Mrs. Anne Forsythe gave an earnest talk on the importance of organization."
At that meeting, club officers were elected and a constitution was adopted.
The success of the Aurora Republican Women's Club (ARWC) is based on commitment to the organization by its membership.
The ARWC members have met continuously and have maintained a club status for 75 years.
Involvement and achievement also accompany commitment.
The ARWC membership includes elected Republican women officials at the federal, state and local levels.
The ARWC has also earned high achievement awards for outstanding political and nonpolitical activities from the Illinois and National Federations of Republican Women.
Another key to success has been communication.
The ARWC shares ideas and goals through public political forums, through membership newsletters and through the Internet.
The ARWC is the first Republican women's club in the U.S. to have a Web site on the Internet.
Club messages, photos and information are shared with all top Republican offices in the nation and with persons online around the world.
Communication not only keeps the members informed, interested and active, but also enables the ARWC to recruit new members, which keeps the organization viable and strong.
Although the club name has changed over the years from Republican Women's Club of Aurora to Women's Republican Club of Aurora to the present Aurora Republican Women's Club, the philosophy and goals have not changed.
The ARWC has been an active participant in the support, education and contribution to the Republican Party and, in particular, to Republican women, from the moment of ratification.
Commitment, involvement and communication have been ARWC's "keys to success" for 75 years.
Women and men are welcome to join.
Call Membership Chairman Linda Brandt at (630) 892-0301.
M2 PRESSWIRE-30 October 2001-3Com Corporation: Telefonica chooses 3Com wireless gateway for home and business ADSL service; 3Com`s high-speed, wireless solution selected for easy set-up and reliability (C)1994-2001 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD
RDATE:30102001
Madrid -- Telefonica de Espana has selected 3Com Home Wireless Gateway to provide its thousands of customers with high-speed, wireless Internet access. The 3Com Home Wireless Gateway offers rich connectivity and radical simplicity for Telefonica`s ADSL customers.
3Com`s family of high-speed wireless LAN solutions includes wireless access points and network interface cards for laptops and desktop equipment, allowing both home users and business users the freedom to connect to the Internet or their network without being tied to their normal desk workstations. This can be a great benefit to users who can remain connected in different rooms throughout their home or office, and is particularly useful for users wanting Internet access in places where laying cable is impractical or expensive.
The Home Wireless Gateway works on the 802.11b wireless standard and is certified by the Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) organisation. Features and benefits include:
* Fast and continuous connection of up to 35 simultaneous devices in a single network with a 91-meter radius
* "Always On" secure connection (with an integrated, business-level firewall) to the Internet from all network devices using only one ADSL connection
* High-speed transfer of files among PCs
* Videoconferencing with other PCs
* Remote use of peripheral devices (printers, scanners, etc) from the local network
"3Com makes high-speed Internet access solutions that are radically simple to install, use and maintain, with the highest levels of performance," said Alberto Soto, general manager of 3Com Iberia. "Telefonica de Espana chose the 3Com Home Wireless Gateway because it fulfills the functionality and simplicity requirements that its customers demand. When combined with Telefonica`s ADSL technology, customers will have "always on", high-speed wireless Internet access."
About 3Com Corporation
3Com simplifies how people connect to information and services through easy-to-use connectivity products and solutions for people and businesses.
The company also provides access infrastructures and IP services platforms for network service providers. For further information, visit www.3com.com or the press site at www.3com.com/pressbox.
CONTACT: Gilly Hamill, PR Consultant, Spark Marketing Communications Tel: +44 (0)20 7202 8490 Fax: +44 (0)20 7928 2855
((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data prepared by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com)).
REDONDO BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 1999--Internet Ventures, Inc. announced today that it is seeking an underwriter for a public offering under Form S-1.
The company also announced that it was proceeding with modifications to its 15c-211 filing to enable current shareholders to trade their shares via the National Quotation Bureau service (Pink Sheets). Should the company engage an acceptable underwriter, it would defer the decision on "Pink Sheet" trading to the underwriter.
Company shareholders expressed overwhelming interest in doing an underwritten offering, a process which IVI began two weeks ago.
TALLAHASSEE, FL -- The following information was released by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC):
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will host a free hunter safety course on Saturday, June 25, in Moore Haven.
People seeking certification must successfully complete the online portion of the course, print and bring their final Web report to the FWC course on June 25.
Students will learn about hunting laws, safe gun handling and hunter ethics/responsibility, among other topics, before taking the final test. The course also includes live-fire instruction on a shooting range.
The location and time for this class will be given to those who register in advance by calling the FWC's South Region office at 561-625-5122 or going to MyFWC.com/HunterSafety.
Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must pass an approved hunter safety course before purchasing a Florida hunting license. Parents or legal guardians must accompany children under 16 years of age to all classes. To participate in the live-fire exercises, children under 18 years old must present a parental release form signed by a parent or legal guardian.
Byline: Tom Paker Bowels
English and chorizo are two words that make the most unlikely of bedfellows. Because this is pure culinary tautology, like Chinese Stilton or German dim sum. It just doesn't make sense. The chorizo sausage is Spanish to its fatty core, an Iberian staple stained red with paprika, with roots in Catalan, rather than Anglo-Saxon, culture.
We may be a nation of sausage masters, but only in their uncured form. So while we rightly celebrate the black pudding, Cumberland and chipolata, we're less adept at the cotechinos, salamis and sobrasadas of our Continental cousins.
It's not that we lack the skills for such chewy delights, rather the climate. We have an Atlantic system, inherently unstable and unpredictable. When it comes to the making of chorizo, this is very bad news indeed.
Like civil servants and newborn babes, cured sausages need consistency and routine. France, Spain, Italy and Germany can guarantee that certain months will be baking hot, and others cool. And that the humidity will not peak and trough. From that near-certainty, a cycle can emerge, whereby the animal is slaughtered, butchered, cured and hung.
But over the past few years, a valiant brand of British charcutiers have emerged. Take the Bath Pig. Started a few years back, in Bath, by Mash Chiles and Tim French, it began as a hobby. 'Tim and I got to know each other through our wives,' says Chiles, a friendly thirtysomething.'We'd have dinner parties and Tim would turn up with the most amazing Spanish chorizos. So we decided to make our own, and bought a kit off the internet. We weren't overjoyed with the result so started coming up with our own recipes and techniques.'
Chiles had previously worked for Sony Music in Australia while French was, and still is, an oncologist. 'We kitted out my tiny sitting room with a John Lewis air conditioner and humidifier and made our own curing room,' smiles French. 'We did endless experiments, and it took a huge amount of trial and error. The dinner parties got larger and larger and people began to say they liked our chorizo.' He pauses, lost in recollection.
'Then we thought, hang on, we might have something here.' 'I'm a quack,' says French, 'so I'm used to sterilising everything, from hands to chorizo-making rooms. We couldn't sell it at this point and people would always say, "Why English chorizo? It's a Spanish thing." But we have wonderful pigs, so why not?'
To slice a long story short, they ended up going with a specialist manufacturer in Yorkshire, which made biltong. They built special curing rooms and bought equipment, too. The Bath Pig was up and running.
'At different times of the year the humidity is different,' says French. 'And because of our climate, things can be hard, even in a special room. If the humidity changes dramatically, you're suddenly left with a huge amount of sausages covered in green mould. It's still a risk, but we hope we've got it right.'
They started off using pigs from a small farm in nearby Box, Wiltshire, but as demand grew, they went up to using two local farms. Now, the business is so big that they use a multitude of suppliers. 'But all are RSPCA-monitored, outdoor-raised British Freedom Food pigs,' says Chiles. 'The quality is crucial.'
The chorizo is a little softer than the usual varieties. It's rich, robust and well spiced, with just the right amount of acidic bite. And it is as good raw as cooked.
Chef Mark Hix was one of their earliest supporters. 'It's easily the best British chorizo I've come across,' he says, 'and on a par with many of the best Spanish ones.'
Raymond Blanc is another fan, using it at his famed Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons. 'We spent a lot of time in Spain, learning the tricks and techniques,' says Chiles. 'And the greatest accolade came when Juanni, a 43-year-old who'd worked for one of Spain's best cured meat companies for 30 years, gave it the thumbs up. And when we're selling at farmers' markets, Spanish tourists clap us on the back, absolutely amazed.'
In blind tastings, it's always up in the top three, even against Spain's finest. This is a superior product. 'We've learnt from the ground up,' says French. Chiles nods. 'We're obsessed. I live and breathe chorizo. Even dream about the damned things. And sometimes, as we drive around, delivering chorizo or coming up with new recipes, we have to pinch ourselves. How the bloody hell did a doctor and an ex-media executive get to this?'
The answer is passion and hard work. 'We want British charcuterie to be accepted. Look at the quality of Trealy Farm and the Real Boar Company. It's no longer a joke.' Just before I go, I ask if they have any plans to sell back to Spain. They look sheepish. 'Not at the moment,' says Chiles. But watch this space. "Brits sell own chorizo to Spain." Now that would be a coup.'
thebathpig.com
Acme Packet, a company focused on session delivery networks, announced that Infonetics Research Inc., a research firm, identified Acme Packet as the leader in the enterprise session border controller (E-SBC) market, with 32 percent market share by revenue in 2010.
Acme Packet said it doubled its E-SBC business in 2010, increasing its share in a market that grew by 70 percent, according to Infonetics in its April 18 report, "Enterprise Session Border Controllers, Annual Worldwide and Regional Market Size and Forecasts." Infonetics projects rapid market growth driven by the adoption of SIP trunking and the interconnection of disparate interactive communications systems to create enterprise-wide networks.
"Acme Packet's expertise in SIP trunking, broad network of partners, and early entry into the E-SBC market helped it nearly double its enterprise business in 2010," said Diane Myers, Directing Analyst, VoIP and IMS for Infonetics Research. "Acme Packet gained share and retained its lead position among more than 30 competitors."
Noted by Infonetics as a primary driver for E-SBC growth, SIP trunks use Internet protocols to provide a low-cost alternative for connecting voice, video and unified communications systems to service provider networks. E-SBCs provide security, interoperability and assured reliability for these applications.
According to a release, the Acme Packet E-SBC product line generated approximately 17 percent of the company's business in 2010. As of March 31, Acme Packet reached new milestones in its enterprise business, including:
-Over 1,800 E-SBCs installed worldwide
-379 customers, including 32 of the Fortune 100
-Over 1.7M active sessions licensed
Acme Packet noted that it offers a broad range of solutions for the deployment of interactive communications in enterprise and contact center networks. Its E-SBCs terminate service provider SIP trunks, connect disparate enterprise voice, video and unified communications systems, secure access to hosted and cloud-based services, and enable communications with remote workers.
"Enterprises are realizing compelling benefits as they transition to SIP trunking services and unified communications, including dramatic cost savings, increased productivity and enhanced business agility," said Seamus Hourihan, Acme Packet senior vice president of marketing and product management. "Acme Packet has attained its market leadership position in enterprise SBCs by offering comprehensive solutions for deploying secure, interoperable and reliable end-to-end enterprise IP communications."
More information:
www.acmepacket.com
((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))
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To most people, hurricanes trigger thoughts of danger and destruction; to surfers, hurricanes present opportunity and hope for large waves to surf. Hurricane Bill offered sports photographers on the East Coast the opportunity to shoot images of surfers in action. If alert, quick and ready to travel, the surf photographer was given the chance to shoot fabulous images.
To shoot surfers on large waves you must be alert to weather patterns and storms. It helps to use the Internet as much as possible. National and international Web sites are available to surfers and photographers to help locate and predict wave conditions along all coasts. Some sites just predict wave heights, tides, and wind conditions, etc, at various breaks. Other sites have actual cameras set up at surf spots so you can see the conditions before you travel long distances for a big disappointment. Some sites are pay sites and others are free sites.
Surf breaks* are fickle. They depend on the correct tides, winds and waves being just right or else there is nothing to shoot. Some surf breaks require high tide, or low tide, or middle tide. Again, this information is available to the general public via the Internet. In general, early morning provides the best time to shoot surf photography since the winds are light and generally offshore. Glassy water (smooth) or slight offshore winds provide the best surfing conditions and the bestlooking surf photography.
* A surf break is a permanent obstruction such as a coral reef, rock, shoal, or headland that causes a wave to break.
Before attempting to shoot surf photography you must have the right equipment and lots of patience. Basically, the well-equipped Wildlife Photographer has the same or similar equipment needed to shoot good surf photography. Minimum equipment required is a very long and fast lens, a sturdy tripod, and a good camera with at least 10 to 12 mega-pixels and a large flash card. Since most good surf breaks are far offshore a 900mm lens, or equivalent, is required to get good clear images of the surfer. As an example, a 300mm f/2.8 lens with a 2X extender plus a camera body with a 1.5X magnification factor provides an equivalent of 900mm. An additional 1.5X extender gives you that extra long reach, if need be. A sturdy full-sized tripod with aluminum legs should be used due to long exposures to sea salts, air, and water. A good quality DSLR camera is necessary with as fast a motor drive as possible and with as large a flash card as you can afford; preferably 16 GB or larger. Extra cards will be needed if the surf and surfers are good that day. When buying flash cards for sports photography it is important to purchase the fastest card that manufacturers offer, as whatever sport you're shooting the images need to be processed fast so you can continue shooting and capturing great images. A very important item not to forget is freshly charged camera batteries. Two or 3 extra batteries are recommended.
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A good camera body with a fast motor drive is a must. Waves and surfers move very fast, requiring a fast shutter speed and an even faster motor drive of 3 to 5 fps or more. These days' surfers ride all over the waves. They ride from top to bottom, right to left and back again. Some of the best shots are aerial or air shots. These images are highly prized by surfers and surfing photographers. It takes patience and quickness with the shutter release button. Shooting surfers is very similar to shooting birds in flight; you must be fast and quick on the trigger and it requires a fast motor drive if you want to obtain the best action images.
A good surf photographer must have lots of patience. Everything depends on good waves and good surfers. Large storm waves arrive at the break in long periods; say 17 seconds or 20 seconds. Waves generally arrive in sets of 3 or 4 waves at a time with the last wave being the largest and the one most surfers go after. The longer the wave period, the larger the waves, and in general, the longer surfers wait for the next set of waves to arrive. This means there is lots of waiting by everyone, surfer and surf photographer alike, before another good wave breaks.
Between wave sets is a good time to check your LCD screen and see if minor changes in camera settings are needed or desired to obtain better results. The sun angle is always changing and the surf break moves inland or out depending on the tides and surf size. So it is a good idea to evaluate all camera settings periodically,
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Surfing is a very fast sport. A shutter speed of 1/1000 second or faster is recommended. It is also recommended that you keep the ISO setting as low as possible to avoid image noise. If the sun is shining, this will probably not be a problem. However, when clouds appear and move across the sky, there may be a problem with not enough light falling on the subject. This is when the surf photographer has to make judgment calls. The white water is always going to be a bright white, while the surfer might be in the dark behind a wave, such as in early morning (East Coast) surf photography sessions. White balance should be set for Sunny unless another setting delivers better results. Knowing your camera and how certain settings affect results is important. Generally, shooting all high quality (large) Jpeg images is the way to go. Shooting RAW + Jpeg is an alternative, but you'll quickly fill up the card and it may slow down the camera motor drive speed, depending on your camera's processing speed.
Whether you shoot in Manual Mode, in P (program mode), in Sports Mode, or Shutter Priority mode, is up to you. You should try them all. Depending on the large lens or combination of lenses you use, one or two of these camera-shooting modes will deliver the best results. Experiment or rely on your wildlife experience, at first, to see if results are acceptable. The important thing to remember is that you'll need a fast shutter speed: a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec, to capture the surfer's movements, is a must.
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It is very important to set the camera on the correct auto-focus mode. Most cameras have several auto-focus modes such as single-shot, continuous, center-focus, etc. Because surfing photography is very fast it is important to set your auto-focus to continuous or its equivalent on your camera. Some cameras or lenses, steady-state modes are affected by use of auto-focus on a tripod. Check with your camera handbook to determine if camera or lens settings must be adjusted or turned off.
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Sports photography images, if shot correctly in-camera, should not need a large amount of time at the computer editing images. On a good day you might shoot 800 to 1000 images or more. Unless you like to sit in front of the computer all day and night, it is suggested you get the image and exposures correct in-camera. This is one reason why pro sports photographers shoot mostly in Jpeg files and not in RAW. The accompanying images were shot in large high quality Jpeg on Florida's East Coast when Hurricane Bill was 250 miles off shore. The images were marginally cropped with minor sharpening.
One great thing about shooting surfing in the digital age is that you can keep shooting continuously as if you were shooting a short movie. A sequence of images of one surfer on one wave for 10 seconds is now possible. This allows the surf photographer a chance to obtain that one great shot among many, i.e., that perfect image. The computer now allows you to select that one great image or to select them all and show them in sequence as is done in many of the surfing magazines.
Like shooting wildlife, or boating, or sunrises, or camping it is generally important to wake up early to get to the shoreline as soon as possible. The old saying is still valid; "The early bird catches the worm." The early surf photographer catches the best images.
Any mention of products or services in this article or anywhere else in the PSA Journal does not constitute an endorsement or approval of those items.
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Ed Dvorak
Coral Springs, Florida
MILFORD HAVEN, Wales, November 18 /PRNewswire/ -- MoadCast brings the consumer and the advertiser closer together in a more meaningful, cost-effective and targeted manner with a revolutionary permission based mobile phone community.
MoadCast offers its members a guaranteed revenue share of the advertising revenue generated through MoadCast's mobile phone advertising platform. Members join for free and have the ability to earn up to GBP45 per month.
Members receive advertising messages to their mobile phone based on their lifestyle, interests and hobbies to offer advertisers large and small the opportunity to send targeted marketing messages based on selected demographic profiles via the MoadCast online advertising platform.
Founded by Darren Briggs, Internet entrepreneur who previously launched BigOil.net in 2004, which was awarded Best Business Start Up using Technology by the Technology Wales Awards in 2004, which he subsequently sold to the Retail Motor Industry Federation in 2007.
"Advancements in mobile phone technology coupled with consumer dependency on these devices offer the advertising industry a new realm of opportunities. The mobile phone is rapidly becoming the "first screen" for advertisers and marketers to communicate and engage with the Consumer," commented Darren Briggs, Managing Director of MoadCast.
He added, "MoadCast's advertising platform will allow local and national companies to target consumers with marketing messages to drive sales and increase customer engagement. Our recession-proof advertising starts from as little as GBP25 per campaign. Unlike other social networks our members receive a guaranteed share of the advertising revenue. Our proposition could ultimately pave the way for other social media networks, including the likes of Facebook to offer a revenue share back to its users."
MoadCast members receive a guaranteed rebate for every marketing message they receive with the ability to earn up to GBP15 per month. In addition, if 10 recommended friends or family members join then an additional rebate is then added to the original MoadCast account. Thus, giving the registered member the ability to earn up to GBP45 per month. Cash amounts in batches of GBP10 are then credited direct to the registered members mobile phone account (monthly contract or pay as you go).
There are over 75 million mobile phones currently in use in the UK with a population of just over 62 million. Mobile advertising spend in the UK reached GBP28.6 million in 2008, growing by more than 99 percent year on year, according to the IAB's first Mobile Advertising Expenditure Study.
Contact: Darren Briggs Managing Director darren@moadcast.com http://www.moadcast.com/
CONTACT: Contact: Darren Briggs, Managing Director, darren@moadcast.com
MILWAUKEE, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Johnson Controls, Inc. announces the following webcast:
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081030/AQTH055ALOGO) What: Johnson Controls First Quarter 2009 Earnings Conference Call When: Friday, January 16, 2009, at 11 a.m. Eastern time
How: Live over the Internet -- Log on to the Web at http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/investors. Note: A slide presentation will be available that morning for downloading.
Replay: If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the call will be archived at http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/publish/us/en/investors/webcast_archive.html
Johnson Controls is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel. By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine the relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 140,000 employees creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. For additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/.
CONTACT: Glen Ponczak of Johnson Controls, +1-414-524-2375
Web site: http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/473547.html
AFTER only three months as Global EPP, the former semi-finished materials producer Nylacast Materials ran out of money and called in the administrator.
Global EPP aimed to make a splash in the supply of products such as cast nylons and extruded PA, POM and PET with an internet-based commercial structure intended to ease ordering, stock holding and delivery for its distributors.
SUGAR LAND, Texas -- -Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) will host Graycor Blasting Company, Incorporated (Chicago, Illinois) as its special guest on Industrialinfo.com Radio (http://www.industrialinfo.com/radio), Monday, August 21, 2006, as part of Industry Today, a weekly Internet radio broadcast. Graycor Blasting Company (GBC) is a provider of blasting and industrial cleaning services to industrial clients across North America. The company is a subsidiary of 86-year-old parent company Graycor, a leading North American contractor that constructs a wide variety of industrial and commercial facilities.
Graycor Blasting Company, Incorporated (GBC) began using explosives for controlled blasting in 1925 and today is one of the top blasting experts in the world with six offices throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, Florida and Iowa. Over the years, the company has developed the experience and expertise needed to provide industrial clients with state-of-the-art precision blasting and industrial cleaning services. Blasting services include precision blasting for tunnels, rock, concrete demolition, explosives compliance services and much more. Industrial cleaning services include hydroblasting/industrial vacuum services, explosive deslagging, explosive cleaning and more.
GBC's parent company Graycor is a leading provider of construction, maintenance and facilities services throughout North America with a strong reputation for providing innovative, collaborative solutions to its clients' unique challenges. To ensure its rigorous schedule, cost and quality standards, Graycor self-performs much of the trade work, two million hours annually, including concrete, carpentry, equipment installation, refractory, boiler work, steel erection, demolition and specialty blasting.
Join Kevin Chastain, Director of Business Development for Graycor Blasting Company, Incorporated, along with Crazy Al of Industry Today to discover the cost effective solutions Graycor can provide for your plant or next project. Click Here! (http://www.industrialinfo.com/radio), and tune-in for the LIVE broadcast at 10:30 a.m. (EST). If you miss the show, Click Here (http://www.industrialinfo.com/radio/showlist.jsp) to hear this or any of the over 185 previous Industry Today shows covering topics important to industry spending, including trends, outlooks, and focus segments on specific industries.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) provides marketing and communications services in the form of corporate communications, advertising promotions, and industrial database services. For more information send inquiries to industrialmanufacturing@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at www.industrialinfo.com.
Additional Units of Leading Multiservice Access Platform to Be Deployed Throughout 26 NATO Member Countries to Extend Bandwidth Management Equipment
DULLES, Va., June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- N.E.T. Federal, a subsidiary of Network Equipment Technologies, Inc. , and a leading network equipment and solutions provider to the federal and defense marketplace, today announced that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has awarded the company an extension to the existing Bandwidth Management Equipment (BME) contract to continue to upgrade NATO's global communications network. N.E.T. Federal was previously awarded the BME NATO project in 2003 for both its Promina bandwidth manager and SCREAM broadband platforms.
The latest deployment, which includes up to 46 equipment sites, is intended to complete the BME network and to improve communication efforts and network management for mission-critical applications. The BME network provides the basis of NATO's core communications infrastructure for voice and data, and provides circuit, packet and ATM networking technology to meet NATO's key operational priorities.
"The scope of NATO's infrastructure makes it critical for us to maintain a flexible, reliable and unified communications network for our member countries to support our global initiatives," said Jakob Thur, NATO C3 Agency project manager. "N.E.T. Federal has consistently provided NATO with solutions that have helped us to develop an effective infrastructure and, as an added benefit, we have the capability to integrate the latest technologies into our network architecture."
N.E.T. Federal has been providing communications equipment to NATO since 1995 with deployments of Promina equipment to support NATO efforts in the Balkans and during NATO's expansion from 19 to 26 member countries.
"We value our long-term relationship with NATO and have developed a deep understanding of their evolving technological requirements," said John Winters, vice president of sales for N.E.T. Federal. "We're pleased that our technology continues to be deployed to help NATO advance its communications infrastructure objectives."
About N.E.T. Federal:
N.E.T. Federal, a network equipment and solutions provider, offers government agencies a migration path to Internet protocol (IP) technologies while leveraging return on legacy assets such as ATM networks. For more than a decade, N.E.T. Federal has delivered access platforms for broadband, IP telephony, secure voice applications, and multiservice networks to defense, intelligence and civilian agencies and international government organizations. Customers include NATO, U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency, all branches of the U.S. armed services and joint command, the U.N., the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Federal Aviation Administration. For more information, visit http://www.net.com/solutions/government.
About net.com
Network Equipment Technologies, doing business as net.com, is a leading provider of networking equipment that enables its customers to adapt to a broadband future. An architect of the networking industry, net.com has been supplying service providers, governments and enterprises around the world with bulletproof networking technology for more than 20 years. net performance. net results. net.com.
Visit http://www.net.com/ for more information.
NOTE: Promina, SCREAM, net.com and the net.com logo are trademarks of Network Equipment Technologies, Inc.
CONTACT: investors, Brenda Ropoulos, Director of Corporate Relations of net.com, +1-510-574-2508, or brenda_ropoulos@net.com; or Shany Seawright of Strategic Communications Group, +1-301-408-4500, or sseawright@gotostrategic.com, for N.E.T. Federal
Web site: http://www.net.com/
Byline: Julie M. King
Sherry Christiansen, a native of Paducah, Ky., recently moved to Oswego and is the newest of Harborfest's 600 volunteers. She spoke with editorial assistant Julie M. King about herself and her role in this year's Harborfest. The festival starts today and ends Sunday.
Name: Sherry Christiansen
Address: Syracuse Avenue, Oswego
Originally from: Paducah, Ky.
Family: Husband, Dave; daughter, Amanda, who's attending the University of Kentucky; two stepsons, Joey, 13, and Andy, 11. Joey and Andy also helped with this year's Harborfest, painting and setting up chairs.
Occupation: I'm a court reporting student.
What brought you to Oswego? My husband got a job at Nine Mile Point. We moved here in May.
Why did you decide to get involved with Harborfest? Having never lived anywhere but my hometown I thought that this was the best way to get to know people and the area. When I looked Oswego up on the Internet, Harborfest was the biggest thing that popped up.
What will you be doing during the festival? At the moment I'm in the office making phone calls, doing computer work and programming cell phones.
What are you most looking forward to seeing or doing during the festival? The concerts and the fireworks.
What's your favorite thing about Oswego so far? The friendliness and the helpfulness of the people. Being from the South, where we're known for our hospitality, it really took me aback. People are friendlier here than they are back at home.
Other community service efforts you've been involved in: I was very active in my church, working with children after school. I was also a member of the McCracken County Homemakers, an organization that does a lot of charity work and some fund-raising. I also started a neighborhood watch in my community.
Why is community service so important to you? I've had a lot of help in my lifetime and it's just a way of giving back. If we all want to have a better world, it takes all of us to do it.
Hobbies: I love to do all different kinds of crafts. I also like to read, and I like to visit with friends and family.
The best vacation you've ever taken: Last year, we went to the Algonquin National Forest in Canada. The whole family went - my mother and mother-in-law, all the kids, my sister-in-law and her family. It was great.
Four words that describe my neighborhood are: friendly, interesting, picturesque and busy.
If I could live anyplace in the world, it would be: somewhere in the mountains.
My most proud moment: I have two. I recently graduated from college with an associate's degree. The other is seeing my daughter's success in her chosen career of political science.
Favorite saying: When the going gets tough the tough get going. Another one I've always told my daughter, and now my stepsons, is you can do anything you set your mind to. Don't be limited by what other people think.
Food I love: Italian food.
Food I despise: Vegetables.
The two people who have most inspired me are: my husband, Dave, and my mother, Linda Forsythe. My husband constantly encourages me to do whatever I want to do, and my mother has done the same thing. She came from a totally different generation where women didn't do things but she always encouraged me to go out there and accomplish everything I could.
If I could spend one day alone, I would: attend a craft show.
The most annoying thing other drivers do is: speed up ahead of me and then put on their brakes when they get in front of me.
If I won the lottery, I would: pay off my bills, travel, develop a scholarship for underprivileged kids and donate to my church.
If I wrote a book, the dedication would say: this book is in appreciation of all those who helped me along the way.
What advice would you give the president? While I don't always agree with everything he does, I do respect the fact that when he says something, he sticks to it. I would also advise him to get a new speech writer.
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Stephen D. Cannerelli/Staff photographer
SHERRY Christiansen is the newest volunteer for Oswego Harborfest. Color.
By Joan Verdon, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Oct. 9--Santa's big day is still 11 weeks away, but Jim Silver has already prepared his shopping list.
Santa better stock up on Hokey Pokey Elmo dolls, Barbie Cook With Me Kitchens and McDonald's McFlurry Makers.
Silver, publisher of The Toy Book, the leading trade publication for the toy industry, and co-publisher of Toy Wishes, a consumers' guide to best-selling toys, Wednesday released his annual list of holiday toys that are most likely to be sold out by Thanksgiving. Silver and other toy experts on Wednesday also predicted toy manufacturers and sellers will get their wish this year for a greener Christmas.
"We think the toy industry is going to have the best fourth quarter since the year 2000," Silver said.
Silver isn't going too far out on a limb with that prediction. For three years the toy industry has suffered through disappointing sales. Total sales increased in 2000, stayed essentially the same in 2001, and declined by 1 percent in 2002 -- tough figures for an industry that had grown to depend on sales increases in the 5 percent to 6 percent range.
Wall Street toy watchers are a bit more wary about how the holiday season will shape up.
Margaret Whitfield of Brean, Murray & Co. said that while the retail environment is showing signs of improvement, the Grinch that could steal hopes for a profitable fourth quarter is intense competition by discounters.
"We're seeing some predatory pricing by Wal-Mart. It's going to be very competitive," she said.
This is the fifth year Silver and the staff at Toy Wishes have compiled a list of "hot" toys. Manufacturers and retailers pay close attention to the list because Silver, and Toy Wishes writer and toy consultant Christopher Byrne, each do more than 100 television, newspaper, and radio interviews every November and December in which they present their favorite toys. Landing on the list is considered a guarantee of TV air time and other forms of free publicity.
The previous Toy Wishes lists have had a high accuracy rate after the final sales tallies.
Silver, who has been tracking holiday sales for two decades, said he has seen encouraging signs that this will be a merry Christmas for merchants, after poor sales early this year.
"The economy has started to get a little better," he said, and there are new toys that look like sure winners, which will boost toy spending.
He said toy sellers are already placing reorders for items that appear to be hot holiday sellers.
Silver usually issues a "Hot Dozen" list of 12 likely bestsellers. This year, he said, there were so many good candidates that he had to make his list a "baker's dozen" of 13 toys.
Among his picks are the Leapster Educational Game System by LeapFrog, a hand-held device about the size of a GameBoy with video games that teach basic skills.
"They will sell every single one of those that they can make," Silver predicted, saying kids who tested it couldn't put it down.
The other toys on the Toy Wishes list are:
-- Barbie Cook With Me Smart Kitchen by KIDdesigns, $129.99, a talking stove that tells kids how to cook plastic food and reminds them to clean up after themselves.
-- Barbie Swan Lake, Mattel, $19.99. Barbie dressed as Odette of the Swan Lake ballet. Her fantasy castle also available for $130.
-- Beyblade Remote Control Top, Hasbro, $34.99. A remote-controlled version of a popular spinning top game.
-- Care Bears Bedtime Lullaby Bear, Play Along, $24.99. An electronic update on a retro favorite, with battery-powered nightlight and lullaby built in.
-- Built to Rule Transformers, Hasbro, $7.99 to $29.99. Building kits to create vehicles that turn into robots.
-- Hokey Pokey Elmo, Fisher-Price, $29.99. An Elmo doll that can put his right paw in and shake it all about.
-- Bratz Formal Funk Runway Disco, MGA Entertainment, $99. A playset that lets Bratz dolls stroll on a motorized fashion runway.
-- LeapPad Plus Learning System, LeapFrog, $55.99. Teaches reading, writing, and math. The newest version of a popular education toy.
-- McDonald's McFlurry Maker, Spin Master, $24.99. Makes kid-size versions of a McDonald's ice cream dessert.
-- My Little Pony Celebration Castle, Hasbro, $34.99. Pampered plastic pony dolls in a pink castle.
-- Powertouch Learning System, Fisher-Price, $49.99. An educational toy for children ages 3-8 that spells words and teaches skills when the child touches a picture.
-- Neopets Voice Activated Plush, Thinkway Toys, $34.99. Talking, plush versions of the creatures that are an Internet phenomenon at neopets.com.
To see more of The Record, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.NorthJersey.com.
(c) 2003, The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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