text:
2004-05: Saw action in all 28 games, including 27 as a starter...finished as the team's fourth-leading scorer...led the team in assists and finished second in steals...led the Horizon League in assist/turnover ratio and tied for third in the league in assists...named Horizon League Player of the Week for his performance in Butler's wins at UW-Green Bay and over Loyola...had 12 points and seven assists in Butler's win at Youngstown State...scored 17 points and added four assists in Butler's win over Valparaiso...hit a school-record seven-of-seven three-point field goals and scored a career-high 26 points in 24 minutes, despite battling the flu, in Butler's home win over Loyola...nailed six three-point field goals and scored a team-high 20 points in Butler's victory at UW-Green Bay...led the Bulldogs with 14 points in Butler's home game against Wright State...notched 13 points, a career-high seven rebounds and six assists at Detroit...tallied 17 points at Loyola...posted 14 points and five assists in Butler's victory over Ball State...tallied 10 points and a game-high seven assists against IPFW...scored 17 points at Bradley...tallied 11 points and matched his career-high of eight assists in Butler's victory over Miami...didn't play in Butler's exhibition game victory over St. Joseph's after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Nov. 4.
2003-04: Played in all 30 Butler games, including 29 as a starter...named to the Horizon League All-Tournament team...led the team in steals and finished second on the squad in assists...finished third on the team in scoring...averaged fewer than two turnovers per game, while playing nearly 34 minutes per contest...given first collegiate start against Quincy and responded with 12 points...scored 14 points and recorded a career-high four steals at Ball State...tallied 14 points against Evansville...had 11 points and a career-high eight assists at Bradley...scored 15 points at Indiana...scored a season-high 25 points at Saint Louis...tallied 17 points, four rebounds and a career-high four steals in a career-high 42 minutes at Youngstown State...had a team-high 19 points and five rebounds in 42 minutes at home against UIC...posted 11 points, five assists and no turnovers against IPFW...had eight points and a six rebounds in a career-high 42 minutes at Loyola...suffered a concussion in the second half at Cleveland State and sat out the final 18 minutes of Butler's one-point win...led the Bulldogs with 23 points in Butler's upset of UW-Milwaukee...shared Butler's scoring lead with 21 points against Youngstown State in the Horizon League Tournament...hit eight of nine shots and led the Bulldogs with 23 points against UW-Green Bay in the league tournament.
2002-03: Played in all 33 Butler games during initial season with the Bulldogs... finished as Butler's sixth-leading scorer... fifth on the squad in three-point field goals and assists... hit a key three-pointer to spark Butler's first half comeback against #14 Louisville in the NCAA Tournament... nailed a dramatic three-point field goal at the buzzer to lift Butler past UW-Milwaukee and give the Bulldogs a fourth straight Horizon League regular season championship... matched his season-high with 14 points in Butler's win at Cleveland State... hit four three-point field goals and scored 12 points to key Butler's road victory at Detroit... tallied a season-high 14 points, including six clutch points in overtime, against Loyola, despite playing with a deep cut over his right eye... hit four three-point field goals to help the Bulldogs defeat Western Kentucky in the Rainbow Classic... nailed four clutch free throws in the second half of Butler's win over Bradley... saw first collegiate action in Butler's victory at IPFW.
High School: All-state guard at McCutcheon High School... named to the Indiana All-Star team for the annual Indiana-Kentucky summer all-star series... earned all-conference honors for three straight years... named area "Player of the Year" as a senior... averaged 25 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals as a senior... set school records for three-point field goals made (76), three-point field goal attempts (206) and assists... shot 48% from the field and 80% from the free throw line as a senior... posted a high game of 37 points (including eight three-point field goals) against Huntington North as a junior... averaged 21.7 points, 5.3 assists and 2.7 steals while helping McCutcheon to a 21-3 record and a regional title as a junior... picked to the Indiana Junior All-Star team in 2001... helped McCutcheon to a 39-7 record over his final two seasons... earned four basketball letters... High School Coach: Rick Peckinpaugh. TMTM


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Whenever there's a tragedy somewhere else, you can count on it that people will react locally - no matter how far away that might be.
Estherville Lincoln Central superintendent Tara Paul told Estherville Rotarians Thursday how the district has a plan should a similar crisis occur here.
While it wouldn't be appropriate to disclose the exact procedures, Paul said a board policy gives authority to set up a crisis team.
In addition, Paul said after Christmas break school staff will do a walk-through of district buildings.
"We think our buildings are safe. So does our fire marshal," Paul said. One procedure adding greatly to security is that after the morning bell rings visitors have to come through the front door of school buildings.
Addressing a number of Rotarians' questions, Paul noted cameras were in place in hallways in the middle school and high school. And as ELC High School principal Frank Christenson noted, the middle school is designed so visitors have to walk through a vestibule by the office.
Paul also agreed that arming teachers wasn't a good idea.
"I don't know that that is going to prevent anything," Paul said.
Christenson said schools are required by law to have two fire drills and two tornado drills each semester. He said though the problem with a lockdown is that every situation is different. "It's never going to be the same situation," Christenson said. "You're never going to be able to predict what they're going to do."
As for any policy for notifying parents, Paul said the district is changing its parental notification system. If a lockdown should happen, she said kids will be kept where they are so law enforcement can do its job. That means parents wouldn't be allowed into the building is secure.
John Wittneben, just concluding his term as state representative, said whenever a crisis happens the first reaction is for gun control.
"To me that's a waste of time," said Wittneben. "It's mental health" that's the problem, he said.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Please help us! Donate
Key Votes
S Amdt 1384 - English as the Common Language - National Key Vote
David Vitter voted Nay (Amendment Vote) on this Amendment.
Read statements David Vitter made in this general time period.
Related Legislation
- S 1348 - Immigration Act of 2007
- S Amdt 1151 - Declaring English the National Language
- S Amdt 1169 - Guest Worker Number Reduction Amendment
- S Amdt 1184 - Denying Legal Status for Immigrants Convicted of Certain Crimes
- S Amdt 1202 - Point Based Immigration Expiration Date
- S Amdt 1250 - Law Enforcement Review of Z Visa Applications
- S Amdt 1316 - Five Year Expiration for Guest Worker Program
- S Amdt 1333 - Barring Immigrants with Certain Criminal Histories
- S Amdt 1150 -
Issues Related to S Amdt 1384
Stage Details
Amendment -
Amendment Adopted
(58-39) -
June 6, 2007(Key vote)
See How Your Politicians Voted
Title: English as the Common Language
Vote Result
Yea Votes
Nay Votes
Vote to adopt an amendment that declares English to be the common language of the United States.
- Establishes English as the common language of the United States and provides that the Government of the United States will preserve and enhance that role (Sec. 702A).
- Clarifies that nothing in the act can be used to diminish or expand any existing rights relative to non-English services or materials provided by the government (Sec. 702A).
Amendment - Introduced (Senate) - June 6, 2007
Title: English as the Common Language
- Ken Salazar (CO - D) (Out Of Office)


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EWING — A Ewing family thought their car had been stolen New Years Day, but it turns out it was just a family member taking the vehicle for a spin while allegedly under the influence.
Around 11:00 a.m., police were called to the area of Dixfield Avenue and Theresa Street on reports of a stolen green Pontiac.
While en route to the scene, police spotted the car travelling on Pennington Road near Crescent Avenue. The investigating officer activated his lights and siren to stop the vehicle, but the driver, Judith McRae, 51, of Ewing, refused to stop.
After a brief, three-mile chase, McRae was stopped on Southard Street and Escher Avenue and placed under arrest and was charged with driving under the influence and eluding. McRae was not charged for stealing the car, but her family was given the option of filing a criminal complaint for receiving stolen property.


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PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL- The decision's been made for Arnold senior Andre Allen. The running back who rushed for over four thousand yards the last two seasons, including 2,022 yards this past season, is verbally declaring his intention to sigh with Troy University.
Allen originally declared with Ole Miss before the season began, but as the year went on he had a change of heart. This time around he says he's certain, he will sign with Troy come February, and here's why!
"The lack of skill players and kick returners I see, most of 'em are seniors and juniors and I know I can get there and just take over, get playing time my freshman year. Yeah it fit for me, small school. I looked at it, small classrooms, everybody's friendly," Allen said. "Sunbelt, that's not too bad for me. Most of the big schools say I'm too small, so I guess I got to go to Troy and prove myself."
National Signing Day by the way set for February first. Andre will be running track for Arnold this Spring, he intends to head to Troy for the first Summer semester in late May.


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Congress and the White House made yet another public, last-ditch effort to resolve the fiscal cliff on Friday, as the mood increasingly darkened about the prospects of any deal and nearly 90 percent of Americans prepared to face some type of tax hike in the New Year.
Toward the end of the day, it seemed like a small-bore deal was the only possible end-game to avert the cliff. Such a deal would raise tax rates on household income at some yet-to-be determined threshold; patch the alternative minimum tax; attend to the so-called "doc fix"; and potentially, depending on the contours of the package, extend unemployment insurance benefits or preferable breaks on the estate tax rate, according to congressional sources and tax lobbyists. It would not tackle the debt ceiling, sequester, payroll tax holiday, or tax breaks for businesses.
This was the best that anyone could hope for after seven weeks of constant bickering. Gone were any illusions of a grand bargain to tackle the deficit, or any definitive path to tax reform. "The hour for immediate action is here," said President Obama, warning that Americans would not have patience for the cliff's politically self-inflicted wound of more than $500 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts.
And, if the Senate leaders could not cut a bipartisan deal, the president said that he would ask Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring a bill to the floor to extend the middle class tax cuts and employment insurance for an up-or-down vote. "That is the bare minimum we should be able to get done," Obama said.
The president struck just a few notes of optimism in his Friday night statement, peppering it as well with caveats and 'buts' about the difficulties of getting anything accomplished in Washington right now.
The passage of a minuscule deal would seem like a miracle at this late stage. Many lawmakers spent Friday milling about the Capitol in wait-and-see mode, or moping around about going over the cliff. Retiring Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., in his waning days as a member, said he was resigned to celebrating the New Year in the Capitol. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., kept talking about the date of Jan. 3 as a time of "renewal" for both parties.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said he had no inside knowledge of how the talks were progressing but that, leaning on his decades on the Hill, he felt the current Congress was headed over the cliff with no resolution until new lawmakers were sworn in next week. "January 3rd or 4th," he predicted a piecemeal package might clear the Congress. That is after, he noted, Speaker John Boehner's post would have been reaffirmed by the GOP rank-and-file.
And, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., voiced frustration. "I think every American should be disgusted with all of Washington," he said.
Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to unveil a potential compromise as early as Sunday. Still, that provided no assurances that such legislation would pass the House, which seems to loathe any tax increases. Reid called any potential compromise "not perfect" but said "that's where we are." How different this sounded and looked from the congressional leaders' last group meeting at the White House in mid-November, when they came to the microphones together and expressed hope for a deal.
McConnell echoed Reid's sentiment of tentative cooperation by saying that he and Reid were engaged in discussions. "We'll be working hard to try to see if we can get there in the next 24 hours. So I'm hopeful and optimistic," he said.
Time is short for any package to pass the two chambers, even a bare minimum one. The best motivation may simply spring from the knowledge that the American public—to say nothing of the stock market—would not look favorably on inaction. Nor is it clear the amount of time Congress and the White House would have to solve the fiscal cliff in January before the financial markets and American consumers reacted poorly.
And, if we go over the cliff, Congress and the White House will set in motion an ongoing series of fiscal battles for the next few months. "We've got to break this logjam. Just to go back into it every few months, I think will be very destructive. There is much work that needs to be done, including tax reform," said Rep. Sandy Levin, D-Mich. and ranking member of the House Ways & Means Committee. "If we can't collaborate to avoid the cliff, I think it sets a very injurious tone for the period ahead."


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I was wondering if there was a quick and easy way of inserting a row at a specific location into the database?
For example:
$stmt = $db->prepare("INSERT INTO pages (position, blog_name, content) VALUES (?,?,?)");
The thing that gets me is every time I fool around with MySQL statements it usually ends in epic disaster, though the wording make sense it usually doesn't work for me. I am going to search around in the MySQL 5.x Reference Manual for the solution, but I thought I would come here if any php guru could answer my question. I have a feeling that I will have to do this by using an array, for I have programmed in other languages. However, it would be quicker using the MySQL.
Thanks John
P.S. I hope I made this clear enough.
I just wanted to reply to my own thread that there is no need to reply, for I solved this last night.


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Trotting down Beaver Loop Road, sweat leeching down my jiggling body as I fist pumped to "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees, that was what entered my mind's eye.
A big box of Cheez-Its.
When I was a kid, I used to eat box after box of those cheesy crackers until my stomach groaned in pain. To this day I still cite my gluttonous appetite for them as the reason I'm overweight. That and four years of college and then eating food that can either be cooked in the microwave, comes in a wrapper, or is otherwise labeled "pizza" as a recently graduated bachelor.
So as the sweat continued to drip down my beard, past my "Kenai River Marathon" bib indicating I was chasing a half — 13.1 miles — I imagined the droplets trailing behind were actually individual Cheez-It crackers.
Then I got to mile 10. My stomach seized and my core shuddered. I knew this feeling — once I ate an entire box of Cheez-Its before breakfast, hid the evidence and ordered a big plate of huevos rancheros at Aunt Alice's Country Kitchen for breakfast with my family. Needless to say that meal didn't stay down and the parking lot outside of Aunt Alice's had a new coating.
So how did I get from being more than 40 pounds overweight to running a half marathon? First the doctor had to scold me — my liver was chocked full of fat. So I cut the carbs, tried to go gluten free, started eating organic, eliminated fast foods, cancelled my television service and got a gym membership.
I, like most Americans, was headed to an early grave coddled by the couch and spurred by diabetes, high cholesterol and unhealthy eating habits.
At first my legs howled. My body was plump and my muscles were soft. But I kept running. With the encouragement of friends and co-workers, I signed up for a 5K and finished in 40 minutes. Then I did another a month later and finished in 32 minutes.
I finished the Kenai River Half Marathon in 2 hours, 47 minutes as the last man through the chute. Yes, I finished last. No, I don't care because only 23 other men ran that same race (61 women ran the half, which is quite impressive).
I made it through the mile 10 stomach pains and past mile 12 when my feet felt as heavy as boulders and somewhere between there and the finish line I thought I just couldn't go anymore.
And after all that suffering, I felt great.
I called my grandparents to report the news and my grandfather was very impressed with my race. I told him this: until I started using my body for good, I never knew how good it could feel.
There are people who run 100-mile races. The human body is the greatest creation and most of us would rather park it on the couch and punish it with bad food, tobacco and booze. Then we wonder why we feel bad all the time and why we are depressed — something I struggled with a lot.
When I was growing up, food was a treat. Exercise was punishment. Now I see it as the other way around. My morning runs help me think clearly, they subdue my temper and when I do them, I feel better about sneaking a cookie, but I rarely have that impulse.
Running has helped me immensely in all aspects of my life, but I never would have guessed. So here I'm offering the same advice I was given when I needed a push out the door — what are you waiting for?
Get mean. Lace up those sneakers and run to the end of the block — that's what I did. Don't be afraid to walk back. And that's it. You're better off now than you were before, right?
If the kid who ate Cheez-Its until he puked can do it, so can you.
Brian Smith is city editor for the Peninsula Clarion. He can be reached at email@example.com.


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Bikers in Bawtry said a big "bienvenue" and "bonjour" to celebrate the Tour de France coming to Yorkshire.
Bonjour Bawtry, a two-day static cycling event kicked off this morning on Market Hill in aid of Aurora with more than 200 riders from local businesses competing in 20 teams for four hours per day to see who can travel the furthest.
Riders are pedalling as fast as they can for each ten-minute session and when time is called after four hours the winning, team will be decided on a theoretical distance covered.
It is no coincidence that there is another famous cycling event taking place through Yorkshire at the same time as Bonjour Bawtry, so it will be interesting to see how far the teams can cover over the same time.
"This is a fantastic event for everyone to come along, soak up the atmosphere and cheer on the different teams on both days. As well as lots of pedal power, there will also be fun family entertainment including Bonjour Bawtry - French-themed food and Champagne by the glass - cocktails, Bawtry beers and wines," said Peter Bradley, Aurora campaign manager.
Rebecca Dickenson, chairman of Bawtry Retail Association said: "It is a great way to promote the camaraderie between the town's businesses, attract visitors to the town and raise funds for this fantastic local charity."


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Go 2 College
March 4, 2013
Program Locations:
For ages 13 to 18 years
Major support for children's and young adult programming is provided by the Mr. and Mrs. Timothy R. Barakett Endowment for Children's and Young Adult Programs and Services. Major support for children's and young adult programming is provided by the Katerina and Andreas C. Dracopoulos Family Endowment for Young Audiences. Additional support is provided by Beth and Christopher Kojima; the Estate of Charles J. Mauro; the Estate of William C. Morris; the Estate of Esther Manes; Good Samaritan, Inc.; New York Life Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Sandra Priest Rose; Solon E. Summerfield Foundation, Inc.; Con Edison; Mr. and Mrs. John Klingenstein; Epstein Teicher Philanthropies; Mr. and Mrs. George T. Votis; The Walt Disney Company; U.S. Bancorp Foundation; The Edith Glick Shoolman Children's Foundation; and an anonymous donor.
Wondering how to choose the right college for you? Concerned about getting in and then getting the bills? Need advice for filling out the forms? Get those details and more in these simple information sessions. After you attend, get more details and a chance to meet college representatives at one of NYPL's College Fairs! For ages 12 to 18 years old.
More Info
- Audience: Teens/Young Adults (13-18 years)


text:
St. Paul AME Church will be hosting "Ignite the Fire Revival" from June 19-21 beginning at 7 p.m. nightly. The featured speakers are the Rev. Craig Carmichael on Wednesday, the Rev. Harold M. Love, Jr., on Thursday and Elder Sandy Kinslow on Friday. Music will be by a different choir each night.
The Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church will celebrate Usher Day on Sunday, June 23. The 11 a.m. speaker will be Minister Sernobia McGee. As always, everyone is welcome. The church is located at 305 West Maple Street in Fayetteville. Pastor is Craig Carmichael.
An afternoon of praise and worship, sponsored by the Young Adults of St. Paul AMEC, will be held Sunday, June 30, at 3 p.m. featuring The Coleman March Ensemble. Everyone is invited to attend.
A camp-meeting gathering will be held at Howell Hill Community Center July 7-13 at 6 p.m. each night. There will be various local speakers, and several groups will be singing. Church choirs are encouraged to join the fun and sing. Contact 931-433-7078 or 931-339-7138 for more information. The Howell Hill Community Center is located at 474 Old Lincoln Road.


text:
acquired March 23, 2013 download large image (3 MB, JPEG, 3400x3400)
acquired March 23, 2013 download GeoTIFF file (18 MB, TIFF)
acquired March 23, 2013 download Google Earth file (KML)
Gas and ash stream from multiple craters on Sicily's Mount Etna in this natural-color satellite image. Dark lava, ash, cinders, and scoria (dense volcanic rock filled with gas bubbles) coat the southeastern slopes. The image was collected by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite on March 23, 2013.
Related Reading
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) Sezione di Catania (Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology)
NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using EO-1 ALI data from the NASA EO-1 team. Caption by Robert Simmon.
- Instrument(s):


text:
Wales manager Chris Coleman joked that he wanted Gareth Bale's autograph after his star player delivered a sensational performance against Iceland.
Bale scored a magnificent solo goal and created two others to set up a convincing 3-1 victory for Wales in their international friendly at the Cardiff City Stadium.
The Real Madrid star - the world's most expensive player - looked a class above everyone else on the field as he ran the Iceland defence ragged before being withdrawn after 72 minutes.
Coleman said: "I have just asked him for an autograph!
"He is one of the best I have ever witnessed. He is an unbelievable player, he really is. He is a fantastic weapon for us.
"For the people who came tonight it was worth paying the fee, just for him."
Bale created the opening goal in the 12th minute as he crossed for James Collins to head in from a free-kick.
Iceland replied before the break as a Johann Gudmundsson shot was deflected in off Ashley Williams but Bale was simply too hot for the visitors to handle.
The former Tottenham winger raced down the right and had a shot cleared off the line only for Sam Vokes to head in the second.
Bale then did all the damage himself for the third goal as he charged down the touchline himself, from inside his own half, and cut inside to drill home a low shot.
Describing the third goal, Coleman said: "Iceland are a good team with good defenders, they got to the World Cup play-offs.
"It is not as if he is up against someone who can't play.
"He reminds me of when I was younger, as a 10-year-old playing against 15-year-olds, when he runs round defenders."
After a slow start in Spain following his world-record £85.3million move from Tottenham last summer, Bale has also started to find his feet at the Bernabeu.
He has scored five goals in his last seven appearances for the Spanish giants and Coleman expects at this rate of progress that he will soon be regarded as the world's best.
Coleman said: "He has every chance of winning the Ballon d'Or one day.
"He is playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world. We want to be successful as well and he will have a big hand in that.
"He has a great chance. I'm not sure he thinks about that but, looking around, there are not many others playing like he is.
"I don't want to play it down, he has a great chance if he keeps doing what he is doing.
"How many players have the capacity to do what he does? If he was Spanish or Brazilian people would go crazy, but he comes from a small footballing nation.
"He has to be up there as one of the best players on the planet. You cannot disguise it.
"He was worth the admission on his own."
With Bale capable of such performances, Wales will have hope of pushing for qualification in an expanded Euro 2016.
Bale tweeted: "Always special to be back playing for @FAWales. Good win tonight and important preparation for the Euro qualifiers."
Iceland manager Lars Lagerback admitted his side had been outplayed by Bale, who he already regards as one of the game's best players.
Lagerback said: "He is world class. I don't know if I can find the words to describe the way he is playing.
"He is absolutely in the same bracket as (Lionel) Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo."
Source: PA


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Apparently it's natural disaster season in
The Chinese government has declared a mourning period for three days for those injured, missing, and passed. This includes the closing of movie theaters, web portals and television stations. The9, who services World of Warcraft in
If you are helping out, there are a number of charitable organizations taking donations to assist in providing relief to victims in


text:
Nina Agdal Embodies the Endless Summer
- Kempt Staff
Beach Bound: Naturally, Esquire catches up with Ms. Agdal in Colombia to see how it's all going. [Esquire]
Style Game on Pollock: Jackson Pollock was splatter painting his "dad jeans" before you were even born, young man. [Well Spent]
Got Beef: Still on an epicurean kick, Gant Rugger's Christopher Bastin has challenged the menswear world to a gastronomic showdown... on Tumblr. [Cook Gant Rugger]
Maison Call: If you missed Maison Kitsuné's Far Side-esque menswear cartoons from Fashion's Night Out, have a look-see. [GQ]


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A San Jose federal judge on Friday slashed about $450 million from the $1 billion award Apple (AAPL) won last August in its patent feud with Samsung, the latest in a series of decisions weakening Apple's legal assault on its smartphone and tablet rival.
The jury's damages calculations were improper and excessive for more than a dozen of the Samsung devices it concluded had trampled on Apple's patent rights, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh found, and she ordered a new trial on damages for those claims.
While the judge's decision took a chunk out of Apple's legal victory, the Cupertino tech giant is hardly walking away empty-handed. The judge let stand nearly $600 million in damages for the jury's findings that Samsung infringed patents in more than a dozen other products, including some of the popular Galaxy line of smartphones and tablets.
Apple declined to comment on the decision. But the new trial on the damages could restore some of the $450 million Apple lost in Friday's ruling.
Depending on how Koh proceeds on the new damages trial, her decision could put the legal battle in a position to move to the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, the Washington, D.C.-based court that considers patent appeals.
In a statement, Samsung officials said they were pleased with the judge's decision to reduce the damages, and the company plans to "seek further review" of the remaining $600 million judgment.
The Federal Circuit and Koh have rejected Apple's bid to block sales of the Samsung phones and tablets at issue in the trial while the case proceeds, a blow in Apple's bid to shut down its competitor's use of what it considers stolen technology. Apple has another appeal pending on that issue in the Federal Circuit.
The jury concluded that Samsung's older line of products, such as the Fascinate, Epic 4G and Galaxy S II smartphones, trampled on Apple's design and technology patents. These patents ranged from the shape of the iPhone to its "pinch and zoom" features.
The two companies also are moving forward with a separate legal battle over Samsung's newer line of smartphones, such as the Galaxy S III and Galaxy Tablet 10.1; Apple's Siri voice and search function patents are one of the issues at the heart of that case. The case is set for trial in spring 2014, although Koh has tried to persuade the two companies to wait until the first case is resolved in the appeals courts.
Meanwhile, even as Apple and Samsung spar over those products, Samsung is expected this month to announce the release of its next line of smartphone, the Galaxy S4.
Howard Mintz covers legal affairs. Contact him at 408-286-0236; follow him at Twitter.com/hmintz.


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Space Station Commander
Joined: Mon May 31, 2004 9:47 pm
Posts: 827
Location: Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) - capital of Israel!
I was looking at the Armadillo paraphnaphelia, and I saw a stuffed dog, but no stuffed armadillo! What's up?
"Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return."
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Space Walker
Joined: Thu Jun 17, 2004 3:01 am
Posts: 173
Location: Dallas, TX
SuperShuki wrote:
I was looking at the Armadillo paraphnaphelia, and I saw a stuffed dog, but no stuffed armadillo! What's up?
I assume you mean stuffed teddy bear, and with that we're limited to what Cafe Press has for us to sell. They have a set selection of merchandise we can put our logo on, and that's it.
That said, I have looked into getting plush Widgets made before. The problem was that you're stuck with at least a 500 piece minimum, and it's not cheap. Plus, we'd have to handle sales and shipping ourselves, which is what we don't want to do (it's why we moved over to using Cafe Press a while back). Now, if there were a service that could make "on-demand" plush toys and that would handle the sales and shipping (basically what Cafe Press does with its merchandise), then we'd have something, but I've yet to find such a service.
I have also seen some plush regular-looking armadillos here and there in gift shops in Texas, but, well... they're not Widget.
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ThinkGeek.com might do a deal with you...
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text:
Nothing spurs innovation like trying to kill the other guy.
Nothing spurs innovation like trying to kill the other guy.
What about trying to stop the other guy from killing you? I think the US military has the luxury of being the hunters that occasionally succumb to attrition. You can still lose that way (Vietnam) but we're not afraid of every single person in America being killed or captured. I'd argue you saw more innovation come out of World War II when we actually faced a threat of every person coming under the rule of a handful of tyrants (and really one very bad tyrant). Sure, Hitler's V1 and V2 Schneider Programs were innovative but look at what the work of the Polish and, later, British at Bletchley Park did to start us into the computer age. When you're striving to solve a problem and the fate of your entire country rests on it
The US military is responsible for all sorts of amazing technology that makes like better. GPS would be a good recent example. Any civilian company would have said you were nuts to try and build a GNSS. WAY too expensive and really, how useful would it be? Not enough to justify the funds for sure. The military said "Wait we could locate every craft, every vehicle, maybe even every soldier, every bomb? Yes please." The result? The most amazing advance in navigation and location since, well, the theodolite probably. Everything is now GPS for primary navigation (and sometimes only these days). The world now navigates by GPS and is safer and more efficient for it. In fact hte EU recognized the problem in relying on a system owned by the US military and has talked about their own, but despite having already seen the need and the system working, they've yet to launch a single satellite (it was supposed to be up and running by now). For the moment, a military built system is the only option (the Russians also have a military GNSS).
In some cases, the military really gets shit done. This is in part because they have such a large budget, and are used to expensive, long term projects. They are ok with an outlay of large amounts of money for something that will take a long time to develop and deliver. That is something hard to find in the corporate world. Another useful thing is they are public, they are owned by the government. Means anything they do can be made available to everyone. Of course not everything will be, things that are national security related won't (like the weapons themselves) but something like better solar technology? Sure.
So maybe they will lead the way to better renewable power.
Never said it was a bad thing...merely said it was a thing.
The US military is responsible for all sorts of amazing technology that makes life better.
Sure, but at what cost. What was the opportunity cost?
This is in part because they have such a large budget, and are used to expensive, long term projects. They are ok with an outlay of large amounts of money for something that will take a long time to develop and deliver. That is something hard to find in the corporate world.
This is the "missing strawman" fallacy, if you will. You're comparing an actual something to a virtual nothing. Not fair. Is there not a possibility that if all those resources were spent on something else we would now have something much more life-enhancing than GPS? Think flying cars... no, scratch that... world peace perhaps?
You're comparing an actual something to a virtual nothing. Not fair. Is there not a possibility that if all those resources were spent on something else we would now have something much more life-enhancing than GPS? Think flying cars... no, scratch that... world peace perhaps?
But you're also comparing things that don't exist with things that do. Honestly, if we spent less money on the military, we would just spend more money on entitlement programs. Temporary quality of life improvements, unfortunately unsustainable because of our population profile. Personally I'd prefer more military spending than we have now, because at least we (as in my generation) will get *something* for it. I don't have such high hopes for the 12% of every paycheck pumped into the SS Pyramid Scheme.
Personally I'd prefer more military spending than we have now, because at least we (as in my generation) will get *something* for it. I don't have such high hopes for the 12% of every paycheck pumped into the SS Pyramid Scheme.
Neither do I. Would you invoke Godwin if I said: "I'd settle for another Leni Riefenstahl."?
The problem with technology is that people don't just sit down and decide, "We're going to build this network of satellites that beam signals to Earth where these little devices will use those signals to determine where they are. And we're also going to to have these neat little touch screens that facilitate usability and we're going to have to put together detailed maps and store them electronically."
There are tons of advancements that went into those GPS devices. Many of those advancements are fed others, but many grew out of disparate avenues of research. Some were thanks to the space program, some university research, others developed in corporations and many more developed for military applications.
The point is, we don't know where future technologies will grow out of. It isn't simply a matter of putting our minds to it. Simply throwing money at some vague idea doesn't necessarily result in anything meaningful. The vast majority of technological advancements grow out of real needs, even if it's simply to improve the functionality of an existing piece of hardware.
Even if we decided to completely abandon military spending we wouldn't be able to do it because so many countries around the world depend on American military might. They have the luxury of spending so little on their own militaries because they know that when push comes to shove the US will be there for them.
In some cases, the military really gets shit done. This is in part because they have such a large budget, and are used to expensive, long term projects. They are ok with an outlay of large amounts of money for something that will take a long time to develop and deliver.
True, and I am grateful for their willingness to fund long-term research. Unfortunately, however, for all the same reasons you listed, the military sometimes does nothing but burn huge amounts of money for years and years on projects that
Look at the loss rate on getting fossil fuels where they are needed. I want 5K gal of diesel at a far-FOB in the Afghan mountains. How many K gal am I going to burn just to get it there? It's awful. How about some compact nuke power cells a la submarines. Safe? No. Effective? Very. Generally speaking, war isn't very safe either.
Gets kind of interesting when the Taliban overrun your FOB.
Thus giving them a very handy way of wagging the dog. How many nuke plants do you expect to afford to lose in this manner? How many allied troops would there be left in country a week after you pulled such a stunt? For that matter, how would the Afghan military that you're trying to train react? How about the Afghan gov't? How about the UN?
Or, to put it another way.
What could possibly go wrong?
inform the Taleban that any attempt to capture one will result in that immediate area being denied to them for the next 3 centuries
You think telling guys who believe their invisible friend commands them to kill the infidels who believe in the wrong invisible guy, that if they attack you, invisible "radiation" will strike them all down, and their children, and their childrens children too, will work?
you might as well just nuke afghanistan right now, same end-result and a whole lots less work/fuss, and you might actually get rid of the taliban (which conventional war obviously isnt working for)
There are lots of volcanoes there so IF one could dig for geothermal, things may become much easier. Sure, it would be a large initial investment.
the US Army Corps of Engineers has been developing the logistics and technology to have supply convoys go overland
Another benefit of this approach is that you could probably get the History Channel to help fund it so they could turn it into one of their annoying reality shows.
Good pop culture reference
Let's hope that, with so many other technologies developed by the military, some of it finds its way into everyday use.
In this case it's more that technology in everyday use finds its way into the military. They already have diesel-hybrid war machine design programs, for example.
The panels were on display at Modern Day Marine. Basically two standard cell panel integrated into a box that is "Marine resistant". Up to eight plug into a HD box housing the charge controller.
The problem is that personnel need electricity for their gizmos. HMMWV's have 200A 24V alternators from the factory now (which are so big the original 6.5L alternator mounting holes need extensions). If you don't have a vehicle handy, charging items becomes more interesting since you already have 80+ lbs of gear on your back [adding extra / bigger batteries usually exceeds single person weight limits]. Solar is especially nice because you don't have to ship fuel and generator parts around--a base actually becomes more self sufficient. Simply using a green alternative for dino JP-8/5 doesn't do this.
Another solution solution being heavily looked at with larger vehicles is diesel-electric propulsion, coupled with a renewable carbon sourced fuel (WVO conversion, algae, Fischer Tropsch, etc.). The hybrid drive provides electrical generation without needing a dedicated generator (stationary use) or an oversize alternator (mobile use).
It might be that less dependence on fossil fuels would mean less dependence on war.
I realize this is going to be a minority opinion in this all-male, all-tech geek environment, but still...
I wonder how quickly the taste for war would fade in this population if there was a draft? And if you couldn't get out of it by being too fat.
Because before the automobile, we never had wars, did we?
Before oil became an important resource to the Western World, we didn't give two shits about anyone in the Middle East.
I think everyone can agree that oil became important as it displaced coal as the primary energy source for vehicles, navies, and all the new military tech that depended on it. So let's set the change date at 1900.
British military interventions in the Middle East before 1900:
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839)
Anglo-Persian War (1856)
Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878)
These were part of the "Great Game" of trying to control central Asia so Britain could protect India from Russia. Before 1900, the United States had never had troops in the Middle East, excepting a few skirmishes mostly involving the protection of our commercial fleet. Most US colonial activity was directed at the rest of the mainland (wars with Mexico), Florida, Hawaii, Central and South America, and imperialism in Japan, Hawaii, China, the Philippines and other parts of the Pacific.
WWI established the West as the colonial owner of the Middle East, and the US and Britain have had troops stationed there ever since. Western powers also established political lines in the Middle East that still haunt us today, as the spoils of war from defeating the Ottoman Empire. The first deployment after the Ottoman Empire entered the war was to protect the Anglo-Persian oil pipeline - later to become Anglo-Iranian and finally British Petroleum in 1953.
Here's a snippet from a BBC piece [bbc.co.uk]:
The war ended with the British occupying the territory that was to become Iraq, Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. With the Ottoman Empire destroyed, Russia paralysed by foreign intervention and civil war, and French influence limited somewhat by their minor military role in the Middle East, Britain's military success made her the dominant power in the region. The resulting settlement, which fostered an instability that continues to be a source of conflict today, generated much controversy at the time and has continued to do so ever since
So, no, we didn't give a shit about that particular region of the world until they had something we wanted. Unless you have resources that we want, or you present a security threat by proximity, we don't care what happens to you. Just ask any citizen of Africa.
and IAAPS(I am a political scientist)
and on a personal, political note, the only thing better than a draft would be compulsory term service in either a military or civil capacity. This would get rid of the entitlement culture this country is increasingly showing and would force people to actually learn a skill and be productive(at least temporarily). Let people earn their keep instead of simply sitting around waiting for unemployment checks.
This would get rid of the entitlement culture this country is increasingly showing
I agree. Too many rich warhawks believe wars should be fought by someone else's son.
I am in favor of compulsory military service for every adult citizen in the US. Many modern nations enforce it: Germany, Norway, China and even Canada. It's not just for small third world nations.
Even without it, we should have had a draft a long time ago. People are on their 4th and 5th tour of Afghanistan. I know they voluntarily signed up for service, but we are down right abusing their situation. The standing army isn't meant to support all wars by themselves. They are there for day to day security enfo
Detectable? Citation needed. Your fuel guage isn't accurate enough to tell you much and human operation isn't precise enough.
Dyno tests or I call bullshit.
If the US Army replaced their fuel guzzling M1 tank turbines with modern diesel engines like the MTU engine used in the Leopard they would spend a lot less fuel to begin with. The same applies to the HMMWV.
If they switched to diesel-electric, the vehicles would spend even less power.
For Afghanistan this is useless, but for campaigns near the shore it would be useful to recharge the vehicles using the nuclear reactor in US Navy carriers.
If the infantry switched to caseless or cased telescoped ammunition, it would take less volume to transport the same number of rifle ammo rounds.
The B-52 uses ancient engines from the late 1950s which guzzle fuel but the Air Force cannot get Congress to pay for the upgrade because it is deemed uneconomic.
Solar can have its uses. The military could especially use flexible solar cells which could be more easily transported. However the military also needs reliability, something that works 100% of the time, which is something solar cells cannot provide.
We have come a long time since Genghis Khan. The Mongols could feed their horses by grazing and drinking water along the way. They were nomads, so they brought cattle as food supply along with them, as well as their families etc. Present military hardware requires too much power for this to be feasible anymore.
If the US Army replaced their fuel guzzling M1 tank turbines with modern diesel engines like the MTU engine used in the Leopard they would spend a lot less fuel to begin with. The same applies to the HMMWV.
If they switched to diesel-electric, the vehicles would spend even less power.
Leaving aside the energy cost to actually build the MTU engines, to redesign the M1's transmission, to ship the new engines to the repair yards, to pull the old engines from the M1s and dispose of them, to install the new engine
The thing is more or less unstoppable. It is the most powerful tank, well, ever. It is agile, accurate, and extremely hard to kill. The "hard to kill" part accounts for much of its inefficiency given its obscenely heavy armor. The M1A2 variant is almost 70 tons. Efficiency wasn't in the design parameters. Being the baddest motherfucker on the battlefield was.
A better idea when talking redesigns is to build a new tank. This is something the military has been talking about, but isn't getting around to doing and maybe they need to move it up. Never mind the cost of an M! moving under its own power, the things are impossible to airlift. A C5 can lift a whole one of them at a time. Also, while you might need to roll out the M1 against Russia, it is overkill in many situations. A lighter battle tank would work fine. that could of course have a smaller, more efficient engine and so on and so forth.
That would seem to be a more sensible course of action if you are going to spend time and money to rebuild a tank. Build and use those, keep the M1s hanging out if they are needed.
Your only valid point is about the flexible fuel (and even that is mitigated by having to transport much less diesel in the first place).
All the other operations wouldn't take place at forward bases, so the energy cost is orders of magnitude less than guzzling gas on the battlefield. I saw the Discovery Channel show about the facility that does major overhauls on the M1; it's done right here in the USA.
Stirling engines are simple, cheap to make, and incredibly weak, unless you have a pretty amazing heat differential.
Political-correctness be damned, it's just a GOOD IDEA. It's an old saying that 'amateurs discuss tactics; professional soldiers talk about logistics'.
The vulnerability of our fighting forces (or any modern military) to attacks on their fuel/supply trains is staggering, and was proven in Iraq. If the opposition in Iraq or Afghanistan was anything close to a peer-level opponent, it would have been catastrophic.
The ability to thin the supply lines also multiplies the effectiveness of the logistics assets you have, as well.
This is a great idea, and the fact that the military is addressing is extremely encouraging for our society. Not that the DoD is magical, but due to their requirements and hard field-testing, their solutions to things tend to be far more pragmatic and practical than the "political" solutions of politicians. Take "integration" as an example - the politicians talked themselves blue in the face about it for decades, but AFAIK there is no more color-blind, racially neutral employer today than the US military.
I'd argue that what the military develops in terms of robust, practical methods of reducing energy consumption will translate into civilian systems relatively quickly.
The US military openly admits that their mission is to fight or engage local people? How did that one slip past the censor?
Stop using supply depots and start using pylons.
Sure, I don't like our empire, or the fact that we still think we can build nations and bring democracy to every corner of the earth. I do, however, like the technological progress that results from military spending.
It's the closest thing we have to real publicly funded research that most politicians can support.
The private sector has been dragging its feet on alternative energy for 30 years (yes Government does share the blame here). If the military decides it needs to be energy independent, and the phy
One of the crops native to Afghanistan is safflower, safflower oil could be readily made into biodiesel.
Also its a premium grade food oil so any surplus could be sold on the world market. It can also be used for
dyes and paints. Of course it would be better for a native safflower processing industry to develop but
that takes time. The army could build a processing plant and start buying safflower crops right away
and then when they leave turn over the processing plant to a native company.
The army gets cheaper diesel to fuel trucks and tanks and the native people actually make money and develop industry.
Of course that makes too much sense.
"keeping the troops from doing what they were sent there to do, to fight or engage local people."
Well, at least they're finally being honest about it. None of this "To bring democracy" crap.
"Conversion, fastidious Goddess, loves blood better than brick, and feasts most subtly on the human will." -- Virginia Woolf, "Mrs. Dalloway"


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Here's one young couple who think ahead. Natalie Simpson and Mark Stewart have saved $10,000 for their wedding, want to buy a home in five years and are already fretting about how much they'll have to live on in retirement.
Natalie saves about $1000 a month from an annual income of about $60,000 as a district nurse.
Mark eventually hopes to manage the pool where he's a part-time instructor, but is also training as a bike mechanic as a back-up, so at the moment he's earning about $20,000.
They aim to buy a home in five years and, Natalie says, "have at least one child in that time", in which case she'd take six months off work.
Natalie has $1500 in a home-saver account, and estimates they spend about $700 a week on living expenses, including rent.
"Our financial goal is to aim for a 20 [per cent] to 30 per cent deposit on a house, so around the $100,000 mark," Natalie says.
The couple want to know when they should speak with an adviser about investing in shares. "I don't want a portfolio of properties," Natalie says.
They also figure there won't be a pension by the time they retire, so how should they plan for their retirement?
PAUL MORAN: CFP, Paul Moran Financial Planning
The job of a good financial planner is always to consider all of your goals and help you to prioritise.
Financial goals have two key components - how much do you need, and when do you need it. Let's see how we go here:
- Wedding - how much do you want to spend, and when is the wedding planned for?
- Home purchase - you need $100,000 in five years;
- Family - you will need to budget to be on one income for probably a year;
- Mortgage repayment - $300,000 (for example) mortgage over 20 years;
- Retirement - average retirement needs about $45,000-$50,000 in today's dollars in 40 years.
- Now the prioritising starts. Is it more important to have a big wedding or get into a home?
Saving $12,000 a year, it will take you eight years to save your deposit, although I would expect that when Mark gets his qualification your savings capacity will increase. Saving for another year for a wedding will push the home purchase back a few years.
I'm not about to start suggesting when you should start a family, but you will need to be sure that you can afford to meet your obligations while Natalie is on maternity leave.
Extra super payments are a lower priority than getting into a home. And don't invest your house deposit in shares - the time frame is too short.
SUZANNE HADDAN: CFP, BFG Financial Services
Natalie and Mark's major financial goal is to save $100,000 over five years and then buy their first home. Natalie has already opened a first home-saver account (FHSA) and has a balance of $1500.
The advantages of the FHSA are a government contribution of up to $1020 a year and a 15 per cent tax on the interest earned. However, strict rules apply, including the requirement to contribute a minimum of $1000 in four financial years before a withdrawal is allowed. Also, the funds must be used for building or buying a first home, otherwise the funds will be transferred to super.
Mark should also open a FHSA, then the couple should contribute $6000 a year each to their individual accounts. It is more beneficial to have an FHSA each rather than just use Natalie's, as this doubles the annual entitlement for the government contribution from $1020 to $2040.
Based on their current saving capacity of $1000 a month and utilising the FHSA, Natalie and Mark should have saved about $81,500 in five years. To achieve the goal of $100,000, the monthly saving will need to increase to about $1275 a month.
At this stage Natalie and Mark should focus on saving for their home deposit then repaying the home loan as quickly as possible. After the home loan has been repaid, maybe build a share portfolio.
You've got to be realistic about how much you can save. It'll take about 10 years to save the $100,000, twice as long as Natalie is planning. You could do what you need to do with half the savings in half the time. Don't wait 10 years to buy. Save a lower 10 per cent deposit in five years and perhaps buy an apartment but, realistically, you can't have a baby beforehand. I'd also tone down the wedding and use the savings for a deposit on a home.
When she has a baby, Natalie will get the new maternity leave payments, but will still lose about $35,000 in income. Mark should consider setting up his own business as a mechanic rather than aim to manage the swimming pool.
For free financial advice send your details to email@example.com with Makeover in the header. Your name, photo and some financial details will also be published.


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Tech stocks tried to close the year out with gains early Monday morning, with Facebook Inc. FB, -0.59% one of the standout advancers. The social-networking company's shares rose 2.5%, to $26.56. BMO Capital Markets analyst Daniel Salmon raised his rating on Facebook's stock to outperform from underperform, and lifted his price target to $32 a share from $15. In a research note, Salmon said Facebook "is experiencing a reacceleration of ad spending from large brands that are returning for mobile reach and frequency and more video ads." Separately, Stifel Nicolaus analyst Jordan Rohan raised his price target on Facebook's stock to $31 a share from $26. Among other leading tech stocks, gains came from Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.36% Microsoft Corp. MSFT, +0.19% and Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ, -0.72% The Nasdaq Composite Index $compq rose 6.7 points to 2,967.
Read the full story: Facebook's last sell rating is lifted


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I had hoped to make a bit of a start on the Rasputin play today, but there were too many bits of admin to get through, before I headed into town to discuss offensive comedy with Bridget Christie and Miranda Sawyer in a nineteenth century chapel.
As well as sorting out this quarter's tax receipts I had to fill in a convoluted form for my visa to visit Russia next month. Once I had done it and printed up bank statements to prove I had enough money for my four night stay and gone to the post office (and then the bank to pay in charity money) it was about four o clock and I was trying to work out if I had time to go to the gym. The doorbell rang and I used my handy answerphone handset to see who was there. "I know you're very busy and you probably don't want to be bothered by people selling stuff at your door..." said a slightly desperate voice. He was entirely correct though. I was very busy and I don't buy things from people calling at my house. I don't think it's an appropriate way to do business, even if the person involved might be involved in some charity or be claiming to be. It's intrusive to come to someone's home and too often the person is either explicitly conning you or at least playing on the vulnerability of kind-hearted or frightened old people. But if you're going to take this approach you will have to accept you're going to have a lot of doors slammed in your face.
I stopped the man's spiel and told him I was indeed very busy and that I would save him some time as I never buy from door to door salesmen. I was abrupt, but polite and then hung up the phone. I could hear the man furiously swearing outside and then he put his finger on my buzzer and held it there. Now he had clearly crossed a line. He was frustrated and I guessed possibly had some issues of his own, but this had now turned from mild intimidation to full-on unpleasantness and I was angry. Someone cold-calling you on the phone does not know where you live, but I was now having to deal with a slightly aggressive stranger who not only knew my address but was standing outside. The middle-class guilt that he was playing on (and demonstrated to great effect in a recent episode of "Inside No 9") kicked in, but I also didn't like that he was creating a menacing atmosphere for me and my wife. I picked up the phone and told him that his behaviour was unreasonable and that if he didn't leave immediately I would call the police. He swore and told me not to and said that he just wanted to tell me about what he was selling and why. And whilst his motivations might have been honest and noble that did not give him the right to my time. I was stressed enough as it was and now worried about him chucking a brick through my window or waiting outside to punch me for my lack of charity. I hung up again. He lurked outside the door for a while, muttering to himself. I felt bad about my own behaviour but also concerned. My wife was about to head out of the house and I wanted to go for a run. Instead I realised I didn't have time to do everything I wanted and went to my office to do more admin. On the desk I discovered the passport that I thought I had just sent off by special delivery. I had inadvertently enclosed my old one. So I hadn't even completed my chores.
The man came back to apologise for what he'd done about ten minutes later, which I appreciated (though I was still cross with him). I felt a bit ashamed and embarrassed by my cushy life compared to whatever was going on in his. And he knew he had behaved inappropriately and scared us so he felt ashamed too. Should I have invited him in and given him some money or a cup of tea? Probably not, as it would be wrong to reward this approach. But I think we both left the encounter feeling abd about ourselves.
Episode 2 of series 5 of RHLSTP is now up for those of you prepared to pay for your video and/or audio. It's with the wonderful Jenny Eclair. There will be 12 podcasts in this series so you're paying just over a quid each for the video and audio pass and only 50p for the audio if you buy the pass. The audio is the same as the free audio, but if you're prepared to pay that small amount it will really help us keep this project going. Ta!
Delighted to say that after less than a week online episode 1 of RHMOL has had over 5000 views (if you add up vimeo and youtube views) and nearly 500 people have subscribed to the longer version (there will be 6 episodes in total for your £15 - for tour length stand up shows). If you can't pay or won't pay then please spread the links and the word and enjoy the free versions (also available as audio podcasts).


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IOC says cut wrestling from 2020 Olympics
Lausanne, February 12, 2013
Wrestling should be removed from the 2020 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee's executive board recommended on Tuesday as it looks to revamp the games sports programme.
Wrestling, contested in the first modern Olympics in 1896, will join a list of seven other candidate sports battling for one spot on the programme. It is very unlikely; however, that wrestling will get back in.
The IOC session in Buenos Aires in September will still need to ratify the decision. – Reuters


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Welcome to the Amafa / Heritage KwaZulu Natal website
Amafa / Heritage KwaZulu Natali is the provincial heritage conservation agency for KwaZulu Natal. Amafa was established as a statutory body in terms of the KZN Heritage Act of 1997, replaced by the KZN Heritage Act of 2008.
The Council of Amafa is appointed by the Premier of KZN, and is funded through a grant from the same department. It has offices in Pietermaritzburg, Durban and Ulundi.
Amafa manages several major heritage projects such as the Isandlwana Battlefield, Border Cave archaeological site and the KwaZulu Cultural Museum.
Amafa administers the permit process for demolition and alteration of protected structures in KZN. As of April 2013 this is an online process preformed by the SAHRIS facility.


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As a cancer survivor and Mount Everest "summiteer," University of Wisconsin Oshkosh alumnus Alan Hobson '82, of Canada, coaches others to conquer their challenges.
The journalism and radio-TV-film major and former Titan gymnast began his career as a reporter with The Ottawa Citizen, one of Canada's largest daily newspapers. Hobson then worked as a full-time freelance writer/broadcaster for about 10 years, before writing the official book about the 1988 Olympic torch relay.
His career today as a best-selling author and professional motivational speaker draws from his success reaching the Mount Everest summit on his third attempt in 1997 and his status as a survivor of acute leukemia.
In his role as founder and president of Climb Back from Cancer Coaching, Hobson believes that success is based on 97 percent preparation and 3 percent execution.
During Homecoming weekend in October, Hobson will be among the five UWO alumni to receive a 2010 UW Oshkosh Distinguished Alumni Award.
In his own words …
UWO activities/awards:
Former nine-time All-American gymnast; winner of the William Randolph Hearst Award for Excellence in News Writing; member of the UWO Athletic Hall of Fame.
Favorite UWO professor:
Ken Allen.
Favorite UWO memory:
Winning the NAIA and NCAA II national gymnastics championships six times.
What does your UWO education mean to you?
My journalism and radio/TV training has enabled me to make my living as a professional communicator. My gymnastics experiences at UWO helped me to reach the top of Mount Everest and after that make a 100-percent recovery after a near-terminal cancer diagnosis. Can you put a value on that kind of an education and experience? No, of course not. It's as priceless as life itself — and in my case I mean that quite literally.
What advice would you give today's UWO students?
Don't pay the slightest attention to our global economic woes. We can't do much about them. However, do pay the very closest attention to our environmental crisis. Finish your education and get out there and make a difference to the people of this planet. Your future, the future of your children, and the future of the human race and our earth are at stake.
The economy won't matter if we don't have clean air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat — for everyone. On the other side of fear is freedom. The key to that freedom is having the courage to take the first step. Take it. Then, whatever happens … keep climbing!
Read more about Hobson in UW Oshkosh's Engage magazine.
Learn more about Homecoming 2010.
Related stories:
- Alumni Pride: Jolitz serves as top Army nurse (8/3/10)
- Alumni Pride: Oleson works 'for the children' (7/22/10)
- Alumni Pride: Kelly champions multicultural marketing (7/6/10)
- Alumni Pride: Feld named top Milwaukee leader (6/24/10)
- Alumni Pride: Marks' passion is helping people (6/10/10)
- Alumni award recipients announced for 2010 (6/3/10)


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Kevin on Kabaret :: 2012's Top Dozen
In terms of the sheer number of great acts, this was the best year for cabaret in my memory. This, despite the tremendous losses: the death of Donald Smith, who produced and presided over the New York cabaret scene for so many years; the closing of the Oak Room in the winter; and the closing of Feinstein's at Loew's Regency at year's end. Michael Feinstein has the name, the fame, and the game to keep a club going. I pray he finds a great spot and reopens.
Nevertheless, we had the triumphant opening of 54 Below in June, with a sold-out run from legend Patti LuPone to give it a boost. It is a gorgeous room (they are billing it "Broadway's living room") and stellar acts are flocking to its stage. I predict a long run.
As I pored over my list of shows I had seen around 75 (not nearly enough to make this a definitive list, but perhaps an educated sampling), I found it hard to narrow down to a dozen. I like finding talented newcomers and veterans who perhaps haven't yet been appreciated enough by the community.
Thus, four vets who had stunning years at the top of their game, I left off my list: Ann Hampton Callaway, Baby Jane Dexter, Shaynee Rainbolt (teaming with Donn Trenner), and Lennie Watts. Likewise, I left off T. Oliver Reid, because I named him "Best Of" last year, even though his new show, "Next Stop, Harlem" is beyond even anything he did last year. Same for Nicole Henry, whom I honored two years ago.
So, with those caveats in mind, here are my picks for the top dozen of 2012. My list is alphabetical, as always, as it would be too difficult to rank.
William Blake
This baby-faced dynamo has as much fire and soul as anyone out there, and he demonstrated it best this year with his tribute show to Etta James. His vocals are as good as it gets, and yet he has an old-soul maturity beyond his thirty years.
Andre DeShields
The theater legend returned to the intimate cabaret stage with two new shows, workshopping a lot of material that he hopes to turn into a longer stage piece in the near future. Occasionally uneven, but never less than edge-of-your-seat exciting: I laughed, I cried, and I cheered as fearless DeShields pulled out all the stops.
Clint Holmes
The one-hit wonder ("Playground in My Mind") and Vegas showman surprised everybody with his depth and passion with his show blending the songs of Cole Porter and Paul Simon in his sold-out, lengthy run at The Carlyle early in the year. Trust me, he'll become an annual event for as long as he wants to do it.
Michael Hughes
We've seen these kind of shows before, about how a young gay man overcomes his bullied youth with the help of an admired diva. And yet in "Mickey and Judy," Garland takes a supporting role. Intelligently written and directed, Hughes sang and spoke so winningly, it became the feel-good show of the year.
Jenifer Lewis
The L.A.-based film and television actress triumphantly returned to her New York cabaret roots with a one-week summer stop at 54 Below, her first New York cabaret show in over twenty years. Nobody who experienced her (yes, it's an experience) will forget her. I just hope she makes regular visits.
Alec Mapa
Television's comedic storyteller was so popular, he did three extended runs at The Laurie Beechman Theatre. Often hilarious and unexpectedly moving, his "Baby Daddy" show hit the pulse of the times and he established himself as one of the greats.
Stacie Perlman
In her debut show, Perlman bravely re-imagined the genre, presenting an extended fairy tale with carefully chosen songs, mostly contemporary pop, that unexpectedly fit her theatrical narrative very well. Never has the artist-journey been so creatively rendered. Perlman takes risks, and I expect that will pay off for her big-time in the long run.
Gregory Porter
A mix of classic R&B and jazz, Gregory Porter rose to the stratosphere with his second CD, "Be Good," which rode the Billboard Jazz chart all year long, and brought him a Grammy nomination a few weeks ago. Amazingly, he wrote most of the brilliant songs himself. The Bed-Stuy guy cut an odd presence at The Highline Ballroom, with his trademark retro winter hat with ear flaps, but the standing-room only crowd roared its approval for the artist in their midst.
Ben Rimalower
Rimalower's autobiographical show, "Patti Issues," was gutsy and multi-dimensional. His idol, Patti LuPone, becomes part of the narrative (first in fantasy, then in glorious real life) as he comes to terms with his often harrowing relationship with his gay father. A compelling blend of comedy and tragedy, "Patti Issues" has become a long-running triumph.
Jennifer Sheehan
Mix a little bit of Karen Carpenter's smooth, intimate vocals with the power of Linda Eder, then add in her own ebullient personality, and you'll have some idea of the talent of Jennifer Sheehan. Among the women in cabaret on the scene right now, in my mind Sheehan has the loveliest vocals of all. Young as she is, I expect a long, bright future for her.
Jessica Sherr
The cabaret stage has become a great place for actors to work their one-person shows. Among character pieces, none was better than "Bette Davis Ain't for Sissies" at The Triad. Jessica Sherr channeled a young, vibrant Bette Davis on the night of the 1940 Oscars, and her work (with director Susan Campanaro) was truthful and illuminating, not descending into camp impersonation.
Melanie Stace
This triple-threat beauty from London (now stateside as she pursues a Broadway career) has enough sparkle and fizz to make it New Year's Eve every night. In her show at Feinstein's about sirens of the silver screen, she did a short tribute to Ms. Streisand. But I was so surprised, when I met her after the show, I greeted her with, "Barbara Who?" A consummate entertainer in every way.


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Metcalfe Out for the Season
Suzuki Press Release
CHINO, CA – Team Yoshimura Suzuki Racing's Brett Metcalfe underwent surgery this morning as a result of injuries sustained in a practice crash at Glen Helen Raceway yesterday morning. The 28-year old Australian crashed hard in a rhythm section at the San Bernardino, CA track resulting in a broken tibia and fibula as well as a dislocated wrist. Metcalfe will miss the remaining seven rounds of the 2012 AMA Pro Motocross Championship.
"We are all saddened that Metty's season came to an end like this," said Team Yoshimura Suzuki Manager, Mike Webb. "He has been so solid all year and lately has been gaining great momentum in the outdoors – We all certainly expected podium results throughout these last rounds. It's a shame he won't be able to realize those goals. Metty and his wife Sheena are expecting their first child in August and we will help and support Brett and Sheena in any way possible."
Metcalfe moved into the top five in the overall championship points standings after picking up another top-10 finish at Budds Creek two weeks ago. Teammate James Stewart will be back under the Yoshimura Suzuki tent when the series returns at the RedBud National in Buchanan, MI on July 7th.


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Original URL: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/26/hp_q4_2013_earnings/
Wait, what's that shuffling from 2013's gloom? It's a bloodied but unbowed HP
Revenues keep shrinking, but could an end be in sight?
Posted in Business, 26th November 2013 23:45 GMT
The near unthinkable has happened. Despite a troubled year for the PC industry and a generally poor outlook for the next one, HP has managed to report good news for its fourth quarter, beating expectations both for the quarter and for fiscal 2013.
That's not to say it isn't still being battered by the market slowdown. Revenues for the quarter were $29.1bn, down 3 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2012. But analysts were expecting much worse, with the worthies assembled by Yahoo! Finance predicting a decline of 6.8 per cent, on average.
Full-year sales showed similarly encouraging signs. Net revenues for fiscal 2013 were $112.3bn, down 7 per cent from the previous year. But in her guidance from Q3, HP CFO Cathie Lesjak said to expect a full-year revenue to drop between 8 and 9 per cent, and in Q2 a gloomy HP was predicting a decline of as much as 13 per cent. Whoever said the tech market wasn't a turbulent one?
Diluted net earnings per share were $1.01 for the quarter and $3.56 for fiscal 2013, both of which also beat analysts' expectations (albeit slightly).
Net income was $1.4bn for the quarter and $5.1bn for the year, which was much better than the $6.9bn loss it reported in Q4 of 2012 and the whopping $12.7bn loss it reported for that whole year. Still, it must be remembered that most of HP's woes in 2012 were due to its botched Autonomy acquisition.
As such, HP has no room to rest on its laurels. Sales slumped across nearly every business segment this quarter. Still, there are signs that HP may actually be managing to stanch the worrying bleeding that has plagued it in recent months.
How the sales stack up (or not as the case may be)
Revenues for the Personal Systems group were $8.58bn for the quarter, a decrease of just 2 per cent over Q4 of 2012, compared to a year-on-year decline of 11 per cent in Q3. Sales of desktop PCs were down 5 per cent but notebook sales were actually up 4 per cent, which translated into a 2 per cent increase in the total volume of units sold.
As in past quarters, the commercial sector was stronger for HP than the consumer one. In this case, commercial sales were up 4 per cent while consumer revenues declined 10 per cent, year over year. But again, that was a lot better than the 22 per cent slump in consumer sales that HP saw in Q3.
Even more encouraging, total revenues for the Personal Systems group for fiscal 2013 were $32.07bn, a decrease of 10.2 per cent from 2012 – which, as anyone could tell you, might have been a lot worse.
Quarterly revenues for the Printing group were $6bn, a meager 1 per cent decline from last year's fourth quarter. Printer sales increased across the board, with commercial sales up 9 per cent and consumer sales up 4 per cent. Sales of supplies, on the other hand, were down 4 per cent.
Total Printing group revenues for the year were $23.85bn, a 2.6 per cent decline from 2012. When viewed as a single group, Personal Systems and Printing together brought in $55.93bn in 2013, which was 7.1 per cent worse than they did last year.
HP's Software business didn't look so good this quarter, with year-on-year revenues down 9 per cent, to $1.06bn. Particularly worrying were revenues from software licensing, which, while flat in Q3, were down 24 per cent this time around, year on year. Professional services revenues were also down 14 per cent, while support revenues were up 4 per cent and revenues from software-as-a-service (SaaS) were up 15 per cent. Total Software sales were $3.91bn for the year, a decrease of 3.6 per cent.
Enterprise Services looked a bit sickly, as well. Quarterly revenues were $5.76bn, down 9.3 per cent from the year-ago quarter. And the group's revenues for all of fiscal 2013 were $23.52bn, an 8.2 per cent decline from 2012's figure.
Similarly, HP Financial Services revenues were down 6 per cent in the quarter and down 5 per cent for 2013, with total revenues of $912m and $3.62bn, respectively.
Brace yourself, we've found some light in the gloom
The bright spot for the quarter – or the dimly flickering ray of light, at least – was the Enterprise Group. With its revenues up 2 per cent year-on-year to $7.6bn, it was the only one of HP's business units to show some actual growth. Sales of networking equipment were up 3 per cent, sales of industry-standard servers up 10 per cent, and storage sales up 1 per cent.
But even here, the Enterprise Group's technology services revenues were down 6 per cent and sales of HP's vaunted Business Critical Systems – including its various Itanium-based big iron – were down a worrying 17 per cent from Q4 of 2012. And on a yearly basis, the Enterprise Group's revenues declined, dropping 5.4 per cent to $28.2bn for all of fiscal 2013.
So the quarter's results, while encouraging, were still a mixed bag for HP. On the one hand, its cost cutting measures do seem to have had a substantial effect. On the other, its revenues continue to shrink – and particularly in the consumer market, it's far from being out of the woods yet.
Investors seemed cautiously optimistic about HP's results this quarter, however, and while the company's share price was down slightly at Wall Street's closing bell, it rallied in after-hours trading to land at $26.80 per share. ®


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Wouldn't you just kill for a Moet?
Newly-uncovered NRA Web pages, which had apparently been deleted, show how fine French champagne (and America's top vineyards) are helping to finance America's extreme lobby. The National Rifle Association, America's largest pro-gun lobby, has an "NRA Wine Club" where members buy wine and a portion of the proceeds go to finance the NRA's pro-gun politics.
AMERICAblog has uncovered deleted Web pages showing that the NRA Wine Club, as recently as only two months ago, included such august spirits as famed French champagne maker Moet et Chandon's world-renowned Dom Perignon.
Oh I can see the protests now: "Dom Perignon, a champagne to die for." Or "Wouldn't you just kill for a Moet?"
But it's no laughing matter. Gun industry expert Tom Diaz, author of the new book, "The Last Gun," tells me that any company involved with the NRA has "blood on its hands":
"There is no such thing as innocent commercial involvement with the National Rifle Association. Any company that advertises or shares revenue with the NRA is underwriting gun violence and has as much blood on its hands as Bushmaster Firearms."
Here's Moet's rather expensive Dom 2003 going for a cool $139:
And here's Beringer's expensive $100-a-bottle cabernet is listed as well:
And NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre makes clear in a letter, since removed from the NRA Wine Club Web site (but I found a copy anyway), that sales of Dom Perignon and Beringer via the NRA Wine Club will "directly benefit" the NRA. I wonder how Moet and Beringer fans feel about that.
Here's LaPierre's letter that was on the site, but now can only be found in cache:
And here's the NRA Wine Club front page which, oddly, isn't nearly as detailed as it used to be. The front page now lists none of the actual wineries included in the deal. But fret not – I found a cached copy of the NRA's wine list.
Now for the list of wines included in the deal, that are no longer live online. The list includes Moet et Chandon's Dom Perignon, Beringer, and a rather pricey Louis Roederer champagne. And according to the cache header, this is a copy of the page as it appeared on November 27, 2012 – so that means this was only two months ago:
The NRA has teamed with a company called Vinesse that works with several wine clubs. In this case, NRA members and others can join the "American Cellars Wine Club," and reportedly a donation goes to the NRA with each bottle purchased:
The NRA is recruiting new members through its Wine Club, with a donation from every bottle of wine purchased going to the organisation to support its battle to preserve the Second Amendment.
"Begin supporting the NRA with your wine purchases today!" reads the strapline on the club's website.
The Drinks Business is reporting, a few other wines included in the NRA club, and one of the winemakers was none too pleased about it:
According to Australian newspaper the Herald Sun, Yalumba has quickly distanced itself from the controversial US National Rifle Association after it emerged that it was one of 20 Australian producers sold via the group's wine club.
The privately owned company is currently investigating how four of its wines made it onto the NRA's profit-making club – a donation from every bottle of wine purchased through the club goes to the NRA to support its battle to preserve the Second Amendment.
Among the other Australian producers selling their wines via the NRA Wine Club are St Hallett, Jim Barry Wines, d'Arenberg, Tahbilk, and Primo Estate.
Other wines being offered via the NRA Wine Club:
Hundreds of wines are available through the site, from a Campo de Borja Garnacha at US$6.99 right up to Joseph Phelps Napa Valley Insignia 2008 at $159.99.
Champagne lovers can pick up Louis Roederer Cristal 2005 at $199.95 a bottle, or Dom Perignon 2003 for $139.99, and weapons enthusiasts might like to pop the cork in traditional style using a Laguiole Champagne sabre ($149.95).
Of course the biggest irony is that some reviewers already say not to try the American Cellars Wine Club, even before the NRA connection went public. Imagine what's going to happen now.
I'd be surprised if Moet et Chandon and Beringer, among other big vintners, weren't concerned about being associated with the NRA. Especially now that an Australian winemaker has pulled out.


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The long trial of former Delphi Chairman and Chief Executive Officer J.T. Battenberg ended with a jury clearing him of fraud – but he was still found him liable for misrepresentation and responsible for accounting errors involving a $237 million payment the supplier made to former parent General Motors.
The Securities and Exchange Commission's civil complaint against Battenberg alleged that the former Delphi CEO had tried to hide the Dephi's financial condition in order to improve its performance in the market.
Battenberg faced only civil, rather than criminal charges. He nonetheless sought vindication via a jury trial but now faces a substantial fine and possibly other sanctions.
He faces no jail time but could be barred from serving on the board of any publicly traded company on top of those fines. It was a serious rebuke to an executive who was considered one of Detroit's major corporate stars during the 1980s and 1990s.


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Original URL: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/18/health_website/
Worcestershire NHS peddles filth to kiddies
Woman's reproductive organs are called what?
Posted in Policy, 18th December 2006 14:53 GMT
NSFW It's enough to have Middle England choking on its cocoa: get yourselves down to Worcestershire Health Authority's Sexual Health Online website, then right click on the fetching graphic of a lady's reproductive bits and check out the image properties:
For shame. Given that honest taxpayers' money is being used to peddle this filth to kiddies, we have made our dossier available to the appropriate authority: The Daily Mail. ®
Thanks to all those readers who wrote to say that as of around 3pm, the file was renamed m1ng3.jpg. A great improvement, as you pointed out.
We're obliged to Neil Sunerton for alerting us to this outrage.


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OPENING REMARKS: "It was nice to get back to work today. The bye week was great for, I think, everybody. We came back energized and excited to be back. We know that we've got a big game ahead of us this weekend against a tough opponent that's playing really well. Offensively, we've got to get ready for a physical football game. They're a big, physical group. Their defensive line, their linebackers, everybody plays physical. We've got to come ready to play and we will come Sunday."
Q: Were you roommates with Carson Palmer at USC?
CASSEL: "I was roommates with Carson at USC."
Q: What do you remember about him and what do you think some of his strengths are?
CASSEL: "Carson is a great guy and he's a great friend of mine. I'm excited that he gets the opportunity to play again. I'm happy for him and his family. I know that that was something that he wanted to do and he'll get an opportunity. I'll be a fan of his every day but two of them, when we play them. It'll be fun to compete against him."
Q: Can you put yourself in his shoes? How difficult is that?
CASSEL: "I don't know. I've never been put in that situation, but I know that he's played a lot of football before. I think this is his ninth year in the NFL and he played a lot of football in college as well. I'm sure if anybody can do it, Carson can do it."
Q: Have you guys been in touch since he got traded to Oakland?
CASSEL: "I gave him a call yesterday just to congratulate him, but I haven't heard back. I'm sure he's got a lot on his plate."
Q: What do you think about him going to Oakland?
CASSEL: "Like I said, as a friend I'm excited for him and that he gets an opportunity to play. I'm also excited to get the opportunity to play against him. I think he's a great quarterback and obviously has a tremendous amount of skills. It'll be fun to be out there and be competing."
Q: How are you gearing yourself up to go against that defensive line and what are you saying to your blockers about keeping you upright on Sunday?
CASSEL: "It's one of those things that you have to go in with a mentality. You've got to know that it's going to be a physical football game. Those guys are going to win some battles, but as long as we can go out there and execute the game plan and put ourselves in the right position, we'll be fine."
Q: What tells you that the Raiders are a physical team?
CASSEL: "You can just see how they hustle around, how they hit you and how they create pressure on the quarterback. It's a team that you can see them play hard each and every play. That's what I mean by physical. You can also tell just from the physicality of looking at them. They're all big players. Even their linebackers are big guys, so that's how they play."
Q: Is there anything you can do to get off to a quicker start on offense?
CASSEL: "I'm not going to jump into specifics, but you bring up a great point. It's a point of emphasis for us in the bye week. It's been a point of emphasis as we move forward to try to start faster in games. It's something that we've worked hard on and hopefully it'll show come Sunday."
Q: Is there any chance that
CASSEL: "I don't know. You're going to have to go ask coach in terms of personnel and all that. I know he's been working hard to get back out there and we'll have to see."
Q: How much extra motivation is it that they handled you guys twice last year?
CASSEL: "It's a great motivation that they're a division rival. I know last year was last year and they did a good job on us when they played us last year, but at the same time, it's a new year and we've got to go out there and be prepared – like I said – for who we're playing this year."
Q: As a quarterback, how have you been developing chemistry with Baldwin and what can he bring to the offense?
CASSEL: "I don't really know how to evaluate him right now, but to be completely honest, you've got to get out there and practice and continue to work with him and throw routes and open those lines of communication, you know, 'What are you seeing? What am I seeing? How do you want to run a route specifically?' and try to get on the same page that way."
Q: What did Richard Seymour inject into that defensive front when he went there?
CASSEL: "He's one of the best defensive tackles in the game. He's big, he's physical, he plays hard and it's hard to block him one-on-one because he's a talented guy and he's a wide load. I had an opportunity to play with him in New England and I think he's a heck of a player. Obviously, he's carried that over to Oakland as well."
Q: Was he a locker room presence in New England?
CASSEL: "Absolutely, he's a great leader and he had quite a presence about himself. He worked with the young guys well. He's a good person as well as a good player."
Q: Is he a talker on the field? How many defensive linemen yap a little bit?
CASSEL: "There's some defensive linemen that will yap a little bit more than others, but Richard just kind of lets you know that he's there by kind of leaning on you a little bit, but he's not much of a talker. Maybe he will be on Sunday, I don't know."
Q: Has the Black Hole gotten scarier the more you've gotten to play in this rivalry?
CASSEL: "I love the atmosphere out there. I think it's a fun place to play. You talk about the Black Hole and you see these amazing fans in all these fun costumes and stuff like that, so I just think it's a great environment and a great stadium to play. It's a lot of fun when you go out there and get to play out there."
Q: Where you a Raider fan as a kid?
CASSEL: "No, I wasn't a Raider fan growing up, so I can't say that."
Q: Did you have a relationship with Hue Jackson in that freshman year at Southern Cal?
CASSEL: "He was my quarterback coach my freshman year at USC, so I know Coach Jackson real well. He's a good man. I know his family. He's doing a good job up there."
Q: What makes him a good coach?
CASSEL: "I haven't been around him for a long time, like I said. I was still trying to learn my X's and O's when I came in my redshirt freshman year and kept my mouth shut. I learned a lot from him and he since has moved on and had a lot of success."
Q: Can you tell if there is something different with this team after the bye week to avoid a letdown?
CASSEL: "I thought the energy at practice was great today. I thought the guys came out with a lot of enthusiasm. This bye week couldn't have come at a better time, I think, for our team. It allowed us to get a little extra time on a good opponent coming up here with the Raiders and at the same time, gave us a little rest and allowed our team to heal a little bit. To get back out there today, you could see that everybody is ready to go and hopefully that'll translate into a good, successful win on Sunday."


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Factored form is stated as y=a(x-s)(x-t) so y=(2x+5)(3x-7) should be written as y=6(x+5/2)(x-7/3) to be in "proper" factored form.
I'm trying to determine if y=(2x+5)(3x-7) would be considered to be in factored form.
There may not be a definitive answer to this so feel free to offer your opinion.
If anyone knows of a credible site that has a definitive answer that would be great.


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Hello everyone! My previous bmp24 function series have been completly revamped into a much more intersting super function with full rotation/scaling capabilities! It's still far from perfect, and I will state its limitations later. I decided to do this after helping game-a-gogo with his current project for which he needed rotation codes. Had an extreme programming night yesterday to make this happen.
- Limited to a set size (320*240pixels), it can be increased though.
- 24bit uncompressed bmp files only.
- Works best with small square sized images, large differences in width/height MAY screw up, in some cases, pretty badly...
- Larger files suffer from inacuracies around edges, especially corners.
- Some scales may look shitty.
- Not suited for extensive real time applications.
I will strive to improve this function as much as humanly possible in the future, may take a bit though... I decided to release it because it is usable and can give decent results depending on what it is given to process. Please do comment! It will help me improve the function much more!
--pyro (cuz I'm insane)


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Double-digit gains for Detroit 3 andToyotawere offset by lower than expected gains from Honda, and year-over-year declines in daily sales from other manufacturers.The estimated U.S. Light Vehicle SAAR fell just below December's rate, to 15.24 million units, marking the third consecutive month the seasonal rate topped the 15 million mark.
January 2013 Light Vehicle Sales Volume:
WardsAuto forecast: 1.059 million units
January actual sales: 1.040 million units
Actual/Forecast differential: -1.8%
January 2013 Light Vehicle SAAR:
WardsAuto forecast: 15.53 million
Current projected SAAR: 15.24 million
WardsAuto tracks sales throught the day. Year-over-year change represents the change in daily sales rate (DSR). January had 25 selling days this year, and 24 last year.
3:45: FINAL: All in. Industry daily sales of light vehicles were up 9.7%, (sales volume for the month was up 14.3% with one extra selling day). The SAAR hit 15.24 million units, 1.8% below WardsAuto expectations, but still strong, marking the third consecutive month of 15 million-plus sales rates.
2:30 Update: With only Jaguar Land Rover yet to report, the estimated U.S. Light Vehicle SAAR fell just below December's rate.
Kia sales mimicked followed sister-auto maker Hyundai's, with a 2.2% increase in volume sales giving the Korean company an "all-time record January" even though its daily sales rate fell 1.9% from year-ago. Mazda 21,319 deliveries beat expectations, but the company's waining daily sales were still off 14.7%.
Daimler bucked the relatively downbeat trend among European auto makers, posting a 6.4% bump in daily sales, and outselling competitor BMW Group by roughly 3,900 units.
1:30 p.m. The top four auto makers this month had significantly better months than the second tier of companies. Detroit 3 and Toyota all had double-digit DSR gains this month, lifting early SAAR estimates as high as 15.63 million. The second big wave or company reports pulled that estimate to down to just 15.1 million.
Nissan's daily sales were down 2.1% versus year-ago, with the extra selling day this year boosting the auto maker's monthly volume 2%, much like Hyundai (see 1:15 update). BMW similarly reported sales of just 20,195, a 1.8% decline in daily sales.
By comparison -Honda, 8.3% uptick in DSR, against weak year-ago results, looks fairly strong until you compare it to Toyota's 21.6%, or even Chrysler's 12.1% gain.
1:15 p.m.: Hyundai claims best volume January ever, but daily sales rate actually dropped 1.7% from prior January. Nissan, too, reports 2% volume gain, but DSR was down 2.1% versus year-ago. Both companies, and likely VW too, feeling the pressure from a resurging Toyota and Honda?
Estimated SAAR falls to 15.45.
Other notes: Strong month for Cadillac (up 41%) and Large Pickups boosts GM DSR 17%, for auto maker's best January in five years. Chevy/GMC large pickups outsell F-Series by biggest margin since September 2011.
11:45 a.m update:Volkswagen up just 2.4% this month - its lowest year-over-year gain in 24 months. Audi slightly better, with 3.2% bump in DSR. Companies combine for 39,074 deliveries. SAAR sits at 15.56 million.
11:00 a.m.: Subaru reports strong Forester and Outback sales, boosted the auto maker's January daily sales 16.4%, to 27,663. Estimated SAAR rises to 15.6 million.
10:30 a.m.: All three Detroit auto makers have reported. GM sales were up 11.3%on a daily basis over last January, to 194,699 units. Ford sales jumped even higher, up nearly 17% over year-ago's DSR, to 163,319 - beating Toyota by 5,600 units to retain the No. 2 monthly position. Ford saw strong Fusion sales after several months of low inventories, and an engine recall hampered the new vehicle's early sales. And Escape, also recovering from a recall-related December sales dip, had a record January for Ford.
Chrysler sales rose 12.1% in January. Detroit 3 combined deliveries were up 13.3%
Toyota had a very strong month as well, nipping at FOrd's heals, with strong retail sales complemented by a boost in fleet sales caused by delayed December orders.


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Portland State University and the American Red Cross are hosting a blood drive on Tuesday 1/22 - Friday 1/25
The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.
Please join our lifesaving mission and schedule an appointment today!
Drive Details:
Sponsor: Portland State University
Site: SMSU, third floor ballroom
Drive Date: 1/22/13 - 1/25/13
Drive Time: 11:00 AM - 04:30 PM all days
Coordinator Name: Gwyn Ashcom
Coordinator Phone and email: 503-725-5123, email@example.com
To make appointments online go to www.redcrossblood.org. Once there, select "Make a blood donation appointment" and enter sponsor code Portlandstate.
You can also sign up to donate or volunteer to help at the drive by contacting Gwyn Ashcom in SHAC at 503-725-5123or via email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Thank you for supporting the American Red Cross blood program!