The Fast Fire Watch Co. Becomes the Top-choice for Businesses to Keep Fire Hazards and Outbreaks in Check

Preventing fire outbreaks is not difficult, with fire alarm systems, sprinklers, and other fire protection systems to keep things in check. However, sometimes, machine errors, technological breakdowns, lack of compliance and a host of other factors complicate matters and fire outbreaks occur regardless. All of these have necessitated the need for additional protection in fire watch guard services. The Fast Fire Watch Co. is a key player in this niche and has become a highly-rated fire watch guard service in the USA.

New businesses and existing businesses reopening after over a year of shutting down, and business owners can get all the assistance they need to make their buildings comply with the highest fire safety standards. With The Fast Fire Watch Co., property owners, managers and occupants get help making sure the fire alarm systems and water-based fire protection systems are working at full capacity. And in a case where these systems aren’t functioning, the NFPA and local ordinance require them to hire professional fire watch guard services.

Run by retired fire service professionals, The Fast Fire Watch Co. has risen to the top of the niche through exceptional service. This was made possible by the immediate availability of fire guards and the in-depth knowledge of the guards when attending to clients’ needs. The company is in the best place with understanding all the necessary fire compliance standards and thus, provides top-rated fire watch guard services to all its clients. The Fast Fire Watch Co. offers both temporary and long-term fire watch services to clients throughout the United States.

With more than ten thousand watch patrols completed nationwide, The Fast Fire Watch Co. plans to continue its mission of keeping buildings, events and locations safe from fire outbreaks. Its 24/7 service and timely response have given property and business owners the peace of mind needed to go about their businesses without fear or worry that they may be dealing with a non-compliant fire watch guard service company.

As the company’s reputation continues to grow, it has no plans to rest on its oars. The forward-thinking team in charge is developing better ways to deliver services. Some of them include working with only highly-trained professionals with all the right equipment from the moment they arrive at a scene. The company has thrived on preventing potentially large-scale problems or putting out problems before they become too much to handle. From unexpected failures to faulty alarm systems and unresponsive sprinkler systems, the professionals at The Fast Fire Watch Co. ensure that everything is monitored and kept in check against fire hazards.

For an operation with a presence all over the United States, rendering top-notch services at affordable rates, The Fast Fire Watch Co.’s dedication to quality service is unmatched. This is why it is in a class of its own in the league of fire watch guards services.

A Sneak Peek into Tarek Tohme’s Life: Lights. Camera. Action!

The film industry is said to be one of the most difficult careers to break into—and it is indeed. Countless people worldwide attempt to make their entry into the business with each coming day, whether it be submitting spec scripts, going to film school, applying to a writers’ room, or following in the footsteps of filmmakers like Robert Rodriguez in forging their own path from the ground up. With a countless swarm of fresh stories and talented new artists swimming through the unpredictable waters of Hollywood lore, survival and longevity are no easy tasks for a young Hollywood director or producer. But one individual who is thriving and effectively striving in Hollywood is a young artist named Tarek Tohme. A budding director, producer, and writer, Tarek has managed to make a mark for himself in spite of the unfavorable odds.

Born in Santa Monica, California, Tarek grew up in the Brentwood community of Los Angeles. He was born to an American mother and a Lebanese immigrant father, resulting in a vibrant and cross-cultural upbringing. Tarek’s father was the manager of pop icon Michael Jackson and orchestrated the music legend’s This is It comeback tour prior to Jackson’s passing in 2009. His father’s time in the business, as well as Tarek’s own memories with Michael, were two driving forces for his career choice. He was motivated to use the grief and artistic loss of Jackson’s passing as fuel to bring new art into the world.

A student of both the arts and business world, Tarek made it a point to complete his studies before entering a formal entertainment career. He attended Harvard-Westlake High School from 2006 to 2008. Tohme then graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and USC Marshall School of Business in 2013 with degrees in film and television production and business administration. As a creative head, his approach to film and production is unique. Due to his out-of-the-box ideas, Tarek received the University of Southern California’s prestigious, four-year, full-tuition Trustee Scholarship. 

Tohme’s passion for making it to the silver screen was evident from his college days. His dedication and hard work opened the doors to his first job in the film industry. Whilst studying at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, he and seven other film students were selected to direct, The Labyrinth, a still-unreleased feature film anthology produced and financed by actor James Franco. Working on real movie sets among professionals was a great learning experience for Tohme. The project is still very close to his heart, as it was his first-ever feature directorial experience.

To be hand-picked for an opportunity many desired to have was a huge sign of the kind of talent that Tohme possessed even as a young student. He was well-aware of the cut-throat competition in Hollywood, which explains his consistent, good quality work. And he wasn’t one to waste any time. Tohme dove deep into the world of professional film production as soon as he graduated college. He served as a producer on several feature films, including “Don Quixote: The Ingenious Gentleman of La Mancha“; this was the first fully fleshed out narrative feature film ever produced at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. No longer a student at USC, Tohme was hired as lead producer, alongside his longtime producing partner and fellow USC alum Vanessa Pantley, to guide a team of 10 student directors.

Tohme then worked on In Dubious Battle, which starred such talented actors as Robert Duvall, Ed Harris, Bryan Cranston, and Selena Gomez. A multi-million-dollar feature film, it was another step upward for Tohme, whose career would take an even greater leap the following year.

Tarek’s Opportunity to Shine

“Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity.”

Tohme’s thirst to reach new heights of success and tell stories of his own required him to be a constant hustler. Hold On, his feature directorial debut, is one of the highlights of his career. He starred in the film, alongside the very talented Luis Guzman, Maurice Benard, Flavor Flav, Beth Grant, and rising star Micayla De Ette. Tarek bonded well with Micayla De Ette during the filmmaking process and now counts her among one of his closest friends. Hold On possesses a special place in Tohme’s heart, as it depicts the lives of struggling artists trying to make their mark in a difficult industry. Released in late 2019, the film proved to be a turning point in Tarek’s professional life. It received widespread media attention before being pulled from theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A re-release is currently in the works for late Fall 2021.

The positive experience of Hold On motivated Tohme to take yet another step forward in diversifying his creative mark on the world. He recently expanded his production company, Stone Canyon Pictures, to include a Talent Management Division. Among his clients are Hold On star Micayla De Ette, as well as music legend and reality TV icon Flavor Flav.

Heavily inspired by his latest film, the decision to discover, foster, and cultivate talent seemed the right thing to do. Tohme’s second feature directorial effort, an untitled sports documentary, is being produced by his production company and anticipating a release in 2022. Production is currently underway in Los Angeles.

Tarek Tohme’s journey from a passionate film student to an ambitious filmmaker is nothing short of a remarkably inspiring journey. And the best part is—it has only just begun.

Emotional Intelligence: the Key to Your Success

Career advancement and personal gain both require a lot of the same skills to achieve. While we go through school and other training to move forward in our careers and while there is a certain amount of intuition, IQ, and natural skill adaptability that can keep us moving forward, it may surprise you to know that the greater influence on how well we do personally and professionally is actually dependent upon our emotional intelligence.

“Emotional intelligence” a phrase first introduced in a research paper by psychology professors, John D. Mayer and Peter Salovey, in 1990, is defined as “the ability to accurately perceive your own and others’ emotions; to understand the signals that emotions send about relationships; and to manage your own and others’ emotions.”

In 1995, Daniel Goleman brought the phrase more into focus with his book, “Emotional Intelligence and Why it Can Matter More than IQ.” Goleman states, “The most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: they all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence… Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won’t make a great leader.”

Emotional intelligence is wrapped up in five different characteristics or skills: self-awareness, self-regulations, empathy, social skills, and motivation.

Being self-aware means the ability to understand one’s own emotions, strengths, and weaknesses; to take responsibility for one’s own mistakes, and to ask for help when necessary. Self-regulation is the ability to control one’s own emotions and responses rather than the other way around. People who self-regulate know how to take a step back and cool off before responding. Empathy is the ability to detect and predict others’ emotions in a situation and to consider how one’s actions could affect other people. Social skills are the ability to get along with others in a friendly manner. These people are well-liked and can maintain strong relationships with clients. Lastly, motivation is the ability to keep moving forward despite the obstacles. Self-motivated people will be able to take feedback and use it to improve on their shortcomings.

People with high emotional intelligence are generally the most successful. In fact, a single point increase in emotional intelligence means a $1,300 increase in annual income. High emotional intelligence also is a great indicator of someone who will be a good leader. These leaders are 7x more effective and 7x more likely to have higher profit outcomes, and 90% of the highest performing employees also have high emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence leads to stronger interpersonal relationships, improved leadership abilities, and greater job satisfaction. Some of this is due to the fact that people with high emotional intelligence are more likely to embrace cross-cultural experiences, feel positively about their employers, remain with a company longer, and earn promotions and salary increases.

Although some people are more naturally inclined to exhibit characteristics of emotional intelligence, it is a skill that can be learned by anyone. Being able to understand and monitor one’s own emotions and responses is key to developing greater emotional intelligence.

Making the Most of Data Analytics

The modern world is driven by data.  Still, some companies have a better grip on the wheel than others.  Just under a quarter of executives have managed to create a data-driven organization.  Everyone else is behind the times in one way or another.

There are several barriers preventing companies from harnessing data analytics to its fullest potential.  Some executives are distrusting of the data and won’t use it to make decisions.  Concerns about data quality may exist throughout the firm.  In some cases, employees are not trained in data literacy.  This makes it hard for them to conduct a proper analysis.  Whatever the reason, an estimated 73% of all data within an enterprise is never analyzed.  Data collected without analysis is a drain on company resources.

Proper data analytics has far reaching consequences for an organization.  Firms that are appropriately data-driven are 178% more likely to outperform their competition in terms of revenue and profitability.  Meanwhile, poor data quality leads to an average of $15 million in annual losses.  Such losses manifest in a number of ways.  Poor data quality and analysis may lead to misguided business strategies, increased costs, strain in customer relationships, and more.

Do you worry your company is struggling? Here are a few signs your company needs help managing their data tools.  If you lack metrics to measure progress and success, you limit your abilities for internal evaluation.  Lacking visualization in data makes reports time-consuming to process.  Even worse, waiting a long time for data slows down important business decisions and could cause you to miss out on time-sensitive opportunities.

Companies driven by accurate, analyzed data see the world with a clearer eye.  They are able to identify opportunities and risks side by side.  They develop effective marketing strategies and product innovations simultaneously.  Both supplier and customer relationships are easier to manage when you have data analytics on your side.

Looking for a platform to make the most of company data?  Look no further than Google Analytics 360.  Once called Google Analytics Premium, this service is an add-on data management platform that integrates with Google’s other business resources.  Advantages to using Google Analytics 360 include advanced tools, training, delays capped at 4 hours, and combined reporting.  The companies who derive the most benefits from Google Analytics 360 are in possession of high volumes of data, need to make daily or hourly marketing decisions, and want more sophisticated analysis of hit-level data.

Another thing to remember about Google Analytics 360 is that they are partner-first.  Collaboration with an expert team comes with the license. In choosing an analytics partner, there are multiple factors to consider.  Each business will have different priorities, but all of them will want a partner with the right technical competence for the job.  Check samples, references, industry experience, and certifications before getting your heart set on a certain partner.  After expertise is confirmed, you can look into other distinctions.  The right partner can guide you to the gems within your dataset.  Choose wisely.

Common Video Problems: How To Deal With the Aspect Ratio

What is the video resolution? How to change the aspect ratio? If you’ve ever bought gadgets or uploaded videos to the web, you’ve no doubt come across one or both of these terms. 

When watching some videos and movies, we are often annoyed by black bars or stretched videos. Let’s see why these black bars appear and how to fix the aspect ratio problem.

 

In fact, stretched videos and black bars are common things. It’s all about aspect ratio and video resolution. If the image on your display doesn’t fill the entire screen, leaving black bars around the screen, don’t rush to run to the service center or return the device to the dealer. We are going to tell you how to solve this problem and to correct the aspect ratio.

 

We are also going to talk about what these two terms mean (aspect ratio and video resolution), why, and how to fix the aspect ratio. Let’s go!

 

What Is the Aspect Ratio?

 

The video sequence of any movie or clip consists of a large number of frames of the same size, which is characterized by two dimensions: width (horizontal frame length) and height (vertical frame length).

 

Thus, the aspect ratio is the proportionality between screen width and height.

There are a lot of aspect ratio options, as well as ways to change the aspect ratio. However, the most common formats are 4:3, 16:9, and 21:9.

 

ASPECT RATIO 4:3

 

Until recently, the most common aspect ratio was 4:3. This was enough for games, surfing the web, or watching movies of the appropriate frame ratio.

 

ASPECT RATIO 16:9

 

Gradually, with the development of technology, preference was given to the widescreen 16:9 format. This aspect ratio is closest to how a person sees the surrounding space. This format is the international standard for everything related to high definition (HD). Click here to learn more.

 

ASPECT RATIO 21:9

 

Today this aspect ratio is gaining popularity — for monitors with an ultra-wide screen. This format is the best option for viewing CinemaScope movies on LED TV screens produced by some manufacturers.

 

What Is the Video Resolution?

 

Videos and monitors with various aspect ratios differ from each other not only in height and width but also in resolution.

 

Video resolution is a very important characteristic of a video. It includes the number of pixels placed horizontally and vertically. Naturally, the larger it is, the more detailed and clear the picture on the video will be. Manufacturers of TVs, smartphones and other devices with screens usually specify the number of horizontal lines, for instance, 720p.

 

Pixels are the smallest physical points on display. Therefore, pixels are the building blocks of any image you see on the screen.

Pixels and video resolution are directly related. The higher the video resolution is, the greater the number of pixels will be. The detailed video resolution is usually written as 720 × 1280, i.e., also indicated the number of vertical lines.

 

The most common video resolutions are HD, Full HD, 4K, 8K.

 

The Main Reasons for Stretched Videos and Black Bars

 

To understand what is the reason for stretched videos and black bars in the video, you need to study the shooting standards.

 

Above, we have already listed the main aspect ratio formats and the most popular video resolutions. Thus, we can say that the main reason is the difference in aspect ratios of the devices.

 

In detail: when playing widescreen movies on standard 4:3 monitors or TVs, black bars will appear at the top and bottom sides, or you will get a stretched video, preventing the image from compressing properly.

 

Conversely, a movie filmed in 4:3 format won’t display correctly on 16:9 screens. For more information, visit this page.

 

Often these black bars or stretched videos don’t interfere with the perception of a film. However, if the defect causes discomfort when watching, you can easily get rid of the problem and change the aspect ratio. Let’s take a look at how to fix the aspect ratio.

 

How to Correct the Aspect Ratio?

 

Black bars around the screen sides are necessary if the aspect ratio of the video and the screen don’t match. In addition, if the video resolution is lower than the screen resolution, you will get more black bars that will definitely kill the mood.

 

A good video editor or video converter will help to solve the problem of stretched videos and black bars, as well as change the aspect ratio. You can also learn how to change the aspect ratio here.

Having a high-resolution monitor doesn’t mean you can start enjoying all your content at that resolution. The resolution you see on the screen also depends on the resolution in which the content was shot.

 

Therefore, if the video was filmed in 1080p and you have a 4K monitor with a higher resolution, you will be watching the video in 1080p. Conversely, if you had a 1080p monitor and your video content was shot in 4K, you can still watch the video, but the video resolution will be limited to 1080p.

 

Defending Yourself Against Cyber AttacksDefending Yourself Against Cyber Attacks

In the past year our lives have changed drastically.  Whether it was how we interacted with friends and family, went to school or executed our various areas of work; change was evident. In 2020, over 62% of the American workforce ditched their commute for a 9 to 5 from the comfort and safety of their own home.   Passwordless security is here to the rescue to support the work from home revolution.

It is safe to say that this quick transition wasn’t exactly planned and because of that this change has brought concerns in the realm of cyber security.  Hackers took advantage of this particular situation and increased cyber attacks against work from home employees by five times in comparison to in the office. 

The FBI clocked a 300% increase in reported cyber crimes. Phishing increased by 600%, ransomware attacks by 148%, and malware attacks by 128%.  These attacks were made incredibly easy due to the situation work from home employees found themselves in. 

Overnight these employees were told to pack up their office and move home until further notice.  Companies simply had no contingency plan on how to handle this situation and were grappling with how to handle it. 

This prompted work from home employees to have to use their personal devices and home wifi networks to carry out their duties.  These devices that they used were already compromised and left companies very vulnerable to not only regular hacking but the increased volume that had spurred due to the pandemic. 

This meant that highly confidential company information was easily obtainable to an average hacker.  Combined with an employee only using their home WiFi connections, dtaa was readily available for any hacker to take. 

One of the biggest challenges for the work from home movement was the ability to connect a group of employees for collaboration.  At the beginning of the movement, many companies turned to the video conferencing platform Zoom. 

While this platform solved the issue of the collaboration, it was also highly unstable and allowed for a phenomenon called “Zoom Bombing” to occur.  This happens when an unauthorized person accesses the video conference who does not have the specified credentials. 

There are many things that work from home employees can do to protect themselves from these cyber attacks.  One thing is to always be suspicious of emails that you do not recognize. These emails could be trojan horse viruses, or phishing scams. 

Another thing is to download antivirus software. This can help protect you and your company from volatile cyberattacks.  Antivirus software is one of the best ways that you can help arm yourself against hackers. 

Make sure that you are also following your company’s security protocols. Over 75% of the work from home population admit to not following the explicit security instructions. This is a huge problem as it leaves an already vulnerable target wide open. 

 At the end of the day remote work does not seem to be disappearing any time soon. It is important to make sure that you and your company are protected against cyber attacks at all costs.