The World of Cracks and Potholes


Our pavements have never been in a worse state of disrepair than they are today. The reason for this are many. It is estimated that 650 potholes open up every minute in North American streets and highways or 341,640,000 per year. The cost of repairing these would require $51,264,000,000 per year. It is also estimated that there are 88, 070,400,000 feet of cracks in North American streets and highways that need to be repaired annually at a cost of$28,182,528,000. To repair the potholes and cracks requires $79,428,528,000. This is an enormous sum which towns, cities, counties, state and provincial governments have to come up with annually. No matter what, these potholes and cracks will be there every year. In addition, the North American motorist incurs substantial annual costs associated with poor roads above normal routine costs of operating a motor vehicle. A fairly recent report stated that in Los Angeles, the additional cost of operating a motor vehicle is $778. The additional annual cost of operating a motor vehicle in other North American cities is somewhat less, but still significant. Poor road conditions contribute substantially to the number of fatalities annually.

Pavements showing various distresses such as cracks, potholes and ruts also contribute significantly to an increase in fuel consumption. A 1985 road information survey concluded that the additional fuel consumption due to failed pavements amounted to $21.3 billion US dollars annually. The average price of gasoline at the time across the United States was $1.15 per gallon. That means the amount of fuel wasted was 18.52 billion gallons. We can safely say that the amount of gasoline wasted today due to failed pavements is significantly higher. Today, we not only have more failed pavements than ever before, we also have many more cars on the road.
Towns, cities, counties, state and provincial governments have a number programs in place in the hope that it will keep their street and highway pavements in a state of good repair. Their programs consist of preventive maintenance which means filling cracks and potholes, overlaying their failed pavements with a lift or two of conventional asphalt concrete, or reconstruction of a failed pavement. To follow these programs requires an enormous amount of money. This amount of money is difficult to come by, especially during this financial crisis. Cities, towns and counties are near bankruptcy. Even formally wealthy states like, California, are forced to terminate 20,000 government jobs and slashing the pay of 200,000 other employees(during fiscal 2009). The credit crunch of(2008) may last for many more years before enough private capital is available to fuel the economy. Most of the capital available today has come from the stimulus packages passed by Congress. What does all this mean? It means most of our pavements will remain in disrepair for the foreseeable future. If funding is restored to pre2008, it will still be insufficient to cope with all our failed pavements.
Our present approach to deal with all the failed pavements requires new thinking by all of us. The first thing we must do is to think out of the box. So let us look at how we are trying to maintain our extensive network of streets and highways. One term that we constantly bandy about is "Preventive Maintenance". What exactly are we trying to prevent? When we fill potholes or cracks, do we really believe that they are repaired permanently? When we overlay an old failed pavement with one or two lifts of new asphalt concrete, do we really believe that cracks and potholes will not reflect through the new overlay? If we do, then we need a drastic re-evaluation of our experience, training and education. Our so called preventive maintenance involves conventional asphalt concrete either dense-graded or gap-graded. Use of conventional asphalt concrete mixes will do nothing to prevent the old failures from recurring in a very short time. Sometimes it may be only a few months or a few years but they will recur. Paving streets, roads and highways requires huge quantities of crushed aggregate which is readily available. When this aggregate is mixed with the proper amount of asphalt cement as determined in the laboratory, the resultant asphalt concrete mix is classified as conventional asphalt concrete. Conventional asphalt concrete is relatively economical compared to other construction materials. This is one reason why it is used so extensively in road construction. The pavement failures we observe is the direct result of using conventional asphalt concrete mixes. We can change the gradation of the aggregate all we want without improving the performance of the pavement significantly. Thus, we can have dense-graded mixes or gap-graded ones and in the long run find very little improvement. It may take a little longer for a gape-graded pavement to crack compared to a dense-grade asphalt concrete mix. However, the resultant cracks will be wider and grow faster because of the predominantly larger particle sizes. There are many products on the market that claim to mitigate reflective cracking. Some work better than others while some do not work at all.
When we mitigate or even eliminate cracking of a new pavement or reflective in overlays, we will at the same time eliminate the formation of most potholes. As a result, we would drastically reduce the annual cost of $79,428,528,000 to fill all the cracks and potholes that appear every year in North American streets, roads and highways. From the foregoing, we can conclude that, it will continue to require enormous funds to just maintain our highway infrastructure.
The various state and provincial governments own, on average, less than 15% of the roads and highways. The towns, cities and counties own the rest. It is these jurisdictions which carry most of the burden of pavement maintenance. As a result, it is they that have to come up with the money. Clearly, this is just too much of a financial burden to cope with. The first casualty of any budget are the funds allocated for street and road maintenance which are drastically reduced. Is it any wonder that our streets and roads are in such disrepair.

The Feedback Mindset


If you're about to be the focus of feedback at work - or if you're about to provide feedback to someone else - it will help the process go smoothly if the right mindset is in place. The best mindset for feedback is the perspective that is open toand conducive to learning. Carefully shift your mindset to prepare for the process by doing the following seven things.

Be open. The feedback is for learning. Let it in.
  • Be humble. We all have things we need to do well and areas we need to improve.
  • Be grateful. Not everyone has the chance to gain insight into themselves. You do.
  • Be accountable. Everyone who provides you with feedback is devoting their time and attention to you. Do right by them by taking their feedback seriously.
  • Don't be defensive. If you feel defensive about feedback, you may as well skip the process. Those defenses are a giant stop sign that block the learning.
  • Focus on the learning. Don't get hung up on who said what or the mistakes you've made in the past. Your feedback is a jumping off point for new ways of reaching for success.
  • Follow through. Always remember to return to your participants and thank them for their part in your growth.
When you approach feedback with this mindset, you ensure that the process will do what it's intended to do: improve you as a leader. Whether you are providing feedback or receiving it, always remember that the right mindset can make it a positive experience.

The Pooling Group: An Unconventional Source of Capital


We now would like to introduce a very unusual approach often used to raise short-term capital in the Caribbean. This is a method mostly used to save money for special events, such as the purchase of a car. It has become so popular in the US now, that banks use it as an acceptable way to finance the down payment for the purchase of a home. We believe that in certain circumstances, it might be a great capital formation strategy for a small business buyer. The following are the most important characteristics of this technique: 

  • It is initiated by a Group of five (5) or more people
  • Each member of the Group is employed or is a business owner
  • The Group is supervised by a manager (usually the organizing member)
  • There is a solid commitment by all members to carry out the entire "round" (to be discussed shortly)
  • Group members are required to contribute an affordable monthly (or whatever contribution frequency they agree upon) amount, usually $500 or more
To carry out the task of helping its members raise needed capital, a Group can be defined by the following: 
  • Number of members
  • Group head: the person in charge of collecting contributions and disbursements to members. This person is also responsible for keeping track of the logistics of the Group. That is, s/he keeps track of members that have received their round, those that are missing contributions, etc.
  • Contribution amount
  • Frequency of contribution (usually monthly)
Such a Group is basically a twisted version of an investment club. Members, usually friends and/or family, unless there is an independent Group Manager, agree to pool money by contributing monthly to the fund. Each month, one member gets the entire amount contributed by all members in a round robin fashion. The cycle continues until everyone has received a pay-out, also called a "take" or hand. Note that this is simply a way to get a lump sum at a specific time based on your position in the queue. For a business buyer, the best position in the queue is probably the first one, because the first person in the queue receives the first "take". This would then allow for his/her future contributions to be drawn from the operations of the acquired business.
Please note that this is not a savings account. In the end, contributions and pay-outs cancel each other, such that members do not gain or loose any money at the end of a round. (See table below). In addition, money contributed by the Group's members is never deposited in a bank account, hence earns no interest. To illustrate, let us create a fictitious Group of three members (Member 1, Member 2, and Member 3). Let's assume that each member contributes $100 weekly. There are as many cycles (or rounds) as there are members, in this case three cycles (Week 1, Week 2, Week 3). The total amount of each member's take when his/her turn arrives is $300, which is also equal to the total amount of money contributed.
Week 1
Member 1 Member 2 Member 3
Contribution $100 $100 $100
Payout $300
Week 2
Member 1 Member 2 Member 3
Contribution $100 $100 $100
Payout $300
Week 3
Member 1 Member 2 Member 3
Contribution $100 $100 $100
Payout $300
So, if a buyer can manage to create one of these Pooling Groups around the time that the closing is scheduled to take place, s/he can use this very simple technique to raise the necessary funds to close on an acquisition.

Lunch Time Seminars


Employees have so little time to learn and they have to eat... so why not put the two together. Lunchtime seminars are great way to share in-house knowledge as well as bring in external business tools.

Like any program, you have to market it... what's the value to the employee to give up their lunch or to stop working. What's the value to the company?
More and more employees eat while working. You want to manage the employee's effectiveness on the job. This could be a nice break for them. Visually I believe that we need a change and taking employees away from the PC for an hour gives such a break.
The most important reason is that you are providing the space for them to develop their knowledge and skills... that's a win-win for everyone.
What ideas work for lunchtime seminars? Well you can do a one-time only seminar or a series of seminars to build knowledge on a specific topic.
Here are some great topics:
**Technology - do you have an expert on staff for a particular form of technology? This is great way to bring the other employees up to speed on what is new. Since the employee may put in some time creating the presentation, give them a 'thank you' bonus of gift certificate to a technology site.
**Careers - bring in HR or a strong manager who can provide 'how to' build your career. This is a great topic for a series.
First, the employees define what they want and continues with further lunchtime meetings to learn how to build their career.
Encourage employees to take control over their careers. Yes, t's great if the manager drives it, but ultimately the employee s in charge of their careers. Give them the tools and it will make your life easier.
**Time management topics - this is a broad subject as there are different models of time management. Find one that works for your company.
**New industry trends - Great topic for a senior manager to present. The senior manager provides industry direction as well as meets with employees and interacts with them.
**You can also bring in a guest speaker...a well-know author in the field.
**Company financials - companies have different opinions about this subject, yet informed employees make better decisions.
**Business change - bring in lunch and communicate to the employees what the changes are about and how it will affect them. Have several meetings to continuously communicate the change and gather feedback
**Community participation - how the company supports the community as well as helping employees find ways to volunteer in non-profit environments.
**Work/Life Balance - most companies initially see this as counterproductive because they automatically believe the employee will work less. If you are managing employees, it's not the time in the office, but rather the effectiveness of the time.
**Health & Wellness - bring in a health fair or have a professional come in to speak about exercise, nutrition or other topics that are important to your employees.
**Allow employees to take teleseminars in their profession. For example, Society for Human Resource Professionals has several hour-long teleseminars during the month. Guest speakers provide current information on pertinent information for HR professionals.
==>What to Do
**Set up a committee of managers and employees to brainstorm around what topics are valuable for the company and employee.
**Select a list of your top subjects
**Create a list of potential teaching resources - internal and external.
**Create a budget because every action within a company costs money. The question is the return on the investment.
**Find the teaching resources that fit your budget
**Create a calendar of lunchtime seminar dates
**Publish the calendar with description of the seminar
**Market to employees and encourage them to participate - this you will need to do on a regular basis.
==>Final Thought
Knowledge is driving business now and your employees are the keepers of the knowledge. Anytime you can provide additional development for your employees, you benefit in multiple ways. The employee is able to perform better and they are interested in staying at a company that creates strong 'learning' environment.
NOTE: Each state has a different legal requirement around lunchtime for hourly employees...so check out how you can offer your hourly employees the same opportunities and still be within legal boundaries.

What Is a Marketing Funnel?


I wish I could say that I created the business model called the Marketing Funnel, but it has actually been in existence for many years. This model is so powerful and has been used to transform many businesses just like yours! It acts as a guide to help you create multiple streams of income. Being a successful entrepreneur is about turning time into money, and having more than one income stream is arguably the best way to do just that. This business model illustrates the way to leverage your time and knowledge which will allow you greater freedom and success in your life and business.
So, what exactly is the Marketing Funnel? Visualize a triangle and turn it upside down with the point at the bottom and the wide part at the top. It should look like an ice cream cone. The concept is to get as many people in your target market to enter your marketing funnel at the top. You do this by creating a free sample of your work. This can be a free report or any other kind of special offer.
Once people enter your marketing funnel, you continue to offer them free access to you by publishing an ezine with highly valuable content. As you move down your funnel, you offer products and services with increasing costs. The idea is to have some people reach the bottom of your funnel and work with you one on one (these are your VIPs) and offer products and services at various price points along the way. Not everyone will reach the bottom of your funnel, which is precisely why it's more narrow at the bottom. The fact is that you need clients and every level of your funnel. The "do it yourselfers" will be happy to purchase a home study course or other information product that is located toward the top and middle of your funnel. Others will want more direct contact with you and will end up at the tip of your funnel where you work with them one on one.
I love this business model for many reasons. First, this is a great way for your prospects to "test drive" your products and services prior to making a purchase. Second, it's a sure-fire way for you to connect with your target market and find those who are attracted to your energy, message and style. Let's face it, there are many people out there in the same industry as you offering roughly the same things, but trust me - there is a segment of the population that you are meant to serve! Third, you give your target market many options for how to work with and learn from you. For example, they can start by purchasing a low-cost e-book on a topic of interest for only $29. This is a low-risk investment for them, and it's an opportunity for you to showcase your work. By delivering everything you promise in this e-book, chances are good that they will be willing and perhaps even eager to purchase from you again at this price point or higher, which then moves them down your marketing funnel. Fourth, this business model moves you away from trading time for money ($X per hour). Having multiple income streams allows you to free up your time to focus on the VIP clients you select - all while keeping, or more likely, increasing your revenue.
There are many ways to create products and services for your marketing funnel. Here are just a few:
- e-book - e-course - teleseminar - workbook - membership program - paid newsletter - manual - checklist - workshop - webinar - seminars - audio class
This works for any industry, so don't think this isn't for you!
The Marketing Funnel is a fantastic way of helping more people and creating more streams of income! It is a strong and relevant concept for today's service-based entrepreneurs. While the concept is simple, it is also important to carefully structure your products and services so they compliment and build upon each other.

Alienware m17x CPU Overclocking


hi looking for some help to overclock this monster Alienware m17x i am having Intel Core QX9300 2.53GHz with 12MB cache so please tell me how to overclock it also can any one tell me is that need to over clock 4 core simultaneously ? or any other thing please reply 

thank you

If you go through the BIOS to see the overclocking options in Area-51 m17x that is hitherto simply absent on different models of the brand. The least i can say is that here too Alienware has nothing left out .The possibilities are less. Start with the multiplier which you access if you choose a processor family from Intel Extreme and first observation you will naturally increase this value but you can also go down. The values range from 8.5 up to 16 in increments of 0.5. Not sure that the value 16 is exploitable .

with 8.5 Core 2 Extreme Quad Core QX9300 sees its operating frequency down to 8.5 x (1066 ÷ 4) = 2.27 GHz instead of 9.5 x (1066 ÷ 4) = 2.53 GHz . But at 12.5 we are already at 12.5 x (1066 ÷ 4) = 3.33 GHz with a gain of 31.62% compared to the original frequency anyway. first tried to reach the FSB frequency of the highest possible. To do this we lowered the multiplier to the lowest 8.5, and then gradually increased the FSB via the NVIDIA Control Panel

i could get the Core 2 Extreme QX9300 with a multiplier of 12.5. At 13, the machine refused to boot properly and reboot loop when it did not make us beautiful blue screens. This gives us a frequency of 12.5 x (1066 ÷ 4) = 3.33 GHz. Not bad at all especially as Dell / Alienware does overclocking up to 3.06 GHz. Beyond tha, nothing is certain and smooth operation of the machine is not insured with risks of various crashes and varied.

Asus M4A785d-M pro and Phenom II X3 720 overclock


Processors Phenom X3 II AMD quads are actually X4 with a core disabled, either because it is physically defective or their cache or because it has passed strict quality control, but 4 core exists in the X3. All you need is a motherboard chipset with the 790GX, although they have shown that also works with 790GX and 790FX boards, yes, with the SB700 or SB750 southbridge. In the BIOS of the motherboard, it has to change the value to Auto Advance Clock Calibration and that's it, save changes and reboot into the BIOS and operating system should appear the fourth core.


What I will said is that increase multiplier only, not to change anything in RAM, in addition the 2:1 ratio is correct for your RAM (DDR2). Look in the manual for your bios first if you do not clarify your bios, and you have some way to change the default options for Asus M4A785d-M pro that will automatically bring you performance .

Thermal paste is not necessary?


ntil yesterday, I thought the thermal paste was required (between CPU and CPU coolers).


Having received i7 processor, open the box and read the quick guide installation of Intel processor, The installation process images with text etc etc , I'm amazed it does not make use of thermal paste.

I supposed it is very important right?

Without Thermal paste between the CPU and the heatsink, it will work but not for long.

It is likely that the thermal paste is already on the radiator in the form of a colored band.

According to Intel, a substance on the radiator is the thermal paste.

Without thermal paste, no idea! The simple metal-metal contact between the CPU and the heatsink is far enough and will trigger the thermal protection of the CPU. Again, modern space heaters are often equipped with a material that serves as a thermal paste. The only drawback is that it is usable only once. At first dismantling of processors you must put some thermal paste. If the thermal paste was useless, why intel would suggest to use to improve performance of processors.
___
Thermal material is used to fill small imperfections (gaps) between the CPU and heatsink.Ideally if the CPU was perfectly flat and so was the Heatsink, no thermal material would be needed. That's not going to happen so there needs to be thermal material. The Intel Heatsink/Fan will come with the paste already applied . If your heatsink has a pad pre-attached you can use that in the meantime, but I'd say chances are your temps won't be in a satisfactory range without it.