exing questions continue to swirl around the fate of the largest forest restoration project in history, but news of the reopening of a two shuttered power plants in Snowflake have boosted the hopes of advocates.
Supporters of forest restoration hailed the announcement this week that a company controlled by Arizona State Sen. Bob Worsley will reopen the 24-megawatt Snowflake Power Plant, which will provide a market for small trees and restore about 100 jobs to the hard-pressed rural White Mountains community.
Worsley said he would also reopen an adjacent 80-megawatt coal-fired plant, after converting it to natural gas or installing pollution control equipment.
However, an adjacent, shuttered recycled paper mill will be dismantled by its Canadian owners.
The opening of the 24-megawatt power plant will provide a local market for the millions of tons of small-diameter trees that must be harvested to restore Northern Arizona’s sapling-choked forests.
“This is very good news,” said Cathie Schmidlin, a Forest Service spokesperson.
spokesperson. “There will be material going to this plant” from the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI).
Worsley said he has 10-year agreements with Arizona Public Service and the Salt River Project to buy power generated by burning wood in the Snowflake plant. Not only will the harvest of those pine thickets provide energy, but the thinning will remove enough trees to increase runoff — restoring streams and ultimately putting more water in SRP’s reservoirs along the Salt and Verde rivers.
Worsley said local investors put up $12 million to restart the two energy-producing plants and buy 7,000 acres nearby to serve as a landfill for the ash produced. The move should immediately restore 35 jobs in the wood-burning power plant and create another 65 jobs for crews to thin the surrounding forest.
Previously, the struggling White Mountain Stewardship Project provided wood to the operation. That project relied on a Forest Service subsidy of about $800 per acre and federal budget constraints sharply limited the amount of forest thinned. However, buffer zones created by that thinning project essentially saved Alpine and Springerville from the Wallow Fire. The thinned areas forced a racing crown fire to drop to the ground, where fire crews stopped it.
However, reopening at least one of the Snowflake facilities still doesn’t solve the problems facing the massive 4FRI project, tangled in a dispute about whether the Forest Service picked the wrong contractor.
The U.S. Forest Service continues to contemplate a request to transfer the contract to thin 300,000 acres from Pioneer Forest Products to a still-unnamed other company. Ultimately, the project will encompass some 2 million acres on the Tonto, Coconino, Kaibab and Apache-Sitgreaves Forests.
Gila County Supervisor Tommie Martin said a long delay on a contract transfer that winds up with another flawed business plan puts the future of the county at risk.
She noted that Northern Gila County generates 65 to 75 percent of the economic activity in the county, but remains “100 percent vulnerable to wildfire. We’re talking about people’s homes,wholesale fashion shoes which are their nest eggs. Not only will it bankrupt the county were it to burn, but it will bankrupt a whole lot of people at the same time. This is not some esoteric argument — the value of our homes is at stake. Even if your house doesn’t burn — and the forest burns around it — you’ve lost major assessed value.”
Critics initially greeted the news of a contract transfer with optimism, but for some that hope waned as details emerged.
Martin played a key role in developing the 4FRI consensus. She said she feared the new contractor will stick with Pioneer’s controversial plan based on using small trees and brush to make finger-jointed furniture and either diesel or jet fuel. She cited a recent presentation to the 4FRI stakeholders by one of Pioneer’s partners — a European firm called Concord Blue. The company claims it can make $2-a-gallon jet fuel from wood chips, which Martin characterized as “horsefeathers.”
Speaking for the Forest Service’s regional contracting office, Schmidlin said federal contracting rules require the Forest Service to negotiate for the contract transfer privately and preclude release of Pioneer’s business plan — or the identity of the company Pioneer wants to transfer the contract to.
“This is business and these are contracts,” she said. “What we do is guided by federal acquisition regulations and I don’t believe that regulation allows for public comments. We must make the decision in terms of what is in the best interests of the government. I recognize there’s a lot of interest in this and there are a lot of people interested in seeing this moving forward so we can see these forests thinned.”
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more
information.
2013年8月4日星期日
2013年8月1日星期四
RootMetrics has no network bias
RootMetrics. AT&T noted that RootMetrics awarded it best overall
call, text and data performance in several markets when it claimed the
title of “nation’s most reliable” network in a press release that drew
response from Verizon. “Reliable” looks good on a network even if it can
leave consumers scratching their heads.
But as RootMetrics CEO Bill Moore pointed out, the rigorous tests his company runs on the nation’s wireless networks are first and foremost in the public interest.
“We’re out to represent the consumer. It’s all about consumer advocacy,” Moore said. “Everything we look at is from that consumer perspective.”
That means that all the data RootMetrics generates from its testing is provided for free to consumers. And it’s a lot of data, coming in the form of reports (for each market and in summation) and coverage maps. It’s all available online or via free mobile applications for iOS and Android.
RootMetrics just completed the first half of its year, covering 125 of the top markets in the U.S., a geographic segment home to 177 million wireless consumers. RootMetrics takes an off-the-shelf Android device—whichever benchmarks as the best for each network, that in most cases was a Samsung Galaxy device—and tests the voice, text and data service of each network in all conceivable locations, times and conditions.
“When we go out and do our direct testing, we do it on a level playing field for all the carriers,” Moore said.
RootMetrics time-syncs the tests as well to make sure the four big carriers are all being tested simultaneously. Running the same tests in the same place at the same time on the same device on all four carriers is the big distinction that sest RootMetrics apart from other network testers, Moore said. He added that running the call, text and data test on the same device is important for RootMetrics because that’s exactly how consumers use their devices.
When the testing is finished, the reports are made and the maps are updated and RootMetrics begins the next six-month cycle of testing, hitting the same 125 markets again. But first, RootMetrics hands out awards for call, text, data and best overall in each market. Not too surprisingly, AT&T and Verizon trounced Sprint and T-Mobile in RootMetrics newest reports. Still, Moore is careful to reiterate that RootMetrics has no network bias.
“All of our methodology is transparent in our reports. We are not only a consumer advocate, if you will, we are fiercely independent,” Moore said. “No one tells us how to do our methodology. We get it validated and we have PhD statisticians on staff on ensure we do this with high statistical integrity. And we’re very transparent about what we do.”
Moore added that RootMetrics is much more comprehensive than the “woefully inadequate” tests performed by its competitors. He was equally skeptical about the lofty claims of reliability some carriers throw around.
“There’s a lot of claims out there right now about what reliability is,” Moore said. “And we think there’s a small amount of definition about what [reliability] means or no definition at all.”
Moore said RootMetrics aims to shore up the ambiguity by soon publishing a set of standards defining network reliability. RootMetrics’ definition of reliability will be based on its own findings as well as consumer input.
“We’re going to make very clear what we think is not very clear as a standard in a consumer’s mind,” Moore said.
their first new flagship product since partnering with Google last year. Moto X will be assembled in America at a new plant in Texas and will try to muscle into a hyper-competitive mobile market dominated by Apple and Samsung. One of the key selling points for the Moto X is customization. Buyers can select from more than 2000 combinations of exterior case colors, wholesale fashion shoes,wood covers, even special wallpaper and inscriptions. Motorola also partnered with Sol Republic to create a line of Moto X accessories like headphones, speakers, cases and docks. The Moto X runs on Android and features technology like enhanced touchless voice controls, active displays, and a quick camera capture mode triggered by a flick of the wrist. The starting price of the Moto X is $199 with a two year contract and will be available in the U.S. starting in late August or early September.
A $60 million research ship funded by a Google executive is setting sail from San Francisco to study a so-called "dead zone" in the Pacific Ocean and other mysteries of the sea. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the 272-foot vessel called Falkor was scheduled to leave port Thursday. The ship carries an unmanned submarine that will travel deep into the ocean off Vancouver Island to study an area where all sea life dies each year from a periodic lack of oxygen. And scientists working aboard the Falkor are treated to amenities not found on the usual research ship: a sauna and down-filled bunks among them. The Falkor is funded by the Schmidt Ocean Science Institute, which was co-founded by Google executive Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy.
Netflix is introducing a long-awaited feature that will make it easier for the Internet video service to track and analyze the viewing habits of people sharing the same $8-per-month account. The tool coming out Thursday can splinter a single Netflix account into up to five different profiles at no additional charge. The Los Gatos, Calif., company is hoping its 37.6 million worldwide subscribers will use the profiles feature because it will help Netflix's recommendation system gain a better understanding of the different tastes of viewers using the same account. The feature initially will only be available on Netflix Inc.'s own website and several other viewing outlets, including the iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Apple TV and some smart TV models.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
But as RootMetrics CEO Bill Moore pointed out, the rigorous tests his company runs on the nation’s wireless networks are first and foremost in the public interest.
“We’re out to represent the consumer. It’s all about consumer advocacy,” Moore said. “Everything we look at is from that consumer perspective.”
That means that all the data RootMetrics generates from its testing is provided for free to consumers. And it’s a lot of data, coming in the form of reports (for each market and in summation) and coverage maps. It’s all available online or via free mobile applications for iOS and Android.
RootMetrics just completed the first half of its year, covering 125 of the top markets in the U.S., a geographic segment home to 177 million wireless consumers. RootMetrics takes an off-the-shelf Android device—whichever benchmarks as the best for each network, that in most cases was a Samsung Galaxy device—and tests the voice, text and data service of each network in all conceivable locations, times and conditions.
“When we go out and do our direct testing, we do it on a level playing field for all the carriers,” Moore said.
RootMetrics time-syncs the tests as well to make sure the four big carriers are all being tested simultaneously. Running the same tests in the same place at the same time on the same device on all four carriers is the big distinction that sest RootMetrics apart from other network testers, Moore said. He added that running the call, text and data test on the same device is important for RootMetrics because that’s exactly how consumers use their devices.
When the testing is finished, the reports are made and the maps are updated and RootMetrics begins the next six-month cycle of testing, hitting the same 125 markets again. But first, RootMetrics hands out awards for call, text, data and best overall in each market. Not too surprisingly, AT&T and Verizon trounced Sprint and T-Mobile in RootMetrics newest reports. Still, Moore is careful to reiterate that RootMetrics has no network bias.
“All of our methodology is transparent in our reports. We are not only a consumer advocate, if you will, we are fiercely independent,” Moore said. “No one tells us how to do our methodology. We get it validated and we have PhD statisticians on staff on ensure we do this with high statistical integrity. And we’re very transparent about what we do.”
Moore added that RootMetrics is much more comprehensive than the “woefully inadequate” tests performed by its competitors. He was equally skeptical about the lofty claims of reliability some carriers throw around.
“There’s a lot of claims out there right now about what reliability is,” Moore said. “And we think there’s a small amount of definition about what [reliability] means or no definition at all.”
Moore said RootMetrics aims to shore up the ambiguity by soon publishing a set of standards defining network reliability. RootMetrics’ definition of reliability will be based on its own findings as well as consumer input.
“We’re going to make very clear what we think is not very clear as a standard in a consumer’s mind,” Moore said.
their first new flagship product since partnering with Google last year. Moto X will be assembled in America at a new plant in Texas and will try to muscle into a hyper-competitive mobile market dominated by Apple and Samsung. One of the key selling points for the Moto X is customization. Buyers can select from more than 2000 combinations of exterior case colors, wholesale fashion shoes,wood covers, even special wallpaper and inscriptions. Motorola also partnered with Sol Republic to create a line of Moto X accessories like headphones, speakers, cases and docks. The Moto X runs on Android and features technology like enhanced touchless voice controls, active displays, and a quick camera capture mode triggered by a flick of the wrist. The starting price of the Moto X is $199 with a two year contract and will be available in the U.S. starting in late August or early September.
A $60 million research ship funded by a Google executive is setting sail from San Francisco to study a so-called "dead zone" in the Pacific Ocean and other mysteries of the sea. The San Francisco Chronicle reports the 272-foot vessel called Falkor was scheduled to leave port Thursday. The ship carries an unmanned submarine that will travel deep into the ocean off Vancouver Island to study an area where all sea life dies each year from a periodic lack of oxygen. And scientists working aboard the Falkor are treated to amenities not found on the usual research ship: a sauna and down-filled bunks among them. The Falkor is funded by the Schmidt Ocean Science Institute, which was co-founded by Google executive Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy.
Netflix is introducing a long-awaited feature that will make it easier for the Internet video service to track and analyze the viewing habits of people sharing the same $8-per-month account. The tool coming out Thursday can splinter a single Netflix account into up to five different profiles at no additional charge. The Los Gatos, Calif., company is hoping its 37.6 million worldwide subscribers will use the profiles feature because it will help Netflix's recommendation system gain a better understanding of the different tastes of viewers using the same account. The feature initially will only be available on Netflix Inc.'s own website and several other viewing outlets, including the iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Apple TV and some smart TV models.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
2013年7月30日星期二
The rise of mid-tier smartphones in Canada
For years, Canadian consumers have been able to buy high-end smartphones at highly subsidized prices. Carriers have been happy to slash hundreds of dollars off the price of a new iPhone from Apple Inc. or Galaxy from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., as long as the customer agreed to a long-term contract, which allowed the carrier to make more than the amount of the subsidy in fees. If a customer wants out of the contract, a hefty penalty is charged.
But in June, the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission issued a ruling that lets customers opt out of their contracts after two years without any penalty.wholesale fashion shoes The new rules go into effect in December.
As a result, carriers have less incentive to offer high-end phones at significant discounts – and evidence suggests many Canadians are not willing to pay anything close to the full price for such phones, which can often cost more than $700.
“We see it in other markets too, but in Canada we’re much more price sensitive,” Kaan Yigit, head of Solutions Research Group, said. “People are upgrading or getting second or family units. But people don’t necessarily want to pay significant upfront costs.”
Virtually all the major carriers have indicated the CRTC ruling will have an impact on phone subsidies. In some cases, carriers may choose to hike the up-front cost of buying a high-end phone. Others have chosen to keep the up-front subsidies, but increase the monthly costs.
“We have been offering customers mid-tier devices on two-year contracts for quite some time,” said Patricia Trott of Rogers. “As the industry moves to two-year contracts across all device categories, we expect to see a larger volume of customers migrating to mid-tier devices.”
Telus Corp. announced details of its new “SharePlus” pricing scheme for smartphones on Tuesday. Instead of raising the up-front price of its phones, the carrier is still offering subsidies of up to $500 on some high-end devices. However the cost of paying back those subsidies is now amortized over two years, rather than three, making for higher monthly fees. Customers will pay $55 a month on a two-year contract for unlimited talk and text for a subsidized high-end phone, $45 a month for a low-end phone and $35 a month if they bring their own device.
“Overall, we take our cues from the market and what our customers are demanding when it comes to our device selection,” Telus spokeswoman Donna Ramirez said. “We are committed to offering our customers a wide range of smartphones and tablets to choose from both at the high end, mid and low-end of the spectrum based on their different needs and that’s something that we’ll continue to do despite changes in the industry.”
The rise of mid-tier smartphones in Canada was perhaps inevitable, given the shrinking functionality gap between high-end and low-end devices. During quarterly earnings announcements earlier this month, the smartphone industry’s two biggest players, Samsung and Apple, both indicated that average selling prices are starting to slip, even as both companies continue to sell a healthy number of units. That decline is at least partially due to the fact that lower-priced offerings from both companies are starting to make up a larger portion of overall sales.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
But in June, the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission issued a ruling that lets customers opt out of their contracts after two years without any penalty.wholesale fashion shoes The new rules go into effect in December.
As a result, carriers have less incentive to offer high-end phones at significant discounts – and evidence suggests many Canadians are not willing to pay anything close to the full price for such phones, which can often cost more than $700.
“We see it in other markets too, but in Canada we’re much more price sensitive,” Kaan Yigit, head of Solutions Research Group, said. “People are upgrading or getting second or family units. But people don’t necessarily want to pay significant upfront costs.”
Virtually all the major carriers have indicated the CRTC ruling will have an impact on phone subsidies. In some cases, carriers may choose to hike the up-front cost of buying a high-end phone. Others have chosen to keep the up-front subsidies, but increase the monthly costs.
“We have been offering customers mid-tier devices on two-year contracts for quite some time,” said Patricia Trott of Rogers. “As the industry moves to two-year contracts across all device categories, we expect to see a larger volume of customers migrating to mid-tier devices.”
Telus Corp. announced details of its new “SharePlus” pricing scheme for smartphones on Tuesday. Instead of raising the up-front price of its phones, the carrier is still offering subsidies of up to $500 on some high-end devices. However the cost of paying back those subsidies is now amortized over two years, rather than three, making for higher monthly fees. Customers will pay $55 a month on a two-year contract for unlimited talk and text for a subsidized high-end phone, $45 a month for a low-end phone and $35 a month if they bring their own device.
“Overall, we take our cues from the market and what our customers are demanding when it comes to our device selection,” Telus spokeswoman Donna Ramirez said. “We are committed to offering our customers a wide range of smartphones and tablets to choose from both at the high end, mid and low-end of the spectrum based on their different needs and that’s something that we’ll continue to do despite changes in the industry.”
The rise of mid-tier smartphones in Canada was perhaps inevitable, given the shrinking functionality gap between high-end and low-end devices. During quarterly earnings announcements earlier this month, the smartphone industry’s two biggest players, Samsung and Apple, both indicated that average selling prices are starting to slip, even as both companies continue to sell a healthy number of units. That decline is at least partially due to the fact that lower-priced offerings from both companies are starting to make up a larger portion of overall sales.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
2013年7月24日星期三
The app also allows shooters to video
The Inteliscope is a hardware attachment coupled with a corresponding app on the App Store. The Inteliscope hardware attaches to any Weaver rail on a firearm. For those unfamiliar, the Weaver rail system is found on most guns from major manufacturers, and allows users to easily attach accessories like new optics, laser sights, flashlights,ladies shoes wholesale or other accessories. The entire piece is made with plastic, keeping it lightweight when attached to your firearm or in your case. The piece attaches to any Weaver rail system easily with a simple wingnut in the front to tighten it onto the Weaver rail. The piece is long, and clearly designed with rifle usage in mind more than use on a handgun.
The Inteliscope includes three additional smartphone cases that attach to the main attachment. The current model ships with a case to fit an iPhone 5, iPhone 4/4S, and an fourth-generation iPod Touch. Users will have to remove their existing cases on their device to fit their iPhone or iPod Touch into the Inteliscope case. The case itself is attached to the main piece by plastic tabs that fit into holes on the backside of the device case. Overall, both the smartphone case and main attachment secured easily and quickly to our AR-15, making it easy to swap in and out when at the range. The inclusion of three different cases ensures that any modern iPhone user should be able to use the Inteliscope.
The Inteliscope app is the ultimate shooter’s eye candy. The app uses your iPhone’s camera as your new optics, and gives the ultimate heads-up display to you. Using the iPhone’s GPS sensor, the Inteliscope app displays wind direction and speed, latitude and longitude, compass heading, date and time, and a targeting reticule. The accelerometer ensures that your stance is level before pulling the trigger, and the phone allows users to pick the distance to their target as well as the zoom up to 5X.
The app also allows shooters to video their marksmanship while shooting. Pressing the video button will record your shooting seamlessly. A Loadout option allows shooters to enter their firearm model, and the number of rounds they have. There’s also a Sight In Mode for, as the name implies, sighting in. Since the iPhone will be off center from the barrel with the Inteliscope, Sight In mode is crucial to compensate or else you may find yourself a few inches off bull.
Overall, the Inteliscope is a wonderful idea, and anyone who can combine my love for phones with one of my favorite relaxing activities surely gets credit in my book. However, there are some flaws to the Inteliscope that will drive any shooter nuts.
With any firearm, the purpose of sights is to be able to increase your accuracy beyond what the naked eye can see. The Inteliscope would do a great job of this if it could stay on the weapon. The piece that attaches to the rail itself held steady enough, however, the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S used for reviewing the Inteliscope broke away and fell off the weapon after each shot fired. A .223 projectile is certainly going to have some kickback, but it isn’t the strongest caliber in town. However, after each round fired on the Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15, the phone and its special case would become dislodged from the Inteliscope bracket and fall to the floor. Thankfully I was at an outdoor area and the iPhone fell onto grass, but if that had been a concrete firing range, things could’ve gotten ugly fast.
It appears the small plastic tabs that fit into the rear of the iPhone case don’t have enough grip to distribute the force of each round firing. Inteliscope was probably gunning for (no pun intended) lightweight when deciding to use plastic, but there’s a reason most gun parts are made with metal or at minimum polycarbonate. It’s hard to recommend the Inteliscope for any high-caliber weapon. It may be able to withstand your .22 rifle, but even then we would caution shooters to be mindful of their fragile iPhone.
Another design flaw is the way the mount attaches to the firearm. While it seems secure enough, the use of plastics again doesn’t give it the same sense of security other sights and optics provide. There’s no real way to lock it in super-tight, and while we weren’t able to test the Inteliscope for long (since the iPhone kept dislodging), one would have to consider how many jolts the piece will take before starting to move.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
The Inteliscope includes three additional smartphone cases that attach to the main attachment. The current model ships with a case to fit an iPhone 5, iPhone 4/4S, and an fourth-generation iPod Touch. Users will have to remove their existing cases on their device to fit their iPhone or iPod Touch into the Inteliscope case. The case itself is attached to the main piece by plastic tabs that fit into holes on the backside of the device case. Overall, both the smartphone case and main attachment secured easily and quickly to our AR-15, making it easy to swap in and out when at the range. The inclusion of three different cases ensures that any modern iPhone user should be able to use the Inteliscope.
The Inteliscope app is the ultimate shooter’s eye candy. The app uses your iPhone’s camera as your new optics, and gives the ultimate heads-up display to you. Using the iPhone’s GPS sensor, the Inteliscope app displays wind direction and speed, latitude and longitude, compass heading, date and time, and a targeting reticule. The accelerometer ensures that your stance is level before pulling the trigger, and the phone allows users to pick the distance to their target as well as the zoom up to 5X.
The app also allows shooters to video their marksmanship while shooting. Pressing the video button will record your shooting seamlessly. A Loadout option allows shooters to enter their firearm model, and the number of rounds they have. There’s also a Sight In Mode for, as the name implies, sighting in. Since the iPhone will be off center from the barrel with the Inteliscope, Sight In mode is crucial to compensate or else you may find yourself a few inches off bull.
Overall, the Inteliscope is a wonderful idea, and anyone who can combine my love for phones with one of my favorite relaxing activities surely gets credit in my book. However, there are some flaws to the Inteliscope that will drive any shooter nuts.
With any firearm, the purpose of sights is to be able to increase your accuracy beyond what the naked eye can see. The Inteliscope would do a great job of this if it could stay on the weapon. The piece that attaches to the rail itself held steady enough, however, the iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S used for reviewing the Inteliscope broke away and fell off the weapon after each shot fired. A .223 projectile is certainly going to have some kickback, but it isn’t the strongest caliber in town. However, after each round fired on the Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15, the phone and its special case would become dislodged from the Inteliscope bracket and fall to the floor. Thankfully I was at an outdoor area and the iPhone fell onto grass, but if that had been a concrete firing range, things could’ve gotten ugly fast.
It appears the small plastic tabs that fit into the rear of the iPhone case don’t have enough grip to distribute the force of each round firing. Inteliscope was probably gunning for (no pun intended) lightweight when deciding to use plastic, but there’s a reason most gun parts are made with metal or at minimum polycarbonate. It’s hard to recommend the Inteliscope for any high-caliber weapon. It may be able to withstand your .22 rifle, but even then we would caution shooters to be mindful of their fragile iPhone.
Another design flaw is the way the mount attaches to the firearm. While it seems secure enough, the use of plastics again doesn’t give it the same sense of security other sights and optics provide. There’s no real way to lock it in super-tight, and while we weren’t able to test the Inteliscope for long (since the iPhone kept dislodging), one would have to consider how many jolts the piece will take before starting to move.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
2013年7月22日星期一
Whereas this sort of device is likely to be of more interest
The augmentation of organic life with artificial technology is a perpetual favourite of both movie-makers and scientists alike, and it's in this field that many people in healthcare are becoming excited.
One of the companies leading the way in this technological field is Cambridge Consultants, a product development company working in the UK and US to create innovative tools to help other firms find new ways to support their work.
Dr Robert Milner (pictured), who is a senior consultant at Cambridge Consultants, discussed the issue at Digitas Health's ThinkDigital 2013 forum last month, which explored how the rise of mobile technology is affecting healthcare and improving patient adherence and outcomes.
Although never quite reaching the realm of science fiction, Dr Milner discussed examples of how low-cost, wireless devices can connect healthcare products with smartphones in very exciting ways. These included the simple but elegant and incredibly useful potential for a pill bottle connected to wireless capabilities to contact a patient's smartphone if they happen to leave the house without taking their medication with them.
But where this technology can truly shine is in chronic diseases, for example in the ability to connect an asthma inhaler with a phone or PC and get data straight from the device and create active patient health records. How this technology can help the huge number of people who suffer from asthma - half of whom are thought to be non-adherent – is still to be seen, although the technology adds a dimension that was previously missing and could bring patients closer to their disease.
This use of data to support better patient outcomes is already being seen in diabetes, according to Dr Milner, where there is a strong community of patients sharing information on how they are handling their own condition. By communicating this data in a public setting, people with diabetes can support other people with the condition and share tips on how to live more healthily and avoid the many side effects.
But the potential for wireless technology in diabetes doesn't stop at information tracking and sharing, and Dr Milner revealed one of Cambridge Consultants' most exciting projects – the artificial pancreas.
Working with the Institute of Metabolic Science (IMS) at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge Consultants is developing an application that will allow a continuous glucose meter to autonomously communicate with a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and then link to an insulin pump attached to someone with diabetes.
This would effectively create an artificial pancreas that the company hopes can be worn by people with type 1 diabetes at home without nurse supervision. “It's a really exciting area and it is at the forefront at the adoption of this use of smartphone in the treatment of disease,” Dr Milner told the ThinkDigital audience.
Greater use of the iPhone's ability to connect with devices is likely to increase too, with the addition of Bluetooth Smart to the iPhone 4s. Despite receiving little fanfair as part of the phone's launch,Electricity monitor this technology allows smartphone accessories to go beyond Bluetooth headsets, branching out to activity monitors, including Nike's development of a shoe to track running performance that connects directly with an iPhone app.
Whereas this sort of device is likely to be of more interest to consumers, explained Dr Milner, its potential in healthcare is a spectrum that stretches from fitness monitoring devices to ones more directly related to health, such as weight tracking, all the way through to device/app combinations that can help people diagnosed with a disease manage their condition.
And development in the more clinical end of the spectrum is being accelerated by developments in the consumer side, according to Dr Milner.
“People are seeing things coming out the consumer end of the spectrum and they are expecting that to be available for them as a medical product,” he said.
But there are challenges for the tool-makers behind such 'quantified self' products, with Dr Milner explaining that the regulation of apps is becoming a reality, making it harder for new products to come to market.
The fast pace of mobile technology can also be a hindrance as well as a boon. Phones can come out with a new phone operating every six months, meaning there is a constant need for all tools to update and adapt.
On top of this, few patients ever just have one chronic disease, and co-morbidities pose a major challenge in this area. Going forward, any company considering making an app for diabetes, for example, needs to think about how that app interacts with one for another chronic condition, such as depression or cardiovascular problems.
“How do you make that tech work together in way that's safe?” asked Dr Milner of the ThinkDigital audience. “Those are the areas where there is uncertainty and people are looking at how they can solve it,” he concluded.
Read the full story at www.owon-smart.com!
One of the companies leading the way in this technological field is Cambridge Consultants, a product development company working in the UK and US to create innovative tools to help other firms find new ways to support their work.
Dr Robert Milner (pictured), who is a senior consultant at Cambridge Consultants, discussed the issue at Digitas Health's ThinkDigital 2013 forum last month, which explored how the rise of mobile technology is affecting healthcare and improving patient adherence and outcomes.
Although never quite reaching the realm of science fiction, Dr Milner discussed examples of how low-cost, wireless devices can connect healthcare products with smartphones in very exciting ways. These included the simple but elegant and incredibly useful potential for a pill bottle connected to wireless capabilities to contact a patient's smartphone if they happen to leave the house without taking their medication with them.
But where this technology can truly shine is in chronic diseases, for example in the ability to connect an asthma inhaler with a phone or PC and get data straight from the device and create active patient health records. How this technology can help the huge number of people who suffer from asthma - half of whom are thought to be non-adherent – is still to be seen, although the technology adds a dimension that was previously missing and could bring patients closer to their disease.
This use of data to support better patient outcomes is already being seen in diabetes, according to Dr Milner, where there is a strong community of patients sharing information on how they are handling their own condition. By communicating this data in a public setting, people with diabetes can support other people with the condition and share tips on how to live more healthily and avoid the many side effects.
But the potential for wireless technology in diabetes doesn't stop at information tracking and sharing, and Dr Milner revealed one of Cambridge Consultants' most exciting projects – the artificial pancreas.
Working with the Institute of Metabolic Science (IMS) at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge Consultants is developing an application that will allow a continuous glucose meter to autonomously communicate with a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and then link to an insulin pump attached to someone with diabetes.
This would effectively create an artificial pancreas that the company hopes can be worn by people with type 1 diabetes at home without nurse supervision. “It's a really exciting area and it is at the forefront at the adoption of this use of smartphone in the treatment of disease,” Dr Milner told the ThinkDigital audience.
Greater use of the iPhone's ability to connect with devices is likely to increase too, with the addition of Bluetooth Smart to the iPhone 4s. Despite receiving little fanfair as part of the phone's launch,Electricity monitor this technology allows smartphone accessories to go beyond Bluetooth headsets, branching out to activity monitors, including Nike's development of a shoe to track running performance that connects directly with an iPhone app.
Whereas this sort of device is likely to be of more interest to consumers, explained Dr Milner, its potential in healthcare is a spectrum that stretches from fitness monitoring devices to ones more directly related to health, such as weight tracking, all the way through to device/app combinations that can help people diagnosed with a disease manage their condition.
And development in the more clinical end of the spectrum is being accelerated by developments in the consumer side, according to Dr Milner.
“People are seeing things coming out the consumer end of the spectrum and they are expecting that to be available for them as a medical product,” he said.
But there are challenges for the tool-makers behind such 'quantified self' products, with Dr Milner explaining that the regulation of apps is becoming a reality, making it harder for new products to come to market.
The fast pace of mobile technology can also be a hindrance as well as a boon. Phones can come out with a new phone operating every six months, meaning there is a constant need for all tools to update and adapt.
On top of this, few patients ever just have one chronic disease, and co-morbidities pose a major challenge in this area. Going forward, any company considering making an app for diabetes, for example, needs to think about how that app interacts with one for another chronic condition, such as depression or cardiovascular problems.
“How do you make that tech work together in way that's safe?” asked Dr Milner of the ThinkDigital audience. “Those are the areas where there is uncertainty and people are looking at how they can solve it,” he concluded.
Read the full story at www.owon-smart.com!
2013年7月14日星期日
when it signed on to carry the iPhone
The LA Times reports that Verizon Wireless may end up owing $14 billion to Apple. That's because the company must sell $23.5 billion worth of iPhone units this year to meet a commitment it made with Apple back in 2010. To do this, Verizon must double its iPhone sales of last year. Unfortunately, iPhone sales just aren't all that great thanks to larger, zippier Android phones dominating the market.
"It is likely that Apple would be reluctant to simply ignore these commitments, since many other carriers around the world are probably in a similar situation, and a simple amnesty would set an unwanted precedent," Moffett Research said in a report released this week. "It is therefore unrealistic to think that Apple won’t extract some consideration for renegotiating these shortfalls."
Vodafone, the parent company of Verizon Wireless, reported at the end of 2010 that Verizon had $45 billion in purchase commitments over a three-year period. According to Moffett Research,women shoes manufacturer this commitment is likely to Apple, as the Big Red began selling its first iPhone in 2011.
"Few if any other handset suppliers require purchase commitments of this kind, and, again, it is noteworthy that the total commitment was almost zero until Verizon contracted with Apple for the iPhone for the first time," the report stated.
Nomura analyst Stuart Jeffrey is reportedly saying the same thing, that Verizon is going to owe Apple's $23.5 billion this year as part of its agreement to carry the iPhone. But due to slowing sales of Apple's flagship phone, Verizon may not make enough to cover the $23.5 billion bill. The Big Red has likely sold only 7.2 million units in the first half of 2013, and may sell up to 10.8 million units in the second half. That leaves 19 million units unaccounted for.
The kicker is that Verizon must pay for all iPhone units even if they don't actually sell them, and why Verizon is predicted to owe $12 billion to $14 billion.
"We certainly don’t expect that Verizon will have to write a check to Apple for $12 billion or so to make good on its seemingly inevitable shortfall,” Moffett said in its report. "However, it seems likely that Apple will extract at least some consideration for a contract shortfall of this apparent magnitude."
Forbes speculates that Verizon may have jumped the gun when it signed on to carry the iPhone. AT&T's exclusivity had ended, thus allowing Apple to demand stiff commitments in terms of future volumes that in turn wireless carriers had to guarantee. Thus here's this massive commitment Verizon must honor while Samsung and Android eat away at iPhone sales.
That said, should Verizon be left with the tab when consumers aren't eating iPhones like they were in 2011? The Moffett report stated that other wireless carriers around the world may be experiencing iPhone deficits as well. Analysts project that Apple will report a 22 percent decline in net income to $6.87 billion in the third fiscal quarter.
If anything, Verizon may be forced to pay a percentage of what's owed to Apple in order to continue to sell the iPhone in 2014.
The game, by developer WemoLab, stars an eco-warrior pufferfish as it avoids natural predators like tiger sharks. It was launched in May on iPad as a free-to-play but was tweaked and re-released at 0.99 cents in June.
"It's a whimsical underwater, character-driven adventure that makes people smile, " said WemoLab's Ben Miller. "What also makes it stand out is the fact that it's not in set in a magical alien world, it's modeled after real undersea environments." The game was animated by Andy Jones, who worked on the movie Avatar, with ocean science narrated by National Geographic's Dr. Sylvia Earle.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
"It is likely that Apple would be reluctant to simply ignore these commitments, since many other carriers around the world are probably in a similar situation, and a simple amnesty would set an unwanted precedent," Moffett Research said in a report released this week. "It is therefore unrealistic to think that Apple won’t extract some consideration for renegotiating these shortfalls."
Vodafone, the parent company of Verizon Wireless, reported at the end of 2010 that Verizon had $45 billion in purchase commitments over a three-year period. According to Moffett Research,women shoes manufacturer this commitment is likely to Apple, as the Big Red began selling its first iPhone in 2011.
"Few if any other handset suppliers require purchase commitments of this kind, and, again, it is noteworthy that the total commitment was almost zero until Verizon contracted with Apple for the iPhone for the first time," the report stated.
Nomura analyst Stuart Jeffrey is reportedly saying the same thing, that Verizon is going to owe Apple's $23.5 billion this year as part of its agreement to carry the iPhone. But due to slowing sales of Apple's flagship phone, Verizon may not make enough to cover the $23.5 billion bill. The Big Red has likely sold only 7.2 million units in the first half of 2013, and may sell up to 10.8 million units in the second half. That leaves 19 million units unaccounted for.
The kicker is that Verizon must pay for all iPhone units even if they don't actually sell them, and why Verizon is predicted to owe $12 billion to $14 billion.
"We certainly don’t expect that Verizon will have to write a check to Apple for $12 billion or so to make good on its seemingly inevitable shortfall,” Moffett said in its report. "However, it seems likely that Apple will extract at least some consideration for a contract shortfall of this apparent magnitude."
Forbes speculates that Verizon may have jumped the gun when it signed on to carry the iPhone. AT&T's exclusivity had ended, thus allowing Apple to demand stiff commitments in terms of future volumes that in turn wireless carriers had to guarantee. Thus here's this massive commitment Verizon must honor while Samsung and Android eat away at iPhone sales.
That said, should Verizon be left with the tab when consumers aren't eating iPhones like they were in 2011? The Moffett report stated that other wireless carriers around the world may be experiencing iPhone deficits as well. Analysts project that Apple will report a 22 percent decline in net income to $6.87 billion in the third fiscal quarter.
If anything, Verizon may be forced to pay a percentage of what's owed to Apple in order to continue to sell the iPhone in 2014.
The game, by developer WemoLab, stars an eco-warrior pufferfish as it avoids natural predators like tiger sharks. It was launched in May on iPad as a free-to-play but was tweaked and re-released at 0.99 cents in June.
"It's a whimsical underwater, character-driven adventure that makes people smile, " said WemoLab's Ben Miller. "What also makes it stand out is the fact that it's not in set in a magical alien world, it's modeled after real undersea environments." The game was animated by Andy Jones, who worked on the movie Avatar, with ocean science narrated by National Geographic's Dr. Sylvia Earle.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
2013年7月11日星期四
which includes everyone looking to buy a camera
Since then, the digital-SLR (DSLR) has evolved to become the platform
of choice for many pros and prosumers as developments in digital
photography have also improved with each successive generation, such as
pixel density and sensor size, faster autofocus motors, stabilized
lenses and more advanced signal processing chips, as well as the ability
to shoot video.
However, the introduction of the smartphone has exposed a huge weakness in the DSLR's armor, and that is convenience and size in a world that has prized mobility over everything else.
While there will always almost certainly be a niche market for professional grade cameras for specific applications and works of significant artistic merit, the DSLR's bread and butter market — the consumer, the prosumer, and photography enthusiast — no longer needs or even wants to carry these beasts around anymore.
They already carry powerful smartphones that are increasingly adopting more advanced camera technology, originally pioneered in the DSLR.
We obviously have a very passionate group of hardcore photography enthusiasts who have made it known that under no uncertain terms that they'll only let go of their DSLR when it is pried out of their cold, dead hands. While I took the unpopular side of this argument in the Great Debate, you can also include me in this crowd of DSLR adherents as well.
However, in a debate, one of us has to take an opposing or unpopular viewpoint. In the context of this discussion, thinking about the evolution of the photography equipment industry — as a former employee and continuing loyal customer of Canon — I examined it from the perspective of industry maturation, the DSLR's relevancy in current market conditions, current customer use cases, and also whether or not smartphones have been and still are a disruptive influence on that market.
My conclusion is that the health of the DSLR and dedicated prosumer camera market is analogous to the "post-PC" situation that the computer industry is experiencing. We are now, like it or not, in the "post-DSLR" age of digital photography.
While the DSLR or similar interchangeable lens and body systems will always be the camera of choice for true professionals, it really is no longer needed for the balance of its original target market, which includes everyone looking to buy a camera. The same could be said of the powerful desktop PC workstation and "homebrews" where tablets and ultrabooks are eating away the balance of PC market share.
Yes, many amateur photographers used to buy SLRs. But how many of them really bought a full complement of lenses, external flash accessories, etcetera, or even used these to their full capabilities?
I think we can all agree that not many did and many still do not, where a smartphone like an iPhone 5, a Lumia 920 or a Samsung Galaxy S4 will do far more than an adequate job at a substantially lower price point. And consumers with stressed wallets have now wholly realized this.
One thing we have to understand about the DSLR is that it was designed in an age where film was still the prevalent photography technology. As such, unless we are talking about the latest mirrorless camera bodies,ladies shoes wholesale it retains significant baggage from the film-based SLR design, and that is the use of a mirror and a pentaprism to reproduce the image coming through the lens into an optical viewfinder.
They also still use electro-mechanical shutters which do wear out over time and need periodic replacement. However, mechanical shutters for the most part are still technically superior to their electronic counterparts. (Although this gap is closing quickly and it is expected that there will be pro or prosumer digital cameras available in 2014 with purely electronic shutter systems which is what smartphones currently use.) And there will also be smartphones with mechanical shutters as well.
Additional negatives are the bulkiness, lack of mobility and diminished stealthiness in candid or impromptu situations and obviously cost of entry compared to a smartphone. You also often don't have the ability to share directly with photo sharing services in the field without special accessories and laptop or 4G tethered smartphone in tow. And, there are also the time and money investments required to do post-processing of the shots in software packages like Aperture and Photoshop.
There is also the issue of your substantial investment in things like lenses designed for a specific camera system not being interoperable with another vendor's camera system — should you decide for whatever reason to switch manufacturer allegiance. There is also the possibility of your lens system being orphaned when your pro camera manufacturer makes major revisions to its body designs and you want to upgrade just your body, as the value of your lenses and other accessories typically far exceed that of the body.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
However, the introduction of the smartphone has exposed a huge weakness in the DSLR's armor, and that is convenience and size in a world that has prized mobility over everything else.
While there will always almost certainly be a niche market for professional grade cameras for specific applications and works of significant artistic merit, the DSLR's bread and butter market — the consumer, the prosumer, and photography enthusiast — no longer needs or even wants to carry these beasts around anymore.
They already carry powerful smartphones that are increasingly adopting more advanced camera technology, originally pioneered in the DSLR.
We obviously have a very passionate group of hardcore photography enthusiasts who have made it known that under no uncertain terms that they'll only let go of their DSLR when it is pried out of their cold, dead hands. While I took the unpopular side of this argument in the Great Debate, you can also include me in this crowd of DSLR adherents as well.
However, in a debate, one of us has to take an opposing or unpopular viewpoint. In the context of this discussion, thinking about the evolution of the photography equipment industry — as a former employee and continuing loyal customer of Canon — I examined it from the perspective of industry maturation, the DSLR's relevancy in current market conditions, current customer use cases, and also whether or not smartphones have been and still are a disruptive influence on that market.
My conclusion is that the health of the DSLR and dedicated prosumer camera market is analogous to the "post-PC" situation that the computer industry is experiencing. We are now, like it or not, in the "post-DSLR" age of digital photography.
While the DSLR or similar interchangeable lens and body systems will always be the camera of choice for true professionals, it really is no longer needed for the balance of its original target market, which includes everyone looking to buy a camera. The same could be said of the powerful desktop PC workstation and "homebrews" where tablets and ultrabooks are eating away the balance of PC market share.
Yes, many amateur photographers used to buy SLRs. But how many of them really bought a full complement of lenses, external flash accessories, etcetera, or even used these to their full capabilities?
I think we can all agree that not many did and many still do not, where a smartphone like an iPhone 5, a Lumia 920 or a Samsung Galaxy S4 will do far more than an adequate job at a substantially lower price point. And consumers with stressed wallets have now wholly realized this.
One thing we have to understand about the DSLR is that it was designed in an age where film was still the prevalent photography technology. As such, unless we are talking about the latest mirrorless camera bodies,ladies shoes wholesale it retains significant baggage from the film-based SLR design, and that is the use of a mirror and a pentaprism to reproduce the image coming through the lens into an optical viewfinder.
They also still use electro-mechanical shutters which do wear out over time and need periodic replacement. However, mechanical shutters for the most part are still technically superior to their electronic counterparts. (Although this gap is closing quickly and it is expected that there will be pro or prosumer digital cameras available in 2014 with purely electronic shutter systems which is what smartphones currently use.) And there will also be smartphones with mechanical shutters as well.
Additional negatives are the bulkiness, lack of mobility and diminished stealthiness in candid or impromptu situations and obviously cost of entry compared to a smartphone. You also often don't have the ability to share directly with photo sharing services in the field without special accessories and laptop or 4G tethered smartphone in tow. And, there are also the time and money investments required to do post-processing of the shots in software packages like Aperture and Photoshop.
There is also the issue of your substantial investment in things like lenses designed for a specific camera system not being interoperable with another vendor's camera system — should you decide for whatever reason to switch manufacturer allegiance. There is also the possibility of your lens system being orphaned when your pro camera manufacturer makes major revisions to its body designs and you want to upgrade just your body, as the value of your lenses and other accessories typically far exceed that of the body.
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
2013年7月9日星期二
while simplifying management and deployment
VPS hosting company The Host Group enters the top tier of providers
with a combination of reliable performance and unqualified value. With a
commitment to cutting edge technologies and expansion into markets
around the world, The Host Group is setting new service standards in the
hosting industry.
An experienced provider of un-managed virtual private server (VPS) hosting, announced today that it is expanding operations and offering its premium services to clients around the world. VPS hosting is the preferred hosting option for most businesses: combining the power and control of dedicated server hosting with the attractive pricing of shared hosting. This compromise offers the best in value and performance.
The heart of The Host Group’s operations is located in Fredericksburg Virginia with a hosting center that is well respected in the industry.
The Host Group has expanded its service to encompass the entire world. According to The Host Group CEO Doug Davis, clients in the United States and Canada have quickly embraced the opportunity to have reliable, professional Windows VPS and Linux VPS hosting solutions at affordable prices. “US and Canadian businesses have previously been limited in their choices: only a handful of providers offer dedicated servers, and the pricing has been extremely aggressive,” says Davis. “The Host Group is the first provider to bring them affordable prices and top-tier reliable service, including dedicated servers with virtually unlimited bandwidth.”
The Host Group is positioned to build on its reputation for providing unmatched customer service.
Founded in 1998, The Host Group has steadily earned their reputation as a reliable provider of outstanding Linux VPS and Windows VPS solutions. women shoes manufacturer The company is based in Virginia, but it has expanded several other facilities to provide services for businesses located across the globe.
Dell Cloud Client Computing today announced the release of version 6 of Dell Wyse WSM desktop and application virtualization software. This new release adds server streaming capability to help organizations harness the benefits of virtualization and cloud computing, while simplifying management and deployment processes and helping to reduce costs. By adding on-demand delivery of server OS images to Dell's reliable and secure end-user computing portfolio, Dell Wyse WSM 6 offers another powerful computing alternative that helps organizations quickly stand up new servers where and when needed, and gives employees and students secured access to content regardless of location.
Dell Wyse WSM delivers operating systems and applications separately to stateless, diskless clients on demand, providing a manageable, reliable and scalable PC computing experience from the cloud. Unlike traditional VDI, Dell Wyse WSM enables the desktop OS and applications to execute locally on the client, giving that client the same look, performance, feel and function of a traditional desktop PC, but storing all OS, applications, and data in the datacenter. With no OS residing on the client, management, support and updates, including Windows XP and Windows 7 migrations, are done centrally and take considerably less time than with a traditional distributed environment.
In addition to powerful and secure desktop and application virtualization, Dell Wyse WSM 6 now also enables rapid and efficient server image delivery to physical or virtual machines. This new feature allows for more agile deployment, configuration and management of virtual servers than existing methods - processes that previously took hours are reduced to minutes.
Dell Wyse WSM is designed for large or small customers with demanding user or server management requirements, looking to optimize IT efficiency and cut costs. By reducing hardware needs and administration demands, Dell Wyse WSM helps customers achieve their system reliability, security and compliance goals.
"We have had a very successful beta testing period using Dell Wyse WSM's new features and are looking forward to continuing to work with them," said JP Gagne, president at Baremetalcloud. "Being able to manage and pool together our physical servers as if they were virtual is an entirely new capability in the market and it has the potential to increase IT efficiency by leaps and bounds."
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
An experienced provider of un-managed virtual private server (VPS) hosting, announced today that it is expanding operations and offering its premium services to clients around the world. VPS hosting is the preferred hosting option for most businesses: combining the power and control of dedicated server hosting with the attractive pricing of shared hosting. This compromise offers the best in value and performance.
The heart of The Host Group’s operations is located in Fredericksburg Virginia with a hosting center that is well respected in the industry.
The Host Group has expanded its service to encompass the entire world. According to The Host Group CEO Doug Davis, clients in the United States and Canada have quickly embraced the opportunity to have reliable, professional Windows VPS and Linux VPS hosting solutions at affordable prices. “US and Canadian businesses have previously been limited in their choices: only a handful of providers offer dedicated servers, and the pricing has been extremely aggressive,” says Davis. “The Host Group is the first provider to bring them affordable prices and top-tier reliable service, including dedicated servers with virtually unlimited bandwidth.”
The Host Group is positioned to build on its reputation for providing unmatched customer service.
Founded in 1998, The Host Group has steadily earned their reputation as a reliable provider of outstanding Linux VPS and Windows VPS solutions. women shoes manufacturer The company is based in Virginia, but it has expanded several other facilities to provide services for businesses located across the globe.
Dell Cloud Client Computing today announced the release of version 6 of Dell Wyse WSM desktop and application virtualization software. This new release adds server streaming capability to help organizations harness the benefits of virtualization and cloud computing, while simplifying management and deployment processes and helping to reduce costs. By adding on-demand delivery of server OS images to Dell's reliable and secure end-user computing portfolio, Dell Wyse WSM 6 offers another powerful computing alternative that helps organizations quickly stand up new servers where and when needed, and gives employees and students secured access to content regardless of location.
Dell Wyse WSM delivers operating systems and applications separately to stateless, diskless clients on demand, providing a manageable, reliable and scalable PC computing experience from the cloud. Unlike traditional VDI, Dell Wyse WSM enables the desktop OS and applications to execute locally on the client, giving that client the same look, performance, feel and function of a traditional desktop PC, but storing all OS, applications, and data in the datacenter. With no OS residing on the client, management, support and updates, including Windows XP and Windows 7 migrations, are done centrally and take considerably less time than with a traditional distributed environment.
In addition to powerful and secure desktop and application virtualization, Dell Wyse WSM 6 now also enables rapid and efficient server image delivery to physical or virtual machines. This new feature allows for more agile deployment, configuration and management of virtual servers than existing methods - processes that previously took hours are reduced to minutes.
Dell Wyse WSM is designed for large or small customers with demanding user or server management requirements, looking to optimize IT efficiency and cut costs. By reducing hardware needs and administration demands, Dell Wyse WSM helps customers achieve their system reliability, security and compliance goals.
"We have had a very successful beta testing period using Dell Wyse WSM's new features and are looking forward to continuing to work with them," said JP Gagne, president at Baremetalcloud. "Being able to manage and pool together our physical servers as if they were virtual is an entirely new capability in the market and it has the potential to increase IT efficiency by leaps and bounds."
Click on their website www.beralleshoes.com for more information.
2013年7月7日星期日
When artist Salva Rasool met with jeweller
After a six-hour search on Friday at the residence of film and television actress Sonika Gill for her husband Mitesh Rughani, the Khar police had almost given up their hunt; Rughani, accused of duping a jeweller to the tune of Rs 81 lakh, could not be found anywhere in the flat.
As the police were about to leave, Inspector Chagan Jadhav realised that the toilet too could not be found anywhere in the flat. High drama was to follow at the MHADA flat in Versova after this. The inspector questioned Gill about the missing toilet, but she responded with silence.
Jadhav’s suspicious gaze then fell on a cupboard placed near the kitchen. He asked Gill to open it but she refused to, saying the police would destroy her expensive wardrobe. With the police persisting, she finally opened the cupboard but would not allow the cops to touch anything inside.
As she would not budge, the Khar police asked the Versova police to send in more female staff to deal with Gill. The women police forced Gill to move away from the cupboard while the police searched it. To their surprise they found a door in the back of the cupboard. This led to a passage that in turn led to a toilet where Rughani was found hiding.
This was not all; police found that Rughani had built many secret passages and cavities in his flat where he could hide. Inspector Jadhav of the Khar police said: “We have arrested Rughani in a case of cheating, and jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh has also been recovered. He tried a lot to dodge us and evade arrest but could not succeed.”
According to the police, 38-yearold Rughani, a builder, had married Gill three months ago, and was residing with her in the MHADA apartment in Versova. In March he had taken gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs. 81 lakh from Adi Jewellers of Khar, promising to return it after showing it to his first wife Kinjal Rughani, a co-accused in the case.
The complainant Dilip Ranka, owner of the jewellery store, was at first reluctant to hand over the jewellery, but did so on the insistence of his cousin Praveen Ranka. Rughani later disappeared with the jewellery. Two days ago, Dilip Ranka registered a complaint with the Khar police against Rughani and his wife Kinjal.
The police got to know that Rughani stayed with his third wife Gill and immediately raided her flat. At first, Gill, refused to let cops in. It was after negotiating with her for a long while and after threatening her with arrest that she finally opened the door.
When artist Salva Rasool met with jeweller Aneel Gajaria a few months back, she was sceptical about her paintings being incorporated into jewellery. But Gajaria has been in the jewellery business since the age of 17 and foresaw creative possibilities in Rasool’s work.
“I first wasn’t interested in the project because I couldn’t imagine working on a cloth of two to three inches,” says Rasool, miming with two fingers how tiny the support was. “My paintings are colourful and powerful because I apply vibrant textures on a large canvas.”
But Gajaria insisted on meeting the artist. “When he showed me his creations, I was very impressed and had to take on the challenge,” the 49-year-old artist recalls.
Four years ago, Gajaria got the idea of introducing painting in statement jewellery when he met with local artists during a pilgrimage to Rajasthan. The quality and precision of their paintings, which displayed romantic and devotional Indian scenes, left him awe-struck. He imagined using a miniature canvas of these traditional scenes in necklaces.
“But I knew my clients from the Gulf wouldn’t wear jewellery with human forms,” explains Gajaria, who lived in Dubai as a child and was trained by a Muslim mentor. “So I was looking for an artist who would offer something unique in the field of Islamic art.”
An alumna of Sir JJ School of Art, Rasool has won worldwide appreciation for her modern approach to Arabic calligraphy with an Indian spirit. Her paintings have been displayed from Toronto to Jakarta, including the art hubs of New York, London, Tehran and Mumbai.
“The ‘Allah’ pendant has been traditionally worn by many Muslims, but this is the first time Islamic art has been made contemporary for fashion and jewellery,” says Gajaria.
Convinced by the jewellery’s potential and appeal, he commissioned five artworks from Rasool last January. To paint on a canvas of 3x2 inches, the artist creates her own tools such as small metal pieces, cut nibs and shaped opposite-ends of brushes, among others. In the coming months, two necklaces will be exhibited at an art show in the US, and three new creations will be unveiled by Gajaria.
Every miniature is customised, signed and certified by Rasool, making each necklace a work of art. The price depends on the precious metal and pearls Gajaria uses,wholesale fashion shoes and each piece is estimated between Rs40,000 and one lakh.
Although most of her work includes Koranic verses or letters of the Arabic alphabet, Rasool’s audience is broad, and her clients are mostly based in the West. The use of earthy colour and abstract elements in her paintings has even appealed to Indian lovers of contemporary art.
In pushing the traditional boundaries of Arabic calligraphy, Rasool aims at reaching out to a cosmopolitan crowd and dispelling misconceptions of Islam through art.
Just back from Toronto where she had her fourth solo show, Rasool is working on her upcoming exhibition in South Africa where her paintings will be displayed at the end of this year. And these neckpieces might also seduce some trendsetting South Africans.
Read the full story at wwww.beralleshoes.com!
As the police were about to leave, Inspector Chagan Jadhav realised that the toilet too could not be found anywhere in the flat. High drama was to follow at the MHADA flat in Versova after this. The inspector questioned Gill about the missing toilet, but she responded with silence.
Jadhav’s suspicious gaze then fell on a cupboard placed near the kitchen. He asked Gill to open it but she refused to, saying the police would destroy her expensive wardrobe. With the police persisting, she finally opened the cupboard but would not allow the cops to touch anything inside.
As she would not budge, the Khar police asked the Versova police to send in more female staff to deal with Gill. The women police forced Gill to move away from the cupboard while the police searched it. To their surprise they found a door in the back of the cupboard. This led to a passage that in turn led to a toilet where Rughani was found hiding.
This was not all; police found that Rughani had built many secret passages and cavities in his flat where he could hide. Inspector Jadhav of the Khar police said: “We have arrested Rughani in a case of cheating, and jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh has also been recovered. He tried a lot to dodge us and evade arrest but could not succeed.”
According to the police, 38-yearold Rughani, a builder, had married Gill three months ago, and was residing with her in the MHADA apartment in Versova. In March he had taken gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs. 81 lakh from Adi Jewellers of Khar, promising to return it after showing it to his first wife Kinjal Rughani, a co-accused in the case.
The complainant Dilip Ranka, owner of the jewellery store, was at first reluctant to hand over the jewellery, but did so on the insistence of his cousin Praveen Ranka. Rughani later disappeared with the jewellery. Two days ago, Dilip Ranka registered a complaint with the Khar police against Rughani and his wife Kinjal.
The police got to know that Rughani stayed with his third wife Gill and immediately raided her flat. At first, Gill, refused to let cops in. It was after negotiating with her for a long while and after threatening her with arrest that she finally opened the door.
When artist Salva Rasool met with jeweller Aneel Gajaria a few months back, she was sceptical about her paintings being incorporated into jewellery. But Gajaria has been in the jewellery business since the age of 17 and foresaw creative possibilities in Rasool’s work.
“I first wasn’t interested in the project because I couldn’t imagine working on a cloth of two to three inches,” says Rasool, miming with two fingers how tiny the support was. “My paintings are colourful and powerful because I apply vibrant textures on a large canvas.”
But Gajaria insisted on meeting the artist. “When he showed me his creations, I was very impressed and had to take on the challenge,” the 49-year-old artist recalls.
Four years ago, Gajaria got the idea of introducing painting in statement jewellery when he met with local artists during a pilgrimage to Rajasthan. The quality and precision of their paintings, which displayed romantic and devotional Indian scenes, left him awe-struck. He imagined using a miniature canvas of these traditional scenes in necklaces.
“But I knew my clients from the Gulf wouldn’t wear jewellery with human forms,” explains Gajaria, who lived in Dubai as a child and was trained by a Muslim mentor. “So I was looking for an artist who would offer something unique in the field of Islamic art.”
An alumna of Sir JJ School of Art, Rasool has won worldwide appreciation for her modern approach to Arabic calligraphy with an Indian spirit. Her paintings have been displayed from Toronto to Jakarta, including the art hubs of New York, London, Tehran and Mumbai.
“The ‘Allah’ pendant has been traditionally worn by many Muslims, but this is the first time Islamic art has been made contemporary for fashion and jewellery,” says Gajaria.
Convinced by the jewellery’s potential and appeal, he commissioned five artworks from Rasool last January. To paint on a canvas of 3x2 inches, the artist creates her own tools such as small metal pieces, cut nibs and shaped opposite-ends of brushes, among others. In the coming months, two necklaces will be exhibited at an art show in the US, and three new creations will be unveiled by Gajaria.
Every miniature is customised, signed and certified by Rasool, making each necklace a work of art. The price depends on the precious metal and pearls Gajaria uses,wholesale fashion shoes and each piece is estimated between Rs40,000 and one lakh.
Although most of her work includes Koranic verses or letters of the Arabic alphabet, Rasool’s audience is broad, and her clients are mostly based in the West. The use of earthy colour and abstract elements in her paintings has even appealed to Indian lovers of contemporary art.
In pushing the traditional boundaries of Arabic calligraphy, Rasool aims at reaching out to a cosmopolitan crowd and dispelling misconceptions of Islam through art.
Just back from Toronto where she had her fourth solo show, Rasool is working on her upcoming exhibition in South Africa where her paintings will be displayed at the end of this year. And these neckpieces might also seduce some trendsetting South Africans.
Read the full story at wwww.beralleshoes.com!
2013年6月23日星期日
which has experienced fuel shortages in the past few years
Egypt's smart card system for subsidised fuel will come into effect in
July for diesel and in August for gasoline, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil
said in a press conference on Saturday.
Initially there will be no limits imposed on the quantities consumers can use, said the prime minister, a change in policy compared with previous announcements regarding the scheme.
In March, then-planning minister Ashraf El-Araby announced that the smart cards would entitle owners of vehicles with smaller engines (1,600 cc or smaller) to an annual 1,800 litres of subsidised fuel, over which motorists will have to pay market prices.
But officials present at the press conference stressed that the aim of the new system is now to tackle smuggling of subsidised fuel, which they blame for fuel shortages.
"Although fuel quantities distributed to gas stations exceed consumption by 20 to 30 percent, there are still shortages,” said Tarek El-Barkatawi, head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Company
Egypt, which has experienced fuel shortages in the past few years, was hit by particularly severe shortages this year.
While the government blames fuel smugglers for the crisis, many gas stations say they do not receive the required quantities.
Prime Minister Qandil said that an island in the Mediterranean had sent a letter to the Egyptian government requesting it put a stop the smuggling of Egyptian fuel. He did not name the island in question.
Post offices, traffic points and branches of the Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit will be among the distribution points for smart cards.
Owners of diesel-powered vehicles, mainly taxis and microbuses, which according to government records number one million, will simply have to pick up their cards from designated distribution points.
According to the ministry of finance, vehicles without a traffic licence such as three-wheeled tuktuks and agricultural vehicles will be eligible for smart cards according to a new system to be introduced in September. Any fuel sold outside the smart card system will be sold at cost price, said El-Barkatawi.
The government says it has already implemented the first phase of the smart card system, which consisted of issuing cards for tanker trucks and gas stations, and building a database of companies and depots for distribution.
The government has announced many times its ambition to reduce fuel subsidies that consume around a fifth of budget expenditures.
Every transaction carries some risk, security experts agree, but the agent seems to have conflated a couple of security concerns.
Chipped cards — or "smart cards," which On the Spot and More for Your Money have been writing about for weeks — are the standard in much of the world, but not in the U.S. They're beginning to creep into use here, especially as consumer demand for them grows. They come in two varieties: Chip and PIN, and Chip and Signature. The PIN is the more secure of the two.
Much has been made of the notion that the unscrupulous can grab its signal and have their way with your card (or your passport, which also contains such a chip). Although anything is possible, this, several experts told me, is improbable.
First, the thief would have to be physically close, said Terry Hartmann, vice president of security solutions for Unisys. How close? Four inches. So unless that thief snuggled up to you, he or she probably couldn't get into that chip.
Second, even if the chip is breached, the information is heavily encrypted, said Dale Thompson, associate professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. What someone gets is a serial number "that really has nothing to do with your PIN," Thompson said. "It's not your credit card number, it's not your Social Security number, it's not even your name."
And third, said Phil Lieberman, chief executive of Lieberman Software in Los Angeles, "The card itself is dynamic. Every time you do a transaction, it changes. Even if you skim it once, you can't really reproduce that result."
Although having a Radio Frequency Identification-blocking wallet may help — it adds another layer of security, Hartmann said, and security is all about layers — it's probably not going to protect your card from the PIN stealer that Taylor's agent fears. Why? Because to use the card, you must take it out of the wallet. The magic shield is gone.
The bigger concern, Hartmann said, is the magnetic stripe card that predominates in the U.S. If the card is lost, anyone can use it fairly easily. A chipped card that requires only a signature, which is what many banks are issuing, has some of the same issues.
Read the full story at wwww.beralleshoes.com!
Initially there will be no limits imposed on the quantities consumers can use, said the prime minister, a change in policy compared with previous announcements regarding the scheme.
In March, then-planning minister Ashraf El-Araby announced that the smart cards would entitle owners of vehicles with smaller engines (1,600 cc or smaller) to an annual 1,800 litres of subsidised fuel, over which motorists will have to pay market prices.
But officials present at the press conference stressed that the aim of the new system is now to tackle smuggling of subsidised fuel, which they blame for fuel shortages.
"Although fuel quantities distributed to gas stations exceed consumption by 20 to 30 percent, there are still shortages,” said Tarek El-Barkatawi, head of the Egyptian General Petroleum Company
Egypt, which has experienced fuel shortages in the past few years, was hit by particularly severe shortages this year.
While the government blames fuel smugglers for the crisis, many gas stations say they do not receive the required quantities.
Prime Minister Qandil said that an island in the Mediterranean had sent a letter to the Egyptian government requesting it put a stop the smuggling of Egyptian fuel. He did not name the island in question.
Post offices, traffic points and branches of the Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit will be among the distribution points for smart cards.
Owners of diesel-powered vehicles, mainly taxis and microbuses, which according to government records number one million, will simply have to pick up their cards from designated distribution points.
According to the ministry of finance, vehicles without a traffic licence such as three-wheeled tuktuks and agricultural vehicles will be eligible for smart cards according to a new system to be introduced in September. Any fuel sold outside the smart card system will be sold at cost price, said El-Barkatawi.
The government says it has already implemented the first phase of the smart card system, which consisted of issuing cards for tanker trucks and gas stations, and building a database of companies and depots for distribution.
The government has announced many times its ambition to reduce fuel subsidies that consume around a fifth of budget expenditures.
Every transaction carries some risk, security experts agree, but the agent seems to have conflated a couple of security concerns.
Chipped cards — or "smart cards," which On the Spot and More for Your Money have been writing about for weeks — are the standard in much of the world, but not in the U.S. They're beginning to creep into use here, especially as consumer demand for them grows. They come in two varieties: Chip and PIN, and Chip and Signature. The PIN is the more secure of the two.
Much has been made of the notion that the unscrupulous can grab its signal and have their way with your card (or your passport, which also contains such a chip). Although anything is possible, this, several experts told me, is improbable.
First, the thief would have to be physically close, said Terry Hartmann, vice president of security solutions for Unisys. How close? Four inches. So unless that thief snuggled up to you, he or she probably couldn't get into that chip.
Second, even if the chip is breached, the information is heavily encrypted, said Dale Thompson, associate professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. What someone gets is a serial number "that really has nothing to do with your PIN," Thompson said. "It's not your credit card number, it's not your Social Security number, it's not even your name."
And third, said Phil Lieberman, chief executive of Lieberman Software in Los Angeles, "The card itself is dynamic. Every time you do a transaction, it changes. Even if you skim it once, you can't really reproduce that result."
Although having a Radio Frequency Identification-blocking wallet may help — it adds another layer of security, Hartmann said, and security is all about layers — it's probably not going to protect your card from the PIN stealer that Taylor's agent fears. Why? Because to use the card, you must take it out of the wallet. The magic shield is gone.
The bigger concern, Hartmann said, is the magnetic stripe card that predominates in the U.S. If the card is lost, anyone can use it fairly easily. A chipped card that requires only a signature, which is what many banks are issuing, has some of the same issues.
Read the full story at wwww.beralleshoes.com!
2013年6月16日星期日
It shaves like a razor blade
Bill Smith has been making knives since 1959, and he doesn't plan on slowing down.
His first experience with a knife, was when he was going to college.
He was at a hardware store and asked some guys if they would let him have a quarter of their deer if he skinned and quartered it for them.
"I got three in one afternoon (deer meat)," said Smith.
That is when he realized he didn't have a good knife, so he made one using old planter blades. He was approached by a man who asked if he could buy the knife for $85.
"Back in the sixties, that was a lot of money," said Smith.
He kept the second one he made and has been using it ever since. "I have only sharpened it one time, and it really didn't need it," said Smith.
Every time Smith would make a knife, someone would buy it.
In 2000, a friend invited him to a gun and knife show. He sold out of his knives in one day.
"I call that a successful show," said Smith.
The following day at the show, he took orders for knives. He worked from dawn to dusk getting all the orders complete, but by the time he was done, he had 33 new orders.
"At one time I was 41 orders behind," said Smith.
"I don't know what I am now and don't even look anymore. I build one and just pick up the next order and say, 'okay, this is what I am going to do now.'"
Every October, Smith builds a special knife for the Salado Education Foundation.
They auction the knife to raise money for kids so they can go to college.
Smith was a school teacher for over 31 years.
He got his degree in science and art.
He is passionate about art and was even a practicing artist for a number of years. But it didn't provide a stable, monthly income, so he went into teaching. He did his last art show in 1972.
Smith has made over 3,000 knives since his first one in 1959.
"This is man-made material and this is ivory from a wooly mammoth thousands of years old," said Smith as he displayed his collection of knives at the dinner table.
Smith also dabbles in other hobbies such as wood work, ceramics and even belt making.
"A man came to me. His belt was almost torn in two. He asked if I could make him a new belt."
When Smith learned the man was a World War II Vet, he made the belt for free.
"I have had several Vietnam Vets want something," said Smith. "I couldn't charge those men."
Two soldiers approached him ten years ago and inquired about ordering a knife. When Smith told them the cost, their eyebrows shot up in surprise.
So, Smith offered for them to make their own knives and pay for the materials.
Two soldiers became four, and new soldiers started arriving to participate in "knife night."
"one of the soldiers had something come up and the others harassed him saying, 'now you aren't supposed to make plans on knife night.'"
Smith then picked up another knife from the dinner table.
"This is what's called a caping knife. It's hammer forged out of a hundred year old hammer spring. It shaves like a razor blade and it has a rib bone in it. The bone washed up in a bay in Texas."
According to Smith, a capping knife is used for chopping wood, skinning animals and cutting up cheese.
"An unsuccessful hunter lives off cheese and crackers," said Smith.
Smith's big accomplishment was was when he got a hold of the original diagram of the Bowie knife. He bought it at a gun and knife show in Arkansas.
Read the full story at www.agesteeljewelry.com!
His first experience with a knife, was when he was going to college.
He was at a hardware store and asked some guys if they would let him have a quarter of their deer if he skinned and quartered it for them.
"I got three in one afternoon (deer meat)," said Smith.
That is when he realized he didn't have a good knife, so he made one using old planter blades. He was approached by a man who asked if he could buy the knife for $85.
"Back in the sixties, that was a lot of money," said Smith.
He kept the second one he made and has been using it ever since. "I have only sharpened it one time, and it really didn't need it," said Smith.
Every time Smith would make a knife, someone would buy it.
In 2000, a friend invited him to a gun and knife show. He sold out of his knives in one day.
"I call that a successful show," said Smith.
The following day at the show, he took orders for knives. He worked from dawn to dusk getting all the orders complete, but by the time he was done, he had 33 new orders.
"At one time I was 41 orders behind," said Smith.
"I don't know what I am now and don't even look anymore. I build one and just pick up the next order and say, 'okay, this is what I am going to do now.'"
Every October, Smith builds a special knife for the Salado Education Foundation.
They auction the knife to raise money for kids so they can go to college.
Smith was a school teacher for over 31 years.
He got his degree in science and art.
He is passionate about art and was even a practicing artist for a number of years. But it didn't provide a stable, monthly income, so he went into teaching. He did his last art show in 1972.
Smith has made over 3,000 knives since his first one in 1959.
"This is man-made material and this is ivory from a wooly mammoth thousands of years old," said Smith as he displayed his collection of knives at the dinner table.
Smith also dabbles in other hobbies such as wood work, ceramics and even belt making.
"A man came to me. His belt was almost torn in two. He asked if I could make him a new belt."
When Smith learned the man was a World War II Vet, he made the belt for free.
"I have had several Vietnam Vets want something," said Smith. "I couldn't charge those men."
Two soldiers approached him ten years ago and inquired about ordering a knife. When Smith told them the cost, their eyebrows shot up in surprise.
So, Smith offered for them to make their own knives and pay for the materials.
Two soldiers became four, and new soldiers started arriving to participate in "knife night."
"one of the soldiers had something come up and the others harassed him saying, 'now you aren't supposed to make plans on knife night.'"
Smith then picked up another knife from the dinner table.
"This is what's called a caping knife. It's hammer forged out of a hundred year old hammer spring. It shaves like a razor blade and it has a rib bone in it. The bone washed up in a bay in Texas."
According to Smith, a capping knife is used for chopping wood, skinning animals and cutting up cheese.
"An unsuccessful hunter lives off cheese and crackers," said Smith.
Smith's big accomplishment was was when he got a hold of the original diagram of the Bowie knife. He bought it at a gun and knife show in Arkansas.
Read the full story at www.agesteeljewelry.com!
2013年6月12日星期三
Their photographs were displayed to a gallery
So said a federal prosecutor yesterday as he laid out the extraordinary case against James "Whitey" Bulger, 83, the former king of the Boston underworld who went on the run in 1994 and was once the most wanted man in America after Osama bin Laden. He was apprehended in 2011 in California after living a seemingly quiet life under an assumed name.
In response to charges that his client was involved in no fewer than 19 murders, Mr Bulger's lawyer appeared to agree that his client was a crook.
"James Bulger was involved in illegal gambling, he was involved in illegal loans, drug trafficking and extortion," the defence attorney, James Carney, told a jury.
He said his client had made "millions upon millions upon millions of dollars", but that large chunks of the income were paid to agents at the FBI to ensure that his nefarious activities were not interrupted by anything as inconvenient as a criminal indictment.
"From 1972 to 1995 James Bulger was never once charged with anything by a federal prosecutor," said Mr Carney.
Both sides offered insights into the dark period in the city's history when Mr Bulger rose to prominence as the leader of the Winter Hill Gang.
Brian Kelley, for the prosecution, said the gang had "run amok in the city of Boston for almost 30 years. At the centre of this murder and mayhem was one man, the defendant".
He recalled a man named Arthur "Bucky" Barrett, "by all accounts a likeable guy", a seller of stolen jewellery, who was lured to a house in south Boston and "chained to a chair" and told to call his wife and persuade her to leave the house, so that gang members could steal $40,000 Mr Barrett had stashed there. Mr Kelley said Mr Bulger then told his gang: "Bucky's going downstairs to lie down for a little while." He added: "As Barrett walked downstairs, this man here killed him."
He also alleged that Mr Bulger had strangled a gang member's stepdaughter and machine-gunned a local man who had boasted too openly of working with his gang.
Mr Kelley read out a list of all 19 alleged victims of Mr Bulger's gang: their photographs were displayed to a gallery that included relatives of the deceased.
Mr Bulger cut a frail figure, flanked by his two defence attorneys.
Mr Carney portrayed a key witness, John Martorano, who has admitted killing 20 people, as a "psychopath" who "would kill people as easily as we would order a cup of coffee". He suggested that Martorano, who served only 12 years in prison, had been willing "to say anything" to cut a deal with prosecutors.The trial continues.
It's been almost two weeks since eminent filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh passed away and there is now an attempt to preserve his non-cinematic legacy as well.
Rituparno was known for his flamboyance and fine and eclectic taste in art. His residences (a sprawling ancestral home and two other apartments elsewhere) are a treasure trove of books and paintings, jewellery and trinkets, lampshades, watches and sunglasses, crockery, shawls and scarves-valued at a few crores to say the least.
At a memorial service held in Kolkata late on Tuesday, there were discussions about conserving the artefacts the late director had handpicked over the years and Aparna Sen, Rituparno's senior colleague and mentor, appealed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to turn his ancestral home into an archive, "to make these accessible to the public, including students researching his works." Banerjee, who was present at the event, promptly accepted the proposal.
Read the full story at www.agesteeljewelry.com!
In response to charges that his client was involved in no fewer than 19 murders, Mr Bulger's lawyer appeared to agree that his client was a crook.
"James Bulger was involved in illegal gambling, he was involved in illegal loans, drug trafficking and extortion," the defence attorney, James Carney, told a jury.
He said his client had made "millions upon millions upon millions of dollars", but that large chunks of the income were paid to agents at the FBI to ensure that his nefarious activities were not interrupted by anything as inconvenient as a criminal indictment.
"From 1972 to 1995 James Bulger was never once charged with anything by a federal prosecutor," said Mr Carney.
Both sides offered insights into the dark period in the city's history when Mr Bulger rose to prominence as the leader of the Winter Hill Gang.
Brian Kelley, for the prosecution, said the gang had "run amok in the city of Boston for almost 30 years. At the centre of this murder and mayhem was one man, the defendant".
He recalled a man named Arthur "Bucky" Barrett, "by all accounts a likeable guy", a seller of stolen jewellery, who was lured to a house in south Boston and "chained to a chair" and told to call his wife and persuade her to leave the house, so that gang members could steal $40,000 Mr Barrett had stashed there. Mr Kelley said Mr Bulger then told his gang: "Bucky's going downstairs to lie down for a little while." He added: "As Barrett walked downstairs, this man here killed him."
He also alleged that Mr Bulger had strangled a gang member's stepdaughter and machine-gunned a local man who had boasted too openly of working with his gang.
Mr Kelley read out a list of all 19 alleged victims of Mr Bulger's gang: their photographs were displayed to a gallery that included relatives of the deceased.
Mr Bulger cut a frail figure, flanked by his two defence attorneys.
Mr Carney portrayed a key witness, John Martorano, who has admitted killing 20 people, as a "psychopath" who "would kill people as easily as we would order a cup of coffee". He suggested that Martorano, who served only 12 years in prison, had been willing "to say anything" to cut a deal with prosecutors.The trial continues.
It's been almost two weeks since eminent filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh passed away and there is now an attempt to preserve his non-cinematic legacy as well.
Rituparno was known for his flamboyance and fine and eclectic taste in art. His residences (a sprawling ancestral home and two other apartments elsewhere) are a treasure trove of books and paintings, jewellery and trinkets, lampshades, watches and sunglasses, crockery, shawls and scarves-valued at a few crores to say the least.
At a memorial service held in Kolkata late on Tuesday, there were discussions about conserving the artefacts the late director had handpicked over the years and Aparna Sen, Rituparno's senior colleague and mentor, appealed to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to turn his ancestral home into an archive, "to make these accessible to the public, including students researching his works." Banerjee, who was present at the event, promptly accepted the proposal.
Read the full story at www.agesteeljewelry.com!
2013年6月8日星期六
who want to preserve their game through taxidermy
It’s the first time in four years that the taxidermy championships have taken place in Craig, giving local taxidermists a prime opportunity to show off their game.
Mountain lions, black bears, elk, deer, ducks and sheep were only a few of the animals on display Saturday at the Moffat County Fairgrounds Pavilion, where roughly 175 people gathered to evaluate the quality of each taxidermists work.
Competitors traveled from Wyoming, Utah and Montana to compete against Colorado taxidermists.
Animals from across the globe were mounted for the audience and judges to see, but the room mainly was filled with elk, deer and mountain lions.
“I think it’s pretty awesome,” said Don Laib, of Craig. “It’s a real talent. This stuff is incredible. How do they transfer it here? It’s so life like.”
Many of mountain lions on display looked as if they were going to come alive and grab those who passed by.
Exotic animals from Africa, such as a zebra and two cape buffalo, stood tall in the middle of the room. Foxes, fish and even a skunk gave audience members an eyeful — each of which was up for first, second or third-place ribbons in a variety of categories.
“This is a great opportunity to get a variety of different species on display,” said Gayle Zimmerman, who chaired the event. “It’s neat to see the competition. It’s the biggest show Colorado has ever had.”
It cost roughly $8,000 to put on the event that featured 150 different animals. The money helped pay for the space, the awards and a certain portion went to pay the two judges who facilitated the prizes.
Taxidermy judge Marcus Detring went from animal to animal, explaining to competitors what they did well and what they could’ve done better.
“He’s really helpful. Hopefully I can apply what he says to my next pieces and make them better,” said Willie Ungerman. “That’s why we come — to learn.”
Ungerman traveled from Hunington, Utah, to display three of his pieces, including a mountain lion that he killed with a bow near his home. Excitement filled his eyes as he explained the hunting process. He used three hound dogs to track down the kill.
“You can track a lion for 10 minutes, or you can track a lion for 10 hours,” he said, noting that it took him 20 minutes to track the 180 pound lion that he killed. “I was way proud.”
Hunters who want to preserve their game through taxidermy must keep in mind how many times they shoot an animal, Ungerman said.
“The least amount of shots means the least amount of holes you have to fix,” he said.
Mark Zimmerman, who owns Bullseye Taxidermy in Craig and is Gayle Zimmerman’s husband, had several pieces on display.
“I think this is great,” he said. “Some of my best friends I’ve met through taxidermy competitions. Most of the time, it’s pretty friendly competition, but I want to beat them.”
Judge Detring explained to several competitors what they should think about when mounting their animals, outlining that craftsmanship, general anatomy — both skeletal and muscular — and correct skin placement is what he judges.
Click on their website www.agesteeljewelry.com for more information.
Mountain lions, black bears, elk, deer, ducks and sheep were only a few of the animals on display Saturday at the Moffat County Fairgrounds Pavilion, where roughly 175 people gathered to evaluate the quality of each taxidermists work.
Competitors traveled from Wyoming, Utah and Montana to compete against Colorado taxidermists.
Animals from across the globe were mounted for the audience and judges to see, but the room mainly was filled with elk, deer and mountain lions.
“I think it’s pretty awesome,” said Don Laib, of Craig. “It’s a real talent. This stuff is incredible. How do they transfer it here? It’s so life like.”
Many of mountain lions on display looked as if they were going to come alive and grab those who passed by.
Exotic animals from Africa, such as a zebra and two cape buffalo, stood tall in the middle of the room. Foxes, fish and even a skunk gave audience members an eyeful — each of which was up for first, second or third-place ribbons in a variety of categories.
“This is a great opportunity to get a variety of different species on display,” said Gayle Zimmerman, who chaired the event. “It’s neat to see the competition. It’s the biggest show Colorado has ever had.”
It cost roughly $8,000 to put on the event that featured 150 different animals. The money helped pay for the space, the awards and a certain portion went to pay the two judges who facilitated the prizes.
Taxidermy judge Marcus Detring went from animal to animal, explaining to competitors what they did well and what they could’ve done better.
“He’s really helpful. Hopefully I can apply what he says to my next pieces and make them better,” said Willie Ungerman. “That’s why we come — to learn.”
Ungerman traveled from Hunington, Utah, to display three of his pieces, including a mountain lion that he killed with a bow near his home. Excitement filled his eyes as he explained the hunting process. He used three hound dogs to track down the kill.
“You can track a lion for 10 minutes, or you can track a lion for 10 hours,” he said, noting that it took him 20 minutes to track the 180 pound lion that he killed. “I was way proud.”
Hunters who want to preserve their game through taxidermy must keep in mind how many times they shoot an animal, Ungerman said.
“The least amount of shots means the least amount of holes you have to fix,” he said.
Mark Zimmerman, who owns Bullseye Taxidermy in Craig and is Gayle Zimmerman’s husband, had several pieces on display.
“I think this is great,” he said. “Some of my best friends I’ve met through taxidermy competitions. Most of the time, it’s pretty friendly competition, but I want to beat them.”
Judge Detring explained to several competitors what they should think about when mounting their animals, outlining that craftsmanship, general anatomy — both skeletal and muscular — and correct skin placement is what he judges.
Click on their website www.agesteeljewelry.com for more information.
2013年6月4日星期二
when people see how many diamonds line
Karen Braidwood and ceramicist and musician Kari Weiner lulled the crowds with soothing guitar rifts amongst and abundance of colour, wine and food.
Main Gallery - “QUINTESSENTIAL” - Five Artists - five journeys: Kari Winer - Beautiful deep reflective Temmuko glazes over porcelain enhance the beauty of food when served in the work created for this exhibition. Kari’s animal sculptures and raku fired work are also be featured.
Robyn Simon - a wonderful indulgence of her passions of travel and painting has been the inspiration for most of this collection of work. Through painting Robyn attempts to convey to the viewer the thing which struck her about the beauty or interest of the subject.
Ann O’Brien – Ann’s most recent journey in jewellery making shows a shift from beads and crystals to her new fascination with the endless possibilities of polymer clay.
George Partos - George considers himself a late starter and finds the creative process in itself reward enough and a wonderful journey of discovery. “Simply I love the process in itself and the journey continues”.
Lyndall Edsall - Lyndall loves to play with colour. Her work for this exhibition depicts scenes from travels plus and “I couldn’t resist adding a sprinkling of my favourite still life themes”.
Studio Gallery - “The Flower:
Nature’s Virtuoso Act ” - Polly Wells The flower has been a time- honoured motif of many artists and it offers infinite possibilities. I am interested in the enthralling beauty and power of flowers.
See your ad here
They are not just “ pretty things”, they have been a driving force in the whole of evolution. The urge of life is somehow distilled in a flower and emanates out to us in form and colour. I hope to capture a little of this dazzling virtuoso act of nature in my paintings, and through it share the joy that nature stirs in us .
The Marquise ring consists of a large one carat F colour marquise diamond set in a 18K white gold ring. The two shoulder diamonds are point one five carat pink diamonds with a 5P colour rating which creates a stunning contrast to the beautiful white marquise diamond centre stone.
Finally, to make the marquise diamond look even larger without blowing an average person’s budget, 60 point five carat diamonds are used to follow the shape of the marquise diamond. The result is a ring design that draws the eye to the marquise centre stone.
This Marquise engagement ring can be seen on the Australian Diamond Brokers’ website as well as on display in their store located at 70 Castlereagh Street, Sydney.
Varouj, a jewellery designer with over 30 years experience said he challenged himself to create a marquise diamond ring that looks bigger without a big price tag.
“The funny thing with this design is that when people see how many diamonds line the marquise diamond, they think it will cost more than just having a larger marquise stone when in fact, it costs less,” said Varouj.
This ring design can be catered to all budgets and include options such as choosing the ring metal type from gold, white gold and platinum. The pink shoulder diamonds can also be changed to yellow diamonds or any other colour as well.
Interested buyers can contact Australian Diamond Brokers for more information about The Marquise ring or any other diamond engagement ring.
Read the full story at www.agesteeljewelry.com!
Main Gallery - “QUINTESSENTIAL” - Five Artists - five journeys: Kari Winer - Beautiful deep reflective Temmuko glazes over porcelain enhance the beauty of food when served in the work created for this exhibition. Kari’s animal sculptures and raku fired work are also be featured.
Robyn Simon - a wonderful indulgence of her passions of travel and painting has been the inspiration for most of this collection of work. Through painting Robyn attempts to convey to the viewer the thing which struck her about the beauty or interest of the subject.
Ann O’Brien – Ann’s most recent journey in jewellery making shows a shift from beads and crystals to her new fascination with the endless possibilities of polymer clay.
George Partos - George considers himself a late starter and finds the creative process in itself reward enough and a wonderful journey of discovery. “Simply I love the process in itself and the journey continues”.
Lyndall Edsall - Lyndall loves to play with colour. Her work for this exhibition depicts scenes from travels plus and “I couldn’t resist adding a sprinkling of my favourite still life themes”.
Studio Gallery - “The Flower:
Nature’s Virtuoso Act ” - Polly Wells The flower has been a time- honoured motif of many artists and it offers infinite possibilities. I am interested in the enthralling beauty and power of flowers.
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They are not just “ pretty things”, they have been a driving force in the whole of evolution. The urge of life is somehow distilled in a flower and emanates out to us in form and colour. I hope to capture a little of this dazzling virtuoso act of nature in my paintings, and through it share the joy that nature stirs in us .
The Marquise ring consists of a large one carat F colour marquise diamond set in a 18K white gold ring. The two shoulder diamonds are point one five carat pink diamonds with a 5P colour rating which creates a stunning contrast to the beautiful white marquise diamond centre stone.
Finally, to make the marquise diamond look even larger without blowing an average person’s budget, 60 point five carat diamonds are used to follow the shape of the marquise diamond. The result is a ring design that draws the eye to the marquise centre stone.
This Marquise engagement ring can be seen on the Australian Diamond Brokers’ website as well as on display in their store located at 70 Castlereagh Street, Sydney.
Varouj, a jewellery designer with over 30 years experience said he challenged himself to create a marquise diamond ring that looks bigger without a big price tag.
“The funny thing with this design is that when people see how many diamonds line the marquise diamond, they think it will cost more than just having a larger marquise stone when in fact, it costs less,” said Varouj.
This ring design can be catered to all budgets and include options such as choosing the ring metal type from gold, white gold and platinum. The pink shoulder diamonds can also be changed to yellow diamonds or any other colour as well.
Interested buyers can contact Australian Diamond Brokers for more information about The Marquise ring or any other diamond engagement ring.
Read the full story at www.agesteeljewelry.com!
2013年6月2日星期日
Please share this article with others using the link below
On a recent sweaty night at Murtala Muhammed international airport in
Lagos, a Nigerian man strutted towards the boarding gates like somebody
who knows – or rather hopes – that he is being watched. He was pulling a
carry-on Louis Vuitton suitcase, with a smaller Louis Vuitton bag on
top. His shoes were from Louis Vuitton and so were his trousers, belt,
shirt and sunglasses. It was over-the-top, even by the standards of
Nigeria, where some of the elite love to flaunt the luxury brands
purchases in the boutiques in European capitals.
Until very recently, flying abroad was the only way for them to buy luxury goods. Now, things may be changing. In April, Ermenegildo Zegna opened a store in Lagos, the first luxury clothing brand to do so. Its setting – on Akin Adesola Street, a busy road that links the lagoon and ocean on either side of Victoria Island, the city’s financial district – is not glamorous. But Zegna, which had never had a store in sub-Saharan Africa, is betting that customers more accustomed to shopping on Bond Street or the Champs-elysees will not mind.
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article.
Zegna is considering opening a store in Angola, which, like Nigeria, has a small but extremely wealthy elite thanks to its oil industry, and in Mozambique, the site of large new gas finds. Africa “is going to be a territory that’s very important for luxury”, even if the market is still at an early stage, according to Gildo Zegna, chief executive. Describing the company’s strategy in emerging markets, including Africa, Mr Zegna told the FT last year that it was targeting “the top 1 per cent of the population, or perhaps even less”.
Zegna’s African expansion may initially seem startling – both Angola and Mozambique experienced devastating wars not long ago – but the company is not alone. Breitling now distributes its watches through wholesalers in at least a dozen African countries, including Ghana. The trend is less surprising when you look at Africa’s place in the global economy. Sub-Saharan African economies are expanding faster than any other region, bar developing Asia, with the IMF forecasting growth of 5.4 per cent in 2013 and 5.7 per cent in 2014. Though many African countries are growing from a very low base – and income distribution is often very unequal – the number of wealthy, status-conscious people is rising and will continue to do so while commodity prices stay high.
For now, the only entrenched market for luxury goods in sub-Saharan Africa is South Africa, which has the continent’s largest economy and a largely urban population. A recent report by the consultancy Bain noted that South Africa has 71,000 dollar millionaires, 60 per cent of the total number in sub-Saharan Africa. That is more than Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates and not that far off the 95,000 millionaires in Russia. Bain estimated that by 2020, 420,000 households in South Africa would have disposable income of more than $100,000 and forecasts that the luxury goods market, worth about $1bn a year, will grow by 20-30 per cent for the next five years.
In South Africa’s favour is its large number of high-end shopping malls that offer the sort of retail space attractive to international brands such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci and Fendi, all present in the country. South Africa has its own luxury brands working mainly with leather and jewellery.
In Lagos, the continent’s most populous city, with more than 12m people, there only two small malls of international standard – compared with 74 in Johannesburg – and even these may not be of a high enough standard for the likes of Louis Vuitton.
Francesco Trapani, head of LVMH’s jewellery and watches division, said last year that Africa remained “a very, very small market for us”. Hermes said that despite looking at South Africa, it had not yet found any suitable opportunities to do business or open a shop on the continent. Yet as Zegna’s foray into Lagos shows, the amount of money sloshing around – and the appetite for conspicuous consumption – means that some luxury goods companies no longer feel content simply to wait for change.
According to Euromonitor, Nigeria was the second fastest growing market in the world for champagne between 2006 and 2011, by which time it had became the 17th biggest consumer of bubbly in the world, with 752,879 bottles drunk. Over the five years to 2016 the trend will continue, with only France experiencing a larger rise in champagne consumption, by volume. And it’s not the cheap stuff – Moet, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Perignon are all popular among Nigeria’s elite.
Carmakers have taken note. Porsche opened a dealership in Lagos last year, a short walk away from the Zegna store. For luxury to take full flight will require the emergence of a middle-class. That said, for some luxury bosses, a narrow band of super-rich people will do for now.
Until very recently, flying abroad was the only way for them to buy luxury goods. Now, things may be changing. In April, Ermenegildo Zegna opened a store in Lagos, the first luxury clothing brand to do so. Its setting – on Akin Adesola Street, a busy road that links the lagoon and ocean on either side of Victoria Island, the city’s financial district – is not glamorous. But Zegna, which had never had a store in sub-Saharan Africa, is betting that customers more accustomed to shopping on Bond Street or the Champs-elysees will not mind.
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article.
Zegna is considering opening a store in Angola, which, like Nigeria, has a small but extremely wealthy elite thanks to its oil industry, and in Mozambique, the site of large new gas finds. Africa “is going to be a territory that’s very important for luxury”, even if the market is still at an early stage, according to Gildo Zegna, chief executive. Describing the company’s strategy in emerging markets, including Africa, Mr Zegna told the FT last year that it was targeting “the top 1 per cent of the population, or perhaps even less”.
Zegna’s African expansion may initially seem startling – both Angola and Mozambique experienced devastating wars not long ago – but the company is not alone. Breitling now distributes its watches through wholesalers in at least a dozen African countries, including Ghana. The trend is less surprising when you look at Africa’s place in the global economy. Sub-Saharan African economies are expanding faster than any other region, bar developing Asia, with the IMF forecasting growth of 5.4 per cent in 2013 and 5.7 per cent in 2014. Though many African countries are growing from a very low base – and income distribution is often very unequal – the number of wealthy, status-conscious people is rising and will continue to do so while commodity prices stay high.
For now, the only entrenched market for luxury goods in sub-Saharan Africa is South Africa, which has the continent’s largest economy and a largely urban population. A recent report by the consultancy Bain noted that South Africa has 71,000 dollar millionaires, 60 per cent of the total number in sub-Saharan Africa. That is more than Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates and not that far off the 95,000 millionaires in Russia. Bain estimated that by 2020, 420,000 households in South Africa would have disposable income of more than $100,000 and forecasts that the luxury goods market, worth about $1bn a year, will grow by 20-30 per cent for the next five years.
In South Africa’s favour is its large number of high-end shopping malls that offer the sort of retail space attractive to international brands such as Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Gucci and Fendi, all present in the country. South Africa has its own luxury brands working mainly with leather and jewellery.
In Lagos, the continent’s most populous city, with more than 12m people, there only two small malls of international standard – compared with 74 in Johannesburg – and even these may not be of a high enough standard for the likes of Louis Vuitton.
Francesco Trapani, head of LVMH’s jewellery and watches division, said last year that Africa remained “a very, very small market for us”. Hermes said that despite looking at South Africa, it had not yet found any suitable opportunities to do business or open a shop on the continent. Yet as Zegna’s foray into Lagos shows, the amount of money sloshing around – and the appetite for conspicuous consumption – means that some luxury goods companies no longer feel content simply to wait for change.
According to Euromonitor, Nigeria was the second fastest growing market in the world for champagne between 2006 and 2011, by which time it had became the 17th biggest consumer of bubbly in the world, with 752,879 bottles drunk. Over the five years to 2016 the trend will continue, with only France experiencing a larger rise in champagne consumption, by volume. And it’s not the cheap stuff – Moet, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Perignon are all popular among Nigeria’s elite.
Carmakers have taken note. Porsche opened a dealership in Lagos last year, a short walk away from the Zegna store. For luxury to take full flight will require the emergence of a middle-class. That said, for some luxury bosses, a narrow band of super-rich people will do for now.
we have launched a few limited edition diamond
Representatives of 11 Bahrain jewellery firms are taking part in one of the industry's premier shows in the US.
The Bahraini participation in the KCK Las Vegas has been organised by the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) in co-operation with Tamkeen, said BCCI gold and pearl jewellery committee head Mohammed Sajid Shaikh.
"This is the first time Bahrain's jewellers and manufactures are taking part in this prestigious event," said Mr Shaikh, speaking from Las Vegas.
"Bahrain firms are the only ones taking part from the region and this is a great honour," Mr Shaikh told the GDN.
"Participating alongside the best in the world, we now have an opportunity to open a whole new market for jewellery made in Bahrain," he said.
"This will also open up the export market to the US and jewellers can take advantage of the free trade agreement between Bahrain and the US."
He said American wholesalers have shown a lot of interest in Bahraini pearls and jewellery and manufacturers had received a lot of inquiries from the Arab American community in the US and Canada.
"We have also arranged meetings with the US Diamond Club and the American Jewellers Association to register Bahraini companies in their Jewellers Directory and website to give them a chance to directly contact Bahrain's jewellers and exporters."
JCK Las Vegas, North America's leading jewellery trade show, continues until tomorrow.
The 2013 show consists of over 2,500 manufacturers and designers representing 32 countries, including 300 new exhibitors, and covers every corner of the jewellery industry, from the most sought-after brands to fashion and up-and-coming talent.
JCK Las Vegas features the most exhibitors of any Jewellery Week show spread over a broad range of categories from bridal and emerging artisan-quality designers to high-end fine jewellery and luxury timepieces.
Loose stones, materials, packaging supplies, and merchandising displays are also available.
"With such breadth of product presented, the show is able to provide one-stop shopping for vendors and retailers alike," said Mr Shaikh.
Sky Jewellery is once again undoubtedly leading from the front with its customer friendly offers and campaigns of its own apart from the conventional seasons of the trade.
It is kick starting today its 8th Anniversary in Muscat with week long anniversary celebrations, offers, discounts and with lots more Value for Money' surprises.
''As always it is customer celebration. And now taking the advantage all together of low price of Gold, at the brim of holidays and above all comparatively very low prices from the Indian market along with renewed duty structure customers are all in full advantage compared to any years in the past. And our offers come at a very right time to add more and more value for their money'', stated Babu John, Managing Director of Sky Jewellery.
Apart from previous years this time we have launched a few limited edition diamond designs fitting to all walks of diamond goers starting from RO79, RO219 and RO2,299.
All these unique pieces would be accompanied by free Designer Bags, Canon Digital Camera and iPad2 respectively, added Babu John.
Diamonds also come with a seasonal 60 per cent Off with free gold coins staring from one gram to 36 gms.
Today showroom will be functional from 8am onwards without lunch break and the first 50 customers will be privileged to enjoy special gold coins as early bird offer irrespective of the size of their purchase.
This early bird offer will remain every day but for the first 25 customers till the campaign gets over.
All the purchase will have free gifts through out the anniversary celebrations.
Thursdays and Saturdays will have special happy hours from 2pm to 5pm with lots of surprise offers and gifts.
Those customers who go for gold purchases above RO5,000 will have a special Gift Hamper containing a Canon Digital Camera, Davidoff Cool Water perfume, Designer Bags, exclusive Jewel Box and lot more surprises.
''Renowned and Certified Planetary Gemologist Shri Unnikrishnnan Sivas will be on a special exclusive consultation at Sky Jewellery . He will be on consultation till June 14 to assist to choose your favourite and luck stones and the anniversary offers will be available till 8th June. However, in order to take advantage of the best designs brought from all across the region in connection with the anniversary and also the price dips always decide to go for the theory Sooner the best,'' said Cyriac Varghese, General Manager, Sky jewellery Group
The Bahraini participation in the KCK Las Vegas has been organised by the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) in co-operation with Tamkeen, said BCCI gold and pearl jewellery committee head Mohammed Sajid Shaikh.
"This is the first time Bahrain's jewellers and manufactures are taking part in this prestigious event," said Mr Shaikh, speaking from Las Vegas.
"Bahrain firms are the only ones taking part from the region and this is a great honour," Mr Shaikh told the GDN.
"Participating alongside the best in the world, we now have an opportunity to open a whole new market for jewellery made in Bahrain," he said.
"This will also open up the export market to the US and jewellers can take advantage of the free trade agreement between Bahrain and the US."
He said American wholesalers have shown a lot of interest in Bahraini pearls and jewellery and manufacturers had received a lot of inquiries from the Arab American community in the US and Canada.
"We have also arranged meetings with the US Diamond Club and the American Jewellers Association to register Bahraini companies in their Jewellers Directory and website to give them a chance to directly contact Bahrain's jewellers and exporters."
JCK Las Vegas, North America's leading jewellery trade show, continues until tomorrow.
The 2013 show consists of over 2,500 manufacturers and designers representing 32 countries, including 300 new exhibitors, and covers every corner of the jewellery industry, from the most sought-after brands to fashion and up-and-coming talent.
JCK Las Vegas features the most exhibitors of any Jewellery Week show spread over a broad range of categories from bridal and emerging artisan-quality designers to high-end fine jewellery and luxury timepieces.
Loose stones, materials, packaging supplies, and merchandising displays are also available.
"With such breadth of product presented, the show is able to provide one-stop shopping for vendors and retailers alike," said Mr Shaikh.
Sky Jewellery is once again undoubtedly leading from the front with its customer friendly offers and campaigns of its own apart from the conventional seasons of the trade.
It is kick starting today its 8th Anniversary in Muscat with week long anniversary celebrations, offers, discounts and with lots more Value for Money' surprises.
''As always it is customer celebration. And now taking the advantage all together of low price of Gold, at the brim of holidays and above all comparatively very low prices from the Indian market along with renewed duty structure customers are all in full advantage compared to any years in the past. And our offers come at a very right time to add more and more value for their money'', stated Babu John, Managing Director of Sky Jewellery.
Apart from previous years this time we have launched a few limited edition diamond designs fitting to all walks of diamond goers starting from RO79, RO219 and RO2,299.
All these unique pieces would be accompanied by free Designer Bags, Canon Digital Camera and iPad2 respectively, added Babu John.
Diamonds also come with a seasonal 60 per cent Off with free gold coins staring from one gram to 36 gms.
Today showroom will be functional from 8am onwards without lunch break and the first 50 customers will be privileged to enjoy special gold coins as early bird offer irrespective of the size of their purchase.
This early bird offer will remain every day but for the first 25 customers till the campaign gets over.
All the purchase will have free gifts through out the anniversary celebrations.
Thursdays and Saturdays will have special happy hours from 2pm to 5pm with lots of surprise offers and gifts.
Those customers who go for gold purchases above RO5,000 will have a special Gift Hamper containing a Canon Digital Camera, Davidoff Cool Water perfume, Designer Bags, exclusive Jewel Box and lot more surprises.
''Renowned and Certified Planetary Gemologist Shri Unnikrishnnan Sivas will be on a special exclusive consultation at Sky Jewellery . He will be on consultation till June 14 to assist to choose your favourite and luck stones and the anniversary offers will be available till 8th June. However, in order to take advantage of the best designs brought from all across the region in connection with the anniversary and also the price dips always decide to go for the theory Sooner the best,'' said Cyriac Varghese, General Manager, Sky jewellery Group
2013年5月28日星期二
This was a promise to Harry Reid
A jury began deliberations on Tuesday in the case of a former Nevada developer and political powerbroker who was called a greedy "ultimate insider" by prosecutors accusing him of illegally funneling nearly $150,000 in campaign money to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid
Harvey Whittemore, 59, a former lobbyist and head of a billion-dollar real estate company, faces four felony counts tied to claims that he gave money to family members and employees to make contributions he had promised to Reid without revealing himself as the source.
"He kept his promise and he broke the law to do it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said during final arguments before the case went to the jury.
"This wasn't just any old promise. This was a promise to Harry Reid, the most powerful man in the U.S. Congress," Olshan said. "When he made these contributions, he was the ultimate insider. He was making millions of dollars and getting personal thank-you notes from the most prominent politicians in the country. Harvey Whittemore was the king of the hill."
Whittemore's lawyers said he broke no laws by giving $5,000 checks as gifts to family members and as gifts or bonuses to 29 employees and their spouses, who then wrote checks for the maximum allowable $4,300 to the campaign group Friends of Harry Reid.
The lawyers said Whittemore, former chief of the Wingfield Nevada Group, suggested the employees and family members contribute to Reid, but made it clear that was voluntary.
"None said they were coerced," Dominic Gentile, Whittemore's lead defense counsel, said in his closing argument. "All knew him as a man of integrity. All said they trusted him."
Whittemore has pleaded not guilty to making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in the name of another, causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission, and making a false statement to the FBI. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks gave the jury of six men and six women 36 specific instructions before the two sides made closing arguments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre said Whittemore used "straw donors" or conduits to contribute illegally to Reid. He said that while most claimed they couldn't recall details of their encounters with Whittemore, federal investigators pieced together a detailed paper trail of the transactions.
"The beauty of this case is the documents don't forget," Myhre said. "He paid the conduits extra money. He solicited the contributions and added a little sweetener. ... And everybody worked in lock step. There is no deviation. This is a highly orchestrated, planned event that shows he was up to no good."
Gentile told the jury it was an important distinction that Whittemore wrote the checks to employees out of his personal account entitled H. Harvey Whittemore attorney fund, not Wingfield Nevada Group, because the law at the time forbid employers from reimbursing workers for such contributions.
"Wingfield Nevada Group was their employer. He was their boss, but he was not their employer," he said. He said Whittemore encouraged them to become politically involved and helped make it possible for some to do so financially.
"Some could not have made the size of contribution they made. He empowered them to do it," Gentile said. "But did he use them as conduits? They don't think so."
Gentile said Whittemore's motive was to help re-elect Reid and other Congress members who helped secure federal funding for a university medical research center that Whittemore and his wife Annette helped found to seek cures for diseases, including one their daughter has.
"Does it make sense he would throw Annette Whittemore and his other children and his father and his employees under the bus?" he said. The man is either smart or he's not. He's either honest, or he's not."
But Myhre said Whittemore was driven solely by greed.
"Not to get more money but greed in the sense of more power. It's about trying to be on the short list that senators and congressmen call when they need money," he said. "It's about him, it's about his power, his prestige. That's why he did it."
Harvey Whittemore, 59, a former lobbyist and head of a billion-dollar real estate company, faces four felony counts tied to claims that he gave money to family members and employees to make contributions he had promised to Reid without revealing himself as the source.
"He kept his promise and he broke the law to do it," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Olshan said during final arguments before the case went to the jury.
"This wasn't just any old promise. This was a promise to Harry Reid, the most powerful man in the U.S. Congress," Olshan said. "When he made these contributions, he was the ultimate insider. He was making millions of dollars and getting personal thank-you notes from the most prominent politicians in the country. Harvey Whittemore was the king of the hill."
Whittemore's lawyers said he broke no laws by giving $5,000 checks as gifts to family members and as gifts or bonuses to 29 employees and their spouses, who then wrote checks for the maximum allowable $4,300 to the campaign group Friends of Harry Reid.
The lawyers said Whittemore, former chief of the Wingfield Nevada Group, suggested the employees and family members contribute to Reid, but made it clear that was voluntary.
"None said they were coerced," Dominic Gentile, Whittemore's lead defense counsel, said in his closing argument. "All knew him as a man of integrity. All said they trusted him."
Whittemore has pleaded not guilty to making excessive campaign contributions, making contributions in the name of another, causing a false statement to be made to the Federal Election Commission, and making a false statement to the FBI. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
U.S. District Judge Larry Hicks gave the jury of six men and six women 36 specific instructions before the two sides made closing arguments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre said Whittemore used "straw donors" or conduits to contribute illegally to Reid. He said that while most claimed they couldn't recall details of their encounters with Whittemore, federal investigators pieced together a detailed paper trail of the transactions.
"The beauty of this case is the documents don't forget," Myhre said. "He paid the conduits extra money. He solicited the contributions and added a little sweetener. ... And everybody worked in lock step. There is no deviation. This is a highly orchestrated, planned event that shows he was up to no good."
Gentile told the jury it was an important distinction that Whittemore wrote the checks to employees out of his personal account entitled H. Harvey Whittemore attorney fund, not Wingfield Nevada Group, because the law at the time forbid employers from reimbursing workers for such contributions.
"Wingfield Nevada Group was their employer. He was their boss, but he was not their employer," he said. He said Whittemore encouraged them to become politically involved and helped make it possible for some to do so financially.
"Some could not have made the size of contribution they made. He empowered them to do it," Gentile said. "But did he use them as conduits? They don't think so."
Gentile said Whittemore's motive was to help re-elect Reid and other Congress members who helped secure federal funding for a university medical research center that Whittemore and his wife Annette helped found to seek cures for diseases, including one their daughter has.
"Does it make sense he would throw Annette Whittemore and his other children and his father and his employees under the bus?" he said. The man is either smart or he's not. He's either honest, or he's not."
But Myhre said Whittemore was driven solely by greed.
"Not to get more money but greed in the sense of more power. It's about trying to be on the short list that senators and congressmen call when they need money," he said. "It's about him, it's about his power, his prestige. That's why he did it."
2013年5月26日星期日
The cause of action for an insurance claim is the grievance
Prabodh Kothari had an Oriental Insurance householder's policy. In a housebreaking case, Kothari lost items worth Rs 18.16 lakh, including jewellery worth Rs 16.96 lakh. After Kothari filed a claim, CP Mehta & Co, the surveyor appointed by the insurance company, reported the loss included items worth Rs 13.38 lakh belonging to Kothari's wife. It added this amount could not be considered, as she was not the insured under the policy. The insurance company agreed to pay only a paltry sum of Rs 31,186.
Subsequently, Kothari filed a consumer complaint against the insurance company and the surveyor before the Mumbai District Forum. The forum said under a householder's insurance policy, the items of all family members were covered. Therefore, the jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife, listed in the policy taken by her husband, would be covered. Accordingly, it directed the insurance company to pay an additional Rs 13.38 lakh.
After an appeal by the insurance company, the Maharashtra State Commission said the complaint was time-barred, as the limitation would be considered from the date of the 'cause of action'- the date when the burglary took place. The commission added there was no deficiency in service, as the initial First Information Report (FIR) lodged with the police didn't include the jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife. Therefore, it set aside the forum's order and dismissed the complaint.
Then, Kothari approached the National Commission. His lawyer,
A A Pirani, argued the limitation wouldn't be considered from the date of the burglary but from the date the claim was repudiated. In this case, though the burglary took place in 2001, part of the claim for the jewellery was repudiated by a letter dated December 4, 2006. To arrive at the limitation, the initial date to be considered would, therefore, be December 4, 2006. As the complaint was filed two years after this, it would be within the limitation.
The commission said the term 'cause of action' was a 'bundle of facts' entitling a person to legal proceedings. For an insurance claim, it would first arise when the incident of loss occurred. The 'bundle of facts' includes the process of assessment of the loss and the admission or rejection of the claim, either wholly or partly. So, the cause of action would arise again when the claim is rejected. Therefore, the commission concurred with the arguments of Kothari's advocate, saying the limitation would commence from December 4, 2006, when the claim was partly rejected. It also said the state commission had overlooked the repudiation letter and arrived at an erroneous conclusion.
The National Commission said though the initial FIR didn't record the loss of the jewellery of Kothari's wife, it was later included and was part of the police investigation. The contract of insurance was a 'householder's insurance policy' that covered various risk heads, including fire and housebreaking. The coverage was for the entire household; it wasn't restricted to an individual. Therefore, the claim for jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife, included in the policy taken by her husband, would be payable, it said.
Accordingly, the National Commission set aside the order of the state commission and restored the order of the district forum, directing the insurance company to pay an additional amount of Rs 13.38 lakh for the loss of the jewellery.
The cause of action for an insurance claim is the grievance about its rejection; therefore, limitation is computed from the date when the claim is repudiated. Also, a claim cannot be simply rejected on the grounds that the loss isn't included in the initial FIR; what is necessary is it should form a part of the police complaint and the investigation. The benefits of a householder's insurance policy extend to the entire family and cover all the items included in the policy.
Subsequently, Kothari filed a consumer complaint against the insurance company and the surveyor before the Mumbai District Forum. The forum said under a householder's insurance policy, the items of all family members were covered. Therefore, the jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife, listed in the policy taken by her husband, would be covered. Accordingly, it directed the insurance company to pay an additional Rs 13.38 lakh.
After an appeal by the insurance company, the Maharashtra State Commission said the complaint was time-barred, as the limitation would be considered from the date of the 'cause of action'- the date when the burglary took place. The commission added there was no deficiency in service, as the initial First Information Report (FIR) lodged with the police didn't include the jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife. Therefore, it set aside the forum's order and dismissed the complaint.
Then, Kothari approached the National Commission. His lawyer,
A A Pirani, argued the limitation wouldn't be considered from the date of the burglary but from the date the claim was repudiated. In this case, though the burglary took place in 2001, part of the claim for the jewellery was repudiated by a letter dated December 4, 2006. To arrive at the limitation, the initial date to be considered would, therefore, be December 4, 2006. As the complaint was filed two years after this, it would be within the limitation.
The commission said the term 'cause of action' was a 'bundle of facts' entitling a person to legal proceedings. For an insurance claim, it would first arise when the incident of loss occurred. The 'bundle of facts' includes the process of assessment of the loss and the admission or rejection of the claim, either wholly or partly. So, the cause of action would arise again when the claim is rejected. Therefore, the commission concurred with the arguments of Kothari's advocate, saying the limitation would commence from December 4, 2006, when the claim was partly rejected. It also said the state commission had overlooked the repudiation letter and arrived at an erroneous conclusion.
The National Commission said though the initial FIR didn't record the loss of the jewellery of Kothari's wife, it was later included and was part of the police investigation. The contract of insurance was a 'householder's insurance policy' that covered various risk heads, including fire and housebreaking. The coverage was for the entire household; it wasn't restricted to an individual. Therefore, the claim for jewellery belonging to Kothari's wife, included in the policy taken by her husband, would be payable, it said.
Accordingly, the National Commission set aside the order of the state commission and restored the order of the district forum, directing the insurance company to pay an additional amount of Rs 13.38 lakh for the loss of the jewellery.
The cause of action for an insurance claim is the grievance about its rejection; therefore, limitation is computed from the date when the claim is repudiated. Also, a claim cannot be simply rejected on the grounds that the loss isn't included in the initial FIR; what is necessary is it should form a part of the police complaint and the investigation. The benefits of a householder's insurance policy extend to the entire family and cover all the items included in the policy.
2013年5月22日星期三
The Miss Glasgow competition featured a charity
Merissa Lennon, 24, reached the finals of various beauty contests over the last three years before finally getting her moment in the spotlight.
She said: “I have competed in loads of competitions, like Miss Earth and Miss Universe Scotland, and had a few nearly moments.
“So I was treating the Miss Glasgow contest as my one last shot and didn’t even tell anyone I was entering it.
“But I was over the moon to win and it still hasn’t sunk in entirely.
“I am so grateful for the support from my family and friends who have travelled around Scotland and the UK supporting my modelling career.
“And it has finally paid off, which proves the old saying ‘if at first you don’t succeed try and try again’.”
The Miss Glasgow competition featured a charity–shop round, which saw Merissa wear a dress made from wallpaper bought in a St Andrew’s Hospice shop and shoes purchased from Macmillan Cancer Support.
Both charities hold special significance for Merissa.
She said: “My aunt died of lung cancer a few years ago and since school I have always taken part in runs and other hospice events.
“So I was delighted to be able to incorporate both charities into my winning effort.”
The former St Bartholomew’s Primary and St Ambrose High pupil decided to embark on her modelling adventure after taking advice from her loved ones.
Merissa said: “My family were always telling me to get into modelling from a youngage because I was slim and tall.
“Then when I was 17 I made the decision to just go for it and haven’t looked back since.
“The Advertiser has followed my progress over the years, competing in all of the shows, and it is great to finally reach a point where the paper can report on me winning a crown.”
Merissa has been very busy since her Miss Glasgow triumph – and could be set to retire from beauty contests and concentrate on her blossoming modelling career.
She said: “I am constantly busy just now as I am holding down a full-time job too.
“Since winning Miss Glasgow I have got a lot more model-ling jobs and public appearances.
“I am in a few wedding shows in the summer and also hosted the Scottish Hotel Awards.
“I also won a sponsorship with Bycaprice Lingerie by Caprice Bourret – a role-model of mine – and after winning I have also been awarded ￡500 worth of underwear, a teeth whitening package and the opportunity to be an ambassador of Glasgow.
“Being optimistic, I don’t think I will enter any more beauty competitions and I’m looking to push on now with all sorts of things.”
She said: “I have competed in loads of competitions, like Miss Earth and Miss Universe Scotland, and had a few nearly moments.
“So I was treating the Miss Glasgow contest as my one last shot and didn’t even tell anyone I was entering it.
“But I was over the moon to win and it still hasn’t sunk in entirely.
“I am so grateful for the support from my family and friends who have travelled around Scotland and the UK supporting my modelling career.
“And it has finally paid off, which proves the old saying ‘if at first you don’t succeed try and try again’.”
The Miss Glasgow competition featured a charity–shop round, which saw Merissa wear a dress made from wallpaper bought in a St Andrew’s Hospice shop and shoes purchased from Macmillan Cancer Support.
Both charities hold special significance for Merissa.
She said: “My aunt died of lung cancer a few years ago and since school I have always taken part in runs and other hospice events.
“So I was delighted to be able to incorporate both charities into my winning effort.”
The former St Bartholomew’s Primary and St Ambrose High pupil decided to embark on her modelling adventure after taking advice from her loved ones.
Merissa said: “My family were always telling me to get into modelling from a youngage because I was slim and tall.
“Then when I was 17 I made the decision to just go for it and haven’t looked back since.
“The Advertiser has followed my progress over the years, competing in all of the shows, and it is great to finally reach a point where the paper can report on me winning a crown.”
Merissa has been very busy since her Miss Glasgow triumph – and could be set to retire from beauty contests and concentrate on her blossoming modelling career.
She said: “I am constantly busy just now as I am holding down a full-time job too.
“Since winning Miss Glasgow I have got a lot more model-ling jobs and public appearances.
“I am in a few wedding shows in the summer and also hosted the Scottish Hotel Awards.
“I also won a sponsorship with Bycaprice Lingerie by Caprice Bourret – a role-model of mine – and after winning I have also been awarded ￡500 worth of underwear, a teeth whitening package and the opportunity to be an ambassador of Glasgow.
“Being optimistic, I don’t think I will enter any more beauty competitions and I’m looking to push on now with all sorts of things.”
2013年5月20日星期一
Bulldogs account for Vulcans in an entertaining affair at Belmore
Canterbury have recorded their first win since Round Two of the VB NSW Cup with an entertaining 38-30 victory over the Auckland Vulcans at Belmore Sports Ground.
With both teams coming off narrow four point losses at home last weekend the 2011 grand final rematch promised to be a close contest, especially with the inclusion of Kris Keating, Tim Lafai and Martin Taupau for the Bulldogs.
Not reknowned for playing well away from home, the Vulcans got off to a promising start in the 6th minute when Auckland second-rower Agnatius Paasi made an attacking raid down the blindside and offloaded to his left winger Atelea Nafetalai who then stepped inside the Bulldogs fullback to cross in the corner to give them an early 4-0 lead.
However three tries in the space of nine minutes to the home team gave the small but vocal Bulldogs fans something to bark about.
In the 13th minute Canterbury speedster Corey Thompson showed some fancy footwork to evade five Vulcans defenders on a 20 metre angled run from the grandstand touchline back inside to the score left of the post.
Former Rooster and Jets playmaker Jack Littlejohn added the extras to make it 6-4 to the Bulldogs.
Four minutes later new recruit Littlejohn combined with Canterbury’s most consistent player all season, Lachlan Burr, and the Bulldogs backrower got the ball down on his second attempt to extend their lead to 10-4.
Canterbury halfback Littlejohn decided to take a gamble in the 22nd minute by running it on the last and it paid off when he found centre Ed Murphy down the right edge and he barged over in the corner.
Tim Lafai, the classy Bulldogs centre took over the goalkicking duties with immediate success nailing the sideline conversion and all of a sudden the home team had blown out to a 16-4 lead.
A few elementary errors from the Bulldogs and a string of penalties midway through the first half invited the Vulcans back into the game and they responded by also scoring three tries between the 28th and 37th minute mark.
A great one-handed pass from fill-in fullback Tangi Ropati to his winger Nafetalai saw him crash over in the left corner for his second try of the half and eighth try of the season.
A late hit from Bulldogs enforcer Taupau on Vulcans playmaker Harry Siejka on the last tackle after getting a bomb away earnt Auckland another set of six in the Doggies danger zone and interchange hooker Siliva Havili made them pay by sneaking over from dummy half and scoring a soft try fromclose range.
Former Panther Siejka finally landed a conversion and it was a two point ball game with seven minutes left in the first half.
Three minutes before the break Canterbury five-eighth Kris Keating had a moment he would rather forget when he threw an intercept 35 metres out from his own tryline and Vulcans winger Ngani Laumape latched on to it to streak away and score untouched under the posts.
With Coach Barry Ward’s job and the Bulldogs season on the line Canterbury needed to score first after the break but after being on the wrong end of a few debatable refereeing decisions Canterbury found themselves further behind in the 49th minute when former Titan Dominique Peyroux combined with his winger Nafetalai who then found fullback Ropati backing up on the inside to dive over for a try and give the Vulcans some breathing space.
Yet just like in the first half the Bulldogs bounced back with a rapid-fire tryscoring blitz midway through the second stanza which changed the complexion of the game.
In the 58th minute Canterbury reduced the deficit to 24-20 when Lafai steamed onto a Keating flat ball from 10 metres out but he failed to convert his own try.
Two minutes later Taupau, who had been having a great game in attack with numerous offloads and strong charges, got another left handed offload away to his backrower Paul Carter and he crossed for the first of his two tries down the left side.Lafai’s conversion gave the Bulldogs a slender two point lead 26-24.
Carter was in again three minutes later when he finished off the try of the match. Starting in their own half, the Bulldogs went from touchline to touchline with prop Junior Palau popping a nice ball in traffic out the backs and although Keating and Lafai’s passes were both borderline, quick hands along the backline saw Thompson into some open space down the left flank and then as he got to the fullback he showed great skill to kick the ball infield off the outside of his right foot and Carter got a lovely bounce to win the race to the ball and score. Lafai’s third conversion extended the Doggies lead to 32-24.
Cook Islands International Drury Low then put the issue beyond doubt in the 68th minute when he sliced through some tiring Vulcans defence to score the match winner under the posts. Lafai converted Canterbury’s fourth try in ten minutes to give them a 38-24 lead.
Although Auckland prop Daniel Palavi scored a late consolation try from close range in the 77th minute and Siejka converted to reduce the margin to 38-30 the Bulldogs hung on to win their first home game of the season and begin their long climb back up the NSW Cup ladder.
This round the Vulcans will host the Knights at Mt Smart Stadium while the Dogs will have their hands full with a talented Wenty side at Ringrose Park on Sunday.
With both teams coming off narrow four point losses at home last weekend the 2011 grand final rematch promised to be a close contest, especially with the inclusion of Kris Keating, Tim Lafai and Martin Taupau for the Bulldogs.
Not reknowned for playing well away from home, the Vulcans got off to a promising start in the 6th minute when Auckland second-rower Agnatius Paasi made an attacking raid down the blindside and offloaded to his left winger Atelea Nafetalai who then stepped inside the Bulldogs fullback to cross in the corner to give them an early 4-0 lead.
However three tries in the space of nine minutes to the home team gave the small but vocal Bulldogs fans something to bark about.
In the 13th minute Canterbury speedster Corey Thompson showed some fancy footwork to evade five Vulcans defenders on a 20 metre angled run from the grandstand touchline back inside to the score left of the post.
Former Rooster and Jets playmaker Jack Littlejohn added the extras to make it 6-4 to the Bulldogs.
Four minutes later new recruit Littlejohn combined with Canterbury’s most consistent player all season, Lachlan Burr, and the Bulldogs backrower got the ball down on his second attempt to extend their lead to 10-4.
Canterbury halfback Littlejohn decided to take a gamble in the 22nd minute by running it on the last and it paid off when he found centre Ed Murphy down the right edge and he barged over in the corner.
Tim Lafai, the classy Bulldogs centre took over the goalkicking duties with immediate success nailing the sideline conversion and all of a sudden the home team had blown out to a 16-4 lead.
A few elementary errors from the Bulldogs and a string of penalties midway through the first half invited the Vulcans back into the game and they responded by also scoring three tries between the 28th and 37th minute mark.
A great one-handed pass from fill-in fullback Tangi Ropati to his winger Nafetalai saw him crash over in the left corner for his second try of the half and eighth try of the season.
A late hit from Bulldogs enforcer Taupau on Vulcans playmaker Harry Siejka on the last tackle after getting a bomb away earnt Auckland another set of six in the Doggies danger zone and interchange hooker Siliva Havili made them pay by sneaking over from dummy half and scoring a soft try fromclose range.
Former Panther Siejka finally landed a conversion and it was a two point ball game with seven minutes left in the first half.
Three minutes before the break Canterbury five-eighth Kris Keating had a moment he would rather forget when he threw an intercept 35 metres out from his own tryline and Vulcans winger Ngani Laumape latched on to it to streak away and score untouched under the posts.
With Coach Barry Ward’s job and the Bulldogs season on the line Canterbury needed to score first after the break but after being on the wrong end of a few debatable refereeing decisions Canterbury found themselves further behind in the 49th minute when former Titan Dominique Peyroux combined with his winger Nafetalai who then found fullback Ropati backing up on the inside to dive over for a try and give the Vulcans some breathing space.
Yet just like in the first half the Bulldogs bounced back with a rapid-fire tryscoring blitz midway through the second stanza which changed the complexion of the game.
In the 58th minute Canterbury reduced the deficit to 24-20 when Lafai steamed onto a Keating flat ball from 10 metres out but he failed to convert his own try.
Two minutes later Taupau, who had been having a great game in attack with numerous offloads and strong charges, got another left handed offload away to his backrower Paul Carter and he crossed for the first of his two tries down the left side.Lafai’s conversion gave the Bulldogs a slender two point lead 26-24.
Carter was in again three minutes later when he finished off the try of the match. Starting in their own half, the Bulldogs went from touchline to touchline with prop Junior Palau popping a nice ball in traffic out the backs and although Keating and Lafai’s passes were both borderline, quick hands along the backline saw Thompson into some open space down the left flank and then as he got to the fullback he showed great skill to kick the ball infield off the outside of his right foot and Carter got a lovely bounce to win the race to the ball and score. Lafai’s third conversion extended the Doggies lead to 32-24.
Cook Islands International Drury Low then put the issue beyond doubt in the 68th minute when he sliced through some tiring Vulcans defence to score the match winner under the posts. Lafai converted Canterbury’s fourth try in ten minutes to give them a 38-24 lead.
Although Auckland prop Daniel Palavi scored a late consolation try from close range in the 77th minute and Siejka converted to reduce the margin to 38-30 the Bulldogs hung on to win their first home game of the season and begin their long climb back up the NSW Cup ladder.
This round the Vulcans will host the Knights at Mt Smart Stadium while the Dogs will have their hands full with a talented Wenty side at Ringrose Park on Sunday.
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