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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

ocean sunset paintings

ocean sunset paintings. Ocean Sunset Includes:
  • Ocean Sunset Includes:



  • citizenzen
    Apr 15, 03:13 PM
    From the article ...


    After passage in the Democratic-controlled Assembly and singing by Gov. Jerry Brown, both of which seem likely, California would become the first state to make curricula include notable gay Americans along with the contributions of women and various ethnic groups.

    Shaun Travers, a San Diego activist, told San Diego 6: "It's very important that we represent all of California and that includes the LGBT community. Our people and our history."

    But opponents said the move would add non-essential material to already-short instruction time.



    Hmmm ... they don't seem to share that same concern when it comes to teaching Creationism in science class. :rolleyes:





    ocean sunset paintings. quot;Ocean Sunsetquot;
  • quot;Ocean Sunsetquot;



  • BBEmployee
    Apr 8, 02:42 PM
    I'm a current employee at Best Buy and thought I'd offer my two cents on a few issues.

    First, I don't really like Best Buy. I got a job there to work for around 4 hours a week to get the generous discount. It's particularly generous when dealing with open-box items. Even so, I am miserable leading up to heading in and I do not enjoy the time that I spend there. Thankfully, I have a good full-time job plus a lot of side work and I'm planning on quitting in the next month or so as the thrill of the discount has long worn off.

    That said, I have no problem being very open and honest about Best Buy and my experiences there.

    In regards to the iPad situation, I haven't been in since this issue came up and won't be in for awhile, so I don't really know what the buzz is on this matter exactly. I do know that they wouldn't put a freeze on selling new iPad 2 stock if they regularly had it for a random promotion, if only for the very reason that many think caused the initial problem: quota.

    I'm betting 1 of 2 things happened:

    1) They did indeed get in trouble with Apple for something. Sure, it's possible, and it's the easiest reasonable conclusion. I don't know why this would be though, and I'm skeptical about the whole hording thing. And again, this is coming from someone who has access to the inventory systems and all the places that would hide "horded" iPads. Plus, I have a good enough relationship with multiple managers (ones who know the score about Best Buy in an objective world...) who would be honest about this with me.

    Generally speaking, when they say there are no iPads for sale, there are no iPads for sale. It's really that simple. Demand is real, and supply is lacking. When we have them for sale, they're in the cages, and this would occur after passing through the pre-order system. White Verizon iPads tend to be the ones most often available, usually just a couple, and they're gone almost immediately all the same.

    Another factor in the equation though is processing shipments. I saw someone noted that after an open-box controversy between two customers, the manager was able to procure a new iPad 2 for a disappointed customer when apparently there were none for sale. Well, there probably weren't. He either bumped someone back on the pre-order list to be nice to the pissed off customer in the store or perhaps a shipment came in on the truck that had yet to be processed and he worked it out with the ops team to get them to process one so he could get it out. Oftentimes the managers do actually try to make the customer happy, even if it's somewhat unreasonable. The ops guys have their procedures, and it's rarely slimy in intent so much as rooted in overall efficiency, so sometimes a shipment won't go to the floor for sales until the next day because the processing takes time. If the manager pushes to work something out in that situation, the manager is doing you a favor and pissing off some ops guys to do so.

    Anyways, on to the 2nd scenario...

    2) This is what I'd really venture to bet is the problem: the pre-order system is a huge mess. It was a rush job authorized by corporate at the last minute and handled by less-than-informed employees who were also in a rush. From day 1 it was clear that problems were going to creep up, and they absolutely have. Nobody in store is happy about it. The employees don't like telling customers that they have to wait on a pre-order list, they don't like the 48 hour pickup window, they don't like having to deal with customers pissing and moaning and crying about conspiracy theories when only a 64 GB white Verizon iPad 2 is available once in a blue moon when a pre-order turns it down. It's not fun, for anyone, and unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it.

    So what I'm guessing is really happening is that Best Buy is just digging out of this pre-order mess as fast as possible and skipping anything else until they get past the ramifications of a stupid decision. Considering there's little to skip seeing as supply is so low and we rarely have the most in-demand models available anyways, it's easier for them to just bow out of this for a couple of weeks and in a sense re-launch the normal sales when supplies are less constrained and they don't have a stupid pre-order process hanging over their heads. It's a cut and dry move that will allow them to gear up again in a more normal, focused way. Considering how things have gone there in the last month in dealing with anything iPad related, this might be the best decision for them.

    All in all, Best Buy is Best Buy: a brick and mortar retailer lost in an internet-connected world. Best Buy isn't nearly as evil as they are lost and longing for the 20th century. Sure, there's a lot of margin on accessories, but it's because there's more often than not no margin on anything else. They don't make much money at all on TV's and Computers anymore. If they're on sale, and at Best Buy, almost everything is always "On Sale," it's likely at cost or within a few dollars of cost. There's little margin in the shrinking physical media world either. The only departments with major products that have margin still are appliances and for certain stores, musical instruments. This is why Best Buy will likely be dead in 5 years if they don't drastically change their business model. They did a better job at adapting to the new world than other electronics chains, but they haven't done nearly enough. It's not an easy business at this point though as it has as much to do with dealing with suppliers suffering the same pinch and customers who want to have it all but don't want to pay for it.

    Also, in regards to stupid employees and sleazy mangers, yeah, they do exist. But more employees know their stuff than you might think. And there are quite a few managers who actually do care about trying to do a good job and help the customer.

    As far as the employees, the biggest shock to me after working at Best Buy was realizing that so much of the supposed employee ignorance has more to do with incessantly having to dumb things down to the most absurd of levels with customers. 90% of the people who come in are nice people who just don't know much of anything about what they're buying. You have to learn to communicate on their level and not over-complicate things for them. It's easy to get stuck in that default mode and you have to actively snap yourself out of it on the rare occasion when you get customers who can actually hold their own in a conversation about the technology. And make no mistake, it's a huge relief for most of us when that happens because most of us that work there actually are pretty excited about the technology.

    Now on the other hand, sleazy managers and supervisors can screw so much of this up. While most of the employees aren't making a career out of working at Best Buy, the sups and managers typically are on some level at least, and it takes a certain, umm, level of person to get, err, stuck, yes, at that level if you know what I mean. There's a lot of inconsistency in these types of people. If you get good ones though, they tend to hire good employees and foster a good environment for customers. My store has good management. It's the only thing that makes it remotely tolerable to me. The employees actually know their stuff and are honest with the customers. They also work as a team because the management pushes it and thankfully we don't have commission to muck things up. And customers do love us for it. You'd be shocked by how often a selling relationship turns into a friendship practically at our particular store. We get invited out after work all the time. Honesty goes a long ways, and when you're helping people save money by making sure they make a smart decision for their needs, it goes a long ways. And our managers are objective enough (and not locked into Best Buy corporate brainwash mode) to know that the only thing Best Buy has to offer over Amazon is the possibility of a good customer service experience. They do all they reasonably can to ensure that it happens.

    But again, this simply isn't the case everywhere at all, and it so often boils down to the luck of the draw on management. Good managers hire good people leading to good teams leading to generally happy customers and good sales. Bad managers hire their dumb friends, play games with customers, lie, cheat, and usually they don't put up good numbers.

    At the end of the day though, the good stores and the bad stores are equally screwed because the industry is a mess, the world is changing, and Best Buy corporate utterly and completely lacks the talent and leadership to be innovative in the 21st century. They refuse to reasonably acknowledge change, they're too scared to piss off manufacturers who have lines all across the store that vary dramatically when it comes to success and quality, and they're wildly inconsistent and disorganized with their processes and as they put it, "solutions." As said, if things don't drastically change, and I don't believe they will without a major shift in leadership, they'll be dead in 5 years. It's a sinking ship. I'll be happy to be out of there.

    Again, I don't think they're near as evil and corrupt as they are just lost. When you're lost, things can get confusing real fast. Bear in mind that oftentimes when employees appear aloof, they're probably confused because corporate changes things all the time and does little to help keep us informed of these changes. Also, don't mistake conspiracy theories for sheer stupidity. Like we saw in this whole conversation, people will say some wild things. It's easy to think it from the outside. I can assure you from the inside, that oftentimes what looks like scheming and maneuvering is really just disorganization, stupidity and/or confusion due to the muddled processes and the ever-foggy way in which corporate outlines these processes.

    I don't blame people for not liking Best Buy. I don't like them either. Just go easy on the guys on the floor and in the back. Unless they're the total goof-off employees which do exist, what you're pissed about is probably not their fault at all.





    ocean sunset paintings. Oil painting of quot;thomas moran
  • Oil painting of quot;thomas moran



  • Plutonius
    Aug 3, 12:05 PM
    We'd be better off with diesels or diesel hybrids. People don't want to admit it, but those are currently our best options IMO.

    +1 ....

    That will most likely be my next car.





    ocean sunset paintings. Sunset Surf (at Newport Beach,
  • Sunset Surf (at Newport Beach,



  • toolioiep
    Apr 10, 02:08 PM
    Samsung PN50C8000 x3.

    Continuing to build my ultimate theater room - just need to paint the in wall speakers that were installed.





    ocean sunset paintings. Bright sunset painting in
  • Bright sunset painting in



  • JohnMacnMiami
    Jan 15, 01:23 PM
    Apparently the market was not excited about it.
    Down $30+ a share since early Jan.
    Oh well, 6 years until I retire, I'll hope to see it bounce back (heh heh)





    ocean sunset paintings. ocean sunset background.
  • ocean sunset background.



  • ktappe
    Mar 28, 03:23 PM
    What exactly is a 'hater'? Someone that disagrees with the company line? Someone with a dissenting opinion?

    Strongly agree. "Dissent" does not equal "hate". On the contrary, dissenting voices are what make our society so grand.

    There are LOTS of completely valid reasons for a perfectly good app to not be in the App Store. There are many apps that are very useful, productive, and of high quality that by their very nature can't get into the App store due to its rules. Rules that forbid the exact reason some of those apps exist; such as modifying the OS in ways the user needs or by doing things a better way than Apple does. As a result, these "awards" are tainted from the very get-go and I plan to dismiss them accordingly.





    ocean sunset paintings. ocean sunset
  • ocean sunset



  • GoodWatch
    Jul 22, 04:25 PM
    Apple is doing what they need to do to defend themselves against the smear job put out by the haters in the media and tech sites aligned against them.

    You would fight back to if it were your....well you probably wouldnt.

    The 'haters'? Are you serious? So anyone that DARES to show a sign of critisism towards Apple is labelled a hater now? "If you are not for us you are against us". Some people have a personal reality distortion field I tell you. It's only a phone man, it's not like the Sun is collapsing on itself.





    ocean sunset paintings. Oil Painting Wood Carving Art
  • Oil Painting Wood Carving Art



  • MacFan1957
    Jul 21, 11:07 AM
    Really classy apple. Try to cover up your mistake by confusing users and trying to insult competitors you didn't think you even had to worry about.

    Apple continues to disappoint in surprising ways. What happened to the focus on building great products?

    If users are confused that is their own fault not Apples. A part of that confusion is that this is some kind of design "mistake" on Apples part, its not, it was a design choice! It was a trade off of battery life, form factor and signal strength. I can only say that for me the phone is as perfect as it could be given obvious limitations, battery life isn't limitless and all cell phone suffer with signal issues of some kind.

    I trust Apple, they are smarter than your average blogger and for sure smarter than your average forum poster! More power to them I say! :-)





    ocean sunset paintings. Boston Harbor at Sunset
  • Boston Harbor at Sunset



  • Porco
    Mar 28, 09:05 PM
    Of course Apple are free to do what they want, and limit the scope of the awards in whatever way they see fit, but by doing so it lessens the value of winning the award, because it's from a smaller group of apps and is more blatantly self-serving rather than creating the impression that it is more of a recognition of genuinely well-designed software.

    I would liken it to the Oscars, where films that are heavy on acting performances gain an instant advantage because most of the voters are actors. That's fine, but it doesn't mean the awards mean as much as if they were voted for by a more independent, disinterested (as opposed to uninterested) group that didn't have a built-in bias to promote the stature of their own section of the industry.





    ocean sunset paintings. Title: RED SUNSET
  • Title: RED SUNSET



  • Phutchi
    Sep 30, 03:20 PM
    All pocket doors. Very interesting.


    Slide to Unlock....





    ocean sunset paintings. To purchase this painting,
  • To purchase this painting,



  • SPUY767
    Oct 3, 06:16 AM
    Since when is Apple not a litigious company?

    Apple is not frivilously litigious, but they have been known to fiercely defend their intellectual property.





    ocean sunset paintings. Ocean Sunset 16quot; x 20quot;
  • Ocean Sunset 16quot; x 20quot;



  • orangerizzla
    Apr 6, 10:42 AM
    Any chance we could have a App to showcase all the best Flash Banner adverts?

    Oh no, hang on a minute... ;-)





    ocean sunset paintings. Ocean Sunset Painting at
  • Ocean Sunset Painting at



  • nate13
    Apr 25, 11:55 AM
    Fake. Display looks like paper / printed.

    agreed. Even though with the white one, I'd expect a 64GB available. Just makes sense; they used to have an ipod nano that only came in black in the largest size, if memory serves...





    ocean sunset paintings. Ocean Sunset
  • Ocean Sunset



  • maclaptop
    May 3, 08:40 PM
    For once Europe seems to be ahead of the curve to the advantage of the consumer when compared to the USA.

    I agree. Although I live in the USA, I spend at least 4 months each year in the UK. Overall my mobile experience abroad is superior to that in the US.





    ocean sunset paintings. This glorious sunset over the
  • This glorious sunset over the



  • miamialley
    Apr 8, 01:55 PM
    I realize this is a rumor site, but posting conflicting rumors in the same day is getting obnoxious. Is there ANY fact checking at all?





    ocean sunset paintings. Dolphins Tropical Sunset Ocean
  • Dolphins Tropical Sunset Ocean



  • snickelfritz
    Jan 11, 08:31 AM
    New displays with integrated cams.
    iPhone/iPodTouch that also functions as a Bluetooth Multitouch Mouse.
    Leopard update.
    30" iMac.
    At least one new application.





    ocean sunset paintings. Ocean Sunset - 8x10 Oil
  • Ocean Sunset - 8x10 Oil



  • ctdonath
    Sep 30, 07:39 AM
    I'm not fond of Spanish Revival, but this is not the way of doing things...

    For philosophical context, consider:
    Apple does not have a "museum" of past products. Jobs considers any product which is no longer sold a failure (if it wasn't, they'd still be selling it) and not worthy of nostalgia.

    If nobody is going to buy the Jackling House and live in it, then 'tis time to discard it and move on to something which someone will buy/build and live in.





    ocean sunset paintings. Ocean%20Beach%20Sunset Digital
  • Ocean%20Beach%20Sunset Digital



  • Heinekev
    Apr 29, 01:36 PM
    Yeah, not a lot of stuff has changed from Snow Leopard in the way of user interface, and most of the stuff can be avoided completely, like LaunchPad. There are some annoying things that I've noticed though, like DigitalColor Meter only having the option for RGB colors, and nothing else. Something small that is really annoying.

    Spaces behaves completely different due to the fullscreen mode addition, and it's taking some getting used to.

    I love the ability double-tap zoom in the browser.

    Flash is partially broken.





    ocean sunset paintings. Hawaiian Ocean Sunset
  • Hawaiian Ocean Sunset



  • J Radical
    Jan 9, 06:37 PM
    Still won't play for me, but I found the iPhone intro video on cnet

    http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6148749.html?tag=ne.video.6148749

    Ironically it's sponsored by blackberry :)





    skunk
    Apr 21, 11:19 AM
    That isn't it, because I can change the scores up or down (by TWO points) at will.





    conditionals
    Sep 12, 04:42 AM
    I was going to receive a (female) friend tonight, but she postponed for tomorrow...

    Friends aren't post.





    BRLawyer
    Sep 25, 03:43 PM
    Right, a product in development since 2002 (http://photoshopnews.com/2006/01/09/the-shadowlandlightroom-development-story/) was a copy of a product released in 2005 :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

    Well, it's funny that you make a comparison between the "development" of one and the "release" of another...as if Apple started Aperture some days ago as well...:rolleyes:





    dacreativeguy
    Apr 15, 03:55 PM
    The contours of the back are very angular. You can actually see the "plane" lines. By comparison, the iPad planes flow together and the back is more rounded. Since Apple has had this type of shape since the first MacBook Air, and most recently with the iPad, I doubt that they'd go to something as angular as this.

    Looks like a student model shop project, and then they used photoshop to add the graphics.





    flottenheimer
    Apr 16, 02:43 PM
    Wishing for a matte black plastic finish on the next iPhone.