Know About Roofing Services

Replacement is critical for a roofing system. No matter how big or small your residence is, various kinds of ruptures happen due to severe atmospheric conditions or material wear and tear. Replacing the roof involves a lot of initial investment but some of the best service providers can economize your expenses. It also involves a lot of time as it takes quite a number of days, sometimes even months to get done. And while the roofers are working on your project your life becomes so unsettled and disorganized. Overpriced repairs impact and hinder the design and performance ability of the building with constant cracks and other disfigurements.

Industrial roofing is a business that is flourishing very quickly these days. The reason being the repair and maintenance of roofs is very important. If you have a beautiful house it becomes necessary to pay attention towards its saving from time to time. There can be sudden leaks or cracks that may develop into a bigger problem and therefore it is better to be prepared than to regret later. When it comes to roofers there are industrial and business roofing improvement specialists that provide a complete installation service for all kinds of roofing systems like pitched roofing, flat roofing, coating and slating, sheeting, felting, waterproofing and general maintenance.

Roofing project handling includes various schemes that can be chalked out as per client's requirement. Initially one is required to request a quote or a rough estimate that how the project will look like. Depending on the quantity and quality of work the roofers forecast the budget and timeline and schemes to change the appearance of your roof.

The roofing services staff contractors of contractors that take care of decoration and design, window fixing, bricklayers, plumbers and electricians. There are many service providers that are quite experienced and have a dedicated team to ensure top quality driven service that reflects craft and value effective solutions.

Everything you should know about Roofing

Roof Restoration - complete make-over of your roof

With the assistance of consultants that can help you to reconstruct the most integral part of your house, the roof replacement process is tailor-made according to the customer.

While getting your roof repaired one has individual desires and experiences that come into aspect. This field of business requires time and patience in dealing with the interests of customers. Well- maintained roofs last for a lifetime and therefore one should get this done by licensed professionals adher to the norms and safety of the roofing.

Many roofing services provide complimentary services as well like fanlight windows, installation of electrical panels, restoration work and repairs, brick work and chimney repairs. Read the customer reviews and browse through the services of roofers and then decide which one to pick for your house.

How Does Apple iAd Differ From Google AdWords?

With the announcement from Apple during its event today that it is launching a mobile ad platform named iAd, one common question that has come up is how it differs from Google's AdWords for mobile program.

With the iPad now having sold over 450,000 units and counting, Apple is solidifying its lead as the mobile hardware / software play to beat. Before the iAds announcement those advertisers that wanted to launch an ad campaign on Apple mobile devices really only had two main choices. They could go the traditional route of using Google's AdWords program which would put text, image or video units on mobile pages that would be triggered by keywords just as Google's traditional desktop search ads work.

The other option was to use one of the mobile ad specialists that would place ads inside of specific applications. The largest of these was Admob which was purchased by Google after a short bidding war and stand off with Apple last year. Another was Quattro Wireless which Apple purchased only a few months ago.

Mobile advertising is big business ... and is expected to get much bigger. While fiscal year 2009 was a $ 400 million + year, by 2013 that is expected to nearly quadruple. Within 5 years in fact, estimates are that over 50% of all web advertising advertising will occur on mobile devices. By then the total ad market will be in the multiple billions. It's not hard to see why Apple wants a piece of this pie.

Steve Jobs today was very adamant in his belief that ads in search do not work well on mobile devices. This is due with limited screen real estate, people tend to use mobile devices for specific applications such as reading a book, playing a game or making a Skype call. They are not used as much for general browsing as one might do on a large screen such as a desktop or laptop. He believes that before that the real opportunity in advertising on mobile devices is for in application advertising that is done with a certain minimum emotional / entertainment value. Think videos and cool interactive games popping up in between levels of a game or before or after a call or use of an application.

What Steve apparently does not want is to have boring text ads such as you see all over the web that Google and yahoo put out that will simply clog up the small screen of a mobile device and simply annoy users.

Apple therefore is setting up its own system that will serve several purposes. First of all it will compete directly with Google via it's Admob purchase and other mobile specific ad platforms to sell ad units to advertisers. It will also work with developers to help design appropriate optimized ad space for their applications to help them earn revenue from ads and keep the price of their applications down while still making money.

Finally, it is unclear how much creative input Apple will have with the actual ads themselves. One would expect them to have some kind of quality control such as they do now on applications that are or are not accepted into the app store.

So what about Google?

Google will still be selling its ad units via traditional search. So in a way this is not a direct head to head battle with Google's bread and butter search ads. But since web advertising is headed into a more mobile direction over the next several years anyway, it would seem that it is in a direct battle for both the dollars ... and the form that advertising will take as things go forward.

What has not been mentioned yet is if the iAds platform will extend outside of Apple's ecosystem. For instance will you be able to use iAds on android or Windows mobile devices? Is this platform only for Apple devices? Only Steve Jobs knows for sure and the deciding factor will probably be what is best for Apple in the long run.

Homegrown Pepper Plants

Have your ever thought about growing your own pepper plants? Pepper plants are so easy to take care of and they do not take up a lot of space. What's not love they look amazing, smell amazing and are packed full of flavor when they're home grown. Eating your own produce is not only rewarding, but it can be chemical free and you can save a little money on your grocery bill.

You can plant peppers in a simple container or in the garden. Peppers do respond better to a warm climate, so if it's a little cool make a cloche, greenhouse or just pop them inside near a window. Peppers need the warm climate for growth and for them to ripen ready for picking.

Peppers are compact in size which make them ideal for small patios, terraces or in an indoor situation. They are perfect for anyone that wants to have home grown vegetables but has limited space.

Watching peppers grow is also fun and educational for children. Give them a garden project like this, and they might surprise you, by wanting to eat the Peppers they have cared for. To grow peppers at home you will need to buy some seeds or if you want them at a more advanced stage you can opt for seedlings or ready established plants that are in flower.

They are many varieties of peppers you can choose from some are bell shaped, long or even heart shaped. You can even add an interesting splash of color to your meals by choosing red, yellow, orange and green varieties of peppers.

The seeds available at your local nursery or garden center should be suited to the area you live in. If not it should be possible for them to order in the right Pepper seeds or maybe you can shop online for them.

To ensure you have healthy seedlings, plant the seeds in a rich compost mix and make sure their kept warm and damp. If you want to cover the pot with a cling wrap away from direct light. You will see the seedlings popping up a lot quicker as it's an ideal climate for them to germinate. Remove the cling wrap once the seedlings have emerged.

When your seedlings have reached the four leaf stage pluck out the ones that look thin and weedy. With the remaining strong plants remove them carefully not to break their roots and re-pot them into separate containers with a good quality potting mix for fruits and vegetables.

Put the seedlings in a sunny protected position as they need time to settle into their pots. Pepper plants love the heat so make sure when they are established they have full sun exposure either indoors or out.

To keep your peppers looking healthy, and well fed, they will require a fertilizer. You can choose from a variety of fertilizers that release food directly to the plant over time or every week apply a liquid fertilizer that's synthetic or natural.

Once your peppers bare flowers and then fruit, it will only be a matter of time before your eating your very freshly grown peppers.

9-Question Interest Inventory: A Great Way to Learn About Your Students

The first homework assignment of every school year for every student in each of my middle school math classes included a 9-question "interest inventory." This particular interest inventory is a self-assessment tool that invites students to reflect on their past experiences.

My students agreed that answering the 9 interest inventory questions was a nice change from the typical "What's your favorite this / that" survey, and I certainly had fun reading my students' responses! Straight away - at the very start of the school year - it is a very good way to get a bigger picture (even just a slightly bigger picture) of each student.

For teachers, the interest inventory can provide good initial information about student strengths and weaknesses. In fact, I think this questionnaire invited some students to talk with me in person about their strengths and interests, giving me even more information about learning styles.

Here is the 9-question inventory. I always asked students to answer all parts of each question, and to neatly write their answers in complete sentences.

1. What is your favorite activity or subject in school? Why? What is your least favorite? Why?

2. What subjects are difficult for you? What makes them the hardest?

3. If you could learn about anything you wanted to, what would you choose to learn about? Please be specific. (For example: meteorology, science fiction writing, architecture, cooking, carpentry, movie-making, etc.)

4. If people were to come to you for information about something you know a lot about, what would the topic be?

5. If you could plan a field trip, where would you go? Why?

6. Fill in the blank and rate EACH choice 1 = best, 2 = ok, 3 = worst

I learn ____ alone.

I learn ____ with one other person.

I learn ____ in a small group.

I learn ____ in a large group.

7. What helps you learn? (For example: hands on experience, reading quietly, taking notes, reading out loud, etc)

8. What projects - either past school assignments or outside of school - are you most proud of? Why?

9. Think of a great teacher you've had. Describe what made this teacher so terrific.

One student knew a lot about horses, and through the year gave me unsolicited tidbits of information (such as defining riding styles and saddles), and every once in a while updated me on her training and competitions. Getting to know her a little bit more outside the math classroom helped to engage her inside the math classroom.

Another student was proud of training her hamster, named El Noche, to win the local Petco Hamster Derby! I had to ask her about it because I had never heard of Petco Hamster Derbies. She happily described how she executed her training regimen in one of the hallways in her home.

The student who answered "I want to learn how to draw faces" is now a student at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts. Without asking her at the start of the school year, I wonder how long it would have taken me to notice this very, very quiet student's inclination toward art ... maybe in the spring of that year when we studied geometry and she told me that she like how I used different colors to help highlight specific angles, sides, etc.

Questions 3, 4, 5, and 8 always cave me the most smile-inducing answers. I used the 9 questions above for 6th graders, but in general all the questions are great reflection questions, requiring answers with much more relevant information than favorite colors / food / sports / etc.

Business-To-Business Marketing Research

Prior to the advent of advanced market research techniques, most companies were essentially product-focused. They employed scores of sales personnel to push their products or services into the market. Modern marketing methods are influenced by the social sciences, particularly psychology, sociology and economics. The market-focused businesses first try to determine what their potential customers desire and then proceed to build the product or service. The marketing theory and practice is justified in believing that individuals or businesses use a product or service, either because they have a need or the product or service has a perceived benefit.

The related tasks undertaken by the Business to Business or B2B marketing research agencies include, compilation of formats collecting information requested by the business clients and co-ordination of a variety of data collection vehicles. After all the necessary data is collected and compiled, a detailed report is prepared with the information. The report is submitted to the business client along with the recommendations and recommended actions. The company then takes it from there and works on a suitable strategy.

Market research firms typically collect the required information through a market survey. The parameters and areas of research are usually, defined by the customers. The business may be interested in finding out their market reputation. The research helps the client businesses to discover the real present market value of the firm. Often, they decide to redefine or refine their products and services to benefit from the new data and knowledge acquired. In order to maintain or grow in standard, it is important that the business communicates a consistent set of impressions to demonstrate their commitment. The research conducted enables the company to identify and target the market, with respect to demand. It ensures that their customers are retained and satisfied with the efforts made.

Using NodeJS and JSON in Mobile App Development

An Introduction to JSON and NodeJS
For those who are new to application development, older technologies such as PHP and SQL were used to create web based applications based on databases and these were confirmed by a lack of scalability, and often needed a complete redevelopment in order to expand the platform. The emergence of Javascript and associated libraries and frameworks has meant that as software applications have become more data intensive and real time updates have occurred then technologies have been developed to allow for the increase of the use of these technologies.

What is JSON
JSON is a syntax (or method) for storing and exchanging data; and the data is written as text strings with Javascript Object Notation (JSON). It is easily read and described through different client side and server side application interfaces and this means that it is useable across a number of different programming methods. JSON is a highly efficient way of storing information in a database due to its adaptability.

Why Use NodeJS with JSON?
NodeJS is used with MongoDB in order to create a web standards architecture or RESTful API; NodeJS is a lightweight framework that handles parsing of information between the client side and the server, and ReactNative can be layered on top of NodeJS in order to create the user interface. NodeJS handles a lot of queries and handles them in a very fast way, which makes its ideal for mobile application development. A RESTful application programming interface is a method for handling HTTP requests and updating databases. JSON and NodeJS are very efficient ways to handle AJAX type requests.

Type of Mobile Applications Used with React Native and Associated Technologies
Front end developers used to be limited in creating applications as they were traditionally only able to handle writing coding for the client side of the program. JSON, NodeJS and MongoDB have such ease of use and extend the knowledge of JavaScript which has traditionally been a front end development language. With the advent of the use of cloud based computing and ubiquitous internet, the legacy days of hosting large databases in local servers and having system administrators deal with all of the server languages ​​and maintenance such as SQL, Oracle, PHP and other associated older style technologies , front end developers have taken the use of their own technologies and are now configuring applications to work with web based and cloud based remote servers. This means that small scale app development can happen faster and more easily than writing endless amounts of code and needing to understand server architecture and systems administration. Software development of the future is responsive, adaptive and dynamic, and large mobile and cloud based. JSON and NodeJS represent huge leaps in development that will make business and commerce platforms far more efficient.

Financial Statements: Demystifying the Basics

Some things in life appear more difficult than they actually are. Analyzing a company's financial performance is simply one of them. Many a time we come across people who completely depend on others for their investment decisions, which can have far serious implications. Although it looks like an uphill task to many, company analysis is actually no rocket science. A little understanding of the fundamentals and an elementary logic is all it takes to identify the potential of the companies.

Firstly, you should be aware of the business of the company you have invested your money in or intend to invest. Its history, vision, products and services and its business model will give you necessary details regarding the functioning of the company. A thorough study of its introduction in the annual report, company's website and of course the internet will easily furnish you loads of information. So, if you are unable to forgive the way the company operates or its growth prospects, it is better to stay away from the stock. Herd mentality is definitely not advisable for a long-term investment.

Once you have a sound understanding of the company's operations and revenue earning methodology, turn to its financial statements. Again, this can easily be accessed from the company's website. There are three financial statements which are the Comprehensive Income statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow.

The Income Statement shows the revenue earned for the period, the expenses incurred for earning the revenue and the resultant after meeting statutory obligations is known as the net profit / retained earnings or loss. It is on this amount that the company declares a dividend to the shareholders. The comparative analysis with past period statement helps you to analyze how the company is performing. The most important areas of focus in the statement are the ratio between net profit and sales (also known as the net margin) as well the gross profit and sales (also known as the gross profit margin). The higher they are, the better it is. Furthermore, other areas that deserve a check are the direct cost components, which are the major costs driving the business. This will differ for each company, according to the industry it operates.

Then it's the Balance Sheet, which is a statement of the sources and application of funds as on the last day of the period. As a rule of thumb, the sources of funds must be equal to the application. You can ascertained the financial position of the company by examining various ratios like the Debt-Equity ratio and Debt-Asset ratio. A high proportion of debt implies that the company is financing its growth by borrowing aggressively. This is only justified if the revenue of the company also shows a significant growth. More debt also charges increased interest expense, so the quantum of growth in revenue should be more than that of interest, or else it will less the earnings. Also, this ratio depends on the sector which the company belongs to. Manufacturing companies usually are more leveraged than service oriented companies. Meanwhile, the ratio between the current assets and current liabilities, ascertains the liquidity of the company.

The last one is the Cash Flow Statement. Showing the movement of cash for the period, this statement is divided into three sections which are cash from operating activities, cash from investing activities and cash from financing activities. You can very easily comprehend the cash position of the company with respect to the three main activities. The strong company derives more cash flow from operations than from investment or financing activities. The operational cash is the direct indication of the organic growth of the company.

Lastly, it is imperative to compare the financials of the target company with other companies in the same industry. Only then will you have a lucid idea about the performance of the company. Whether the change in financials is due to industry related factors or specific to the company can be easily determined.

While, there are other parameters to judge the overall performance of the company, a strong hold on its financial performance is the first and major step in this direction. By unearthing the stories behind these numbers you can really empower yourself to judge the prospects of your portfolio.