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19 Ways to Live a Stress-Free Life
Identify the stressors that are hurting your health—then follow these tips to beat them
The biggest health threat for men isn't heart disease or cancer. It's the out-of-control stress reactions that cause or worsen those conditions in the first place.
We talked to America's coolest characters to learn how they cope. Steal their secrets and you'll thrive in life's pressure points—like they do.
For 2,000 more ways to live your best life, check out The Better Man Project from Men's Health.
Establish a Routine
The stressor: All eyes are on you at a critical moment in the game (or the presentation, or the ceremony).
Beat that stress: When you establish a routine, the difficult becomes routine.
Chauncey Billups, a Detroit Pistons point guard, describes his formula for nailing two free throws to tie a game in the fourth quarter:
"I know it's a big shot, but I don't even think about the moment. If I put more pressure on it, then it becomes a mental thing. I treat it the same as a free throw in the first quarter by doing the same routine every single time. I focus on the rim. I take four dribbles, spin the ball, and get up under it.
"My routine puts me into a calm state. It's just me and the rim."
Ask Yourself Questions
The stressor: You've seen your friends' marriages, and worry that you'll end up with the wrong person.
Beat that stress: Ask The Important Questions That Help You Figure Out If She's the One For You.
Are you attracted to her? Do you play well together? Is she unselfish? Does she treat people well and talk positively about past relationships? Does she recognize her family's shortcomings and take corrective steps? Is she respectful of you? Does she share the soap in the shower?
Related: How to Find Your Dream Girl
If you have a string of positive answers, you have a fun, responsible, thoughtful person at your side, says John Van Epp, Ph.D., a clinical counselor based in Medina, Ohio, and the author of How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk. That probably qualifies her as a keeper.
Call a Time Out
The stressor: Your boss is hassling you, and you're about to explode.
Beat that stress: Figure out How to Beat Your Job Stress. For starters, call a time out. If you're in the thick of battle, go wash your hands. Removing yourself provides the chance to think and not say the wrong thing. While you're gone, let yourself be upset.
"Anger and agitation tend to be short-lived when you let them play out internally," says Melissa Blacker, a director of professional training at the Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts medical school.
When you're calm, go to your boss and say, "What can I do to help work this out?"
He's probably braced for a fight, so he's bound to welcome the collaborative tone. At the very least, you've expressed yourself. Letting your anger fester increases the chance you'll overreact.
Give Yourself Time to Grieve
The stressor: Your dad died and you don't know what to do.
Beat that stress: For two days every week, schedule 10 minutes to grieve.
Unless you plan, it's too easy to dodge the sadness—especially in the first couple of months after the funeral. And taking control of the process prevents unresolved issues from lingering.
Shoot for early evening, when anything kicked up won't affect your sleep. Take a 5-minute walk to unwind, then pull out photos to bring the departed front and center.
Now ask two questions: What have you lost? What's the effect? You see what's missing from your life, so you can shift to problem solving, says Michael McKee, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic.
Now hit the gym, since Workouts Can Beat Stress. (For an intense 30-minute workout you can do right at home, try The Anarchy Workout.) It'll end the grieving session, and the endorphins will lift your mood. Overall, doing the two activities will model what you're striving for—the knowledge that sad and happy can coexist.
Make a Grateful List
The stressor: Your to-do list at work reads like a phone book, except it's less interesting.
Beat that stress: Add 10 more entries. Here's how actor Craig Bierko, most recently of Boston Legal fame, keeps his lid from flipping.
"First, I keep in mind that on-the-job stress is an indication that I'm doing well. I could certainly experience far less stress lying around all day watching Ellen reruns.
"Then I practice something called 'the grateful flow.' It's far cheaper than Prozac. I list ten things for which I'm grateful. Remind yourself of the friend who's always been there, the fact that you can afford your next meal. And include your job. Sure, it's the reason you're making the list in the first place. But where would you be without it?"
Focus on the Now
The stressor: Your team's success (or failure) is hanging on your performance in the ultimate contest.
Beat that stress: Focus on the now as well as the later.
Martin Brodeur, star goalie for the New Jersey Devils, uses these techniques when he faces game 7 in the playoffs: "When it becomes stressful, I overbreathe. That opens up everything and makes me aware of the situation I'm in." In fact, Changing the Way You Breathe Not Only Beats Stress, but Can Boost Your Energy, too.
"I also make sure my feet are together as much as possible and that they're really under me. With my feet together, I'm compact. It's less tiring, and I'm lighter on my skates.
"As for when I'm not on the ice? Before game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup finals, I booked a vacation online. It took me out of the anxiety of facing a game 7." (The Devils won that game, 3-0.)
Be Meticulous When You Prep
The stressor: You're due at Grandma's, the storm is roaring, and you need to pilot the clan safely.
Beat that stress: Be meticulous in your preflight prep. That's what Rob Kinkade, a bush pilot, does before taking off for what he calls a "rodeo day" in the bucking bronco of Alaska's airspace.
"If I know it'll be rough out there, I'll meticulously check everything two or three times—the flight plans, my fuel, the wings. It gives me peace of mind. If I take care of the downside first, the upside will take care of itself.
"If it's rough and I see people worrying, I'll sing or make a joke or grab the stick with one hand and drink a soda with the other, to show that it's not affecting me, even if it is. I'm lightening my mood, and it's kind of contagious."
Ask About Her Best Friend
The stressor: You're an hour into the first date and it's going nowhere.
Beat that stress: Ask her what she likes about her best friend, or another of the Best Questions She Was Ever Asked On a First Date.
Relationships are sources of pride and endless fascination for women. By delving into her life, you're trying to understand her, and everyone loves being understood.
"It defuses a lot of the tension," says Ann Demarais, Ph.D., a psychologist and coauthor of First Impressions: What You Don't Know about How Others See You.
Take Your Kid on a Long Car Ride
The stressor: Your kid's stressing but won't tell you what it's about.
Beat that stress: Take him on a long car ride.
It's private, and there's little else to do but talk. Start out casually, and eventually bring up the struggles you faced at his age. He'll either identify or tell you that it's completely different now.
Either way, the opening is there to gently find out which of three areas—school, friends, or family—isn't working.
"You're getting new information and can take it to where the problem belongs," says Irene Goldenberg, Ed.D., a family psychologist based in Los Angeles. It's one of the Important Steps You Can Take to Be a Better Dad.
Go Into Training
The stressor: You have to make your case or lose the day.
Beat that stress: Before the straining, go into training.
Steven D. Benjamin, a criminal-defense attorney in Richmond, Virginia, believes that discipline always carries the day.
Related: 5 Guys Who Wake Up at 4 a.m. to Work Out Tell You How They Do It
"Before the trial starts, everything in my life becomes more regimented," he says. "I don't drink or go out, and I become more obsessive than usual about my workout. A trial is an endurance event, and training for it makes me much more alert. I also take care of my team members. I can't see everything at trial. They're my auxiliary hard drive, and they give me peace of mind."
Play Video Games
The stressor: Your kid is really into playing a violent video game.
Beat that stress: Observe, or play it with him.
Encroaching on his territory removes some of the rebellious fun, but you'll also learn his perspective, says Jeff Bostic, M.D., a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Make no comments during the game, and at the end, say, "What did you enjoy most about it? That was a little weird for me to be gunning down all those cops."
You might find out that he clearly distinguishes fantasy from reality and that his bloody game is just a bloody game.
Own Up to a Mistake
The stressor: Your name is all over a mistake and you have to tell the boss.
Beat that stress: As soon as possible, go to the boss and own up, but immediately follow that with what you've learned and (the most important factor) how things will be different.
It won't guarantee a full pardon, but you won't have to stew over the unknown.
"You will have made a problem less bad, and that's the goal of damage control," says Eric Dezenhall, the author of Damage Control: Why Everything You Know about Crisis Management Is Wrong.
Soften the Blow
The stressor: You're worried about How to Give Tough Criticism To an Employee.
Beat that stress: Deliver the bad with an ample dose of the good.
Saying nothing when things are acceptable does not count, says Albert Bernstein, Ph.D., a psychologist and the author of Emotional Vampires. Keep track in your head. Your kind-to-unkind ratio has to be 4:1 to ensure that respect is built up and communication lines stay open.
After that, structure the bad news like, "When you're late, I feel like you're not fully committed. Was that your intention?" You're making your point, but by giving him the benefit of the doubt, you're avoiding arguments that go quickly and resentfully to nowhere.
Focus on the Success in Failure
The stressor: Your kid's soccer team is down 8-0 and your kid is the goalie.
Beat that stress: Focus on the success inherent in failure.
Release tension by yelling encouraging stuff; you're concentrating positive energy on other people and helping the little version of yourself dying in front of the net.
In the car after the game, tell him how proud you were of his bravery/composure/intensity and that you weren't disappointed in him. Share a quick story about how you once ate it. You want him to see that coming up short isn't the ultimate indignity.
"Those who don't know how to fail are those who don't take chances," Dr. Bostic says.
Repeat Yourself
The stressor: It's review time and you know that You Should Be Making More Money Than You Are.
Related: 3 Steps to Land a Massive Raise
Beat that stress: Repeat yourself. You think your value is obvious. Your boss has other distractions, so go in armed with bullet points of your achievements.
But don't just say them once. "One plus one equals two, but so does four minus two," says Gregg Clifton, the chief operating officer of Gaylord Sports Management. Find different ways to support the same point.
Lead with, "I increased sales 12 percent." Later, say, "About that 12 percent, it was 43 percent over the industry average—it was the best the department has ever seen—expenses didn't rise at all." Hammering it from different angles will register with the man signing your soon-to-be-larger check.
Confine Your Ex to Paper
The stressor: You want to start dating again, but you still can't forget the ex.
Beat that stress: Confine her to paper.
Make a list of all the things you're going to miss. Making a hard copy creates new connections in your brain, and, with that, new ways to consider your situation, says Peter Pearson, Ph.D., codirector of the Couples Institute in Menlo Park, California.
Look at the list and ask yourself if she has a monopoly on those qualities. If your answer is no, you can conceive of a future with someone else. You'll have a kind of emotional replacement to-do list, and there's nothing like a to-do list to turbocharge your psyche. And then avoid these 15 Dating Mistakes You Are Probably Making.
Go Over Critical Steps
The stressor: You need to handle all the details of a complex operation just so or disaster will ensue.
Beat that stress: In the moment before you begin, take a mental inventory of the critical steps to success.
Here's how Ali Rezai, M.D., a neurosurgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, preps for the first cut.
"While I'm scrubbing my hands, I'm reviewing all the aspects of the case. That puts me into a highly focused state and cleans my mind of distractions. During surgery, I'm constantly reviewing the steps with the operating-room staff. It takes everyone onto the next page and into a rhythm. When I'm faced with an emergency, the calmer I am, the calmer everyone else becomes."
Smile, Nod, and Ask Questions
The stressor: You're meeting her family or friends for the first time.
Beat that stress: Channel Matt Lauer and be your charming, head-nodding, inquisitive best.
Asking them questions takes the focus off you, and their judgment will be that you're concerned with and interested in others.
Drop in a well-placed, "I love how she always wants to learn something new," to show that you understand and admire your new girlfriend—and to nail opening night, says the psychologist Ann Demarais.
Bonus tip: When they ask you a question, focus on how it's asked—bluntly or anecdotally—and respond the same way. Rick Brinkman, author of Dealing with People You Can't Stand, says that matching question style and answer style gives you the best chance of being heard.
You should also be aware of these Red Flags When You Finally Meet Her Family, too.
Don't Try to Be Perfect
The stressor: Success is at hand, if you can just close the deal.
Beat that stress: Don't try to be perfect.
Just play your role and rely on others who are focused on the same goal. Joe Nathan, a Minnesota Twins reliever, has one of the most high-stress jobs in sports: closer.
Here's his mental process, leading up to the last three outs: "Around the seventh inning, I go through some visualization—seeing myself on the mound, making certain pitches. It puts me in a relaxed state and allows me to focus on something I need to do rather than watching somebody else.
"When I'm on the mound, I try not to overthink the situation. It's about being aggressive, pounding the strike zone, and trusting my defense. It takes the heat off. I don't have to be perfect, so I can relax and throw a better pitch."
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No. 41; Reviewed June 2018
Many children and adolescents use alcohol and other drugs. Some develop serious problems which require professional treatment. Examples of treatment include outpatient clinics, twelve-step programs, inpatient units, and dual diagnosis units for individuals with emotional and substance use problems.
The decision to get treatment for a child or adolescent is difficult, and parents are encouraged to seek consultation from a child and adolescent psychiatrist when making decisions about substance use treatment. Other psychiatric disorders often co-exist with substance use problems and need assessment and treatment.
When substance use treatment is recommended, parents can obtain the information they need by asking the following questions from professionals:
Severe substance use problems in adolescence may be a chronic and relapsing disorder. Parents should ask what treatment services are available for continued or future treatment.
If questions or doubts persist about either admission to a substance use treatment program or about a denial of treatment, a second opinion may be helpful.
If you find Facts for Families© helpful and would like to make good mental health a reality, consider donating to the Campaign for America's Kids. Your support will help us continue to produce and distribute Facts for Families, as well as other vital mental health information, free of charge.
You may also mail in your contribution. Please make checks payable to the AACAP and send to Campaign for America's Kids, P.O. Box 96106, Washington, DC 20090.
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) represents over 10,000 child and adolescent psychiatrists who are physicians with at least five years of additional training beyond medical school in general (adult) and child and adolescent psychiatry.
Facts for Families© information sheets are developed, owned and distributed by AACAP. Hard copies of Facts sheets may be reproduced for personal or educational use without written permission, but cannot be included in material presented for sale or profit. All Facts can be viewed and printed from the AACAP website (www.aacap.org). Facts sheets may not be reproduced, duplicated or posted on any other website without written consent from AACAP. Organizations are permitted to create links to AACAP's website and specific Facts sheets. For all questions please contact the AACAP Communications Manager, ext. 154.
If you need immediate assistance, please dial 911.
Copyright © 2023 by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

subset: commoncrawl


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LAS VEGAS—Nascar and the NFL have opposite problems. The pro football TV watching experience is so fantastic that even with the league's unmatched popularity, some teams have trouble selling out the stadium. Nascar, meanwhile, does an admirable job during its TV broadcasts of capturing the strategy and drama that play out over the course of an enormous oval. But no matter how good your surround sound, there's no substitute of the deafening roar that vibrates your water bottle as horde of stock cars screams around the track.
But here's something that's a race-watching game-changer: You need to listen to the driver audio.
Snippets of this back-and-forth chatter between driver, spotter, crew chief, and other team members make it into the national broadcast of a race. Dedicated fans may already know that Nascar is embracing the second-screen revolution by providing live audio of any of the 43 drivers to those who subscribe to the premium version of its mobile app. But to me, an infrequent race-watcher who doesn't quite feel the drama watching motorsports on TV, this is a feature that changes the entire race-watching experience.
More From Popular Mechanics
Visiting the Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend, PopMech got to hang out near the Team Penske/Shell/Pennzoil crew behind the 22 car driven by Joey Logano, who started from the pole and finished fourth. (Teammate Brad Keselowski took the checkered flag, passing Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the final lap as the 88 car ran out of gas.) Watching a Nascar Sprint Cup race from the pits is an experience you should tack onto your bucket list right now. And it's one that's far more rewarding if you're wearing a headset that captures the conversation between driver and team.
Pre-race ornamental beer tap and solo cup on the number 2 car, which would capture the victory on Sunday.
"That 30 is a lapper," someone reminds Logano and he passes cars that aren't on the lead lap while trying to hunt down the drivers ahead of him (a bigger problem on a shorter oval like Vegas). "You got three positions right in front of you," they say, meaning Logano is in a prime opportunity to move up the leaderboard. "Inside, still inside, still inside, and clear. Clear!," the spotter yells, telling the driver when his car is clear of the driver he just passed.
Besides the technical updates, driver audio is a real-time window into strategy and frustration. The driver curses the car's looseness in traffic and the crew chief tries to calm him down. Meanwhile, the team makes split-second decisions about whether and how to pit.
There's plenty I still don't get about Nascar. But one thing you've got to admire is the fan accessibility, which was on full display in Vegas as fans gathered round for the open-air drivers' meeting hours before the race and poured onto the track surface for a pre-race performance by Elvis impersonators, followed by driver introductions. (Imagine that at a Formula 1 race.)
Sometimes, especially after a big game, the NFL will release bits and pieces of on-field talk between players, coachers, and officials, which reveals the inner workings of the game in a fascinating way. There are obvious reasons why real-time audio is no good in football—you don't want the other team to hear what play you're running, and the foul language of the football field probably requires hours of scrubbing before it can be released to the public. But new tech, especially the additional gameday or raceday features you can follow on a phone or tablet while you watch the main broadcast on TV, can turn the sports-watching experience into something far more immersive and elucidating. Perhaps it could even turn on haters who think Nascar is nothing but driving around in a circle and trying to survive.
From pit road.
Pre-race note to self: "Hook bar up." Images: Andrew Moseman
Andrew's from Nebraska. His work has also appeared in Discover, The Awl, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Playboy, and elsewhere. He lives in Brooklyn with two cats and a snake.


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Yahoo Updates Flickr App with Advanced Editing Features and More
Flickr has received a pretty large update for its universal iOS app. Version 3.0 allows for more functionality from within the app and advanced editing. It's also received a fresh interface design in addition to what's noted below.
The new and approved Flickr app is available for free on the App Store.
Favorite features:
- Capture everything: Take stunning photos and videos. We make it easy.
- Save it all: All your pictures in one place. Take them everywhere.
- Advanced editing: Gorgeous live filters. Powerful editing tools. All for free.
Helpful Tips:
- Capture the world in all new HD video you can share to Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter.
- Explore our editing tools: Levels, Crop, Color Balance, Contrast, Saturation and more.
- Follow friends and the world's best photographers. Always discover something new.
- Customize your privacy settings so you can make a photo as public or private as you like.
- Take lots of photos! Everyone gets 1,000GB of free storage.


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ORAYLIS GmbH - Azure Costs Monitoring & Analysis
Cloud offers such as Microsoft Azure enable Enterprises to roll out huge IT solutions with one click, but it is very challenging to keep costs under control. With our Power BI report you can visualize your Azure costs and consumption from Azure EA. This is a productive report which we use to follow our internal azure cost and the azure cost of our customers.Contact partner Watch video
- Gold Application Development
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Azure Costs Monitoring & Analysis
Cloud offers such as Microsoft Azure enable Enterprises to roll out huge IT solutions with one click. The disadvantage is that costs can explode from one day to another. Oraylis always faces the situation that the reporting possibilities of Azure were limited in regards of costs. The Power BI report shown in our example allows to track Azure costs more efficient. The report contains real data, the names of our employees and customers had been removed. The data is drawn from an Azure REST API and modeled in a small multi dimensional model. The model was extended in Power BI by additional measures for dynamic forecasting and trend calculation. The report consists of 3 pages.
The first page shows the last 14 days in detail. Here you can see which new resources have been added and by whom they were created. Also, KPI boxes are shown, which can be used in the Power BI portal to create an alarm, e.g. if the costs of the last day exceed 100 €. The table below shows further details. Choose a day or a subscription to see what cost the resources have created and how a resource has evolved compared to the previous period.
On the page "Overall" the period can be freely selected in order to calculate the costs over a longer period of time, e.g. for each subscription. As Oraylis offers services to its customers on Azure, the report distinguishes between internal and external subscriptions.
The "Trend and Forecast" page shows the current cost trends in three different trendlines: 7,30 and 90 days average. Also there is a dynamic calculated forecast, which is created with an dax measure. Try it out yourself, choose different subscriptions to see how the costs have evolved!
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Ask Pastor Adrienne: Phone scammers and telemarketers - the Devil?
Q: Dear Pastor,
I hate telemarketers and phone scammers! What kind of sick people would do that kind of work?
A: We all feel the same way about those calls, I'm sure. Not too long ago, cell phones were a glorious escape from those swarms of annoying sales-gnats … but no longer. Now, we must screen every call and be wary of answering anything from an unknown number. And those of us who have somehow side-stepped the cell-phone revolution and are still using old-fashioned landlines - you too are mouse-meat for the lions of phone scams. In a way, we may view the increase in predatory calls as a litmus test for how the world is going and where. Nowhere good, in either case. And yet.
God knew we'd have rabid salespeople and phone-scammers to deal with, so why don't we look at it as an opportunity? Perhaps the Lord sends situations to us in order to smooth away a rough-spot in our character? I realize this sounds like a clergy lecture coming on - and I'm not a big fan of those either - but the truth is, challenges and problems often masquerade as tests from the Lord. Tests are designed to elevate us to the next level and they don't work unless they arrive as a pop-quiz. "Who are you when no one is looking," is the idea. When we're caught off guard with a knee-jerk response to something, the Lord is checking to see how much Jesus is actually percolating inside us. Anyone can behave like a Christian at church. It's how we fare out there in the world, T-boned at the intersections of life, that makes a difference. As we harangue pushy sales people, curse them and slam the phone down, how are we explaining the love of Christ to that person? I've learned this lesson the hard way this year, and I can tell you; my failures flashed a white-hot magnifying glass on many rotten places in me.
The people who work the phones in this context are usually broken, wounded and desperate. How do I know? Because I was one. Many times in my strange journey to the pulpit, money was so sparse that I took any job I could get. Often my income streams involved making sales-calls on the phone for shady companies who hired hordes of people who needed immediate paychecks. I had to do what I was told by ruthless overseers, make hundreds of calls per day, follow a relentless script when speaking and become a faceless manipulator designed to sell items or services by any means possible. I got fired a lot because I refused to lie. Yet there are people sitting behind those phones right now who are feeding children or taking care of elderly parents; or barely surviving themselves and they don't have any choices when it comes to money. Jesus loves them and he sends them across our paths. What we do with those encounters says a lot about who we are.
The Bible's book of Colossians, written by the Apostle Paul, is basically a celebration of Jesus Christ and how to walk, talk and behave like a true follower. We are wisely instructed: "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person" (Colossians 4:6, NASB).
I've finally learned to answer the phone with my attitude in check; the expectation of a God-encounter is always a possibility. Two nights ago, I got a call in my office: "I'd like to place an order," a man quipped. I chuckled. "Sir...you've called a church. What can I do for you?" Silence. Then, "Oh...nothing, sorry. Have a nice night." "God bless you," I said, smiling. "You too, ma'am." When I hung up the phone, I had the distinct feeling that we both needed that blessing.
Adrienne Greene pastors two Christian churches in southeastern Indiana. Do you have a question or comment for Pastor Adrienne? Please send your inquiries to: email@example.com or write to P.O. Box 214, Harrison, OH 45030.


text: Hi everybody! I'm Carole, I am a professional native British English teacher with a fully accredited TEFL and CELTA certification. I have also gained a Masters degree in International Marketing from Edinburgh University so I feel very comfortable and confident assisting students with CVs, job preparation or even university projects of any kind. I have amassed 11 years teaching experience with children and adults in levels varying from Beginner to Proficiency. I am specialised in Business English, exam preparation (KET, PET, FCE, CAE, CPE and so forth),revision classes, conversation classes too. My price per hour is 14 Euros. Contact Details: Whatsapp: +44 7841403363 Email: email@example.com I hope to hear from you soon! Many thanks, Carole


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Why Your Startup Needs a Sales Methodology
Posted on June 13, 2013 by Mark Suster — 25 Comments
This article originally appeared on Inc.com
Like most startup entrepreneurs, when I began my first company in 1999 I had no formal sales experience.
I did have the wherewithal to visit potential customers and try to understand the pain points that I thought could be solved with our solution.
This is a very important to do when you first start a company. It's what I call "the evangelical phase" of a company in which you're out trying to persuade customers that a product you've designed is going to meet their needs better than other solutions on the market.
Invariably your first efforts at product won't quite hit the mark – and this is OK.
It's OK because in an era where you can much more rapidly prototype and build products it is far more beneficial to launch your first version, get initial customer traction and then talk to your customer base to understand how well it meets their needs.
Steve Blank calls this "customer development" in which you built an initial product that is in search of "product / market fit." In non-tech speak, this is where your product solves the need of a customer segment well enough that many customers in that segment are willing to pay you money for your product.
And when you achieve product / market fit your company often ramps revenue very fast and you need to build an organization to address it from demand generation (aka marketing) to sales discovery to implementation and after-sales support.
But before you achieve product / market fit you're often in "consultative sales" mode where your objective is to tease out customer needs. And often your solution won't solve them entirely so you'll often have to allow open-access to your product or integrate it with other solutions.
In my journey to better understand the sales process, my management team and I developed a sales methodology. It was really a common language we could all use with each other that became really important as we added new sales people and new geographic territories.
It helped make sure that we all thought about our sales campaigns in a uniform way and that we had a common language that would help us decide where to spend our limited resources.
After all, the golden rule in sales is "qualify, qualify, qualify" specifically because you always have limited resources and you must put them against the highest potential opportunities weighted for probability and deal size.
I'm going to set up the framework today and in future posts I'll drill down into each area.
We called our methodology PUCCKA
= Pain. Unique Selling Proposition. Compelling Event. Champion. Key Players. Aligned Purchasing Process.
We were based in England and it was a play on the British Slang "Pukka," which means high quality and genuine and was popularized by one of our favorite chef's – Jamie Oliver.
In short:
Pain is where you identify a business problem your prospect has and begin to get acceptance that there is a real need for a solution. This answers the question of "why buy anything?" question in sales.
Unique Selling Proposition or USP is the things that your product is uniquely positioned to solve. If a customer has pain they and you get them to articulate this the next step is to show you can solve that problem.
If you make headway don't be so naïve as to think your prospect – however friendly they are to you – won't go out and search for alternate solutions. They now know they have a problem! And it's their job to make sure they talk with multiple vendors to find out where the best fit for their pain really is.
USP answers the "why buy me?" question in sales.
Compelling Event is the thing that forces your prospect to realize they need to kick off a project immediately. The most compelling events are often driven by market conditions (regulation that forces your prospect to implement a system or a workplace incidence that causes them to implement systems to follow procedures more carefully).
When external factors drive adoption of your solution you have instant product / market fit.
But you can't count on this so you must create your own compelling events and the only way I know how is a business case / return-on-investment (ROI) study.
If you can show a customer is losing business or money the pain is a lot more compelling.
Compelling event answers the final question in sales, "Why buy now?" which is the hardest question to answer. Often customers will think your product is useful but just don't have the time, budget or inclination to adopt your solution without a compelling event.
Champion is the person who drives through the approval to give the go ahead (and secures budget) to your product or company. Orders don't fill out themselves – you need somebody who will take a risk on you and guide you through he process. A champion is somebody with both "influence" and "authority." This is in contrast to NINAs.
Key Players are the other people involved in the sales process including enemies, technical experts, sponsors, etc. The most telling sign of an inexperienced sales person is that they meet one person in an organization that is nice to them and they spend all their time with this one individual.
The problem with this is that if a customer has a real problem then often your competitors are in there talking with them as well and if you're not meeting and neutralizing the people who support your competitors you're in for some nasty surprises.
Aligned Purchasing Process is the act of your customer being ready to buy when you're ready to sell.
It's your job to figure this out. You might have a customer with a pain that they've agreed with you and they like how your solution uniquely solves their problem. But they simply might have more urgent pains their solving at the moment.
Or perhaps your customer is in a budget freeze or the key resource who was allocated to lead your project has just resigned.
The sales team's job is to figure out whether the customer not only has a need but also has budget, resources and an approval process to work with you.
If they don't then it's a case of putting your prospect into a "marketing funnel" so that non-sales resources can focus on staying in touch with the customer through white papers, seminars, etc. while your sales people focus on the near-term deals and hitting your quarterly targets.
So there you have it. PUCCKA. In the next post I'll go more in depth into "pain."
Photo Credit – Photo of Jamie Oliver from filming of "Food Revolution" in Santa Monica as posted on Flickr.


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[Dave] has put together this laminar water jet, mainly from PVC and drinking straws. There isn't a project page, but he does go into a little depth explaining how it works. The water enters at the bottom and is slowed down by a series of sponges, then forced through a column of drinking straws. It then pools at the top before being forced through a perfectly smooth and sharp nozzle. We did manage to find this other video, making one for $15 that has a ton of information and links. How long before we see a submission of a complete music synchronized fountain in one of our readers yard?
37 thoughts on "Laminar Water Jet Explained"
Let me guess, the video has some commercial music in the background? Youtube just shows me "This video is not available in your country." when accessing it from Germany.
Ah come on guys…you can't be serious. Stop putting licensed music in your videos. People from all over the world can't view them.
Whoever recorded that video is terribad at filming. I just want one steady, stable shot of the whole thing. I don't particularly care for shaky half-frame closeups of some old beardy guy or you playing with the water. Add on the music licensing and this video is completely useless.
Really from all over the world or just Germany -.-
This video is not available in your country. This is getting really annoying….
Waaah waaah waah.
LOOK AT THE COOL WATER JET….complaining is SO passe.
ripped the video and re-uploaded it for those who could not watch it. http://www.megavideo.com/?v=XA5EAB4R
Note: I am not affiliated with the author in any way nor hack a day.
and here i was expecting a water jet cutter and was all excited.
I wonder if you could do something similar to a fan for directed air flow, I bet it would cool computer parts better that way.
Disney world if I recall correctly sends theirs through a collum of fine mesh screens
Pretty sure they use a company called WET design. They hold the patent for laminar fountains, and built the original leapfrog setup at EPCOT.
great visual effect.!
i just wonder can this be made more compact without sacrificing the quality of the stream? seems huge.! btw there must be something already in production that can be modified to perform the same task as this 2000-straws+plexi+nozzle.. any ideas?
also how does the wind affect the stream ??
pesky music mafIAA..
why won't they just go away, their business model is outdated and obsolete.
neat video FWIW
There's no 'L' in the word straw, and the surface tension of water is not do to magnetism. Other than that the water jet's pretty cool. Still a little expensive for a glorified drinking fountain.
I've wanted to build one of these for years but I just can't get around to it it seems. I do wonder if there aren't easier ways to "inject" light than to put an optic fiber in there though.
Guys if you can't watch the video because of the music licensing, just use a proxy!!!
Create your own if you can't find one that allows youtube videos…
Really incredible. Having not previously been aware of laminar flow jets, I spent half the video wondering why they were making such a big deal about this tank with a clear plastic hose coming out of the top…
Surprisingly easy to build too. Shame I can't think of any use for it right now.
@MS3FGX With a very smooth column of water you can use the "critical angle" to make light bounce around inside the water. If you aim a laser pointer into the stream from behind it, the light will be caught inside the laminar jet and be released wherever the surface of the jet is not perfectly smooth. The addition of particles or bubbles to the jet will make the light scatter, lighting up the jet.
@Osgeld. You are right. I worked for a hire company that specialised in water effects and these jets where one of the things I would have to maintain regularly, keeping the screens as clean as possible to keep the jet perfect. The ones we used had a blade attached to a large stepper motor to cleanly chop the water stream for great jumping jet effects. I was working on a way to miniaturise the jets before I left the company.
@iR377 So do the mesh screens have to be aligned in some way? and how fine should those be? i am seriously thinking of having a go at it..!
It's interesting to hear about this, I followed some links and got this video with traveling light in the beam and I assume that's done by pulsing the light with just the right timing? And that would be a nice project for an – dare I say it… arduino?
Addendum: although I suspect some synced pulsed light another video showed a guy using a 'tapper' to create pulses in the beam, a small hammer hits the nozzle plate to create a traveling pulse in the beam, but that of course can also be orchestrated by a controller.
Yeah, no L in straw, but there is a 'ue' in 'due'.
And he mentioned surface tension, was just using magnetism as a comparison, not a scientific term.
I've been looking for this water-thing since I saw it at discovery channel, Thanks!
One of the fountains of one hotel in Las Vegas have the same system to make the water show every day :)
I've been working on this for over a year now, and am getting some where! I started my project blog and have some information on it there, as well as a forum. They are really simple in principle, but can be a bit difficult to fine tune. I've been able to get mine to shoot about a 14 ft arc about about 3 ft high. They are almost completely silent, and stunningly beautiful!
CAN you give me some detail on how you made it?
Since none else of y'all ingrates is going to say it: Thanks for re-uploading, trc202!
(And thanks for nothing, google Deutschland, for blocking it in the first place)
Is such a stream more effective when let's say cleaning your hands? And is it quiter when filling up a bathtub? It certainly looks nicer.
I'm thinking coffee stirrers in a similar fashion as the drinking straws; their width to length ratio is smaller, so they should reduce turbulence and produce laminar flow in a shorter/smaller space. Ideally, you should also be able to scale the nozzle to produce a cutting jet, assuming you could do so without introducing further turbulence. I don't know if commercial waterjet cutter uses laminar jets, but I bet it would produce a smoother, more precise cut.
Great project!
See, when I see things like this, I immediately think of the Anti-Gravity mechanism that requires rotation of a magnetic fluid. If jets like this could pump streams of magnetic ferro fluid into a coil under vacuum, it should reach the superconductivity necessary to manipulate the gravity field….
But, maybe it wont work with anything non-water based… Any ideas?
watch how do they do that episode 308
the guy who made the displays for the big vegas water show made 1 when he was like 14 with drinking straws
since my last comment is awaiting moderation, have part 1..
There is a forum with lots more info on building these types of water jets.
laminar dot forumotion dot com
Just wanted to comment on the travelling light through the water.
This has nothing to do with pulsing light at the exact right timing. Very nice effect though.
There is no way you could make light pulses travel inside a water beam or any other medium for that matter like this. This would mean that the photons start behave like matter – like the laser guns of Star Wars and Star Trek etc. You can't do that.
Water will have to flow, and light will have to be on all the time during the time the light travels through the beam.
The only way to make this happen is to inject some kind of particles in the beam of water that disrupts the perfect water beam making the light escape from the edges of the beam. OR you can disrupt the beam in some other way like vibrating the nozzle or something with a small hammer like mentioned. Either way you will create interference in the beam so that the light escapes. If the beam is not disrupted, it works as a fibre optic cable, or close to it, containing most of the light all the way.
Make the beam vibrate, viola, you have a pulse of light. But the beam is lit up all the way, you just dont see it unless you disrupts the laminar flow…
I think people have tried for ages to make light behave like matter, but I don't think any have done it yet, and you most certainly can not do it if it's possible at all, with a home made 200 bucks water fountain :). Unless you live at CERN :P
If i wrap the water on the way out of the top of the jet with a bright intense light will it light the stream?
The technology is already patented, originally being used to channel laser light to cut silicon wafers, whilst cooling at the same time.
The advantage being no jagged edge damage to the chip,
Now I know this is a stupid question but if the light source was under computer control and there was a light sensor at the end of the flow this thing could be used to transmit data, right?
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Valentine's Day isn't something that has played a major role in my relationship with Ale. Thanks to a long-distance relationship, a deployment to Afghanistan and one to Kosovo we were rarey together on Valentine's day. This year is the first time in a long time that we are in the same city (and in fact even sharing an apartment) on Valentine's Day. And while neither of us is very romantically inclined, there was nothing I wanted to do more on Valentines' Day but to cook for my man – a bad and overpriced meal we had one year taught us to stay far away from restaurants on Valentine's Day and, after all, it's our shared love of good food which brought us together.
I probably started thinking about possible menu items around Christmas and only settled on a final set of dishes earlier this week (after a last minute (successful) treasure hunt for fresh mint). We feasted on smoked salmon and fennel 'ceviche', a plate of home-made spelt spaetzle with peas and mint and pecorino sardo followed by little parcels of rainbow trout with fresh fennel, pomodorini and fennel seeds. All washed down with a bottle of Giunco, a pretty potent white wine from a winery in Sardinia we visited a few years ago.
One thing I knew from the start is that I wanted to make some chocolates to have as a little petit-four with coffee since chocolates seem to be the stereotypical Valentines' Day present.
Back when I went to boarding school in Brighton, every so often my sister and I would wander around the Lanes, eventually heading to our favourite chocolate store, Montezuma (this was long before they opened a store in Liverpool Street and started stelling their chocolates in Planet Organic and Wholefoods). Come late spring, they would bring out the strawberry champagne truffles and, my favourite, little round disks of white chocolate studded with raspberries and shortbread crumbs.
Now strawberry and white chocolate might be the more common flavour combination but, for me, nothing beats white chocolate and raspberry – raspberries have such a heady perfume, are a bit tangy (which cuts nicely through the richness of white chocolate) and some bite from the little seeds. So I did not hesitate one second when I saw a bag of freeze-dried raspberries in Whole Foods on my last trip to London, knowing these would come in handy very quickly.
Enough of the rambling, the recipe is very simple, adapted very loosely (for simplicity's sake) from a flavoured white ganache recipe I found in my new favourite pastry book by F. Migoya.
White Chocolate and Raspberry Truffles
Ingredients (makes approx. 9 regular-sized truffles, I guess you could make them smaller, or bigger), loosely adapted from F. Migoya, The Elements of Dessert
100g white chocolate, chopped
30g whipping cream
12g butter
Pinch of sea salt
Ca. 1/2 cup of freeze-dried raspberries
1. Heat the butter with the cream on a medium flame until the butter is melted and the mixture starts steaming. Take mixture off the flame.
2. Pour cream and butter mixture over the chopped white chocolate.
3. Once all of the white chocolate has melted, add 2 tablespoons of crushed freeze-dried raspberries to the mix. Add a pinch of salt and stir to combine. (I find the salt helps balance some of the sweetness of the white chocolate so you can leave this out if you want to).
4. Leave the mixture to cool down to room temperature before placing in the fridge for 2-3 hours until the mixture is firm enough to be shaped into balls. (And I would recommend covering the bowl with a lid/clingfilm – ganache easily picks up other odours given the high fat content).
5. Crush the remaining freeze-dried raspberries on a plate with the back of a spoon (I liked the little chunks of raspberries on the outside of the truffles, but you could also use a mortar and pestle or a food processor to produce a fine pink powder to roll the truffles in).
6. Using a teaspoon take 2 teaspoon sized lumps of the truffle mixture and quickly roll into balls. Roll in the freeze-dried raspberries and set aside. Continue until all the truffle mix has been used.
7. The truffles can be served immediately or stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can keep these at room temperature as well for a couple of days but as there is no chocolate coating around the truffles, the mix will soften a bit.


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Remember Tommy Morrison? In a more sports world with a little more flair than the one we inhabit, his story would be among the most compelling. Distant relative of John Wayne, co-star with Stallone in Rocky V, briefly heavyweight champion, beat George Foreman, spent 14 months in jail and, oh yeah, was diagnosed with HIV but now says it was a false positive after years of claiming HIV had no connection to AIDS. Quite a lot to pack into 37 years.
And now he's back in the news, claiming he wants to fight again, for the first time in 10 years, against Mike Tyson, of all people. He says Tyson just lives down the road from him and would be potentially up for a fight. We can't imagine what the neighborhood get-togethers are like; Morrison telling Stallone stories while putting Tyson's pet leopard or something.
Anyway, a Morrison-Tyson matchup would be yet another sad final step in the death of boxing, everything that's wrong with ... oh, we'd just all watch it.
Tommy Morrison [Wikipedia]
Morrison-Tyson? [Philly.com]
Tommy Morrison Wants To Fight Mike Tyson [The Mighty MJD]


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EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE | August 19, 2012
Meddling with male malaria mosquito "mating plug" to control an epidemic
Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society.
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 19, 2012 — Using information about the unique mating practices of the male malaria mosquito ― which, unlike any other insect, inserts a plug to seal its sperm inside the female ― scientists are zeroing in on a birth-control drug for Anopheles mosquitoes, deadly carriers of the disease that threatens 3 billion people, has infected more than 215 million and kills 655,000 annually.
They reported today at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society on development of an approach for screening substances that could prevent formation of the plug, thus preventing mosquitoes from reproducing and spreading malaria.
Media Contact
During Aug. 17-23 the contacts can be reached at 215-418-2086.
Richard H. G. Baxter, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at Yale University, who presented the report, described the search for a new birth-control strategy for mosquitoes. Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes mate in airborne swarms, but only females bite and feed on blood from people ― the bite that transmits the malaria parasite to humans. To ensure mating success, an Anopheles male produces a special "mating plug" to seal its sperm inside the female's mating chamber. The Yale researchers purified the specific enzyme, a transglutaminase, responsible for coagulating another protein called Plugin within the male's seminal fluid to form the plug. They went on to purify the Plugin protein and reconstitute the coagulation reaction in the lab, setting the stage to search for chemicals that inhibit this reaction.
The technology is based on a discovery about the plug in 2009 by Flaminia Catteruccia, Ph.D., then at Imperial College London. Catteruccia's research detailed the biochemical composition of the plug, identified the transglutaminase enzyme and showed that blocking the enzyme prevents females from storing sperm to fertilize their eggs. Catteruccia, now at the Harvard School of Public Health, is collaborating with Baxter and his team at Yale to translate that knowledge into technology to put a dent in the population of malaria mosquitoes.
"We have completed the necessary groundwork to start screening for chemicals that inhibit the enzyme," Baxter explained. "I think that there's a good chance that we will find a compound because there are many existing compounds that inhibit other transglutaminases. Ideally, it would be a substance that could be fed to males, sterilizing them so that they mate but no offspring result. It's a well-established biological insect-control technology called the sterile insect technique and has been used for decades."
The sterile insect technique was first used to control the screwworm fly in the southern United States and other areas. The screwworm fly was once responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to the cattle industry and consumers. The approach is used against tsetse flies in Africa that transmit sleeping sickness and can be effective against mosquitoes, which mate only once or twice in their lifetime. Male mosquitoes would be reared under controlled conditions, fed a transglutaminase inhibitor and released to mate with wild females, reducing the population without the use of insecticides.
The new approach may help to deploy the sterile insect technique against mosquitoes by overcoming previous logistical and environmental concerns. "By developing a chemical that is specific to the Anopheles mosquito and applied in a contained environment, we can minimize both cost and environmental impact," says Baxter. The technology is compatible with other methods such as genetic modification, pioneered by the British firm Oxitec.
The sterile insect technique is a different approach than traditional malaria control strategies, such as the indoor spraying of insecticides and the use of insecticide-treated bed nets. "Mosquitoes are adapting to the traditional control measures," warns Baxter. "They are becoming resistant to the commonly used insecticides such as DDT and pyrethroids, and they are avoiding bed nets by biting during the day and out-of-doors. The sterile insect technique moves us away from trying to deliver chemicals to female mosquitoes by spreading them around people. Instead, we feed a chemical to the male, and he finds the females for us."
The scientists acknowledge support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID Career Development Award, K22AI085112-01).


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he Museum of Musical Instruments proudly hosts The Guitar Is Art: Rhythms of Art & Design In The 20th Century. This exhibition was produced in collaboration with The Museum Of Modern Art, New York, and explores the historical and aesthetic relationship between traditional visual art and the guitar. Stunning works from such masters as Renoir, Kandinsky and Vermeer are juxtaposed with exemplary guitars from Gibson, Martin, Fender and Prairie State. In addition to an in-depth History Of Painting which covers the fall of Rome up through Jackson Pollock, The Guitar Is Art includes a beautiful Timeline Of Art Movements, where a color-coded layout displays visual arts movements from gothic to abstract expressionism. The profound Influence Of Inventions on the performing and visual arts is made evident with a detailed timeline of notable historical facts spanning the first half of the 20th century. Also included in this exhibition is an interactive Photo Montage of over 100 of the most gorgeous guitar photos in the world. These images capture the detailed beauty and design of the stringed instrument, clearly demonstrating the guitar's important standing in the art world.
The MoMI is also pleased to bring to you the world's first virtual documentary exhibition devoted to Woody Guthrie, one of America's most-loved folk heros. Bound For Glory: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie is a comprehensive interactive exhibition that integrates history, music, photographs, essays, poems, letters and drawings to tell the remarkable story of the legendary Woody Guthrie. This exhibition is meant to be an online complement to the Smithsonian Institution's extraordinary traveling exhibition: This Land Is Your Land: The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie. It also includes informative articles and reviews of the Smithsonian production. The Smithsonian traveling Guthrie exhibition premiered June 1999 at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles and is scheduled to stop at other major institutions and museums across the country through 2002.
Also featured at The MoMI is an interactive virtual exhibition of Dangerous Curves: Art of the Guitar which was displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, (MFA) from November 5, 2000 through February 25, 2001, Dangerous Curves provides an in-depth look at the guitar's visual design and evolution from the Baroque to Modern age.
The MoMI encompasses a multifaceted mixture of history and design expressed through instruments, artists, and their music. Instruments selected for the MoMI include some of the finest examples from the 19th and 20th century, intelligently categorized to create a rich interactive experience that reveals many important aspects of modern culture. These permanent collections provide viewers with fascinating stories of the musical experience. Featured at The MoMI is part of the acclaimed Hank Risan Collection.
In addition to wonderfully detailed photos, you will discover fascinating information within the MoMI Article Archives, a virtual magazine and encyclopedia that provides a broad-reaching perspective of musical instrument history. Don't miss Manufacturers at The MoMI, for sketches of leading 20th century instrument builders. The MoMI welcomes you to explore these magical icons that capture the essence of the modern era.


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Product Information
Show your favorite teams pride with this 34.75 x 34.75 Feltscape banner by Rico. This banner will bring any room to life with it bright and vibrant colors. Easy to hang on painted wallets, wood walls, metal, glass, laminate, tile, concrete, and smooth solid surfaces. TEAM PRIDE - Fans show off your team pride with this beautiful felt construction wall décor piece. LONG LASTING - This felt is made with of natural fibers that absorb during printing to give a long lasting bright and vibrant colors. DISPLAY: Place your wall banner in your bedroom, office, man cave, living room, or kitchen to show your team pride. PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA BY AMERICAN WORKERS - Every banner made to a high standard by our American workforce delivering quality in every item.


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Gov. Deal taps 2 senators as floor leaders
ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has appointed his Senate floor leaders for the legislative session beginning Jan. 14.
Sen. Rick Jeffares and Sen. Charlie Bethel will help carry the governor's agenda in the General Assembly's upper chamber. Jeffares is from Locust Grove, a small town between Atlanta and Macon. Bethel is from Dalton, in northwest Georgia. Both men are Republicans, like the governor.
Jeffares and Bethel will be looking for smoother sailing than the Senate has seen in recent years. Several factions broke out late in the last four-year term, with Republican senators stripping power from their fellow party member, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle. The competing factions never could establish a clear pecking order once they took action on Cagle.


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I'm Going To Stop Showering
Ok, so I'm not really going to stop showering. But I'm thinking about it? Why? Well, because as I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world, my perception of myself doesn't seem to match that of the rest of the world.
On days where I'm feeling sloppy and icky and everything else, that's when someone will say to me, "Wow! You look great. Have you lost weight?"
The day I spent open to close volunteering at the carnival at the wee ones' school? When I was spending hours at the customer service desk answering questions and running credit cards and whatever else came up, that's when a friend's husband comes up and tells me that he's impressed. I look really "elegant" that day. Go figure.
Or maybe I'm having a really bad hair day. That's when someone will say that my hair looks amazing.
This is what my hair looks like on what I consider to be a good day. It's not a "pretty" day all around, but my hair is behaving. Nothing is sticking out in weird places. There are no parts that are half curly and half not. I don't have any wings around my head. It isn't super poofy. It's behaving.
This is not the day I get the compliments. I get compliments on the day when I vlog quickly before I go walking with my friends. What do I not do before I go walking? Those are the mornings where I didn't shower and panic trying to fluff my hair into some semblance of normalcy before turning on the camera. And I get the compliments then. And when I go to meet my friends? I get compliments from them on how awesome my hair looks.
So apparently my solution is to just stop showering, right? I wonder if it would help if I stopped brushing my teeth, too....


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Biz Bits: Technology gifts for the whole family
Tip of the Week
Digital lifestyle expert and TV personality Mario Armstrong suggests making the shopping experience easy by finding one place shoppers can turn to for all their technology-gift-shopping needs. Here are some of Mario's must-have picks for this holiday season:
- Tablets and e-readers: Smaller and more portable than a laptop, the tablet has become the ultimate tool for anyone who wants the functionality of a computer on the go. It can serve any purpose, whether you need an easy alternative for a business presentation, a great tool to play games or a movie-player to keep your kids busy when you're traveling. Depending on what feature you're looking for there is a wide range of models and accessories to meet almost any price point. With another great portable device that is all the rage this year, e-readers, paper books are a thing of the past. Now, the best way to get into your favorite book is to download it, the new Kindle Fire has a seven inch color touch screen that can download countless books in addition to movies and TV shows!
- Stocking stuffers: There are some fun tech items that make great stocking stuffers. These days everyone has multiple flash drives in their life, but they don't need to be those basic, boring black cubes. Now, drives come in fun shapes, colors and themes such as animals and even Looney Tunes characters.
BBB Watch
If your small business is starting to take up more room than your home office has to offer, it's time to think about moving your business out of your house. Taking the leap and leasing a commercial office space can be a frightening prospect, but if you ask the right questions and take the time to do your research, you'll avoid the common pitfalls. The Better Business Bureau offers tips to business owners on how to land the right space for the best price.
- What are your needs? Before you start your search, spend some time thinking about what you need in an office space. Don't just consider how many employees you currently have; seriously consider your company's growth and estimate how many employees you'll gain over the course of a lease. The general rule for allotting space is 175 to 250 square feet of usable area per person. Also consider the common areas such as break rooms, reception area, and conference rooms you and your employees will need.
- Get professional help. Finding the right commercial office space isn't as easy as finding residential property. Chances are you'll need a realtor to navigate you through the process of finding that perfect office space. Before you select your Realtor, check out their free BBB Business Review at www.bbb.org.
- Location, location, location. The perfect location can often depend on what kind of business you run. If you regularly expect clients in your office you'll need a convenient, safe, location.
- Consider safety and accessibility. Look for parking, public transportation as well as the condition of the building and the neighborhood. Also ask if your employees with be able to easily get to work.
- Go ahead, kick the tires. Take a long hard look at the office space and assess the condition of the building. Ask the landlord about recent improvements and upgrades as well as the condition of the air conditioning and heating units. Also, discuss with your landlord how much remodeling needs to be done to the office space and determine who will foot the bill. You may need to consider the basics such as new carpet, fixtures, and fresh paint as well as major interior renovations such as constructing new walls.
- Review the lease carefully. Read all of the fine print of your lease. If you need help deciphering the legalese of your lease, an attorney who specializes in lease agreements can help negotiate the terms. Don't be shy about negotiating; this is a major investment and a big step for your company and you don't want to get locked into a bad deal.
For more tips, visit www.bbb.org.
The List
According to Yahoo Sports, here are four professional sports teams in financial trouble:
1. Phoenix Coyotes
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
3. Sacramento Kings
4. Indiana Pacers
Number to Know
$1,210: Average cost of computers on Mondays, according to Extrabux, the day when computers are cheapest. On Fridays, computers costs $1,256.
Tech Talk
According to a survey by ChangeWave Research, 26 percent of people were holding off purchasing an iPad before the Kindle Fire came out.
GateHouse News Service


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2017 Average Costs For Ceramic Tile Installation
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Many homeowners decide on installing ceramic tiles in their home. The reasons for that are numerous – tiles are practical, look nice and do not cost much. However, a problem can occur if they're not installed properly. Not only will they look ugly, but this can also cause problems in the future as such tiles are not easy to clean. Because of that, your best solution is hiring a professional to do it. People who do this for a living will install your tiles much faster than you would and way better. To find the best professionals, simply call Furthur and ask them for ceramic tile installation Calera professionals.
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The main reason why we recommend hiring a professional is that tile installation can waste too much of your time if you don't have experience in doing it. If you think doing it on your own will save you some money, you should know that Furthur offers their services at a more than affordable cost. All you got to do to find the best tile installation Calera professionals is pick up your phone and call Furthur. Furthur will send you quality tile installer at your service.
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FAQ for Ceramic Tile Installation in Calera
Where can I get the best contractor for ceramic tile installation in Calera?
In the event that you need any help with ceramic tile installation in Calera, it is important for you to make sure that you consult an expert, so that when you finally get to have the work done, you will actually appreciate it even more. This is something that a lot of people do not know about. Choosing an expert is not very easy, but with a few tips, you can get it done so fast. To get the best services, search online or even in social media pages and you will find a really good company or contractor locally.
Is it possible to know beforehand what it will cost me to have Calera ceramic tile installation?
It is possible to know the cost of Calera ceramic tile installation ahead of time. This is even easier if the same company that sold you the ceramic tiles is also the one that is organizing the installation. Other than that, having them do the work for you will end up being much cheaper. This is because they have a competent team of experts who will handle the installation. Other than that, if there are any pieces that are damaged and need replacement, you will also have them replaced so fast without any concerns at all.
How can I know whether I will get the best results for ceramic tile installation in Calera from the company I have chosen?
Always insist on working with companies that have proper reviews online. If you choose a company that has helped a lot of people locally, it will not be very hard for you to get referrals from people you know, or people you share certain social circles with.
Superior Structural Solutions Inc308 2nd Pl SW Alabaster, AL 35007
GTI1510 SIMMSVILLE RD Alabaster, AL 35007
Agne Tile Roofing199 Moss Hill Ct Calera, AL 35040
Lewis Jerry D Ceramic Tile ContractorsKingdom Rd Columbiana, AL 35051
Premier Granite & Marble308 2nd Pl SW # H Alabaster, AL 35007
Parrot Structural Services LLC137 County Road 902 Calera, AL 35040


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It is getting close to the actual barbecue, and I am still trying out new recipes.
I honestly thought I had a winning recipe here.
You have your typical coleslaw with a vinaigrette, and then you have this coleslaw on a Middle/Eastern/European kick. First, slivered green cabbage, much loved by the Poles, is lovingly infiltrated by kohlrabi. I really enjoyed the crisp, slightly sweet julienned kohlrabi which was a perfect match to the cabbage. If you don't have any kohlrabi, just increase the cabbage. If you have kohlrabi, make it into a slaw, as you won't be disappointed.
Next, we have a lemony vinaigrette, which I much prefer to a creamy dressing any day. Spiced with dill, we have the Eastern European flavour palate going again. Sprouts are added for more mouth feel.
But then Ottolenghi adds the wonderful finale, his Middle Eastern flair, the best twist to the mix: dried tart cherries.
Since it is cherry season in Ontario, I tried the salad with both fresh and dried cherries, and the latter are definitely the winner. Which means everyone wins, because then this becomes a year-round salad. I also decreased the amount of dressing while adding in more vinegar, increased the sprouts and substituted some dill seeds since I didn't have enough fresh dill.
However, despite how much I loved this salad, and figured it played with the perfect palate for feeding Rob's Polish family (cabbage, lemon, DILL), he vetoed the salad. Poof! Just like that, it disappeared from the menu.
Their loss is my gain, because I have been eating this salad all week and pretty content that I don't have to share it with anyone. 🙂
The sad part is that I am still wondering what kind of salad to make for the Poles… 😛
This is my submission to Deb for this week's Souper Sundays, and to this month's Simple and in Season and to Ricki's new Summer Wellness Weekends.
Ottolenghi's Cabbage and Kohlrabi Salad
300g green cabbage (1/4 head), thinly sliced
300g kohlrabi (1 medium-large head), peeled and julienned
6 tbsp fresh dill, roughly chopped (I didn't have enough fresh dill, so I threw in some dried dill weed)
1 cup dried cherries
zest and juice of 1 lemon (3 tbsp fresh lemon juice)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
100g sprouts (alfalfa works but others are great too! I used a mix of lentil, alfalfa, radish, etc) – reserve some for garnish
1 tsp salt, or to taste
fresh pepper, to taste
1. Mix together the chopped cabgage, kohlrabi, dill, cherries, lemon zest and juice, vinegar, oil and garlic. Massage everything together for a few minutes to allow the flavours to meld and to soften the cabbage and cherries. Let the salad sit for 10 minutes.
2. Add the sprouts, salt and pepper, and adjust to taste.
3. Garnish with reserved sprouts and serve at room temperature.
Serves 4.


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We sense intuitively that employers asking for our Facebook passwords is wrong. The law, currently, isn't sure what to do.
Last week, Representative Ed Perlmutter, Democrat from Colorado, proposed an amendment to H.R. 3309, the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2012, in reaction to news of employers, prospective and otherwise, demanding the passwords of employees' social media accounts. The amendment, colorfully shorthanded "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS ON PASSWORDS," would have prohibited employers from demanding workers' social networking usernames and passwords -- and would have allowed the FCC to intervene on behalf of employees and their privacy.
It would have codified, in other words, the notion that one's social media identity is an extension of one's broader identity, with the privacy protections (such as they are) that come along with the analogy.
A day after it was proposed, the amendment was voted down -- almost entirely along party lines -- thus closing one door to social media privacy legislation, at least on the national level. (There are similar social media privacy laws -- full bills, rather than amendments -- currently being proposed in the legislatures of Illinois, Maryland, and Michigan.)
But that's not the end of the story. In fact, it's just the beginning. It may well turn out that the concerns associated with demands for social media passwords -- and, along with them, demands for email passwords, and, generally, demands that would seem to violate employee privacy -- will first be legislated not, actually, through legislation, but through the courts.
Take the case of R.S., a 12-year-old Minnesota girl who is suing her school district after it punished her for comments she made on Facebook. (The ACLU, arguing on her behalf, claims that the punishments were a violation not only of her First Amendment rights, but also of her Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure.) Or take Kimberly Hester, a teacher's aide in Michigan, who is currently engaged in a legal battle with the school district that suspended her after she posted a questionable picture of a coworker to her Facebook page. (The picture? An image of "a co-worker's pants around her ankles and a pair of shoes, with the caption 'Thinking of you.'") A parent -- a Facebook friend of Hester's -- saw the photo and complained; the school reacted; its administration proceeded to ask Hester (three times) for access to her Facebook account. Each time, Hester refused, later explaining, "I would not, still to this day, let them in my Facebook. And I don't think it's okay for an employer to ask you."
Many of us would agree with Hester. What makes her story so fascinating, though, is that the law, as it currently stands, does not. Beyond social media sites' own terms of service -- and Facebook has threatened its own action against employers who ask for employees' passwords -- there's nothing on the books that stipulates, in specific terms, which privacy claims we hold on behalf of our online selves. Facebook is fast; the legal system is slow. If Hester's battle goes anywhere beyond a simple settlement (and here's hoping!), its arguments will have to rely on precedent.
Which makes you wonder: What would be the precedents for a case like this? What, actually, is the analog version of an authority figure asking, casually but insistently, to know your Facebook password? Most of us, I think, find the practice of password-snooping intuitively wrong. But: Why? If there's been a violation, what, actually, has been violated? Is one's Facebook profile akin to one's person, monolithic and portable? Or is it more akin to one's home -- a separate social space within which one has a reasonable expectation of privacy? Or is it both at the same time? Or neither?
Over at the ACLU, the attorney Catherine Crump has compared password-snooping to the famously criminal practice that is opening someone else's mail. ("You'd be appalled if your employer insisted on opening up your postal mail to see if there was anything of interest inside," she notes. "It's equally out of bounds for an employer to go on a fishing expedition through a person's private social media account.") GW law professor Orin Kerr, on the other hand, argues that asking for someone's password is like demanding their house keys. (One way that analogy works: The level of violation a key request entails depends entirely on what -- and whom -- you keep in your house. Same deal for your Facebook account, since the more you've invested in it, the more you'll care if people go snooping.)
There are arguments on the other side, too, of course. Employers, the University of Pennsylvania law professor Anita Allen pointed out to me, are within their rights to require drug tests and personality tests of their employees. There's reason to suggest that -- just as students have a reduced expectation of privacy while they're at school -- employees have a reduced expectation of privacy while they're at work. (Or, indeed, while applying for work.) Employment, and the social dynamics it brings with it, may well carry their own compromises when it comes to privacy claims.
The question is what kind of entity Facebook is, and whether -- and how -- Facebook privacy differs from, you know, privacy privacy. Snooping in someone's Facebook profile is unlike a drug or personality test in that it implicates one's family and friends. It is unlike reading someone's mail in that it paints a holistic portrait of that someone's identity. It is unlike wandering through someone's house in that it presents that someone's identity as a narrative, meaningful and revealing, rather than a collection of objects. But Facebook is like a home in that it houses your loved ones. It is like a home in that it is divided, purposely and definitively, from the open web. It is an expression of yourself. And it is, in the deepest way, yours.
In some ways, it's a good thing that the Perlmutter amendment failed. It's more interesting, and perhaps more subtle -- if vastly, vastly more inefficient -- to make our determinations about the brave new world of social media privacy through the courts rather than through Congress. To what extent can employees reasonably expect that their social media selves -- so implicitly performative, so explicitly public -- hold claims to privacy? To what extent do the employers of public figures "own" those figures' social media accounts? To what extent is it acceptable for schools to punish their students for what they say, on Facebook, at home? Who owns, ultimately, our digital selves, and who decides whether those selves are at core public or private? These are questions we'll likely be answering together, painstakingly, case by case by case.
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In Napa Valley, the past is prelude to the future
In a few paragraphs in "Winetaster's Choice," written 42 years ago, Harry Waugh anticipated much of Napa Valley's modern history, although he likely did not know it. It was on March 30, 1972, that Harry, the "grand old man of the English wine trade" who also was on the board of directors of Chateau Latour, made his third visit to Napa and found the region so dry that "It is said to be the worst drought since 1870!" Those of us who live here know that every ten years or so we do have a drought, and while I don't mean to sound dismissive of the water situation (after all, the population of California has more than doubled since 1970), sometimes the media does seem to make things sound worse than they really are. (By the way, the rains of February have switched this winter from being the driest ever to the third driest.)
Harry's visit coincided with a time when Napa's boutique winery era was reaching an apogee. He was friends with Belle and Barney Rhodes, who'd planted Martha's Vineyard, from which Joe Heitz produced one of the first vineyard-designated Cabernet Sauvignons (and which can lay claim to being California's first modern-era "cult" wine). Martha's Vineyard is, of course, located in the same general area of Oakville as Harlan Estate and Far Niente.
A few days later, Harry also visited Mayacamas Vineyard, high up on Mount Veeder, way above Oakville, and was dazzled by the views, which visitors still are today. "For sheer beauty the views in every direction…are, to my mind, unsurpassed," and this despite his penchant for "splendid Alsace" and "my beloved Beaujolais country." Tasting with Mayacamas's founder, Bob Travers, Harry sampled the winery's Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon (the wines were made, partly or wholly, from purchased grapes, because Bob's new vineyard plantings hadn't yet matured). Mayacamas was, of course, recently purchased from the Travers family by Charles Banks, who has vowed to restore the estate to greatness.
Harry also tasted a Mayacamas 1968 Zinfandel, a wine he said "caused such a stir" for its alcohol of 17%! [The exclamation point was his.] Being possessed of a European palate, and particularly fond of Bordeaux, Harry might easily have pooh-poohed that Zin, the way certain of our Europhile writers do today to wines of high alcohol. But he called it "one of the richest unfortified wines I have ever tasted" and added, "It is gratifying to know already I have a case of this most unusual wine tucked away in London." One of the reasons I admired Harry was because of the catholicism [small "c"] of his palate. He was always in search of what he called "the pick of the bunch," the best wines in whatever country or region he was touring, and did not bring provincial or biased tastes to his experiences.
During that same period, as a sort of lark, Harry and his wife, Prue, traveled to Lodi, which is not so far as the crow flies from Napa Valley, but seems altogether different, being on lowlands in the Sacramento Delta. However this trip was not to sample its wines or tour its vineyards. He'd been invited by "Bob and Marge Mondavi" to "a square dance club" to trip the light fantastic. I wish Harry had described this scene in greater detail, but in 1972 he could not have known the iconic status Robert Mondavi would later achieve. Isn't it fun to imagine Mr. Mondavi dosado'ing in jeans and cowboy hat.
Another winery Harry went to was Louis M. Martini, then under the control of the Martini family (Gallo bought it in 2002), where he tasted "1970 Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon," with a Sonoma County appellation. Could this have been Monte Rosso? Harry loved its "rich, sweet nose" and called it "gorgeous, big"; it even reminded him of the 1970 clarets ("the best vintage there since 1961"), with "its fabulous colour…richness and complexity." I wonder what the alcohol was on that wine; today, Monte Bello Cabs tend to be on the hefty side. Perhaps a Martini will read this and let us know.
You see why it's such fun to read about the history of wine regions. We discover that the things we are concerned with today are not without precedent. Nothing springs parthenogentically from nothing; everything has origins, and if you love wine, you must love understanding how today came out of yesterday, and all the years before.
"1970 Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon," with a Sonoma County appellation. Could this have been Monte Bello?
Nope, it couldn't have been!
I assume you meant Monte Rosso…
very cool post
I had the privilege in the late 90s of attending a blind tasting that featured 68 and 74 Martha's Vineyard, 84 Caymus Special Select and 85 Cask 23 paired up with 59 Latour, 61 Pichon-Lalande, 78 La Mission Haut Brion and 82 Cheval Blanc. Excepting the Caymus, the other three Napa wines more than held their own against the Bordeaux. The Heitz in particular are two of the most memorable wines that I have ever drank.
If wines like that are the prelude to a possible future when Napa Valley throws away its Michel Rolland cookbook and goes back to making wines of elegance and harmony, I may need to rethink my current loathing of the place.
Mr. Haydon. Your current loathing of the place is misplaced. There are plenty of great wines in the style you profess to like. Napa is not a monolithic place with a monolithic style.
And, the difference between the near 14% alc for 74 Martha's, a great wine even today, and the majority of today's wines that are in the 14-14.5% range is so negligible in both taste and texture that lumping those wines in with those that are higher in alc is just plain wrong on its face.
But, please, do not take my word or Steve's word on this topic. Go out and taste Corison, Spottswoode, Farella, Cuvaison, Trefethen, Rubicon, Dominus, Elizabeth Spencer, etc, etc, for yourself. I think you will find dozens of Napa Cabs that hit your taste preference sweet spot.
Charlie, I will agree with you that those wines exist, and I respect many on your list (though after the Chronicle article, it'll be cold day in hell that I ever give the Trefethen family any money). I'll break my response down into two parts.
First, I agree that diversity does exist and always has. Even in the deepest, darkest depths of Parker/Rolland influence, it existed. We disagree on the extent of it. I say that for every Hanzell or Steve Edmunds ten years ago, there were literally scores if not hundreds of by-the-numbers 15% Cabs being launched, all chasing the Golden Ticket of being the next Screaming Eagle. As I've mentioned countless times here, that the tide is swinging away from that and back towards the more restrained style of those old Martha's Vineyards is a good, positive and (at to be a cynic) necessary development for the future of Napa Valley.
Secondly, with regards to winemaking and grape physiology, I will contend that a fundamental difference starts to happen to Cabernet when it inches too far past the 14% mark. Natural acidity in those grapes declines at a rate far quicker than alcohol inches up. Half a point in alcohol may not seem much, but it can be a world of difference in the finished pH and TA of those grapes and the subsequent amount of adjustment necessary. And to me, one of the three great sins of the modern Napa cab/chard style (along with fruit flavors edging into the brown spectrum and garish use of new oak) is the disjointed "sharp elbows" structure that comes from heavy acid adjustments.
Also relevant is the question of what the true alcohol level on that 14.3 wine is in the first place. It may not have been an issue ten years ago as there was little or no market damage to putting 15.4% on a label, but as winemakers tend to take notice of market trends and perceptions, I think you will see a lot more of them using the full extent of the ttb window to make their wines seem as low alcohol as possible. I honestly don't know what the alcohol levels are in John Kongsgaard's latest releases, but I'm willing to wager that if they are all exactly 14.1 as stated on the labels, I'll allow Tom Wark to tie me to a stake in the St. Helena town square and kick me in the balls with everything he's got.
Bill Haydon, I think a lot of confusion was created with the practice by many wineries (especially in the past) of labeling their wines at 12.5% every vintage. There is a lot of misplaced nostalgia persisting over wines that were labeled as such, but were actually just under 14% alcohol. Certainly there has be an upward creep in alcohol levels, with some critics stripping lots of points off their scores with any perception of green, vegetal, or herbal characters that in times past were acceptable components of some of the classic Cabs mentioned in this thread. As a small Cab producer in Napa Valley it is a fine line we have to play: for our site, in most vintages, we are into the zone of attractive ripe aromas and supple tannins at around 24 to 25 brix. The resulting alcohol level may be just over or just under 14% alcohol. It is unfortunate that not only is this the divide between tax categories, but also has become a divide that has been created in the public perception by some people in the wine community aggressively declaring they will have nothing to do with wines that measure over this level. But in any event, I think the loathing might be overcome by tasting more of the Napa Cabs that never went down the road of excessive ripeness in the quest for uber scores.
For those remaining confused about TTB categories for alcohol, the following from the Napa Valley Vintners web site is a clear explanation:T
"This statement on a wine label indicates the alcohol content by volume, with a tolerance of plus or minus 1.5% if the wine has an alcohol content of 14% or less and a tolerance of plus or minus 1.0% if the wine has an alcohol content of more than 14%. However, the tolerance cannot be used to cross the 14% alcohol content threshold, which is the dividing line between two tax classes. So a wine that is actually 13.5% alcohol by volume could be labeled 12% or 14% but not above 14%. Finally, a wine that is 14% or less alcohol by volume can be labeled "table wine" without any notation of the numeric alcohol content."
By the way, there is no "town square" in St. Helena, so I would suggest as an alternative site the Bocce courts, where a lot of balls are already exposed…


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15-foot great white spotted close to Cape beach
Shark seen along coast stalking seals
A 15-foot great white was spotted very close to the Cape Cod shore on Sunday.
The shark was spotted during a survey flight off Chatham by George Breen, of the Cape Cod Shark Hunters.
Images: Shark spotted near beach
"We're aware that they're in the area. The state Marine and Fisheries people have had a few detections on their buoys," said Parks Director Dan Tobin.
The shark was seen swimming along the coast stalking seals.
Tobin expects the shark population will increase as the summer continues -- meaning his lifeguards have been on alert.
"We don't have folks swimming within 300 feet of observed seals. And if people would do that, we feel we have a pretty safe situation," Tobin said.
Word that sharks have returned to the area has drawn a new class of tourist to the beach.
"That's why we came by today -- to see if we can catch a glimpse of a shark today," said Matt Katilus.
Emily Barbini, visiting the Cape from Texas, also hopes to catch a glimpse of a shark.
"I'll be in (the water) later on, absolutely," she said. "I'll be in up to my knees, where I can see the bottom."
Crews hope the weather is clear enough to try to tag sharks in the coming week.


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COLUMBUS – A shortage of road salt has some Ohio communities scrambling and the state's transportation department is looking for ways to help.
The state didn't get any takers from salt suppliers over the past week when the Ohio Department of Transportation offered to order 150,000 tons of salt for counties, cities and townships.
No salt companies bid in the 10-day window that ended Friday. The lack of bids is a sign that the companies are stretched thin, said department spokesman Steve Faulkner.
The plan was to stockpile salt at seven locations around the state for communities that were running low and then have them replace the salt when their own supplies were replenished.
Now the transportation department said it will explore other options.
"We're looking at some alternatives of how we could pursue some additional salt and how we could get some more into Ohio," Faulkner said. "I'm not sure exactly how that's going to play out. We should have more information next week." The agency has been helping smaller communities by providing salt for individual storms.
There are not a lot of communities in dire need of salt, Faulkner said, even though many have used more salt than usual.
Cincinnati officials said Saturday that some crews have been told to use a salt-sand mixture over the weekend to conserve salt supplies because of its dwindling supply.
Licking County in central Ohio was close to a dangerously low level of salt before receiving more this past week, said Bill Lozier, the county engineer.
The state transportation department is not in danger of running out of salt, Faulkner said. The agency has ordered another 510,000 tons and can buy only 40,000 tons more under its existing contracts.
Department director Jerry Wray said the agency could end up using 1 million tons of salt for the first time.