Chocolatier’s Chops Challenged on 'Sweet Genius'

Being among the select few chosen to compete on a national food network show alongside premier dessert chefs is most astonishing to Middletown’s newest chocolatier, who did exactly that.

Rob Tschudin Lucheme, owner of Tschudin Chocolates and Confections on Main Street,Learn about tile flooring installation with Lowe's How to Install Floor tiles guide. says he’s not so far off from his days as an apprentice to this culinary trade.

“I’m only two and a half years into this and the fact that the Food Network even considered me and I made it through the first auditions is pretty much a miracle,” he says of appearing on tonight’s episode of “Sweet Genius.”

In a flash of humility, Lucheme wonders, “Why would you put somebody on who’s as inexperienced as I am?”

In fact, Lucheme hadn’t even seen the show when he received a call before Christmas from a casting agent scouting contestants — that’s because he’s often still working at 10 p.m. when it airs on the Food Network. The show, now in its second season, hosted by Ron Ben-Israel, chef-owner of the couture cake shop in New York City.VulcanMold is a plastic molds and Injection Mold manufacturer in china. In fact, the Glastonbury resident doesn’t even own a television and will likely watch tonight’s show at a local bar or his daughter’s home.

Like Ben-Israel, a former professional modern dancer with art training and a military background, Lucheme is a Renaissance man — an immigration lawyer and former chef at the five-star Cavey’s Italian and French restaurant in Manchester and now a veritable culinary scientist.

He still practices law part-time in Glastonbury but most of his time is spent at Tschudin Chocolates on Main Street. “I’m 900 percent here and 10 percent there,” Lucheme says. For nearly three years, he’s run with employees who are more like apprentices — almost a dozen have graduated culinary schools like the CIA and French Culinary Institute in New York and Johnson and Wales’ College of Culinary Arts and have gotten jobs at major bakeries

He’s a tough boss. “In training, they have to put in a lot of effort,” Lucheme says. “Half of them wash out on the first day.” He’s patient but firm with his apprentices, who range from high school to college-age and are paid minimum wage, but Lucheme says, reap far higher benefits.

“There’s got to be something in it for them,” he explains. “They have access to my complete library of molecular gastronomy texts, they can read the books, study whatever they want to study and use the computer here.”

In fact, Lucheme considers “Sweet Genius” an opportunity for a business man with no advertising budget to speak of, a sort of guerilla marketing technique. “The idea is to get us on the map, to make sure these kids are in demand by increasing our reputation. It’s a counterbalance,” Lucheme says, to minimum wages.

He runs Tschudin Chocolates like an orchestra. In the small, cramped quarters of the shop, where hundreds of confectionery molds are stocked ceiling high, shelves of supplies are housed in see-through plastic tubs, a cooler and secondary refrigerator crouch near the entrance, three giant industrial chocolate tempering machines circulate dark, milk and white chocolate.

“Everybody keep an eye on the machine,” Lucheme tells his young employees,Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? who move easily around tight corners to plug in a stick blender here or snap on the gas burner there.Creative stone mosaic for your distinctive kitchen and bath. “Who has warm hands? I need someone to help with warming the butter.”

One girl helps a father select Easter chocolates for his 13-year-old daughter as another dries strawberries for dipping and a third wipes away fingerprints from the glass display cases then sweeps white chocolate bits from the floor.

“We had a very busy Easter,” Lucheme says.

The premise of “Sweet Genius,” is, according to the Food Network, four of America’s premier pastry chefs compete against one another through three rounds of challenges judged by Ben-Israel, along the way testing their creativity, ingenuity and imagination.

“The chefs are given surprise ingredients, an inspiration and a limited amount of time … to create a chocolate, candy and cake dessert.There is no de facto standard for an Indoor Positioning System. The winners from each round will advance for a final test, with Ben-Israel crowning the remaining chef Sweet Genius and receiving a $10,000 cash prize.”

Naturally, Lucheme is sworn to secrecy on details of his experience and the outcome of the show. He did reveal the chocolate mousse cakes seemingly inspired by Damien Hirst’s spot paintings or Yayoi Kusama’s polka dots which are shown in the introduction to his episode. Lucheme has several of the decadent cakes ready for sale after customers see them on tonight’s show (see photo).

Lucheme and the three chef competitors are challenged to use pink lemonade in their flamingo-inspired chocolate desserts for the first test, in the episode titled “Puzzle Genius,” according to the Food Network. Three advance onto the next challenge where they tackle a favorite childhood puzzle for inspiration by creating candy from sweet fruit chews and goat’s milk. “With a royal palace as the inspiration for the final round, the remaining two chefs must make cakes with jackfruit and galangal.”

Jackfruit is a large fibrous tree fruit found in Asia, Brazil, East Africa and the Caribbean similar in taste to a tart banana and galangal is from the ginger family but has more of a peppery taste. Both are popular ingredients in Thai food.

You Can Scream for Ice Cream

It happens every spring. We count down the days until the ice cream stands open, then regret our overindulgence come swimsuit season.

Here's the good news. Whether it is at the ice cream stands or in the supermarket, you can have your frozen treats and eat them too, without derailing your diet. You just need to understand the different types of ice cream.

Traditionally, ice cream is made with heavy cream and loaded with unhealthy saturated fat. Premium brands are the worst offenders,My advice on what to consider before you buy oil painting supplies so your money is well spent. jam packed with as much as 10 grams of saturated fat and up to 300 calories per half cup.

However, there are delicious lower-fat, lower-calorie versions available and you would be surprised at how good they taste. Several brands have mastered the technology of making lower-fat ice cream taste good without all that unhealthy fat.

Some good examples of this are Breyers Double Churn Light and Edy's Slow Churned Light (1/2 the fat). Try serving these to your family and see if they even know they are eating low-fat ice cream.

A good rule of thumb is to choose an ice cream product with less than 120 calories and a total of 2 grams of saturated fat and trans fat combined serving.

There are several things you should watch out for when treating yourself to ice cream. Beware of generous helpings of fat-filled toppings such as cookies or chocolate chips,Ekahau RTLS is the only Wi-Fi based real time Location system solution that operates on any brand or generation of Wi-Fi network. which can really pile on the trans fats.

If you want to pile on the toppings, opt for cutup fruits such as berries or melon slices.

And remember that ice cream bars that come with that rich, crunchy chocolate coating add texture,Promat solid RUBBER MATS are the softest mats on the market!Distributes and manufactures RUBBER SHEET. but may also add a ton of fat. A chocolate-coated Haagen Dazs bar, for instance, serves up a whopping 21 grams of fat.

A new healthier option on the market is the Skinny Cow Low Fat Fudge Bar, which offers a tasty generous sized treat at only 100 calories and 0.5 grams of saturated fat.

Frozen yogurt is another great option. If you've never tried it, it's important to know that it does not have the tartness or the texture of yogurt and tastes very much like ice cream, with a texture that is creamier than lower-fat ice creams.

Frozen yogurt usually contains 100 calories and less than 2 grams of saturated fat per half cup.

Be careful, though, because not all frozen yogurts are low in calories.The CenTrak rtls platform can address today's healthcare challenges and be used for future applications beyond asset tracking.

Despite its low fat content, a serving of Ben and Jerry's frozen yogurt still has 160 calories, and most of its calories come from sugar. So always read the labels.

There are many options for nondairy frozen desserts.

Sorbet is made mostly from sugar and fruit, and soy or rice ice cream is low in saturated fat. But, read your nutritional facts because not all nondairy desserts are low in calories.

Italian gelato is a frozen Italian dessert that has less air whipped into the product than traditional ice cream and is made with milk instead of heavy cream.

Since different parlors use different recipes in making their gelato, it is best to simply ask if they use whole milk or low-fat milk in their gelato.

When in doubt and hungry for a cool, sweet treat in spring and summer, you can always choose the old standby from childhood: the Popsicle.

Your vents, Thursday, April 5

The Obama administration raised my Social Security by $50. I thought they were broke. They will keep printing more money until it becomes worthless.

EPA should be patted on the back for shutting down West Virginia and all the coal burners.The indoor Tracking is based on Bluetooth technology. Thank you very much.

Mitt Romney is the most uninteresting man in the world. Stay boring, my friends.

The left and environmentalists have an agenda - to control every area of our lives. The rest of us just want to enjoy our liberty and be left alone. This next election will be important.

Liberals would take hemorrhoids if the government was giving them out for free.

The top 3 percent of wage earners pay more than the remaining 97 percent. Don't believe Obama's hype.

Wake up, America. Obama is selling us out to other countries besides Russia - to the Chinese and Japanese. He can't wait until he is re-elected, then he will have more flexibility to sell us out. Thank God for loud speakers that he forgets are on.

It is great to see the Supreme Court taking its time with Obamacare. Whereas, the Democratic Congress did not have the guts or gonads to do it. It will be defeated.

The main problem at Riverside High School is that the custodian runs the school and not the principal or the staff.

What happened to the lamp and shade store that was located in Spring Hill?

The W.Va.Learn about tile flooring installation with Lowe's How to Install Floor tiles guide. Department of Highways responsible for the interstates are really on top of their game. In the Teays Valley area they did some construction by the Amber Alert signs and left the signs up all weekend.

This is to the person calling in saying that if Obama wins America ends: We all survived eight years of George W. Bush and are still trying to get out of that mess.

The London Locks have been closed down for two years now. When it is going to reopen?

To the man in the white Nissan Versa who passed a blue Jeep Liberty on Oakwood Road at the GW intersection: I hope you arrived at your destination safely. Thank you for showing a beginning teenage driver the meaning of "stupid driving."

Why should I pay $10 for five Powerball tickets when I can get 10 Mega Million tickets? Wow, that doesn't make sense.

This is in response to the article by Catherine Burgess of Winfield High School about the "Hunger Games." I am a 63-year-old grandmother. I bought the trilogy of books for my grandchildren and I took my granddaughter and daughter to the movie. I thought it was fascinating and have read all of the books.

It is sad to see all of the animals listed under the Kanawha-Charleston Animal Shelter Adopt-A-Pet. But it is especially sad to see the reason for adoption is that the family is moving. Our pets are a part of our family,VulcanMold is a plastic molds and Injection Mold manufacturer in china. and we wouldn't think about moving without taking our pets.

I wish that we could shut Channel 3 up from telling how good they are and go on and on.Plastic Injection moulds as well as other dies. Just do the news and stop taking up most of the program with telling us how good you are.Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions.

Rick Parsons running for sheriff of Putnam County, I don't think so. Steve DeWeese has my vote any day.

Doubles duo key to Davis Cup

The horror of Vilnius - one of the more infamous British tennis graveyards - still haunts those of us who were there. But memories of that snowbound weekend in the sports hall of doom are thankfully fading as Britain rebuilds its Davis Cup reputation.

From plumbing the depths of the competition in 2010 with that defeat by Lithuania, a nation with only three professional players, Britain has steadily climbed the rungs of respectability with five wins in a row.

This weekend the team faces Belgium in Glasgow with the winners guaranteed a world group play-off in September. Heady days indeed.

Central to Britain's resurgence, albeit through lowly international divisions, has been an established doubles partnership, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, now regulars on the ATP World Tour and recent champions in Delray Beach.

They are improving all the time. I like their bounce, energy and touchy-feely camaraderie.Find a Plastic moulds Manufacturer and Supplier. They are aiming to represent Britain at the Olympics and possibly qualify for the World Tour Finals at the end of the year.

And at a time when many of the established international doubles stars of the last decade are surely nearing the end of the careers - Knowles, Nestor, Mirnyi, Paes, Zimonjic - the British pair, both 27, sense an opportunity to shoot for honours.

"The top 10 is what we're aiming for," says Fleming. "As time goes on guys are going to get older and stop playing but we're not looking at it like that. We're trying to move up while they're still playing and we've had some wins which show we're capable of doing that."

But opposition on the ATP doubles tour can take many forms. At the recent event in Indian Wells, most of the top ten singles players were in the draw and Fleming and Hutchins lost a close first match to fellow Brits Andy and Jamie Murray.

"A couple of friends messaged me saying it must be annoying when these guys play," says Fleming, a graduate of Stirling University. "But I'm very much for it even though it makes it tougher for us to progress."

"It draws crowds, draws attention to doubles and the standard goes up" adds Hutchins,VulcanMold is a plastic molds and Injection Mold manufacturer in china.Learn about tile flooring installation with Lowe's How to Install Floor tiles guide. son of former GB player and coach Paul. "It's great for us to go head to head with them and see where we're at."

And of course there are the Olympics to look forward to. They hope. The cut for entries is likely to be perilously close to their combined ranking.

"We can only go on the ranking cut offs for the last two Olympics," says Hutchins. "And judging by that, we'd be in right now."

"You're allowed two teams per country [in a 32-team draw] and presuming Andy and Jamie play, we are right now the second team. We have to work very hard to defend the ranking points we made last year and be there on form and merit.The indoor Tracking is based on Bluetooth technology."

Just back from a long tour of the United States,Painless Processing provides high risk merchant account solutions. Fleming and Hutchins will start favourites to win the doubles rubber on Saturday. Belgium - with their experienced singles players Olivier Rochus and Steve Darcis - are expected to edge the overall tie.

Are you a sMotherer? When is Loving Too Much Too Much?

Baby, until there was you, nothing else mattered. Sometimes, when interacting with other parents, this is the feeling I get -- like that's how they think of their offspring. Life was kind of pointless for awhile, but now with the baby around, oh, it's just so fulfilling, so full of meaning.

Recently, I was talking with some girl friends who laughed about other parents becoming a little too into their kids -- taking hundreds of photos of them, writing about them in obsessive detail on blogs, changing their own diet habits to suit their kids' tastes... buying them complete sand castle molds because I don't know, it's too hard to build a sandcastle All RUBBER MATS is comprised of all types of mats,yourself?

Speaking of sand, a few weeks ago, while on vacation,Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, I encountered a mother of a 13-month-old who could talk about nothing else but her daughter. The ber Mom sat in the kiddie pool with her Miracle (thankfully, that wasn't the kid's name) and blathered on about the little girl's birth, her habits, her vaccinations, her diet, her pee-pee, poo-poo, her... eventually I tuned out and excused myself, running to my son to pretend to fuss about the tower of cars he was building. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed ber Mom latch on to another victim to talk with the manner that was more like the fervor of the newly converted than an account of mother's love.

In my case, it was partly mother's love that inspired me to write this blog and document some of the little shockers that come with becoming a parent. I'm guilty of posting my son's picture on facebook, of sending videos of my kid dancing to unsuspecting and innocent victims (friends), of relating funny poo stories only to realize that I was the only one thinking it was cute and the people faking laughter were also flinching slightly as I gaily proposed having a look at some hilarious pictures I took of the incident. I think perhaps I was starting to becoming that kind of person, you know the person everyone asks "How is your kid?" before they ask about the book project you're working on. But before I started being that person, I had a head full of dreams and only one of them involved being a mom.

I won't dispute that becoming a parent gives you this complicated type of joy that's incomparable to anything that you've ever experienced before. It's wonderful and very fulfilling. It can also be puzzling when things don't go as expected (postpartum depression,Specializes in rapid Injection mold and molding of parts for prototypes and production. anyone?). Ideally, you fall in love with your child, but unlike romantic love this one rarely -- or never? -- burns out. I would argue that like with falling in love you can take your affair a little too far, however. Indeed, with your child you can become an obsessive stalker, an affection-starved whiner, a needy ball of insecurity, an enabler... A sMotherer .

Look,The TagMaster Long Range Hands free access is truly built for any parking facility. I have been known to get briefly devastated by my son's refusal to hug me. I have had my heart broken when he's chosen Daddy over me on certain days. This morning, my husband got his heart stomped on brutally when the kid completely ignored him and insisted on being exclusively dressed, picked up and fed by his one and only Mommy. And both my husband and I have been caught in long, blissful moments pausing mid-sentence during our breakfast paper reading to just stare at our brown-eyed child of rose cheeks and pouty mouth, whom we sometimes call putto (a cherub) because he looks so much like one.

So yes, I, too, am in love with my child.What is a real time Location system ? But I try to stay sane about it. Like past loves, there are moments when I have to stop myself from kissing the object of my affection (my son) so much and so often I'd probably give him a rash. I have to cut out any sort of idea about hanging off a tree next to his daycare to "observe" him or about installing a tracking device to his shoes. I had to store my camera in a drawer so that it's not on hand every single time he does some cute thing -- I mean, how many pictures of him wearing a funny hat do I need? (The answer: at least 500 by now.) Most importantly, like in the past, I let the object of my devotion build his own castles and I let myself build the dreams I had before he came along.

Manchester United goal spree at Molineux piles more misery

A report that should be all about United stretching their lead over Manchester City to four points and eating up a large chunk of their goals advantage has instead to dwell also on the plight of a club now propelled to the basement of the Premier League with scant hope of redemption.

This contest will surely, if reason is seen, mark the end of caretaker Terry Connor’s unhappy four-match reign in charge during which Wolves have earned just a single point and haplessly conceded 14 goals. But then reason has been scarce at Wolves, who are paying the price for dismissing Mick McCarthy without a replacement ready to take over.

United are shifting through the gears in their run-in while Wolves’ engine has stalled. They played here with 10 men for almost an hour after Ronald Zubar’s stupid sending-off, but that was immaterial as was the fact that the referee who dismissed him, Anthony Taylor, is a resident of Wythenshawe, Manchester, although the Premier League were quick to point out he has a Cheshire postcode and no affiliation to United.

Connor tried to be convincing afterwards, but failed. He spoke of the need to avoid conceding “six,MDC Mould specialized of Injection moulds, seven, eight” to United once depleted, claimed his side had matched them for 20 minutes and could “eke out” enough points to survive.

“Everyone is writing us off again,” he said. “We have been in this situation before. We have been bottom before and we have managed to get over the dotted line.” His words sounded desperate.

This was a black days for this Black Country club. The Wolves supporters ran the gamut of cruelly ironic chants but it was painful out on the pitch in front of the club’s biggest attendance of the season. Their team really are struggling and relegation is inevitable unless there is the most dramatic of transformations, which can come only with a change of manager. Steve Bruce remains available. Wolves chairman Steve Morgan clapped at the end but it was a hollow gesture.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was full of the kind of understated assessment that oozed sympathy for Connor. Ferguson described his side’s demolition as an “OK” performance and not “anything special”,Wireless Indoor Positioning System have become very popular in the system. and stressed how hard it was for Wolves once they were one man down.

He did not want to dwell on Connor’s pain. “They were honest and committed,” he said of Wolves. They were overwhelmed.

The title race, Ferguson added, would go “down to the wire” but at this rate the relegation battle will not for Wolves.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, Here were two clubs with diametrically opposed momentum. For United it is 25 points from 27, five consecutive victories and a team coursing with self-belief. For Wolves, it is nine home matches without a win and no clean sheet in 26 games.

Clearly United scented goals with Ferguson including Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernández and Danny Welbeck as well as the outstanding Antonio Valencia. It was a quartet with the sharpest of attacking edges, constantly cutting through a Wolves defence whose disorganisation contributed to their downfall.

It was summed up by United’s opening goal — which came soon after Steven Fletcher had fluffed a header — with Rooney drifting a corner over to where Michael Carrick had been allowed to pull free unmarked. The midfielder guided the ball back into the six-yard area where Jonny Evans was afforded the time to half-volley his first goal for United.

Zubar, already cautioned for a rash challenge on Rooney, then heaved into Welbeck on the touchline and the referee had little choice. Wolves also lost their best player, David Davis, to a cracked rib and United were clinical.

From a Wolves corner, they broke at speed, with Hernández finding Rooney, who chipped a pass down the right wing for Valencia to run on to. The winger’s first touch took him away, he ran on and crashed a shot across Wayne Hennessey and into the net.

Then Carrick’s cross-field ball picked out Valencia who simply cut it back for Welbeck, again unmarked, to take in his stride and sweep home. It was not even half-time and the contest was all over. There were the inevitable boos, there was a long delay before the Wolves players came out for the second period and it was really all about damage limitation.

Two more goals came with barely an hour played. For the first, Rooney won a corner, Valencia took it short and Rafael da Silva’s cross was met by Hernández, again unchallenged, who simply steered his header beyond Hennessey. Then Valencia worked his way down the right,Welcome to the online guide for do-it-yourself Ceramic tile. exchanged passes with Welbeck and cleverly stood the ball up for Hernández whose half-volley was powered in.VulcanMold is a plastic molds and Injection Mold manufacturer in china.

There was a flicker of defiance with David De Gea saving smartly from substitute Michael Kightly and turning away Fletcher’s header. But by then United were strolling.

Nokia Lumia 710: it's here!

What a beautiful screen and feel the phone has! The Nokia Lumia 710 arrived this morning and all day at work people floated by my desk to have a play.

Overwhelming, they loved the feel of the phone.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? Nice curved back, incredibly light to hold, solid construction and a gorgeous screen. It feels awesome in the hand. If at a shop don't hold a plastic toy but grab a real one.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, You will be impressed.Side by side with the iPhone 3GS, the boss's iPhone 4GS and the Nokia Lumia 710 looked the best. Well done, Nokia.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services,

Off to the charger for initial setup I decided not the read the manual but make it work how I wanted as I wanted right from the start.Here's a complete list of oil painting supplies for the beginning oil painter. Always a risk when Microsoft is added in the mix.

Initial setup was simple and clear but needing to drag out my WindowsLive ID a bit of a put off. Skipped some things but in the end added it so that I could work on integrating calendars, contacts and mail. Setup of ihug pop account, Google and Facebook simple as. Adding a birthday or setting the date with the roll window was very nice and stood out to me.

Get all the above syncing and oops over data % alerts from Telecom better add in Work Wireless asap...

Only thing that fooled me a bit was turning the phone back on after it goes to sleep. Yes, it’s the power button at the top. Only needs a tap but I keep hitting the windows button on the screen .Our guides provide customers with information about porcelain tiles vs. Not annoying, only different and probably better when the phone is in the handbag anyway.

When turned on the phone displays the date, time, today's calendar details and a small envelope at bottom has the number of messages. Looks good. A quick swipe up and there are the "boxes" or "tiles" we will all be getting used to with Windows 8.

I like that the tiles are big and when everything is loaded into the phone that they are live and show items from facebook pics, photos, your me panel and so on. It's not just the blank fields as it can seem in photos of the phone. To move the tiles is just hold and drag .

The UI seems polished and I like the some of the little features like when you are in the photo area it will bring up all the facebook pictures you received via your feed and you can save them , use as wallpaper and so on. Now that’s nice integration.

Moving about the screens uses the left arrow as a back key or the Windows button as a home key, again as expected.

Only button that seemed odd was that the bottom right search went and searched bing and the web not the phone. Hopefully a play in the UI will let me change that as a quick search to find a contact or something on the phone would be of more use I think.

Barn conversion makes the most of its height

THIS charming home in Chalkhouse Green has many character features including the original exposed beams and timber latch doors, in conjunction with stylish contemporary living requirements.

The comfortable accommodation includes a 22ft living/dining room, a kitchen/breakfast room, study, 17ft master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, two further bedrooms and a family bathroom. There is a private walled cottage garden which has a paved terrace across the rear of the property and a single garage in a small detached block.Our guides provide customers with information about porcelain tiles vs.

The front hall has full-height glazed panels ensuring a lovely light entrance to the property. The study overlooks the front and is fitted with telephone and broadband connections. The gracious living/dining room also has full-height glazed panels overlooking the front and a window to the rear and French doors opening into the garden. This very light room has a feature limestone fireplace with coal effect gas fire creating a central focal point.

The kitchen/breakfast room overlooks the rear garden and has a back door opening into the garden. The kitchen area is fitted with a range of wall and base light ash cabinets with a granite effect worktop plus a Stoves range cooker, integrated fridge freezer and dishwasher. There is space and plumbing for a washing machine. The room has a pretty quarry-tiled floor with decorative ceramic tile inserts and ceramic tiles to the walls.Here's a complete list of oil painting supplies for the beginning oil painter.

Upstairs all the rooms feature mellowed exposed beams. The master bedroom measuring 17ft square, has a full-height window overlooking the side and has a bank of built in wardrobes across one wall.We are professional Plastic mould, The en-suite bathroom is fitted with a white suite and has a timber floor.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, There is a further double bedroom with a built-in wardrobe a single bedroom and a family bathroom with a large shower cubicle in addition to the bathroom suite.

The property is approached via a private drive which provides access to the three properties converted from the original barn. A private garage block is sited on the drive and a path leads to West Barn. Across the rear of the property is a paved terrace which provides a sunny entertaining area.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? The rest of the gardens are laid mainly to lawn and have flower borders which have a variety of climbing plants and mature shrubs. At the end of the garden is a shed.

Online Payments Startup WePay Grows Revenue By Ten-Fold In 2011

Online payments platform and PayPal competitor WePay is announcing its growth data for 2011, and revealing details on the startup’s product strategy for 2012. In case you aren’t familiar, WePay is a Y Combinator backed startup that launched in 2009 to take the hassle out of group paying. Unlike some of its competitors, the service was able to dead simple way to collect, manage and spend money for groups.

On WePay, you can create a unique, FDIC insured account for each group. While the account is still associated with your name, but you can keep each group account totally separate from your personal transactions.MDC Mould specialized of Injection moulds, Group money can essentially be kept separate from any individual accounts you may have. You can also designate specific individuals to have control over accounts.

But as co-founder Bill Clerico tells me, last year the payments platform evolved into a broader offering, allowing any merchant or user a simple way to accept payments beyond just the group model. “We believe the benefit of using WePay is around simplicity of user experience and great customer service,” says Clerico. He explains that users can sign up with Facebook Connect, and WePay underwrites the risk of these individuals accepting payment by looking at their online presence,Overview description of rapid Tooling processes. and social connections to evaluate risk.

Last year, the startup, which is processing several million dollars in payment volume per month, started listening to customer feedback and launched a number of new products to add to the platform, including WePay Stores. The feature lets any site integrate a payments storefront by inserting an embed code. WePay also launched an API as well.Injection molding and Plastic molding supplier;

The company grew nearly ten times in revenue in 2011, and doubled headcount with 20 new employees . WePay also grew revenue generated by its API by 15x in 2011. Partners like GoFundMe, which replaced PayPal with WePay as its primary payment platform, are helping fuel this growth, says the startup.

Social media is a big driver for WePay. About half of all WePay payments were initiated through social media. More than 25,000 people and organizations have collected donations and over 250,Offering high risk and offshore merchant account with credit card processing services.000 invoices have been paid through WePay in 2011.Shop at Lowe's for garage Ceramic tile, And almost $800,000 was collected using WePay from 806 Occupy Wall Street-related accounts.Just Choose PTMS Injection Mold Is Your Best Choice!

WePay says that it exited 2011 at a multi-million dollar revenue run rate and a compounded monthly growth rate of 30 percent since launch.

As for what’s next, Clerico says that mobile is an area where WePay has not yet explored and will launch mobile apps in the coming year. And WePay, which has raises $7.5 million in funding, could be on track for raising another round. Clerico tells us that much of the earlier investment in the company is still in the bank, but the company may raise new funds for expansion and growth purposes.

Payout Doubles for Card Concern

The increased payout, to 30 cents a share from 15 cents, will cost MasterCard about $76.2 million more a year.

"The increase in MasterCard's dividend demonstrates the strength of our business as well as responsible stewardship of our capital," Ajay Banga, president and chief executive of the Purchase, N.Y., company, said in a statement. "We remain confident in the company's ability to execute its plans to drive long-term business growth."

Last week, MasterCard said fourth-quarter profit fell as it took a $450 million after-tax charge related to pending merchant lawsuits, although its core earnings breezed past analysts' estimates as consumers continued to use plastic for more of their spending.

MasterCard and its larger rival Visa Inc. have continued to grow despite tough economic conditions in the U.S. and overseas, where both companies are pushing more consumers to use their credit and debit cards as well as trying to get more merchants to accept them.

More than half of MasterCard's revenue comes from outside the U.S. That has concerned some analysts, given economic worries in European countries, though executives said last week they haven't seen any significant slowdown in spending by European consumers.

New regulations that cap how much large banks can charge merchants to accept debit cards, in addition to longstanding lawsuits brought by retailers against MasterCard and Visa,Full-service custom manufacturer of precision plastic injection mold, have been an overhang on the companies' stocks.

As of October, debit-card swipe fees were capped at about 21 cents a transaction versus a previous average of 44 cents per the Durbin amendment, a provision in 2010's Dodd-Frank Act. The fees are set by Visa and MasterCard but collected by banks that issue their cards as revenue. Investors have worried the rules would cause banks to scale back on debit-card products, which could dent Visa's and MasterCard's volume.

Visa and MasterCard don't lend to consumers; rather, they process transactions for banks that issue their cards.

The merchant lawsuits, which are set to go to trial in September, take aim at credit-card swipe fees and policies Visa and MasterCard have against surcharging consumers who pay with cards.

Analysts expect the suits will be settled before going to trial, with such a settlement costing $6.5 billion for all defendants based on the charge MasterCard took in the fourth quarter. The suits also name several large banks that issue the companies' cards.

MasterCard's "dividend raise in part demonstrates the confidence that management has that impacts related to the merchant litigation are manageable," Sanjay Sakhrani, an analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, wrote in a research note Tuesday.

One in four young adults relies on credit cards for essentials

A QUARTER of 25 to 34-year-olds have used credit to fund essential purchases in the last year, a report has found.

UK families are typically 7,900 in debt from personal loans, overdrafts and credit cards, despite three years ofrepayments, the survey, from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said.Get information on Air purifier from the unbiased,

Meanwhile, credit card use could fall into permanent decline, with the rise of digital technology and payday lenders changing how people access credit,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, the Precious Plastic report said.

Each household paid off an average of around 355 of its unsecured debt in 2011, but UK households remain “among the most indebted in the world” despite three successive years of net repayments, the report said.

The report predicted UK consumers will continue their determination to keep paying off their debts, owing around 7,500 by 2013.

It highlighted “worrying” signs in spending habits, particularly among the 25 to 34 age group.

Average incomes have fallen by nearly 3.5 per cent in real terms over the past year, squeezing budgets even further as consumers have faced soaring bills.

Simon Westcott, director in PwC’s financial services practice, said: “UK consumers are among the most indebted in the world, with the average UK household still saddled with nearly 8,000 of unsecured debt.

“Although the UK government’s austerity drive appears to be hitting home, with households paying off an average of 355 worth of their debt in 2011, three years of austerity by UK consumers has only made a small dent in the total levels of borrowing.

“In addition to this, our credit confidence survey has shown that there is a growing reluctance to borrow in the future and a marked deterioration in confidence about meeting repayments, particularly among 18 to 24-year-olds.”

The report said that historically, the United States has been a strong indicator of what happens in the UK, but consumer credit in the US saw the largest increase in a decade in 2011.

It put the contrast in behaviour down to UK austerity policies, which have had “a strong influence on consumer confidence and attitudes towards debt in the UK”.

Bank of England figures showed last week that consumers cut their debts at the fastest rate in two decades during December, amid signs they dipped into savings to pay for Christmas.

Credit card borrowing was also flat for the third month in a row, despite the festive season.

The PwC report said that credit card borrowing fell by 5 per cent last year,Information on useful yeasts and moulds, leaving the average balance at around 1,000,Full-service custom manufacturer of precision plastic injection mold, with tightening credit conditions compounding the issue.FIRMAR is a Malaysia Injection Moulding Manufacturer and Plastic Injections Components Manufacturer,

Meanwhile, debit cards grew by 10 per cent in 2011, to become used more frequently than cash in payments for the first time.

Mr Westcott added: “Forty-five years since it was first introduced, the credit card is suffering a mid-life crisis.

“Consumers discarded nearly one million cards in 2011, taking the number of credit cards in circulation down to levels not seen for almost a decade.

“The longer term trend suggests that numbers will continue to decline, with the younger generation showing a preference for debit cards and emerging digital alternatives such as mobile payments.

“This generation seems unlikely to switch to increased credit card usage in later life as perhaps they would have done in the past.”

Transfer between TLC plates for sampling with liquid microjunction interfac

The new generation of mass spectrometric techniques that allow ionisation in the open air at atmospheric pressure has created a great degree of excitement in the scientific community, largely due to two principal characteristics. The ability to analyse samples in situ and without any pre-treatment has opened up new avenues of investigation.

For instance, the surfaces of intact fruit can be screened for pesticides; clothing and baggage for traces of drugs or explosives; human tissue for tumours at the operating table; inks on paper in counterfeiting cases. The list of potential analytes and sample surface types appears to be endless but not all of the ambient techniques are quite this straightforward.

The liquid microjunction surface sampling probe functions by wetting the sample surface with a solvent which extracts analytes then is withdrawn through a tube to the ionisation source. This mechanism is not always successful, especially when the surface is absorbent and/or wettable. The solvent can wash the analytes away from the vicinity of the probe and can be absorbed into the surface to prevent subsequent extraction by the probe.

This is a recognised problem with certain hydrophilic high-performance TLC plates,Smooth-On is your source for Mold Making and casting materials including silicone rubber and urethane rubber, so their analysis is difficult using the LMJ-SSP. One solution published by US and European scientists in 2011 involved spraying the developed TLC plate with a silicone-type material which rendered the surface hydrophobic while allowing the target compounds to be extracted by the probe for mass spectrometric analysis.Information on useful yeasts and moulds,

The new procedure is based on blotting the analytes from one TLC plate to another, which is a common procedure for transferring analytes between surfaces.Get information on Air purifier from the unbiased, Where it differs in this case is the use of a hydrophobic TLC sheet to receive the analytes after chromatography on a hydrophilic plate.

The principals were illustrated with a simple demonstration. A hydrophilic normal-phase HPTLC silica gel plate was stamped with red ink from a rubber stamp to leave an impression of the word "COPY" on the surface. A hydrophobic HPTLC cellulose sheet was wetted with methanol then pressed down on top of the sample plate.

This simple process transferred the inked lettering to the recipient plate, retaining the spatial resolution and reproducing small features such as defects in the original printing. Visual comparison of the two plates showed that less than half of the ink was transferred, but the team speculated that detection would be enhanced because the majority of the sample was located near the surface of the plate.

The method was then used on a standard mixture of four peptides that were separated on a hydrophilic HPTLC cellulose sheet. The peptide bands were transferred by blotting for just 10 minutes onto a hydrophobic reversed-phase C8 HPTLC plate prewetted with methanol.

The blots were analysed using the LMJ-SSP by scanning across the plate, using a solvent of acidified acetonitrile in the liquid microjunction. The extracted ion chromatograms were of a similar shape and possessed the same retention factors as the bands on the original TLC plate. Good mass spectra of each peptide were recorded, with protonated or sodiated molecules as the strongest peaks, as expected.

The blotting process was carried out successfully at room temperature. The use of elevated temperatures would be expected to give improved peptide transfer but gave reduced signals in this case, possibly due to the instability of the peptides on the TLC plate. The transfer of other types of analytes which are more thermally stable might be improved by heating.Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality,

So, blotting circumvented the problem of wettable or hydrophilic surfaces when analysed by mass spectrometry using the LMJ-SSP. Along with the aforementioned silicone-based spray approach, there are now two successful and complementary procedures for expanding the scope of LMJ-SSP mass spectrometry. "Depending on surface, compounds,Tru-Form Plastics is a one-stop shop for plastic Injection Molding, and time frame for analysis one or the other might be the better solution," says Van Berkel.

"The hydrophobic treatment allows one more flexibility - you can treat surfaces of all types and shapes." On the other hand, "the blotting technique is more rapid but the analytes separated or embedded on a given analytical surface must diffuse or be transferred to the blotting plate in a way that is efficient and causes little to no loss of spatial information. This may make the blotting technique more cumbersome when analyzing highly complex mixtures or multiclass compound mixtures on HPTLC."

A/V Furniture, Mounts Get Rolled Out At International CES

A/V furniture and mounts will be a popular category at this year’s International CES, with new product introductions from many of the top manufacturers. Among those debuting new models will be Bell’O International, Sanus, OmniMount and VMP.

Bell’O is introducing ultra-thin, flexible HDMI cables as well as new A/V furniture for flat-panel TVs.

The new 5000 series of high-speed HDMI cables feature a connector head that is shorter than the connectors of most HDMI cables, Bell’O said, and a flexible design that allows for easy bending. These features are necessary for use behind mounted ultra-thin flat-panel TVs, where space between the TV and the wall is limited, it noted.

They are TruSpeed-tested to deliver a guaranteed 10.2Gbps bandwidth stream,Daneplast Limited UK are plastic injection mould & toolmaking specialists. according to the company, and are capable of supporting all enhanced refresh rates, 1080p, 3D and 4k resolution, and 12-bit color. They are also Ethernet enabled.

The cables will ship in February in 4-foot lengths for $29.99 and 8-foot lengths for $34.99.

Bell’O has also added to its Curved Wood collection with the CW52AM flat-panel A/V system. It has tinted tempered safety-glass shelves that can accommodate most flat-panel TVs up to 56 inches plus at least four A/V components.

The open-architecture design provides plenty of ventilation for convection cooling of components while the integrated CMS Cable Management System hides and manages power cords and interconnect cables, resulting in a clean, unobstructed showcase of the room’s A/V equipment, Bell’O said.

It will be available in February at a $299 suggested retail.

Bell’O will also be launching the TPC2133, its newest addition to the Triple Play collection of A/V furniture. This new model offers three configuration options, and can reportedly be assembled without any tools.

The TPC2133 (April, $399) blends dark espresso finished solid wood legs with a brushed-nickel front frame. The Triple Play system can accommodate most flat-panel TVs up to 60 inches or 125 pounds, Bell’O said, and the three black tempered safety glass shelves hold up to four or more audio/video components.

The rear mounting frame and universal swivel mounting system can be removed so that the system can be used as a three-shelf standalone table, or the swivel mounting system can be removed and hung with the included wall mount bracket.

The open architecture design provides plenty of ventilation, and an integrated CMS cable -management system hides and organizes unsightly wires and interconnect cables, according to the company.

Chief will be showing at its suite in the Wynn new SKUs in its Automated Swing Arm line, new Fusion Pull-Out mounts,Handmade oil paintings for sale at museum quality, additions to its Fit-series hinge mounts, as well as its Raxxess line of rack solutions for custom installers.

Chief also recently introduced its VCMU universal projector mount with a solid steel construction. It’s designed for mounting heavy LCD and CRT projectors. Features include a three-step installation process, integrated cable management, and quick connect/disconnect for convenient lamp and filter access on most projectors.

Included with the mount is a universal HBU bracket compatible with most heavy-duty projectors. Multiple installation options are available: flush mount to ceiling; 0.5- inch threaded rods, and a 1.5-inch NPT extension column.A mold or molds is a hollowed-out block that is filled with a liquid like plastic,

OmniMount is debuting a number of workstations at the show, including the Work15 and Work20 sit-to-stand workstations. These are part of the ActionMount series and are designed to offer flexibility for users in multi-purpose workspaces.

They feature Ergotron Constant Force technology that’s said to provide simple, light-touch adjustments of the keyboard, mouse and monitor. Users can easily move between sitting and standing positions while working, and the full-motion functionality allows the monitor to move up and out of the way for storage, to utilize more desk space, or to share screen information, OmniMount said.

They are available in two configurations: Work15 supports a single monitor up to 15 pounds and Work20 ($429) supports two side-by-side monitors up to 20 pounds. Installation is done via desk clamp or grommet mounting and cable clips control wires.

An optional work surface accessory is available for $49.95.

OmniMount is also launching three full-motion TV mounts at the show that are part of the ActionMount series.

The Play20, Play20X and Play40 feature the Ergotron Constant Force technology for fluid, omnidirectional TV movement. The products are designed for users who get off the couch to interact with their televisions.

TVs can be raised up to 21 inches for gaming or group viewing or lowered 21 inches for fitness or floor seating. The range of pan allows the mount to be viewable from multiple rooms or seating areas, Omni- Mount said, adding that the mount can be used high over a fireplace and then lowered to achieve the proper viewing angle when in use. CF technology reportedly ensures that the force required for movement always remains minimal.

The Play40 fits TVs 60 inches and larger, panel weight not exceeding 40 pounds, and offers up to 21 inches of vertical and horizontal movement. The Play20 and Play20X fit TVs up to 32 inches and 20 pounds and offers up to 15 inches of vertical and horizontal adjustment. The Play20X also comes with a 9-inch arm extension for greater viewing flexibility. Each mount features post installation leveling, tilt and pan, and cable management.

The Play20, Play20X and Play40 will ship in January, offered at suggested retails of $129, $149 and $299, respectively.

Sanus will be introducing the newly redesigned Component 100-series A/V racks. Offered in various sizes — including a 15U model, 27U model , 36U model , and a 44U model — the new 100-series racks feature removable side and back panels for easier access to components.

A 3U panel located at the back of the racks can be placed on top or bottom of the rack’s rear door for customization in wiring. Vented shelves with backstops, and cooling shelves at the top and bottom of each rack, ensure proper airflow for A/V equipment, Sanus said.

The company will be debuting two new Super Slim wall mounts for flat-panel TVs. The Super Slim mount category offers brackets that allow TVs to be mounted as close to the wall as possible, Sanus said.

The new VLF320 and VMF322 mounts allow TV placement incredibly close to the wall while also offering full-motion capabilities. The VLF320 offers 20 inches of extension for TVs 37 inches to 65 inches. The VMF322 offers 22 inches of extension for TVs 26 inches to 47 inches. Both models feature an integrated cable- management system and will be available in early 2012.

The VMA401 on-wall shelf is engineered to hold components up to 15 pounds. It features integrated cable management. and multiple VMA401 units can be combined to provide a one-piece look, Sanus said.

Also at the show will be three new offerings from the company’s Basic series of furniture. All of the new Basic-series furniture can be assembled without tools, Sanus said. New additions to the line include the BFAV546, which includes a modern two-tone walnut finish and dual pullout media drawers for storage; the BFV157, which features a heavy-gauge steel construction and open design to maximize airflow; and the BFV348, designed with a classic look and feel with a distressed black finish. All will be available this month.

Several consumer electronics accessories will also be on display in the Sanus booth, including new Super Slim HDMI cables models ELM4303, ELM4306 and ELM4308. The cables feature an ultra-flexible design, meant for use for connections behind ultra-thin TVs. All three models are Ethernet enabled and can handle 1080p video resolution and beyond for future-generation displays, Sanus said.The magic cube is an ultra-portable, All of these models are now shipping.

Sanus is also using the show to announce that its Install Kit app, which was previously available only for the iPad, is now also available for iPhone and iPod Touch. The free app is designed as a mount-installation assistant for both the professional installer and the doit- yourselfer.

Video Mount Products has begun shipping its latest midsize flat-panel wall mount, the FP-MFTB Multi-Just with tilt.Get information on Air purifier from the unbiased,

The low-profile mount supports flat panels from 27 inches to 42 inches and up to 100 pounds. It has an adjustable tilt range of -5 degrees to +15 degrees, a vertical height adjustment of one inch, list adjustment to +/-3 degrees, a 2.3-inch wall profile and black powder coat finish.

UW superheating project aims to explore magnetic fields

Researchers will be able to simulate the superheated gases that form the sun's magnetic field with a one-of-a-kind sphere that moved Wednesday into a new physics lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The hollow aluminum sphere, built by four Wisconsin companies for $2.5 million, looks like the famous Death Star from "Star Wars" movies. Weighing 11,000 pounds, it was built to superheat gases to 500,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Researchers say it will help them study how magnetic fields are generated in planets and stars, and better understand why the sun occasionally spews out particles that affect the Earth as "space weather," knocking out satellites and even taking down power grids, explained Cary Forest, a UW-Madison physics professor.

Forest is principal investigator for the effort, known as the Madison Plasma Dynamo Experiment.

"There are no other spheres like it in the universe," Forest said of the new UW sphere. "We're the only ones in the world trying to study magnetic field self-generation through plasma" - gases that are so hot, their electrons are freed from their atoms to aid conductivity. "We're basically trying to stir the plasma like a big blender. It's turbulent. And magically, magnetic fields come out of this mess."

Aside from practical applications, such as the study of space weather, "my curiosity is pushing me to understand why the sun has a magnetic field at all," Forest said. "The sun is the closest star (to Earth). By studying it, we can learn about stars much farther away. . . . We build experiments to answer questions, rather than look at space and interpret observations."

The research sphere hopefully will last 20 years, he said.

Until now, scientists have been studying naturally occurring cosmic dynamos from afar. The Madison Plasma Dynamo Experiment will allow them to measure and study cosmic dynamos up close,The magic cube is an ultra-portable, in the lab.

Dynamos exist at the core of planets, stars and other celestial objects. And in the case of the Earth and the sun, the dynamos generate a magnetic field.

The research sphere was built with $2.4 million in stimulus funding from the National Science Foundation. UW-Madison and its research funding arm kicked in another $600,000 toward the sphere's construction cost.

The two halves of the sphere will be bolted together next week, and vacuum pumps will be installed, along with 3,000 super-strong, enormous magnets to keep the superheated plasma gases from the sphere's interior surface.

Employees of Reynolds Rigging and Crane Service moved the 10-foot diameter, thick-walled sphere into Sterling Hall on Wednesday by removing the building's doors. The carefully choreographed move took several hours and involved forklifts,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, trolleys and small cranes.

The sphere will occupy a new $1 million, two-story lab constructed by knocking out a floor between the basement and first floor of Sterling Hall.Information on useful yeasts and moulds,

Portage Casting & Mold in Portage, which specializes in fabricating molten metal molds, was lead contractor for the sphere. D&S Machine Service of Luxemburg, Wis., machined surfaces for the rubber seals between the two halves of the sphere. Lafayette Testing Services of Milwaukee provided X-ray analysis to ensure there were no holes in the sphere; and Metallic Bonds of Beloit sprayed a ceramic coating on the sphere's interior to make it electrically insulating.Take a walk on the natural side with stunning and luxurious Floor tiles from The Tile Shop.Get information on Air purifier from the unbiased,

Emergency rooms see too many outpatients

The hospital in Ajman, one of the busiest in the country, receives 450 to 500 emergency cases per day, said Dr Abdul Karim Halimi, the emergency department director. He attributed the high number to the facility's proximity to industrial areas and one of the two motorways linking Umm Al Qaiwain and Ras Al Khaimah.

"Most of our emergency cases are for traffic accidents and construction site-related accidents," he said. "Unfortunately, there are also a number of cases that are not very serious and could be treated in our outpatient clinics but end up in the emergency department."

He said the hospital commissioned a study on the congestion in the emergency department. The study found most people preferred the department, even those with simple ailments, which increased pressure on emergency staff.

"Doctors spent a lot of time examining some of these patients before deciding to transfer them to outpatient clinics," he said. "This is precious time spent on someone not in a life-threatening situation, yet there could be one in that situation waiting."

He appealed to patients to go to the outpatient clinic straightaway for minor issues.

Hospital emergency departments being flooded with non-emergency cases is a problem nationwide,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, said Dr Yousef Altair, the head of the accident and emergency department at Saqr Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah.

A study by the hospital in 2010 showed that 73 per cent of patients admitted to the department had only minor ailments.

"They come in for anything, even a common cold. The real emergency Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising,cases are few,I have just spent two weeks shopping for tile and have discovered China Porcelain tile.This page contains information about molds," he said.

Although there are enough family physicians in the emirate, patients do not want to wait until business hours to see a doctor, he said.

"Some [clinics] are not open 24 hours. Hospitals are open 24 hours," he said.

Some people even visit the emergency room at Mafraq Hospital in Abu Dhabi to get prescriptions renewed, said Dr Jihad Awad, the head of the emergency department.

Other non-severe cases, which account for 10 to 15 per cent of the 300 patients admitted daily, include sore throats,The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, body pain, nausea and chronic pain.

People also visit the hospital for check-ups, he said.

Everyone from the government to the physicians who treat minor cases in emergency departments must educate the public, Dr Awad said.

"They have to inform the patient about the cases they should be worried about and the cases they should just follow up with their family doctor," he said.

Dr Omar Al Jabri, the medical director of the Ambulatory Healthcare Services Company (AHS), said people also must be educated on what is a serious ailment.

"Their first choice will be emergency partly because they think they have something serious, most of the time," Dr Al Jabri said. "Part of it is individual education."

Ehab Ahmed, a 30-year-old Egyptian, said he brought his 2-year-old son to the Sheikh Khalifa emergency department with a fever.

He said most patients prefer the emergency department because the staff there were quick to attend to patients. He also said there was nowhere else to go when the outpatient clinic was closed.

Dr Halimi said the outpatient clinic at the Sheikh Kalifah Hospital operated from 8am to 11pm.

He said the emergency department was there to deal with cases that required immediate intervention, such as traffic and construction accidents, burns, heart attacks and epileptic seizures.

Nigerian mobile money startup Paga wants 15 million users by 2015

Tayo Oviosu, the founder of Pagatech, a mobile money services platform in Nigeria, can attest to the above quote.This page contains information about molds,

Paga was founded on the simple belief that mobile phones could be leveraged to provide financial services to Nigerians.

“I was frustrated about carrying cash around whenever I was in Nigeria. It didn’t help that 60% of the ATMs are based in Lagos and most of them are constantly not working,” explains Oviosu. “Mobile money seemed obvious given the number of phones in Nigeria. My frustrations led to the birth of Paga.”

Paga was launched to a user group of 80 people in September 2010. The company received its ‘Approval-in-Principle’ from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in November 2010 and it was later launched to the broader public in February 2011.

“One can make deposits through Paga. For the customer’s convenience, we provide three ways to deposit cash. The first is through our agent network. You can search for your nearest agent online or via SMS. The second way is through any one of our six partner banks such as Diamond Bank. Lastly, it is also possible to load money in your Paga account using your debit card.”

Paga launched with four key products: money transfer, airtime purchase, bill pay and merchant payments. However, money transfer is its flagship product.

“Our mission is to deliver innovative and universal access to financial services. We fundamentally believe that technology should be built to fit into people’s lives rather than the other way around,” he says. “Paga has been designed to work on the most basic SMS enabled phone and without the need to download any application to your phone. Simplicity is key. If you can send an SMS, then you should be able to type in a few words and digits to send or receive money.”

He further adds that someone who does not have a bank account can go to a Paga agent, open an account,Bathroom Floor tiles at Great Prices from Topps Tiles. and after saving for a while, will be able to access micro credit.

Paga works on all mobile networks making it accessible to any Nigerian with a mobile phone. The company has partnered with select banks and microfinance institutions, while also working with a network of over 400 approved agents. Thousands of additional agents are currently awaiting training.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising,The EZ Breathe home Ventilation system is maintenance free, Within less than a year of launching its service to the general public, Paga has registered over 32,000 active users and has processed over US$1.6 million in payments.

“We are proud of our progress to date. We intend on having 15 million users by 2015,” says Oviosu.

“During our marketing awareness drive, the market women immediately saw the benefits of Paga. They understood the benefits of removing the need of having to carry large sums of money around the market just to perform everyday transactions.”

Oviosu explains the process of registering for the service:

“Any concern about having to submit documentation is alleviated, since what one needs is to register their name and phone number. To register for Paga, one is required to send an SMS to the Paga shortcode with their name. No identification is needed for our most basic services.”

“This is one of the key measures introduced by the CBN. The regulation differs from other parts of Africa as risk is mitigated not by asking for documentation, but by tracking spending and limiting transaction sizes. Customers who only give their name and phone number can send only US$20 per transaction and US$200 per day,” notes Oviosu.

Nigeria has a population of more than 150 million people. Analysts state that 22 million have a bank account but there are more than 90 million people who are mobile phone users.

Oviosu adds that of the 20% of Nigerians with access to formal financial services, 90% of them have less than 5,000 naira in their accounts.

“This shows that the majority of money in Nigeria is outside the banking industry and this poses a massive challenge to banks. Banks open branches everywhere, yet the issue remains unaddressed. Mobile payment and banking takes advantage of the wider coverage by mobile phones.”

In Nigeria, like other sub-Saharan countries, the method that is popularly used is a bank transfer from one account to another,If you wish to use a third party payment gateway with your ecommerce solution, which typically involves waiting in long lines that can literally take hours. However, this is only available to those that have a bank account. Those without bank accounts use rather cumbersome and lengthy means of sending and receiving money.

“Through our research we realised that the common practices used include sending physical cash through inter-state travelling bus drivers or sending phone airtime voucher numbers via text messages to be resold for 30% discount on the face value,” explains Oviosu. “The majority of the respondents stated that they would actually prefer to wait until someone they know physically takes the cash to the recipient.”

‘Zero-Energy’ Construction Crosses the Ocean

ENVIRONMENTALLY friendly and conservation-minded building techniques have been around for decades. But only in recent years have standards, like the LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, been developed for builders to follow.

Now one of the most exacting standards, called “passive house,Unlike traditional high risk merchant account ,” is making its way to the United States from Europe. Passive, or “zero energy,” houses maintain a comfortable interior climate without active heating and cooling systems, according to the Passivhaus Institut, which administers the standard. That is achieved through a system of interior and exterior air exchange, an airtight building envelope and energy-saving appliances, among other things.

Any additional energy needs can be generated by renewable sources. The institute says a passive house uses less than a quarter of the energy of a traditionally powered home.

There are about 32,000 passive houses worldwide, most of them in Austria and Germany, according to the institute, which is in Darmstadt, Germany. A number of buildings in New York City are being retrofitted as passive houses, including a multifamily development in Brooklyn at 96 St. Marks Avenue.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings，

“Historically, green homes have fetched a premium,” said Brendan Aguayo, the developer of the St. Marks Avenue house, “and we feel ‘passive house’ is the most tangible type of green home.” Mr. Aguayo, who is working with a development partner,This will leave your shoulders free to rotate in their Floor tiles . Martin Handler, added, “I’ve seen green homes fetch anywhere from a 5 to 30 percent premium.”

Mr. Aguayo said he did not yet know what the condominiums would cost; they are to be completed in January. Passive-house technology has added about 10 percent to the construction costs, he said.

More multifamily passive-house developments are on the way in New York, including new construction. Marshall Sohne, the president of Passiv House Xperimental, expects to break ground this month on an eight-unit condo building at 138 Sackett Street and a two-unit condo building at 107 Union Street, both in Brooklyn.

Mr. Sohne also intends to start construction next year on an eight-unit rental development nearby at 211-213 Columbia Street. Even though meeting the Passivhaus standards adds 10 to 15 percent to the cost of construction, the resulting low energy costs offset that, Mr. Sohne said.

“The tenant will figure that out,” he said, “and be willing to pay a higher rent for the savings they’ll get on energy and possibly for the improved quality of life they’ll experience. It’s a quieter apartment.”

Passive houses have not yet caught on in this country for a variety of reasons, said Ken Levenson, the architect who designed 96 St. Marks and the president of NY Passive House, an organization that advocates for passive housing and educates professionals in the techniques.

First, Mr. Levenson said, energy costs are much lower in America than in Europe. Also, most of the necessary components are made and sold in Europe and are not available here. Few architects or builders are trained in passive-house techniques, and most homeowners are unfamiliar with the concept.

Doug Mcdonald of Westport, Conn., who has been living in a retrofitted 3,800-square-foot passive house for a year, said it was strikingly different from a traditional home.

“You can feel it the moment the door opens,” Mr. Mcdonald said, explaining that those who have experienced passive houses recognize the feel of the air immediately. “We live in short sleeves and T-shirts year round,” he said. “My house sits at 73 to 74 degrees with relative humidity of about 45 to 50 percent all year round.”

That comfortable living environment is achieved without a furnace or central heating system, and Mr. Mcdonald has no energy bills. “I live in a zero carbon house,” he said. “I consume no gas, no oil, nothing.”

What he does have is a ventilation system, called an energy recovery ventilator, or E.R.Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar Air purifier systems,V. Simply put, inside air is pulled through the ventilator, and its heat is transferred to membranes; it is cooled and exits as exhaust.If so, you may have a cube puzzle . Fresh outside air is at the same time being pulled in and is warmed by the membranes that trapped the exhaust heat. The principle is known as counterflow.

Triple-pane windows and 23-inch-thick walls create an airtight home in which Mr. Mcdonald’s family can barely hear any outside noise. And by filtering the air, the ventilator offers an asset unavailable through traditional technology: It keeps carbon dioxide levels low.

Local drug stores lose county contract

Not everybody is happy with Bruce County’s recent decision to award a five-year contract to supply prescription drugs for residents of Brucelea Haven to a large drug company based outside the area.

Earlier this month, county council awarded the contract to Medisystem Pharmacy of Barrie, a company owned by Shoppers Drug Mart.

The decision ends more than 25 years of Walkerton pharmacies supplying Brucelea Haven.
“They were getting excellent service from our local pharmacy,” said Walkerton resident Pauline Gay who organized a hasty petition which she presented during her appearance before council on Nov. 3.The additions focus on key tag and Injection mold combinations,

She worries that some residents may not get their prescription drugs on time if they have to come from out of town,Replacement landscape oil paintings and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. especially during times of emergency.

“If there’s an emergency and the roads are closed, they will have to bring the drugs from Hanover on snowmobiles in the winter,” said Gay during an interview on Saturday.

She’s also upset that county council merely rubber stamped a recommendation by a committee set up to review bids without looking into the details of the agreement. And that will affect the local economy.

“The county is sending business outside the county. We just lost our jail. This area is a depressed area. We’ve got declining enrolment in schools, housing market is down. We really should be supporting our own people and here’s Bruce County giving a contract to Barrie.Do not use cleaners with porcelain tiles , steel wool or thinners. That really worries me,” said Gay.

Roseanne Currie, co-owner of Pellow Pharmasave, which along with Brown’s Guardian Pharmacy, has provided the service to Brucelea Haven for almost three decades, said during a recent interview that she was deeply disappointed that her proposal wasn’t accepted by council.

Both Currie and Gay wondered if county council’s decision was influenced by Medisystem providing $40,000 a year to Brucelea Haven and increasing their donation to Gateway Haven to $30,000 a year. Medisystem has had the contract at the Wiarton long term care facility for several years.

“I thought it was a contract for service,” said Currie, who offered to pay for some special programs at Brucelea Haven as part of her proposal. They included education programs for nurses, medication carts,This page contains information about molds, computers, payment of royalty fees. She even offered to wave the $2 professional fee charged for each prescription if a resident couldn’t afford it. But she never offered to give a cash donation to the nursing home.

“Certainly there were things we were prepared to do to enhance the service at the nursing home but not with an open cheque. The contract is about service and not money,” Currie said.

Currie said the loss of 80 (of 140) customers will reduce her business by 20 per cent and will likely result in laying off of employees. She currently also performs the same service for a half-dozen other long term care homes in the area.

She’s invested more than $500,000 in an automated system that includes a computerized packaging machine specially designed for long term facilities.

It replaces manual packaging and cuts down on errors. It also makes it easier for the nurses for dispensing of the medication and keeping accurate records.

“I made a huge investment in taking an initiative and being proactive to be able to provide care locally and be the leading pharmacy in Bruce County,” Currie said.

Ryan Fullerton, a spokesperson for Brown’s Guardian Pharmacy, said he understands why council made the decision to switch to another provider.Unlike traditional high risk merchant account , Brown’s doesn’t have the computerized ordering system.

“I think we can provide the best services but that’s not to say that they (Medisystem) can’t provide services and they have a lot of experience and computer systems and we don’t have that experience,” said Fullerton, who noted the loss of the contract will affect business and result in having to reduce staff.

Gary Gray, Bruce County’s director of purchasing said there were several responses from pharmacies across the province including Brown’s and Pellow in Walkerton.

On the basis of the presentations that the county received it was determined that Medisystem pharmacy would be awarded the contract for Brucelea Haven as well.

Gray said the company’s computerized order system would save the county indirectly by reducing nursing time in administering and keeping track of patients’ drugs.

“So it was the whole package that we looked at,” he said.
But Currie said she too had the same computerized system and doesn’t know why she was turned down.
Gray said the computerized ordering system used by Pellow was not as compatible with ?what Brucelea Haven had in mind.

He denied that the offer of $40,000 by Medisystem for educational services and equipment was what drove the decision.

“It was based on the electronic system that Brucelea Haven wants to move to, which Gateway Haven is already on,” said Gray, adding that all of the pharmacies that submitted bids were offering either money or services
“The process was very fair and at the end of the day it will reduce the cost for residents. Each resident will save several hundred dollars a year on average,” said Gray.

Readers share good ole day stories

The responses were many and the memories grand! Many of you emailed your responses and some, like in the good ole days, actually used snail mail to share your memories from the good ole days. We have compiled some of the special memories to share with the rest of the readers:

We received a letter from a man in Cottonwood who enclosed three post- cards that had 100-year-old postmarks on them; what a treasure he shared with us. The handwritten letter, also a treasure, told us mostly about his family and childhood games. He wrote about walking to school a mile each way in the rain and snow. It really happened, not like the proverbial stories elders tell to convey how easy kids have it these days. He also told of grandparents, parents staying married for life, and he mentioned his wife as being,Polycore oil paintings for sale are manufactured as a single sheet, "The love of my life." Imagine having family with no divorce. Those must have been the "good ole days."

Pat Waldron writes: "When I was a child, a long lifetime ago, we had no electronic games or toys, no TV,The application can provide Ceramic tile to visitors, and not much money, having come to California in 1934 during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. At Christmas

each child received a stick of peppermint candy and one toy, and they were thrilled to get it. My favorite form of entertainment after dinner, after playing 'Let's Pretend' outdoors all day with my neighborhood 'gang,' was to listen to my mother tell stories of her childhood. The stories always began with 'When I was a little girl.' I believe that today's children are missing out. They don't know how to entertain themselves, how to use their imaginations, creating toys and games, or reading books — REAL books — for enjoyment." Pat, it is easy to see why families were the way of life in the good ole days .Unlike traditional high risk merchant account ,.. I'm not sure it is the same today.

Connie Hegge wrote: "My good ole days memory is of the trust of the 30s when I lived in Jamestown, N.Y. The ice man would take a block of ice in his tongs,Enecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar Air purifier systems, open our front door, climb the front stairs to the second floor, walk along the hall to the kitchen, open the ice box, insert the block of ice, and take his cash stipend and leave. We might not have seen him at all. There was no question of his honesty. Incidentally, he would give slivers of ice to the children playing outside. Mother and most other women would place clean, glass, reusable milk bottles on the porch steps with an envelope containing the cash payment and orders for the next day. Again, there was no question of anyone taking the money. It was a time of people trusting one another, an era that we will not see again." I'm not sure any of us see this level of trust today; thanks for sharing, Connie.

Aleen Hughart writes: "We had our 'phones' too in those days. Two empty tin cans and a string stretched tightly between served us well. We could even hear each other (if not too far apart). I loved those days — we could play out in the street until after dark, such games as Kick the Can, Hide and Seek, have rubber gun fights (a carved gun, with rubber tubes cut in strips as our ammunition) and other activities that didn't cost any money.ceramic magic cube for the medical, I'm 88 and miss the 'good old days.' "

Dr. Buren Krahling writes: "I am an 89-year-old retired family physician living with my wife here in Redding. My mother and her sister were country school teachers in Iowa. All rural school houses at that time were two miles apart, Aunt Anna's four miles from Boyden and Mom's only two. Billy was the horse and Mom was dropped off and others drove to the other school where a school boy unharnessed Billy and put him in the shed for the day. I don't think either of them ever drove the Model T which their young sister and their father later bought. Some years ago I restored two 1922 Chevrolet 490s with a friend. The cars were built the year I was born, sold for $490 to beat the Ford price of $500. The Chevys had standard transmissions and self starters. Bodies were all wood under the sheet metal, while Fords were all steel."

CES organizers roll out new nifty gadgets

The Flatiron District showroom in New York could only show a small preview of the massive Consumer Electronics Show which takes place each year in Las Vegas.

Just about every type of new device with an on/off switch is on display each and every year. It's understandable why organizers use the same basic adjectives when describing the event.

"CES 2012 is, for one thing, it's bigger, it's better and it's more exciting,which applies to the first offshore merchant account only," Consumer Electronics Association spokesperson Gary Shapiro said. "It's really become an innovation showcase for everyone, consumer electronics and everyone touched by it."

While TVs and smartphones are the obvious gadgets most attendees expect to see, it's the unexpected devices that often steal the spotlight, like the "nest" thermostat. Not only is it all digital, but it hooks into a home Wi-Fi network so that users can control it with a smartphone.

In turn, the thermostat keeps track of the users' habits and helps make decisions and suggestions.

"We use built-in sensors to detect when you're home or away to help you save energy, as well as learn from your adjustments to help you conserve energy," nest spokesperson Kristin Bickett said.

Meanwhile, in the struggle to help conserve patience,Replacement landscape oil paintings and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. Zagg's "HzO" uses nanotechnology to protect gadgets from spills and dumps into water,ceramic magic cube for the medical, without adding a single thing to the device's exterior.

"We don't actually apply it to the outside, that's the creative genius of HzO. It's actually applied to the inside, where water creates most its damage," HzO spokesperson ScottEnecsys Limited, supplier of reliable solar Air purifier systems, Gordon said.

Finally, there's a pair of ski goggles called MOD that combines powers of a computer, smartphone and GPS.The application can provide Ceramic tile to visitors,

"You've got a micro-optics display right down here, it's going to show you stats like speed, jump air time, jump height, distance and drop, altitude, vertical, how many runs you've done, temperature, it goes on and on and on," Recon Instruments spokesperson Darcy Hughes said.

The goggles will also link via Bluetooth to a cell phone and allow the wearer to check emails and text messages while on the slopes — hopefully, though, while stopped on the slopes.