A casino would not be complete without a slot machine. It is one of the most popular games in a casino because anybody and everybody can play it. You do not have to understand the slot machine and to be skilled at it. You just have to put your coins and pull the handle and pray. If god is willing then you might just hit the jackpot. The Origin of Slot Machines-The Genius Called Charles FeySlot machines are relative newcomers on the gambling scene and thus we can trace back their history and their evolution leaving no scope for doubt about their evolution. The prototypes of the earliest slot machines date back to the 1870s. However, the father of the Slot Machine is Charles Fey who developed his first slot machine much later in 1894. He is credited with its invention, because it was his machines that found their way into gambling establishments. Charles Fey?s serendipitous life began in the Bavarian region in Germany before his ultimate immigration to America. Fey first settled in New Jersey before shifting base to the west in California, where he was diagnosed with terminal tuberculosis in his twenties, but the man not only managed to cheat death but also changed the course of gambling history. Fey devised the first slot machine in his early thirties in 1895. The mechanism and design that he conceptualized was so influential that it can still be seen in the modern computerized machines. His job at a Munich farm instrument factory saw him developing an insatiable appetite for anything mechanical thus bringing out into the world a mechanical savant. Categorical History and EvolutionThe history of slot can be categorized into three distinguishable ears, wherein each era left a lasting footprint on the gambling industry today:1. ��� The mechanical era2. ��� The computerized era. 3. ��� The electromechanical eraThe Mechanical EraFey?s slot machine was a mechanical prototype, and instead of the fruits that we see today, depicted king , queen, and jack Fey?s machine is best remembered for his cast-iron liberty Bell slot. Fey teamed up with the Mills Novelty Company and manufactured his first commercial slot machine called the Mills Liberty Bell. This machine was encased in a cast iron case and its originally cast iron feet and toes were later replaced with ornate decorated feet. Each time a player hit a winning combination, a bell rang within the machine, and this particular amenity has survived the test of time. There were ten symbols on each of the three reels and as is still the case, if you got three of the same symbols of the pay line, then you hit the jackpot. The chances of you doing that were pegged at one in one-thousand. Fey?s contraption dominated the mechanical era and the three-reel slot machine entrenched itself the gambling psyche. The fact that his dominance of the slots industry began in his basement, makes this achievement even more creditable. In the early days, Fey placed his slot machines on a 50% rental basis; and these machines were loosely based on the lottery game Policy. ?Operator Bell? a slot machine, was introduced by the Mills Novelty Company, which varied slightly with the earlier machine by having gooseneck entry and featuring the now famous fruit symbols. The cast iron machines gave way to the less expensive wood cabinet in 1915. The Mills Novelty Company made many additional changes in the early 1930s, to its line of online slot machines, which further revolutionized the industry. The company came out with much quieter machines, with the machines getting the moniker ?silent bell?. A double jackpot was also introduced by the company under the aegis of which player could win twice in quick succession. It also introduced a series of colorful and striking cabinet designs that made the machines more memorable and enticing for the players. Some of the more popular machines were the Lion Head, Roman Head, and the War Eagle. The Electromechanical eraThe mid twentieth century was the lackluster era for the slot machine, which was surprising because the world had technically graduated to the electromechanical era. One of the major developments of the era was the release of the slot machine known as Big Bertha, which was followed by the even better Super Big Bertha. The machines were very expensive and cost something like $150,000 to produce, and were powered by a five-horsepower motor, and consisted of 8 reels, with 20 symbols per reel. But, all this control meant nothing for the players as only 80% was paid back to the players with the odds of hitting the jackpot being only 1 in 25. 6 billion. The Computerized eraThe onset of the computer era gave a new dimension to the slot machines and they became highly computerized where they not rely on preprogrammed random number creator that generates the numbers that match to patterns of symbols on the reels. The concept of using coins has almost ended most of the machines today use video stimulated reels. Thus, the slots have moved onto the coinless era and the rise of the online gambling has seen more and more players gravitating to the Internet slots from the brick and mortar casinos. A Final WordAn online venue allows the player instant play from any location whatsoever. The slot machines of today have developed to the extent that they no longer bear any technological resemblance to the original Fey machines, but the indelible stamp of Charles Fey can never be erased and the look and feel of the slot machines is the same as Fey?s designs. Thus, we have seen the slot machines evolve from their nascent stages in the 1800 to the groundbreaking trends of today and through its long journey it has constantly broken new ground in the entertainment industry turning casino operation into successes.

Barbed Wire Barbed wire, a simple tool, reshaped Life in the American West by allowing ranchers to tame the land. The new fencing simplified the work of the rancher and farmer, and significantly affected political, social, and economic practices throughout the west. � Before the famous invention of barbed wire, the lack of effective fencing limited the range of farming the number of settlers in an area. With little or no wood and no rocks there wasn?t any way to fence off your land. Wire fences used before the invention of the barb consisted of only one strand of wire, which was often broken by the weight of cattle pushing against it. Michael Kelly made a significant improvement to wire fencing with an invention that “twisted two wires together to form a cable for barbs – the first of its kind. Kelly’s double-strand design made the fence stronger, and the painful barbs taught cattle to keep their distance. The widespread use of barbed wire changed life on the Great Plains dramatically and permanently. The lives of Native Americans were radically altered they began calling barbed wire “the Devil’s rope. ” Fenced-off land meant that more and more cattle herders were dependent on the dwindling overgrazed public lands. The harsh winter of 1886, and a big January 1887 blizzard, wreaked further havoc on the cattle market. Large-scale, open-range cattle enterprises effectively disappeared. Barbed wire has survived the passage of time being used everywhere from farm land to prisons and even in battle fields. Barbed wire, a simple famous invention, truly tamed the West. The microwave oven It was during a radar-related research project around 1946 that Dr. Percy Spencer, while working for Raytheon Corporation, noticed that a candy bar in his pocket melted during the testing of a new vacuum tube called a magnetron. This intrigued Dr. Spencer, so he tried another experiment, this time he placing some popcorn kernels near the tube and, watched as the popcorn sputtered, cracked and popped. The next morning Spencer decided to put the magnetron tube near an egg. Spencer and a colleague both watched as the egg began to tremor and shake. Spencer?s colleague moved in for a closer look just as the egg splattered yolk all over his face. Dr. Spencer concluded that if you can cook an egg that quickly, then you could cook other foods as well. He began experimenting. � Dr. Spencer enclosed the food to be cooked in a metal box that he fed the microwaves into. Dr. Spencer had invented what was to revolutionize cooking, and form the basis of a multimillion dollar industry, the microwave oven, another famous invention. In 1947, Raytheon demonstrated the world’s first microwave oven and called it a Radarange. The first microwave ovens cost between $2,000 and $3,000. Around 1952-55, Tappan introduced the first home model priced at $1295. In 1967 Raytheon owned Amana Refrigeration introduced the first countertop microwave oven. It cost just under $500 and was smaller, safer and more reliable than previous models. By 1975, sales of microwave ovens would, for the first time, exceed that of gas ranges. In 1976, the microwave oven became a more commonly owned kitchen appliance than the dishwasher, reaching nearly about 52 million U. S. households. America’s cooking habits were being dramatically changed by the convenience of the microwave oven. Once considered a luxury, the microwave oven had developed into a practical necessity for a fast-paced world. The transistor The transistor is possibly the most important of the famous inventions of the twentieth century. � I don?t think it?s the most famous necessarily, but I believe it is one of the most important inventions ever. � Without it there would be no personal computers, no cell phones, no calculators and no GPS system. Life would be quite different. Before the advent of the transistor, the valve used in electronic circuits was the vacuum tube. The vacuum tube worked but it was bulky and used a lot of electrical power that ended up as heat which shortened the life of the tube itself. ��The transistor is small and uses much, much less power than the vacuum tube. Because it uses so little power there is little heat to dissipate and the transistor does not fail as fast as does a vacuum tube. The transistor was successfully demonstrated on December 23, 1947 at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. Bell Labs was the research arm of American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain were the three individuals credited with the invention of the transistor. Shockley had been working on the theory of such a device for more than ten years. While he could work out the theory successfully but after eight years of trying he could not build a working model. Bardeen and Brattain were called in to handle the engineering and development, which they did in the relatively short time of two years, creating point-contact transistor.

The education of our youth has become increasingly difficult as times have changed. These difficulties have only been compounded by the many state and federal regulations that have been imposed by government. New generations of kids with little supervision and guidance at home only complicate the situation further. These factors and others make managing a classroom such a large challenge that even the most tenured teachers have difficulties. The new and more inexperienced teachers will find themselves at even more of a disadvantage. Many teachers will find that they are unable to provide the service they wanted to when they decided to get into teaching and may even burn out. This type of environment is not good for the students or the teacher. So the real question is where should a teacher even begin and how can sense be made of this chaos? The first thing that should be done is to sit down and analyze the class curriculum along with the state requirements. This will often show the restrictions that you have on what you can and can not do. A high school math teacher in New Jersey must make sure students are prepared for the HESPA which means the instruction they receive should be geared towards helping them be successful at the test. This may mean that you must focus on other things then what you feel the students need to learn. This is the state of our educational system today. School districts also have their own regulations and requirements. These items should be placed on a bulletin board so a plan can be devised to ensure that they are all followed and met. Certain schools require them to be entered into a computer system. Some schools are still in the dark ages and work off of old fashioned paper. If you are currently finding classroom management to be stressful there is a review of a great resource below that will make managing your classroom so much easier and alleviate your stress. This will be extremely helpful to any teacher.

There’s an underground investment world lurking in the bowels of Wall Street’s biggest firms. It’s a world that the vast majority of investors have never heard of — and its participants could be pillaging your investment profits on a daily basis. That said, there’s a way out for smart investors… I’ll tell you what it is in a minute. High-Frequency Trading (HFT) is a not-so-new trend that’s been causing a frenzy among the minority of investors who have heard about it. With HFT, firms use sophisticated computer systems to analyze markets and execute trades at ultra-high speeds — sometimes in a matter of nanoseconds. These systems make money for their firms by making a very small profit on a very high volume of stocks. That adds up to a lot of money… some estimate that firms like Goldman Sachs, one of the leading firms in HFT, make up to a quarter of their profits from high-frequency trading. And all of that activity has a big effect on individual investors. It’s estimated that in 2009 HFT accounts for approximately 50% of transactions on exchanges like the NYSE and NASDAQ. All of that volume has monumentally increased the volatility of stocks according to a recent whitepaper on toxic equity order flow by Themis Trading. “Volatility has skyrocketed. The markets’ average daily price swing year to date is about 4% versus 1% last year. Recent spreads on S&P 500 stocks have doubled compared to earlier in the year,” the paper explains. That’s a frightening statistic when you consider the fact that much of the downside in that 4% price swing is being absorbed by investors who aren’t sophisticated enough to counter the big firms. But that’s not the whole story… While most investors are familiar with major stock markets like the NYSE or NASDAQ, did you know that there are a number of other exchanges out there, like the Boston Stock Exchange, the International Securities Exchange, or the BATS Exchange? That’s not to mention the Electronic Communications Networks (ECNs) and dark pools that act like under-the-radar clearinghouses for big firms who want to keep their trades hidden. There’s nothing nefarious about these alternative exchanges or firms’ desire to keep their trades away from predatory traders – but when you consider the fact that these off-exchange trading options account for nearly 75% of the volume of NYSE stocks, it’s disconcerting to think about just how much impact these underground trading options have on the prices of the stocks that the vast majority of regular people invest in. The Unfair Advantages of HFT Access to underground exchanges isn’t the only unfair advantage that high-frequency traders have. They also have faster execution speeds thanks to a growing trend known as co-location. With co-location, firms get to rent server space right next to the servers that process trades for the exchanges themselves. And it’s becoming big business for the exchanges, which are hungry for more revenues in this era of increased competition. The New York Stock Exchange is currently in the process of building two cutting-edge trading hubs – one in suburban New Jersey and another just outside of London – at a price tag of $500 million. That closeness to the exchange’s servers only gives HFTs an edge of a couple nanoseconds – but for firms who measure their trades in microseconds or less, that’s a hugely valuable advantage. Up to now, the SEC hasn’t stepped in to regulate the practice of co-location. Another unfair advantage of high-frequency traders is the way they make profits. While there are a number of different kinds of HFTs (including liquidity rebate traders, automated market makers, program traders, and predatory algorithm traders), each with their own profit strategy, the method of choice often either involves making marginally unprofitable trades in order to collect a larger “rebate” from the exchange or legally tricking other large players into buying recently-bought shares at a higher-price. While many proponents of HFT argue that firms who trade at these volumes add a lot of liquidity to the markets, the fact remains that the liquidity they add isn’t healthy – it’s often mispriced because of market information asymmetries that big firms (and smaller, more aggressive firms) can take advantage of. The Secret to Avoiding HFTs Pitfalls If you’re nervous about the impact high-frequency trading will have on your portfolio, don’t be. There are a couple of things you can do to avoid getting bitten by the big program traders. First, do your homework. Using solid fundamental analysis gives you the advantage of qualitative, not just quantitative, research. And know that on an individual level, the effects of HFTs on your trades are incredibly small. As long as your share price is justified by a strong investment case, you have nothing to worry about. Another way to avoid HFT manipulation is to take a look at small-caps. High-frequency traders rely on heavily traded blue chips to make their marginal gains. When you invest in smaller stocks that stay under the radar of program traders, you can discount any effects they have on your investments. While high-frequency trading continues to get the financial media’s attention, it’s likely we’ll see some more much-needed regulation in the field. Until then, following these tips will keep you one step ahead of the fastest traders on “The Street. ” Even with the concerns of HFT taken care of, order execution is another stumbling block for many investors… You could be losing serious money every time you buy or sell a stock. Over time, that could add up to thousands upon thousands of dollars of losses and missed profits. You’re not alone – millions of investors fall into the same investing trap every year. But armed with these three secrets to profitable small-cap order execution, you can make sure that you’re on the upside of every penny stock trade. You see, as a small-cap investor, you’ve got very different concerns compared to those who only buy and sell blue chips. One of those concerns is order execution. And most likely, it’s something that you haven’t heard about anywhere else… That’s because for the most part, order execution is a term that’s relegated to the big players – firms like Goldman Sachs and T. Rowe Price that have teams devoted solely to proper order execution. But penny stock investors have many of the same order execution concerns on tiny, thinly traded stocks that the big Wall Street firms do with companies like GE and Microsoft. But before we get down to brass tacks, let’s take a look at what order execution means… Order execution is the process that swings into action when you try to buy or sell a stock. When most investors place an order with their brokers, execution is nearly instant. But when small-caps are concerned, thin trading volume can play havoc with share prices and with your profit or loss. It’s important to remember that as its name implies, the stock market is a market. That means that stocks move based on supply and demand, and not necessarily their intrinsic value. While that works well for heavily traded stocks like Exxon Mobil or Wal-Mart, where thousands of investors keep shares around their fair value by buying and selling millions of shares each day, some small-caps only trade a few hundred shares during any given trading session – some trade even less than that. As a result, penny stock share prices can sometimes deviate pretty far from where they should be. And while that can provide prescient investors with a whole lot of profit potential, it can also be a big problem for those who don’t protect themselves. Understanding Bid-Ask Spreads Like mentioned before, stocks trade in a market. In markets, prices are set by the participants – in this case individual and institutional investors who buy and sell shares of stock. There are two pieces of price information for any stock: the bid, which represents how much investors are willing to pay for a stock, and the ask, which represents how much current shareholders are willing to sell for. When those two numbers intersect, a trade happens. The bid and ask aren’t hypothetical numbers – they represent real outstanding orders. For any stock, there’s a separation between the bid and the ask, known as the spread. If someone’s willing to sell shares of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) for $16. 84 and another person’s wiling to buy shares for $16. 83, your bid-ask spread is one cent. The spread is kept small by the large number of traders in the stock, who volley back and forth maintaining a tight range for BAC’s share price. But for a stock that’s more thinly traded, spreads can be huge. That’s a big problem for small-cap investors because a spread that span’s 2% to 3% of a stock’s share price can essentially shear that kind of performance from their position from the get go. And starting out 3% in the red from the second you buy shares of a stock isn’t a good deal… When you’re missing out on 3% of every trade, that disadvantage begins to add up big time. But follow these three secrets, and you can ensure that you’re making out on your small-cap trades: 1. Love Liquidity The best way to avoid being burned by a lack of liquidity is to only trade stocks that have enough trading activity to keep share prices in a reasonable range. And while that may sound limiting to some investors, the truth is that there are ample investing opportunities in small-caps that still see decent trading volume on the market. As a general rule, if a stock doesn’t trade thousands of shares during any trading day, it’s best to keep your distance. 2. Use a Limit Order Market orders are a bad idea for small-cap investors. That’s because they automatically execute at the price necessary to make a trade, meaning that every time you initiate a market order to buy shares of stock, you’re rising up to meet the price the seller wants. With huge spreads common in small-caps, market caps are a sure way to lose money from the get go. Instead, use a limit order. Limit orders are essentially market orders that only execute below a certain price when you’re buying shares, or above a certain price when you’re selling. They’ll help ensure that your entries and exits are happening at prices you set, not the other party. 3. Beware of Promotions Stock promotion is a popular way for small-cap companies to increase daily trading volume. The practice, which often employs dubious ethics, involves hiring firms that spread good news or sentiment about a tiny stock. But being on the wrong end of that strong sentiment can be a very bad thing. Since volume in small-caps is often so thin, the huge volume surges caused by stock promoters can sometimes move a stock’s share price by more than 20%. To avoid getting into stocks that are being manipulated, check out promoters’ favorite places – investing message boards and press release websites – for over hyped language that goes beyond what one of the company’s shareholders would spout off. If you see the same language in multiple locations, chances are that a promotion is underway. The stock market is a tricky enough place to operate. After all, there’s no way to guarantee that the next stock you pick will deliver 100% profits. And there’s no telling whether the company you just added to your portfolio is a sure thing. But even with all of that uncertainty, you don’t have to give away your gains before you place a trade. Now you’ve got three ways to make sure that order execution mistakes don’t squeeze your profits. Cheers, Jonas Elmerraji

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The subject of kissing, or actually the lack of it, has come up recently in conversations at parties. People were bemoaning not only the lack of kissing, but the increase in bad kissers in the past few years. This sent me on a journey to get comments from other people as to whether they had noticed anything, and the responses were interesting. Marah Fellicce of Red Bank, New Jersey, said that she, too, has noticed “the world of kissing has significantly diminished. Kissing can be a wonderful and intimate experience, one that can in some cases, rival the main event. ” She says there is “an over sensualizing of the experience between any two people, and a built in desire to hurry up, but what can you expect in an age of instant popcorn?” Franklin Riga, who emphasized the fact that he was a straight male, agrees: “I think that perhaps kissing is becoming a lost art. ” Romance novelist, Kathy Newburn says that kissing is, “totally sensory-all five, in fact. You will feel each other, hear, smell, see and taste each other, all factors that build desire and pleasure. So linger and enjoy, and ultimately practice mastering the art of the kiss. ” The author of “Kissing and Cooking for Couples,” Kim Reutzel, says she believes “kissing is a way to stay and get connected in more ways then one. The touch allows the physical juices to flow creating a soul connecting experience that can rekindle the fires within. ” What Beverly Hills psychiatrist, relationship expert and author of the best selling book “Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How to Live with Them and When to Leave Them,” Dr. Carol Leiberman, has to say about the recent drop in kissing explains a lot. “The decline in kissing is in part due to our ever-growing ‘to-do’ lists and ever-diminishing time. ” She goes on to explain how kissing is actual “the most intimate part of a sexual encounter, since the true feelings of each partner are communicated to the other during this act. People can fake feelings during other aspects of sex, relying upon lust for erections or even orgasms. But they can’t fake what they really feel towards their partner during a kiss. Men and women have become increasingly afraid of intimacy. They don’t want to reveal their true feelings through a kiss because they are afraid of getting too close and then getting hurt. ” Mary Jo Fay, author of several books on relationships, echoes the thought: “People ARE jumping to sex so fast that they are missing the amazing intimacy, anticipation, and heightened awareness that spending more time on kissing and not rushing the sex part can provide. ” “For starters, it’s very intimate and binds you in a way that sex does (you are exchanging body fluids if nothing else),” explains Alison Blackman, publisher and writer for AdviceSisters Publications. “Perhaps that is why prostitutes don’t care to kiss, either. A romantic kiss can mean anything from ‘I like you’ to ‘I adore you’ to ‘I just want hot sex and then I want to forget you. ‘ It’s an emotionally charged activity. And I think we spend so much time in front of our computer screens that physical connections of all types have diminished. Not a good thing, but a sign of our times. ” But it’s not just the lack of kissing. The other part of the problem is bad kissing. One woman who asked not to be identified because she doesn’t want to hurt her husband’s feelings said, “I have been married almost eight years and since the first month have hated kissing him. He sticks his tongue in my mouth and just wiggles it around like a worm having spasms. ” “I’d make good kissing a deal breaker,” says thrice married Jessie McCaskill. “I now know if someone can’t give themselves up to the kiss, they aren’t naturally sensual people. ” Dating expert Mary Jo Fay agrees, saying she believes “bad kissing can be enough to say NEXT to someone else without a moment’s hesitation. Bad kissing usually leads me to believe that the sex won’t be good either. ” Marah Felliccee has even gone so far to teach classes in the art of kissing around the U. S. in New Orleans, Boston and soon in New York City. But she’s not alone. As a matter of fact, you can even go so far as to get a certificate in kissing from Sexologist and Founder of Loveology University, Dr. Ava Cadell, who says she has “made it a priority to educate people on the lost art of kissing with a certified course. ” There is even a whole web site (www. kissing. com) dedicated to teach people how to be better kissers and the various methods to do just that. “We all love it. . . but some of us just don’t know that we love it till we’re taught!” says Portland, Oregon resident Don Clarkson. Really, the easiest way to improve is to ask someone who really is a good kisser to teach it to you. And think about how much fun that can be. Perhaps all is not lost. Maybe instead of being a driving force in the front seat of human sexuality, it has moved to a place in the backseat. And conceivably it has not lost its appeal so much because of the way people think about sex. Kissing went from the hand, to the mouth and now to the genitals. It wasn’t so very long ago that oral sex was seen as very intimate. Now it’s just another way of showing affection, much as kissing was years ago. But Ann Keeler Evans, the Marriage Examiner columnist for the “Philadelphia Examiner” doesn’t really believe that kissing has lost its place in intimacy. She has a very high regard for it when she stated in one of her recent columns that “kissing is an art form. It is not a prelude to any thing; it is the culmination. It is not an appetizer, but dessert! It is the chocolate souffl� of desserts. It is the fine wine savored not only with food but also alone. ” Kissing will never really go out of style. Teenagers on dates are a good example of that. But as some of the people interviewed for this article stated, couples who have been together for a while seem to lose interest. Ki Mirra of Burlington, Vermont put it that people “really relish the closeness that kissing encourages. ” And certainly for many people, kissing a truly unspoken form of communication. Architect, Christine Leonard, who has to deal with couples a lot in her business, says she sees a lot of hello/goodbye kissing between these couples and feels she can usually “see true love in a kiss. ” Hope does spring eternal. For some kissing is sometimes a replacement for more intimate encounters. But for most people it is not something they will ever choose to give up. Just as a good painter wants to always get better, practice the art as long as it takes to be a master artist. Ace McKay, author of the “The Marriage Playbook” says she believes that every person needs to become a leader “in setting the trend for kissing’s BIG comeback” by being willing to show affection for the person you most care for, even if it is in public. In other words, set the example by being the example.

Vincent Lombardi, the great American football coach, once said, ?Winning is a habit. ? Inventing, too, can be made into a habit. Thomas Edison, for example, filed hundreds of patents and during one phase of his life was filing a patent application every week.

Once a Zen master, showing a stone placed on a table, asked his disciples: ?What do you see on the table?? The disciples replied that they saw a stone. But, one amongst them replied: ?Master, I see a paper weight?? Inventors seem to have the ability to recognize dissimilarity in similarity, contrast in analogies, and novelty in familiarity.

People are familiar with products and processes in their existing form, whereas, inventors see them in a different light. They are geared with an attitude, as Tom Kelley says, towards ?experimentation through implementation. ? They can bring about transformations that provide people with new experiences to benefit from, a new environment to live with. In total, they open the doors of the future with newer dimensions. An inventor tends to thrive on possibilities.

Here is an inventive teaser. On a cold snowy evening, a woman in a bus-stop is clasping at her mobile phone with both hands. A bystander, curious at the way she is handling her phone, engages her into a small talk. Can you guess what he found? The mobile phone can also work as a hand-warmer.

In its early form, the cell-phone had the basic feature of making and receiving a call with the freedom of mobility. Later additional features like text messaging, voice-recording, image capturing, gaming, downloading music, and web browsing were introduced. However, the way one interacted with these devices was still through the keypads. The click-click and triple tapping interface was the only choice available.

Thanks to the inventive efforts of a few people, a new form of human-machine interface is introduced. In this technology, speech is made a seamless, dynamic part of the present state of human-machine interaction. It allows for the most appropriate mixture of spoken, visual and tactile interaction. There has been an ongoing effort to introduce multimodality into hand-held communication devices.

Imagine a person driving on the highway looking for a gasoline station for a fill-up. With the press of a button, she activates GPS on her cell-phone and asks for assistance. The GPS system then provides verbal directions to the nearest gas station. Or, imagine a person in a crowded place filling an online form using a PDA. In such a situation, a choice of spoken and keyed input with graphical output would be a great advantage. She can input all the non-sensitive information through speech and sensitive information such as passwords and security number through keys. Multimodality offers this flexibility to the user ? a fluid interaction with the device, with a right blend of speech and other modes.

There are a few companies worldwide striving to offer multimodal technology as the next level of experience to users. One amongst them is Kirusa. This New Jersey based company is spearheaded by the far reaching visions of Dr. Inderpal Singh Mumick, honored with the President?s gold medal. He completed his PhD. in Computer Science from Stanford.

The inventive streak in Dr. Mumick that started in his IIT days came to light, first when his query optimization technique was incorporated in IBM?s DB2 database. His ideas on materialized views, hich were made a part of Oracle 8i database, made him a leading authority in this field. He has over 40 technical papers, 18 issued patents and several pending patent applications to his credit.

Dr. Mumick?s constant urge to seek new challenges and avenues to implement his ideas turned him into a serial entrepreneur. He went on to found Kirusa in 2001. Having pioneered the development of VoiceSMS service, Kirusa strives to bring the freedom of multimodality to present day mobile users. Kirusa is developing multimodal platforms and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) services in an effort to standardize multimodality and offer solutions for simple deployment.

Alan Kay, the inventor of object-oriented programming, once said, ?The best way to predict the future is to invent it. ? Inventors, perhaps, breathe this mantra and create an air of innovativeness for the rest of the world to thrive on.

Getting a good deal on auto insurance and keeping your premium from rising is hard. Here are a dozen ways the industry works, with tips to help you save:

1. If you have good credit, you’ll pay less. Almost all insurers pull your credit report. Studies show a direct correlation between your credit score and the likelihood that you’ll file a claim. Insurers know that if you pay your bills on time and have the same credit accounts for a long time, you’re more stable than someone who pays late and frequently opens/closes accounts. This information is used to create your “insurance risk score,” a factor that determines your auto-insurance rate.

Tip: If you have unusual credit activity, wait a month for it to return to normal before buying auto insurance.

2. Your car model affects your premium. The auto insurers have a rating system for every car make and model. Most use a system devised by the Insurance Services Office, which starts with the vehicle cost, then factors in safety and theft data. Cars are rated from 1 to 27. Higher number means higher premium. If you’re buying a new car, ask your insurer about the difference in premiums for cars you’re considering. Search online for the latest top 10 lists on the most and least expensive cars to insure.

3. Pay in full to avoid installment fees. Payments usually are offered on a six-month, quarterly or monthly basis, but most insurers charge an administrative fee for breaking up the payments. The more you break it down, the more those fees add up.

Tip: Remember that insurance companies can cancel your policy for late payment, sometimes with minimal notification, so make sure you don’t miss an installment. If you can pay the premium up front it may save you a few dollars.

4. That Beethoven CD in your car isn’t covered. Stolen or damaged personal items aren’t covered by your auto insurance.

Tip: You can file a claim on your home insurance. Most home-insurance policies will cover smaller, less expensive items such as compact discs. But if you carry expensive items such as computer equipment, ask about a rider to your home-insurance policy. It’s wise to take photos or video of any expensive personal items before they go missing.

5. You’ll pay for your bad driving. The industry standard is to increase your premium by 40% of the insurer’s base rate after your first at-fault accident. For example, if the company’s base rate is $400, your premium will go up by $160. Not all auto insurers play by this rule, though, and some may increase your individual rate by 40%. Regardless of what formula they use, most of the time, your rates will increase.

Tip: Some insurance companies have a “forgive the first accident” policy. The qualifying variables are wide-ranging, so ask your company if it has a forgiveness policy and how to qualify.

6. You’ll pay for your friend’s bad driving, too. If your friend borrows your car and crashes it, you’ll have to file a claim with your insurance company. You’ll have to pay any deductible that applies, and your rates will probably go up as a result of your claim.

Tip: If your friend didn’t have permission to take your car, in most cases you won’t be held liable for the damage. But if your friend is uninsured and causes damage that exceeds your policy limits, the injured party can come after you for medical and property-damage expenses. Best bet? Don’t lend out your car.

7. Your car’s real worth. The value of your “totaled” car may surprise you. Auto-insurance companies don’t use the standard Kelley Blue Book or National Association of Automobile Dealers value. Instead, each company has its own proprietary list of car values, and most have specialized software for valuing cars in each region. They take into consideration the car’s mileage and pre-accident condition. The insurance company may also ask local dealers what they’d charge for a similar replacement car. However, the insurer will consider quotes from suburban towns as reasonable estimates. You might have to drive several hours to reach the cheapest dealer, just to save the insurance company money. And they might be quoted a better deal than you could get if you walked onto the lot.

Tip: If you disagree with your insurance company’s value determination, there are several things you can do:

Next time, get “gap” insurance. It will pay the difference between what an insurer will cover and what you owe, which can be several thousand dollars.

If you have maintenance records that show you’ve had the oil changed every 3,000 miles and you’ve had the car checked routinely by a mechanic, present copies to the insurance company to show the car was maintained. If you’ve been paying premiums on any special parts or upgrades, make sure those are included in the insurance company’s evaluation.

Get price quotes on replacement cars from three dealers within a reasonable driving distance and submit these to your insurance company. Ask the insurance company for a list of dealers within a specific distance who can sell you an equivalent car for the value the company is claiming. If you still aren’t satisfied, you can step up the process and go to mediation or arbitration. Mediation involves presenting your case to a neutral party for help in reaching a compromise; arbitration is a binding decision. You can also, of course, take the issue to court.

8. Check into “diminished value. ” Say your car has been in an accident, but repaired. Is it worth less than the exact same car that hasn’t been in an accident? It’s a hot topic, but some say yes. In 14 states, you’re allowed to file a claim with your insurance company for that lost value.

Tip: Thirty-six states and Washington, D. C. , allow insurers to exclude payments for diminished value, so if you live in one of those states, you can’t claim the loss. But in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia, you have a chance of getting a diminished-value payment. If you weren’t at fault in the accident, you often can make a successful case against the insurance company of the at-fault driver.

9. You may not owe sales tax on your replacement car. Twenty-eight states require auto insurers to pay for the sales tax when you replace your totaled vehicle with a new or used car: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Tip: Make the request; don’t expect the insurer to offer to pay upfront. Even in states that do not require sales-tax reimbursement, you should request it. Many auto insurers will not deny the request because the policy requires that they make you “whole,” returning you to where you were before the accident at no cost to you.

10. The tax will be calculated based on the pre-accident value of your car. If the insurance company values your car at $10,000, and you purchase a new car for $20,000, the tax will be calculated on $10,000.

11. You can wait to add your teenager to your policy until he or she is licensed. You’re not required to add your teenager to your policy just because he/she has reached driving age. Usually you can wait until he/she has a license or, if you’re in a high-risk insurance pool, a permit.

Tip: Don’t forget to tell your insurance company that you have a licensed teen. If you have to file a claim on his/her behalf, your insurer is entitled to charge you back premiums from the date your teen received a license.

12. You must officially cancel your insurance policy when you switch insurers. Your policy likely states that you can cancel by notifying the company in writing of the date of termination. Don’t assume that you can terminate the policy at the end of the coverage period by simply ignoring the bill. The insurers won’t see it that way. They’ll send you another bill for the next premium payment, and when you don’t pay it, you’ll be cancelled for nonpayment. That goes on your credit record.

Tip: Call your insurance agent or company and state that you’re canceling your policy. Give a specific date, or you may end up uninsured for a period of time. The company will send you a cancellation request. Often, the form is already filled out and just requires your signature. Read it to check for errors. You may have to provide proof of new coverage to your former insurer. And if you’ve financed through a dealership, give the dealer your new insurance information, because purchase contracts often require proof of coverage.

Albert Einstein formulated the theory that says that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts. For example, consider a car speedometer reading at 65 miles per hour. How fast is the car going? This question seems like the beginning of the joke of who is buried in Grant’s tomb and you are expecting a punch line. No joke here, I assure you. As a matter of fact, most would respond 65 miles per hour. This is the correct answer if and only if you are comparing the car to someone who is not moving. However, if you compare that same car to the car driving next to it that is driving 55 miles per hour, your car is only moving at 10 miles per hour.
So, what does that have to do with sales? When you look at your sales performance, to what standard do you compare yourself? Is it to the others on the sales team? Is it to your quota? Is it to a sales record that has stood for 10 years in your company? Maybe you look at your performance relative to your income goals?
While any of these comparative points are important, they all have one thing in common. They limit your potential. How good can you be? If you set a ceiling to that, you will never know. Yes, hitting your quota is important. Achieving your income goal is also important. But could you achieve more? Could you be better? The car moving at 65 miles per hour is moving pretty fast, but only relative to a non-moving entity. Your competitors are moving right along with you. Maybe you are in the lead, but competition does not stagnate. To them, maybe you are only moving at 10 miles per hour.
Compare that same car to a jet. The speed of the car is not overly impressive. The jet can get you from New York to Florida in a couple of hours. The car needs 24 hours to reach the same destination. Competitors get smarter. Customers get smarter. And you have to get better if you are going to be successful. What worked yesterday is not going to work tomorrow. Self improvement is the only way to do it.
There are no ceilings in sales unless you place them there. One of my favorite quotes is, “When someone says it can’t be done, it only means that HE can’t do it. ” Every day people accomplish the seemingly impossible. How do they do it? Simple. They don’t compare themselves to any standard. They have no limitations. As I write this, I’m flying on a plane. If the Wright brothers believed in ceilings, I’d be driving. If Bill Gates believed that people would never own a personal computer, I’d be writing this on a typewriter.
To further make this point, I thought I would share a personal story. When I was in the eighth grade, my family moved from New York to New Jersey. (Where to start with the jokes) At the time that we moved, I was an excellent student, A’s across the board. Shortly after moving, I injured my knee playing baseball. I ended up having two knee surgeries and spent my entire freshman year of high school on crutches. Here I am living in a new state, going to a new school, knowing next to no one. I lost my focus.
I became friendly with a few kids who were not very good students. They were nice kids, not troublemakers, but they did not perform well in school. During my freshman year of high school, I set my personal worst records for grades, but I was able to rationalize my performance. My grades were nothing to write home about, but I was scoring better than my friends. From that relative point of view, I was doing fine.
Towards the end of my freshman year, I became friends with a different group of kids. These friends later attended Wharton, Harvard, Emory, and Bates – all prestigious schools. Relative to them, my grades were a disgrace. They never made me feel badly about it, but I felt uncomfortable. Their success drove me to rediscover myself. During the remainder of my high school and collegiate career, I elevated my game to top of the class. I credit much of that with changing my approach to relativity.
Nature also uses the theory of relativity. If you put a fish in a 10 gallon tank, the fish will only grow to a certain size. The surroundings of the fish limit its size and growth. Put that same fish in a larger tank and the fish will continue to grow. Want to get better at golf? Play with better golfers. Want to run faster? Train with better runners.
What limitations are you putting on your sales success? Are you failing to achieve your quota? Are your friends on the team missing their quota too? Do you accept that because you are all failing? Or do you compare yourself to a higher standard? What are you doing each and every day to improve yourself? Is your goal just to be better, or is it to be the best?
You are the only obstacle to your success. Get out of your own way and enjoy the results.

In reaction to our modern Pearl Harbor, 9/11, the Federal Government has gone far beyond taking measures to prevent terrorism. � They’ve taken measures to prevent the freedom of US citizens. � In the hurricane of post 9/11 legislation sweeping through Congress, a suspicious little addendum to a military appropriations and tsunami relief bill (HR1268), the Real ID Act of 2005(HR418), handed to the Federal Government all control over our state issued driver’s license.
Not only did this completely ignore the tenth amendment which states that all powers not enumerated to the federal government in the constitution are reserved to the people or the states, it gave the power to the Department of Homeland Security which has absolutely zero checks or balances. � The DHS may also decide what ‘features’ are required on a Real ID with no input from the states or anyone what so ever. � In effect, the DHS has instituted an internal passport required first for entering federal buildings and air travel, then for every other purpose which your driver’s license currently fulfills.
Despite the authoritarian implications that such a system imposes, there are numerous other troublesome characteristics that widen the damage coming to our local and state governments not to mention ourselves.
With the implementation of Real ID, local and state driver’s license databases will be required to be shared between every other state, the federal government, Canada, and Mexico. � Every state has set up its DMV in whatever manner chosen by the state. � Databases are on different platforms, different operating systems, and different software architectures. � Connecting the multitude of varying database applications together with one another AND with all of the varying applications in the federal government proves to be not only wildly difficult, but also tremendously expensive. � It is projected that it would take over $9 billion to perform this feat. � This financial burden will fall on the states. � There is no federal apportionment of funds in the Real ID Act, and there are penalties for non-complying states. The connectivity and cost are only the beginning of the issues. � Once interconnected, the systems will have to be secure. � Widely dispersed networks are difficult to secure as they stand now. � Setting up a multi-national inter-related system spanning the entire North American continent would be practically if not completely impossible. �
What does this mean to you and me?� Identity theft on a cataclysmic scale. � Hackers can do some amazing things. � With a system this broadly dispersed and managed by government, who never quite does anything well, it would be a matter of months before data held about anyone and everyone in the US would be at the finger tips of the most devious computer criminals in the world. � Also, corrupt insiders at all levels of government would have access to multitudes of information that they could steal and sell.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, the Real ID requires biometrics. � What’s that?� It’s it digital scan of your face that can be uploaded and examined with facial recognition software and a digital thumb print. � It would be quite difficult to defend yourself against identity theft if the perpetrators know more about you than you do and can use reproductions of your face and fingerprints to commit crimes.
An example of how the preparatory stages of Real ID have already effected people is Bill Cattorini. Bill Cattorini retired from the Chicago fire department a local hero who served his community well. � Now, his community will not issue him a new driver’s license. � Why?� Because the Social Security Administration does not have the same birth date on record as his expired driver’s license. � This points out the numerous points of failure in the system in a data management sense as well. � Hundreds of people per year will have to deal with such issues and be without a license in the interim. � The costs in both time and money to obtain a new ID will grow drastically. � The worst part is this, anyone who can get a fake ID now will be able to get a fake Real ID. � It does nothing to hinder illegal immigration nor fight terrorism. � It serves ONLY to monitor US citizens for the sole purpose of claiming power over the citizenry.
To add insult to the already injurious scope of Real ID, the ‘common machine readable’ clause is interpreted by the DHS alone. � RFID chips, which already exist in all newly issued passports, will soon be required in your driver’s license as well. � RFID is readable at a distance. � You could be scanned without knowledge and without cause. � This is an invasion of privacy and a violation of several amendments in the Bill of Rights not to mention a one stop shop for identity thieves that can build a remote reader for $8 on eBay.
It violates the fourth amendment by allowing illegal search and seizure of personal information without probable cause. � It violates the fifth amendment by depriving us of property without due process (our identities, bodies, and papers are our property). It violates the tenth amendment by imbuing the federal government with an unenumerated power reserved by the state thus threatening the sovereignty of every state.
Thankfully, Real ID has met immense resistance from many states. � Alaska,� Georgia, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Washington have all passed statutes prohibiting Real ID. � Most other states have at least introduced legislation against it. � However, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Vermont have done nothing. � In fact, Kentucky licenses already have bar coded personal info on the back.
The deadline for compliance with Real ID was May 11, 2008. � This has come and gone, but the specter still haunts us. � The DHS offered to allow the states to apply for an extension for compliance. � All states without legislation against Real ID have applied for extension. � All states that have forbidden Real ID have been given extensions without their request. � So now we wait for December 31, 2010. � There exists one more extension after this which will expire in the summer of 2013, and this will be the time when, if the act is not repealed, we will see how far the states and the people will let the federal government push them.