By way of introduction my name is Steve P. AND I am Executive Vice President of Sherwood Information Partners in Colorado, successful businessman, contributor to multiple charities and a modest philanthropist. I am writing you in support of Greg Reyes. Please let me give you some background on me and explain why I believe it is in the best interest of our community and Greg's family to avoid excessive sentencing particularly incarceration.
Did you know Greg Reyes has had a big impact on dozens of kids with cancer and sent an underprivileged inner city youth to California State University, but I will bet he did not know it? In order to understand this statement and why I feel so strongly about Greg Reyes' important role in our community allow me to tell you more about me.
My wife and I have two children of which we are very proud. The eldest, Matt is currently in New Zealand working on a professional accreditation and my daughter, Alexandra attends our local catholic high school with a special interest in international studies, Spanish language, and dreams of collegiate volleyball. As I mentioned in my introduction I continue to have a very successful life and career. My success is quite remarkable given a background of a broken home, I lost my mother at age 5, was sexually molested and raised on public financial assistance "welfare" growing up in San Gabriel Valley / East LA. At that time many would have said "least likely to succeed". As a teen I made a commitment to learn from adversity and focus on the positive influencers in order to shape my life. As I matured and became successful, I aspired to give back to the community in various ways. My life purpose developed into doing what I can to positively impact the community and be a catalyst for others to succeed through role modeling, philanthropy, and promoting good will. I came to this purpose as a direct result of a few individuals who made a profound positive influence on my life. Greg is one of those people.
Greg Reyes and I met in 1988. He was vice president of sales for a technology company when he gave me the opportunity as a salesman at a "start-up" technology company, Banyan Systems. Banyan went on to become a successful public company. Frankly it was the beginning of what turned out to be a great career for me. Greg took a chance and invested in me personally. I studied him in order to create success tor me personally and professionally. Again in 1998 Greg was instrumental in assisting me secure my first executive sales position as vice president of sales at a Nuera Communications. Greg has been a tremendous role model and leader to me. I learned a great deal from him about leadership, compassion, trust, loyalty, and friendship.
The success I achieved due largely by leadership from Greg Reyes has provided me the opportunity to assists others. My wife and I donate countless hours and money over the years to charities such as Camp Okizu in Marin County which offers children with cancer and their families an opportunity to learn independence, nourish positive self esteem and gain skills they thought were not possible through week long camp programs. The inner city youth mentioned above is named Jordanna Perez1. Jordanna had a similar childhood background as me along with the familiar desire to break out of the negative environment to pursue her goal of pre-law at Chico State. She now works in San Francisco at the law firm of Collette Erickson Farmer and O'Neil. Greg Reyes was the catalyst for my success, which in turn created opportunities for my children, hundreds of other children and enabled Jordanna Perez to attend college. Greg Reyes is directly and indirectly responsible for every person I help, whether it is mentoring, financial assistance, or charitable work. In turn many of these people will go on assist others.
The Jury rendered their decision, but they could not know the profound positive impact Greg Reyes has had on my life and the continuum set in motion for many others as a result of his leadership, commitment, friendship, and trust.
Your Honor please consider my plea to you to allow Greg Reyes to raise his children without interruption, they need him. Allow Greg to continue his important role in our community. Greg has and will continue to create positive personal and business influences, which we need. This is not an emotional or sentimental plea to you but a continuum of hope for many people in which Greg Reyes touches directly and indirectly. It is my belief he will continue to have a profound positive impact on our communities.
Greg Reyes
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
I Didn't Hear You, Can You Repeat That
Pardon? Say what? Come again? Say that again? Eh? Can you repeat that? Sorry? You what? Aye? I missed that? Hmm?
It doesn't matter how you say it, they all mean the same thing: you didn't hear what was just said.
I've been thinking recently about how often I don't hear what someone has said and how often I ask them to repeat themselves. In some situations I will ask repeatedly, no matter how many time it takes, until I hear. In others, I will only ask once or twice. And, in others, I will not ask at all.
With family and close friends I am happy to ask repeatedly; most, if not all, of them know I am partially deaf and they are usually happy to repeat themselves until the cows come home. Sometimes, and I guess it depends on their mood, they don't want to repeat themselves - this annoys me quite a bit, if what they just said is not worth repeating why was it worth saying in the first place?
The people I really struggle with are the quietly and soft spoken ones. Some people just refuse to speak up and it will not matter how many times I ask them to repeat it, I will never hear them properly! I find myself avoiding speaking to people who I know speak really quietly, just to avoid the hassle - I wish I didn't do this because I'm sure it looks rude to them and I'm no doubt missing out on some good conversation. The obvious answer here is to tell them that I have trouble hearing what they say; I really don't feel comfortable doing that and I can't remember a time when I ever have done. I really should make the effort to start in future.
In the opening paragraph I said that in some cases I will never ask the person to repeat themselves. I used to do this a lot - I used to be too embarrassed about my hearing loss, I tried to hide it as much as possible - I would either try and guess what they said based on the odd word I'd heard or the context of the conversation or simply nod, laugh or give a short answer like "yes" or "no". I realised some years ago that this was a stupid thing to do, I cringe at the amount of times I must have given stupid and meaningless answers. I'm sure a lot of people do this exact thing all the time, it's an easy way out.
It's rarely uncomfortable to ask someone to repeat themselves in a one-to-one conversation; a group conversation can, on the other hand, be very difficult. It is a good idea to position yourself somewhere where you will have the best chance of hearing; this is something you can do when you know that one person in the group is going to be doing most of the talking: the teacher at school/college, someone giving a presentation to a group, and so on. It's not so easy when you don't have a single person to concentrate on: when you are chatting with friends or in an office meeting, it is particularly difficult if there is also background noise such as background chatter or office air-conditioning. It is too easy to loose the conversation when you are having to listen for voices coming from all directions.
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Ups and Downs of Downloadable DS Games
What is a DS?
The DS, or Nintendo DS, is an advanced technology apparatus that plays video games on a duel screen monitor. It is a handheld game system that allows gaming enthusiasts to bring high quality games with them when they are on the road or otherwise unable to play a counsel system. However, with the DS, has become a standalone system that has most gamers itching to try it. It was developed and produced by the Nintendo organization and was released in 2004 in multiple countries including Canada, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. The clamshell design is similar to the Game Boy Advance, which was the predecessor to the Nintendo DS, but the Nintendo DS has duel screens with the lower one being designed as a touch screen.
Download DS Games
Though there are some problems with downloadable DS games, they hardly outweigh the possible positives when it comes to these games. Downloadable DS games are games that can be downloaded off the wireless internet that is available for the Nintendo DS. These games are similar to WiiWare games in that they are not usually full length games, but they are still fantastically composed and capable of providing hours of gaming fun. There are even some free downloadable DS games available, but these are rarer than the purchased ones.
A few cons to downloadable DS games include the fact that the download speed is relatively poor. When downloading a game for the DS, it can take many minutes, even hours in some extreme cases. This can be more than a little frustrating for those that want to just play the game.
Another problem is that there is a possibility for an adware infiltration which can potentially do damage to the DS. However, this is only caused by poor usage of the wireless internet system.
These few cons are not enough to make the whole of the system poor. The Nintendo DS has many games online that may be downloaded on the SD card of the system. This can allow numerous downloadable games to be purchased or downloaded on a single system. The downloadable games for the DS are also very fun and very addicting. They can provide just as much if not more fun that any retail game for the DS or a consol alike. Once the games are downloaded there are usually no problems with operation.
Learn about the best DS Download sites. Find out where to download unlimited DS games without being afraid of viruses or adware. Go to DS Downloads
The DS, or Nintendo DS, is an advanced technology apparatus that plays video games on a duel screen monitor. It is a handheld game system that allows gaming enthusiasts to bring high quality games with them when they are on the road or otherwise unable to play a counsel system. However, with the DS, has become a standalone system that has most gamers itching to try it. It was developed and produced by the Nintendo organization and was released in 2004 in multiple countries including Canada, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. The clamshell design is similar to the Game Boy Advance, which was the predecessor to the Nintendo DS, but the Nintendo DS has duel screens with the lower one being designed as a touch screen.
Download DS Games
Though there are some problems with downloadable DS games, they hardly outweigh the possible positives when it comes to these games. Downloadable DS games are games that can be downloaded off the wireless internet that is available for the Nintendo DS. These games are similar to WiiWare games in that they are not usually full length games, but they are still fantastically composed and capable of providing hours of gaming fun. There are even some free downloadable DS games available, but these are rarer than the purchased ones.
A few cons to downloadable DS games include the fact that the download speed is relatively poor. When downloading a game for the DS, it can take many minutes, even hours in some extreme cases. This can be more than a little frustrating for those that want to just play the game.
Another problem is that there is a possibility for an adware infiltration which can potentially do damage to the DS. However, this is only caused by poor usage of the wireless internet system.
These few cons are not enough to make the whole of the system poor. The Nintendo DS has many games online that may be downloaded on the SD card of the system. This can allow numerous downloadable games to be purchased or downloaded on a single system. The downloadable games for the DS are also very fun and very addicting. They can provide just as much if not more fun that any retail game for the DS or a consol alike. Once the games are downloaded there are usually no problems with operation.
Learn about the best DS Download sites. Find out where to download unlimited DS games without being afraid of viruses or adware. Go to DS Downloads
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
How to find the perfect psychic reading
Now this statement is a bit of an oxymoron. A perfect psychic reading is not one that you hear everything you ever dreamed of hearing. A perfect one is a reading that you are told everything you need to know that will affect your life good or bad. Psychics on the World Wide Web are a dime a dozen, but the good ones are like gems in a mine. Just like psychic reading sites themselves. They can be found in the millions on the internet but that does not mean they are all reputable. You have to look hard to find one that is the right one for you. A good psychic will tell you your future with the up most honesty, at the same time as council you on the path you are on. Sugar coating is good in a dessert but definitely not in a psychic reading.
The first thing you need to look for is the reader’s feedback and profile. This will let you know exactly what other clients have expressed as to their happiness or dissatisfaction of their reading itself. You will gain the first hand knowledge of what to expect or not to expect. Are the comments negative? Then move to the next. Do you have a good feeling about this particular reader? Then by all means feel comfortable. The readers profile will help you gain a feeling using your intuition as to what level of trust you can get from the reader itself. You will learn how they are qualified to do psychic readings and their modes of divination like runes, tarot cards, or pendulums. You will also learn what their abilities are like clairvoyant (power to see), clairaudient (the power to hear), and empathic (the power to feel emotions) just to name a few.
Some sites have the ability to try out their services first before you purchase a private reading. Allot of sites today have specials where you can either chat with a psychic in a chat room environment, receive time free before you commit to call, or have a special for first time buyers. It is recommended that you try to see if the psychic can connect with you first before you make that first purchase. Sites that do not offer you a chance to connect or receive a cheaply priced private reading for first time clients should be avoided.
The psychic website that you go to should be viewed with a keen eye. Go into the chat room if they have one and see what other clients think in real time. Talk to them and get a vibe of how the site is and what to expect. If they have live readers in the chat room then build a rapport with them. Get to know them as individuals and treat them as such, since they are human just like you.
Whichever website you choose for your psychic readings I hope that you will go away with the answers to the questions you seek. When you find the right site you will know in your heart by the vibe you get. Psychics these days cost less than councilors, and do twice the work.
Astrological Readings | Psychic Readings Online
The first thing you need to look for is the reader’s feedback and profile. This will let you know exactly what other clients have expressed as to their happiness or dissatisfaction of their reading itself. You will gain the first hand knowledge of what to expect or not to expect. Are the comments negative? Then move to the next. Do you have a good feeling about this particular reader? Then by all means feel comfortable. The readers profile will help you gain a feeling using your intuition as to what level of trust you can get from the reader itself. You will learn how they are qualified to do psychic readings and their modes of divination like runes, tarot cards, or pendulums. You will also learn what their abilities are like clairvoyant (power to see), clairaudient (the power to hear), and empathic (the power to feel emotions) just to name a few.
Some sites have the ability to try out their services first before you purchase a private reading. Allot of sites today have specials where you can either chat with a psychic in a chat room environment, receive time free before you commit to call, or have a special for first time buyers. It is recommended that you try to see if the psychic can connect with you first before you make that first purchase. Sites that do not offer you a chance to connect or receive a cheaply priced private reading for first time clients should be avoided.
The psychic website that you go to should be viewed with a keen eye. Go into the chat room if they have one and see what other clients think in real time. Talk to them and get a vibe of how the site is and what to expect. If they have live readers in the chat room then build a rapport with them. Get to know them as individuals and treat them as such, since they are human just like you.
Whichever website you choose for your psychic readings I hope that you will go away with the answers to the questions you seek. When you find the right site you will know in your heart by the vibe you get. Psychics these days cost less than councilors, and do twice the work.
Astrological Readings | Psychic Readings Online
Monday, March 8, 2010
Rays of Light - How they can be harenessed by Greenhouses
Every day, the sun beams down huge amounts of warmth and light onto the Earth, in the form of light waves, or ‘rays’. However, most of these rays are wasted, as we still have few effective ways of harnessing and storing them.
Greenhouses store these rays by using a very simple piece of science to their advantage. Basically, if you make a structure out of glass, then the sun’s rays can pass through the glass to get into the structure, but then get trapped inside.
This happens because of the unique structure of glass that allows light to pass through but not air. When the sun’s rays get into the greenhouse, they heat up the air, soil, rocks, plants and other things inside the greenhouse, which then retain the heat. As the heat that has been absorbed into the air and objects cannot simply escape again, the greenhouse gradually gets hotter and hotter because of the amount of heat that is being trapped inside.
One hot day can keep the inside of a greenhouse warm for several days, and even a normal day will be good enough to keep the greenhouse warm overnight.
By using the heat that is stored in the greenhouse, the plants inside can grow and make food for themselves, even when it’s cold outside. As the temperatures in greenhouses will rise far above the outside temperature in warm conditions, they allow you to grow plants that would usually only grow in a more tropical climate than there is where you live, such as exotic fruits and flowers.
However, because of the way greenhouses work, you need to be careful about how often you go in your greenhouse. Every time you open the door, a huge amount of the heat will escape, and if you’re going in there every day then the greenhouse will be next to useless. However tempting it might be to go in and look at your plants, they will do much better if you plant them and then leave them alone (look through the windows if you have to!), only going in very occasionally to water them.
how to build a greenhouse | build your own greenhouse
Greenhouses store these rays by using a very simple piece of science to their advantage. Basically, if you make a structure out of glass, then the sun’s rays can pass through the glass to get into the structure, but then get trapped inside.
This happens because of the unique structure of glass that allows light to pass through but not air. When the sun’s rays get into the greenhouse, they heat up the air, soil, rocks, plants and other things inside the greenhouse, which then retain the heat. As the heat that has been absorbed into the air and objects cannot simply escape again, the greenhouse gradually gets hotter and hotter because of the amount of heat that is being trapped inside.
One hot day can keep the inside of a greenhouse warm for several days, and even a normal day will be good enough to keep the greenhouse warm overnight.
By using the heat that is stored in the greenhouse, the plants inside can grow and make food for themselves, even when it’s cold outside. As the temperatures in greenhouses will rise far above the outside temperature in warm conditions, they allow you to grow plants that would usually only grow in a more tropical climate than there is where you live, such as exotic fruits and flowers.
However, because of the way greenhouses work, you need to be careful about how often you go in your greenhouse. Every time you open the door, a huge amount of the heat will escape, and if you’re going in there every day then the greenhouse will be next to useless. However tempting it might be to go in and look at your plants, they will do much better if you plant them and then leave them alone (look through the windows if you have to!), only going in very occasionally to water them.
how to build a greenhouse | build your own greenhouse
Sunday, March 7, 2010
What You Need to Know Before Buying a Hearing Aid
You finally get up the nerve to go to the hearing aid office and get your ears tested. They break the news that you need a hearing aid. Your mind is swimming with visions of having to wear that huge thing on your ear. How could this have happened? Why me?! And then they start telling you about all of the different types you can get. All that terminology just goes right over your head. Don't they know your in shock! How on earth can you make a decision when you don't even know what they're talking about!
There are hundreds of different hearing aids. It can be a very complicated world of technological terms. Sometimes, those of us that work with hearing aids all the time can forget just how foreign they can sound to you. To make matters worse, the manufacturers like to call things different names, so they sound like something different. No wonder there's so much confusion!
I am going to try to unravel some of the mystery for you. When you get down to it, there are really only a few terms you need to understand.
There are seven primary styles of hearing aids: ITE, Half Shell, ITC, Mini Canal, CIC, BTE, and Open Ear.
In the Ear (ITE) ITE's are the largest custom style of hearing aid. They fill the bowl of your ear and can have the most power and features available.
Half Shell (HS) The Half Shell fills about half the bowl of your ear. They are able to have a good deal of power and features, use a smaller battery, but are more cosmetically appealing.
In the Canal (ITC) The next smallest size is the custom ITC. Harder to see than the larger hearing aids, but also not able to have as much power or as many features.
Mini Canal (MC) Smaller than the ITC hearing aid, the custom mini canal uses a smaller battery and has even less power available. Features can also be more limited.
Completely in the Canal (CIC) The CIC is the smallest custom in the ear hearing aid and very popular due to its cosmetic appeal and ease of use. There are usually no manual controls on a CIC, telephone usage is often better because they are less likely to whistle. Lack of power is the main reason people cannot use this style, though a small ear canal may keep you from being able to wear one also.
Behind the Ear (BTE) This hearing instrument sits behind your ear and is connected to your ear by a tube with an earmold. BTE hearing aids have the most power and features available.
Open Ear (OE) and Receiver in Canal (RIC) This hearing aid is a fairly new style of BTE made available in recent years and are much smaller then a traditional BTE. They are meant primarily for high frequency hearing loss. It is connected to your ear by a very thin tube or wire with a small earbud on the tip. They are called Open Ear because they leave the ear canal less blocked than other styles of hearing aid.
Important Features:
Directional Microphones - These are available on most BTE, OE, ITE, Half Shell, and ITC styles of hearing aids. They are the best feature you can have on your hearing aid for hearing in noisy places, such as restaurants. (They reduce sounds from behind, so that it does not interfere with the sound in front of you) Directional microphones can be automatic; they automatically turn on when the sound level in the room gets too loud. Some are also be adaptive, which means they can follow moving sounds, or reduce several different sounds at the same time.
Noise Reduction - Noise reduction doesn't really reduce noise, it reduces amplification in the frequencies where there is noise and no speech. If there is a fan running in the background, the hearing aid will not amplify it as much as it will speech. When the hearing aid finds both speech and noise at a frequency, you still get both. More advanced the hearing instruments manage noise better by breaking the frequencies up into smaller pieces.
Memories - There are two types of memories available on a hearing aid, manual and automatic. Many hearing aids have a push button that allows you to have different settings (memories) for different situations such as quiet places, noisy places, and music or telephone. The hearing aid beeps when you push the button to let you know which memory you are using. Advanced hearing aids can have memories that are automatic. Instead of pushing a button, the hearing aid does it for you! Some hearing aids can even have a combination of both.
Feedback Cancellation - Feedback (or that annoying whistling sound) is the number one complaint people have about hearing aids. Most hearing aid wearers experience feedback when they put their hand over their ear, or use the phone. Feedback Cancellation will take down the amount of feedback (whistling) that you hear.
Bands / Channels - Bands are what we use to adjust the volume in a hearing aid. More bands means more control when we program the hearing instrument to your hearing loss.
Channels are used to adjust the part of the hearing aid that keeps the sound from getting too loud. Channels can also refer to the hearing aid noise reduction system. For noise reduction, more channels is definitely better because the hearing aid can break the sound up into smaller pieces and isolate noise from speech.
These are the main things you need to understand about your hearing aid. If you really want the best one for you, I recommend you focus on telling your professional what benefits you want from your hearing instrument. Let them know what frustrates you to give them a better idea of how they can help you. Their goal is to help you hear better, and when that happens, everyone wins.
What You Need to Know Before Buying a Hearing Aid
You finally get up the nerve to go to the hearing aid office and get your ears tested. They break the news that you need a hearing aid. Your mind is swimming with visions of having to wear that huge thing on your ear. How could this have happened? Why me?! And then they start telling you about all of the different types you can get. All that terminology just goes right over your head. Don't they know your in shock! How on earth can you make a decision when you don't even know what they're talking about!
There are hundreds of different hearing aids. It can be a very complicated world of technological terms. Sometimes, those of us that work with hearing aids all the time can forget just how foreign they can sound to you. To make matters worse, the manufacturers like to call things different names, so they sound like something different. No wonder there's so much confusion!
I am going to try to unravel some of the mystery for you. When you get down to it, there are really only a few terms you need to understand.
There are seven primary styles of hearing aids: ITE, Half Shell, ITC, Mini Canal, CIC, BTE, and Open Ear.
In the Ear (ITE) ITE's are the largest custom style of hearing aid. They fill the bowl of your ear and can have the most power and features available.
Half Shell (HS) The Half Shell fills about half the bowl of your ear. They are able to have a good deal of power and features, use a smaller battery, but are more cosmetically appealing.
In the Canal (ITC) The next smallest size is the custom ITC. Harder to see than the larger hearing aids, but also not able to have as much power or as many features.
Mini Canal (MC) Smaller than the ITC hearing aid, the custom mini canal uses a smaller battery and has even less power available. Features can also be more limited.
Completely in the Canal (CIC) The CIC is the smallest custom in the ear hearing aid and very popular due to its cosmetic appeal and ease of use. There are usually no manual controls on a CIC, telephone usage is often better because they are less likely to whistle. Lack of power is the main reason people cannot use this style, though a small ear canal may keep you from being able to wear one also.
Behind the Ear (BTE) This hearing instrument sits behind your ear and is connected to your ear by a tube with an earmold. BTE hearing aids have the most power and features available.
Open Ear (OE) and Receiver in Canal (RIC) This hearing aid is a fairly new style of BTE made available in recent years and are much smaller then a traditional BTE. They are meant primarily for high frequency hearing loss. It is connected to your ear by a very thin tube or wire with a small earbud on the tip. They are called Open Ear because they leave the ear canal less blocked than other styles of hearing aid.
Important Features:
Directional Microphones - These are available on most BTE, OE, ITE, Half Shell, and ITC styles of hearing aids. They are the best feature you can have on your hearing aid for hearing in noisy places, such as restaurants. (They reduce sounds from behind, so that it does not interfere with the sound in front of you) Directional microphones can be automatic; they automatically turn on when the sound level in the room gets too loud. Some are also be adaptive, which means they can follow moving sounds, or reduce several different sounds at the same time.
Noise Reduction - Noise reduction doesn't really reduce noise, it reduces amplification in the frequencies where there is noise and no speech. If there is a fan running in the background, the hearing aid will not amplify it as much as it will speech. When the hearing aid finds both speech and noise at a frequency, you still get both. More advanced the hearing instruments manage noise better by breaking the frequencies up into smaller pieces.
Memories - There are two types of memories available on a hearing aid, manual and automatic. Many hearing aids have a push button that allows you to have different settings (memories) for different situations such as quiet places, noisy places, and music or telephone. The hearing aid beeps when you push the button to let you know which memory you are using. Advanced hearing aids can have memories that are automatic. Instead of pushing a button, the hearing aid does it for you! Some hearing aids can even have a combination of both.
Feedback Cancellation - Feedback (or that annoying whistling sound) is the number one complaint people have about hearing aids. Most hearing aid wearers experience feedback when they put their hand over their ear, or use the phone. Feedback Cancellation will take down the amount of feedback (whistling) that you hear.
Bands / Channels - Bands are what we use to adjust the volume in a hearing aid. More bands means more control when we program the hearing instrument to your hearing loss.
Channels are used to adjust the part of the hearing aid that keeps the sound from getting too loud. Channels can also refer to the hearing aid noise reduction system. For noise reduction, more channels is definitely better because the hearing aid can break the sound up into smaller pieces and isolate noise from speech.
These are the main things you need to understand about your hearing aid. If you really want the best one for you, I recommend you focus on telling your professional what benefits you want from your hearing instrument. Let them know what frustrates you to give them a better idea of how they can help you. Their goal is to help you hear better, and when that happens, everyone wins.
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