YoYo tumb
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inSSIDer - Inspect your Wi-Fi and surrounding networks
http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/
inSSIDer
Get the best open-source Wi-Fi scanning software – for Free!
YOU CAN
– Inspect your Wi-Fi and surrounding networks
– Scan and filter hundreds of nearby access points
– Troubleshoot competing access points and clogged Wi-Fi channels
– Highlight access points for areas with high Wi-Fi concentration
– Track the strength of received signals in dBm over time
– Sort results by MAC Address, SSID, Channel, RSSI, Time Last Seen
– Export Wi-Fi and GPS data to a KML file in Google EarthFEATURES
– Uses your current wireless card and connection software
– Works with Windows XP, Vista, and 7 (32 and 64 bit)
– Compatible with most GPS devices (NMEA v2.3 +) -
HP Notebook PCs - Recover Windows 7 Operating System Using HP Recovery
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=120&prodSeriesId=4247657&prodTypeId=321957&objectID=c01895783#WhenCreate
HP Notebook PCs - Recover Windows 7 Operating System Using HP Recovery
http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/
Inside the Dell PC Restore Partition
An Exploration by Dan Goodell
http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1262608098
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-and/System-Recovery-vs-Factory-Reset/m-p/85561#M13152
System Recovery will format only C drive, whereas factory reset will format the whole disk.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c02638587&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en#N39
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世界海运港口中英文对照表
http://wiki.mbalib.com/wiki/%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E6%B5%B7%E8%BF%90%E6%B8%AF%E5%8F%A3%E4%B8%AD%E8%8B%B1%E6%96%87%E5%AF%B9%E7%85%A7%E8%A1%A8
世界海运港口中英文对照表
A
Aalborg 奥尔堡(丹麦)
Aalesund 奥勒松(挪威)
Aarhus 奥胡斯(丹麦)
Abadan 阿巴丹(伊朗)
Abidjan 阿比让(科特迪瓦)
Abu Dhabi 阿不扎比(阿联酋)
Acajutla 阿卡胡特拉(萨尔瓦多)
Acapulco 阿卡普尔科(墨西哥)
Accra 阿克拉(加纳)
Adelaide 阿德莱德(澳大利亚)
Aden 亚丁(也门)
Agana 阿加尼亚(关岛)
Alexandria 亚历山大(埃及)
Algiers 阿尔及尔(阿尔及利亚)
Amsterdam 阿姆斯特丹(荷兰)
Ancona 安科纳(意大利)
Annaba 安纳巴(阿尔及利亚)
Antofagasta 安托法加斯塔(智利)
Antwerp 安特卫普(比利时)
Aomen[Macao] 澳门(中国)
Apapa 阿帕帕(尼日利亚)
Apia 阿皮亚(西萨摩亚)
Aqaba[Akaba] 亚喀巴(约旦)
Arica 阿里卡(智利)
Arkhangelsk 阿尔汉格尔斯克(俄罗斯)
Aseb[Assab] 阿萨布(埃塞俄比亚)
Athens 雅典(希腊)
Aukland 奥克兰(新西兰)
Avenmouth 阿芬默斯(英国)
[编辑]
B
Bahia Blanka 布兰卡(阿根廷)
Baltimore 巴尔的摩(美国)
Bandar Abbas 阿巴斯港(伊朗)
Bandar Khomeini 霍梅尼港(伊朗)
Bandar Seri Begawan 斯里巴加湾市(文来)
Bangkok 曼谷(泰国)
Banjarmaisn 马辰(印尼)
Banjul 班珠尔(冈比亚)
Bar 巴尔(南斯拉夫)
Barcelona 巴萨罗那(西班牙)
Barranquilla 巴兰基亚(哥伦比亚)
Basra 巴士拉(伊拉克)
Bassein 勃生(缅甸)
Bata 把塔(赤道几内亚)
Beihai 北海(中国)
Beira 贝拉(莫桑比克)
Beirut 贝鲁特(黎巴嫩)
Belawan 勿拉湾(印尼)
Belfast 贝尔法斯特(英国)
Belize 伯利兹(伯利兹)
Belmopan 贝尔莫潘（伯利兹）
Benghazi 班加西（利比亚）
Berbera 柏培拉（索马里）
Bergen 卑尔根（挪威）
Berne 伯尔尼（瑞士）
Bilbao 毕尔巴鄂（西班牙）
Birkenhead 伯肯赫德（英国）
Bissau 比绍（几内亚比绍）
Bizerta 比塞大（突尼斯）
Boma 博马（扎伊尔）
Bombay 孟买(印度)
Bordeaux 波尔多(法国)
Boston 波斯顿(美国)
Bourgas 布尔加斯(保加利亚)
Bremen 不来梅(德国)
Bremerhaven 不来梅港(法国)
Brest 布雷斯特(法国)
Brisbane 布里斯班(澳大利亚)
Bristol 布里斯托尔(英国)
Buenaventura 布埃纳文图拉(哥伦比亚)
Buenos Aires 布宜诺斯艾利斯(阿根廷)
[编辑]
C
Cagliari 卡利亚里（意大利）
Calcutta 加尔各答（印度）
Callao 卡亚俄（秘鲁）
Cape Town 开普敦（南非）
Caracas 加拉加斯（委瑞内拉）
Cardiff 加地夫（英国）
Cartagena 卡赫纳（哥伦比亚）
Casablanca[Dar el Beida] 卡萨布兰卡（摩洛哥）
Cebu 宿务（菲律宾）
Charleston 查尔斯顿（美国）
Cheribon 井里文（印尼）
Chiba 千叶（日本）
Chicago 芝家哥（美国）
Chimbote 钦博特（秘鲁）
Chittagong 吉大港（孟加拉国）
Chongjin 清津（朝鲜）
Coatzacoalcos 夸察夸尔科斯（墨西哥）
Colombo 科伦坡（斯里兰卡）
Colon 科隆（巴拿马）
Conakry 科纳克里（几内亚）
Coonstantza 康斯坦萨（罗马尼亚）
La Conuna 拉科鲁尼亚（西班牙）
Copehagen 哥本哈根（丹麦）
Corinto 科林托（尼加拉瓜）
Cork 科克（爱尔兰）
Cotonou 科托努（贝宁）
christ Church 克莱斯特切奇（新西兰）
Crotone 克努托内（意大利）
Cumana 库马纳（委内瑞拉）
[编辑]
D
Dacca 达卡（孟加拉国）
Dakar 达喀尔（塞内加尔）
Dalian 大连（中国）
Damman 达曼（沙特阿拉伯）
Da Nang 岘港（越南）
Dar el-Beida[Casablanca] 卡萨布兰卡（摩洛哥）
Darwin 达尔文（澳大利亚）
Dar-es-Salaam 达累斯萨拉姆（坦桑尼亚）
Djakarta 雅加达（印尼）
Djibouti 吉布提（吉布提）
Doha 多哈（卡塔尔）
Dordrecht 多德雷赫特（荷兰）
Douala 杜阿拉（喀麦隆）
Dubai 迪拜（阿联酋）
Dublin 都柏林（爱尔兰）
Dunedin 打尼丁（新西兰）
Dunkirk 敦刻尔克（英国）
Durresi 都拉斯（阿尔巴尼亚）
[编辑]
E
East London 东伦敦（南非）
[编辑]
F
Fredericia 腓特烈西亚（丹麦）
Fredrikstad 腓特烈斯塔（挪威）
Free Town 弗里敦（塞拉利昂）
Freemantle 弗里曼特尔（澳大利亚）
Fuzhou 福州（中国）
[编辑]
G
Gaoxiong 高雄（中国）
Gdansk 格但斯克（波兰）
Gdynia 格丁尼亚（波兰）
Geelong 吉朗（澳大利亚）
Genoa 热那亚（意大利）
Georgetown[Penang] 乔治市[摈城]（马来西亚）
Georgetown 乔治敦（圭亚那，加拿大）
Gibraltar 直布罗陀（西班牙）
Gijon 希洪（西班牙）
Glasgow 格拉斯哥（英国）
Godthab 戈特霍布（格陵兰）
Goteborg 哥德堡（瑞典）
Guangzhou 广州（中国）
Guayaquil 瓜亚基尔（厄瓜多尔）
Guaymas 瓜伊马斯（墨西哥）
[编辑]
H
Haifa 海法（以色列）
Hai-Phong 海防（越南）
Hakodate 函馆（日本）
Halifax 哈里法克斯（加拿大）
Halmstad 哈尔姆斯塔德（瑞典）
Hamburg 汉堡（德国）
Hanoi 河内（越南）
Havana 哈瓦那（古巴）
Helsinki 赫尔辛基（芬兰）
Hiroshima 广岛（日本）
Hongay 鸿基（越南）
Hongkong 香港（中国）
Honolulu 火奴鲁鲁（美国）
Houston 休斯敦（美国）
Hudaydak Al 菏台达（也门）
Hull 赫尔（英国）
Hungnam 兴南（朝鲜）
[编辑]
I
Iloilo 伊洛伊洛[怡朗]（菲律宾）
Iquique 伊基克（智利）
Istanbul 伊斯坦布尔（土耳其）
Izmir[Smyrna] 伊兹密尔（土耳其）
[编辑]
J
Jakarta 雅加达（印尼）
Jidda 吉达（沙特阿拉伯）
Jilong 基隆（中国）
[编辑]
K
Kagoshima 鹿儿岛（日本）
Kakinada 卡基纳达（印度）
Kampong Saon 磅逊（柬埔寨）
Karachi 卡拉奇（巴基斯坦）
Khulna 库尔纳（孟加拉国）
Kiel 基尔（德国）
Kingston 金斯敦（牙买加，加拿大）
Kismayu 基斯马尤（索马里）
Kobe 神户（日本）
Kuala Lumpur 吉隆坡（马来西亚）
Kuching 吉晋（马来西亚）
Kuwait 科威特（科威特）
[编辑]
L
Lagos 拉各斯（尼日利亚）
La Guaina 拉瓜伊拉（委内瑞拉）
La Rouchelle 拉罗歇尔（法国）
La Spezia 拉斯佩齐亚（意大利）
La Plata 拉普拉塔（阿根廷）
Latakia 拉塔基亚（叙利亚）
Le Havre 勒阿佛尔（法国）
Leghorn[Livorno] 莱戈恩（意大利）
Leninggrad 列宁革勒（俄罗斯）
Lianyungang 连云港（中国）
Libreville 利伯维尔（加蓬）
Limassol 利马索尔（塞浦路斯）
Limon 里蒙（哥斯达黎加）
Lisboa[Lisbon] 里斯本（葡萄牙）
Liverpool 利物浦（英国）
Lome 洛美（多哥）
London 伦敦（英国）
Long Beach 长滩（美国）
Los Angeles 洛杉矶（美国）
Luanda 罗安达（安哥拉）
Lubeck 卢贝克（德国）
Lyttelton 利特尔顿（新西兰）
[编辑]
M
Macao 澳门（中国）
Majunga 马任加（马达加斯加）
Makasa 望加锡（印尼）
Malabo 马拉博（赤道几内亚）
Malacca 马六甲（马来西亚）
Malaga 马拉加（西班牙）
Male 马累（马尔代夫）
Malindi 马林迪（肯尼亚）
Malmo 马尔默（瑞典）
Malta 马耳他（马耳他）
Manama,Al 麦纳麦（巴林）
Manila 马尼拉（菲律宾）
Maputo 马普托（莫桑比克）
Maracaibo 马拉开波（委瑞内拉）
Mariupol 马里乌波尔（乌克兰）
Mar del Plata 马德普拉塔（阿根廷）
Marseilles 马塞（法国）
Massawa 马萨瓦（埃塞俄比亚）
Matadi 马塔迪（扎伊尔）
Matanzas 马坦萨斯（古巴）
Mazatlan 马萨特兰（墨西哥）
Melbourne 墨尔本（澳大利亚）
Menado 万鸦老（印尼）
Mersin 梅尔辛（土耳其）
Messina 墨西拿（意大利）
Miami 迈阿密（美国）
Milford 米尔福德港（英国）
Mobile 莫比尔（美国）
Mogadisho[Mogadiscio] 摩假迪沙（索马里）
Mokpo 木浦（朝鲜）
Mombasa 蒙巴萨（肯尼亚）
Monrovia 蒙罗维亚（利比里亚）
Montevideo 蒙特维的亚（乌拉圭）
Montreal 蒙特利尔（加拿大）
Mokalla,Al 穆卡拉（也门）
Moulmein 毛淡棉（缅甸）
Murmansk 莫尔曼斯克（俄罗斯）
Muscat 马斯喀特（阿曼）
[编辑]
N
Nagasaki 长崎（日本）
Nagoya 名古屋（日本）
Naha 那霸（日本）
Nakhodka 纳霍德卡（俄罗斯）
Nampo 南浦（朝鲜）
Nantes 南特（法国）
Naples[Napoli] 那不勒斯（意大利）
New Orleans 新奥尔良（美国）
New York 纽约（美国）
New Castle 纽卡斯尔（澳大利亚，美国）
New Heaven 纽黑文（美国）
Nicosia 尼科西亚（塞浦路斯）
Niigata 新泻（日本）
Ningpo 宁波（中国）
Norfolk 诺福克（美国）
Nouakchott 努瓦克肖特（毛里塔尼亚）
Noumea 努美阿（新喀里多尼亚）
[编辑]
O
Oakland 奥克兰（美国）
Odessa 傲德萨（乌克兰）
Oran[Ouakran] 奥兰（阿尔及利亚）
Osaka 大阪（日本）
Oslo 奥斯陆（挪威）
Oulu 奥卢（芬兰）
[编辑]
P
Palembang 巨港（印尼）
Panama City 巴拿马城（巴拿马）
Papeete 帕皮提（波利尼西亚）
Paramaribo 帕拉马里博（苏里南）
Penang 槟城（马来西亚）
Philadelphia 费城（美国）
Piraeus 比雷埃夫斯（希腊）
Plaia 普拉亚（佛得角）
Ploce 普洛切（南斯拉夫）
Plymouth 普列茅斯（英国）
Pointe Noire 黑角（刚果）
Port-au-Prince 太子港（海地）
Port Elizabeth 伊利沙白港（南非）
Port Gentil 让蒂尔港（加蓬）
Port Harcourt 哈科特港（尼日利亚）
Port Headland 黑德兰港（澳大利亚）
Port Kelang 巴生港（马来西亚）
Portland 波特兰（美国）
Port Louis 路易港（毛里求斯）
Port Moresby 莫尔兹比港（巴布亚新几内亚）
Port Alegre 阿雷格里港（巴西）
Port of Spain 西班牙港（特立尼达和多巴哥）
Port Novo 波多诺夫（贝宁）
Port Said 塞科港（埃及）
Port Sudan 苏丹港（苏丹）
Port Victoria 维多利亚港（塞舌尔）
Portsmouth 朴次茅斯（英国）
Prince Rubert 鲁伯特王子港（加拿大）
Puerto Cabello 卡贝略港（委内瑞拉）
Puerto Cortes 科尔特斯港（洪都拉斯）
Punta Arenas 蓬塔阿雷纳斯（智利）
Puntarenas 蓬塔雷纳斯（哥斯达黎加）
Pusan 釜山（韩国）
[编辑]
Q
Qingdao 青岛（中国）
Qinhuangdao 秦皇岛（中国）
Quebec 魁北克（加拿大）
[编辑]
R
Rabat 拉巴特（摩洛哥）
Rangoon 仰光（缅甸）
Recife 累西非（巴西）
Reykjavik 雷克雅未克（冰岛）
Riga 里加（拉托维亚）
Rijeka 里耶卡（南斯拉夫）
Rio de Janeiro 里约热内卢（巴西）
Rostock 罗斯托克（德国）
Rotterdam 鹿特丹（荷兰）
[编辑]
S
Safaga 萨法加港（埃及）
Safi 萨费（摩洛哥）
Saigon 西贡（越南）
Salonica 萨洛尼卡（希腊）
Salvador 萨尔瓦多（巴西）
San Diego 圣跌戈（美国）
San Francisco 旧金山（美国）
San Juan 圣胡安（波多黎哥，秘鲁）
Sandakan 山打根（马来西亚）
Santiago 圣地亚哥（古巴）
Santo Dominga 圣多明各（多米尼加）
Santos 桑拖斯（巴西）
Savanah 萨凡纳（美国）
Seattle 西雅图（美国）
Semarang 三宝龚（印度）
Setubel 塞图巴尔（葡萄牙）
Sfax 斯法克斯（突尼斯）
Shanghai 上海（中国）
Shantou 汕头（中国）
Shekou 蛇口（中国）
Shenzhen 深圳（中国）
Singapore 新加坡（新加坡）
Songkhla 宋卡（泰国）
Southampton 南安浦敦（英国）
Split 斯普利特（南斯拉夫）
St.Johns 圣约翰斯（加拿大）
Stockholm 斯德哥尔摩（瑞典）
Suez 苏伊士（埃及）
Surabaja 泗水（印尼）
Suva 苏瓦（斐济）
Sydney 悉尼（澳大利亚）
Szczecin 什切青（波兰）
[编辑]
T
Taibei 台北（中国）
Tallin 塔林（爱沙尼亚）
Tamatave[Toamasina] 塔马塔夫（马达加斯加）
Tampa 坦帕（美国）
Tampico 坦皮科（墨西哥）
Tandjung Priok 丹戎不碌（印尼）
Tanga 坦葛（坦桑尼亚）
Tangier 丹吉尔（摩洛哥）
Taranto 塔兰托（意大利）
Tatus 塔尔图斯（叙利亚）
Tel Aviv 特拉维夫（以色列）
Tema 特马（加纳）
Tianjin 天津（中国）
Toamasina 图阿马西纳（马达加斯加）
Tokyo 东京（日本）
Toleary 图莱亚尔
Toronto 多伦多（加拿大）
Toulon 土伦港（法国）
Trieste 的里雅斯特（意大利）
Trineomalee 亭克马里（斯里兰卡）
Tripoli 的黎波里（黎巴嫩，利比亚）
Tunis 突尼斯（突尼斯）
Turku 图尔库（芬兰）
[编辑]
V
Vaasa 瓦萨（芬兰）
Valletta 瓦莱塔（马耳他）
Valona 法罗拉（阿尔巴尼亚）
Valparaiso 瓦尔帕莱索（智利）
Vancouver 温哥华（加拿大）
Verna 瓦尔纳（保加利亚）
Venice 威尼斯（意大利）
Veracruz 韦腊克鲁斯（墨西哥）
Victoria 维多利亚（塞舌尔，加拿大）
vila 维拉港（瓦努阿图）
Vladivostok 海参威（俄罗斯）
[编辑]
W
Valvis Bay 沃尔维斯湾（纳米比亚）
Wellington 惠灵顿（新西兰）
Wenzhou 温州（中国）
Wismar 维斯马（德国）
Wonsan 元山（朝鲜）
[编辑]
X
Xiamen[Amoy] 厦门（中国）
[编辑]
Y
Yantai 烟台（中国）
Yokohama 横滨（日本）
[编辑]
Z
Zanzibar 桑给巴尔（坦桑尼亚）
Zhanjiang 湛江（中国）
Zhuhai 珠海（中国）
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Green Library
http://www.greenlibraries.org/
Welcome to Green Libraries, a website dedicated to documenting the greening of libraries in North America. This site contains a growing list of libraries that are constructing green buildings. It also contains a list of resources to help people make their libraries more green and sustainable. There are currently 39 green libraries listed in the directory web pages.
The newest addition to the website is the Cleveland Public Library’s Rice Branch.
For information about why libraries should go green, see Why Build Green? from the Rocky Mountain Institute and also Why Build Green? from the U.S.
Enivornmental Protection Agency.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_library
Green libraries are a part of the larger green building movement. Also known as sustainable libraries, green libraries are being built all over the world[citation needed], with many high profile projects bringing the concept into the mainstream. Along with library 2.0, green design is an emerging trend, defining the library of the 21st century. Many view the library as having a unique role in the green building movement due to itsaltruistic mission, public and pedagogical nature, and the fact that new libraries are usually high profile, community driven projects.
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Google AdSense for Feeds
http://adsenseforfeeds.blogspot.com/
Google AdSense for Feeds
Helping publishers analyze, publicize, and monetize their RSS feeds
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Virtual Container Yards Net Real Result
http://www.inboundlogistics.com/cms/article/virtual-container-yards-net-real-results/
January 2007 | Commentary | Supply Chain TechnologyVirtual Container Yards Net Real Results
Waste is the sworn enemy of the supply chain. Whether time and money is squandered because of excess inventory, unnecessary cargo moves, manufacturing foul-ups, under-utilized technology systems, or inaccurate sales forecasting, logisticians are tasked every day with avoiding waste and inefficiency.
One particularly vexing source of waste for transportation carriers today is empty containers. Thanks to steady increases in global transportation, container trade levels are way up, which has led to an abundance of empty containers piling up at port terminals, rail ramps, and inland container depots across the United States.
The container influx also means a large volume of empty trailers and containers traversing U.S. highways. This efficiency-killer stems from two sources: empty import containers returning to a terminal from a consignee’s facility, and empty containers traveling from the port to be loaded up with export goods at a shipper’s DC.
Those extra trips add up to a lot of wasted transportation time and expense for both carriers and shippers.
It is no surprise then that the Virtual Container Yard (VCY), a relatively untapped technology aimed at reducing empty container handling, is gaining favor with ocean and motor freight carriers.
Though the details of each system vary, a VCY is a web-based information exchange platform that allows users to match empty equipment needs so they can interchange, or “street turn,” empty containers without first returning them to a terminal, rail ramp, or container yard.
WANTED: EMPTY CONTAINERS
Trucking operators access a VCY system to post empty container availability, outlining pertinent information such as container location and availability. Other trucking operators, seeking empty containers, check this availability and request a street-turn transaction. The system requests permission from the ocean carrier that owns the container, and the transaction is accepted or denied.
“The VCY concept represents an attempt to use simple, well-tested IT technologies—including next-generation Internet and other new platforms—to make landside port-related freight logistics more efficient and less costly,” say Drs. Maria Boile and Sotiris Theofanis with the Maritime Infrastructure Engineering and Management program at Rutgers University’s Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation.
Managing empty containers is particularly troublesome in port regions and densely populated economic centers, say Boile and Theofanis, because the influx of empty containers moving on area roads adds to already elevated levels of traffic congestion and emissions pollution in these communities.
Typical daily container volumes entering and exiting the Port of New York/New Jersey in 2005, for example, totaled 5,899 and 6,383, respectively, according to a study prepared for the port by New York engineering firm Eng-Wong, Taub & Associates. Given the empty trips to and from the port, total daily truck trips in 2005 were nearly double that number each day.
PORTS PUSH TECHNOLOGY
Clearly, empty containers are full of challenges for ports. As such, U.S. ports have been instrumental in pushing VCY technology. The ports of Oakland—the first to launch a VCY system in the United States—and Los Angeles/Long Beach, as well as the Port of Melbourne in Australia, have also implemented or piloted some type of VCY system.
The Port of New York/New Jersey will launch its VCY—powered by technology from eModal of Irvine, Calif.—this May, becoming the first East Coast port to embrace a VCY solution.
As the port’s cargo volume continues to grow, port officials sought “innovative ways to reduce traffic at our gates and in our marine terminal and regional roadway system,” explains Peter Zantal, general manager of strategic analysis and industry relations for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
“We hope VCY will also reduce the cost of transporting containers by truck because of savings generated from reduced vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and the decrease in required driver time,” Zantal adds.
While VCY systems are a PR coup for ports, which can boast of their “good neighbor” efforts to mitigate traffic congestion and adverse environmental impacts, they are also a smart strategy for both ocean and motor freight carriers.
Ocean carriers have notorious difficulty with empty containers because they lose crucial asset visibility when their containers are transferred to other carriers’ control for final delivery. This robs them of the chance to impact what happens between the time a carrier takes their container from the yard, and when it is returned.
“Ocean carriers don’t share operational systems with railroads or trucking companies, so once a container is handed off to those entities, it is out of control and out of sight,” explains Phil Behenna, senior vice president, intermodal, for International Asset Systems (IAS), an Oakland, Calif.-based asset management solutions provider that paired with eModal to implement the VCY currently in use at the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach.
“In the intermodal sector, reuse of trailers without bringing the box back empty to a yard can be as low as 2 percent,” Behenna adds.
By using VCYs, ocean carriers can reposition their assets more effectively. With its VCY implementation, the Port of NY/NJ expects ocean carriers to “improve asset utilization, reduce gate transactions at the port, streamline inventory, and reduce disputes because of a formal agreement to participate in street turns,” says Zantal.
For trucking companies, the aim of the game is reducing unproductive vehicle miles traveled. Using a VCY to cut down on the number of empty trips to and from terminals helps trucking companies combat the amount of time their trucks spend on the road—a key metric for reducing all associated expenses, such as fuel costs, driver pay, and wear and tear on assets.
“For trucking operators, the potential to decrease VMTs and add extra paid trips is of major importance,” note Boile and Theofanis.Truckers also get to slash the amount of time they wait in long lines with their engines running to get into inefficient marine terminals or container yards, says Behenna.
Naturally, any strategy or technology that improves efficiency and reduces expenses for carriers is ultimately good for the shippers that use their services. “The enhanced possibility for shippers and consignees to negotiate—either directly, or indirectly through intermediary representatives—better prices for drayage operations dealing with containers they use for their activities” is another check in the positive column for VCYs, say Boile and Theofanis.
ENTER AUTOMATION
While the appeal of street turns is hard to argue, the systems for managing them have not been terribly robust to date. The web-based nature—coupled with the casual, ad-hoc way many street-turn arrangements are formed—has not lent itself to rich functionality or extensive integration with carriers’ other transportation systems.
This is starting to change, however, as carriers realize the need for automated systems to curb human error, and providers realize the lucrative potential in offering robust functionality.
Automation is key for several reasons. Because ocean containers are valuable assets, turning them over to truckers to use at their discretion is not the wisest move. But manually monitoring each transaction, and the specifics surrounding it, is a burden few ocean carriers want to accept.
“Several critical checks have to be run to allow a street turn to take place,” explains Behenna of IAS, which is releasing its fully automated system, VCY 2.0, in March. An ocean carrier, he explains, must determine the following:
- Do I want this container filled with cargo? While most containers are more valuable full than empty, in some cases, carriers may choose not to put the container back into rotation. They may want to return a leased container to the leasing company, or sell an old container, for example.
- To whom is the container going? Liability issues are key, particularly when one trucking company is asking to hand off the container to another trucking company. Ocean carriers must know whether the truckers are insured; also if a trucker owes per diem charges to a carrier, “it will not be overly thrilled to give that trucker another container,” explains Behenna.
- What will the container be used for? Ocean carriers must know what a trucker wants to transport in the container, and make sure it is an appropriate use of the asset. In addition, a trucker may unwittingly want to ship a container to a destination that cannot accommodate its size.
While those questions establish good guidelines, can a trucker realistically be expected to pick up the phone and ask an ocean carrier every time it wishes to initiate a street turn? Likewise, we can all imagine how happy the ocean carrier will be to handle a few thousand extra phone calls per day from truckers seeking to use its assets.
SEEKING CUSTOMIZATION
IAS’ new system addresses these concerns by allowing ocean carriers to customize the VCY, inputting business rules to specify what type of containers can be street-turned, as well as which truckers are allowed access to their empty containers.
“The system helps filter out unsuitable containers. An ocean carrier can say, ‘Never allow a street turn with a reefer or flat rack’; or ‘Any unit with a certain prefix is a lease unit that I might want to off-hire so don’t include those,’” explains Behenna.
“This way, the only containers visible to truckers accessing the system are containers the ocean carrier wants to have street-turned,” he adds.
In addition, VCY 2.0 lets ocean carriers customize a list of approved truckers, which IAS updates dynamically. This prevents a street turn from occurring with unapproved truckers because only those truckers on the ocean carriers’ list will have visibility of container interchange opportunities.
“When a trucker requests a container through our system, it is prompted to enter the booking number associated with that shipment. The system dynamically checks the number against the ocean carriers’ system to make sure it is a valid booking,” Behenna explains. “Because the system is dynamic, truckers can make real-time decisions about street-turn opportunities—the trucker sees the container, requests it, and receives an immediate yes or no without speaking to anyone.
“In addition, the ocean carrier gets the control it needs without being involved in every transaction,” he says.
Integrating these capabilities with ocean carriers’ transportation management systems is another benefit of automated VCYs. This aspect is one the Port of NY/NJ hopes will makes its VCY—based on a similar automated system from eModal—attractive to carriers.
“Ocean carriers will be able to post all their empty containers via a single data-mapped feed. eModal is already working with many ocean carrier parent or sister companies to receive data in a similarly mapped format,” explains the Port Authority’s Zantal.
A SOLID FUTURE?
It seems there is not much about VCYs to debate—they offer a simple, yet effective technology that helps carriers curb expenses, improve visibility, and, in some cases, generate additional revenue. Add in the extra “green” bonus of improving congestion and pollution in economic hotspots and port communities—what’s not to love?
It is still unclear at this point how quickly VCYs will catch on, however. The willingness of ocean and trucking carriers to share information and assets—though beneficial to both parties—may be one barrier to widespread VCY adoption.
“It is critical to understand the needs and expectations of all VCY players, and to respond positively to them, in order to come to a widely accepted set of system characteristics, processes, and institutional arrangements that work best,” say Boile and Theofanis, who recently released a study examining the feasibility of VCY systems using a simulation-based model to approximate realistic conditions.
Partial collaboration—where groups of ocean carriers collaborate with their respective pools of truckers to share containers—is more likely to occur than complete collaboration, the study shows.
“The simulation leads to encouraging results for the use of VCYs,” they note. “In addition, the fact that established collaborations among groups of carriers exist on other business aspects increases expectations for the potential success of VCY systems.”
In order for VCYs to be successful, Boile and Theofanis recommend participants pay careful attention to the system’s user requirements and functionalities; ensure equipment interchange rules are met; and balance costs and incentives among all parties.
START SLOW, START SMALL
“The success of VCY systems depends on truckers and ocean carriers making it happen,” adds Behenna. One way to do that is to start slow.
Carriers don’t need to begin using a VCY system nationwide; and they don’t need to start with extremely complex scenarios involving multiple ocean carriers and multiple truckers, he says. Carriers can reap benefits from even the most basic VCY transactions.
“Trucker A used to take a container back empty from a consignee facility; now it can give visibility of that unit to an ocean carrier and pick up an extra load. The ocean carrier saves money, and the trucker gets extra revenue,” Behenna explains.
Currently, Behenna estimates carriers can save about $200 per street turn by using a VCY. And, once these systems become institutionalized, the potential for greater savings arises—including savings that extend to shippers.
A trucker and an ocean carrier, for example, may determine that, based on their general import and export flows to one area, a certain type of ongoing street-turn arrangement makes sense.
“They realize they can all benefit—by taking that extra load, the trucker receives 150 percent of the round-trip rate, while the ocean carrier and shipper each pay 75 percent of what they would have paid, and reduce their current haulage expense by 25 percent each,” he explains.
You’d be hard-pressed to find waste in that scenario.
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CY (Container Yard) vs. CFS (Container Freight Station)
http://www.sourcejuice.com/2008/06/08/cy-container-yard-vs-cfs-container-freight-station/
CY (Container Yard) vs. CFS (Container Freight Station)
When working with a freight forwarder, there are a number of different container service options that you need to be familiar with to ensure you get the service you expect. To do this, there are 2 terms you should familiarize yourself with: CY and CFS. CY means Container Yard and CFS means Container Freight Station.
When a freight forwarder is giving you a quote, they will typically want to know if you want “door to door” service or if you want the goods to arrive at the destination port only, where you would be responsible to move the goods from the port to your final location.
CY/CY (CY to CY) Container Service
This is considered “door to door” service. The container is packed at the shipper’s location (factory) and sometimes at the actual freight forwarder’s location, depending on your agreement. The shipper in is the consignor and you are the consignee. The same container, not having been unpacked or modified in any way during the voyage, will be delivered to your final destination. Naturally this is the most expensive, but least hassle service.
CY/CFS (CY to CFS) Container Service
This is considered “door to port” service. Just like CY to CY, your container is packed at the shipper’s location and sometimes at the actual freight forwarder’s location, depending on your agreement. However, at the destination side, your container is emptied at the carrier’s container freight station. It is your responsibility as the consignee to take this loose cargo and move it from the destination port to your final location, whether that be a warehouse, distribution center, retail location, etc.
CFS/CY (CFS to CY) Container Service
This is considered “port to door” service. You would use this service if your factory will deliver loose cargo, or cargo in a container that is not the final shipping container to the port. Your freight forwarder will then pack the goods into the shipping container. At the destination side, your cargo will be delivered in that container to your final location.
CFS/CFS (CFS to CFS) Container Service
This is considered “port to port” service. In this case, cargo will be delivered loose to the shipping port, packed into the container by the freight forwarder, and unpacked at the destination port. The consignee (you) are responsible for arranging pickup of the cargo at the destination port and moving it to your final location.
Understanding these services will go a long way to ensuring you receive the service you are expecting. Many companies that are new to importing do not always understand their responsibilities at the destination port. In particular, if you’re using a CY/CFS or CFS/CFS container service, you need to understand how long you have at the destination port to pickup your cargo before fees begin to accumulate. You also need to make sure you know what it will take to physically take ownership of your cargo to make sure you have the right equipment prepared.2008-06-08=========What is Container Yard (CY)?In respect of FCL freight a Sea Port Container Yard (CY) is a facility at which FCL traffic and empty containers are received from or delivered to the consignee by or on behalf of the sea freight carrier. It is the place at which loaded and empty multimodal sea freight containers are accepted for loading onboard ships and the off-loading, releases, storing, assembling and holding.If it is a landlocked Container Yard at Origin, then it also used for transfers of containers to sea ports CY. A Destination Sea Port CY may also used (if necessary) for containers transfer to landlocked CYs, which are closer to places of cargo off-loads and empty containers return to the carrier.Synonym: Marshalling Yard.A container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example trains or trucks, in which case the terminal is described as a maritime container terminal. Alternatively the transshipment may be between land vehicles, typically between train and truck, in which case the terminal is described as an inland container terminal.
Maritime container terminals tend to be part of a larger port, and the biggest maritime container terminals can be found situated around major harbours. Inland container terminals tend to be located in or near major cities, with good rail connections to maritime container terminals.
Both maritime and inland container terminals usually provide storage facilities for both loaded and empty containers. Loaded containers are stored for relatively short periods, whilst waiting for onward transportation, whilst unloaded containers may be stored for longer periods awaiting their next use. Containers are normally stacked for storage, and the resulting stores are known as container stacks.
In recent years methodological advances regarding container terminal operations have considerably improved. For a detailed description and a comprehensive list of references see, e.g., the operations research literature.[1][2]
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The Lovlots – a journal
http://www.swarovski.com/Web_US/en/crystal_society?contentid=10007.78133
The Lovlots – a journal
Faceted fun
When the first Lovlots saw the light of day in 2006, they presented an entirely new concept. Each of the characters has a unique story to tell; each of them is a little eccentric, some are creative, some naive, others demanding, and others amusing. The Lovlots are open books – they present their foibles with proud defiance and are carriers of the highly contagious virus called optimism.
The original gang, which was also made into charms for necklaces and bracelets, was soon extended. Since their launch, several new collections have joined the 2006 pioneers. The Slideshows present the entire collection including the fashion items.
As the characters have been added to, so has the story surrounding these personalities. Lovlots City maps their turf, the respective groups inhabiting different districts of town.
The Pioneers live in the West End of Lovlots City, whereas the East End, for example, was taken over by The Gang of Dogs in 2008. The House of Cats, which will be introduced in 2009 can be found in Park Hills. As the plot thickens, a city guide may come in handy – simply download the PDF. The file also contains a list of all Lovlots past and present.
Have a look at these and other informative articles covering Lovlots’ developments:
The Gang of Dogs
The House of Cats
The Lovlots Present their Passion for Fashion
The Pioneers of 2006
Be sure to visit the special online presentation of Lovlots here.
You may also download a colourful street view of Lovlots City as a wallpaper here:
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