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Whether accurate or not, most people have a mental picture of what a drug abuser might look like —that image is rarely their grandma or grandpa.
According to research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the percentage of Americans age 50 to 59 who reported abusing illicit or prescription drugs doubled from 2002 to 2009 from 2.7 percent to 6.2 percent.
Dr. David Lott, medical director of the Addiction Treatment Program at Linden Oaks at Edward in Naperville, says they see older adults with prescription drug addictions often.
"I want to emphasize that this is a growing problem," Lott says of prescription drug abuse among all ages. "It's alarming and staggering how much it's going up."
The problem, according to projections by NIDA, is expected to grow as the number of people 50 and older increases.
"It is our experience and experience around the country and epidemiologic studies show there will be a significant increase in the next one to two decades," Lott says.
How did this happen?
Dr. Martin Gorbien, director of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at Rush University Medical Center, points out that a prescription for a narcotic or opioid pain medication does not make someone a drug abuser.
"Is it OK to take narcotic drug medications? Yes it is. It's not just acceptable, for some it is necessary," he explains. There are any number of conditions that cause severe and chronic pain that may require the help of narcotics or for some it is a short-term need following surgery.
But for more and more older adults the relief and even euphoria offered by the medication can be alluring.
While narcotic pain medications can have positive effects for someone in pain, they are depressants and can cause depression, Gorbien says.
Older adults are more likely to be on more than one prescription medication as well.
When a person has a history of long standing use of narcotic pain medication a physician should always dig deeper, Gorbien suggests.
"Often there's more to the story," he says.
Lott says dynamics associated with aging, such as retirement or an empty nest, can contribute to the problem. Additional time to focus on pain or depression coupled with a lack of supervision, create a dangerous situation.
Is there a problem?
Drug abuse and the behaviors associated with it, Gorbien says, have commonalities across all age groups.
"The difference is we are less suspicious of older people," he says.
There are signs to look for, Gorbien says, such as a change in the person's character or that they are always looking for their medication. Other indicators can be fatigue, memory loss or the medication tolerance.
"Often the problem is very insidious," Gorbien says. "(These narcotics) have a dulling effect. They're not necessarily drunk or high. They may think other people around them can't see anything."
If someone doesn't seem like themselves it's worth the time to find out what might be going on.
From a physician's perspective it takes time and a trusting relationship with the patient to determine there is a problem, explains Gorbien. In the beginning of a doctor/patient relationship you never question someone's pain, he says.
"If someone says they are in pain, they are," Gorbien says.
Doctors look at the situation — are they post surgery and their pain may be short term? Or do they have a condition such as diabetic neuropathy and the pain is ongoing?
Doctors, Gorbien says, should look for patterns and responses to suggesting it's time to take a break from a medication.
He says doctors perform tests to look for causes of physical pain or for signs that the person is self-medicating because of an underlying problem such as depression.
"It's acceptable to say 'my back hurts,' but not so acceptable to say 'I'm sad.' This is not a generation comfortable with that," Gorbien says.
Unfortunately, he adds, doctors don't always take the time or have the tools to fetter out an addiction or depression. Before prescribing, many doctors check with the patient's pharmacy to see if other doctors are prescribing for the same patient, but addicted patients can be clever using multiple pharmacies and multiple doctors and there is not a system in place to detect duplicate prescriptions.
Getting help
It isn't easy to approach anyone with the possibility of a drug dependency — especially if the person has a doctor's prescription to use medication.
It does need to be handled with care and not ignored, Gorbien says. Dismissing the problem because the person does experience pain or is older is not helpful.
"You might say 'what's the big deal if she's taking three or four pain pills a day?' It's like saying 'she's 80 years old are we going to take away her two cocktails a night?'" Gorbien says. "Well, if she's falling or forgetting or failing… ."
If someone suspects an older adult may have a prescription drug dependency it should be treated no differently than if they had a problem with alcohol or heroin and loved ones should be asking questions.
Loved ones can turn to treatment centers, doctors and even public agencies for tips on how to approach the subject or stage an intervention. Many older adults are not comfortable sharing about difficult topics or don't want to air their dirty laundry so loved ones can stress that there are ways to handle the issue discretely.
Once a need for help is established a doctor can be a starting place or a center or hospital program dedicated to addiction recovery.
Lott says they see a steady flow of older adults coming in to Linden Oaks. While most are in their 60s and 70s there are some who are into their 80s as well.
It is a mix of those who have had substance abuse problems in their past as well as those experiencing it for the first time, he says.
The patients who are new to addiction are often prescription drug abusers.
"They are at an age where they have more health issues, more pain, surgery, they have more exposure (to narcotics)," Lott says.
So what does treatment look like? It varies for each person and each situation, he explains. While some facilities do have programs specifically geared toward older adults, Linden Oaks typically treats patients in similar age groups when possible.
As with many medical-related issues for older adults finances can be a challenge. Medicaid does not cover recovery programs and many insurance programs don't cover them either.
"We work very hard to be a liaison with insurance companies and to find out what is covered as much as we can," Lott says.
Additional options include programs like Narcotics Anonymous (NA), which are widely available, and there are sometimes resources through employers.
At Linden Oaks they offer a 24/7 help line (630-305-5500) and specialists are available to answer questions and get more details
"They can say 'This is what we think we can do' but eventually we want to see them and decide what they need," Lott says.
For some, group counseling might be fine. For older adults with physical issues or hearing loss a one-on-one program may be more effective. Lott says often they will need to determine a path for detoxification whether that's monitored through an outpatient program or through admission in a hospital.


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Times two.
Both were probably Lost at sea in transit from the Beijing sellers to my home.
Wow, 10,000? Why don't they use chains or something to hold those bad boys down in choppy waters? Or, I don't know, built steel railings along the perimeters? Or inter-locking Lego-like attachments between containers?
I guess the good news is that they will mostly sink down into the muddy bottom and be out of the way. You wouldn't want those things floating on the surface like icebergs or something.
I guess the good news is that they will mostly sink down into the muddy bottom and be out of the way.
Strangely most of them float, as ocean yachtsmen will testify; they're a serious hazard.
I guess the good news is that they will mostly sink down into the muddy bottom and be out of the way.
Strangely most of them float, as ocean yachtsmen will testify; they're a serious hazard.
By serious hazard do you mean serious free treasure? Doesn't finders-keepers work in international waters? I realize the issue of towing back to a port and being able to salvage but it seems like it might be worth it in some cases.
I think the mass vs thrust of the vessel, and fuel constraints, might make that an issue. I suppose you could latch a transponder to it, note where it is and what the currents in that area do, and come back with something a bit more appropriate.
I'm pretty sure that it's considered like any other salvage. That would make sense anyways.
IIRC the latest standards require them to have water-soluble plugs in them, that take ~3 days to dissolve, i.e. you've got 3 days to locate and retrieve your "lost" container, otherwise it will fill and sink to reduce the shipping hazard.
Because that would cost more than just claiming it against insurance. Those ships run 24x7... they would lose more money from downtime than they would ever make it worthwhile in keeping that shit on deck. Picture perfect example of the tragedy of the commons colliding with unregulated capitalism.
>>>Picture perfect example of the tragedy of the commons colliding with unregulated capitalism.
Sadly for you, this is NOT a perfect example because the Ship (and train) containers do interlock like legos and they do tie them down with chains. Shippers really do NOT want to tell their customers, "We lost your cargo," and risk losing them to competitors. They'd prefer to have zero loss.
But of course zero loss is as impractical as zero downtime for your website or the software you are writing. It's an unrealistic demand.
Shippers really do NOT want to tell their customers, "We lost your cargo," and risk losing them to competitors.
I was under the impression that the way they write these kinds of transoceanic contracts is that you are actually responsible for your cargo. You are responsible for getting it insured, and you are responsible for the loss NOT the shipper. Amazing, but I do remember reading that from some research I did some time ago.
In that case, the shipper doesnt care one bit if your cargo makes it over. I also
It is completely possible/practical to have zero downtime for a website. It just costs tons, and is usually not worth it (I'm talking telecom-level real redundancy here, including different brands of equipments etc).
It is also possible/practical to have zero loss transport. It just increases the cost exponentially. It is cheaper to pay insurance than to implement zero loss. Much cheaper. For both the transportation companies and their clients.
So, anyone who wants to demand zero loss would have to be willing
Here's a pic of a container ship after going through rough seas: http://i.imgur.com/4ynah.jpg [imgur.com]. I'm stunned that those containers are still on board. Looks like they're chained down, but even metal breaks eventually
That's kind of awesome. I feel like this belongs in a demotivation poster. Maybe "Sure, I could hack it together over the weekend" or "This is what your code will look like to the next developer."
Google for 'failboat' - you'll find plenty more (pre-captioned for you even!)
Here's a pic of a container ship after going through rough seas: http://i.imgur.com/4ynah.jpg [imgur.com]. I'm stunned that those containers are still on board. Looks like they're chained down, but even metal breaks eventually
It appears that there are a few container missing, but holy tiedown, Batman, that's an extra heapload more robust than I would have thought. And imagining the seas that vessel must have endured makes me want to sit down immediately.
If you look at those two green containers on the far right, hanging in the air with nothing supporting them, I'd say they must be secured in some fashion, otherwise, they could not possibly be where they are. The containers on the left seem to be hanging in the air as well. That circumstance would be adequately explained with chains.
The ocean can be pretty rough. Clearly, the methods used to secure cargo are occasionally overcome.
If you look at those two green containers on the far right, hanging in the air with nothing supporting them, I'd say they must be secured in some fashion, otherwise, they could not possibly be where they are. The containers on the left seem to be hanging in the air as well. That circumstance would be adequately explained with chains.
I worked at a container terminal while putting myself through university, many years ago. This is why those containers in the photo are still stuck together...
A device called an intermodal box connector (AKA "IBC", a hefty steel pin with a twistlock mechanism) is used to connect containers to each other. They fit into holes (four on the top, two on the bottom) on the corners of the container.
This is the usual method for loading and locking them together: A container is dropped onto a ship and locked down (via IBCs welded to the deck). Then, four IBCs are placed in the top holes of the container and another container is lowered. The IBCs slide into the four holes on the bottom of the new container and their twistlocks are turned. No chains are required. For extra safety, some companies erect a steel scaffold/frame around the outside of a block of containers to keep them from swaying in rough seas. Otherwise, the IBCs are the only things holding the containers together.
Nice try. 10,000 is a tiny, infinitesimal fraction of the 18,000,000 containers that make 200,000,000 trips every year. I'm surprised it's not more.
>>>10,000 is a tiny, infinitesimal fraction of..... 200,000,000 trips
99.995% reliability for shipping. Not bad. That's close to the reliability of phone service (five 9's).
spending any significant amount of money to reduce that number would not be a worthwhile expenditure.
Well, unless you calculate the real long term damage it does to oceans -> microbes -> plankton -> fish -> humans.
Like providing a habitat for them? Take a look at the story, the container in the Monterey Bay Sanctuary became a habitat for sea cucumbers, snails, and crabs.
I actually figured it wasn't something like that. I know they stripped down old NYC subway cars and used them to form a new reef.
This ignores the issues of what is in the container, how does it degrade with time and is it toxic or become toxic with time.
Which is probably also a drop in the bucket.
The real damage is marine cargo insurance, which is already scandalously high. Of course, if they're already charging 1-3% (and they are) with a loss rate of 0.005% (10k losses out of 200M shipments), then lowering the loss rate further probably isn't going to change much of anything.
I wonder how many of those contained people.
Except for steel railings, the shippers do everything you have mentioned. The reason for no railing is that the containers themselves are the structure and they are stacked far above the hull of the ship.
Here is the tie down that goes between the containers http://www.tandemloc.com/0_securing/S_AD54000A.asp [tandemloc.com]
Here is a picture of the lashing used http://www.flickr.com/photos/blueship/137784714/ [flickr.com]
Also note, only the level at deck level is tied down -- most ships stack *much* higher than the deck. And there appear to be no pins between the containers.
The dirt will just turn into mud. We'd first have to pump all the water out.
They usually ARE interlocked. They have holes on their corners which are clamped together with standardized clamps.
Why don't they use chains or something to hold those bad boys down in choppy waters?
They do. Chains break, particularly when they're trying to tie down this much weight. We're talking tens of of thousands of tons, here.
Or, I don't know, built steel railings along the perimeters?
They do that, too. Once again, they break, particularly with this amount of weight (see above). Also, you can't as a practical matter erect railings high enough to hold in containers as high as they stack them.
"We believe that late 20th century humans had a variety of cults, worshipping (among other totems) rubber models of ducks and some strange-looking footwear..."
and some strange-looking footwear..."
Well they're right about half the populous.
Populous is an adjective, not a noun.
The word you sought was populace.
This reminds me of a photograph a friend of mine showed me years ago from a dive trip to the Red Sea. While there on a dive at a random site (live aboard dive boat), they ran across a contrainer on the bottom in about 80 feet of water that had broken open, of all the possible treasures it might have contained it was full of toilets. The photo showed a diver sitting on an upright one in the pile of toilets.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17685394@N04/1847030233/ [flickr.com]
That's a lot of toilets...
Nope, that's a crapload of toilets!
Next they can do an environmental impact of the study that studied the lost container.
How much fossil fuel was used by the sub going down there to get samples.
How much damage did the sub do by disturbing the site.
How many trees were used to print the journal the research was published in.
Wasn't there a similar post about cargo lost? I bookmarked this page on "Gallery of Transport Loss -- Photos & Lessons of Disaster" at http://www.cargolaw.com/gallery.html [cargolaw.com] and oh man are there zillions of photos of all kinds of transport accidents. Some cargo damaged at ports but the amount lost at sea is staggering! Though be careful as this site is interesting and can become a huge timepit surfing through all the pics.
All kinds of disasters including "Meals Ready to Explode" (ya know all them MREs
The article should really look a bit into why container ships are loaded the way they are. The article contends, with no fact to support this contention, that one of the issue is that heavy containers that are loaded high on the sip are a major cause of the issue. Their solution is to load heavy containers first. Lets look into what would be required to do this feat.
1a. Every time a container come it it would be sorted by size so that the large one would be easily accessed first.
containers come in one at a time over quite a long period of time. what happens if many light ones come after all the heavy ones? The heavy ones get burried.
1b. Alternately, sort the containers before they are loaded.
This would require more space and handling each container at least one additional time.
Lets assume that all the heavy containers are in the bottom of the ship. The article neglects the fact that container ships usually make more than one offloading stop. They are currently loaded so that the containers can be unloaded at each stop while still maintaining the balance of the ship. If the heavy containers are at the bottom, it would require unloading containers above the heavy containers, unloading the heavy containers and re-loading the light containers. This takes time and space.
Every minute a container ship is tied up at a dock costs money. The sorting and excess loading/unloading take time. Most ports are also very crowded and do not have the space required to do the sorting of containers to make sure heavy containers are loaded lower. There is also a limited number of berths for container ships. The longer a ship is in port means fewer ships can be loaded and unloaded by that port.
One final point, everything breaks. Even light containers go overboard. A perfect example is the container full of tires. Compared to shipments such as metals, tires are relatively light but a container full of them still went overboard. Given rough enough water even an empty container can break loose.
Here are some of the parameters that container loading software uses to place containers on a ship.
the weight of each container being handled
which port each container will be unloaded at
if the container is refrigerated, and needs to be plugged in during the voyage
if the container's contents are hazardous, as these could be potentially explosive if placed next to a refrigerated container
advising Customs of the ship's arrival and reporting the cargo on board
the order in which the containers will be loaded and unloaded.
A lot of science goes into the efficient loading and unloading of containers; sorting by weight is taken into account but not the overriding consideration.
"If it's not loud, it doesn't work!" -- Blank Reg, from "Max Headroom"

subset: commoncrawl


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San Ramon Valley senior-to-be Michael Tagliaferri on Monday became the first Californian ever to make the U.S. men's under-19 national lacrosse team.
Tagliaferri survived a rigorous four-day tryout at the University of Maryland among 123 candidates to make the 23-man squad as a middie. The U.S. team will participate next summer in the 2012 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) Under-19 World Championships in Turku, Finland.
Tagliaferri, one of just five high school players on the national team that is selected ever four years, will return as a member on the San Ramon Valley football team next season. He will play safety/running back and slot receiver. He has orally committed to North Carolina for lacrosse


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Video Meet The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (Video) 37
Robin 'Roblimo' Miller: Do you guys publish original material or is it all discussion?
Hank Pellissier: The material that we have on the site, I would say about 50% to 60% of it is original, people who write only for the site and then there is a lot of bloggers out there and we repost material that they have on their blog. The science fiction writer David Brin is one of our main contributors. So, he has got his own blog and I let it sit on his blog for a couple of days and then I repost it on our site. And we have a lot of academics, a lot of people, 250 I think, different contributors. But the bulk of stuff that goes on our site is probably from about 20 people.
Robin Miller: Okay. What is the objective of the IEET? What are you trying to do? What's it about?
Hank Pellissier: I think we're trying to use technology to give us a better future. I think we're trying to use technology so that we can make the world wealthier, smarter and better. The notion of transhumanism is sort of better people; living longer is one goal, becoming more intelligent is another goal. I recently did a survey of 818 of our readers or transhumanists, just to see like what specifically their goals were. And actually the primary goal, number one was increased intelligence, number two goal was enhancing memory. And so those were the two main goals.
Robin Miller: And the third one you forget, right?
Hank Pellissier: There is a notion of becoming better morally and we actually just had a conference at NYU called, The Moral Brain. And that's how to, sort of, neurologically work with our brains so that we become better people. It can be anything from meditation to smart drugs to may be bioengineering out the psychopathic brain, to all kinds of things.
Robin Miller: So, do you think many Slashdot users would have something to contribute?
Hank Pellissier: Yes. Actually that would be great. I am always looking for new writers, because I put up so much material, I have a habit of going through writers kind of quickly, like I post everything that they've ever written and then I have to move on to somebody else. So I am always looking for new writers. I probably add two new writers a week. So Slashdot readers, I would love to have some contributions from them. They can email me and send me their manuscripts.
Robin Miller: Would you describe this as being liberal, conservative, who knows, all over the map, your users, how would you describe them or can't be described?
Hank Pellissier: That is an extremely interesting question because I just did a huge survey and most transhumanists, which is the bulk of our readership, most of them agree on almost everything, but when it comes to politics they don't agree. There is two very specific camps, one is sort of the social democrat, which is kind of the leftist progressive and that's basically the faction that IEET represents, social democrats. And then there is other faction, which we would call the anarcho-transhumanists, the anarcho-libertarian and that ranges between libertarian capitalists to sort of anarcho-feminists, people who want the abolition of the state.
So, we welcome anybody in that wide spectrum in there, that's all fine. A lot of people in our readership think they want direct democracy, a lot of people are very cynical of the political system, other people will just sort of want the abolition of government, de-centralizing the world right now, fracturing into smaller states. You don't have to adhere to any one particular political opinion to get involved in this. But it's probably the most heated debate. That and religion, politics and religion of course.
Robin Miller: As always everywhere. And thinking of not politics so much, but what about technology, do you folks have any ambition to drive or get support for particular avenues of research?
Hank Pellissier: Well, yes, the majority of our readership is interested in life extension. Although we don't talk about it obsessively, it makes up maybe 10% of our content it seems like. I am very involved in that personally. I am part of what's called the International Longevity Alliance. And I write a lot about longevity.
When I did the survey, it seems like about 80% of our readership is interested in, I am going to call it, immortality, but it's also more correctly known as radical life extension, meaning just living like 1000 years or an extremely long time, with another 20% not really wanting to live that long and then we have arguments about, wouldn't living a really long time be boring or what are we going to do about over population. So that's something we discuss a lot.
And there is a lot of disagreement. There is a little bit of disagreement about the singularity, although I would say most of our readership is singularitarian. And there is a lot of disagreement about artificial intelligence, is it going to be friendly or is it going to be unfriendly. So we have discussions on that as well.
Robin Miller: What about getting off this planet, are you interested in that like establishing outposts elsewhere [lest] the supernova asteroid strike and Bruce Willis can't deflect it or whatever?
Hank Pellissier: I thought Bruce did a really good job on that. I think yes, I think we are interested in that. We have a lot of articles on space. We have articles on mining the asteroids. We had a very popular article written by one of our main writers, George Dvorsky, about building a Dyson sphere, which can harness all of the sun's energy. There is people that are extremely interested in colonizing space and then there is others that aren't.
I am not incredibly interested in colonizing outer space. I am kind of interested in colonizing the oceans. I find that kind of an interesting idea. These people that build these architectural plants for like giant floating lily pads that hold cities of 50,000, I find that kind of interesting, floating around on these huge boats. And so, I find that interesting. I am not sure living on another planet. I actually have an attraction to tropical rainforests. If you can find me a planet that looks like the Cloud Forest of Costa Rica, I'd be happy to go there, but otherwise I don't know. I am not a guy who wants to go to another planet that much.
Robin Miller: Well, couldn't we find one that's at a right distance from its sun and then create that ecology, the one that we want?
Hank Pellissier: That would be wonderful. I would love to do that. That would be really great.
Robin Miller: What percentage of your readers are big science fiction readers?
Hank Pellissier: I am going to say, well over 90% and possibly 100%. Yes, I would say almost everybody is a big science fiction reader.
Robin Miller: Okay.
Hank Pellissier: Yeah, I mean a lot of these ideas come out of science fiction and there is a lot of discussion that science fiction should be read more in school and it should be accepted more at a college level.
There is this notion of us being microchipped, so like say you have a microchip that's embedded in you, so that you can use it for identification purposes. Your embedded microchip can be your driver's license, your passport, your ATM card, your library card, it can have all of your health information on it. It can basically get rid of your wallet. It could also be your cash. There is that notion and there's intense fear of that, of people not wanting to be chipped.
There is also the notion that we could all have a GPS implant, which I think is kind of interesting. It would eliminate crime in a way because we could just see who intersected with us when we were mugged. But it would also eliminate adultery because everybody would know where everybody else was, which leads into another topic which is just discussions about transparency, just the notion of knowing everything about everybody else.
Yeah, it's kind of an expanded Wikileaks idea, knowing everything about the government, but also knowing everything about everybody else. And so, we have a lot of discussions about how much privacy do we want, how much transparency do we want. And, there is big disagreements on that, but I would say a lot of us are interested in 100% transparency.
Another issue that we're actually doing in our next conference at Yale is the whole notion of the rights of animals. And should animals be, especially the animals with higher intelligence, should they be reclassified as persons, should they be kept from captivity and enslavement, is that a unethical thing to do to not only experiment on chimpanzees but even to have them in zoos.
And some of us also think about enhancing animals, which is kind of a fringe idea, but just that idea. It's kind of a Rise of the Planet of the Apes idea. Every child grows up with their literature full of talking animals, that's just what we do, is have stories about talking animals. But that's something that some people take seriously.
They think about, well do we have a moral obligation to educate animals. And there are some researchers working on that now, like I think there is woman who has taken bonobos, which are sort of a pigmy chimpanzian and she has given them a domestic setting and they are learning how to set a table and clean a room and things like this. So, there is a little bit of talk about that as well.
Robin Miller: So, that sounds like turning a chimp into a servant?
Hank Pellissier: Yeah. A servant? Well, we are teaching gorillas and animals to learn symbols as well and to talk. We're doing that as well. What do you think about this? We had a little debate on our site about, should we bring back the Neanderthals if we can? If we can figure out how to reconstruct their DNA, should we bring them back for research purposes or is that considered unethical?


text:
Over at The New York Review of Books, here's Larry McMurtry on his final book sale:
Calling it the Last Book Sale was a conceit based on the fact that my novel The Last Picture Show had been filmed on the same site. In fact, the reputable firm of Bonham's is conducting a major literary auction on the West Coast right now. Our auction was probably the last on this scale I will be involved with.
I've been an active book dealer for fifty-five years, and one thing I learned to avoid is the adjective "rare." Poe's Tamerlane exists in twelve known copies. It's rare and so are his stories; but most books aren't rare. What I sold, over two days in August, were second-hand books—or antiquarian books, if you want to fancy it up. I've owned most of them more than once in my career, although many of them are now at least uncommon.
My firm, Booked Up Inc., owned about 400,000 books, spread among four large buildings in Archer City, a small oil patch town in the midwestern part of Texas. I also have a 28,000-volume personal library, in the same town. I'm getting old and so are my buildings. My heirs are literate but not bookish. Dealing with nearly half a million books would be a huge burden for them: thus the downsizing.
[Photo Credit: -circa]


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Week 9 was a momentous occasion for AM FC. It was the weekend I picked the correct captain for the first time this season. You won't often hear me praise Luis Suarez (don't get me wrong, he's a world class player, I'm just not a fan of his antics) but I doff my cap to him on this occasion. I entrusted him with the armband and he repaid me with a quite superb hat-trick - aren't football fans fickle?
His 35 points doubled to 70 and slotted in nicely alongside goals for Olivier Giroud, Daniel Sturridge, Mathieu Debuchy, an assist for Aaron Ramsey and clean sheets for Neil Taylor, Dejan Lovren and Artur Boruc. 165 points for the week has moved my Yahoo team back in to the top 2,500 and I'm hoping Week 10 can bring similar success.
I was also lucky enough to witness my first live NFL match at Wembley on Sunday, and was delighted to see my team the 49ers defeat the Jaguars, while Spurs beat Hull at White Hart Lane. Not a bad birthday, eh?
Check out The Week 10 Danger Zone | First XI: Week 10
Let's look at the week ahead ...
Week 10 FixturesArsenal v LiverpoolCardiff City v SwanseaEverton v TottenhamFulham v Man UtdHull City v SunderlandMan City v NorwichNewcastle v ChelseaStoke v SouthamptonWest Brom v Crystal PalaceWest Ham v Aston Villa
Get all of your Premier League news at RotoWorld
We have a lot of tight looking fixtures this week so I can only see one game that really leaps off the page. Manchester City were unlucky to lose at Chelsea after Joe Hart and Matija Nastasic's horrible mix-up and have been playing very well at the Etihad so I would expect them to dispatch 18th place Norwich without too much drama. Chris Hughton's men have struggled for goals so a home win without conceding also seems a decent bet, which means I'm considering including a City defender, midfielder and striker in my Yahoo team.
On the subject of Chelsea, I don't expect a trip to St James' Park to be easy but this is a Newcastle side who have just managed to lose to Sunderland (albeit in a derby) so I'd expect Jose Mourinho's side to have enough to win and keep the pressure on (and possibly overtake) Arsenal after knocking them out of the League Cup in midweek. As always it's worth noting that Newcastle v Chelsea is the early Saturday kick-off so we'll get starting line-ups before Yahoo's deadline to check if Oscar starts or whether Fernando Torres gets a chance to continue his improved form.
Going back to Arsenal, their meeting with Liverpool at the Emirates should be a cracking game and full of goals, so I reckon it's worth hanging on to some attacking players from both sides. My prediction is a 2-2 draw, which as mentioned above would give Chelsea the chance to top the table if the win on Tyneside, but it's a result neither side would (or should) be too disappointed with after excellent starts to this season.
Next up is Manchester United's trip to Fulham. A friend of mine - a die-hard United fan - was at Old Trafford on Saturday and claims they were "atrociously bad" for 65 minutes before the comeback. It appears David Moyes is almost totally reliant on his strikers to keep him out of trouble at the moment but the good news is that should be enough for them to claim another vital win at Craven Cottage. I'll always have a soft-spot for Martin Jol after his time at Spurs but I do fear for Fulham this season. Something doesn't feel right about the current make-up of the squad and I'm not sure they'll have the required fight if they get dragged in to a relegation battle; I hope I'm proved wrong.
Speaking of relegation battles, Sunderland will have belief they can get out of trouble after their huge win at Newcastle but they face a tricky test in Week 10 against a decent Hull outfit and I'm leaning towards a home win for Steve Bruce against his old team. It's also difficult to see past a West Brom win over Crystal Palace at the Hawthorns and I expect to field at least one representative from the Baggies, possibly two.
The remaining four games are difficult to call in either team's favour. Southampton should sneak past Stoke but it's not a certainty by any means and a goalless draw wouldn't surprise me, while Everton v Tottenham has 1-1 draw written all over it. The all-Wales clash between Cardiff and Swansea is another game that could be low scoring and potentially heated, while West Ham v Aston Villa will also go down as a 1-1 draw on my accumulator coupon, with both teams well aware of how important it is not to lose.
There could well be some value in defensive players from Southampton and Swansea, but I feel the best chance of attacking fantasy points will come from the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and West Brom.
Follow the RotoWorld_PL team on Twitter: Galin | Jeremy | Neal | Nik | Steve
The Week 10 player recommendations follow on the next page ....
KEEPERSBoaz Myhill - The West Brom keeper is at home to Crystal Palace and has seen a big drop in his price after Liverpool smashed four past him in Week 9. For a fraction more than £5million Myhill represents terrific value given the fixture and is likely to be my choice in net.Artur Boruc - Southampton's defensive form has been remarkable, conceding just three goals in the first nine games of the season, and there's no reason to see that changing against Stoke. As mentioned in my fixture analysis a nil-nil draw or narrow away win isn't out of the questions so Boruc is well worth sticking with, especially if you have him at a discount.Joe Hart - I expect a Manchester City clean sheet against Norwich so despite his erratic form, Hart is still a decent option (unless he's dropped of course).
DEFENDERSPablo Zabaleta - My old mate Aleksandar Kolarov appears to be swapping places with Gael Clichy on a regular basis, which means Zabaleta moves back to the top of the City defenders list. He's at home to Norwich so has a clean sheet opportunity and should also get plenty of chances for attacking points.Dejan Lovren - Fantasy manager's keep picking him and Lovern keeps repaying the faith, and he's now just a few points behind the current top scoring defender, Leighton Baines. Another clean sheet awaits at the Britannia.John Terry - Many people (myself included) had predicted Terry may find himself on the bench a bit more this season, but the Chelsea captain has proved me wrong and established himself as Jose Mourinho's first choice central defender. He plays in a winnable game and I have a hunch that Terry will score against a Newcastle side who struggle to defend set pieces.Neil Taylor - I hope you all picked the Swansea defender up at his bargain price of £3million before his clean sheet against West Ham. Taylor will continue to deputise for the injured Ben Davies and the left-back will be looking to impress Michael Laudrup to give himself a chance of hanging on to the spot for more than just a few games.Curtis Davies - Is there a more improved defender in the Premier League? Davies was highly rated when he first burst on to the scene in 2005 before a prolonged run of poor form, bad moves and multiple relegations left him a forgotten man. However, the centre back has been superb since signing for Hull and it shows in his fantasy points returns. A terrific option for the home game against Sunderland.Billy Jones - My pick of the West Brom defenders to cover the potential clean sheet at home to Crystal Palace, although it really is a coin toss between him and Liam Ridgewell.Jose Fonte - To quote my good pal Jeremy, "The cheapest entry into the Saints backline. And at Stoke, who have only scored two goals at home, while the Saints have only allowed two goals on the road this season, you'll want at least one Saints defender. Lovren is probably the pick of the litter, but Fonte is running him close and at a discount." Well said that man.Martin Demichelis - The Argentine defender has had a tough start to his Manchester City career, first with injury and then in a difficult debut against Chelsea, but he already appears to be ahead of Joleon Lescott and should start against Norwich. Worth a look at just £6million.
MIDFIELDERSDavid Silva - Two goals, three assists and sixteen successful crosses in just six Premier League games for Silva, who has been quietly going about his business in a very effective way since returning from injury. I like the midfielder's chances of another goal against Norwich as he drifts in from the left and dove-tails perfectly with Sergio Aguero.Mesut Ozil - He had a quiet game at Crystal Palace in Week 9 but I'm expecting a far more open game against Liverpool and would expect Ozil to hit back with a far better fantasy score after being rested in the League Cup.Oscar - Another star name rested by Chelsea as they overcame Arsenal so Oscar will be fresh and should cause the Newcastle backline problems in his scheming role behind the central striker.Aaron Ramsey - It was a slight surprise to see Ramsey start against Chelsea given the amount of football he's played this season, and he wasn't particularly effective. His sensational form thus far allows him the odd quiet game and you should keep him if you're holding him at discount, but it will be interesting to monitor if Santi Cazorla's return starts having a detrimental impact on the Welsh midfielder's attacking potential. Stephane Sessegnon - If we get confirmation that Morgan Amalfitano is fit then I feel he is the slightly better pick, but the majority of reports suggest the winger is struggling with a knee injury, so Sessegnon is the next best midfield bet against Crystal Palace playing just behind the striker.Robbie Brady - Currently a slight doubt for the weekend as he recovers from hernia surgery, but if Brady is fit he must be considered at home to Sunderland. If he isn't fit then you have to question Hull's decision to rush their midfielder back in to action.Michu - Just two goals for Michu so far but he's still getting plenty of shots on target and has had a couple of quiet fantasy weeks so Cardiff beware, he's due a performance.Yaya Toure - Silva is my pick of the City midfielders for the Norwich game but if you're looking to double up (and I wouldn't blame you) then Toure would be my second choice, bursting from midfield, taking the odd free kick around the box and looking dangerous from corners.Adnan Januzaj - The only Manchester United midfielder to get remotely excited about at the moment is young Januzaj, but we'll need to monitor team news as he played the full 90 minutes in the League Cup. If there's confirmation that he's set to start then I will be considering him for my team.Stewart Downing - For those looking to do something a bit different then Downing at home Aston Villa could be your man. The winger struggled to break in to the West Ham first team to begin with but is starting every game now and is taking the majority of set pieces, so a big score is possible in Week 10.
STRIKERSSergio Aguero - In the same form that helped win Manchester City the title two seasons ago, Aguero is already in double figures for this campaign and he should start at home to Norwich after getting a rest in the League Cup in midweek. He's in my team and is likely to wear the captain's armband.Wayne Rooney - I'm guessing David Moyes must be a very relieved man because if Rooney had left Old Trafford in the summer his side would be more than eight points behind the leaders. The England striker has been nothing short of excellent and I will be making moves to get him in to my starting XI for the winnable trip to Fulham.Luis Suarez - He looks to have the potential to be this season's Robin van Persie at the moment, as everything he touches turns to gold. As mentioned countless times there should be goals between Arsenal and Liverpool and Suarez will be at the heart of everything for the away side.Fernando Torres - He's back, he's back, Torres is back! How many times have we heard that? It is extremely unlikely we'll ever see the Fernando Torres of 2009 again, but he is playing well and one assumes he'll start at Newcastle after Samuel Eto'o and Demba Ba both got pitch time in the League Cup. We'll be able to check line-ups via Twitter before the Yahoo deadline to make sure that assumption is correct.Olivier Giroud - The Frenchman was given a well-earned rest against Chelsea but boy did the Gunners miss him, as Nicolas Bendtner looked like a man devoid of confidence with a very silly haircut. Arsene Wenger will be praying his main striker remains fit until he can sign a more suitable back-up in January, but for now it's down to Giroud to score the goals to keep Arsenal top of the table and he has already proved he's capable.Daniel Sturridge - Not as valuable as he was now Suarez is hogging the majority of Liverpool's attacking fantasy points, but with eight league goals in nine games, Sturridge is still a perfectly good choice at the Emirates. Christian Benteke - The powerful striker was only an excellent Tim Howard penalty save away from adding to his goal-tally in Week 9 and he should be sharper after 90 minutes and another week of training under his belt. You can be sure West Ham's defenders won't be looking forward to marking Benteke this weekend.Nicolas Anelka - The curveball pick of the week. Anelka has been getting in to the right positions for West Brom but his goalscoring touch has deserted him so far and he has been guilty of a couple of awful misses. However, his side face Crystal Palace at home and I reckon he'll open his account provided he gets the start, so it's worth monitoring team news if you're looking for a differential pick.
So those are the players I'm considering for my Week 10 Yahoo team. For now I have the following on my own team page, although it's currently unsaved:
Starting XI: Myhill, N.Taylor, Debuchy, Zabaleta, Sessegnon, Oscar, Ozil, Silva, Rooney, Suarez, Aguero (C)Subs: Barkley, Bardsley, Spence, Elliot
It's a work-in-progress as I still have over £9million left in the bank, but the main decision to be made is whether to sell Sturridge. The Liverpool man is still in my team at discount and is having a tremendous season, but I already have Suarez and really want Rooney and Aguero this week, so he may have to be sacrificed. I'll probably look to upgrade my defence with Terry or Lovren on the radar, but I like the balance of the midfield so that should stay as is.
Check back here on Rotoworld on Friday for all the team and injury news coming out of the manager's press conferences to assist you with your final decisions.
How's your Week 10 team looking? Who's your captain choice?


text:
Originally published on August 25, 2012 11:39 am
We do what damage we can on this show, but it's not often we get the chance to cause a real international incident. So we're very excited that Sir Peter Westmacott, Great Britain's ambassador to the U.S., has agreed to play our game called "No homework, extended naps and eight hours of recess!"
A lot of big-time politicians got their start as little politicians, running for the student council. We'll ask Westmacott three questions about strange doings in the school halls of power.
Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.


text:
A: Because it's a dumb idea.
I'm torn on that one - on the one hand I want to say that an extra layer of abstraction, wasting memory and cycles itself only to interpret code on the fly rather than taking the time to compile and optimise once per platform and be done with it, is a terrible idea. Particularly when it's designed to help move code to diverse, often lower power devices.
On the other hand, most high-end phones now have as much processing capability and memory as a decent desktop did a decade ago, yet many of our day-to-day co
It's like using a desktop computer just so you can remotely eject the CD tray and knock over a cup of water to water your plants while you're on vacation.
Yes, you COULD do that, but it's wasteful and unnecessary. And last I checked, wasteful and unnecessary weren't the hallmarks of a "simple" design.
Thanks to bios boot-at-specified-time, and OS shutdown-at-specified-time, this could actually be perfectly plausible.
I remember not-so-fondly the reason causing Windows to "power down" to a power-wasting state with a the sky/cloud banner stating that "It's now safe to shut down your computer now" back in Windows 95. Even with 98 lots of hardware was unable to shut off on its own.
I wish some standard would unify auto power-*up* management at the BIOS level (even if Linux gets locked out of the hardware deal). I really liked how plain old Macs had a universal control area going over sleep countdowns, screensavers, powerdown
s/unless from outside the BIOS
Well, IBM did it with the AS400 (iSeries). Double abstraction meant that application binaries compiled on the smallest box in the range could be copied to the largest box in the range, and the operating system would automatically re-compile those binaries to work with the different microcode. That's not ported, not re-written - literally copied to tape and restored on the larger box.
It meant that hardware upgrades (as your wildly successful company expanded) weren't accompanied by the cost of re-wr
Now all you have to do is solve the screen real estate, colour, resolution, memory abstraction and you home and hosed. Of course you have to forget those pesky mobile phones as well.
Reality is what you are after is an IDE that you code in one language and architecture and it writes the code for the other architecture and language types that you want to use. So a big bloaty IDE rather than M$ typical solution bloated clunky OS with half arsed solutions and a whole lot of promise with only random temporary
I always thought that "elegant" and "simple" were nearly synonymous. The reason code isn't elegant is, some people don't understand their tools, others don't understand machines, others don't understand the programs they are trying to write, and yet others are just plain lazy.
I mean, if developers can't even be bothered to go back and remove their comments from the code they've written before releasing the code, that is just plain LAZY!! Why load a 12 MB executable into memory, when removing the cruft wou
I don't know what the hell kind of compiler you're using to generate these crufty executables, but GCC produces the exact same binaries for source with comments vs source code without.
Or am I missing a joke here?
As I understand it, comments are only retained in interpreted-code applications, but are ignored/removed when compiling an executable because the code is being 'translated' to lower-level machine language in the compiling process. So, there would be no point of removing comments from the source in the latter case, in fact it would present a project-management nightmare to have source code with zero comments when you (or, especially, someone else) has to dig in to the original source to make changes later o
Due to the varying level of sarcasm in your post, my detector's MoE is +/-50% so this remark may be completely irrelevant. When you're discussing compiled languages it's not customary to remove your comments, for two primary reasons.
Almost nothing is strictly interpretted these days. Almost any language I can think of thats not hard compiled at least gets reduced to bytecode , and in many cases then JIT compiled on the fly.
Short of a bytecode compilation speed-bump, the comments won't affect a thing.
"Firefox would be a great operating system, if only it had a decent web browser"
Because I don't want an OS that only uses one of my CPU cores!!!!
no one seems to be concerned with the Windows 8 part of the story.
Are Microsoft so directionless these days that they would consider a move that makes the ENTIRE windows stack basically irrelevant?
If people start coding for HTML5, suddenly windows is out of the picture, because the apps would run just as well on linux or mac.
I thought the whole reason for Windows' existence was windows-specific software. If we remove that, what does windows have going for it?
You are forgetting the extend and embrace part of the equation. Microsoft will add HTML 5 extensions and tie ins to the underlying subsystem. The result will be that they get to claim to be a completely open platform while remaining totally proprietary.
It has been done. The project is in Freshmeat. It was promptly started in 02 or 03 I believe, and abandoned, like most other somewhat interesting projects there. In fact, if memory serves, there may have actually been two of them around the same era. Both long dead. The reason being (as usual) that people on Freshmeat and similar sites would rather tell you how much of a dick you are for trying something interesting, than paying any attention to how novel your project is. At the time, this was revolutionary stuff. Did anyone care? No, of course not. The only time anyone cares about anything Open Source is when there's a marketing budget behind it.
Be that as it may, the Mozilla OS project(s) I vaguely remember were true browser as a platform for desktop style gui projects, ala 'let's build a whole desktop environment in XUL' type stuff. What Microsoft is proposing is not a true browser as a platform system. Closest thing to browser as a platform that's in active development now is Chromium, which looks nothing like Windows 8. Sure, it's nice that Microsoft has finally gotten their head out of their ass with hypertext apps. This has been coming since Windows 95, though, and I'm not seeing anything really all that new in it except compatibility. But if you're going to be least bit critical about it, that's something that should have existed all along.
I remain skeptical.
Why can't HTML app development be a standard library, compatible with all OS's? Well it can - the trouble comes in making the standard be compatible wth the implementations. Making it no longer a standard, and no longer able to run many apps. There's lots of libraries in that situation. Anything that became standardized across platforms would work.
Besides, Google is doing a good enough job already with a browser-based OS if you ask me.
Then they do it in secret labs, cause there's no such thing out in the wild. If you mean ChromeOS, that's not a browser-based OS, but a locked down Gentoo Linux that runs on a locked down file system, running a locked down display manager that runs a locked down Window manager that runs a (you guessed it: locked down) version of the Chrome browser inside it. The browser is four steps away from being an OS -- it's just another app -- the main app, but still just an app.
Having the browser be the OS is by all means possible - if the browser contains a kernel, file system, drivers and everything else needed. But what would the point be?
Sounds like emacs...
It's fine with me Mozilla isn't doing a "Firefox OS". They can focus more of their efforts on the core Firefox product. Besides, Google is doing a good enough job already with a browser-based OS if you ask me.
what efforts? It still doesn't scale to >1 core.
The 'browser as an OS' concept is still stupid.
I could draw it out and make it sound pretty, but its stupid nonetheless. Once you've made the browser so big that it encompasses all possible generic operating system needs, it is too bloated and someone else makes a smaller faster better browser.
Operating systems and browsers are two different things.
Now as a work environment, say a desktop interface, browsers have potential, and that's what most people mean, but even there, the security problems of dividing up what is local data and what is remote, what should be executable and what shouldn't becomes a nightmare that is easier to handle when avoided completely.
HTML5 isn't the best way to write any application; that's why almost everyone else who's made an HTML based platform has moved to a native one after the fact. Does HTML need the features necessary to write generic applications? Certainly not. The overloading of protocols (everything as HTTP) and formats (everything as HTML/CSS) is just short sighted laziness.
Please make it stop.
Once you've made the browser so big that it encompasses all possible generic operating system needs, it is too bloated and someone else makes a smaller faster better browser.
Now there's a thought.. Mozilla can wait until everyone else gets all bloated, then they can launch a new project to create a fast, lightweight standalone browser without all the bloat of their current offering.
Chrome was the tiny fast lightweight browser yesterday. I wonder who's next.
Firefox was, but it turns out that people actually want a complete web browser. If you don't believe me just look at Chrome, it was faster and now it's bloating up with features the way that Firefox did.
OTOH, Opera was fast and still is fast, but AFAIK they never did bloat up with features and they're being buried by Firefox, Chrome and IE at the present time.
Does HTML need the features necessary to write generic applications? Certainly not.
And you couldn't do the exact same thing with native code because...?
The 'browser as an OS' concept is still stupid
At this point, "browser as an OS" is actually already meaningless. It's just using JS as a programming language, and HTML5 as an UI framework.
HTML5 isn't the best way to write any application; that's why almost everyone else who's made an HTML based platform has moved to a native one after the fact.
I'm aware of two HTML-only platforms: early iOS, and early webOS. So far as I know, only iOS truly "went native" - on webOS you get NDK for apps such as games, but if you want any UI it still has to be HTML.
Now, one thing to remember about iOS is that, back when it came out, HTML5 was still early in development, and JS was not yet optimized anywhere near as good as it
The 'browser as an OS' concept is still stupid.
[...] Once you've made the browser so big that it encompasses all possible generic operating system needs, it is too bloated and someone else makes a smaller faster better browser.
The whole point of the "browser is an OS" is not to "encompass all possible generic operating system needs". The idea is that most of those needs will be handled by a "the cloud". Most of the time, when Microsoft or an IT manager talks about it, that doesn't mean anything sensible. However, when Google talks about it, it really means
If that list scares you, then it should. Basically what you are saying here is that when you move to a "Browser is the OS set up" what you are actually moving to is a "Google is your administrator and your system and all applications are controlled by them set up". You had better hope they are nice http://www.theregister.co.uk/odds/bofh/ [slashdot.org]>operators
Operating systems and browsers are two different things.
You are answering the wrong question here. The question isn't "should I build these things separately". The question is, "should the user have any understanding of the underlying operating system, and if so, do I need any more interface to it than a web browser can provide?" The Google answer is "no". Fundamentally, you as a naive user, surrender everything to Google. Your so the OS is still there, just the user doesn't have to worry about what it does or how it works.
HTML5 isn't the best way to write any application; that's why almost everyone else who's made an HTML based platform has moved to a native one after the fact.
Given that nobody has fully implemented it ye very few of the people who used HTML used HTML 5, so that comparison isn't yet made. Probably we should come back to that ten years from now to get the proper empirical data. However, every potential alternative platform has problems:
Does HTML need the features necessary to write generic applications? Certainly not.
Again it's the wrong question. The question is: "does it make sense for the people writing the HTML 5 standard to make generic applications possible". The answer is "unfortunately yes". They see a gap in the market and they are closest to filling it. Let's be clear what the gap is:
Basically what you are saying here is that when you move to a "Browser is the OS set up" what you are actually moving to is a "Google is your administrator and your system and all applications are controlled by them set up".
I can't imagine Microsoft deliberately walking into that.
No, it seems much more like, Google and others may provide a software-as-a-service version (pure Web), but it can also run locally. At this point, it's essentially a replacement for the other platforms you mentioned -- Java being the closest, I think.
I do wish there was more emphasis on local servers, but as a developer and a user, I actually like this trend. As a developer, it means that while my frontend is forced into HTML/CSS/JavaScript, my backen
The 'browser as an OS' concept is still stupid. Once you've made the browser so big that it encompasses all possible generic operating system needs, it is too bloated and someone else makes a smaller faster better browser.
Somehow I want to read Godel's theorem [wikipedia.org] again...
Please make it stop.
One might as well ask the sun not to rise. People are ignorant and know only what they see. The internal workings of the software that runs their daily lives are so far beyond them as to be indistinguishable from magic. Those who know what is available and what they want will continue to use the proper tools, which will always exist, while the masses use their 'browser as an OS' tablets and complain about not being able to work offline or how slow and crappy their tablet is compared to their previous comput
The term is "mission creep" and it's a bad thing. I see no logical reason why Firefox would need its own OS when it presently runs on more than just one OS. And for that matter more than one free OS.
Just install a very lightweight linux distro. Install firefox on it. Set it to full screen mode.
Done. No need to reinvent the wheel.
Sshhhh.... reinventing the wheel is what we in IT get paid for, half the time!
Sshhhh.... reinventing the wheel is what we in IT get paid for, half the time!
Sshhhh.... reinventing the wheel is what we in IT get paid for, half the time!
yes. We actually re-invent the wheel 100% of the time, but we only get paid for half.
I am working on building out the Amorphous OS, (you can Google it) Firefox or something like it would be a big part of it's functionality.
>The 'browser as an OS' concept is still stupid.
Yes, we already have browsers,
A Cloud based OS and blurring the lines between OS executable binaries and HTML though isn't a stupid idea.
I've already given a talk at BAFUG, and am preparing presentations and design docs for each subsystem.
why Mozilla hasn't considered a Firefox OS?
I heard you like buying paying for terabytes of RAM, so I stuck a firefox in your firefox so you can bloat while you bloat...
Because then they'd have to deal with all the hardware support and driver incompatibility bullshit that Microsoft and Apple and the Linux crew have to deal with. Not everybody wants to code at the metal level.
Am I the only one who just wants a browser?
For me the centerpiece of the OS is the file manager and the tools to do my tasks. I don't want to have to depend on just a browser or webapps that don't have local code to run from your physical computer. We know the cloud is not 100% reliable (sure, it's not 100% unreliable either, but until there's no choice but to use it, I want to use that choice).
For me the centerpiece of the OS is the file manager and the tools to do my tasks
This is an argument against the browser as OS and gets +4 insightful? The mind boggles.
1 - File manager as centerpiece of OS:
A - A file manager is an app (of my choosing) which runs on top of my OS.
B - As we have already seen browser (IE / Konqueror) is hard to distinguish from a file manager (Explorer / Konqueror) and so if we accept your argument that the file manager is the centerpiece of an OS there is evidence aplenty that a browser is said centerpiece.
2 - "The tools to do my tasks" as co-centerpiece of an OS.
If ever there was a classic definition of "applications" it was "the tools to do my tasks". The OS is the tool to do the application's tasks. If we're going to zoom out and take such a broad view of what an OS is (it sounds to me like you're describing a desktop environment ) how are current browsers not inches away from that already?
We know the cloud is not 100% reliable
Where in the concept of "browser as OS" is "no off-line content" made explicit?
For me the centerpiece of the OS is the file manager and the tools to do my tasks. I don't want to have to depend on just a browser or webapps that don't have local code to run from your physical computer. We know the cloud is not 100% reliable (sure, it's not 100% unreliable either, but until there's no choice but to use it, I want to use that choice).
For me, latency is one of the many issues. Haven't you ever had your Internet connection crawling at a snail's pace because of congestion?
Who wants their app data stored on such an iffy environment? Maybe higher bandwidth would help, but I am about 5 kilometres from the nearest phone exchange and I only get about 400 KB/second max - often less (like when a family member is watching YouTube).
And then there is this thing called the Pacific Ocean, which many of my packets have to cross...
Give me local storage.
No... they're saying "hey all you web developers out there, you can make apps for us now too without having to learn anything new! Now whip together your facebook/amazon/ebay website app ports in 1/10th the time it takes you to do so on iphone/ipad!"
The official demos [youtube.com] so far have focused on HTML5/JS as a development platform for Windows 8. Nothing has been said about it being "the best way to port code between different versions of Windows". For that matter, nothing has been said about the need to port code at all.
Until September [buildwindows.com], anyone who tells you that they know anything other than what's said in that video (like this Slashdot story) is presenting his guesswork as facts.
The big issue when it comes to OS design is the API, and if it can possibly be an improvement over what is currently out there. Think about it, it's all about making an API for programmers to code for that will be better in some way, shape, or form compared to what else is out there. For phones, you see Android, WebOS, iOS, and the list goes on. Some use Linux under the API, so what API would be better? How many attempts will there be to slap a new API on top of Linux, call it a new OS, and then
your PC in c++ ? your PC in javascript ? your connexion to the interwebs ? the cloud's servers ?
You've got your answer !
MS needs a browser based OS to maintain market share in the world of sub-$500 internet devices. We have seen these fail, and everyone is saying lack of mobile broadband is going to kill them, but these are going to be targeted at home user with WiFi that want inexpensive machines that can move around the house. The benefit is going to be reliability, and MS want to take users away from Apple in this lucrative market and return them to MS.
Likewise Google has to have a mobile OS to continue to collect information. The mobile OS is prefect for Google because everything a user does is recorded, track, mined, and sold. Google already has significant market share, so, as we see, the internet devices are being sold at a healthy profit, and the benefit to the user are free applications after the fact. This gives MS hope as it can often intimidate manufacturers to sell at a less healthy profit in return for marketing support that will create the volume that MS wants.
So we have one company that wants a WebOS to keep it office franchise alive, another that wants to keep the advertising money flowing. Where would mozzila be? They have no market share concerns, they have no free apps, and there is no open hardware platform for a table or internet computer. So one can buy an expensive laptop, pay the internet tax, and then install this great Mozilla OS. We have seen how well this works for Linux. Or one can buy the allegedly open Android or Chrome tablet and install Mozilla. What is the point? Chrome is not a bad OS.
As we have seen on the iPhone, software developers don't want to develop for the web browser. They want native Apps. The machine needs to do both, unless one is in the business of locking in users like MS or Google.
MS needs a browser based OS to maintain market share in the world of sub-$500 internet devices.
That makes no sense at all. Microsoft needs to continue lock people into things like
Likewise Google has to have a mobile OS to continue to collect information.
This much
Because they invented the concept and had already rejected it?
"which raises the question that why Mozilla hasn't considered a Firefox OS?"
Mozilla has considered a Firefox OS and decided against it.
Using Google Chrome as an example, the Chromebooks serve a small niche of users who only do specific tasks. Real OS's like OS X, Windows and Linux provide the ability of satisfying all user types to do any task.
Besides, explain to me how a Firefoxbook/pad would be able to compete with a Chromebook when it'd take several hours to boot after grandma accidentally let FF install 100 different useless add-ons.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't understand why people are hyped up about stuff like this.
I remember back in the day, when I actually wanted to major in CS, Java came out. Yes, that long ago. And the big thing about Java was that you would be able to write code that was platform-independent, and just rely on a Java interpreter that would be released on any necessary platforms. Which is why everything is written in Java now...
I'm just saying, using a browser as a conveyance for some sort of universal HTML-based software market just seems like a new version of an old idea that didn't pan out in the first place.
Also, not to nitpick (well, yes to nitpick), but I think that part that says "suddenly every piece of software works..." needs a bit of filling out. Especially at the "suddenly" part.
Also also, Mozilla would be better off not trying to be the Gobot to Google's Transformer, if you see what I mean. That niche is already being filled by Google. Mozilla should focus on making a niche for Firefox, not making it an also-ran to Chrome OS. Full disclosure, I'm not a fan of Firefox since Chrome came out, and since I put Opera on my Droid. But, there must be some area where Firefox excels, because it has a solid base of users. They should exploit and enhance that area.
And the big thing about Java was that you would be able to write code that was platform-independent, and just rely on a Java interpreter that would be released on any necessary platforms. Which is why everything is written in Java now...
I don't think that's the biggest reason. I think the biggest reason is that it was reasonably similar to other 800-lb gorillas, like C++, but included things like garbage collection.
I'm just saying, using a browser as a conveyance for some sort of universal HTML-based software market just seems like a new version of an old idea that didn't pan out in the first place.
Maybe so, but here are some things that help:
First, there are multiple implementations with significant marketshare. If your app didn't run on things like kaffe or gcj, no big loss -- if one of Oracle's flagship JDeveloper-based frameworks doesn't work on OpenJDK today, they don't care -- hell, one of the bigger reasons Java fai
Most are, but they can also get to the Chrome extension API, I think. That, and it means Google can sell them the way they can sell other "apps", which means that whether it's "just a website" or not, I can actually sell it to you as if it was a thing.
So basically MS coders have now finally made it possible to create a single piece of software and have it run on ANY computer? As long as it runs the Windows... Windows 8? WOW! Amazing! This tech will SET the WORLD alight and give me apps that look and function exactly the same on my 3 screen desktop as on my phone...
Why is there no Firefox OS? Actually, there are LOTS of apps that use the Mozilla code base to create apps that run on ANY OS the browser runs on. Take firebug. Runs on Linux, OSX and even Wind
All science is either physics or stamp collecting. -- Ernest Rutherford


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Cambridge 2012 / Rounding The Corner
series: This Old House
air date: 6/30/13 3:00 AM
After a visit to "this old record store," Kevin helps Roger install plastic drywells to keep the yard from flooding in heavy rains and checks out the sleek new cabinets with kitchen designer Kathy Marshall. Learn about thermostats that program themselves and Ipe deck tiles that go right over an old deck.
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The first family's fashion parade for Monday's inaugural festivities was led by Michelle Obama in a navy-silk, checkered-patterned coat and dress by Thom Browne.
The rest of her outfit included a J. Crew belt, a Cathy Waterman necklace and a cardigan by Reed Krakoff, whose ensemble she also wore to yesterday's intimate, indoor swearing-in ceremony.
President Barack Obama wore a blue tie with his white shirt, dark suit and overcoat. Malia Obama had on a plum-colored J. Crew coat with the hemline of an electric-blue dress peeking out, and Sasha had on a Kate Spade coat and dress in a similar purple shade.
Mrs. Obama has worn Browne's designs for other occasions, including a gray dress with black lace overlay to one of the presidential debates last fall.


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A cut in federal dollars could mean fewer drug agents in east Mississippi. Thirteen drug task force units in Mississippi are facing major cuts. In all, federal public safety grants for the state have been slashed from $5 million to $1.9 million. This is money that is used to fund: drug courts, task force units and other crime fighting efforts.
Currently, the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department has eight agents and at least two civilians who work with the East Mississippi Drug Task Force. The salaries for four of those agents and one of the administrative assistants is primarily paid for with federal grant funds.
Because the federal money, which comes to the state and pays for those salaries, was cut by more than half, Lauderdale County Sheriff Billy Sollie says the number of his staff with the task force will likely be reduced.
"We could have potentially half of the workforce that we have there today. That's going to be less agents to do undercover monitoring of the illegal trafficking of drugs."
In turn, Sheriff Sollie is concerned that the reduction in drug task force personnel will increase crime.
"We all know that drug use is associated with criminal behavior. If we are unable to identify and remove those people who are consuming and/or distributing drugs, crime is only going to go up."
If there is a bright spot in this situation, Sheriff Sollie says it's that despite federal cuts to the task force, the agents who are hired through his office will still have a job.
"No one's going to lose their job. We'll absorb them back into the sheriff's department if we have to."
At this time Sheriff Sollie says it's unknown how much funding the East Mississippi Drug Task Force will lose due to the federal cuts.
Last year the East Mississippi Drug Task Force received $145,000 in federal funds. Lauderdale County contributed $104,000 in allocations and matching funds. The city of Meridian has one agent employed with the task force, and last year it contributed $24,000 in matching funds. According to Sheriff Sollie, 75% of the cases that the East Mississippi Drug Task Force handles in Lauderdale County occur within the city of Meridian.


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Talk:Rocco Pelosi
| This talk page is for discussing the Rocco Pelosi article.
This includes commenting on the article, questioning whether it is correct, or adding suggestions for improvements
Questions about GTA games, not about the wiki page itself, should be asked at Community:Questions.Remember to always add your signature to the end of your comments/replies using four tildes:
It is a little wierd that Rocco is the made guy and not Vincent. You'd think it would be the other way around.
I'm a little curious I noticed that it says in this article that Rocco is 32. Where is the source of that information?
I'll admit Rocco looks 32 but we don't know for sure as he does not have an LCPD database record so we can't confirm his age.
Tony said, that Rocco's age near the age of majority in Utah. So it's about 19 or something. Orto Dogge 10:44, April 30, 2010 (UTC)
So why would someone list his age on here as if that's what it is when it's only an estimate and no one even relly knows how old he is? Rocco looks way younger than Ray Boccino and he is 32. Of course to me Ray looks like he should be about ten years older like in his 40's. But regardless the game actually states his age so my point is if a character's age is never confirmed that means we simply dont know how old that person is. Simply making up an age doesn't help provide accurate information.
i think when it comes to the characters who don't have ages i think it should be left to the fans to decide an age i wouldn't say he's 32 probably like 29 maybe but alot of characters don't look as old as the game confirms so he could be atleast 32 who knows it's up to the player i guess


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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Kid-friendly Mojito
Lemonade sweetened with honey is my all time fav drink in summer. What's yours?
25 comments:
- Sharlene T. said...
I've been growing Stevia for the past three years and it has become my all-time favorite herb for offsetting sharpness in tomato dishes etc... for drinks, I just crush the leaves a bit and let them infuse the drink... like the idea of the drops, though... what a clever drink... come visit when you can
Twitter: SolarChief
- July 29, 2010 at 7:30 AM
- lequan@luvtoeat said...
This is kid friendly and mom friendly too. I'm a lightweight drinker and love mojitos so I must try this. Bet my kiddies would like this too. Thank you for sharing.
- July 29, 2010 at 9:15 AM
- Katerina said...
What a great idea for kids. I will try to make it for my child. I am sure he will love it.
- July 29, 2010 at 9:39 AM
- Carolyn Jung said...
That's so cute to have a kid-version while you enjoy your high-octane, adult one. ;)
- July 29, 2010 at 3:16 PM
- Sustainable Eats said...
I've long wanted one of those Japanese pestles and have lots of mint in the backyard. We also have a yuzu tree not yet producing. I can't wait to be able to make drinks like this from the yard soon! Thanks for linking in to Simple Lives Thursday!
- July 29, 2010 at 4:18 PM
- Erin said...
I've made one that was similar with lime sparkling water and a squeeze of lime. A small amount of honey or stevia for sweetener, and I'm set!
- July 30, 2010 at 7:23 AM
- Mimi said...
I love kid friendly cocktails. I'm beginning to find many of our adult friends prefer the alcohol free versions.
- August 1, 2010 at 5:28 PM
- SteamyKitchen said...
LOL just wait until my kid tells his teacher that I made him a mojito! ;-)
- August 2, 2010 at 4:58 AM
- Juliana said...
I love mojito and this kid-friendly sounds delicious...SO refreshing!
- August 2, 2010 at 10:22 AM
- Abby said...
Such a cute idea! I love that he asked for the recipe; a chef in the making! Thanks for stopping by.
- August 2, 2010 at 4:42 PM
- girlichef said...
Well, that's nice of you to make it kid friendly...nicer than I would've been ;) Sounds great...so refreshing!
- August 2, 2010 at 4:47 PM
- Brenda said...
I have more mint in my backyard than I know what to do with and do you know a mojito never even crossed my mind!? What's wrong with me, lol! Thanks for a great idea!!!
- August 2, 2010 at 4:48 PM
- Chow and Chatter said...
oh that is such a fab idea I have mint to use
- August 2, 2010 at 5:48 PM
- Koko said...
This is the cutest idea!! When I was young my parents would give me a'gin & tonic' sometimes...really just tonic water with a lime, but I loved it!
- August 2, 2010 at 6:03 PM
- scrambledhenfruit said...
Your mojito sounds lovely and refreshing- I love mint! I've never used stevia, but I've heard it's wonderful. Lately I've been using agave nectar to sweeten things. Lemonade based drinks have to be my favorites as well- watermelon, strawberry, cherry are all yummy additions to it. Thanks!
- August 2, 2010 at 6:27 PM
- tigerfish said...
All the little ones will be happy!
- August 2, 2010 at 10:23 PM
- Anna said...
That's a great idea, and the adults can have the real one. Yummm!
- August 2, 2010 at 11:14 PM
- Lori Lynn said...
Good idea, sounds refreshing. I'll try it out on my nephews.
- August 3, 2010 at 4:25 AM
- Kristen said...
You are the winner of my Tropical Traditions coconut chips giveaway. Please send me an email with your mailing information to
frugalantics (at) yahoo (dot)com
Oh and the mojito sounds great!
- August 4, 2010 at 10:13 PM
- elra said...
yahooooo, I like this kid friendly version. Thank you :)
- August 6, 2010 at 1:58 PM
- Brad said...
How creative! Sounds much better than a Shirley temple?
- August 7, 2010 at 11:21 AM
- 5 Star Foodie said...
A kid-friendly mojito sounds terrific, just a perfect family drink in this heat (especially for us since we came back from the cool Ireland!)
- August 9, 2010 at 8:27 AM
- MaryMoh said...
This drink looks very refreshing. In summer we love lots of lime drink too with honey and a pinch of salt.
- August 9, 2010 at 9:09 AM
- Trissa said...
Just perfect for me! I don't drink so a mojito without alcohol sounds so refreshing. This reminds me too - my husband loves Mojitos - now if we are out at a bar I can try and order a non-alcoholic one. If they tell me they don't know how to make it I'll just point them to your blog. Haha!
- August 13, 2010 at 11:43 PM
- Kelly said...
Love that you thought to make a kid friendly mojito. Sounds delicious!
- August 16, 2010 at 8:44 PM


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Art & Treasures
June 16–18, 2011
|Credit Line
|treasures.jpg 541KB
photo by Gary Graham
|Discover great bargains at Rochester's most prestigious garage sale! Art & Treasures features the best in gently used antiques, artwork, jewelry, china, porcelain, silver, crystal, fine linens and small furniture items. In addition to the Friday and Saturday sale days, the popular annual event includes a Thursday evening "Bargains and Beer" Preview Party. More information
Sponsored by the Gallery Council with all sales to benefit MAG.
|treasures2.jpg 182KB
photo by James M. Via
|volunteer.jpg 667KB
|RandallHerold-handbag.jpg 503KB
|Shown at left, from top: Among the treasures at this year's sale are a leather handbag by Randall Herold, a 1971 Pooh Bear from the Fort Wilderness opening at Disney World, and decorative glassware items.
|PoohBear.jpg 293KB
|CutGlassBowl.jpg 536KB
|Cups.jpg 675KB


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DETROIT — Two women were shot and killed Sunday at a senior center in Detroit and a third resident of the facility was taken into custody in an apparent domestic dispute, police said.
The shooting happened after the 65-year-old suspect had an argument with his girlfriend that led to the end of their relationship, police said in a news release. They said the man went to his apartment in the center during the evening hours, retrieved a rifle and started looking for two other residents.
Police said he found the first woman, a 54-year-old friend of the ex-girlfriend, and shot her once. They said he then found the second woman, a 65-year-old, and shot her multiple times.
The 54-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital and the 65-year-old died at the scene. Police said neither was the ex-girlfriend. Their names were not immediately released.
A police spokeswoman did not immediately return a message to The Associated Press for comment.
The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press reported that the Pablo Davis Elder Living Center was evacuated and that officers moved residents to police buses to keep them warm.
The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was taken into custody minutes after the shooting without further incident, police said in their release. Officers searched the building to make sure there were no other victims, according to the release.
"I didn't see the rifle until he got right on top of us," Paul Fratangelo, who said he witnessed the shooting, told The Detroit News. "I said 'Oh, my God ...' He said 'Get on the ground and start praying.'
"It was the grace of God that he didn't shoot me. I really thought he was going to shoot me. I thought it was over. Instead, he shot both my friends."
It's not clear how many people live at the center, which holds 80 apartment units, according to the newspaper reports.


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Mark Pacini, Todd Keller and Jack Mathews, respectively the former Game Director, Art Director and Principal Technology Engineer of the Metroid Prime series, had left Retro Studios in April. Today the team also announced an exclusive publishing deal with Electronic Arts--but the deal is a bit unconventional.
Speaking to Kotaku, Pacini revealed that Armature will join EA's Blueprint Division. Rather than make ordinary studio games, Armature will spend its time developing prototypes. Once a prototype is chosen for full-fledged development, that work will be moved to another studio while Armature's small staff remains on board as directors.
"EA approached us with this really interesting business model of creating a small studio that is only comprised of industry veterans," Pacini said. "The goal is to create new IP [intellectual property] with a very, very small team and to produce a game without having to grow that team."
"We are interested to see how it goes past the prototype stage," he continued. "Our studio is the grand experiment. It's kind of a really different take on how to make these larger scale games."
Armature is now hiring.


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Brian Davis, Superintendent of Holland Public Schools, was inducted into the Michigan Association of School Administrators� Winners� Circle on Thursday.
The Winners� Circle is MASA�s way of recognizing members whose leadership has launched or adapted an effective program or practice, that achieves results and that could be replicated in other districts.
Eleven administrators were honored at an awards luncheon during MASA�s Midwinter Conference in Grand Rapids.
Davis was recognized in the Winners� Circle for modeling practices that support 21st century learning, including the use of the learning management syste, Edmodo.
�Superintendent Davis seeks to effectively lead this vision by modeling what he is asking his teachers to do with �any time, any place and any pace� formats,� a news release read. "To demonstrate one model of �flipped instruction� and the use of a learning management system, he �flipped� his back-to-school professional staff development address. Several video vignettes were published on the district website. Staff received a communication by email with instructions to watch the videos and take a quiz on material covered in the videos.�
�Public educators throughout Michigan are using innovative practices to improve results for kids,� MASA Executive Director William Mayes said. �Dr. Davis provided a great example of that. By including him in this year�s Winners� Circle, we get to spread good ideas to other school leaders in the state.�
Davis also won the Region 3 MASA Superintendent of the Year in 2011.
� Lisa Ermak
Holland Public Schools Superintendent Brian Davis honored by statewide association
Brian Davis, Superintendent of Holland Public Schools, was inducted into the Michigan Association of School Administrators� Winners� Circle on Thursday.


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2013 Baseball
Heidelberg 7, Bluffton 2
Heidelberg rallies in ninth for 7-2 win over Beavers
March 9, 2013
By: Kyle Stover, sports information assistant
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - The Bluffton University Beavers faced off with perennial powerhouse Heidelberg University in the Snowbird Baseball Classic on Saturday, March 9, taking a 2-1 lead into the eighth inning before eventually falling 7-2 to the Student Princes. A two-run eighth and four-run ninth inning handed Bluffton just its third loss of the young season, giving the Beavers a tough end to what was a successful Florida trip.
Ben Roeschley (Graymont, Ill./Flanagan) gave Bluffton a superb start on the mound, going 7.2 innings and allowing just three runs while striking out five. Roeschley (1-1) got out of a few jams early in the game, giving the Beavers opportunities to build a lead, but still took the loss as Bluffton's offense was unable to get things going against the Student Princes.
Todd Stover (Tipp City/Tippecanoe) and Brad Schlabach (Fredericksburg/Hiland) came on in relief for Roeschley, allowing four runs in their combined 1.1 innings of work.
Bluffton struck first, scoring in the second inning to take an early lead. A Greg Franks (Smithville) double followed by a Jake Townley (Mansfield/Madison) RBI single gave the Beavers a 1-0 lead. Heidelberg bounced back to tally a run of its own in the top of the third, tying the game at one.
The game would remain tied at one until the seventh inning when Bluffton was able to get things going again on offense. The inning began with a double by Tim Webb (Delaware/Worthington Christian). Franks followed that up by reaching on an error by the third baseman with Webb advancing to third before Townley drove in another run, this time with a sacrifice fly to center field. That was all the Beavers were able to produce in the inning, going down in order after the sacrifice RBI by Townley.
Bluffton put runners into scoring position in the bottom of the eighth and ninth innings, but were not able to cash in as Heidelberg pulled away for the victory. A leadoff walk by Webb followed by a single from Franks in the bottom of the ninth gave the Beavers some life, but that was short-lived as Townley grounded into a double play to end the threat.
Kyle Niermann (Napoleon) led the Beaver offense, going 3-of-4 on the day, all singles. Townley drove in both runs for Bluffton.
Heidelberg improved to 6-1 on the year, while Bluffton fell to 7-3. The Beavers are back in action again on March 14 when they host Wilmington College in the home opener at Memorial Field. The contest with the Quakers is slated to start at 4:15 p.m.


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Waikumete Cemetery will be full by 2018. What to do next?
Press Release – Auckland Council
If you have loved ones in Waikumete Cemetery, or an interest in the heritage, parks or wildlife of the reserve, you are invited to an open day at the Waikumete Cemetery offices on Saturday 1 December to discuss the cemetery's future growth and management.
The cemetery is expected to reach burial capacity by around 2018. The open day aims to let the public hear more about the issues and opportunities facing the cemetery, and be a part of the consultation process. This is required every 10 years as part of the review of the Reserve and Conservations Management Plan.
According to Richard Mann, Community Facilities Manager at Auckland Council, "Waikumete Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in the Southern Hemisphere. At its peak in the 60's and 70's, we believe every resident in Auckland had or knew somebody who was connected to the cemetery. It is an important facility for Aucklanders throughout the region and we want as many people as possible to have a say in its future management and development."
Other questions that will be raised during the open day include whether some areas of existing vegetation can be cleared to allow for expansion of the burial areas and what the public thinks about more walkways, recreational activities and family events being held in the cemetery's reserve areas.
At 108 hectares, Waikumete provides for 15 per cent of all burials in Auckland and is the largest cemetery in New Zealand with over 180,000 internments. It is the only cemetery that has dedicated areas for those of the Jewish faith and is one of only two in the region that provides for Muslim burials.
The cemetery also has an Urupa for Maori burials and caters for eco-burials which are unmarked apart from the planting of a native tree. It is also home to the largest Service Persons Cemetery and has significant memorials for those who died in the Erebus disaster in 1979 and the Flu Epidemic of the early 1900's.
The open day is from 10am to 1pm this Saturday. More information on the open days and the consultation process is available on the Auckland Council website – search 'Waikumete Cemetery'.
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
Original url


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The Italian Committee of IUCN has released a new assessment of Italy's animal and plant species. On International Biodiversity Day, 22 May, the Committee has organized an event to launch the results of the two national Red List produced.
Italian Red List of Terrestrial vertebrates (including sharks, rays and marine mammals)
All freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, breeding birds, mammals and cartilaginous fish native or possibly native to Italy and those possibly introduced to Italy in prehistoric times have been included in the evaluation.
Of the 672 vertebrates assessed (576 terrestrial and 96 marine), 6 have become Regionally Extinct in recent times. Threatened species total 161 (138 terrestrial and 23 marine), corresponding to 28% of the species assessed. Ca. 50% of the Italian vertebrates are not currently at imminent risk of extinction.
Overall the populations of Italian vertebrates are declining, more in the marine than in the terrestrial environment. Knowledge on the extinction risk and population trends is poorer in the marine environment.
The main threats in the terrestrial environment are habitat loss and pollution. The number of species threatened by hunting and direct persecution is relatively small. The main threat in the marine environment is accidental mortality, but this depends on the species evaluated here (cartilaginous fish) having little commercial interest.
The assessments of extinction risk were based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria and the most updated guidelines. The assessments have been carried out in workshops with taxonomic focus and involving experts covering different regions of Italy, and have been evaluated according to the IUCN standards.
Italian Red List of Plants
As part of the Mediterranean global biodiversity hotspot, the Italian flora is particularly rich in species, many of which endemic to restricted territories. In some areas of Italy endemic plant species reach very high percentages, between 13% and 20% of the local flora. However, plant diversity in the Mediterranean Basin is facing several threats due to changes of the current socio-economic dynamics. Italy is not an exception and urgent conservation measures are needed to halt the loss of biodiversity and preserve the numerous threatened species.
Despite the policy species and most of the other assessed taxa are protected at the national or international level, the data analysis revealed a critic conservation status of a great number of taxa (45% of the policy species), some already extinct in Italy or near extinction. Two endemic species are completely extinct and others still survive ex situ in botanical gardens. The main threats to plant diversity in Italy are represented by uncontrolled urbanization and infrastructure development, followed by the impact of intensive farming and recreational activities. Regarding the latter threat, criticisms can occur even inside protected areas, due to touristic infrastructure development and when sensitive areas are not properly patrolled.
This research is the output of a project started in 2012, funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment for the Protection of Land and Sea and carried out by the Italian Botanical Society, which has brought together the expertise of more than 200 Italian botanists.
The result is a partial Red List of the Italian flora, but including all the 197 Italian policy species, namely the species listed in the annexes of the Directive 92/43/EEC "Habitat" and in the annexes of the Berne Convention. A further group of species (including vascular species, lichens, briophytes and fungi), among the most threatened or endemic has also been assessed against the IUCN Criteria and Categories.
In the light of the present study, in situ and ex situ conservation practices (e.g. seed banking, translocation, etc.) are urgently needed, as well as a continuous monitoring of the conservation status of species and populations and a more appropriate management of the species-rich areas (i.e. protected area management, establishment of protected areas like IPAs, Site of Community Importance, etc.). Finally, a further effort for a higher number of assessments is highly recommended in the next future.


text: After dabbling in dictatorship with Tropico 3 and 4, Haemimont Games is branching out to a new form of ruthless ruling, mixing it up with the Cosa Nostra in Omerta - City of Gangsters. The mafia sim will mix real-time mob empire management with turn-based tactical combat in what publisher Kalypso calls a "historically accurate representation" of 1920s New Jersey's glamorous Atlantic City. Players will be able to work their way up from a new mook to mob don, building an empire and buffing up henchmen through an "RPG system" with gear. The sim side will involve sending your chaps on missions such as heists, raids, jailbreaks and assassinations, keeping the heat off with bribes, and other shady shenanigans. Then in the turn-based combat, you'll control "The Boss" and his muscle directly. "Cover and stealth are essential parts of any shootout in the game," Kalypso said in a release. "Finding the best vantage point to gun down an enemy, while taking cover from a hailstorm of bullets, can be just as satisfying as sneaking quietly behind a foe and taking him down." Splendid. Omerta will pack competitive and cooperative multiplayer with persistent gangs, as well as a single-player campaign estimated at 15 hours long. The game is tentatively set to come to PC in Q4 2012. Kalypso brought Haemimont's Tropico games to Xbox 360 too, but made no mention of an Omerta console edition in the announcement. A wise guy, eh? First screens from an alpha build