Code hints Microsoft may add direct music playback to SkyDrive

Microsoft has been busy streamlining SkyDrive to make the most of our time in the cloud, but it hasn't yet cut out the middleman for audio playback; if a song wasn't obtained through a channel like Xbox Music, it won't play online in Microsoft's universe. LiveSide has made some code discoveries suggesting the storage service could at least partly remedy the problem with a web-based music player. We don't know much of how it would work, although the presence of interface elements hints that Microsoft is at least committed to development. The real dilemma is an absence of clues as to when (and if) playback will ever go live -- and there's nothing that would reveal whether or not SkyDrive is the heart of an upcoming option to upload personal tracks for Xbox Music streaming. If the music player mentions reflect more than just experimentation, however, the Redmond team may soon have a more direct answer to the likes of Amazon Cloud Player or Google Music.

Filed under: Storage, Internet, Microsoft

Comments

Via: PCWorld

Source: Liveside.net

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/03/code-hints-microsoft-may-add-music-playback-to-skydrive/

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December 2012, Aimee's Daily Notes | Business PR News

Aimee's?Daily Notes: Dec. 1, 2012

Yes! ?Aimee's Daily Notes is back! ?Everyday, I came across so many things that I like to share with my friends and community. ?Plus, there are special events that we organize and others in the community that we enjoy sharing with our friends.

I did Aimee's Daily Notes everyday for years since 2007. ?Lately I have been extremely busy and had to pause for a while on the Daily Notes posts. ?However, people have been emailing me asking, "What happened to Aimee's Daily Notes?" ?Another wrote, "When are you going to do Aimee's Daily Notes again?" ?

We tried many new ways to post the Daily Notes with ease. ?For example, at one point, we even created pages every day. ?That took a lot of time every day. ?Then we tried having a sub domain, and that took even more time. ?So, how am I going to keep up the tradition without taking too much time and yet still have the fun that we always had? ?

Well, I was browsing my sites yesterday for something else and came across our old Aimee's Daily Notes. It was so simple, very simple indeed. ?See, with fancy technology popping up everyday, we can all get overwhelmed with new gadgets and new ways to do things, and some of them can be cumbersome.

Then along came the newer and better things we have today, ?my Nexus 7 tablet, my Sansung Galaxy 3 Android phones with data plans, and so forth. ?I can do updates on my sites on-the-go!! ?Yes!! ?Even with my busy schedule, I can update my sites whereas before, it couldn't be done with any of the little devices. Now it can!

So, here we go! ?We are going back to combine the old ways with the new to keep up with our daily posts on this site and Aimee's Daily Notes.?

Thank you all for persistance in asking for our Aimee's Daily Notes. ?Like the old days, we post everything that belongs to that month on one page. ?We just keep adding to it on a daily basis. ?We will update the date information and so the latest Notes will be posted on top of the site every time. ?With our Samsung Galaxy 3 and our Nexus 7 tablet, we can log in to our site and update as we travel along the way.?

I'm excited to be able to do the things I used to do and love to do. ?Like Aimee's Daily Notes that we did back in Decembeb 2009?-?check it out.

We will use the same format and start sharing great tips, and great people around town for our community again! ?This is our first of the month, December 1, 2012, Daily Notes. ?Enjoy!!

?* Old Daily Notes Archive

* Letters From Aimee

* Aimee's Daily Journal Site?(used for Aimee's Daily Notes for a while)

?

?

Source: http://businessprnews.com/aimees-daily-notes/dec-2012

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How do I use the quests?

In my rolepay Adelta I am attempting to set out some quests, but I just don't know how, any help?

Richard B. Riddick: You made three mistakes. First, you took the job. Second, you came light. A four man crew for me? Fucking insulting. But the worst mistake you made...
[Toombs darts for the gun rack which he finds to be empty while Riddick smiles]
Richard B. Riddick: ...empty gun rack.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/KeCO7Tdu53E/viewtopic.php

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Slovenes choose leader amid uncertainty

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) ? Small, crisis-hit Slovenia is choosing a president on Sunday amid growing discontent with cost-cutting measures designed to avoid an international bailout.

The vote comes just days after anti-austerity protests in the capital erupted in clashes that left 15 people injured, triggering fears that the economic crisis could push the normally placid Alpine nation of 2 million into instability.

Developments in Slovenia are being closely watched in the European Union. The tiny eurozone nation has promised to follow through with budget cuts and banking changes so it won't have to ask for EU help.

The presidential runoff pits anti-austerity incumbent Danilo Turk against former Prime Minister Borut Pahor, who has supported some of the government's budget measures during his campaign. Pahor won more votes in the first round last month and is the front-runner in polls.

Although the presidency is a largely ceremonial post in Slovenia, the elected leader commands political authority and will play an important role in guiding Slovenes as the country faces painful reforms.

Worried Slovenes said they hoped the election would bring a sense of security.

"I think things will start to calm down from today," said 86-year-old retiree Mihael Grund, who ventured out early despite drizzle and cold to cast his ballot. "We have had so much tension recently and that is a big worry for us."

But, new protests are planned for next week. Thousands joined demonstrations in Ljubljana on Friday and in the second-largest city of Maribor earlier in the week. Both rallies ended in riots, with police using water cannons and tear gas to repel rock-throwing extremists.

Senior police official Stanislav Venger said on Saturday police was attacked by organized groups of hooligans who were prepared to fight ? unusual for Slovenia where demonstrations are usually calm and smaller in number.

Slovenia, which was once an economic star among EU newcomers when it joined in 2004, has faced one of the worst recessions of the 17 nations that use the euro currency. Its economy has shrunk more than 8 percent since 2009 and continues to decline, resulting in a sharp drop in exports and living standards and a surge in unemployment, which now stands at about 12 percent.

Prime Minister Janez Jansa's center-right government has launched pension and labor reform, made public sector cuts, and moved to recapitalize the nation's banks, which are at the center of the crisis because they are burdened by bad loans.

Pahor has called for unity in the face of the crisis, promising to "bring hope" to disillusioned Slovenes and show the EU that the country can pull out of the crisis on its own.

Turk, however, has been a fierce critic of the reform plans. He has argued that Jansa's cost-cutting has not been equally distributed and will only hurt the poorest, eliminating the long-cherished welfare state.

Analysts have warned that the turnout among Slovenia's 1,7 million voters could be low, in another sign of voters' discontent. Some Slovenes, like 35-year-old high-school teacher Igor Vulic, say that no politician can bring about any change and that Slovenia needs new leaders.

"They should just all go," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/slovenes-choose-leader-amid-uncertainty-084404139--finance.html

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Police: Hero instructor fought son in arrow attack

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) ? A Wyoming community college instructor killed in a grisly classroom murder-suicide was hailed as a hero Saturday, with police saying he gave his students time to flee by distracting and fighting off his son after the younger man barged into his computer science class and shot him in the head with a high-powered bow and arrow.

The arrow severely wounded James Krumm, 56, but he managed to wrestle with son Christopher Krumm, 25, of Vernon, Conn., on Friday while the handful of students in the Casper College classroom escaped.

Christopher Krumm had just stabbed to death his father's live-in girlfriend at the couple's home two miles away.

When police arrived at the classroom after the bow-and-arrow attack, they found Christopher Krumm bleeding from self-inflicted knife wounds and taking his last breaths.

James Krumm was dead, Casper Police Chief Chris Walsh said.

"I can tell you the courage that was demonstrated by Mr. Krumm was absolutely without equal," he said, adding that the instructor's actions could offer some measure of comfort to those affected by the killings.

Authorities believe "around six" students were in the classroom when Christopher Krumm entered, Casper police spokesman Justin Smith said. No students were hurt.

Walsh said police still were trying to figure out what motivated Christopher Krumm to attack his father and girlfriend, 42-year-old Heidi Arnold, a math instructor at the college. Arnold died of multiple stab wounds.

After shooting his father with the arrow, Christopher Krumm stabbed himself, then fatally stabbed his father in the chest in a struggle in the classroom, Walsh said.

Police began getting reports about the attack on Arnold soon after they responded by the dozen to the campus attack. Authorities locked down the campus for two hours while they scoured the grounds for any other attackers. They were reassured that Christopher Krumm acted alone.

He had smuggled the compound bow ? a type much more powerful and effective for hunting than a simple, wooden bow ? onto campus beneath a blanket, Walsh said.

He said Christopher Krumm also had two knives with him, and the knife used was "very large."

Arnold's body was found in the gutter of her street, and evidence suggested much of the attack occurred outside the home, Walsh said.

Neighbor Heather Meier said she came home from work Friday afternoon after picking up her 7-year-old daughter from school, and the two saw Arnold's body still lying in the street.

"As soon as we got home, we just shut the curtains," she said Saturday. "You know, tried to just watch some TV, have some snacks, mind our own business."

Across the street from her home, crime tape cordoned off Krumm and Arnold's faded blue and yellow house and part of the street. Meier, who has lived in the neighborhood for two years, said she met Arnold and James Krumm only once a few months ago and described them as quiet and very private.

Casper College instructor Kevin McDermott said Arnold and James Krumm were well-liked on campus.

"I knew these people pretty well, so it's hurting me. ... It's breaking my heart," said McDermott, who teachers algebra and computer networking at the school. "They were really good, kind-hearted people. People like Jim and Heidi are what make Casper College such a great college."

McDermott described James Krumm as a "real kind and gentle-mannered guy" who was well-respected by his students.

"Computer science majors took most of their classes from Jim. He was their adviser, and he had a big impact on them," he said.

McDermott added Arnold was a great teacher who "taught the tough stuff" and maintained a sunny disposition ? "a person who always had a smile on her face."

Chris Unruh, a student in one of Arnold's pre-calculus classes this fall, said she was a kind instructor who was excited about recently getting two dogs.

"She cared about her students," said Unruh, 18. "She wanted all of them to succeed."

Investigators said Christopher Krumm had recently driven to Casper from Connecticut and had been staying at a local hotel. He had no significant history of encounters with police.

Authorities were uncertain what went awry in his relationship with his father.

"It's difficult to say. I don't think it was very close," Walsh said.

In Vernon, Conn., police Sgt. Timothy O'Connor said officers executed a search warrant at Christopher Krumm's last known address Friday to help authorities in Casper. He didn't know what investigators were looking for or may have found at the home.

"Whatever was recovered will be turned over to Wyoming because it is an active investigation," O'Connor said.

Christopher Krumm's previous addresses include one in the western Massachusetts city of Springfield and others in the Colorado cities of Golden, Fort Collins and Lakewood.

Casper, population 56,000, is about 250 miles northwest of Denver and Wyoming's second-largest city after the state capital, Cheyenne. Wyomingites refer to Casper as the "Oil City" because it is a hub of the state's oil industry.

Casper College is one of seven colleges in Wyoming's community college system. The campus was mostly quiet Saturday morning. Fathers and sons shot hoops in the school gym. A small group of drama students rehearsed a play in the school theater just across the street from the attack.

The building where the attack happened remained cordoned off by police tape that whipped in a brisk wind. A security guard let students back in, one at a time, to retrieve belongings they'd left behind.

Andra Charter, a 20-year-old sophomore, emerged with a coffee mug. She recalled hearing screams outside her biology class before getting word about what had happened.

"As we were walking out, there was a girl screaming, 'There's somebody stabbing Mr. Krumm!'" Charter said.

James Krumm was head of the college's computer science department. He was born north of London and also spent part of his childhood in Germany, according to the college website.

He held degrees from Casper College, a bachelor's degree and MBA from the University of Wyoming and a master's in computer science from Colorado State University.

Arnold held a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in math from University of California Davis.

The college planned a candlelight vigil and memorial service Tuesday.

___

Associated Press writers Rodrique Ngowi in Boston and Thomas Peipert in Denver contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-hero-instructor-fought-son-arrow-attack-003905755.html

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Signal problems preceded NJ train derailment

Derailed freight train cars lay in water in Paulsboro, N.J., Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. People in three southern New Jersey towns were told Friday to stay inside after the freight train derailed and several tanker cars carrying hazardous materials toppled from a bridge and into a creek. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Derailed freight train cars lay in water in Paulsboro, N.J., Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. People in three southern New Jersey towns were told Friday to stay inside after the freight train derailed and several tanker cars carrying hazardous materials toppled from a bridge and into a creek. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Several cars lay in the water after a freight train derailed in Paulsboro, N.J., Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. People in three southern New Jersey towns were told Friday to stay inside after the freight train derailed and several tanker cars carrying hazardous materials toppled from a bridge and into a creek. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

An official stands by derailed freight train tank cars in Paulsboro, N.J., Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. People in three southern New Jersey towns were told Friday to stay inside after a freight train derailed and several tanker cars carrying hazardous materials toppled from a bridge and into a creek. At least one tanker car may contain vinyl chloride, Gloucester County Emergency Management director J. Thomas Butts told WPVI-TV. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Officials stand next to derailed freight train cars in Paulsboro, N.J., Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, after several tanker cars carrying hazardous materials toppled from a bridge and into a creek. At least one tanker car may contain vinyl chloride, Gloucester County Emergency Management director J. Thomas Butts told WPVI-TV. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Map locates train derailment and hazardous spill in New Jersey

PAULSBORO, N.J. (AP) ? A signal may have malfunctioned on a southern New Jersey bridge where a train derailed, causing a hazardous chemical to spew into the air and leading to health problems, an evacuation, tricky cleanup decisions and broader questions about the condition of railway infrastructure.

No serious injuries were reported in the Friday morning accident. But the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday night that the evacuation of 12 city blocks near the Mantua Creek site would remain in effect as a precaution. Teams also were monitoring the air quality and collecting water samples, the Coast Guard said.

National Transportation Safety Board chairman Deborah Hersman said the crew on the train told investigators that when they approached the Mantua Creek bridge before 7 a.m. Friday, the signal light was red, telling them not to cross. She said the crew found it unusual to get a red light at that hour of the day.

They used a radio signal to try to change the signal to green, but it did not work, Hersman said. She said the conductor got off the train and inspected the aging bridge. When it appeared to be OK, she said, the engineer called for ? and received ? permission from a dispatcher to go through the red light and cross the bridge.

Only the two locomotives and the first five cars on the southbound train got across the bridge before seven cars derailed. Hersman said the engine was moving 8 mph before the accident ? under the 10 mph speed limit.

Hersman said investigators were trying to determine whether other train crews had had the same signal issue lately and whether the signal problems had anything to do with the accident.

Four of the derailed cars, including three that ended up partially in the creek, contained vinyl chloride, an ingredient in the common plastic PVC. A gas, vinyl chloride can induce respiratory problems, dizziness and other health effects after short-term exposure ? and liver problems and other complications after high levels of exposure over time.

The accident ripped a hole inside one of the tankers, causing the gas to escape.

More than 70 people went to an emergency room Friday, none of them with life-threatening injuries.

A handful of nearby homes were evacuated Friday; some residents were allowed to return hours later after some of the chemical dissipated into the air and the rest turned into a solid and settled back into the tanker. But Friday evening, residents in the 12 blocks near the site were ordered evacuated.

State Assemblyman John Burzichelli, a former Paulsboro mayor serving as an emergency management spokesman, said the chemical levels spiked as the temperatures dropped and the breeze died down Friday evening so that gas escaping the tanker lingered nearby longer.

Conrail, the owner of the tracks, put up residents in 106 hotel rooms Friday night. And the Coast Guard said Conrail will again open a center in the Paulsboro Fire Department to help people affected by the accident.

Residents said they were told to be ready to stay away from their homes for three days, and possibly longer.

Some said they had tough nights away from pets, who were taken to an animal shelter. Others were frustrated with the late call to get out and not having much time to pack.

"We were not told until they knocked on our door," said Diamond Veney, who was holding her sleeping 1-year-old son, Tamir.

She said her family was given just 30 minutes to get out Friday evening.

Many of the displaced residents were being moved from hotel to hotel on Saturday. For some, the shift meant heading to a place that accepts pets.

On Saturday, crews moved some of the train cars around and brought in empty tankers to be used to store vinyl chlorine.

The NTSB's Hersman said investigators normally spend about a week documenting sites of accidents like this one. But she said it could take longer in this case because they will not go back to the site until it's declared safe. It was not clear when that may happen.

Meanwhile, NTSB staff members were focusing on records review, witness interviews and other tasks that do not require being on site. She said the board is also pursuing details of how the bridge was rebuilt after a coal train derailed there in 2009.

Hersman said investigators want to learn if the tidal surge from Superstorm Sandy may have caused problems at the bridge. Though it's in one of the parts of New Jersey least impacted by the storm, she said, the storm may have affected it.

Officials also were considering how and when to move the remaining chemical from the ruptured car.

Even without all details of the accident determined, New Jersey state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat whose district includes Paulsboro, said it pointed to a bigger problem: An aging railroad infrastructure.

He said the 200-foot span at the center of this derailment originally went up in 1873. He said that accidents can happen anywhere, but "you have to make sure, at least, the infrastructure is as safe as it could be."

He said that because federal regulators oversee most freight rail issues, it's up to the federal government to push for, and perhaps pay for, upgrades.

Recent state and federal funding commitments totaling $28 million to improve rail infrastructure have not included the Paulsboro bridge, he said.

___

Follow Mulvihill at http://www.twitter.com/geoffmulvihill

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-12-01-Train%20Derailment-Chemicals/id-5784add9a4cb4bfa95e00ab7c5cdd1bc

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A ?Trip? to Taiwan in Cupertino

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Source: http://tap-sf.org/2012/11/30/a-trip-to-taiwan-in-cupertino/

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Fun Ideas to Make Your Backyard Awesome | Home Improvement ...

It is possible to create an amazing oasis of your own right in your backyard!? By incorporating fun ideas and things to do you won?t need to leave home to have a mini-vacation.? Here are just a few ideas of specifics to include in your backyard space:

• Designated entertainment areas.? When re-designing your backyard it is important to consider the many ways you wish to use the space.? Designating specific spaces for entertainment allow you to create many outdoor areas that can be uses individually or combined when entertaining large groups.? Here are a few entertainment area suggestions to consider:
  • A swimming pool.? Many families dream of having a home with their own swimming pool.? If you have the space to create a swimming area in your backyard not only will you enjoy the pool in warmer months, but you?ll have many friends and neighbors over who will enjoy it as well.? Let Milwaukee Concrete help design and create a specatular pool area for your family.
  • A Patio and BBQ area.? Nothing says a great backyard like an outdoor kitchen or BBQ area.? Create a customized deck or patio that allows for cooking as well as eating and visiting together.? When creating a backyard kitchen or BBQ you should also consider the type of features and extras you want to add as well.
  • A backyard fire pit.? If you enjoying sitting around a campfire and roasting marshmallows you?ll love having your own space in the backyard.? A fire pit allows you not only to enjoy a campfire feel, but make is possible for you to enjoy your backyard for longer seasons as well.
  • Adult as well as child friendly spaces.? By including entertainment areas for all ages in your backyard design you will make the space more usable by all members of your family.? Some of the specific plans for creating friendly spaces include:
    • Including playgrounds, sandboxes, basketball courts, or other child friendly play spaces.? Children love playing in playhouses, on slides, and will spend hours building sand castles.? If you create these specific areas for children to be entertained it also allows for adults more uninterrupted time for visiting together.
    • BBQ areas and relaxing fire pits allow for adults to gather and visit together.? While these areas are also great for members of the entire family, when hosting gatherings these spaces provide a great area to sit together.
    • Cohesive designs that allow for great flow and accommodate many people.? When designing the overall areas of your backyard it?s important to incorporate plants, features, and other elements that help lead one space seamlessly into the next.? The ultimate purpose is the create a universal theme that allows for entertainment that flows throughout the entire outdoor space.

When you complete your backyard makeover you?ll have an outdoor space you, your family, and your friends will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

Source: http://home-improvement-solution.com/fun-ideas-to-make-your-backyard-awesome/

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WikiLeaks' Assange downplays health concerns

LONDON (Reuters) - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, holed up in London's Ecuadorian embassy for nearly six months, played down concerns about his health on Thursday, saying he enjoyed being at the centre of the legal and diplomatic storm.

Assange, 41, whose website angered the United States by releasing thousands of secret diplomatic cables, took sanctuary in Ecuador's embassy in June, jumping bail after exhausting appeals in British courts against extradition to Sweden for sexual assault allegations.

Ecuadorian officials have said the former computer hacker is suffering from a chronic lung ailment as a result of his long stay in the embassy.

Dressed in a dark suit and white shirt fastened with silver-colored cufflinks in the shape of a 'W' and an 'L', Assange showed no outward sign of health problems.

"The confinement, the circumstances are obviously difficult," was all Assange would say when questioned about his health by Reuters.

"I rather enjoy being swept away in the storm of it all. You only live once so it's important that we do something that is meaningful with our time," he said.

He is said to be living a cramped life inside the modest diplomatic mission. He eats mostly take-out food and uses a treadmill to burn off energy and a vitamin D lamp to make up for the lack of sunlight.

The whistleblower said he has used his time at the embassy to focus on his work, including a book "Cypherpunks" in which he warns that the growing amount of personal data we store online could render society a "slave to the internet".

Speaking in a gilt-corniced conference room, accessed via an entrance hall decorated with a beaming portrait of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, Assange spoke vehemently about the dangers of cyber-surveillance by governments and private companies.

(Reporting By Alessandra Prentice)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wikileaks-assange-downplays-health-concerns-184147180.html

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Zynga shares slide after privileged status with Facebook ends

(Reuters) - Shares of gaming company Zynga Inc fell as much as 10 percent, a day after the "Farmville" creator reached an agreement with Facebook Inc that reduces its dependence on the social networking giant.

The companies reported in regulatory filings on Thursday that they have reached an agreement to amend a 2010 deal that was widely seen as giving Zynga privileged status on the world's No.1 social network.

Zynga gets a freer hand to operate a standalone gaming website, but gives up its ability to promote its site on Facebook and to draw from the thriving social network of about 1 billion users.

"Although Zynga investors have reacted negatively to Thursday's announcements so far, we view them as a long-term positive for both companies," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said in a note to clients.

"Zynga now has an advantage to offer more payment options which could result in additional subscribers who are not Facebook users," he said, maintaining his "outperform" rating and price target of $4 on the stock.

Both internet companies have been trying to reduce their interdependence, with Zynga starting up its own Zynga.com platform, and Facebook wooing other games developers.

In recent quarters, fees from Zynga contributed 15 percent of Facebook's revenue, while Zynga relies on Facebook for roughly 80 percent of its revenue.

Francisco-based Zynga's shares were down 7 percent at $2.44 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

Facebook shares were down more than 1 percent at $26.98.

(Reporting By Aurindom Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/zynga-shares-slide-privileged-status-facebook-ends-161723897--sector.html

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Five Customer Service Tips to Prepare for Holiday Rush | Business ...

I?m writing this the day after Thanksgiving, also known in the retail world as Black Friday. This is one of the busiest, if not the busiest, shopping day of the year. I observed a number of sales people and customers in the stores at a very busy shopping mall. Here?s what I noticed.

By the way, even if you?re not a retailer, there are still some lessons here. Every business will have busier times than others. It doesn?t have to be because of a holiday rush. It can be after a trade show or seasonal. Now, back to Black Friday.

Customers were divided. Some were enjoying the experience of looking for sale items for themselves or for holiday gifts for friends and loved ones. Others seemed to be anything but casually shopping. They appeared to be on a mission. It was either for a particular item or store, or it was to get the best deals they could get on Black Friday. All of the customers had one thing in common: they were going to encounter busy stores, long lines and overworked sales people.

The sales people were busy ? very busy. In some cases, almost too busy.

Some stores were busier than others, and of course, the check-out lines were longer than usual. This was testing the patience of some of the customers.

As a business, we must be prepared for these busier times. If we work hard to create a customer focused brand, we can?t let the holiday rush, the extended hours and demanding customers erode what we?ve worked for. No, if anything we need to up our game and deliver an even better level of service. First for our existing customers, and second because new customers will find their way into our stores, and if you want them back, then the customer service experience had better be amazing.

So, how can we do it? Here are five simple and common sense strategies. This isn?t really new as much as they are important reminders.

Make sure you are staffed well. Wait times for the customer shouldn?t be too different than other busy times. Sales people must be available. If the customer feels they are waiting too long, or they see a long line, they may get frustrated and leave.

1. Make sure you are staffed well. Wait times for the customer shouldn?t be too different than other busy times. Sales people must be available. If the customer feels they are waiting too long, or they see a long line, they may get frustrated and leave.
2. Train the staff for the busy times. Prepare them. Give them some tips on how to deal with more than one customer at a time. Expect it will be busy.
3. Motivate them. If ever there was a time for a team meeting before you opened every day, this is the time. Get employees excited about the prospect of breaking sales numbers, but delivering great service along the way. Talk about what happened the day before and plan to repeat the good and avoid the bad.
4. Have a contest of some kind. Make the day fun.
5. Model the right behavior. Treat the employees the way you want your customers treated, and expect everyone else to do the same.

Okay, it?s holiday time! Let?s get to work ? and have an amazing holiday!

Source: http://www.business2community.com/customer-experience/five-customer-service-tips-to-prepare-for-holiday-rush-0343499

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Dear Sales Doctor | Sales Doctor's Blog - Sales Training

Read more about Tony Morris and Sales Doctor at The Evening Standard.

Dear Sales Doctor

Q: I sell out in the field and it can be quite a lonely job sometimes. There are weeks where I am out doing appointments and door knocking and although I haven?t achieved any sales, I had an okay week. I walk into my office on a Friday and my boss asks me immediately, ?how many deals have you done this week?? to which I reply ?none?. ?What kind of salesman are you if you can?t close a deal? and what have you been doing, watching Countdown? why are you back in the office if you haven?t done any business? go out there and close.?

?How the hell do I stay motivated and positive when I get that response every time I walk into the office without a sale??

This is very common for remote field sales people, so let me ask you some questions:

?What did you achieve that week?? He replied ?Weren?t you listening, I got no sales at all, so nothing? he angrily rebutted. I argued the point and said, ?I guarantee you did achieve things, you are just closed off to it right now.?

Me: How many new opportunities did you find that week that you didn?t have at the beginning of the week?

Salesman: Well about eight I guess but surely if I didn?t close them it?s irrelevant?

Me: And out of those eight how many decision makers? names did you identify?

Salesman: All of them, what?s your point?

Me: Did you find out the situation within those eight companies?

Salesman: Yeah, I found out the supplier they are with, the products they use and their contract date, but I didn?t close any of them.

Me: What you are missing is you are in a better position now than you were at the beginning of the week, as you have identified eight new businesses with which you will be able to work. If you stay in touch with them there?s a very strong possibility one of their suppliers will mess up and immediately you can get in. Equally I would rather 10% of something than 100% of nothing, so worth positioning yourself as their back up supplier. You clearly qualified the prospect, who?s to say in the near future their requirements don?t change and they may need something you offer that their suppliers cannot.

So the key is focus on what you did get, as opposed to focusing on what you didn?t. There will be days where you get hold of forty companies that for whatever reason you cannot help.

Rather than hang yourself, understand that you had to call those forty at some point, so at least you got them out of the way.
You can now read ?Dear Sales Doctor? every week in the Evening Standard

Source: http://www.wedosalestraining.com/blog/sales-training-tips-self-improvement/dear-sales-doctor-3/

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Booking pet friendly Minnesota vacation resort | Travel & Leisure

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Petraeus scandal: Tampa socialite fighting back

Tampa socialite Jill Kelley is fighting back. Today, sources close to the woman who was caught in the media crossfire during the David Petraeus sex scandal have released new letters aimed at reclaiming her reputation.

In a letter released to reporters by Jill Kelley's spokesperson, Kelley's attorney goes after a New York businessman who claimed Kelley was using her connections to Petraeus to broker a deal with the South Korean government.

"It is impossible to overlook your attempt to get your '15 minutes of fame,'" attorney Abbe Lowell wrote to Adam Victor, the president and CEO of TransGas Development Systems. "?You have the right to do that to yourself, but you do not have the right to defame our client.

"This letter is notice to you that statements you have made are false and defamatory and are intended to portray Ms. Kelley in a false light," the letter continued.

Click Here to Read Past Blotter Coverage: Jill Kelley Emails Show Her Eager to Make Multi-Billion Dollar Deal

Victor has claimed that Kelley asked for $80 million in commissions to arrange a deal between Victor and the South Korean government. Kelley was an honorary consul for the Republic of South Korean.

"While it is certainly true that Ms. Kelley communicated with you about a potential business deal, it has nothing to do with General Petraeus or other military," Lowell wrote Victor.

Kelley was stripped of her ceremonial position as honorary consul for South Korea today, according to South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kyou-hyun.

"It is not suitable to the status of honorary consul that [she] sought to be involved in commercial projects and peddle influence," Kyou-hyun told South Korea's semi-official Yonhap News Agency.

The dealings between Jill Kelley and Adam Victor were detailed in a series of emails between the two made public earlier this month. The emails appeared to confirm the New York businessman's claim that Kelley wanted a huge fee for brokering a transaction with the South Korean government.

But in his letter to Victor, Lowell denies that Kelley wanted anything close to $80 million, and says the full chain of emails reveal that "it was you (Victor) who were trying to capitalize on her contacts, and not the other way around."

Kelley and Victor were introduced at the Republican National Convention in Tampa in August by Kelley's friend, Tampa real estate developer Don Phillips. In an interview with ABC News, Phillips said he suggested that Kelley and Victor should meet because Kelley could help Victor land a deal for a coal gasification plant in South Korea.

Phillips claimed that Kelley said that Victor tried to "proposition" her "almost immediately," and said he had to cajole her into flying to New York for a second meeting with Victor.

After she met with Victor in New York, Phillips said, Kelley reported that she was no longer interested in pursuing the deal. According to Phillips, she said, "As a result of my personal investigations and business intelligence this is just not going anywhere, Don, and you just don't want to associate with this guy."

Victor, who denies propositioning Kelley, claimed she continued pushing for the deal after their meeting in New York. But sources close to Kelley say that telephone voice messages Victor left for Kelley reveal that he was the one who continued to seek Kelley's involvement, even after the Petraeus affair came to light.

Victor also claims that Kelley told him Petraeus arranged for her to be named honorary consul, and that she could use her connections with high-level Korean officials to help land the coal plant deal.

None of the emails that Victor showed to ABC News mention Petraeus. Kelley's friend Don Phillips told ABC News that Kelley has not "in any way tried to profit" from her relationship with Petraeus.

Sources close to Kelley also say a complaint about Kelley's former attorney was filed with the Florida Consumer Assistance Program, charging that he may have violated attorney-client privilege by holding a news conference and speaking about Kelley.

In addition, a letter from Kelley's lawyer was dispatched to the Department of Justice, asking if there will be an investigation of how his clients' names leaked to the media.

Victor told ABC News he has not yet received the letter that was released to selected reporters this evening, but after being told of its contents Victor said it appears to be a frivolous complaint.

"I don't know what they're upset about. I've said nothing derogatory about Ms. Kelley and have only told the facts as I know them, in fact much of what I've said was complimentary," Victor said.

As to charges of inappropriate behavior, Victor said he was mystified. He told ABC News he had only met Kelley in the presence of his female chief of staff and received gracious follow emails from Kelley afterwards.

Victor said he did indeed contact Kelley after the Petraeus scandal broke, but mainly to find out what was going on.

Requests for comment from the Kelleys' Florida attorney were not immediately returned.

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/petraeus-scandal-socialite-jill-kelley-fighting-back-003449795.html

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Negotiations to bring Double-A baseball team to Ottawa drag on

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The window to bring Double-A baseball to Ottawa has been extended into early 2013, Mayor Jim Watson said in a memo to city council Wednesday.

According to Watson, Beacon Sports Capital Partners, the group negotiating the purchase, asked for the extension ?given the complexity of the commercially confidential discussions still under way with a number of parties.?

Watson said he ?remain(s) optimistic? that a deal can be reached within the first quarter of the new year, in time to bring professional baseball back to the vacant Ottawa Stadium for the 2014 season.

Negotiations have been ongoing between the city, the Beacon group and the Eastern League, where it has long been rumoured the floundering Binghamton Mets, Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, will be sold.

On Tuesday, Beacon COO Richard Billings shot down an ESPN report that suggested the sale of the Binghamton franchise to Ottawa had ?fallen through,? saying the report was ?inaccurate? and that negotiations are indeed continuing.

Binghamton Mets president Michael Urda has denied his team is on the move.

Eastern League president Joe McEacharn did not return requests for comment.

David Gourlay, founder of the Champions for Ottawa Baseball group building community support for the team, said the search for local ownership partners remains a key sticking point in negotiations, and could be a ?deal-breaker.?

The baseball winter meetings, starting Monday in Nashville, were thought to be a crucial point in the timeline to finalize a deal. However, Billings said the meetings are not a ?hard? deadline.

?When there is a final agreement with Beacon Sports Capital Partners and the Eastern League, I will update members of council at the earliest opportunity,? said Watson.

aedan.helmer@sunmedia.ca

Twitter: @OttSunHelmer

?

Source: http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/11/28/negotiations-to-bring-double-a-baseball-team-to-ottawa-drag-on

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Bulk Investors And The Real-Estate 'Recovery' | ZeroHedge

Via Pater Tenebrarum of Acting-Man blog,

Bulk (Wall Street) buyers have been receiving a lot of attention recently. It's time to take a closer look.

There is little data available pertaining to bulk investors and even less meaningful analysis. Historically, Wall Street has never been active in direct ownership of single family homes, so there is no past histrory to learn from. We need to start from scratch.

How big are these bulk buyers? A few months ago, I read a report that Keefe, Bruyette & Woods estimated Wall Street had raised $6 billion to $8 billion so far, which is really a paltry sum in the world of high finance. It is impossible to estimate how much small investors are adding to this investment pool. We also have no clue how much this pool may grow over time, or whether it will? soon be exhausted and shrink instead.

Investors typically buy lower end properties. Say at an average of $100,000 per unit, the $6 billion to $8 billion raised so far would not even amount to 100,000 homes.

On the national level, and using the most recent releases, Existing Homes Sales and New Homes Sales combined are coming in at a pace of just over 5 million for 2012. The median price is $178,000 for existing homes and $242,000 for new homes. 100,000 homes would not even show up on the radar.

As for foreclosures, there are 5.6 million total non current loans in various stages of default. The current estimate for under water mortgages still exceeds 10 million, or about 20% of all mortgages. The Wall Street bulk investors are unlikely to put a dent in the distress property arena for the foreseeable future. In comparison, when the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) was dissolved back in 1992 due to the sunset clause, investors cleaned the entire inventory of REOs and loans off the books with just a few auctions.

On the localized level, it is a slightly different story. I am going to use three Western metro areas as examples. Phoenix, Southern California and Las Vegas were hotbeds of the subprime bubble and are once again the most sought after areas, this time by bulk investors. Using September data from DQNews, investors purchased 38.6%, 27.3% and 48.5% of all sales respectively. The actual number of absentee buyers for the four areas totaled 9,885 for the month of September. I expect this number will grow for the current months and into the near future, as investors eagerly place their funds. There is no data that separates absentee buyers into specific classes, such as Wall Street funds, local syndicates or small investors. However, if the bulk buyers are actively accumulating in these select markets, it is safe to assume that they do have some influence. The question is for how long.

Of the aforementioned metro areas, Las Vegas is the most out of whack. There were 4,570 sales in October.? 50.2% were sold to absentee owners, 52.5% in cash (43.2% were short sales, 16.7% were REOs) and 36.1% FHA financed. I have never seen a market where over half of the buyers paid cash and over 1/3 of the sales were financed via the FHA, leaving only 14% of sales in the "other" category.

In just the months of September and October, Las Vegas sold 4,278 single family units to absentee owners.? Assuming a majority of them will show up as rentals soon, if they haven't already, how much more can the market absorb? If this trend continues, how many months will it take to swamp the desert with single family rentals?

Even more out of whack is the "it's cheaper to buy than rent" theory. I am not disputing the math but rather the conclusions.? Just the fact that it is cheaper to buy does not mean that renters should buy. Maybe housing is simply unaffordable and rents are way too high.? As the supply of rentals continues to increase, natural economic forces should be driving down rent and home prices. Furthermore, if renters are buying because it is cheaper than renting, won't there be even more pressure from this supply of rentals? Where are the additional 2,000 renters going to come from each month?

Finally, it is mind boggling that they are still building in this market. Here are some of the new homes for sale.? Just this website shows 100 communities on the market.

As an investor, why would I touch the Las Vegas market? Check out the popular websites such as craigslist or rentals.com. There are countless houses, condos and apartments for rent, all chasing after this phantom demand.? Cash investors have to ability to lower rents to the level that the market will bear, but can current investors compete? With so many renters, are neighborhoods going to deteriorate, driving even more under water mortgages into foreclosure?

I took a number of these rentals in Las Vegas and did a quick analysis on their return. It is impossible to come up with a reliable vacancy allowance. It is entirely possible for a bulk investor today to be sitting on a bulk of vacant houses tomorrow. While the option exists to lower rents, that can cause a chain reaction which may result in more foreclosures, more distress properties and a new round of depreciation in value.

Phoenix was probably the first region to experience an investor driven rebound. The most recent data from DQNews for September are already showing a sequential as well as a year over year decline. I am eagerly waiting to see what the October statistics will look like. Is that recovery already running out of steam?? The median price has been appreciating to $155,000 but it is still 41.3% below the all time peak of $264,100 in 2006. I am not suggesting that the subprime peak was reasonable, just that there is still a boatload of homeowners who have little or no equity in their homes.

Here in Southern California, the herd mentality is in full control with buying increasing at all levels. How long will this feeding frenzy last? Will the bulk investors be able to generate enough returns to whet their appetite for more? Will the local investors continue to ride on the coattails of the Wall Street moguls? Will owner occupiers continue to overpay for new homes because the 1%ers are paying cash and squeezing them out of the non-FHA market?

Stay tuned.

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Source: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-27/bulk-investors-and-real-estate-recovery

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Yeast protein breaks up amyloid fibrils and disease protein clumps differently

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Several fatal brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease, are connected by the misfolding of specific proteins into disordered clumps and stable, insoluble fibrils called amyloid. Amyloid fibrils are hard to break up due to their stable, ordered structure. For example, ?-synuclein forms amyloid fibrils that accumulate in Lewy Bodies in Parkinson's disease. By contrast, protein clumps that accumulate in response to environmental stress, such as heat shock, possess a less stable, disordered architecture.

Hsp104, an enzyme from yeast, breaks up both amyloid fibrils and disordered clumps. In the most recent issue of Cell, James Shorter, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and colleagues from the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, show that Hsp104 switches mechanism to break up amyloid versus disordered clumps. For stable amyloid-type structures, Hsp104 needs all six of its subunits, which together make a hexamer, to pull the clumps apart. By contrast, for the more amorphous, non-amyloid clumps, Hsp104 required only one of its six subunits.

Unexpectedly, the bacterial version of the Hsp104 enzyme, called ClpB, behaves differently compared to Hsp104. Bacterial ClpB uses all six subunits to break up amorphous clumps and fails to break up amyloid fibrils. Bacteria just ignore these more stable structures, whereas yeast use Hsp104 to exploit amyloid fibrils for beneficial purposes.

"One surprise is that biochemists thought that Hsp104 and ClpB hexamers worked in the same way," says first author and graduate student in the Shorter lab Morgan DeSantis. "This is not the case."

Hsp104 breaks up the protein clumps by "pulling" individual polypeptide chains through a channel that the hexamer forms at its center, recruiting more subunits to the job, as needed. Individual polypeptides emerge on the other side where they can be refolded into active structures. Remarkably, Hsp104 broke up various amyloid fibrils formed by proteins connected to Alzheimer's disease (tau and Ab42), Parkinson's disease (?-synuclein), Huntington's disease (polyglutamine), and even type II diabetes (amylin).

The bad news is that animals do not harbor their own version of Hsp104 and they do not appear to have the protein machinery to break up amyloid clumps as rapidly. But Shorter views this as a possible therapeutic opportunity: "We want to introduce Hsp104 transiently as a therapeutic clump buster and optimize Hsp104 for each type of disease protein." He is heartened by preclinical evidence that Hsp104 rescues neurodegeneration caused by ?-synuclein misfolding in a rat model of Parkinson's disease. His lab is now scanning yeast cells to look for the most useful forms of Hsp104.

###

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine: http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/

Thanks to University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/125352/Yeast_protein_breaks_up_amyloid_fibrils_and_disease_protein_clumps_differently

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Spacecraft monitoring Martian dust storm

ScienceDaily (Nov. 21, 2012) ? A Martian dust storm that NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been tracking since last week has also produced atmospheric changes detectable by rovers on Mars.

Using the orbiter's Mars Color Imager, Bruce Cantor of Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, began observing the storm on Nov. 10, and subsequently reported it to the team operating NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The storm came no closer than about 837 miles (1,347 kilometers) from Opportunity, resulting in only a slight drop in atmospheric clarity over that rover, which does not have a weather station.

Halfway around the planet from Opportunity, the NASA Mars rover Curiosity's weather station has detected atmospheric changes related to the storm. Sensors on the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS), which was provided for Curiosity by Spain, have measured decreased air pressure and a slight rise in overnight low temperature.

"This is now a regional dust storm. It has covered a fairly extensive region with its dust haze, and it is in a part of the planet where some regional storms in the past have grown into global dust hazes," said Rich Zurek, chief Mars scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "For the first time since the Viking missions of the 1970s, we are studying a regional dust storm both from orbit and with a weather station on the surface."

Curiosity's equatorial location and the sensors on REMS, together with the daily global coverage provided by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, provide new advantages compared with what Viking offered with its combination of orbiters and landers. The latest weekly Mars weather report from the orbiter's Mars Color Imager is at http://www.msss.com/msss_images/2012/11/21/ .

Each Martian year lasts about two Earth years. Regional dust storms expanded and affected vast areas of Mars in 2001 and 2007, but not between those years nor since 2007.

"One thing we want to learn is why do some Martian dust storms get to this size and stop growing, while others this size keep growing and go global," Zurek said.

From decades of observing Mars, scientists know there is a seasonal pattern to the largest Martian dust-storm events. The dust-storm season began just a few weeks ago, with the start of southern-hemisphere spring.

Starting on Nov. 16, the Mars Climate Sounder instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected a warming of the atmosphere at about 16 miles (25 kilometers) above the storm. Since then, the atmosphere in the region has warmed by about 45 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius). This is due to the dust absorbing sunlight at that height, so it indicates the dust is being lofted well above the surface and the winds are starting to create a dust haze over a broad region.

Warmer temperatures are seen not only in the dustier atmosphere in the south, but also in a hot spot near northern polar latitudes due to changes in the atmospheric circulation. Similar changes affect the pressure measured by Curiosity even though the dust haze is still far away.

Besides the research value in better understanding storm behavior, monitoring the storm is also important for Mars rover operations. If the storm were to go global, the Opportunity rover would be affected most. More dust in the air or falling onto its solar panels would reduce the solar-powered rover's energy supply for daily operations. Curiosity is powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator, rather than solar cells. The main effects of increased dust in the air at its site would be haze in images and increased air temperature.

JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project and both of the Mars rover projects for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

For more information about the missions of NASA's Mars Exploration Program, visit http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/ .

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/vuroBhKXG8w/121121180100.htm

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Avaya Learning Recognizes Jenne, Inc. for Training Excellence for ...

Posted by Publisher Hardware, Picture Gallery Monday, 19. November 2012

AVON, OH ? (Marketwire) ? 11/19/12 ? Jenne, Inc., a leading value-added distributor of IP telephony, audio and video conferencing, unified communications, data networking and IT security products, announced that it has been recognized as a recipient of the Avaya Learning Partner-s (ALP) Recognition Program for the fourth quarter in a row. For Q3, Jenne was once again a recipient of Avaya Learning Partner awards for the U.S. region, capturing the ?Highest Student Satisfaction? and ?Highest Response Rate.?

The Avaya Learning ?Highest Student Satisfaction Award? recognizes Jenne as having attained the highest level of satisfaction among students, while the ?Highest Response Rate Award? refers to Jenne as having received the highest survey participation among students during Q3, 2012. ALS surveys are routinely used to rate quality of content, instructor, lab equipment and other important considerations.

?Our repeated success in receiving the Avaya Learning awards speaks to the ongoing effectiveness of our Avaya-oriented training programs and the unmatched quality of our trainers and facilities,? commented Jim Karaffa, director training and technical services, Jenne. ?Training is a very important dimension of how we are able to help our customers be more successful with Avaya products and services in a market that is increasingly competitive.?

Jenne cites its rigorous certification process and partnership with Pearson VUE as two very important and distinguishing factors in its ongoing training success.

Avaya rolled out the recognition program last year and its awards are based on data from Knowledge Advisors- MTM (Metrics that Matter) tool and then compared with its GlobalWare Solutions reports of distributed courseware kits. Avaya Learning recognizes Learning Partners- achievements in the across the globe each quarter.

?Jenne continues to demonstrate outstanding performance in all the training dimensions Avaya Learning measures, and to date has won more training awards than any other company,? commented Diane Hutchins, senior manager, Avaya Learning Partner Program, Avaya Learning. ?We congratulate Jenne University on its ongoing success and for delivering distinguishing value for its customers.?

Jenne University delivers comprehensive training to its resellers on Avaya IP Office, Avaya Aura?, Avaya Aura? Communication Manager, and other products. All of its courses are led by Jenne-s own Avaya certified instructors and held at locations around the country including Jenne-s own state-of-the-art training facility located in Avon, Ohio.

As a partner of Pearson VUE, the electronic certification and licensure testing business of Pearson, Jenne is able to provide Information Technology certification test delivery using the Pearson VUE? Testing System. The Pearson VUE advanced computer-based testing system administers exams for leading IT certification programs from leading technology manufacturers through a global network of quality test centers.

To learn more about current training offerings in Jenne University, resellers should visit .

Jenne, Inc., headquartered in Avon, Ohio, is a leading value-added distributor of business telephony, data, audio and video conferencing, and security technology products, including equipment and software for the Enterprise and SMB markets. More than 150 major manufacturers partner with Jenne including Avaya, Aastra, ADTRAN, Bogen, ClearOne, Extreme Networks, GN Netcom, ICC, Lifesize, Panasonic, Plantronics, Valcom, and Verint. Jenne is dedicated to tracking emerging technologies, offering fresh solutions, new equipment and related applications, accredited training and certification to better serve dealers and resellers.

Jeff Touzeau
Hummingbird Media, Inc.
(914) 602-2913

Susan Elder
Jenne, Inc.
(440) 471-3434

Related posts:

1. Jenne University Brings Avaya IP Office Fast Track Training and ACIS Exams to IT Resellers and Integrators in Atlanta Class to Be Offered on May 22 and 23 in Cooperation With Pearson VUE, Providing Students With Convenient Access to Authorized Certification Testing...
2. Jenne Helps Resellers Remain Certified on Avaya IP Office Platform by Providing Dedicated Fast Track Courses and On-Site ACIS Exams Course Offerings Leverage Distributor-s Partnership With Pearson VUE, Providing Convenient Access to Authorized Certification Testing...
3. Jenne University to Provide On-Site Certification Training on Panasonic i-Pro Line of IP-Based Surveillance Solutions in Cleveland and Chicago Jenne Helps Resellers Capitalize on Expanding Network Video Surveillance Market by Offering Certification Training on Industry Leading Security Solutions...
4. Jenne Strengthens Its Avaya Onboarding Capability With Appointment of Channel Veteran Deb Forney to Newly Created Role Forney Will Oversee Recruitment and Enablement Processes for Its Avaya SME VARs, Helping Them Build an Avaya Roadmap While Achieving Faster Ramp to Revenue...
5. Altura Achieves Avaya-s Exclusive Partner in Customer Excellence Designation FULLERTON, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 03/19/12 -- Altura Communication Solutions has been recognized by Avaya for achieving their highest standard of customer service and receiving the Avaya Partner in Customer Excellence Designation. The Partner in Customer Excellence Designation is awarded to an Avaya BusinessPartner for achieving superior customer satisfaction over the past 12 months including both sales and support services to Avaya customers. Only a select group of Avaya BusinessPartners have ...

Source: http://www.so-co-it.com/post/205056/avaya-learning-recognizes-jenne-inc-for-training-excellence-for-fourth-quarter-in-a-row-with-highest-student-satisfaction-and-highest-response-rate.html/

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Obama urges Asia to ease tensions over sea territory

Between October 2006 and March 2009, a Wethersfield, Connecticut, woman named Lillian Adames unlawfully swapped her food stamps for cash. Today, Adames will be sentenced in a U.S. District Court for her role in a $1.6-million food stamp fraud scheme, which she accomplished in collaboration with her husband, who's now in jail.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-urges-asia-ease-tensions-over-sea-territory-075729624--finance.html

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Researchers show combining torrefaction pre-treatment with catalytic fast pyrolysis improves quality of bio-oil

Researchers show combining torrefaction pre-treatment with catalytic fast pyrolysis improves quality of bio-oil

Researchers at Auburn University and North Carolina State University have shown that using a simple pretreatment process?torrefaction?improves the quality of bio-oil produced via catalytic fast pyrolysis.

In a paper published in the ACS journal Energy & Fuels, they reported that the combination of the torrefaction pre-treatment and shape-selective catalyst (H+ZSM-5) resulted in highly deoxygenated liquid product that was favorable for aromatic hydrocarbons. The total carbon yield from catalytic pyrolysis of torrefied biomass was 1.45 times the total carbon yield from catalytic pyrolysis of untreated pine.

Fast pyrolysis is a thermal process that rapidly heats biomass to around 500 ?C, then quickly cools the volatile products. While fast pyrolysis has been shown to be an effective process to convert solid biomass to a liquid (bio-oil) with a short residence time, the bio-oil has to be upgraded to be able to be used as a liquid transportation fuel.

Among its problematic characteristics are a high oxygen content (approximately 35 wt % dry basis), resulting in instability, low heating value, and immiscibility with the current hydrocarbon fuels. Furthermore, the researchers noted, bio-oil undergoes a chemical transformation during storage to attain thermodynamic equilibrium leading to changes in molecular weight distribution and viscosity of the oil. These disadvantages hinder bio-oil from becoming a feasible solution as an alternate liquid fuel.

Two main approaches have been examined for upgrading: cracking and hydro-deoxygenation. Cracking involves reacting biomass or pyrolytic vapors over certain shape selective catalysts to remove oxygen. Hydrodeoxygenation uses high-pressure hydrogen in combination with desulfurization catalyst for the elimination of oxygen.

Recently, a simple thermal pretreatment process, torrefaction, has been applied to improve the properties of biomass. Torrefaction is a thermochemical process that occurs around 200?300 ?C in the absence of oxygen. During torrefaction, biomass undergoes partial decomposition with the release of volatiles, which results in overall mass loss. Furthermore, the fibrous structure of the biomass is lost as a result of torrefaction mainly because of the decomposition of hemicellulose and depolymerization of cellulose.

In addition, torrefaction results in a significant loss of oxygen from the biomass, which in turn reduces the oxygen content, increasing the calorific value of pretreated biomass while decreasing the energy required for grinding. The grinding energy for untreated pine chips and forest residues could be as high as 237 kWh/t compared to 23 kWh/t for similar biomass when torrefied.

...Most of the previous studies have examined the effect of torrefaction temperature and reaction time on the physicochemical properties of biomass. A handful of studies have focused on the influence of torrefied biomass on the quality of the liquid fuel. However, none of them have focused on the combined effect of catalyst and pretreatment on the bio-oil quality. Therefore, the main objective of this paper was to study the effect of catalyst and torrefaction on hydrocarbons yield using fast pyrolysis process.

?Srinivasan et al.

Aromatic hydrocarbons were significantly produced as a result of torrefaction, and temperature and catalyst enhanced their production. Among the findings were that torrefaction resulted in more of lignin derivatives?guaiacols, phenols?and less of holocellulose derivatives. The presence of catalyst resulted in the formation of naphthalenes due to its size selectivity.

Resources

• Vaishnavi Srinivasan, Sushil Adhikari, Shyamsundar Ayalur Chattanathan, and Sunkyu Park (2012) Catalytic Pyrolysis of Torrefied Biomass for Hydrocarbons Production. Energy & Fuels doi: 10.1021/ef301469t

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/greencarcongress/TrBK/~3/WwsN1KxDVdU/srinivasan-20121118.html

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Rockets fly over Israel and Gaza amid talk of truce - World News

More than 50 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded in the four days of unrelenting Israeli assaults. Egyptian officials are working on securing a truce between Israel and the Palestinian factions, which could help avert a war both sides say they are prepared to fight. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

By NBC News staff and wire reports

Updated at 3:33 p.m. ET: TEL AVIV, Israel?- Israel was prepared to substantially broaden its operation in the Gaza strip, the country's prime minister said on Sunday as its military planes continued to bomb targets in Gaza City.

"The Israel Defense Forces have attacked more than 1,000 terror targets in the Gaza Strip," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting. "We are exacting a heavy price from Hamas and the terrorist organizations and the Israel Defense Forces are prepared for a significant expansion of the operation."?

He gave no specifics and made no mention of the possibility of a ground offensive.?

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Palestinian medical officials said Sunday at least 11 civilians, including women and young children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City.?

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said?he fully supported Israel's right to defend itself but cautioned against a ground offensive.

"If this can be accomplished without?a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that is preferable," Obama said. "That's not just preferable for the people of Gaza, it's also preferable for Israelis because if Israeli troops are in Gaza they're much more at risk of incurring fatalities or being wounded."

President Barack Obama spoke on the unrest in the Middle East while on a trip to Asia. The president's trip is meant to put a focus on foreign policy, with the president making a tour of the region, including Myanmar and Cambodia. NBC's Chuck Todd reports from Bangkok.

'Huge bang'
At least two rockets fired from Gaza toward Tel Aviv, Israel's?commercial?capital, were shot down Sunday by Israel's Iron Dome air shield, witnesses and officials said.

NBC's Paul Goldman saw at least one missile being intercepted by Israel's anti-rocket defense system over the center of the city.

'Some indications' Hamas-Israeli truce is possible, Egypt says

"I was taking cover and heard a huge bang," Goldman said. "(I) looked up and saw the explosion in the air above me. I could smell the fire."

Israel continued bombing Palestinian militant targets in Gaza from air and sea, preparing for a possible ground invasion though Egypt saw "some indications'' of a truce ahead.

"If there is quiet in the South and no rockets and missiles are fired at Israel's citizens nor terrorist attacks engineered from the Gaza Strip, we will not attack,"?Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe?Yaalon said over Twitter.?

How Israel's 'Iron Dome' intercepts incoming rockets in Gaza conflict

Israel's strikes were causing widespread damage, Mohyeldin reported from Gaza.?"These strikes are portrayed as precision strikes, but they are anything but that given how densely populated the area is," he said.?

A strike on Sunday flattened a three-story building of the Daloo family, killing at least 11 people, Palestinian medical officials said, according to The Associated Press.

Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra said four women and four small children are among the dead.

The target was apparently a top militant.

Al-Kidra said the deaths brought to 66 the number of Palestinians killed in Israel's Gaza offensive, including 32 civilians.

More than 500 rockets fired from Gaza have hit Israel, killing three people and injuring dozens.

Journalists wounded
Overnight, six journalists were wounded in Gaza City when Israeli warplanes hit a television station,?according?to Agence France-Presse.?Reuters said witnesses identified the station as al Quds, which Israel sees as pro-Hamas.?Sky News reported that around 5 a.m. local time, two missiles?hit the building that houses its studios and offices.?Al-Arabiya also said?that its offices had been hit.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said the strike had targeted a rooftop "transmission antenna used by Hamas to carry out terror activity."?

'Some indications' Hamas-Israeli truce is possible, Egypt says

Israel unleashed intensive air strikes on Wednesday, killing the commander of the Hamas Islamist group that governs Gaza and spurns peace with Israel. Israel's declared goal is to deplete Gaza arsenals and press Hamas into stopping cross-border rocket fire that has plagued Israeli border towns for years.

In Cairo, as his security deputies sought to broker a truce with Hamas leaders,?Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said that "there are some indications that there is a possibility of a ceasefire soon, but we do not yet have firm guarantees.''

Egypt has mediated previous ceasefire deals between Israel and Hamas, the latest of which?unraveled?with recent violence.

Key players in the Israel-Gaza cross-border conflict

A Palestinian official told Reuters the truce discussions would continue in Cairo on Sunday, saying "there is hope,'' but it was too early to say whether the efforts would succeed.

In Jerusalem, an Israeli official declined to comment on the negotiations. Military commanders said Israel was prepared to fight on to achieve a goal of halting rocket fire from Gaza, which has plagued Israeli towns since late 2000, when failed peace talks led to the outbreak of a Palestinian uprising.

NBC's Mike Viqueira and Martin Fletcher report on the latest developments in the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and each weigh in on what role the US would play in a possible ground offensive by Israel into Gaza.

Diplomats at the United Nations said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to visit Israel and Egypt in the coming week to push for an end to the fighting.

Ground offensive
Israel, with tanks and artillery positioned along the frontier, said it was still weighing a ground offensive.?

Israeli cabinet ministers decided on Friday to more than double the current reserve troop quota set for the Gaza offensive to 75,000 and around 16,000 reservists have already been called up.

Asked by reporters whether a ground operation was possible, Maj.-Gen. Tal Russo, commander of the Israeli forces on the Gaza frontier, said: "Definitely.''

Rockets from Gaza fired on Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

?We have a plan. ... It will take time. We need to have patience. It won't be a day or two,'' he added.

NBC's Martin Fletcher and Richard Engle report from Tel Aviv and Gaza, where violence is ramping up with Palestinians firing rockets into Israel and Israel's military attacking Hamas symbols of power such as the prime minister's office and police headquarters.

A possible move into the densely populated Gaza Strip and the risk of major casualties it brings would be a significant gamble for Netanyahu, favored to win a January election.

The last Gaza war, a three-week Israeli blitz and invasion over the New Year of 2008-09, killed 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians. Thirteen Israelis died in the conflict.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/18/15252420-rockets-fly-over-israel-and-gaza-amid-talk-of-truce

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