For most people tinting glass isn't a do-it-yourself project. But if you have patience and an eye for detail, or you think you might like to go into the business, give it a try.
Here is a blow by blow tutorial for tinting car windows starting with how to choose the tint.
Since you will most likely be doing just one car you won't need a 100' roll of window film. Your local parts store should have kits suitable for doing one car but in our experience this is usually poor quality material. It would be better to look on the Net for suppliers who sell film by Madico, 3M, or SolarGard. Some firms sell film in pre-cut kits to fit your specific model which eliminates the need to cut the film to shape. The down side is that if you ruin a piece of film (and that's easy to do) you won't have any extra to work with.
Buying roll stock requires you to cut to fit but it's cheaper and you can always get extra if you need it without buying a whole kit. Our tutorial will be with roll stock so we can show you how to cut the film to fit. If you choose to go with a pre-cut kit, just skip the cutting part.
We don't recommend using tint darker than allowed by local laws. Film that is too dark can be unsafe, attracts attention from the police, and can get you in real trouble in case of an accident - think what a sharp lawyer could do in court with "his windows were illegally tinted and restricted his vision resulting in injuries to my client, etc." Totally not worth it. Learn the laws and keep everyone safe.
Window film is rated by percentage of light allowed through the film. The exact numbers differ by manufacturer but generally start at 70% for the lightest then 55%, 40%, 35%, 21% and 5% (limo). The majority of states use 35% as the legal limit for front doors, some allow darker on the back, some have different rules for light trucks and commercial vehicles. It is up to you to check. Getting stopped for illegal tint usually means a ticket, removal of the tint and a trip to the DMV to get inspected.
Spray bottle - 16 oz. filled with solution - 2 tsp Dawn in 16 0z. water.
Screw driver and other tools as needed to remove door panels, if necessary.
For best results work in a protected, well lit area. If you must work outdoors, the best conditions would be damp, with no wind. Also, make sure that YOU are clean. No fuzzy sweaters or clothes covered with sawdust. Make sure your tools are clean. A tool pouch full of lint could result in transfer. Before starting scrub your hands well.
Let's start with the doors.
You need to get the bottom edge of the tint below the weatherstrip at the bottom of a roll-down window. There are three ways of doing this.
One is to tuck the gasket down and trim the tint so that it ends just above the depressed gasket. Later, when the window is rolled up the gasket will pop up above the film's bottom edge.
Another is to trim your film to fit just below the inner weatherstrip then slide it behind the strip after you have the top of the film secured.
However, on many cars that weatherstrip fits too tightly for this procedure and, in any case, it requires more skill on the part of the installer. For best results loosen the top of the door panel if possible or remove it completely. Then you can lift the weatherstrip out and then not worry about the exact position of the tint's bottom edge.
First, if you have felt window gaskets you need to prevent those little hairs from migrating under the tint as you apply it. Roll down the windows and apply masking tape to the inner edges of the window gasket. Position the tape so that it goes into the window channel just a little. Roll up the window leaving it open about one inch.
If you have smooth rubber gaskets you won't need the tape but make sure the channels are clean. Even if it is a new car you should absolutely wipe out the channels with a damp towel and flush liberally with water.
Make sure the outer glass is clean. If necessary, spray with solution and squeegee clean or wipe with a lint free towel.
Roll the windows down about an inch and clean the top edge of the glass.
Wipe down the inner window frame with a damp cloth. Clean, clean, clean!
Spray the inside of each window and carefully scrape the surface of the glass with a razor blade. Be thorough.
Spray the inner surface again, then starting at the top, use the rubber squeegee to remove the excess water. Use overlapping strokes. Next, spray a flood of water down the left and right channels ( the part that the edges of the glass fit into).
Complete this process for all your doors and you are ready to proceed to the rear and quarter windows.
The rear window needs to be scrubbed with a kitchen scrub pad and squeegeed dry. Use a strong spray to flood the edges of the window, washing down any dirt that may have been pushed to the edges. Other fixed windows may be razored and squeegeed the same as your door windows.
Don't want to try it yourself? Contact Unionville Auto FX at 860-930-3618 to schedule a window tinting appointment.


How sustafix cream could assist you feeling better?
If you struggle with joint inflammation, possibilities are that you intend to locate targeted discomfort relief. Affected joints could throb and also hurt particularly in weather condition that is chilly or moist. Arthritis lotion can be an excellent way to cause momentary relief. Due to the fact that arthritis cream uses medicinal components to give relief it is important to learn about them to ensure that you can avoid medication interactions or allergic reactions. Joint inflammation cream is often split right into warm lotions and cooling lotions. This could be fantastic given that different kinds of joint inflammation require various treatment programs as well as utilizing the wrong item could make your condition even worse.
If you struggle with rheumatoid joint inflammation, there could be warm and also swelling in the joints. This is because the body's immune system is attacking the joints and also there can be a great deal of inflammation. It is this swelling as well as swelling that could cause discomfort and stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis victims need to take care of creams which trigger the skin or cells to warm up. This is because included warmth could in fact damage joints extra. Osteoarthritis does not trigger the very same warmth as well as swelling. This is due to the fact that osteo arthritis is brought on by a breakdown in cartilage. Osteo arthritis generally creates as an outcome of repeated joint use or innovative age although some athletes may develop joint inflammation in their joints at an earlier age. Joints could really feel much better as a result of utilizing lotions which heat the joints.
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When it comes to purchasing cloud productivity platforms like Microsoft Office 365, many business owners and organisations become stumped about the best way to go about it. With many avenues for purchase and installation, which road do you go down? Do you subscribe to the platform online directly from the Microsoft website? What about those offers you see from telecommunications companies that also sell Office 365? Or do you go with a local Microsoft partner that is also a certified Microsoft Partner?
In many ways, buying Microsoft Office 365 is not unlike buying coffee, as there are many ways to get coffee but only one that is optimal for you. You could buy a bag of beans and make your own, go to Starbucks for a generic latte or find a local coffee shop that will make you a coffee tailored exactly to your preferences.
The Microsoft website is a common go-to for businesses looking to purchase an Office 365 subscription. When you buy online from the Microsoft website, you'll get immediate access to your subscription where you can download the latest version office, setup email accounts and start saving documents to the cloud immediately, but fast doesn't always translate into 'good'. Buying directly from Microsoft is a bit like buying a bag of beans and a coffee machine. Just like making coffee requires some skills, setting up Office 365 directly from Microsoft requires a level of technical knowledge to get the job done. It might be reliable and 'do the job' but ultimately you're buying from a website so you're severely limited in how much extra help you can get if you have questions or specific needs.
While it may seem convenient to buy directly off your phone or internet provider, you're essentially not buying off an expert, but a middleman. Telecommunications companies are in the business of creating phone and internet networks, selling phone plans and setting up internet service provision contracts – they are not IT experts and don't really understand the IT and communication needs of a small business. So with these guys, you'll get access to the platform, but not much else.
Afterwards, if something goes wrong or you need help with configuring or installation, you'll probably be left in a long queue, with little chance of a fast resolution. If the problem is complex and requires multiple support calls, you are unlikely to be dealing with the same person twice leading to longer resolution times.
This is a bit like purchasing a latte from Starbucks. Much like large coffee chains, these companies are great at sales and marketing but never deliver the same quality product as your local barista. You can get the product fast, maybe a little cheaper, but it's ultimately not a fulfilling proposition in the long run.
Getting the help of a certified Microsoft professional is like the equivalent of ordering a single origin coffee made by a barista who knows their stuff. Just as your coffee will be served at the right temperature, with the exact type of milk you like, a certified consultant will tailor the Office 365 offering to meet the unique needs of your business. With the Office 365 platform providing business class email, cloud file storage, instant messaging and the latest version of Microsoft Office, it's pretty important to enlist the help of a knowledgeable professional to get the most value out of such a sophisticated platform. Furthermore, your consultant will use Office 365 in their own business giving them greater knowledge of the product.
A certified professional will also help with the migration process so you don't have to struggle with the implementation yourself or configure the platform to suit your industry-specific needs. As an expert in the field, they can also take care of setting up new staff members, installing security protocols to ensure your data is safe, provide education and training for the team to ensure seamless migration and adoption, and offer responsive IT support in the event something goes wrong. Essentially, your Microsoft Office 365 expert is like your favourite barista that lives and breathes the product, who just 'gets' you, and delivers exactly what you need.
Able to offer expert advice on everything from adopting appropriate security measures to device management and beyond.
Upfront cost is slightly higher, but the added extras translate into significant time and cost savings in the long run, so ends up being the least costly option in the mix.
If you want to know more about how Microsoft Office 365 can change your business for the better, get in touch with us today. Call 1300 991 992 or email [email protected].
Tas Gray is one of Axiom IT's directors. He spends most of his time working with Office 365 and other cloud technologies. He holds an MCSA in Office 365 and helps clients get the most from their Office 365 subscriptions.


Based on a security report which followed a Russian ransomware operation for 6 months, ransomware teams – specifically their managers – tend to make a considerable amount of money. According to the research, the supervisors of such campaigns can make up to US $90,000 yearly.
Compared to schemes used by other cybercriminals, ransomware can be less tedious. For approximately $7,500 per month, ransomware managers are mainly responsible for the recruitment of ransomware distributors and the development of the malware.
The more capable ransomware managers, with their more than adequate coding skills, might just need a few hours per week to start and maintain such an operation; making ransomware a low-effort, high-reward gig.
The security report also confirmed that ransomware has been lucrative for cybercriminals, even those in the lower rungs of their network.
Ransomware operations have not been showing signs of slowing down; this does not bode well for corporations and civilians who are not on the guard against these types of cyber-attacks.
Capabale ransomware managers just need a few hours of work per week – making it a low-effort, high-reward gig.
A majority of security experts believe that operating a ransomware campaign is not that difficult to do. A campaign leader usually searches for willing distributors, paying them by commission for each victim who surrenders the ransom amount. A distributor, however, is usually independent of the manager in terms of looking for targets.
Distributors can purchase "botnet installs" from their fellow cybercriminals, develop these as their own; use Phishing scams or social media lures; and infect websites; among other tactics. They are said to earn in the range of $600 a month, and a manager usually goes with 10-15 of them in any given campaign.
The Russian ransomware campaign that was the focus of the aforementioned report usually gives out 40% in commissions, a somewhat generous amount for a custom made ransomware. The report did not disclose the family the ransomware belonged to, or any other details about the ransomware campaign or its perpetrators, though.
A command and control server is not utilised in this Russian brand of ransomware, making it more difficult to pinpoint and close down. This also translates to the victim not being able to pay or have their files decrypted automatically.
To arrange the payment drop and obtain the decryption key for their files, the victim will have to email the ransomware manager. Based on the report, the ransom payments are laundered well; with a starting amount of $300 and about 30 payouts a month.
The Russian manager, however, did commit an action typically frowned upon by other ransomware managers and teams. He commanded additional payments from a victim who had already paid. This is usually considered bad for business, even amongst cybercriminals.
When a victim is assured that his or her files will be released when he or she pays the ransom, he or she is more likely to pay knowing that there are no strings attached. When an attacker asks for additional ransom and doesn't decrypt the files, victims will no longer be willing to pay. This can result into the "turnkey" ransomware industry coming to a stop.


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Safety First: A guide to securing your WordPress site. Part 1.
Web, apps and tech
Part 1 of 3: Securing WordPress from the dashboard
If you run a WordPress-based website, I have an unnerving statistic for you: in 2013, 117,000 WordPress sites were hacked. Further, the same study found 70% of all WordPress sites were vulnerable to malicious attack, most of which are easily preventable.
Does this mean you should dump WordPress as a web authoring environment? No, not really. The same threats, in similar percentages, appear across other CMS and blogging platforms, as well as static html sites. Unfortunately, it's just part of doing business on the web.
The good news is that there's a good deal you can do to secure your WordPress site. And there's a lot of it that you can do yourself.
And because WordPress is such a popular platform (by a huge margin) there's a large, active community of volunteers and commercial interests constantly working to keep malicious threats against your site at bay. Essentially, you've got your own private army ready to help you out: you just have to ask.
This article started as a simple how-to. But, as you can imagine, security is a serious and complex matter, and soon I was diving down rabbit holes full of code, jargon, hacking how-tos (!) and other geeky stuff.
Simplify, said the boss.
We decided to split it up into three approaches. Part 1 deals with things you can do, on your own, from the WordPress dashboard. These are easy, commonsense and frequently mis-used and abused. If you don't read anything else, read this first part — and implement the suggestions.
Part 2 is kinda geeky, but if you really want to secure your site, you need to speak geek. It deals primarily with editing some of WordPress's files to limit access and permissions that could otherwise let hackers in. Strap on your propellor hat, grab a cup of tea, and jump down the rabbit hole: you're not in Kansas anymore. (Yeah, yeah, I know: it's a mixed metaphor, but an apt one.)
Part 3 deals with plugins and other third-party services. Plugins are one of the easier ways to implement a whole raft of security measures in one swoop, but they're not without the occasional problem of their own making.
Don't procrastinate
Seriously. The following steps will take you, maybe, an hour and a half — and that's if you're an absolute novice. Fixing a site following an infection will take days. Can you afford for your site to be down for days? Can you afford the cost of someone disinfecting your site? Securing your site now will save you a lot of time, money and headaches.
(Not motivated enough yet? Okay. Here's a story. A friend of mine runs a small e-commerce site. His site got infected with a new virus the day before Christmas Eve. Their site was down for potentially their busiest day of the year. How did the virus get in? Brute force. At one point their logs showed they were getting 180,000 login attempts per second. If your site has any of the symptoms below — weak passwords, admin usernames, outdated themes and plugins — your site will get hacked. It's really just a matter of time.)
Like burglars, if a hacker wants to get into your site, they will get in. That's life on the internet.
But, again like burglars in the 'real' world, most hackers are opportunistic and if you put up a decent fight, 99% of them will move on to a site that's less of a challenge. For the most part these guys aren't into crossword puzzles: they're into the cyber equivalent of Hungry Hungry Hippo. Fast, frantic, slapdash, and without a lot of thinking.
Your aim, then, is to deter these would-be hackers and make life difficult for them in the hope that they'll give up and move on.
Most attacks on WordPress sites are done by what hardcore geeks dismissively refer to as scriptkiddies. They grab code wholesale from a hackers' community site, add nothing themselves, don't really know what they're doing, and have no idea of the consequences for the business they target. They really are the equivalent of a 14-year old boy who's just discovered ... well, you get the idea.
Thankfully, they're easily bored and bit of resistance will see them move along.
A balanced act
It may be possible to lock out every security threat that comes rumbling through the WordPress tollgates, but it would more-than-likely mean that your site would cease to function. Or at least cease to be usable.
Securing your WordPress site is a balancing act, weighing usability against security. You can get good security and good usability: just don't expect to get 100% of both. It's not realistic.
And nothing beats ...
A backup.
If your site does get infected with something malicious, the best comeback is to identify when the infection started and roll back your site to the day or week before it started.
Your web host should be backing up your hosting environment as a matter of course, though they may charge to recover it. (If you host is not doing backups, get a new host.)
But you should also have a backup schedule in place. If you site is not especially large or media-heavy, there's really no reason why you can't do a backup every day and keep those backups for a month or more using a free storage account like Dropbox, Amazon S3 or Google Drive.
We'll be doing a post on backups for WordPress in the coming weeks, so if you're in the dark about backups, stay tuned.
There's a lot you can do yourself to secure your WordPress site. The simplest methods for the novice are those things you can do from the WordPress dashboard itself: keeping things up-to-date, tidy, secure.
There are also several things you can do to various files within your WordPress folder on your hosting environment. At first glance, this might seem stuff for the propellorheads, but it's really not that hard.
And then there are methods offered by third parties, such as plugins or software-as-a-service (SaaS).
A good WordPress security system will use all of the above. So let's get stuck in.
Via the WordPress dashboard
Use strong passwords
Most of what follows is in no particular order, but I have deliberately put this item first because it's the most easily implemented and the most often breached by hackers.
If you don't do anything else, do this.
According to research, there is an extraordinary number of WordPress users who use passwords such as 'abcd1234' or 'admin' or 'qwerty' or 'root' or, simply 'password'. You may laugh or roll your eyes, but there's a known stock of about three dozen common passwords and variations that hackers can try to gain access to your site. And they work frequently enough to make it worthwhile.
The answer is for you (and all users of your site) to use strong passwords. A strong password has at least 13 characters and features a random mix of upper and lower case letters, numerals and extended characters (extended characters are the characters, or glyphs, you get when you press the Shift or Option key in combination with a letter or number on you keyboard e.g. !, @, #, $,% and so on).
Better yet, use a password generator or a password recipe. If you're concerned about losing your password, record it in a notebook, on your phone, or even stick it to your computer. Obviously sticking passwords to your computer is not the usual advice, but in this instance it's a calculated risk: better to have a strong password that you can use, than to implement a simplistic password because it's easier to remember. Remember, the goal here is to lock out hackers, not prevent burglars: the two are rarely the same.
Ideally, use a password manager such as 1Password, KeePass or LastPass.
Don't procrastinate. Change your password now.
Update themes and plugins
Vulnerabilities in themes and plugins account for a whopping 68% of all malicious attacks. Most conscientious theme and plugin developers keep their products up-to-date and fix any security holes as soon as they can. But you still have to do your part by updating the themes and plugins to the latest versions.
If the theme or plugin in question is available from the WordPress public repository, then it can probably be updated simply by pressing the Update link in Plugins > Installed Plugins > [Plugin name] Update. Themes available from the WordPress public repository can similarly be updated from Appearance > Themes > [Theme name] Update.
If you have premium plugins from a merchant service like Code Canyon or if you've purchased or downloaded it direct from the developer, then you may need to download it from the source and reinstall it manually.
You may find that a plugin or theme has been discontinued and is no longer being updated by its developer. If that's the case, you really need to start thinking about a Plan B. In most cases, you'll be able to find a plugin that does much the same thing as the one that is being discontinued and it's just a matter of swapping the new plugin for the old one. A discontinued theme might be more of a challenge and may signal a time to think about a website revamp.
Keep the WordPress core up to date
The core of WordPress is also vulnerable to attack; thankfully, with such an active community of programmers, most threats are locked out and patched as soon as they appear. However, for those patches to have any effect, you must keep WordPress up to date.
You'll be notified of available updates in the menu bar of the WordPress dashboard; simply choose Update and the core will automatically update itself.
You can also enable automatic updates via a small line of code in the wp-config file (see Part 2 in this security series). Be aware that themes and plugins can cease to function if they're not kept in step with WordPress updates by their respective developers.
Ditch the 'admin' administrator
In older versions of WordPress, all installs required a root user or administrator called 'admin'. Consequently, the admin username became a target of hackers. Since version 3.9, the admin username is no longer a default, but it is still widely used nonetheless.
Predictable user names are a gift to hackers: the default login requires a username and a password, and if you use something well known such as 'admin' then you've gifted the hacker half of the puzzle. Further, hacker bots are out and about looking specifically for 'admin' usernames for precisely this reason; use a different username and most of these bots will pass on by.
Keep things tidy
If you're a bit of an experimenter, chances are you've got more than a few plugins installed that are not being used, may not even be activated. Same could be said of themes, images and other media such as audio or video clips. If they're not being used, delete them. A lot of infections can sneak aboard with older plugins and themes — if you have themes or plugins lying around that are not be actively used, then chances are they're not up-to-date and are thus more prone to security holes.
In this series ...
Some figures to ponder
A brute-force attack is a pretty unsophisticated hack that simply tries to cycle through every possible combination of a given string of characters.
The vast majority of people use 6-character passwords, primarily lowercase letters. If that's the kind of password you use, a hacker could brute-force your password in just 1716 seconds, or around 28 minutes, by cycling 180,000 possible combinations every second, as my friend's logs reported.
Adding just one character to your password — i.e. making it a 7-character password rather than six — increases the time it takes to brute-force your password to about 12-and-a-half hours. That's a lot better, but shows that your password can still be cracked with enough time and bloody-mindedness.
Let's crank up your password to a 13-character password, using a mix of upper- and lowercase letters, numerals and extended characters from a standard keyboard. Using such a combination, it would take 6.9E16 hours (that's 69 followed by 15 zeros), or 78,810,300,736,618 years (near enough to 79 trillion years) to brute-force your password. That's more than 1000 times the Earth has been in existence.
If you're already a customer of saso.creative (and even if you're not), we've got a Special Offer for security audits and security planning. We review many of the potential security breaches detailed in these three articles on WordPress security, provide you a report of suggested improvements, and implement any or all of those suggestions as appropriate.
Thanks for your enquiry! We'll be in touch soon.
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The CEMS Annual Events are the highlight event of the CEMS year. Don't miss these spectacular Events, where 2,000+ members of our community gather to network, do business, be inspired, celebrate friendship and the graduation of 1,000+ CEMS students newly joining our global CEMS Alumni network.
Find out more about the CEMS Annual Events Alumni programme here.
Go directly to registration here.
Go directly to registration here. Registration deadline 10 November, 23:59 Paris time.


Punta Gorda Isles is a deed restricted waterfront community. All homes, with the exception of a few located on St. Andrews Golf Course, are on wide (no less than 100′) canals with access to Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf of Mexico. This is truly a boater's paradise. The City of Punta Gorda maintains the seawalls and canals, which is a huge benefit to the local homeowners. There is a variety of amenities and a wide price range of resale homes, condos and new construction. Time to the Harbor, age of the home, view of the water and size of seawall all contribute to the difference in pricing.
Punta Gorda Isles first development started in 1957 and different areas were opened over the years. The last area to open did so in 1981. There was never a mandatory build time so there are still vacant lots scattered throughout the old and new area. The developer, PGI, Inc. finished their development in the early 1980's, therefore all vacant land is privately owned and resold at the owners discretion.


There is a special place in my heart for bubble letters.
I very much appreciate the attention to detail here, mimicking the Love Trumps Hate design.
Science and art come together!
And of course this list wouldn't be complete without one other Harry Potter reference.
Even though I couldn't make it to The Women's March on Washington, I spent a lot of time on January making posters for all my friends who were able to go, both in Washington and NYC.
On International Women's Day, I finally got to debut my own poster in a march on Washington Square Park.
And for the real experts in everything letters and protest, make sure you take a look at the posters the rest of the Alphabettes community made too.
Gathered by Amy Papaelias here.
So in short, even though this year was a rollercoaster of unpresidented ups and downs, I'm so grateful for such an incredible community of artists and women and humans that inspired me and helped me and kept me going in 2017.
Feel free to share your favorites in the comments or with me directly on twitter, I'd love to see them!


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Globalist Analysis	Previous Next
Profiting from Failure at BlackBerry
How much longer can we tolerate misguided compensation packages for corporate executives?
By Beat Guldimann, September 23, 2013
Credit: sgm - Shutterstock.com
BlackBerry's CEO makes more money if the firm dies than he would earn if he kept his job for another few years.
Few compensation packages for CEOs are more grotesque than the $55 million payout of the BlackBerry CEO.
Are there no pay consequences for executives who fail to keep their company from the deathbed?
The BlackBerry CEO should have the grace to forego his $55 million payout.
Not being paid for failure would improve public trust in corporations. If not, public cynicism will only grow.
Few cases demonstrate the misguided compensation packages for corporate executives more grossly and grotesquely than the $55 million payout that the CEO of BlackBerry is about to receive in case of the likely demise of the once proud Canadian smart phone maker.
Most crucially, one has to ask this question: Are there no pay consequences for executives who fail to keep their company from the death bed?
To recap, the man in question, Thorsten Heins, joined BlackBerry in 2007, after giving up his Chief Technology Officer job at German giant Siemens. Eventually, with much hope and fanfare, he became CEO at BlackBerry in January 2012. He was seen as the man that will turn the beaten-down smart phone pioneer into the proverbial Phoenix rising from the ashes.
BlackBerry traded at $15.78 a share at the time and it took the Waterloo-based company's engineers a full year to launch the much-anticipated new BlackBerry Z10. It was supposed to be the most beautifully engineered mobile device ever offered to the sophisticated business consumer. Meanwhile, the rollout of the Q10 with the hallmark BlackBerry keyboard – a key differentiator to iPhones and Galaxies – took several months longer.
Not amazing
And yet, the record shows clearly that, under the leadership of Mr. Heins, BlackBerry has failed to amaze consumers. These folks had long crossed the aisle to Apple and Samsung and did not return. BlackBerry's market share dropped from a controlling position only a few years ago into the single digits.
When Heins first entered the senior ranks in Waterloo in 2007, the company then known as Research in Motion traded at $238.70 a share. When he took over the CEO chair in January 2012, the share price had dropped to $15.78, a reflection of BlackBerry's inability to compete with the folks in Cupertino and Seoul.
Mr. Heins was expected to change all that. Instead, he oversaw the failed re-launch of a new generation of Blackberries, including a complete re-branding which led to a further drop in share price to $11.75 by the end of his first year.
BlackBerry announced on September 20, 2013 that it had to write off warehouses full of BB10s that nobody wanted with a resulting loss of close to $1bn. Oh, and it also announced a 40% reduction of the workforce.
While no analyst on the planet was really shocked at the news, markets sent "BB" down more than 15% to a new low of $9.08. Shareholders that bought "BB" on the announcement of Heins taking the reins lost 42%. Those who bought at the peak in 2007 and held on are left with 4 cents on their 2007-dollar.
A few weeks ago, BlackBerry's Board of Directors came to the conclusion that a revival of the business and the brand had a small likelihood of happening. The Board announced a strategic review of all options and squashed the hopes of shareholders of making up some of the gigantic losses through the constant decline from 2007 to 2013.
The market knows that "strategic review" is corporate speak for a sale or merger, in this case at a price sitting at an astonishing 4% of the all-time high. The company could hardly have picked a worse time for its announcement. After all, Nokia – an early competitor with a similar fate – has just tied up a deal with Microsoft, one of BlackBerry's potential suitors. Nobody seems willing to catch a falling knife.
Big payout when your company dies
What is disturbing in the context is not that the BlackBerry board is putting the company on the block, but that Mr. Heins, the man that was supposed to turn around the company and failed at the task, stands to make at least $55 million from a severance package triggered by a change of control in Waterloo.
This is an appalling compensation number under any standard, even for a C-suite manager that was successful at what they were doing.
In the ordinary course of business, Thorsten Heins should be held to account for the failed turnaround execution under his watch.
Maybe he would be able to keep his job for a little while longer by demonstrating to the Board that the blundered launch of Z10 and Q10 was not his blame to take. Maybe he would get fired for lack of performance. Under no scenario should he be taking home eight figures.
Mr. Heins makes more money if BlackBerry dies than what he could expect to be earning from keeping his job for another few years. Meanwhile, long-term shareholders that gave BlackBerry the capital and elected the Board that gave Mr. Heins his gilded parachute are lucky to recover a few pennies of their losses over the years.
The generous, unnecessary and incomprehensible parachute given to Heins by the BlackBerry Board sets incentives that are disgustingly unaligned with the interests of shareholders and employees.
As far as Mr. Heins is concerned, the payoff allows him to escape accountability as he is spending more time on his beloved BMW motorcycle.
We could try to blame Mr. Heins for taking the millions in reward for apparent failure. But this would be too kind towards yet another highly compensated board that missed an opportunity to set sensible compensation rules.
BlackBerry shareholders have a right to be outraged. At a minimum, Mr. Heins should have the grace to forego that payout. That would be a very useful step to improve the public's trust in corporations. If not, the public's cynicism will only grow. The only contracts that are to be served under any and all circumstances, so it seems, are those of the CEOs, while the rest of us can get easily shafted, "due to shifting business circumstances."
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Tags: Americas, BlackBerry, CEO compensation, corporate governance, executive compensation, technology
About Beat Guldimann
Beat Guldimann is president of Tribeca Consulting Group and the author of "Inside Swiss Banking."
Full bio → | View all posts by Beat Guldimann →
Responses to "Profiting from Failure at BlackBerry"


text:
\documentclass[11pt, a4paper]{article}
\usepackage{opgave}
\usepackage{fancyStyle}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage{listings}

\renewcommand{\course}{DEV01-1}
\renewcommand{\titel}{Assignment 5}
\renewcommand{\auteur}{The INFDEV Team @ HR}
\renewcommand{\auteurlang}{\auteur}

\setboolean{isTentamen}{false}
\setboolean{showAntwoord}{false}

\usepackage{graphicx}

\begin{document}
\setcounter{opgave}{1}
This is the second of the three assignments that will be graded.
You can score a maximum of $3$ points for this assignment, 1 point for each exercise.

\opgave{Reverse}{1}
\subopgave{Write a program that asks for a user's input and prints that string in reverse. You must do this by hand, that is with an explicit loop instead of other operators.}{}{1}
Example input -> output
\begin{itemize}
\item "Beautiful is better than ugly." -> ".ylgu naht retteb si lufituaeB"
\end{itemize}

\opgave{Passwords}{1}
 \subopgave{Write a program that calculates how secure a password is (weak, medium, strong). You can come up with your own calculation, but at least take into account: the amount of characters and the diversity of characters (lowercase, uppercase, numbers and special characters).
  }{}{0}

  \begin{itemize}
   \item the password ''a'' is weak
   \item the password ''Tr0ub4dor\&3'' is medium
   \item the password ''correct horse battery staple'' is strong\footnote{Mandatory nerdy comic: \url{https://xkcd.com/936/}}
  \end{itemize}

\opgave{Cryptography}{1}
 \subopgave{
 Write a program that asks the user for an input string and a number n.
 The program should output that string, but with every letter shifted with the amount of n.
 For example 'B' shifted by 3 would become 'E'.

 \includegraphics[width=6cm]{crypto.png}
 }{}{0}

example input → output:
 \begin{itemize}
 \item ''a'', 1 -> ''b''
 \item ''ab c'', 1 -> ''bc d''
 \item ''aBc'', 2 ->''cDe''
 \item ''xyz?'', -20 -> ''def?''
 \item ''z'', 1 -> ''a''
 \end{itemize}

 \begin{itemize}
\item You may use the ord()-function to convert a character to its ascii integer value
\item You may use the input (or raw\_input) function twice, once for the string and once for the number n
\item A capital letter in the input should result in a capital letter in the output, the same holds for lower case letters
\item Non-letter characters should remain untouched
 \end{itemize}

\einde
\end{document}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


and thereby benefit the public.
exists on the register, and could help discourage inaccuracies.
affidavit or declaration of continued use or excusable nonuse.
photograph of the mark appearing on certain goods, may be needed.
issues, but only on the more general concern with ensuring accuracy.
an acceptable Section 8 affidavit. See 37 CFR 2.163.
Procedure'' refer to the 7th edition, October 2010.
reasonably necessary to examine the application or allegation of use.
discretion regarding the number of specimens to require, 15 U.S.C.
for the Office to assess the accuracy and integrity of the register.
exhibits in connection with the examination of a pending application.
the accuracy and integrity of the register.
examination of the proposed amendment.
significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
and technological information and processes, to the extent applicable.
agency practice and procedure within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A).
USPTO has chosen to seek public comment before implementing the rule.
an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis of the proposed rule.
or an affidavit or declaration of continued use in trademark cases.
examination of use allegations made prior to registration.
and registrants will be relatively minimal.
they will have no impact in the trademark application context.
Fiscal Year 2010, 105,244 Section 8 affidavits were filed.
be impacted by the proposed rules.
issued, it will take less than one hour to comply.
submitting the evidence to demonstrate what has already been assessed.
obtain what is required and make the necessary filing with the USPTO.
In reality, approximately one-third of applications are filed pro se.
allows for this. The rule change merely codifies existing practice.
reduce any burden on small businesses through increased flexibility.
The following options have been considered, but rejected, by the USPTO.
may exist with the accuracy of identifications of goods and services.
therefore would not achieve the stated objective of verifying accuracy.
entity owners, thereby failing to achieve the objective.
actions allows sufficient time regardless of small entity status.
streamlined and simplified as possible for all affected entities.
objective to verify use claims.
confusion about a change in practice.
under OMB control number 0651-0055.
or declaration of continued use in trademark cases.
20503, Attention: Desk Officer for the Patent and Trademark Office.
Authority:  15 U.S.C. 1123, 35 U.S.C. 2, unless otherwise noted.
Sec.  2.34  Bases for filing.
Sec.  2.61  Action by examiner.
Sec.  2.76  Amendment to allege use.
Sec.  2.86  Application may include multiple classes.
commerce for the identical goods or services in one application.
Sec.  2.88  Filing statement of use after notice of allowance.
continued use or excusable nonuse.
Sec.  2.173  Amendment of registration.
and integrity of the register.


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View more >The neutral aminopeptidases M1 alanyl aminopeptidase (PfM1AAP) and M17 leucine aminopeptidase (PfM17LAP) of the humanmalaria parasite Plasmodiumfalciparumare targets for the development of novel anti-malarial drugs. Although the functions of these enzymes remain unknown, they are believed to act in the terminal stages of haemoglobin degradation, generating amino acids essential for parasite growth and development. Inhibitors of both enzymes are lethal to P. falciparum in culture and kill the murine malaria P. chabaudi in vivo. Recent biochemical, structural and functional studies provide the substrate specificity and mechanistic binding data needed to guide the development of more potent antimalarial drugs. Together with biological studies, these data form the rationale for choosing PfM1AAP and PfM17LAP as targets for anti-malarial development.


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text:
Home » Opinion » Opinion: San Diego Must Harness the Power of an Independent Council President
Posted inOpinion
Opinion: San Diego Must Harness the Power of an Independent Council President
by Molly Bowman-Styles February 25, 2021 February 26, 2021
The entrance to San Diego City Hall. Photo by Chris Stone
Surveying San Diego's political landscape — and the string of scandals entangling city hall over the past decade — British politician John Dahlberg-Acton's observation that power corrupts rings as true today as it did in 1887, but with a home-grown twist:
In the absence of an independent council president, a strong mayor has the power to corrupt — absolutely.
How did this happen? Why have the promises of a strong mayor form of government — transparency, efficiency, and accountability — not been realized?
The answer lies in the powerful political undercurrents the strong mayor leadership model promised to redirect and reform. This persistent undertow sank both the letter and spirit of Proposition D. When presented to voters in November 2004, Prop. D passed by a razor-thin margin of 51%.
A five-year pilot program gave San Diegans a chance to warm up to the idea of an empowered elected chief executive. Although the Sunroad scandal warned of its vulnerabilities, the San Diego Strong Mayor Initiative won over a convincing majority of San Diegans, who turned out for the June 2010 primary. Measure D passed with 60% of the vote.
Replacing an unelected city manager with a strong municipal executive, voted into office by the people, is an appealing trade-off on paper. But reality is captured in President George Washington's advice to Alexander Hamilton moments into ACT II of the Broadway musical, Hamilton: "Winning was easy, young man. Governing's harder."
The political establishment sold Proposition D as a chance to tame an unwieldy city bureaucracy with a dose of streamlined, top-down corporate culture. The public shrugged, however, when the balance of power spelled out in the initiative began to unravel.
As talk of strong mayor executive leadership dominated the airwaves, San Diegans overlooked an important truth: The promise of a strong mayor-inspired government is measured by the strength of an independent council president. That's because the primary powers of the council presidency — setting the city council's legislative agenda and deciding who will lead and serve on the city council's nine committees — are a counterweight to the authority granted to the city's elected chief executive.
You see, the role of the council president is to act as a civic gatekeeper: Balancing the strong mayor's political agenda with the people's priorities is a council president's duty.
Last December, as Councilmembers Monica Montgomery Steppe and Jennifer Campbell battled for possession of the council president's gavel, the unrealized potential of the council presidency was thrown into sharp relief. Amid the darkness and isolation of a global pandemic, San Diegans on the periphery of civic power converged in the glare of an irrefutable truth: Over a slow but steady succession of council presidents, the city council's legislative agenda became a springboard for passing the strong mayor's political agenda into law.
But resilience is a hallmark of American Democracy. When San Diegans harness the power of creativity to their collective resolve to address the shortcomings in the strong mayor roll out, they can inspire the transformation of the council presidency.
Here are five ideas to jump start the effort:
Let the Sunshine In: An independent council president, accessible and accountable to San Diego residents, depends on a transparent candidate selection process. Relegating this pivotal leadership position to a game of political horse trading erodes the balance of power embodied in the strong mayor government model. Instead, public engagement should light the way.
A series of candidate forums, hosted by local media outlets in collaboration with community advocacy organizations, would set the stage for the city council's vote confirming their selection of a new council president. Given the opportunity to meet the candidates and learn about their policy platforms, San Diegans would be invested in the selection process and, by extension, empowered to speak their truth to power at city hall.
Bring in the A-Team: The office of an independent council president requires a full-time professional staff. Since the council president straddles two distinct leadership positions — the city council executive, representing the interests of San Diegans citywide, and a councilmember answerable to the constituents of his or her city council district, a legislative staff assigned to the office of the council president — separate and apart from the team reporting to the councilmember holding the gavel — is essential. Tasked with framing and implementing the vision of the presiding council president, this seasoned policy team would build a culture of consistency and continuity within the office of the council president.
Spark a Battle of Big Ideas: Since the council president is the counterpart to a strong mayor, why is an annual address to the city afforded to one leader and not the other? A remnant of the city manager government model, San Diego's State of the City address needs a makeover. Instead of hosting one annual city-wide address, why not two?
These dueling visions, delivered by the city's top elected leaders, would spark a spirited rivalry for the hearts and minds of San Diegans. Isn't this competition of ideas the essence of representative democracy?
Launch a Website: A website, aligned with the office of the council president, would make a vital connection between the strong-mayor's legislative counterpart and a city-wide constituency. The portal would introduce the council president's vision, values, and policy priorities, chart the course of his/her policy agenda, and promote an ongoing dialogue with community members.
Spotlight Community Engagement: Maintaining a year-round schedule of constituent listening posts and community forums would build trust and goodwill between the council president and residents across the city's nine council districts. At the same time, this sustained commitment to constituent engagement would offer the council president the latitude to tune in to issues of concern in his or her council district, while monitoring the pulse of the broader community.
History can't be undone. But its lessons can inspire us to act. If transparency, efficiency, and accountability are the aspirations of a strong mayor form of government, then the road ahead is clear: It's time to reset the balance of power at city hall with the energy of an independent council president.
A second-generation San Diegan, Molly Bowman-Styles is the president of Windansea Communications.
Tagged: city hall, council president, Jennifer Campbell, legislation, mayor, Molly Bowman-Styles, Monica Montgomery Steppe, State of the City


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text:
Game Rainbowland
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Online Monster High game. These Mattel dolls are based on horror movies, making them look like vampires, werewolves...
Rain Forest Adventure
Have fun with Diego in "Rain Forest Adventure". Cross the jungle with Dora the Explorer's cousin and take photos of...
Find the Candy 3
On each screen of this game, our goal is to find all the hidden candies. But that's not our only quest because we...