No Spec Work - Rewarding Creativity Properly

Opthalmologists require far more than professional knowledge, something that’s arguably even more important than their experience; for what they actually want above all are the tools for the job to help them produce results as swiftly as they possibly can. We will look at three necessary items now — revolving around diagnosis, patient comfort, and equipment storage, and what to remember when buying these and similar items, be they used, new, remanufactured or simply refurbished. Employed to take intraocular pressure, tonometers come in several different styles including non-contact, applanation, dynamic contour, and handheld disposable models. A selection of models or a particular personal preference might suit the needs of just about every optometrist. The tonometers you choose to buy need to be high quality. Your diagnostic task becomes significantly easier if you can boast both precision and ease of use with this kind of ophthalmic equipment.

Opthalmologists often find nothing more obstructive than being unable to position the patient at the correct angle to carry out a proper exam, and as each patient is different, this is a common problem. Consequently, choosing the optimal exam chairs is every bit as much about comfort as it is about flexibility. Look for fully adjustable exam chairs that can raise and lower even the smallest patient until they are at the correct height. The patient’s appointment should be made in comfort, with the examination chairs you chose supporting him. In-depth examinations will prove this to be especially important.

Your optometric equipment must be stored away somewhere, and preferably somewhere offering easy access when you want it. The time proven system is a group of treatment cabinets with a number of useful features: flexible shelving, leveling glides for use on uncertain flooring, and the like. These cabinets are easy to relocate to any area of your practice which requires what they contain and to contain everything else you need. Make sure, nonetheless, that you buy a cabinet that won’t be too bulky for easy maneuvering. Just three of the pieces of optometry equipment that will affect your capacity to do in your job are the treatment cabinet, the exam chair, and the tonometer. Determine what your precise requirements are — make a list! — before beginning ordering equipment. Expectably, purchasing ill-designed or imprecise instruments will be certain to invoke problems, inversely, the simpler to handle and the more ergonomic your gear, the better your performance is going to be. You’ll find yourself positively surprised by how much easier the right equipment can make your practice… In conclusion, the tools you eventually decide on can have a sizeable impact on how well you do in your job in general, and, not to forget, on the survival of your practice.

Help is now at hand, with the launch of O2’s new technical support services. This service, aptly called ‘O2 Tech Support’ is for its broadband customers only.

The new service offers paid access to helpdesk executives to deal with all the computer related issues, whether it is creating an e-mail account, downloading and installing programs or even formatting the hard drive. People still need help with deciphering the various controls and features that come with their computers.

Commenting on the launch, Jonathan Earle, the head of Monthly Pay at O2 said that customers are looking for a one-stop shop for all of their technology needs and O2 Tech Support fulfils this need to a great extent. O2 also offers the customer a guarantee that if they cannot fix a certain problem, then they do not charge customers for it. If however your issue is not technical related, but rather more broadband service related, head to a dedicated broadband website for free advice, information and offers like a laptop for free, which will certainly save you a bundle and there’s no charge for asking for help.

The O2 technical service has two kinds of subscription - a monthly charge ranging from £7.34 per month, with a minimum subscription of 3 months and a per-use payment which starts at £14.69. It is the latter that carries the guarantee, and should save users from hefty bills in the event that their problem is not solved.

The only issue likely to arise is if genuine broadband setup queries (which are dealt with for free) get routed to the revenue generating Tech Support desk. But it is expected that O2 will have a mechanism to prevent this from happening.

Laptops for gaming were once only for the wealthy and not for the majority of us. The shipments were not really amazing but they did generate great cash on each unit than others. Everyone wanted this kind of laptop, but at the price they were sold for it was basically unaffordable. They were basically desktop rivals and the highest performing, best laptop computer you could acquire. Laptops for gaming would get people thrilled about what’s to widely available in a couple of years but I do not think they would buy laptop computers like this whilst being aware the price is going to drop quickly. Well established manufacturers have lately released their own gaming laptops so its all changing as I say this.

I guess they would categorise it as a high grade item and make tons of cash on these particularly with their mass production facilities. It is definitely a great path to larger gross profits. In my point of view larger brands can apply leverage to convince potential purchasers to buy laptop computers regardless of cost. If I were a smaller system builder I would probably be thinking of plans to react to this type of competition. This one time premium technology is basically going to be directed at everyone now. People just feel tons more confident making a large purchase from a brand name.

I think they surely are manufacturing a couple of the best laptop computers out to buy. In my view the unknown retailers essentially pounce on this if they are to be profitable. I reckon people that get these kinds of systems like to be able to spec up their laptop. People that get high spec laptop computers will normally look past the pointless details. In a few cases the speed is far more important than the design for certain types of people. This is really good news from a customers position. As this pushes down the prices even more, premium technology will get even more affordable to the market. Though I say that, I’m not really assured with my predictions. New laptops are always being launched and that should hold costs relatively high. Competition always makes companies to create better products and provide greater value so that appears good.

Do all of us really need a laptop computer? It sure seems that way because demand is skyrocketing. Taiwan, which is the main manufacturing country of laptops is struggling with the demand at the moment. Despite credit crunches and other economic conditions laptop computer sales have increased year on year and it doesn’t seem to decline any time soon. It’s an industry which is also tough to keep up with it terms of technology because its shifting all the time.

More manufacturers are appreciating that gaming notebooks is becoming big enough niche to go after. With prices coming down and new technology being introduced rather quickly it means that purchasers are getting more value. I play games on my laptop on a regular basis and must say I’m surprised how playable few of the intense games are. Even more impressive these days I think is how slick the cases are getting especially when you think about much performance is in them. Sure one is not disagreeing that there is a performance gap between notebooks and desktop pcs in terms of gaming tasks however this should always remain. Gaming notebooks are the test of performance for the notebook business and it will be interesting to see how the next technology ranks.

I think demand for custom laptops will always be around. With custom built notebooks you typically get to discover what make of parts is going into the laptop. Defining what you want simply is the prime advantage. If you will be doing more intensive activities on your laptop then those premade units will probably not offer all the features and speed you desire. So clearly this is why you need a custom notebook computer. There are tons of system builders offering custom notebooks, with great customer service. I certainly think this is a major thing that goes in favour for purchasing a laptop thats made to .

Amazing is a word that comes to mind when thinking of the next line of laptop computers. One subject I haven’t touched upon is the growth of low cost ultramobiles. They have their divided sector in the laptop market in such a little space of time. Large screen and extrodinarily lightweight, that’s what everyone should embrace. If you employ slightly less potent parts then I figure this is really doable already. Guessing from whats going on it seems like we’ll start seeing ultra mobile gaming units. All the brands are looking to launch the next big noteboo so it’ll be interesting to see.

I’d recommend these if you’re in search of the best gaming laptops.

CCNA and CCNP candidates need to know all about Setup Mode, why a router goes into that mode, and as you’ll see, how to get out of that mode. Practicing Setup Mode at work is a good way to get fired, though, so you need to practice this on your CCNA / CCNP home lab or rack rental. In this article, we’ll take a look at a Cisco 2500 router going into setup mode and a few tips that will help you pass the exams and excel at your job.

First, why does a router go into Setup Mode in the first place? When a Cisco router boots up, the router looks into Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM) for the startup configuration file. If such a file is not found, and the router has not been programmed to look to a TFTP server for this file, the router enters setup mode.

The most common reason for a router not to have a startup configuration file is that the file’s been erased. We will now erase this file on our 2500 router. As you’ll see, the Cisco router warns us about erasing NVRAM and makes us confirm this choice, which it acknowledges with the OK message.

R1#write erase

Erasing the nvram filesystem will remove all files! Continue? [confirm]

[OK]

Erase of nvram: complete

R1#

The router will now be reloaded. There is a slightly misleading message displayed during reboot:

R1#reload

Proceed with reload? [confirm]

00:15:21: %SYS-5-RELOAD: Reload requested

System Bootstrap, Version 11.0(10c)XB1, PLATFORM SPECIFIC RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)

Copyright (c) 1986-1997 by cisco Systems

2500 processor with 14336 Kbytes of main memory

Notice: NVRAM invalid, possibly due to write erase.

That notice doesn’t mean the NVRAM is corrupt or unusable; this message means the NVRAM doesn’t have a startup configuration file.

The router will continue to boot and finally present you with this prompt:

— System Configuration Dialog —

Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]:

Almost every WAN engineer I know answers “no” to this question, because Setup Mode is a long, clumsy way to set up a router (in my humble opinion). We will answer “yes” in order to see this mode in action.

— System Configuration Dialog —

Would you like to enter the initial configuration dialog? [yes/no]: y

At any point you may enter a question mark ‘?’ for help.

Use ctrl-c to abort configuration dialog at any prompt.

Default settings are in square brackets ‘[]’.

Basic management setup configures only enough connectivity
for management of the system, extended setup will ask you
to configure each interface on the system

Would you like to enter basic management setup? [yes/no]: y

Configuring global parameters:

Enter host name [Router]: R1

The enable secret is a password used to protect access to

privileged EXEC and configuration modes. This password, after

entered, becomes encrypted in the configuration.

Enter enable secret:

% No defaulting allowed

Enter enable secret:

Already, there’s something about Setup Mode that you might not like. This mode forces you to set an enable password and an enable secret password. As you continue in this mode, you’ll see this mode ask you questions about every single interface on the router, even if you’re not planning to use that interface. Using Setup Mode really does get quite old after a while, again in my opinion.

One of the most important things about Setup Mode is knowing how to get out of it without saving the configuration. One way is at the very end of this mode, where you can answer “no” to “Do you want to save this configuration?” I personally never make it that far! Instead of waiting until the end of Setup Mode, we can use the CTRL-C key combination to abort this mode and ignore the changes.

Configuration aborted, no changes made.

Press RETURN to get started!

Setup Mode is not a mode that CCNA and CCNP candidates get a great deal of practice with, but you will be tested on your knowledge about it both in the exam room and on the job. And once you start configuring a router with this mode, you’ll be glad you know how to get out of it!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages.
For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” and “How To Pass The CCNP”, visit the website and download your free copies. You can also get FREE CCNA and CCNP exam questions every day! Pass the CCNA exam with The Bryant Advantage!

At the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) convention earlier this month in Chicago, former President Bill Clinton sent a message to those in attendance: the biotechnology industry has a job to do.

In his speech, the former President discussed the importance that biotechnology has in food security and health issues in the developing world. He said the first obligation of society is to feed people and that biotechnology can help individuals feed more people while addressing environmental concerns. He also stressed the need for interdependence in the world today as well as the unsolved problems that biotechnology is uniquely suited to face.

Clinton also discussed the need to efficiently manage agricultural production. He mentioned several key aspects of environmental health that agricultural biotechnology can address, including climate change and top soil erosion.

“All of these applications of biotechnology have the potential to lift people out of poverty,” he said.

The former President also asserted that scientific evidence should rule any debate over issues such as genetically modified foods. He said that in America, we “should be driven by science, evidence, and argument, not by assertion and fear.”

Former President Clinton called upon the biotechnology industry to work to reduce the spread of a variety of diseases, including infectious diseases, guard against pandemics, create genetically engineered foods that will feed more of the world’s hungry, tap into sources of renewable energy, and confront global warming head on.

“When we empower individuals to feed and care for their families,” he said. “It is a good thing.”

As President, Bill Clinton supported the development of biotechnology and its practical applications in American life, as well as the development of genetic engineering and agriculture, and since he left office in 2001, President Clinton has dedicated almost all of his time to support causes, from raising funds for Hurricane Katrina victims in the United States to helping individuals with AIDS receive the drugs they need. He has seen first hand the needs that biotechnology can address around the world and the good that genetically modified foods can bring to developing nations in feeding the poor.

I agree with what former President Clinton said in his speech. Modern biotechnology holds such an importance in the world today and these continued developments should not be driven by the fearful beliefs that those opposed to biotechnology and genetically modified foods continuously try to impose upon the general public.

The world needs to support biotechnology, genetically modified foods, and the innovative developments the technology can bring in order to ensure a better future and life for all.

There are many different printer types and models in the market today — so many in fact that you really have to give serious thought to how you’re going to use your next printer. Some printers are better at printing photos than others, while some printers area so advanced that they can double as a copier. Before ever paying a visit to Best Buy or Staples, be sure to give your needs some serious thought. The worst thing you can do is to make an impulse buy or allow a pushy salesman to talk you into a printer with features you’ll never use.

Once you determine how you’re going to use your new printer, spend some time researching printers online. There are many great websites that have compiled hundreds of printer reviews. Spend some time reviewing printer specifications to get feel for what’s out there. Pay close attention to print speed (measured in pages per minute). Look for printer that produces output at the rate of about 20+ pages per minute in black and white. Also look at resolution - there are many printers in the market today that offer very low resolution print outs. If you plan on printing photos, high resolution is critical.

The absolute best advice - read what other consumers had to say about printers. Amazon, Epinions, and other online shopping sites including my site (http://www.inkcartridgesworld.com/_printers.html) have collected user feedback on most printers. This is a great indicator of how good the printer really is. You can gain considerable insight into common printer problems that you never would have known about. You’ll probably want to steer clear of printers that have known issues with paper jams, that use excessive ink or are probe to smudging, and printers that under deliver.

My last recommendation - check out costs of replacement ink cartridges before making a final purchase decision. Ink cartridge prices are at all ends of the pricing spectrum. Obviously, you want to find the least expensive inkjet cartridges. Remember, you’ll be replacing printer cartridges once every couple of months. Can you afford to pay $50 every time you run out of ink? Be especially weary of printers that cost less than $100 - they usually require the most expensive replacement cartridges.

Bill Smith is an expert on printers and ink cartridges. Visit his website, http://www.buythebestbuy.com, for more information about printers and ink.

The CD was introduced with great fanfare in 1982 and soon supplanted the audio cassette due to high quality digital sound. You could bring your portable cd player anywhere to listen to high quality audio music. The next revolution started with the acceptance of mp3 music. MP3 stands for Moving Pictures Expert Group 1 Audio Layer 3. This mp3 technology allows for the compression of normal CD audio file in WAV format and reduces the size of the file by a factor of 10 to 1. That means you can stored thousands of songs in a small portable player while previously a CD player could only hold a CD at a time.

Having a audio compression file format allows music to be easily distributed . Instead of having to go to the CD shop to buy your CD , you can now download from the internet the songs which you want. An MP3 player also offers skip free music while a CD player doesn’t. Also, flash based memory mp3 players have no moving parts which enable longer lasting battery life not to mention less occurrence of break down or failure due to moving parts. Mp3 players also allow the ability to create play list of songs while cd players generally have limited capability in this arena. Finally, now there’s no need to buy an entire music album. You can buy just one song instead of the whole album. It makes more sense since you may only like one particular song.

Does it mean that CD technology is a goner? Not necessarily, firstly although mp3 allows for huge numbers of songs to be stored a portable flash memory or hard disk player the sound quality is compromised. Of course we can’t tell the difference because of mp3 removes information pertaining to frequencies which we are unable to hear. Remember the audio cassette technology which preceded the cd technology ?Well, it is still around. It still has uses and purposes.

CD player have advantages in that CD players are cheaper than mp3 players. There is no need to buy storage media which is expensive. Songs in mp3 format have different sound volume levels while in a CD you get consistent sound volume. Why bother with the hassle of encoding, transferring and managing files which is troublesome, time consuming and more demanding when you can just simply pop in a new CD and get instant gratification. Also, if you travel to a less developed country , a CD player proves to be more useful as access to broadband is hard to find for downloading of your internet music. In addition, CD can last a life time and are virtually indestructible compared to a mp3 hard drive or flash memory players which have a limited life span and could spoil.

Lastly, you don’t have to face headache of incompatibility issue as some players can play only specific file format.

About the Author

The writer is the webmaster of Understanding Technology

In Corrogue this Anam Cara or Soul Friend is coming to his senses.

This morning it is a wet and windy Sunday morning. Each Sunday morning is an extended morning of rest. It is a morning of practice. I practice slowly coming to my senses. It is a morning in which I practice deep caring for the body and the soul. This is a practice of awareness of the sensationalism of life moment to moment.

We are beings of the senses.

We make sense of our world via the senses. The senses are gateways. They keep us locked into a certain reality but they can be the medium of freedom from the limitation we call “our life.” For too long religion has labelled the senses as something “not quite nice.” For too long we have separated our senses as being something “not spiritual.” Many of our religions have done the same with the sensational experience we call sex.

As an Aman Cara I teach spirituality of the senses. I teach what Van Morrison calls “A sense of wonder.” An Anam Cara teaches you to honour the sensuality and grace of the body. They teach you to honour this grace by letting go “disgrace that is inherent in our social conditioning. Our nature is the nature of grace and not the illusion of disgrace. Our nature is the nature of beauty.

Coming to our senses is what I call, “The feeling way.”

Being attentive to the senses allows life to be felt as sensational. We tend to see that which is sensational as being outside ourselves. We gather more and more sensational images in our newspapers, on our televisions and from other media forms. We ourselves do not enter the sensational. Thus we lock ourselves out of heaven. This heaven is this wonder called “life” in the eternal now.

We do not enter the sensational realisation that we are the “flow of life.”

We have become non-sensible people. We have become cerebral people. We try to “make sense.” We do not attune ourselves to being “able to sense.” This is not surprising. As children we felt sensational. We knew in ways we have forgotten.

We knew what we liked and did not like. We just did not have the words to explain. This was until we were told that trusting our senses was “not nice.” It could mean that you told the truth and God help us someone might then be offended. You might have known that Joe Bloggs was not safe to be around but you overrode this fact by being told that you were not “being nice.”

Thus your sensational body and its wondrous intelligence were swapped for the experience of “niceness in all things.” You took the first steps away from trusting your “inner telling sense.” For most of us the experience of trusting ourselves was downhill from there on in.

An Anam Cara encourages you to return to the wisdom of the body and the senses. This is the whole body and not just from the neck up. The Anam Cara values your sensitivity. They value trust in your sensitivity. The senses take you into a deeper appreciation of beauty than any cerebral description. The senses take you into the place of the now. This is the only time you have to be alive. This is the only place where you can have the time of your life.

Developing sensitivity means trusting the wisdom of the senses.

It means trusting the wisdom of the body. It means trusting your inner knowing. This is your intuition and your inner teaching. It requires the ability to feel the feelings that flow in, or are blocked in, the body. These are all feelings. Thus you begin to perceive life in the body and not life in the head. Your body becomes a vehicle for seeing the real life beyond “thinking about” your life.

Coming to your senses makes you more sensible.

This is not sensible in a cerebral sense. This is the less used bodily wisdom we call the “ability to sense.” When you are more able to allow your body to sense you make clearer decisions. You are not so threatened. You have no need to constantly rationalise your choices.

When you begin to come to your senses you may in many ways appear rude. This is only at the beginning. You are changing the vibrational rate of your body. You are becoming more refined. You are becoming more holistic and holy. You are becoming an individual with your own sense of who you are.

As you come to your senses you begin to drop what is no longer needed.

You may drop toxic relationships. You will begin to avoid toxic people even if to do so may make you appear not “a nice person.” Let me tell you that you will survive such a judgement. Just stay with this. Coming to your senses gives you a sense of your own authority.

When you begin coming to your senses you allow others the opportunity to come to their senses. They are toxic because they are separate from love. Coming to your senses allows them to sense the perfume of wisdom. This is the sense of knowing who they are and knowing that they belong here as a Divine being. Is this not a gift worth spending time to discover and sharing with others?

Coming to your senses means you learn to avoid senseless action.

Much of the action we engage with is designed to make us senseless. We turn up switch off and switch on the television. We zone out and we call this re-creation and renewal. Over a period we shut down our senses and we need greater sensationalism in order to get the same fix. More powerful images of violence and unhappiness are required to penetrate our defences. We become people of the part and people apart. We become what my teacher Osho calls “logic choppers. We rationalize our lives. We forget who we are and do not wake up to this miraculous gift of life.

Thus we miss beauty.

Beauty is sensational. Our inner beauty is sensational. It has been covered in the dust of judgment and unacceptability ever since we were small children. Beauty is expressed from the inner to the outer. While outer beauty is a delight it will diminish in time. Inner beauty is the essence of love that lives within the timeless. Learning to know and be this can be one of our greatest gifts in growing older.

We have to start now.

We are becoming more deeply separate from what is elemental. We are becoming more separate from our essentialness. It is time to return to the wisdom of the body. It is time to return to the senses and the sensational inner awareness of “what is.” Then you may glimpse what it is to go beyond the senses to the timeless wonder of now.

This winter do not fight tiredness in the body.

Take more rest. Go to bed earlier. We often think we should go to sleep at set times. We forget we are embodiments of energy subject to the rhythms of the seasons. Most of the life force on this Northern hemisphere is now deeply asleep. This energy will begin to awaken in its own time. All life will begin to open to the coming of the light.

This week I wish you a sensational, sensible and sensuous experience of being in your body now.

Remember to breathe in and breathe out. Remember too that the blessing is already here. You are it. All you have to do is become sensitive to your own sense of wonder. For a time this week give up “logic” for the “illogical” and the sensational. After adequate rest in the body wake up and expect the miraculous.

Love and blessings to you all.

© 2005 Tony Cuckson Irish Blessings Matter

About the Author

Tony Cuckson is an Anam Cara. This Celtic term means “Soul Friend.” He specializes in providing insight for the spiritual journey, Irish Blessings, words of wisdom and finding inner peace. Get your free report called “7 ways to it’s a wonderful life” at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.com or visit Tony’s Blog at http://www.irishblessingsmatter.info for the best resources on spiritual growth.

When studying for your Cisco CCNA, CCNP, or CCIE exam, you’ve got a powerful online weapon at your disposal. It’s Cisco Connection Documentation, found at www.cisco.com/univercd. This site contains product, code, and protocol documentation for all Cisco products.

Many exam candidates really don’t start using this powerful tool until they’re studying for their more advanced exams. However, it’s important for CCNAs, CCNPs, and candidates for these certifications to learn their way around this site. It comes in handy for finding default values that Cisco really enjoys asking about on exams, and the protocol documentation found there can help you study as well.

The site can be a little overwhelming for newcomers, but it’s actually easy to navigate. On the site’s homepage, you’re presented with a list of products and several drop-down menus. To get started, I suggest you choose “Cisco IOS Software” in the top-right drop-down menu, and select a code version. 12.2 is a good one to start with. From there, select the IOS Release 12.2 Configuration Guide and Command References.

You’re then presented with a list of technologies, and each has a Configuration Guide and a Command Reference. If you’re studying Interior Gateway Protocols at this point (such as OSPF, RIP, and EIGRP), select “IP Configuration Guide” and then “IP Routing Protocols”.

You then have the official Cisco documentation on how to configure RIP, IGRP, OSPF, EIGRP, ISIS, and BGP. Reading this documentation is invaluable. Many study guides skip the details to give you an overview of the protocol. This documentation doesn’t skip anything. The documentation shows how and when to use any command for that protocol. There are also real-world examples and notes on when to use each command. I’ve always learned something new when reading the online Cisco documentation.

You can then back out and go through the same steps for the Command Reference. For those studying for Cisco exams, this section will quickly answer any question you have about a command’s syntax or default values. Instead of trying to remember which book you saw a value in, just zoom out to this site and you’ll have your answer in seconds. Real-world examples of command usage are prevalent as well.

As with anything, the more you use the online Cisco documentation, the better you get at it. The Configuration Guide for the various Cisco switches give you a great picture of how switches work. I highly recommend reading at least one of their switches’ config guides.

Beyond any exam value the online Cisco documentation gives you, it serves another valuable purpose. The more you use it now, and the more comfortable you get with it, the better you’ll be with it when the day comes that you need it on the job. And trust me - that day will come!

Chris Bryant

CCIE #12933

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage (www.thebryantadvantage.com), home of free CCNA and CCNP tutorials, The Ultimate CCNA Study Package, and Ultimate CCNP Study Packages. Video courses and training, binary and subnetting help, and corporate training are also available.

For a FREE copy of his latest e-books, “How To Pass The CCNA” or “How To Pass The CCNP”, send a request to chris@thebryantadvantage.com today !