text:
How I miss thee...
I don't know why they killed the Nexus Q.
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/05/the-google-nexus-q-is-baffling/ [nytimes.com]
If you're having friends over, and they, too, have Android phones, and they, too, have bought songs from Google's music store, then they can add their own songs to your Q's queue.
Sounds interesting in theory. In practice, there's a lot of spontaneity-killing setup. You have to go into Settings to turn on the feature. Then you have to invite your friend to participate by — get this — sending an e-mail message. Then your friend has to download the Nexus Q app.
If you or the friend then taps the name of a song in your online Google account, it starts playing immediately, rather than being added to the queue as you'd expect. A Google rep explained to me that you're not supposed to tap a song to add it to the playlist; you have to use a tiny pop-up menu to add it. More bafflement.
Sounds like a great party addon!
> I don't know why they killed the Nexus Q.
Because it cost 3x as much as other devices that did a WHOLE lot more? And, as described in the bit you quoted, it was badly-designed? Seriously -- it was a $250 one-trick pony. ALL it did was let friends play music, and IF and ONLY IF they were using the exact right combination of things: Android phones, music in your account, etc. The only product deserving of a swifter death was the Microsoft Kin.
Alas, poor DejaNews, we knew ye well.
Second. While you can still search usenet using Google Groups, it's a massive pain compared to how it used to be.
Yeah, I hate the new GUI on there. I stopped using it. Is there another free web-based newsgroup to use like the old DejaNews and old Google Groups?
Agreed. Although, I wish I could "delete" some of my (embarrassing) posts from the early to mid 90's. I was young and I needed the money!
You are modded funny, but I seriously cringe when I think of some of my early 90's Usenet posts.
As for "I needed the money", I seriously considered an offer from a potential employer at one point until I decided I just couldn't do it. The job? Post photos of declothed women to a Usenet group. Had I accepted the job, my career might have gone along a completely different path!
I've seen my early 90's usenet posts. I more than cringe. I make light of it now because I'm older/wiser and less prone to actually putting my PHONE NUMBER in my sig (ug) among other things.
I miss Google Groups Digest Emails.
They just stopped coming one day . . . with no announcement, I didn't even feel a sense of closure.
What got me away from Yahoo was IG - Interactive Google. I have a few widgets on my google.com/ig page and I use it as my home page. They're ditching IG and I am going back to Yahoo.
Here are some of the ones that got killed by Google.
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/map_of_the_week/2013/03/google_reader_joins_graveyard_of_dead_google_products.html [slate.com]
In other news Google Drive is down. Most Chromebooks are rendered useless because of paltry local storage and reliance on the Google Cloud for storing important stuff.
http://www.slashgear.com/google-investigating-google-drive-downtime-18274444/ [slashgear.com]
"That is one of the many problems with relying on clouds."
Sadly, the main problem is the whole concept. While it might be a good idea, at some point in the future, that future is not yet here.
What major online service, e.g. iCloud (based on MS Azure), Amazon AWS, etc. has not gone down for a significant period in each of the last few years? I am having trouble thinking of one.
And before anybody says "Yes, but it's still more reliable than your own servers" I call bullshit. My own servers have not been down at all in the last few years.
AWS has actually been pretty good if you actually do a proper deployment. I can only think of one time when they had multiple availability zones down at the same time. If you don't deploy across multiple availability zones, then it is just like any other hosted service. I often use it that way, too, it just isn't the magic fix-it-all system if you don't use it like it is intended.
From a company point of view, cloud services are about as horrible as it can get because we're talking the loss of real money. Yet that ghost hovers over oh so many board rooms it just is not funny anymore. It usually comes with its buddy, Software-as-a-service. Normally encountered shortly after one of the tie racks comes back from lunch with one of the sales drones from such a provider.
Sure, it looks nice at first glance. We store our stuff "somewhere" and someone else takes care of it, and the best part of it is that it's really dirt cheap. Plus we can fire all those techies, or if we already did and outsourced our storage, we can cut that noose we hang on and gain a lot of flexibility. And it's great until (not if, until) something goes wrong.
Anyone here really had NO downtime in their company in the last, say, three years due to computer or network troubles? And if you think getting your stuff back in order is a hassle with your ISP, try the same with a cloud provider. What you saved in months of cloud services is lost in the few days your employees will sit around and do no meaningful work.
And from a company point of view, I can also produce statistics on how many of our systems we ourselves screwed up with no help from the cloud. People screw up. Hardware fails.
The difference with the cloud is that you've added two additional horribly complex systems (the network and the external servers) that can also be screwed up by people or fail for various reasons. You've also added the latency required to access the remote service. On top of that you've added multiple entry and exit points for data coming into and leaving your network, with extra key exchanges needed, and a different security environment to either be audited or blindly trusted.
In exchange, you get to avoid the up front costs of installing a few servers, and the ongoing costs of managing them. Instead, you simply pay someone else on an ongoing basis to buy and maintain their own hardware with your money. And if they raise their rates, or go out of business, or buy cheap servers, or hire stupid people, or smart lawyers, guess what? You're only a lot worse off than you were before.
It's a pretty cloud when it's way up in the blue sky. But it's nothing but fog when it's in your face.
It is more reliable then your own servers generally, Not more always more reliable then your server personally.
A lot of companies have their servers running on Desktop System under their desk plugged into the wall, with a single hard-drive. Or have their systems in a server room but there are the low priority servers that are not part of the main architecture, because what they do, do not justify the cost. So if you have a cloud system you get a cheap server, to do a low/mid priority task. Say running your website, or email. Something depending on your organization can afford to be offline for a period of time.
So you personally may be a good administrator, or you may have been lucky that they didn't go down. It isn't that could is better any individual system for uptime, it is just better on the average.
And Google isn't addressing the for ALL Blackberry users.
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/maps/PDx5fW-SiFI/77dIbvuMR5sJ [google.com]
It's also worth noting that Chromebooks aren't actually useless without Drive... It'd be more accurate to say they're suffering from reduced functionality, or if you really want to go for sensationalism, say they're "crippled". It's also worth noting that the outage is affecting only some users. My account seems to be perfectly accessible from my office and my remote server, so I'm going to assume that "most Chromebooks" are functioning just fine for most purposes.
A chromebook is a terminal to the Web. It's
And the "devil's advocate" is at it again, and already moded informative! Strangely, if you read the comments, and not only the Chris Burn's story, you'd see that the only thing that isn't working is http/https access. But never let the facts get in the way of an anti-google rant, right?
BTW, your posting story is really very interesting, only pro-ms and/or anti-google posts, mingled with some (moded insightful) rants on how the anti-ms camp is destroying slashdot.
Going back to the issue at hand, for me goog
It's not really down, it's just hungover from too much St Patrick's celebrating this weekend...
My favorite Google project was the idea that a company built brand loyalty by refusing to do evil, manipulative and underhanded things.
Ten years later, Google is doing those things. They're getting more aggressive with ads and invading personal information; they're cutting out useful projects that don't immediately monetize; they're trying to manipulate us into being better cash cows by signing up with our cell phones and handing over more ad-friendly information through Google+.
I don't begrudge them the right to make a profit. They were doing that, and continue to do so, without any of these manipulative activities. I just want the "do no evil" project to come back because that was a Google, Inc. I could believe in.
Correction: it was "don't *be* evil" [google.com] (emphasis added). There is a subtle semantic distinction between doing some evil and actually being evil. Such hair-splitting is probably what lets Google managers sleep at night.
More from the link:
Our commitment to the highest standards helps us hire great people, build great products, and attract loyal users. Trust and mutual respect among employees and users are the foundation of our success, and they are something we need to earn every day.
Nice words they've got there.
No, there isn't. Evil is as evil does.
The Google projects are there for good, to test the limits of what can be done through a web or mobile based interfaces, but google is not a charity. It is not going to offer free products that do not support the core mission, to collect user data and
This. And its why i am inclined to look into going to the next underdog. When i adopted Google, Gmail and Android, they where the underdogs. Right now, it seems Microsoft is my underdog ecosystem of choice. Its even actively campaigning against privacy intrusions, however they still do not practice what they preach.
How I'm dreading November 1st when iGoogle will be retired...
http://support.google.com/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=2664197 [google.com]
me too
anyone have a good suggestion for a replacement
i would love one that also supports iphone, ipad, etc.
Yup, that's the one I was going to post. It's been my homepage for years. It's a nice simple web based RSS aggregator that I could get to from anywhere.
Yup, that is the one, iGoogle. My default page for the last 5 years or so. Why they would retire that is beyond understanding, it attracts a ton of users at a relatively low cost. I am trying to do without the page at the moment, and find that I consume *much* less of Google's services as a consequence. I even started appreciating Bing and Live Maps as viable alternatives, who knows, my next phone may even be a WP8 device! (shrudders).
I have been a long time my.yahoo user. When iGoogle came out, I tried it, but liked my.yahoo.com better.
I haven't heard people mentioning them here as a replacement for iGoogle. Why is that?
This needs to happen again, before it gets owned by some shady proprietor.
Speaking of which, where's Google Vote?
how else would they make money but by advertising? you voluntarily use google and they make you part of advertisers market. simple as that. don't like it, don't play. but they owe you nothing, cutting off a free service doesn't constitute being evil, just sensible.
I reached a point where they didn't support one of the features I came to love in search syntax, and I switched to duckduckgo. I give it a B- on searching, but an A+ on features and privacy.
I'd really like to get back to a time where if you searched for a keyword in quotes, it was guaranteed to exist in the text of that page. I often find myself on pages that not only lack the exact query, but Google's cache lacks the query too, so you can't blame it on pages changing during inbetween updates.
No Google, I don't care if you think I misspelled it, that's what the quotes are for. No, I don't care if it's in the meta tags either. Give me my exact query in the text of the page, or nothing.
I'm still in doubt between "Google Flying car" and "Google Holodeck".
Oh wait... it seems we can only choose from a list of boring office applications.
Listen, I understand that Google's services are free and they are a business and need to do what they feel is necessary to make money; however, I am not sure why some of these went away.
Let's take for instance the fact that Google has killed off their RSS discovery plugin. I was a die hard Google Reader person and made the move to Feedly when Google Reader was killed. Killing Google Reader may have made sense to them; after all, they were supporting traffic and crawling feeds, and doing all those things that take money, time, engineering resources, and bandwidth. No worries there. But killing off the RSS plugin? I just can't fathom how that matters.
Leave the damn tool out there for people to use. It really doesn't harm anyone if it's something that works and can continue to work client side.
But I digress. Yes, Feedly (or any of the tools that will ultimately replace Reader) could make their own but killing it off in some misguided attempt at pushing users to use G+ (what I assume is their reasoning for it all) is just going to drive people farther away from Google's tools.
No, G+ (or any social network for that matter) does not operate in the same way Reader (or any RSS reader) did. I don't give a fuck what other people find interesting for the most part; I want to be able to pick and choose and provide that content back out to people on those networks, not the other way around.
Make your money in the way you see fit but I hope they're not surprised when there is a backlash against those changes. Oh and open source the damn RSS app and even Reader so people can continue on w/o Google's backing. That would fit the "do no evil" mantra.
It's not dead, but it's no longer free. I work with three volunteer organisations - they're not charities but social groups geared towards helping expats get settled in my city. Membership management, event planning and budgeting, publications and flyers. All were easy to collaborate on with Google Apps, but even the (seemingly) small subscription fees are a burden when we're explicitly non-profit and loosely organised. We could have two active users one month, ten the next, so no single pricing plan option is appropriate without serious overhead and/or possible overspend.
Very unfortunate.
I registered for Google Apps shortly after it came out. I have my own domain, so having Google handle mail for my domain was fantastic. My needs are pretty basic (one user, a few aliases, really good spam filtering, IMAP, good webmail) and I've been with them for years.
I recommended Apps to anyone who had their domain and wanted to use Gmail with it.
Charge for business users? Sure. The price is quite reasonable. Offer a discount for non-profits or universities? Great. Still, it'd be great if they still
IMO, google public data is a prime candidate to get the axe. we rely on it for our visualizations here at work. i vehemently argued against using this service because google can axe it at any time. it provides no discernable income for google (no ads appear anywhere), it has virtually no support whatsoever so it seems to function basically as a loss leader for google.
i argued for using a product such as tableau which may cost some upfront cash but is also less likely to dissapear than a free google product,
Seeing how Google is taking their sweet time to fix Latitude for Blackberry users, is it the next product to be axed?
https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/maps/PDx5fW-SiFI/77dIbvuMR5sJ [google.com]
Mod Parent UP. Google answers provided as simple forum for leveraging experts to research information on complex topics. Users would pay from $2 to $200 based on the complexity of the research. The researchers were independent contractors that would provide a thorugh analysis of the given topic. I was impressed with the quality of work and I'd often look at the threads and topics that were generated to learn about a particular topic that I was interested in. There is a site available that the google an
I'm still pissed that they bought up SageTV and appear to have done absolutely nothing with the technology. One of the better comprehensive PC-based DVR/media streaming systems destroyed. Even with zero updates and little support for 2 years, I still use it. The HD300 is still an excellent media streaming box.
After all, search is *so* nineties. Social is where it's at now, init?
And suddenly Google Calendar turned useless to me...
RSS, Federated XMPP, and Google Wave are all federated protocols that Google's not working with anymore. We need better federated protocols to catch-on (by being well supported) now that email is looking ancient.
Everyone has an email address because anyone can run an email server, not because a handful of mega-tech companies elected to work together. Email has no central point of censorship or ad-scanning. The same isn't true for any discussion page, twitter, social media, etc.
HTTP is mostly decentralized (except DNS & SSL) and is the basis of today's Internet. Decentralized protocols make the world grow. Axing them kills progress.
It might not be officially dead, but it may as well be. I would have paid money for it, but it's been unreliable, flaky with getting texts to other carriers, and hasn't been updated in years now. I can't even make IP voice calls from voice.google.com, I have to go to gmail.com to make a call from my Google voice number. There is no way that I would use my google voice number as my main number with it's issues, and it doesn't look like that is ever going to change now. It's a shame, it was the product for me, and I would be recommending it to all my friends and coworkers who travel internationally.
You are in a maze of little twisting passages, all different.


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The Atlantic Rowing Challenge is a race for hard-core rowers. It is an event for those who crave an adventure and are willing to pay for it financially, physically and emotionally. At $19,000 to enter, and another $150,000 to build the boat, it takes every ounce of crazy determination to row non-stop from the Canary Islands to Barbados. Those who cross the finish line first get a trophy, but if a rower abandons the race en route, he is required to burn his boat. John Zeigler and Tom Mailhot, the only US team in the race -- and at 51 and 41, among the oldest competitors -- enter the race with high hopes of winning. But their grueling journey was underestimated, and their quest offered one major obstacle after another. With a camera in nearly every boat, director Luke Wolbach pieces together the story of the race -- tragedies and triumphs alike -- and assembles a portrait of perseverance under the most extreme circumstances. 2007 Must See Award at MountainFilm in Telluride. 2007 Best Sports Action Film at Jackson Hole Film Festival. 2007 Best Storytelling In A Documentary at Nantucket Film Festival. 2007 Best Documentary at New Hampshire Film Festival. 2008 Best Sports Action Film at Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival. 2008 Best Sports Film at Tiburon International Film Festival.
Visit the Website: http://www.rowhardnoexcuses.org
Length: 56 minutes

subset: commoncrawl


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The conservative commentator Andrew Bolt has labelled the Premier, Barry O'Farrell, an "idiot" and lampooned his request for an inquiry into racial vilification laws in NSW as "straight out of the Leninist playbook".
Bolt, who has just returned from leave, delivered the attack in response to news that he and fellow commentator Alan Jones are on a draft list of witnesses set to be called before the inquiry, which will hold hearings in early April.
Mr O'Farrell has asked the NSW parliament's law and justice committee to examine whether anti-discrimination laws dealing with complaints about serious racial vilification constitute "a realistic test" and have kept up with public expectations.
While stressing the importance of free speech, Mr O'Farrell has noted that there has not been a successful criminal prosecution since the laws came into operation in 1989.
"'It nearly spoiled my holiday for all of six hours until I realised what an idiot Barry O'Farrell is," Bolt said on the Nights with Steve Price show on 2GB radio last night, attacking Mr O'Farrell's reason for requesting the inquiry as "a joke" and "insane".
"It is against the spirit of the law," he said. "It is straight out of the Leninist playbook."
Bolt asked why Mr O'Farrell didn't simply "set a quota of how many racists he wants hauled before the courts? Why not just do it as Lenin used to do, as Stalin used to do?"
Later, Bolt suggested Mr O'Farrell may have requested the inquiry to provide a forum for commentators such as himself.
"Maybe he just wants to give me a platform to say how outrageous all these attacks on free speech [are]," Bolt mused. "Maybe he's doing me a favour. Maybe he's not an idiot."
The comments follow Jones's description of the inquiry as "beyond ludicrous".
In December, Jones was ordered by the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal to apologise on air for describing Lebanese Muslims as "vermin" and "mongrels" who "simply rape, pillage and plunder a nation that's taken them in".
In September 2011, Bolt was found by the federal court to have contravened the federal Racial Discrimination Act in newspaper columns which accused prominent light-skinned Aborigines of choosing to identify as black for personal gain.
The parliamentary inquiry, to be chaired by the Liberal MP David Clarke, will focus on Section 20D of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act, which deals with the criminal offence of "serious racial vilification" and requires proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" for a prosecution.
Penalties of up to $5500 and six months' jail apply to anyone found guilty of inciting "hatred", "serious contempt" or "severe ridicule" of a person or group by threatening physical harm to them or their property or inciting others to do so on the basis of their race.
Only 27 complaints have been referred by the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board for criminal prosecution since 1998, the period for which records are available.
None were prosecuted as the Director of Public Prosecutions did not feel the burden of proof required by the legislation would have been achieved.
The inquiry has been welcomed by the president of the Anti-Discrimination Board, Stepan Kerkyasharian, as "a great opportunity to deal with this matter".
The secretary of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Stephen Blanks, has also supported the inquiry, arguing that serious racial vilification should be treated differently from actions or material that simply causes offence.
Comment is being sought from Mr O'Farrell.


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Lidia shows viewers a typical New York pizza and then pays a visit to Eataly, where Sal at the cheese counter shows viewers how to make fresh mozzarella. Lidia makes traditional Italian Pizza Margherita from scratch, a Sausage and Spinach Calzone, and is joined in the kitchen by Grandma, who performs the official taste test.
Visit the Website: http://lidiasitaly.com
Episode #124 / Length: 26 minutes


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Marengo's Katie Adams, the area's top girls distance runner in cross country, was named an honorable mention selection to the IHSA All-State Academic Team announced Friday.
Adams proved she excels in the classroom as well as while running. The IHSA names 26 student-athletes to its first team, then chooses 50 honorable mentions from around the state.
Each member school is invited to nominate one female and one male athlete who has participated in two activities and has a GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
Adams' former track teammate Allison Rogutich was an honorable mention All-State Academic Team selection last year.
Adams, who will run at Iowa next year, finished ninth in the Class 2A girls race at the IHSA Cross Country State Meet in the fall, her only loss of the season, after spraining an ankle early in the race. She won the Class 2A 1,600 meters last spring at the IHSA Girls Track and Field State Meet.


text: BEST vibratory feeders are designed to smoothly convey products. Flow of material is adjustable and the flow rate can be variable or fixed. Available in electric- or air-operated models, heavy-duty vibratory feeders can be designed with above-, below-, or side-mounted drives and can be arranged for base mounting or overhead suspension. The feeders come in custom vibrating trough lengths and special trough designs are available. The feeders are available in several basic models including air-operated light-duty, air-operated heavy-duty, twin-motor vibrating pan and grizzly feeders, electromagnetic, twin motor, and special application feeders. Metso Minerals Industries Inc., Brunswick, OH 800-817-9237 www.bestvibes.com


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Southern Virginia Motorsports ParkPosted in Events on September 1, 2011
From low-buck barn beaters to 1,000-plus–horsepower tube chassis creations, mud racing has it all. And while winning a trophy and earning a little cash doing what you love always sounds great, for most wheeling enthusiasts mud racing is more about having fun than winning or losing—though admittedly, once the racers are on the starting line it's all business. The camaraderie in the pits is what continues to prove that the four-wheeling community is one of the best there is.
A great example of the good-natured mud racing community can be found in Jarratt, Virginia, at the Southern Virginia Motorsports Park. Like many organizations, the park has felt the effects of a slow global economy. With fuel prices near record highs, reopening the park for a spring mudbog was a tough call for park owners Bain Rideout and his sister Meredith Thomas. Luckily, they were right and the off-road community was glad to see this quality mud race facility get back in the groove.
Since we're always up for checking out a good mud race, we gathered up our gear, tossed on our mud boots, and headed just north of the Carolina border into Virginia. To say the least, we had a blast. The full truck roster was a great indicator that the economy and the park are headed in the right direction.
So if you're looking to try your hand at a little hole-and-hill mud racing or simply want to see a heck of a show, check out the park on the web at www.southern virginiamotorsportspark.com.
While many of the trucks running at the park were dedicated mud racers, there was still a fair number of daily driven pickups willing to give the pit a try. This straight-axle Toyota made an excellent attempt, but ultimately was overtaken by the thick Southern clay.
There was no shortage of orange Swamp Rat Racing shirts on hand, as many of the drivers and attendees were at the park to pay tribute to Wade Maitland. He was very influential in starting the Southern Virginia Motorsports Park and an active racer and builder who will be missed by the 4x4 community.
Another great enthusiast group to watch is the four- and six-cylinder class. Although they don't have the same growl as the heavyweight V-8s, many of them have plenty of bite and go!
Ultraclean and modified pickups like this classic Chevy were plentiful at the park. Though most of the Armor All–laced rigs stayed away from the pit, there was no shortage of fullsize pickups racing through the mud.
Kicking off the day's events were the ATV classes. Surprisingly, most of the bed toys made it pretty far, and a few even managed to power their way to the end. Of course, the quad riders didn't stay nearly as clean as the truck class drivers!
For those that couldn't make it out of the pit under their own power, the heavyweight John Deere was on hand to give them a yank out. And if the Big Deere couldn't do it, then the track hoe certainly would.
Most veteran mud racers know that if you can't find traction in the middle of the pit, head to the wall to try and grab some fresh dirt. While this technique helped many of the drivers push forward, it also brought a few close to tipping over.
This S-10's removable bed protected the fuel cell, batteries, and radiator when it was powering through the pit. Though playing in the mud might seem like an old-time hobby, there is still plenty of forward thinking and technology in the pits.
Behind this wall of exploding mud and water is Colt Shell piloting an alcohol-injected '94 GMC Sonoma that's suspected to have well over a 1,000 hp. Blasting through the pit at just over six seconds, the Big Bad Wolf was one of the most powerful and impressive mud rigs of the day.
To get more out of their racing, many of the participants changed tires sizes throughout the day so they could compete in multiple classes. Some of the more dedicated racers even bolted on rice and cane tractor tires for high-slinging action in the unlimited series.
We were surprised at how many full-bodied pickups were participating in the bog. An even more surprising fact was that the fullsize trucks outnumbered the Jeeps 10 to 1. Is the fullsize wheeler on the comeback trail? We hope so.


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Champions Matchday out now
Wednesday 15 January 2014
Article summary
Robin van Persie takes centre stage in the latest Champions Matchday which also features exclusive interviews with Tomáš Rosický, Laurent Blanc and Mohamed Salah.
Article top media content
Article body
Robin van Persie is the cover star of the latest edition of Champions Matchday and in an exclusive interview, the Manchester United FC striker discusses European glory and Marco van Basten's inspirational advice.
Laurent Blanc gives us exclusive insight to his Paris Saint-Germain project, focusing on Paris's passing style, the on-field relationship between Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimović and the importance of investing in youth.
AFC Ajax are masters at youth development and we get the inside story on their academy from director of football Marc Overmars and graduate Daley Blind. Illustrious academies are not the only way to make it to the UEFA Champions League, though, so our latest scouting report is on four players who began their careers in non-league football.
In other exclusives, we discuss Arsenal FC's chances of silverware with midfielder Tomáš Rosický and catch up with Juventus striker Fernando Llorente. Marco Streller charts his career, while FC Basel 1893 team-mate Mohamed Salah explains why his side play better against English teams. We also remember five stars of Celtic FC's 1967 European Champion Clubs' Cup-winning team with Billy McNeill – the first British player to lift the trophy.
Elsewhere, we round up another enthralling group stage, plot a typical UEFA Champions League match with our latest infographic, pay tribute to SL Benfica's 1962 European Cup winner Eusébio, and explore the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2013.
Champions Matchday is the official magazine of the UEFA Champions League and is available across Europe. It is also available in digital format which can be purchased on Apple Newsstand. You can also follow the magazine on Twitter @ChampionsMag.


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The Kidney Transplant Team at the Upstate University Hospital has established written patient selection criteria for kidney transplantation. Selection of patients for kidney transplantation is performed without discrimination based upon race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual preference, handicap or national origin. This selection criteria is administered in accordance with Upstate University Hospital's Patient's Rights and Responsibilities policy and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) organ allocation policies . The purpose of this page is to outline current criteria that potential transplant candidates must meet in order to be considered for kidney transplantation at the Upstate University Hospital. Kidney transplantation is an evolving field, and consequently, selection criteria may change over time.
Current selection criteria used in selection for kidney transplantation:
Conditions that will exclude you for kidney transplantation:
Conditions that may exclude you for kidney transplantation:


text:
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Rachel Farren Short and Mike Short want to set the record straight.
Rachel Short is Travis Campbell Farren's mother and Mike Short is his step-father. The couple said that jumping from an Appalachian Trail foot bridge had nothing to do with Farren's drowning in the James River last month.
Travis Farren was not one to complain about his problems. One problem he didn't complain about was that he suffered from epilepsy. Friends knew it, but it wasn't something he talked about.
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What: The 2013 Fly Fishing Film Tour
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St.
Tickets: General admission is $18. Discounted tickets ($15) are available from Rocky Mountain Anglers and Front Range Anglers in Boulder.
More info: flyfishingfilmtour.com
Every year around this time, my friend Doug Powell, a co-owner of the Fly Fishing Film Tour, sends me what they used to call a "press kit."
The kit contains a brief summary of each of the fly-fishing films included in the current film tour, a DVD with selected films for review, a copy of "Stonefly," the official magazine of the Fly Fishing Film Tour, biographical information on the filmmakers and an assortment of the various geegaws that are part and parcel of any press kit.
I always like getting the press kit because it amps me up for the film tour, which arrives at the Boulder Theater on Thursday. I've reviewed one or two of the films included in the press kit DVD for the past several years and can say without reservation that the overall quality of the filmmaking just gets better and better.
The 2013 film tour emphasizes the diversity of fish species pursued by fly rodders around the world. Some of the best films for 2013 pay homage to the kind of adventurous spirit required of those anglers who choose to go after the more exotic fish. By my count, fly-fishers pursue close to 20 different fish species in the various films included in this year's tour.
Several of the films make solid cases for the conservation of local fish species, such as the mahseer in Thailand, and how that conservation provides an economic boost to the indigenous people who benefit from the dollars spent by visiting fly anglers. The film tour estimates that 150 different local conservation groups benefit from the tour exposure and proceeds.
But don't for a minute think that all this good work might somehow dampen the hard-rocking intensity and fly-fishing shenanigans that the film tour attendees have come to know and love. This year's films run the gamut from alcohol-fueled fly-fishing rumbles in the jungle to discussions of jock itch to the extreme maneuvers required by one steelhead fisherman to follow his catch as it rockets downstream.
There's also the normal quotient of fly angler bravado over how you'd better bring your A-game cast to some exotic tropical locale or you might just as well stay home. Sprinkle in the seemingly paradoxical announcement in a film viewed by thousands of people that the chosen anglers are fishing faraway rivers whose banks are untouched by human footprints, and you have the makings of every fly-fisherman's dreams. But then again, you have to wonder how those stream banks will remain untouched?
If you think I'm waxing a bit cynical, I assure you I'm not. The films fuel my aspirations to be that A-game caster or to find my own faraway or a hard-to-get-to local stream to call my own. And even if none of that comes to pass, I can certainly take in the sights that these highly skilled filmmakers have provided. And, yes, it's pretty obvious that most these films are not aimed at 60-plus-year-old anglers like myself, but I was a 30-year-old fly-fishing adrenaline junkie once, too. Believe me, I can relate.
Nonetheless, I still have to say that I have a soft spot for "The Brothers Brown." It's a low-key, less frantic film about three brothers who grew up fishing Michigan's lower Au Sable River. These guys started off fishing dry flies to the little brook trout they found in nearby small streams, but eventually gravitated to streamer fishing for the far-and-few-between large brown trout found in the lower Au Sable's "trophy waters." At first, the brothers spend their time fishing with other friends, but ultimately find that they prefer each other's company on the river.
The name of their game is persistence. It's making one cast after another and maybe waiting days for a strike. It ultimately comes down to how you deal with that crushing strike when it finally does come after all those casts.
Then again, if you're longing for warmer weather and the salt water, you might prefer "Expedicion Alacranes," a quirky but beautifully filmed saga of a once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip to one of the most remote reef systems in the world.
Or maybe you're into catching a very strange-looking snakehead in the Potomac River or Atlantic salmon in Maine. It's all dutifully recorded for your viewing pleasure at this year's Fly Fishing Film Tour.


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Story highlights
- Sitting in the first lady's box was DREAMer Cristian Avila
- "If it wasn't for receiving my DACA last summer I wouldn't be here," activist said
- Avila caught the attention of Obama administration during his 22-day immigration fast
- He's optimistic about immigration reform despite fearing his parents being deported
Sitting in the first lady's box listening to the President Barack Obama push for movement on immigration reform, Cristian Avila no longer had to keep his head down and live in fear of being deported.
While the President dedicated only a brief part of his State of the Union address to immigration, his message went beyond his speech, and the evidence was sitting among the guests invited to join the first lady in the viewing box.
"I feel honored and excited to be here. If it wasn't for receiving my DACA last summer I wouldn't have been able to attend the State of the Union," Avila told CNN.
The 23-year-old and his siblings are just one of the many thousands of recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Avila was illegally brought into the United States with his younger brother and sister when he was 9 years old
DACA is a government program enacted in 2012 that stopped deporting some undocumented young people and instead granted them temporary work authorization and a two-year reprieve from deportation.
The recipients have become one of the most visible groups advocating for immigration reform.
Avila caught the attention of the Obama administration during his 22-day fast on the National Mall in support of immigration reform last November. And, for the last two years, Avila's been working as a voter engagement coordinator for Mi Familia Vota, a non-profit Latino civic engagement program.
"At the time, immigration reform seemed like it was dead. We won the hearts of the American people. We revived the conversation," Avila said.
Obama pleaded for cooperation and pointed out how getting immigration reform done this year was important for the country's recovering economy.
"If we are serious about economic growth, it is time to heed the call of business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders, and law enforcement -- and fix our broken immigration system," Obama said.
Without attacking House Republicans, the President described how both parties in the Senate passed a comprehensive bill last summer and said both parties in the House want to do the same. He said immigration reform would not only help the economy but shrink the deficit by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades.
"When people come here to fulfill their dreams -- to study, invent, contribute to our culture -- they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everybody. So let's get immigration reform done this year," he said.
Obama spoke of immigration reform in broad strokes but that might have something to do with the plans of House Republican leaders to outline their principles for immigration reform at a party meeting this week.
"We're going to outline our standards, principles of immigration reform and have a conversation with members," House Speaker John Boehner said during a news conference after a party meeting.
Obama steered clear of specific immigration reform policies. There was no mention of stopping the deportations of undocumented immigrants without criminal records, despite countless pleas from activists all over the country.
Avila and his siblings no longer live in fear of being deported but his parents face that threat every time they leave their homes for work.
"I grew up with the fear of being deported. My mom would always tell me to put my head down," Avila said.
"I still have the constant fear of my parents being deported. They are fearful and targeted even though they earn their living in an honest way," said Avila, "One of the reasons that I keep strong is for them."
Still, Avila remains optimistic that immigration reform will happen in 2014.
"We are closer than ever before. It shouldn't take any longer," Avila said.


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Evolution Hoax
A big conference took place at the Avicenne Institute of Social Sciences (l"Institut Avicenne des Sciences Humaines) in the city of Lille of France on May 21st, 2011. At the conference in question, the topics of "The Miracles of the Quran" and "The Collapse of the Theory of Evolution and the Fact of Creation" were told. More than 350 viewers mostly composed of students and teachers watched the conference with attention and interest. Before the conference, the exhibitions of living fossils and Harun Yahya books were viewed with admiration.
Mohammed Bechari who organized the conference is the founder of the Avicenne Institute and the President of the National Foundation of Muslims in France2011-05-28 17:04:59


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At forum: Is government answer or bane to health insurance costs?
With the cost of health insurance premiums continuing to rise each year, small businesses must consider passing the costs to their employees, cut benefits, increase deductibles or no longer offer health care.
During the past three years, the base rate has increased by 9.7 percent for small groups and 8.1 percent for large groups, while some businesses received increases of 26 percent or more.
In May, the three largest private insurers in the state requested premiums increases for small and large groups, which would be implemented in January 2013.
For small groups, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island filed the lowest requested change at 2.3 percent, followed by Tufts Health Plan at 6 percent, and United HealthCare at 6.2 percent.
Stephen C. Boyle, president of the Greater Cranston Chamber of Commerce, said these types of increases are unsustainable.
That's why the chamber, along with the Health Insurance Small Employer Taskforce, held a forum with state Insurance Commissioner Christopher F. Koller last Thursday to voice their opinions about proposed health insurance rates.
At the forum, held at the Garden City Center at 100 Midway Place, Koller noted that Rhode Island isn't the only state with cost challenges.
"If misery loves company, employers should know they are not alone," Koller said. "But we need things that we can do in Rhode Island that are different because of our size."
Koller, who is the sole insurance commissioner in the nation, said it's important to think of medical care as a system that different people need different things from. He pointed out that it's essential for employers to hire healthy, able-bodied workers too.
Further, he said people often approach him and offer a "simple solution" to the problem, which typically involves bringing in additional insurers to solicit competitive prices. There isn't any evidence, said Koller, that adding more insurers to the mix reduces costs.
He also feels it's crucial to pay attention to states that have lower costs.
"There are communities that have shown us how to do it," Koller said. "They are trying to look at things as a community – they are not looking at things as a set of individual purchases."
He continued, "This is a long haul and we've got to keep working at it. If we want our costs to be lower, we are all going to have to commit to change. I can't be like President Obama who says, 'If you like your health care, you can keep it.' We can do this. But we all have to give up some stuff as we go along."
Raymond B. Sepe, president and CEO of Electro Standards Laboratories and former president of the Cranston Chamber, was one of nearly 40 people at the assembly. He suggested grouping Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts to seek a regionalized rate.
"Keeping the cost down comes naturally if you have more competitors," Sepe said. "I do not really believe that having more [insurers] will cost more if you have regionalization. Competition makes the pricing go down."
Again, Koller said he views it as something that wouldn't be profitable to employers.
"We're going to have to figure out how to pay our doctors differently to take care of the chronically ill folks so that they don't make money by bringing [someone] in every time for a visit," he said. "That's why I'm doubtful."
Cranston business owner Michael Colasante thinks the problem has the potential of becoming bigger if the government continues to be involved. The solution to efficiency, he said, is to get government out of the picture.
"As soon as the government got involved, the costs started skyrocketing. It's like two shackles around our ankles and it keeps pulling us back farther and farther," Colasante said. "If you don't change the moral structure of what's happening, you're not going to change anything. If you take the government out of the equation, everybody becomes more efficient, there's more competition, we're able to go over state lines and buy insurance. Everybody looks to the government for solutions, but it is the biggest problem that we have."
Others agreed and disagreed, with Warwick business owner Ted Almon saying, "Business people want solutions [and] it will never get fixed until the government fixes it."
No matter a person's position, Marti Rosenberg, program director of The Providence Plan, noted that, "we are all in this together." In order to fix the health care system, she said, employers need to make changes.
She also provided an overview of the Health Insurance Small Employer Task Force as to the principles or "key drivers" that have been developed in response to proposed rates.
Factors involved educating employers that service volume drives revenue, lifestyle and behavior impacts rates, lack of provider coordination is an issue, as is lack of evidenced-based care, lack of provider coordination, lack of priced-based competition and so forth.
"These factors all work together," she said. "We need quality care and we need a more rational system. So what can we do? Employers can go to the plan that requires primary care. Employers can encourage wellness [and] current care, which will allow one test to stand in for two tests."
Also, Rosenberg and Boyle spoke of the importance of such forums.
"Being here and learning and raising your concerns with Commissioner Koller is a great thing," Rosenberg said. "Letting insurers and providers know that employers are watching an engaged, that's when change will happen. It happened in Massachusetts because Governor Patrick started to talk about things that needed to happen. Rates began to moderate."
Boyle added, "We'd like to have more of these forums."


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Sir Alex Ferguson believes Juventus manager Antonio Conte is the man to save Manchester United should David Moyes continue to struggle, reports the Italian media.
Sports Witness, citing reports from Italy, claim that the former Manchester United manager and current director has been in contact with his friend Marcelo Lippi about the possibility of hiring Conte.
The Italian manager has experienced relative success during his time in charge at Juventus, winning back to back Serie A titles and are currently strong favourites to scoop a third this term.
It's been enough to convince Ferguson, who is starting to consider replacements for Moyes, in case his compatriot continues to struggle as his successor in the Old Trafford dugout.
Manchester United are currently on their worst run since 2001 after losing three consecutive games and crashing out of the FA Cup third round to Swansea.
In an underwhelming season, the Red Devils have suffered five defeats at home and currently sit 11 points behind leaders Arsenal. More worryingly, United are currently five points away from fourth place - the last Champions League qualifying place.
It seems unlikely that Ferguson would give up hope on Moyes so soon, especially considering that he personally chose him as his successor. But although United knew this transition would be difficult, the prospect of finishing outside the Champions League places is one that worries officials at Old Trafford.
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Talk:Da Nang Boys
| This talk page is for discussing the Da Nang Boys article.
This includes commenting on the article, questioning whether it is correct, or adding suggestions for improvements
Questions about GTA games, not about the wiki page itself, should be asked at Community:Questions.Remember to always add your signature to the end of your comments/replies using four tildes:
Alot of thestuff on the box on the right is not seen, i have added stuff, but it comes out blank please help
Vietnamese Boyz
Before i put this there i just want to ask is it okay if i put that the Da Nang Boys are based on the Vietnamese Boyz in San Francisco.
- If its true, then yes. It would help if you could provide evidence though - Gboyers talk 00:18, 21 July 2008 (UTC)
Peng Tong
Is it true these guys are also called the Peng Tong? My friends make a lot of jokes relating to these, and I keep trying to tell them that they're called the Da Nang. --Montybrady 19:37, 15 July 2009 (UTC)
No, they are called the Da nang boys, you must be mistaken for a vietnamese gang in GTA 2, well i think its GTA 2 GSF4L 22:19, July 2009 (UTC)


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Andrei Licareţ, Pianist
PBD Associates, Inc. presents Andrei Licareţ, Pianist, 7:30PM, Weds., February 6, 2013 at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019. Featuring classics by Enescu, Schumann, Debussy, and Chopin. Reception with Andrei follows the performance. Tickets: $10, all seats. Available at carnegiehall.org or CarnegieCharge: 212-247-7800.
Wednesday - February 06, 2013
Contact:Carnegie Charge
Phone: 212-247-7800
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The East Carolina University Board of Trustees approved a three-year contract extension and a $10,000 annual raise for Billy Godwin, head coach of the ECU baseball team. The contract modification extends Godwin's contract until June 30, 2011, and increases his salary to $102,500 per year.
"Billy has done a remarkable job for ECU Baseball," East Carolina Director of Athletics Terry Holland said. "He has restored respect for our program among all constituencies and that is paying huge dividends on the recruiting trail, particularly in our region.
"This past season's truly difficult schedule allowed us to measure ourselves against many of the nation's elite programs and it is obvious we are closing the gap," Holland added. "Omaha is our goal!"
Godwin will enter his third season at the helm of the baseball program in 2008 after officially taking over the top position on October 28, 2005. He joined the staff as an assistant coach June 9 after six successful seasons as head coach of Louisburg (N.C.) College and guided the Pirates in a brief interim capacity later that fall. His appointment to the top position made Godwin the 10th head baseball coach in school history.
In addition to leading East Carolina to an overall 40-23 mark in 2007, Godwin directed the Pirates back into the national polls and post-season play when they competed as a No. 2 seed at the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional. While notching the program's first 40-win season since 2004, Godwin's club also completed Conference USA play with a 14-9 record and a second-place finish behind College World Series participant Rice.
"I am extremely excited about the future of East Carolina Baseball," Godwin said. "Stability is the key to any successful program. Our coaching staff is committed to recruiting and developing the most talented players that reflect well on the university, the community and our program. We will continue to strive to make East Carolina one of the top baseball programs in the country."
Godwin, who has posted a 73-49 mark in two seasons at ECU and possesses an eight-year overall collegiate coaching record of 335-134, produced five All-Conference USA performers last spring - RHP Shane Mathews, OF Harrison Eldridge, SS Dale Mollenhauer, OF Ryan Tousley and RHP T.J. Hose. Rookie DH Kyle Roller earned All-Freshman honors from the league and Ping!Baseball after topping the team with a .658 slugging percentage and contributing a team co-leading 11 home runs.


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In a statement made on August 11, Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism, criticized the new Yoga Journal series, "Ogden: The Inappropriate Yoga Guy" saying that the age old and revered practice of yoga was "not something to be spoofed at." Yoga Journal, a popular California based yoga magazine, picked up the web series after it was a "hit" on Youtube.com, and has developed five episodes to date.
The context of the series pokes fun at the popularity of yoga in the
West today with the intention of being humorous albeit somewhat vulgar
and crass, through the actions of the title character Ogden. The
publication also publicized the character as guest editor of the
magazine for a month. During that time, Ogden's face was seen all over
the Yoga Journal website and print publication, though now if you visit
the website, his face is much less visible.
Rajan Zed refers to the web series as "lampooning" the 5000 year old tradition. This is not the first time Zed has spoken out about what he feels is inappropriate use of Hindu traditions like in the cases of the PS2 game Hanuman and when he demanded a pre-screening of the movie The Love Guru prior to its release. Zed also holds a place in history as being the first Hindu Chaplin to deliver opening prayers at the U.S. Senate.
Now is the moment where I take a stance on the issue, right. Well, I must confess, I saw The Love Guru, and I thought it was hilarious. Especially to those of use who live what we practice and teach. I laughed, a lot. But, in the case of a publication who claims to "give readers insightful articles on yoga, filled with the most current scientific information available, while honoring the 5,000-year-old tradition on which it is based." I'm not so sure that this kind of irreverent humor is appropriate..
For a "respected" yoga publication to pull such a derisive publicity stunt seems somewhat disrespectful to the practice it claims to uphold. I am sure that Ogden is quite funny, even to die hard yogis, I'm just not convinced that the medium of a "trusted" source on the insight and science of yoga should be the place to poke fun. This type of promotion can too easily blur the line between expert and excessive promotion, and give an ancient practice that is struggling for authenticity a bad name.
"Ogden: The Inappropriate Yoga Guy" may have a well earned place on video sharing websites and water cooler conversations, but when we bring this type of humor into a place that is supposed to represent what yoga is really about, I think that has the right to be criticized. Everybody loves a good laugh, but as modern day yogis who strive to be respected as a part of this ancient practice, there is a right time and place for everything, and this one missed the mark.
What do you think? Is the Is the Inappropriate Yoga Guy Inappropriate?


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New STE2M Center Keeps USU on the Cutting Edge
Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014
As the nation comes to grips with the lack of university students going into science, technology, engineering, education and mathematics — the so-called STEM fields — Utah State University recently opened an innovative center it hopes will become a leading voice in efforts to address the issue.
The new STE2M Center will provide expanded opportunities and support to students, faculty, the university and the state, said David Feldon, the center director and an associate professor of instructional technology and learning sciences.
"The center will facilitate inter-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration across the state in order to build a stronger STEM ecosystem," said Feldon. "In my role as director, I try to recognize opportunities for connectivity between STEM entities and help build forward-thinking relationships based on mutual goals."
It will be an asset to all colleges and programs by connecting Utah's STEM education and workforce development needs and resources with USU faculty to create opportunities of mutual benefit. The center will facilitate collaborative research and enhance the impact of USU's activities through communication, outreach and dissemination. It also will serve as a resource for the further development of high-quality STEM programs at USU.
Feldon said the center will work to increase the number and quality of STEM educators and STEM professionals in the region and country. It will also conduct innovative research and development on computing and communication technologies in STEM education.
The center's activities also include networking among STEM organizations around the state; data compilation and analysis; evaluation, outreach and dissemination services; specialized workforce training; and serving as the lead unit for institutional STEM initiatives.
Noelle Cockett, USU's executive vice president and provost, said the new center will be a major driving force behind program development and student enrollment in STEM career pathways.
"USU is committed to offering opportunities to students that will be academically challenging, but that will also allow them to reach their career-choice goals," said Cockett. "By building better relationships among STEM organizations, the center will open pathways to support students and to help them get internships and, in the end, employment in STEM-related fields."
The center is housed in the west end of the Edith Bowen Laboratory School. For more information, visit the STE2M website.
For further inquiry, contact Paula Eliason, 435-797-8605, firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Oct. 23, 2010
PLYMOUTH, NH -- Freshman forward Stefanos Galouzis (Watertown, MA) scored two goals to propel the University of Massachusetts Boston men's soccer team past Plymouth State University, 3-1, this afternoon at Panther Field on the campus of Plymouth State. The win improves the Beacons record to 5-10 overall, 2-4 in the Little East Conference while the Panthers fall to 5-9-1 and 1-5.
Galouzis opened and closed the game's scoring with his ninth and 10th markers of the season. The midfielder gave UMass Boston a 1-0 lead at the 11:49 mark in the first half after converting a through ball pass from sophomore midfielder Victor Costa (Malden, MA) with a finish to the lower right hand corner of the goal past sophomore keeper Bjorn Ohlsson (Halmstad NA, Sweeden).
Plymouth State tied that game at 1-1 less than four minutes later on junior midfielder Dre Cabral's (Tokyo, Japan) third goal of the season. Cabral was able to find the back of the net after he was set up by freshman defender Justin Hepburn's (Williamstown, VT).
The game remained deadlocked at 1-1 until the 79th minute of action when UMass Boston sophomore midfielder Reyn Johnson (Mangilao, Guam) broke free and netted the eventual game-winner off a break away for his fifth goal of the campaign to put the Beacons on top 2-1 with 11:18 left to play.
Galouzis added an insurance goal at the 82:20 mark after he collected and put home a rebound off of Ohlsson for his 10th goal of the season.
Ohlsson finished the game with six saves in net for the Panthers while UMass Boston sophomore goalkeeper Brycen Dowd (Mansfield, MA) earned the victory making seven stops between the pipes.
Plymouth State returns to action tomorrow (10/24) when they host Babson College in a 1:00 p.m. non-conference match up while UMass Boston is off until Wednesday, October 27 when they head to Buzzards Bay, MA to face Massachusetts Maritime in a 7:00 p.m. contest.


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April 3, 2007 > Market downturn
NEW YORK (AP), Mar 30 _ Blue chip stocks might have just suffered their worst quarter in two years, but that didn't stop Wall Street's army of investment bankers from putting together deals at a record pace.High-profile transactions like the $31.8 billion (euro23.9 billion) takeover of energy company TXU Corp. and ongoing bids to buy the Chicago Board of Trade have helped U.S. acquisitions surge 21 percent from last year. That shows private equity firms and expansion-minded companies have not lost their taste for mergers and acquisitions despite stock market volatility.In the first quarter of 2007, there were $428.69 billion (euro321.89 billion) worth of deals, according to research firm Dealogic. Globally, that number surged 15 percent to $1.13 trillion (euro0.85 trillion) _ and is on track to surpass last year's $4 trillion (euro3 trillion) record.``The market is saying we may have a slowdown, but not a great recession or bear market,'' said Steven Bernard, director of M&A market analysis for investment bank Robert W. Baird & Co. ``And short-term volatility really isn't enough to derail M&A activity. In fact, those are the times companies pay less for their targets.''The five biggest Wall Street investment banks have reported in recent weeks that their pipeline of deals has not diminished, even as global stock markets went south. The bull market was derailed on Feb. 27 when Asian exchanges suffered a one-day plunge that spread globally.Even though Wall Street has recovered somewhat, the equity market realignment has left volatility in its wake. And that might be one of the reasons why acquisition activity has continued to heat up _ valuations of many companies have declined, making them more attractive buys for cash-rich corporate raiders.Times of global risk present untapped potential for those looking to put deals together, said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein.``Risk proliferation has gone up, but so has our profit,'' Blankfein said during the investment bank's annual meeting on Tuesday. ``Risk is not so much targeted as it is a consequence of our strategy.''He said that if the company wants to remain the world's top M&A adviser, ``one of the consequences of that is we will have to do more financing in addition to the advice we give.''Indeed, investment banks like Goldman Sachs have made more out of less during the first quarter.The number of deals has weakened year over year, with the amount falling to 1,397 from 2,012 in 2006. Meanwhile, the number of U.S. deals has slipped 11 percent from the fourth-quarter as companies were blindsided by the global stock drop.But what has helped maintain the level of mergers and acquisitions in the U.S. is that the economy hasn't fallen in lockstep with the stock market. The economy, while showing signs of cooling, doesn't appear to be slowing precipitously.In fact, this past week's economic data showed that gross domestic product is in better shape than expected. Government reports also showed consumer and business spending climbed, while unemployment remains low.Investment banks have also been able to rely on a steady stream of deals coming from outside the U.S. The most impressive amount coming from Germany, which logged $127.49 billion (euro95.73 billion) worth of first-quarter deals _ up 188 percent from last year, according to Dealogic.And there's no denying the impact private equity firms had on driving the pace of deals during the first quarter. Buyout shops like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Blackstone Group use private investments to buy companies and restructure them as private companies.Unlike during the 1980s when financiers like Carl Icahn were leading deals, these days private equity firms are banding together to buy companies. The biggest deal of the first quarter was the acquisition of TXU, where the total value including debt was the highest amount for the biggest leveraged buyout in history at $41.8 billion (euro31.39 billion).In the U.S., there have been 192 private equity deals worth $110.86 billion (euro83.24 billion), which represents 25 percent of all acquisition activity. Globally, there have been 575 private equity buyouts worth $171.05 billion (euro128.44 billion), up 15 percent year-over-year.Bernard also points out that no matter how the big U.S. investment banks might do during a market turnaround, private equity doesn't face the same obstacles.``Private equity still has as much money today as they had back in January,'' he said. ``A pullback might attract even more buyers.''


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After meticulously dissecting every movement Oscar Pistorius claims he made in the early hours of Valentine's Day last year, the state's chief prosecutor declared the runner's version "so improbable that nobody will ever think it's reasonably possible".
"Your version is a lie," Gerrie Nel said simply on Thursday.
The prosecutor used the 20th day of the case to hammer away at the athlete's credibility, accusing him of being a liar, tailoring his evidence, and blame-shifting onto everyone else instead of accepting responsibility for his actions.
Oscar Pistorius defends memory lapses as he is grilled by prosecution
He also articulated the specifics of the state's case for the first time, saying he will prove that the screams heard by witnesses in the lead up to the shooting came from Reeva Steenkamp as she ran away from the Olympian in a row.
"I will build my case to say that when you got up, there was an argument and she ran away screaming," Mr Nel said.
"It's not true, my lady," said the athletic track star.
Under meticulous cross-examination, Mr Nel forced Pistorius to be far more detailed about his account than ever before, probing the athlete to give details never before articulated.
The court heard Pistorius claim he awoke in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013, probably because of the humidity, to find his model girlfriend was beside him.
Ms Steenkamp, also awake, asked: "can't you sleep, baba?" to which he replied no.
Pistorius told the court he then got up from his position on the left-hand side of the bed and walked without his prosthetics to the other side of the bed closest to the balcony, from which he brought in a fan, closed the sliding door and drew the curtains.
At this point, he would have been no more than a metre from Ms Steenkamp.
However, he maintains the model did not say a word, and he didn't see her get up and move towards the bathroom.
Somewhat incredulously, Mr Nel zeroed in on his actions, repeatedly asking how that was possible.
Pistorius claimed it was "pitch black", he had his back to the bed, and "the fans were blowing in my face".
However, Mr Nel pointed out that there was clearly enough light for the athlete to be able to see Reeva's denim jeans on the floor of the bedroom, because the next thing he said he did was pick them up and cover the LED light on an amplifier, plunging the room into "total darkness".
In a police crime scene photo shown to the court, the bed's duvet is lying on the floor, and Mr Nel asked how it got there.
Pistorius blames police for moving it; saying when he got out of the bed the duvet was on it, adding that it was covering the bottom part of Reeva's legs.
"Ah, so (there was enough light that) you saw that," the prosecutor commented.
Mr Nel then secured an acceptance from Pistorius that Ms Steenkamp must have rolled across onto the athlete's side of the bed to walk toward the bathroom, because if she'd got out on the righthand side he would most certainly have seen her.
In the same photo, Mr Nel also highlighted that the curtains were about a metre apart.
If the curtains were not closed, as depicted in the picture, Pistorius should have been able to see inside the bedroom when he heard the noise and know his girlfriend was not in bed.
"You see Mr Pistorius, your version is a lie. You never closed those curtains … that door was open when you and the deceased had an argument," Mr Nel said.
"(The fan) was never moved – that door was open when you and the deceased got into an argument. The fan was there, the duvet was there, the curtains were open."
"No, my lady," he said.
After examining other evidence, Pistorius then conceded that for his version to be correct, a police officer must have had to move a fan, the duvet and open the curtains after the incident.
"Keep trying, Mr Pistorius, it's not working," Mr Nel thundered as the day's evidence drew to a close.
"Your version is so improbable that nobody will ever think it's reasonably possible, it's so improbable."
Pistorius said he was telling the truth.
Earlier, as the cross-examination inched on, Pistorius made another notable slip, and Mr Nel swooped to accuse him of mixing up his lies.
Asked about an incident in 2012, when a handgun was fired in a crowded Johannesburg restaurant, he insisted that he had never put his finger on the weapon's trigger.
He admitted handling the gun, but said it just "discharged" in his hands as he was trying to ensure it was safe.
"I didn't have time to think," he said.
Mr Nel pounced immediately: "Ahh, so that's one of your defences."
He was referring to the athlete's evidence from the previous day, in which he used the same words to describe the shooting of Ms Steenkamp, believing she was an intruder in his toilet door.
The prosecutor also accused Pistorius of "blaming everybody else but himself" as Mr Nel honed in on its portrayal of him as reckless, self-obsessed and controlling.
In what one legal analyst later described as a "rather desperate" measure, Pistorius even tried to shift blame for discrepancies in his version onto his own legal team.
Mr Nel also took the double-amputee to task over his trembling apology on the first day of his evidence-in-chief, asking if he had "felt better" afterward, suggesting it had been a narcissistic move to do it in front of the world's cameras.
"I don't think I could feel better, but I haven't had the opportunity to apologise to them, it's something I wanted to do for a very long time and it's the right thing to do," he said.
The case continues.
Full coverage of the Pistorius trial
Day 20 of the Pistorius murder trial


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Pitfalls to avoid
Posted 21 March 2007 - 07:56 AM
I am in the market for my first DSLR underwater rig. The only commitment I have made is that I own a Nikon D200 w/ a 12-24, and a 60 mac. This basically leaves all other options open for acquisition of my system. I have used point and shoots quite a bit and have gotten satisfactory results. I recently sold my Sea&Sea DX-8000G...I have enough experience to be dangerous..and i want to continue my journey to the next level(s)...avoiding as mant pitfalls as possible. My budget is flexible as I just sold a couple expensive non-related toys.....I don't want to say unlimited because it's certainly not BUT I'm willing to invest what's needed and grow into the system.
My next trip is in late May so my timeline is to own the rig ASAP and allow enough pool time prior.
areas of concern:
ports....start w/ both dome and macro?
strobes ....one or two to start?
TTL....yes or no...leaning no
expensive viewfinders?....I defintely have middle aged eyes
Housings.....all examined topside
I handled aquatica......liked it especially the viewfinder
Subal....worth the premium?
SeaSea...viewfinder didn't work as well for me
Any input on this sickness from the experienced would be greatly appreciated!
Tom G
Posted 21 March 2007 - 08:06 AM
Tom G
Posted 21 March 2007 - 08:22 AM
If you can look at the housing you have in mind I don't thing you'll run into any that are sub-standard anymore. I had been using a Sea&Sea housing for my old film Nikon SLR and it served me quite well. I have now switched to a Subal housing for my D200 and love it. Fit and finish and control action might be a little better than the Sea&Sea. I don't have the optional viewfinder so I guess I can't miss what I've never had!
I used to love TTL on the film SLR, but I was forced to switch to manual with the DSLR and I don't think I'd go back given the chance. I think my images have improved with the control of manual settings.
I don't know if you already own one strobe, or are starting with none but I greatly prefer dual strobes. There are disadvantages with drag and bulk but I think the lighting control far outweighs them.
Good luck with your purchase(s). Hope you don't have to sell anymore toys to feed the new habit!
Posted 21 March 2007 - 10:54 AM
I'm planning on 2 strobes for the reasons you stated. I kept the ys-25 from my Sea&SEa PAS....i realize its only useful as a slave....so i will need to buy 2 new strobes. I'm currently thinking S&S 110's.
what strobes are you now using and are you satisfied w/ thier performance?
Is there any decision you made w/ your change to DSLR that you would have done differently?
appreciate the input
Posted 21 March 2007 - 01:51 PM
If your looking for housings try as many as you can before you buy.
I use INON strobes 220'z exellent & very compact. My housing is a
SeaCam. Good luck in your quest
Andy Barker
D800, Seacam,S45, Nikon 60mm micro, Nikon VR 105mm micro, Nikon 16x35mm, Nikon 16mm, fe, Seaflash 150ttl & Seacam flash arms
Posted 21 March 2007 - 02:20 PM
My Subal for a D70 with 2 Inon strobe weighs a ton. Feels like it is 3 lbs negative. Arms get tired. Not the same housing as the 200, but you should ask the questions.
Posted 21 March 2007 - 02:40 PM
i'll find out about the weight!
Tom G
Posted 21 March 2007 - 04:41 PM
Ask around about the overall weight of the camera, port, and strobes underwater.
My Subal for a D70 with 2 Inon strobe weighs a ton. Feels like it is 3 lbs negative. Arms get tired. Not the same housing as the 200, but you should ask the questions.
Great Point
i'll find out about the weight!
Tom G
I'm going to go through this very fast because I'm in a bit of hurry here. I did some in-water weight tests with the d200/Subal, etc etc etc. I did a lot of research and here is what I found out, it is true as far as I know, but don't shoot me if I'm mistaken on something.
If I were doing it different I would buy the d200 housing based on in-water weight. I didn't realize and was given erroneous info from those who I thought "knew" about the in-water weight of the various d200 housings. Granted I need it lighter than most because I suffered a hand injury last year and I don't want it to happen again. Search for my post on that and weighing the Subal/d200, it has accurate info.
But I wanted to post because you might be given the idea here that Subal is heavier. That is not true unfortunately. There are brands heavier in the water than Subal. Of course it has to be apples to apples so no weights can be tested without the same lens, port configurations. Here is what I know,
The Subal d200 is quite a bit heavier in the water than the Subal d70
The Subal with the 60mm and the 60 port is 2-1/2 lbs negative even before the Subal plastic handles are added. This is without strobes, arms, etc etc.
The Aquatica and the Sea and Sea and Hugyfot with the nearest same configuration, 60 lens and 60 port are heavier than the Subal d200. I don't know how heavy the Seacam is. It will be heavy if they didn't design in more air spaces than the others. But maybe Seacam did.
The Nexus d200 is about the same in-water weight as the Subal d200.
Ikelite d200 is lighter in water than the Nexus d200 and Subal d200. Again same 60 lens configuration.
I think Light and Motion will be a little lighter than the Nexus and Subal, maybe significantly so. That one just shipped and it is a different housing but it has more air space so might not be so negative.
Also from one report if the UK Germany housing really is only 1/2 lb negative with the camera then it is one of the lighter ones also.
The Inon strobes are heavy. I traded in my Inon d2000ws for the Sea and Sea 110s. The 110s aren't buoyant like the 90s, but they are about neutral. Still saved me a lot of weight. I'd like more buoyant strobes though, I'm looking into it. The 110s are adequate strobes, they aren't my favorite but I'm still looking for a wider beam and more buoyant, but the 110s aren't bad, I'm so so on them.
The Sea and Sea TTL unit weighs 14 oz above water and is 7 ozs negative underwater. It works pretty well if you want to get into it. I found it bad for wide angle (others have reported different-depends on what type of wide I think), but it works well for macro, if it works with your housing and strobes. It is easy to bypass if you want black backgrounds for your macro so it can be nice. But it does make your system weight lopsided. Plus you have to be meticulous about strobe/housing connection maint.
The Subal/d200 housing is laid out really nice and the shutter release is nice in a lot of users opinions. The buttons are easy to push, that was a big one for me because my Ikelite buttons would always become very hard to push even though I did the proper maintenance.
See which housing fits in your hands the best and has access to the camera features you want.
I know some one who just loves the shutter release on the Nexus d200.
If you buy a negative housing (most of the d200 housings are quite negative in the water because the camera is heavy for its small size); get a buoyancy system figured out before you invest all that $$$$.
Decide if you want a glass or non-glass dome port for wide. There are lots of posts about the benefits of each. Glass is a little heavier but sheds water better for under/overs. Glass is more durable but if you scratch it (and it is very possible to scratch), it will cost a lot to replace the glass dome. Non-glass domes scratch really easy but the scratches can be buffed out - maybe. Best thing is probably go with glass and don't scratch it........, yea right............
OK that is all I can type in a hurry. Yes there are pitfalls, I don't regret buying the Subal/d200, it is a good housing but given to do it over again I might do something different with all the information I have now.
The d200 isn't the only housing that is quite negative. Other cameras are being made smaller and heavier, housings and strobes are being made smaller and heavier (in water weight I'm talking about), this eases airline travel but is not a good thing for strain from a heavy housing underwater. You then have to research which buoyancy solution you want and how much.
Of course some will feel the strain of a heavy rig underwater more than others just as hand strength varies tremendously from individual to individual.
Hope this helps,
PS just reviewed your ?s, the Subal viewfinder (let's just call it the expensive viewfinder - but still it is a little less than Aquatica's new viewfinder and a lot less $$$ than the Seacam viewfinders, but I hear they are really great!.....), the Subal viewfinder is AWESOME, I couldn't live without it or some similar. Put some of your $$$ in the viewfinder, you won't regret it.
PPS I started with the 16mm Nikon, 60mm Nikon and 105vr Nikon, I'm happy I started with primes to learn. Get closer......., then learn a zoom. But many do it differently.
PPPS I'd start with two strobes, much more versitle. Especially if you get something like the 110s, any small strobe. IMO one of those would be very hard to learn with, I used to shoot with one Inon D2000 and it was very hard to learn how to position it. Two can be more forgiving and easier for wide angle.
Just what I have experienced Tom, Best, Carol
Edited by seagrant, 21 March 2007 - 04:59 PM.
Posted 21 March 2007 - 05:24 PM
thanx for the amazing post.....considering you were in " a bit of a hurry"
I can see that this is a great forum !
There are certainly alot of variables to consider. ......some of the above water fun I'd say
I have alot of stuff to review
THank Yo Carol!!
cool stuff on your site!
Posted 27 March 2007 - 01:40 AM
Second, I have numerous housings of different makes. They are all good. The buttons are all in the same place because the camera dictates where they go.
Third, I have both glass and acrylic domes. I recently did an extra close-up wide-angle shot (in a pool) of a guy finning away from me. I knew he would be kicking the port repeatedly. I chose to use an acylic port and got out of the water from time to time to buff out the scratches. It's that easy, especially when you consider that acylic has the same refractive index as the water so small scratches are filled in by the water anyway.
The best dome for sharpness I have is acrylic (Sea & Sea) followed by the glass (Subal) large dome. However, in the sea I often use the Sea & Sea optical glass dome because, being slightly smaller, it is easier to push through a heavy current and I am prepared to accept slight corner unsharpness. However, nothing is as unsharp at the edges of a picture as one taken with a compact dome whether it be glass or acrylic!
Fourth, although I used stupidly heavy Subtronic flashguns (strobes) my rig is absolutely neutrally-buoyant in the sea. Why? because I attach high-density-foam floats to the flashguns and being highest they float the rig nicely. I can let go off it and know it's still there moments later!
Fifth, when I had trouble with flashgun reliability and had to resort to using only one, I discoverd that digital pictures could be just as nice if not better than with the more bland light from two flashguns.
Still confused? I am !
I hope this helps.
I buy my own photographic kit. Diving equipment manufacturers and diving services suppliers get even-handed treatment from me whether they choose to advertise in the publications I write for or not. All the equipment I get on loan is returned as soon as it is finished with. Did you know you can now get Diver Mag as an iPad/Android app?
Posted 27 March 2007 - 11:39 PM
Nikon D4s, Nikon 16-35 /f4 VR II, 70-180,105mm f/2.8, Subal ND4 housing and ports, 2 Subtronic Fusion (flash and video lights), Sigma 15mm /f2.8, Subal 4" Minidome
Posted 30 April 2007 - 11:57 AM
Yes, the Ikelites can flood. And so can every other housing out there. And so can your dive computer. It's very easy for me to see if the o-rings in my housing are seated, so I don't have to worry about flooding.
If my gear floods, I don't much care. It's insured, and I always have backup gear.
But if something mechanical fails on my housing, then I would be very unhappy. And so far, I haven't had any issues, and I don't expect any. Ikelite housings are very well engineered and simple to maintain.
The posts above about underwater weight are very important -- a very heavy, bulky housing will make diving with it a hassle. Some are better than others, but ALL can made neutral. Adding bouyancy to your strobe arms works wonders. There are even some guys who have added bouyancy around their prots to help with their rigs floating port-down.
There are some very intelligent and resourceful people on this board. Read as much as you can, then go out and try some of their suggestions. I guarantee that it will make you a better photographer.
Posted 30 April 2007 - 01:18 PM
I owned a Nexus D100, in fact two, for a number of years and logged countless dives of them yet only experienced a single sync cord failure apart from one problem due to rough boat handling. I never had a single flood no matter how slight and I am not one to fuss over o-rings in between dives. After changing camera bodies I switched to another housing manufacturer and experienced two major floods in three dives. At that point I'd handled housed cameras for 10 years so it wasn't an experience issue. I subsequently switched to Seacam and was totally problem-free.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, even though floods are nearly always operator-related, some manufacturers are not nearly as good as others at designing systems that are foolproof. When I seal up a Nexus port I know with absolute certainty that it will not flood. :-)
P.S. I agree that Seacam and Subal make great housings but I would put Nexus in the same class. Nexus ports and rings are beautifully made and they are ergonomically great IMO. I preferred the handling of my Nexus D100 to the Seacam that replaced it. YMMV. That said, I've decided to go with Subal for my next system. :-)
- Col. John "Hannibal" Smith
Nikon, Seatool, Nexus, Inon
My Galleries


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Lincoln Center was all a buzz after the Noon by Noor runway show by fashionistas and media alike. The cousin designers, Shaikha Noor and Shaikha Haya drew inspiration from their home of Bahrain for this collection. Inspired by The Tree of Life, a natural wonder for its age, beauty and endurance. The Tree of Life is a mystery due to its survival in the barren desert with no known source of water. The designers looked to the natural beauty in the world incorporating botanical elements into their Spring 2014 collection.
Staying true to their previous two collections shown at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Noon by Noor showed their playful and young side as they opened the show to the summer's hottest song, "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke. Flirty and lively printed separates showed a younger side to this collection known to be loved by front row maven, Solange Knowles. The designers' ability to mix colors, patterns, and fabrics keeps it contemporary enough for young it girls while wearing the pieces separately will certainly give it some extra longitude for the workplace. They offset the vibrant colors like tangerine and blush with lilac and plum to balance the collection. Funky oversized palm prints in crop tops and jumpsuits gave reference to the Tree of Life.
The collection exuded elegance and femininity with embellished silks and chiffon rosette appliqués. The attention to detail was overwhelming in person. Lace mixed with leather added even more luxury to the collection creating the perfect balance of sporty and sophistication.
Noon by Noor took everyone by surprise when they delved into eveningwear with a show-stopping gown fit for a ball. Covered in chiffon rosettes of ivory and navy, this two–piece gown created a frenzy of camera flashes. Referencing their playful side once again, their ball gown was trendy enough with a cropped top. The hair and makeup was pristine and ladylike with perfect waves topped off with fresh faces.
This Spring 2014 collection by Noon by Noor is sure to continue the designer duo's catapult to stardom. It struck the perfect balance of timeless chic and trendy must haves that will be seen all over come this spring.
For more of the collection please visit the Noon by Noor website.


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IN CRICKET we have flat-track bullies - batsmen who cannot be blasted out with dynamite when the wicket is offering little to the bowler, but who struggle when there is some movement in the pitch.
In racing we have horses for courses, gallopers who are unbeatable at one venue and who can barely go a metre at another.
And in football we have teams who are invincible in front of their own supporters, but incapable of picking up a point on the road.
Melbourne Heart, who on Sunday afternoon host the resurgent Sydney FC, have taken plenty of stick for falling into that third category where their away form is concerned.
But the side has won little kudos for being so hard to handle at AAMI Park in front of its own supporters.
Heart have lost only twice at home all season, once to the Mariners, when Pedj Bojic's tremendous free kick proved the difference between the two teams in a Central Coast win. On the other occasion, Heart went down 2-1 to arch rivals Melbourne Victory, in unlucky circumstances, when Archie Thompson grabbed an injury-time decider with virtually the last kick of the game.
It is that strong home form coach John Aloisi hopes will keep the side's finals chances alive against a Sydney FC team that has been reinvigorated under Frank Farina. The Sky Blues are also looking at a finals berth, something inconceivable a few weeks ago when they were mired at the foot of the table.
''We have looked at our last seven home games, we have won six and drawn one and 14 [goals] for and six against,'' Aloisi said on Saturday. ''If we can keep doing that the fans will keep coming. The players are confident at home, the record is as good as any in the league. Most of the time at home, we are well organised and play well as a unit.''
This is the first time Heart have taken on Sydney's gallery of stars - boosted by the signature of Socceroos skipper Lucas Neill - on their own turf.
The first time the two met this campaign they drew. On the last occasion, Heart's late capitulation prompted plenty of soul searching. Aloisi's side was leading 1-0 with a couple of minutes to go, but lost 2-1. Since the Heart have struggled for consistency, and Aloisi hopes they can play themselves back into form against the team that tripped them up.
''The motivation of getting back into the top six is motivation enough for us,'' he said. ''We know that the last two games against Sydney we have played well. We controlled the one we lost 2-1 for 80 minutes, so that should give us confidence that we can control the game tomorrow and get a different result.''
Skipper Fred comes back into contention for a spot in the starting line-up after returning off the bench in the 2-0 loss to Newcastle last week, but Aloisi was undecided whether to start with the Brazilian.
''He's feeling good, he pulled up well after the 30 minutes he had last week. But Nicky Kalmar was brilliant in the last home game against Perth. You want competition for places and a full squad to select from,'' he said, indicating he was happy with the progress of new Dutch signing Marcel Meeuwis. ''It takes a bit longer for a foreigner to come in. I am happy with the way he's going.''
Heart are well aware of the brilliance of Alessandro Del Piero, but Aloisi said Sunday's opponents were not a one-man team. ''They have got great individuals - Lucas Neill, Alessandro Del Piero, Joel Griffiths, Brett Emerton,'' he said.


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We hold monthly organizational meetings on IRC to try and keep everyone going in the same direction.
When? Where?
They usually happen at irc.freenode.org's #xiphmeet channel (link), the first Wednesday of every month. The times alternate between 18:00 GMT on odd-numbered months and 06:00 GMT on even numbered months to better give people from different time zones a chance to attend (check your time on http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html ). If there's another time you'd like to see, please post the request here.
The next meeting is MonthlyMeeting200512. Please help fill out the agenda.
This meeting has been moved to the second Wednesday, 14th December, 6:00 GMT, since several xiph actives could not make it on the 7th December.
Archive: logs, minutes and agendas
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July: (agenda)
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- January (agenda)
- December (agenda)
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Charles Barrett--A hundred years ago, thousands of Mexicans were driven from Mexico by the chaos of the Mexican Revolution. San Antonio car dealership entrepreneur Charles Barrett reveals how his father was hidden in a barrel in old Mexico, and told to not make a noise, while a search netted another man, who was taken out and executed.
Episode #104 / Length: 26 minutes


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Back in Seattle Again
Hello, ,你好,willkommen, , bom dia, whaddup dudes! and welcome to our "Microwaves International" special edition MTT-S IMS Show issue, celebrating the emerging communities of the global high-frequency electronics industry. From Barcelona to Beijing, Seattle to Saint Petersburg, the microwave technology footprint continues to grow as communication systems proliferate and aerospace/defense markets worldwide expand to meet regional requirements. With sequestration and economic uncertainty at home, companies are wise to pursue each and every reasonable opportunity, including those offshore. And so, as the industry prepares to converge next month at IMS, we are pleased to present a global perspective in addition to our annual preview of North America's largest microwave symposium and exhibition.
Since new markets in Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and Russia have opened up, many of the companies have been expanding their international presence. In 2012, we joined the globalization movement with the launch of Microwave Journal China and announced the launch of the Electronic Design Innovation Conference (EDI CON), an industry-driven event which took place this past March in Beijing. Both have been very well received by a growing audience of microwave technologists in China, allowing the Journal to expand its media reach on behalf of multi-national companies pursuing business there and establishing a beachhead for more companies to follow.
Engineering resources are essential to the health of our industry. Such resources, represented by a thriving technical community, combined with financial resources and a demand for systems requiring high-frequency components create microwave business opportunities. Through a native-language media outlet and world-class, industry-driven conference/exhibition, MWJ China and EDI CON allow the industry to support a growing Chinese RF community with technical information and products.
In this issue, we look at this emerging community and its unique technology needs in our recap of EDI CON 2013. This EDI CON special report reveals that the world's largest mobile device market is about to transition to mobile broadband and microwave backhaul technology on a massive scale, the country is in the conceptual planning stage for government sponsored smart cities and next generation satellite navigation systems and has substantial demand for the communication ICs that will support these initiatives.
From Beijing we travel to Russia where Dr. Alexander Chenakin, vice president at Phase Matrix introduces our readers to Russian companies at the forefront of design and manufacture of oscillators, synthesizers and test equipment in this market. At the Journal, we have witnessed an increasing level of activity among Russian microwave companies in Europe at EuMW and China at EDI CON.
As an internationally recognized expert in the field of microwave frequency synthesis with a PhD degree from Kiev Polytechnic Institute, Chenakin provides unique insight into the Russian microwave community. Chenakin shares his intimate knowledge of the country's microwave history, its technical strengths and some of the individuals and companies to watch for.
Closer to home, we turn our attention to the gathering of IMS delegates and exhibitors next month with coverage of this year's activities including a special report on two new events – Wireless Industry Day, hosted by the local IEEE Seattle Chapter, and the "Death of GaAs?" panel, hosted by Strategy Analytics. Guest editorial from the IMS, RFIC and ARFTG symposia chairs preview the technical program.
From year to year, depending on the location and economy, IMS attracts approximately 2000 delegates, 1500 exhibitor attendees, and 4000 exhibitor staff. This yearly get-together gives attendees the chance to connect with friends and former colleagues in the exhibition hall, social events, hotel lobbies and airport lounges. To acknowledge this social component of Microwave Week, we offer our third installment of "MTT-Stories," a graphic novel depicting the event's lighter side.
Many exhibitors will time their new product launches to coincide with Microwave Week to capitalize on this concentration of microwave technologists. The Journal is grateful to those companies with the foresight and resources to provide a preview of these new products in this month's new product section and the advertisements throughout this issue. Doing so helps IMS attendees get a sense of hot products, which companies to visit and what to look for. Those not attending IMS are sure to appreciate the information as well.
We conclude the May issue with this month's Puzzler – Mr. Smith's (aka Smitty) Super Seattle Scavenger Hunt, our tip of the hat to the famous icons that define this great city of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle offers great sights, excellent dining and fun entertainment. Hopefully, you will be among those of us enjoying all the city has to offer as we gather for the North American leg of the international microwave community's world tour. Happy reading and safe travels.


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Sometimes, having a recognizable name can be a mixed blessing. More than once, when I have presented my credit card at a restaurant, I get a chuckle from a waitress or waiter, they notice my name and say something like: "Alright ... I got Willie Nelson's autograph."
Other times, however, people see my name in print and think, "What? Bill Nelson? In a bar fight?"
Well, to all my friends, business associates and clients out there, please be assured, that was not your local Civil Engineer tossing his fists recently in a local bar, just some unfortunate soul (seven years younger, too!) with the same name. Keep smiling!