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CANADIAN journalist Bob Hunter was one of the co-founders of Greenpeace in 1971. He became a key member and shaper of the group's image, and served as its first president, from 1973 to 1979, leading it through its initial growth towards its current status as a highly influential movement located in 41 countries, and with more than 2.8million members.
In Hunter's words, Greenpeace started as "an ad-hoc committee meeting in living rooms", trying to find a response to US nuclear tests in Alaska.
It was 1969, and America was about to detonate a hydrogen bomb on the tiny Aleutian island of Amchitka. Thousands of protestors, fearing earthquakes and tsunamis triggered by the blast, gathered on the Canadian-US border in an attempt to stop the test. Hunter came up with the slogan, "Don't make a wave." The protest failed, and Washington announced plans for a second blast in 1971.
Hunter and 11 other men took a leaky, 99-ton halibut trawler, the Phyllis Cormack, renamed it the Greenpeace, and sailed it north from British Columbia, with the intention of circling Amchitka, just outside the three-mile exclusion zone, until either the bomb was detonated or the test was called off. Hunter, who had joined the expedition as a reporter, found himself taking first watch.
Dogged by terrible weather, 40-foot swells and mechanical problems, the Greenpeace never made it to the test zone, despite two attempts and 45 days at sea, and the Americans completed their testing undisturbed. But the audacity of the group's plan caused an international sensation, and, five months after the voyage, the US halted all nuclear tests in the Aleutian islands. Amchitka is now a bird sanctuary.
Hunter brought whale and seal hunting to public attention, as well as the dumping of toxic waste into the oceans. He realised how direct action against Soviet or Japanese whalers could translate into dramatic reportage, leading him to develop the concept of the "media mind bomb" to describe such acts. He was also responsible for borrowing the term "rainbow warriors" from a Cree legend that prophesied that races from around the world would one day come together to defend mother earth. The Rainbow Warrior became Greenpeace's flagship.
Hunter was born in land-locked Winnipeg on the Canadian prairies, where he was raised mainly by his French-Canadian mother after his father had left. Following a stint on the Winnipeg Tribune, he moved to Vancouver in the 1960s to become a columnist for the Vancouver Sun. He also wrote television drama.
He left the employ of Greenpeace in 1981 to return to writing and broadcasting, becoming an environmental correspondent in Toronto, and the host on a television show, Hunter's Gathering. He also continued to speak at Greenpeace functions. In 1991, he won a governor-general's award for literature for his book Occupied Canada, in which a young white man, discovering that his family has hidden the fact that he is half-Mohawk, adopts the native Canadian way of life. Hunter published 12 other books.
In 2000, Time magazine named him as one of the 20th century's top 10 environmental heroes, and, the following year, he unsuccessfully ran for the Ontario provincial legislature as a Liberal. He had, by then, been suffering from prostate cancer for two years, and turned this experience into a documentary film, Men Don't Cry, to highlight the reality of how older men dealt with having the disease.
In 1979, when Greenpeace received a call from US President Jimmy Carter applauding its efforts to save whales, Hunter said he realised that the organisation had come full circle, from environmental fringe group to something much bigger and with vast appeal.
He added that Greenpeace's vision "is the vision of the 20th century for the 21st century. When there are visions involved, and dreams and ideals and ethics and changed values … that all basically implies a revolution. No wonder governments don't like us."
[Edited Obituary from the Guardian, 04 May 2004].


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Magento…The #1 ecommerce platform, owned by Ebay. It's full of features, supported by a huge number of developers, and looks like Magneto if you stare at long enough (which you will): It's also a big pain in the arse to get running.
Time travel several hours ago….
So I decided I wanted to see what's involved in getting Magento installed. Just like WordPress and OSCommerce, one just has to download the latest versions to the website folder, unzip, and direct your browser to that folder to start the installation.
However, unlike OSCommerce and WordPress, Magento won't actually install. So let me save you some time with the following solution,
For starters, I'm running Ubuntu LAMP with Virtual/Webmin. When I unzip the magento.zip to the folder, /home/username/public_html/magento/, and direct my browser to the tommyludwig.com/magento/install.php, I get 500 internal error.
Ugh. Lets make sure the permissions are correct: so I download this tool (http://www.magentocommerce.com/wiki/groups/227/resetting_file_permissions) and run it. Still 500 internal error.
Next, I check the ownership of all the files and its blank. I chown -R all the magento files to apache2 user, 'www-data.' Ugh. The install script still won't run.
(a couple Shark Tank episodes later…)
Eureka! I don't need to install magento via the browser. I can just run the install.php script.
Here's the script I used:
php -f install.php — –license_agreement_accepted "yes" \
–locale "en_US" \
–timezone "America/Los_Angeles" \
–default_currency "USD" \
–db_host "localhost" \
–db_name "database name" \
–db_user "database user" \
–db_pass "password" \
–skip_url_validation \
–url "yoursite.com/magento:80" \
–use_rewrites "yes" \
–use_secure "no" \
–secure_base_url "" \
–use_secure_admin "no" \
–admin_firstname "tom" \
–admin_lastname "l" \
–admin_email "firstname.lastname@example.com" \
–admin_username "your login" \
–admin_password "pass";
Notice the "skip_url_validation." This was key. Finally, installation completes successfully. I grab a beer or four, and direct the browser to tommyludwig.com/magento…
In a fit of unadulterated rage at providence, I accidentally delete the .htaccess file. And bam! My magento site actually loads. However, none of the links work.
Solution? It turns out, that Webmin configuration doesn't allow FollowSymLinks for security reasons, so I replaced that with '+Options SymLinkIfOwnerMatch,' and the site loads with .htaccess in the folder. Next, make sure RewriteEngine on is uncommented and the links should work.
Overall, it's a magentNO!

subset: commoncrawl


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You Are What You Eat
If there is one thing that makes the game experience better regardless of the sport, it is the food and amenities offered by the team at its home building. Whether we're talking garlic fries at baseball games, taco in a bag at hockey games, or the plethora of other food options at sporting events, there's always a delectable delight for fans to enjoy. Today, however, ESPN decided to pull the curtains back on food prepared at stadiums by exposing the health inspections done for each team's stadium or arena. Some of the findings are startling. Others provide a sense of relief in knowing that you may have eaten there at one time. Needless to say, HBIC wants to show the hockey side of these findings.
What makes me a little disappointed in some of these findings is that we, as fans, spend our hard-earned cash on arena amenities, and we expect high-quality food and drinks with little consideration to the dark underside of the arena's food preparation. That's not to say I'm disappointed in the findings themselves. Instead, I'm disappointed that NHL teams allow some of the horrendous findings to be found. Health is something that all people - Canadians and Americans alike - take very seriously, and you better not mess with our food. Especially comfort foods.
That being said, here are the health inspection rankings for each of the NHL teams. The lower the percentage shown, the better the NHL team did in the health inspection, and that's good for all of us. The score is based on the percentage of vendors in violation of health requirements. Here they are in order of percentage with the health inspector comments, and I'll comment below with my thoughts:
- United Center, Chicago Blackhawks - 0%. *
- Nassau Coliseum, New York Islanders - 0%.
- ScotiabankPlace, Ottawa Senators - 0%.
- Scottrade Center, St. Louis Blues - 0%.
- Air Canada Centre, Toronto Maple Leafs - 0%.
- Honda Center, Anaheim Ducks - 3%. The only major violation was for not having chlorine sanitizer in the kitchen's dishwashing machine.
- Bell Centre, Montreal Canadiens - 3%. Food found at an improper temperature.
- Prudential Center, New Jersey Devils - 6%. Inspectors noted that at one location, the person in charge "did not demonstrate adequate knowledge of food safety," and the sink lacked soap and paper towels, and there was no sanitizer solution.
- HSBC Arena, Buffalo Sabres - 8%. Two critical violations for having a toxic chemical in an unlabeled spray bottle.
- Nationwide Arena, Columbus Blue Jackets - 9%. One of the stadium's critical violations was for employees' handling lemons, limes and oranges with their bare hands while placing them on beverage glasses.
- GM Place, Vancouver Canucks - 9%. A sushi display cooler was malfunctioning, and the temperature of the sushi rose above safe levels. Inspectors also cautioned one stand regarding properly heating donairs, which have been tied to E. coli outbreaks elsewhere in Canada.
- Staples Center, Los Angeles Kings - 11%. One stand dumped 9.5 pounds of sushi after inspectors found that it become too warm.
- Pengrowth Saddledome, Calgary Flames - 14%. Utensils and equipment at one location were not being cleaned and sanitized properly.
- Wachovia Center, Philadelphia Flyers - 15%. Inspectors found evidence of mouse and fruit fly infestations at one bar location.
- XCel Energy Center, Minnesota Wild - 17%. Chicken strips for topping a Caesar salad were found at 105 degrees, when they should have been at least 140 degrees.
- HP Pavilion, San Jose Sharks - 20%. At one location, inspectors found Chinese chicken salad had warmed to 60 degrees, about 20 degrees above a safe temperature.
- TD Garden, Boston Bruins - 21%. Storing dishwashing chemicals on top of an ice machine resulted in a critical violation for one location.
- Rexall Place, Edmonton Oilers - 25%. At one location, workers used contaminated cleaning items.
- Jobing.com Arena, Phoenix Coyotes - 33%. Inspectors spotted an employee scooping ice with his bare hands instead of using scoops.
- Philips Arena, Atlanta Thrashers - 35%. At a couple of locations, inspectors found food not being protected from contamination.
- American Airlines Center, Dallas Stars - 40%. Expired milk, brown lettuce and employees caught drinking or eating while they were working in the stand accounted for some of the stadium's critical violations.
- Joe Louis Arena, Detroit Red Wings - 52%. Poisonous or toxic materials were stored atop items used to serve customers, posing a potential risk of contamination. Inspectors also found roaches below a soda dispenser at one location.
- Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh Penguins - 55%. In one of the arena's higher-end clubs, inspectors found a live cockroach on top of a soda dispenser holster behind the bar.
- Bridgestone Arena, Nashville Predators - 59%. Nashville inspectors, who also score vendors, gave the facility's lowest score - 75 - to a vendor with three critical and nine non-critical violations.
- Madison Square Garden, New York Rangers - 61%. At one stand, inspectors found "53 mouse excreta" (38 on top of a metal box underneath the cash registers in the front food-prep/service area and 15 on top of a carbonated-beverage dispensing unit).
- RBC Center, Carolina Hurricanes - 67%. Inspectors cited one vendor after watching employees handle raw, breaded chicken while loading fryers and then handling cooked food without changing gloves or washing hands. The employees placed cooked chicken back in the same container used to pre-portion raw chicken before cooking.
- Pepsi Center, Colorado Avalanche - 67%. At one bar, inspectors found phorid flies, sometimes called coffin flies, in a bottle of cognac.
- BankAtlantic Center, Florida Panthers - 67%. Inspectors issued several violations for soiled ice bins and coolers.
- St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa Bay Lightning - 88%. At one location with five critical violations, an inspector saw an employee handle dirty dishes and then put away clean dishes without washing his/her hands or changing gloves. The same location lacked soap at a hand sink.
- Verizon Center, Washington Capitals - 100%. Mice droppings, a critical violation in Washington, were found at at least 10 vendors.
We even get a chance to check out a few AHL rinks thanks to those teams being tenants in arenas that were reviewed by the health inspectors.
- Toyota Center, Houston Aeros - 13%. At one stand, knives were put back into a knife rack without being cleaned.
- Quicken Loans Arena, Lake Erie Monsters - 14%. Inspectors found three critical violations at one location for coolers that weren't working, food that was improperly refrigerated or marked with an incorrect date, and an employee who touched food with bare hands.
- Wrigley Field, Detroit vs. Chicago - 0%. *
- Fenway Park, Philadelphia vs. Boston - 4%. Inspectors found raw steak that had warmed to almost 60 degrees, which was above safe temperatures.
- Ralph Wilson Stadium, Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo - 12%. In one case an inspector ordered workers at one stand to toss all hot dogs and sausages because they were too warm while waiting to be cooked.
- Heinz Field, Washington vs. Pittsburgh - 61%. Inspectors found employees lacking in overall food-safety knowledge after observing one worker washing his hands with his gloves on. Another location had a gallon of milk that had expired 10 days prior.
Wow. I mean, what else can be said, right? Wow.
Let me just make a few casual observations here.
- First, massive kudos go out to the Islanders, Senators, Blues, and Maple Leafs for their commitment to their fans. The other 26 teams should be calling these four teams for information on how to improve their standing on this list.
- Pittsburgh's track record of food safety must be questioned when two of its venues have over 50% of the vendors in those stadiums in violation of health ordinances. PNC Park, where the Pirates play baseball, scored a 53%. Expired milk and a cockroach might only be the tip of the iceberg.
- Chicago's seemingly perfect record is definitely not accurate. Don't believe those numbers until the inspectors actually perform an inspection while the games are being played.
- Florida's two NHL teams apparently have no interest in keeping their fans healthy. This could be one of the reasons the attendance marks in those cities are declining. Soiled ice bins and coolers? No soap? Wow. I'm a little horrified.
- While I may be a little paranoid about this, anything above 10% is pretty disgusting. If one-in-ten vendors is my mark, what is yours? And if you live in an NHL city, how do you feel about your team's food vendors?
- Philadelphia's mice and fruit flies, Phoenix's bare-handed ice-scooping, Dallas' expired milk, Detroit's and Pittsburgh's roach issues, New York's MSG mice, and Colorado's coffin flies are enough to turn me off of all arena food vendors in those cities.
- Does it bother anyone to see a lot of the Sunbelt teams near the bottom of the list? In fact, if it weren't for the California teams, the Coyotes would be the highest of the Sunbelt franchises. Yes, the same Coyotes who had a bare-handed employee scooping up ice.
In the ESPN article, a food service worker from Sun Life Stadium near Miami, Florida reported that, "several small insects were mixed into frozen alcoholic beverages at a stand where workers hadn't cleaned equipment". The complaint reads, "'The whole stand needs to be properly inspected before hundreds, if not thousands, of fans (are) subjected to the possibility of becoming ill". Um... how gross is that?
While the inspections in all of these cases vary depending on country, state, and county rules and regulations, the vast majority of major problems - insects, fecal matter, expired food - seem to bring the "critical violation" mark, and that is good to see. I'd like to see harsher penalties for these violations as these are visible and highly-dangerous infractions, but the fact that we are talking about them today makes for a good start. After all, you now might be more inclined to open up your next arena burger and take a look at what's inside. It could just save your life.
I'm not here to tell you not to enjoy your favorite bite or drink at the next game you attend, though. Instead, I just want you to be aware of what you may be ingesting. After all, we're talking about mini-restaurants that pump through thousands of people every night when there is a game. Nicholas Casorio, who was interviewed by ESPN, said, "There's so much volume going through at one time that it's hard to do the necessary things to keep everything clean. Sometimes you sacrifice the cleanliness for expediting the service."
However, Nicholas' last line is the problem: sometimes you sacrifice the cleanliness for expediting the service. Personally, I'd rather wait a few more minutes to get a properly-prepared meal than to have it hurried through the kitchen where mistakes will happen as people "expedite the service". I don't need E. coli or salmonella or staphylococcus aureus or anything else ruining my fan experience, so I beg all vendors at stadiums to take a few more seconds and ensure that things are done right.
There's a reason why good food takes time to be prepared, and arena food can be great food if it is done right.
Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!
***Amazing work done in the ESPN piece by Paula Lavigne, Lindsay Rovegno, and Derrick Pina, and they deserve all the credit for bringing this to light. I applaud their Herculean efforts in bringing this to light!***


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As I mentioned in my post "Moving to Amarr Space," the regional market into which I dropped was close to ideal for making money, at least at a slow pace. The competition was low, variation in pricing was huge, and buy orders were relatively scarce.
What I did not know at the time was that I was sitting close to where three regions come together. In the past, I have tended to end up right in the middle of a region, so that no matter which direction I went for 3-5 jumps I was still in the same market.
Now, however, I am one jump in one direction and three jumps in another from different regional markets.
And they are very different.
One jump away from where I am happily selling Badgers for 800K ISK a piece, the regional price drops by nearly a third.
Three jumps the other way, I would have to slice 25% off of my asking price to be competitive.
So I am looking for a good way to exploit the differential between these two markets.
While I cannot haul badgers, I could certainly buy them and fly them I suppose.
Or I could find something smaller. Something to exploit these regional differences.
And I have to keep my customers from finding out that they need only one more jump to beat my prices!


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When it comes to SPF, bigger doesn't always mean better. Although sunscreen with a higher SPF should provide substantially more protection from the sun's damaging rays than a lower SPF counterpart, that's not always the case.
Sunscreen's SPF measures protection from UVB rays, which are a primary cause of skin cancer and other forms of sun damage. However, an SPF that's twice as high as another SPF doesn't offer double the protection. SPF 15, for example, blocks 93 percent of UVB rays. SPF 30, on the other hand, blocks close to 97 percent. An SPF 50 guards against approximately 98 percent of UVB radiation, and SPF 100 blocks 99 percent if applied correctly.
How High (or Low) Do You Go?
When selecting an SPF, it's generally best to choose something between 30 and 50. For most people, a sunscreen in this range should provide adequate protection without the added chemicals to achieve a higher SPF.
It's also worth noting that SPF does not protect against UVA rays, which contribute to skin cancer and aging. Because UVA rays penetrate deep into the skin, they don't cause sunburns like UVB rays do. As a result, many people inaccurately believe if they don't get a sunburn, their skin isn't damaged from the sun.
The ingredients needed to achieve a high SPF often don't meld well with those needed for UVA protection. Consequently, sunscreens with SPF over 50 often don't sufficiently guard against UVA radiation.
To shield yourself from UVA rays, use a broad-spectrum sunscreen or one that's labeled as UVA/UVB protection, and look for the active ingredient zinc oxide.
Getting the Most from Your Sunscreen
To receive more of the protection your sunscreen provides, it's important to apply a sufficient amount. When companies test SPF, they generally apply two milligrams of sunscreen per square centimeter of skin. But consumers usually apply one half to one milligram per square centimeter of skin, cutting the received SPF to a fraction of the labeled value and greatly reducing the sunscreen's effectiveness.
To receive the labeled sun protection, use an ounce of sunscreen—enough to fill a shot glass—over your entire body. In addition, be sure to reapply your sunscreen every two hours and after swimming or sweating. For additional protection, don't forget to shade your face with a broad-brimmed hat and shield your eyes with UV-blocking sunglasses.
Looking to Visit a Dermatologist
We have multiple locations throughout the country, so fill out our simple online form to get in touch with us. One of our local team members will reach out to you shortly to answer your questions or schedule an appointment for you to visit us soon.
Find a location near me


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Recover Deleted Emails in Microsoft Outlook
If, for some reason, you move your emails to the deleted folder then change your mind after emptying the Deleted Items folder,and you need to recover deleted email.No problem! You can easily recover your deleted emails if you are using Microsoft Outlook.
Here's a few ways to recover your deleted emails in Microsoft Outlook.Anyway,I suggest that you make a backup first! Recovering deleted email really isn't that hard to do since most emails aren't permanently deleted – the space is just compressed until new data overwrites that current space.
(1)way 1:Corrupt and then recover the PST file.It's a fairly simple operation to perform, and you don't have to spend any money on recovery tools.
- Look for your Outlook PST File on the computer. Should be outlookefile.pst. Once you find it, back it up to a flash drive. Now go to your Command Prompt by typing "cmd" in the search query located in the "Start" menu.
- Type out the following once you are in the Command Prompt:
DEBUG C:\\fullpath\\Outlook.PST
You have now successfully corrupted the PST file. Make sure you begin running the ScanPST by navigating to C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\System\\Map\\1033. Now that your ScanPST has completed, all deleted emails will be recovered.
2. Microsoft Outlook also comes with a built-in Recover Deleted Items function. You should first select Deleted Items from navigation pane to to open the deleted items folder, and then select Recover Deleted Items option from the Tools menu. This way you can only recover the items that have been deleted within the past 14 days.


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What's Your Passion?
Maybe it's children with special needs, or Alzheimer's disease patients, or addiction recovery, or the environment. If you're a prospective donor, you should know you can give through the Cleveland Foundation to all the beloved charitable organizations that serve your personal interests. If you're a potential grantee, know that you don't have to be the CEO of an anchor institution or a mayor pressing a major initiative to get our attention. As your community foundation, we work across all sectors, listening to every voice and welcoming grant inquiries and applications from nonprofit organizations of all sizes. Our community responsive grants come in all sizes, too. Responding to a broad range of needs throughout the community, we likely support causes dear to your heart, whether you aspire to make a gift or apply for a grant. Won't you join us?
Strengthening the community: it goes beyond funding
In 2011, we made approximately 190 community responsive grants with a total value of $19 million. The smallest grants were in the $5,000 range; the two largest were each $1.5 million.
In evaluating grant requests, we adhere to four priorities:
- Provide access to services and programs for vulnerable, underserved populations
- Strengthen nonprofit organizations
- Test new ideas
- Support policy and advocacy work that can move the community forward
We move nimbly to address critical needs, linking organizations with funds and expertise, and providing a safe space where nonprofit leaders can air tough issues. The lingering downturn, for example, has challenged some savvy grantees who appreciate the opportunity to explore radical ideas such as changing their services or merging with a peer.
Here's a glimpse of our recent community responsive work.
Asian immigrants reap benefits from farming programs
In Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Asian immigrants and refugees are applying their native farming skills to achieve self-sufficiency in a strange new culture. They're part of a special project of Asian Services in Action, which is helping these low-income people adapt to a North American agricultural climate and take advantage of the trend toward locally grown food. In a pilot project, participants
consumed a portion of their harvest and sold the rest to local farmers' markets and other customers. With subsequent plans to enroll 100 refugees in an expanded agricultural program, ASIA turned to us; we authorized a grant of $127,820. Some produce harvested during this phase will help stock ASIA's food pantry, extending the program's benefits to the wider community.
City youngsters learn to make beautiful music
A $100,000 grant is helping fund a pilot program at the Eleanor B. Rainey Memorial Institute that gives children access to professional musicians. Spearheaded by Isabel Trautwein, a first violinist with the Cleveland Orchestra, and based on Venezuela's El Sistema Project,
the Rainey program offers youths the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument and to join an orchestra. This training teaches children social skills, boosts their self-esteem, and exposes them to the miracle of classical music.
A cherished family shares its treasures
The legacy of the late Frank and Nancy Porter permeated the community as we distributed modern art from the couple's extensive collection. The artwork was part of the Porters' 2003 bequest, the largest gift in our history at that time. Much of this art was auctioned, raising funds for our Frank H. and Nancy L. Porter Fund, but 29 pieces remained. Local nonprofits were invited to view these artworks online and submit requests for their favorites. Ultimately, we divided this special donation among numerous grantees, including:
- WIRE-Net, which will install its two sculptures in 2015 at the redesigned Max Hayes High School
- New Avenues to Independence, recipient of "Interlock," an abstract work by former Cleveland Institute of Art President David Deming that is now in the organization's therapy garden
- University Hospitals, which obtained David Annesley's "Big Ring," to be installed at UH Ahuja Medical Center


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Rates : 48
Whenever this stunning brunette Sofia Like is with her boyfriend, she can't help herself. She pulls down his pants and she gives him a juicy blowjob. She sucks on his cock for a couple of minutes before getting his love stick in her tight ass in every position. This hot porn scene ends with this cute babe getting a facial cumshot.


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Gymnastic Rings Dimensions
Male gymnasts display strength and control on the still rings. In international competition at the elite and junior elite levels, the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique sets the apparatus requirements, including the dimensions and setup of the ring tower and all related equipment. USA Gymnastics follows the FIG Apparatus Norms for all equipment.
Ring Tower
The competition-size still rings tower stands approximately 19 feet high. Four tensions cables anchor the tower to the floor. Two cables, also called straps, attach to the tower with pivoting mechanisms. The cables hang approximately 9.8 feet in length, with 19.7 feet of space between the cables. Manufacturers use either leather or nylon to make the cables. Made from laminated wood or synthetic material, the two rings are 8 inches in diameter and 1 1/8 inches thick. The rings hang 8 1/2 feet from the ground.
Junior Rings
For safety, young boys learn on a miniature version of the ring tower, with shorter straps that hang closer to the ground. The ring size stays the same for all ages. Many junior-size still rings adjust in height by 3- to- 4-inch increments to accommodate boys of different ages and heights. Most junior-size ring sets hang roughly 6 to 7 1/2 feet from the ground. Preschoolers learn on rings 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 feet from the ground.
Additional Equipment
Below the ring tower sits a 7.8-inch thick rectangular mat, on which the gymnast dismounts for safety. The mat helps absorb the shock on the feet. The FIG-regulation mat measures about 7 feet 10 inches in width and 15 feet 5 inches in length. When learning new skills, a gymnast may practice over a pit filled with foam blocks. The pit allows the gymnast to fall safely before he sticks the dismount.
The ring dimensions make the skills you see in Olympic competition possible. The long length of the straps allows a gymnast to move the rings in all directions. The length allows a gymnast to hold the popular iron cross skill, with his arms outstretched to each side and his legs vertical, turning his body into a T-shape. A gymnast must hold each skill still for at least two seconds to receive full points -- thus, the name of the apparatus. The length of the straps also allows a gymnast to manipulate the rings for swing movements into handstands and a dismount.
Writer Bio
Ivy Morris specializes in health, fitness, beauty, fashion and music. Her work has appeared in "Sacramento News and Review," "Prosper Magazine" and "Sacramento Parent Magazine," among other publications. Morris also writes for medical offices and legal practices. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in government-journalism from Sacramento State University.


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We're just about to release an update to PocketBible for the iPhone/iPad. This version adds some often-requested enhancements and some new features that you probably didn't even know you needed.
First, we've added the ability to select any text and copy it to the clipboard (what the iPhone calls the "pasteboard"). You'd think this would've been a standard feature of the program from a long time ago, but since we wrote our own HTML rendering code, it all had to be implemented by hand — including the cool magnifying glass that shows you what you're touching as you select text and the lollipop-shaped "drag handles" that let you expand the selection.
Next, the multi-paned user interface was enhanced to allow you to represent each pane as a tab. This lets you easily jump from a Bible to a commentary and back by just selecting a tab. This feature was further augmented with the ability to open all your books in one operation. Your books will open in five tabs/panes labelled "Bibles", "Commentaries", "Dictionaries", "Devotionals", and "Other". If you don't have any books in a particular category, that tab/pane is not shown.
For those who take notes in the expanded toolbox, you've been frustrated by the fact that expanding the toolbox covers any open books beneath it. As a result it can be hard to both follow the Bible text and take notes (or preach from your notes). We've modified the behavior of the toolbox so that it switches you into tabbed mode if you're not already there, then moves the current book out of the way of the toolbox. Now your Bible can be displayed in a narrow column above, below, or to either side of your notes. Very nice.
Two major new features are introduced in version 2. First is what we call "Autostudy". By simply selecting a verse (or a word), you can quickly get a report showing everything your library has to say about that verse/word. While Autostudying a verse, you'll see that verse in all your selected Bibles, the verse with Strong's numbers if you have one of our Bibles that contains Strong's numbers, definitions of every word in the verse from your selected dictionaries, definitions of all the Strong's numbers in the verse from your selected Strong's dictionaries, and all the cross-references for the verse from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. You can select which books and Bibles are used by this feature and in what order the material appears.
When Autostudying a word, you'll see how many times it occurs in each of your Bibles, what Greek or Hebrew Strong's words are translated to that word, and the definition of those Strong's words and the selected word from your dictionaries.
Autostudy reports can be browsed in PocketBible, saved to PocketBible's public folder (and from there transferred to your desktop computer through iTunes), copied to the clipboard, or printed to an AirPrint-compatible printer.
Finally, PocketBible now has the ability to speak any Bible or reference book you own. Simply purchase a voice (eight voices in two languages are available) using In-App Purchasing in PocketBible or at our website, then select the text you want to read. You control the volume and can even have PocketBible read while your iPod music plays in the background. You can set PocketBible to start reading at a particular verse and just keep going until you tell it to stop, or give it a specific passage to read.
The basic PocketBible program with the same features as the current version (1.4.7) will be free. The advanced features described above will be available for a nominal fee, either as an In-App Purchase or at a lower price at our website.


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Recently, I was on a panel with Dr. Herman Scheer, a member of the German parliament and the president of EUROSOLAR (The European Association for Renewable Energy) and a much honored "environmentalist". Suffice it to say that there was great commonality of goals but significant disagreement about "how". From my admittedly biased point of view, his views sounded great but were ineffective and inefficient ways to reduce carbon emission and achieve sustainability. In fact, some ideas were downright harmful to the environment. This difference became vivid to me as we debated the role of PV technology versus that of solar thermal energy, the effectiveness of wind power, charging your cell phones with solar panels, on idealized distributed self contained homes and centralized power services and more. It did bring to mind a problem that has reared itself many times in renewably energy - the role of the idealist or dogmentalist versus that of the pragmatist.
Dr. Scheer has been a pioneer in his advocacy of renewable energy and sustainability goals. I agree with him on most of the goals and admire his early insights
Environmentalists vs Pragmentalists
First, it is worth reviewing the situation we find ourselves in. Electric power worldwide is over 40% of total global carbon dioxide releases, and it is the fastest growing portion (in terms of human-released greenhouse gases). India, China, and other countries are rapidly industrializing and bringing basic electric power services to their peoples. Their development, like US electric power, follows least-cost options. Our least-cost electric power options - coal-fired power plants - are by far our most destructive and dangerous ones. Coal burning directly kills hundreds of thousands of people worldwide in particulate, sulfate and mercury releases, thousands of tons of radioactive emission yearly and emits over twice as much CO2 per KWH as any other form of power generation. The coming costs from worsening droughts from Africa to Indiana, intensified storms, and rising sea levels will bring misery to billions. Nevertheless, US utilities and their banking partners are planning to build about 150 new coal-fired power plants in the US over the next 5 years, and China is building roughly 60 large plants every year ( the recent TXU settlement is a step in the right direction but will probably not make a dent). Electric power is an engine of economic growth, bringing light, cooling, and communication to billions, but every coal-fired power plant is a ticking slow bomb. Knowing this, we need solutions that work - now.
As such, we must address some basic rules: For any energy scheme to be viable, it must be cost effective, and it must be scalable. If solutions don't get adopted in India and China global warming control efforts are futile. To scale they must make economic sense in China and India. The EIA projects that from 2003-2030, Asia's energy consumption will grow at 3.7% - faster than anywhere else in the world. India and China are also the home of more than one-third of the world's population and are likely to continue to grow furiously in the near future, using lowest cost energy. If we allocate the same carbon emission per person worldwide (an equal right to pollute for every human) we are toast at anywhere near current levels of US emissions or even at levels of carbon emission in Europe. It is reasonable to assume that when India and China are part of a global carbon emissions pact, they will demand the same per capita emission rights for their people as we have in the west. This will require huge transfers (the president of the World Bank recently suggested over a hundred billion dollars a year!) of "quota purchases" UNLESS the new lower carbon emission approach to power generation is cheaper than coal (or nuclear - do we want hundreds of nuclear plants in India and China?) based power generation.
Moreover, these lower carbon emission generation technologies must be attractive not only to government planners, but also to private capital that cares only about economics and regulation- hundreds of billions if not trillions of which needs to become available. Simply put, government money will never be enough to reform the world's energy infrastructure. To achieve these goals, we must provide services that consumers want and prefer over their non-sustainable fossil competitors, while at the same time be profitable for business (unless it can politically be mandated worldwide thru policy which seems unlikely, especially in India and China). Applications that meet the engineering needs but fail to meet the commercial ones are doomed to failure, which provides one of the key reasons for my disagreements with Dr. Scheer.
The history of imprudent environmentalism is perhaps most visible in a technology that's regaining attention now - nuclear power, now touted as a solution to the problems with fossil fuels. A relatively old, stable, and cheap to operate (the NEI notes that the average electric product cost in 2005 for nuclear energy was 1.72 cents/ kwH, lower than coal (2.21 cents/kwH), oil (8.09 cents/kwH), and natural gas (7.51 cents/kwH), although nuclear capital costs are higher (to say nothing about the vast subsidies given to nuclear energy, something the NEI obviously does not note), and the EIA notes that nuclear power "makes no contribution to global warming through the emission of carbon dioxide." Nuclear power is responsible for only 15% of worldwide electricity production (about 20% in the US). A fair portion of this can be explained by the limited number of countries that have access to the technology - nonetheless, nuclear power is a viable alternative for any country in the developed world, where most power is used in the first place.
Despite the evidence in its favor, no new nuclear power plant has been built in over 30 years in the United States. The reason? Misguided environmentalism. The partial meltdown at Three Mile island lead to the canceling of many nuclear plant orders and a political climate hostile to further nuclear expansion, despite its significantly cleaner profile than either coal or fossil fuels. To their credit, some environmentalists have started to come around the issue (Patrick Moore, one of the founders of Greenpeace as well as Stuart Brand of Whole Earth) but many are still hostile. This is not to say that some environmental problems do not exist with Nuclear Power. The predominant environmental issue for nuclear plants is spent fuel - radioactive waste. That being said, the lack of R&D into nuclear technology (primarily as a result of environmental backlash, but also due to the innate conservatism of energy companies) suggests that given time and money, technology could have solved or mitigated these issues. I would guess that had we continued on the nuclear trajectory in the 1970's we would have made substantial progress on the issues of nuclear waste and non-proliferation - problems that appear very amenable to a technology optimist like myself. How many millions of tons of carbon emissions do we have because nuclear plants have not been built? The irony of course, is that the typical coal plant spews tons of radioactive uranium and thorium into the air each year (more than their nuclear compatriots!) and we have hundreds of them! Today I suspect we don't have enough time to iterate through all the politics, legalities and technology development cycles of nuclear power generation (given typical 15 year innovation cycles compared to fifteen month innovation cycles for a technology like solar thermal power). In the short to medium term, it is probably too late for nuclear power to make a material difference in carbon emission in the next twenty years. By then it might be too late if we don't take action.
The issue at hand: Sustainable power generation
Politicians/True Believers (like Dr. Scheer) have a tendency to paint idealistic scenarios - especially because they have the ability to promise them with government funding. Moreover, enough people are always ready for a government handout (which are sometimes necessary because they get the right trajectory started and at other times are just subsides that lead to little multiplicative benefit to society over the longer term - in other words are poor public investments). Personally I'm focused on what is pragmatic given political and economic realities in the US, India, and China, and where I can make the most difference. I've backed my beliefs with my own, private capital while Dr. Scheer gets to spend taxpayer money irrespective of the economics. I spend time looking at likely technology and business trajectories. While anything is possible, I focus on the ones I think are most likely while keeping an eye out for others that might happen - and I always hope that other like minded people catch the ones I miss. I would prefer we all agreed to pay the much higher electricity rates they pay in Germany or Japan for solar power and allocate huge subsidies for distributed solar power in Germany (at least for a period to get these alternatives started - that is a very useful purpose that Germany has served). That being said, a solution that works for middle/upper class homeowners in a rich country like Germany, who can spend a hundred thousand dollars per house (to be independent costs have to include batteries) doesn't solve the world's problem. It happens on such a small scale that it's a minor adjustment to the total cost of electricity, so it doesn't burden the economy, and it creates a nice small industry making and installing the systems. Solar PV is a good idea, a good investment (we have investments in this area) but is it likely to replace 30-50-80% of our coal powered generation? By all accounts, it seems unlikely as things stand today ( or is likely to look in the next ten or twenty years). Are we likely to convince the over 200 million homeowners with self built homes in India that can barely afford a toilet to pay extra for solar roofs?
Scheer's folly of self contained homes with PV on their roofs is a great dream and he touted the benefits of not needing a grid and its associated costs. Maybe a small percentage of the environmentalist diehards will be willing to live without power when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing and enjoy the romance of sustainable living - or pay the thousands of dollar for battery storage locally ( or tens of thousands of dollars for the typical American home for that rainy weeks worth of standby power). Will the average person in Mississippi miss the NFL just because the Sun went down? In fact, despite the 4X or more greater capital cost of solar photovoltaic, we will still need the grid investment and we will still need what the utilities call "spinning reserve" power plants (and their associated capital investment which somebody will have to pay for) so that when a cloud passes overhead or we have a rainy day (or week) we don't miss out. Only when we meet utility grade power will green technologies start to replace fossil electricity at any scale. Along the same lines, we will only get to India and China when it meets these requirements and gets cheaper than fossil electricity - and only then will we start to make a real dent in the acceleration of global warming. The technologies I am personally interested in as greenhouse gas solutions are ones that have trajectory and scale to meet these criteria. Many more technologies are of interest to me as investments than are interesting as true scalable global economic solutions to carbon emissions.
Is PV likely in the USA, China and India at a big enough scale to matter? With all the solar talk around today, all the government subsidies and incentives, solar comprises less than 0.1% of worldwide electricity. Individual self-sufficiency and renewable energy being practical at small scale has been a dream pursued for many years. I agree with the basic belief that each community should be self contained, though that bears little resemblance to reality (especially for older communities) of what is likely to happen. Try telling a poor family in India that they should pay much more for power (maybe give up food in return?) or to rebuild their homes to be self sustaining. Should we do it with new communities? Absolutely, and wherever and whenever we can sell the idea and finance it. One of our investments, www.livinghomes.us built the first LEEDS Platinum home on the United States. What "should be" is often different than what is doable pragmatically or "what can be." I am a pragmentalist not an idealist environmentalist. I prefer the "should be" to "what can be" but focus my time on the "what can be". I am a huge fan of Bill McDonough's efforts to design model sustainable buildings and cities and hope that his best ideas creep into all new cities we design or evolve. This is what "should be" and Bill's efforts in China will be role models and they will make a difference. But is the bulk of the world's evolution going to happen this way? I hope so but I doubt it. Sustainable cities are likely be a great investment area for some developers but it is unlikely that a significant portion of the worlds population will live in such cities in the next 25-50 years.
Is wind an alternative?
Wind is a wonderful technology and a great investment. It is very appropriate for certain locations and would benefit a lot from a national high voltage electric grid so it could be transported to where it is needed (as will all sources of electricity). It is a classic technology that started with high costs but was on a rapidly declining cost trajectory and is now cheaper than coal generation in some locations. The devil unfortunately, lies in the details. Power is only available when the wind blows and storage is difficult and expensive. Additionally, most utilities don't need power in the middle of the night but are forced to take it today. It is off and on power generation in highly variable ways though it can be averaged across multiple locations. It is unlikely to scale beyond about 10% (20% optimistically) of our grid electricity needs partly because of its high variability and party because of other technical issues. That is a big help, but not enough in weaning the global power generation system away from coal.
What about Geothermal, Biomass and other alternatives? These are good alternatives and should be developed further. Geothermal can provide another 10% and because of built in heat storage it can meet many utility requirements if it can be produced cost effectively. Biomass is also appropriate for certain locations (like rural India) but in my view biomass should be reserved for making cellulosic biofuels for transportation. Oil is a problem to which cellulosic biofuels are a good solution, and maybe the only solution (when we have a clean grid electricity source maybe we can move to electric cars, assuming they don't cost an extra $20,000 per car for the 400 mile range most consumers demand).
Solar Thermal - The Facts:
Solar thermal plants were fashionable in the early 1980's. The idea is to concentrate the sun's rays to heat a fluid to generate steam that can then run a regular steam turbine. In fact, some old coal power plants can be retrofitted to get their steam from "concentrated solar power" (often called CSP) and feed into existing turbines. Even natural gas plants which were built before gas prices doubled and are now sporadically used or idle (because of high cost)can be outfitted to be cost effective again. The great advantage is that in certain configurations the heat can be stored either as steam or hot water or in molten salt or hot oil and reused when the Sun's heat is not available (as in the evening). Doing this "storage" with batteries would be prohibitive in cost. Power can be delivered when utility customers demand it and not just when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. In utility lingo "capacity factors" or the percentage of time the power plant can provide power, can reach their design goal ( 65% is often an ideal target for base load plants). The power becomes "dispatchable" to utilities - they can get it when their customers demand it often during peak load times.
For full disclosure, Khosla Ventures has invested in certain solar thermal technologies that we believe are far more cost effective than the generally used numbers for CSP costs. At 1 GW scale plants we believe these will start to be competitive with coal power plants in the US in the next few years even without carbon sequestration.
One argument made by Dr. Scheer against solar thermal technologies is the role of the grid - the idea that the grid was a big part of the cost in centralized solar power. Studies on the subject tend to show otherwise - (see the German DLR "TRANS-CSP" study, or the Western Governors' Association 2006 Clean Energy Transmission Report) they find that transmission is about 10% the cost of delivered electric power in North America and Europe today. The grid serves everyone, and keeps the lights on rain or shine, night and day. Realistically speaking how many people will accept power outages when the sun is not shining, or pay $100K or more per house for battery storage for the week of rains when they need power? It is easy for a politician (especially one who's own capital isn't at stake) to propose utilities paying for the grid and the electric plants, yet only have them generate revenue when homeowner are not generating their own, subsidized power. Similarly, it seems nonsensical to force the utility to buy electricity from rooftop solar whenever the homeowner does not need it, independent of the utility's own needs. This works politically at small scale but is untenable at any large scale. I am not suggesting we should not have these programs - they are very helpful in getting this new industry launched and get to scale, but they should be short term (5-7 year) programs that can work when solar rooftop electricity is a few percent of our electricity generation but not if they become 30-50% of our electricity. As stated before capital investment in electrical generation capacity is many times higher because the consumer (even without batteries) spends 4 times as much per kilowatt and the utility is also forced to duplicate that capacity as "standby capacity" when the consumer needs it. Replacing the grid with electric storage in batteries will cause the consumer to spend more than ten times as much as today's requirement of capital. Capital inefficient technologies will never gain enough investment to matter. We need too large an investment in these new technologies for them to not make economic sense.
A second, slightly more ludicrous argument Scheer used is the idea that a large solar thermal grid in Africa is a likely nuclear target, putting energy supplies at risk. In practice, no one would build one electric plant to supply all of Europe, much as all of the American generation capacity would never be confined to one ZIP code. Nonetheless, the Morocco example I've cited (3% of Morrocco is enough to power all of Europe) is meant to illustrate that we have more than sufficient land to generate solar thermal power and to store the electricity cost effectively - rest assured, my preference is for more distributed, 1-2GW plants built across the US. Any argument can be twisted with unlikely scenarios if one wanted to critique it. One often sees this in extrapolations of corn ethanol. It would be like my twisting the wind power technology and saying if we produced all our electricity with wind 75% of the planet would be without electricity 75% of the time (or worse!). Wind is a great resource that we should harness, but it will probably not scale beyond 10% of our needs globally or solve the global carbon emission problem without huge breakthroughs in storage technologies that are possible but not visible on the horizon yet. I am a fan of more research in Compressed Air Energy Storage or CAES technologies..
Thermal energy storage is one of the key advantages of solar thermal power. Storing heat - as hot water, hot oil, hot rocks - is very cheap. Storing electric power today is hundreds to thousands of times more expensive. Costs of both thermal and electric storage are declining, which is good, but using today's thermal storage systems we can build plants that compete with gas and coal power, now - not 20 years from now. Meanwhile, the reality is that battery storage per kilowatt-hour is 100-1000 times more expensive today than would be cost effective - and, battery technology costs are not declining very rapidly. Battery technology is not showing a path to even a 5x improvement anytime soon, let alone the 100-1000 times that is necessary. From my own perspective, we have been looking for breakthrough battery investment for years without seeing a 5X technology. (We are invested in a very risky but significant technology change; if the technology works it will make for a very good investment but nothing on the horizon will make electric storage in batteries at home cost effective - I hope to keep looking at new approaches and prove myself wrong). Solar cell costs are clearly declining very rapidly and I can see how they decline with technology improvements. Unfortunately, they have become a minority part of the cost of a solar system so solar cell cost declines don't help the solar "system cost" as much as we would like. Again, the tendency (of Dr. Scheer and others ) is be non-specific and say technology will solve our problem and imply all technologies will decline in cost - the money being spent is that of the taxpayers and does not require objectivity. Only investors have to be truly objective if they don't want to lose their money.
None of this is meant to indicate any sort of disparagement of PV technology as a whole. To the contrary, we are investing in such technologies and I've noted that PV is great for distributed needs. In rural India grid costs can be so high and reliability requirements low enough that solar PV and biomass based electric generation can make economic sense. On solar cells, I have suggested that the current direction of reducing cost by letting efficiency of solar cells decline is the wrong tradeoff. Many startups are pursing this path and only a few are pursuing the higher efficiency path. To reduce solar system level costs we need higher efficiency solar cells, even if they cost a bit more. This is our investing thesis, but we are constantly also examining alternative ideas like solar tiles for rooftops. Moreover, the idea that solar thermal needs clear blue skies (again, Dr. Scheer's barb) is even more accurate for rooftop solar. Additionally, it is harder to get people to live in the Mohave desert which is precisely why there is plenty of underutilized desert land with the necessary clear skies where solar thermal plants can be built. An immaterial fraction of the Mohave could provide all the additional power California needs for the next few decades! Using expensive solar cells where there is comparatively little sun ( and Germany has a fraction of the solar resource of the US) makes little sense. The same money could be used for technologies with better trajectories or in better locations.
A further example of "Scheer folly" is plain religious dogma. Dr. Scheer suggested in our debate that cell phones should use renewable power and should have solar chargers built into them. He did not pause to consider that given typical cell phone use patterns (even if we did not put them in our pocket) it would take many years (probably more than ten) to pay back the energy consumed in making the solar cell. Talk about a bad energy balance!. Ardent do-gooders can do harm and set back real solutions. You can use more fossil energy just to look green. On the flip side you can accuse Khosla Ventures of being idealist in a different sense. We have seen good financial opportunities to invest in Biodiesel but despite its "green credentials" (better green house gas emissions than corn ethanol) its trajectory wont scale to solve the problem and more importantly its misuse is starting to cause significant damage in Indonesia and Malaysia. We have chosen to pass up on such "green" opportunities to make money.
Finally, I am a big believer in a very diverse set of technology bets (we have twenty five investments in our renewable portfolio - possibly the largest portfolio in the venture business) but in my mind there is a big difference between a solution to the global carbon emission problem and what makes a good investment for us (like wind or battery technology). Diversity is a good idea but history teaches us that every industry segments into a few major categories and then a big "other" category. I suspect wind will be in "other". The winning technology for low carbon power generation is likely to be solar thermal or clean coal (I would handicap solar thermal to win that battle but clean coal has many political allies) or a yet as unexpected surprise like fusion (maybe even cold fusion)! There is a big difference between what middle and upper class German's will pay for the privilege or luxury of being green and what convinces the poor in India and China to adopt green technologies. Without solutions that work for India and China (the latter of which is building coal plants at the rate of one a week) we will not solve the global warming problem. And in the long run, the only way to beat fossil fuels is on economics, and not simply good intentions.


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Our latest Report to the Region for October to December 2019 is on the website now.
Find out what's been happening around the Logan and Redlands region, including updates on:
- 2019 RDA National Forum
- SEQ City Deal
- Inland Rail Community Consultative Committee
- 2032 South East Queensland Olympic Bid
- 2031 Visitor Economy Strategy
- Queensland's first 100% electric delivery truck (launched in our region)
- Redlands Business and Retails Awards
- Minjerribah Futures
- And more!
Click here to view the report.


text: OSX vs Windows vs Your Favorite Linux Distro, Textmate vs Eclipse vs VIM. There are some technology wars that will never end, but the benefits of a consistent development environment can often come at their expense. Enter Vagrant, a tool for building and distributing virtualized development environments. In this session, I'll do an introduction to Vagrant and how it can harness the power of Chef. Finally, I'll walk through how we are using it at Wharton to build more consistent local development environments for two very unrelated technologies: ColdFusion and PHP/WordPress.


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One – the number of wins Nate Diaz (pictured) has posted in his last three UFC outings. One confused Dana White wants to know how on earth Diaz believes he deserves a new, more lucrative contract based off his recent performances.
White recently accused Diaz of turning down a fight against unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov, while Diaz's manager, Mike Kogan, said they weren't interested because they would prefer to wait for a title bout instead.
Diaz then claimed White was "full of s***" because he has never declined a scrap once in his life.
From the outside looking in, it appeared as though no fighter and manager have ever been further apart in their strategy. White, who is supposedly on the inside, agrees there's mass confusion in Stockton.
"If you look at what was said, they don't seem to be on the same page – his manager and him don't seem to be on the same page," White stated Wednesday. "Listen, I like Nate Diaz. Nate and I go all the way back to 'The Ultimate Fighter.' I've never had any problems with Nate, but first of all, Nate's won one fight out of his last three fights. Him to be talking about a contract renegotiation when you've won one fight?
"Granted, he looked good against [Gray] Maynard, now you're back on track. And to ask for a title fight? Like, 'I should be fighting for the title.' Dude, you just won one fight."
Diaz collected a much-needed win by TKO'ing Maynard to snap his two-fight skid. Prior to November's victory, he was finished by Josh Thomson and dominated by then-champion Benson Henderson.
Meanwhile, White says they are still scouring their roster for someone to face Nurmagomedov, who White reiterated "nobody" wants to see.


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How Do You Cancel Assurant Renters Insurance?
To cancel an Assurant renters insurance policy, submit a request online, or call 888-260-7736 to seek assistance from live phone agents, instructs the website. The email form allows customers to make a claim, ask about claims and policies, or update, cancel or renew their renters insurance.
Call 800-733-7879 for concerns related to Assurant Employee Benefits, or call 800-553-7654 for issues related to Assurant Health, suggests the website. Assurant also has separate customer service numbers for concerns regarding Assurant Solutions and Assurant Specialty Property. Also call these numbers to request a copy of proof of insurance.
To file a claim, check the policy or contract for the appropriate phone number to call, and prepare the necessary information, including the claim number, certificate or policy number, account or loan number, and creditor, bank or loan company, states the website. File a claim to have the lost or broken mobile devices fixed or replaced at MyWirelessClaim.com.
Assurant consists of Assurant Solutions, which offers risk management solutions, such as extended service contracts, and Assurant Specialty Property, which provides protection for homes and personal property, explains the website. The company also features Assurant Health, which provides health care insurance options, and Assurant Employee Benefits, which allows employers to offer disability, dental and critical sickness insurance options to employees.


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Action Bronson Is Releasing a New Book About His One True Love
Action Bronson is getting back into the literary game. The New York Times best-selling author announced that his new book Stoned Beyond Belief will be released on March 19th. Written with Rachel Wharton, Bronson's second book — he released Fuck, That's Delicious in 2017 — is devoted to the rapper's love of everything weed and will cover various subjects including the science of pot, an overview of weed's medical benefits and a guide on paraphernalia separated into 100 entries.
An apt and more entertaining description came directly from Bronson on Instagram. According to him, Stoned Beyond Belief will teach readers, "What to scarf while stoned, helpful tips like how to stash weed under your nuts and so much more." The book also contains 35 weed recipes, which makes sense considering Action's background as a chef and former host of the cooking show "Fuck, That's Delicious" on Viceland.
Last November, Bronson released White Bronco featuring A$AP Rocky and production from Harry Fraud, Party Supplies and Knxwledge. "For me, White Bronco means that it's the releasing of a wild wildebeest, just a wild untamable animal," he told Billboard. "It's not exactly a horse. It's just a wild untamable subject. And that's just me. I'm back on my shit. I've never left. I just feel like I've broken through that wall."


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White Chewy Vuiton Bone Toy
Treat your doggy with this brand new Chewy Vuiton bone to play with.
Featuring a fuzzy plush outside and a satisfying squeaker, the new Chewy Vuiton Bone will be your pampered pup's favorite toy.
Size: 15 cm (6")
Note: Pets should be supervised while playing with this toy. Please remove all labels before giving it to your pet.
Haute Diggity Dog is the original designer parody plush dog toy company from the United States. Haute Diggity Dog was launched in 2004 and quickly took the pet world by storm! Customers couldn't live without their Chewy Vuitton plush handbag or their Jimmy Chew shoe toy.


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Kids' Fun Garden with Adult Space
With a sandpit, a treehouse, a hidden stepping stone path, a vegetable garden and a play lawn, we managed to find space for plenty for the kids to do in this garden. For the adults, a large patio for entertaining, with built in benches, and a long, curved bed to indulge the owner's love of purple, blue and silver plants.
Working up the design for the tree house.
The planting, the silvered timber and the pale stone will keep the colours cool and Scandinavian style.


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Area farmer directs funds to Winnebago County 4-H
The Winnebago County 4-H has received a $2,500 donation from local farmer Jeff Luebke and America's Farmers Grow Communities, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The donation will help the organization cover costs associated with sending students to national and state competitions.
"The Winnebago County 4-H has a fund set up in my grandparents' names to help send youth on trips around the country," said Luebke. "The travel costs can get expensive, so I know the 4-H will really benefit from this donation."
For five years, America's Farmers Grow Communities has collaborated with farmers to donate over $16.5 million to over 7,300 community organizations across rural America. This year winning farmers will direct another $3.3 million to nonprofits to help fight rural hunger, purchase life saving fire and EMS equipment, support ag youth leadership programs, buy much needed classroom resources, and so much more.
Since 2010, the America's Farmers campaign and programs have advocated on behalf of farmers and their efforts to meet society's needs through agriculture. Today, consumers are more interested than ever in agriculture and how food is grown. Learn more at FoodDialogues.com.


text: Most of the photos are about life around our little town Nowata, Oklahoma. Lots of people are doing 365 photo projects. The main purpose is to get the camera in your hand every day, thus gaining familiarity with the equipment and improving your techniques. Being mostly retired, I'm lucky to have some time most days to pursue this hobby. Much of the background information I post with the photos comes from Wikipedia…an amazing resource. Trying to find an interesting subject every day can be daunting sometimes…some are winners, many are ho-hum. I hope that most are of interest to people.


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It might have been upon hearing Axl Rose's shot at honky-tonk on the leaked version of his mythical album-in-the-works Chinese Democracy (editor's note: Yes, it's exactly as bad as you imagine) when I first felt a twinge that said, "This isn't going to end well."
Listening to the Guns N' Roses frontman — sans Slash and Co. — turn his famously nasal and epic voice into an unintentionally hilarious frowny-face vessel for what he approximates as "The Blues" ("All the love in the world couldn't save you/Ooo-oooh-oh-hoo-hoo") while staring headlong at a CD queue that consisted, incidentally, of Zack de la Rocha's Rage-less return and System of a Down's Serj-less effort, there was even a short moment — all of a millisecond — where a baritone flight character in the back of my head actually spoke.
I should've listened. The unofficial Axl experience aside, July's tandem of bad side and solo projects is especially glaring.
I'll admit, I started buying into the "Where is Zack de la Rocha?" mythos over the last few years — watching the country sink itself into a pitch-black morass will do that. (Something's wrong when the only rabble-rousing protest song anyone gives a second look comes from Eminem.) De la Rocha's call-and-response Howard Zinn anthems began to seem desperately needed, and, in retrospect, my rage was directed at Rage itself. How could they waste all that political energy railing against the '90s government, which now looks like the JV squad of bullshitters? Why not now, when we really need it?
I'd heard tall tales that he was working on a straight hip-hop album with the legendary DJ Shadow. Then it was some dark and dank techno-clash record with Trent Reznor. In 2006, he was spotted playing a jarana at a farmers' rights protest. My frustration grew, especially with his guitarist/soulmate Tom Morello doing a bang-up job in Audioslave despite having to lug around a colicky Chris Cornell in a Gypsy Mama baby sling for years.
Then suddenly, One Day as a Lion appeared and nothing has been made right. A five-song EP collaboration with former Mars Volta member Jon Theodore, it's a sloppily engineered caricature of de la Rocha's patented list- current-events-in-an-outraged-B-boy-snarl formula that now rings redundant. From the opening track, "Wild International" (which de la Rocha pronounces "internation-owl," naturally), de la Rocha's vocals are buried under 6 feet of fuzz and Theodore's outstanding, distorted noise-rock backbeat. Aside from de la Rocha's barely discernible "So What'cha Want"—style cadence, the EP's pressing concern is his one-note Morello impersonation. For 20 minutes without pause, Zack's keyboards are tweaked to sound like a tinny guitar, pounding that major chord until it's nothing more than tenderized white noise that's all too easy to tune out. By the record's closing song, "One Day as a Lion" (in case you needed reminding of the project's moniker), the whole outing feels like a cassette bootleg of de la Rocha's garage noodling.
The System of a Down boys fare better in the expectations department. The California rockers are just as outspoken as RATM — Armenian-American singer Serj Tankian formed a nonprofit that fights for social justice, called Axis of Justice, with (ironically) Tom Morello — and have just as many best-selling albums, but Tankian's more subdued frontman status has shielded them from much of the savior baggage that Rage was saddled with.
One Day as a Lion
Scars on Broadway
Tankian released a modestly successful solo album, Elect the Dead, last year with Axl Rose's current drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia, and now we have the other Downers reincarnated as Scars on Broadway. System of a Down's guitarist, Daron Malakian, takes the lead on the effort, with SOAD drummer John Dolmayan assisting.
Their self-titled album has three times as many tracks as One Day as a Lion and it's twice as long, but the results are equally disastrous.
Malakian opts for a polished, Rainbow Room cock-metal feel; his throaty squeal may serve as foil to Tankian's taffy-stretched growl on System of a Down projects, but it's a joke on its own. By-the-numbers '80s metal ballad "Insane" is a throwback to the worst kind of hair-metal sentimentality. "Let's go insane again/Bring back the pain again," Malakian pouts. "I like suicide/Mixed with Jesus Christ/Yeah!" he pontificates on the high-school poetry contest entry "Exploding/Reloading."
Respect is due to Scars on Broadway for keeping each track around the two- minute mark, which, on songs like "Enemy," a cringe-worthy Killers knockoff, is sweet relief. Otherwise, there isn't much of any worth here unless you're the type who thinks your stoned buddy is really deep: "Mother/Are we flying through the universe/Are we dying through the universe?" Malakian asks on the downright embarrassing "Universe."
Listening to Chinese Democracy again after spinning RATM's and SOAD's afterbirth, I'm struck with a sudden sympathy for Mr. Rose. It's not easy to lose the one who got away, and it's even more devastating to watch them succeed without you. (Slash briefly found solace in the popular Scott Weiland project Velvet Revolver, though the rebound fling ended bitterly.) Throw in the fact that Rose has succumbed to his money, hiding away in his Xanadu studio for the last decade and a half and closely following every trend that hits mainstream radio — Democracy track "Better" is a halfway-decent stab at Linkin Park's programmable pretension — and you have a recipe for the kind of indecisiveness that bankrupts a music label and agitates fans worldwide.
I think I understand it now. Chinese Democracy, if it's ever released, is the album we deserve for carrying such a GNR torch. But One Day as a Lion and Scars on Broadway will always be bad.[email protected]


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Using iOS6 is there a way to show or display music controls inside the notifications bar for quick access?
Note: I am looking for a native way to do this. If there is not a way I would welcome 3rd party apps that do this function, however, I prefer the standard music player and do not want to change the music player.


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Make Hypertension a Thing of the Past with Rooibos!admin
What is hypertension? Simply put, it is high blood pressure. Being an adult is hard, there are no two ways about it. Bills to pay, demanding careers, and all the parental worries that accompany having kids. It takes its toll and can shoot your blood pressure through the roof on bad days. But hypertension isn't just caused by bad traffic and your neighbours playing their music too loud on a Sunday afternoon.
You should keep an eye on the following as well:
– Stress
– Family history of high blood pressure
– Your salt intake
– Obesity
– Overconsumption of alcohol
– Genetics
– An unhealthy lifestyle
– Chronic Kidney Disease
– Smoking
– Sleep apnea
– Lack of physical activity
– Thyroid disorders
Manage your hypertension with these Annique products:
1. Relax Tea
Looking for a tea to calm and reduce your stress? Annique's Relax Tea should be your drink of choice. It contains Wild Jasmine, also known as 'Mistress of the Night', and has a calming, relaxing effect, and can help manage depression and sleeplessness. If irritated and inflamed skin is stressing you out, rinse your pre-cleansed skin with Relax Tea as part of your routine to help calm it.
2. Night Rest Tea
Struggling with sleeplessness and insomnia? No problem. A cup of Annique's Night Rest Tea before bed could be your salvation. Rooibos is paired with Lemon Balm leaves, which is known to have calming effects that help with anxiety, sleep problems and restlessness.
3. Forever Healthy OptiCalm
You might not know this, but stress depletes the B vitamins in your body, which makes supplementation crucial. Vitamin B helps to calm and relax the body while aiding in improving memory, mood and your ability to cope with stressful situations. OptiCalm promotes mental clarity, concentration, alertness and focus, helping you to make the most of your day.
Top Tip: To make a cup of tea that gives your relaxing more depth, use a combination of Relax and Night Rest Tea in one cup. Apply your Annique face masque of choice, sit back, and relax.


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New FTD will Join Fleet of Frasca Simulators.
Nov. 3, 2017, Urbana, IL. Seneca College School of Aviation, located at the Peterborough Airport, Toronto, Canada, has contracted with simulator manufacturer Frasca International, to provide a new Baron G58 Level 5 Flight Training Device (FTD). The FTD will include Garmin G1000Nxi avionics, Frasca's Simplicity™ Instructor Operator Station (IOS), Frasca's TruVision™ visual system with 220° x 55° spherical enclosure and additional advanced features.
The School currently has eight Frasca flight simulators (including a CRJ, Cessna 172 and KingAir/Baron convertible FTDs) and will be adding the B58 (Baron) in the fall of 2018.
Frasca has worked closely with Seneca to provide a cockpit-specific Flight Simulation Training Device (FSTD) for each of the aircraft that Seneca Aviation students fly. These include two Frasca built B200 FSTDs that Seneca has in place, with one being used to train Seneca's Royal Canadian Air Force Pilot Training Program students at the Newnham Campus.
"Seneca's School of Aviation has worked closely with Frasca for 36 years," stated Lynn McMullin, Director of Business Development, Seneca School of Aviation. "Advanced simulation training differentiates our programs and our graduates. The Air Taxi and Jet Transition programs prepare them for direct entry with our airlines partners."
Seneca's Honours Bachelor of Aviation Technology incorporates 131 hours of scheduled flight simulation training. Students have 24 hour access to the simulators for additional solo and mutual practice.
"We value the long term relationship with have with Seneca College. We strive to make each new simulator better than the last and collaborate with them to incorporate requested features that increase the training value of the simulator," stated John Frasca, President of Frasca International, Inc."
About Seneca Aviation
Seneca's Bachelor of Aviation Technology program is the only one of its kind in Canada. It provides a rigorous aviation technology-based curriculum and the application of this theory to aviation. The breadth of knowledge and skills prepares students to operate a complex aircraft in a multi-crew environment, to understand the technologies and human factors that affect the successful operation of an aircraft and to assume the professional responsibility associated with being a commercial pilot. Students also learn about business management, airport operations and planning, and air carrier administration to gain a broad perspective of the aviation industry and ultimately gain access to a greater variety of careers in the industry. www.senecacollege.ca/aviation


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Founded in 2003 by Sherry Green and Allen Spinner, Technology Team assists companies in assessing, coordinating and implementing seamless relocations for data centers through their proven, proprietary methodologies. Servicing high technology customers, Technology Team is the liaison between both transportation and technology companies. By 2006, the W/MBE, HUB and DBE certified company had established itself as a leader in its industry.
Experiencing significant growth as the company became a prime contractor for several major corporations, Sherry knew the time was right to update the business plan. In 2015, she again visited the Tarrant SBDC and met with the center's director, Robin Lasher. Sherry and Allen first met with Robin in 2003 when they were starting their business and had continued to utilize the services of the Tarrant SBDC as their business grew. Robin recommended that Sherry consider attending the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. Although there was no charge for the program, Robin explained that the three month commitment would require an investment of her time. In addition to developing a customized business growth plan, she would learn to identify opportunities, receive advising from experts, collaborate with other small business owners focused on growth, and have access to an invaluable national alumni network.
During the program, Sherry continued to meet with the SBDC as she developed Technology Team's business plan. As both a prime contractor and subcontractor, she credits the SBDC with helping her develop a clear description of the key attributes that set Technology Team apart from the competition. Sherry stated, "As we began to bid on larger contracts, the SBDC was able to help us clarify our capabilities and competitive advantages. Since starting our business, the SBDC has continued to be a great resource and sounding board for helping us qualify new opportunities."
Jeff is a hard worker and loves to learn. He started Clearwater Plumbers in 2001 and built it to a $2 million dollar company – employing 17 people. He is on track to make $3 million in 2016. In fact, Jeff has grown the company 40 – 50% since 2012. Jeff started with his brother and Dad working in the construction industry; but realized his passion was in plumbing. Jeff has had to overcome several challenges. Some initial challenges included working with family and losing family. Later, Jeff came to a realization that he needed to know his costs and other business aspects or . . . get out of the business. This motivation is what led him to the Tarrant Small Business Development Center.
Jeff first learned about the Tarrant SBDC from his Mother as she was an "article clipper" and gave him various business articles. In addition, he learned about the Tarrant SBDC from Tarrant County College. He enrolled in the FastTrac Growth Venture program being offered by Tarrant Small Business Development Center and taught by Sam Emmerson and Cynthia Harnest. The FastTrac Growth Venture program is an intensive, 10-week program designed to educate business owners on topics such as Marketing, Operations and Finance. As he says, "The class helped me look at my business as an entrepreneur instead of a technician working in the business. The Tarrant SBDC helped me start a foundation to build upon." He created his first mission statement at the SBDC and continues to tweak it today. In addition, he has sought counseling assistance for sales and marketing and has been to various classes at the Tarrant SBDC such as: Government Contracting, Website Design Made Easy, Intro to Google Adwords, and Google Extreme. "Today, the best part about the Tarrant SBDC is the relationship I have there. I know it is a valuable resource that I can always use. I can call Cynthia and I know she has my back." When asked what he attributes his success to, he believes persistence and being a lifelong student.
After completing a Master Degree of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine from Texas Health and Science University in San Antonio, Texas, Hilary spent the next three years in Tianjin, China where she received her Ph.D. in acupuncture. With extensive training and internships in Texas, China, and New York, she then moved to Fort Worth, Texas to start her business, Benefit Acupuncture, PLLC. Although Hilary had extensive training and experience in both acupuncture and Chinese medicine, she had no experience in starting and managing a small business. While attending the eight week Project New Beginnings program at the Fort Worth Business Assistance Center, Hilary had written her first business plan. She also met Robin Lasher, Director of the Tarrant SBDC, who had provided online resources at one of the Project New Beginnings classes on how to find customers and determine the best places to locate a business.
Hilary met with Ms. Lasher to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the location she was considering for her business. Located in Colleyville at a busy intersection on the corner of Colleyville Blvd and Main St, the proposed location provided excellent visibility to passing motorists. In addition, there were several complimentary medical practices within the same office building as well as an adjoining office building.
Hilarys next challenge was to design a sign that would get the attention of motorists either driving by the location or waiting at the traffic light. An excellent artist, Hilary had designed her own logo, and requested several companies provide designs for the signage. She again visited with Ms. Lasher to discuss the design and colors that would be attractive and highly visible to passing motorists. With the signage in place, Hilary opened Benefit Acupuncture in May, 2015.
Hilary quickly recognized that a viable business plan must be updated to reflect the current realities of her market. In July 2015, Hilary decided to participate in the Fort Worth Business Plan Competition and was a top 10 finalist. (Statement from Hilary on the value of SBDC in starting business and business plan competition).
La Reina Auto Sales and Service provides repair and maintenance work for vehicles. The business is also a used car dealership. Maria D. Aaron started the business in December 2003.
Being a Hispanic woman in this line of business is extremely tough. 95% of owners of auto dealerships and mechanic shop are men. The client is usually not being taken seriously when she goes to auction to buy used cars. She also gets a lot of resistance from her clients who didn't have confidence in her expertise just because she is a woman.
Despite all of the challenges, her business made a profit every year until 2015. That was the first year that the business suffered a loss. At that time, Maria didn't have the fund to acquire more equipment or the inventory for her business. When she approached her primary bank for a line of credit, she was denied.
The primary reason she came to Tarrant SBDC is to get assistance for applying a line of credit for their business. The client also wanted to understand how to better manage their cashflow and build business credit for future major purchases like equipment and commercial real estate.
Advisor Cathy Trinh explained the 5C's of credit underwriting to the client and coached her in becoming bankable. Business advisor also advised the client how to build her business's credit in the long term and how to keep her personal and business finance separately. The advisor assisted the client in filling out her personal financial statement and packaging her loan. Then the advisor connected the client to a local bank that was appropriate for their situation.
Thanks to the assistance of business advisor Cathy Trinh, Maria was able to secure a line of credit of 150K from Mercantile Bank. The line of credit will help her to solve the cash flow issues, buy more inventory and expand her business.
Diea Kaleia immigrated to the USA over twenty years ago from Syria in pursuit of a better way of life. For eighteen years he worked at his brother's used car lot gaining experience as a mechanic, which included performing vehicle inspections. In addition, he was responsible for the overall general maintenance and remodeling projects on the property.
In 2015, he and his brother parted ways, and Diea came to the Tarrant SBDC for help with getting a $53,000 loan to start a business. He had recently purchased property in Crowley, Texas that included an old dilapidated six-bay car wash. Diea needed the loan to finish out construction that would include an office and buy equipment to set up bays for oil changes, vehicle inspections, and auto detailing. He would also have a 2-bay car wash.
Diea had never owned a business, had no established credit and did not know how to write a business plan. He met with Business Advisor Efren Villanueva who recommended that Diea first attend the SBDC Start Your Business class. Efren then followed up with an onsite visit and began meeting with Diea to help him develop his business plan and financial projections.
Next, Diea worked with city inspectors and was able to make the necessary improvements. With his completed business plan, he was then able to secure the financing he needed, finish the buildout and buy his equipment. Although he planned to open in January, he ran into a snag. His bay for vehicle inspections did not meet the state length requirement. However, the city and community were very supportive of his effort to convert an eye sore into a local business. Working with city inspectors, he was able to make the necessary modifications and was finally ready to open.
Diea opened DK Lube & Detail in February. He credits Efren with helping him successfully address all the required local and state regulations necessary to rehabilitate an abandoned property and convert it into a business. With the help of his SBDC Business Advisor and hard work, he has now realized his American Dream.
"It is my pleasure to recommend Cynthia Harnest to anyone who is considering starting a business or who needs sound business advice. I needed to write a business plan, create Profit & Loss Statements for the first three years of my new business, create a Pro-Forma Cash Flow Statement, a Balance Sheet and apply for an SBA Loan. Cynthia was fantastic to work with. She walked me through the entire process for producing the afore-mentioned documents and financial statements and presented the material in a way that made sense and was easy to understand. Cynthia reviewed my Business Plan several times making excellent suggestions for improvements and asking probing questions that forced me to really think through all of the steps of the business plan and collect a broad range of information that allowed for a very comprehensive snapshot of my business.
She helped me find banks to work with, provided advice on many facets of business operation, including; finding a retail location, understanding customers and how to identify and reach them, selecting merchant services providers and business systems. Every bank I talked to mentioned how good my business plan was which gave me a lot of confidence that I had thought the business out well. At the end of the process, I had several banks that were ready to make the loan, and was able to compare and select the proposal that best fit my needs. I continue to work with Cynthia, as I have moved forward with my business, and she has proven to be an excellent resource for valuable business information and a wise and experienced thought partner."
Michael Neal, Owner
February 2014
"It is unusual to find an organization with as much care and concern as the Small Business Development Center. I am writing today to offer my sincere appreciation. Your organization was the driving force behind the success of my business plan. I entered the business plan competition in 2012 and participated in the training and advisory services offered to me as a contestant. As a small business owner/operator, I really had no formal training on writing a business plan. Even though my company, Fondren Forensics, had been operating successfully for ten years, I had never made a business plan. I was beginning to grow my business into a new forensic discipline and without a good business plan, it would be very difficult to plan, project and move into future growth and success. I learned this as I worked with Doug, designing and refining my own plan.
I will never forget my first visit with Doug Cannon. He was personable and friendly yet direct and firm about expectations, and the work required to produce a quality finished product. He told me I had a lot of work to do and he gave me the tools I needed to get started with my project of writing this business plan. He was genuinely concerned with my effort and truly wanted me to do my very best. I felt as though Doug was in my corner and his advice helped me tremendously as I worked the tireless days and nights to formulate and perfect my business plan. Ultimately, I advanced to the finals and won second place in the competition. I know I could not have done it without Doug's help.
As Fondren Forensics moves into the forensic blood alcohol testing business, I know there will be support from Doug and all of the SBDC staff. My only regret is that I didn't know about their help sooner. My advice to other small businesses is to get on board with an advisor as early as possible. And, if you are lucky enough to get Doug Cannon on your team, pay attention and follow his advice because it is truly award-winning!"
Lisa E. Fondren, Owner
October 2013
"As I reflect back on over a year's worth of work with the dedicated staff at SBDC a few things become very apparent. I am not the same person I was when I walked through that door a year ago and my company has greatly benefited because of the relationship I have established with the SBDC.
EnvironX Solutions, in its current form, was born in 2011. I invented and brought to market Peat FireX in May 2012, a product that has revolutionized the way the world addresses peat fires. This is the sole solution to a One Billion Dollar a year challenge worldwide. In the short time it has been on the market, Peat FireX has garnished praise from fire officials in most parts of the world and by the end of 2013; the whole world will be utilizing the product where peat phenomenon is a challenge. EnvironX Solutions Inc. is debt free and profitable. Launching a new product to fill this vital niche in the fire retardant industry and during this challenging economy has been quite an accomplishment.
I walked into Tarrant SBDC for the first time needing help writing a business plan. One year later, I was a nominee for SBA 2013 Small Business Person of the Year, Dallas/Fort Worth District. My first point of contact and still my go to person is Deb Liptak. And God bless Deb for taking my calls when I once again have my time changes confused on the other side of the world!
So, needless to say, Deb remains instrumental in helping organize all my random thoughts into a cohesive document and is always good about delegating to the proper people on her team for specialized sections. For example, Cle Royal was patient and professor-like not only in teachings me about my financials, but also in making the formulas work correctly on the spreadsheets. Cheryle Hays was instrumental in helping me with marketing materials and went out of her way to meet me off campus on a very rainy day.
Myron Pullum helped me with tax planning and in anticipation of hiring my first full-time employee. I recently completed the four-hour workshop "IRS Small Business Tax Workshop" at Tarrant SBDC. Attending this half-day seminar provided me with critical information covering current tax laws and reporting requirements. As a responsible business owner who anticipates hiring several employees in 2013, I also have plans to attend additional training seminars on relevant HR and health care requirements, as employees are hired.
So this is a thank-you note to the Tarrant SBDC for helping my small business grow and develop during these tough economic times. I look forward to a continued relationship with Tarrant SBDC, with Deb, Cle, Myron, Cheryle and the other Business Advisors in the near future. It is organizations like Tarrant SBDC that will help the small businesses grow and develop. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist and help in your endeavors."
Steve Sinunu, Owner
September 2013
"I run an estate planning law practice. Although I have been out of school since 1996, I haven't practiced that entire time. There are about 4 years when I did not work. I have not practiced estate planning exclusively until this year. My legal background is quite broad. My experience practicing estate planning came from my time as a JAG in the Air Force and as a civilian working for the Army.
I opened my estate planning practice in May of this year. I formed as a professional limited liability company. I used the SBDC to help me flesh out the business plan I had started writing, research, and to do the financial projections. All of this was pre-venture. All of the assistance I received was invaluable. I definitely do not know what I would have done had I not had the assistance with the financial projections. Tim Phillips' assistance with that was outstanding. Not only did he explain to me how the math worked but he really did all the work on that.
Without having gone through the process of writing a business plan, I don't think my practice would be on a delineated path. I would be like most other attorneys out there flying by the seat of their pants when it comes to business. The company I hired used the research I obtained from the SBDC to help formulate my marketing plan for the year. The financial projections have helped me stay on track and give me a goal to attain. Otherwise, I think I would be quite directionless and haphazard about keeping an eye on the money."
Antoinette Bone, Owner
February 2012
"When starting down the path to opening a small business in Fort Worth, we were directed to the Tarrant Small Business Development Center. We had the pleasure of working with Cle Royal during the process and as a reference source for the past few years. The insight and provided to us by Mr. Royal and the Tarrant SBDC has proved invaluable and significant to our growth as a business.
As new business owners back in 2007, we were unaware of the processes and requirements of the state and local governments regarding licenses, taxation and structure. The guidance and counseling received by the Tarrant SBDC helped us to make the right decisions initially, and has continued to benefit us as we have grown. In turn, this has enabled us to ensure we have made the necessary changes in our business profile to adjust for growth.
Through the sound advice that we received during our counseling sessions, our business has more than doubled in size from our initial venture into the bridal industry, allowing us to create and provide jobs to Fort Worth residents that otherwise would not have been available.
We value the help you have provided us over the years, and would highly recommend to any new business entrepreneurs that they take full advantage of all that the SBDC has to offer."
JT and Wendy Holsomback, Owners
February 2012