VisionAire Jets – the new owner of the Vantage single-engined business aircraft – is planning to fly the first conforming prototype of the modernised entry-level jet in 2014 and is seeking up to $140 million to fund the programme through to certification and first deliveries.
VisionAire chief executive Jim Rice is a founder of the original Vantage programme and managed the company – also called VisionAire – until it was forced into Chapter 7 liquidation in 2003. “We were hit by the fallout of 9/11,” Rice says of the company’s demise. “We could not raise the finance. Nobody was interested in funding an aircraft programme at that time despite the fact we had an 155-strong orderbook and had a proof-of-concept prototype that had flown more than 500h.”
The Vantage technical drawings, trademarks and tooling were acquired later that year by US venture Eviation Jets, which established a subsidiary in S?o Paulo to manage the programme, which it dubbed the EV-20. “They set about trying to change the design from a single to twin-engine aircraft powered by Williams FJ44-1APs,” Rice says. “This proved to be a big mistake. Not only is it very costly to redesign an aircraft but it is unwise for a company with no track record to go head to head with an established brand like Cessna – which dominates the entry-level business jet sector.”
VisionAire bought the intellectual property from Eviation about six months ago, although Rice says Eviation owner Matt Eller continues to have a small stake in the new venture. “We are sticking to a single-engine concept. There was nothing like it on the market when the programme was launched [in the 1990s] and there is no comparable aircraft – a single-engine jet with an entry-level size cabin – now,” he adds.
The all-composite aircraft will be priced at about $2.25 million, will seat up to seven passengers and be certificated for single pilot operations. The new Vantage will be powered by a Williams International FJ44-3AP – replacing the original Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15-B5 engine. “This should boost the range by about 400nm [740km], to 1500nm, and give the Vantage a cruise speed of around 375kt [694km/h],” says Rice. The new Vantage will also be equipped with Garmin G3000 avionics.
The Vantage will be built in Newton, North Carolina, where the company is planning to open a manufacturing facility by the middle of the year. “In the meantime, we are establishing strategic alliances with composite manufacturers to build the tooling for the Vantage,” Rice says. “Our aim is to fly the first of four conforming aircraft within 20 months, leading to certification and first deliveries in 2016,” Rice adds.
VisionAire has received a positive response from foreign investors and is close to securing a letter of intent for “a large sum of money”. “The interest in the programme has come from offshore in countries such as a China,” Rice says. “In the long term this country could be a big market for the Vantage and we may consider setting up an second assembly base to cater for this demand,” he adds
Tony Hague is headingup the eight-strong collaboration of world class engineering businesses as it enters its seventh year and believes there has never been a better time for the group to secure more work.
Automotive, aerospace and electronics have been identified as the three sectors that could benefit most from its capabilities in mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering solutions.
“This is going to be an important year for MAN and one that we want to adopt a more aggressive approach to sales,” explained Mr Hague, who is managing director of PP Electrical Systems in Cheslyn Hay.
“We’ve already established a proven track record for world class quality and security of supply, with over ￡12m of contracts already delivered for a high profile global customer base.
“However, I know we can do more. We just need to be more pro-active and this will start with the recruitment of a dedicated sales consultant to represent the group.
“We’ll also be looking to develop a more sales driven website and marketing material and actively take the MAN message out to potential customers,” said Mr Hague.
MAN, which was established in 2006, is made up of eight members including Advanced Chemical Etching, Alucast, Brandauer, Barkley Plastics, FW Cables, PP Electrical Systems, SMT Developments and Westley Engineering.
Each company offers a different engineering solution, ranging from high volume precision pressings, electrical control systems and tooling to PCB assembly, wire harnesses and injection moulding.
Together, they boast nine world class manufacturing facilities and employ over 650 highly skilled professionals.
“There’s over ￡3 billion of opportunities currently available in the automotive industry at present so it seems like a natural sector to target, especially when you consider our experience in quality cost delivery performances,” added Mr Hague.
“Then you have the next generation of aircraft currently being developed…this offers some great opportunities to get involved in the design and prototype stage. Similar again with the latest electronics.”
Tim Burton and screenwriter John August create a very dark fairy tale about a young kid named Victor Frankenstein and his quest to reanimate his beloved bull terrier, Sparky. While this finely crafted stop-action effort may look like kids’ entertainment, in fiddling with this natural order, Burton throws up a very dark mirror to our childhood soul — where innocence isn’t lost in a memorable and life-defining moment of sorrow, but continuously electrocuted on the new wire fence surrounding paradise. Creepy, clever and downright disturbing, Burton’s movie achieves what only great fairy tales can: it creates an entire fantasy world that resonates as contemporary satire. Special features include new short, Captain Sparky vs. The Flying Saucers, a behind the scenes look at the set and more.
Perhaps the furthest thing from escapist entertainment, this Canadian feature tells the story of a young girl abducted from her village and forced to become a child soldier. Directed by Kim Nguyen, the film has already been named Canada’s entry for best foreign language film at the Oscars. The lead performance from Rachel Mwanza has also been noted by the Berlin Film Festival, where she won the Silver Bear for best actress, as well as Tribeca, where she picked up the same honour for her magical embodiment of a fractured soul seeking wholeness. She makes this movie watchable when so much of the content is grotesque, violent and inhumane because we can feel her strength and goodness despite the ugliness. Nguyen brings a sense of the surreal through “visions” – and it lends the film a lightness, as well as profound tension. Delicate and poignant, Rebelle will transport the viewer to a place we may not want to see, but we know exists. Special features include digital transfer.
Trying to find the right friction point between muscle cars and political correctness could stall any vehicle, even one custom-designed by a veteran of clunker comedies who got his start playing “Vomiter at the Party.” Indeed, actor-writer-director Dax Shepard had only one of two proven options when approaching Hit & Run, a romantic comedy that uses car chases and gunplay in the same measure as pillow-talk and he-said-she-said relationship dysfunction. Enlisting his real life sweetheart Kristen Bell to play a sweet schoolteacher looking for a promotion, Shepard plays a man who sacrifices his place in witness protection to make his dreams come true. While the film turns on the charm jets when we’re in relationship mode, the film becomes inexcusably violent when it’s got its foot on the accelerator. The high point is Bradley Cooper as the psycho villain in terry cloth sweats. It’s not funny, or anything — just weird enough to be interesting. Special features include deleted scenes, Street Legal and behind the scenes footage.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
A Rare Medium Well Done
That particular quote can be attributed to Vince Lombardi. Or science-fiction writer Rachel Caine. Or from a memorable scene in ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. But as for the now, we cast that present visceral toward Arlington. Specifically the Rangers.
In what began as a macho-posturing wall of arrogance and bluster has now morphed into a weirdly emotionless attitude and a seemingly confliction of chaos. Was there a plan? Is there a plan? What is the plan? All vexing questions that need answers.
Over the past few years this team’s off-season maneuvers have been delightfully tantalizing. But this period of hot stove is suspiciously unnerving. The blithe attitude barked of ‘out with old..in with the……who’? A mass exodus of runs, wins, holds, defensive gems, and so on have packed up and left town. And so far this team that has reached the playoffs for three straight years is in imminent danger of being manhandled. Last season was a brilliant ambuscade that both bemused and baited. They seem content at their unalterably wedded disaster opus course. Gone is the model of compassion. In is a paroxysm of uncertainty and self doubt.
Allowing Josh Hamilton to flee to their AL West bunkmate Angels was a shocker. Not the fact that he was allowed to walk, but the fact that his landing destination was in Aneheim. That’s 43 homeruns and 128 RBIs to replace.
Mike Napoli was mediocre last year, but he is a proven commodity. Trade target Ryan Dempster was allowed to bolt. And the most puzzling and head-scratching move was conceding Mike Adams and his mastery of the eighth inning.
Even Michael Young is gone. Acquiring Jason Frazier, AJ Pierzynski, Lance Berkman and Geovany Soto doesn’t cut it. Those smack of 2005 off-season moves. Not the moves of an outfit that has won 90+ games the last three years. And set attendance records. And signed a billion dollar TV deal.
To build a successful and winning ball club in the major leagues, you must attack on three fronts. You must develop your own players. You must make shrewd trades. Then you must fill in with key trades. The Rangers have done this during the short Nolan/Jon Daniels era. But in a crucial year of re-tooling and in ways re-building, the are walking a cagily constructed careful tightrope. Winning has a way of spoiling. And the Rangers expectations have never been higher. The way last year concluded can be brushed off as a fluke. But only for a short time. Losing nine of the last 13, blowing a September double digit AL West lead, and bowing out to the lowly Orioles in a play-off play-in game is one thing. But failing to at least replace what you lost is another.
Fans have shown the remarkable patience of a juggler the last decade. Now winning is expected. Winning breeds high hopes. Assurance hands the baton to assumptions. And then assumptions give way to presumptions. The team has become a requisite combination of brains, guts and heart. Both on and off the field. I compare their situation to air travel. You never exactly know how bad coach sucks till you ride first class. The bar slides. And right now the bar is out of sight.
Ranger’s management has traded explosive assertion to a retreat behind closed doors. Mute seems the order of the day. No way should the panic button be pushed. The Nolan/JD tandem deserves the benefit of the doubt. But the proven commodities and valuable trinkets are dwindling fast. The three million fans are void from credulity these days. A duplicitous attitude is not needed. Let’s just hope that the plan is to keep powder dry and not a longing for a magic bullet. An October Champagne carbonated soirée is usually determined in the off-season. At the present, time is not of the essence. But the calendar is flipping fast. Pitchers and catchers report in about a month. There is plenty of time for hearts and minds to be captured.
Sulaiman Al-Bader and Farah Al-Kandari of the local creative think-tank Doghouse Collective are among those traversing the sinews connecting old country with new context — which, whether or not the government likes it, means small trade-ins of Islam society for something a bit more progressive. Effectively, what they do looks toward the West, yet it does not in any way dissolve their national or personal identifiers.
One of the Collective's concepts is called OMBEY, which is an Arabic spin on Shepard Fairey's ubiquitous OBEY artwork. According to Al-Bader, OMBEY translates loosely to "Oh My God." "It's an old school term," he adds, "very old lady-like." The homage doesn't stop there; the duo have swapped out Fairey's Andre the Giant, who appears above the OBEY text-line, and inserted their own local face, a veiled woman named Qumooth (meaning mystery and ambiguity). So far, they've only printed the design on stickers — which have since spread the world over, with sightings from New York City to Mauritius — with other merchandise in the pipeline.
"The goal [of starting] with the stickers was to get people to stop and take a minute to notice and question their surroundings," says Al-Bader. "There's a lot going on in the Arab world, but most of us are oblivious because we naturally get swept up in the 'everyday' of our lives." It's a heartfelt point, considering the conflicts and subsequent global spotlights on many of Kuwait's regional neighbors.
Al-Bader admits they could have created an entirely original typeface and motif in lieu of referencing Fairey, but adds, "you have to understand that importing expertise and designs into our culture is very Arab. Western opinions, experience and know-how are deified here, which made the Kuwaitifying of OBEY seem oh so right."
Oh so right, indeed, for not only does OMBEY embody the hype and trendiness of worldwide street art and youth culture, it also invokes something arguably deeper and intrinsically more local — that of the veiled woman, with an emphasis on her hijab, or burka. It's an interesting paradigm, for here is a traditionally Muslim article of clothing, which for all intents and purposes is meant to conceal, yet with OMBEY it's used as a symbol to suggest thinking openly and candidly about what's going on in our extended peripheries. Whether one practices Islam or not, the veil has become an associative property of the region. It's thus with a national and cultural resilience that Al-Bader and Al-Kandari "Kuwaitified" the otherwise American artwork. Moreover, it's particularly exhilarating to see this kind of thinking where freedoms of expression are not necessarily as liberal as our own.
Ultimately, the vein struck by this Arab World youth-quake via its adapted Western concept can only indicate a positive progression for all parties involved, at least in terms of arts and culture. While there is undoubtedly a level of American ignorance regarding the Middle East, the tiny bridges built herein by a concept as simple as OMBEY are reminders of an amorphous forward thinking layer that spans the proverbial here and there, between Shuwaikh Industrial Area and other known and unknown hotbeds pushing toward creative expression.
In what began as a macho-posturing wall of arrogance and bluster has now morphed into a weirdly emotionless attitude and a seemingly confliction of chaos. Was there a plan? Is there a plan? What is the plan? All vexing questions that need answers.
Over the past few years this team’s off-season maneuvers have been delightfully tantalizing. But this period of hot stove is suspiciously unnerving. The blithe attitude barked of ‘out with old..in with the……who’? A mass exodus of runs, wins, holds, defensive gems, and so on have packed up and left town. And so far this team that has reached the playoffs for three straight years is in imminent danger of being manhandled. Last season was a brilliant ambuscade that both bemused and baited. They seem content at their unalterably wedded disaster opus course. Gone is the model of compassion. In is a paroxysm of uncertainty and self doubt.
Allowing Josh Hamilton to flee to their AL West bunkmate Angels was a shocker. Not the fact that he was allowed to walk, but the fact that his landing destination was in Aneheim. That’s 43 homeruns and 128 RBIs to replace.
Mike Napoli was mediocre last year, but he is a proven commodity. Trade target Ryan Dempster was allowed to bolt. And the most puzzling and head-scratching move was conceding Mike Adams and his mastery of the eighth inning.
Even Michael Young is gone. Acquiring Jason Frazier, AJ Pierzynski, Lance Berkman and Geovany Soto doesn’t cut it. Those smack of 2005 off-season moves. Not the moves of an outfit that has won 90+ games the last three years. And set attendance records. And signed a billion dollar TV deal.
To build a successful and winning ball club in the major leagues, you must attack on three fronts. You must develop your own players. You must make shrewd trades. Then you must fill in with key trades. The Rangers have done this during the short Nolan/Jon Daniels era. But in a crucial year of re-tooling and in ways re-building, the are walking a cagily constructed careful tightrope. Winning has a way of spoiling. And the Rangers expectations have never been higher. The way last year concluded can be brushed off as a fluke. But only for a short time. Losing nine of the last 13, blowing a September double digit AL West lead, and bowing out to the lowly Orioles in a play-off play-in game is one thing. But failing to at least replace what you lost is another.
Fans have shown the remarkable patience of a juggler the last decade. Now winning is expected. Winning breeds high hopes. Assurance hands the baton to assumptions. And then assumptions give way to presumptions. The team has become a requisite combination of brains, guts and heart. Both on and off the field. I compare their situation to air travel. You never exactly know how bad coach sucks till you ride first class. The bar slides. And right now the bar is out of sight.
Ranger’s management has traded explosive assertion to a retreat behind closed doors. Mute seems the order of the day. No way should the panic button be pushed. The Nolan/JD tandem deserves the benefit of the doubt. But the proven commodities and valuable trinkets are dwindling fast. The three million fans are void from credulity these days. A duplicitous attitude is not needed. Let’s just hope that the plan is to keep powder dry and not a longing for a magic bullet. An October Champagne carbonated soirée is usually determined in the off-season. At the present, time is not of the essence. But the calendar is flipping fast. Pitchers and catchers report in about a month. There is plenty of time for hearts and minds to be captured.
Sulaiman Al-Bader and Farah Al-Kandari of the local creative think-tank Doghouse Collective are among those traversing the sinews connecting old country with new context — which, whether or not the government likes it, means small trade-ins of Islam society for something a bit more progressive. Effectively, what they do looks toward the West, yet it does not in any way dissolve their national or personal identifiers.
One of the Collective's concepts is called OMBEY, which is an Arabic spin on Shepard Fairey's ubiquitous OBEY artwork. According to Al-Bader, OMBEY translates loosely to "Oh My God." "It's an old school term," he adds, "very old lady-like." The homage doesn't stop there; the duo have swapped out Fairey's Andre the Giant, who appears above the OBEY text-line, and inserted their own local face, a veiled woman named Qumooth (meaning mystery and ambiguity). So far, they've only printed the design on stickers — which have since spread the world over, with sightings from New York City to Mauritius — with other merchandise in the pipeline.
"The goal [of starting] with the stickers was to get people to stop and take a minute to notice and question their surroundings," says Al-Bader. "There's a lot going on in the Arab world, but most of us are oblivious because we naturally get swept up in the 'everyday' of our lives." It's a heartfelt point, considering the conflicts and subsequent global spotlights on many of Kuwait's regional neighbors.
Al-Bader admits they could have created an entirely original typeface and motif in lieu of referencing Fairey, but adds, "you have to understand that importing expertise and designs into our culture is very Arab. Western opinions, experience and know-how are deified here, which made the Kuwaitifying of OBEY seem oh so right."
Oh so right, indeed, for not only does OMBEY embody the hype and trendiness of worldwide street art and youth culture, it also invokes something arguably deeper and intrinsically more local — that of the veiled woman, with an emphasis on her hijab, or burka. It's an interesting paradigm, for here is a traditionally Muslim article of clothing, which for all intents and purposes is meant to conceal, yet with OMBEY it's used as a symbol to suggest thinking openly and candidly about what's going on in our extended peripheries. Whether one practices Islam or not, the veil has become an associative property of the region. It's thus with a national and cultural resilience that Al-Bader and Al-Kandari "Kuwaitified" the otherwise American artwork. Moreover, it's particularly exhilarating to see this kind of thinking where freedoms of expression are not necessarily as liberal as our own.
Ultimately, the vein struck by this Arab World youth-quake via its adapted Western concept can only indicate a positive progression for all parties involved, at least in terms of arts and culture. While there is undoubtedly a level of American ignorance regarding the Middle East, the tiny bridges built herein by a concept as simple as OMBEY are reminders of an amorphous forward thinking layer that spans the proverbial here and there, between Shuwaikh Industrial Area and other known and unknown hotbeds pushing toward creative expression.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Fast forward to the future
CARS that don’t pollute the environment, televisions with fantastic picture quality, tablets to suit individual preferences, traffic navigation by a machine which sounds like Mom, social media for work.
These are things that may have been merely visualised before but with advancement in technology, these could become a reality this year.
Technologies that have been portrayed in science fiction are coming to fruition and 2013 holds promise of them becoming de rigueur in our lives.
These are expected to gain popularity as a sustainable alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles offer much better energy economy simply because electricity is cheaper.
In terms of emission, electric cars carry very low or negligible emissions and don’t emit carbon dioxide.
Besides that, maintenance costs are much lower. A petrol/diesel-based car has a more complex engine system that require much more effort and money, such as regular oil changes and air filters, to be maintained.
On the other hand, electric cars simply run on the power of a battery that only need change after a few years. There are newer electric cars which claim that the battery is guaranteed to last the entire life of the car.
As of last month, highway-capable models available in some countries include the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi MiEV, Ford Focus Electric, BMW ActiveE and Honda Fit EV.
In Malaysia, an initial initiative to bring in electric cars started last year when Nissan brought in the Leaf model; Mitsibishi brought in the MiEV model. The universal charger for these cars has also been developed by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Advanced Informatics School in Kuala Lumpur.
Last year saw social media playing instrumental roles in the success of the London Olympics and emergence of the Arab spring, particularly through applications like Facebook and twitter.
This year, social media is expected to continue to evolve and transform popular culture and media consumption habits further. From a primarily social tool, a social media strategy will be a priority for the business organisation with improved social technologies, innovative ad models, and an expanded user base around the globe.
Using new-wave social media command centres capable of tracking multiple social stats in real-time, companies will be able to radically improve customer service and predict future buying patterns, not to mention streamline internal communication and increase productivity. This kind of social data is already being used by Nestle and GE.
With more devices accessing and tapping on applications residing on the Internet, for example smartphones, tablet PCs and even smartTVs, and users putting more personal information in the cloud, there are more chances of security breaches.
Many anti-virus companies are predicting that mobile devices will be the new target for cross-platform threats, facilitated by Web-based cross platform exploits. Attacks will also continue to increasingly use social engineering lures to capture user credentials on mobile devices. Other than malware, there is mobile adware, or madware, which disrupts user experience and can potentially expose location details, contact information and device identifiers to cybercriminals.
Ransomware is also on the rise. It is a virtual form of hijacking of the mobile phone by a new worm that can hack into personal data. Celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Munn, Christina Hendricks and Rihanna were victims of Ransomware when their their phones were hacked.
It’s not that we doubt Apple’s capability to introduce, market and see people queue to get it, but after years of rumours, we’re beginning to see that the problem lies in content availability and rights issues. Unless Apple wants to work with Vimeo and other content creators or start its own content portal, we don’t see its smart television product becoming a reality in 2013. Even if it does, Malaysians will still have to wait as the country never made it in on Apple’s initial release list. Meantime, the third-generation Apple TV digital media receiver is as close as you can get if you want an Apple hardware in your living room.
With BlackBerry 10 scheduled for release in multiple countries around the world on Jan 30, it’s time for Research In Motion to go big. Two smartphones are expected to be unveiled during the CES Show, eight more will be released throughout the year.
BlackBerry’s strong points include enterprise-grade features, BBM apps as well as great QWERTY formfactor, but the manufacturer and developers have to offer more to entice consumers. Based on its latest Press releases, there will be a slew of apps pertaining to games and published content, which hopefully will add more charm to the upcoming devices.
Apart from smartphones and tablets, ultrabooks, notebooks and even desktops of 2013 will likely havetouchscreens to suit the new Windows 8 operating system. “The year 2013 will be one that consumer experience touch ramping as a mainstream feature in notebooks and all-in-one PCs. Voice and gesture technologies will also build momentum and be sought after as new ways to interact with computing devices including PCs,” says Intel Southeast Asia managing director Uday Marty. Some manufacturers which have already released or announced their touch-enabled machines include Lenovo, Dell and Acer and Fujitsu.
Trinity College academic, Mads Haahr, is the force behind Haunted Plant, a Dublin-based gaming company with a fondness for ghosts, vampires and all things spooky. Haahr first started thinking about the possibilities of location-based gaming in the early 2000s.
However, appropriate technology was not available to support the concept at that time. The arrival of the smartphone changed this giving Haahr access to a well accepted and widely used device on which to base his games.
Haunted Planet was spun out from the National Digital Research Centre in 2011 and now employs three full-time and three part-time staff.
“We have developed a completely new, technically sophisticated, type of game for smartphones that uses the handset’s camera, GPS compass, and sensors and audio to offer a highly immersive experience,” says Haahr, a lecturer in computer science.
“It is based on augmented reality which means that we overlay the game world on top of the real world, both in terms of visuals and audio. Essentially we turn an Android or iPhone into a paranormal detection device and when people play, they take part in a mystery adventure. A unique feature is that the games are played outdoors, either in a theme park, historical site or simply in the player’s local neighbourhood.”
Haunted Planet launched its first two games in October this year, Pirate Ghost Hunt and Bram Stoker’s Vampires. New games will be added in early 2013. The project has been supported by Enterprise Ireland under the Competitive Start Fund and the company is in the process of raising €250,000.
These are things that may have been merely visualised before but with advancement in technology, these could become a reality this year.
Technologies that have been portrayed in science fiction are coming to fruition and 2013 holds promise of them becoming de rigueur in our lives.
These are expected to gain popularity as a sustainable alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles offer much better energy economy simply because electricity is cheaper.
In terms of emission, electric cars carry very low or negligible emissions and don’t emit carbon dioxide.
Besides that, maintenance costs are much lower. A petrol/diesel-based car has a more complex engine system that require much more effort and money, such as regular oil changes and air filters, to be maintained.
On the other hand, electric cars simply run on the power of a battery that only need change after a few years. There are newer electric cars which claim that the battery is guaranteed to last the entire life of the car.
As of last month, highway-capable models available in some countries include the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi MiEV, Ford Focus Electric, BMW ActiveE and Honda Fit EV.
In Malaysia, an initial initiative to bring in electric cars started last year when Nissan brought in the Leaf model; Mitsibishi brought in the MiEV model. The universal charger for these cars has also been developed by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Advanced Informatics School in Kuala Lumpur.
Last year saw social media playing instrumental roles in the success of the London Olympics and emergence of the Arab spring, particularly through applications like Facebook and twitter.
This year, social media is expected to continue to evolve and transform popular culture and media consumption habits further. From a primarily social tool, a social media strategy will be a priority for the business organisation with improved social technologies, innovative ad models, and an expanded user base around the globe.
Using new-wave social media command centres capable of tracking multiple social stats in real-time, companies will be able to radically improve customer service and predict future buying patterns, not to mention streamline internal communication and increase productivity. This kind of social data is already being used by Nestle and GE.
With more devices accessing and tapping on applications residing on the Internet, for example smartphones, tablet PCs and even smartTVs, and users putting more personal information in the cloud, there are more chances of security breaches.
Many anti-virus companies are predicting that mobile devices will be the new target for cross-platform threats, facilitated by Web-based cross platform exploits. Attacks will also continue to increasingly use social engineering lures to capture user credentials on mobile devices. Other than malware, there is mobile adware, or madware, which disrupts user experience and can potentially expose location details, contact information and device identifiers to cybercriminals.
Ransomware is also on the rise. It is a virtual form of hijacking of the mobile phone by a new worm that can hack into personal data. Celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Olivia Munn, Christina Hendricks and Rihanna were victims of Ransomware when their their phones were hacked.
It’s not that we doubt Apple’s capability to introduce, market and see people queue to get it, but after years of rumours, we’re beginning to see that the problem lies in content availability and rights issues. Unless Apple wants to work with Vimeo and other content creators or start its own content portal, we don’t see its smart television product becoming a reality in 2013. Even if it does, Malaysians will still have to wait as the country never made it in on Apple’s initial release list. Meantime, the third-generation Apple TV digital media receiver is as close as you can get if you want an Apple hardware in your living room.
With BlackBerry 10 scheduled for release in multiple countries around the world on Jan 30, it’s time for Research In Motion to go big. Two smartphones are expected to be unveiled during the CES Show, eight more will be released throughout the year.
BlackBerry’s strong points include enterprise-grade features, BBM apps as well as great QWERTY formfactor, but the manufacturer and developers have to offer more to entice consumers. Based on its latest Press releases, there will be a slew of apps pertaining to games and published content, which hopefully will add more charm to the upcoming devices.
Apart from smartphones and tablets, ultrabooks, notebooks and even desktops of 2013 will likely havetouchscreens to suit the new Windows 8 operating system. “The year 2013 will be one that consumer experience touch ramping as a mainstream feature in notebooks and all-in-one PCs. Voice and gesture technologies will also build momentum and be sought after as new ways to interact with computing devices including PCs,” says Intel Southeast Asia managing director Uday Marty. Some manufacturers which have already released or announced their touch-enabled machines include Lenovo, Dell and Acer and Fujitsu.
Trinity College academic, Mads Haahr, is the force behind Haunted Plant, a Dublin-based gaming company with a fondness for ghosts, vampires and all things spooky. Haahr first started thinking about the possibilities of location-based gaming in the early 2000s.
However, appropriate technology was not available to support the concept at that time. The arrival of the smartphone changed this giving Haahr access to a well accepted and widely used device on which to base his games.
Haunted Planet was spun out from the National Digital Research Centre in 2011 and now employs three full-time and three part-time staff.
“We have developed a completely new, technically sophisticated, type of game for smartphones that uses the handset’s camera, GPS compass, and sensors and audio to offer a highly immersive experience,” says Haahr, a lecturer in computer science.
“It is based on augmented reality which means that we overlay the game world on top of the real world, both in terms of visuals and audio. Essentially we turn an Android or iPhone into a paranormal detection device and when people play, they take part in a mystery adventure. A unique feature is that the games are played outdoors, either in a theme park, historical site or simply in the player’s local neighbourhood.”
Haunted Planet launched its first two games in October this year, Pirate Ghost Hunt and Bram Stoker’s Vampires. New games will be added in early 2013. The project has been supported by Enterprise Ireland under the Competitive Start Fund and the company is in the process of raising €250,000.
Contract for deed can be house of horror for buyers
A year after moving into her white brick house in suburban Robbinsdale, Jennifer Gaines got a letter that turned her life upside down.
She was facing foreclosure -- even though she was current on her monthly payments. She was also about to lose the $25,000 she paid on the home because the seller, who was responsible for paying the mortgage, had gone bankrupt.
Gaines bought the property through an unusual, but increasingly common, option known as "contract for deed." Unlike a traditional home sale, the transactions typically take place with no bank, no Realtor, no appraisal -- and little government oversight.
Instead, the seller finances the sale and then collects monthly payments, much like a landlord.
Across the Twin Cities, many homes sold through contract for deed have been beset by inflated prices, high interest rates and other terms that almost guarantee the buyer will default, according to a Star Tribune investigation of 1,330 such deals dating back to 2007.
In hundreds of cases, records show, sellers failed to provide mandated home inspections that would have revealed code violations and safety hazards. Some buyers said they were misled about outstanding debts attached to the properties. Others thought they were signing a lease.
"This is the first place that ever felt like home to me, and now I have to move," Gaines said. "I was so naive."
In the aftermath of the housing market crash, contract-for-deed sales in the metro area have soared more than 50 percent in the past five years, as families with low income or bad credit are lured by the promise of homeownership.
"There is a lot of abuse out there," said Connie Sandberg, who oversees St. Paul's housing sale inspections. "People are being victimized."
Regulators in several cities said they are alarmed by the Star Tribune's findings and frustrated by their inability to do more to protect buyers. Local officials are vowing to push state legislators this year to require greater disclosure from sellers.
"They are clearly taking advantage of a certain segment of the population that needs housing," said Kellie Jones, manager of Minneapolis' problem properties unit.
The purchase price can be twice what the property is worth, records show. On average, contract-for-deed sales were about 10 percent above the estimated market value as set by county assessors.
To get a handle on the growing business, Minneapolis officials recently began their own examination of contract sales. They believe many rental property owners are using contracts for deed as a way to avoid maintenance rules, shifting the cost of expensive repairs onto their buyers. Indeed, hundreds of contract sales in the Twin Cities involve former rental properties, many with a history of problems.
"People are signing a contract for deed and thinking it is a synonym for a lease, and they don't recognize the seriousness of what they are agreeing to," said Henry Reimer, assistant director of regulatory services for Minneapolis.
Many properties were sold again after buyers defaulted, allowing sellers to pocket down payments ranging from $1,000 to $25,000, plus any monthly payments already collected.
Investor Ron Folger sold 16 rental properties on contract for deed after losing his rental license in Minneapolis in 2011. During a recent interview, he said a contract for deed allows him to earn money on his properties without the meddling of city government.
In at least 370 cases, the sellers in contracts for deed failed to provide mandatory inspections that would detail existing code violations, such as faulty wiring or other problems.
Folger did not provide an inspection in 11 of 16 sales.
Many buyers said they didn't even know they were entitled to them. Sylvia Dominguez bought a house in late 2011 from Folger, only to find out that her home had a broken furnace, malfunctioning dishwasher and leaking bathroom.
Folger, who obtained a Realtor's license, said he didn't know he was required to provide disclosure reports. "I want to make money, but I don't want to do it on the blood of other people," he said.
Though the evaluations are required for all real estate sales in many cities, they are especially critical in contract-for-deed sales because buyers do not usually hire an inspector. Sellers are supposed to obtain the reports from a licensed evaluator and conspicuously post them on the property.
City officials said they are skeptical that any seller of rental property is unaware of the disclosure requirements. "They are just trying to dump a problem on somebody else," Jones said. "They know what the rules are."
College football in its big-time, money-printing configuration has always been a tremendously sleazy endeavor, rivaling the worst of the music business and Hollywood, yet masked in the All-American wholesomeness of amateur student athletes playing for love of the game.
And, to be sure, there are some great stories and more than enough kids playing these games for the right reasons. And at the smaller schools, there are coaches and staff members who are dedicated to their profession wholly, working with young people to mold them while helping them succeed at the game they all love.
But the small percentage of super programs in football drives the machine, and that is one dedicated not to students and sportsmanship, but of cutthroat policies engineered to keep the business booming.
On New Year's Eve, I spent most of the night with friends watching Clemson hang on and eventually upset LSU in the former Peach Bowl. I say former, of course, because a chicken sandwich purveyor with questionable priorities now sponsors it. But that bowl is one of the top earning bowls outside of the BCS, giving schools more than $3 million in 2011, and that pales in comparison to what schools will earn for making one of the five BCS bowls.
Notre Dame and Alabama, who will square off in the BCS Championship on Monday night, will likely take home more than $20 million for their featured spot in the biggest bowl.
This doesn't fully get into the bonuses built in for coaches and staff for reaching and subsequently winning these bowls, the resources and allocations needed from the academic institutions they represent, and the innate pressure on football programs to succeed in this climate.
That pressure is where the seediness of college football truly blossoms. Coaches do whatever they can within the rules and skirt them as often as possible to recruit talent. Coaches jump to new schools and the NFL as soon as they can, or hold their current schools hostage for more money. Penn State's Bill O'Brien will stay at the school after getting a reported $1.3 million tacked on to his salary after interviewing with the Browns. Les Miles from LSU pulls this same trick whenever Michigan has a coaching vacancy.
Meanwhile, schools jump conferences and poach coaches whenever possible. The highest-tiered athletes position themselves for success. It's survival of the fittest, masked as a cause for the greater good, a pure antidote for the pro game.
But this all carries on, and it does because of the athletes on the field, because of talented coaches with creative game schemes, because the games themselves are, admittedly, thrilling at their best. In the Sugar Bowl, Louisville scored the biggest win in the history of their program with an upset of Florida. Louisville is jumping from the dying Big East to the ACC, after the ACC lost Maryland to the Big Ten, by the way.
She was facing foreclosure -- even though she was current on her monthly payments. She was also about to lose the $25,000 she paid on the home because the seller, who was responsible for paying the mortgage, had gone bankrupt.
Gaines bought the property through an unusual, but increasingly common, option known as "contract for deed." Unlike a traditional home sale, the transactions typically take place with no bank, no Realtor, no appraisal -- and little government oversight.
Instead, the seller finances the sale and then collects monthly payments, much like a landlord.
Across the Twin Cities, many homes sold through contract for deed have been beset by inflated prices, high interest rates and other terms that almost guarantee the buyer will default, according to a Star Tribune investigation of 1,330 such deals dating back to 2007.
In hundreds of cases, records show, sellers failed to provide mandated home inspections that would have revealed code violations and safety hazards. Some buyers said they were misled about outstanding debts attached to the properties. Others thought they were signing a lease.
"This is the first place that ever felt like home to me, and now I have to move," Gaines said. "I was so naive."
In the aftermath of the housing market crash, contract-for-deed sales in the metro area have soared more than 50 percent in the past five years, as families with low income or bad credit are lured by the promise of homeownership.
"There is a lot of abuse out there," said Connie Sandberg, who oversees St. Paul's housing sale inspections. "People are being victimized."
Regulators in several cities said they are alarmed by the Star Tribune's findings and frustrated by their inability to do more to protect buyers. Local officials are vowing to push state legislators this year to require greater disclosure from sellers.
"They are clearly taking advantage of a certain segment of the population that needs housing," said Kellie Jones, manager of Minneapolis' problem properties unit.
The purchase price can be twice what the property is worth, records show. On average, contract-for-deed sales were about 10 percent above the estimated market value as set by county assessors.
To get a handle on the growing business, Minneapolis officials recently began their own examination of contract sales. They believe many rental property owners are using contracts for deed as a way to avoid maintenance rules, shifting the cost of expensive repairs onto their buyers. Indeed, hundreds of contract sales in the Twin Cities involve former rental properties, many with a history of problems.
"People are signing a contract for deed and thinking it is a synonym for a lease, and they don't recognize the seriousness of what they are agreeing to," said Henry Reimer, assistant director of regulatory services for Minneapolis.
Many properties were sold again after buyers defaulted, allowing sellers to pocket down payments ranging from $1,000 to $25,000, plus any monthly payments already collected.
Investor Ron Folger sold 16 rental properties on contract for deed after losing his rental license in Minneapolis in 2011. During a recent interview, he said a contract for deed allows him to earn money on his properties without the meddling of city government.
In at least 370 cases, the sellers in contracts for deed failed to provide mandatory inspections that would detail existing code violations, such as faulty wiring or other problems.
Folger did not provide an inspection in 11 of 16 sales.
Many buyers said they didn't even know they were entitled to them. Sylvia Dominguez bought a house in late 2011 from Folger, only to find out that her home had a broken furnace, malfunctioning dishwasher and leaking bathroom.
Folger, who obtained a Realtor's license, said he didn't know he was required to provide disclosure reports. "I want to make money, but I don't want to do it on the blood of other people," he said.
Though the evaluations are required for all real estate sales in many cities, they are especially critical in contract-for-deed sales because buyers do not usually hire an inspector. Sellers are supposed to obtain the reports from a licensed evaluator and conspicuously post them on the property.
City officials said they are skeptical that any seller of rental property is unaware of the disclosure requirements. "They are just trying to dump a problem on somebody else," Jones said. "They know what the rules are."
College football in its big-time, money-printing configuration has always been a tremendously sleazy endeavor, rivaling the worst of the music business and Hollywood, yet masked in the All-American wholesomeness of amateur student athletes playing for love of the game.
And, to be sure, there are some great stories and more than enough kids playing these games for the right reasons. And at the smaller schools, there are coaches and staff members who are dedicated to their profession wholly, working with young people to mold them while helping them succeed at the game they all love.
But the small percentage of super programs in football drives the machine, and that is one dedicated not to students and sportsmanship, but of cutthroat policies engineered to keep the business booming.
On New Year's Eve, I spent most of the night with friends watching Clemson hang on and eventually upset LSU in the former Peach Bowl. I say former, of course, because a chicken sandwich purveyor with questionable priorities now sponsors it. But that bowl is one of the top earning bowls outside of the BCS, giving schools more than $3 million in 2011, and that pales in comparison to what schools will earn for making one of the five BCS bowls.
Notre Dame and Alabama, who will square off in the BCS Championship on Monday night, will likely take home more than $20 million for their featured spot in the biggest bowl.
This doesn't fully get into the bonuses built in for coaches and staff for reaching and subsequently winning these bowls, the resources and allocations needed from the academic institutions they represent, and the innate pressure on football programs to succeed in this climate.
That pressure is where the seediness of college football truly blossoms. Coaches do whatever they can within the rules and skirt them as often as possible to recruit talent. Coaches jump to new schools and the NFL as soon as they can, or hold their current schools hostage for more money. Penn State's Bill O'Brien will stay at the school after getting a reported $1.3 million tacked on to his salary after interviewing with the Browns. Les Miles from LSU pulls this same trick whenever Michigan has a coaching vacancy.
Meanwhile, schools jump conferences and poach coaches whenever possible. The highest-tiered athletes position themselves for success. It's survival of the fittest, masked as a cause for the greater good, a pure antidote for the pro game.
But this all carries on, and it does because of the athletes on the field, because of talented coaches with creative game schemes, because the games themselves are, admittedly, thrilling at their best. In the Sugar Bowl, Louisville scored the biggest win in the history of their program with an upset of Florida. Louisville is jumping from the dying Big East to the ACC, after the ACC lost Maryland to the Big Ten, by the way.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Glenn McGrath inducted into ICC Hall of Fame
Australian pace legend Glenn McGrath was on Friday inducted into the International Cricket Council's Hall of Fame, making him its 68th male member. McGrath was formally inducted during the lunch interval of the ongoing third Test between Australia and Sri Lanka here.
McGrath joins fellow 2012-13 inductees West Indian Brian Lara and England's Enid Bakewell in being recognised by the ICC and the living members of the Hall of Fame. While Lara and Bakewell were inducted in September at the ICC Awards, McGrath was inducted at his home ground of the SCG by ICC President Alan Isaac, along with Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards in front of a large and appreciative crowd.
"I am delighted to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and to be considered among the greats of the game. To be honoured alongside the likes of Don Bradman, Dennis Lillee and Michael Holding who were all my heroes when I was growing up is something I could never have dreamed of when I first started playing cricket," McGrath said. "I have to thank my family, my team-mates, my coaches and all those who have supported me throughout the years to help mold me into the cricketer that I became. I took great pride every time I donned the Baggy Green and I now take great pride in being inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame," he added. A fourth and final inductee of 2012-13 will be announced later this year.
McGrath, who was born in in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1970, represented Australia in 124 Test matches between 1993 and 2007 claiming 563 Test wickets at an average of 21.64. He has taken more Test wickets than any other seam bowler currently in the game or retired.
Australia won 22 of the 30 Ashes Test matches that he played, with the side losing just four matches when McGrath was part of the bowling attack. McGrath was part of the Australian side that won three successive World Cups -- 1999, 2003 and 2007. He still holds the record for most wickets in World Cup competitions with 71 scalps and his figures of 7-15 against Namibia are the best in the competition's history.
When McGrath retired from the game in 2007 he had represented Australia in 250 ODIs, claiming 381 wickets at an average of 22.02 while he took over 800 first-class wickets in his career.
Wow, take a few days off for a holiday and all sorts of things happen in the news. It wasn’t that long ago that Christmas was a really slow news time and the only ones left in the newsroom were cub reporters who covered obituaries and sports scores. This year, thanks to the ongoing soap opera that we call the federal government, the news was chock full of drama.
At the top of the TV channel line-up this holiday season was Fiscal Cliff, the unreal reality show that played out like a whole season of Revenge meets The Walking Dead. The scriptwriters get most of the credit for the success of Fiscal Cliff, but several actors are likely to be nominated for awards. Barack Obama, playing “the Prez,” was thoroughly convincing as the cool, self-assured and over-achieving community organizer who would stop at nothing to demonize and crush his opponents.
John Boehner, portraying a House Speaker, convinced us he was a sad and tragic figure. The special effects crew gets credit for making him look like a bloodhound on the verge of tears as he tried in vain to save his failing party. Supporting actor Harry Reid added to the eerie atmosphere of Congress with a brief appearance as a modern-day Renfield.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell provided some comic relief and had the funniest line with “Duh, which way did he go boss, which way did he go?” Many of the characterizations were worthy of a Charles Dickens novel and we can’t wait for the mid-season sequel due this summer, At the Bottom of the Cliff.
Scriptwriters were also busy at work over this holiday to capitalize on the growing debate over gun control. This resulted in the launch of not just one, but two animated comedies that will delight viewers everywhere. Misfire is about an Elmer Fudd type of character, with the voice of NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, who tries to convince woodland animals to take up arms and help protect the carrot patch from “wascally wabbits.”
The other show still in production is a remake of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice entitled Three Ring Clown. It features the ever-popular Joe “they’re gonna put ya’ll back in chains” Biden as the voice of a befuddled clown who finds himself in charge of the circus when the ringmaster leaves to play golf.
The season premiere is about how the clown struggles to control some guns that magically come to life and dance about shooting up the circus tent. The preview showed an elephant stampede and braying donkeys just to add to the fun and confusion.
Of course the big New Year’s TV event was dropping the ball, not only at Times Square but also in Congress, and not one news program mentioned that 2013 marks the 100th year since the 16th Amendment was ratified. It was this amendment that gave the federal government its first truly legitimate authority to tax citizens:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
That kind of sounds like the whole Democratic Party platform doesn’t it?
The most interesting parts of the fiscal cliff drama were the bits that weren’t televised or even discussed in the one-sided negotiations. Let’s take a peek behind the scenes and see went into making this holiday entertainment extravaganza:
Whatever his faults as a leader or manager, and they are plentiful, President Obama is a shrewd and single-minded politician. Not only did he manage to finally split the Republican Party in the House, the last obstacle to his spending programs, he also managed to keep the entire dialogue focused on taxes and away from the deficit.
At one point Boehner offered the same amount of revenue from cleaning up the tax code as could be gained from raising tax percentages, but Obama rejected that. If raising revenue was truly the President’s only goal as he claimed, then he could have easily accepted the deal and moved things along.
However, by insisting that tax rates needed to increase, and by campaigning for populist support by demonizing the rich, Obama forced the House GOP into a corner and the party split in the final vote.
The Republican congressmen who supported the fiscal cliff deal will, in the next election, have to explain to some angry voters why they broke their promises of no tax increases. If they get bumped out of office, that could open seats to the Democrats and give Obama the mandate he thinks he should have for his social equality programs. In other words, there will be few limits on federal spending and the debt will continue its meteoric rise.
McGrath joins fellow 2012-13 inductees West Indian Brian Lara and England's Enid Bakewell in being recognised by the ICC and the living members of the Hall of Fame. While Lara and Bakewell were inducted in September at the ICC Awards, McGrath was inducted at his home ground of the SCG by ICC President Alan Isaac, along with Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards in front of a large and appreciative crowd.
"I am delighted to be inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame and to be considered among the greats of the game. To be honoured alongside the likes of Don Bradman, Dennis Lillee and Michael Holding who were all my heroes when I was growing up is something I could never have dreamed of when I first started playing cricket," McGrath said. "I have to thank my family, my team-mates, my coaches and all those who have supported me throughout the years to help mold me into the cricketer that I became. I took great pride every time I donned the Baggy Green and I now take great pride in being inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame," he added. A fourth and final inductee of 2012-13 will be announced later this year.
McGrath, who was born in in Dubbo, New South Wales in 1970, represented Australia in 124 Test matches between 1993 and 2007 claiming 563 Test wickets at an average of 21.64. He has taken more Test wickets than any other seam bowler currently in the game or retired.
Australia won 22 of the 30 Ashes Test matches that he played, with the side losing just four matches when McGrath was part of the bowling attack. McGrath was part of the Australian side that won three successive World Cups -- 1999, 2003 and 2007. He still holds the record for most wickets in World Cup competitions with 71 scalps and his figures of 7-15 against Namibia are the best in the competition's history.
When McGrath retired from the game in 2007 he had represented Australia in 250 ODIs, claiming 381 wickets at an average of 22.02 while he took over 800 first-class wickets in his career.
Wow, take a few days off for a holiday and all sorts of things happen in the news. It wasn’t that long ago that Christmas was a really slow news time and the only ones left in the newsroom were cub reporters who covered obituaries and sports scores. This year, thanks to the ongoing soap opera that we call the federal government, the news was chock full of drama.
At the top of the TV channel line-up this holiday season was Fiscal Cliff, the unreal reality show that played out like a whole season of Revenge meets The Walking Dead. The scriptwriters get most of the credit for the success of Fiscal Cliff, but several actors are likely to be nominated for awards. Barack Obama, playing “the Prez,” was thoroughly convincing as the cool, self-assured and over-achieving community organizer who would stop at nothing to demonize and crush his opponents.
John Boehner, portraying a House Speaker, convinced us he was a sad and tragic figure. The special effects crew gets credit for making him look like a bloodhound on the verge of tears as he tried in vain to save his failing party. Supporting actor Harry Reid added to the eerie atmosphere of Congress with a brief appearance as a modern-day Renfield.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell provided some comic relief and had the funniest line with “Duh, which way did he go boss, which way did he go?” Many of the characterizations were worthy of a Charles Dickens novel and we can’t wait for the mid-season sequel due this summer, At the Bottom of the Cliff.
Scriptwriters were also busy at work over this holiday to capitalize on the growing debate over gun control. This resulted in the launch of not just one, but two animated comedies that will delight viewers everywhere. Misfire is about an Elmer Fudd type of character, with the voice of NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, who tries to convince woodland animals to take up arms and help protect the carrot patch from “wascally wabbits.”
The other show still in production is a remake of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice entitled Three Ring Clown. It features the ever-popular Joe “they’re gonna put ya’ll back in chains” Biden as the voice of a befuddled clown who finds himself in charge of the circus when the ringmaster leaves to play golf.
The season premiere is about how the clown struggles to control some guns that magically come to life and dance about shooting up the circus tent. The preview showed an elephant stampede and braying donkeys just to add to the fun and confusion.
Of course the big New Year’s TV event was dropping the ball, not only at Times Square but also in Congress, and not one news program mentioned that 2013 marks the 100th year since the 16th Amendment was ratified. It was this amendment that gave the federal government its first truly legitimate authority to tax citizens:
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.
That kind of sounds like the whole Democratic Party platform doesn’t it?
The most interesting parts of the fiscal cliff drama were the bits that weren’t televised or even discussed in the one-sided negotiations. Let’s take a peek behind the scenes and see went into making this holiday entertainment extravaganza:
Whatever his faults as a leader or manager, and they are plentiful, President Obama is a shrewd and single-minded politician. Not only did he manage to finally split the Republican Party in the House, the last obstacle to his spending programs, he also managed to keep the entire dialogue focused on taxes and away from the deficit.
At one point Boehner offered the same amount of revenue from cleaning up the tax code as could be gained from raising tax percentages, but Obama rejected that. If raising revenue was truly the President’s only goal as he claimed, then he could have easily accepted the deal and moved things along.
However, by insisting that tax rates needed to increase, and by campaigning for populist support by demonizing the rich, Obama forced the House GOP into a corner and the party split in the final vote.
The Republican congressmen who supported the fiscal cliff deal will, in the next election, have to explain to some angry voters why they broke their promises of no tax increases. If they get bumped out of office, that could open seats to the Democrats and give Obama the mandate he thinks he should have for his social equality programs. In other words, there will be few limits on federal spending and the debt will continue its meteoric rise.
Sandy survivors aided by influx of collegians from 22 states
The pace of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief work may lessen a bit for the holidays, but it rarely comes to a halt. That was the case for 500-plus collegiate volunteers who served survivors of Hurricane Sandy in New York and New Jersey up to the week of Christmas and are continuing their work into the new year.
One of those volunteers is Reese Hammond from Northwest Missouri State University. Hammond was part of an 11-member student-led Baptist Student Union group who came to Staten Island to serve alongside trained SBDR volunteers from Alabama and other states.
"God gave us two borrowed vans to make the 22-hour trip," Hammond said in recounting his thankfulness for God's provision. "When we arrived at Zion Lutheran Church where we were staying, we were greeted by the amazing and wonderful volunteers and staff that made our trip a success.
"Over the week we worked on some of the most damaged homes you could think of," Hammond continued.
"All of these homes had extensive water damage. Some had even experienced more than 14 feet of water rushing over them. We worked on homes that were filled with mud and mold. We had homes where sewer pipes had broken and sewage was everywhere inside."
Susan Peugh, a North American Mission Board staff member responsible for coordinating volunteer opportunities, said God is using disaster relief to reveal Himself to college students.
Students have had "life-changing experiences while ripping out floors, insulation and spraying for mold," Peugh said. "Daily they are being reminded of how God has blessed them and why they need to share His hope and love with those who are hurting. They will long remember this experience."
Since Sandy made landfall, SBDR volunteers have prepared 1.8 million meals, cleaned debris from more than 1,000 homes and made 4,600-plus ministry contacts. Volunteers have shared the Gospel with more than 800 people, resulting in 88 professions of faith during 32,543 ministry service days.
Hammond said the trip to Staten Island "didn't mean that we were missing out on free time over break. It meant that if we didn't go on this trip, we would be missing out on making Christ's name great in the hearts of those who are hurting.
"Over the week, we were able to sow the seeds that God makes grow. We were able to pray with these people after each day of work. We gave out Bibles and we shared what Jesus has done in our lives."
The Missouri collegians were among students from 22 states who gave part of their Christmas breaks to serve in the New York City area. Students will continue to minister on site through Jan. 22.
"Overall, this trip was full of God's glory," Hammond said. "He made everything line up just right. He put us in the position to serve those who needed Him. He revealed Himself to us, to those we served and to New York. He even arranged a Fox News interview with our group the morning that we were going to leave. So, in the end, God was faithful as always. He was faithful in getting us there, He was faithful in revealing Himself to us and to the people we worked with, and He was most definitely faithful in making His name great throughout our entire trip."
From its disaster operations center in Alpharetta, Ga., NAMB coordinates Southern Baptist responses to major disasters through a partnership between NAMB and the Southern Baptist Convention's 42 state conventions, most of which have their own state disaster relief programs.
SBDR assets include 82,000 trained volunteers, including chaplains, and some 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, command, communication, childcare, shower, laundry, water purification, repair/rebuild and power generation. SBDR is one of the three largest mobilizers of trained disaster relief volunteers in the United States, along with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army.
As a player, Mike Redmond prided himself on being more than just a student of the game. During his 13-year big league career, the former backup catcher spent plenty of time studying managers.
Redmond had the good fortune of picking up traits and tidbits from some of the best in the business. Much of what he absorbed from them will help mold him into the type of manager he hopes to become with the Marlins.
When Redmond broke in as a rookie in 1998, Jim Leyland was managing the Marlins. He also developed a close bond in South Florida with John Boles, who managed him in the Minors and Majors. And in 2003, Redmond was Ivan Rodriguez's backup on a World Series championship team, guided by Jack McKeon. When he moved to Minnesota, Redmond spent five seasons receiving pointers from Ron Gardenhire.
Those four have combined for more than 50 years of big league managerial experience.
"There are lots of guys that I learned from, but the biggest thing is that as a catcher, as a backup catcher, I sat there and I watched," Redmond said. "I sat there and paid attention. I'd watch what moves guys made, when they made them. I tried to learn."
At age 41, Redmond is the youngest manager in the big leagues, and he will be taking over a youthful and inexperienced squad. Redmond's style of managing will certainly evolve, but he has plenty of insights from his own playing days, as well as observing his former managers.
"I love the game, and I love to study the game," he said. "I always took so much pride in being a backup catcher. I wanted to be the best backup catcher.
"I knew if I wasn't going to be a starter, I wanted to be the best backup catcher in the league. And I knew the only way I was going to be able to do that was if I paid attention and watched and learned. If I did that, everything was going to be fine."
Redmond retired as a player after the 2010 season, and he immediately embarked on his managerial career. He spent two years in the Blue Jays' system, first with the Class A Lansing Lugnuts. And in '12, he moved up to the advanced Class A Dunedin Blue Jays.
Making the leap to the big leagues presents a whole different set of challenges, including dealing with a wide range of personalities, plus extra media coverage. Managing people is as much the game as mapping out strategy.
With all that Redmond is about to face, he will be relying on his own past experiences.
"I played for a lot of different guys, and sort of completely different types of managers," Redmond said. "Obviously, Jim Leyland was my first manager in 1998. I learned so much from him."
From Leyland, Redmond realized, to get the most out of your players, you have to put them in positions to succeed.
"He was a big matchup guy, and he got me into situations to be successful," Redmond said. "Had I gone out there and played against the [Greg] Madduxes and the Kerry Woods right out of the chute, I may not be sitting here today.
"He started me in against lefties, soft-throwing lefties, but it allowed me to establish myself and kind of cut my teeth in the big leagues with some confidence, and it just kind of built from there."
In Minnesota, Gardenhire showed the importance of backing his players. If it meant being tossed from the game, so be it.
"Gardy was a tremendous players' manager," Redmond said. "I don't know if there's a guy that I've played for that backed his players more than Gardy did. It's definitely something that I learned from him.
"You've seen him get thrown out of games, backing his players. But he fought for his guys, and that was one of the things I have never forgotten."
In 2003, with the Marlins making a World Series push, McKeon rode his regulars hard. Often the bench players didn't see much action.
"McKeon showed so much faith in his players," Redmond said. "If you were a [main] guy, he ran you out there. It didn't matter if you were 0-for-16, 0-for-17, 0-for-20. If you were his guy, you played.
"Maybe for the bench players at the time we didn't appreciate it, but he got me into a World Series, in Game 2, and he didn't have to do it. I think we were down five or six runs in Game 2, and he gave Pudge a little bit of blow and got me in there."
One of those volunteers is Reese Hammond from Northwest Missouri State University. Hammond was part of an 11-member student-led Baptist Student Union group who came to Staten Island to serve alongside trained SBDR volunteers from Alabama and other states.
"God gave us two borrowed vans to make the 22-hour trip," Hammond said in recounting his thankfulness for God's provision. "When we arrived at Zion Lutheran Church where we were staying, we were greeted by the amazing and wonderful volunteers and staff that made our trip a success.
"Over the week we worked on some of the most damaged homes you could think of," Hammond continued.
"All of these homes had extensive water damage. Some had even experienced more than 14 feet of water rushing over them. We worked on homes that were filled with mud and mold. We had homes where sewer pipes had broken and sewage was everywhere inside."
Susan Peugh, a North American Mission Board staff member responsible for coordinating volunteer opportunities, said God is using disaster relief to reveal Himself to college students.
Students have had "life-changing experiences while ripping out floors, insulation and spraying for mold," Peugh said. "Daily they are being reminded of how God has blessed them and why they need to share His hope and love with those who are hurting. They will long remember this experience."
Since Sandy made landfall, SBDR volunteers have prepared 1.8 million meals, cleaned debris from more than 1,000 homes and made 4,600-plus ministry contacts. Volunteers have shared the Gospel with more than 800 people, resulting in 88 professions of faith during 32,543 ministry service days.
Hammond said the trip to Staten Island "didn't mean that we were missing out on free time over break. It meant that if we didn't go on this trip, we would be missing out on making Christ's name great in the hearts of those who are hurting.
"Over the week, we were able to sow the seeds that God makes grow. We were able to pray with these people after each day of work. We gave out Bibles and we shared what Jesus has done in our lives."
The Missouri collegians were among students from 22 states who gave part of their Christmas breaks to serve in the New York City area. Students will continue to minister on site through Jan. 22.
"Overall, this trip was full of God's glory," Hammond said. "He made everything line up just right. He put us in the position to serve those who needed Him. He revealed Himself to us, to those we served and to New York. He even arranged a Fox News interview with our group the morning that we were going to leave. So, in the end, God was faithful as always. He was faithful in getting us there, He was faithful in revealing Himself to us and to the people we worked with, and He was most definitely faithful in making His name great throughout our entire trip."
From its disaster operations center in Alpharetta, Ga., NAMB coordinates Southern Baptist responses to major disasters through a partnership between NAMB and the Southern Baptist Convention's 42 state conventions, most of which have their own state disaster relief programs.
SBDR assets include 82,000 trained volunteers, including chaplains, and some 1,550 mobile units for feeding, chainsaw, mud-out, command, communication, childcare, shower, laundry, water purification, repair/rebuild and power generation. SBDR is one of the three largest mobilizers of trained disaster relief volunteers in the United States, along with the American Red Cross and The Salvation Army.
As a player, Mike Redmond prided himself on being more than just a student of the game. During his 13-year big league career, the former backup catcher spent plenty of time studying managers.
Redmond had the good fortune of picking up traits and tidbits from some of the best in the business. Much of what he absorbed from them will help mold him into the type of manager he hopes to become with the Marlins.
When Redmond broke in as a rookie in 1998, Jim Leyland was managing the Marlins. He also developed a close bond in South Florida with John Boles, who managed him in the Minors and Majors. And in 2003, Redmond was Ivan Rodriguez's backup on a World Series championship team, guided by Jack McKeon. When he moved to Minnesota, Redmond spent five seasons receiving pointers from Ron Gardenhire.
Those four have combined for more than 50 years of big league managerial experience.
"There are lots of guys that I learned from, but the biggest thing is that as a catcher, as a backup catcher, I sat there and I watched," Redmond said. "I sat there and paid attention. I'd watch what moves guys made, when they made them. I tried to learn."
At age 41, Redmond is the youngest manager in the big leagues, and he will be taking over a youthful and inexperienced squad. Redmond's style of managing will certainly evolve, but he has plenty of insights from his own playing days, as well as observing his former managers.
"I love the game, and I love to study the game," he said. "I always took so much pride in being a backup catcher. I wanted to be the best backup catcher.
"I knew if I wasn't going to be a starter, I wanted to be the best backup catcher in the league. And I knew the only way I was going to be able to do that was if I paid attention and watched and learned. If I did that, everything was going to be fine."
Redmond retired as a player after the 2010 season, and he immediately embarked on his managerial career. He spent two years in the Blue Jays' system, first with the Class A Lansing Lugnuts. And in '12, he moved up to the advanced Class A Dunedin Blue Jays.
Making the leap to the big leagues presents a whole different set of challenges, including dealing with a wide range of personalities, plus extra media coverage. Managing people is as much the game as mapping out strategy.
With all that Redmond is about to face, he will be relying on his own past experiences.
"I played for a lot of different guys, and sort of completely different types of managers," Redmond said. "Obviously, Jim Leyland was my first manager in 1998. I learned so much from him."
From Leyland, Redmond realized, to get the most out of your players, you have to put them in positions to succeed.
"He was a big matchup guy, and he got me into situations to be successful," Redmond said. "Had I gone out there and played against the [Greg] Madduxes and the Kerry Woods right out of the chute, I may not be sitting here today.
"He started me in against lefties, soft-throwing lefties, but it allowed me to establish myself and kind of cut my teeth in the big leagues with some confidence, and it just kind of built from there."
In Minnesota, Gardenhire showed the importance of backing his players. If it meant being tossed from the game, so be it.
"Gardy was a tremendous players' manager," Redmond said. "I don't know if there's a guy that I've played for that backed his players more than Gardy did. It's definitely something that I learned from him.
"You've seen him get thrown out of games, backing his players. But he fought for his guys, and that was one of the things I have never forgotten."
In 2003, with the Marlins making a World Series push, McKeon rode his regulars hard. Often the bench players didn't see much action.
"McKeon showed so much faith in his players," Redmond said. "If you were a [main] guy, he ran you out there. It didn't matter if you were 0-for-16, 0-for-17, 0-for-20. If you were his guy, you played.
"Maybe for the bench players at the time we didn't appreciate it, but he got me into a World Series, in Game 2, and he didn't have to do it. I think we were down five or six runs in Game 2, and he gave Pudge a little bit of blow and got me in there."
Saturday, December 29, 2012
New Television Shows Promise to Spice Up Winter Entertainment
One of those most anticipated new shows is the highly touted prequel to Sex and the City—The Carrie Diaries. The show, starring Anna Sophia Robb begins on January 14th on the CW network. In it, a teenage Carrie Bradshaw is trying to get her footing in life and dreaming of becoming a writer in New York. She's also dealing with the common issues of high school students like who to date, what to wear and how to become a strong individual. All of that plays into what molds and shapes Carrie into the woman she eventually becomes. It's also when she begins to get a passion for fashion and a yearning for the opposite sex.
While there are obvious nods to the later Miss Bradshaw, The Carrie Diaries also offers something unique that the older show did not. If it can maintain that freshness, it stands a good chance of survival. However, if it tries too hard to mold itself into Sex and the City too early, it may quickly lose its audiences. A delicate balance must be achieved between the old and the new. Tune in to see if the show can achieve it.
NBC continues to try to strengthen its TV lineup with a new drama called Deception. Starting January 7th, the show centers on the suspicious death of a young socialite. An FBI agent played by Laz Alonso recruits the girl's former best friend, who also happens to be his girlfriend, to work undercover to break the case. It's Joanna's (played by Meagan Good) job to uncover whether the girl was murdered or committed suicide.
Fraught with enough twists and turns to keep the most dedicated thriller junkie happy, there will be a lot of information for the average viewer to retain and process. For that reason, the show may not be for everyone. However, those who love ABC's Revenge will probably like Deception as well. The tone of the plot is similar while being just different enough to intrigue as well as captivate.
NBC continues to try to strengthen its TV lineup with a new drama called Deception. Starting January 7th, the show centers on the suspicious death of a young socialite. An FBI agent played by Laz Alonso recruits the girl's former best friend, who also happens to be his girlfriend, to work undercover to break the case. It's Joanna's (played by Meagan Good) job to uncover whether the girl was murdered or committed suicide.
Fraught with enough twists and turns to keep the most dedicated thriller junkie happy, there will be a lot of information for the average viewer to retain and process. For that reason, the show may not be for everyone. However, those who love ABC's Revenge will probably like Deception as well. The tone of the plot is similar while being just different enough to intrigue as well as captivate.
The members of the memorably named Cosmic Slim and His Intergalactic Plowboys admit they are getting rather advanced in age, but this fact of life, that we all must encounter someday, has not vanquished their life-long love of music.
In fact, by all accounts, time has only made it more potent. They still have an unending passion, as their motto states, for "touring the cosmos for your listening pleasure."
They describe their brand of music as eclectic, and there is truly something for everyone. Ultimately, the band plays what they personally find interesting and fun, and that can become pretty much anything. For this reason, they joke, "one thing is for sure, we aren't in it for the big bucks."
"Some us come from Folk, Country, Jug-Band, and old-fashioned Rock 'n Roll. And sometimes we'll just jam away on some Grateful Dead stuff," says the band.
"For example," they continue, "in an old jug-bandy kind of song, which are usually pretty straightforward harmonically, the jazz guy will occasionally throw in some of those 'ambiguous' chord voicings. Or we'll be doing an old boogie-woogie kind of thing, and suddenly you're hearing a finger-picked electric guitar, or a bass line that feels more like a Texas Shuffle. And imagine the thrill of doing a sweet old Blues Ballad, when the Pedal Steel speaks up!"
The Pedal Steel player is Tim Bowles, who indeed has a "long and glorious history" around the Worcester music scene. He has been a member of such local acts as The Trailers, Prudence and the Plowboys, the Prairie Oysters, and Dave Pike's Good Old Boys. Two other members of the band are legends of the Worcester rock n' roll scene as well, Rick McCarthy on drums and the newest member Phil Nigro on guitar.
The rest of the band consists of the three friends who met while attending Clark University back in the late 60s. Guitarist Rick Levine, bassist Bill Fisher and keyboardist Sten Gustavson played together in college before going their separate ways. Rick and Bill went on to help form the Prairie Dogs, while Sten moved to Arizona. Despite the distance, they stayed in touch.
"We've reconvened off and on since then, and this 'Slim' thing happened."
This "Slim" thing happened in a perfectly ordinary fashion. Once again, the common story of a bunch of guys coming together out of a unitary desire to play fun music.
"You need to know that this whole thing started out as just a weekly jam. Yes, we always intended to bring it out, but basically this is about us having fun doing tunes we find interesting," they said.
As a young and quite unique creation with a non-traditional sound, they will play basically anywhere that will have them.
"We'd like to find that mix of fun and dancing rooms and 'listening' rooms. Something like a coffeehouse that would be happy with a 6-piece, all-electric-except-for-the-drums eclecto-improvisatory experiment that's always riding the line between art and a trainwreck!" they joke.
For those residents of the cosmos lucky enough to experience a performance by thw band, they can succumb to any number of possible emotions. Which one of the musical genres from their wide repertoire the band chooses to play depends on the context and setting in which they are placed.
"We do some tunes which are simply fun -- people out in a bar will dance and enjoy themselves," they said. "But then there are other things we do which are more for listening. We hope people enjoy them, but 'fun' would probably not be the right descriptor. These are the things you might more commonly hear in a coffeehouse or lounge setting."
But no matter what they choose to perform on a given night, they recognize the one important quality that unites all music, that truly makes music an art form in every sense of the word, i.e., its ability to stir special, potent feelings in both the listener and the musician, feelings that really can't be created by any other type of event.
"It's a fascinating exercise on a personal level. You're trying to bring technical skills to create or recreate an emotional event. We've been playing around with the idea for a long time now, and we still find ourselves asking 'How can that possibly work?' But it does. It's the almost magical part of artistic endeavors."
The band's music can be seen as purely improvisational, almost chaotic. They don't even consider any one individual a traditional 'frontman.' In other words, they are a 'band of sidemen.' But it is an organized and welcoming chaos that they bring to the music world, and after all, can't all music (and indeed the cosmos) ultimately be described in such a way?
"In a group context, the teamwork aspect is a thrilling kind of challenge. Our stuff is pretty improvisatory, but even when you're playing a tight arrangement, you're constantly listening and adjusting to what's going on. Lots of practice and repetitions make it more predictable, but you never quite lose that constant, unspoken sort of dialogue that's going on underneath the song," they explain in terms all true musicians can understand.
Our web platform is designed to provide product and assembly specifications for the purpose of assisting builders, architects and engineers in how to design our new assemblies against fire, mold, wood-rot, termites and high winds, providing protection up to nine feet above grade. The combination of Eco Red Shield ? lumber superstructure, encased with Eco Disaster Break? coatings, is the most defensive building innovation ever to hit the industry as we recognized that traditional felt paper and fabric are no longer good enough to protect against rising tides and high winds, let alone fire storms. ECOB building designed assemblies and products are now supported by the FDNY and California Fire Departments. Eco Disaster Break coatings applied to the exterior structure eliminate the need for outdated protection methods such as felt paper or vapor barriers around windows, doors and even under roofing and siding; decreasing the risk of water, fire, and termite damage for wood framed structures. Moreover, Eco Disaster Break coatings provide continual protection during high wind events, safeguarding the home's vulnerability against water penetration, and fire ignition.
Eco Disaster Break? is a Class A Fire Rated, UV Resistant, high-performance, non-toxic, acrylic coating that forms a waterproof and seamless monolithic membrane. When applied to Eco Red Shield? protected wood surfaces, Eco Disaster Break? forms the most advanced defensive construction assembly available against water penetration, fire ignition, mold, wood-rot and termites.
ECOB's subsidiary, E Build & Truss, will be one of the first companies to submit plans for the rebuild efforts from hurricane Sandy in Breezy Point, Rockaway, New Jersey and Staten Island next week; all of which are supported by firemen from coast to coast. ECOB has identified, and plans to open a core New Jersey facility by February 2013, positioning ECOB Products in the local market, so people do not have to rebuild using the same old building practices expecting a different result during future severe weather and super storm events without drastically increasing brick and mortar costs.
While there are obvious nods to the later Miss Bradshaw, The Carrie Diaries also offers something unique that the older show did not. If it can maintain that freshness, it stands a good chance of survival. However, if it tries too hard to mold itself into Sex and the City too early, it may quickly lose its audiences. A delicate balance must be achieved between the old and the new. Tune in to see if the show can achieve it.
NBC continues to try to strengthen its TV lineup with a new drama called Deception. Starting January 7th, the show centers on the suspicious death of a young socialite. An FBI agent played by Laz Alonso recruits the girl's former best friend, who also happens to be his girlfriend, to work undercover to break the case. It's Joanna's (played by Meagan Good) job to uncover whether the girl was murdered or committed suicide.
Fraught with enough twists and turns to keep the most dedicated thriller junkie happy, there will be a lot of information for the average viewer to retain and process. For that reason, the show may not be for everyone. However, those who love ABC's Revenge will probably like Deception as well. The tone of the plot is similar while being just different enough to intrigue as well as captivate.
NBC continues to try to strengthen its TV lineup with a new drama called Deception. Starting January 7th, the show centers on the suspicious death of a young socialite. An FBI agent played by Laz Alonso recruits the girl's former best friend, who also happens to be his girlfriend, to work undercover to break the case. It's Joanna's (played by Meagan Good) job to uncover whether the girl was murdered or committed suicide.
Fraught with enough twists and turns to keep the most dedicated thriller junkie happy, there will be a lot of information for the average viewer to retain and process. For that reason, the show may not be for everyone. However, those who love ABC's Revenge will probably like Deception as well. The tone of the plot is similar while being just different enough to intrigue as well as captivate.
The members of the memorably named Cosmic Slim and His Intergalactic Plowboys admit they are getting rather advanced in age, but this fact of life, that we all must encounter someday, has not vanquished their life-long love of music.
In fact, by all accounts, time has only made it more potent. They still have an unending passion, as their motto states, for "touring the cosmos for your listening pleasure."
They describe their brand of music as eclectic, and there is truly something for everyone. Ultimately, the band plays what they personally find interesting and fun, and that can become pretty much anything. For this reason, they joke, "one thing is for sure, we aren't in it for the big bucks."
"Some us come from Folk, Country, Jug-Band, and old-fashioned Rock 'n Roll. And sometimes we'll just jam away on some Grateful Dead stuff," says the band.
"For example," they continue, "in an old jug-bandy kind of song, which are usually pretty straightforward harmonically, the jazz guy will occasionally throw in some of those 'ambiguous' chord voicings. Or we'll be doing an old boogie-woogie kind of thing, and suddenly you're hearing a finger-picked electric guitar, or a bass line that feels more like a Texas Shuffle. And imagine the thrill of doing a sweet old Blues Ballad, when the Pedal Steel speaks up!"
The Pedal Steel player is Tim Bowles, who indeed has a "long and glorious history" around the Worcester music scene. He has been a member of such local acts as The Trailers, Prudence and the Plowboys, the Prairie Oysters, and Dave Pike's Good Old Boys. Two other members of the band are legends of the Worcester rock n' roll scene as well, Rick McCarthy on drums and the newest member Phil Nigro on guitar.
The rest of the band consists of the three friends who met while attending Clark University back in the late 60s. Guitarist Rick Levine, bassist Bill Fisher and keyboardist Sten Gustavson played together in college before going their separate ways. Rick and Bill went on to help form the Prairie Dogs, while Sten moved to Arizona. Despite the distance, they stayed in touch.
"We've reconvened off and on since then, and this 'Slim' thing happened."
This "Slim" thing happened in a perfectly ordinary fashion. Once again, the common story of a bunch of guys coming together out of a unitary desire to play fun music.
"You need to know that this whole thing started out as just a weekly jam. Yes, we always intended to bring it out, but basically this is about us having fun doing tunes we find interesting," they said.
As a young and quite unique creation with a non-traditional sound, they will play basically anywhere that will have them.
"We'd like to find that mix of fun and dancing rooms and 'listening' rooms. Something like a coffeehouse that would be happy with a 6-piece, all-electric-except-for-the-drums eclecto-improvisatory experiment that's always riding the line between art and a trainwreck!" they joke.
For those residents of the cosmos lucky enough to experience a performance by thw band, they can succumb to any number of possible emotions. Which one of the musical genres from their wide repertoire the band chooses to play depends on the context and setting in which they are placed.
"We do some tunes which are simply fun -- people out in a bar will dance and enjoy themselves," they said. "But then there are other things we do which are more for listening. We hope people enjoy them, but 'fun' would probably not be the right descriptor. These are the things you might more commonly hear in a coffeehouse or lounge setting."
But no matter what they choose to perform on a given night, they recognize the one important quality that unites all music, that truly makes music an art form in every sense of the word, i.e., its ability to stir special, potent feelings in both the listener and the musician, feelings that really can't be created by any other type of event.
"It's a fascinating exercise on a personal level. You're trying to bring technical skills to create or recreate an emotional event. We've been playing around with the idea for a long time now, and we still find ourselves asking 'How can that possibly work?' But it does. It's the almost magical part of artistic endeavors."
The band's music can be seen as purely improvisational, almost chaotic. They don't even consider any one individual a traditional 'frontman.' In other words, they are a 'band of sidemen.' But it is an organized and welcoming chaos that they bring to the music world, and after all, can't all music (and indeed the cosmos) ultimately be described in such a way?
"In a group context, the teamwork aspect is a thrilling kind of challenge. Our stuff is pretty improvisatory, but even when you're playing a tight arrangement, you're constantly listening and adjusting to what's going on. Lots of practice and repetitions make it more predictable, but you never quite lose that constant, unspoken sort of dialogue that's going on underneath the song," they explain in terms all true musicians can understand.
Our web platform is designed to provide product and assembly specifications for the purpose of assisting builders, architects and engineers in how to design our new assemblies against fire, mold, wood-rot, termites and high winds, providing protection up to nine feet above grade. The combination of Eco Red Shield ? lumber superstructure, encased with Eco Disaster Break? coatings, is the most defensive building innovation ever to hit the industry as we recognized that traditional felt paper and fabric are no longer good enough to protect against rising tides and high winds, let alone fire storms. ECOB building designed assemblies and products are now supported by the FDNY and California Fire Departments. Eco Disaster Break coatings applied to the exterior structure eliminate the need for outdated protection methods such as felt paper or vapor barriers around windows, doors and even under roofing and siding; decreasing the risk of water, fire, and termite damage for wood framed structures. Moreover, Eco Disaster Break coatings provide continual protection during high wind events, safeguarding the home's vulnerability against water penetration, and fire ignition.
Eco Disaster Break? is a Class A Fire Rated, UV Resistant, high-performance, non-toxic, acrylic coating that forms a waterproof and seamless monolithic membrane. When applied to Eco Red Shield? protected wood surfaces, Eco Disaster Break? forms the most advanced defensive construction assembly available against water penetration, fire ignition, mold, wood-rot and termites.
ECOB's subsidiary, E Build & Truss, will be one of the first companies to submit plans for the rebuild efforts from hurricane Sandy in Breezy Point, Rockaway, New Jersey and Staten Island next week; all of which are supported by firemen from coast to coast. ECOB has identified, and plans to open a core New Jersey facility by February 2013, positioning ECOB Products in the local market, so people do not have to rebuild using the same old building practices expecting a different result during future severe weather and super storm events without drastically increasing brick and mortar costs.
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