Senior Golfing Tips

It’s almost two years since the launch of PamFax as a fax sending service that allows anyone with a PC and an Internet connection to send faxes to any fax terminal worldwide at low per page rates. With a simple fax setup and no subscription requirements, PamFax has become a very popular and robust PC-based communications service delivering documents worldwide. They like to call it “no strings attached faxing”. Over time we have seen:

• addition of PamFax inbound numbers in 28 countries
• implementation of Mac support
• participation in McAfee Secure Sites program
• improvements to the PamFax portal that records and reports PamFax activity
• reduced pricing (as well as bringing several countries into the lowest level “Zone 1”)
• overall performance and stability improvements
• a distribution partnership with Fusion Network Services in Japan
• seamless integration of the PamFax portal into FaceBook and Salesforce.com

At the beginning of December PamFax introduced major upgrades to both the server and the thin client resulting in a significant improvement in both the responsiveness of the client and the speed with which faxes could be sent from the PamFax client. While some improvements are visible via the PamFax client, most of them are transparent to the user as they involve changes to the backend infrastructure critical to the PamFax operation.

However, as many businesses have adopted PamFax, a need has arisen for a Business Control  Panel to facilitate faxing within a business operation. Introduced with this latest upgrade, the PamFax Business Control Panel allows a business to use one central PamFax fax-in number company-wide by giving selected and/or all people in the BCP group access to the inbox. Effectively a company or business unit can replace its fax machine (and the associated overhead of ink and paper) with a “cloud-based” fax service that allows any employee to send and view faxes to/from anywhere worldwide.

In a world where one would think that faxes are dying off, the growth and acceptance of PamFax is demonstrating that (i) users want an easy way to send a fax and (ii) there are hard copy document exchange applications, such as in legal activities and real estate, where faxes are still critical to business operations. It is their ongoing increase in usage volumes that has driven Scendix, publishers of PamFax, to put additional resources into improving the overall user faxing experience. As an example, while currently available for Windows and Mac PC’s, expect to see a Linux client in the near future.

Previous Posts:

• PamFax Evolves: Building a World Class Service Offering
• PamFax 2.0: An Obligation-Free On Demand Fax Service on Your PC
• PamFax – Adding Click-to-Fax
• PamFax Receive Skype Certification, Grows Usage
• Mashup Champion PamFax Becomes a Full Fax Sending Solution

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• Three Developers and the Skype Platform Today! (voiceontheweb.biz)
• The Future for 3rd Party Skype Developers: Bloggers Speak Out. (voiceontheweb.biz)

It’s almost two years since the launch of PamFax as a fax sending service that allows anyone with a PC and an Internet connection to send faxes to any fax terminal worldwide at low per page rates. With a simple fax setup and no subscription requirements, PamFax has become a very popular and robust PC-based communications service delivering documents worldwide. They like to call it “no strings attached faxing”. Over time we have seen:

• addition of PamFax inbound numbers in 28 countries
• implementation of Mac support
• participation in McAfee Secure Sites program
• improvements to the PamFax portal that records and reports PamFax activity
• reduced pricing (as well as bringing several countries into the lowest level “Zone 1”)
• overall performance and stability improvements
• a distribution partnership with Fusion Network Services in Japan
• seamless integration of the PamFax portal into FaceBook and Salesforce.com

At the beginning of December PamFax introduced major upgrades to both the server and the thin client resulting in a significant improvement in both the responsiveness of the client and the speed with which faxes could be sent from the PamFax client. While some improvements are visible via the PamFax client, most of them are transparent to the user as they involve changes to the backend infrastructure critical to the PamFax operation.

However, as many businesses have adopted PamFax, a need has arisen for a Business Control  Panel to facilitate faxing within a business operation. Introduced with this latest upgrade, the PamFax Business Control Panel allows a business to use one central PamFax fax-in number company-wide by giving selected and/or all people in the BCP group access to the inbox. Effectively a company or business unit can replace its fax machine (and the associated overhead of ink and paper) with a “cloud-based” fax service that allows any employee to send and view faxes to/from anywhere worldwide.

In a world where one would think that faxes are dying off, the growth and acceptance of PamFax is demonstrating that (i) users want an easy way to send a fax and (ii) there are hard copy document exchange applications, such as in legal activities and real estate, where faxes are still critical to business operations. It is their ongoing increase in usage volumes that has driven Scendix, publishers of PamFax, to put additional resources into improving the overall user faxing experience. As an example, while currently available for Windows and Mac PC’s, expect to see a Linux client in the near future.

Previous Posts:

• PamFax Evolves: Building a World Class Service Offering
• PamFax 2.0: An Obligation-Free On Demand Fax Service on Your PC
• PamFax – Adding Click-to-Fax
• PamFax Receive Skype Certification, Grows Usage
• Mashup Champion PamFax Becomes a Full Fax Sending Solution

Related articles by Zemanta

• Three Developers and the Skype Platform Today! (voiceontheweb.biz)
• The Future for 3rd Party Skype Developers: Bloggers Speak Out. (voiceontheweb.biz)

Thermal Fax

A SWOTT analysis helps a company identify existing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and trends that affect the company's operations. Strengths and weaknesses are associated with factors that occur within the organization and opportunities, threats and trends are associated with factors and forces that occur outside of the organization. (Thompson, Gamble, Strickland, 2005)

Forces and Trends:
Frank Irby Plumbing Company is a private business established in 1924. Frank Irby Plumbing Company is located in Macon, Georgia and specializes in a wide range of plumbing services, which include water heater and sprinkler system installation, sewer and drain clearing and plumbing repair work. With a focus on repair work, Frank Irby is known for having one of the best-stocked tucks in Middle Georgia and for its exceptional quality of service. However, some economic forces have created quite a decline in sales for Frank Irby Plumbing Company over the past 30 years. Some of these forces include cheaper labor; foreigners are able and willing to perform many of the tasks performed by skilled laborers; the implementation of more user-friendly products, which make installation and maintenance easier to the public and automation or prefabrication, which reduces skilled labor, time and costs. (Ursitti, J., 2009)

The company abides by the Laws and regulations that are mandated by the state, but recent changes have hindered growth. The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) states that “state law prohibits the use of any pipe, pipe or plumbing fixture, solder or flux, that is not “lead free”, as defined in statute, in the installation or repair of any public water system or any plumbing in a facility providing water for human consumption”. (Health and Safe Code) In response to the new regulation put in place July 1, 2009, Frank Irby Plumbing Company purchased a vast array of solid brass stops, fittings and Speedi Plumb plus connectors from BrassCraft Mfg. Co. a company offering solutions to the new legislation. (BrassCraft, 2009) However because the company did not have enough capital for unexpected emergencies or changes, the company took a major financial hit that set the company back.

Issues and Opportunities:
Due to high-energy costs, more consumers are turning to thermal radiant heating systems that provide cost savings to functional heating systems. Based on this fact, the U.S department of energy is planning to accelerate the deployment of geothermal heat pumps and introduce a funding system that helps consumers purchase Energy Star qualified home appliances. (Ursitti, J., 2009)Unfortunately Frank Irby Plumbing Company has not implemented any of the new types of “green” technologies despite the widest implementation of leading edge energy efficient technologies in the history of the United States. Frank Irby Plumbing Company needs to become a member of the Plumbing and Mechanics Association to show customer and key stakeholders the company cares about the improvement of its business in relation to the changes in the industry. The company should also become more aware of the technology that is rising in the industry. For example, Warehouses are expected to use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for inventory. Frank Irby Plumbing Company manually conducts inventory control, however the company can implement RFID technology and place tags at the bottom of its materials for faster inventory count.

Change:
Frank Irby Plumbing Company is a Mom and Pop ran company where the structure of the organization is flexible and the culture revolves around longevity of the company and its old-fashioned practices. The leaders of the company refuse to attend trade seminars or conventions and continue to overlook the obsolete technological systems put in place. The managers are well aware of the internet and its capabilities, but are reluctant to implement updated computers that provide a basis for effective marketing and communication. Frank Irby Plumbing Company has not adapted to change very well as it continues to use outdated and old processes for completing necessary tasks.

Opportunities and Issues:
The company currently has three methods of communication, which include phone, fax and snail mail. With only one advertisement in the yellow pages, competitors are likely to put the company out of business in just a matter of time. One of the most effective solutions to Frank Irby's problems is to create a company website. Incorporating a website will play a role in the company's competitive advantage. The purpose of the website is to provide information regarding the company's services offered, coupons, mission vision and values statements and environment and safety regulations. The website would also serve as a tool for payment transactions for customers. One conclusion as to why the company has not implemented this technology is because they are afraid and intimidated by it. The company understands that with the implementation of new technology comes the responsibility to keep it updated and maintained and nevertheless learn new processes, letting go of the old comfortable ways.

The leaders of the company have the tendency to take matters into their own hands when it comes to collecting payments from people who refuse or neglect to make payment. If the company does not receive payment after months of hassling, they end up taking the loss. One of the trends taking America by storm is small claims court. The process is not very difficult, the first step is to file a complaint, secondly go to the hearing, and thirdly collect a judgment. Frank Irby Plumbing Company needs to recognize the value in small claims court in which they can benefit from this solution to retrieve payment, instead of taking a total loss. Some conclusions for the reasons Frank Irby Plumbing Company has not used methods as this is because they think they cannot win, they think they don't have enough time or funds or they think that they will lose customer loyalty. The company probably would be more informed and aware of processes as this if they attended industry seminars and joined the Plumbing and Mechanical Association. Frank Irby is missing very useful information and key solutions that could save the company money and time.

Conclusion:
Although Frank Irby Plumbing Company has managed to stay afloat over the past 30 years, they are simply stuck in a proverbial rut, because they chose to keep implementing the old ways of doing things, which makes them more unprepared for the future. In order to stay on the competitive curve, the company will need to assess the modern industry by conducting a SWOTT analysis and learn new of new technological advances and knowledge. The purpose of the SWOTT analysis is to determine if the information provided is of assistance to the company in accomplishing its goals and objectives and if obstacles need to be avoided to achieve desired results.

Reference

BrassCraft (2009). New legislation. Retrieved August 31, 2009 from http://www.brasscraft.com

Health and safe code. Retrieved August 31, 2009 from http://www.weareleadfree.net/CA

Thompson, Gamble, Strickland (2005). Strategy: Winning in the Marketplace:

Analyzing a Company's External Environment Chapter 5

Ursitti, J. (2009) Plumbing and Mechanical Magazine. Retrieved August 31, 2009 from http://www.pmmag.com/Articles/Industry_News/8da9f083b5fc7010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0

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Led Lights

Depending on the size of your living or entertainment room, will determine the appropriate size for a television. If you are able to sit at least 6-feet away from your television, then the following TV will provide not only a outstanding visual qualities, but its enhanced image processor will increase the quality of your favorite video games. The LG 42-Inch Full HD 1080p LED Backlit LCD HDTV, Model: 42LH90 features a stylish exterior design as well as unique dimming technologies to create one of the most striking images currently available. The average price for this LG HDTV is $1,800 and it can be purchased online and in retail stores.

Product Ratings:

Image Quality: 4.5/5 Stars
Audio Quality: 4.5/5 Stars
Exterior Design: 4.5/5 Stars
Overall Rating; 4.5/5 Stars

Main Features and Technologies:

The first feature that I want to discuss within this LG Full HD LCD HDTV is the screen size. The display for this television measures 42-inches diagonally, which is the ideal size for people who can sit at least 7-feet away from the screen. While this isn't the largest screen on the market, it is ideal for those who want a big-screen TV but without the seating constrictions the larger models require. The display features a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which is the highest level of high definition formatting. You will be able to enjoy 1080p, which when you combine with high definition cable or a Blu-Ray disc, it will produce some of the best looking images on the market.

One of the coolest features within this LG LCD HDTV is the LED backlighting technology. This unique feature precisely dims the picture in order to produce deeper colors that are vibrant with life. I really enjoyed this unique television for its ability to remain crisp, even when scenes are very dark. With a contrast ratio of 2,000,000:1 you will have one of the most dynamic and visually stunning screens that is currently available.

Another interesting feature, that gamers will really enjoy, is the extremely fast screen response time. This screen has a response time of 2.4 milliseconds, which is among the fastest I have seen. How this feature benefits users is during times of extreme movement, such as in an action movie or in a video game, the picture does not become blurred because it is able to keep up with the rapid motions of the images.

There are a total of 4 HDMI ports, which will allow you to easily connect all of your digital devices without a problem. Lastly, you will be able to enjoy a audio system that features the Clear Voice II System, which utilizes different frequencies to engulf your living room with high-fidelity audio.

HijackThis is a general homepage hijackers detector and remover. It scans for all objects which may be affiliated with Web Browser activity. StartList scans the system for all objects that are in all startup sections of the registry. It is continually updated to detect and remove new hijacks. It does not target specific programs/URLs, just the methods used by hijackers to force you onto their sites.

Download  HijackThis

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A storm bringing ice and snow has come to central Oklahoma, just in time for Christmas. For fun I’ve setup one of our computers in the front window and am Ustreaming (via our Learning Signs Ustream channel) the view of the snowstorm in our front yard… with some Christmas music via Pandora streaming as audio thanks to SoundFlower and Audio Hijack Pro. I have Pandora playing in FireFox, and Audio Hijack Pro is grabbing that audio and sending it to Soundflower. My Safari browser is running Ustream and the broadcast, sharing the external DV video source and using Soundflower as the audio source.

Earlier this morning our kids and one of the dogs were out front sledding and playing, but the wind is blowing pretty hard, so they didn’t stay out long. If the snow accumulates I’m sure we’ll be out again. The weatherfolks are saying we may get 4 to 8 inches. With all the ice and snow our Christmas Eve church services for this evening have been canceled, so we’re snowbound for the day. What fun! Happy holidays to you and yours.

Live Broadcasting by Ustream

If your browser ever gets hijacked you need to check out this site: Browser Hijack Removal My browser was hijacked a week ago and I couldn't figure out how to get it fixed. This site gives you a good idea of how to get the browser hijack removed from your computer.

Ever since my freshman year in college, I had heard of these crazy college students who worked full-time and went to school full-time. I never expected to be one of them, but I wondered how it was done. During junior year I decided to try it out and discovered a few things.

In my situation, I was working a summer job full-time that I decided was easy enough that I could balance it with school. This is the first key to success. Do not try this with a physically or mentally exhausting job. I was doing office paperwork, where simple geometry was the most effort your mind had to put out. This job was 40 hours a week, thus meeting the full-time requirement, but did not often have overtime. After 3 months on the job, you could think about anything while doing the work.

The second key to success was picking classes wisely. I looked at the classes that I had left. Unfortunately, by junior year, not many “easy” classes were left. However, I did have some options. I avoided classes with busy work like the plague. Any class with a lab was out of the question. Math classes, even the easiest of math classes, were ruled out due to the amount of homework. In depth science courses were ruled out due to the sheer amount of reading. Online classes were preferable, so that I could use spare time to watch lectures and complete assignments. Unfortunately, the pickings on online courses were slim. The next best bet to an online course, was one that allowed you to pass without doing much more than just attending lectures and taking exams. In the end, I picked an animal diseases course online, as well as economics and psychology lectures, and a karate class for good measure. The in-person lecture courses were both 4 units, the online course was 3 units, and the karate course brought in the extra unit to make the 12 unit full-time student requirement. This brought me right to the minimum of being considered a full-time worker and a full-time student.

So now I had my classes. I would work for 8 hours at the office and drive directly to class. Attend lectures, go to karate, and go online to watch the online lectures and do assignments. And that was it. Okay, not quite. No one could be so lucky as to find classes without any homework and studying to do. I was waking up at 7am to get to work at 8am. Then working until 5pm, with an hour lunch from noon to 1pm. Then I’d have lecture starting at 6pm, going until either 8pm or 10pm depending on the day. On top of that, I had to fit in the online course somehow. This is where the third key to success comes in. You need to learn a new way to manage your time. Normally you probably do a lot of things that are not truly necessary. Watch TV? Spend time talking in chat rooms? Have a hobby? These type of activities need to be moved down on the priority list. On your 15-minute breaks at work, you could be doing a homework assignment due later that week. Maybe you used to use this time to play on your Gameboy, but now you just don’t have that kind of time to spare. It doesn’t really take you an hour to eat lunch does it? Part of that time can be used for studying. Found a parking spot early one day? Catch up on reading or homework during your spare moments. Maybe on those days when you get home after 10pm you’ll only have time to get home, do chores, eat, and go to sleep. When you get home shortly after 8pm however, you can use this time to watch a lecture for the online class or study for other classes. Keep in mind that weekends are available as well. It won’t kill you not to party for a quarter or semester.

With this full-time job and full-time course load schedule, I managed to use the above mentioned time management techniques to stay ahead or at least not fall behind. At times, I was watching all of the lectures for the online course on Friday after work when I did not have any classes. I never missed a lecture for any of the classes, however. This was key, because going to lectures are essential when you are short on time for studying. By the end of my 11-week experiment, I was out of the quarter with straight A’s and my job performance at the office had not suffered. Not only did I stay on top of school and work, but I also kept my volunteer duties with an animal rescue group. I managed to also find some time for social activities, although, I must admit that my social life greatly suffered during this time. However, I did manage to save up some money.

Unfortunately, these conditions cannot always be met, as I found out during the next quarter of my junior year. I simply could not find the courses I needed offered in the evenings. I had to take morning and afternoon courses or I would not be able to be a full-time student. So after 6 months of working at the office job, I had to quit and find something part-time. Not being so busy, I didn’t worry about time as much. Poor time management resulted in significantly lower grades the next quarter, despite actually having more time on my hands. After this experiment, I stuck with part-time work and full-time school, just to be easier on myself. This also gave me more time for social activities. However, after the experiment, I knew that if necessary, I could absolutely work full-time and go to school full-time, and if my grades suffered, it would probably be more as a result of poor time management than as a result of working too much. Obviously, working full-time and going to school full-time is not an ideal situation. In some cases however, it has to be done, and I hope these tips will help someone who is in such a situation.

For a great article on the hisotry of the dry erase board check out this site I stumbled upon: Dry Erase Boards

Headlight Restoration

Mutallab was working with the FBI and not expected to grant media interviews, Information Minister Dora Akunyili said.

The elder Mutallab was “a responsible and respected Nigerian, with a true Nigerian spirit,” she said. He had been estranged from his son for several months and alerted U.S. officials last month about the youth's growing hard-line Islamic religious beliefs.

A close neighbor told the AP he believed Abdulmutallab did not get his extremist ideas from his family or from within Nigeria.

Basiru Sani Hamza, 35, said Abdulmutallab was a “very religious” and a “very obedient” to his parents as a boy in the well-to-do banking family.

“I believe he must have been lured where he is schooling to carry out this attack,” Hamza said. “Really, the boy has betrayed his father because he has been taking care of all their needs.”

Rimmer, a teacher at his high school in West Africa, said Abdulmutallab had been well-respected.

“At one stage, his nickname was 'The Pope,'” Rimmer said from London in a telephone interview. “In one way it's totally unsuitable because he's Muslim, but he did have this saintly aura.”

But Abdulmutallab also showed signs of inflexibility, Rimmer said.

In a discussion in 2001, Abdulmutallab was the only one to defend the actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan, Rimmer said. At the time, Rimmer thought the boy was just playing the devil's advocate.

He also noted that during a school trip to London, Abdulmutallab became upset when the teacher took students to a pub and said it wasn't right to be in a place where alcohol was served.

Rimmer also remembered the youngster choosing to give 50 pounds to an orphanage rather than spend it on souvenirs in London.

Rimmer described the institution – an elite college preparatory school, attended by children of diplomats and wealthy Africans – as “lovely, lovely environment” where Christians often joined in Islamic feasts and where some of the best Christmas carolers were Muslims.

Abdulmutallab showed no signs of intolerance toward other students, Rimmer said, explaining that “lots of his mates were Christians.”

The Briton noted that he has not seen or heard from his former pupil since 2003 when he was still a teenager.

Abdulmutallab went on to study engineering and business finance at the University College London, where he graduated last year, the college confirmed.

Students at his prestigious university in London, where Abdulmutallab lived in a smart white stone apartment block in an exclusive area of central London, said Abdulmutallab showed no signs of radicalization and painted him as a lax student with deep religious views.

“We worked on projects together,” Fabrizio Cavallo Marincola, a 22-year-old mechanical engineering student at University College, told The Independent newspaper. “He always did the bare minimum of work and would just show up to classes. When we were studying, he always would go off to pray.

“He was pretty quiet and didn't socialize much or have a girlfriend that I knew of. I didn't get to talk to him much on a personal level. I was really shocked when I saw the reports. You would never imagine him pulling off something like this.”

Marincola declined further comment when contacted by the AP.

___

Associated Press writers Raphael Satter in London and Salisu Rabiu in Funtua, Nigeria, contributed to this report.

The US homeland security secretary, Janet Napolitano, conceded today that the aviation security system failed when a young man on a watchlist with a US visa in his pocket and a powerful explosive hidden on his body was allowed to board a fight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

The Obama administration has ordered investigations into the two areas of aviation security – how travellers are placed on watch lists and how passengers are screened – as critics questioned how the 23-year-old Nigerian man charged in the airliner attack was allowed to board the flight on Christmas Day. President Barack Obama is expected to make a statement later today from Hawaii, where he is on holiday.

“Our system did not work in this instance,” Napolitano said on NBC television's Today show. “No one is happy or satisfied with that. An extensive review is under way.” Yesterday Napolitano said the security system had worked, but she said today that her words had been taken out of context.

Billions of dollars have been spent on aviation security since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, much of it on training and equipment that some security experts say could have detected the explosive device that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is accused of hiding on his body as he boarded Northwest Airlines Flight 253.

Investigators on both sides of the Atlantic are continuing to check Abdulmutallab's background, with the Dutch military police investigating the possibility that he had an accomplice.

Scotland Yard and MI5 want to establish how he was radicalised and by whom, and whether he had accomplices in the UK or the Arabian peninsula. He has told US officials that he met al-Qaida operatives in Yemen who gave him the explosive device and taught him how to use it.

Britain's home secretary, Alan Johnson, said he suspected Abdulmutallab may not have been working alone. “We don't know yet whether it was a single-handed plot or [there were] other people behind it – I suspect it's the latter rather than the former,” he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Johnson also confirmed that Abdulmutallab had been placed on a UK watch list after being refused a student visa in May for a bogus course. “If you are on our watch list then you do not come into this country,” said Johnson. “You can come through this country if you are in transit to another country but you cannot come into this country.”

Abdulmutallab was also on a US database of people suspected of terrorist ties in November, but there was not enough information about his activities to place him on a watchlist that could have kept him from flying.

Johnson said the issues being studied by British police and security services included “what happened when he was in this country, was he radicalised in this country, was there any association with whoever may have been behind this plot?”

Suspected al-Qaida activists in Yemen referred in a video recorded on 21 December to “a bomb to hit the enemies of God”. It was not known if this was a general warning, or indicated a clear Yemeni link.

A US couple on Flight 253 said they saw a tall, well-dressed man aged about 50 with Abdulmutallab at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport before he boarded the plane.

Kurt and Lori Haskell claimed the man spoke for Abdulmutallab and attempted to get him aboard the flight without a passport, the Reuters news agency reported.

A Dutch military police spokesman said: “At this moment we have no information on whether there was another guy. We are checking all clues and information we get.” The spokesman added that the military police and the Dutch counter-terrorism agency NCTb were reviewing CCTV recordings to check out the accomplice story.

Abdulmutallab's family said today that they had contacted international security services to raise concerns that he had been radicalised by Islamist extremists.

They said they became concerned after he disappeared about two months ago and cut off contact.

In a statement, the family said: “The disappearance and cessation of communication which got his mother and father concerned … are completely out of character and a very recent development.”

Abdulmutallab's father, Umaru Mutallab, a former Nigerian government minister who recently retired as chairman of the First Bank group, “reported the matter to Nigerian security agencies about two months ago and to some foreign security agencies about a month and a half ago”, the statement said.

The family added: “It was while we were waiting for the outcome of their investigation that we arose to the shocking news of that day.”

The statement did not say where Abdulmutallab had been, although it emerged yesterday that he had dropped out of a postgraduate business course in Dubai, telling his family he had gone to Yemen to study Islam. It was then that he cut off contact with them, his family said.

Abdulmutallab was charged in hospital with trying to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam with almost 300 people on board. The former student, who studied mechanical engineering at University College London between 2005 and 2008, was also charged with placing a destructive device on the plane.

Scotland Yard detectives continued to search the former UCL student's luxury flat in a central London mansion block. Security sources said the police and MI5 were diverting extra staff and resources to the investigation in order to establish the significance of the “London link”.

Obama has ordered a fresh review of US security, including airport screening, after it emerged that the American authorities had been warned about Abdulmutallab's extremist views by Mutallab.

Obama's spokesman said the president was seeking answers to why Abdulmutallab was placed on the least urgent of three US terror watchlists, rather than a higher category which would have prevented the Nigerian national flying.

In Britain passengers waiting to fly to America were hit by delays of up to three and a half hours at the weekend because of extra security checks, with people being frisked and having hand luggage searched. Some passengers reported having Christmas presents unwrapped, while others travelling to the US have reportedly also seen bans on the use of electronic equipment, including laptops and MP3 players, and in some cases in-flight entertainment has also been disrupted. People flying to the US were advised to arrive early and carry just one piece of hand luggage.

Whitehall officials said Abdulmutallab had not come to MI5's attention during his three years studying in London. One of his former teachers spoke of his shock, saying the suspect's nickname was once “the pope”, and the university spoke of its “sadness”.

Malcolm Grant, a provost at the university, said: “UCL is deeply saddened by these events. This is a university founded on equality and religious tolerance, and strongly committed today to respect for human rights. We are co-operating fully with the authorities in their further investigations.”

The heightened state of security was underlined last night when the crew of another Amsterdam to Detroit plane, with the same flight number, reported an emergency incident after an “unruly” Nigerian man raised concerns by spending an unusually long time in the aircraft's toilet. He was detained by the FBI after the plane landed but turned out to have a “legitimate illness”, officials from the department of homeland security said.

More details emerged yesterday about the apparent radicalisation of Abdulmutallab, a young man born into privilege in the Muslim-dominated north of Nigeria. He attended an elite British-curriculum boarding school in Lomé, the capital of Togo.

A former teacher of his recalled the then teenager expressing sympathy for the Taliban after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

However, a friend from that time, James Ticknell, told the Guardian that while Abdulmutallab had been a devout Muslim, he was not in the least militant. “He was very decent and gentle, in fact a pacifist. His views on religion were very mainstream. When I realised the man on the plane was him, I felt disbelief,” said Ticknell.

This simple cork board craft project is a great way to make a Vintage Wood Shutter project for the wall. This simple Vintage Wood Shutter cork board is perfect for a child's room or even a home office. You can hang it over the desk a have something great to look at while you work!

You can make this simple Vintage Wood Shutter cork board for about $40 or less. You can make it for a lot less if you already have some Vintage Wood Shutters you don't mind drilling a hole in.

To make a Vintage Wood Shutter Cork Board You Will Need:

4 Vintage Wood Shutters

Power Drill

½ inch drill bit

Sheet of pine Plywood

Sheet or roll of cork board

Spray Adhesive

Scissors or exacto knife

Tape measure

Now, the first set is to measure how long your Vintage Wood Shutters are. You and do this simple project with mini Vintage Wood Shutters as well.

Now, have you sheet of plywood cut into a square that is about three inches linger and wider than your Vintage Wood Shutters are long. So, if your shutter is 30 inches long, then you will want your plywood square to be 33 inches by 33 inches.

Now, cut out your sheet for cork board to 33 inches by 33 inches, or whatever sizes your plywood square is.

If you have any leftover cork board, then you can cut strips to glue onto the edge of your plywood board. Just measure the length and width, cut the cork board and glue with the following directions.

Now, lay you sheet of cork board out on a flat surface. Lightly spray it with a good quality spray adhesive, the kind that come in an aerosol can. You could also use a wood glue if you want.

Now, place your cork board on the plywood sheet. Line the edge up and press it into place.

Now, take your four Vintage Wood Shutters and drill a hole in each end of the shutter. I like to tape my baseball bats down on a flat work surface and then drill a hole in about 2 inches form each end. Make sure the holes are in the same place on each shutter.

Now, lay your Vintage Wood Shutters out on the corkboard and glue a thin marker slipped through the predrilled hole in the shutter to make a mark on the corkboard. This will tell you where to pre drill your hole on the corkboard. I like to overlap the bats, so there are only four holes in the corkboard, but you could lay the bats out in a square and attach them all with 8 screws, 2 per bat.

Using bolts that fit through the hole. Slip it through each Vintage Wood Shutter and out the back of the corkboard. You can use a nut and washer on the back to hold the Vintage Wood Shutter frame in place.

Now, you made you plywood cork board bigger than the Vintage Wood Shutters, so these shutters will really set about three inches inside of the cork board.

Now, flip the corkboard over and install some picture hanging hook device on the back.

You can hang this simple artwork corkboard on your wall!

Check out more of Rebecca's Vintage Crafts.

I love working on websites. I will be finished with this website tonight: Cork Bulletin Board

 

I am far from a golf junkie or a links diehard, but I consider myself at least a moderate golf fan if not an above-average one. No, you won’t find me all giddy about the possibilities of a Rory Mcilroy, Padraig Harrington final pairing at the Deutsche Bank Championship, but give me Paddy and Philly Mick at Bethpage Black and I’m there.

Off the top of my head, I couldn’t tell you the last Tour win for Vijay Singh; why Ernie Els was abducted by aliens (wait, you’re telling me he wasn’t?); or how John Daly thinned out by crushing Diet Cokes and cigs like it’s his job.

But I have a handle on the basics. You play golf, you don’t “go golfing.” This isn’t horseback riding.

You are required to be genuinely infuriated when you play double-bogey golf, as if you earned the right to expect average play from yourself by hitting balls once every six months.

At least one time during the round, you must stare down an approach shot that, midway through its flight, appears like it will land between 12 and 126 feet from the cup and holler, “Be right, ball!” Or, “Down, baby!” Everybody has the buddy that will then hit you with the “that’s what she said” joke, but that’s just part of the spectacle.

I’ll join you for all of the major championships in any given year plus probably a half-dozen, or so, other events. For anyone with a hint of American pride, the Ryder Cup is always a beauty.

Those are my loosely defined parameters for consuming golf. Unless, of course, there is an event or story that has legendary potential and captures the imagination of all sports fans, not just Bagger Vance.

Which brings us to this Tiger Woods story that continually feeds the airwaves.

I’m not here to give counseling advice or to say when Woods should come back to the PGA Tour. I’m not here to run off the list of women who have claimed to have been with Tiger, nor am I even a bit interested in guessing what will happen between Tiger and his wife and their personal lives.

Their business, not mine, don’t care.

Oh, I’ve heard it all. People Magazine has representatives saying that Elin Woods is going to split with her husband. The New York Times ran a report that connected Woods, and other athletes, to an allegedly dirty 50-year-old doctor who injects himself weekly with HGH so he can “keep up with his 28-year-old wife.”

Infidelity, human growth hormone, crooked doctors…yawn. I think we got it. I sincerely hope Woods resolves his personal issues and then returns to the course so he can continue to inspire young kids to play golf. Say what you want about the man, but Woods will still be brilliant on the course, and that excellence is what he owes to society. His endorsement dollars require him to be a champion.

So, naturally, the saddest part of all of this is the lives that have been tarnished, the marriage that has possibly been broken, and the reality that two young kids will most likely be forced to ask mom and dad when they get a little older, “What happened?”

But none of those things involve you or me. With Woods’ personal conundrum aside, have you stopped to think about what type of year 2010 could be for golf? Sure, there is a chance that Woods’ leave of absence from golf will be a sustained one. If he does return, the piranhas will be after him. How much of the attention will be about golf? I have no idea.

Wrap your mind around a few things for a second: Tiger is four majors away from tying Jack Nicklaus with 18 all-time; the first three majors of next year are at three of golf’s most historic venues, which just happen to be courses Tiger has dominated in the past; we could potentially witness one weekend in August that not only reconstructs the annals of golf history, but rewrites the legacy of golf’s biggest superstar, hero, and villain all on the same canvas. Yikes.

For some reason unbeknownst to me, I have been frothing at the mouth for a weekend in April that is five months away. I’m never like this when it comes to golf. Golf is like Labor Day for me. It creeps up on me, I enjoy the day off, and then it is gone.

I can’t get over the potential of 2010, and it is gnawing at me because, as each day passes, the likelihood of this parade every getting out of the gate decreases.

But lets assume Tiger returns for The Masters, and lets play this out real quick if only for laughs.

Tiger strolls back to golf in April as the most determined athlete of this decade and conquers an Augusta National track for the fifth time in his career. Determined to redeem himself, repair what’s left of his image, and return some semblance of normalcy to his life, Woods laps the field.

Cue up the most picturesque landscape in the sport for the United States Open in mid-June. Woods won the first of his three U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach in 2000. By 15 strokes.

History will tell you that Ernie Els and Miguel Angel Jimenez were the runners-up, but I beg to differ. There were no runners-up. There was the U.S. Open, and then there was the Tournament For The Second Place Check. Woods has seen Pebble perked up to U.S. Open regulations. We don’t need to get creative to believe he could win there again.

As if those riches aren’t enough, we get the British Open at St. Andrews, too? Yep, the Open Championship returns to The Royal and Ancient, the same place where Woods beat Colin Montgomerie by five strokes in 2005. Woods is a history buff, think he wouldn’t get up for this?

With three down, we head to Whistling Straits in August. This would be Tiger’s toughest test. With the pressure of completing the Grand Slam and locking arms with Nicklaus all wrapped into the same four days, Woods would return to the course where he nearly missed the cut at the 2004 PGA Championship. And, my oh my, what a weekend that would be.

Is any of this likely? The answer lies somewhere between “no” and “hell no.” If someone told me this was going to happen next year, I’d subsequently ask if they have been snorting coffee grounds. It’s the dream of all dreams.

But as sports fans, don’t we sometimes have to dream the unimaginable and think the unfathomable? For Woods to win three straight times at three of golf’s most pristine homes and then go after Nicklaus’ record all in the same year is ridiculous. That’s fantasyland stuff.

The ongoing circus will take another turn soon, I’m sure, and our imaginations will be snapped back to reality.

But for us fans, here’s to hoping for a chance to live one of the most remarkable years in not only golf, but sports. 

You can reach Teddy Mitrosilis at tm4000@yahoo.com.

 

Silver Lakes Golf Estate – Gauteng in South Africa

Although Gauteng is the smallest province in South Africa, it is the financial capital and industrial hub of the country. Golf Digest ranks 31 Gauteng golf courses within the South African top 100 courses and Gauteng is said to be the golfing capital of South Africa. Gauteng also has a wide selection of other tourist attractions, and is therefore the ideal destination for a golfing holiday.

A Gauteng golf holiday offers the golfer a wide variety of top rated championship golf courses which will challenge the amateur and professional alike. Because of its ideal year-round climate, golf can be played throughout the year in Gauteng. The favorable South African Rand exchange rate is also attractive for tourists coming from Europe or North America. Visitors from Europe or the United States will find that the price of accommodation, restaurants and golfing green fees a fraction of what they normally would pay when converted to euros or dollars.

Many of the golf courses in Gauteng have been designed by some of legends in golf, such as Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Greg Norman and Ernie Els. A number of Gauteng golf courses have hosted European PGA Tour and South African Sunshine Tour events. Any Gauteng golf holiday should include the following courses:

• Glendower Golf Club – Rated as the top golf course in Gauteng, and is one of South Africa’s most challenging and beautiful golf courses. This famous golf course has hosted numerous South African opens and is one of the older courses in South Africa. A must play for any golfer visiting Gauteng.
• Royal Johannesburg Golf Club – ‘Royal’ contains two 18-hole courses which are considered two of the best parkland courses that Johannesburg has to offer. Although a challenging golf course, the famous ‘East’ course provides a spectacular round of golf. 7 South African opens have also been hosted at the ‘East’ course. Royal Johannesburg’s ‘West’ course offers a slightly easier, but a totally different type of golfing challenge, and is also ranked within South Africa’s top 30 courses.
• Blair Atholl Golf Club – This golf course was opened recently (2008) and is predicted to become one of the top courses in Africa. Blair Atholl was designed by Gary Player.

For more information on Gauteng golf courses, take a look at the GolfLinx Gauteng golf guide.

Besides its world class golf courses, Gauteng has many other attractions. Gold Reef City is a reconstruction of Johannesburg during the gold rush era, and is built around a functioning gold mine. Any visitors can observe the entire process of mining gold, and can even take a trip down an old mine shaft. Besides the gold mine, Golf Reef City has a brewery, a Victorian fun fair, pubs, hotel and tribal dancing.

50km southwest of Johannesburg is the famous Cradle of Humankind. This is an area of caves set in dolomitic limestone formed billions of years ago, and the fossilized remains of ancient plants and animals, as well as ancient human/ape fossils can be found here. There are more than three dozen fossil-bearing caves, with some of the ancient ape-man fossils dating back 2.3 million years.

Visitors wanting to see the Big Five, which are Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhino and Buffalo, can visit several excellent nature reserves and game parks situated around Johannesburg and Pretoria. Besides the few tourist attractions mentioned here, there are a large variety of other tourist attractions to keep you entertained whilst you are not playing the beautiful golf courses of Gauteng.

If you want to find and book accommodation within Gauteng, have a look at the GolfLinx accommodation guide for Gauteng.

Taylor Made V Steel