Anyone remember when the group-buying phenomenon was going to be the new form of local marketing to undermine all other forms? When Groupon and LivingSocial emerged on the scene, enthusiasm for the format was palpable. There was good reason for the enthusiasm. I myself am pretty resistant to special offers of any kind, and yet I still have a nice little lineup of discounts in my LivingSocial account ready to be chip card.
But as many skeptics at the time predicted, discounting only goes so far -- especially on the local level. One local merchant nearby tried one of the group-buying services. The owner decided not to do it again because in the end it only netted increased sales at a radical discount to people who already knew about the store. She complained that it really wasn't working as a customer acquisition device.
Granted, when I talk to some of these buying services they argue that there are smart ways to use them for customer acquisition, and there are tactics and strategies to be deployed. And certainly in my research I have spoken to more than one or two businesses that literally were made by these local models.
The degree to which group buying has a permanent place in marketing of the future is still an open question, although I think it remains a pretty compelling model for the right offer and the right audience.
On mobile, companies like Groupon and LivingSocial became some of the earliest and most aggressive users of display advertising to drive people to specific localized offers. And whatever that segment’s troubles overall, it is doing for mobile commerce what initially it did for display advertising.
According to the company AffiliateWindow, which works with the affiliated e-commerce model across many sites, the combination of localization in the group-buy model and its heavy reliance on email is making it a key driver for mobile commerce. The company finds that on average, 14% of transactions across its network now are occurring on mobile devices, with little more than half of that happening on tablets. But the group-buying segment is about double that rate at 25.5% of all transactions now being generated on mobile handsets.
There are many reasons for this, and they highlight the ways that companies can capture mobile commerce activity more readily. For instance, people who use these services must be registered members. Most people responding to a group offer likely already have an account that is tied to a credit card and allows the user to make a fairly simple purchase on the spot. Likewise, many people remember the offer when they are close to the retailer.
The best group-buying services are already figuring out ways to capitalize on mobility by getting the offers closer to people when they and their phones are near the relevant merchant. And just as most other recent studies about mobile commerce and even media consumption continue to show the Apple platform as the most powerful, this survey shows that 56.5% of handset sales are coming from the iPhone. Only 26.9% of sales are coming from smart card.
So what we're seeing here is not especially surprising, but worth emphasizing. Certain segments for multiple reasons are especially well-optimized for mobile transactions, and these are the segments that need to ensure a truly seamless transaction experience on handsets. Not coincidentally, these are also the segments that will be able to track ROI on the display advertising spend most effectively. These are also the companies to watch when it comes to mobile commerce innovations in creating frictionless experiences. They have the most at stake.
We as a nation live beyond our means. The average American family has over $7,000 in credit card debt. Home foreclosures reached all-time highs in the past few years.
Much of this debt is the result of a poor economy and poor job market that forced many families to live on credit. Student loan debt is growing at a disturbing rate and is also at an all-time high. Now that the housing market is slowly improving and the future is looking a little brighter, many families are looking at paying down their debt.
There is a popular trend in debt reduction right now to pay down your smallest debt first. In theory, that sounds good. You get some immediate satisfaction for getting rid of some debt. However, prioritizing your bills and your money should happen first. Paying off a low-interest student loan first, because the balance is smaller than the balance of a high-interest credit card doesn’t make financial sense.
Just as you prioritize your budget, meeting your basic needs first, you should prioritize your debt repayment. Look at the interest rates on the loans. Look at the late fees and or any over-limit fees. Use these to determine which debt you will get the biggest benefit from paying off.
If you are in danger of being buried under a mountain of debt, the first thing you should do is call your creditors. Talk directly with them to work out a manageable repayment plan. They want you to pay your debt and understand that working with you is the best way to make that happen.
If you are in a debt crisis, a different approach that addresses your immediate needs is in order. Just as in an emergency room, perform triage first, and then deal with the most critical issue. If things have gotten so bad that creditors are calling, know your rights. Keep in mind that federal laws limit when they may call (between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.) They must also comply with written requests to cease phone calls. If you speak with them early, when you first have problems meeting your obligations, you may avoid further phone calls. Early communication is your best option to work out a manageable repayment plan.
Be cautious if you choose to use an agency to help with your debt. There are nonprofit agencies that will help with budgeting and negotiating payment plans. Check with the Better Business Bureau and the state attorney general to see if any complaints have been filed about the agency before working with them.
Other popular options are consolidation loans. While they may sound appealing, most rely on some form of collateral. Typically, this collateral would be your home. Consider this very carefully. If you can’t make your payments on the loan, you risk losing your home. As with any financial agreement, use caution when taking on a new contract. Check the interest rates and any related fees.
There are countless scams that prey on the financially desperate. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of any “savior” deal or agency. Read any contract carefully before signing. Be clear that you understand what you are agreeing to.
Debt is stressful. Be patient; remember how long it took to build that debt. Paying it down will take time. Don’t panic if your credit takes a ding, you can repair it with time and diligent attention. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are in debt; you are not alone.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Monday, March 25, 2013
Time to get to grips with changing marketing world
Our office was situated in the heart of the business district and like most agents at the time, printing out property lists of homes "for sale'' and "rentals'' available was a daily task.
Other marketing duties included updating the window display to entertain those who stared at the information daily on their way to and from work. In fact, the office location and the footfall was a key ingredient to agency success.
It was around that time that a new breed of companies came out claiming we needed to get a website and to get listed on one of those Property Portal thingummies. We had no idea. I recall much confusion in our office over the difference between an email and a website.
Heck, we just sold houses. Why were all these people telling us to change our successful ways?
However, over the next decade or so, websites became the new brochure, the new office window and the new business card. We invested, we updated - a presence online became vital to our real estate world. And we started listing on all those property portals too.
Some made it through, others fell by the wayside. Natural selection sorted the many down to a few - why would you need that many choices when they effectively all offered the same thing?
Then the next must-have became the agency website. After meeting new clients, the cool agents everywhere could be heard using the following phrase on a regular basis "Here's my card and check out our website''. That was followed with a bit of wink, a tilt of the head and a wry smile. One was rather proud of our acceptance and the fact we were embracing this modern technology.
So now modern agents have business Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and LinkedIn too, to tell the world of their talents while the main property portals house their listings.
But how many people actually go to an agent's website? Why would you? Most buyers do not care about the overall brand, they just want to know about what is listed. These sites do offer a great source of information for smart buyers and vendors so you should still use them for your research.
Those sites inevitably include a lot of information about agents' background and experience, and you can research further by checking them out on social media.
So for agents, we are now in a time when it's not just about the company or brand that you work for, it's about your personal reputation. Every posting, every picture, every event and the comments and feedback have to be managed - but as agents work in the marketing business, this should not be too difficult.
Buyers and sellers check your agents out. Follow them for a while before you make a decision with who you will go with. See how they engage with their friends and customers and see if you like the cut of their jib.
Remember asking for references is very last century. Have you ever been given one that isn't good? Exactly. But there is something scarily honest in online reviews and comments. And in a few years, it will probably be replaced by something even newer/nerdier/cooler/essential and eventually I will catch up.
Officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are already predicting waits up to 50 per cent longer at major airports and at some of the busiest land crossings. Think about that: A three-hour lineup at Peace Arch is now, quite possibly, going to be a five- or six-hour lineup. I can’t imagine there are people desperate enough to want to do that. But I suppose the lure of a bargain will make people do just about anything.
If you’re thinking about applying for a Nexus card as you read this, well, there are problems there as well. A process that can now take several months is expected to take even longer because staff cuts will reach into that area of border services as well. So it’s unlikely to help you before the end of the summer.
Beyond the life-wasting factor associated with long border lineups, there are real implications for trade. Canada does about $500-billion in trade annually with the U.S. and a lot of it flows through the borders. In 2010, it was calculated that nearly 29,000 trucks crossed the Canada-U.S. border daily. Canadians take more than 39 million trips to the U.S. every year, while Americans return the favour more than 20 million times.
It’s difficult to imagine that there isn’t going to be some impact on those numbers if crossing the border, by land or air, becomes an intolerable quagmire. Many people will simply say thanks but no thanks, at least those who don’t have options to travel at other, less busy times. In 2009, Canadians took more than 21 million same-day trips into the U.S., while Americans made 8.8 million into our country.
If five, six or seven hours of your trip are going to be taken up trying to get back and forth, I think many people will just take a pass. This will have an impact on tourism numbers for both countries, as well as retail sales.
Then you can start calculating the costs to other areas of commerce. It’s estimated that a big rig carrying goods into the U.S. costs about $80 an hour to operate. If it has to sit at the border for another hour or two longer waiting to get processed, those added costs have to be borne at some point along the supply chain.
The B.C. government has started a pilot project to ease congestion at the Pacific Highway crossing by having U.S. customs agents inspect cargo in a holding area in Surrey. It could help mitigate some of the problem, but it won’t solve it completely.
Other marketing duties included updating the window display to entertain those who stared at the information daily on their way to and from work. In fact, the office location and the footfall was a key ingredient to agency success.
It was around that time that a new breed of companies came out claiming we needed to get a website and to get listed on one of those Property Portal thingummies. We had no idea. I recall much confusion in our office over the difference between an email and a website.
Heck, we just sold houses. Why were all these people telling us to change our successful ways?
However, over the next decade or so, websites became the new brochure, the new office window and the new business card. We invested, we updated - a presence online became vital to our real estate world. And we started listing on all those property portals too.
Some made it through, others fell by the wayside. Natural selection sorted the many down to a few - why would you need that many choices when they effectively all offered the same thing?
Then the next must-have became the agency website. After meeting new clients, the cool agents everywhere could be heard using the following phrase on a regular basis "Here's my card and check out our website''. That was followed with a bit of wink, a tilt of the head and a wry smile. One was rather proud of our acceptance and the fact we were embracing this modern technology.
So now modern agents have business Facebook pages and Twitter accounts and LinkedIn too, to tell the world of their talents while the main property portals house their listings.
But how many people actually go to an agent's website? Why would you? Most buyers do not care about the overall brand, they just want to know about what is listed. These sites do offer a great source of information for smart buyers and vendors so you should still use them for your research.
Those sites inevitably include a lot of information about agents' background and experience, and you can research further by checking them out on social media.
So for agents, we are now in a time when it's not just about the company or brand that you work for, it's about your personal reputation. Every posting, every picture, every event and the comments and feedback have to be managed - but as agents work in the marketing business, this should not be too difficult.
Buyers and sellers check your agents out. Follow them for a while before you make a decision with who you will go with. See how they engage with their friends and customers and see if you like the cut of their jib.
Remember asking for references is very last century. Have you ever been given one that isn't good? Exactly. But there is something scarily honest in online reviews and comments. And in a few years, it will probably be replaced by something even newer/nerdier/cooler/essential and eventually I will catch up.
Officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are already predicting waits up to 50 per cent longer at major airports and at some of the busiest land crossings. Think about that: A three-hour lineup at Peace Arch is now, quite possibly, going to be a five- or six-hour lineup. I can’t imagine there are people desperate enough to want to do that. But I suppose the lure of a bargain will make people do just about anything.
If you’re thinking about applying for a Nexus card as you read this, well, there are problems there as well. A process that can now take several months is expected to take even longer because staff cuts will reach into that area of border services as well. So it’s unlikely to help you before the end of the summer.
Beyond the life-wasting factor associated with long border lineups, there are real implications for trade. Canada does about $500-billion in trade annually with the U.S. and a lot of it flows through the borders. In 2010, it was calculated that nearly 29,000 trucks crossed the Canada-U.S. border daily. Canadians take more than 39 million trips to the U.S. every year, while Americans return the favour more than 20 million times.
It’s difficult to imagine that there isn’t going to be some impact on those numbers if crossing the border, by land or air, becomes an intolerable quagmire. Many people will simply say thanks but no thanks, at least those who don’t have options to travel at other, less busy times. In 2009, Canadians took more than 21 million same-day trips into the U.S., while Americans made 8.8 million into our country.
If five, six or seven hours of your trip are going to be taken up trying to get back and forth, I think many people will just take a pass. This will have an impact on tourism numbers for both countries, as well as retail sales.
Then you can start calculating the costs to other areas of commerce. It’s estimated that a big rig carrying goods into the U.S. costs about $80 an hour to operate. If it has to sit at the border for another hour or two longer waiting to get processed, those added costs have to be borne at some point along the supply chain.
The B.C. government has started a pilot project to ease congestion at the Pacific Highway crossing by having U.S. customs agents inspect cargo in a holding area in Surrey. It could help mitigate some of the problem, but it won’t solve it completely.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Woodland meth-cooking case ends in plea
Donald L. Harrison, 55, will undergo prison-based drug rehabilitation during his confinement. He pleaded guilty to two counts of manufacturing meth, each of which could have yielded up to eight years in prison.
But Harrison, who has no prior felony history and was living out of his car when arrested in January, told Chelan County Superior Court Judge Alicia Nakata his own meth addiction led him to lose everything and eventually set up two cooking stills. Nakata assigned him to the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative, which provides chemical dependency treatment and counseling to criminals whose offenses are related to addiction.
The case began when the multi-agency Columbia River Drug Task Force investigated two small meth labs found in the Leavenworth area last year — one found April 17 on U.S. Forest Service land along Camas Creek Road near Highway 97, another discovered Aug. 19 near an Icicle Irrigation District gate on Duncan Road.
Items collected from the cook sites included plastic buckets and gas cans, empty bags of dry ice, plastic tubing, ammonia compounds, and traces of pseudoephedrine — a chemical precursor that can be rendered into methamphetamine. Samples from both sites showed evidence of meth manufacture, detectives said.
At each site, a Safeway grocery receipt was found, both showing purchases with the same Washington Electronic Benefits Transfer card. A warrant search traced the card to Harrison, who was living in his car in Dryden when arrested Jan. 9.
The first thing you’ll notice when you buy a Dell Latitude 10 is how much of a hybrid between laptop and tablet form factors the unit is. Right from the start, this impression is reinforced when the packaging for the tablet arrives at your office. Apple’s full-sized iPads come in small, roughly A4-sized boxes, commensurate with their size, while the iPad minis come in even smaller boxes almost reminiscent of mobile phone packaging.
Not so the Latitude 10. It comes in one of those traditional Dell laptop boxes, with cardboard packaging inside and a traditional (if small) power brick, ‘resource’ DVD and instruction/warranty manuals all wedged in. Sure, there’s a lot of empty space in the box, but we were immediately struck with how different this was from the premium Apple iPad experience. This is clearly a different class of tablet than the iPad — even if they’re designed in practice for most of the same purposes.
The impression of laptop-ness is reinforced when you pick up the Latitude 10. The first thing you notice is the weight. The model we reviewed clocked in at 684g, which is virtually identical to Apple’s full-sized iPad at 652g (or 662g for the 3G version). However, the Latitude 10 feels bulkier. Part of this is its thickness; it’s 10.5mm thick at its thickest end, compared with the iPad’s 9.4mm, and part of it is also its different dimensions. The iPad and Latitude 10 both have about a 10″ screen, with only a few millimetres’ difference, but where the iPad has an aspect ratio of 4:3, the Latitude 10 goes for an narrower 16:9 footprint.
What you end up with because of this design is something which feels a lot like an elongated iPad, a little heavier and with a tapering rubbery back. It’s not a bad feeling, but it’s definitely not stylised the way the iPad is; it’s very reminiscent of the kind of enterprise-class laptops (such as the Latitude class for which the tablet is named) which have long been a feature of Dell’s range.
The next thing you’ll notice is how brilliant, clear and inviting the Latitude 10′s screen is. It doesn’t have that high a resolution — only 1366×768, compared to the full-sized iPad’s 2048×1536 — and if you get up close, you can see the pixels. However, that doesn’t stop the Latitude 10′s screen from being vivid and lovely, with great viewing angles and a brightness that serves it well even outside in the daytime.
Windows 8′s bright colours play very well into this aesthetic, and we like the combination of Dell’s rubbery dark grey back, hard plastic front and brilliant screen quite a lot. This tablet is quite a looker.
Now let’s get into the ports. If you hold the tablet horizontally facing you, on the right side at the top sits a 3.5mm headphone jack alongside a USB port (we know — a USB port on a tablet — how novel!) and a mini-HDMI output jack. On the left-hand side sits a small rubbery volume rocker, above a small security lock slot. On the bottom sits a largish power connector to charge or dock the Latitude 10, and you can also charge it or sync it with a micro-USB slot next to that.
On the top left is a very large slot for smartcard reading, while on the top right sits a memory card reader, next to a small power light, the unit’s power button, and a screen rotation lock button. Below the screen is a small physical Windows button which returns you to Windows 8′s home screen. Above it is a small front-facing camera. On the back you get a fingerprint reader (we know!), the unit’s main camera and the huge slot for its removable battery. There are also two small speakers on the back.
As with its design, under its hood the Latitude 10 is surprisingly full-featured for a tablet of this nature. It runs on an Intel Atom CPU at 1.8GHz, and comes with 2GB of RAM. We believe our unit came with a 64GB SSD disk drive, of which only 36.5GB was available for use when we received it (it comes with the full version of Windows 8 installed — no Windows RT here).
Apart from that, what you mainly need to know is that its basic battery is a 2-cell 30W/hr model, but you can also get a 4-cell 60W/hr model to swap in, which will pad out the back substantially. The front-facing camera is a two megapixel model and the back is an eight megapixel model. The headphone jack can also be used as a microphone input, and you can also insert a SIM card into the model for mobile broadband. Of course it supports the 802.11 Wi-Fi standards, and the card reader does full-sized SD cards. You can also get a couple of optional docking/stand/keyboard units, although our unit didn’t come with one. And the screen is the ubquitous Gorilla Glass.
And of course, there’s one more important thing to consider here: You also get a full version of Windows 8, which can run every version of every popular Windows app you can think of, and which allows the Latitude 10 to be used as a PC in every sense, especially if you attack a keyboard and mouse.
This is a killer feature which we know many enterprises will really love. You simply can’t easily, without a decent network connection and some virtualisation/emulation software (many people use Citrix) use an iPad as a fully-featured laptop; iOS just isn’t set up to match all of Mac OS X’s features. But the Latitude 10 can be used for that purpose; it’s — frankly — its main advantage over the iPad and the Android tablets.
For starters, its touchscreen is great. As we’ve mentioned previously, it’s vivid, colourful, and you don’t really feel the lack of a higher resolution as you find on the iPad. Touch-navigating around Windows 8 on the Latitude 10 is a breeze and represents one of the best Windows 8 experiences we’ve had so far. It’s even easy to use the touch interface to navigate the traditional Windows desktop environment, and we enjoyed doing so.
The typing interface on the Latitude 10 is particularly lovely, with great sound feedback, and you can easily get up to quite a clip typing on it. We actually like the Latitude 10/Windows 8typing interface a great deal more than we do the touch-typing interface on the iPad — unlike with iOS, it’s pretty close to a full-sized keyboard experience, and you can type a lot faster.
The USB port, a key feature of the Latitude 10, works perfectly — we pulled our Apple keyboard and Logitech gaming mouse out of our iMac and plugged them in to the Latitude 10. They worked perfectly and instantly with no setup, pleasing us mightily.
In general, the performance of the unit’s user interface was very fast, and we had trouble getting it to do anything at a pace we found slow. There wasn’t any jagginess or slowness, and we really enjoyed playing with the unit’s apps and browsing our web sites, taking notes and so on. Videos, including HD videos, streamed fine from YouTube and in general we were very happy.
The usual caveats regarding the performance of the tablet for 3D games applies; its graphics card is labelled as an “Intel Graphics Media Accelerator”; so not hugely powerful ;) You’ll be able to easily play low-end games such as Plants vs Zombies and older games, but don’t expect much at all in terms of 3D graphics performance for modern titles. This is a tablet, not even a proper laptop. And the Atom processor won’t help.
But Harrison, who has no prior felony history and was living out of his car when arrested in January, told Chelan County Superior Court Judge Alicia Nakata his own meth addiction led him to lose everything and eventually set up two cooking stills. Nakata assigned him to the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative, which provides chemical dependency treatment and counseling to criminals whose offenses are related to addiction.
The case began when the multi-agency Columbia River Drug Task Force investigated two small meth labs found in the Leavenworth area last year — one found April 17 on U.S. Forest Service land along Camas Creek Road near Highway 97, another discovered Aug. 19 near an Icicle Irrigation District gate on Duncan Road.
Items collected from the cook sites included plastic buckets and gas cans, empty bags of dry ice, plastic tubing, ammonia compounds, and traces of pseudoephedrine — a chemical precursor that can be rendered into methamphetamine. Samples from both sites showed evidence of meth manufacture, detectives said.
At each site, a Safeway grocery receipt was found, both showing purchases with the same Washington Electronic Benefits Transfer card. A warrant search traced the card to Harrison, who was living in his car in Dryden when arrested Jan. 9.
The first thing you’ll notice when you buy a Dell Latitude 10 is how much of a hybrid between laptop and tablet form factors the unit is. Right from the start, this impression is reinforced when the packaging for the tablet arrives at your office. Apple’s full-sized iPads come in small, roughly A4-sized boxes, commensurate with their size, while the iPad minis come in even smaller boxes almost reminiscent of mobile phone packaging.
Not so the Latitude 10. It comes in one of those traditional Dell laptop boxes, with cardboard packaging inside and a traditional (if small) power brick, ‘resource’ DVD and instruction/warranty manuals all wedged in. Sure, there’s a lot of empty space in the box, but we were immediately struck with how different this was from the premium Apple iPad experience. This is clearly a different class of tablet than the iPad — even if they’re designed in practice for most of the same purposes.
The impression of laptop-ness is reinforced when you pick up the Latitude 10. The first thing you notice is the weight. The model we reviewed clocked in at 684g, which is virtually identical to Apple’s full-sized iPad at 652g (or 662g for the 3G version). However, the Latitude 10 feels bulkier. Part of this is its thickness; it’s 10.5mm thick at its thickest end, compared with the iPad’s 9.4mm, and part of it is also its different dimensions. The iPad and Latitude 10 both have about a 10″ screen, with only a few millimetres’ difference, but where the iPad has an aspect ratio of 4:3, the Latitude 10 goes for an narrower 16:9 footprint.
What you end up with because of this design is something which feels a lot like an elongated iPad, a little heavier and with a tapering rubbery back. It’s not a bad feeling, but it’s definitely not stylised the way the iPad is; it’s very reminiscent of the kind of enterprise-class laptops (such as the Latitude class for which the tablet is named) which have long been a feature of Dell’s range.
The next thing you’ll notice is how brilliant, clear and inviting the Latitude 10′s screen is. It doesn’t have that high a resolution — only 1366×768, compared to the full-sized iPad’s 2048×1536 — and if you get up close, you can see the pixels. However, that doesn’t stop the Latitude 10′s screen from being vivid and lovely, with great viewing angles and a brightness that serves it well even outside in the daytime.
Windows 8′s bright colours play very well into this aesthetic, and we like the combination of Dell’s rubbery dark grey back, hard plastic front and brilliant screen quite a lot. This tablet is quite a looker.
Now let’s get into the ports. If you hold the tablet horizontally facing you, on the right side at the top sits a 3.5mm headphone jack alongside a USB port (we know — a USB port on a tablet — how novel!) and a mini-HDMI output jack. On the left-hand side sits a small rubbery volume rocker, above a small security lock slot. On the bottom sits a largish power connector to charge or dock the Latitude 10, and you can also charge it or sync it with a micro-USB slot next to that.
On the top left is a very large slot for smartcard reading, while on the top right sits a memory card reader, next to a small power light, the unit’s power button, and a screen rotation lock button. Below the screen is a small physical Windows button which returns you to Windows 8′s home screen. Above it is a small front-facing camera. On the back you get a fingerprint reader (we know!), the unit’s main camera and the huge slot for its removable battery. There are also two small speakers on the back.
As with its design, under its hood the Latitude 10 is surprisingly full-featured for a tablet of this nature. It runs on an Intel Atom CPU at 1.8GHz, and comes with 2GB of RAM. We believe our unit came with a 64GB SSD disk drive, of which only 36.5GB was available for use when we received it (it comes with the full version of Windows 8 installed — no Windows RT here).
Apart from that, what you mainly need to know is that its basic battery is a 2-cell 30W/hr model, but you can also get a 4-cell 60W/hr model to swap in, which will pad out the back substantially. The front-facing camera is a two megapixel model and the back is an eight megapixel model. The headphone jack can also be used as a microphone input, and you can also insert a SIM card into the model for mobile broadband. Of course it supports the 802.11 Wi-Fi standards, and the card reader does full-sized SD cards. You can also get a couple of optional docking/stand/keyboard units, although our unit didn’t come with one. And the screen is the ubquitous Gorilla Glass.
And of course, there’s one more important thing to consider here: You also get a full version of Windows 8, which can run every version of every popular Windows app you can think of, and which allows the Latitude 10 to be used as a PC in every sense, especially if you attack a keyboard and mouse.
This is a killer feature which we know many enterprises will really love. You simply can’t easily, without a decent network connection and some virtualisation/emulation software (many people use Citrix) use an iPad as a fully-featured laptop; iOS just isn’t set up to match all of Mac OS X’s features. But the Latitude 10 can be used for that purpose; it’s — frankly — its main advantage over the iPad and the Android tablets.
For starters, its touchscreen is great. As we’ve mentioned previously, it’s vivid, colourful, and you don’t really feel the lack of a higher resolution as you find on the iPad. Touch-navigating around Windows 8 on the Latitude 10 is a breeze and represents one of the best Windows 8 experiences we’ve had so far. It’s even easy to use the touch interface to navigate the traditional Windows desktop environment, and we enjoyed doing so.
The typing interface on the Latitude 10 is particularly lovely, with great sound feedback, and you can easily get up to quite a clip typing on it. We actually like the Latitude 10/Windows 8typing interface a great deal more than we do the touch-typing interface on the iPad — unlike with iOS, it’s pretty close to a full-sized keyboard experience, and you can type a lot faster.
The USB port, a key feature of the Latitude 10, works perfectly — we pulled our Apple keyboard and Logitech gaming mouse out of our iMac and plugged them in to the Latitude 10. They worked perfectly and instantly with no setup, pleasing us mightily.
In general, the performance of the unit’s user interface was very fast, and we had trouble getting it to do anything at a pace we found slow. There wasn’t any jagginess or slowness, and we really enjoyed playing with the unit’s apps and browsing our web sites, taking notes and so on. Videos, including HD videos, streamed fine from YouTube and in general we were very happy.
The usual caveats regarding the performance of the tablet for 3D games applies; its graphics card is labelled as an “Intel Graphics Media Accelerator”; so not hugely powerful ;) You’ll be able to easily play low-end games such as Plants vs Zombies and older games, but don’t expect much at all in terms of 3D graphics performance for modern titles. This is a tablet, not even a proper laptop. And the Atom processor won’t help.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Recipe collection takes on a life of its own
That wouldn’t be too strange, but most of us keep right on cutting out recipes even though we have at least five recipes for every type of dish imaginable, including tuna casserole which most of us loathe. Even if we live alone and only cook for one we continue to snip away.
I’m not sure why the sight of a recipe so stirs us to keep collecting. Why the sight of yet another recipe for “easy” lasagna so excites us.
And since in my case, I’ve been snipping away for quite a long time, I’ve got a huge collection. They’re in my recipe drawers. They are all flung in there without rhyme or reason. So when I’m looking for the recipe for zucchini bread, I have to sort through 30-plus years of clippings to find it.
Oh, I started off neatly. I had a little recipe index card box. All the recipes were on neat little cards. That lasted a few years.
Then I started cramming the clippings into the index card box. After a time, I couldn’t cram anymore in. Then I shoved all the recipes into a small drawer. The collection outgrew that. Now the recipes are in two big drawers, but they’re full.
I have nightmares that someday I will be keeping my recipes in a room by themselves — like the hoarders I have seen on TV.
I tried to organize during the big blizzard of ‘82. I purchased photo albums with plastic pages and put the recipes in those. I labeled the pages with separate headings for meat, poultry, fish, etc. But my undoing was that I didn’t have enough albums for all the micellaneous items like pickles and mock Twinkies. So as my collection grew I resorted to tossing the recipes into the drawers.
And the worst part is, most of these recipes I’ve never bothered to cook. I have high hopes as I flip through magazines, clipping away, and thinking “Ah, roast pork with apple dumplings would make a great dinner.” But I always find I’m fresh out of pork and apples. So another recipe gets filed in the drawer.
I think I know why I still clip recipes. It’s become habit I can’t resist like shopping at a shoe store when they’re having a half-price sale, though I know I should stay home because I really don’t need any more shoes.
One thing that’s comforting about this habit is the thought that after I’m gone, if somebody goes through my recipe drawers, that person will be bound to utter in reverent tones, “This one must have been some cook!”
Beneficiaries of Vajpayee Arogyasri scheme in Karnataka, living in places close to the State’s borders, can now get medical attention at all networked hospitals in the city nearest to them even if they are in other States, said N. Ramesh, Regional Consultant, Mysore Division, Vajpayee Arogya Sri, Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust, Government of Karnataka.
He was speaking to The Hindu at a camp held to get more people registered for the scheme, organised by Father Muller Hospital and K. S. Hegde Medical Academy (KSHEMA) in Government Wenlock Hospital on Tuesday. The hospitals oganising the camp are part of the networked hospitals offering the scheme, said Dr. Saroja, Resident Medical Officer (RMO), Wenlock Hospital.
Dr. Ramesh said the change, effective from the current year, meant that beneficiaries from Bellary can go to Hyderabad and Kurnool, beneficiaries from Belgaum can go to Miraj and Sholapur, and beneficiaries from Raichur can go to Mehboobnagar and Hyderabad.
Sharif from Adyar, who brought his father for treatment, said there was “no problem” and Zameela from Irathottigram, said she had got her BPL card. Kusum, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker, was one of at least five ASHA workers who were there to help their patients get registered for the scheme. Three more hospitals in the city have been inspected to see if they could be brought under the scheme. Some of the listed hospitals in Mangalore are: K.S. Hegde Hospital (KSHEMA), Father Muller Hospital, A.J. Hospital, KMC. Of 132 networked hospitals in the State, more than 70 are in Bangalore. From April, 447 hospitals (from 402) in the state will be networked for the scheme, he said.
The camp registered 144 people, of whom 40 were taken for treatment in networked hospitals. The rest did not have health problems covered under the scheme, said Dr. Ramesh.
Narayan, a resident of Derebail, looked crestfallen at the camp. He said the people at the counter had told him the BPL card was essential and he did not have the card. “I am single. I was told single persons cannot get a BPL card. What am I to do? Will I be left to die?” He said he lived in his brother’s house as he did not own a house and the brother did not belong to the BPL category.
There’s no escaping it, the Medion Erazer X7819, like most gaming laptops, isn’t just a brick, it’s the entire 6ft wall. At a 17-inch screen size, it was always going to take up desk space but once you open the thing up, it rather feels like you’ve stepped into a time warp and leapt back to the very first days of mobile computing when the term “portable machine” described a laptop that you could just about lift up.
Sure, you can rest the Medion Erazer X7819 on your thighs; hell, you can put it in your bag and carry it around with you if you want but, unless you’re heading off to a LAN party somewhere or simply moving to another room in your house, you probably wouldn’t want to. This is 3.8kg of super-mean gaming machine and, though technically a laptop, expect it to live out the majority of its existence atop your desk.
Nonetheless, there’s something satisfying about the design of the Medion Erazer X7819. It’s big, it’s black, it’s got a mock brushed-metal - but actually just nicely made plastic – finish but, despite being the physical antithesis to, say, Bang & Olufsen or Apple, it’s actually very pleasant. This is machine for fragging your friends and tea-bagging n00bs and there’s no subtleties necessary.
The blue LED streaks on the outside of the lid and the three to highlight the trackpad and stereo speakers, once you open it, are further evidence to fact. As it goes, Medion could have gone a lot further with the gaudiness and we’d probably have enjoyed. It’s certainly not the light show that you get with other big brand gaming PCs, such as Dell’s Alienware range, and it’s a pity that you can’t control the colour or the brightness of the LEDs but the money has been spent wisely here and, frankly, industrial design doesn’t win you PvP deathmatches.
I’m not sure why the sight of a recipe so stirs us to keep collecting. Why the sight of yet another recipe for “easy” lasagna so excites us.
And since in my case, I’ve been snipping away for quite a long time, I’ve got a huge collection. They’re in my recipe drawers. They are all flung in there without rhyme or reason. So when I’m looking for the recipe for zucchini bread, I have to sort through 30-plus years of clippings to find it.
Oh, I started off neatly. I had a little recipe index card box. All the recipes were on neat little cards. That lasted a few years.
Then I started cramming the clippings into the index card box. After a time, I couldn’t cram anymore in. Then I shoved all the recipes into a small drawer. The collection outgrew that. Now the recipes are in two big drawers, but they’re full.
I have nightmares that someday I will be keeping my recipes in a room by themselves — like the hoarders I have seen on TV.
I tried to organize during the big blizzard of ‘82. I purchased photo albums with plastic pages and put the recipes in those. I labeled the pages with separate headings for meat, poultry, fish, etc. But my undoing was that I didn’t have enough albums for all the micellaneous items like pickles and mock Twinkies. So as my collection grew I resorted to tossing the recipes into the drawers.
And the worst part is, most of these recipes I’ve never bothered to cook. I have high hopes as I flip through magazines, clipping away, and thinking “Ah, roast pork with apple dumplings would make a great dinner.” But I always find I’m fresh out of pork and apples. So another recipe gets filed in the drawer.
I think I know why I still clip recipes. It’s become habit I can’t resist like shopping at a shoe store when they’re having a half-price sale, though I know I should stay home because I really don’t need any more shoes.
One thing that’s comforting about this habit is the thought that after I’m gone, if somebody goes through my recipe drawers, that person will be bound to utter in reverent tones, “This one must have been some cook!”
Beneficiaries of Vajpayee Arogyasri scheme in Karnataka, living in places close to the State’s borders, can now get medical attention at all networked hospitals in the city nearest to them even if they are in other States, said N. Ramesh, Regional Consultant, Mysore Division, Vajpayee Arogya Sri, Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust, Government of Karnataka.
He was speaking to The Hindu at a camp held to get more people registered for the scheme, organised by Father Muller Hospital and K. S. Hegde Medical Academy (KSHEMA) in Government Wenlock Hospital on Tuesday. The hospitals oganising the camp are part of the networked hospitals offering the scheme, said Dr. Saroja, Resident Medical Officer (RMO), Wenlock Hospital.
Dr. Ramesh said the change, effective from the current year, meant that beneficiaries from Bellary can go to Hyderabad and Kurnool, beneficiaries from Belgaum can go to Miraj and Sholapur, and beneficiaries from Raichur can go to Mehboobnagar and Hyderabad.
Sharif from Adyar, who brought his father for treatment, said there was “no problem” and Zameela from Irathottigram, said she had got her BPL card. Kusum, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker, was one of at least five ASHA workers who were there to help their patients get registered for the scheme. Three more hospitals in the city have been inspected to see if they could be brought under the scheme. Some of the listed hospitals in Mangalore are: K.S. Hegde Hospital (KSHEMA), Father Muller Hospital, A.J. Hospital, KMC. Of 132 networked hospitals in the State, more than 70 are in Bangalore. From April, 447 hospitals (from 402) in the state will be networked for the scheme, he said.
The camp registered 144 people, of whom 40 were taken for treatment in networked hospitals. The rest did not have health problems covered under the scheme, said Dr. Ramesh.
Narayan, a resident of Derebail, looked crestfallen at the camp. He said the people at the counter had told him the BPL card was essential and he did not have the card. “I am single. I was told single persons cannot get a BPL card. What am I to do? Will I be left to die?” He said he lived in his brother’s house as he did not own a house and the brother did not belong to the BPL category.
There’s no escaping it, the Medion Erazer X7819, like most gaming laptops, isn’t just a brick, it’s the entire 6ft wall. At a 17-inch screen size, it was always going to take up desk space but once you open the thing up, it rather feels like you’ve stepped into a time warp and leapt back to the very first days of mobile computing when the term “portable machine” described a laptop that you could just about lift up.
Sure, you can rest the Medion Erazer X7819 on your thighs; hell, you can put it in your bag and carry it around with you if you want but, unless you’re heading off to a LAN party somewhere or simply moving to another room in your house, you probably wouldn’t want to. This is 3.8kg of super-mean gaming machine and, though technically a laptop, expect it to live out the majority of its existence atop your desk.
Nonetheless, there’s something satisfying about the design of the Medion Erazer X7819. It’s big, it’s black, it’s got a mock brushed-metal - but actually just nicely made plastic – finish but, despite being the physical antithesis to, say, Bang & Olufsen or Apple, it’s actually very pleasant. This is machine for fragging your friends and tea-bagging n00bs and there’s no subtleties necessary.
The blue LED streaks on the outside of the lid and the three to highlight the trackpad and stereo speakers, once you open it, are further evidence to fact. As it goes, Medion could have gone a lot further with the gaudiness and we’d probably have enjoyed. It’s certainly not the light show that you get with other big brand gaming PCs, such as Dell’s Alienware range, and it’s a pity that you can’t control the colour or the brightness of the LEDs but the money has been spent wisely here and, frankly, industrial design doesn’t win you PvP deathmatches.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
How to be cool with your smart phone
Is that an iPhone in your pocket, girly-man? In one of those weird interventions the absurdly wealthy are sometimes prone to, Google boss Sergey Brin claimed this week that smartphones are emasculating. Instead of striding about, chest puffed, head high, crotch pointed towards the horizon, the modern male, he implied, is a pathetic creature, hunched Gollum-like over his handset.
"Is this the way you're meant to interact with other people?" said Brin of that distinctive smartphone 'stoop'. "It's kind of emasculating. Is this what you're meant to do with your body?"
It is, of course, tremendously ironic that the man who helped invent the Google search engine and Android phone – becoming a gadzillioniare several times over in the process – should presume to lecture the rest of us on our telecommunication habits.
Furthermore, his rant has ulterior motives, as Brin is trying to gin up publicity for his Google Glasses, a futuristic set of eyewear that, so he promises, will transfer the mobile-phone experience to your irises.
Such objections aside, might Brin be on to something? Have we become girlishly enslaved to our phones? Has our addiction to tweeting, texting, Facebooking stripped away the manhood of the 21st-century male? Shorn of our phones, might we all be out wrestling alligators, hiking mountains and honing our pecs?
With mobile-phone penetration in Ireland among the world's highest, the question is highly rhetorical. Still, it's never too late for a little self-improvement. So if you can bear to put your handset away for a few minutes – unless you're using it to read this article – we present our ultimate guide to staying cool on your phone.
Plenty of standard accessories are part of a typical bridal ensemble, but one style accent can complement the entire day and especially the moment the ring is placed on her finger: a special manicure.
Nail art today is very diverse and choices span far beyond a few colors and French manicure tip styles. Nails can be decked in any color and highlighted with a wide range of accents.
Nail wraps and stamps are available in a variety of designs and accents such as gems, pearls, bows and other nail jewelry items are part of the growing trend toward 3-D nail art, giving a bride many avenues to express her personal style.
Color choices are typically soft and hues are often selected from the color of the bridemaids' dresses, but creative and striking designs can be achieved in a variety of ways, and on a variety of budgets.
Nail stamping has been growing in popularity in the U.S over the last several years. Its early popularity began in South Korea with a brand of metal stamping plates manufactured by Konad. The plates, which are reusable and will last for many years, are etched with designs ranging from floral and lacy patterns, butterflies, geometric designs, individual flowers, snow flakes and many other designs. Some patterns cover the full nail, others are designed to cover just the tip, and others are individual designs which can be placed alone or repeated on the nail.
Color combinations are nearly unlimited, but high-contrast, opaque colors work best. Many subtle designs can also be created with a light and a dark color in a similar hue, or with two similar colors, but one in frost and one in a creme formula for contrast.
Starter stamping kits are available in most drug store and other retail chains locally and include several plates. Stamping plates with more detailed and themed designs are available from numerous online sellers. The kits consist of a soft, rubber-like stamper which is used to pick up a design etched in the metal plates to be immediately transfered to the nail. The design is made by applying polish to the etched design and wiping the excess with a flat-edged scraper (many experienced stampers use an old credit card for this task).
It is important to work quickly to pick up the design with the stamper and transfer it to the nail before the polish dries. It is also helpful to apply a clear coat over the base color on the nail before stamping. This helps provide a barrier against mistakes and can eliminate the need to repaint the nails after a mistake. Top the final design with another coat of clear top coat applied quickly and gently so as not to smear the design.
The Internet is teeming with nail art blogs packed with pictures, videos and tips and tricks for anyone looking to become a proficient stamper.
There is definitely a learning curve to mastering the art of stamping, which depends a great deal on how much experience one has with painting, crafting or other do-it-yourself activities, along with patience. Any bride wishing to have nicely stamped nails needs to get in plenty of practice time before the big day.
If the challenge of learning to stamp is too daunting, check with local salons to see what options are available. Do some online image searches, print them out and bring them to the manicurist to share favored ideas and styles.
A different but less complicated way to achieve a similar look is with nail polish strips or nail wraps. A wide array of designs are available and strips are shaped to fit most nails. Application is quick and easier than stamping, but still takes practice. Unlike stamping, color choices are limited. Once a package of strips has been opened, it is important to seal the package quickly for reuse or the strips may dry out. Many strips are made of nail polish, so are easy to remove and unlikely to stain natural nails.
Three-dimensional nail art has been trending in Korea and Japan for some time, and many of the items used are available to order online. Pressed dried flowers, plastic roses and other flowers in a variety of colors, metal bejeweled bows, thin slices of Fimo clay in designs like flowers, fruit, butterflies and more are available to create dazzling nail designs. Take a look online by searching "3-D nail art" online to see photos of fabulous and sometimes far out designs others have created.
If a thick layer of 3-D nail bling sounds like a bit too much flash, but is still rather tempting, many opt for a single accent nail on each hand. The ring finger is commonly chosen for the accent nail, but be sure the ring will clear the art and make it into the finger before the words, "With this ring," are spoken. Also consider the thumb nail as an accent, or a combination of two or three of any fingers.
Other simpler tools are available to add interest to nails. inexpensive dotting tools are available online and allow the user to add polka dots of many sizes consistently to the nails. The tool is shaped like a pen and features beaded ends in different sizes. The user dips the bead into nail polish and applies it to the nail in a small drop. Again, the color choices are only limited by the colors of polish available, and can reflect the palette of the bridal party's clothing. Dots can also be used to accent other designs applied to the nails, such as adding a center dot to a flower.
Striping tape is another easy-to use and very inexpensive tool. Adhesive pin stripe tape is available in a variety of metallic colors and is easy to apply and remove. The tape can also be used to separate two colors painted on the nail, giving each side a crisp-looking edge. Tape can be prone to peeling, so it is best applied no more than a day or two before the wedding for best results.
Nail decals have been around for a long time, but modern and more intricate designs are available. The designs slip off a paper backing easily after soaking in water and can be positioned on the nail without much difficulty. Once dry, a clear top coat keeps them in place.
"Is this the way you're meant to interact with other people?" said Brin of that distinctive smartphone 'stoop'. "It's kind of emasculating. Is this what you're meant to do with your body?"
It is, of course, tremendously ironic that the man who helped invent the Google search engine and Android phone – becoming a gadzillioniare several times over in the process – should presume to lecture the rest of us on our telecommunication habits.
Furthermore, his rant has ulterior motives, as Brin is trying to gin up publicity for his Google Glasses, a futuristic set of eyewear that, so he promises, will transfer the mobile-phone experience to your irises.
Such objections aside, might Brin be on to something? Have we become girlishly enslaved to our phones? Has our addiction to tweeting, texting, Facebooking stripped away the manhood of the 21st-century male? Shorn of our phones, might we all be out wrestling alligators, hiking mountains and honing our pecs?
With mobile-phone penetration in Ireland among the world's highest, the question is highly rhetorical. Still, it's never too late for a little self-improvement. So if you can bear to put your handset away for a few minutes – unless you're using it to read this article – we present our ultimate guide to staying cool on your phone.
Plenty of standard accessories are part of a typical bridal ensemble, but one style accent can complement the entire day and especially the moment the ring is placed on her finger: a special manicure.
Nail art today is very diverse and choices span far beyond a few colors and French manicure tip styles. Nails can be decked in any color and highlighted with a wide range of accents.
Nail wraps and stamps are available in a variety of designs and accents such as gems, pearls, bows and other nail jewelry items are part of the growing trend toward 3-D nail art, giving a bride many avenues to express her personal style.
Color choices are typically soft and hues are often selected from the color of the bridemaids' dresses, but creative and striking designs can be achieved in a variety of ways, and on a variety of budgets.
Nail stamping has been growing in popularity in the U.S over the last several years. Its early popularity began in South Korea with a brand of metal stamping plates manufactured by Konad. The plates, which are reusable and will last for many years, are etched with designs ranging from floral and lacy patterns, butterflies, geometric designs, individual flowers, snow flakes and many other designs. Some patterns cover the full nail, others are designed to cover just the tip, and others are individual designs which can be placed alone or repeated on the nail.
Color combinations are nearly unlimited, but high-contrast, opaque colors work best. Many subtle designs can also be created with a light and a dark color in a similar hue, or with two similar colors, but one in frost and one in a creme formula for contrast.
Starter stamping kits are available in most drug store and other retail chains locally and include several plates. Stamping plates with more detailed and themed designs are available from numerous online sellers. The kits consist of a soft, rubber-like stamper which is used to pick up a design etched in the metal plates to be immediately transfered to the nail. The design is made by applying polish to the etched design and wiping the excess with a flat-edged scraper (many experienced stampers use an old credit card for this task).
It is important to work quickly to pick up the design with the stamper and transfer it to the nail before the polish dries. It is also helpful to apply a clear coat over the base color on the nail before stamping. This helps provide a barrier against mistakes and can eliminate the need to repaint the nails after a mistake. Top the final design with another coat of clear top coat applied quickly and gently so as not to smear the design.
The Internet is teeming with nail art blogs packed with pictures, videos and tips and tricks for anyone looking to become a proficient stamper.
There is definitely a learning curve to mastering the art of stamping, which depends a great deal on how much experience one has with painting, crafting or other do-it-yourself activities, along with patience. Any bride wishing to have nicely stamped nails needs to get in plenty of practice time before the big day.
If the challenge of learning to stamp is too daunting, check with local salons to see what options are available. Do some online image searches, print them out and bring them to the manicurist to share favored ideas and styles.
A different but less complicated way to achieve a similar look is with nail polish strips or nail wraps. A wide array of designs are available and strips are shaped to fit most nails. Application is quick and easier than stamping, but still takes practice. Unlike stamping, color choices are limited. Once a package of strips has been opened, it is important to seal the package quickly for reuse or the strips may dry out. Many strips are made of nail polish, so are easy to remove and unlikely to stain natural nails.
Three-dimensional nail art has been trending in Korea and Japan for some time, and many of the items used are available to order online. Pressed dried flowers, plastic roses and other flowers in a variety of colors, metal bejeweled bows, thin slices of Fimo clay in designs like flowers, fruit, butterflies and more are available to create dazzling nail designs. Take a look online by searching "3-D nail art" online to see photos of fabulous and sometimes far out designs others have created.
If a thick layer of 3-D nail bling sounds like a bit too much flash, but is still rather tempting, many opt for a single accent nail on each hand. The ring finger is commonly chosen for the accent nail, but be sure the ring will clear the art and make it into the finger before the words, "With this ring," are spoken. Also consider the thumb nail as an accent, or a combination of two or three of any fingers.
Other simpler tools are available to add interest to nails. inexpensive dotting tools are available online and allow the user to add polka dots of many sizes consistently to the nails. The tool is shaped like a pen and features beaded ends in different sizes. The user dips the bead into nail polish and applies it to the nail in a small drop. Again, the color choices are only limited by the colors of polish available, and can reflect the palette of the bridal party's clothing. Dots can also be used to accent other designs applied to the nails, such as adding a center dot to a flower.
Striping tape is another easy-to use and very inexpensive tool. Adhesive pin stripe tape is available in a variety of metallic colors and is easy to apply and remove. The tape can also be used to separate two colors painted on the nail, giving each side a crisp-looking edge. Tape can be prone to peeling, so it is best applied no more than a day or two before the wedding for best results.
Nail decals have been around for a long time, but modern and more intricate designs are available. The designs slip off a paper backing easily after soaking in water and can be positioned on the nail without much difficulty. Once dry, a clear top coat keeps them in place.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
West's new terminal gives carrier room to move
He jokes that Perth Airport has been like one of those puzzles where you move the squares around to make a pattern or words but without the empty space to make the movement possible.
That has changed with the opening of T2 on the other side of the airport and the decision to eventually develop the international terminal into a joint domestic-international facility, starting with domestic digs for Virgin.
"Actually what Perth Airport is starting is the domino effect by creating the first bit of space, which is terrific," Strambi says.
"So the creation of T2, as it's now called, the old Terminal WA actually, is the first unlocking piece that gives us the wriggle room to the developments we need to do."
The airline's efforts to cope with constrained space becomes obvious during the changeover days for fly-in, fly out workers.
On a Tuesday morning, the Qantas terminal is alive with mine workers heading off to regional Western Australia to help power the state's economy.
They are queueing at security, grabbing breakfast in the newly expanded Qantas Club or sitting at gate lounges waiting to board aircraft that will take off in quick succession during the peak period. The demands on the Qantas Club at peak times prompted the airline to convert gate lounge space into a 130-seat overflow area.
But it is the sea of red tails and others outside that brings home the impact of the resources boom and the expansion in Perth.
Qantas has 384 regular public transport departures a week from Perth, along with 46 charters, including those operated by charter subsidiary Network. Between them, they serve 16 ports out of the West Australian capital.
Aircraft include 10 dedicated A330s operating to Melbourne and Sydney, four of them based in Perth. Other locally based aircraft include six Boeing 717s, 13 Boeing 737-800s (including one dedicated to a Fortescue Metals Group charter), two Boeing 767-300s, as well as six Boeing 717s and five Fokker 100s.
Qantas has invested heavily in intra-WA services in recent years and now operates about 280 return flights with 76,000 seats to the state's regional areas in addition to its newly bolstered east-west services.
Intra-WA regular public transport traffic, as measured in revenue passenger kilometres, grew 21.5 per cent in the year to August as capacity in available seat kilometres grew 26.4 per cent. That capped a five-year period when annual traffic growth averaged 14.1 per cent while capacity grew by 16.6 per cent annually.
The combination of limited space and growth has seen Qantas compensate by boosting the number of security lines from three to five and introducing more of its "Faster, Smarter Check-In" kiosks and Q Card readers with automatic bag drop facilities to speed up the process.
Every little innovation helps: a double-ended bus that can be driven at either end makes bussing safer and quicker while a new luggage machine called a Rampsnake can deliver bags deeper into an aircraft hold to reduce stress and work for baggage handlers.
Qantas is also trialling an oversize automatic bag drop with a heavy-duty belt can handle luggage such as tool boxes, and it is talking to authorities about allowing passengers to keep their laptops in their cabin baggage as they pass through security.
According to the airline's head of airports in WA, Dave Gloster, the aim is to get passengers through the check-in and security process as quickly as possible with a target of clearing security in an average of two minutes.
Everything is working smoothly on the day The Australian visits, but it is easy to see how the smallest problem could lead to chaos.
Many of the miners are already gold or platinum frequent-flyers, but not every flight earns points so the airline is encouraging mining companies to take up chip-enabled cards to allow their employees to use the Q Card readers and speed up check-in.
Despite what Gloster describes as a complex dance of towing planes and bussing miners, the port last week managed to record an 87 per cent on-time performance and is aiming for 90 per cent. On time performance is one of the requirements demanded by the mining companies.
"I think our punctuality is pretty strong when you consider the complexity of the operation," Gloster says.
Aircraft parking remains at a premium - the airport is currently building more parking spots - but the departure of the other airlines has already made life easier for Qantas.
Gloster says the airline now has a clearer operational picture and there is less conflict over limited space. Numerous aircraft spend the night on remote parking and are towed down to hard stands to be loaded. Qantas performs about 300 tows a week but having the other airlines move out of T3 means Qantas no longer has to tow across a live runway first thing in the morning.
"Air traffic control gives priority to departing aircraft to keep the flow going, which means we can be waiting 40 minutes to bring aircraft across," Gloster says. "So the fact that we're only moving it along the strip as opposed to across the strip is almost better for us."
The Qantas move into T3 is likely to see premium operations stay where they are, with QantasLink next to them, followed by Network with Jetstar at the other end. This is because the most important connecting traffic remains Qantas-to-Qantas transfers.
"Qantas-to-Jetstar links here are probably much less," Strambi says. "Jetstar tends to come outside the key peaks so Jetstar's easy to accommodate in the precinct and isn't actually a big driver."
That has changed with the opening of T2 on the other side of the airport and the decision to eventually develop the international terminal into a joint domestic-international facility, starting with domestic digs for Virgin.
"Actually what Perth Airport is starting is the domino effect by creating the first bit of space, which is terrific," Strambi says.
"So the creation of T2, as it's now called, the old Terminal WA actually, is the first unlocking piece that gives us the wriggle room to the developments we need to do."
The airline's efforts to cope with constrained space becomes obvious during the changeover days for fly-in, fly out workers.
On a Tuesday morning, the Qantas terminal is alive with mine workers heading off to regional Western Australia to help power the state's economy.
They are queueing at security, grabbing breakfast in the newly expanded Qantas Club or sitting at gate lounges waiting to board aircraft that will take off in quick succession during the peak period. The demands on the Qantas Club at peak times prompted the airline to convert gate lounge space into a 130-seat overflow area.
But it is the sea of red tails and others outside that brings home the impact of the resources boom and the expansion in Perth.
Qantas has 384 regular public transport departures a week from Perth, along with 46 charters, including those operated by charter subsidiary Network. Between them, they serve 16 ports out of the West Australian capital.
Aircraft include 10 dedicated A330s operating to Melbourne and Sydney, four of them based in Perth. Other locally based aircraft include six Boeing 717s, 13 Boeing 737-800s (including one dedicated to a Fortescue Metals Group charter), two Boeing 767-300s, as well as six Boeing 717s and five Fokker 100s.
Qantas has invested heavily in intra-WA services in recent years and now operates about 280 return flights with 76,000 seats to the state's regional areas in addition to its newly bolstered east-west services.
Intra-WA regular public transport traffic, as measured in revenue passenger kilometres, grew 21.5 per cent in the year to August as capacity in available seat kilometres grew 26.4 per cent. That capped a five-year period when annual traffic growth averaged 14.1 per cent while capacity grew by 16.6 per cent annually.
The combination of limited space and growth has seen Qantas compensate by boosting the number of security lines from three to five and introducing more of its "Faster, Smarter Check-In" kiosks and Q Card readers with automatic bag drop facilities to speed up the process.
Every little innovation helps: a double-ended bus that can be driven at either end makes bussing safer and quicker while a new luggage machine called a Rampsnake can deliver bags deeper into an aircraft hold to reduce stress and work for baggage handlers.
Qantas is also trialling an oversize automatic bag drop with a heavy-duty belt can handle luggage such as tool boxes, and it is talking to authorities about allowing passengers to keep their laptops in their cabin baggage as they pass through security.
According to the airline's head of airports in WA, Dave Gloster, the aim is to get passengers through the check-in and security process as quickly as possible with a target of clearing security in an average of two minutes.
Everything is working smoothly on the day The Australian visits, but it is easy to see how the smallest problem could lead to chaos.
Many of the miners are already gold or platinum frequent-flyers, but not every flight earns points so the airline is encouraging mining companies to take up chip-enabled cards to allow their employees to use the Q Card readers and speed up check-in.
Despite what Gloster describes as a complex dance of towing planes and bussing miners, the port last week managed to record an 87 per cent on-time performance and is aiming for 90 per cent. On time performance is one of the requirements demanded by the mining companies.
"I think our punctuality is pretty strong when you consider the complexity of the operation," Gloster says.
Aircraft parking remains at a premium - the airport is currently building more parking spots - but the departure of the other airlines has already made life easier for Qantas.
Gloster says the airline now has a clearer operational picture and there is less conflict over limited space. Numerous aircraft spend the night on remote parking and are towed down to hard stands to be loaded. Qantas performs about 300 tows a week but having the other airlines move out of T3 means Qantas no longer has to tow across a live runway first thing in the morning.
"Air traffic control gives priority to departing aircraft to keep the flow going, which means we can be waiting 40 minutes to bring aircraft across," Gloster says. "So the fact that we're only moving it along the strip as opposed to across the strip is almost better for us."
The Qantas move into T3 is likely to see premium operations stay where they are, with QantasLink next to them, followed by Network with Jetstar at the other end. This is because the most important connecting traffic remains Qantas-to-Qantas transfers.
"Qantas-to-Jetstar links here are probably much less," Strambi says. "Jetstar tends to come outside the key peaks so Jetstar's easy to accommodate in the precinct and isn't actually a big driver."
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
CTA hearing sets sights on switch to Ventra card
A public hearing will be held Monday night about an upcoming fare-payment system that offers new options for CTA and Pace customers, but also contains costly penalties — most notably a $3 cash CTA rail fare — that transit riders can avoid, with a little effort.
Not all of the charges were disclosed when the CTA announced Ventra last September. Despite the lack of initial transparency, transit riders can dodge the new fees. Today's Getting Around column will explain how.
The advice will be particularly important to low-income individuals, many of whom often pay fares using cash and would be among the hardest hit by a $3 rail fare. CTA customers can obtain a Ventra card on a no-cost basis and, if desired, maintain a small balance to avoid paying the $3 rail fare.
About 6 percent of CTA fares are paid with cash, according to the transit agency.
Critics say the new costs will be painful for both low-income and infrequent riders, and some question the decision to turn over fare-collection responsibilities to third parties under the 12-year contract between the CTA and Cubic.
"It is very dangerous to allow a private company to have access to the fare box on each bus and at each 'L' station, which is what CTA is doing,'' said Charles Paidock, secretary of Citizens Taking Action, a group representing transit-dependent individuals. "It doesn't put one bus on the street or a train on the track.''
Under the new system, riders who do not use Ventra cards will be able to pay fares with credit or debit cards, CTA passes or the single-ride tickets. Paying fares using cellphones will be introduced at a later date, officials said.
Buses will continue to accept cash fares, but using cash to purchase a single-ride ticket on trains will become more expensive. Currently, people who pay bus fares using cash already forfeit the opportunity to buy a 25-cent transfer, which is valid for two rides, so these cash-payers must pony up the full fare for each boarding.
Starting this summer when Ventra is launched, CTA rail customers paying with cash will be charged $3 to purchase a single-ride paper ticket at train stations, instead of paying the $2.25 base fare that will remain in effect for all other fare-collection methods. The cash fare on buses will stay at $2.25, officials said.
The $3 charge includes a 50-cent fee to cover the cost of producing the disposable paper ticket containing a computerized chip, and 25 cents for a transfer, regardless of whether the rider uses the transfer.
Cash-payers can avoid the $3 rail fare by obtaining a Ventra card. The card costs $5 initially, but a $5 credit will be applied toward fares if the card is registered within 90 days, officials said.
Reloading the Ventra cards with money will be convenient, officials said, because by late this year or early in 2014 about 2,000 retail locations in the CTA service area will be outfitted for Ventra customers to add value to their cards. Most of the 2,000 locations are within one-third mile of a CTA bus stop. Currently, there are 600 locations, mostly at CTA rail stations, to reload the CTA's Chicago Cards, officials said.
The availability of many locations to add value to the cards across the CTA service area in Chicago and almost 40 suburbs, and about 500 additional locations in Pace's service area, should help transit riders who prefer or need to maintain small card balances and reload the cards often to pay bus and train fares and avoid the new $3 CTA rail cash fare, officials said.
President Obama’s so-called GOP “charm offensive” has received mostly rave reviews as it enters a second week. Now, the question is whether the political thaw will last. Several leading Republicans said Sunday they believe Obama’s overtures are sincere, but that the true test of a relationship reset will be seen in his actions, not his words. Translated: they want clear concessions from Obama in future deficit reduction talks, and curbed anti-GOP rhetoric in stump speeches on the road. The president will make his case this week before the full Republican and Democratic conferences in the House and Senate in separate, private meetings at the Capitol. Then he’s back on the road Friday to talk about energy policy in Argonne, Illinois. Will we see an Obama speech with a different political tone?
Let’s read the tea leaves this morning, shall we? “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ―Rabindranath Tagore. Just a positive quote to start the week? No. It’s a tweet @AshleyJudd sent out last night. Does it mean she’s in? Well maybe not, but those who want to see her get into the race to unseat Mitch McConnell believe she will do it and it’s just a matter of time until she makes it official. Her biggest current obstacle is her living situation. She currently lives in Tennessee and famously said earlier this month that she “winters in Scotland.” Before she gets in the race she needs to establish residency in her home state of Kentucky. That has to be her first move before anything official whether it’s an exploratory committee or something more. Is she house shopping in Kentucky? Then we will know this is real.
Not all of the charges were disclosed when the CTA announced Ventra last September. Despite the lack of initial transparency, transit riders can dodge the new fees. Today's Getting Around column will explain how.
The advice will be particularly important to low-income individuals, many of whom often pay fares using cash and would be among the hardest hit by a $3 rail fare. CTA customers can obtain a Ventra card on a no-cost basis and, if desired, maintain a small balance to avoid paying the $3 rail fare.
About 6 percent of CTA fares are paid with cash, according to the transit agency.
Critics say the new costs will be painful for both low-income and infrequent riders, and some question the decision to turn over fare-collection responsibilities to third parties under the 12-year contract between the CTA and Cubic.
"It is very dangerous to allow a private company to have access to the fare box on each bus and at each 'L' station, which is what CTA is doing,'' said Charles Paidock, secretary of Citizens Taking Action, a group representing transit-dependent individuals. "It doesn't put one bus on the street or a train on the track.''
Under the new system, riders who do not use Ventra cards will be able to pay fares with credit or debit cards, CTA passes or the single-ride tickets. Paying fares using cellphones will be introduced at a later date, officials said.
Buses will continue to accept cash fares, but using cash to purchase a single-ride ticket on trains will become more expensive. Currently, people who pay bus fares using cash already forfeit the opportunity to buy a 25-cent transfer, which is valid for two rides, so these cash-payers must pony up the full fare for each boarding.
Starting this summer when Ventra is launched, CTA rail customers paying with cash will be charged $3 to purchase a single-ride paper ticket at train stations, instead of paying the $2.25 base fare that will remain in effect for all other fare-collection methods. The cash fare on buses will stay at $2.25, officials said.
The $3 charge includes a 50-cent fee to cover the cost of producing the disposable paper ticket containing a computerized chip, and 25 cents for a transfer, regardless of whether the rider uses the transfer.
Cash-payers can avoid the $3 rail fare by obtaining a Ventra card. The card costs $5 initially, but a $5 credit will be applied toward fares if the card is registered within 90 days, officials said.
Reloading the Ventra cards with money will be convenient, officials said, because by late this year or early in 2014 about 2,000 retail locations in the CTA service area will be outfitted for Ventra customers to add value to their cards. Most of the 2,000 locations are within one-third mile of a CTA bus stop. Currently, there are 600 locations, mostly at CTA rail stations, to reload the CTA's Chicago Cards, officials said.
The availability of many locations to add value to the cards across the CTA service area in Chicago and almost 40 suburbs, and about 500 additional locations in Pace's service area, should help transit riders who prefer or need to maintain small card balances and reload the cards often to pay bus and train fares and avoid the new $3 CTA rail cash fare, officials said.
President Obama’s so-called GOP “charm offensive” has received mostly rave reviews as it enters a second week. Now, the question is whether the political thaw will last. Several leading Republicans said Sunday they believe Obama’s overtures are sincere, but that the true test of a relationship reset will be seen in his actions, not his words. Translated: they want clear concessions from Obama in future deficit reduction talks, and curbed anti-GOP rhetoric in stump speeches on the road. The president will make his case this week before the full Republican and Democratic conferences in the House and Senate in separate, private meetings at the Capitol. Then he’s back on the road Friday to talk about energy policy in Argonne, Illinois. Will we see an Obama speech with a different political tone?
Let’s read the tea leaves this morning, shall we? “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ―Rabindranath Tagore. Just a positive quote to start the week? No. It’s a tweet @AshleyJudd sent out last night. Does it mean she’s in? Well maybe not, but those who want to see her get into the race to unseat Mitch McConnell believe she will do it and it’s just a matter of time until she makes it official. Her biggest current obstacle is her living situation. She currently lives in Tennessee and famously said earlier this month that she “winters in Scotland.” Before she gets in the race she needs to establish residency in her home state of Kentucky. That has to be her first move before anything official whether it’s an exploratory committee or something more. Is she house shopping in Kentucky? Then we will know this is real.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Tracking Sensors Invade the Workplace
The data showed that the most productive workers belonged to close-knit teams and spoke frequently with their colleagues. So, to get more employees mingling, the bank scheduled workers for group breaks, rather than solo ones.
Productivity rose by at least 10%, says former Bank of America human-resources executive Michael Arena, who helped conduct its study.
As Big Data becomes a fixture of office life, companies are turning to tracking devices to gather real-time information on how teams of employees work and interact. Sensors, worn on lanyards or placed on office furniture, record how often staffers get up from their desks, consult other teams and hold meetings.
Businesses say the data offer otherwise hard-to-glean insights about how workers do their jobs, and are using the information to make changes large and small, ranging from the timing of coffee breaks to how work groups are composed, to spur collaboration and productivity.
"Surveys measure a point in time—what's happening right now with my emotions. [Sensors] measure actual behavior in an objective way," says Mr. Arena.
But there's a fine line between Big Data and Big Brother, at least in the eyes of some employees, who might shudder at the idea of the boss tracking their every move. Sensor proponents, however, argue that smartphones and corporate ID badges already can transmit their owner's location. In many cases, workers can opt out of participating in the sensor studies.
For four weeks, company employees wore iPhone-size badges, supplied by Boston startup Sociometric Solutions Inc., that collected data on their motions, whereabouts, voice levels and conversational patterns.
The information was merged with email-traffic data, along with the results of weekly surveys in which employees rated how energetic and productive they felt.
Like Bank of America, Cubist discovered a correlation between higher productivity and face-to-face interactions. It found that social activity dropped off significantly during lunch time, as many employees retreated to their desks to check emails, rather than chatting with one another.
In response, the company decided to make its once-dingy cafeteria more inviting, improving the lighting and offering better food, to encourage workers to lunch together, instead of at their desks.
Cubist also scaled back to a lone coffee station and water cooler for the sales and marketing group, forcing employees to huddle and mix. It set a 3 p.m. daily coffee break, both to prop up sagging energy levels and to boost social interactions.
In such studies, Sociometric Solutions and its clients say, workers typically get a report on their group's overall interactions, with no names attached, though individuals get to see their own data.
Ben Waber, chief executive of Sociometric Solutions, which he based on his doctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says a handful of managers have wanted to see the data on an individual employee, but that his clients must sign contracts and consent forms prohibiting them from doing so.
Individual data can be revealing, however: Dr. Waber says he can divine from a worker's patterns of movement whether that employee is likely to leave the company, or score a promotion.
Ben Lin, an analyst at Cubist, says he didn't find the badges creepy once his bosses explained how the data would be used. His own report showed he changed his tone and gestures based on his conversation partner. "Subconsciously, you mirror who you are talking to," he says.
Rather than radical changes, sensor studies often show that simple tweaks can improve operations.
Dr. Waber says his work with one client, a tech company, revealed that the size of a lunch table matters. Workers who ate at 12-person tables were more productive and collaborative than those who dined at tables with four seats. Data collected from sensors showed the larger lunch groups had more social interactions with teams across the company.
About 90% of workers at the 50 large and medium-size organizations that have done sensor studies with Dr. Waber's firm agree to don the badges, which are intended to be worn the entire workday. (Bathroom breaks are optional.) Those who opt out can wear a dummy badge, which appears identical but doesn't record or transmit data, he says.
Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, an employee advocacy group, says current sensing technologies don't seem to violate employment laws. "It's not illegal to track your own employees inside your own building," he says, adding that the data could be helpful in improving firm and worker performance.
But he cautions that employers are likely to want data on individual workers. "Not many service providers are going to refuse to give information to an employer that's paying the bill," says Mr. Maltby. "It would be very surprising if some provider doesn't start giving employers data about individual employees when they ask for it. That's not illegal. But do you really want your employers following around what you are doing? It's a creepy way to work."
Productivity rose by at least 10%, says former Bank of America human-resources executive Michael Arena, who helped conduct its study.
As Big Data becomes a fixture of office life, companies are turning to tracking devices to gather real-time information on how teams of employees work and interact. Sensors, worn on lanyards or placed on office furniture, record how often staffers get up from their desks, consult other teams and hold meetings.
Businesses say the data offer otherwise hard-to-glean insights about how workers do their jobs, and are using the information to make changes large and small, ranging from the timing of coffee breaks to how work groups are composed, to spur collaboration and productivity.
"Surveys measure a point in time—what's happening right now with my emotions. [Sensors] measure actual behavior in an objective way," says Mr. Arena.
But there's a fine line between Big Data and Big Brother, at least in the eyes of some employees, who might shudder at the idea of the boss tracking their every move. Sensor proponents, however, argue that smartphones and corporate ID badges already can transmit their owner's location. In many cases, workers can opt out of participating in the sensor studies.
For four weeks, company employees wore iPhone-size badges, supplied by Boston startup Sociometric Solutions Inc., that collected data on their motions, whereabouts, voice levels and conversational patterns.
The information was merged with email-traffic data, along with the results of weekly surveys in which employees rated how energetic and productive they felt.
Like Bank of America, Cubist discovered a correlation between higher productivity and face-to-face interactions. It found that social activity dropped off significantly during lunch time, as many employees retreated to their desks to check emails, rather than chatting with one another.
In response, the company decided to make its once-dingy cafeteria more inviting, improving the lighting and offering better food, to encourage workers to lunch together, instead of at their desks.
Cubist also scaled back to a lone coffee station and water cooler for the sales and marketing group, forcing employees to huddle and mix. It set a 3 p.m. daily coffee break, both to prop up sagging energy levels and to boost social interactions.
In such studies, Sociometric Solutions and its clients say, workers typically get a report on their group's overall interactions, with no names attached, though individuals get to see their own data.
Ben Waber, chief executive of Sociometric Solutions, which he based on his doctoral research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says a handful of managers have wanted to see the data on an individual employee, but that his clients must sign contracts and consent forms prohibiting them from doing so.
Individual data can be revealing, however: Dr. Waber says he can divine from a worker's patterns of movement whether that employee is likely to leave the company, or score a promotion.
Ben Lin, an analyst at Cubist, says he didn't find the badges creepy once his bosses explained how the data would be used. His own report showed he changed his tone and gestures based on his conversation partner. "Subconsciously, you mirror who you are talking to," he says.
Rather than radical changes, sensor studies often show that simple tweaks can improve operations.
Dr. Waber says his work with one client, a tech company, revealed that the size of a lunch table matters. Workers who ate at 12-person tables were more productive and collaborative than those who dined at tables with four seats. Data collected from sensors showed the larger lunch groups had more social interactions with teams across the company.
About 90% of workers at the 50 large and medium-size organizations that have done sensor studies with Dr. Waber's firm agree to don the badges, which are intended to be worn the entire workday. (Bathroom breaks are optional.) Those who opt out can wear a dummy badge, which appears identical but doesn't record or transmit data, he says.
Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, an employee advocacy group, says current sensing technologies don't seem to violate employment laws. "It's not illegal to track your own employees inside your own building," he says, adding that the data could be helpful in improving firm and worker performance.
But he cautions that employers are likely to want data on individual workers. "Not many service providers are going to refuse to give information to an employer that's paying the bill," says Mr. Maltby. "It would be very surprising if some provider doesn't start giving employers data about individual employees when they ask for it. That's not illegal. But do you really want your employers following around what you are doing? It's a creepy way to work."
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
A long way to go
All of us boast of India being the world’s largest democracy. Does democracy truly describe what we are? Our regular elections are supervised effectively. Booth capturing, bogus voters and violence are less frequent.
Money remains a strong influence. It has gone far beyond buying votes. A new feature is ‘paid news.’
Guha Thakurtha’s report for the Press Council shows that the practice is growing in both print and television. It varies (as do the charges) from publishing the name and picture, to laudatory references of the candidate, objectionable parts of the opponent’s life and career, and his party, with sometimes made-up derogatory references to them. The Election Commission has not been able to stop this.
We know that all elections (whether students’ unions, corporations, panchayats, legislatures or Parliament, are expensive to fight. Winners have to recoup their expenses, while corruption of government functionaries is wide spread at all levels. Illegal earnings from sale or lease of natural resources, land, infrastructure contracts, and from leakages in large social welfare programmes like the public distribution system or the national rural employment guarantee scheme, have been confirmed by surveys and are widely known. Few are independently investigated, speedily prosecuted, and salutary punishments imposed.
Use of social media could reduce the need for advertising and for ‘paid news.’ Political parties have yet to learn the use of social media for mobilising funds, volunteers and targeting ideas. A significant number of candidates and winners in elections have been jailed on criminal charges or have criminal charges pending against them. They are not barred from standing for elections, getting elected or participating in framing legislation.
The UPA government introduced some imaginative measures to transform our society. The Right to Information Act has brought growing transparency to public policy. The national rural employment guarantee scheme has experienced over 50 per cent theft of funds. Despite these vast leakages it has improved livelihoods for millions of families.
The Right to Education Act has significantly increased the number of children in schools. Many other schemes have in varying degrees helped the poor with housing, health services, nutrition programmes, unemployment benefits, etc. Panchayat raj has brought women into public life and improved matters to some extent in villages. The road construction programmes (first introduced by Vajpayee on a national scale) have made a difference to connectivity and provided work for many. They all suffer from large thefts and poor targeting of beneficiaries.
Lives of the deprived, from among scheduled castes and tribes, and Muslims have improved only marginally. Women continue to be exploited in every way --killed as fetuses, at birth, for dowry, sexually harassed at home at any age, and at work, with rape a common occurrence among all classes and parts of India. Government has done little to make women and other marginalised sections of society feel safer, more equal, and better off. After initial success in reforming the economy and achieving high growth, the Congress has got bogged down in populism. Growth has faltered badly. Inequalities have risen sharply.
The executive has become suborned by the immense financial powers and low levels of accountability of ministers and government officials. Without true administrative reform, clear definitions of responsibilities, individual accountability, impartial appointments, stopping of transfers as punishments, transparency in financial decision-making and decisions involving large sums of money, speedy investigations and severe penalties for proven misuse of office, people in the executive are far above other people in prosperity and power.
The judiciary is understaffed, underpaid, with little infrastructure support, and some corruption. An important feature of our democracy is the obedience of the executive to judicial orders. Prime ministers have stepped down, top politicians have been charged and arrested. In most critical matters our judiciary has been wise and balanced.
They have been able to moderate or overrule the ideologies of lower courts. But the executive delays investigations, deliberately botches them, and so prevents punishments. Justice is inordinately delayed by too many adjournments, for little good reason. Some judges display a paternalistic, feudal, indeed casteist mindset. Courts do little to follow up on execution of their decisions. Lawyers also behave many times as being above the law.
The Verma committee points to the exemption of armed forces and other police authorities from trial by civil authorities for crimes unrelated to their official activities, like rape and murder of innocents. The same applies to the police. Police and armed forces are not answerable even when they commit unlawful acts --another special interest group in our democracy.
State governments show even less respect for the law and public opinion. The chief minister of West Bengal acts decisively against cartoonists who lampoon her. Gujarat encourages protesters who forced withdrawal of Husain’s paintings of nude Indian goddesses, though they do not protest against similar depictions at Konarak, Khajuraho and many other places.
In Chaatisgarh, the state armed civilians to fight insurgent Maoists, resulting in mass killings. In Haryana the government permits khap panchayats to inflict punishments on innocent lovers. In Karnataka the government allows loutish fanatics to intervene when they see boys and girls together. True democracy demands that this is not permissible.
Money remains a strong influence. It has gone far beyond buying votes. A new feature is ‘paid news.’
Guha Thakurtha’s report for the Press Council shows that the practice is growing in both print and television. It varies (as do the charges) from publishing the name and picture, to laudatory references of the candidate, objectionable parts of the opponent’s life and career, and his party, with sometimes made-up derogatory references to them. The Election Commission has not been able to stop this.
We know that all elections (whether students’ unions, corporations, panchayats, legislatures or Parliament, are expensive to fight. Winners have to recoup their expenses, while corruption of government functionaries is wide spread at all levels. Illegal earnings from sale or lease of natural resources, land, infrastructure contracts, and from leakages in large social welfare programmes like the public distribution system or the national rural employment guarantee scheme, have been confirmed by surveys and are widely known. Few are independently investigated, speedily prosecuted, and salutary punishments imposed.
Use of social media could reduce the need for advertising and for ‘paid news.’ Political parties have yet to learn the use of social media for mobilising funds, volunteers and targeting ideas. A significant number of candidates and winners in elections have been jailed on criminal charges or have criminal charges pending against them. They are not barred from standing for elections, getting elected or participating in framing legislation.
The UPA government introduced some imaginative measures to transform our society. The Right to Information Act has brought growing transparency to public policy. The national rural employment guarantee scheme has experienced over 50 per cent theft of funds. Despite these vast leakages it has improved livelihoods for millions of families.
The Right to Education Act has significantly increased the number of children in schools. Many other schemes have in varying degrees helped the poor with housing, health services, nutrition programmes, unemployment benefits, etc. Panchayat raj has brought women into public life and improved matters to some extent in villages. The road construction programmes (first introduced by Vajpayee on a national scale) have made a difference to connectivity and provided work for many. They all suffer from large thefts and poor targeting of beneficiaries.
Lives of the deprived, from among scheduled castes and tribes, and Muslims have improved only marginally. Women continue to be exploited in every way --killed as fetuses, at birth, for dowry, sexually harassed at home at any age, and at work, with rape a common occurrence among all classes and parts of India. Government has done little to make women and other marginalised sections of society feel safer, more equal, and better off. After initial success in reforming the economy and achieving high growth, the Congress has got bogged down in populism. Growth has faltered badly. Inequalities have risen sharply.
The executive has become suborned by the immense financial powers and low levels of accountability of ministers and government officials. Without true administrative reform, clear definitions of responsibilities, individual accountability, impartial appointments, stopping of transfers as punishments, transparency in financial decision-making and decisions involving large sums of money, speedy investigations and severe penalties for proven misuse of office, people in the executive are far above other people in prosperity and power.
The judiciary is understaffed, underpaid, with little infrastructure support, and some corruption. An important feature of our democracy is the obedience of the executive to judicial orders. Prime ministers have stepped down, top politicians have been charged and arrested. In most critical matters our judiciary has been wise and balanced.
They have been able to moderate or overrule the ideologies of lower courts. But the executive delays investigations, deliberately botches them, and so prevents punishments. Justice is inordinately delayed by too many adjournments, for little good reason. Some judges display a paternalistic, feudal, indeed casteist mindset. Courts do little to follow up on execution of their decisions. Lawyers also behave many times as being above the law.
The Verma committee points to the exemption of armed forces and other police authorities from trial by civil authorities for crimes unrelated to their official activities, like rape and murder of innocents. The same applies to the police. Police and armed forces are not answerable even when they commit unlawful acts --another special interest group in our democracy.
State governments show even less respect for the law and public opinion. The chief minister of West Bengal acts decisively against cartoonists who lampoon her. Gujarat encourages protesters who forced withdrawal of Husain’s paintings of nude Indian goddesses, though they do not protest against similar depictions at Konarak, Khajuraho and many other places.
In Chaatisgarh, the state armed civilians to fight insurgent Maoists, resulting in mass killings. In Haryana the government permits khap panchayats to inflict punishments on innocent lovers. In Karnataka the government allows loutish fanatics to intervene when they see boys and girls together. True democracy demands that this is not permissible.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
You don't know how good you've got it
After reading an excerpt "Sum it Up," the memoirs of legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach, Pat Summit -- 1,098 Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective -- co-authored by Sally Jenkins, the Old Coach was moved. For anyone who follows college basketball, women's sports, or just enjoys reading Horatio Alger stories (rags to riches, for you young folks), the Summit book will give you a greater insight into the historic struggle for gender equity in athletics.
What makes the story of Pat Summit's life so compelling is that she came from a rural farm background in Clarksburg, Tenn., was an All-American player at the University of Tennessee-Martin, was captain of the first United States women's basketball team when that sport was added in the 1976 Olympics, and, at the age of 22, became the head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers, a position that she held for 38 years. During that span, her Lady Vols won eight NCAA championships, never had a losing record, and graduated every player. She is the winningest college basketball coach, male or female, in history. In 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to be added to her being named as the Naismith Basketball Coach of the Century in 2000. She was also named by The Sporting News as No. 11 in their 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time.
Sadly, at age 60, Summit developed early onset Alzheimer's disease, which forced her to retire after the 2011-12 season. Her legacy continues to grow, however, as 19 of her former players or coaching assistants have gone on to coach at the college level.
Reading about Summit's days as a high school and college player brought back some of my own memories of what sports were like in the 1960s and 70s. I can relate to playing basketball in matchbox gyms when a driving layup sometimes ended with a crash into the wall and too much arch on a jump shot could damage the ceiling tiles. Our practice football field and stadium at Annapolis High was a reclaimed landfill site that still had bits of glass in the dirt. Today's players enjoy the luxury of artificial turf and state-of-the-art facilities.
Although, unlike Summit's UT-Martin basketball team, none of the Shepherd College football teams that I played for had to sleep on the gym floor when we visited for an away game, I remember that our travel arrangements were far from first class. Twice we flew to far-off southern West Virginia for games against West Virginia Tech and Concord College on an Appalachian Airlines salvaged DC-1. We landed on a sawed-off mountain top that left no margin for error, unloaded our gear, and then had a bumpy bus ride to arrive at our destination just 15 minutes before game time. Just enough time to get dressed and go out on the field to get thumped 67-18, dress, and hop on the plane for the return traumatic flight.
Once, when we traveled by bus to Cleveland for a game, we pulled off onto the shoulder of the interstate and got off the bus to stretch our legs and enjoy the peanut butter and jelly boxed lunches provided by our cafeteria dieticians. Apparently, they hadn't done much research on pre-game meals. It was good that we stopped so that our good luck charm manager/mascot, who hadn't been included in our travel list, was retrieved from the bus's luggage compartment where he had him stowed away. Luckily, he wasn't asphyxiated by the fumes.
On another occasion, our team bus had to make the ascent over one of Pennsylvania's steep mountains, only to have the engine die a quarter mile from the top. Everyone exited the bus, grabbed all of our equipment, and walked to the top. The bus, thousands of pounds lighter, was able to sputter and inch its way to join us, and we loaded up and were on our way.
The point of this "Coach's Corner" column is that maybe today's athletes are spoiled by all the glamour and glitz of modern-day elite sports programs, where prestigious high school teams fly cross-country to play in games that are telecast on ESPN. Every signing of a high school recruit who has chosen some lucky university has his/her name appear on a rolling line on all the TV screens, trumpeting his/her fame and fortune. College players have tutors (and nowadays lawyers) provided to make sure that they can stay eligible or out of jail. Pro players have private eyes assigned by the club owner to make sure that the player can get to the team meeting on time or doesn't get shot in a nightclub the night before a game.
The Old Coach likes to think that what happened in Pat Summit's early days was closer to the way athletics were meant to be. You endured personal sacrifice and hardship. You appreciated the privilege of being able to play a game, not for fame and fortune, but for love of the game. You coached, not for the recognition and honors you might receive along the way, but because you could affect young lives in a positive way.
Slicing, hooking, even whiffing on the ball and picking up large chunks of turf can lead a golfer to fits, tantrums and hours spent correcting mechanics at the driving range. Hundreds, even thousands of dollars can be spent on some of golf’s finer points.
So, it’s no surprise that a niche industry has cropped up successfully alongside the sport.
An array of tools, manuals and other aids have been dedicated to the tempo of a swing, the short game, alignment and nearly anything else that might help players shave strokes off their game.
Ken Zuzik of Canfield and his son Matt, a graduate of Ohio State University who now works as a pharmacist in Florida, think they might have a place in that niche industry with a product that could impact golfers everywhere.
“I was taking lessons with a pro and, he told me to hit balls out to my target,” Zuzik, who has played the game since he was about 12, recently recalled.
Zuzik’s instructor asked him where he thought he was aiming. Zuzik naturally replied at the hole. But it turned out he was far left of his target. In this case, Zuzik’s swing was not at fault for landing the ball to the left of the green, but rather it was his alignment.
“He straightened me all out, and it felt really awkward,” Zuzik said. “I went home that night and I was looking at my kitchen floor, thinking if I lined up with these square tiles, I’d be all set — that’s how it all got started.”
It was about 31/2 years ago when Zuzik began tinkering around with an assortment of pipes, wood and dowels to mimic those squares on the kitchen floor, envisioning an alignment tool that might translate to a real course where golfers could easily pack it away in their bags as another convenient tool to help their game.
He began communicating with his son about his ideas. They soon began shipping various objects back and forth to hammer out a solid concept.
What began as a do-it-yourself project in the hands of Zuzik, a builder and developer by day, was slowly becoming a viable commercial product, as Zuzik and his son put their minds and passion into what they once called the “Golf Square.”
All at once though, the name was no longer an option. It already was trademarked under a very different product.
In January, when Zuzik and his son decided to display their square at the 2013 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., one of the largest events in the industry that featured more than 1,000 vendors.
The product won Most Innovative Concept, sending a wave of potential investors, distributors, manufacturers and merchandisers to Zuzik’s door.
“That’s when we decided this was for real,” Zuzik said. “We must have talked to 200 people at the expo. It’s one of the largest trade shows in the world. We’ve been approached by a guy from Ireland who lives in China and another guy from Germany. They want to be our distributors.”
Even if the square became an overnight success, designing, manufacturing and getting a product to market is no easy task.
Zuzik said the tool is about 80 percent complete, and he already has traveled to Canada to meet with a firm about mass-producing it for stores and pro shops.
Essentially, the alignment square is made of plastic. It measures 1 inch square, by 40 inches long. It includes four rods. The bottom one adjusts to accommodate a shorter stance for irons and a longer stance for drivers. The square is retractable as well so it can fit in a golfer’s bag.
The square quantifies a player’s alignment, which means a number is set to a golfer’s stance. Three measurements are visible on the rods to track how far away the player stands from the ball, the width of the player’s stance and where the ball is placed. The square is pointed at the target and the golfer is aligned.
“The most-common golf aids in the world are alignment rods,” Zuzik said. “If you go to a pro to get instruction, they’ll line you up with these alignment rods. Instead of two rods, we’ve made it into one apparatus and given you more features, rather than just fixing your aim.”
What makes the story of Pat Summit's life so compelling is that she came from a rural farm background in Clarksburg, Tenn., was an All-American player at the University of Tennessee-Martin, was captain of the first United States women's basketball team when that sport was added in the 1976 Olympics, and, at the age of 22, became the head coach of the University of Tennessee Volunteers, a position that she held for 38 years. During that span, her Lady Vols won eight NCAA championships, never had a losing record, and graduated every player. She is the winningest college basketball coach, male or female, in history. In 2012, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to be added to her being named as the Naismith Basketball Coach of the Century in 2000. She was also named by The Sporting News as No. 11 in their 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time.
Sadly, at age 60, Summit developed early onset Alzheimer's disease, which forced her to retire after the 2011-12 season. Her legacy continues to grow, however, as 19 of her former players or coaching assistants have gone on to coach at the college level.
Reading about Summit's days as a high school and college player brought back some of my own memories of what sports were like in the 1960s and 70s. I can relate to playing basketball in matchbox gyms when a driving layup sometimes ended with a crash into the wall and too much arch on a jump shot could damage the ceiling tiles. Our practice football field and stadium at Annapolis High was a reclaimed landfill site that still had bits of glass in the dirt. Today's players enjoy the luxury of artificial turf and state-of-the-art facilities.
Although, unlike Summit's UT-Martin basketball team, none of the Shepherd College football teams that I played for had to sleep on the gym floor when we visited for an away game, I remember that our travel arrangements were far from first class. Twice we flew to far-off southern West Virginia for games against West Virginia Tech and Concord College on an Appalachian Airlines salvaged DC-1. We landed on a sawed-off mountain top that left no margin for error, unloaded our gear, and then had a bumpy bus ride to arrive at our destination just 15 minutes before game time. Just enough time to get dressed and go out on the field to get thumped 67-18, dress, and hop on the plane for the return traumatic flight.
Once, when we traveled by bus to Cleveland for a game, we pulled off onto the shoulder of the interstate and got off the bus to stretch our legs and enjoy the peanut butter and jelly boxed lunches provided by our cafeteria dieticians. Apparently, they hadn't done much research on pre-game meals. It was good that we stopped so that our good luck charm manager/mascot, who hadn't been included in our travel list, was retrieved from the bus's luggage compartment where he had him stowed away. Luckily, he wasn't asphyxiated by the fumes.
On another occasion, our team bus had to make the ascent over one of Pennsylvania's steep mountains, only to have the engine die a quarter mile from the top. Everyone exited the bus, grabbed all of our equipment, and walked to the top. The bus, thousands of pounds lighter, was able to sputter and inch its way to join us, and we loaded up and were on our way.
The point of this "Coach's Corner" column is that maybe today's athletes are spoiled by all the glamour and glitz of modern-day elite sports programs, where prestigious high school teams fly cross-country to play in games that are telecast on ESPN. Every signing of a high school recruit who has chosen some lucky university has his/her name appear on a rolling line on all the TV screens, trumpeting his/her fame and fortune. College players have tutors (and nowadays lawyers) provided to make sure that they can stay eligible or out of jail. Pro players have private eyes assigned by the club owner to make sure that the player can get to the team meeting on time or doesn't get shot in a nightclub the night before a game.
The Old Coach likes to think that what happened in Pat Summit's early days was closer to the way athletics were meant to be. You endured personal sacrifice and hardship. You appreciated the privilege of being able to play a game, not for fame and fortune, but for love of the game. You coached, not for the recognition and honors you might receive along the way, but because you could affect young lives in a positive way.
Slicing, hooking, even whiffing on the ball and picking up large chunks of turf can lead a golfer to fits, tantrums and hours spent correcting mechanics at the driving range. Hundreds, even thousands of dollars can be spent on some of golf’s finer points.
So, it’s no surprise that a niche industry has cropped up successfully alongside the sport.
An array of tools, manuals and other aids have been dedicated to the tempo of a swing, the short game, alignment and nearly anything else that might help players shave strokes off their game.
Ken Zuzik of Canfield and his son Matt, a graduate of Ohio State University who now works as a pharmacist in Florida, think they might have a place in that niche industry with a product that could impact golfers everywhere.
“I was taking lessons with a pro and, he told me to hit balls out to my target,” Zuzik, who has played the game since he was about 12, recently recalled.
Zuzik’s instructor asked him where he thought he was aiming. Zuzik naturally replied at the hole. But it turned out he was far left of his target. In this case, Zuzik’s swing was not at fault for landing the ball to the left of the green, but rather it was his alignment.
“He straightened me all out, and it felt really awkward,” Zuzik said. “I went home that night and I was looking at my kitchen floor, thinking if I lined up with these square tiles, I’d be all set — that’s how it all got started.”
It was about 31/2 years ago when Zuzik began tinkering around with an assortment of pipes, wood and dowels to mimic those squares on the kitchen floor, envisioning an alignment tool that might translate to a real course where golfers could easily pack it away in their bags as another convenient tool to help their game.
He began communicating with his son about his ideas. They soon began shipping various objects back and forth to hammer out a solid concept.
What began as a do-it-yourself project in the hands of Zuzik, a builder and developer by day, was slowly becoming a viable commercial product, as Zuzik and his son put their minds and passion into what they once called the “Golf Square.”
All at once though, the name was no longer an option. It already was trademarked under a very different product.
In January, when Zuzik and his son decided to display their square at the 2013 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., one of the largest events in the industry that featured more than 1,000 vendors.
The product won Most Innovative Concept, sending a wave of potential investors, distributors, manufacturers and merchandisers to Zuzik’s door.
“That’s when we decided this was for real,” Zuzik said. “We must have talked to 200 people at the expo. It’s one of the largest trade shows in the world. We’ve been approached by a guy from Ireland who lives in China and another guy from Germany. They want to be our distributors.”
Even if the square became an overnight success, designing, manufacturing and getting a product to market is no easy task.
Zuzik said the tool is about 80 percent complete, and he already has traveled to Canada to meet with a firm about mass-producing it for stores and pro shops.
Essentially, the alignment square is made of plastic. It measures 1 inch square, by 40 inches long. It includes four rods. The bottom one adjusts to accommodate a shorter stance for irons and a longer stance for drivers. The square is retractable as well so it can fit in a golfer’s bag.
The square quantifies a player’s alignment, which means a number is set to a golfer’s stance. Three measurements are visible on the rods to track how far away the player stands from the ball, the width of the player’s stance and where the ball is placed. The square is pointed at the target and the golfer is aligned.
“The most-common golf aids in the world are alignment rods,” Zuzik said. “If you go to a pro to get instruction, they’ll line you up with these alignment rods. Instead of two rods, we’ve made it into one apparatus and given you more features, rather than just fixing your aim.”
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