RALEIGH, NC, USA – Global Software, Inc., the number one provider of Microsoft® Excel-based automation and analysis tools to the leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms, today announced record growth for its fiscal year 2007 campaign.

Established in 1973, Global Software is a privately held company with its worldwide corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Global’s products are used in 39 countries and support over 2,500 customers and over 55,000 users worldwide. Global backs up its service and application offerings with world-class technology and experienced, dedicated professionals. We welcome the opportunity to develop a partnership with you and enhance your enterprise’s success. For more information, visit Global Software at www.glbsoft.com or www.myspreadsheetserver.com.

Read More:CarolinaNewsWire

RALEIGH, N.C. — McConnell Golf LLC (MCG) announces an impressive 2008 schedule of statewide tournaments hosted by its family of courses, most notably both State Amateur Championship events for the Carolinas. MCG continues its long-standing “love of the game” tradition of supporting the game of golf by hosting prominent amateur and professional events.

Beginning in April, Treyburn Country Club in Durham, N.C., Raleigh Country Club, in Raleigh, N.C., Cardinal Golf & Country Club in Greensboro, N.C., and Musgrove Mill Golf Club in Clinton, S.C., will be the center of attention for many of the region’s most prominent junior and amateur golfers. The 2008 schedule includes:

• Treyburn Country Club: North Carolina High School State Invitational, April 14
• Raleigh Country Club: McConnell Challenge, April 25-27; North Carolina Amateur Championship, June 12-15
• Cardinal Golf & Country Club: Cardinal Amateur, August 7-10
• Musgrove Mill Country Club: South Carolina Amateur Stroke-Play, August 7-10

“John McConnell has injected a new brand of excitement for golf in the Carolinas,” said Jack Nance, Executive Director of the Carolinas Golf Association. “His commitment to host the North Carolina Amateur at Raleigh Country Club is just one of the many examples of his dedication and commitment to making golf in the Carolinas even better. We are lucky to have an organization like McConnell Golf because they clearly demonstrate their love of the game by making such fine private courses available for amateur tournament play.”

The upcoming events add to an impressive competition lineage at McConnell Golf’s outstanding stable of courses. From 1966 through 1973, Raleigh Country Club was a popular annual stop on the LPGA Tour with legends like Peggy Kirk Bell, Kathy Whitworth, Patty Berg, and Mickey Wright all playing the course.

More recently, Raleigh Country Club hosted a Nationwide Tour event from 1998 to 2000, followed by a U.S. Amateur qualifier in 2002, U.S. Junior Amateur qualifying in 2005, and the North Carolina Open in 2006 and 2007.

Likewise, The Cardinal Golf & Country Club has hosted the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship (1979), two North Carolina Amateur Championships (1981, 1982), two North Carolina Opens (1983, 1984), the North Carolina PGA Junior Championship (1987), two North Carolina Women’s State Open Championships (1993, 1998), the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Championship (1988), seven AJGA events (1990, 1998-2003), and 10 Carolinas PGA Pro-Junior Championships (1990-1999).

Treyburn Country Club has an impressive resume of its own that includes hosting the Carolinas Amateur (1993), North Carolina State Open (1997), Carolinas PGA Section Championship (2001), Tarheel Tour Treyburn Open (2005, 2006), two AJGA events (2006, 2007), USGA Junior Girls qualifier (2007) and PGA Tour Q-School stage 1 (2006-2007).

Musgrove Mill has also hosted the Carolinas Mid-Amateur (2006), and has been the site of numerous Carolinas Golf Association and South Carolina Golf Association amateur events

Read More:CarolinaNewsWire

RALEIGH, N.C. — Twenty-three lawyers from Poyner & Spruill LLP were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in Law & Politics ranking of North Carolina “Super Lawyers.” Over one third of Poyner & Spruill’s seventy-one partners are included in the Super Lawyer list for this year. — The list of 2008 North Carolina Super Lawyers is based on surveys of more than 17,000 active lawyers across the state, and inclusion is thought to be a singular honor.   

The 2008 list includes:Craig Dalton (Tax, Raleigh), Hugh Davis (Employee Benefits/ERISA, Raleigh), Tom Davis (Litigation, Raleigh), David Dreifus (Business Litigation, Raleigh), Glenn Dunn (Environmental, Raleigh), Mark Edwards (Estate Planning/Trusts, Charlotte), Nick Ellis (Business Litigation, Rocky Mount), Terri Gardner (Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights – Top 50 North Carolina Female Lawyers, Raleigh), Chip Gibbons (Tax, Raleigh), Susie Gibbons (Labor & Employment – Top 50 North Carolina Female Lawyers, Raleigh), Cecil Harrison (Labor & Employment – Top 100 Super Lawyers, Raleigh), Keith Johnson (Business Litigation, Raleigh), David Long (Business Litigation – Top 100 Super Lawyers, Raleigh), Louis Meyer (Labor & Employment, Raleigh), Tom Norris (Estate Planning/Trusts, Raleigh), Jim O’Brien (Mergers & Acquisitions, Raleigh), Jerry Parnell (Professional Liability Defense, Charlotte), John Shaw (Construction – Top 100 Super Lawyers, Raleigh), Bill Shenton (Health Care, Raleigh), Eddie Speas (General Litigation, Raleigh), David Terry (Labor & Employment, Charlotte), Judy Thompson (Bankruptcy & Creditor/Debtor Rights, Charlotte), Joe Zeszotarski (White Collar Criminal Defense, Raleigh). 

Read More:CarolinaNewsWire

GARNER, N.C. – What are the latest floral trends for spring weddings? What types of rings are couples choosing these days? These and other wedding-related questions are answered in the February/March issue of Triangle East Magazine available now.

The February/March issue of Triangle East Magazine is available now at 24 retail locations throughout eastern Wake and Johnston counties, including Barnes and Noble Booksellers and Borders Books and Music in Raleigh. Subscriptions may be ordered directly by visiting www.triangleeastmagazine.com or by calling (919) 674-6020.

Read More:CarolinaNewsWire

RALEIGH, N.C. – A modern house perched on a steep hillside in Raleigh’s established Laurel Hills neighborhood is featured this month in Architectural Record magazine, one of the profession’s most respected journals.

In the article, entitled “Frank Harmon raised the Strickland-Ferris Residence off the ground, then let its roof take flight,” Pearson addresses the innovative “butterfly roof..floating above a band of windows wrapping around the top of the building,” which also helps collect rainwater for irrigating the forest floor.

Read More:CarolinaNewsWire

ARA) – Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and if you are like most people, you’ve left the shopping until the last minute. So ,do you buy the $70 roses like everyone else, take a gamble on an online gift that might not show up in time or can you quickly find a personalized gift that shows you put some thought into it?

A new online service from NearbyNow has created a new way for last minute shoppers to find the perfect gift at their local mall, and even pick it up the same day. Over 190 malls across the US run the NearbyNow service, allowing shoppers to search inventory in nearly every store in the mall using the Internet or mobile phones, check availability on an item in 10 minutes or less, and even reserve products to pick up. Shoppers who use the mobile phone service may even receive special offers for free chocolate and other Valentine’s Day specials.

The service is the brainchild of Scott Dunlap, from Los Altos, Calif., who says he developed the product search for “quite selfish” reasons. “One afternoon, my wife saw a pair of boots in a magazine and tried to find them at her favorite mall while I was stuck on the bench with all the other spouses. I realized I could develop a program that would make these trips more efficient, allowing my wife to always know who carried the products she wanted, and if they were available in her size. That would make the shopping experience more pleasant for all of us – me, my wife, the retailers, and the others on the bench.”

Here’s how the service works: consumers log on to www.nearbynow.com from their home computer, find their local mall and select the “Product Search” button to navigate through the process. If they know their loved one wants Kenneth Cole boots, for example, they type “Kenneth Cole boots” in the search box, and all retailers in the mall who has the shoes in stock will be listed. A customer can then click on a particular shoe, see the details, use the ‘check availability’ feature and “reserve” the product on-line for pick up at the mall. NearbyNow contacts the store, reserves the product, and sends the customer a confirming e-mail or text message. Shoppers can also send an SMS text message to NEARBY (632729) to get connected to the service at their local mall.

Gretchen Mathews of Portola Valley, Calif., found the site by chance one day and has already used it a couple of times to reserve an item online. She says it’ll be a real time saver this Valentine’s Day. “I’m a busy person and my shopping strategy for Valentine’s Day has always been to preview and reserve items online before heading to the store. I used to have to log on to several different store Web sites to do that, but now I can search the whole mall from one place. It’s a fabulous tool,” she says.

“Shoppers call our service ‘Google for malls’ because they can search every brand, product, and sale at the mall,” says Dunlap. “It is the most stress-free way to shop your local mall. It helps keep the focus of Valentine’s Day on the right thing – your loved one – rather than the hassles of gift buying.”

If you agree, be sure to log on to www.nearbynow.com before heading out the door or send an SMS text message to NEARBY (632729)

Courtesy of ARAcontent

NearbyNow is headquartered in Los Altos, CA. Additional information can be obtained by phone at (650) 947-1300 or via the Web at www.nearbynow.com.

ARA) – It’s no surprise, chocolate cookies are usually the first to disappear from the cookie tray at any party. From a dense chocolate cookie to a creamy chocolate filling or a delicate chocolate drizzle — adding chocolate nearly always guarantees a richly satisfying and delicious cookie, worthy of every bite.

However, chocolate on its own can’t deliver that unforgettable cookie without quality ingredients such as complimentary spices, pure vanilla extract and real butter. Never use spreads or margarine to replace butter in a recipe; spreads contain more water than butter and will not deliver the same results.

These recipes from America’s Dairy Farmers offer all types of chocolate, from bittersweet to semisweet to white chocolate. Look for a good-quality chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa — it will deliver the best flavor and melt better.

Bittersweet chocolate stars in the Double Chocolate Cherry Thumbprints, complemented by a subtle cinnamon flavor. The Peppermint Twists combine chocolate and crushed candy canes in a classic butter cookie, with a generous chocolate coating. Eggnog adds a rich flavor to the white chocolate fudge, while cherries and almonds round out the semisweet chocolate version.

Visit www.ButterIsBest.com for more baking tips and holiday cookie and candy recipes made with real butter.

Double Chocolate Cherry Thumbprints
Makes 6 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp. almond extract
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
10 oz. maraschino cherries, cut in half
3 oz. white chocolate

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract; mix well.

Add bittersweet chocolate and blend to combine. Add flour and cinnamon; mix until well blended. Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for 30 min.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Press thumb in center of each cookie and place half a cherry in each depression. Bake for 15 to 17 min. Cool completely.

Place white chocolate into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 sec.; stir and continue to microwave in 10-sec. increments until chocolate is smooth. Drizzle white chocolate across each cookie. Chill 5 min. to set white chocolate.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Peppermint Twists
Makes 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
Red or green food coloring
1/2 cup mini candy canes, crushed (about 20), divided
4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 tsp. baking powder, divided
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (see directions)
1 egg white, beaten
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate (optional)

Directions:
In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and salt. Add eggs and peppermint extract; mix well.

Remove 1 cup of butter mixture and place in a medium bowl; set aside. To remaining mixture, add red or green food coloring (until desired shade) and 1/4 cup crushed candy canes. Add 2 cups flour and 1 tsp. baking powder; mix well. On a large sheet of waxed paper, press dough into a large rectangle (about 1/2-inch thick), cover with a second sheet of waxed paper and chill 30 min.

Add melted chocolate to reserved butter mixture; mix well. Add 2 cups flour and 1 tsp. baking powder and mix until well blended. On a large sheet of waxed paper, press dough into a large rectangle, (about 1/2-inch thick) cover with a second sheet of waxed paper and chill 30 min.

Remove dough rectangles from refrigerator and roll each into larger (9×16-inch) rectangles. Brush one layer with egg white and place other layer on top. Trim long edges. Roll up lengthwise into a tight roll, resulting in a 16-inch long log. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill 30 min. Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice into 1/2-inch slices, and bake on parchment-lined cookie sheets for 10 to 12 min. Cool completely.

Break up chocolate and melt in a shallow, microwave-safe bowl for 30 sec. Stir and continue to microwave in 10-sec. increments, stirring until smooth, but not warm. Dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. Place on waxed paper until chocolate sets.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one week.

Chocolate Cherry Fudge
Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup whipping cream
2 cups sugar
12 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme
1 cup slivered almonds, chopped
1 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 tsp. almond extract

Directions
In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, cream and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and continue to boil, stirring frequently, 8 to 10 minutes, or until mixture reaches 234°F (soft ball stage) on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat; add chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until smooth. Add, almonds, cherries, and extract; mix until well blended. Pour mixture into a 9-inch square pan lined with buttered foil. Chill; cut into 1 1/2-inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Eggnog Fudge
Makes 3 dozen

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
3/4 cup eggnog
2 cups sugar
10 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 tsp. rum or rum extract

Directions
In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, eggnog, and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium, and continue to boil, stirring frequently, 8 to 10 minutes, or until mixture reaches 234 F (soft ball stage) on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat; add chocolate and nutmeg; stir until smooth. Add marshmallow creme, pecans and rum; mix well. Pour mixture into a 9-inch square pan lined with buttered foil. Cool completely; cut into 1 1/2-inch squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

A 17-0 run to end the first half is pivotal for N.C. State in its second ACC victory

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. – After the game, after N.C. State had beaten Florida State 69-66, there was much talk of Courtney Fells’ banked 3-pointer, of J.J. Hickson’s big block and winning free throws, and the Pack’s startling 17-0 run to end the first half.

To be sure, all of that figured prominently Saturday in the Wolfpack’s first ACC road win of the season. Fells’ 3 tied the score with 41.7 seconds to play, Hickson’s two foul shots pushed the Wolfpack ahead with 9.6 seconds left, and his reject of a Toney Douglas shot then sealed it.

But Hickson said the difference in the game at the Tucker Center was more elementary than any of the X’s and O’s designed by Pack coach Sidney Lowe or FSU coach Leonard Hamilton.

“It was just wanting to win,” Hickson said. “That’s the biggest thing.

“You can draw up all the plays you want, but if you don’t have the will to win you’re not going to win. That’s something we had.”

And that coming from a freshman.

“J.J. was right on the money,” Lowe said. “It wasn’t so much just about execution. It was about being tough and playing hard.”

The Pack (13-6, 2-3 ACC) wasn’t tough enough in its last game, against Georgia Tech, losing 77-74 Wednesday night.

“That was a big loss at home,” Hickson said. “Not to take anything away from Georgia Tech, but we should have won that game. This kind of makes up for that loss.”

Fells’ excuse-me banker — his fourth 3-pointer of the game — came on a designed play. The junior guard, who had a team-high 16 points, slipped around a screen and took the shot from the top of the key, the ball banging in off the glass.

“It felt good,” a smiling Fells said, “but I didn’t expect it to bank.”

The Seminoles (13-8, 2-4) ran the clock down after Fells’ basket and their strategy was simple: isolate Douglas, a junior, on State freshman Javi Gonzalez. Douglas had drained a 3 with 2:52 to play to give FSU a 62-59 lead and later zipped past Gonzalez on a drive to push the Noles ahead 66-63 with 58.7 seconds left.

But during a timeout before Fells’ 3, Lowe told Hickson he had wandered too far out defensively, allowing Douglas a clear path through the lane.

“Coach said to stay in there and protect the basket,” Hickson said.

Douglas again made a move on Gonzalez but missed the shot with 12 seconds to play as Hickson rose high for the rebound. He was slung to floor by FSU’s Ryan Reid, who was whistled for a foul.

“I got [Gonzazlez] in the air, and I thought he fouled me,” said Douglas, who had a game-high 17 points.

Hamilton called a timeout, looking to ice Hickson. But with FSU students madly waving their arms, stomping their feet, Hickson stepped to the line and swished both free throws for a 68-66 lead

Read More:News & Observer

RALEIGH – Khadijah Whittington recorded her 15th double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds Sunday as N.C. State beat Wake Forest 63-38.Megan Zullo also had 12 points for the Wolfpack (14-7, 2-4), which won its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference game.

Chanita Jordan and Gloria Brown combined for 13 points in the first 15 minutes, with a three-point play by Jordan giving N.C. State a 27-10 lead with 4:16 left until halftime.

Read More:News & Observer

NEW YORK — Max Roach, a master percussionist whose rhythmic innovations and improvisations provided the dislocated beats that defined bebop jazz, has died after a long illness. He was 83.The self-taught musical prodigy died Wednesday night at an undisclosed hospital in Manhattan, said Cem Kurosman, spokesman for Blue Note Records, one of Roach’s labels. No additional details were available, he said.

Roach received his first musical break at age 16, filling in for three nights in 1940 when Duke Ellington’s drummer fell ill.

Roach’s performance led him to the legendary Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, where he joined luminaries Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie in the burgeoning bebop movement. In 1944, Roach joined Gillespie and Coleman Hawkins in one of the first bebop recording sessions.

What distinguished Roach from other drummers were his fast hands and his ability to simultaneously maintain several rhythms. By layering different beats and varying the meter, Roach pushed jazz beyond the boundaries of standard 4/4 time.

Roach’s innovative use of cymbals for melodic lines, and tom-toms and bass drums for accents, helped elevate the percussionist from mere timekeeper to featured performer _ on a par with the trumpeter and saxophonist.

“One of the grand masters of our music,” Gillespie once observed

Read More: News & Observer