The Manufacturer (www.themanufacturer.com) is an essential tool for US manufacturing executives, covering all aspects of managing a successful production operation. The Manufacturer is a magazine for manufacturers about manufacturers, aiming to both stimulate and inform. In today’s tough competitive environment, few executives have time for in-depth reading, but The Manufacturer gathers together the latest views and opinions on issues and manufacturing practices, providing our readers with the knowledge to encourage success. In the current issue Thomas Verzi, Director of Sales and Marketing, was interviewed about the ways in which non-integrated ERP systems are costing small manufacturers huge headaches when attempting to upgrade.

Pronto North America, Inc. is widely recognized as the authority in technologically driven business solutions and process management. Utilizing innovative implementation techniques and tools, Pronto North America generates increased performance, service, efficiency, and accountability.

Pronto North America is the North American Master Distributor of PRONTO-Xi, a comprehensive software system allowing manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to effectively manage all phases of their business. Far beyond just another Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System, PRONTO-Xi’s financial and distribution applications are unique and have provided maximum return on investment for a wide variety of organizations since 1976. From PRONTO Production to PRONTO Advanced Warehousing; from PRONTO Planning to PRONTO Quality Management System (QMS); from PRONTO Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP) to PRONTO Forecasting Management, the cross-section and breadth of integrated elements addressed by PRONTO-Xi is unmatched in the marketplace and justifies its natural leadership role as the best fully integrated business software solution.

PRONTO North America www.prontoerp.com Tom Verzi tv@prontoerp.com

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LCD televisions are incredible, space-saving appliances. LCDs possess extremely thin, flat screens that can be mounted on a stant or even hung on a wall in your family or entertainment room. In the case of the latter, hanging an LCD television on a wall provides consumers with additional space in the room in which the television is placed; allowing much more space for furniture and decorating. Furthermore, many LCD televisions include the option to tilt and pivot their direction, allowing the viewer to easily adjust the screen to their preferences.

LCD (liquid crystal display) projectors usually contain three separate LCD glass panels, one each for red, green, and blue components of the image signal being fed into the projector. As light passes through the LCD panels, individual pixels (“picture elements”) can be opened to allow light to pass or closed to block the light, as if each little pixel were fitted with a Venetian blind. This activity modulates the light and produces the image that is projected onto the screen.

LCDs possess a number of advantages over Plasma televisions and standard television sets. Such advantages pertain to their cost effectiveness, their space saving capabilities, and their image producing capabilities. In fact, in the future, the market is likely to see a rise in the sale of LCDs that surpasses the selling of both Plasma and standard television (SDTV) sets; such a rise in the sale of LCDs will directly parallel the increase in technology.

One benefit of LCD is that it has historically delivered better color saturation than you get from a DLP projector. That’s primarily because in most single-chip DLP projectors, a clear (white) panel is included in the color wheel along with red, green, and blue in order to boost brightest or total lumen output. Though the image is brighter than it would otherwise be, this tends to reduce color saturation, making the DLP picture appear not quite as rich and vibrant.

However, some of the DLP-based home theater products now have six-segment color wheels that eliminate the white component. This contributes to a richer display of color. And even some of the newer high contrast DLP units that have a white segment in the wheel are producing better color saturation than they used to. Overall however, the best LCD projectors still have a noteworthy performance advantage in this area.

LCDs are more energy efficient as well. LCD projectors usually produce significantly higher ANSI lumen outputs than do DLPs with the same wattage lamp. In the past year, DLP machines have gotten brighter and smaller–and there are now DLP projectors rated at 2500 ANSI lumens, which is a comparatively recent development. Still, LCD competes extremely well when high light output is required. All of the portable light cannons under 20 lbs putting out 3500 to 5000 ANSI lumens are LCD projectors.

LCDs are more cost effective; this does not mean that they are less expensive than other television brands, but they are, however, money saving in the long run. Due to the fact that LCDs require less electricity to operate, the long term savings on electricity can really add up. The reason that LCD televisions are cost effective is because they do not require florescent lighting to work, and their flat shape produces less heat. Thus, if consumers are looking for a television that can save them money on their monthly electric bill, then LCD television is definitely the way to go.

LCD televisions are praised for their ability to produce sharp, crystal clear images. In fact, the crystal clear imagery produced by LCDs can be attributed to the fact that their screens are literally comprised of crystals. Every crystal either obstructs or allows light to pass through it and such lighting produces the images seen by the viewer on the screen. Furthermore, because LCD screens are flat, there is very unlikely that glare from other lights in the room will present a problem.

Directly related to the clearer pictures, is the fact that LCDs produce sharper images and consumers will experience far fewer occasions in which eye fatigue occurs. Many consumers enjoy watching television for several hours at a time; thus, the clearer images and less glare that are provided from the screens of LCDs can prove to be quite beneficial in alleviating eye fatigue.

Finally, for those individuals that are environmentally conscious, LCDs offer less radiation emission as well as a lower frequency of electromagnetic field emissions. Electronic magnetic fields have been scientifically associated with a number of health risks, including cancer.

A message, and its meaning, can get distorted, especially when you are not face-to-face with a client, prospect or a member in a networking group. Listed below are a few reasons for this distortion and a few tips on how to avoid these common but overlooked errors.

An inability to listen. Listening is a skill. Put your thoughts, self-talk, and the project that you’re working on aside and focus on what the other person is saying. Be patient! Some people need more time to make their point or to express their needs.

It’s a task to listen when face-to-face, but when you are not, don’t listen just long enough to place what the other is saying into a pre-established pattern. This is also called “pigeonholing.” Each person has unique individual needs. Take cares to discover what they are and then act accordingly.

Having an attitude such as, “It didn’t make sense,” or “all these Internet inquires are the same . . . ” can lose more business than you can imagine. Leave the attitude behind and find out what the other person needs, or what they are asking you to do.

Make allowances for cultural differences or language barriers. Go slow; and ask clear questions to get the message straight.

Have you noticed at times, on-line inquires can cause frustration because of the lack of feedback and inability to see the non-verbal responses. You can compensate for this by clarifying what the other person has said.

Have you tried to have a conversation with someone who interrupts you? Even if you think you will lose your thought, don’t interrupt a member of your group or a potential prospect.

Don’t talk too much. You may be the only person who will listen to the other person today. Don’t keep busy expressing your opinion or “telling” your story. Listen, hear what the other person is saying; then run it past them to make sure you have understood the little nuances.

You may use this article on your website or in an ezine providing you keep all content and author’s bio as it states.

2005 Copyrights© Hess Business Professionals & Associates

About the Author

Diane M. Hess is a freelance professional who’s found her niche in business development and management. She’s dedicated herself to assisting small businesses and entrepreneurs in building their business from the ground floor up. If you’re looking for a professional in eBusiness, visit http://www.hbpassociates.biz to learn how Hess Business Professionals & Associates can help you.

Some dental offices advertise “New Teeth in a Day!” However, when it comes to dental crowns, the procedure usually takes a minimum of two appointments – more if there are more serious dental health issues such as root canal or gum disease.

Step 1: The Checkup
Obviously, before proceeding with any dental procedure, the dentists will want to ensure that the underlying structure is basically sound. X-rays will be made of the tooth or teeth to receive dental crowns. Any decay or risk of infection must first be treated and eliminated before dental crowns are put in place.

Step 2: Preparing the Tooth
Once it has been established that the damaged tooth is otherwise healthy, the actual operation can begin. You will be administered a local anesthetic such as Novocain to numb the tooth and the surrounding gum tissue. The dentist then uses precision tools (today these are usually lasers) in order to file the tooth down. Depending on the extent of the damage and the type of crown to be placed, the amount of tooth material removed can vary; however, by the time this part of the job is finished, the tooth will resemble a small peg. Alternatively, if the tooth has been subject to a great deal of damage and there is little of the original tooth left, the dentist may use bonding materials to reconstruct the tooth to the point that it is able to support a crown.

Step 3: Impressions
Once the tooth has been reshaped, a special type of putty is used to make an impression. This impression will serve as a guide for the lab technicians who will create the final crown. Since few dental offices have such on-site facilities, this crown is usually made at an outside laboratory and the process may take anywhere from one to three weeks. In the meantime, the dentist will fit you with a temporary crown made from acrylic material.

Step 4: Living With a Temporary Crown
Those awaiting permanent dental crowns must deal with a bit of inconvenience for the duration. Chewing gum and sticky, chewy candy such as caramels won’t be an option, as these could pull the temporary crown loose. Since these temporary dental crowns are also less durable than the permanent kind, you’ll want to avoid chewing food on that side of the mouth, and focus on soft foods such as potatoes and well-cooked fish, eggs or poultry – avoid tougher foods such as raw carrots and celery or apples.

Finally, brush gently, yet thoroughly, and pull floss through and out rather than up between teeth.

The diamond tool is commonly used in micro-machining as it can withstand the micro hardening of the workpiece surface during micro-machining. This micro-hardening creates enough resistance to break the tool bit easily in micro milling, but not a diamond tool. Micro-machining using diamond tool could be performed at high speeds and generally fine speeds to produce good surface finish such as mirror surfaces and high dimensional accuracy in non-ferrous alloys and abrasive non-metallic materials.

However, if a diamond tool were to be used to cut steel, one of the most common engineering materials used in industries, the diamond tool will face severe tool wear. While diamond only softens at 1350 degree Celsius and melts at 3027 degree Celsius, and is also the hardest material in the world, it has a weakness. Diamond succumbs to graphitization, which means that it will change its crystal structure to graphite crystal structure at 200 degree Celsius in the presence of a catalyst metal such as carbon steel and alloys with titanium, nickel and cobalt.

There have been various attempts to improve the tool life of the diamond tool while cutting steel so as to improve the efficiency and profitability of this operation. Such processes include micro-cutting the steel workpiece in a carbon-rich gas chamber as well as a cryongenically cooled chamber. However, these methods require costly equipment modification and restrict direct supervision of the micro-cutting process.

The latest breakthrough came when the diamond tool was subject to ultrasonic vibration during micro-cutting. It has been shown that a diamond tool subject to ultrasonic vibration can cut the steel well enough to produce a mirror surface finish with acceptable tool life. The ultrasonic vibration at the diamond tool tip allows the tool face to cool down considerably during the cutting process and delays the chemical reaction between the diamond tool and the steel workpiece. As a result, the diamond tool life is increased by a few hundred times.

For example, a single crystal diamond tool with feedrate 5 micron/revolution, cutting speed zero to 5m/min and depth of cut 10 micron was attached to a ultrasonic vibration generator so that the diamond tool tip vibrated about 4 microns while it was used to cut stainless steel. The mirror surface finish of the cut steel surface was measured at 8 nm Ra!

With more and more machining companies moving into the niche micro machining field, such ultrasonic vibration assisted cutting can only help the progressive company to achieve process leadership and innovative differentiation.

Author Ken Yap is a director of Suwa Precision Engineering Pte Ltd in Singapore and represents metal stamping, precision machining, miniature precision balls and PCB manufacturers from Suwa, also called “The Oriental Switzerland” in Japan due to its Swiss resemblance for rich watch-making industry, its mountainous terrain and its precision component making industry.

Transition

Passage from one stage, place, stage, or subject to anotherso states the dictionary definitionwords that describe movement, but that say nothing of substance and the depth of human feeling. Nothing of nights spent tossing and turning, when craving sleep we lie awake, fighting our personal demons and feelings of failure. Or, terror resulting in knotted stomachs, shallow breathing, and the desire to remain in our comfort zone or to run far away. Neither does it tell of moments of quiet contemplation, contentment, and joy, feelings of accomplishment, even ecstasy and the delight change can offer. Transitions, be they small or large are rarely finite. With revisionist minds, we place timeframes around the experience. Perhaps we use a ritual such as a birth, wedding, illness, death, birthday, graduation, or a new newspaper editor to define these significant phases. I think, these transitions, life’s ever in process changes, most often have ragged edges that bleed beyond our neatly bound boxes, starting before we are aware and morphing into the next process we call change.

Sometimes change is thrust upon us. Sometimes, it is cultivated by choice. But, almost always, it requires courage. Courage, I think, necessitates accepting the journey as a challenging adventure that will pull some new knowledge, fresh wonderment, or innovative direction from us. We human beings, such creatures of habit, so rarely stay put. Much as the boomerang in Kubric’s 2001 was tossed into the beyond; we too, often fling ourselves into the unknown.

As I age, I often think these kinds of thoughts. “Aging is no accident. It is necessary to the human condition, intended by the soul. I think, perhaps to learn more about the integration of character and about love and the essence of relationships. Eros, of Greek mythology, was the youngest of the gods, but also the eldest. Love (and sex) from the ancient point of view, a view that I agree with, is ever changing requiring new learning every step of the way.

Along with most people I know, I have always had a life of transition, some sought and embraced, some thrust upon me kicking and screaming. And, with my particular flaws and skills, I have played my cards as they have been dealt. Once again, I have a new deck. The cards of course are familiar, for my character has not changed. I move with my current transition slowly, saying “good-bye” to what once was the comfort zone of my profession, children and grandchildren and now, bump along a rocky landscape of writing columns and books,(the current book is Getting Sane Without Going Crazy) speaking to organizations and using the media and the web to reach, and hopefully, to help, more people.

It is a passage of choice related to my age, to challenges long sought, to childhood reams that were unfulfilled, to knowledge gained. Still, when I analyze my own dynamics, I realize that there are ways that I don’t know more about all the complex reasons for my own choices than those I am privileged to treat. Or, the meanings made, the life landscapes I design, keep changing from different views.

Recently, a member of a group that I was leading reassuringly tried to comfort a fellow group member who was suffering panic attacks and nightmares as she transitioned out of a long term but unsatisfying marriage to a life that at least temporarily was without a mate. Lovingly, he told her that she didn’t have to move in the direction that was causing her such pain. She looked at him a long time and gently said, “No, you are wrong, I can’t explain all the reasons why, why, but I must do this. You have to understand, much as I am in upheaval, it is my next step.” I listened quietly and I and the others in that room understood.

Life is too hard to do alone,

Dr. D.

Dorree Lynn, PH.D.

About the Author

Dr. Dorree Lynn is co-founder of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Psychotherapy and a practicing clinician in New York and Washington, DC. Dr. Lynn served on the executive board of the American Academy of Psychotherapists and she is on the editorial board of their publication, Voices. She is also a regular columnist for the Washington, DC newspaper, The Georgetowner. Dr. Lynn is a noted speaker and well known on the lecture circuit.

Looking for a natural voice speech engine? Curious about what software can read your e-mails. Here is the latest TTS (text-to-speach) news.

AT&T Natural Voices

http://www.deprice.com/attnaturalvoices.htm

AT&T Natural Voices are available in 16khz or 8khz Versions. The 16khz versions have a richer, fuller sound and are more natural sounding. The 8khz version is slightly less expensive and takes up less disk space, but generally doesn’t sound quite as good. A good analogy might be that 16khz voices sound like voices over FM Radio, while 8khz voices sound much more like voices over the telephone.

NeoSpeech

http://www.deprice.com/neospeechsapi5voices.htm

Kate and Paul are US English voices, available in 16khz or 8khz versions, supporting SAPI5 Speech applications including all NextUp.com Products, most newer TTS programs from other companies, as well as TTS functions built into Windows XP. Each voice requires slightly under 300mb of disk space, and is available on CD or via download. They support speed and pitch adjustments, and require a minimum of Pentium II, 400mhz with 128mb RAM.

TextAloud 2.0

http://www.deprice.com/textaloud.htm

TextAloud converts any text into spoken words. Instead of the valuable time you spend reading on your computer, imagine being free to relax, get up and stretch, or work on other things while the information you need is read to you in a pleasant, natural sounding human voice. Better still, leave your computer behind. TextAloud’s unique Text to MP3 conversion can save your daily reading to MP3 audio files to download to your portable MP3 player. Listen to email, online news, or important documents while you exercise, work or commute.

NewsAloud

http://www.deprice.com/newsaloud.htm

NewsAloud personal news agent finds the stories you want, then reads them aloud in a natural, human sounding voice.
Stop plowing through email or spending hours surfing the net for the news that interests you. Instead let NewsAloud do it so you can listen while you work on something else, or get your news to go and listen while you excercise, commute, or get outside for a change

About the Author

David D. Deprice is a TTS professional. He reviews TTS software for http://www.deprice.com/audio.htm

Superultramodern Science (SS) is supposed to be above/beyond/next to ultramodern science, the extremely modern science of today. SS is a creation of Dr Kedar Joshi (myself) and consists of 9 components. All of the 9 components are invented by the creator of SS.

1. Superultramodern Scientism ( SSism )

2. The NSTP ( Non – Spatial Thinking Process ) Theory : Non – Spatial Universal Mechanics (NSUM)

3. RGM ( Resolution of Great Mysteries )

4. The FMUP ( Flawed Modern / Ultramodern Physics ) Theory : Superultramodern Physics (SP)

5. ROS ( Rehabilitation of Occult Sciences ) : Astrology, Numerology, Telepathy (ANT).

6. Conmathematics ( Conceptual Mathematics ) : Superultramodern Mathematics (SM)

7. The FR ( Flawed Reason ) Theory

8. Superultramodern Universal Communism (SUC)

9. Superultramodern Ethical / Aesthetical Relativism (SEAR)

Most of the mysteries ( or problems ) in modern / ultramodern science are resolved in Superultramodern Science. In some sense SS seems to be the culmination of human intellectual progress as the problems in SS demand superhuman intelligence to be solved.

About the Author

Dr Kedar Joshi, BSc MA DSc DA, PBSSI, MRI
Cambridge, UK.

Father of Superultramodern Science (FSS)

The Founder as well as the President of
British Superultramodern Scientific Institution (BSSI)

The mission of BSSI is to advance Superultramodern Science.

kedarkj1@rediffmail.com

http://superultramodern.blogspot.com

Loss of hair in guys affects nine million in the United Kingdom, the most common sort of hair loss is male pattern baldness. The loss of hair might well develop as very early as 18 and develop emotional turmoil.

Hair loss is usually genetic and will affect guys as well as women. The hair loss seems due to the hair follicles on the head shrinking and the hair falling out and not returning. Hair loss commonly follows a hair loss pattern around the hair line and also at the crown of your scalp.

Hair loss is not an awful disease and does not affect your actual health, although your emotional health might well become affected through the feeling of not being confident. Visit Advanced Hair Studio and get a free hair and scalp check.

There are 3 fabulous primary treatments for hair loss, Minoxidil, Finasteride and Strand by Strand from Advanced Hair Studio, also known as AHS. The first big hair loss treatment is a topical lotion that goes on the head and should be bought from chemists. The hair loss treatment Minoxidil works through reducing the rate of hair loss, simply eye-opening. Finasteride works through stopping the chain reaction of the hair loss hormone. The mind-blowing Strand by Strand hair restoration method from Advanced Hair Studio, aka AHS, uses the latest hair loss medical technology and involves new hair strands appearing on the head strand by strand over time. With both the Minoxidil and Finasteride treatments they need to be regularly applied and taken for the hair growth effects to work.

20 Ways to Shift Worry Into Attractive Energy

Worry, big or small blocks positive vibrations from entering your realm. The longer the behavior, the deeper the roots, the harder to override. Staying in its merry-go-round places the person in a form of trance. And like all trances, the person in the trance isn’t aware that they are there. If told they are in a trance, they would simply deny it.

A self-mirror change requires persistent external feedback or shaking event before noticeable by a person in a trance. Even with strong positive feedback, it may take years before the person is open enough to accept the feedback as truthful. This is because when our internal dialogue makes a choice it closes that file and changes that belief to their truth. Because we don’t lie to our inner dialogue, it automatically accepted it as truth. And to open it up to reconsideration is taking a risk. The common reasoning, everyone has worries, is a perceived truth, yet it is an incorrect filter.

The good news is that as a belief it’s replaceable. To start, the person in the trance needs to allow themselves to see their status and with a distorted vision, it isn’t easy. Where the behavior stems from doesn’t really matter. Because worry is an easy path of least resistance, it is painless to stay on its carousel.

Here are ten alternative activities and experiences for guidance off the carousel:

1. Physical exercise. This can be something indoor or outdoors, dancing, or just household chores.

2. Practice muscle relaxation techniques. Start with one muscle and progressively move to the next, and continue. Deep relaxation practice for 10 to 15 minutes every day removes stress, worry, and increases energy level and productivity. Resource:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/har/les1.htm

3. Learn abdominal breathing techniques. This increases oxygen to the brain and muscles, stimulates nervous system, promotes positive energy (and attraction) between mind and body that radiates outward. The easiest technique is to lie on your back, place a hand on the stomach, and breathe in and out while observing the hand raise and lower. Watch a baby breathe, they breathe this way naturally. Resource: http://caregiver-
information.com/Relaxation/abdominal_breathing.htm

4. Emotional music. Music that brings out the warm fuzzies, returns a fond memory, makes your soul sing, or warms your spirit.

5. Allow a distraction. Watch TV, go to a movie, play a video game, research on the Internet, read an inspiration poetry or story. Even at age 50, I still love, “The Little Engine That Could.”

6. Verbal discussion or expression. Talk with someone about the worry. They don’t need to respond with solutions just compassion.

7. Stop and build something with your hands. If you garden, plant or pull weeds. Fix a lamp, paint a wall, or sandpaper an old table.

8. Play a game. Solitaire, a mind game, jigsaw, or crossword puzzle. A board game with the kids or Chess with your significant other.

9. Allow the artist in you to emerge. Find the kids crayons, do you paint or like to draw with pencils or colored pens. Play around, experiment, explore, and play. It loosens the grip. This opens up the other side of the brain and balances the stress from the other side.

10. Journal or write the worry away. Many times the worry isn’t as bad as our mind makes it out to be. Explore possible options or write about a fond memory you have that has nothing to do with the worry. Keep the writing light and airy. If you find the writing getting heavy, shift to something else.

Cut and post this list on the refrigerator. At the first sign of worry, pull something from the list that feels good at the time or fits into the time you have available. Adjust the list as you find things that do and do not work. Enroll the help of friend to let you know when your language reaps worry.

If worry follows you to work, here are 10 ways to help loosen its grip so you can focus on your job. The worse thing you can do is deny its there and push it down. No matter how hard you think you’ve succeeded, people can see the change.

1. Take a slow walk to the bathroom, kitchen, or water fountain.

2. Write for three minutes, dump everything onto the page, and then tear it to shreds. Then write something positive for another three minutes.

3. Relax each muscle, start with the toes, and move upwards. Until relax.

4. Focus on your breath. Do just a few minutes of abdominal breathing (see #3 above).

5. Change surroundings even if briefly.

6. Talk to someone else for a few minutes about something positive and not about t the job.

7. Eat an apple slowly, deliberately; focus on each bite and its taste.

8. Listen to someone share a story about something they enjoy.

9. If possible, turn on some music (headphones). A song only takes three minutes and worry can distract you all day. It’s worth the three-minute investment.

10. Even gentle movement changes physiology and focus. Stand up, move, stretch, or sway to the music — real or imagined.

Separate the truth from the perceived facts. Afterwards, brainstorm whatever possibilities come forth.

If any of these items are not helping, there may be a natural process occurring. When stressed, the brain’s frontal lobe, the thinking part, sends all its blood to the back part of your brain — also known as flight or fight syndrome. This stops rational thinking. This occurs with any strong emotion, especially anger. Ask someone else for help with the rational thinking until the blood transfers back. It’s fruitless to try to force rational thinking during this time. People in a trance are not able.

Catherine Franz is a Cetified Coach with niches in product development, Internet marketing, nonfiction/marketing writing and eduction. Additional tips: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com