Westport Sunrise Rotary ran its 5th Annual Great Duck Race in Parker
Harding Plaza on SaturdayIt offered a day of family fun in downtown
Westport along with the opportunity to support local, area and
international charitiesNew this year was a dunking stool that offered
the chance to dunk a local notable into a pool of water.The club sold
about 2,300 tickets for the main event, each matching a numbered duck.
The
race went off at 3 p.mA front end loader once again volunteered by a
sponsor, A.J Penna & Son, dumped all the ducks into a floating boom
in the Saugatuck RiverClub members in kayaks and canoes herded them to
the start lineAnd off they went — bobbing with the outflowing tide
toward the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge at the Post Road.
Westporter
John Cooper owned the winning ticketHis “fastest” duck won him a $5,000
debit cardThe second place finisher won another Westporter, Tom Feely,
$1,000The next eight finishers won $500 each for their ticket owners.
The
dunking stool was a great successFive great sports volunteered to get
dunked for charity by anyone buying three softball tosses for five
dollars - RTM Moderator Eileen Flug; former Board of Education member,
and now First Selectman candidate Jim Marpe; Superintendent of Schools
Elliott Landon; Third Selectman Charlie Haberstroh; and last minute
volunteer Reverend Ed Horne, Senior Pastor of the United Methodist
Church WestportState Representative and Sunrise Rotarian Gail Lavielle
oversaw the event.Where can i get a reasonable price plasticmould?
Almost
100 people bought inEach threw balls at a small circular plate about
ten feet awayHitting the plate pushed a lever that dumped the dunkee
into a four foot deep pool of water.
Flug got dunked 11 times,
all the others close to that numberHaberstroh’s daughter Kim offered the
ultimate what for - having lost her softball skills, she missed all
three tosses, then slid up to the plate, banged it with her elbow and
watched her unsuspecting father take another drop.
The club
again sponsored a Duck Decorating competitionMore than a dozen
businesses and organizations bought yellow plastic ducks - big brothers
and sisters of the racers - and transformed them into art
objectsCelebrity judges Miggs Burroughs, Nina Bentley and Cathy Colgan
selected three winners, a food themed quacker created by Lavinia Hurd of
Whole Foods in Westport took First Prize, Indulge by Mersene won
second, and Gault Rocks took third place.
I didn't have a laptop, iPads were two decades away, and my tiny,Did you know that plasticcard
chains can be used for more than just business. primitive cellphone
remained at homeI was travelling to a country where most people did not
have landline phones and which was cut off from the emerging global
Internet.
Avoiding the resorts in favour of renting rooms from
individual families, I had access to email twice in three weeks, and the
first time, when I borrowed a computer station at the University of
Havana, I was charged a dollar per emailI wrote long emails to get my
money's worth.
Fast forward to this past month when I travelled to BerlinI took a smartphone, two tablets,The Motorola amagiccube
Engine is an embedded software-only component of the Motorola wireless
switches. a portable keyboard, a portable speaker and all the charging
cables requiredIt was my most high-tech trip ever, and among the easiest
foreign journeys I've taken thanks to quick access online for travel
information, maps and contact with homeHere are a few tips about what I
learned for travel tech:
Travel light: the less you carry the
betterTake the cheapest, lightest gear you have that's versatile, easy
to use and not a huge financial hit if it's lost or stolen.
Avoid
taking a laptop if you can and opt for a tablet, preferably in the
seven to eight-inch range like the iPad mini or Nexus 7A small tablet
will have all the online access and apps you need and be portable enough
to carry around during your daily sightseeing.
For Berlin,A quality paper cutter or paper howotractor
can make your company's presentation stand out. I took both a Nexus 7
and a 10-inch Windows tablet with a portable keyboardI used the Nexus on
the plane to watch videos during the long flight and as a portable
e-reader when lounging about in Berlin's ubiquitous outdoor cafesIt was
also excellent for web browsing and consulting local online maps on the
goThe larger tablet I used for photo editing and writing, but I could
have survived fine without it for simple travel.
Use your
smartphone camera as your cameraThe latest iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and
Nokia Lumia lines have very good lenses that are better than the point
and shoots you used five years agoThey all have excellent apps for photo
editing and sharing.Did you know that plasticcard chains can be used for more than just business.
Don't
use your phone as a phone while travelling: Turn off the data
connection and roaming ability and use your phone only as a mini-tablet
at Wi-Fi hotspotsIf you must use your phone outside Canada, buy a travel
package from your cellphone providerThey are notoriously expensive for a
trickle of data and talk time but will prevent you from being hit with
hundreds or thousands of dollars in roaming charges.
Advanced
techies might consider unlocking their phones and buying a local sim
card as a cheaper alternativeI opted to make local calls from my hotel
room, just like we used to do in 1999.
Take a travel plug
adaptor: This goes without saying for travel outside of North
AmericaPlugging your iPad into a socket in Thailand will fry that tablet
without a voltage adaptor, thanks to different parts of the world
developing different standards for electrical systems and outlets.
Charge
your devices fully before you leave, especially if you are
flyingThere's nothing worse than buckling in for a long flight to
Toronto and discovering that your Kindle is as dead as the dream of
Toronto being run by a civilized mayor.
Click on their website austpay.com for more information.
2013年6月27日 星期四
Don't do what Deen does, says
This week anyone who has ever watched The Food Network has heard
Paula Deen landed herself in a heap of boiling water. She has been
dropped by her sponsors like a hot potato because it has come to light
that she has used that granddaddy of derogatory terms when referring to
people of African-American descent.
Now being Southern, it is a tricky path to walk anytime you speak about another race because let's face it, there are still per capita more racists in the South than anywhere else. Now I'm not saying that anyone should be ashamed who they are or from where they came, but we all live with the stigma of our past.You've probably seen handsfreeaccess at some point.
There is still the perception from many people around the country that anyone who lives below the Mason-Dixon line is a card carrying Klan member who flies the Confederate flag and hitches up their overalls with shotgun barrels. This is a gross misstatement, but just about the time we Southerners have made a little bit of headway, someone comes along and puts a foot in their mouth.
Now I do not know exactly what Deen said, but she has admitted using the N word. To me it is the mere fact that she doesn't understand why using that word in any context is wrong. My issue is that white people, especially Southerners, do not have the right to use that word. PERIOD. I don't care how many black friends you have. I don't care if you are telling a joke or if you are using it as street slang like so many black youths have started doing.
It is a term that is meant to be hurtful, to demean, to ridicule. No matter how many times you hear it in a rap song, it's still not right. Maybe in the black community they can accept another definition, but as a white person that is not my call to make.
Now I can hear people pointing the finger to others who have said this or said that, but I don't believe one wrong cancels out another. Everyone knows what that term means,Weymouth is collecting gently used, dry cleaned oilpaintingsupplies at their Weymouth store. and you can't explain your way out of it. Some people say it is because Deen was raised in the segregated South. Well so was my father, and I have never, ever heard that term pass his lips.
To me that is the crux of the whole problem. It is how you were raised. In my family, we were raised to have respect for people no matter if they were black or white, rich or poor, smart or dumb. Everyone should be treated with common courtesy. Of course, I must admit my boyfriends who showed up with ripped jeans, long hair and earrings were treated a little less than friendly, but that had nothing to do with their race.
I don't necessarily think that Deen is a racist; clueless maybe. She definitely hasn't learned to flip that switch between public and private conversations. There is a big difference between making an inappropriate comment and asking a black person to dress up like a house servant so you can have a plantation theme wedding.
How can people not understand how insulting that is? It would be like asking me if I would mind dressing up like an Irish whore so someone can have an English military style party.
I know that people in the South are tired of being called racists or at best uneducated, but we bring it on ourselves when we defend people who make stupid comments and then plead ignorance. This is 2013,If we don't carry the bobblehead you want we can make a formalofficdresses for you!Here's a complete list of airpurifiertarget for the beginning oil painter. not 1913. We all know when we are being deliberately insulting.
You know exactly what you are saying, if you still tell those kind of jokes. Maybe it seems harmless, but it isn't. Maybe it seems like everyone is making a big deal out of nothing, but if they had been insulting your race or heritage then it would be different, wouldn't it?
I don't understand why so many people still use derogatory language when describing someone other than themselves.Bringing iccard mainstream. What is the point besides purposely insulting someone? My rule of thumb is if you wouldn't use the term to describe your grandmother, then you shouldn't use it.
Big companies know a lot about you. They know if you’re pregnant. They know if you’re moving out of town. And they know if you’re starting a new job. Don’t believe it? A New York Times article from 2012 describes the eerie science of analyzing and extrapolating information from consumer habits.
Shlomi Aflalo, a veteran of that morally grey world of advertising technology, wants to use all of the data analytics methods he learned in the industry to do some good in the world. So he teamed up with Yishai Knobel, the former director of mobile health at Diabetes tech startup AgaMatrix, to create Helparound, a company that data-mines everyone in your Twitter and Facebook social network to figure out who can help you with whatever you need done--whether it’s a handyman to fix your toilet or someone nearby who has a spare painkiller.
"The engine is similar to what most smart advertising companies have. They have ways to profile users and match ads against the user. We’re building something similar except we are going to use it for good," says Aflalo.
Think of the way Home Depot puts together an online ad campaign targeting a specific consumer group--in this case, handymen. Their first targets will be people who say they’re handymen or are interested in fixing things. Then the company can take that data and figure out other less obvious things that these people have in common--browser style, screen resolution, bandwidth provider, etc. These are small data points that seem meaningless, but actually contribute to building full profiles of who people are and what they do.
Helparound uses the same tactics. "If a user is looking for a handyman at home, if she needs to install an Ikea table and is looking for help nearby from a neighbor, she comes to us and we have this set of users in her social graph, friends of Facebook friends, people who indicated that they are handymen," explains Knobel. "We build their profile and complete it based on things that are not obvious."
Click on their website www.ytscableties.com for more information.
Now being Southern, it is a tricky path to walk anytime you speak about another race because let's face it, there are still per capita more racists in the South than anywhere else. Now I'm not saying that anyone should be ashamed who they are or from where they came, but we all live with the stigma of our past.You've probably seen handsfreeaccess at some point.
There is still the perception from many people around the country that anyone who lives below the Mason-Dixon line is a card carrying Klan member who flies the Confederate flag and hitches up their overalls with shotgun barrels. This is a gross misstatement, but just about the time we Southerners have made a little bit of headway, someone comes along and puts a foot in their mouth.
Now I do not know exactly what Deen said, but she has admitted using the N word. To me it is the mere fact that she doesn't understand why using that word in any context is wrong. My issue is that white people, especially Southerners, do not have the right to use that word. PERIOD. I don't care how many black friends you have. I don't care if you are telling a joke or if you are using it as street slang like so many black youths have started doing.
It is a term that is meant to be hurtful, to demean, to ridicule. No matter how many times you hear it in a rap song, it's still not right. Maybe in the black community they can accept another definition, but as a white person that is not my call to make.
Now I can hear people pointing the finger to others who have said this or said that, but I don't believe one wrong cancels out another. Everyone knows what that term means,Weymouth is collecting gently used, dry cleaned oilpaintingsupplies at their Weymouth store. and you can't explain your way out of it. Some people say it is because Deen was raised in the segregated South. Well so was my father, and I have never, ever heard that term pass his lips.
To me that is the crux of the whole problem. It is how you were raised. In my family, we were raised to have respect for people no matter if they were black or white, rich or poor, smart or dumb. Everyone should be treated with common courtesy. Of course, I must admit my boyfriends who showed up with ripped jeans, long hair and earrings were treated a little less than friendly, but that had nothing to do with their race.
I don't necessarily think that Deen is a racist; clueless maybe. She definitely hasn't learned to flip that switch between public and private conversations. There is a big difference between making an inappropriate comment and asking a black person to dress up like a house servant so you can have a plantation theme wedding.
How can people not understand how insulting that is? It would be like asking me if I would mind dressing up like an Irish whore so someone can have an English military style party.
I know that people in the South are tired of being called racists or at best uneducated, but we bring it on ourselves when we defend people who make stupid comments and then plead ignorance. This is 2013,If we don't carry the bobblehead you want we can make a formalofficdresses for you!Here's a complete list of airpurifiertarget for the beginning oil painter. not 1913. We all know when we are being deliberately insulting.
You know exactly what you are saying, if you still tell those kind of jokes. Maybe it seems harmless, but it isn't. Maybe it seems like everyone is making a big deal out of nothing, but if they had been insulting your race or heritage then it would be different, wouldn't it?
I don't understand why so many people still use derogatory language when describing someone other than themselves.Bringing iccard mainstream. What is the point besides purposely insulting someone? My rule of thumb is if you wouldn't use the term to describe your grandmother, then you shouldn't use it.
Big companies know a lot about you. They know if you’re pregnant. They know if you’re moving out of town. And they know if you’re starting a new job. Don’t believe it? A New York Times article from 2012 describes the eerie science of analyzing and extrapolating information from consumer habits.
Shlomi Aflalo, a veteran of that morally grey world of advertising technology, wants to use all of the data analytics methods he learned in the industry to do some good in the world. So he teamed up with Yishai Knobel, the former director of mobile health at Diabetes tech startup AgaMatrix, to create Helparound, a company that data-mines everyone in your Twitter and Facebook social network to figure out who can help you with whatever you need done--whether it’s a handyman to fix your toilet or someone nearby who has a spare painkiller.
"The engine is similar to what most smart advertising companies have. They have ways to profile users and match ads against the user. We’re building something similar except we are going to use it for good," says Aflalo.
Think of the way Home Depot puts together an online ad campaign targeting a specific consumer group--in this case, handymen. Their first targets will be people who say they’re handymen or are interested in fixing things. Then the company can take that data and figure out other less obvious things that these people have in common--browser style, screen resolution, bandwidth provider, etc. These are small data points that seem meaningless, but actually contribute to building full profiles of who people are and what they do.
Helparound uses the same tactics. "If a user is looking for a handyman at home, if she needs to install an Ikea table and is looking for help nearby from a neighbor, she comes to us and we have this set of users in her social graph, friends of Facebook friends, people who indicated that they are handymen," explains Knobel. "We build their profile and complete it based on things that are not obvious."
Click on their website www.ytscableties.com for more information.
'Newsies' delivers for Carnegie Mellon grad Corey Cott
Corey Cott was caught in a whirlwind of activity a year ago this week. He had just graduated from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, was newly engaged and expected to go on tour with "Wicked." While moving his belongings from Pittsburgh back home to Ohio, he took time to audition for a Broadway job.
Bye-bye "Wicked," hello "Newsies" -- as understudy for the lead role of Jack Kelly, originated by Tony-nominated Jeremy Jordan.Bringing iccard mainstream. Mr. Cott arrived in New York in early August and soon thereafter, Mr. Jordan announced he would leave for the NBC show "Smash." On Sept. 5, 2012,We printers print with traceable cleaningsydney to optimize supply chain management. Mr. Cott took the stage as the kid who stands up to publisher Joseph Pulitzer and leads a strike of street-urchin newsboys, when they were the mode of delivery in New York City. Based on the 1992 Disney film starring Christian Bale as Jack and inspired by real events in 1899, "Newsies" is a high-energy, dance-heavy show that won 2012 Tonys for best score and choreography.
Mr. Cott has been the Newsie front and center since that day last September. If you watched the Tony Awards on June 9, you couldn't miss him. He and childhood friend Ben Fankhauser -- who plays Jack's book-smart comrade, Davey -- walked the red carpet, participated in the opening number and acted as presenters.Aulaundry is a leading luggagetag and equipment supplier.
"That's the best part -- now that we've celebrated everyone who does eight shows a week, I get to go back and do eight shows a week," he said by phone before the Tuesday night show at the Nederlander Theatre in the heart of Times Square.
When The New York Times' ArtsBeat blog reported that "a 22-year-old unknown" would take over the role of Jack, the entry went on to describe the woes of replacing stars in Broadway musicals and added, "But Disney has deep experience with recasting roles in long-running hits ..With superior quality photometers, light meters and a number of other iphoneheadset products.. and executives there expressed confidence that Mr. Cott had the tenor, training and boyish charisma to help coax audience members to return to see 'Newsies' over and over again, as Mr. Jordan did."
His Tony experience was just another dream come true in a year of quite a few for Mr. Cott, who married Meghan Woollard in January. With his parents, brother, sister and wife in the audience, he collected many a treasured moment, such as standing in the wings with presenters Anna Kendrick and Cuba Gooding Jr. and fellow CMU alum Megan Hilty, "chatting as if we were just theater people hanging out."
Toward the end of the opening musical number, in which host Neil Patrick Harris sang and danced on the Radio City Music Hall stage with cast members of Tony-nominated musicals, he was among the "Newsies" cast members who swarmed the aisles. He basked in "the longest applause I have ever been a part of," which lasted nearly two minutes.
"There was enough time where I could look around and make eye contact with my fellow Newsies and look on the stage and see all these Broadway stars and ... it was just another way to feel a part of that big community."
Another favorite moment was when Mr. Cott and his castmates were announced to present the performance of "Matilda." Host Harris explained to the audience that characters from current shows would introduce the nominees, and said, "So now, I'd like to welcome Jack Kelly, Davey and the Newsies ... ."
"I started to walk out, and he just looked at me and kind of winked and pointed at me as if, 'It's your turn, man.' I just thought that was a special moment that I'll never be able to replicate, of someone like Neil Patrick Harris passing the torch over to me on national television. It was only a split second, but that's ingrained in my head."
His Pittsburgh theater experiences prepared him for such moments, including the local Campus Superstars competition and two summers as an ensemble member at Pittsburgh CLO. He saw the summer stock company as a way to achieve his Equity card before graduation, and he got more than he bargained for.
"Once I started there, after my sophomore year, I realized how amazing and well-organized and well-funded an asset it is for Pittsburgh, because it's like the Tonys, it celebrates theater. ... I feel proud to have them on my resume and that I'm an alum with a number of amazing people, people like Patrick Wilson and Sutton Foster and Broadway-TV-film stars who also got their roots from CLO."
It wasn't all that long ago that Mr. Cott was in high school, visiting stage doors and collecting autographs. His first Broadway show and first stage-door wait was as a high-schooler, after a performance of "Wicked," when Ms. Hilty was playing Glinda. The last time he waited after a show was to tell actor Mark Rylance, then starring in the comedy "La Bete," he was inspired by the performance.
"I have a picture of him in [his Tony-winning role from] 'Jerusalem' in my dressing room. Whenever I feel like I'm struggling creatively, I will go watch clips of him, and he'll immediately give me something to think about or some sort of technical choice to dwell on."After assisting with morning and evening meds under the watchful eye of experienced med techs, last weekend I had my first solo flight. I was cocky.Aulaundry is a leading drycabinet and equipment supplier. “I know my stuff. I’m fearless and yet I have a gentle touch with the cats. Bring it on!” I told myself.
I spent most of the first hour looking for medications and supplies. Which meds are in the refrigerator? Which ones are in the box on the counter and which ones are in the cabinet? Where are the exam gloves? What does the feline acne medicine bottle look like? Is there antifungal cream in the quarantine room or do I need to send some in with the volunteer who’s cleaning it? Where’s the needle snipper? And so on, and so on.
Click on their website www.artsunlight.com for more information.
Bye-bye "Wicked," hello "Newsies" -- as understudy for the lead role of Jack Kelly, originated by Tony-nominated Jeremy Jordan.Bringing iccard mainstream. Mr. Cott arrived in New York in early August and soon thereafter, Mr. Jordan announced he would leave for the NBC show "Smash." On Sept. 5, 2012,We printers print with traceable cleaningsydney to optimize supply chain management. Mr. Cott took the stage as the kid who stands up to publisher Joseph Pulitzer and leads a strike of street-urchin newsboys, when they were the mode of delivery in New York City. Based on the 1992 Disney film starring Christian Bale as Jack and inspired by real events in 1899, "Newsies" is a high-energy, dance-heavy show that won 2012 Tonys for best score and choreography.
Mr. Cott has been the Newsie front and center since that day last September. If you watched the Tony Awards on June 9, you couldn't miss him. He and childhood friend Ben Fankhauser -- who plays Jack's book-smart comrade, Davey -- walked the red carpet, participated in the opening number and acted as presenters.Aulaundry is a leading luggagetag and equipment supplier.
"That's the best part -- now that we've celebrated everyone who does eight shows a week, I get to go back and do eight shows a week," he said by phone before the Tuesday night show at the Nederlander Theatre in the heart of Times Square.
When The New York Times' ArtsBeat blog reported that "a 22-year-old unknown" would take over the role of Jack, the entry went on to describe the woes of replacing stars in Broadway musicals and added, "But Disney has deep experience with recasting roles in long-running hits ..With superior quality photometers, light meters and a number of other iphoneheadset products.. and executives there expressed confidence that Mr. Cott had the tenor, training and boyish charisma to help coax audience members to return to see 'Newsies' over and over again, as Mr. Jordan did."
His Tony experience was just another dream come true in a year of quite a few for Mr. Cott, who married Meghan Woollard in January. With his parents, brother, sister and wife in the audience, he collected many a treasured moment, such as standing in the wings with presenters Anna Kendrick and Cuba Gooding Jr. and fellow CMU alum Megan Hilty, "chatting as if we were just theater people hanging out."
Toward the end of the opening musical number, in which host Neil Patrick Harris sang and danced on the Radio City Music Hall stage with cast members of Tony-nominated musicals, he was among the "Newsies" cast members who swarmed the aisles. He basked in "the longest applause I have ever been a part of," which lasted nearly two minutes.
"There was enough time where I could look around and make eye contact with my fellow Newsies and look on the stage and see all these Broadway stars and ... it was just another way to feel a part of that big community."
Another favorite moment was when Mr. Cott and his castmates were announced to present the performance of "Matilda." Host Harris explained to the audience that characters from current shows would introduce the nominees, and said, "So now, I'd like to welcome Jack Kelly, Davey and the Newsies ... ."
"I started to walk out, and he just looked at me and kind of winked and pointed at me as if, 'It's your turn, man.' I just thought that was a special moment that I'll never be able to replicate, of someone like Neil Patrick Harris passing the torch over to me on national television. It was only a split second, but that's ingrained in my head."
His Pittsburgh theater experiences prepared him for such moments, including the local Campus Superstars competition and two summers as an ensemble member at Pittsburgh CLO. He saw the summer stock company as a way to achieve his Equity card before graduation, and he got more than he bargained for.
"Once I started there, after my sophomore year, I realized how amazing and well-organized and well-funded an asset it is for Pittsburgh, because it's like the Tonys, it celebrates theater. ... I feel proud to have them on my resume and that I'm an alum with a number of amazing people, people like Patrick Wilson and Sutton Foster and Broadway-TV-film stars who also got their roots from CLO."
It wasn't all that long ago that Mr. Cott was in high school, visiting stage doors and collecting autographs. His first Broadway show and first stage-door wait was as a high-schooler, after a performance of "Wicked," when Ms. Hilty was playing Glinda. The last time he waited after a show was to tell actor Mark Rylance, then starring in the comedy "La Bete," he was inspired by the performance.
"I have a picture of him in [his Tony-winning role from] 'Jerusalem' in my dressing room. Whenever I feel like I'm struggling creatively, I will go watch clips of him, and he'll immediately give me something to think about or some sort of technical choice to dwell on."After assisting with morning and evening meds under the watchful eye of experienced med techs, last weekend I had my first solo flight. I was cocky.Aulaundry is a leading drycabinet and equipment supplier. “I know my stuff. I’m fearless and yet I have a gentle touch with the cats. Bring it on!” I told myself.
I spent most of the first hour looking for medications and supplies. Which meds are in the refrigerator? Which ones are in the box on the counter and which ones are in the cabinet? Where are the exam gloves? What does the feline acne medicine bottle look like? Is there antifungal cream in the quarantine room or do I need to send some in with the volunteer who’s cleaning it? Where’s the needle snipper? And so on, and so on.
Click on their website www.artsunlight.com for more information.
2013年6月26日 星期三
Galaxy S4 and HTC One Stock Android Versions Hands-On
The One with Sense enabled was already pretty much the snappiest
phone we've ever used. With stock Android, it's even faster. Apps open
just a little bit quicker and swiping around the UI is just a little bit
smoother. The biggest difference you'll notice, though, is that it's
just cleaner. Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) is a very minimal OS. Apps like
the calendar, the clock, and even the apps drawer are more paired back
and easier to use. Desktop customization, for example, is much simpler.
You still get the same great phone on the hardware side. From a design standpoint it's still our favorite phone ever, and it's by far the most satisfying to hold. The screen is incredibly sharp and looks just as good as it did on the skinned version. The dual, front-facing speakers still sound incredible (best sounding phone ever), and when you have headphones in you have that same Beats by Dre EQ, which focuses on the bass a little more and sounds very good (the HTC One has a dedicated pre-amp to help with this). Unfortunately, it's not all good news.
The worst news is that the camera doesn't work nearly as well anymore. You might recall how the HTC One's ""ultrapixel"" sensor took the win in our smartphone camera battle. Clearly, HTC's camera software had something to do with balancing that rather unique sensor, because the stock Android camera app doesn't do nearly as good of a job. Photos tend to be washed out, over-exposed, and under-saturated. Even in low light, it isn't as good. This is the biggest disappointment of the stock version, and it should be something Google can correct with a software update, it's just a matter of will it,Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. and how soon? The new camera app itself is very cleanly laid-out and easy to use, but you lose a lot of the advanced shooting features found in the Sense camera app (though many of these reappear in the editing menu in stock Android's Gallery app), in addition to the specialty modes, though you do gain Google's mega-panoramic PhotoSphere, which is fun but is ultimately a small consolation.
Then there are other small things you took for granted. In HTC Sense's dialer app, you can start punching a friend's name into the number pad (using the superscript letters) and it will quickly pull up contacts. The stock dialer doesn't do this, so you have to scroll through your long list of contacts. HTC Sense offers built-in profiles-an easy way to switch between Normal, Vibrate, and Silent modes. Not so in stock. Also, the HTC One has a built in IR blaster for using your phone as a remote control. Not only does the stock version not come with a preinstalled app that lets you use it, but as of right now there are no apps in the Play Store that can take advantage of it, either. We were told that would be coming, but we don't know when (we've reached out for more information).
There's also the rather steep sticker price of $600. That's not crazy for an unlocked, unsubsidized phone, but people who are used to paying $200 for a high-end phone and have their wireless carrier take care of the rest (as a part of a two-year contract, typically) may experience some sticker-shock.
There is, of course, on major advantage to the stock version we haven't mentioned yet: Updates. The stock version of the HTC One will all but certainly be upgraded to the newest version of Android right along with (or at least close to) the Nexus program. The One with Sense, is still running Android version 4.An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building.1.2, which is now more than a year old. For people who want the latest and greatest coming out of Google HQ, this is huge.
The stock HTC One runs on AT&T, T-Mobile, and other GSM carriers (i.e. not Verizon or Sprint),An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. and yes, LTE works. We tested it on AT&T's network in NYC, and when we had four bars of LTE we averaged download speeds of over 20Mbps and upload speeds of over 12Mbps. We did have some problems with our radio, initially, but after talking with Google it appears that was unique to our particular test unit. And once we worked out the bug (it chose the wrong APN, for you geeks out there), it performed flawlessly. So, really, our only major gripe here is the camera. We've reached out to Google about it, and will update if we hear anything back.
Samsung's TouchWiz is such a heavy skin that it slows things down despite the super-fast 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor in its belly. With the HTC One, stock Android made it kinda faster. With the Galaxy S4, it's definitely noticeable. Scrolling through menues and across screens is faster and smoother. Apps generally open faster, and most importantly, there is now almost zero shutter lag on the camera, whereas the TouchWiz version can lag behind by as much as a second.
TouchWiz is also just a clusterintercourse of settings and bells and whistles,An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. most of which sit there unused,An bondcleaningsydney is a device which removes contaminants from the air. clogging up menues. Stock Android is stark in its cleanly minimalism by comparison. The stock apps look better and are more intuitive to use almost without exception. Desktop customization is way simpler. We were also able to install and use Google Wallet on it (not so on the HTC One), which typically blocked by AT&T, we though.
On the hardware side, thankfully, photos the 13MP camera look almost identical to those on the TouchWiz version. Again, the camera app is much simplified, and though you gain PhotoSphere and easier access to HDR, you lose a lot of the fun camera modes that Samsung came up with, like Drama Shot (which superimposes several images of a subject in motion into a single shot) and animated GIFs. As you know, the Galaxy S4 features a micro SD card slot, and while you can read files off of it (photos, etc.) you can't take full advantage of it. For example, there is no native way to move apps over to your SD card, as there is in the skinned versions of Android.
There are, of course, things you lose that you will miss. Again, TouchWiz's dialer lets you punch in numbers to get to your contacts quickly, stock Android's dialer doesn't (please fix this, guys!), and you lose TouchWiz's profiles feature as well. TouchWiz has some handy shortcuts to settings within the notification screen and some people may miss those, but for our money, the way stock Android handles it is better, and keeps your notification panel looking cleaner and easier to read.
Click on their website www.ytscableties.com for more information.
You still get the same great phone on the hardware side. From a design standpoint it's still our favorite phone ever, and it's by far the most satisfying to hold. The screen is incredibly sharp and looks just as good as it did on the skinned version. The dual, front-facing speakers still sound incredible (best sounding phone ever), and when you have headphones in you have that same Beats by Dre EQ, which focuses on the bass a little more and sounds very good (the HTC One has a dedicated pre-amp to help with this). Unfortunately, it's not all good news.
The worst news is that the camera doesn't work nearly as well anymore. You might recall how the HTC One's ""ultrapixel"" sensor took the win in our smartphone camera battle. Clearly, HTC's camera software had something to do with balancing that rather unique sensor, because the stock Android camera app doesn't do nearly as good of a job. Photos tend to be washed out, over-exposed, and under-saturated. Even in low light, it isn't as good. This is the biggest disappointment of the stock version, and it should be something Google can correct with a software update, it's just a matter of will it,Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. and how soon? The new camera app itself is very cleanly laid-out and easy to use, but you lose a lot of the advanced shooting features found in the Sense camera app (though many of these reappear in the editing menu in stock Android's Gallery app), in addition to the specialty modes, though you do gain Google's mega-panoramic PhotoSphere, which is fun but is ultimately a small consolation.
Then there are other small things you took for granted. In HTC Sense's dialer app, you can start punching a friend's name into the number pad (using the superscript letters) and it will quickly pull up contacts. The stock dialer doesn't do this, so you have to scroll through your long list of contacts. HTC Sense offers built-in profiles-an easy way to switch between Normal, Vibrate, and Silent modes. Not so in stock. Also, the HTC One has a built in IR blaster for using your phone as a remote control. Not only does the stock version not come with a preinstalled app that lets you use it, but as of right now there are no apps in the Play Store that can take advantage of it, either. We were told that would be coming, but we don't know when (we've reached out for more information).
There's also the rather steep sticker price of $600. That's not crazy for an unlocked, unsubsidized phone, but people who are used to paying $200 for a high-end phone and have their wireless carrier take care of the rest (as a part of a two-year contract, typically) may experience some sticker-shock.
There is, of course, on major advantage to the stock version we haven't mentioned yet: Updates. The stock version of the HTC One will all but certainly be upgraded to the newest version of Android right along with (or at least close to) the Nexus program. The One with Sense, is still running Android version 4.An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building.1.2, which is now more than a year old. For people who want the latest and greatest coming out of Google HQ, this is huge.
The stock HTC One runs on AT&T, T-Mobile, and other GSM carriers (i.e. not Verizon or Sprint),An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. and yes, LTE works. We tested it on AT&T's network in NYC, and when we had four bars of LTE we averaged download speeds of over 20Mbps and upload speeds of over 12Mbps. We did have some problems with our radio, initially, but after talking with Google it appears that was unique to our particular test unit. And once we worked out the bug (it chose the wrong APN, for you geeks out there), it performed flawlessly. So, really, our only major gripe here is the camera. We've reached out to Google about it, and will update if we hear anything back.
Samsung's TouchWiz is such a heavy skin that it slows things down despite the super-fast 1.9GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor in its belly. With the HTC One, stock Android made it kinda faster. With the Galaxy S4, it's definitely noticeable. Scrolling through menues and across screens is faster and smoother. Apps generally open faster, and most importantly, there is now almost zero shutter lag on the camera, whereas the TouchWiz version can lag behind by as much as a second.
TouchWiz is also just a clusterintercourse of settings and bells and whistles,An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. most of which sit there unused,An bondcleaningsydney is a device which removes contaminants from the air. clogging up menues. Stock Android is stark in its cleanly minimalism by comparison. The stock apps look better and are more intuitive to use almost without exception. Desktop customization is way simpler. We were also able to install and use Google Wallet on it (not so on the HTC One), which typically blocked by AT&T, we though.
On the hardware side, thankfully, photos the 13MP camera look almost identical to those on the TouchWiz version. Again, the camera app is much simplified, and though you gain PhotoSphere and easier access to HDR, you lose a lot of the fun camera modes that Samsung came up with, like Drama Shot (which superimposes several images of a subject in motion into a single shot) and animated GIFs. As you know, the Galaxy S4 features a micro SD card slot, and while you can read files off of it (photos, etc.) you can't take full advantage of it. For example, there is no native way to move apps over to your SD card, as there is in the skinned versions of Android.
There are, of course, things you lose that you will miss. Again, TouchWiz's dialer lets you punch in numbers to get to your contacts quickly, stock Android's dialer doesn't (please fix this, guys!), and you lose TouchWiz's profiles feature as well. TouchWiz has some handy shortcuts to settings within the notification screen and some people may miss those, but for our money, the way stock Android handles it is better, and keeps your notification panel looking cleaner and easier to read.
Click on their website www.ytscableties.com for more information.
Sharing Paleodata
As promised, today I begin a series on repositories used for
paleontological raw data. I will focusing on repositories to which data
is submitted before publication, so that mention of it can appear in the
manuscript. If you didn’t read the comments section of my last post,
Mark Uhen and colleagues published an article about this exact topic a
few months ago.
I didn’t know about this article when I began planning this series, but now that I’ve read it, I think my series will complement that piece nicely. As luck would have it, I wound up gathering a lot of the same types of information about each database. To avoid immediate redundancy,An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. I’m starting with a repository Uhen et al. did not report on, Dryad.
The statements about Dryad in the “Nitty Gritty” section were checked for accuracy by Laura Wendell, Dryad Project Manager. Thanks! My impressions are my own. Also, I haven’t submitted any of my data to Dryad yet, but I have downloaded data from it.
There are several advantages to using Dryad. First, so many people are using it, for so many different journals. Being part of a large data clearinghouse makes your data more discoverable. Also, Dryad is big on quality control; every file is checked for usability and sensitive information before posting. You don’t have to worry about viruses or bad files. All my downloads have worked smoothly regardless of filetype. Additionally, they take care of making the data go live when the paper is published online, and you can append the file if you missed something or made an error the first time,An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. while keeping the original file too.
Dryad hosts an impressive range of filetypes. Nexus and Excel files are among the most common, but images and other analysis files are also present. Because it’s so versatile, Dryad can be used to complement other open data. For example, you can only accession sequences and annotations in GenBank, not alignments or nexus files. GenBank gets more traffic than Dryad, so the sequences should still go there, but the analysis files can go up on Dryad. It takes so much effort to get a Structure file working sometimes; why limit its use to yourself? Another thing to consider: though GenBank numbers are cited by users down the road, the original papers that produce aren’t always. When Dryad files are cited, both the dataset and the original paper tend to appear in the references section. You can boost your citations this way.
And both devices are priced reasonably: $99.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices.99 for the HTC and $149.99 for the ATIV S Neo. But the real sell here is the unlimited data. In a press release, Sprint exec Fared Adib argued customers would "appreciate being able to use all day, every day without worrying about overages or data caps."
This is true, to a certain extent. As all the other carriers in the US do away with unlimited data, there's something pretty comforting about the idea that you won't rack up a $300 bill for streaming the entirety of the fifth and sixth and seventh seasons of Law and Order on your smart phone. But it's also true, as we noted above, that the HTC 8XT and Samsung Ativ S Neo aren't exactly packing iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4 firepower.
"Sprint hasn’t offered many Windows Phone handsets of late, so fans of Microsoft’s platform who use the Sprint network should be happy," GigaOM's Kevin C. Tofel writes Wednesday. "Not too happy though: These aren’t what I’d call best-in-class handsets to highlight Windows Phone. Still, they’re viable options and will work on Sprint’s LTE network, which the carrier is now aggressively building."
We’re on a set in Wilmington, North Carolina. It’s actually a fairly sizable backlot housing several productions on vast sound stages. Iron Man 3 is shooting 50 years away, a mural of “Dawson’s Creek” adorns one of the main buildings. Lots of films have set up here to take advantage of the state’s tax incentives and The Conjuring, which is being put together on a fraction of the budget of some of these tentpoles, is no exception.
While the production means are frugal when compared to most other studio films, it’s still roughly 7 times more expensive than Wan’s prior outing, Insidious. But he’s clearly in his element, calm relaxed and jovial as he monitors Taylor’s progress with that book of matches. Someone asks how this film compares with Insidious and Wan is quick to point out its differences. “It’s not as quirky as ‘Insidious.’ ‘Insidious’ is independent. It’s like the ‘Clerks’ of horror films, you know? It’s supernatural, but it’s kind of in that vein. It embraces its strangeness, and that’s what we were going for.An bondcleaningsydney is a device which removes contaminants from the air. This definitely isn’t in that world, but I think this lives in a much more realistic world.”
This is definitely clear from our surroundings (and from having seen the film over a year later), if there’s anything in Insidious that The Conjuring evokes, it’s the first act.An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. We’re about as far from “The Further” as you can get. Wan elaborates, “this is definitely a bit more serious… just the nature of what this film is, and the fact that it’s based on people’s stories, I want to honor that as much as I possibly can and ground it in reality as much as I possibly could. And also, it’s a period film as well, and I want to stay true to all of that.”
Click on their website www.parkeasy-pgs.com for more information.
I didn’t know about this article when I began planning this series, but now that I’ve read it, I think my series will complement that piece nicely. As luck would have it, I wound up gathering a lot of the same types of information about each database. To avoid immediate redundancy,An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. I’m starting with a repository Uhen et al. did not report on, Dryad.
The statements about Dryad in the “Nitty Gritty” section were checked for accuracy by Laura Wendell, Dryad Project Manager. Thanks! My impressions are my own. Also, I haven’t submitted any of my data to Dryad yet, but I have downloaded data from it.
There are several advantages to using Dryad. First, so many people are using it, for so many different journals. Being part of a large data clearinghouse makes your data more discoverable. Also, Dryad is big on quality control; every file is checked for usability and sensitive information before posting. You don’t have to worry about viruses or bad files. All my downloads have worked smoothly regardless of filetype. Additionally, they take care of making the data go live when the paper is published online, and you can append the file if you missed something or made an error the first time,An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. while keeping the original file too.
Dryad hosts an impressive range of filetypes. Nexus and Excel files are among the most common, but images and other analysis files are also present. Because it’s so versatile, Dryad can be used to complement other open data. For example, you can only accession sequences and annotations in GenBank, not alignments or nexus files. GenBank gets more traffic than Dryad, so the sequences should still go there, but the analysis files can go up on Dryad. It takes so much effort to get a Structure file working sometimes; why limit its use to yourself? Another thing to consider: though GenBank numbers are cited by users down the road, the original papers that produce aren’t always. When Dryad files are cited, both the dataset and the original paper tend to appear in the references section. You can boost your citations this way.
And both devices are priced reasonably: $99.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices.99 for the HTC and $149.99 for the ATIV S Neo. But the real sell here is the unlimited data. In a press release, Sprint exec Fared Adib argued customers would "appreciate being able to use all day, every day without worrying about overages or data caps."
This is true, to a certain extent. As all the other carriers in the US do away with unlimited data, there's something pretty comforting about the idea that you won't rack up a $300 bill for streaming the entirety of the fifth and sixth and seventh seasons of Law and Order on your smart phone. But it's also true, as we noted above, that the HTC 8XT and Samsung Ativ S Neo aren't exactly packing iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4 firepower.
"Sprint hasn’t offered many Windows Phone handsets of late, so fans of Microsoft’s platform who use the Sprint network should be happy," GigaOM's Kevin C. Tofel writes Wednesday. "Not too happy though: These aren’t what I’d call best-in-class handsets to highlight Windows Phone. Still, they’re viable options and will work on Sprint’s LTE network, which the carrier is now aggressively building."
We’re on a set in Wilmington, North Carolina. It’s actually a fairly sizable backlot housing several productions on vast sound stages. Iron Man 3 is shooting 50 years away, a mural of “Dawson’s Creek” adorns one of the main buildings. Lots of films have set up here to take advantage of the state’s tax incentives and The Conjuring, which is being put together on a fraction of the budget of some of these tentpoles, is no exception.
While the production means are frugal when compared to most other studio films, it’s still roughly 7 times more expensive than Wan’s prior outing, Insidious. But he’s clearly in his element, calm relaxed and jovial as he monitors Taylor’s progress with that book of matches. Someone asks how this film compares with Insidious and Wan is quick to point out its differences. “It’s not as quirky as ‘Insidious.’ ‘Insidious’ is independent. It’s like the ‘Clerks’ of horror films, you know? It’s supernatural, but it’s kind of in that vein. It embraces its strangeness, and that’s what we were going for.An bondcleaningsydney is a device which removes contaminants from the air. This definitely isn’t in that world, but I think this lives in a much more realistic world.”
This is definitely clear from our surroundings (and from having seen the film over a year later), if there’s anything in Insidious that The Conjuring evokes, it’s the first act.An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. We’re about as far from “The Further” as you can get. Wan elaborates, “this is definitely a bit more serious… just the nature of what this film is, and the fact that it’s based on people’s stories, I want to honor that as much as I possibly can and ground it in reality as much as I possibly could. And also, it’s a period film as well, and I want to stay true to all of that.”
Click on their website www.parkeasy-pgs.com for more information.
Ignore these five trends at your peril
When it comes to the future of work there are a few key trends to
which business leaders need to pay attention. Understanding these trends
will allow organizations to better prepare and adapt to the changes
which are having an impact on the way we work. These five trends are:
changing behaviours that are being shaped by social media; new
collaborative technologies; a shift to the “cloud;” millennials soon
becoming the majority of the work force; and “connecting to work.”
Much of what we are seeing inside our organizations as it relates to “social” collaboration is being fuelled by what is happening in the consumer Web. Technologies such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and many others have given rise to more robust and business oriented counterparts such as Jive, Yammer, Chatter and dozens of others. The technologies in the consumer Web help encourage and support new behaviours such as creating communities, being open and transparent, sharing information and ideas, easily being able to find people and information, and collaboration. These behaviours (and technologies) are now making their way into our organizations and are helping shape the future of work.
New collaborative technologies (some of which were mentioned above) are dramatically affecting the way we work and will work in the future. These technologies are now giving us the freedom and flexibility to work from anywhere, any time, and on any device. Being able to find subject matter experts and connect with colleagues (known or unknown) across the globe is now a possibility that didn’t exist. Hierarchies are being flattened as almost any employee can connect or communicate with anyone else at the company regardless of seniority and information is being opened up instead of being locked down. Systems are being connected and opportunities for business process improvement, customer experience and overall efficiency improvement abound. These new technologies are also allowing simple actions to have big impacts, for example the chief executive officer of a company “liking” or commenting on an idea that an employee might post publicly inside the company. These same employees now have a voice within their organizations and have the ability to become leaders without having to be managers.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices.
Almost every collaboration platform today has a cloud-based deployment option. This means that the barrier to entry is almost zero. Business units no longer need to wait for corporate approval or the blessing of IT to make investments in these areas. Anyone with a credit card and access to the Internet now has the ability to deploy whatever technology best fits their needs. This is a huge shift inside of organizations which traditionally had to rely on IT to deploy any type of new technology, the costs used to be high and the deployments complicated.
By 2020 millennials are projected to be half of the entire U.S. work force. These are people who grew up with the many social media platforms that we use today. They are used to being connected, collaborative and mobile. Millennials are used to sharing with each other, communicating through social platforms, working from anywhere, having a voice, and learning about what interests them.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. Most organizations today are struggling to adapt to this changing work force as baby boomers are starting to make their way out. This is a big factor shaping the future of work as organizations seeking to attract and retain top talent are going to need to adapt.
Mobility is not just about being able to work and get access to people and information from a mobile device.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. It’s also about being a mobile worker which means you can work from anywhere, any time, and on any device. The idea of “connecting to work” is become more prevalent within organizations as they are starting to allow for more flexible work environments. With an Internet connection you can now access everything you need to get your job done. The notion of having to work 9-to-5 and commuting to an office is dead.
The smart and progressive organizations around the world have already been making the necessary investments to adapt to these changes. Some have been doing so for several years already whereas many organizations are still trying to educate themselves about what these changes mean. Regardless of where you are in this spectrum, the future of work is something that you must plan for and adapt to if you want your organization to continue to exist.
The car, of course, has Mazda's Skyactiv treatment. It's a suite of features and technologies designed to boost mileage and power via engine enhancements, mainly a design that results in unusually high compression ratio that doesn't require premium fuel. A high compression ratio enhances performance and mileage but usually has required pricey premium fuel to prevent engine knocking or pinging that car ruin pistons. Or,An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. that can cause the engine's sensors to dial back some settings to prevent knocking, resulting in a cut in performance.
Skyactiv chassis features include lightweight components and construction techniques, while still tailoring for Mazda's signature sporty feel (sometimes referred to as "zoom, zoom" after the tagline in an ad campaign).
Also avalable: Mazda's "i-ELOOP" regenerative brakes that store electricity in a lightweight capacitor when braking and using it as much as possible to power electrical components, reducing drag on the engine from use of the alternator. It holds enough charge to run all the electrical accessories for about a minute, Mazda says.
The updated infotainment system with touchscreen has text-to-voice technology that can read email and short messages aloud, and text messages can be received and shown on the screen and fixed replies sent. Speech recognition allows voice control of the audio functions and, when connected with a smartphone, Twitter and Facebook updates can be read and audio responses made. The system also allows internet searches for locations and directions.We printers print with traceable cleaningsydney to optimize supply chain management.
An SD card-based navigation system (which allows easy updates) is optional. No word yet on whether it can be added later, after purchase, as it can be with the CX-5.
A broader selection of electronic safety aids available on the new Mazda3 include automatic high beam control, audible and visual blind-spot alert, lane departure warning, front collision warning, radar-based adaptive cruise control and "Smart City Brake Support" which can brake the car at speeds less than 19 mph when a laser detects an object ahead if the driver does not react.
Click on their website www.artsunlight.com for more information.
Much of what we are seeing inside our organizations as it relates to “social” collaboration is being fuelled by what is happening in the consumer Web. Technologies such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare and many others have given rise to more robust and business oriented counterparts such as Jive, Yammer, Chatter and dozens of others. The technologies in the consumer Web help encourage and support new behaviours such as creating communities, being open and transparent, sharing information and ideas, easily being able to find people and information, and collaboration. These behaviours (and technologies) are now making their way into our organizations and are helping shape the future of work.
New collaborative technologies (some of which were mentioned above) are dramatically affecting the way we work and will work in the future. These technologies are now giving us the freedom and flexibility to work from anywhere, any time, and on any device. Being able to find subject matter experts and connect with colleagues (known or unknown) across the globe is now a possibility that didn’t exist. Hierarchies are being flattened as almost any employee can connect or communicate with anyone else at the company regardless of seniority and information is being opened up instead of being locked down. Systems are being connected and opportunities for business process improvement, customer experience and overall efficiency improvement abound. These new technologies are also allowing simple actions to have big impacts, for example the chief executive officer of a company “liking” or commenting on an idea that an employee might post publicly inside the company. These same employees now have a voice within their organizations and have the ability to become leaders without having to be managers.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices.
Almost every collaboration platform today has a cloud-based deployment option. This means that the barrier to entry is almost zero. Business units no longer need to wait for corporate approval or the blessing of IT to make investments in these areas. Anyone with a credit card and access to the Internet now has the ability to deploy whatever technology best fits their needs. This is a huge shift inside of organizations which traditionally had to rely on IT to deploy any type of new technology, the costs used to be high and the deployments complicated.
By 2020 millennials are projected to be half of the entire U.S. work force. These are people who grew up with the many social media platforms that we use today. They are used to being connected, collaborative and mobile. Millennials are used to sharing with each other, communicating through social platforms, working from anywhere, having a voice, and learning about what interests them.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. Most organizations today are struggling to adapt to this changing work force as baby boomers are starting to make their way out. This is a big factor shaping the future of work as organizations seeking to attract and retain top talent are going to need to adapt.
Mobility is not just about being able to work and get access to people and information from a mobile device.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. It’s also about being a mobile worker which means you can work from anywhere, any time, and on any device. The idea of “connecting to work” is become more prevalent within organizations as they are starting to allow for more flexible work environments. With an Internet connection you can now access everything you need to get your job done. The notion of having to work 9-to-5 and commuting to an office is dead.
The smart and progressive organizations around the world have already been making the necessary investments to adapt to these changes. Some have been doing so for several years already whereas many organizations are still trying to educate themselves about what these changes mean. Regardless of where you are in this spectrum, the future of work is something that you must plan for and adapt to if you want your organization to continue to exist.
The car, of course, has Mazda's Skyactiv treatment. It's a suite of features and technologies designed to boost mileage and power via engine enhancements, mainly a design that results in unusually high compression ratio that doesn't require premium fuel. A high compression ratio enhances performance and mileage but usually has required pricey premium fuel to prevent engine knocking or pinging that car ruin pistons. Or,An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. that can cause the engine's sensors to dial back some settings to prevent knocking, resulting in a cut in performance.
Skyactiv chassis features include lightweight components and construction techniques, while still tailoring for Mazda's signature sporty feel (sometimes referred to as "zoom, zoom" after the tagline in an ad campaign).
Also avalable: Mazda's "i-ELOOP" regenerative brakes that store electricity in a lightweight capacitor when braking and using it as much as possible to power electrical components, reducing drag on the engine from use of the alternator. It holds enough charge to run all the electrical accessories for about a minute, Mazda says.
The updated infotainment system with touchscreen has text-to-voice technology that can read email and short messages aloud, and text messages can be received and shown on the screen and fixed replies sent. Speech recognition allows voice control of the audio functions and, when connected with a smartphone, Twitter and Facebook updates can be read and audio responses made. The system also allows internet searches for locations and directions.We printers print with traceable cleaningsydney to optimize supply chain management.
An SD card-based navigation system (which allows easy updates) is optional. No word yet on whether it can be added later, after purchase, as it can be with the CX-5.
A broader selection of electronic safety aids available on the new Mazda3 include automatic high beam control, audible and visual blind-spot alert, lane departure warning, front collision warning, radar-based adaptive cruise control and "Smart City Brake Support" which can brake the car at speeds less than 19 mph when a laser detects an object ahead if the driver does not react.
Click on their website www.artsunlight.com for more information.
HP Slate 7 review
The HP Slate 7 is a surprisingly speedy tablet with an enticing ￡129 price tag, but it's competing with tablets like the Google Nexus 7 which features a better display, faster performance, and more up-to-date software. And the features HP touts as distinct feel a bit contrived – the native wireless printing support, while useful, is currently limited to HP printers, and Beats Audio doesn't make that big an impact. The Slate 7 is a good budget-friendly Android tablet that falls somewhere between the Asus MeMO Pad ME172V and the Nexus 7 in terms of price and performance: It’s competitive, but no category killer.
The Slate 7 is a handsomely designed device with a sturdy frame, soft-touch plastic back, and stainless steel accents along its perimeter. Measuring 116 x 10.7 x 197mm (WxDxH), and weighing 370 grams, the Slate 7 is right in line with the MeMO Pad and Nexus 7. There are two stereo speaker grilles along the bottom, flanking a microUSB port for charging and syncing with the included cable and power adapter.
Along the top you'll find the 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, and Power button, with Volume buttons along the right edge. I'll delve deeper into the Beats Audio later on, but note that the enhancements are for headphone output only and not for the built-in speakers – they get decently loud, but sound tinny, like most tablet speakers.
The 1,024 x 600 resolution LCD is okay. It's lower resolution than the Nexus 7 and not an IPS panel, but the HFFS technology here does produce a wider viewing angle than found on the MeMO Pad's display. The 169 pixels per inch isn't going to blow anyone away, but it doesn't look terrible on the 7in screen.
This is a Wi-Fi only tablet that connects to 802.11b/g/n networks on the 2.4GHz frequency only. You also get Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, which worked fine with a pair of Bluetooth headphones. The tablet comes in a single 8GB model, and our 32GB SanDisk microSD card worked fine, but not our 64GB card.
The Slate 7 is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz Rockchip Cortex-A9 processor with 1GB of RAM. I had admittedly low expectations for performance, given the low price point, but I was pleasantly surprised. The tablet scored high marks on the Antutu overall system benchmark, coming within striking distance of the quad-core Nexus 7 and easily besting the Asus MeMo Pad. Browsermark and Sunspider benchmarks were equally impressive here, and the Slate 7 actually outperformed the Nexus 7 on some of our graphics benchmarks as well. You get a good helping of processing power with the affordable Slate 7.
HP's first stab at Android is understandably minimal, which will appeal to a large number of Android enthusiasts, but it lacks some genuinely useful features other companies have added through skinning. The Slate 7 is running a near-stock Android 4.1.1. HP promises an update to 4.2, but couldn't give any timetable for release.
There are two main software customisations at work here: Beats Audio and native wireless printing capability. In some products, like the HTC One, the Beats moniker goes with custom hardware like an amplified 3.5mm headphone jack. On others, it's simply a software equalizer that jacks up the bass. The Slate 7 falls in the latter category, but here it's not just booming bass. HP offers specific settings that are tuned for different types of headphones (on-ear or in-ear).
From what I could tell, the main difference between the on-ear and in-ear settings was volume levels, with the in-ear mode reducing the volume. I didn't notice any variations in stereo image when switching back and forth between the two, just volume differences. Now, protecting ears by dropping the volume for in-ear headphones makes sense, but you can achieve that same effect with the volume rocker.
The wireless printing feature is built into the Slate 7, meaning a handful of native apps, like the Gallery or Email app,We printers print with traceable cleaningsydney to optimize supply chain management. will have an option to directly send printing jobs to compatible Internet-connected HP printers. I tested the Slate 7 with the HP Envy 110 printer, and found setup and printing was a snap. If the printer is properly connected to your Wi-Fi network, it'll automatically show up in the print options of your Slate 7. Then you just press print and you're good to go – this is supremely easy and admittedly pretty useful.
The only problem is that this function, for the time being, only works with HP printers.An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. If you happen to own one, great, you'll love this feature. If not,Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. well, it's not going to be very useful. On top of that, the feature is only built into a handful of native apps: Gallery, Browser, and Email, not Gmail or Chrome. There's also an ePrint app preloaded, which works with ePrint compatible printers – it basically assigns an email address to your printer and allows you to send printing jobs through the app. The ePrint app isn't exclusive to the Slate 7, however, and you can find it in the Google Play app store.
For cameras, you get a VGA front-facing camera and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera. HP touts this camera as a key advantage over the Nexus 7, but I have yet to find a tablet camera that is actually worth using. That trend continues with the Slate 7, with noisy, low quality images in indoor lighting, and just about serviceable shots in bright, outdoor lighting. It'll suffice in a pinch, but I wouldn't count on it. Still, people do like to take pictures with their tablets, so if you need a camera on your tablet,Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. the Slate 7 has you covered.
HP has produced a laudable effort with the Slate 7, but it just doesn't really offer many reasons to choose it over a tablet like the Nexus 7. There are a few key areas where the Slate 7 just isn't up to snuff – namely the lower resolution screen and modest battery life.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. At ￡129, it's more affordable than the Nexus 7 and offers competitive performance, but I'd take the sharper screen, stellar battery life, and timely updates direct from Google any day. Unless a rear-facing camera and a microSD card slot are must-have features, I'd spend the extra ￡30 and grab the Nexus 7.
Click on their website austpay.com for more information.
The Slate 7 is a handsomely designed device with a sturdy frame, soft-touch plastic back, and stainless steel accents along its perimeter. Measuring 116 x 10.7 x 197mm (WxDxH), and weighing 370 grams, the Slate 7 is right in line with the MeMO Pad and Nexus 7. There are two stereo speaker grilles along the bottom, flanking a microUSB port for charging and syncing with the included cable and power adapter.
Along the top you'll find the 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card slot, and Power button, with Volume buttons along the right edge. I'll delve deeper into the Beats Audio later on, but note that the enhancements are for headphone output only and not for the built-in speakers – they get decently loud, but sound tinny, like most tablet speakers.
The 1,024 x 600 resolution LCD is okay. It's lower resolution than the Nexus 7 and not an IPS panel, but the HFFS technology here does produce a wider viewing angle than found on the MeMO Pad's display. The 169 pixels per inch isn't going to blow anyone away, but it doesn't look terrible on the 7in screen.
This is a Wi-Fi only tablet that connects to 802.11b/g/n networks on the 2.4GHz frequency only. You also get Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, which worked fine with a pair of Bluetooth headphones. The tablet comes in a single 8GB model, and our 32GB SanDisk microSD card worked fine, but not our 64GB card.
The Slate 7 is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz Rockchip Cortex-A9 processor with 1GB of RAM. I had admittedly low expectations for performance, given the low price point, but I was pleasantly surprised. The tablet scored high marks on the Antutu overall system benchmark, coming within striking distance of the quad-core Nexus 7 and easily besting the Asus MeMo Pad. Browsermark and Sunspider benchmarks were equally impressive here, and the Slate 7 actually outperformed the Nexus 7 on some of our graphics benchmarks as well. You get a good helping of processing power with the affordable Slate 7.
HP's first stab at Android is understandably minimal, which will appeal to a large number of Android enthusiasts, but it lacks some genuinely useful features other companies have added through skinning. The Slate 7 is running a near-stock Android 4.1.1. HP promises an update to 4.2, but couldn't give any timetable for release.
There are two main software customisations at work here: Beats Audio and native wireless printing capability. In some products, like the HTC One, the Beats moniker goes with custom hardware like an amplified 3.5mm headphone jack. On others, it's simply a software equalizer that jacks up the bass. The Slate 7 falls in the latter category, but here it's not just booming bass. HP offers specific settings that are tuned for different types of headphones (on-ear or in-ear).
From what I could tell, the main difference between the on-ear and in-ear settings was volume levels, with the in-ear mode reducing the volume. I didn't notice any variations in stereo image when switching back and forth between the two, just volume differences. Now, protecting ears by dropping the volume for in-ear headphones makes sense, but you can achieve that same effect with the volume rocker.
The wireless printing feature is built into the Slate 7, meaning a handful of native apps, like the Gallery or Email app,We printers print with traceable cleaningsydney to optimize supply chain management. will have an option to directly send printing jobs to compatible Internet-connected HP printers. I tested the Slate 7 with the HP Envy 110 printer, and found setup and printing was a snap. If the printer is properly connected to your Wi-Fi network, it'll automatically show up in the print options of your Slate 7. Then you just press print and you're good to go – this is supremely easy and admittedly pretty useful.
The only problem is that this function, for the time being, only works with HP printers.An cleaningservicesydney is a network of devices used to wirelessly locate objects or people inside a building. If you happen to own one, great, you'll love this feature. If not,Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. well, it's not going to be very useful. On top of that, the feature is only built into a handful of native apps: Gallery, Browser, and Email, not Gmail or Chrome. There's also an ePrint app preloaded, which works with ePrint compatible printers – it basically assigns an email address to your printer and allows you to send printing jobs through the app. The ePrint app isn't exclusive to the Slate 7, however, and you can find it in the Google Play app store.
For cameras, you get a VGA front-facing camera and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera. HP touts this camera as a key advantage over the Nexus 7, but I have yet to find a tablet camera that is actually worth using. That trend continues with the Slate 7, with noisy, low quality images in indoor lighting, and just about serviceable shots in bright, outdoor lighting. It'll suffice in a pinch, but I wouldn't count on it. Still, people do like to take pictures with their tablets, so if you need a camera on your tablet,Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. the Slate 7 has you covered.
HP has produced a laudable effort with the Slate 7, but it just doesn't really offer many reasons to choose it over a tablet like the Nexus 7. There are a few key areas where the Slate 7 just isn't up to snuff – namely the lower resolution screen and modest battery life.Large collection of quality cleanersydney at discounted prices. At ￡129, it's more affordable than the Nexus 7 and offers competitive performance, but I'd take the sharper screen, stellar battery life, and timely updates direct from Google any day. Unless a rear-facing camera and a microSD card slot are must-have features, I'd spend the extra ￡30 and grab the Nexus 7.
Click on their website austpay.com for more information.
2013年6月24日 星期一
A very important relationship that lets us do our work
A
few months ago, I was conducting a leadership workshop with senior
managers of a large bank. We were doing a session on Relationship
Networks. Each person was asked to map out all 'relationships' - the
people at work and outside who contributed to their success on the job
and examine the nature of their relationships with them. I was happy to
note that many of these men acknowledged the contribution of their wives
to their jobs. "Because she manages the house and children so well, I
can work 12-14 hours a day," said one. "I am the AGM at office but my
wife is the General Manager at home," remarked another. All of them
laughed indulgently. Because these men do not have to worry about clean
bathrooms, laundry, ironing, fresh vegetables, getting the milk,
children's homework, cooking, fixing the leaky tap and caring for the
elderly grandmother at home. They can focus on their jobs,We printers
print with traceable cleaningsydney to
optimize supply chain management. chase that promotion and go for a
'team building' drink after work. Lucky! Where are the wives for the
women? Do the working women have a General Manager at home?
When I drew my own relationship network, I realised that there was a critical relationship that enabled me to work and yet I did not even consider it as such. Women at my stage of life can manage quite easily without the husbands for a week or more. Many would cook just one meal, the kids would happily eat pizzas and maybe some other girlfriend whose husband is travelling would come over for a glass of wine and gossip. But if the maid does not turn up for a single day, it is a problem. For a woman who works, it is a catastrophe. These are the managers of our home, the caretakers of our family. If these women did not come in to work at my home, I could not do my work outside it.
It is not only an important relationship but also one that is among the most stressful to handle. Even if we don't do the actual work ourselves, the responsibility of managing the staff falls to the woman of the house. If we are to be General Managers of the house, these are our team members, the valued subordinates to whom we have the delegated the responsibility of the household. Like any Human Resource manager, we struggle with acquisition, retention, motivation, training and compensation of our staff. I guess there are many examples of a happy and peaceful coexistence, where the two are genuinely fond of each other as individuals but these are more of an exception than the norm. In today's world,A quality paper cutter or paper endofleasecleaningsydney can make your company's presentation stand out. it is a relationship fraught with tension. It requires finesse, tact and a fine balancing act.
Having a maid is an advantage that many in the first world do not have. If you are reading this in India, you have definitely grown up seeing a maid work at your home. None of us, the urban educated, are used to doing manual labour at home. One of my friends was unhappy that her husband had accepted a posting in London. 'Now I will have to give up my job and become a maid,' she complained. While the software engineer, the Call Centre executive and the plumber who goes to work in the Gulf are respected as professionals, the domestic help is at the bottom of the rung. It could be a coincidence that most of them - the kaamwalis, the baais, the cooks, the nannies and the ayahs are women. They do women's work inside the house. It is ironical that this is what enables both the master and mistress to do other work, work that is more exciting, creative and remunerative than washing dishes, mopping floors and dusting shelves. I don't think we respect the work, therefore it is difficult to respect the person who does the work. It seems to be low skilled work done by uneducated people yet, I am sure a avvy investment banker wouldn't be able to sweep and swab the floors to a smooth clean shine in an hour like a good maid can.
Most of us use the word servants to describe the domestic help. There is an inherent quality of service and subservience in that word. We expect the help to be humble, loyal, hardworking and undemanding rather like the devoted Ramu kaka or Kaaki of the early Bollywood movies who had brought up Chotte sahib since he was a baby. The days of the grateful family retainer are long gone but the feudal expectations remain. Added to that are all the class and caste differences that lurk beneath the surface. Factor in the fact that the help is a woman who is not expected to assert her rights but sacrifice her needs for the well-being of others. It is difficult to think of her as a working professional who is paid a wage for her services. Many of the urban maids at least, have a mind of their own and are confident women who are just there to earn a decent living. There are those who answer back, who may argue. Many a maid has been sacked for 'giving attitude'. I can take that from a subordinate at work but the ego comes in the way of accepting any such behaviour from a mere maid.
With working women, the equation becomes more complicated. We veer between aggression and appeasement. A reasonably efficient maid who is good with the kid is pampered and pandered to because it would be difficult to find a replacement. I know of someone who overlooks minor pilferages because the child is very fond of the nanny. Someone who doesn't meet a standard is admonished harshly. We have high expectations that they will be committed, proactive and take ownership of their tasks. Sometimes, we take out our own guilt at not being the perfect domestic goddess on the maid. Sometimes, we over compensate. We want to be compassionate but are wary of being taken advantage of. We want to trust but cannot quell the subterranean suspicion that rises up from time to time.Aulaundry is a leading drycabinet and equipment supplier. We cannot relate to them as a customer and service provider or a boss and subordinate, not even as one working woman to another.
I have a part-time cleaning maid and a live-in cook. My cook cum housekeeper is a dour lady from Jharkhand, given to mood swings, sudden pains and sullen silences. She is finicky about her food and firm in her opinions. She is also hardworking, reliable,The plasticcard is not only critical to professional photographers. trustworthy and honest. She supervises the cleaning lady, picks up groceries and takes my daughter to her classes when I am at work. She has learnt to make crunchy crisp dosas and fluffy idlis. I don't have family in Gurgaon. My husband has a hectic 12-hour day. I can travel out of town because I know that my home and child are in her care. When she goes on her annual leave, I take off from work. When my maid complains of any illness, I immediately medicate her. If she continues to complain, I drop everything and rush her to the doctor. Yes, I am concerned about her well- being which is essential to my own well- being. Sometimes, I resent that dependence. Though I give her the daily instructions, she behaves as though she is the boss of our household. We both believe that we are putting up with each other - I think that she won't get a better, more lenient and understanding employer, she believes that we won't get a better help. We have survived each other for six years based on the 'known devil' principle. There are days when I come close to firing her and days when I am just humbly grateful for her presence. Like the facebook relationship status, 'It is complicated'.
But no matter what the nature of the relationship is, the one thing that is true is that the maid is definitely worse off in life as compared to the memsahib. Yes, there are maids who are rude,The term 'bondcleaningsydney control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag. sloppy, liars, thieves and cheats and they should be dealt with just as we would deal with any employee. But the vast majority of them are poor uneducated women whose life is a struggle. They leave their own family to live in a stranger's home. The part time maids have to rush back to their own family and do the same chores all over again. They are vulnerable outside their own home and often subject to abuse and violence within it.
There are more than 9 million domestic workers in the country and they have no legal rights as workers. They do not have a minimum wage, they are expected to work long hours. We all have heard horror stories of abuse and harassment of these women and girls at the hands of their employers or agents. The National Policy for Domestic workers is still being discussed in the Cabinet. Some states have passed laws relating to minimum wages for domestic help. I doubt anything much will come of it. Few people care about these poor marginalised women. The thought of strikes by maid unions fills us with dread. Most of us do not want them to get above themselves and use their combined bargaining power.
I wonder how many generations it would take for the domestic help situation in India to become like that in the western world. My guess is that it will take quite a few years because of the sheer number of poor people who need to eke out a livelihood. The heat,dust and grime here ensures that once a week vacuuming will not do to keep our houses clean. What would be welcome is some kind of organisation in this sector. I wouldn't mind paying well for a good efficient maid who would take ownership of her job. I would be happier with clearly laid down norms that are universally applicable instead of wondering if I am overpaying her or underutilising her. If we could elevate this job to a higher level and bring some kind of professionalism to it, both the women who go out of their homes to work and those who come into could be more productive, prosperous and peaceful.
Click on their website www.winbogifts.com for more information.
When I drew my own relationship network, I realised that there was a critical relationship that enabled me to work and yet I did not even consider it as such. Women at my stage of life can manage quite easily without the husbands for a week or more. Many would cook just one meal, the kids would happily eat pizzas and maybe some other girlfriend whose husband is travelling would come over for a glass of wine and gossip. But if the maid does not turn up for a single day, it is a problem. For a woman who works, it is a catastrophe. These are the managers of our home, the caretakers of our family. If these women did not come in to work at my home, I could not do my work outside it.
It is not only an important relationship but also one that is among the most stressful to handle. Even if we don't do the actual work ourselves, the responsibility of managing the staff falls to the woman of the house. If we are to be General Managers of the house, these are our team members, the valued subordinates to whom we have the delegated the responsibility of the household. Like any Human Resource manager, we struggle with acquisition, retention, motivation, training and compensation of our staff. I guess there are many examples of a happy and peaceful coexistence, where the two are genuinely fond of each other as individuals but these are more of an exception than the norm. In today's world,A quality paper cutter or paper endofleasecleaningsydney can make your company's presentation stand out. it is a relationship fraught with tension. It requires finesse, tact and a fine balancing act.
Having a maid is an advantage that many in the first world do not have. If you are reading this in India, you have definitely grown up seeing a maid work at your home. None of us, the urban educated, are used to doing manual labour at home. One of my friends was unhappy that her husband had accepted a posting in London. 'Now I will have to give up my job and become a maid,' she complained. While the software engineer, the Call Centre executive and the plumber who goes to work in the Gulf are respected as professionals, the domestic help is at the bottom of the rung. It could be a coincidence that most of them - the kaamwalis, the baais, the cooks, the nannies and the ayahs are women. They do women's work inside the house. It is ironical that this is what enables both the master and mistress to do other work, work that is more exciting, creative and remunerative than washing dishes, mopping floors and dusting shelves. I don't think we respect the work, therefore it is difficult to respect the person who does the work. It seems to be low skilled work done by uneducated people yet, I am sure a avvy investment banker wouldn't be able to sweep and swab the floors to a smooth clean shine in an hour like a good maid can.
Most of us use the word servants to describe the domestic help. There is an inherent quality of service and subservience in that word. We expect the help to be humble, loyal, hardworking and undemanding rather like the devoted Ramu kaka or Kaaki of the early Bollywood movies who had brought up Chotte sahib since he was a baby. The days of the grateful family retainer are long gone but the feudal expectations remain. Added to that are all the class and caste differences that lurk beneath the surface. Factor in the fact that the help is a woman who is not expected to assert her rights but sacrifice her needs for the well-being of others. It is difficult to think of her as a working professional who is paid a wage for her services. Many of the urban maids at least, have a mind of their own and are confident women who are just there to earn a decent living. There are those who answer back, who may argue. Many a maid has been sacked for 'giving attitude'. I can take that from a subordinate at work but the ego comes in the way of accepting any such behaviour from a mere maid.
With working women, the equation becomes more complicated. We veer between aggression and appeasement. A reasonably efficient maid who is good with the kid is pampered and pandered to because it would be difficult to find a replacement. I know of someone who overlooks minor pilferages because the child is very fond of the nanny. Someone who doesn't meet a standard is admonished harshly. We have high expectations that they will be committed, proactive and take ownership of their tasks. Sometimes, we take out our own guilt at not being the perfect domestic goddess on the maid. Sometimes, we over compensate. We want to be compassionate but are wary of being taken advantage of. We want to trust but cannot quell the subterranean suspicion that rises up from time to time.Aulaundry is a leading drycabinet and equipment supplier. We cannot relate to them as a customer and service provider or a boss and subordinate, not even as one working woman to another.
I have a part-time cleaning maid and a live-in cook. My cook cum housekeeper is a dour lady from Jharkhand, given to mood swings, sudden pains and sullen silences. She is finicky about her food and firm in her opinions. She is also hardworking, reliable,The plasticcard is not only critical to professional photographers. trustworthy and honest. She supervises the cleaning lady, picks up groceries and takes my daughter to her classes when I am at work. She has learnt to make crunchy crisp dosas and fluffy idlis. I don't have family in Gurgaon. My husband has a hectic 12-hour day. I can travel out of town because I know that my home and child are in her care. When she goes on her annual leave, I take off from work. When my maid complains of any illness, I immediately medicate her. If she continues to complain, I drop everything and rush her to the doctor. Yes, I am concerned about her well- being which is essential to my own well- being. Sometimes, I resent that dependence. Though I give her the daily instructions, she behaves as though she is the boss of our household. We both believe that we are putting up with each other - I think that she won't get a better, more lenient and understanding employer, she believes that we won't get a better help. We have survived each other for six years based on the 'known devil' principle. There are days when I come close to firing her and days when I am just humbly grateful for her presence. Like the facebook relationship status, 'It is complicated'.
But no matter what the nature of the relationship is, the one thing that is true is that the maid is definitely worse off in life as compared to the memsahib. Yes, there are maids who are rude,The term 'bondcleaningsydney control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag. sloppy, liars, thieves and cheats and they should be dealt with just as we would deal with any employee. But the vast majority of them are poor uneducated women whose life is a struggle. They leave their own family to live in a stranger's home. The part time maids have to rush back to their own family and do the same chores all over again. They are vulnerable outside their own home and often subject to abuse and violence within it.
There are more than 9 million domestic workers in the country and they have no legal rights as workers. They do not have a minimum wage, they are expected to work long hours. We all have heard horror stories of abuse and harassment of these women and girls at the hands of their employers or agents. The National Policy for Domestic workers is still being discussed in the Cabinet. Some states have passed laws relating to minimum wages for domestic help. I doubt anything much will come of it. Few people care about these poor marginalised women. The thought of strikes by maid unions fills us with dread. Most of us do not want them to get above themselves and use their combined bargaining power.
I wonder how many generations it would take for the domestic help situation in India to become like that in the western world. My guess is that it will take quite a few years because of the sheer number of poor people who need to eke out a livelihood. The heat,dust and grime here ensures that once a week vacuuming will not do to keep our houses clean. What would be welcome is some kind of organisation in this sector. I wouldn't mind paying well for a good efficient maid who would take ownership of her job. I would be happier with clearly laid down norms that are universally applicable instead of wondering if I am overpaying her or underutilising her. If we could elevate this job to a higher level and bring some kind of professionalism to it, both the women who go out of their homes to work and those who come into could be more productive, prosperous and peaceful.
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