The Range - 'Diversity' Sunday, December 26, 2010

Street dance TV commercial featuring Britain's Got Talent winners Diversity for home, retail and leisure superstore chain, The Range. Broadcast on ITV 1. Concept by Koala, TV commercials company and AdWise, Nottingham creative agency. Director Neil Scholes. Producer Phil Brice, Koala



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO0QOCmKVPY&hl=en

IT Support Service - Great Assistance to Your Business Saturday, December 25, 2010

IT support services are usually provided in the form of a help desk that is accessible by means of e-mail, website, and phone. Its charges are frequently in the monthly form or yearly fee based on the number of operations used and accessibility to the users.

The model of support here is usually different from others depending on the vertical of the industry that it aids. In case of technical domains, this support model is usually quite intensive in the form of experts who offer on-site support and remote support, also. The technical support is generally composed into a phased strategy because the problems faced are rather complicated including various complex aspects. However, practice has resulted into good customer satisfaction. The various pioneering ways such as customer profile or tracking client as well as the background of support has lead to cutting off the time of resolution.

The quality of support offered helps to evaluate the performance of the information technology solutions. Research has however, proved a fact that a solution that is being customized such as a cell phone model that is designed for the commercial clients is quite successive; if it is harmonized with a pro-active after-sales support. The IT support services involve the business and technical related consultancy services which, in turn leads to good returns on your investments. The technical services provided are subjected to problems such as server downtime or system outages. However, the IT support service checks and supervises the systems to protect or repair the technical obstacles.

This practice has resulted in supporting services being regarded important in order to discover and protect the potential hazards related to the plans of business continuity. This process has led to higher accessibility of business vital functions al the time converting into threat productivity. There are systems such as anti-spyware, anti-virus, server authentication, password management, firewalls and many others that has resulted into secure as well as safe networking all the time and any time. Information privacy is being maintained at a high priority level that is most crucial for the commercial businesses. Storage is another problem that the information technology support services take care of because a number of businesses operate in a active environment including regular logs as well as records.

A crash in a particular system will definitely freeze or hinder the process of functioning because of the data losses. In such a case, the IT support serviced involves features such as periodic data back up in order to make sure the record continuity in case of technical difficulties or obstacles, if any. The companies are hence, are at a great advantage in more than a single way by making sure that they get the best support services without using any of their own resources. The professional as well as expert technicians and engineers make sure that the clients are easily accessible to support using the high-resolution percentage.

Philips Taylor Brown offers IT support in the Nottingham area, tailored to suit the needs of any business. Visit their website now for more information if you are looking for IT Support Nottingham

Candlemaking History - From Caveman to Modern Manufacturing Tuesday, December 21, 2010

"Now, as to the light of the candle. We will light one or two, and set them at work in the performance of their proper functions". - Michael Faraday, The Chemical History of a Candle, London 1908

The history of candle making began with the discovery of fire. That makes it approximately 790,000 years old, based on evidence found in 2008 at the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov site in northern Israel. It is widely accepted that the first candles were actually torches that were used to transport fire.

The next crude candle that we know about was made by the ancient Egyptians by soaking straw or reed in naturally occurring resin or melted animal fat (called tallow). There is also evidence that the ancient Romans rolled papyrus and dipped it repeatedly in tallow or beeswax. This may have been the first instance of a true candle as we think of it today.

It is believed that candle making technology was developed simultaneously by many primitive cultures. There is strong evidence for this because most religions use candles; and candles are often mentioned in historical religious texts. For example, Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, which centers on lighting candles, dates back to 165 B.C. In China and Japan, early candles were molded inside paper tubes, with wicks made from rolled rice paper, and the wax came from seeds and an insect called a "Cocus." In India, candle wax was made from the fruit of the cinnamon tree.

As early as the 7th century in the Byzantine Empire, the first professional candle makers, called chandlers, may have originated. In the Book of Eparch, which provided regulations for economic trade in the Empire, there are rules forbidding the use of beef or sheep tallow in candle making. According to Marcus Rautman in Daily Life in the Byzantine Empire, "Candle makers were required to work out of shops and not sell their goods in the street or market. They often sold their wares by weight and with separate holders; broken candles might also be brought to them for repair."

As you might imagine, tallow produced an awful stench. In the Middle Ages, in Europe, beeswax candles were introduced. These not only emitted a pleasant smell, but they weren't nearly as smoky. Very desirable, indeed, but very expensive. Beeswax candles were used in churches and in the homes of the very rich. The rest of the population continued to use the stinky tallow.

In approximately the year 1300, British oynters (people who melted tallow) formed a religious fraternity in honor of Our Lady and Saint John the Baptist. By 1456, this fraternity was granted a coat of arms, and it 1462 it was allowed to call itself a "livery," which meant that it was considered a formal trade association in the City of London. It regulated oils, ointments, lubricants, fat-based preservatives, and it managed candle making using tallow. It played a key role in lighting the streets of London after dark. Today it is called The Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers, and it maintains a hall near the Dowgate Hill exit of the Cannon Street Underground station.

Today, there are more than 400 candle manufacturers in the United States. In Europe, seventeen candle companies form the European Candle Association. Smaller companies or individuals may be members of the International Guild of Candle Artisans.

Today's commercial candles are usually made of paraffin, and are produced by pressing, drawing, casting, or dipping.

Mary Martha Deane is the Queen of Candle Making. She knows more about making candles than most people can imagine. She thinks that Candle Making is a fantastic hobby, both for those who consider themselves creative, as well as for those folks who don't yet know how creative they are. Mary Martha Dean finds great joy in teaching others about this delightful hobby. In her latest book, "Candle Making Secrets Revealed," she shares her secrets for how to enhance the joy and satisfaction you get from this rewarding hobby. Visit Candle Wax-Making Beautiful Candles for more information about candle making's history.

iLiKETRAiNS - JD Set part 1 Saturday, December 18, 2010

This was a stressful experience. Our first TV appearance. It was filmed after we came back from a grueling tour of europe, in the tiny, crowded and hot Junktion 7 venue in Nottingham. We were tired and broken. If you look into our eyes can see empty space.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73-Qlu_MFFI&hl=en

Heresy - Flowers in concrete Friday, December 17, 2010

Flowers in concrete is a track from Face up to it! LP ( 1988) Like flowers growing in concrete There's only so far we can reach (let me tell ya now!) Over the years we've pulled together Looked at our options and stayed clever And watched many directions taken And a mountain of integrity forsaken Constant changes all around us Do we just mirror the society that surrounds us? As we draw strength from each other With this spirit that we have discovered CHORUS: We had to change the game - change the game It's not jsut more of the same - more of the same Some laugh and leave their sinking ship Part of an iceberg of ignorance - the visible tip That hits us hard and we escape at best But when that ice has melted it drifts out with the rest CHORUS But like flowers in concrete There's only so far we can reach Do the best with what we've got Because a foothold is never a lot (that's right - it's not) We have to realise who we are We can only grow and go so far And don't fool yourself otherwise 'Cos in time you'll realise (the reasons why) We've reached the stage Where just a small percentage Can see how things really stand But it's hard to turn concrete into sand (no room to expand) So we stay on underground With this spirit we've found And our goals are in sight But change won't happen over night (unless we make it right)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1srOLFpL6g&hl=en

Download 4 Free now Runescape Membership KeyGen 10 Thursday, December 16, 2010

Download: megasecuredownload.com RuneScape is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) operated by Jagex Ltd. It is a graphical browser game implemented on the client-side in Java and incorporating 3D rendering. The game has approximately 104 million active accounts and is recognised by the Guinness World Records as the world's most popular free MMORPG.RuneScape takes place in the game world of Gielinor, a fantasy-themed realm divided into several different kingdoms, regions, and cities. Players can travel throughout Gielinor on foot, by using magical teleportation spells and devices, or by using mechanical means of transportation. Each region offers different types of monsters, resources, and quests to challenge players.Players are represented in the game as customizable avatars. RuneScape does not follow a linear storyline; players set their own goals and objectives. Players can fight NPC monsters, complete quests, or increase their experience in any of the available skills. Players interact with each other through trading, chatting, or by participating in both combative and cooperative minigames and activities.The first version of RuneScape was released on 4 January 2001 in beta form. As the game's popularity grew, the game engine was rewritten, producing a new product dubbed RuneScape 2 which was released in beta form on 1 December 2003. It was renamed as RuneScape upon its stable release on 29 March 2004.Andrew Gower wrote RuneScape with the ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMWM_6pNv14&hl=en

Student Letting Analysis For UK Residential Landlords

The student letting market is a niche market for landlords but one that can be very rewarding if a landlord gets it right but equally it's very easy and expensive if landlords get it wrong.

Landlords have been letting to students studying away from home for years. Originally the market was relatively small and concentrated in a small number of university towns. However, the explosion in higher education numbers since the 70's and 80's and now with the Government's aspiration to have 50% of 18-30 year olds in Higher Education by 2010 means that demand for accommodation has grown massively over the last 30 years.

The result has been the emergence of a "cottage industry" of student landlords in many towns. Many parents have helped solve their student off springs accommodation needs by financing the purchase of a single investment property to let out whilst their son or daughter completed their education. In this way they ensure that they have some where decent to live whilst also avoiding paying out dead money in rent and also potentially providing a good long-term property investment.

Demand for student housing

Data from the Office for National Statistics show that the higher education initial participation rate was 40% among 17 to 30 year olds in 2006/2007, down from the 43% achieved in 05/06 but still short of the Governments target of 50%.

According to Knight Frank the UK student population has grown consistently over the last 10 years. Total student numbers have grown from 1.8 million in 1997 to 2.5 million in 2007. Savills expect this to hit 3 million full and part time students by 2014. Growth has been driven in the main by domestic UK undergraduate demand. There is a trend to rising numbers of foreign student, with participation of overseas students at UK universities rising 67% over the past decade. Knight Frank research shows that in 1997 they accounted for 11% (international students) and 21% (postgraduates) of all students; by 2007 these figures had increased to 15% and 24% respectively. Both international students and postgraduates are more likely to opt for purpose built private student housing rather than shared houses. Foreign student numbers are expected to grow from 15% of all students in 2008 to 21% by 2018.

Current supply

Savills research estimates that there are:

*459,000 student beds in halls of residence
*680,000 full time students in Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
*259,000 full time students live at home with their parents

The number of students living at home with their parents has risen from 13% in 1996/97 to 19% in 2005/06. The number of full-time students living in HMOs has risen from 37% to 46% largely as a result of student number not being matched by the number of student beds provided within purpose built student accommodation.

As a general trend the supply of accommodation by private landlords has been falling in the last couple of years. This is in part to the HMO licensing regulations that came in 2006 and also as a result of the increasing number of private operated halls. In 2005 this type of accommodation accounted for around 7% of all bed spaces with the figure growing to around 10% in 2007. The expansion of private accommodation has partly been as a result of the increasing demand form post graduate and foreign students who demand and are able to afford higher rents and demand a higher standard of accommodation.

Future supply of student housing

Analysis of planning application data shows that there are approximately 78,000 potential student bed spaces in the planning pipeline at the end of 2006. 26% are at the application stage, 42% are awaiting full planning consent and the remaining 32% have planning consent and are under construction.

Student housing rent levels

Research carried out by Savills show that student rental levels have continued to increase over the last 20 years. Their opinion is that:

"This implies significant performance benefits over both conventional residential lettings and the commercial market, where cyclical downturns have resulted in periods of negative income growth."

However they did express some words of caution.

"increasing levels of supply may also suppress rental growth which suggests that location and proximity to universities will be the key determining factor."

Over the last 4 years according to research conducted by accommodation for students average rent levels have increased 17% from £52.44 to £62.48.

There are as one would expect large variations in rent levels across the country.

London and the south most expensive; Chester, Exeter and Loughborough are the high flyers, according to latest accommodationforstudents.com research (May 08)

The average weekly student rent in the UK is now £61.48, a figure 1.5% higher than last year according to the stats which are based on over 44,000 properties in 76 cities across the UK (see full table below). Over the past 4 years the average student rent has risen 17%, from £52.44 in 2004.

London leads the way with an average weekly rent of £102.85, 67% above the UK average. Moreover, it is generally more expensive to rent student accommodation in the south of the country. Middlesex, Cambridge, Guildford, Surrey, Exeter, Oxford and Brighton are all 20% or more costly than the UK norm. Two notable exceptions are Scotland and Ireland. St. Andrews, thanks, perhaps, to the attendance of Prince William, has an average student rent of £82.29, 34% above the UK average and the highest by far in Scotland. Edinburgh and Glasgow are also above average, but only 14% by comparison, with average weekly rents of £70.26 and £70.08 respectively, the first time Edinburgh has been higher than Glasgow since the research began 5 years ago.

Dublin has been included for the first time. It is not obviously part of the UK but is still popular with students from here; rents are second only to London at £87.68 per week, 43% above average. Belfast, by comparison, can offer inexpensive student accommodation, with average weekly rents being only £51.79, 16% below the rest of the UK.

Some traditional English redbrick universities: Liverpool (£50.52), Birmingham (£54.28), Manchester (£56.65), and Sheffield (£57.12) are still below the average UK weekly student rent (£61.48). However others, like Leeds (£62.03), Nottingham (£61.60), and Newcastle (£58.90) reflect their popularity by rising rent levels. All three have shown rent increases well over twice the UK average of 1.5% over the last year; Leeds is up by 6.5%.

Best value locations in terms of student rental accommodation are the less fashionable student towns like Crewe, Middlesbrough, Stoke, Wolverhampton and Bradford, with average weekly rents of between £40 and £45.

There are a number of 'hotspot' areas, Exeter, for instance, which now have an average weekly student rent of £77.54, 26% above average, and higher even than Oxford. Yet five years ago average student rents in the city were only £58, 34% less. Rents in Loughborough have risen 28% in the last four years, from £52 per week to £66.81. But the real current high-flyer in terms of student rents is Chester, where rents have gone up 14% in the last year alone, from £67.83 to £77.12, putting it firmly in the UK Top 10.

London unsurprisingly is still the most expensive city by far, although student rents in the capital have remained stable. However, in comparison, the rest of the UK is catching up. In 2004 the average student rent in London was 95% above the UK average of £53.44. Today, at £102.85, the weekly student rent in the capital is just 67% above the average of £61.48.

UK Student Rent Analysis, April 2008 (76 cities/44,185 properties)

City Average Rent Per Week (£) Index*
London - 102.85 167
Dublin - 87.68 143
Middlesex - 83.97 137
Cambridge - 82.98 135
Guildford - 82.37 134
St Andrews - 82.29 134
Surrey - 81.15 132
Exeter - 77.54 126
Chester - 77.12 125
Oxford - 74.71 122
Brighton - 73.71 120
Kent - 72.24 117
Canterbury - 71.96 117
Edinburgh - 70.26 114
Glasgow - 70.08 114
Bournemouth - 69.11 112
Bristol - 68.84 112
Warwick - 68.75 112
Eastbourne - 68.67 112
Bath - 68.29 111
Chichester - 67.08 109
Durham - 66.95 109
Reading - 66.89 109
Loughborough - 66.81 109
Hatfield - 66.35 108
Doncaster - 66.04 107
Winchester - 65.65 107
Colchester - 64.67 105
Portsmouth - 64.49 105
Plymouth - 63.26 103
Cornwall - 62.76 102
Leeds - 62.03 101
Newport - 61.68 100
Nottingham - 61.60 100
Leamington Spa - 61.38 100
York - 60.63 99
Worcester - 60.56 99
Luton - 60.35 98
Lincoln - 60.23 98
Southampton - 60.06 98
Newcastle - 58.90 96
Stafford - 58.43 95
Aberdeen - 58.22 95
Huddersfield - 57.87 94
Devon - 57.52 94
Sheffield - 57.12 93
Cardiff - 56.85 92
Northampton - 56.76 92
Manchester - 56.65 92
Hastings - 56.59 92
Norwich - 56.44 92
Cheltenham - 56.34 92
Swansea - 55.99 91
Preston - 55.06 90
Leicester - 54.90 89
Dundee - 54.82 89
Birmingham - 54.28 88
Bangor - 53.36 87
Derby - 51.89 84
Belfast - 51.79 84
Lancaster - 50.88 83
Liverpool - 50.52 82
Coventry - 50.42 82
Bolton - 50.15 82
Salford - 49.73 81
Blackpool - 49.34 80
Carlisle - 48.25 78
Stockton - 47.38 77
Hull - 47.11 77
Sunderland - 46.70 76
Pontypridd - 46.36 75
Bradford - 44.61 73
Wolverhampton - 43.49 71
Stoke-on-Trent - 42.04 68
Middlesbrough - 41.54 68
Crewe - 40.33 66

UK Average Weekly Student Rent 61.48 100

* Index compared to UK average student weekly rent of £61.48.
2007 Ave £60.58 (-1.5%)

Interpreting the figures

Landlords need to be aware that in viewing these figures that they are the average achieved across the accommodation types. These levels have in recent years been boosted by the upgrading of student accommodation brought about by the contribution of purpose built private sector student halls. This accommodation is frequently provided with ensuite facilities, which according to Savills generates rents that are on average at a premium of 19% to similar shared accommodation. Therefore a prospective landlord should ensure that they do their own local research by talking to local rental agents and University Accommodation Offices before factoring in their expected rents to their investment calculations.

Having looked at the demand and supply of rental accommodation and likely rents we go on in part two to look at the likely investment return and practical considerations of investing in student accommodation including looking at several case studies.

Chris Horne is an experienced landlord and property professional who now runs the website Property Hawk, a site aimed directly at UK Landlords. The site incorporates free property management software that enables landlords to track all their financial data relating to their portfolio. It allows users to print tenancy agreements and other forms FREE FOREVER. The site generates a real time rent book for each property as well as calculating a landlords tax liability. The service is totally free to use at http://www.propertyhawk.co.uk