For the Smart Money Cookie

Looking for bandwidth? That can be a daunting and frustrating
task even in the best of situations. There’s lots to consider in
order to make the right decision for your needs. Below you’ll
find some help when evaluating OC3 vs OC12 vs OC48. Factors
covered include Technology, Speed, Description, Application,
Pros, Cons, and Cost.

~~~~~~~~~

Technology: OC3

Speed: 155.52 Mbps

Description: Optical carrier (fiber) connected by equipment
capable of speeds up to 155.52 Mbps.

Application: Large enterprise or ISP backbone.

Pros: Extremely high speed and throughput.

Cons: Extremely high cost.

Costs: Expect cost of an OC3 to start at around a $10-30,000 for
a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provider)…..not
including local loop or extensive setup. However….the pricing
for these connections can vary widely depending on the carrier,
location of service and the application for which the connection
is being used. For example…Tier 1 providers may cost more than
local/regional Tier 2 and Tier 3 providers but are much more
stable and reliable. A Tier 1 provider should always be the
provider of choice for any business serious about the quality of
their OCx network.

~~~~~~~~~~

Technology: OC12

Speed: 622.08 Mbps

Description: Optical carrier (fiber) connected by equipment
capable of speeds up to 622.08 Mbps.

Application: Large enterprise or ISP backbone.

Pros: Extremely high speed and throughput.

Cons: Extremely high cost.

Costs: Expect cost of an OC12 to start at around $1-300,000+ for
a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provider)…..
plus several hundred thousand dollars in setup costs.
However….the pricing for these connections can vary widely
depending on the carrier, location of service and the
application for which the connection is being used. A Tier 1
provider should always be the provider of choice for any
business serious about the quality of their OCx network.

~~~~~~~~~~

Technology: OC48

Speed: 2.488 Gbps (Gigabytes per second)

Description: Optical carrier (multiple strands of fiber)
connected by equipment capable of speeds up to 2.488 Mbps.

Application: Large enterprise or ISP backbone.

Pros: Extremely high speed and throughput.

Cons: Extremely high cost.

Costs: Expect cost of an OC48 to start at around $3-500,000 for
a stable, reliable system (e.g. from a Tier 1 provider)…..
plus several hundred thousand dollars in setup costs.
However….the pricing for these connections can vary widely
depending on the carrier, location of service and the
application for which the connection is being used. A Tier 1
provider should always be the provider of choice for any
business serious about the quality of their OCx network.

Whether you are training preschoolers in the classroom or executives in the board room, here are 15 premises you might want to keep in mind the next time you’re designing training activities.

1. Everybody has the capacity to learn.

2. Everybody learns at his own pace.

3. The trainee learns only when he is ready and is motivated.

4. Training must, therefore, get the trainee ready and motivated by satisfying his needs.

5. Training must, therefore, begin at the trainee’s level of comprehension.

6. Begin with the simple information and progress to the complex.

7. Use mutually familiar frames of reference.

8. Make the training meaningful by systematically organizing it.

9. Provide relevant and timely supporting materials in adequate quantities.

10. Watch for and avoid trainee boredom by using variety in your activities, materials, and speaking manner.

11. Provide trainees with feedback and reinforcement about their participation.

12. Provide ample time for repetition and practice.

13. Give trainees the opportunity to adapt the training to new and different situations.

14. Reassure the trainee and use his experiences.

15. Make the training practical by developing an agenda that’s practical.

Follow these premises and you’ll find that your activities will become increasingly successful.

Remember: When you maximize your potential, everyone wins. When you don’t, we all lose.

© Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in ezines, newsletters, and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required. Mail to: eagibbs@ureach.com.

Etienne A. Gibbs, MSW, Management Consultant and Trainer, conducts seminars, lectures, and writes articles on his theme: “… helping you maximize your potential.” He offers management and marketing resources at http://www.maximizingyourpotential.blogspot.com.

The need for Six Sigma training has arisen following two reasons. One, the demands of industry could not be met with the existing limited quality assurance methods and two, the tremendous financial opportunities for corporations that the 6 sigma methodology is creating of late. Many well-known organizations have developed their own Six Sigma training institutes, for in house training of their employees. Realizing the demand that could not be met by companies by themselves, many training institutes and universities have come forward and developed basic Six Sigma training courses.

Differences In Six Sigma Training Basics

A quick look at the Six Sigma training course contents of various institutes immediately shows that they vary widely in their central focus, while still keeping the fundamentals of Six Sigma training content intact. However, this is hardly surprising when one realizes that corporations devise courses for training their own employees for more flexibility. However, the Six Sigma training curricula prepared by independent training institutes and universities closely resemble each other, brining credence and uniformity to all Six Sigma training.

The Basics Of Six Sigma Training

Differences notwithstanding, the central theme of Six Sigma training required for certification must remain same. These are the six core basic elements of Six Sigma training:

1. A thorough and complete training on the DMAIC process and 6 sigma methodology: This involves familiarizing trainees on statistics and its applications, the five key elements of the DMAIC process, and the implementation of this methodology.

2. The roles of each key person: Each person in the organization plays a critical role in the implementation of 6 sigma. Thus, Six Sigma training needs to focus on understanding the key elements of every person’s role and the skill to communicate with key players across the organization.

3. Developing abilities to define and work on projects: In Six Sigma training, the emphasis is placed on the streamlining of processes, focusing on the core competencies of each of these. Six Sigma training also focuses on identifying and developing breakthrough processes, products and/or services. As a result, root cause analysis and crisis management abilities become the key to developing versatile management abilities.

4. Cross training necessity: The deployment of Six Sigma methodologies puts the emphasis on a team-based approach. Naturally, qualities such as interpersonal skills, ability to communicate effectively, and ability to transfer knowledge and clarify issues are also important. Sharing of knowledge across the organization is crucial for to the success of 6 sigma implementation.

5. Problem Solving Tools: In Six Sigma methodologies, problem-solving tools are statistical. Six Sigma training essentially teaches all those involved in the implementation how to use statistical tools in order to analyze a problem and solve it. Six Sigma training techniques assume that all candidates do not necessarily have formal training in statistics.

6. Presentation and closing techniques: In Six Sigma training, everyone is taught how to make presentations to management and other decision-makers. Six Sigma training also focuses on how to make the transition to closing projects after their conclusion or abandonment.

All Six Sigma training objectives are tied to a quality-first policy. In a nutshell, Six Sigma training instructs students on how to dissect information, analyze it, validate the results, and implement.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solutions - Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.

Hampton Court Palace is situated to the south west of London, on the edge of the River Thames, bounded by land and spectacular gardens. Hampton Court Palace, Henry 8’s spectacular waterside dwelling can be found in more than 500 acres of parkland and gardens. Whilst on holiday in England why not Visit Hampton Court Palace the riverside home of King Henry 8th.

Evoking the ambience of more than four-hundred and fifty years of customs, fancy dressed actors can be observed in Henry 8’s & King William 3rds elegant own houses. The scenes, sounds & aromas of the inspiring Tudor kitchens where royal occasions were set-up for Henry?s court of over 600 visitors can also be viewed.

Hampton Court Palace has been separated into 6 different routes or excursions. The Maze at Hampton Court Palace which is located on the Thames to the west of the City is possibly the most distinguished hedge maze on this planet.

Hampton Court palace has an awful history and is said to be populated by several ghosts, including two of Henry eights departed wives & a nursemaid to his children. Hampton Court Palace stewards & staff will be close by to aid guests to their nominated state room for a sparkling wine and canap?s reception. Uniformed callers will announce the evening meal and guests will be requested to go to their selected seats for a breathtaking two course meal with top quality fine red & white wines.

Hampton Court Palace has over sixty acres of ceremonial grounds besides the five hundred acres of royal woodland. The palace grounds go back to the 16th Century, when the original Privy Garden was installed between fifteen-thirty and fifteen thirty-eight for King Henry the eighth.

Let’s face it ladies. There are very few of us that can happily go about living our day to day life without having to carry around with us some degree of ‘pads of fat’ that have been laid down upon our thighs, buttocks, stomachs and in some cases, upper arms since the beginning of our estrogen secretion (which is responsible for our curved contours, to many for most of us) since the onset of puberty.

With few exceptions, the rest of us are usually fighting an ongoing battle with our more than enough fatty deposits. We are on diets and workout programs which, granted go a long way for our fitness and health levels but, most of the time once we decide to ‘lay of for a while’ we find in no time at all that we are usually back to square one. Also there is a vast majority of the female population, which no matter how much diet and exercise they do it is almost impossible for the local fatty deposits to leave their body. Thus, most women have come to terms that the easiest, quickest and most inexpensive way to deal with the problem is to camouflage it with clothes. But this has led most women to be ultimately forced to dress in a manner other than the one that they prefer.

Fortunately though, in the past few years much progress has been made in the field of cosmetic surgery with regard to liposuction. The methods used to undertake liposuction nowadays are more than one. However, the most common method still used is an updated variation of the initial surgical one. Plastic surgeons, through new techniques have been able to combat even the most difficult cases of liposuctions. Outlined below is the method most commonly used in liposuction surgery today by plastic surgeons.

The procedure is carried out by local anesthetic that is injected directly into the area to be treated which, at the same time causes the area to contract so as to reduce the amount of blood which is to be lost during the procedure. Small incisions are then made on the skin and a thin metallic tube is inserted which, with the help of a special pump ’sucks’ out the fat. The fat is then re-deposited in other areas of the body, which may need it. If after the liposuction there is skin ‘leftover’ the procedure will be followed by a dermolipectomis (removal of excessive skin). After the procedure is completed the patient can resume his or her duties and lifestyle within one to two weeks. Exercise can be resumed one month after the liposuction procedure.
For those of you who have the problem of extra fatty deposits but at the same time are squeamish about undergoing liposuction even under local anesthetic, stay tuned. The next topic on liposuction coming up soon deals with a very recent variation on liposuction known as lipoliquidation.

Charles Kassotis is the Owner and Webmaster of http://www.PlasticSurgeryOrg.com and Many Other Personal Health and Wellness Websites.
With a Strong Interest in Personal And Overall Health, he has Invested 100’s of Hours in Research, and Published countless Health Articles aimed at Better Educating the Public to their Choices when it comes to Personal Health and Wellness.

Corporations are willing to pay substantial amounts of money to prominent
personalities so that consumers will relate the brand with their favorite star,
and thus will be more likely to buy the product. The buying public imparts
credibility to the celebrity because of his or her charisma as well as the
credibility that comes with prominence in the media. The power of someone’s
personality also entails risks for the brand with which they are associated,
because any controversial behavior may reflect badly on the product. This has
become an especially frequent problem in recent times.

Whoopi Goldberg, for example, lost her Slim Fast contract due to her abrasive
remarks regarding the President. The people at Slim Fast did not want their
brand associated with a personality embroiled in controversy, who was likely to
upset people by insulting a respected figure. In 1989, Pepsi dropped Madonna
for her “sacrilegious” “Like a Prayer” video. McDonald’s allowed Kobe Bryant’s
contract with them to lapse after a woman accused him of rape. After allegedly
entering a special treatment program for anorexia, Mary-Kate Olsen vanished
from the “Got Milk?” campaign. Hip-hop star Ludacris became another Pepsi
casualty when executives heard Bill O’Reilly remark upon the obscenity of the
rapper’s lyrics, and decided he wasn’t beneficial for their soda’s reputation.

Sometimes celebrities act indignant when they lose an endorsement due to
remarks they made or other forms of expression in which they indulged, as if
their freedom of speech has been violated. Whoopi Goldberg felt she was being
“punished” for speaking freely. The First Amendment says nothing about
having an inherent right to multi-million dollar deals, just that the State cannot
prosecute you for the content of your expression. On the other hand, if the
State were to dictate Slim Fast’s ad campaign by forcing them to retain
Goldberg, that would be a violation of Slim Fast’s rights.

For many years, celebrities like Whoopi have made enviable amounts of money
from endorsements, but now that they are getting axed so frequently, they
may need to take caution if they want to keep this source of revenue.
Celebrities are not so irreplaceable and unique. Companies fed up with
prominent scandals can easily resort to lesser-known actors who have not
accumulated a reputation, bad or otherwise. Advertisers can even employ
animated or animal mascots, who have absolutely no independent life of their
own, and thus will not ever bring shame upon the company name. Thus,
household names who lose their reputation may also lose their big advertising
money to, let’s say, Tony the Tiger. This phenomenon brings to mind what
Cassius said in Shakespeare’s Othello, “O, I have lost my reputation!… and what
remains is bestial.”

Superstars have to make a choice when it comes to endorsements. They have
to realize that companies have reasons for keeping them, and for getting rid of
them. If celebrities want to do as they please, they cannot expect companies to
put up with everything they do and keep on paying them. Eminem lives by his
own rules, and companies never hire him for endorsements; but he doesn’t
seem to care. Those who care about the exposure and money associated with
endorsement deals must cultivate a good reputation, maintaining healthy,
controversy-free public personas. Otherwise, we will keep seeing more and
more stars disappearing from the ad campaigns in which we have become
accustomed to seeing them.

Michael Levine is the founder of the prominent public relations firm Levine
Communications Office, based in Los Angeles. He is the author of Guerrilla PR,
7 Life Lessons from Noah’s Ark: How to Survive a Flood in Your Own Life.

GuerrillaPR.net is a resource for people that want to get famous in the media,
without going broke. http://GuerrillaPR.net

The popularity of online gambling has sky rocketed over the past 5 years. The meteoric rise in online casinos and poker rooms has made many people very wealthy. The owners of cassava enterprises (888) Avi and Aaron Shaked recently floated their company on the London Stock exchange, their company is now valued in excess of £700 million. Ruth Parasol the co-founder of party gaming also recently floated her enterprise on the stock market making her an overnight billionaire. But where is all this heading? Surely the industry cannot continue to generate wealth at the staggering rate that we have witnessed over the past two years.

It must be remembered that the online gambling industry is still very much in its infancy. The first online casino opened around 1995 although the exact date is somewhat of a mystery. The industry itself did not fully capitalise on the online marketplace until around 1999 when faster internet connections became more widespread, allowing more colourful games with smoother graphics and game play. Today the industry is evolving more quickly than ever before with an ever increasing number of entrepreneurs realising the vast fortunes that can be made from hosting an online gambling site.

Today it is estimated that there are over 2000 online gambling sites just waiting to take punters money. There is a mixture of honest and dishonest sites out there and choosing a website that is fair and honest is no easy task. The reason for the vast number of online gambling sites out there lies in the simplicity involved with setting one up. One can set up an online poker network for several thousand pounds and the owner doesn’t even need to worry about a starting number of players on his network. Players from the owner’s site simply play in the software provider’s pool of existing players, providing an incredibly easy route to market.

Online gambling has taken affiliate marketing by the horns and adopted it as its own. For those that don’t know what affiliate marketing is, here is a brief rundown. Companies with products or services to sell do deals with website owners, whereby for every sale that is generated from a visitor of the webmasters website, they will receive a commission. The commissions offered by online gambling operators are one of the highest and most lucrative in the marketplace ranging from between 10 and 50% of net gaming revenue (player losses) or up to $500 CPA (cost per acquisition). As a result the online gambling industry is the most competitive industry on the web, with top spots in google form keywords netting webmasters over $1 million dollars per year.

So what does the future hold for online gambling? As mentioned previously the online gambling industry is still very much in its infancy. There will be many twists and turns as the market evolves that is for sure. If one was to look at the supermarkets in the UK there are many comparables that could be drawn. It may seem strange to select such a dissimilar industry but bear with me. In the 1950’s there were many corner shops and everything was done on a very small scale, as is the case with the online gambling industry today. As a few retailers made more money so they grew and started to buy other retailers. We are starting to see this today in the online casino industry.

Next came brand building. Tesco’s, Sainsbury’s and the rest began to advertise, promote and generally make people aware of their operations, this builds trust and assurance, something that is of fundamental importance in the online gambling industry. We can see this happening today with the larger brands of casinos and poker rooms. 888 sponsor Middlesburgh football club and the world snooker tournament. Party Poker and Betfair sponsored this year’s ashes series of cricket between England and Australia, so the ground work has been laid.

This will be followed by consolidation lots of it. There have been numerous mergers and buyouts of poker rooms and casinos already and this trait is set to continue into the future. What will be left? A Walmart Casino, a Tesco’s poker room and a Sainsbury’s bingo hall. The irony of it all is they will probably be even more profitable than their grocery equivalents.

Mark Hirst is experienced gambler specialising in the online industry. He prides himself on providing honest online gambling site reviews. You can view his honest casino reviews for online sites here.

Some professional buyers are still wondering why they should take advantage of reverse auction technology. It is true that some items are not good to reverse auction, but some are very good opportunities for reverse auction. This article will give a brief look into the top five buyer rewards for using reverse auctions and how the buyer and their company can be more successful.

First and foremost, reverse auctions are used to get the best available market price at the time of the bid. In many instances, a reverse auction will result in a lower price paid than traditional sealed bids or negotiations. While savings are sometimes difficult to accurately measure, and while some costs are “hidden” (supplier change costs, set up charges, etc), companies employing this technology in properly conducted reverse auctions are experiencing often 10% or more real cost savings. Whether you use the last actual price paid or bid price reduction, you can accurately track, report and post the results to all interested parties within minutes after the event is complete.

This leads us into the next buyer reward which is process improvement. It is true that it may take more time to put together a reverse auction bid, but this preparation brings about a disciplined, thorough, and fair bid process and ultimately better supplier selection decisions. Reverse auctions require special care be taken to write accurate specifications and evaluate the true historical spend information which enable you to better forecast your demand to potential vendors. This process discipline will improve your productivity for future competitive bids because you will have quick access to the information in the future. Reverse auctions reduce the negotiation time from weeks to minutes. The cycle time is shortened which, in turn, will reduce costs and improve efficiency for both buyer and seller. In addition, you will be able to easily duplicate the bid package if you would like to run similar reverse auction events in the future.

Another reward for buyers is bid transparency. Reverse auctions can be used as a transparent reporting tool for all bids accepted. This works especially well in the public sector where every penny is tracked and monitored. Online bidding systems can usually save all data for quick report generation at the click of a mouse. If needed, the live event can be viewed in real time by any interested parties from any internet connection or on a viewing screen in a conference room. Most reverse auction systems are web-based, allowing interested parties to log into the system and watch the event live from their desktops.

The next buyer reward is increased organizational competitiveness. When you reduce costs and improve productivity, you make your company more competitive and therefore more able to attract and retain customers who seek price reductions. Streamlining your procurement process through online competitive bidding methods, such as reverse auctions and eRFX, will benefit your organization and your career. When you can show measurable results and easily report those results to management, both you and the organization will benefit.

The last buyer reward for using reverse auctions that we will talk about today is extending your reach to new potential suppliers. When you use online reverse auctions, you can post the bid opportunity on your website which will attract more suppliers to compete for your business. You still must pre-qualify the suppliers, but the increased number of suppliers will increase the competition for your purchase, driving down bid prices. You can easily include more bidders via the streamlined e-procurement process. If you wish to open up your purchase to more can be difficult to identify new suppliers to create a competitive environment for a reverse auction. By posting your events online in a public format, more suppliers will be able to find you.

Finally, you should treat reverse auctions as one tool in your procurement toolbox. Most organizations that currently do competitive bidding will be able to see the value of the reverse auction process and to recognize how it fits into their organization. And those organizations are saving time and money by doing them right. So don’t miss the opportunity to connect and contract quickly with your suppliers by using reverse auctions.

Doug Luthringer is a Client Development Manager at eDynaQuote (http://www.eDynaQuote.com) with over two years of strategy, implementation and training experience in online reverse auctions and over six years with online forward auctions such as eBay. Doug has also been invited to be a guest speaker to talk about how to properly use reverse auctions to small and medium size business, as well as university students.

Copyright 2005 Ann Ronan

I recently gave a presentation on this topic at an Annual
Conference of Human Resource Professionals. The room was full!
So I thought the information might be timely for some of you.

What is burnout? What are the symptoms and causes? And if you’re
experiencing it, what can you do?

The dictionary states that burnout is “exhaustion of physical or
emotional strength or motivation usually as a result of
prolonged stress or frustration.” I put usually in italics
because even when you love your work like I do, you can overdo
and find yourself burned out.

Symptoms of burn out can be physical, behavioral and spiritual.
Here are some signs that you’re heading for burn out:

* fatigue * muscle tension * headaches * insomnia * not keeping
commitments * lack of effectiveness * irritability * anxiety *
sense of emptiness-nothing left to give * lack of joy * not able
to laugh

Causes of burnout can come from within ourselves or from our
organizations. Some common causes are high expectations of
ourselves, denial of our basic needs like food and sleep, poor
time management skills, inability to set boundaries or to say no.

Organizational causes can be a culture of competitiveness, or
one in which being constantly busy and overworked is prized with
email and phone calls taken along on “vacations.” Insufficient
training in new job roles or cramped, noisy environments can
also contribute to burnout.

Here are 3 ways to manage burnout: change the stressful
situation, reduce your vulnerability to stress and/or change the
way you react to stress that cannot be changed:

1. Change the stressful situation if you can. If there are some
high stress aspects of your job, see if you can rotate this task
with others. Limit the number of hours you are under stress.
Spend some time on career/life planning. Set your priorities and
live by them.

2. You can reduce your vulnerability to stress by taking care of
your physical self with good nutrition, exercise and enough
sleep. Avoid nicotine and don’t overdo caffeine and alcohol.
Surround yourself with supportive people, work with a coach who
will listen to you deeply and help you to create a good balance
of work and other aspects of your life.

3. Finally, change the way you react to stress. You can do this
by modifying your self-talk and self-criticism. Learn techniques
to calm yourself - a few deep breaths can bring you right back
to a centered place, able to face whatever stress is in front of
you. Become a self-care expert and have some fun.

The Helen Duncan story is one that is both fantastic and sadly,
very tragic. She was born in Scotland in 1898. Her greatest
period of popularity was during the 1930’s and 1940’s when the
was most in demand as a psychic. What she was most known for was
holding séances in people’s homes where she would supposedly
contact family members who had long gone to their graves.

In 1933 Duncan was accused of fraud when a policewoman
successfully grabbed a vest that was supposed to be Helen’s
spirit child helper. She was found guilty of fraud and fined ten
pounds. In spite of this scandal, she continued to hold her
séances until 1944 when one of them was raided by the police. A
police officer tried to grab the ectoplasm that was coming from
the medium, thinking it was just a white sheet, but he was
unable to grab a hold of it. No sheet was actually found when
other officers went through the room. Even though no evidence of
fraud was discovered, Duncan and three others were ordered to
appear at Portsmouth magistrates’ court. They were all charged
with conspiracy.

They were refused bail, and Duncan spent four days in a British
prison. The case was sent to the central criminal court at the
Old Bailey. There, many charges were brought against her which
included vagrancy and conspiracy, and believe it or not, the
Witchcraft Act of 1735. This absolutely caused an uproar with
Spiritualists. The trial lasted seven days. During that time
many people testified on Duncan’s behalf. They each recalled
many feats she performed. Duncan told one of her visitors that a
family member had just died, and later it was confirmed that
this person had died just two hours before the meeting. Many
other claims were made to verify that Duncan was indeed
legitimate.

Even though many attempts were made to prove Duncan’s ability,
she was eventually sentenced to nine months in jail. After she
finished serving her sentence, she returned to do her spiritual
work. There were many accounts of her work as a medium. Many of
the reports told of the actual appearances of those who had
passed away.

In 1951, the Witchcraft Act of 1735 was finally done away with
and in its place was put the Fraudulent Mediums Act. In 1956,
the police raided one of Helen’s séances in Nottingham. They
claimed to be searching for props and interrupted a séance right
in the middle. Supposedly this interruption caused a great shock
to Duncan by having the ectoplasm return to her body too
quickly. A doctor was called to examine her. She became so ill
that she had to return to Scotland to be with her family. In
just five weeks after the raid she died. Many believe the raid
to be the cause.

There are no definite conclusions to this very sad and tragic
story. If she was the talented medium that many claimed she was
then she did herself no good by adding fraudulent activities to
her gifts. The truth is, we will never really know if she was a
gifted psychic or just another con artist.