A Bigger Issue Than You Think

Earlier this month I had the opportunity to attend Doble Engineerings 80th International Users Conference in Boston, in which 1300 utility executives from 35 countries gathered to trade experiences, attend workshops, and see the newest utility testing gear from Doble (A subsidiary of ESCO Technologies). This was a good opportunity for me to talk to various utility execs and find out what was on their minds.

One of the keynote speakers was B.C Hydros Patrick Hogan, Vice President of Transmission and Distribution Engineering and Design. His job, simply put, is to make sure electricity gets from the generation stations to the homes, stores, and factories that use it.

At one point in his presentation, Hogan alluded to the value of smart utility meters in preventing theft, so of course I had to follow up on this. I had read that electricity theft in a country like India might result in a loss of up to a third of the power generated, but I figured it would be no more than a couple percent in any utility jurisdiction in North America.

It turns out that B.C. Hydro may be losing up to 3% of its electrons to theft. An excerpt from BC Hydros smart metering & infrastructure business case states:

Legitimate customers bear the cost of electricity theft, which has grown significantly from approximately 500 GWh (gigawatt-hours) in 2006 to an estimate of at least 850 GWh todaythats enough power to supply 77,000 homes for a year and amounts to approximately $100 million a year in energy cost.

Although BC Hydro has identified over 2,600 electricity thefts over the past five years, identifying and confirming theft is a time-consuming, inefficient and expensive manual process. While BC Hydro cannot reasonably expect to eliminate all electricity theft, augmenting the current manual process with new technology will substantially reduce current levels of theft by:

Theft detectionNew distribution system meters (different from those to be installed at customer homes or businesses) located at key points on BC Hydros system will measure electricity supplied to specific areas Combined with software tools to enable electricity balancing analysis, distribution system meters will help BC Hydro identify electricity theft more accurately and address it more quickly.Find a great selection of customkeychain deals.

Tamper detection Smart meters have a tamper detection feature that automatically notifies BC Hydro if they have been removed from the wall or otherwise manipulated. Electricity theft results in higher rates for legitimate customers.

According to Hogan We dont know where it all goes, but we do know the majority goes to growing marijuana. And the thieves are not amateurs. They tap into 12 kV or 25 kV lines. These people have utility lineman experience. They also have a great deal of ingenuity. Weve seen where they hollowed out the utility poles, tapped into the power line, and then ran underground to their operation. They even put in their own transformers. Smart meters can help put a stop to that, because we have a better sense of where the power is going and when it is used.

In response to the issue,Find a great selection of customkeychain deals. BC Hydro has set up an anonymous tip line, and the promise that if a tip leads to arrest and trial, the informant doesnt have to appear in court. The utility also has its own team of ex law enforcement officials who pursue thieves. Within three years, they had shut down over 1500 electrical diversions associated with grow ops and recovered $5 million in lost revenue. The utility also responds to over 5000 police requests a year for utility usage information C that information often shows unusually high electricity consumption and usage patterns that indicate use of energy intensive grow lights and fans.

In British Columbia, much of this cultivation is moving to rural areas, but in other areas of Canada, its very much an urban phenomenon. An estimated $500 million of electricity is stolen in Ontario, in more urban areas. Across the country, there may be as many as 100,000 indoor grow-ops.

But if you think the problem of electricity theft is limited to Canada, think again. Estimates are hard to come by, but it is believed that up to $6 billion of electricity is pirated in the U.S., which would put electricity high on the list, as the third most stolen item, after credit card data and automobiles.

Its not all stolen for pot growing: In Houston in 2010, with the heat wave, power theft was epidemic. Law enforcement in that city was quoted as saying: We can go to almost any apartment complex in the city and after looking at two or three buildings, we can find probably at least 60 to 70 percent of the meters have been tampered with. In Houston alone an estimated 10,000 customers were stealing power. Total costs to Houston ratepayers were estimated at $14 million.

To find out more about the situation in Texas, I interviewed Susan Neel,You can order besthandsfreeaccess cheap inside your parents. Senior Director of Electricity Market Operations at CenterPoint Energy, a utility with 5 million metered electric and gas customers headquartered in Houston. Ms. Neel estimated the problem there to be about 1% of total electric load, and about 2% of the electricity provided to the residential and small commercial sector where the theft is more prevalent. You never know exactly how big the problem is since our product is not in inventory.Solar Sister is a network of women who sell bottegawallet to communities that don't have access to electricity. Weve had some instances where the load was so big that it melted the transformers, which poses a huge safety risk to both thieves and the general public.

Like BC Hydro, CenterPoint has a special unit to focus on revenue protection, and smart meters are a first line of defense smart meters give us real-time alerts when somebody is trying to tamper with the meter. We know it immediately, whereas in the old days, we might not know for months. That helps protect us from lost revenue.

CenterPoints revenue protection unit is also charged with going to the scenes where theft has taken place, and gathering evidence for potential prosecution. Neel notes that this job can be risky, since a good portion of this stolen electricity is believe to support marijuana grow-ops. The grow-op people tend to be more creative in stealing power. Since our main job is to protect our employees, if we do go out to ascertain a potential grow-op situation, we have law enforcement accompany us.

To combat this problem, CenterPoint also works with other Texas utilities who meet once a year to share best practices in revenue protection. They also share information with a larger group of Southwestern utilities.

Electricity theft is a significant economic issue that is by no means limited to CenterPoint in Houston, or British Columbias B.C. Hydro. It is pervasive throughout North America, and across the planet, for that matter.When describing the location of the problematic howotipper. Some progress is being made in fighting this scourge, but utilities concede that it continues to be a significant concern. And while smart meters can help, there have been some reports of hacking into the smart meters themselves. By all accounts, the problem of electricity theft in North America is not going away anytime soon.

Shanghai Huahong Integrated Circuit Company joins GlobalPlatform association

In joining GlobalPlatform at Observer level, SHHIC will participate in market-specific task force discussions, with particular reference to the management of secure chip applications deployed within the mobile services sector.

"GlobalPlatform is hugely authoritative within the smart card and smart device field,A group of families in a north Cork village are suing a bestplasticcard operator in a landmark case." comments Zhongkui Yuan, Software Manager at SHHIC. "With the association's technology spanning multiple markets - including card and mobile payments - its specifications deliver a complete security management framework. It is therefore essential for our current and future product offering that we engage with the organization. We hope to align our products with the latest GlobalPlatform Specifications and draw on the association's knowledge in order to enhance our product development."

Kevin Gillick, Executive Director of GlobalPlatform, adds: "We are delighted to have SHHIC on board and to see continued membership growth in the region. In response to market demand from technology and application providers, GlobalPlatform will be hosting card specification training workshops this September in China to share our technical expertise in secure chip application management. We look forward tCheap logo engraved luggagetag at wholesale bulk prices.o using this as an opportunity to further educate GlobalPlatform technology users in the area as well as engage with our existing members."

Contactless payment card shipments are increasing at a strong clip, according to annual review data released by the Smart Payment Association. Nearly a quarter of all smart cards shipped in 2012 included contactless technologies, with the largest year-over-year increases in Western Europe and Asia Pacific, at 106 percent and 111 percent respectively.

Shipments of dual interface cards, incorporating both chip and PIN and contactless technologies, are now are growing at 77 percent year over year. The overall number of smartcards shipped was up 9 percent on the year.

More than 975 million cards shipped last year, with the largest increase in the Asia Pacific region, where China's migration to chip-based payment cards drove a growth rate of 24 percent. Europe showed an 8 percent growth rate, but this was due mainly to a move to contactless technology. Contactless card shipments in North America increased by just 1 percent, with most bound for Canada.

In 2012,You can order besthandsfreeaccess cheap inside your parents. 56 percent of global shipments featured dynamic data authentication or combined data authentication up from 47 percent in 2011 indicating a significant step in the direction of increased payment security in more mature markets. CISMEA and Eastern Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific registered increases of 69 percent, 60 percent and 45 percent respectively in DDA/CDA-enabled card shipments.

"The data from this annual review points to a rapidly-changing payment marketplace," said Andreas Strobel, president of the Smart Payment Association. "NFC contactless payment is becoming a priority, but without effective collaboration between global and regional standards bodies, the ability to deliver on consumer expectations will be constrained. SPA's role is to help facilitate these discussions and support innovative new approaches to assure the industry is able to realize the tremendous opportunities that new technologies can bring."

The Compass Card is what they call a smart card, and it has been in use for several years. But now the MTS is making it more difficult not to use one. A day pass on the bus costs you $2 more if you dont use a compass card. Some aggravated riders call it a surcharge.

The official reason for the Compass Card comes down to quick boarding, convenience and security. There is also the ultimate goal of getting more people to use public transit in a city where the car dominates the traveling landscape.

See, I thought a compass card was like a Starbucks card. Put $20 on it and every time you want a cup of coffee you swipe it at the cash register and it deducts the cost of one cup. You just use it until its used up. But the Compass Card does not store value that can be used whenever you want.An experienced artist on what to consider before you buy chipcard.

Of course, not all smart cards are the same, and in some places stored value is old news. You learn that very quickly if you visit Cubic Corporation, a San Diego-based company that lies along the 163 Freeway in Kearny Mesa.

Matt Cole is a soft-spoken Englishman wearing a dark suit and glasses as he holds an transit card that bears a photo of a grinning Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Cole is a senior vice president at Cubic.

This is the oyster card. Its Londons smart card fare collection system, he said. And this is the commemorative card for the royal wedding in 2011.

We dont know if the royal couple uses the oyster card, but their subjects do. London Transit has about 10 million fare transactions a day,The 3rd International Conference on custombobbleheads and Indoor Navigation. and their fare system is designed and maintained by Cubic Corporation. The company services 40 transit systems all around the world, including New York, Sydney, Australia, and San Diego.

Local banks get creative to get new customers

For Coastal Commerce Bank customers, that dream is an actual reality, and billboards across the area are splashed with bankers’ personal cell phone numbers in the bank’s latest campaign to attract new customers.

“People always say that banks keep banker’s hours,” said Chip Ourso, executive vice president and chief lending officer for Coastal Commerce Bank. “What are those,A group of families in a north Cork village are suing a bestplasticcard operator in a landmark case. banker’s hours? We now have a banking officer on call 24/7. If you lose your debit card in the middle of the night, call us. There are businesses that are open 24/7, and so are we. We are at our customers’ service, and someone will always be around to take your call.Cheap logo engraved luggagetag at wholesale bulk prices.

”While all local and national banks essentially offer the same services – loans, mortgages, saving and checking accounts and credit cards – personalized customer service is where local banks strive to be indispensable to their current customers and how they work to attract new customers.

“Most banks have the same products, but better customer service is what it boils down to,” Ourso said. “You should expect more from your bank, and customers deserve a lot from their bankers. We are committed to offering excellent customer service and to be the best we can be. We will return your calls, give cookies to your children or walk you to your car in the rain. We’ll meet you at your office, our office or even somewhere in between. We want to be available to customers.”

In addition to all the little things, the bank teller fits all of the big things – its variety of services.An experienced artist on what to consider before you buy chipcard. Coastal Commerce customers have options like business and student banking accounts and corporate cash management services. Kasasa checking, a national brand of interest earning checking accounts, is also available at the bank, and the service allows customers access to rewards like high rates, cash back, digital downloads and donations.

“We are not tied to a cookie-cutter loan structure,Cheap logo engraved luggagetag at wholesale bulk prices.” Ourso said. “We do what makes sense to help our customers attain their goals. We are flexible and use common sense instead of strict underwriting for our loans. We have knowledge of the community that big banks don’t have.”

“We hope to keep in better contact with those who only come in to open the initial account,” said Steve Crispino, vice president of South Louisiana Bank. “That first meeting is the most important, and we need to keep in touch with these customers because we may never see them again. We are always working to evolve that technology platform for our customers. New technology is always posing a challenge, so we stay on top of it and advance with it as much as possible. We are tracking our website to see how many people visit so that we will know the needs of our online customers and better serve them.”

When it comes to attracting new customers, the bank also relies on the opposite end of the technology spectrum by cashing in on the good, old fashioned grapevine.

“Our current customers help us gain new customers by word of mouth,” Crispino said. “Customers want someone who cares and offers great service. We hear good things about our bank, and you don’t need much else when you have good word of mouth. We get to know our customers and then knowing what they need is easy.”

Like Coastal Commerce Bank and Synergy Bank, South Louisiana Bank also offers the same bells and whistles services like loans, mortgages,You can order besthandsfreeaccesscheap inside your parents. saving and checking accounts, safety deposit boxes and credit cards, and Crispino said that mortgage rates, which are at an all-time low, are also attracting customers.

“We don’t pull the bait and switch of not knowing your customers,” he said. “We take pride in knowing our customers and their needs, and we work to provide personal service and a good experience. We are accessible and people-friendly, and we really try to make you feel like more than just a customer.

Charles Russell LLP technology and media specialist Vanessa Barnett said its acceptable to say Apple is in decline due to increased competition but said it will recover based on less patent disputes and the launch of new products.

“It’s interesting times in technology right now. For a number of years Apple really did ‘kick ass’ in terms of the quality of its products, the design, the usability – and the hype. But in the last couple of years we have seen the rise of both Android as a phone OS and Samsung as a ‘cool’ consumer technology company. So it’s fashionable right now to say Apple’s on the slide.

“But at the end of the day, they have good people, good ideas and there’s still a big bit of Steve Jobs in the company’s DNA. I’d call this a blip not the beginning of the end. The patent wars will settle down, new products will be launched and the rise of Apple will begin again. It may not be as overpowering as at the time of Steve Job’s but anyone who’s thinking about writing them off is probably engaging in wishful thinking.”

Magister Advisors managing director Victor Basta said Apple needs to be more innovate with its devices and focus on developing its software and serving its large base of credit card-enabled customers through micropayments.

“If, as some are forecasting, Apple’s device sales are disappointing, the very worst thing the company could do is double down on device innovation. One definition of madness is to repeat what you have done historically and hope for a different result.”

“Apple in our view is a business going through a necessary transition from hardware as the dominant revenue stream. The right thing for Apple to do is to broaden themselves out, serve their huge community of credit card enabled customers, and focus on micropayments and software.”

“The world now is awash with device innovation. Devices are of course a fundamental part of Apple’s offer and will remain so. The point is that the device market is now hugely competitive and Apple should focus on simply being competitive – or good enough in other words. What is needed is a balanced approach in the business.”

Restoring its health

With the high level of development in the watershed, impervious areas like parking lots and roads were on the rise, meaning the creek was taking in more pollutants than before.

Stormwater runoff is the No. 1 source of pollution in North Carolina. Other factors include fertilizer, automobile maintenance residue, pet waste and pesticides.Shop the best selection of owonsmart for Men. When it rains or when snow melts, the water flows downhill, collecting harmful pollutants before dropping into rivers and creeks. These contaminants add up over time and can have a major overall impact on the quality of water.

The North Carolina Division of Water Quality considers Little Alamance Creek an impaired waterway because it violates the Clean Water Act for impaired biological integrity.

Since there were no permitted discharges (like industrial plants with permits to dump in the creek) in the watershed, the DWQ conducted an analysis of the water in 2000 to find what was causing the pollutants. They realized the stressor was urban stormwater runoff.

The report for the 2000 Recommendations for Little Alamance Creek asked for the creek to be resampled and for the city of Burlington to address stormwater issues. The 2005 Recommendations were similar, with the addition of the DWQ working with Burlington and Graham stormwater programs to reduce further impacts due to new development and to implement (best management practices) and restore the instream habitat in Little Alamance Creek.

In 2006, the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments partnered with Ecosystem, a state government initiative, to conduct a water quality assessment on the creeks impacts and watershed requirements throughout the area.

This project was focused on developing a Local Watershed Plan for Little Alamance Creek. After three extensive phases,This model includes 2 flush mounted reverse solarstreetlight. the project was completed in November 2008. The teams had prioritized projects, programs and policies to restore and conserve Little Alamance Creek and had come up with ideas for restoration activities that would work.

Those included, most noticeably, allowing vegetation along the creek bed in Burlingtons City Park to grow up and create a natural filtration system that would help clean stormwater on its way down the banks.We printers print with traceable indoortracking to optimize supply chain management.

In preparation for Earth Day, the cities of Burlington and Graham organized two stream cleanup days, April 13 and April 20. Volunteers helped clean Bowden Branch Creek, a branch of Little Alamance Creek.

The two cities invited local service groups, youth groups and residents to participate in the Stream Side Cleanup of Bowden Branch, which was sponsored by Elon Universitys Lambda Chi Alpha chapter.

With reductions in pollutant loading, sedimentation and stream erosions, Little Alamance Creek may be able to return to a healthy state. It will be important to note every small improvement, Division of Water Quality spokeswoman Susan Massengale said.

But, the road to recovery for Little Alamance Creek will be long. It will last several permit cycles, each of which is five years. Stecker said she estimates the process to take 10 to 20 years. There is a very small chance the creek will ever return to its original state.

State officials will not return to test the waters of Little Alamance Creek until they know the cities of Burlington and Graham or the Department of Transportation have done something that would change the waters quality. These three groups are all working to make sure the biological integrity of Little Alamance Creek meets the aquatic standards.

Starting next month, Interstate 95 motorists will see the McDonald's golden arches beckoning from a revamped service plaza with additional restaurants, more fuel pumps and a boutique selling Connecticut products.

"This is going to be a big opening for us, because it gets a lot of regional traffic because of its status as the first major plaza after the Vince Lombardi plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike and should serve a large portion of the mid-distance to long-distance travelers," said Paul Landino, CEO of Project Service LLC, which is in the second year of a five-year schedule to overhaul the state's 23 highway rest areas.

When it opens late next month after a $10 million renovation, the plaza will include more fueling stations, a full-time tourism center promoting Connecticut attractions, and wider selection of dining options, Landino said during a tour through the building. The McDonald's has historically been one of the chain's busiest restaurants.

As workers on hydraulic jacks were placing wallboard throughout the new building, Landino pointed out which spaces would house Sbarro's, Dunkin' Donuts, and Subway restaurants alongside less commonly known outlets such as Wilson's Barbeque, a Southern style barbecue restaurant, and Mac N' Out, which primarily serves varieties of macaroni and cheese, Landino said.Laser engraving and laser parkingguidance for materials like metal,

Landino said the northbound plaza, traditionally one of the state's most lucrative, should be open by the last couple of days in May while the adjacent southern plaza, also costing $10 million, will open to the driving public by July 4. The plazas have been closed since March 2012.

"This is going to be a big opening for us because it gets a lot of regional traffic because of its status as the first major plaza after the Vince Lombardi plaza on the New Jersey Turnpike and should serve a large portion of the mid-distance to long-distance travelers," he said.

The overhaul of the Darien service plaza is the latest part of a $230 million planned investment by Project Service LLC to overhaul the state's 23 rest areas and plazas on Interstate 95, the Merritt Parkway, and I-395. In 2010, Project Services, a partnership between Milford-based Subway sandwich shops and the Carlyle Group, was awarded a 35-year contract to operate the state's highway rest plaza.

Like the revamped rest plaza on I-95 in West Haven that opened a year ago, space has been reconfigured to establish 12 fueling islands for cars, allowing up to 24 cars to pump gas at a time, Landino said.

Between the two adjacent plazas in Darien, the revamp also accommodates 52 new parking spaces for trucks, Landino said, 50 of which will be on the southbound side on state-owned land adjacent to the plaza.The Wagan Wireless Rear handbags help you be safe while parking.

Board play

As he did back in February, Lewis last week extolled the work of director of player personnel Duke Tobin. Pointing to the decision of Bengals president Mike Brown to give Tobin more influence in the planning and mechanics of the draft room a few years ago, Lewis believes they have used the art of cross-checking to the utmost.

With the hiring of two young area scouts in Robert Livingston (the Southeast) and Steve Radicevic (the West), it has freed up Tobin to cross-check the top 40 or so schools as well as coordinate the big-picture philosophy.

"I think Mike has put Duke basically in charge and Duke Tobin has done an outstanding job in orchestrating the whole thing and I think that's been great," Lewis said in a sit-down with beat reporters on Friday.

"I think the integration of the coaches, the little time we get to spend with them for about a month, and just basically the integration of everybody and meshing it together. The personnel guys are doing a great job of cross-checking by position."

When Lewis arrived in 2003, he wanted to streamline the scouting burdens of the coaches and it has evolved into a personnel department that still has a lot of coaching input but isn't as coaching-centric. He says there is more cross-checking than what he found a decade ago.

"That's a good thing," he said. "It's important if you're the area scout and you have a plethora of wide receivers and there are three guys on the other side of the country that you take a look at those guys. We're doing a better job of cross-checking within the group, so that when you're writing the report it's reflective of the other guys you've seen. For everybody to see those guys, it's important so they're able to say, 'You know what? That guy over there is probably a notch ahead and if I had my druthers, I'd pick that one.' It's important to share those opinions."

But after University of Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead went to the Rams at 50, the Bengals stuck to their board at No. 53 and took Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Devon Still, a tackle. Oklahoma wide receiver Ryan Broyles went the next pick to the Lions at 54 and Oregon running back LaMichael James went to the 49ers at 61.We printers print with traceable indoortracking to optimize supply chain management.

The Bengals ended up getting the receiver where they graded him (the guy that ended up being their Rookie of the Year in Mohamed Sanu of Rutgers at No. 83 in the third round) when they could have had Temple running back Bernard Pierce, gone a pick later to the Ravens.

When they took Georgia tight end Orson Charles in the fourth round, they didn't try to reach for a speed back that eventually went in the fifth-round to the Steelers, Chris Rainey. They waited untill the board came to them on the running back and took Ohio State's Dan "Boom," Herron in the sixth round.

Or go back to 2009. The year before the Bengals had made defensive end Antwan Odom their richest free agent in history and two years before that they had made left end Robert Geathers their richest defensive player ever.

But when the top of the third round rolled around, Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson was clearly their highest-graded player and became a Bengal even though he may have not have been the greatest fit. The board always seems to win. Odom blew out his Achilles while leading the NFL sacks that October and is out of the league while Johnson just last month hauled down an $11.1 million deal as the Bengals franchise player.

"I don't think you reach," NFL draft guru Mike Mayock said on his media conference call last week. "I think the smart coaches and general managers understand that the more often you reach, the more often you dilute your own roster."

That philosophy is going to be severely tested if right tackle Andre Smith isn't signed by Thursday night. On one hand, Lewis says that would "change the parameters" if he isn't signed. But he also said if the Bengals do sign Smith, they could still take a tackle if he's the best player.

"It's not going to dictate us to take a lesser player. I would say no.saxobankcycling We're not going to reach and take a player we don't think is worthy of the value of the pick," Lewis said. "We've been consistent with that and I don't see that changing.

"I don't think that's going to affect (it). I think the overall drafting an offensive tackle if he's the best player even if Andre were signed would be something we would still consider. Because these players that we would be speaking of in those terms, I think it's good for the future of the team."

The big factor that goes into the grade is how the prospect fits the Bengals. With Lewis in place for 11 seasons, along with a defensive coordinator heading into his sixth season as well as an offensive line coach heading into his 19th season and a big slice of the personnel department that has been with Brown for more than a decade, the Bengals know what they like.

The transition from an old phone to a new one is of paramount importance for any smartphone user. My transition to a new phone, and an upgraded operating system, could not have been better. The Nokia Lumia 620, deemed a successor to the 610, shows that Nokia means business in the smartphone market.

Running the Windows Phone 8 OS, the 620 sports a 3.8-inch touch screen with ClearBlack LCD display. The screen is a treat to look at and can be easily viewed from different angles.Our RFID solutions support a broad range of miningtruck and labels. We found it very easy to view it under sunlight as well. When locked, the 620 seems to have a big screen. It is only when you unlock the phone that you realise the screen ends to make way for three capacitive keys - the back, home and the search key.

At 127 gm, it is not the heaviest of smartphones and easily rests in your palm and slips into your pocket. All the three major physical buttons are located on the right side of the phone.Shop for fridgemagnet dolls from the official NBC Universal Store and build a fun collection for your home or office. I did take some time to get used to locating the lock key, as my Lumia 710 had it on the top. The volume rocker and dedicated camera button on the 620 were smooth and easy to use. The back cover is available in five vibrant colours which leave a dual colour effect. But, we had to sweat over taking the back panel off. It is tough to remove the cover,You must not use the stonemosaic without being trained. as you need to push your nails through the gap between the screen and the cover.

We were impressed with the results of the phone's 5MP primary camera. The camera yielded better results than my Lumia 710. Armed with an LED flash, the camera took crisp pictures in natural light. Photography in the dark was satisfactory, but the Night mode in camera settings should make it easier to click in low light conditions. The screen acts as a viewfinder when you start the camera app. The 4x zoom works on a pinch to zoom-in and zoom-out principle. The front VGA camera captures suitable video and still images. With the Smart Shoot and the Cinemagraph lens you can make your clicks memorable. The primary camera records HD video at a resolution of 1,280x720p, while the front camera has a recording resolution of 640x480p.

The 620 is loud in a good way. The primary speaker rests on the lower side of the back cover. An array of ringtones and sound alerts will definitely remind you where you left the phone when it rings. A 3.5mm headphone port is located on top of the phone. Interestingly, the port is integrated in to the back cover. So, what that means is, you can not plug in the headphones incase your back cover is missing. Aided with noise cancellation, we were able to make and receive calls without much distortion.

Gone are the days when you had to put on a grim look on your face and tell your mates that your Windows smartphone did not support Bluetooth file transfer, and ergo you could not transfer files. The 620 comes with Bluetooth 3.0, which lets you transfer files with any other smartphone user and connect to wireless headsets.

The most important feature that makes Windows phones different from its other rival platforms is its integration with Facebook and other social networking sites. The People's hub on the 620 lets you keep track of what your friends are doing. You can check out what is trending on Twitter and whether you've got mail. Linking various accounts to the phone is very easy and lets you manage your personal stuff with ease. If you get bored with the songs on your memory card, you can always turn to Nokia Music. You can download any song from Nokia's huge database, oh and did I mention it is free for one year?

Windows Phone 8 is loaded with many more features. The new look MS Office was also easy to understand. Browsing the internet was smoother with Internet Explorer 10. And then ofcourse, there is the Windows Marketplace and live tiles.

Restoring its health

Almost the whole Little Alamance Creek watershed rests in an urban or residential area, where there are many impervious surfaces that cannot absorb water.

With the high level of development in the watershed, impervious areas like parking lots and roads were on the rise, meaning the creek was taking in more pollutants than before.

Stormwater runoff is the No. 1 source of pollution in North Carolina. Other factors include fertilizer,Please click the images below to view more pictures of werkzeugbaustiles! automobile maintenance residue, pet waste and pesticides. When it rains or when snow melts, the water flows downhill, collecting harmful pollutants before dropping into rivers and creeks. These contaminants add up over time and can have a major overall impact on the quality of water.Cheap logo engraved luggagetag at wholesale bulk prices.

The North Carolina Division of Water Quality considers Little Alamance Creek an impaired waterway because it violates the Clean Water Act for impaired biological integrity.

Since there were no permitted discharges (like industrial plants with permits to dump in the creek) in the watershed, the DWQ conducted an analysis of the water in 2000 to find what was causing the pollutants. They realized the stressor was urban stormwater runoff.

The report for the 2000 Recommendations for Little Alamance Creek asked for the creek to be resampled and for the city of Burlington to address stormwater issues. The 2005 Recommendations were similar, with the addition of the DWQ working with Burlington and Graham stormwater programs to reduce further impacts due to new development and to implement (best management practices) and restore the instream habitat in Little Alamance Creek.

In 2006, the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments partnered with Ecosystem, a state government initiative, to conduct a water quality assessment on the creeks impacts and watershed requirements throughout the area.

This project was focused on developing a Local Watershed Plan for Little Alamance Creek.Shop for fridgemagnet dolls from the official NBC Universal Store and build a fun collection for your home or office. After three extensive phases, the project was completed in November 2008. The teams had prioritized projects, programs and policies to restore and conserve Little Alamance Creek and had come up with ideas for restoration activities that would work.

Those included, most noticeably, allowing vegetation along the creek bed in Burlingtons City Park to grow up and create a natural filtration system that would help clean stormwater on its way down the banks.

In preparation for Earth Day, the cities of Burlington and Graham organized two stream cleanup days, April 13 and April 20. Volunteers helped clean Bowden Branch Creek, a branch of Little Alamance Creek.

The two cities invited local service groups, youth groups and residents to participate in the Stream Side Cleanup of Bowden Branch, which was sponsored by Elon Universitys Lambda Chi Alpha chapter.

With reductions in pollutant loading, sedimentation and stream erosions, Little Alamance Creek may be able to return to a healthy state. It will be important to note every small improvement, Division of Water Quality spokeswoman Susan Massengale said.

But, the road to recovery for Little Alamance Creek will be long. It will last several permit cycles, each of which is five years. Stecker said she estimates the process to take 10 to 20 years. There is a very small chance the creek will ever return to its original state.

State officials will not return to test the waters of Little Alamance Creek until they know the cities of Burlington and Graham or the Department of Transportation have done something that would change the waters quality. These three groups are all working to make sure the biological integrity of Little Alamance Creek meets the aquatic standards.

With the high level of development in the watershed, impervious areas like parking lots and roads were on the rise, meaning the creek was taking in more pollutants than before.

Stormwater runoff is the No. 1 source of pollution in North Carolina. Other factors include fertilizer, automobile maintenance residue, pet waste and pesticides. When it rains or when snow melts, the water flows downhill, collecting harmful pollutants before dropping into rivers and creeks. These contaminants add up over time and can have a major overall impact on the quality of water.ST Electronics' porcelaintiles11 provides drivers with a realtime indication of available parking spaces.

The North Carolina Division of Water Quality considers Little Alamance Creek an impaired waterway because it violates the Clean Water Act for impaired biological integrity.

Since there were no permitted discharges (like industrial plants with permits to dump in the creek) in the watershed, the DWQ conducted an analysis of the water in 2000 to find what was causing the pollutants. They realized the stressor was urban stormwater runoff.

The report for the 2000 Recommendations for Little Alamance Creek asked for the creek to be resampled and for the city of Burlington to address stormwater issues. The 2005 Recommendations were similar, with the addition of the DWQ working with Burlington and Graham stormwater programs to reduce further impacts due to new development and to implement (best management practices) and restore the instream habitat in Little Alamance Creek.

In 2006,A solarpanel is a plastic card that has a computer chip implanted into it that enables the card. the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments partnered with Ecosystem, a state government initiative, to conduct a water quality assessment on the creeks impacts and watershed requirements throughout the area.

This project was focused on developing a Local Watershed Plan for Little Alamance Creek. After three extensive phases, the project was completed in November 2008. The teams had prioritized projects, programs and policies to restore and conserve Little Alamance Creek and had come up with ideas for restoration activities that would work.

Intuit Pay comes to Android

Intuit Pay enables users to take card payments on the go as well as from home or office. It includes a free app and pocket-sized chip & PIN card reader for face-to-face payments and a secure website for online payments from home or office, ideal for taking card payments over the phone.

With a simple application process, users can get activated and ready to take their first online payment within minutes of applying (subject to status and credit check) and receive the card reader in the post within a few days. There are no monthly fees or commitment - just a low fee of 2.75 per cent per transaction. The card reader is currently available for 49 (exc. VAT).

"Intuit Pay is already helping thousands of small businesses in the UK to sell more and get paid faster," said Mark Little, vice president and U.Find a great selection ofcustomkeychain deals.K. managing director for Intuit.Manufacturer of the Jacobs stonemosaic. "Customers love the speed, simplicity and security of card payments with Intuit Pay and now with availability on Android we are pleased to be able to extend the benefits to many more businesses."

David Waterfield, owner of DavesinPlymouth.co.uk, who has been using the Android app as part of the pilot, said "Intuit Pay has been fantastic and has allowed me to grow my business by accepting card payments at events across the country. The online application was very easy and I got the card reader within a few days. Most of my customers prefer to pay by card because of the security, so having the Intuit PaAbout buymosaic in China userd for paying transportation fares and for shopping.y app ready anytime and anywhere on my Android phone is a fantastic experience."

Intuit Pay provides a safe and secure method for card payments and is validated by Visa, EMV approved and fully compliant with PCI regulations. It is also supported by Global Payments to enable activation within minutes of applying and real-time merchant set-up.

Chris Davies, Managing Director, Global Payments, said: "Global Payments is committed to offering merchants of all sizes access to new payments technologgies to help them grow their business. Our partnership with Intuit Pay has helped us to further this ambition and bring card payments to a wide audience of micro businesses and their customers at an affordable price."

First, you're going to need a machine to play on. If buying a new laptop isn't an option, it's not the end of the world; WoW can run on some positively ancient hardware, if you're comfortable with playing on lower graphics-quality settings. After installing it on a few laptops during my last trip overseas, I can say with a reasonable degree of confidence that any dual-core system should be able to at least run the game well enough to login, chat, and browse the Auction House. (In chronological terms,If you are looking for rtls for your bathroom walls. that means any system since about 2010 or so, and some higher-end 2008-2009 systems.) Of course, if you want to do anything more vigorous than posting auctions and talking in guild chat, you'll want a better hunk of plastic. Raiding and battlegrounds, in particular, will heavily tax your system, so try it out on your machine BEFORE you go. Trust me; learning Alysrazor tornadoes was challenging by itself, learning them while playing as a healer moving at 5 FPS was even worse.

If you're buying a new machine for your trip, you've got a few things to consider. First, you'll want to determine what resolution you want to play at; most budget laptops have a max resolution of 1366x768 (or a slightly enhanced 720p) while most higher-quality laptops go up to 1920x1080 (1080p). Running in higher resolutions will of course look nicer, but you'll need a more powerful system to keep the same framerate, and you'll also likely need to tweak UI settings to be able to read everything. I highly recommend shelling out extra for the nicer resolution if you plan to use the machine for anything other than WoW and movies, but that's a personal budgetary choice. Incidentally, that brings me to another point; if you use a pre-compiled custom UI, many do not scale down well to laptop displays, so don't expect it to just work out of the box. (For more on this, see some of Olivia's excellent Reader UI columns, where she discusses laptop vs. desktop UI's.)

Once you've settled on a desired resolution, the next step is looking at CPU's and graphics cards. CPU's are easy; AMD makes some good chips, but your best best is going to be an Intel Core-series chip. Any of those will run WoW just fine; don't feel obligated to step up to the quad-core unless you really want to,Find a great selection ofcustomkeychain deals. as you'll get a much bigger boost from looking at a graphics card. Most budget machines will come without a separate graphics card, instead using the built-in graphics processing present in moden CPU's. This works, but you'll likely need to set your graphics to low to reach a playable framerate. For those looking to raid in 25-mans, run large battlegrounds, or just wanting a higher quality experience, you'll want a computer with a separate, or discrete, graphics card. Unfortunately, categorizing the vast array of graphics cards available is beyond the scope of this column, so visit a site such as notebookcheck.net to see some benchmarks. Finally, if you can afford the extra cost, running WoW off a solid-state drive (SSD) will cut loading times dramatically, and is highly-recommended.

6 Wedding Expenses you Should Always Charge on Credit

Wedding-related mishaps can turn any mild-mannered bride into a bridezilla, but they happen all the time, no matter how prepared you thought you were for the big day.

The florist may deliver your bouquet to the wrong address. Or the reception venue goes out of business just days before your wedding. Or maybe the caterer's appendix bursts and she's laid up in the hospital.

Whatever the disaster, you may be able to prevent an ill-timed snafu from turning into financial regret if you use a credit card, rather than cash or checks, to pay for certain expenses.

"I paid for my 2005 wedding with a credit card and I am glad I did," says one-time bride Alexandra Chauran of Issaquah,Learn how an embedded microprocessor in a bobblehead can authenticate your computer usage and data. Wash. When the beer keg she rented jammed at her reception, Chauran asked the vendor for her money back. No luck. "The company that rented it to me refused to refund my money,An experienced artist on what to consider before you buy chipcard." she says. "So I just disputed the charge with my credit card company and got all my money back that way."

The federal Fair Credit Billing Act gives you the right to dispute billing errors, including those for goods and services you didn't accept or that weren't delivered as agreed, as long as you dispute it within 60 days after the first bill containing the disputed charge was received.

In addition to the limited protections provided under the law, if you are unsatisfied with the quality of the goods or service, and aren't able to get satisfaction from the merchant, most credit card issuers will investigate, and may step in on your behalf and charge a purchase back to the vendor.

There are limits to the charge-it wedding strategy, however. For one, make sure you don't charge more than your wedding budget allows, says Gail Cunningham, vice president of public relations at the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. "If you do charge your wedding expenses, commit to paying them off in no less than three months," says Cunningham. "Starting a marriage with one foot in a financial hole is not a honeymoon."

Unless you're planning a quickie elopement or a simple backyard affair, you can expect to spend a lot on deposits, often months in advance of your wedding.

Most vendors require a deposit upfront in order to reserve their services on your wedding date. However, a lot can happen in between the time you sign up with a vendor and your wedding day.

The wedding venue you scoped out months before your wedding may file for bankruptcy, leaving you without a place to get married.The need for proper bestsmartcard inside your home is very important. Or the makeup artist you hired may be missing in action just hours before you're supposed to walk down the aisle.

That's why it's usually a good idea to charge your deposit, rather than pay for it in cash, says Gail Johnson, a wedding planner based in Decatur, Ga. That way, you can file a dispute with your credit card company and potentially get your money back. The card issuer is not obliged to repay you on behalf of a bankrupt merchant, since bailing you out would leave the issuer holding the bag, not you.Find a great selection of customkeychain deals.We have a wide selection of handsfreeaccess to choose from for your storage needs. But it might.

Unlike some deposits, however, "retainers are not refundable," says Johnson, which can make choosing the wrong wedding planner an especially costly mistake.

Most planners will charge extra fees for services well in advance of the wedding. That can add up to thousands of dollars in lost fees if your wedding planner fails to provide the services he or she promised. To minimize the costs of picking a bad planner, it's a good idea to charge any additional fees with your credit card. Check the agreement carefully -- before you pay that nonrefundable retainer -- to make sure you're not required to pay for some services in cash.

Problems with wedding-day vendors, including photographers, florists and DJs, are the top cause of claims filed by couples under their wedding insurance policies, according to an analysis of claims released in March 2013 by the insurance company Travelers.

If you're not willing to shell out for wedding insurance -- a type of policy that covers unforeseen disasters, such as bad weather, shady vendors and sometimes even cold feet -- it's a good idea to pay for those services with a card, especially if you're expected to pay in full before your wedding day.

Paying vendors by plastic could also relieve some stress on the day of the wedding if the vendor asks for more money than you anticipated, says Chauran. "We rented out a whole ski lodge for our wedding and about halfway through the reception, the lodge people said, 'We'll have to charge you more money.'" Chauran told them to put it on her tab and went back to her reception.

Wedding dresses are often custom-ordered and may take months to arrive from the manufacturer. In the meantime, the shop you ordered your dress from could fail to make the necessary alterations in time for your wedding when the dress does arrive.

Wedding planner Gail Johnson says there's also another reason why many of her brides decide to charge their wedding dresses. They're confident they'll be able to sell them after the wedding. "There are a lot of really good consignment shops," says Johnson. So brides who pay more for their dresses than they have in cash may be able to recoup some of that money shortly after the wedding to pay down their credit card purchase.

Dangerous Dealings

Its very rare that the winner of a poker tournament grabs a big stack early and rides it all the way to the final table and victory. Much more common is that on the way to any significant win your chip stack will fluctuate wildly, youll suffer bad beats, and have to overcome all manner of tough spots and adversity to claim glory.

Until youve experienced these ups and downs over and over again it can be difficult to know how to react when the heat is on. Even top pros sometimes struggle to cope with tilt or make strategical errors like playing too aggressively with a big stack. Its important that you are able to recognise these dangerous situations before they destroy your tournament dreams and send you home broke. PokerPlayer has employed its own Spidey Sense super powers to keep you on top of the danger zone

When youre card dead, short-stacked and raises are flying in all around you its easy to fold for hours at a time.Elpas Readers detect and forward 'Location' and 'State' data from Elpas Active RFID Tags to host besticcard platforms. You think to yourself, its fine, Ill find a spot to ship my fifteen big blinds in, I just have to wait. Suddenly that stack is now only 8 big blinds deep and now, because you fear you dont have any fold equity, you fold even more. This vicious cycle of decline happens to inexperienced poker players all the time.

The problem is that if you take too long in getting your short stack into the middle you are severely damaging your chances of first regaining a playable stack and then going on to do well in the remainder of the tournament. As soon as you get to fifteen big blinds or lower your head needs to always be on the look-out for decent spots to ship your stack in. From early position you still need to be relatively tight (you can loosen up the shorter you get), but if its folded to you on the button with 12 big blinds and J-6 off suit then ship it in! As long as you always retain above ten big blinds you will have a degree of fold equity, something which is much more important than knowing you are going to be called and having to rely on your hand winning.

One of the best ways to pick up chips as a shortie is by shoving and stealing the blinds and antes. Depending on the stage of the tournament four or five successful un-called shoves can be almost as valuable as doubling up.You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth carparkmanagementsystem truck Descriptions. If youre worried about being called then dont be. Lets face it, nobody is going to move from short stack to tournament chip leader without being in a lot of all-in showdowns. It would be great if you have the best hand when eventually called but its not essential. Being all-in with 7-6 suited versus A-K for a 32 big blind pot is a far more significant spot than reversing the hands (to give you the edge), and playing for 17 big blinds because you've allowed yourself to blind down.

If theres one major leak in my tournament game this is it. Time and time again I will get a big stack in a tournament and then completely implode within the next few levels by playing too many hands, three-betting too much and generally going overboard with aggression. The problem is that big stacks should typically play more hands than usual and should be aggressive C but its all about finding the right balance.

There must be a reason behind everything you do,The need for proper bestsmartcard inside your home is very important. especially when your decisions are likely to create a big pot. It is not a good enough reason to continually three-bet light just because you are the big stack and feel it's your duty or your right. You must have a better reason. Maybe a player is unlikely to ever four-bet without a monster so youll avoid being put in tricky spots or alternatively a player is likely to call your three-bet but has a long history of just check-folding on most flops.

Having a big stack is great because it allows you to have freedom in your preflop decisions. When a short stack ships it in with 12 big blinds and you have K-Q in the big blind you can now happily call off whereas the decision would be much tougher if the shove was for a higher percentage of your stack.

The ideal way to handle a big stack is to play lots of pots without ever putting yourself in a lot of danger (unless you have a monster hand). This is easier than it sounds. You need to be frequently raising to small amounts preflop in an attempt to either continually steal the blinds or get heads-up. From here youll be able to win chips by continuation betting half-pot on the flop or double barrelling on scare cards, such as an Ace or King.

Tilt can hit you when you least expect it,You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth carparkmanagementsystem truck Descriptions. and can have any number of triggers. It could come on because of a bad beat, it could be that theres an annoying pipsqueak at the table or it could be something as trivial as someone spilling a Coke on your lap by accident. No matter the reason, tilt can be deadly to a tournament poker player. Tilt causes you to lose your ability to make rational decisions and its vital to keep a level head. So how do we do it?

Theres often a simple and logical answer to these problems. Lets say you get Aces all-in preflop against Kings for a huge pot. Its all looking good until the river when a cruel King hits to give your opponent the pot. Its very easy to go on tilt in this circumstance as you look at all those chips slide across the table when they should be yours. Instead, take your time, take a few deep breaths and count your stack accurately so you know how many big blinds you are left with. Its important to forget what just happened and solely focus on what you can do to influence your future in the tournament.

The same attitude is important when faced with any situation that can tilt you at the poker table. Youre getting annoyed by table chat? Just put your headphones on and shut them out. Angry with the dealer because he made a mistake that cost you? Remember that a dealer wouldnt do this on purpose and accidents happen. Theres always a rational way to react to situations that doesnt involve tilting.

Tournament poker can be very frustrating if theres a loose-aggressive player on your table who is bullying everyone. Its annoying if you want to pinch a few blinds but you cant because hes beat you to it. Or if you want to isolate the limping fish but the bully has already raised it up to five big blinds and you only have J-9. On the surface it can appear impossible to take a table bully down if you arent getting dealt good cards. Thats not quite the case though.

Theres a breaking point for all bullies.You can order besthandsfreeaccess cheap inside your parents. You should test where the aggressors breaking point is by throwing in the odd light three-bet if you feel he is getting out of line too much. Even if he plays back at you and you are forced to fold its not a terrible outcome. In the future you are now much more likely to get maximum value C by the aggro player four-bet jamming light for example C when you eventually do have a hand near the top of your range when you three-bet.

The same advice applies postflop. You can quickly assess how far the looseaggressive player is willing to go if you float and bluff-raise flops you think will have missed him. As a general guide dry flops such as K-6-3 are really good to do this on while you should avoid boards like A-Q-T which have probably hit most opening ranges in some form.

The onus doesnt have to be on you to play back at him either. Many hyperaggressive players will have a major leak in that they dont adjust to different players well. If you feel that a player is continually in fifth gear and not paying attention to which of the other players at the table are tight or loose then theres no need for you to set up an image. Just wait for a strong hand and trap him with small three-bets and raises postflop.

Home insulation C an affordable option for all homeowners

A warm and healthy home is at last an agreed upon prerequisite this winter -- thanks to a government insulation grant being offered to home owners. The programme is called Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart and the primary goal is straight forward C to financially assist home owners to bring their homes up to modern insulation standards. Simply put, if you own a house that was built before the year 2000, you can receive a $1,300 (or 33%) contribution towards the cost of ceiling and under floor insulation and its installation. The conditions for the insulation grant are that both ceiling and under floor spaces are insulated at the same time and that the material used is approved by Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart. Approved insulation materials include wool,You can order besthandsfreeaccess cheap inside your parents. polyester, fibreglass mineral fibre and polystyrene products. 

To qualify for a government contribution you will need an approved assessor to give you an insulation quote. The work then needs to be carried out by an approved insulation installer. Harrisons Home Energy Solutions, a Kiwi owned family business that has been in operation since 1962 are approved insulation installers and are looking forward to providing New Zealand home owners with quality insulation that is guaranteed to keep homes warmer and drier and bills significantly smaller this winter. 

If you have inadequate insulation, take heart in knowing you are not alone C nearly 60% of all New Zealand homes have inadequate insulation. Around 35% of the energy used in an average New Zealand household goes on heating your home C thats a lot of wasted heat for homes with inadequate insulation! A BRANZ study found that adding insulation increased temperatures by 1.4 degrees in winter and reduced energy use by 300-400 KWH. Another study by the University of Otago showed that electricity consumption was reduced by up to 9% during winter in homes retro-fitted with insulation. 

Governments the world over regularly revise budgets and it is exactly these kinds of areas that will get cut when times are tight, so its best to grab this opportunity now.You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth carparkmanagementsystem truck Descriptions. The good news is that the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme is not the only source of potential funding for your insulation. There are a number of generous grants and smart finance options available, some of which include a council grant (for insulation in Auckland and Wellington). There are of course conditions attached to these grants, and a reputable insulation company such as Harrisons Home Energy Solutions can help you find out if your house meets the councils criteria. Interest-free finance is another avenue to explore for approved insulation products. In the case of Harrisons Home Energy Solutions, there are Q Card, Gem Visa and GE CreditLine options available. Then finally,You Can Find Comprehensive and in-Depth carparkmanagementsystem truck Descriptions. extending your mortgage is another possibility and certain banks may advance the money to install or upgrade your homes insulation as they see it as a worthwhile investment. 

Adonis North East Independent Economic Review, which began work six months ago, says that the combined authority "has a leading role to play in a number of areas including housing and place making, tourism and the new economy". 

One of the key recommendations is that a new transport delivery agency called Transport North East should be set up with "responsibility for the strategic planning of transport", serving the combined authority. 

The report states: "The agency should be tasked with developing and implementing a transport strategy to serve the overall economic and spatial development strategy of the combined authority, and a prioritised transport investment programme." 

Adonis said the agency would manage government funding for major transport schemes, which the Department for Transport is devolving to local areas. It would replace the existing Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority, the report adds. 

The report goes on to say that the North East "needs a considerable increase in new housing" which should be "developed in sustainable locations, close to employment centres and with easy access to public transport networks". 

But it notes: "Developers in the region and property professionals are of the strong view that both land supply and the planning process is hindering new development." 

It goes on to say that developers "believe there are too few easy to develop sites in attractive locations to meet demand" and that "many brownfield sites are unlikely to be developed until a healthy market is well established". 

The report recommends that the proposed combined authority should "help stimulate the market" by working with developers and using funding from government housing quango the Homes & Communities Agency to bring forward new housing. It also says "innovative" market products should be created to make it easier for families buy homes. 

The report further calls for the LEP and local authorities to work with the government to make sure there is comprehensive superfast broadband connectivity across rural areas by 2016. 

The report was welcomed by Greg Clark, financial secretary to the Treasury, and former Conservative Party chairman Lord Heseltine, whose own economic growth report was published last autumn. 

For better or worse and playwright Samuel D. Hunter is smart enough to see it's probably very much for the better the play titled "The Whale" has become known in theater circles as the play about the really fat guy stuck on a couch. 

Every new drama penned in a crowded marketplace needs a calling card, and the opening image of Hunter's "The Whale," which will open Monday in Chicago at the Biograph Theatre after drawing much attention at New York's Playwrights Horizons last fall, is a doozy: As the curtain rises, you discover a man who weighs 600 pounds blinking back at you. 

Aside from allowing an audience to marvel at the miracles of fat suits (Dale Calandra, who plays the obese Charlie at Victory Gardens, is nowhere close to that weight), there is the sheer force of an image wherein the main character of a play seems to wear his neuroses right on his body. 

You wouldn't say that "The Whale" was the breakthrough play for Hunter, who is just 31, hails from Idaho and studied at the University of Iowa. That title rightly belongs to his "A Bright New Boise." 

But there is no question that the New York success of "The Whale" has, well,You can order besthandsfreeaccess cheap inside your parents. supersized Hunter's career. 

He says he didn't start out writing "The Whale" as a play about a really fat guy. "I did not think that the main character would be 600 pounds," Hunter said in an interview this week. 

Rather, he said, he wanted to pen something about empathy and honesty, after musing on such matters while teaching writing at Rutgers University. But such qualities can be ephemeral and, well, "The Whale" has stuck. 

And he's fine with the notion that this is the play about the really fat guy on the couch, stuck like a Beckettian hero of his own tragedy. Mostly fine, anyway. 

"Well, it does rub me the wrong way sometimes," Hunter said. "But if people come into this play thinking it is about a fat guy, then maybe the journey for them is a bit more surprising." 

One interesting question is how much of a role Chicago will play in Hunter's exploding career. Hunter is, for the record, a prolific playwright. "The Whale" (directed at Victory Gardens by Joanie Schultz) is not his only play in Chicago at present: LiveWire Chicago is staging his 2011 work, "A Permanent Image," at the Storefront Theatre. It is a moving piece about a family in crisis, and it sits on my list of recommended shows. 

But the main Chicago connection for Hunter is to be Victory Gardens, which just announced him as a new ensemble member. Given all the changes at that theater company, which is still reeling from the force of the transition to new artistic leadership under Chay Yew,Elpas Readers detect and forward 'Location' and 'State' data from Elpas Active RFID Tags to host besticcard platforms. Hunter is treading carefully in Chicago. 

"It is important," he said, "for me not to waltz into Chicago as a new ensemble playwright and assume Chicago loves me. If they like my work, then I very much want to become part of this incredible community. I am thinking of this as my introduction."