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Why would you actually want to flex a phone? Does it make it more durable or more comfortable to hold in some way? According to the article, it takes a bit of force to do, so I doubt it's the latter.
(This isn't a criticism so much as bewildered curiosity.)
The last few phones my son had to replace where due to cracked screens... He will probably jump on a flexible screen that doesn't shatter when dropped.
Buuut, if he jumps on it
/ sorry
Other than that, it's a marketing gimmick.
Two words: Impact resistance.
I'd say the *majority* of smartphones I see have cracked glass. All it takes is one unfortunate drop. And not from great height. Happened to mine when it slid out of my pocket as I was sitting down...unfortunately above a hard tile floor.
Although I don't think I'd want a curved phone...just drop-proof "glass". I don't think there's any actual glass that's flexible, so this would probably be using a plastic screen...so I'd only buy it if it a good enough plastic too. No point in
That just shows that smacking it against the table imparts more force than bending it slowly. If you freeze it it loses flexibility and will shatter with the same force that would just bend it previously. F=ma. If it's flexible, you get a smaller a on impact.
And yeah, in a perfect world, nobody would ever drop or damage anything. But shit happens.
I honestly I think this, like the Samsung Round, is a "shot in the market" to see what people want. Basically Korean makers now have flexible screens, but can't (yet) make fully flexible phones, so they're just sort of coming up with random phones to see where the interest lies.
It's basically early alpha editions of what will eventually be fully flexible phones. That's my take, anyways, from visiting Korea and seeing this stuff.
Basically Korean makers now have flexible screens, but can't (yet) make fully flexible phones, so they're just sort of coming up with random phones to see where the interest lies.
South Korea and China are huge test beds for new cell phones.
Half of South Korea's population lives in/around Seoul and China has 4 of the top ten largest cities in the world.
Considering that everything is manufactured there (and Japan) it makes sense that they're testing out new things in Asia.
It's basically early alpha editions of what will eventually be fully flexible phones.
The USA and Europe are usually a generation or more behind in technology &/or features.
Which is why we're reading about an "alpha edition" that is only sold in South Korea.
It's also why our wired internet is slow
I honestly I think this, like the Samsung Round, is a "shot in the market" to see what people want. Basically Korean makers now have flexible screens, but can't (yet) make fully flexible phones, so they're just sort of coming up with random phones to see where the interest lies.
It's basically early alpha editions of what will eventually be fully flexible phones. That's my take, anyways, from visiting Korea and seeing this stuff.
Why would I want a fully flexible phone that can be twisted like a block of rubber? A device like this one [dvice.com], for example, would just annoy me. I can see lots of uses for electronic paper, like wallpapering your apartment with it and changing the scenery on the walls depending on your moods (like they did in Cloud Atlas) but rubber phones? Perhaps if the device was mildly bendable and would adjust to the shape of your butt-cheek like this one does when you stuff it into your back trouser pocket that might be
What about a flexible screen that can become rigid on-demand? Unroll your scroll e-reader, and when it opens fully it snaps open and holds its position...then you press a button and it rolls right back up. Could do that with some kind of pneumatic bladders or electromagnets. Or just simple mechanics -- build a frame as hinged rigid sections that open to only 180 degrees..so it won't bend when you tap on it, because it can only bend towards you. Add some magnets to the hinges if you don't want it flapping fo
If it's to help the phone survive drops, then that's what they should talk about.
I can't imagine a reason I would ever want to bend my phone.
Now if I were planning on going to prison, I could see how a bendable phone might make it easier to smuggle one into my cell, but it's still not going to be very comfortable, going in or coming out. And god forbid I get a call while my phone is hidden in a body cavity. I keep my phone on vibrate and it could get very embarrassing.
god forbid I get a call while my phone is hidden in a body cavity. I keep my phone on vibrate and it could get very embarrassing.
Don't be embarrassed; it's okay to feel good!
What do you use as a wallet? Not a rigid box made of metal and glass, I'll wager.
I don't, but some do [alumawallet.com].
No, but a wallet is significantly thicker. It also has to fold in order to reduce money to a more pocketable size(unless we redesign our paper bills to be the size of credit cards - which actually may be a good idea).
If my wallet were the size of a cell phone and didn't fold I'd have no problems with a rigid one - heck I'd probably prefer it. Things get pretty beat up in there as it is.
What do you use as a wallet? Not a rigid box made of metal and glass, I'll wager.
I've never understood how people can sit comfortably with even a normal wallet in their back pocket. I wouldn't keep my phone in a back pocket either.
Why would you actually want to flex a phone?
Given the strange attraction some on slashdot seem to have to technological devices, I'm imagining Rule 34 enters into it.
Durability, thats why.
Think about it, when you drop you phone, a phone that bounces is going to release the kinetic energy as vibration. the phone that is hard and solid is going to absorb the energy.
In science class as a kid, you must have done the experment with shattering a frozen rubberband. Similar concept in reverse
And if can harness that power, we can charge our phones by dropping them!
"Why yes. I did drop my phone on purpose."
I see a lot of people who keep their phones in their back pocket, in which case a flexible phone might be nice to have. Aside from that, I think the point is just to make a phone that can withstand different types of stress and open up more shapes beyond a flat slab.
For example, it seems like have a phone with a slight curve to it (such as the one in TFA) might make it a bit easier to talk with it rested on your shoulder like you could do with old school house phones.
The fly in the ointment so far has been that the most delicate component on a phone is the screen, which has to be on the outside, and has to be the full size of the device. So its impossible to house it inside a protective cage (well, some phone cases attempt to do that, with rather ugly results). But if the screen is flexible it's no longer the most delicate component.
I've never once seen a broken *screen* -- not on a smartphone at least. What I see constantly (more often than not it seems!) is broken *glass*. If this is flexible and still feels like glass, I'd buy it in a second. If it's just crap cheap plastic...then probably not.
Of course, if you replaced the glass on a normal smartphone with something more flexible but kept the rigid screen you probably would see more broken screens....
It's probably because they have some patents on it that Apple doesn't have.
I'm with you there. It particularly seems odd considering that one of the primary adjectives used to describe a device of low quality is "flimsy".
Flexing in most construction implies weakness/lack of durability (whether or not it does here is somewhat irrelevant - the human mind is largely set to think of flexing as bad). Just seems like a strange "feature" to add.
I'm with you there. It particularly seems odd considering that one of the primary adjectives used to describe a device of low quality is "flimsy".
Why is that odd? Flimsy means thin and poor quality. Can't find a single definition that uses 'flexible' or any of its synonymns. So I'm not sure how that's related...
To me, a 'flimsy house' is one that's gonna collapse with a gust of wind. I'd expect something built of corrugated aluminum. A 'flexible house' though is one designed to withstand earthquakes and would be damn near indestructible.
I actually can't think of a single time I've heard 'flexible' considered to be a bad thing. I mean yeah nobody is g
Presumably so that if you drop something heavy onto the screen itself, it'd be less likely to crack under the sudden load.
I don't know if anyone really knows what to do with this technology yet. It's not thin nor flexible enough for shrinking the size of the device while keeping the same maximum screen size. The supporting electronics haven't been miniaturized to that point either.
It does make some kind of wristband screen possible, but that form factor is clunky from a UI perspective if the device is small
But will it blend?
Just like all diodes are light emitting.
This one just can be flexed more than once-- and still function.
How did they make the battery flexible? It's a little light on the details.
Rectilinear "pouch" type lithium-polymer batteries are mostly flexible. It's the glass in the display that isn't. Finding another oxygen barrier that flexes is the real breakthrough.
How did they make the battery flexible? It's a little light on the details.
Exactly. Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. I don't even recall there being a tape or video. It was probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably about a year ago.
Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. I don't even recall there being a tape or video. It was probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably about a year ago.
Rob Ford, is that you?
Same way they made Nike fuel bands flexible.
There's a small part of the band that doesn't flex, and the batteries (and all the other electronics) are in there. That works fine, because the battery is much smaller than the device. It's basically like a wristwatch. Sure, the band bends, but the electronics don't.
For a smartphone the battery is usually around a quarter of the size of the entire device. So that trick doesn't work so well. But this phone is hardly an armband. It flexes slightly, it doesn't wrap, so you wouldn't need much flex in the batte
Soon you will pull out a small device, the same size as an iphone, but with two tubes at either end. And on a whim, you will unroll these tubes, revealing a large horizontal screen, where you can read your internets!
BEHOLD!!! Cometh soon the iSCROLL! For all your iPapyrus needs!
You mean the Earth: Final Conflict communicator. We're already there - the problem is with yield (which makes the displays expensive) and longevity (entire rows/columns dropping out), though.
And yet such a design would fix the issue of trying to see anything useful on these itty bitty little screens. (Oh look, I can read websites either three words per line or three lines per screen!)
In my head though, I'm imagining it sort of like a lint roller, where you hold the handle, and unroll as much screen as you need to use. My imagination can't stop it from looking like anything other than a cheap toy, though.
Easier, you have the screen wrap around to the back, via the side, and the back half deactivated when as a phone. The phone splits open like a horizontal flip phone, except both surfaces are flush and hinges designed to elongate the entire design so the screen is a little stretched (minimizes the fold from previous form). One side of the phone contains the circuitry, logic board, other side the battery and what not.
I actually like the idea of a curved display. I don't fully understand the point of flexible - especially in this instance where it has to be forced so hard.
Forget curved. A retractable display is the feature that we need. This is just a stop-gap for such technology.
It would be cool to make a folding paper fan like phone. Stylish and functional. Changeable patterns and maybe a transparent mode which light flows through it saving on battery life.
That's a pretty big disappointment. We were led to believe that it would flex 180Â like in this picture: http://tech.infaround.com/2013/04/25/lg-to-unveil-new-smartphone-with-flexible-oled-display-later-this-year/ [infaround.com]
This would cover the two big reasons why a phone needs to be replaced, the third being lost/stolen.
Add a tracking system so the phone can be retrieved and you can rule the world.
Oh, great, just what the world needs, the ability for everyone to post to Twitter, Facebook,Youtube etc from the bottom of the pools, including your favorite skinny dipping sites.
including your favorite skinny dipping sites.
I don't see a problem with Instagram, Twitpic, Facebook, and Flickr updates from people skinnydipping.
If you are going to have a flexible screen one would think you wouldn't use glass to cover it. You would need a material that also flexes. If it flexes it isn't going to be very hard and is likely to accumulate scratches like the old-school plastic screens. Not to say the tech is useless; it just seems to have limited applications in today's standard rectangle phones. Perhaps the tech will evolve enough to inspire a new phone design. Until then, meh.
What was that a 5 degree bend?
You have a weird definition of flexible.
It flexes from a curve to flat.
That didn't days folding, or origami phone.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flex [merriam-webster.com]
The Nokia 8110 (Banana phone) was very popular in its time. It has always surprised me that it's a design that hasn't been revisited. Perhaps this is its time.
Between phones and sex toys.
I'm waiting for inflatable screens.
Like a regular to small size phone but for those times you need something bigger than 5" it has a little valve you can blow into when which will inflate a screen that is bigger than a tablet. When you are done, just squish the air out and stick it back in your pocket.
You could be phones for years and years. The problem was that they didn't bend back. The ability to bend back, that's what's important. That and the ability to bend that first time without breaking....
Completely abused here.
No offence, but a phone that can "flex" 1/2mm by using extreme force is not a breakthrough. Its on the side of pointless.
If we are using LG's definition of "flex", my motherboard does it better, not to mention, my monitor is constantly flexing by 0.01mm on its own.
The party adjourned to a hot tub, yes. Fully clothed, I might add. -- IBM employee, testifying in California State Supreme Court


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Bob Dylan, on the death of Levon Helm.
From a list of links at that link, I see that Rolling Stone once rated Levon Helm the 91st greatest singer of all time. From the explanation why:
Since Papa Garth Hudson didn't really sing, I always felt that, vocally, Levon was the father figure in the Band. He always seems strong and confident, like a father calling you home, or sometimes scolding you. The beauty in Richard Manuel's singing was often the sense of pain and darkness he conveyed. Rick Danko had a lot of melancholy to his voice as well, but he could also be a little more goofy. They were all different shades of color in the crayon box, and Levon's voice is the equivalent of a sturdy old farmhouse that has stood for years in the fields, weathering all kinds of change yet remaining unmovable.I don't follow the bands today. Do they still have bands where different singers sing differently?

subset: commoncrawl


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The lights are on
You like to feel like you're connected, and no system puts you in touch with your fellow gamers like the Xbox 360. But even if you haven't joined Xbox Live yet, this is the perfect place to come and catch up on the latest Microsoft news.
I am always on battlefield 3 and never have enough people to join in with or to start a sessions with, i am an admin of a server and have a battlefield clan site that iam trying to recruit for all i need is numbers and people willing to game.
Message me if you are interested.
Hey man I'm looking for a group of dedicated BF3 players as well so I can rank up quicker before BF4 comes out, I'm on Xbox 360 though is that cool? I'll give you my GT if you accept me so we can game together, I have Premium by the way.
yeah for sure dude, my gt is leviathanxes add me and we shall rank you up real quick, feel free to get friends in on the boosting aswell as i have access to a server that we might be able to use if we can populate it.. i will be for a harcore long session later this evening


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The word you're looking for is "counsel", not "council".
Am I so behind the times even epic fail is outdated?
Yeah, ever since TPB got their first legal threat we have started to reefer epic fail to "trying to threaten TPB with your legal mumbo jumbo."
The word you're looking for is "cingcong", not "council".
Considering that this trial is in Sweden, the submitter may be Swedish (though they do learn English pretty thoroughly in school), and homophones can tricky even for native speakers, I think we can let this one slide.
You're missing the point. Part of the editors' job ought to be to fix errors in submissions before posting them. It's excusable that the submitter not know the correct spelling, but the editor should spot it and correct it.
You're missing the point. Part of the editors' job ought to be to fix errors in submissions before posting them.
New here?
No, just trying to avoid a complete and utter surrender to cynicism.
I'd say that Swedes and others who have English as their second language in general are better on separating homophones than those with English as their first language. I can't remember ever seeing a swede mixing up their/they're/there, your/you're or site/sight. I frequently see Americans and UKians doing that. For some reason, mixing up then/than and lose/loose seems very common though. Furthermore we never use "whom" and "neither...nor" and we always have a problem deciding whether to use "who", "that"
We don't use the expression "wonders aloud". We say "wonders AFK". Except that in this case Koman was wondering at-K.
On the old Perry Mason TV shows, it was a common sight to see someone burst into the crowded courtroom at a dire moment and confess aloud that they, not the defendant, killed so-and-so. In reality, courts do not allow evidence to enter trial without a chance for the opposing council to view it and for a judge to rule on their admissibility.
Correct me if I'm wrong, I was under the impression that this burden was placed far more on the prosecutors who had to share with the defense council their lot of evidence, than the other way around.
Although, as in this video by a law professor, what you say to a cop can be used against you, but never for you - as that would be ruled as hearsay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc [youtube.com]
"Fredrik Neij was questioned by lawyers who tried to paint him as the point man for The Pirate Bay operations. Peter Danowsky, who represents the music business, pointed out that Niej owned The Pirate Bayâ(TM)s domain and then showed him a contract he had signed saying that he would oversee operations for the site. Neijâ(TM)s response? âoeBut I didnâ(TM)t read it.â"
If that's the extent of TPBs defence, then they are screwed. I don't think saying 'I didn't read it' really stands up with a judge, ANY judge.
As I understand it, the law says it's illegal to aid breaches of copyright.
As a consequence, if e.g. you offered to your friends to let them text you if they had or needed pirated software and you matched those who had with those who needed, you might breach the law. Or if you put up a sign that said "PLEASE POST WHAT PIRATED SOFTWARE YOU NEED AND I WILL TELL YOU WHERE TO GET IT", and you actually helped them.
The defense in this case is that they effectively created a bulletin board that people could use to
I know jack shit about Swedish law, but the RIAA presented a similar argument in its cases against filesharing sites in the US. SCOTUS eventually ruled that the sites could be held liable only if they actually encouraged piracy, not if they simply knew about it.
If Sweden's system works close to the same way ours does, even that would be hard to convince a judge of, since criminal charges are a lot harder to uphold than civil.
According to ArsTechnica coverage, one of the interesting things about Swedish law is that sometimes, as here, civil and criminal cases can be dealt with in parallel in the same court room. Thus, we have both the state prosecutors and their equivalent of the RIAA both making their case, and even if some particular doesn't apply to the criminal case, it can still be valid to the civil case taking place in parallel in the same court room.
Combined civil/criminal trials like that seems to violate all sorts of ideas of justice folks like me here in the US might have, but it's the way their system works, and TPB seems reasonably confident of the outcome, much more so than they'd be here in the US under comparable civil-only circumstances, so who are we to say?
As I understand it, the law says it's illegal to aid breaches of copyright.
So why isn't Microsoft charged as a co-defendant? Seems to me that more people use Windows to pirate copyright material - after all, people who use F/LOSS don't feel as much *need* to pirate copyrighted software.
We could also add the news media, for reporting this story, thus telling people how to get the stuff. They're sure "aiding breaches of copyright law". And the makers of large hard drives, iPods and iPod-like devices, mp3
The prosecution will simply have to prove that it was impossible for them NOT to know.
Above quote fails it. At least I think so.
On the basis of what I have learned in following this story, the defense is that Swedish law requires the prosecution to demonstrate intentional assistance was provided to someone who was infringing on a copyright, and tje defens is that such a demonstration cannot be done. It cannot be done because any copyright infringement that may have occurred was an unintentional side effect of TPB's activities. It doesn't matter whether TPB management was aware in general t
"Fredrik Neij was questioned by lawyers who tried to paint him as the point man for The Pirate Bay operations. Peter Danowsky, who represents the music business, pointed out that Niej owned The Pirate Bayâ(TM)s domain and then showed him a contract he had signed saying that he would oversee operations for the site. Neijâ(TM)s response? âoeBut I didnâ(TM)t read it.â"
If that's the extent of TPBs defence, then they are screwed. I don't think saying 'I didn't read it' really stands up with a judge, ANY judge.
It does hold up if hes trying to avoid a conspiracy charge, he needs motive and intent, the lawyers are trying to use his contract to establish his intent. His response that he never read the thing quite neatly defeats using it as a written evidence of his intent.
It might backfire on him later for other reasons but if the question is "what are the operations of TBP" with the intent to stick you with a conspiracy charge "Who the fuck knows" is a great answer.
The parent AC is absolutely correct. Since the prosecution is trying to show that the pirate bay owners intend to purposely violate copyright where as the defense is sticking with the story that the pirate bay is a sharing website which only removes material if it is against the law or has misleading description.
As someone else noted in a different article (or perhaps website) it's going to be extremely difficult for the prosecution. It would be a contradiction to say that the people responsible for posting the child porn on the pirate bay are responsible rather then the admins, then say that any copyrighted material posted on TPB the admins are responsible for.
They can only be screwed if they have committed a crime to begin with, and so far I don't know if this has been discussed or decided on? They only seem to try to figure out who have done what and is responsible for what parts of TPB and so on and not discuss if whatever they have done would actually be illegal or not.
There is nothing wrong with overseeing operations of TPB if TPBs business isn't illegal in the first place.
But I don't get why the defendants try to tell the story how they don't have anything
Do I sense a new meme in the making?
AFK is used more for chat-based systems, like IRC and other multiplayer games where communication is as or more important than the action.
IRL seems to be used more with messaging type software (even if it's used for chatting), such as Messenger or Jabber or maybe AIM.
Another way is purpose-based chat uses AFK, and passing the time chat or whatever those "chat rooms" I keep hearing about where people try to hook up with cops would use IRL. This observation is 10 years old, though, so I don't know if the kid
IRL makes more sense to me.
My definitions have always split:
IRL == Something that takes place in meatspace.
AFK == I'm grabbing lunch. I'll talk to you later.
AFK for me has always been synonymous with "away" and IRL refers to an event taking place while AFK.
"What happened to bob? He's AFK taking care of some chores IRL."
I'm with the prosecution on this one. (Hehe the only time I'll probably say that about this case.)
The prosecution was caught red-handed both 4th and 5th day and the defense once again protested this method of trying to throw the defendants off guard with new material, saying things such as "you've done this all week -- have you not learned anything at all?" and "this is starting to look like an American movie trial -- we request you hand over ALL material NOW".
The court took a break for discussions. After 10 minutes the court informs the prosecution that they must hand over any material they have not already handed over and which they wish to use in their case. The prosecution, specifically Danowski, acts like a 5-year-old and says "but.. the problem, your Honor, is that I don't know if it's necessary, so.. [I wish not to, is the meaning of this]", which the court immediately smacks down with "the meaning of the court's decision is that all material, any material, not presented to the defense, that you wish to use, must be handed over NOW".
The prosecution clearly was very disappointed that they weren't allowed to play cowboys in court.
The prosecution also tried to snare Peter Sunde with a lot of documents found on the web.. Danowski tried to make it look like Peter Sunde had said things he hadn't said with the help of [ square brackets! ] which Peter Sunde kindly informed is a way to insert 3rd party information, or reflection, on a quote. The prosecution is going about with rather dirty tactics.
Prosecution lawyer Monique Wadsted questions Carl Lundstrom, pleading not guilty and having nothing to do with TPB, calling TPB illegal, trying to have him label it as illegal as well. The defense protests, luckily. Got damn industry lawyers...
I think this is the biggest mistake the prosecution is making to be honest.
They're trying the same tactics that are used by the music/movie industry in the US which rely on an clueless or biased judge. Sweden is a particularly technically literate country, I think even the worst judge there could see through this kind of idiocy and so they're acting as their own worst enemy.
I'm actually suprised because I figured they'd be more clever than this, I figured they'd realise if they played it straight and acted the victim they'd be able to push the case well and probably get at least some kind of result. The problem is they're not playing the victim, they're actually blatantly playing an aggressive agenda and I don't think a judge is going to look too kindly on a group of people who are acting in such an aggressive manner whilst the defence are the ones looking very strongly victimised. For all the FUD and stats they pull out in the media claiming they're the victim (from calling it theft through to massaging stats) and making people believe it they're outright failing to translate this propaganda success into the courts and are just making themselves look like complete and utter idiots.
Tactful, is apparently not a word these people understand.
I'm thinking that the Prosecution and Plaintiffs had prepared to fight a very different case, and were expecting a defense that was some variant of "sharing copyrighted material that has been legally purchased is not copyright infringement".
Instead TPB has raised the defense that whether or not any copyright infringement may have occurred, we are not culpable for it; you've got the wrong guys.
That defense actually looks pretty strong. And the Prosecution and Plaintiffs look at this point like they not only didn't do their homework, they didn't even have a clue as to what subjects they should have been studying.
[quote]Prosecution lawyer Monique Wadsted questions Carl Lundstrom, pleading not guilty and having nothing to do with TPB, calling TPB illegal, trying to have him label it as illegal as well. The defense protests, luckily. Got damn industry lawyers...[/quote]
Uhm, what he claims is that he backed off from getting more involved since it wasn't obvious that TPB was 100% legal and there was no risk for charges? That's not the same as saying "When I found out TPB was illegal I didn't wanted anything more to do w
Fuck, messed up the quote, damn boards with their crappy syntax
Anyway, even IF Carl would have claimed TPB illegal he's no judge and his opinion isn't worth more than anyone else.
Fuck, messed up the quote, damn boards with their crappy syntax
If you use Firefox you can install the Slashdotter extension [mozilla.org]. In addition to several handy options for tweaking Slashdot, you get a nice "Reply to selected text"-option when right-clicking. This inserts a blockquote for you. Recommended!
I'm Swedish and a member of Piratpartiet [piratpartiet.se] (The Pirate Party) since the first day it was announced. I have of course been following this sitcom with great interest, but I'm still not sure which outcome is better for the future in a bigger perspective.
The prosecutors play this case so utterly unprofessional that I'm starting to think that they WANT to lose, but make it look like they tried to win. The reason for this is simple. If they lose, they will use this as "evidence" that Sweden need a whole bunch of new draconian surveillence laws and increase the scope of liability for copyright infringements which will kill the internet as we know it.
In a way I want TPB to lose. That will shut up the law mongerers because it will show that current laws are good enough. It will also make them martyrs and will 100-up the public support for the ongoing pirate movement (which actually is very little about filesharing and mostly about the right to privacy, anonymity, freedom of speech and uncensored exchange of information).
They way I see it, the only realistic way to really make a change it steering society away from 1984, which is the direction it's heading in right now, is to vote the Pirate Party into the EU parliament, where they will be able to make a lot of noise where it counts. Only 3 months left to the election...
So want to sacrifice them to save all the private persons actually doing the infringement by preventing any laws which would make it easier to catch them?
I see the reason but I don't think it's just. We, the people committing the infringement is the criminals, not the people offering the technique which makes it possible.
I fully agree with you. I also fully support the Pirate Bay guys (except Carl LundstrÃm, who is just a neonazi, daddy's-money venture capitalist who only wants to make more money).
However, it's a very tricky case. I also don't think it's fair to convict them. Whichever side wins, it will make the society change in ways that are hard to foresee and the only positive thing I can see in this mess is that it will make The Pirate Party stronger.
You could say the same thing about anything and everything, though:
[Whatever happens], it will make the society change in ways that are hard to foresee
Our politicians are spineless lizards who simply do what USA says.
The reason we vote for them are because if we don't, maybe the wrong lizard wins.
It doesn't make sense to sacrifice social principles for short term protection. The people who want to change the laws and create surveillance states everywhere will not change their minds just because they "win" the TPB case. It will only encourage them more. Even if they lose the TPB case, they will find some other prete
So, according to your theory, the _prosecutor's motive_ to LOSE the case is:
1) serve the will of the recording industry, at the cost of his own reputation,
2) ?
3) Profit?
If the current administration believes that Sweden needs new draconian surveillance laws, and the general public does not agree, then wouldn't it be prudent to vote against the incumbent party? And who would there be to vote for? This is why any attack on the status quo needs to be both legal and political, so as to give the opponent no place to turn to. Under no circumstances throw the case, instead let them escalate it to the polls.
Whoever wins, the swedish lose.
If The Pirate Bay wins, the swedish laws will be changed to make sure what they've been doing would be an offence had they done it under the new law. If TPB loses, the current laws will be shown to be enough for prosecuting and convicting tracker admins.
And there's nothing we can do about it.
Whoever wins, the swedish lose.
If The Pirate Bay wins, the swedish laws will be changed to make sure what they've been doing would be an offence had they done it under the new law.
How do you know that? I mean from an industry standpoint I can see this would make sense to achieve but what I can tell from what is going on in the Swedish public and just the fact that the Pirate Bay is getting a relatively fair trial (the judge did defend their position on the surprise evidence and also made the prosecution cut back on guided questioning) symbolizes to me that there is some actual change in ideas about to be written into law. It will take ages again but it's apparently happening. The WTO outcry after the Raid in 2006 was more than enough proof that the Swedes in general don't accept that American mafia tactics.
If you're from Sweden you probably know better but the way it is communicated to the outside the Swedes like their freedom and refuse to have this kind of stuff be an offence. On top of that, if they changed the EU directive or swedish law so that service providers are then liable for the content, Google and basically any other internet company would be screwed. How would they control and sort out all illegal materials without censoring? How would Google be still top search engine if you couldn't find anything. Think about Youtube
There's always Sealand!
Oh, wait..
Well, at least they tried.
If The Pirate Bay wins, the swedish laws will be changed to make sure what they've been doing would be an offence had they done it under the new law.
Unlike the United States, most countries (ie the ones that don't boast about being "free" but actually ARE) cannot apply laws to you in a retroactive manner.
It seems like the Pirate Bay has competent (or possible even good) lawyers.
Good for them. Good lawyers certainly don't come cheap.
In Real Life, Away From Keyboard.
To me, AFK has always meant the same as BRB (Be Right Back)
I think you'll get different interpretations depending on who you ask. Thus my opinion follows:
AFK to me means I have to pause this for a bit while I work on something else. with no definite timeframe in my returning. You can go AFK to go to the bathroom, or to go shopping, or to go to bed. It implies you might return. (but would not be entirely unexpected to see you logout later without returning) It's a warning that you're not going to be around for awhile, and to continue without you with no commitm
This Richard Koman doesn't know shit. The reasoning, is explained below. He should be quiet because as a lawyer, it's usually not safe to give a legal opinion if you have no knowledge of it.
Here we have a english speaking, US lawyer commenting on a swedish case? That's like me saying that I know everything about US laws if that's not even my job. Last I checked, US and Swedish laws are not even remotely the same.
Does anyone remember what happened the last time a US justice made a comment about stuff that go
... because this IS my real life, you insensitive clod!
I'm definitely not a lawyer, but I though the "discovery" phase of the trial, (an early one) was the only normal time to introduce evidence? The whole point being not to waste the court's time dragging out a lengthy trial when the prosecution or defense is holding back some key piece of evidence that could instantly cause charges to be dropped or a plea bargain to be accepted?
Shouldn't the judge have to make an exception for introduction of new evidence not included in discovery after discovery is over?
I've got a bad feeling about this.


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Just how well do you know your online love?
Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o said he thought the girl he met on Facebook was the real deal.
We now know it was just a hoax, and the girlfriend who supposedly died last fall never existed.
Te'o said he's a victim of what's known as catfishin' - a term lost on many people CBS 5 News spoke with on Thursday.
"I think of going down to the pond and throwing a line in," said Bill Sandweg, owner of Copper Star Coffee in Phoenix.
But catfishin' is not just a lazy day at the lake. In the online world, it's something quite deceptive. Fake social media profiles are set up to trick others into cyber-relationships.
"Some do it for fun, some might do it because they're having some sort of psychological issues," said Ken Colburn with Data Doctors Computer Services. "You don't know why - but, it's so easy to do."
And there are plenty of gullible people ready to bite the bait.
"They just assume because they saw it on the internet, because we're having this conversation, they can just take everything at face value," Colburn said.
He said having a healthy dose of paranoia, especially when it comes to the internet, would serve people well.
"When you get that wow-is-this-really-happening-to-me feeling, that's when you need to stop and go, 'Maybe I need to spend some time investigating,'" Colburn advised.
He told CBS 5 News digging for information is free and easy to do.
Start with a simple Google search with the person's name in quotation marks.
Then do a deep search through Google's Deeper Web search engine.
Dirt Search.org, which sifts through public records, social media sites and directories, should also yield a wealth of information.
"If you see absolutely nothing from this person anywhere, it doesn't necessarily mean they're fake," Colburn said. "But that's that first indication that, hmm, they're not very active on the internet - that's odd."
Don't forget about the profile picture in question.
Open it up and drag it into Google Images.
"If it's actually that person's picture, you should find a lot of websites that actually connect that person to that picture," Colburn said. "If the pictures come up all over the place and there's absolutely no mention of this person, that's again a red flag."
He also warned that if you've been talking to someone online for a while and they constantly have an excuse for not being able to Skype or engage in other video conferencing - that is huge cause for concern.
As for the legality of catfishin', there are no laws against creating a fake online profile.
However, if there's an exchange of money, then the person with the fake profile could be committing crimes of fraud or theft.
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ARI RABIN-HAVT/Media Matters For America:
Wednesday morning, Benghazi whistleblower attorney Victoria Toensing appeared on Fox News' Fox & Friends as part of a long standing campaign among conservatives to discredit the findings of the Accountability Review Board (ARB) report on the Benghazi attacks, authored by Ambassador Thomas Pickering and former chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.
Toensing delivered what has become the standard conservative myth -- the claim that the ARB report was a "corrupt cover-up to protect Hillary Clinton." She asserted:
Because they were not thorough. There are all kinds of people they didn't interview. They made false statements and they framed four State Department employees to take the blame away from the higher-ups. They did not interview Hillary. They did not interview her top deputy for security, Pat Kennedy.
That is a lie. Pat Kennedy was interviewed by the ARB, a fact Pickering, one of the authors, has made clear. On May 12, Pickering explicitly told CNN's Candy Crowley, "We interviewed Pat Kennedy." This was also pointed out during the May 8, 2013 House Oversight hearing on Benghazi. Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA) addressed the room, stating:
By the way, defend in statements that Undersecretary Kennedy was not interviewed by the ARB by Ambassador Pickering and Admiral Mullen. That is a misstatement of fact. He most certainly was. You can look it up. It is documented. He was interviewed, and he provided evidence. And that evidence was evaluated.So it is not true that Undersecretary Kennedy was not part of that process. He most certainly was, and I would ask Mr. Chairman that the record so reflect.
In fact, Fox News Host Greta Van Susteren tweeted out this exchange:
So why tell such a blatant lie?
Because Toensing thinks she can get away with it and the right needs to discredit the ARB. Prepared in the aftermath of the attacks on our diplomatic facilities in Benghazi, Libya, the report detailed more than two-dozen recommendations on improving security for our State Department personnel overseas. It did not cast blame on then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton or President Barack Obama nor did it conform to the narrative conservatives and their allies on Capitol Hill -- namely Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) -- have been selling to the media about Benghazi.
Because both Pickering and Mullen are public servants with reputations beyond reproach, the right has had to work overtime trying to discredit their report.
The simplest way to attack the ARB is to claim their work was incomplete because they failed to interview specific witnesses.
And because the complete list of witnesses who spoke with the ARB remains classified, most often there is no way to respond to these accusations, unless a name was at sometime placed in the public record. Conservatives will continue to make claims about the ARB process, but without citations, the media should keep a watchful eye on which sources they trust.


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modified eCommerce Shopsoftware is an online shopping system.
Canvicon sets the current page's favicon to a canvas image. It takes the identifier of a canvas element on a page and sets the favicon to the image currently rendered in the canvas. It is available either as a standalone object or a jQuery plugin.
An Init System for Linux with a unified configuration file
The grand-daddy of all Empire games.


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From the Wires
Educators Financial Group announces changes to the Educators Diversified Fund
By: PR Newswire
Jan. 15, 2013 05:12 PM
TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2013 /CNW/ - Educators Financial Group Inc., the manager of the Educators Diversified Fund (the "Fund"), today announced changes to the name and investment strategies of the Fund.
Effective January 15, 2013, the name of the Fund was changed to the Educators North American Diversified Fund. While the fundamental investment objectives of the Fund are, and remain, to invest primarily in common shares of established Canadian corporations and other equity securities, the Fund's investment strategies currently permit up to 25% of its assets to be invested in U.S. equity securities, and this percentage will increase, as discussed more fully below. The Manager in consultation with the Fund's Portfolio Adviser accordingly decided to change the name of the Fund to more accurately reflect its investment strategies and portfolio composition. In conjunction with this change, the investment classification of the Fund has been changed from Canadian equity to North American equity and its performance benchmark will become a blend of 55% the S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Index, 40% the S&P 500 Total Return Index and 5% the MSCI US Small Cap 1750 Index.
In connection with the change of name, the Manager in consultation with the Fund's Portfolio Adviser also implemented changes to the Fund's investment strategies. Going forward, the Fund's holdings will normally comprise at least 65% in large cap stocks. Acceptable equity investments include the following:
The Fund's asset mix targets and allowable investment ranges are set forth in the table below:
The Fund may but need not use derivatives to hedge its exposure to foreign currencies. Unitholders will be given not less than 60 days' prior notice before the Fund commences using derivatives to hedge its foreign currency exposure, in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 81-102. The Fund may continue to enter into securities lending transactions to generate additional income.
The Manager does not believe that this change in the Fund's investment strategies has resulted in any material change to the Fund's risk profile, and that it remains appropriate for investors seeking a core North American equity fund who are comfortable with a medium investment risk.
SOURCE Educators Financial Group Inc.
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Imhotep's Guide To Black Events Aug. 7-13
Imhotep Gary Byrd | 8/1/2013, 11:42 a.m.
Greetings! It was a "Great Day in Harlem" this past weekend, which kicked off Harlem Week 2013 with the GHCC, WBLS and WLIB, saluting 50 years of Stevie Wonder with "Songs in the Key of Life" at Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Park in Harlem. The gathered throng could not be stopped, even by pouring rain. One of the highlights was when a call I made to Wonder was placed over the PA system so the truly appreciative musician could address the crowd. The rest of the evening was eventually canceled when the rain caused the stage to become too dangerous because of the electrical wiring. However, Lloyd Williams and brother Voza Rivers have announced that the tribute to Wonder will be rescheduled for Harlem Day, Aug. 18.
For more information on upcoming Harlem Week 2013 events, go to www.harlemweek.com.
Join me, Imhotep Gary Byrd, and friends at the Harlem State Office Building on Saturday, Aug. 17 from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. for a free medical fundraising "Webb-athon" for my son Khamit Byrd, who is battling diabetic macular adema. It will be hosted by legendary New York City radio personality Ken "Spider" Webb on his-internet radio show at www.kenwebbinternetradio.com. Special guests and more details to follow.
"August Wilson's American Century Cycle" will be presented by the Greene Space at WNYC and WQXR in partnership with the August Wilson Estate and Artistic Directors Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Stephen Mckinley Henderson on Aug. 26-Sept. 28. The show will feature a live recorded reading of all 10 plays. All shows start at 7 p.m. and include a companion seven-part talk series on Wilson's "American Century Cycle." For tickets and a schedule of events, go to www.thegreenespace.org.
"Shida," written and performed by Jeanette Bayardelle (star of "Hair" and "The Color Purple" on Broadway), is now playing. Set to a soulful score of R&B, gospel, jazz and pop music, "Shida" tells the powerful and inspiring true story of one girl's struggle to overcome the odds and achieve her dreams. The show is running now through Aug. 28. For more information, visit www.ShidaTheMusical.com.
"The Trip to Bountiful," directed by Michael Wilson and featuring Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Tony nominees Vanessa Williams and Condola Rashad and legendary three-time Emmy Award winner and 2013 Tony Award winner Cicely Tyson, is now playing at the Sondheim Theatre, 124 W. 43rd St. For more information or tickets, call 800-90-4092 or visit www.newyorkcitytheatre.com.
"Storyville," choregraphed by Mercedes Ellington (granddaughter of Duke Ellington), spotlights the place many historians call the "birthplace of jazz"—the famed "Storyville" district in New Orleans in 1917. It's now playing at the theater at St. Peter's Lutheran Church, 619 Lexington Ave. at 54th Street. It will run through Aug. 17. For more information, call 212-935-5820 or visit www.yorktheatre.org.
"Black Angels Over Tuskegee," the true story of the legendary, trailblazing African-American pilots, is now playing on Saturdays at the Actors Temple Theater, 339 W. 47th St. For more information or tickets, call 212-239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz presents the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series at Wingate Field (Brooklyn Avenue between Rutland Road and Winthrop Street), with free shows every Monday at 7:30 p.m. now through Aug.19. This year's performers include Morgan Heritage, the Kes Band and Mighty Sparrow (8/5); Toni Braxton (8/12); Gladys Knight with the O'Jays (8/19), and more. For more information, go to www.wbls.com.


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A 31-year-old woman consulted for an exophytic asymptomatic lesion of the vulvar fourchette, resembling condyloma. Surgical excision followed by pathological analysis led to the diagnosis of a tubulovillous adenoma with enteric differentiation showing moderate dysplasia. The lesion reached the surgical margins. Eight months later, it recured as 2 independent similar lesions of the fourchette. These lesions were removed surgically. After 6 months, the patient noticed a lesion of the fourchette and 2 other masses of the left and right labia minus.
The patient had no other genital lesions or a genital malformation. She had given birth to 4 children without complication. She had neither familial history of genital pathology nor exposition to diethilstilbestrol. Rectal examination, sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy showed no other lesion.


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but how much did it cost?
Overhead flights are also used by mosquito abatement districts is to spot "green" pools. When we moved into our house, the pool was a swamp, complete with water bugs and who knows what else living in it. About three weeks later, we got a visit from the mosquito abatement man to inspect our swamp. I had gotten the pool from greenish-black to turquoise by the time. He congratulated me on my progress (he had seen the pool before we moved in) and we never saw him again.
but how much did it cost?
Probably very little -- one guy, spending a few days to go through the entire town in a grid via Google.
Once you have a list of offenders, you send them a nasty letter. If you're not sure that something is a pool, you could fly a plane over or just ask to look, but you could stick to the nasty letters -- anybody who is innocent will certainly let you know.
It's a nice cash grab and costs almost nothing. Nasty, yes, and does nothing to improve safety or anything along those lines, but it did make some money
I know I'm taking a leap here, but I'm assuming the license requires the homeowner to purchase a permit to install the pool, which should have been inspected
A safety oriented inspection should not require over $30.
This is pure money raising. $75K/250 pools is $300 per pool. Assuming the "usual" double fee if applied for after work completed, that would be a staggering $150 to pay a city employee to verify there is in fact a fence and a GFCI.
I can safely assume you've never actually participated in a permit inspection. I have, many times. Mostly involves an older semi-retired inspector glancing at the work and driving off. The longest, most detailed inspect
I find the phrase "unlicensed pool" a little... disturbing.
It's probably more "unpermitted" than "unlicensed". In most places, a pool, just like sheds, carports, or any other structure on the property, will add value. Added value means added taxes. Permits are typically the means by which a city/county/etc identify and add new structures to the tax roll.
If they didn't get the permits, then it's a minor violation. Not sure how the jurisdiction in question handles it, but we will charge the double permit fees on the structure plus any taxes that would have been p
I would assume it's less about being "licensed" and more about meeting code and having your plans approved by the city council and having your house reappraised to accommodate the increase in value (and thus increase in taxes).
Is this the first time you've ever heard of zoning laws?
Yeah, specially since 'license' is not used in the body of the article. Instead they use variations on 'permit.'
Misleading, inflammitory headline; a pool license is bogus. A permit to build a pool is standard fare.
Oh, wait, I just saw the favicon...that explains it.
It is the government office saving money instead of hiring a plane to fly over the neighborhood and take pictures. Or are you going to say that you have a right to privacy from the air? Get real. A $300 fine ($75,000 / 250) doesn't sound excessive for a permit violation either. Now all those pools also need to be inspected for possible code violations. That is where it might get expensive.
I agree. They are essentially DOING THEIR JOB but with the added efficiency of Google Earth. I don't see a problem here.
Evil but legal.
This story reminds me of Adam Smith's reasoning of why properties in his time should have been taxed based on the number of windows, rather than hearths: both for privacy reasons (you can count windows from the outside, whereas hearths require entering the home) and to make evasion harder. When tax assessment time came around, people would brick up their hearths. Sure, you could brick up windows, but since they could be observed any time without you knowing, it makes it much harder to do.
But yeah, maybe we have a problem with the fact that the pool requires a permit, but that's a different issue. Hopefully sitting in an office using Google Earth means they're not driving around wasting gas, or hiring a plane as you mentioned.
Or are you going to say that you have a right to privacy from the air? Get real.
I most certainly do think I have a right to privacy "from the air." The concept is called curtilage and it means the space around your residence where you have a legal expectation of privacy. Just having a fence which is high enough to stop people from looking into your yard is enough to make your yard curtilage. The government is barred from unwarranted searches and seizures within this area. Just because they are flying in a
Can somebody look up the Google Earth TOS and see if there's anything in it that would be relevant to this sort of use?
I'd do it myself but I'm a bit busy at the moment.
busy filling out the paperwork to get your (already built) pool approved by the city council?
http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/help/terms_maps.html [google.com]
3(a) defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others;
3(e) upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any other content, message, or communication prohibited by applicable law, the Terms or any applicable Product policies or guidelines;
4(b) By using the Products, you do not receive any, and Google and/or its licensors and users retain all ownership rights in the
This sort of thing may stimulate a wider interest in practical application of camouflage techniques.
"Ah... It's not a swimming pool. It's a reflecting pool. I checked the rules. There's no rule against putting in a reflecting pool. It's very tranquil. You'd like it."
A few years ago I was in a speeding ticket dispute (that I eventually won) where the traffic court was using Google Maps' Satellite View in order to count the number of mailboxes along the road to determine the number of houses on the road, and therefore to determine if the area was "densely populated" and therefore qualified for a lower unposted speed limit.
...the government caught me in the act of doing something illegal using public information that's been available for years now! Bad Big Brother!
Permits are hard to get around here to do anything though. Which sucks. But if you choose to break the law, you should be aware of the potential consequences and the chance of getting caught. Given the public images of homes it should not be too surprising that something like this would happen eventually.
While not Google Earth, as a county government we look at our own aerial photos (added to a GIS layer) to find unpermitted structures as well (mostly just to get them on the tax books - if someone builds without a permit we often have no idea that the structure exists, so it goes untaxed).
While I'm sure it's a LONG ways off, at a recent conference I was at one of the larger city-level governments in the state was actually discussing the possibility of using a form of sonar to track this. I'm not sure if they're just in the brainstorming phase or what, but from what he said the idea was to use it to map out the structures in the city at periodic intervals. Then between intervals you compare to the previous sweep to see anything large that's been added or removed. You filter that against what parcels have not had a permit issued, and you get a good source of info to start following up on construction without permits.
The same city had recently installed various microphones in spots around the city to auto-alert the police department when it detected gunfire (this is already in place, not conceptual). Apparently it is fine tuned enough to be able to tell the difference between an actual gun and things like fireworks and the like.
I had a friend who had a neighbor with an unlicensed above-ground pool. I'm not sure what went wrong, but one day it collapsed, sending all of the water into my friend's back yard, destroying everything there. Building permits are required for good reasons, and they're usually dirt cheap (less than 1% of the project cost). If you're hiring a contractor who doesn't get a building permit, then they're probably not doing it to save you money, but to allow them to skimp on important building code details that might end up costing you a huge amount.
So if the pool had been licensed then the water wouldn't have done as much damage to your friends back yard when it collapsed?
Don't have any experience with pools, but I can tell you that building inspectors are, in general, pretty mediocre. They will approve the most bizarre plans, and then suddenly become as tough as nails over the most ludicrous things. Someone once told me that building inspectors are usually failed contractors, and I believe it.
This may be true where you live, but I've had quite good experience with building inspectors being thorough. Point being, it's true that merely getting a permit approved and the inspections completed is no guarantee that the building is safe, but it's an additional opportunity for someone to notice a mistake. And a builder who's expecting an inspection and who isn't naturally careful will be more careful in anticipation of the inspection.
E.g., I know of a building project in Oracle, Arizona, where the i
So if the pool had been licensed then the water wouldn't have done as much damage to your friends back yard when it collapsed?
Without knowing what went wrong, I'd wager the scenario could run like my what happened here a few years back...
A guy decided to put in a new driveway, and to keep it level carved away part of the foot of a hill. The hill started to slide a little bit, so he built his own six foot tall, thirty foot long retaining wall out of concrete blocks and without benefit of a permit or inspection. Problem was, not only did he not tie the courses together, he also didn't anchor the wall back into the hill, and he didn't provide drains behind the wall. All of which are required by code, should have been specified on the plans submitted for the permit he didn't have, approved by the county engineer as part of the approval process he didn't go through, certified as performed by the licensed contractor he didn't hire, and inspected by the county after completion...
Within a few weeks the county found out about this (I don't recall how) and yellow tagged the house. (Which means the house could not be occupied until the work noted on the tag, in this case replacing the wall, had been properly completed.) A few weeks later, in defiance of the yellow tag, the man moved back into the house because he "didn't want his family to spend Christmas in a hotel". Four days later, during a normal (for these parts) winter rainstorm, the weight of the hill and accumulated water collapsed the wall - and the ensuing mudslide wiped out the house and killed the man, his wife, and three of their children. The only survivor was a teen aged daughter who was at a friends Christmas party.
So the issue isn't that the water wouldn't have done as much damage when it collapsed, but that the odds are if the pool had been properly built it would have been less likely (much less likely) to collapse in the first place.
Not to mention, that most home insurance policies won't cover damages caused by un permitted construction. Nor are you left with any recourse - you'll be liable if you're party to a suit that arises subsequent to any damages caused by failures in such construction.
Do you have it in a fenced in back yard?
What about the "traditional" points of view but at other wavelengths? If your house is transparent to spectrum X - should you have a reasonable expectation of privacy in say your bedroom?
Some photography laws allow for pictures of private locations from the street, but not using telephoto optics - does that apply to satellites and airplanes use? Perhaps you could make the jurisdiction argument, but if your "camera" is located outside of the jurisdiction, but the person pulling the shutter is within the jurisdiction (e.g. programmed flight, camera, and receives images) does that muddy the waters?
I don't think this excellent reference [krages.com] even addresses the issue at hand.
Pool covers... that look like grass!
Someone make them now, they'll sell like hot cakes. Also pool canopies that look like lawn from above too.
... which is vital. If a person builds a pool and skips out of the permit, they could find themselves in dire straits should someone ever drown in said pool. If proper safety specs are not met, the pool could be dangerous in how it was designed and built. And in some cases, if a person is too cheap to get the permit, they're likely getting the pool for as cheap as possible.
Permits are necessary for displacement of land. If you remove trees to put in your pool, you're losing one of natures ways of keeping erosiion under control and other environmental issues that might take place. When a neighborhood gets some massive flooding, and the county has worked to ensure proper drainage for that home and neighborhood and now someone comes along and builds a pool without considering that drainage, that pool may upset the designed flow and cause flooding in certain circumstances.
Besides, permits that they are dodging, their may be additional taxes and proper insurance that is required. People who do this are very selfish.
I think (not sure) that city govt. personnel don't have permission to just walk onto someone's property even if they suspect unlawful building. Google Earth allows the city/county employees to perform the jobs that we, the tax payers pay them to do without violating any laws.
I'm perfectly happy that they have found a safe and legal way of enforcing city/county ordinances.
Child falls into pool, drowns. Worse yet -- child playing in pool, pool drain unsafe, disembowels child by sucking out colon through anus -- not funny, happened in my home town recently, the girl died a couple of days later.
Are towns on a money grab? Probably.
Is it true that there is "too little discussion about community norms"
So the US pay officials to spend hours poring over Google maps to find violations, whereas India sets up a Facebook page to report violations and instantly rakes in the dough. Knowing suburban neighbours, I'll give good odds as to which method will yield better results for pool violations...
In other news the sales of swimming pool sized military style camouflage meshes [alibaba.com] is up in the New York area...
Evolution is a million line computer program falling into place by accident.


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Now Playing: Language: Russian. Duration: 48 minutes
Topic: Maria Vladimirovna GD
On November 10th, I reported on HIH Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna's official visit to Ingushetia.
A 48-minute video has been prepared which documents the highlights of HIH's five-day visit to the region, including meetings with Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Yevkurov.
The text and narration of the video are in Russian, however, the visuals are both stunning and inspiring.
During her official visit to Ingushetia, Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, and members of the Chancellery of the Russian Imperial House, along with the President of the Republic of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, came to the Monument of Memory and Glory of Ingushetia in the city of Nazran. The Grand Duchess and other members of her delegation placed flowers at the Eternal Flame at the Monument Complex to the victims of political repression, and at the memorials to the Ingush Regiment of the Native (Savage) Division, and to the last defender of the Fortress of Brest, Lieutenant U. Barkhanoev.
Her Imperial Highness's special interest in this historical complex stems from the fact that, as is well known, the sculpture of the horsemen of the Savage Division at this site includes a depiction of Grand Duchess Maria's kinsman, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich. We recall that in the years of the First World War, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich commanded the Savage Division, which was made up of volunteers from across the Caucuses. "It is very touching that the Ingush people have not forgotten the members of my family, who loved and respected them. Thank very much for preserving this memory," the Grand Duchess said.
Then the distinguished guests were invited to tour the entire Memorial Complex, where there is located a museum of the victims of the forced deportation of the Ingush people in 1944. The Head of the Imperial House explored the exhibits in the museum and inscribed the following message in the visitor book: "The greatest possible honor is due a people who, even while remembering the bitterest pages of its history, nonetheless keep looking forward toward their future."
At the Memorial of Memory and Glory of Ingushetia, Her Imperial Highness presided over a review of the Honor Guard of the Southern Military District and of cadets of the Mountain Cadet Corps.
In a speech delivered at that time, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov noted the enormous significance of the visit of Grand Duchess Maria of Russia for the Republic of Ingushetia, and emphasized the fact that the Ingush people have always faithfully served Russia. "This monument—is a tribute to one of the most glorious members of the Imperial family. Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich had a special love for his Ingush regiment, for the Ingush cavalry, which distinguished itself with its unmatched courage and remained true to their oaths they had made to the Fatherland, unto the very end," the President of Ingushetia said.
In her response, the Head of the Russian Imperial House of Romanoff said: "I am deeply grateful to the President of the Republic of Ingushetia for his invitation to come to this incredible territory, which, after so many, many years, retains the memory of the Imperial family. It is wonderful to see this monument, which depicts not only our relative, but shows him to be surrounded by his true brothers. The pathway now is open for me to return here many times in the future. From the bottom of my heart, I wish for every blessing on the Ingush people. Thank you for your warmth and your hospitality."
The official part of the event ended with the Grand Duchess being presented with a miniature version of the Monument to the Savage Division, with an inscription plate noting the Imperial Visit to Ingushetia.
||| Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna Visits Ingushetia - Click Here for More Information |||
© Russian Imperial House. 18 December, 2012
Updated: Tuesday, 18 December 2012 2:44 PM EST
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Teva Women's Refugio Evo Shoe - Lunar Rock
Please Note: These Shoes tend to come up slightly smaller in size.
Teva Women's Evo Shoe
Also known as the Refugio Evo Water shoe
The Teva Women's Evo Shoe is a genuinely super super comfortable lightweight go anywhere do anything shoe.
In or out of the water the Evo is sensational and with the Spider Grip sole very very grippy.
Lightweight and so, so comfortable—these nonchalant sneakers equip you for absolutely whatever.
Once you have worn a pair of Evo's you'll never want to wear anything else.
• Synthetic and mesh upper
• Lace closure
• Moulded sockliner
• Moulded IMEVA midsole
• Spider Original rubber outsole
Spider Original™
A lot of people ask why we named our original rubber compound after one of the creepiest creatures on the planet. In response, we ask them if they've ever seen a cute puppy climb up a completely vertical, soaking wet rock. No? We rest our case.
Product Code: 1006260-4
Barcode: 737045323572
Free UK Mainland delivery on all orders over £30*
Orders between £0.00 - £30
- Standard Shipping (3-5 Days) = £4.95
- 24-48 Hour Courier Service (order before 1pm for next working day delivery - available Monday-Thursday) = £6.95
Orders between £30 - £60 - Free UK Mainland Delivery
Items weighing 2-32kg - UPS Next Day Delivery (we only use the next day service with UPS)
If you place an order between £30-£60 and want faster delivery, you can upgrade for £4.95 at the checkout. We will then send your order with either Royal Mail 1st class recorded or UPS Next Day Service.
We ship all items over the value of £75 and/or 2KG in weight via UPS, which in most cases is a next day service to all mainland UK addresses (providing the order is placed by 1pm) This service does exclude some Scotland postcodes (which can take 2 days).
UK Highlands & Islands £0.00 and up
Guernsey, Isle Of Man, Jersey & Northern Ireland BT postcodes = £7.50
Items weighing 0-32kg - We ship to the following destinations = flat rate of £14.95
- Andorra
- Austria
- Belgium
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Gibraltar
- Ireland (26 of 26 counties)
- Italy (110 of 110 provinces)
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- Portugal (20 of 20 regions)
- San Marino
- Spain (52 of 52 provinces)
- Sweden
Please get in touch with us if you require an order to an international destination. We will then come back to you with a quote.
please don't hesitate to get in touch with us regarding a custom order here
We hope you will be completely satisfied with any product purchased from Outback Trading, but if you wish to return an item to us, we aim to make it as quick and convenient as possible. Under distance selling regulations you may cancel your order by returning any item up to 14 days from the day after delivery with the exception of food types which due to health and hygiene reasons we cannot accept back.
Download & Print >> OUR RETURN FORM <<
After 14 days items can only be returned at our discretion and a restocking fee of 15% will be applied.
All goods should be returned in the same new condition they were supplied and with all tags attached.
Special orders ie, items not carried in stock, special make up items and items that are obsolete and are delivered direct from manufacturer are non returnable unless faulty.
You are responsible for the postage costs and the risk of loss or damage when returning the goods to us. We become responsible for the item once it has been delivered back to us.
Our return address is:-
Please be aware that return postage fees cannot be refunded unless the reason for the return of the goods was due to an error made by us or the item is faulty and within it's warranty. If the error is ours we will then refund postage costs up to a maximum of the postage price you originally paid on your order. Please allow 14 days for refunds to be processed and credited to your account.
How do I return items?
In order receive a refund or have an exchange the garment or product must be returned to Outback Trading Ltd with all tags and swing tags attached, tags must not be removed from garments and all labels and original packaging must be present and the product in the condition you would expect to receive an 'as new product' and in the case of tents they must never have been pitched. If we are unable to resell the product as brand new we cannot issue a refund or exchange product.
In the case of footwear, postage or courier labels must not be stuck directly to the outside of the footwear box, the footwear box must be returned in a bag or another box, if the footwear box has tape and labels stuck directly to it we will not be able to resell so therefor cannot refund or exchange. Outback Trading Ltd will not be responsible for the return postage cost of any item returned to us that does not meet the criteria above.
Please make sure goods are securely packaged to avoid damage in transit.
You can view our Full Returns Policy here.


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VPR Host to Discuss Culture Clash in Vermont
- 05-01-2013
- By University Communications
At its annual meeting, the Center for Research on Vermont will host a keynote address, "Culture Clash: Acknowledging Where Vermonters Don't See Eye to Eye," by Jane Lindholm of Vermont Public Radio's "Vermont Edition."
The lecture, free and open to the public, will take place Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building.
After 20 years away, living and traveling in places as varied as Nairobi,
Los Angeles and Bangkok, Vermont native Jane Lindholm found herself back in her home state, renting an apartment in a house in Charlotte. It was in that seemingly mundane location that she witnessed the most profound culture clash of her life. Using her own experience as backdrop, Lindholm explores where class, race, and culture collide in Vermont and why she thinks we don't do enough to acknowledge our cultural differences.
Information: www.uvm.edu/~crvt


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2000 Audi S4
Base Sedan
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2000 Audi S4 Review
Luxury fused with speed and finesse.
Reviewed by Automotive on
The 2000 Audi S4 is an all-wheel-drive, four-door sport sedan that offers many of the benefits of a luxury car. Drivers get the satisfaction of powerful acceleration, easy handling, and a host of convenience features, while passengers enjoy a stable and comfortable ride. It is also loaded with an impressive set of safety features. The complete package offered by the S4 gives it an edge in the sport-sedan market.
The Range
Engines: 2.7-liter V-6
Transmissions: six-speed manual, five-speed automatic
Models: Audi S4 Quattro
What's New
This is the first year the Audi S4 was on the market. It is based off the Audi A4 platform that was first seen in 1996. In comparison with the A4, the S4 gets better handling and braking and the addition of a turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive.
The 2000 Audi S4 has approximately a 177-inch length, 73-inch width, 56-inch height, and 103-inch wheelbase. It has an attractive, sporty design with lots of class and style, featuring a large air intake in front, S4 badging, and chrome trim around the side windows. There are also body-colored front and rear bumpers, power heated door mirrors, and fog lights. The S4 weighs 3593 pounds and sits on 17-inch alloy wheels.
The interior of the 2000 Audi S4 is roomy enough to fit five passengers. In the front, there are 10-way power bucket seats with power lumbar adjustment and locking head restraints, divided by a storage console, cup holder, and auxiliary power outlet. There are pockets in the doors and bins on the seats for easy storage. In the dash, there are illuminated logically arranged gauges and conveniently located controls. In the rear, there is a 60/40 split-folding bench seat with height-adjustable head restraints. In the middle of the seat is a fold-down armrest that includes a first aid kit. The S4 features a leather-wrapped, three-spoke steering wheel, a driver information center, power locks and doors, and an AM/FM stereo with a cassette and CD player included and eight speakers. Heated seats, a navigation system, and a power sunroof are optional.
Performance & Handling
The 2000 Audi S4 comes packed with a twin-turbo, 2.7-liter, V-6 engine that cranks out 250 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. It is combined with either a five-speed automatic or six-speed manual transmission. The S4 delivers smooth, strong acceleration when asked. It is capable of sprinting from zero to 60 mph in a scorching 5.4 seconds. The S4 is built with a sport suspension made from forged aluminum. It is an independent multi-link front suspension with a stabilizer bar and coil springs teamed with an independent wishbone rear suspension with a stabilizer bar and coil springs. This setup provides a smooth and stable ride. The S4 handles superbly going around corners and maneuvering in traffic. It is easy to control with a good steering feel.
The 2000 Audi S4 is equipped with anti-lock brakes on all four wheels. There are driver and front passenger front-impact, front side-impact, and front and rear head airbags installed. The NHTSA gives the S4 good crash test ratings for driver and passenger frontal protection. Audi includes an anti-theft alarm system to provide increased security.
EPA Fuel Economy
You'll Like
- Powerful engine
- Excellent handling
- Luxurious interior
You Won't Like
- Cramped rear seat
- Below average gas mileage
- Costly to repair
Sum Up
Luxury fused with speed and finesse.
If You Like This Vehicle
- Mercedes Benz C-Class
- Saab 9-3
- Lexus ES 300