E and the Zeiss Distagon T* 15mm F2.8:
Of course, the season and weather was nicer and of course, there are more details, but that camera and lens combination has a price tag for that you get three NEX-7 with three SEL1018 at triple size and weight...
I know you hate brick walls - but I tried to find a nice one for you, so let us take a look at this 10mm F4.0 test shot:
The image above was processed from RAW without any lens correction. First it shows that the distortion is controlled quite well, comparable to other high quality DSLR lenses (and significantly less than the Samyang 14mm F2.8). Now let us take a look into 100% crops (actual pixels) taken from the edges of that shot:
(100% crop (actual pixels) from the upper left corner)
(100% crop (actual pixels) from the upper right corner)
(100% crop (actual pixels) from the lower left corner)
(100% crop (actual pixels) from the lower right corner)
This result is surprisingly good for such a viewing angle and makes the lens usable already right from open aperture! If you want to inspect another exciting brick & wall shot taken with 12mm f5.6 at the same position, please look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hhackbarth/8276315814/sizes.
As you can see from this 10mm F5.6 shot developed from RAW,
the lens is also practically free from chromatic aberrations:
(100% crop (actual pixels))
Available / low light, close ups
An ultra wide angle zoom lens is not really the typical lens designed for bokeh shots or extreme low light situations but as you can use it without any doubts right from F4.0 and with quite long shutter times (due to its optical stabilization), the following examples may show you what you can expect.
10mm, F4.0, 1/60s, ISO 1600:
(click on the images for other sizes/resolutions).
Conclusion so far:
The 10-18mm F4 OSS zoom lens provides you
- good build quality at low weight
- very good center, border and edge sharpness across the whole zoom range and already at open aperture (F4.0), optimal resolution and contrast at F5.6
- good distortion correction, practically no CAs and no flares
- very little vignetting and color shift in the outer edges at some situations when shooting RAW at 10mm, can be corrected using e.g. the DNG flat field plugin for Lightroom. Corrected inside the camera already, when using out-of-camera JPEGs.
- efficient optical image stabilization
This lens get's a strong recommendation from me and I think it will be a big challenge for the Zeiss Distagon 12mm F2.8 E-Mount prime (fixed focal) lens announced for second quarter 2013 to top that lens.
Meanwhile I made a test with the "DNG Flat Field Plugin" for Lightroom 4 (currently available as pre-production download at Adobe Labs). It is designed to remove all kinds of lens color cast (and so also the color shift produced with most wide angle lenses when used on the NEX-7).
First let us look at the unprocessed out-of-camera JPEG of another 10mm F5.6 example:
Now, second example is the development from RAW without additional processing:
In this example you can see some magenta color shift at the borders.
Third example is the same image developed from RAW but with additional processing through the DNG flat field plugin using a correction image. Such a correction image can be produced, when you shoot an equally lightened white surface with a neutral white balance:
Finally, after the color shift correction, an HDR interpretation by a friend "AIBF":
(Click on the images to see other sizes)
The plugin may be useful when officially released. At the moment, it's usage is a bit complicated, as you have to manually convert (export) the images to DNG format and you need at least a seperate correction image for every focal length that you plan to use.
Last but not least some Xmas lights at 13mm F5.6:
Some examples at "good" light:
If you found this article valuable, please help me keeping this site running by a PayPal donation of your choice:
No guarantee / liability for misrepresentation. All images copyrighted by 3D-Kraft.com.


I found the clutch rattle I've had in my 4BD2 to FJ60 swap, it turned out to be a bad pilot bearing. But I have a question; On the IDS adapter, how far the pilot bearing go into the recessed area? All the way flush? Part way in (how I installed last time?) So far I've not found a for sure answer. I found the link below on the advance adapters web site, and it shows all the way in on a flywheel.
What do you guys think?
Also, why do some use a bushing and others a bearing? Pros and Cons??


Each month this summer we have a different theme for our activities.
June 16-30 - Activity Remix
Here at the Museum, we are constantly developing new activities…and we want your help! Be the first to pilot activities, help us find new twists on some of our classic programs, and give us your ideas about future events. Get your creative juices flowing, learn some science, and help create the Museum of your dreams! Activities until 4:00pm Mon-Fri.
July - Pop-Up Makerspace
Design - Build - Test - Deconstruct! Discover your inner engineer in our Pop-Up Makerspace. We'll provide design challenges and you bring the imagination, ingenuity, and innovation to find solutions. Challenges will change often so come by regularly to see what we are building and explore all the different ways to design and build! Activities until 4:00pm Mon-Fri.
August - Live and Local!
Join us for a month celebrating our fun community! We will highlight some of our wonderful collaborations – including with Leslie Science & Nature Center, All Creature Veterinary Clinic, local student groups, and much more. Activities will change frequently so make sure to check our Events Calendar often for the most up-to-date information! Activities until 4:00pm Mon-Fri.


Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) from Microsoft. It can be used to develop console and graphical user interface applications along with Windows Forms applications, web sites, web applications, and web services in both native code together with managed code for all platforms supported by Microsoft Windows, Windows Mobile, Windows CE, .NET Framework, .NET Compact Framework and Microsoft Silverlight.
Visual Studio includes a code editor supporting IntelliSense as well as code refactoring. The integrated debugger works both as a source-level debugger and a machine-level debugger. Other built-in tools include a forms designer for building GUI applications, web designer, class designer, and database schema designer. It accepts plug-ins that enhance the functionality at almost every level—including adding support for source-control systems (like Subversion and Visual SourceSafe) and adding new toolsets like editors and visual designers for domain-specific languages or toolsets for other aspects of the software development lifecycle (like the Team Foundation Server client: Team Explorer).
Visual Studio supports different programming languages by means of language services, which allow the code editor and debugger to support (to varying degrees) nearly any programming language, provided a language-specific service exists. Built-in languages include C/C++ (via Visual C++), VB.NET (via Visual Basic .NET), C# (via Visual C#), and F# (as of Visual Studio 2010).
source: Microsoft Visual Studio. (2010, November 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 12:27, November 19, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Microsoft_Visual_Studio&oldid=397560218


A first-block Noble Street caller reported Friday afternoon her son's bike had been taken.
A woman was at the station Friday afternoon to report unauthorized charges on her bank account.
A caller from Kroger gas station, 790 W. Market St., reported Friday evening a gasoline drive-off.
A man was at the station Friday night to report someone was harassing his daughter.
A caller in the first block of Madison Street reported early Saturday morning a person was refusing to pay a cab fare. According to the report, the person later paid the fare.
Megan Pomp, 18, was charged with underage possession/consumption early Saturday morning.
Kamio Espindola, 20, of Mesa, Ariz., was charged early Saturday morning with underage possession/consumption.
Fernando Nieto, 18, of Tiffin, was charged with underage possession/consumption early Saturday morning.
Harley Bushey, 24, of Tiffin, was charged with a drug offense and not having a headlight on bike early Saturday morning.
Jarrett Straub, 18, of Tiffin, was charged with a drug offense Saturday night.
A 7000-block N. TR 179 caller reported Saturday afternoon a vehicle in the area was damaging mailboxes, but his had not been hit. Two other callers in the 7000 block of North TR 179 reported their mailboxes were damaged.
A caller in the 1500 block of North Countyline requested EMS service Friday evening for an illness and also claimed to have been sexually assaulted. The report was under investigation.
A 100-block East Fremont caller reported Friday night a male subject was following three girls.
A caller requested to speak to an officer early Saturday morning about a possible harassment case.
Charlene Gosche, 61, of Tiffin, was cited with an improper back/start violation after an accident Oct. 17 on South Washington Street.
A two-vehicle accident was reported Saturday afternoon in the 500 block of Circular Street.
A driver was cited with assured clear distance ahead after an accident Friday morning at South Poplar and East Fourth streets.
An accident was reported Friday afternoon at Fall Street and Columbus Avenue. A citation was issued for assured clear distance ahead.
Republic EMS and fire made a squad run Friday afternoon.
Tiffin EMS and Clinton fire made a squad run early Saturday morning.
Bascom EMS and fire responded to a squad run early Saturday morning.
New Riegel EMS and McCutchenville fire made a squad run Saturday morning.


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Mattress recycling in the United States growing
Americans discarded as many as 40 million mattresses and foundations (box springs) in 2006. With materials that contain recyclable elements, mattresses should be removed from the waste stream and sent to recycling centers.
However, it appears that 70 percent of these products go to landfills and nearly 30 percent to re-builders, with only several hundred thousand at best being deconstructed and recycled.
Moreover, there are only three major organizations recycling these products – Conigliaro Industries (a private firm in Framingham, Massachusetts), the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Northeast Minnesota Mattress Recycling Program, a facility near Duluth operated in partnership by the Western Lake Superior Sanitation District and Goodwill Industries.
Based in Framingham, Massachusetts, Conigliaro Industries recycles mattresses and foundations (box springs).
Established in 1990, the company, located 17 miles southwest of Boston, recycles about 150 materials, of which 80 are plastics and another 20, including mattresses, are labeled as difficult materials.
“Right now our capacity is about 150,000 units annually and we are operating at about 25 percent capacity,” says Greg Conigliaro, the president and majority owner of the company. “The majority of mattresses from any retail outlet usually go to the re-builders.”
Conigliaro created a mattress recycling plant within its 100,000 square-foot facility following its receipt of a $50,000 grant from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Recycling Investment Reimbursement Credit program.
“In 2000/2001,” he says, “we sized our facility to handle every mattress in Massachusetts if we were to get them all. The biggest issue in mattress recycling is that it’s more expensive than trash and as a result, in addition to attracting tonnage, we have to be cheaper than trash.
“The recycling we do is with the people who really want to recycle and generally they’ll pay a fee at the drop-off center – an approach that we have always advocated,” he adds. “For example, if you are going to buy a new mattress, maybe you pay a $5 fee [or higher] to ensure that it doesn’t go into a landfill. For the mattresses we recycle, the fee is anywhere from $8 to $18 depending upon the size. Most private citizens are willing to pay that.” says Greg Conigliaro.
“Generally, the cost for labor is far in excess of the value of the materials that are recovered from mattress recycling,” says Conigliaro, “which is why we charge a fee. The parts of a mattress are commodities with variable values based upon current market conditions.
“Metals prices can be up and that’s great,” he adds, “and the foam, felt and fabric have different commodity values. The markets for the materials from mattresses, save for the metal, are very volatile, especially the felt, foam and fabric. Polyurethane foam jumps all over the place. In the old days it was worth $.50 a pound. Now we are lucky to get rid of it. It depends on the day.”
Mattresses, built to last through many years of use, are not designed to be easily processed by recyclers.
“We make our mattresses so they won’t fall apart over a 10 to 20 year lifecycle and as a result, it is difficult to separate them,” says Ryan Trainer, the executive vice president and general counsel for the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA), which represents manufacturers. “Some manufacturers have designed products to make them more easily separable. Products that do not contain innersprings are also easier to separate because they do not have steel in them to complicate the dismantling process.
“But by and large,” he adds, “our industry has not yet developed a responsible and commercially efficient process for dealing with our products at the end of their useful life.”
Discarded mattresses can take up a significant amount of landfill space, do not degrade well, and can create a dangerous “soft spot” in a landfill, says Terry McDonald, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County (SVDP) in Eugene, Oregon.
To deal with mattresses, the SVDP created its DR3 mattress recycling program. The program’s centerpiece is a 26,000 square-foot mattress recycling facility in Oakland, California, that serves Alameda and San Francisco counties and seven surrounding counties. The SVDP has another plant in Eugene.
According to McDonald, the nine California counties discard about 350,000 mattresses annually. The SVDP has been able to deconstruct 7 percent of those products, with another 10 percent being reused and 20 percent being reconstructed.
The recycling operations deal with various components and nearly 600,000 pounds a year of polyurethane foam, most of which is remanufactured into carpet pad, is recovered.
“Many of our mattresses come from city or county transfer sites—sites where trash is unloaded and then repacked for delivery to landfills,” says McDonald.
The SVDP recycled approximately 160,000 mattresses (120,000 in California and 40,000 in Oregon) in 2006. Trainer says that higher tipping fees charged by landfill operators will have the most impact in reducing the amount of mattresses that are landfilled.
“By increasing the tipping fee, they increase the attractiveness of mattress dismantling,” he says.
McDonald supports implementing the SB20 model for mattresses and agrees that higher tipping fees will increase diversion rates to recyclers.
“Mattress recycling is being driven in the northeast by the private sector,” he says. “The new mattress industry would like to see the traded or used product not end up in the secondary market, but to have it shredded or destroyed for a variety of reasons, particularly as it decreases the amount of used product.”
Trainer says the landfill operators should reconsider accepting mattresses.
“From a landfill inventory perspective,” he says, “the ratio of tonnage to volume for our product is way off, so landfill operators are creating huge opportunity costs by accepting mattresses. You could be charging a hell of a lot more for landfilling mattresses than you do for regular solid waste refuse or C&D debris because you are under-pricing your inventory when it comes to space.”