Tuesday, October 1, 2013

United States Air Force Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds USAF Air Demonstration Squadron
The USAF Thunderbirds over Utah in Delta Formation
Active	13 June 1917 – 1 February 1963 (as operational squadron) 25 May 1953 - present (as air demonstration squadron)
Country	United States
Branch	United States Air Force
Role	Aerobatic display team
Size	12 officers 120 enlisted support personnel
Part of	Air Combat Command
Garrison/HQ	Nellis Air Force Base Las Vegas, Nevada
Colors	Red, White and Blue
Engagements	World War I World War II (Pacific Theater) Korean War
Website	http://www.afthunderbirds.com/site/
Insignia
Identification symbol
Aircraft flown
Fighter	6 – F-16C Fighting Falcons 2 – F-16D Fighting Falcons

The USAF Air Demonstration Squadron ("Thunderbirds") is the air demonstration squadron of the United States Air Force (USAF). The Thunderbirds are assigned to the 57th Wing, and are based at Nellis AFB, Nevada.
The squadron tours the United States and much of the world, performing aerobatic formation and solo flying in specially marked aircraft. The name is taken from the legendary creature that appears in the mythology of several indigenous North American cultures.
On 1 March 2013, the USAF announced that due to budget cuts, aerial demonstration team performances would cease indefinitely, effective 1 April 2013.^[1]

Overview

The Thunderbirds are a named USAF squadron, meaning it does not carry a numerical designation. It is also one of the oldest squadrons in the Air Force, its origins dating to the organization of the 30th Aero Squadron, formed at Kelly Field, Texas on 13 June 1917. ^[2]
Officers serve a two-year assignment with the squadron, while enlisted personnel serve three to four years. As the squadron performs no more than 88 air demonstrations each year, replacements must be trained for about half of the team each year, in order to provide a constant mix of experience. In addition to their air demonstration responsibilities, the Thunderbirds are part of the USAF combat force and if required, can be rapidly integrated into an operational fighter unit.^[3]^[4] Since 15 February 1974 the Thunderbirds have been a component of the 57th Wing at Nellis AFB. Since 1953, they have flown in front of more than 300 million people.^[5]

F-16 Fighting Falcon

The Thunderbirds performing the crossover break.

The Thunderbirds perform aerial demonstrations in the F-16C Fighting Falcon. Two F-16D twin-seat trainers are also flown.
The F-16 has been the demonstration aircraft for the Thunderbirds since the 1983 season. In January 1982, several members of the squadron were killed in what became known as the "Diamond Crash" of T-38 Talon aircraft which the squadron had flown since 1974. Partially as a result of that accident, the squadron switched to the F-16A, and sat out the 1982 airshow season and spent that year retraining and transitioning over to the new aircraft to ready themselves for the 1983 season. The F-16, however, had been considered for transition prior to the accident. In rebuilding the Thunderbird Team, the Air Force recruited previous Thunderbird pilots, qualified each in the F-16A, and had them begin by flying "two-ship" maneuvers, then expanded the program one airplane at a time up to the full six airplanes. Beginning in June 1982, the F-16 Thunderbirds were led by Major Jim Latham.
The team continues to fly the F-16, having switched from the F-16A to the F-16C in 1992.^[3] Only a few minor modifications differentiate a Thunderbird from an operational F-16C. These include the replacement of the 20 mm cannon and ammunition drum with a smoke-generating system, including its plumbing and control switches, the removal of the jet fuel starter exhaust door, and the application of the Thunderbirds' glossy red, white, and blue polyurethane paint scheme. All of the modification work is performed at the maintenance depot at Hill AFB near Ogden, Utah. Other than those modifications, the aircraft are taken from the standard USAF inventory as production fighters, and can be returned to an operational squadron in short order without any major modification.

PepsiCo

Food company

PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational food and beverage corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. Wikipedia

Headquarters: Purchase, NY, United States of America

CEO: Indra Nooyi

Founded: 1965

Founders: Donald M. Kendall, Herman Lay

Pepsi (stylized in lowercase as pepsi, formerly stylized in uppercase as PEPSI) is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo. Created and developed in 1893 and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola on August 28, 1898, then to Pepsi in 1961.^{[citation needed]}

History

The pharmacy of Caleb Bradham, with a Pepsi dispenser

Pepsi was first introduced as "Brad's Drink"^[2] in New Bern, North Carolina, United States, in 1893 by Caleb Bradham, who made it at his drugstore where the drink was sold. It was later labeled Pepsi Cola, named after the digestive enzyme pepsin and kola nuts used in the recipe.^[3] Bradham sought to create a fountain drink that was delicious and would aid in digestion and boost energy.^[2]

plaque at 256 Middle Street, New Bern, NC

In 1903, Bradham moved the bottling of Pepsi-Cola from his drugstore to a rented warehouse. That year, Bradham sold 7,968 gallons of syrup. The next year, Pepsi was sold in six-ounce bottles, and sales increased to 19,848 gallons. In 1909, automobile race pioneer Barney Oldfield was the first celebrity to endorse Pepsi-Cola, describing it as "A bully drink...refreshing, invigorating, a fine bracer before a race." The advertising theme "Delicious and Healthful" was then used over the next two decades.^[4] In 1926, Pepsi received its first logo redesign since the original design of 1905. In 1929, the logo was changed again.
In 1931, at the depth of the Great Depression, the Pepsi-Cola Company entered bankruptcy – in large part due to financial losses incurred by speculating on wildly fluctuating sugar prices as a result of World War I. Assets were sold and Roy C. Megargel bought the Pepsi trademark.^[3] Megargel was unsuccessful, and soon Pepsi's assets were purchased by Charles Guth, the President of Loft, Inc. Loft was a candy manufacturer with retail stores that contained soda fountains. He sought to replace Coca-Cola at his stores' fountains after Coke refused to give him a discount on syrup. Guth then had Loft's chemists reformulate the Pepsi-Cola syrup formula.
On three separate occasions between 1922 and 1933, The Coca-Cola Company was offered the opportunity to purchase the Pepsi-Cola company, and it declined on each occasion.^[5]

Current Pepsi's 2-D logo introduced in October 2008.
Type	Cola
Manufacturer	PepsiCo
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	1893 (as Brad's Drink) August 28, 1898 (as Pepsi-Cola) 1961 (as Pepsi)
Related products	Coca-Cola RC Cola Irn Bru Cola Turka Big Cola
Website	pepsi.com

**Nutrition facts**
Serving size 12 fl oz (355 ml)
Servings per container 1

Amount per serving
Calories 150^[1]		Calories from fat 0

% Daily value*
Total fat 0 g			0%
Saturated fat 0 g			0%
Trans fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg			0%
Sodium 15 mg			1%
Potassium 0 mg			0%
Total carbohydrate 41 g			14%
Dietary fiber 0 g			0%
Sugars 41 g
Protein 0 g

Vitamin A	0%	Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	0%	Iron	0%

*Percent daily values are based on a 2,000‑calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

IBM


IBM

IBM

The International Business Machines Corporation (commonly referred as IBM) is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation, with headquarters in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and markets computer hardware and software, and offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.^[3]
The company was founded in 1911 as the Computing Tabulating Recording Company (CTR) through a merger of three companies: the Tabulating Machine Company, the International Time Recording Company, and the Computing Scale Company.^[4]^[5] CTR adopted the name International Business Machines in 1924, using a name previously designated to CTR's subsidiary in Canada and later South America. Securities analysts nicknamed IBM Big Blue in recognition of IBM's common use of blue in products, packaging, and logo.^[6]
In 2012, Fortune ranked IBM the No. 2 largest U.S. firm in terms of number of employees (433,362),^[7] the No. 4 largest in terms of market capitalization,^[8] the No. 9 most profitable,^[9] and the No. 19 largest firm in terms of revenue.^[10] Globally, the company was ranked the No. 31 largest in terms of revenue by Forbes for 2011.^[11]^[12] Other rankings for 2011/2012 include No. 1 company for leaders (Fortune), No. 1 green company worldwide (Newsweek), No. 2 best global brand (Interbrand), No. 2 most respected company (Barron's), No. 5 most admired company (Fortune), and No. 18 most innovative company (Fast Company).^[13]
IBM has 12 research laboratories worldwide and, as of 2013, has held the record for most patents generated by a company for 20 consecutive years.^[14] Its employees have garnered five Nobel Prizes, six Turing Awards, ten National Medals of Technology, and five National Medals of Science.^[15] Notable inventions by IBM include the automated teller machine (ATM), the floppy disk, the hard disk drive, the magnetic stripe card, the relational database, the Universal Product Code (UPC), the financial swap, SABRE airline reservation system, DRAM, and Watson artificial intelligence.
The company has undergone several organizational changes since its inception, acquiring companies such as Kenexa (2012) and SPSS (2009) and organizations such as PwC's consulting business (2002), spinning off companies like Lexmark (1991), and selling off product lines like ThinkPad to Lenovo (2005).

Logo used since 1972.
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: IBM Dow Jones Industrial Average Component S&P 500 Component
Industry	Computer hardware, Computer software, IT services, IT consulting
Founded	Endicott, New York, U.S. (June 16, 1911 (102 years ago))
Founder(s)	Thomas J. Watson Charles Ranlett Flint
Headquarters	Armonk, New York, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Ginni Rometty (Chairman, President, and CEO)
Products	See IBM products
Revenue	US$ 104.5 billion (2012)^[1]
Operating income	US$ 21.90 billion (2012)^[1]
Net income	US$ 17.60 billion (2012)^[1]
Total assets	US$ 119.21 billion (2012)^[1]
Total equity	US$ 18.86 billion (2012)^[1]
Employees	434,246 (December 31, 2012)^[2]
Divisions	Financing, Hardware, Services, Software
Website	IBM.com

Microsoft


Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational software corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services related to computing. The company was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen on April 4, 1975. Microsoft is the world's largest software maker measured by revenues.^[4] It is also one of the world's most valuable companies.^[5]
Microsoft was established to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. It rose to dominate the personal computer operating system market with MS-DOS in the mid-1980s, followed by the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems. The company's 1986 initial public offering, and subsequent rise in its share price, created an estimated three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires from Microsoft employees. Since the 1990s, it has increasingly diversified from the operating system market and has made a number of corporate acquisitions. In May 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype Technologies for $8.5 billion in its largest acquisition to date.^[6]
As of 2013, Microsoft is market dominant in both the PC operating system and office suite markets (the latter with Microsoft Office). The company also produces a wide range of other software for desktops and servers, and is active in areas including internet search (with Bing), the video game industry (with the Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles, and the upcoming Xbox One console), the digital services market (through MSN), and mobile phones (via the Windows Phone OS). In June 2012, Microsoft announced that it would be entering the PC vendor market for the first time, with the launch of the Microsoft Surface tablet computer.
In the 1990s, critics began to contend that Microsoft used monopolistic business practices and anti-competitive strategies including refusal to deal and tying, put unreasonable restrictions in the use of its software, and used misrepresentative marketing tactics; both the U.S. Department of Justice and European Commission found the company in violation of antitrust laws.
On August 20, 2013, Microsoft announced that its CEO, Steve Ballmer, will retire from the company after a successor is chosen.^[7]


Type	Public
Traded as	NASDAQ: MSFT Dow Jones Industrial Average Component NASDAQ-100 Component S&P 500 Component
Industry	Computer software
Founded	Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States (April 4, 1975)
Founder(s)	Bill Gates, Paul Allen
Headquarters	Microsoft Redmond Campus, Redmond, Washington, U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Bill Gates (Chairman) Steve Ballmer (CEO)
Products	Windows (Phone, Server) Office Dynamics Azure Xbox Surface Bing Skype (See Microsoft products)
Revenue	US$ 77.85 billion (2013)^[1]
Operating income	US$ 26.76 billion (2013)^[1]
Net income	US$ 21.86 billion (2013)^[1]
Total assets	US$ 142.43 billion (2013)^[1]
Total equity	US$ 78.94 billion (2013)^[1]
Employees	97,000 (2013)^[2]
Subsidiaries	List of Microsoft subsidiaries
Website	Microsoft.com
References: ^[3]

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

promotion lady holds a new 425 ml (14 oz) Coca-Cola bottle during an event to introduce the new packaging at a shopping mall in Yangon July 27, 2013. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun (MYANMAR - Tags: BUSINESS)

RELATED QUOTES

Symbol	Price	Change
AAPL	476.75

KO	37.88

OMC	63.44

GOOG	875.91

INTC	22.92

APPLE is the new most valuable brand in the world, according to a closely followed annual report.
The report, to be released on Monday, is from Interbrand, a corporate identity and brand consulting company owned by the Omnicom Group that has been compiling what it calls the Best Global Brands report since 2000. The previous No. 1 brand, Coca-Cola, fell to No. 3.
Not only has Apple replaced Coca-Cola as first among the 100 most valuable brands based on criteria that include financial performance, this is the first time that the soft drink known for slogans like “It’s the real thing” has not been No. 1.
Apple’s arrival in the top spot was perhaps “a matter of time,” Jez Frampton, global chief executive at Interbrand, said in a recent interview. Apple was No. 2 last year, climbing from No. 8 in the 2011 report.
“What is it they say, ‘Long live the king’?” Mr. Frampton asked. “This year, the king is Apple.”
The 2013 report begins: “Every so often, a company changes our lives, not just with its products, but with its ethos. This is why, following Coca-Cola’s 13-year run at the top of Best Global Brands, Interbrand has a new No. 1 — Apple.”
The report estimates the value of the Apple brand at $98.3 billion, up 28 percent from the 2012 report. The value of the Coca-Cola brand also rose, by 2 percent to $79.2 billion, but that was not sufficient to give Coca-Cola a 14th year as Interbrand’s most valuable brand.
Although “Coca-Cola is an efficient, outstanding brand marketer, no doubt about it,” Mr. Frampton said, Apple and other leading technology brands have become “very much the poster child of the marketing community.”
That is underscored by the brand in second place in the new report: Google, which rose from fourth place last year. In fact, of the top 10 Best Global Brands for 2013, five are in technology: Apple; Google; Microsoft, No. 5, unchanged from last year; Samsung, 8, compared with 9 last year; and Intel, 9, compared with 8 last year.
Samsung’s ascent followed the company’s adoption of a new brand strategy called the Brand Ideal, which includes “a greater focus on social purpose,” Sue Shim, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Samsung, said by e-mail. That reflected research indicating American consumers would switch brands to “one that was associated with improving people’s lives,” she added.
I.B.M. — No. 4 in 2013, down a notch from 2012 — is ranked as a business services brand. Otherwise, technology would account for six of the top 10.
“Brands like Apple and Google and Samsung are changing our behavior: how we buy, how we communicate with each other, even whether we speak with each other,” Mr. Frampton said. “They have literally changed the way we live our lives.”
Among other transformative technology brands that performed well in the new report was Facebook, which climbed to 52 from 69 last year, its first year on the list.
However, not all technology brands fared well. BlackBerry, which tumbled last year to 93 from 56 in 2011, has disappeared from the list. And Nokia, which dropped to 19 from 14 in 2011, finished this year in 57th place — “the biggest faller” among the 100, Mr. Frampton said.
Among nontechnology brands, a notable addition to the list was Chevrolet, at 89, the first General Motors brand to rank among the Best Global Brands.
“It feels good to hit the list for the first time,” Alan Batey, global head of Chevrolet at G.M., said in a telephone interview. “It’s a great first step, but we’ve got a long way to go. There are a lot of big brands in front of us.”
The milestone reflects how General Motors has been “making a conscious effort to globalize Chevrolet,” Mr. Batey said, selling the brand in 140 countries in ads that play up attributes like “value for money and designs that move hearts and minds.”
Commonwealth, the creative agency for Chevrolet, “played a key role” in helping the brand make the list, he added. Commonwealth is part of the McCann Worldgroup division of the Interpublic Group of Companies.
Last year, when Coca-Cola finished atop the Best Global Brands list for the 13th consecutive time, an executive at the Coca-Cola Company acknowledged the streak but noted that “nothing lasts forever.”
A year later, the executive, Joseph V. Tripodi, executive vice president and chief marketing and commercial leadership officer, had this reaction: “Of course, we would like to remain on top of the list forever. That said, we are honored to continue to be included among such an esteemed group of global brands, and we congratulate Apple and Google, both valued partners of ours.”
“We’ve seen the value of technology brands rise as they create new ways for people to stay connected virtually,” Mr. Tripodi said by e-mail. “We understand this, as the lasting power of our brand is built on the social moment of sharing a Coca-Cola with friends and family.”
“Creating these simple moments and delivering on our brand promise each and every day remains our focus,” he added, “as we continue to grow the value of brand Coca-Cola for decades to come.”
If it is consolation, Coca-Cola remains far ahead of Apple and Google in likes on Facebook fan pages. Coca-Cola has 73.2 million, compared with 9.8 million for Apple and 15.1 million for Google.

North Carolina Bride and Groom Zip Line Into Marriage

While some couples may rush into marriage, one North Carolina couple zipped into their vows over the weekend, literally.
Lauren Bushar and Ben Youngkin, both of Asheville, didn't just walk down the aisle at their outdoor wedding Saturday in their hometown, they zip lined above their guests before descending down to say, "I do."
Couple Flies Into Wedding Ceremony on Jet Packs
"We wanted to make our wedding enjoyable for our guests," Bushar, 34, told Goodmorningamerica.com. "We didn't want it to be boring. We wanted it to be entertaining and fun."

Bored they were not. The guests knew nothing about the couple's surprise entrance.

London Mayor Gets Stuck on Zip Line During Olympics

Bushar, who earned the nickname "Tall Socks" for the knee-high socks she has worn since high school, sported a pair of red, orange, yellow, brown and blue knee-high socks under her white wedding gown, along with a pair of matching trail running shoes instead of the more traditional heels.
Bushar and her husband, 37, had only been zip lining twice before but decided to do it at their wedding when they saw their venue of choice, Asheville's Crowne Plaza Resort, had added a zip line course to its outdoor activities.
"The ballroom overlooks the zip line course and while we were touring it, Ben looked out the window and said, 'Can we zip line into our wedding?,'" Bushar recalled. "The hotel contact said, 'We'd love for you to do that if you want to,' and we said, 'Sure.'"

The couple arrived to a reaction of, "cheering, laughing, smiling and screaming," from their guests, according to Bushar.
Even after the ceremony, the couple had another surprise awaiting their guests, a special first dance performance to the song "Keep on Loving You" by REO Speedwagon. The flowers and cake at the reception also matched Bushar's special wedding knee-high socks in fall colors.
"The whole idea behind the wedding was to just make it fun," Bushar said. "We wanted people to drive away from the wedding and say, 'Wow, that was a really fun time.'"
The couple is leaving today for their honeymoon in Boone, N.C., where they plan to play tennis and possibly zip line, again.
"There's a course where we're going but this has all kept us so busy we haven't even signed up yet," Bushar said.

Welcome to News Articales

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

United States Air Force Thunderbirds

United States Air Force Thunderbirds

United States Air Force Thunderbirds

United States Air Force Thunderbirds

United States Air Force Thunderbirds

United States Air Force Thunderbirds

United States Air Force Thunderbirds

Contents

Overview

F-16 Fighting Falcon

PepsiCo

Contents

History

IBM

IBM

Contents

Microsoft

Contents

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

Apple Passes Coca-Cola as Most Valuable Brand

promotion lady holds a new 425 ml (14 oz) Coca-Cola bottle during an event to introduce the new packaging at a shopping mall in Yangon July 27, 2013. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun (MYANMAR - Tags: BUSINESS)

RELATED QUOTES

North Carolina Bride and Groom Zip Line Into Marriage

North Carolina Bride and Groom Zip Line Into Marriage

North Carolina Bride and Groom Zip Line Into Marriage

North Carolina Bride and Groom Zip Line Into Marriage