Delivering fashion in style

Do you ever wonder how fashion trends make it from the runway to real life? Before clothes arrive on store shelves, every article must go through hundreds of steps and travel thousands of miles. This requires well-coordinated logistics for a fast-paced industry that's already on to the next trend. "Shipping is the thread that ties our business together," says designer Tomer Gendler. His eponymous menswear label has a loyal following including many stylists and their clients such as Hollywood A-listers Jamie Foxx and Adrien Brody. Since Tomer started his business four years ago, he has relied on UPS to help him transport designs, fabric and clothing around the world. "When we're creating a collection, we ship almost daily, and every shipment is critical to getting the job done." Behind the Seams Before Tomer makes his first sketch, he searches out unique fabrics and trims, such as cashmere blends from Italy, high-tech fabrics from Switzerland and buttons from China. After creating his designs, he orders and ships enough thread, fabric and trim to create samples, which he shows to fashion buyers in New York. These often are shipped back and forth several times from manufacturers in Italy, New York City or China until the look is perfected. Tomer works with the buyers to decide what pieces will be sold in stores. Then, Tomer and his staff figure out how much fabric is needed to fulfill orders. The production process moves on to a grading company, which tailors patterns to make the clothing line in multiple sizes. UPS ships the patterns, fabric and trim to New York and Italy, where tailors make the clothes. But it takes more than shipping to make sure the clothes arrive on time. UPS's customs brokers take care of complex textile tariffs so that all of Tomer's pieces clear inspections seamlessly. After the clothes are made, they are shipped to Tomer's New York showroom for painstaking quality inspections. Finally, the clothing is shipped to stores across the country and around the world. If Tomer's collection arrives even one day late, stores have the right to cancel the order, leaving him with thousands of dollars' worth of garments that can't be sold. On the other hand, delivering on time ultimately wins more business. "Being on time earns trust," he says. "It says you're a solid business partner." Tomer makes sure he's on time through package tracking capabilities on UPS, so both he and his customers stay in the know. By having a shipping partner take care of these steps, Tomer is free to forget about the logistics and focus on designing and running his business. Tomer's menswear collection is available in high-end stores, including Takashimaya in New York and Tokyo. - NU

Traffic exchanges do they work for you

: Traffic exchanges, also known as hit exchanges and start exchanges, are a very simple means of driving traffic to a website.Being in a traffic exchange is like being in a club. You surf, using a specially designed “surf bar” unique to the traffic exchange in question, and view the other club member’s websites. Every time you view a website you get a credit, or a point, and these are exchanged for visitors who view your website. Normally there is a “ratio” involved and - for free members - it is often one return visitor for every two websites that you view.Most exchanges are free to join but many have a “pro upgrade” option where you can get a better view/return view ratio (say 1:1) for a monthly fee, typically a few dollars a month. The large majority of members in the typical exchange are free members.Traffic exchanges are much maligned – there are many who will tell you that they don’t work. One of the main reasons cited for this is the fact that most of the traffic exchange members are members of the exchange primarily because they are already promoting a business opportunity or product of their own.Whilst this is almost certainly true it does not necessarily mean that they will not be interested in what you are promoting. If you are offering either an informational product or any kind of tool which could be used to enhance an already existing business then the members of traffic exchanges could very well be an excellent target market for you.For example, if you have an e-zine newsletter aimed at online marketers, then traffic exchanges could offer you very rich pickings indeed.One of the most common mistakes is to sign up for an affiliate scheme and then use the standard website that comes with the program on traffic exchanges. This is a waste of time as the exchange members will not have enough time to view the typical information rich affiliate website. It is also likely that there will be several others promoting the exact same website on any given exchange – so your site will blend in to the background and will have little, if any, impact.However, just by following the guidelines below you can use traffic exchanges to build your opt-in list and then follow up later with your affiliate offerings.1. Don’t use the standard page that came with your affiliate programme.It has too much information and will confuse viewers.There are probably many other people advertising this page.2. Use a specially designed gateway page unique to you.Keep it clean and unclutteredFocus on benefits.Five or six bullet points only.Stand out from the crowd.3. Use a pop-up or pop-in for emphasis.4. Give away a free bonus for signing up.A free e-book.A free report.A free newsletter.5. Collect e-mail addresses for follow up.Feed them into an autoresponder.Put them into your newsletter list.6. Customise your gateway page for the exchange you're using.Have a special message for your visitor –“Traffic Swarm user bonus….”"Webmaster Quest bonus..."7.Monitor your results and don’t waste time with exchanges that don’t deliver.8. Don’t persevere with an unproductive campaign for too long. Let your campaign run for 4 weeks max and then experiment if you aren’t seeing results.9. Advertise on a number of different exchanges to ensure a wide range of visitors.Don’t waste hours every day clicking on traffic exchanges – they are only one method for growing your list and you should be using a number of different techniques. However, using the above rules, it should be possible to achieve double digit signups to your opt-in list or newsletter on a daily basis.

Attendance recording system

Attendance Recording System: Attendance Recording System allows the companies to manage, monitor and produce reports of employee’s attendance. This system fits easily into the business structure and gives you greater control over your staff. It is mainly used by companies which have more than hundreds or thousands of employees. They are used in areas such as healthcare, financial services, transportation or distribution, retail management, government, manufacturing, and hospitality. Attendance recording system provides an accurate means of recording employee entries, exits breaks, absence and leaves. This can be compiled to produce the total hours worked and the amount that the employees should be paid. More advanced systems can automatically consolidate this information across multiple locations, track how hours are allocated across projects, and monitor overtime hours. Attendance recording system handles company’s time and attendance and access control needs. In attendance recording system, an employee has to press his or her thumb on the small machine fixed on a wall to record their attendance. The impression of the thumb matches with the one already stored in a computer, and this enters his or her attendance. Some employees use identifying cards to punch in and out. Time and attendance recording systems lets the employees enter their own information directly into the system, including flex-time hours, vacation time, and sick day information. By using attendance recording system you can make the attendance sheet into self-service attendance machine. Time and attendance recording machine has the following advantages : saves time and there is no need to manually take the attendance, provides authentication, eliminates errors, promotes employee self-service, manages and controls absenteeism, there is no way to check off someone else's name by mistake. You also have the additional benefit of not having to issue cards, or replace lost ones. They can also cut down on time theft, buddy punching, extended lunches, and other time tracking problems. The systems reduce potential mistakes automatically by transferring information between company systems. Time and attendance systems often have a Web version of the employee module, which allows workers to enter their time using a Web browser. Its flexible design runs on both PCs under Windows and UNIX workstations. Most systems are compatible with over 20 databases including Ingres, Sybase, and Oracle, and run on all major network environments, thus, providing instant access to all time and attendance functions. Time and attendance systems help companies to reduce and control costs by permitting employees to access non-critical information in a simple, secure, and safe manner. Most systems are Web-enabled and are integrated with current Internet technology Whether it involves the calculation of overtime, variable or flexible work hours, or exchanging data from and to other applications, like payroll - or human resource systems, time and attendance recording system offers a complete and flexible solution. Employee time and attendance machines range in cost from less to very high cost. The requirement depends upon the number of employees to monitor, the number of locations to track, and the information reporting requirements. There are several time attendance equipments available in the market and some are manufactured as per the requirements of the particular organization.

Rules and variations

After the deal has been completed, the non - dealer may pick up the knock card and add it to his hand. If he refuses the knock card, the dealer may pick up the knock card and add it to his hand. If both players refuse the knock card, the non - dealer draws the top card from the turned-down deck and adds it to his hand. Whichever player has made the opening play then discards a card from his hand face up in the discard slot of the card tray (the slot in which the knock card was placed). Thereafter each player in turn completes a play by adding either the top card from the turned - down deck (sometimes called the stock) or the top card from the discard pile to his hand, and discarding a card from his hand. The player may discard the same card he has just drawn from the stock. At the start and completion of each play, the player should have ten cards in his hand. Only the top card in the discard pile should be visible at any time. Once a player has lifted a card from either the stock or the discard pile, he is considered to have made a play and must now discard to complete his play. Completion of the Hand Play continues until (a) a player knocks; (b) a player reaches gin; or (c) neither player knocks or goes gin, and it would be necessary to draw the next to last (fifty-first) card from the stock in order to continue play; at this point the game ends in a draw, and neither player receives any score. The Point Count Matched cards count zero points; unmatched cards from Ace through 10 count the face value of the card; and picture cards count 10 each. Matched cards are cards which form part of a meld. A meld consists of three or more cards of the same rank (such as three 5s or four Jacks) or three or more cards of the same suit in unbroken sequence (as 5-6-7 of diamonds or 9-10-Jack-Queen of spades). If an Ace is used in a sequence, it can only be used as low card (such as Ace-2-3); if a King is used in a sequence, it can only be used as high card (such as Jack-Queen-King). No card can be used in more than one meld (for instance the 4 of hearts cannot be used in a set of three 4s and a sequence of 4-5-6 of hearts at the same time.) Knock or Gin A player who is able to end the hand after drawing a card announces his intention to knock or gin and the total point count of his unmatched cards (unless it is gin), lays down his hand arranged into individual melds and unmatched cards, and discards the eleventh card face down on the discard pile. A player may knock when, after drawing but before discarding, his unmatched cards total the value of the knock card or less, exclusive of the card he intends to discard. If the opponent has any unmatched cards which can be added to the knocker’s meld, he may lay off such cards and they are no longer treated as unmatched cards. (However, layoffs may not be made in the case of gin.) If the opponent’s total count of unmatched cards (after layoffs) is equal to or less than the knocker’s total count, the opponent is credited with an undercut. If a player makes an illegal knock, the game continues except that the cards of the illegal knocker are exposed to the view of his opponent for the remainder of the hand and he must knock as soon as he is able to. Scoring Toward Game 1. If the player who knocks has a lower unmatched point count than his opponent, he wins the hand, and score for the hand is the difference in their unmatched point counts. 2. If the player who knocks has an unmatched point count equal to or higher than his opponent, the opponent wins the hand and receives the difference (if any) in the point counts, plus a bonus of 25 points for an undercut. H is also credited with one extra box.

Top southern california beaches

You cannot visit Southern California without stopping at one of its many wonderful beaches and dipping your toes in the Pacific Ocean. However, if you have a limited time on your visit and can only visit one beach, you may have a difficult time choosing. Which Southern California beach should top your list? Well, it depends on what you're looking for: Surfing: Huntington Beach: With over 50 surfing competitions held each year in Huntington Beach, plus a Surfing Walk of Fame, Surfers' Hall of Fame and International Surfing Museum, Huntington Beach, or "Surf City" as some call it, is the place you'll want to visit to surf and watch surfers in action. Forget your surfboard or boogie board? No problem, you can also rent one in Huntington Beach. You'll want to visit the pier at Huntington City Beach where you can watch the surfers as well as take in the views, which include Catalina Island, 22 miles away (check out the pay scopes for closer views). Another reason to go to Huntington Beach is that all three of their beaches (Huntington City Beach, Huntington State Beach and Bolsa Chica State Beach) have concrete fire rings which allow you to have nightly bonfires and cookouts. Swami's Beach: Located in Encinitas below Seacliff Roadside Park, Swami's Beach is also a great place to watch the surfers, as it is considered one of the best surfing spots along the San Diego County coastline. Sunbathing and Relaxing: Zuma/Point Dume: Of course, you can sit in the sand and relax at all the beaches in Southern California, but Point Dume and Zuma beaches, approximately 19 miles west of Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway, are the beaches to go to escape the crowded Los Angeles beaches. When driving west on PCH you'll come to Point Dume first, then Zuma. Point Dume is a little quieter than Zuma, so if you want to lie in the sand and sleep, or read a good book, Point Dume is it. Of course, just because Point Dume and Zuma beaches are great for relaxing, that's not all there is to do. Some consider Zuma beach one of the finest surfing beaches as well. People Watching: Venice City Beach: Want a quirky beach experience? Then you'll have to visit Venice Beach, at the end of Washington Street in Venice. There you'll find skaters, performers and those you're not quite sure if they're performing or not. On any given weekend you can be treated to musicians, acrobats, mimes, magicians and other assorted entertainers. You'll also find restaurants and all sorts of shops along Ocean Front Walk, as well as Muscle Beach, where you can find bodybuilders pumping iron. If you like crowds, you'll love Venice Beach on the weekend. Fun Out of the Water: Santa Monica State Beach: If you get tired of sunbathing or playing in the ocean, Santa Monica State Beach is great because you have Pacific Park at Santa Monica Pier with rides, games and restaurants. You have to really try hard to be bored at Santa Monica State Beach. Rides include a carousel, roller coaster, bumper cars, motion simulator and a nine-story Ferris wheel with spectacular views. You can also roller blade and ride bikes on the bike bath along the beach. These are just a sampling of the great beach experiences you can have in Southern California. Just remember to bring and apply your sunscreen, drink plenty of water throughout the day, and enjoy your visit.

Stop work be more productive and kill computer related stress

Sorry, computer related stress (CRI) will eventually harm you if you insist on slaving away non-stop at a computer for hours without a break. To make sure you can be more productive long term, you MUST pace yourself. - For starters, you need to take a five or ten minute break from working about once every hour. Exercise, take a rest, or do something enjoyable during the break. Try and forget about the work you have been doing; fretting only contributes to muscle and mental strain. - Massaging your hands and forearms several times a day will improve circulation. You should also massage your neck muscles to relieve the tension of keeping your head in one position for any length of time. Work downwards from your head to your shoulders, pressing more firmly as you go on. You may want to rub in a small amount of good-quality hand cream or massage oil, as this will stop your skin becoming dry and sore. - Try to work in a reasonably warm place. Your muscles must work harder if they become chilled, and are more likely to feel strain easily. Also, your hands will ache and feel weak after working too long in a cold or draughty spot. - Do a few easy stress relieving exercises. Buy a stress ball - a huge variety are available off the Internet. Slowly squeeze the ball with your hand ten to fifteen times. Do this exercise frequently, as often as once every hour if you need to do a lot of computer work. Another good stress releieving exercise is to slowly spread your hands out, making your fingers spread out as widely as they can. Then, slowly curl your fingers inwards until you make a loose fist. Relax then repeat this five times each hand. Finally, let your arms dangle by your sides and gently shake them out a few seconds. This will help relieve muscle tension. - While you are working, yawns every once in a while - with some jobs, this will come naturally! This will put more oxygen into your body because doing repetitive, non-active things causes your air (oxygen) intake to drop, lowering your energy level. During your breaks, 'charge up' on oxygen by breathing deeply and smoothly but DO NOT hyperventilate. - Continual focussing at one distance (the screen) soon tires your eye muscles. So while you 're working, periodically look away from the screen every now and then and focus your eyes on varied distant objects. This will give your eyes a break from constantly focusing on one thing. Don't be pressured! If anyone queries you easing off every now and then, show them this article and ask how they want you tomorrow - well and working or off with injury, seeing a doctor? Healthy Computing 2006 and beyond!

4 Harmful muscle building myths uncovered

If you’re serious about making a solid commitment to a muscle-building program, you need to be very careful of who you take advice from. Bodybuilding and fitness is literally a multi-billion dollar industry with new websites popping up every single day. Many of the so-called “experts” out there really don’t have a clue of what they’re talking about and are only motivated by pushing expensive pills, powders and “miracle programs” on you that you don’t really need. If you don’t watch your step you may end up falling for some fatal muscle-building pitfalls that will literally destroy your gains and prevent you from ever achieving the impressive, muscular physique you desire. In this article I’m going to expose 4 very common muscle-building myths in order to keep you on the proper path to the mind-blowing muscle and strength gains you deserve. Myth #1: In order to build muscle, you must achieve a "pump" during your workout. The greater the pump you achieve, the more muscle you will build. For those of you who are just starting out, a “pump” is the feeling that you get as blood becomes trapped inside the muscle tissue when you train with weights. The muscles will swell up and leave your body feeling bigger, tighter, stronger and more powerful. While a pump does feel fantastic, it has very little, if anything to do with properly stimulating your muscles to grow. A pump is simply the result of increased bloodflow to the muscle tissue and is certainly not indicative of a successful workout. A successful workout should only be gauged by the concept of progression. If you were able to lift more weight or perform more reps than you did in the previous week, then you did your job. Myth #2: Building muscle will cause you to become slower and less flexible. This one goes back to the old days when people described bodybuilders as being “muscle bound” and “bulky”. Contrary to what you may think, building a significant amount of lean muscle mass will actually speed you up rather than slow you down. Muscles are responsible for every movement that your body makes, from running to jumping to throwing. The bottom line is that the stronger a muscle is, the more force it can apply. Having stronger, more muscular legs means increased foot speed, just as having stronger and more muscular shoulders means the ability to throw farther. Strong muscles are able muscles, not the other way around. Myth #3: You must always use perfect, textbook form on all exercises. While using good form in the gym is always important, obsessing over perfect form is an entirely different matter. If you are always attempting to perform every exercise using flawless, textbook form, you will actually increase your chances of injury and simultaneously decrease the total amount of muscle stimulation you can achieve. Remember, we are not robots! It’s very important that you always move naturally when you exercise. This could mean adding a very slight sway in your back when you perform bicep curls, or using a tiny bit of body momentum when executing barbell rows. Loosen yourself up a bit and move the way your body was meant to be moved. Obsessing over perfect form will actually work against you rather than for you. Myth #4: If you want your muscles to grow you must “feel the burn!” This is another huge misconception in the gym. The “burning” sensation that results from intense weight training is simply the result of lactic acid (a metabolic waste product) that is secreted inside the muscle tissue as you exercise. Increased levels of lactic acid have nothing to do with muscle growth and may actually slow down your gains rather than speed them up. You can limit lactic acid production by training in a lower rep range of 5-7, rather than the traditional range of 10 and above.