text:
I've caught at least two girls at work looking at naked musclemen on the web. Once one of the girls here was just about demo a website design to 5 of us. She clicked the wrong tab on the windows desktop, to reveal the porn site she was browsing. Embrassed she hit the close window button, big mistake, the evils of respawn porn ads quickly filled the screen.
Forget Napster. Why not really break the law?
True, but at least with email it is easy to skip the long winded but useless parts.
"Hi hank, this is andrea at extention 123, thanks for getting back to me on the bacon problem, I have one more question: how many cysts are accaptable in a slice?" Said aloud I waste a couple borning minutes before getting to something useful. A reply by voice mail is just as bad because I have to give a summery of the question first. In email I just replay with an answer "5", while in voice mail my reply is "Hello andrea, about your questions about the acceptable limit of cysts in bacon, 5 reasonable limit."
Of course the above example is completely made up. (A engineer who knew a female to talk to should have been your first clue.) You get the idea, voicemail is nice, but it wastes a lot of time with redundancy and boiler plate. Email has the same thing, but you an quickly skip it.
People do this where I work, and I think it's bothersome and rude. The default strategy should be to communicate asynchronously, and only right my phone when an email will not suffice.
Yeah, it's quality marketing, not spam . . .
hawk, now taking his tongue back out of his cheek
Their response was to send me a URL to a form I should print out, fill out, return, and wait for my "request" to be considered.
It was a lot easier to just install list managing software on my own machine . . .
While I didn't advertise that (and didn't expect it myself at first),
when I hired secretaries while practicing law, the *bulk* of my decision
was actually made during the initial phone call inquiring about the
job. For a small law practice, the secretary's phone presense
is a make or break issue . . .
hmm, maybe 4th class, too--I think that that's the classification for books . . .
Most of the spam I get is from accounts at hotmail or whatever similar service. Some spammers seem to have scripts to create multiple accounts on these sites and abuse them quite easily.
If you're concluding that the spam is from accounts at hotmail, etc, because a free account address appears in the From: line, you're making an erroneous conclusion. From: lines on spam are almost always forged, and typically do not indicate the real originator or the spam. For the originator, you have to trace the Received: lines, and the best that can typically give you is an ip address. A better conclusion would be that it's popular among spammers to forge a free account in the From: field. I don't think this is something that you can hold hotmail et al responsible for.
What's up with that bill ? Is that true or is it just FUD, a lie ?
Well, it's true that that bill passed Congress. That, however, is irrelevant because it didn't pass the Senate, and wasn't signed by the President. It isn't law in the U.S. or anywhere else.
It gets rather amusing to see this disclaimer appearing on spam that originates outside the U.S. or advertises products/services for non-U.S. businesses. Gee, the U.S. must have become really powerful if a bill that didn't actually make it into law affects the rest of the world.
All in all, it again reinforces the 3 laws of anti-spamming:
I check my email when I've been working on something for a while and need a break to think about something else. If I didn't check email, I'd have to read
If it had passed, it would be referred to as Public Law XX-YYY, and as a US Code citation, i.e. XX USC YYY (differing values of X and Y for both cases cited above. .
Yes, it's FUD. Feel free to ignore it. Any remove that actually hits an address will likely add your address to 6.02x10^23 additional spam lists. . . .
A copy of S.1618 can be read at the following address:
As the notice at the top says, the bill never became law, but it probably doesn't surprise anyone that the morons who try to make money fast with unsolicited commercial mail don't know any better than to copy and paste the canned paragraph you quoted!
More about this bill and why the "This message cannot be considered spam" claim is nonsense can be read at:
http://www.profitjump.com/articles/0705-spam.html [profitjump.com]
Jesus Fucking Christ, I don't believe this. There is not one post yet which points out that in the corporate environment, EMAIL CLIENTS ARE TOYS NOT TOOLS.
Of course workers are getting bogged down in email. They're using Outlook for heaven's sake, or Netscape or Eudora or Notes. These products are the most unspeakably half-assed crap -- I have used all of them extensively, and know whereof I speak -- and it's impossible to manage email in them.
How do they suck? Oh, let me count the ways:
Anything which does formatting (HTML email, etc.) takes longer to render, so you have to pause for that much longer on every message. It's infintessimal on a single message, but it adds up fast when you have 100 messages a day.
The filtering on those products is unforgivably lame. To the extent they manage to filter, they then are helpless to cope with filtered mail.
Speaking of rendering time: they go to all that effort to have snazzy window-y GUIs, and then don't put the power to, say, color code on a filter basis into the hands of the user. Brilliant.
They have no flexibility of identity, which is one part of the equation of functional corporate email. It is imperative that the user be able to specify both Reply-to and From fields in his out going message. If Joe Rep is one of the several people receiving the emails sent to "email@example.com", he must be able to send email From, or at least Reply-to "firstname.lastname@example.com".
The concept of filtering as implemented in those packages is the paradigm of paper in cabinets. WHAT THE HELL? It should be possible to put one message in multiple "mailboxes", but only have one actual copy stored -- and the client should tell you where the multiple copies are, and behave sanely if you delete one.
There is no, not one, no, not any of these products with any provision, whatsoever, of the timely retirement of email into archives. Some permit something like manually saving things to archives, but none let you say "this folder, move read messages into that archive after two months". So these email clients are completely unscalable through time. After you have used one for a year, you're drowning in relics, which you want to save but are in your way. The idea that anyone would routinely throw away email is absurd. Diskspace is dirt cheap, there is no excuse. A sane method of archiving is vital -- a method which allows you to "put away" things you're not using, but take them down when they are needed again.
I could (and someday will) go on and on and on about how worthless the tools corporate users are expected to use. But it's not just the mail clients! If you want users to not spam everyone, have a viable place for them to send that info: set up lists and boards sanely, so people use them. Make it easy for people to be added or removed from lists. Have policies in place to handle contractors and temps; it is not sane to expect all important instructions to go over email lists which your temps aren't on, and expect for your temps to know what to do. Duh.
Have aliases or lists for interfacing with the public, so that outsiders don't have to know the name of the relevant person they should contact. "firstname.lastname@example.com" (for example) should go to the right group of people, and every time they respond to one of those emails, everyone else in that group should be notified. Duh.
And, Duh, their email client should prominently clue them into the fact the email they are responding to is not to them personally, but to the "sales" alias.
It all boils down to the fact that corporate email systems -- their configurations from a usability standpoint, and their god-awful clients -- are at best children's toys, not professional tools for getting real work done.
There is no product up to that description, frankly. Meanwhile, we geeks will continue using terminal-based solutions. Some swear by emacs, some by pine. Me, I have a homebrew concoction of nmh, procmail, several bzillion little shell scripts, and my own domain (so I can have all the email addresses I ever want). It's not even close to adequate, but it's so far in advance of corporate toys it's pathetic.
I know that lots of people sneer at geek's tendency to try to solve human problems with technological solutions, but DAMN, this is precisely the kind of problem to be solved technologically.
Because if they were, half the PHBs in America would be exposed for the illiterate, dr00ling cretins they are.
On voice mail, nobody knows you can't spell past the sixth grade level.
This friend, let's call him Arp, works for a company big enough that they're in at least two buildings. One day, everyone in the company got a message reading, quite simply:
From: email@example.com
To: email@example.com
Date: whatever
And that, well, was that.
Apparently there had been a false fire alarm at one building, and in a panic the receptionist was told to have everyone ignore it. She didn't think to filter out the people who worked at a different facility & weren't aware of the alarm, and she didn't take the time to fill in the blank about what, exactly, it is that is not real.
The original, perhaps 'all your base are belong to us'-eventually-rivalling, was DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL, sent by a receptionist at [$company] because they were doing a fire drill that went wrong because the alarm kept going, but she sent it to everybody in [$office] including the people, such as myself, in the other building where we were unaware of the fire, so we just got a message saying DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL from out of nowhere.
I'm going to use it a lot in the future.
I got this message at the beginning of March & I'm still laughing....
4:30 Break
I'm watching a NasaTV stream as I'm surfing slashdot, and guess what they're doing?
They're debugging Yuri's Outlook setup. Looks like NT dropped a drive mapping to where Yuri's outlook
Even in microgravity, email kills productivity and MS sucks.
Look, if workers aren't communicating, there's a problem. E-mail is the least obtrusive, most efficient communications method, bar none. I have enough interruptions in my day without Instant Messaging!
Now, if the Gartner Group were to analyze the amount of time IT workers spend reading Slashdot... Ooops! Gotta run, boss is coming!
Never take a beer to a job interview.
What's up with that bill ? Is that true or is it just FUD, a lie ? Since i'm not from the US i don't know anything about their laws.
The bill S.1618 [loc.gov] was introduced in 1998, but didn't make it into law. There's more information on this [spamcop.net] at SpamCop [spamcop.net].
(What's particularly silly about this is that so many of the spammers are outside the US. If, as has happened, I'm in the UK and I get spammed by a guy from the Far East who's faking an address in Latin America, how can what the US Senate might or might not have thought about it be in the least applicable?)
Anyway, if i reply i only get a "user killed" or something similar...
NEVER REPLY, at least, not to the sender. If you do, they'll keep your address on file (and possibly sell it on) because your address is suddenly more valuable for spam-- they'll know there's a real human who's reading mail sent to it. If you really want to complain, you could try mailing abuse@ their ISP: it works, sometimes.
Death to Spam [mindworkshop.com] is a good read on the subject. You might also like to check out the alt.spam FAQ [digital.net].
On the otherside, I'd like to say that Yahoo article was DEFINATLEY junk science.
The asynchronous method of communicating is almost always best in business. I find that 95% of my questions for someone are not time-critical, and can be handled at the other person's convenience (say, in a day or two), and allow me to keep working without having to interrupt my task to go find the person.
Yet I hear so many people say "Oh, I get 30 messages a day!" I say "Yeah, but those are 30 communications you were going to get anyway, but now you can handle them when YOU want, without the other person having to track you down."
Sure, sometimes you need face time. Part of the problem is not knowing which medium to use. Roughly, the rules I use are:
Email is great because it improves communication, but some of that improvement is swallowed up by the time it takes to go through all the additional communication, and the overuse of communication because its become so easy to pass on anything you care to think of to everyone in your company. Exercising a little judgement before hitting the Send button can save a company a lot of time. Mine is going through exactly this kind of exercise at the moment and the increase in efficiency is really a "low hanging fruit" in terms of efficiency gains.
Hear, hear!
Back before spam, I worked at a Very Large Company That Isn't So Large Any More Because They Trivested. At one point, TPTB decided to make each organization separately accountable for its existence--pay your own way--which meant they had to have some tangible internal or external source of funding. This applied to everything from product development to the mailroom.
So, system admin organizations would advertise to try to convince you to let them admin your machines for a fee, that sort of thing. The advertising was in the form of paper that was sent to every single person's (physical) inbox. The worst was the training organization, who would send out a separate piece of paper for every occurrence of every class ("Introduction to vi", May 2, 9:00-5:00). At the worst of it we were getting 2-3 paper adverts per day.
Thousands of reams of paper per year, unread, from the inbox to the recycle bin. Saved them TONS of money. Uh-huh. Right.
But wait, there's more!
Since a lot of email gateway machines now do address checking of From: headers, newer spamming software picks (randomly, I think) an address from the list to put in the From: header.
That has three effects:
The last time this happened to me, I got over a thousand bounce messages. I immediately documented the hell out of it and reported it to my employer, going to them before they came to me.
An hour a day? Sure, if 'managing email' includes writing recipes to aunt Sally, forwarding the latest virus hoax to EVERYONE YOU KNOW, and deleting all the pr0n spam you get because you surf pr0n at the office.
Or you could describe a riculously impossible to implement Rube Goldberg device [rubegoldberg.com] for karma whore points!
People have a lot of email because it is often better than discussing stuff in the halls.
Indeed. My managers are fighting a constant war against "hallway conversations" - well, sort of.
We still feel that hallway conversations are excellent for providing a certainl comfort level of human interaction, but we also feel that hallway conversations suck a bowl of rocks when it comes to clearly specifying and documenting project requirements or work requests.
Email and similar tools make my job possible, and save me insane amounts of time. Of course, I actually bother to optimize these tools - with filters, sorters, and an understanding that most email is unimportant and can be ignored/deleted. This approach saves me even more time, and makes me so productive that I can spend most of my workday posting long-winded rants to
oh wait...
Yup. I *always* go upstream on them. Seems to be a lot more effective.
Another thing to note. Not everyone checks the 'abuse@' address.
So send to 'sales@' as well. You can be absolutely darn tootin' certain someone's checking that one.
Oddly I learned this one in meatspace, on the phone. *Never* bother with the customer service hotline. It's understaffed and underfunded. Call the sales line and you'll find they're very eager to get you off the line so they can make some money. They can be remarkably helpful.
Email is an incredibly efficient means of communication. Senders can compose their thought without taking anyone else's time. They can multicast without getting people in the room or on the phone. All communications can be archived. Recipients can automatically file and prioritize. They can decide what to read, when to read it, when to stop reading. They can delete, file, defer. They can compose a reply to whichever points they wish, along-side the original message, all on their own time. Linux kernel developers probably get (at least) an order of magnitude more mail than the average office worker, but kernel development remains efficient.
Yet companies really do try to curtail email, all because some employees have bad email skills, which sets off the managers who have the old-school intuition that communication should be carefully channelled. This matters because, incredible as it may seem, it will probably affect you sometime. You will find yourself in a situation where there is pressure, or even a dictum, to ration email. To combat this, we must help people use email efficiently.
Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how to do this, because I think the biggest factor is psychological. People who have become comfortable with traditional business environments are used to hearing only what they need to hear. Yes--this includes techies, many of whom expect to think only about their particular domain. They become anxious or confused when they get something that doesn't directly apply to them. They need to learn that 1. skimming this email can be valuable, because they will learn more about related activities in the company, and discover unexpected ways in which they can advise or contribute; and 2. deleting or filing messages without reading them can be ok.
Has anyone seen an "email skills" approach that worked?
And with their usual zeal, American CEO's decide that politeness is a waste of productivity, deciding en masse that it must be rooted out to get a nice 2% more time out of their employees' workday.
I have a little Perl program that does all of my filtering based on rules in a block file. Bascially, if the mail is not directly sent to me, or it's not in my block/pass list, then it gets dumped into a "potential-spam" folder (you can just send it to
Here's the program: spamfilter.pl [dnsalias.com]
Here's an example block file: conf/block.conf [dnsalias.com]
Email me if you have any problems with it, or have questions.
The problem with using the JunkBuster, is that spammers usually use "borrowed" SMTP servers and very rarely link themselves back to a domain.
As for fetchmail...I'm not sure...anyone?
A lot of our customer's are in Canada's Bible Belt (Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission -- British Columbia), and let me tell you: you haven't heard moral outrage until you've heard an offended Xtian mother complain about receiving Hot Slippery Teens in her mailbox...
We, the upper management of eSourceTec Inc., have discovered that employees have been wasting valuable time dealing with unnecessary e-mail. Here are the steps we are taking to eliminate this waste of time and energy:
1. All employees will be required to attend a series of company meetings on the subject of "Eliminating Unnecessary E-mail."
2. Following these meetings, employees will be required to attend department specific "E-Mail Task Force" meetings to come up with specific strategies for eliminating unnecessary e-mail.
3. Each day, employees will be required to send e-mail to their managers summarizing the amount and type of e-mail they have sent that day, flagging any e-mail exchanges that they feel could have been shortened or eliminated.
4. On a weekly basis, managers will have a one-on-one session with each employee in which they discuss how well e-mail strategies have been implemented, and what new strategies might be employed in the elimination of unnecessary e-mail.
We feel confident that these steps will drastically reduce the amount of time spent each day on pointless and unnecessary tasks, and lead our company into new strata of efficiency.
D. R. Baskerville
Vice-President, Attention Allocation Resources
When reading email, I also tend to skimread first and then dig deeper for any relevant details. And I'm somewhat used to automatically filtering out anything irrelevant, like re-re-re-quoted material. What does slow me down when reading email is that it's often plagued by errors in spelling, grammar and even basic punctuation.
I'm also not terribly long-winded when I myself send out email. I make sure my spelling is correct - again, I'm fortunate in this regard as far as natural skills are concerned. I think that overall, each second extra spent when composing an email saves at least two seconds at the recipient's end.
Plenty of jobs require you to have good communications skills, and "telephone skills" are often cited as necessary when a job is advertised. I wonder when "email skills" (you could even say "written word skills"!) will receive as high a priority?
All said, the file is in text file format and is a simple list of spammer addresses, which I am sure someone could convert/import to the format needed.
The nice thing is that people send him the names of spammers. And so it is constantly updated.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire [eplugz.com] comic strip
This one was never signed into law. You can read more about it at http://techlawjournal.com/telecom/81022.htm [techlawjournal.com].
Also, the following interesting discussion was posted here [jerrypournelle.com]:
I opened a piece of Spam mail this morning and got this:
Under Bill s.1618 Title III passed by the 105th U.S. Congress this mail cannot be considered Spam as long as we include contact information and removal instructions for removing you from our mailing list. To be removed from our mailing list, reply with REMOVE in the subject heading and your email address in the body, and include complete address and/or domain to be removed. <<
Have you received an email with one of these statements yet?
Let me see if I can translate it for you.
We are going to send you a ton of email whether you like it or not. Get off our backs. If you don't like it, get yourself off our lists.<<
Does that sound about right?
Well then! I guess I'd better read it. The information contained herein must be of some importance since the information has the A-OK under federal law.
Wait. Federal law?
If I remember my Saturday morning School House Rock episode correctly, for something to become a law, it has to be passed by both the House AND the Senate plus a really important person has to sign it.
It must be a law then, right? The Spammers are using it. They wouldn't lie, would they?
It would seem that enough time has passed for the president to sign the bill into law. It's been two years. We're in the 107th Congress now. I've never heard of a law allowing people to Spam me.
Hey - wait a minute. Maybe there never was a Bill S1618. I mean, it's not a law.
There was a bill S1618 back in 1998. It passed by a 99-0 voice vote. It's called the "Anti-Slamming Amendments Act". There was even a House of Representatives equal to it, HR3888. It also passed.
The Senate version of the bill stated that S1618 was, "To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to improve the protection of consumers against `slamming' by telecommunications carriers, and for other purposes."
Hey! Wait a minute.
Is the Congress a bunch of really poor spellers...like me?
I thought this was a bill about Spamming.
Well, it is. It's just not the main push of the bill. You don't get to "Spamming" until title three. It's right in there between "Switchless Resellers" and "Miscellaneous Provisions". The Spamming section is an amendment to the amendment. There were actually four versions of bill S1618. The Spamming section didn't show up until the third incarnation. (Source: http://thomas.loc.gov )
But still, it was passed. It was passed containing the Spamming amendment so it's on the books so we all have to receive the Spam emails sent to us by people we don't even know as long as the Spammers follow S1618 Title III outlined below:
(a) INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN TRANSMISSIONS- (1) IN GENERAL- A person who transmits an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message shall cause to appear in each such electronic mail message the information specified in paragraph (2). (2) COVERED INFORMATION- The following information shall appear at the beginning of the body of an unsolicited commercial electronic mail message under paragraph (1): (A) The name, physical address, electronic mail address, and telephone number of the person who initiates transmission of the message. (B) The name, physical address, electronic mail address, and telephone number of the person who created the content of the message, if different from the information under subparagraph (A). (C) A statement that further transmissions of unsolicited commercial electronic mail to the recipient by the person who initiates transmission of the message may be stopped at no cost to the recipient by sending a reply to the originating electronic mail address with the word `remove' in the subject line. (b) ROUTING INFORMATION- All Internet routing information contained within or accompanying an electronic mail message described in subsection (a) must be accurate, valid according to the prevailing standards for Internet protocols, and accurately reflect message routing. (c) EFFECTIVE DATE- The requirements in this section shall take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
In other words, include the paragraph that started off this newsletter and offer a viable method to getting your name off of the Spammer's list. Do that, and you can Spam away because technically what you're sending cannot be considered Spam.
This sounds too bad to be true.
Great! Just great! Now I have to allow a ton of Spam to come flying through my front door and I have to read it all because the Spammers have the power of the U.S. Government behind them. It just cheeses me off. I mean...it...
Wait. What's this?
S1618 died in committee?
That means that it's null and void? It's dead? It doesn't have any power?
Oh. The Spammer never bothered to tell me that.
Never mind.
I'll just go delete that piece of mail.
(The death of S1618 in committee: Source: http://techlawjournal.com/telecom/81022.htm )
That's that. Thanks for reading.
Check out the Vinny the Vampire [eplugz.com] comic strip
Anyway, I think there is a method to successful email management:
1. use filters (server based filtering like procmail works best but use whatever you can get your hands on.)
2. clean and review your filters regularly (otherwise you will end up filtering something you wanted to keep around.)
3. do not check out the spam you get (this usually just solicits more spam.)
4. check your mail regularly (it's better to spend 5 times 5 minutes a day reading/replying then spending an hour. This will help you stay focussed.)
5. Be critical (after the 5th email with a guy, take the phone and end the discussion that way.)
6. Once a month, throw the old trash out. (Keeping your mail spools to reasonable size will improve your chances of finding relevant information in it!)
7. If you're on a mailing list you'd like to get off: unsubscribe (try it, it usually works.)
8. Be carefull who you give your email address to.
Happy mailing!
Most employees I know would say that about 50% of the meetings they attend are unnecessary, and that only 10% of the discussions I hear in meetings demand any of my attention at all. Any dissenting opinions? No?
E-mail is a huge advantage, then, in that it gives me the power to delete memos and announcements that aren't important to me in just a few seconds, instead of having to throw away dead trees or walk in and out of useless meetings that do the same.
I say, viva la company e-mail. We'll always have to deal with useless intra-office crap, but at least with e-mail we can deal with it in the most efficient and least wasteful way possible (well, unless you're the network administrator).
Most people hide behind e-mail and voice mail.
This is an interesting statement and I really don't see how that is a reasonable statement. If someone sends an email it is FROM THEM. If it says "You are an asshole" then they are being 100% forthright and truthful. Perhaps they wouldn't say this face to face for whatever reason (which are multiple, including often saving face for the recipient), however hiding is not taking action, and conveying the information is anything but. Let me put this into a sociological context: I have a friend who is a real social butterfly, and he has particular skills that allow him to dominate conversations (Toastmasters, blah blah blah), giving him the upper hand regardless of his actual technical knowledge. It is his belief that what we're doing here (conversing via a public board) is unnatural and perverse, and it's the domain of only the lowest of people. This medium marginalizes his skills so it offends him greatly. You see to him people should only discuss things over a snifter of brandy at the local club, and anything but just isn't right.
Most office communication should be done face to face or over the phone, not e-mail. Really important issues are *always* communicated in person.
I totally, absolutely, and positively disagree. I have found by professional experience, and this isn't 100% so don't take it as an offense, that the people who have a distaste for email and like to take things "face to face" are people with limited technical skills trying to remorah off of coworkers, people who are old school and have never adapted to technology, or bullshitters. Bullshitters are the kind of people who will do anything and everything to maintain deniability (and you reference this : Perhaps just maybe people want a paper trail because of historical reality jading them for discussing this with people?). I work in the software field and the number of times that particular people have called for face to face meetings to discuss technical issues blows me away. "Uh, why did you use a critical section on line 745?" Gee, I could give you an answer in 2 minutes if I was sitting at my desk and you sent me an email, however sitting here in a conference room talking about this "important" issue regarding software I wrote months ago I can't give a valid answer. Maybe we should call in some managers and more coworkers to ensure that the time wastage is at it's peak, and then afterwards we can all file out certain that we've ACHIEVED something, when in reality we've achieved nothing.
Another interesting thing you say is that since two people in cubicle's are near each other, communications should be verbal. Guess what : That presentation you are working on might be super duper important to you, but maybe, just maybe (and you really have to step back and take a "I am not the center of the universe" perspective to see this) it isn't my top priority right now. Maybe I'm in the middle of debugging some code. Maybe I'm writing a document. By wallowing over and intruding into my work you are imposing your priorities on me. That is the purpose of emails. Got a simple question? EMAIL IT.
M$ would have gotten the joke back in 1978 [piclabs.com] . . .
There is a heaven on earth...
Mr. Ska
I slit a sheet
A sheet I slit
But wait:
workers spend an average of 49 minutes per day managing e-mail....34 percent of the internal business e-mail they receive is unnecessary
Um, the reporter (or maybe it's the actual Gartner people) needs to take a remedial math class. 34% times 49 minutes is 17 minutes per day, not remotely "nearly an hour". Presumably the other time spent managing e-mail is productive. I know plenty of people who waste more than 17 minutes a day smoking or chatting by the water cooler or exchanging pleasantries on the phone or reading the sports section in the men's room. What's the big deal here?
Yes, some people use e-mail really inefficiently. I think all managers should train employees two fundamental principles of e-mail etiquette:
I expect that those two guidelines alone would eliminate 90%+ of the "wasted" time.
The bill was never passed by the U.S. Congress:
U.S. Senate Bill 1618, an Anti-slamming Amendments Act, contained a Section 301, relating to transmissions of unsolicited commercial electronic mail. S.1618 was approved by the U.S. Senate on May 12, 1998. It was then referred to the House Committee on Commerce on October 21, 1998. The Bill DIED in committee and was never passed into law by the 105th Congress. Nor has the 106th Congress passed anything similar at this time.
-- http://www.d-pendablelibrary.com/reinboldcongress
More information on the bill:
Google Search [google.com]
Also: DON'T REPLY TO THE SPAMMERS "REMOVE" ADDRESSES. "Remove" addresses are almost always just a drop box to confirm the validity of your email address so they know whom to spam next time.
More and more, businesses are realizing the importance of the informal networks within a company (as opposed to the formal org chart.) As stated in The Cluetrain Manifesto, business is conversation, both within the company and between company and its customers. Email is the killer app for the Internet because it facilitates these conversations. Just as in real life, not all conversations are especially useful. But that's okay. You get clues about who people are and how they like to communicate, even if the substance of the message isn't on target.
I'll grant that anything can be abused, including time at the water cooler. Some email netiquette would go a long way to reducing the problem. But having said that, I think that on balance, letting people be people and communicate like people may seem to be wasting time, but it's not really. It's building a community.
Nah, if you make it too complicated, you'll get that much more pissed when those "damned kids" run over your mailbox again.
Nah. If you go down that road, you'll end up with ED-209 as your mailbox. I can see Halloween now...
On the flip side, your local mailman/lady would be too scared to put ads in your mailbox, or bills for that matter...This mailbox is owned and operated by the federal government. You have ten seconds to drop the eggs and step away from the premises.
Thufir's a Harkonnen now.


text:
Sprache in Deutsch ändern |
Hooray! You've made it!
You found probably the funniest site of the internet! Share and discover hilarious, crazy and weird videos, images or what ever you want and find people who share your sense of humour.
We suggest English as your preferred language. You can change the language next to the bendecho logo.Let it rock! ;-)
Naseem Nakhat
youtube.com - Naseem Nakhat
|Naseem Nakhat
|9 years, 3 months ago
Add a comment
Submit New
Rising Upcoming Votes
Related Stuff
Stuff of the Month
Action Feed
- Drain Cleaning Service in Salt L...
- AR Parts & Accessories At Delta ...
- Bitcoin Flip- free bitcoin tradi...
- Corporate Security Guards in Mal...
- El Paso Solar Group
- Gomez Commercial Electricians in...
- Cheap Car Insurance in Santa Ana CA
- Earn Free Bitcoins With Your PC ...
- Complete Controller Bookkeeping ...
- Boris René - "Give It To Me" - o...

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Ajay Devgn And Saif Ali Khan Running For Life
This content cannot be viewed on Biscoot Web.
You can consume this content on
http://m.biscoot.com or
you can download the Biscoot APP
Next Previous
Watch Movie scene from hindi movie Kachche Dhaage starring Ajay Devgn,Saif Ali Khan,Namrata Shirodkar,Manisha Koirala,Bunty Luthria.
Tag: kachche dhaage, hot scenes, romantic movie scenes, hindi comedy scene, hindi action movie scene, bollywood hot scene, hindi movie scenes, hindi comedy movie scenes, ajay devagan, saif ali khan, namrata shirodkar, manisha koirala, bunty luthria
By Team Biscoot | Aug 7,2014,11:35 AM IST
Hot Bollywood Videos
OMG: Saif argues with the media AGAIN! At a store launch
The 3 Khans give Saif's sister, Soha's wedding a miss! The actress married boyfriend Kunal Khemu
Ajay Devgan Shoots A Truck Driver Action scene from Kachche Dhaage
Ajay Devgn And Saif Ali Khan Finally Get Caught Dramatic scene from Kachche Dhaage
Kachche Dhaage Movie Making Part 1 Behind the scene from Kachche Dhaage
Ajay Devgn Angry With His Mother Dramatic scene from Kachche Dhaage
Kachche Dhaage Movie Making Part 2 Behind scene from Kachche Dhaage
Ajay Devgn Asks Saif Ali Khan To Shut Up Dramatic scene from Kachche Dhaage
Trending Now
Top Stories
Danny Boyle personally wished Harshvardhan Kapoor for 'Mirzya' The director really liked the trailer
Shahid's brother Ishaan to make his debut in Majid Majidi's next The young actor will be launched by the Oscar-nominated director
Check out this secret detail in The Girl on The Train The film is adapted by a novel
Aamir Khan breaks his rule for the launch of Dangal The actor will release the trailer before Diwali
Take a look at Deepika's mesmerizing photo shoot for Tanishq She is the brand ambassador for the jewellery
Take a look at these best-dressed B-town beauties of the week These fashionistas have mesmerized us withe each appearances


text:
Lead Anti-Gay Activist: 'Obama Might Be Gay'
The chairman of a popular anti-gay organization recently said he believes that President Obama is gay after he came out in support for gay marriage and that homosexuals rape children, RightWingWatch.com reported.
Paul Cameron, 72, who runs the Family Research Institute (an organization that does research on "issues that threaten the traditional family", including homosexuality and AIDS) made the statements in an interview with Jim Schneider of "Cross Talk" and suggested Obama has had sex with men.
He also said that "the long term goal of the homosexual movement is to get every little boy to grab his ankles and every little girl to give it a try," and that children might be "forced to at least once experience homosexual acts."
"And actually, while I'm not sure about the claims by the various people who have reported that Obama has at least participated at times with them in homosexual acts, this certainly lends some credence," Cameron said.
When Cameron appeared on "The David Pakman Show" he said that "societies in which homosexuality get a fair degree of prominence -- for instance, Afghanistan; for instance, Pakistan -- you have an enormous.... Incorporation of children into homosexuality," He went on to say that if gays are "accepted by society it will normalize a culture of pederasty in the U.S.," International Business Times points out.
The anti-gay psychologist also said that individuals can chose their sexual orientation as he has done himself. He said that he was raped by a man when he was 3 years old and had homosexual desires until he reached adolescence.
"As you're probably aware, I was seduced, or raped, as a child... I was raped homosexually," Cameron said. "Had that continued, I don't know where I would have ended up," Cameron said. "I do know that the culture, which was directed toward heterosexuality, overcame whatever feelings I had -- and I had some, that I acquired as a 3-year-old -- and by the time I was 9 or 10, I was thoroughly interested in girls."
Cameron was asked if he was gay but he said that "gay is a political term" and he is no longer interested in "homosexual relations."
Cameron established the Family Research Institute (previously known as the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality) in 1982 and has been bent on campaigning against gay rights for more than two decades. In 1983, the American Psychological Association discredited Cameron for non-cooperation with an ethics investigation.
Watch Cameron's interview with Pakman below:


text:
On the other hand, if it turns out to be true, it has far-reaching implications
I've been saying this all along! Whoever smelt it dealt it.
Unfortunately the Uncertainty Principle states that you can't simultaneously know what a fart smells like and where it came from. That explains why your own farts never smell as bad.
You're basically right, though: Major oscillations between groups of neurons or anything like that is something radically different than this, and this theory doesn't make that any more likely. Even in that case, there is no reason to scream "quantum" (as in: impossible to handle with good old Newtonian physics/statistical chemistry/thermodynamics), as the main effects should be the varying electrical field, which we can easily measure with EEG electrodes. Some degree of leakage/overhearing is known, but I've no idea if anyone has found that as crucial to proper function, rather than a noise effect that's generally filtered out.
Cubert: I didn't realize you were the inventor of the junk heap!
Prof.: That's my price-winning Smelloscope. If a dog craps anywhere in the universe, you can bet I won't be out of the loop. And this is my Universal Translator. Unfortunately, it only translates into an incomprehensible dead language.
Cubert: Hello.
Translator: Bonjour.
Prof.: Crazy gibberish!
"And therefore, by process of elimination, the electron must taste like Grape-Ade."
Their claim that signals can be translated through tunneling in a biological system which likely swamps those potential signals with noise is what really troubles me.
Actually, there seems to be quite a lot of noise in our brain. [zdnet.com]
The notion that things with similar structures having different smells - well, things with different structures often have different chemistries. Often a slight change in structure has significant effect on shape, size, polarity, electronegativity, etc, and these things can have enormous impacts on the ability of an odorant to fit correctly with a G-coupled protein receptor, which are the proteins responsible for olfaction.
The notion that things with different structures smelling the same is irrelevant -
This theory is "revolutionary" because biochemists use classical simulations. Quantum mechanics is very difficult to apply to such large systems in practice but these molecules definitely are governed by quantum mechanics like all molecules.
But in that other universe, roses smell like cat-doo...
Unthinkable in the other universe, since it's normal there, unless they also have Slashdot...
If they do, then it's called Slatdosh and instead contains incessant blathering about irrelevant topics...
Oh... hang on a bit...
Maybe Slashdot itself is a portal to parallel worlds?
check yourselfWow, a post from the future! What's it like in 2036?
Wow, a post from the future! What's it like in 2036?
Well, when there is a dupe on Slashdot we can post directly to the original ! And we have arguments about whether the 1Gbps data limit is due to MAE-West or the entangled packet link somewhere in New Jersey.
Well, quantum physics is just a model. We'll probably find out later on down the road that we're all just figments of the highly detailed imagination of a resident of Snarfblatt IV and our "universe" will cease to an end one day as he is run over by a passing Warfleblorter.
*shakes his head* This is why people need to take Warfleblorting safety seriously.
This poet obviously never got stoned, otherwise he would know that the Universe is actually in his thumb.
Damn non-hippie.
He had me until this sentence (although the line that he found the theory interesting enough to refute was a very nice touch).
Electrons, photons, and protons are all merely models to explain in tangible terms what the **** is going on down there, so I become skeptical when these terms are utilized to explain/demonstrate quantum mechanics. We know how to use electricity, buy it, sell it,
It's gotta sound really strange or it's not QM/C.
Electrons, photons, and protons are all merely models to explain in tangible terms what the **** is going on down there, so I become skeptical when these terms are utilized to explain/demonstrate quantum mechanics. We know how to use electricity, buy it, sell it, how to protect our kids from it, yet we really don't know what it is.
I think you're making the classic mistake of, "The math is hard and unlike other math I've seen before, therefore QM is strange and mysterious." It should come as no surprise
You keep repeating that things like photons, electrons and the like are "merely models". I have to take issue with this, as they happen to be effective models.
I would *love* to see how you would *begin* to explain how light and matter interact at a *fundamental* level, without using the concept of electrons and photons.
These guys are not cranks - the (free, as in beer) preprint [arxiv.org] seems to be a pretty typical quantum transport paper, albeit with a slightly "sexed up" angle.
Models are good, if they wo
I hear his (her?) work is SHROUDED in mystery. Zing!...by biophysicist Luca Turin
His scents sense makes cents.
To me, "putting his money where his nose is," is more easily interpreted as a euphemism meaning he's addicted to cocaine, and thus is a turn of phrase that should be avoided unless you want to be sued.
Really? To me, "putting his money where his nose is" is more easily interpreted as "putting his money where his mouth is" (ie putting cash on the line to back a statement) but using "nose", since this is about smells.
Maybe it's because I'm not from the USA that I don't immediately think of drugs and slander
"How fast does the poison work?"
"Very quickly, he said. Almost instantaneously."
"'Almost'? How fast is almost? T
if it can be fully explained by the classical physics approximations, then by the laws of causal closure included there we cannot possibly have free will
Hold on just a minute. You are making quite a leap there, while acting as if you were just stating the obvious.
Unless you can do something along the lines of:
The theory, proposed in the mid-1990s by biophysicist Luca Turin, suggests that electron tunneling initiates the smell signal being sent to the brain.
My name is Luca.
I live on the second floor.
I live upstairs from you.
Yes, I think you've seen me before.
If you smell something late at night
Some kind of molecule,
Some kind of quantum function;
Just don't ask me what it was,
Just don't ask me what it was,
Because I haven't published yet.
"Conversion, fastidious Goddess, loves blood better than brick, and feasts most subtly on the human will." -- Virginia Woolf, "Mrs. Dalloway"


text:
Oak Dale Motel
Baxley, GA 31513
Family owned and operated since 1934, our hotel is dedicated to service. We are conveniently located near the golf course. You can also visit downtown Baxley for great shopping and dining. Visit us next time you are in South Georgia.
Info & Amenities
Hours of Operation
Sunday: All Day
Monday: All Day
Tuesday: All Day
Wednesday: All Day
Thursday: All Day
Friday: All Day
Saturday: All Day
Facility Amenities
Free Parking
Room Information
Number of Rooms (Total): 20


text: After working on the amp today, I reconnected the battery and I noticed that my Kenwood KDC-248u head unit was flashing "PROTECT". I read all about how to check to see if any of the speaker wires were shorting from a bad connection. Well, they were all good. I then disconnected all speaker wires from the head unit and the PROTECT was still showing so I am convinced the head unit is fried. Any thoughts are welcome. Thank you


text:
Dino Run SE is a retro-styled, action-packed prehistoric racing game that can be played by yourself or with up to 3 other players in many different multiplayer levels. Help your raptor escape the pyroclastic wall of doom the only may he knows how: by running incredibly fast and eating anything that gets is his way!
Dino Run: Marathon of Doom is an intense and fast-paced "non-endless runner" based on the original Dino Run universe. See how long you can survive in a single epic level that gets more and more intense the further you go... can you make it all the way to your sanctuary?


text:
Original URL: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/26/airbus_welsh_jobs/
Airbus creates 650 new Welsh jobs
Boost for Flintshire wing plant
Posted in Business, 26th January 2006 13:20 GMT
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has announced it will create 650 new jobs as part of an expansion of its wing-manufacturing plant in north Wales, the BBC reports.
The factory at Broughton in Flintshire already employs over 6,000 people in the construction of wings for the Airbus A350 and A380 "superjumbo". It is Wales' largest manuafcturing facility.
Airbus is currently on a roll, and last week boasted it had a 2,000 aircraft order backlog. It last year upped deliveries by 18 per cent to 378 aircraft.
As well as the new jobs, Airbus's Broughton factory will also enjoy a £5.2m Welsh Assembly government to "help boost production".
An enthusiastic Flintshire council chief regeneration officer, Dave Heggarty, described the announcement as "wonderful news", adding: "The company now employs well over 7,000 people on the site and around north Wales there are around 12,000 people employed by companies that supply Airbus. The wage bill in Broughton alone is around £6m a week.
"Employing people in an industry like aerospace manufacture is extremely expensive - training costs are particularly high. The 650 recruited will go through a lengthy programme and the grant will assist with that training."
The A350 is due to hit the skies in 2010. The A380 had its maiden flight back in April last year and is due into service with Singapore Airlines at the end of 2006. ®


text:
Linked by David Adams on Fri 22nd Oct 2010 16:36 UTC, submitted by Amy Bennett
As of today, Microsoft won't allow manufacturers to install XP on new netbooks," says blogger Kevin Fogarty. "That doesn't mean corporate customers who special-order hardware with XP won't be able to get it, or even that its market share ( 60 percent!) will drop any time soon.... It just means XP has taken the first babystep toward obsolescence and the long (really long, considering its market share) slide down toward the pit of minor operating systems like the MacOS X (4.39 percent) , Java ME (.95 percent) and "Other" (which I think is an alternative spelling for "Linux" (.85 percent).
Thread beginning with comment 446627
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE: Marketing figures
by Nth_Man on Fri 22nd Oct 2010 18:26 UTC in reply to "Marketing figures"
For example this statistics are from web developers
RE[2]: Marketing figures
by smoerk on Fri 22nd Oct 2010 20:44 in reply to "RE: Marketing figures"
For example this statistics are from web developers
of course the global stats for all users would different. but what's interesting is that linux and osx are growing in a user group that most likely includes more innovators.
recent absolute market share numbers are boring. it's interesting what innovators (2.5%) are using. i see a bright future for unix :-)


text:
This resource is no longer available
VMware- based vSTAC VDI appliance
IT pros who want to optimize their virtual desktop infrastructures often turn to integrated solutions to deliver the desktop performance their employees need. That's because the right integrated solution can allow you to both simplify your infrastructure and reduce storage administration, power, and cooling costs.
This resource introduces one integrated solution that accomplishes all of these goals. Access this resource now to learn how this solution tested in a VMware View environment.


text:
Charles Lopresti (trainer, Wise Dan, 1st) – "I was able to use that race at Keeneland (Shadwell Turf Mile) as the perfect setup for today. I didn't have to do much with him. He proved he was the best horse today. I never had any doubts. I was just a little concerned about how the race would shape up. He's just a special horse. We'll probably take him back to our farm in Kentucky and give him some time. We'll make a plan for him at the first of the year."
Graham Motion (trainer, Animal Kingdom, 2nd) – "Seconds are very tough and I have some tough second-place beats in the Breeders' Cup. I'm thrilled with the way he ran. If he doesn't get steadied at the top of the stretch … I don't know. What a great run and what a great horse. He's a special horse."
Joe Talamo (jockey, Obviously, 3rd) – "We figured to be on the lead and we had an easy lead. I just wish that outside horse (Suggestive Boy) hadn't been out there. He just put pressure on us. I don't know if that cost us the race, but we did feel it. He stayed on well."
Joseph O'Brien (jockey, Excelebration, 4th) – "It has been only 14 days since his last start and this was his first time on a left-handed course. Things were disorganized in the race and he took a bit to catch up to it. I'm not sure you saw his best race."
Aidan O'Brien (trainer, Excelebration, 4th) – "He's run a good race."
Thierry Jarnet (jockey, Moonlight Cloud, 8th) – "It was a bad race. I couldn't get out around the bend."
Freddy Head (trainer, Moonlight Cloud, 8th) – "She had a rough trip and maybe got a bit discouraged. It's been a long season, but I'm a bit disappointed. I thought she'd run better than that."


text:
My DD starts daycare tomorrow, and I'm going back to work.
Despite my efforts, I have not been able to pump a lot of milk off. I only have about 6, 4.5oz bottles in the freezer. It seriously takes me 3 days to get 4-5 oz pumped off.
Because of this, I need a back-up plan. I know that once she starts daycare she's going to go through this fast. I will likely be able to pump off a bit more since she won't be nursing during the day, but I don't think I can keep up with her demand.
SO I need help. What should I supplement her with? Cows Milk? Goats? Formula?
How much milk should she be drinking per day? Most sources say 14-19oz. Does that sound right?
Right now, DD nurses CONSTANTLY. She seriously is on my boob any chance she gets (ie ripping my shirt down to nurse if I'm holding her, sitting on the floor, etc). She will nurse all day and all night (don't get me started on the night nursing!) if I let her.
I just need to know where to turn. Up until now, it's just been easy to give her the boob whenever she wants it. Now I need to think about supplementing for the first time and have NO idea where to go.


text:
Food & Fitness
Eating well-balanced meals is an essential part of taking better care of yourself and managing diabetes. So is regular physical activity, which is especially important for people with diabetes and those at risk for diabetes. Balancing what you eat and your physical activity are key to managing diabetes.
Having diabetes should not prevent you from enjoying a wide variety of foods. You can learn how to eat healthful meals and include your favorite foods so you can thrive with diabetes.
Eating healthful meals is an essential part of managing diabetes. All of our recipes use healthful ingredients and cooking techniques. Try the recipes and our meal plans for healthier eating.
Manage or prevent type 2 diabetes by getting and staying active.


text:
Success Center
"Success doesn't come to you…you go to it."
- Marva Collins
AMEREN, St. Louis, MO
Job Title:
Financial Specialist
Date Posted:
Req. # 11653
The Financial Specialist is responsible for maintaining Ameren Missouri's Fuel Adjustment Clause and reviewing all
accounting entries pertaining to Ameren natural gas transactions. Key responsibilities include:
- Prepare external regulatory filings with State Public Service Commissions.
- Prepare, analyze and interpret complex accounting, financial and statistical data.
- Assist other departments with issues relating to report inquiries.
- Research Company policy on financial and reporting matters, including monitoring the activities of financial and
regulatory reporting and accounting standard setting agencies.
- Control costs, increase productivity and at all times, safeguard the Company's assets.
- Perform other special financial projects as necessary.
- Contribute to month-end closing.
- Review journal entries, reconciliations and reports.
- Prepare executive-level presentations.
- Interact with all levels of the organization and state regulatory staff.
Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from an accredited college or university required. CPA also required.
Master's Degree preferred.
Three or more years of accounting experience required with a thorough knowledge of accounting principles, standards,
methods, procedures, classification of accounts and regulatory reporting requirements required.
Thorough knowledge of financial reporting, accounting principles, standards, methods, procedures, classification of
accounts and regulatory reporting requirements required.
Strong analytical skills are required, including the ability to identify, analyze and research financial issues.
Strong oral communication and writing skills are also required.
Must be able to exercise judgment and work independently.
Working knowledge of Word, Excel and PowerPoint required.
Must possess good leadership and human relations skills.
© 2018 Kaskaskia College - 27210 College Road - Centralia, Illinois 62801 - (618)545-3000 (800)642-0859


text:
I'm thinking about replacing my existing gas-fired water tanks (30 gal & 40 gal) with aa single indirect tank on a priority zone off of my burnham series 2 boiler (164k btu input). I'm in the process of converting to central air / forced air heat, so heating the indirect tank would really be the only thing the boiler is doing, no other heating zones. (though I'm planning on putting a couple of smaller radiant floor zones in, mostly just to warm up tile in a bathroom.)
The question is, with this size boiler, and not worrying about any hydronic heating zones, how large a tank can I put in before I run into problems with the boiler not being able to heat the tank quickly / efficiently? I'd love to put in an 80 gal tank, but I'm concerned the boiler just doesn't put out enough btu's to heat it effectively.
Thanks in advance for any help!


text:
States want more details on power price planAM Lexi Metherell
State and territory leaders are calling for more details before signing up to the Federal Government's plan to cut electricity bills.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says her reform package will save consumers $250 per year on their power bills.
She is hoping to reach an agreement on the plan at a COAG meeting of state and territory leaders on Friday.
Ms Gillard wants to give more funding to the national energy regulator, and set up new consumer groups to keep power prices down.
Victorian Energy Minister Michael O'Brien says some of the proposals look worthwhile, but the industry watchdog needs more power.
"The Australian Energy Regulator is in a constant battle for resources, both financial and personnel," he said.
New South Wales Minister Katrina Hodkinson says the states are already looking at ways of pushing power prices down.
"I think the best things they could do is abolish the green schemes and abolish the carbon tax," she said.
Ms Gillard is pushing for the roll out of smart meters, but Queensland Energy Minister Mark McArdle is making no commitments.
"I call upon the Prime Minister to release all costings in relation to her claim as to how these prices are going to be driven down and more importantly, when prices will fall," he said.
We asked our readers if they thought the energy regulator should be given more power to influence power prices. Read what they had to say.
The Federal Coalition dismissed yesterday's announcement as a stunt, but says the energy sector does need to be deregulated.
'Once in a decade'
John Pierce, the chairman of the Australian Energy Market Commission, wants to see the states and Commonwealth agree to changes to the way electricity is priced to allow consumers to get a better deal.
"This Friday's meeting is an opportunity to make some substantial reforms and an opportunity that only comes around almost once a decade," he said.
"Really [it's] about putting the consumers in a position so that they can be better informed about what sort of options are available to them and what sort of decisions they can make in their position, so that in a way that's easy for them to make decisions about how to use electricity."
The Prime Minister also has the backing of a prominent think-tank, the Grattan Institute, which has released a report on how to reduce energy prices.
The institute's energy program director, Tony Wood, says the regulator needs to be better equipped to determine the profits of energy network monopolies.
"The regulator does need to be given more direct power and more incentive to tighten up the way in which these businesses have been allowed to charge prices to customers which have probably moved too far in favour of the investor and too far away from the interest of customers," he said.
Consumer savings
Mr Wood's report shows fixing the regulatory system could save $2.2 billion a year, which would save the average household about $100.
He praises the Australian Energy Market Commission's recent move to give the regulator more power, but says more must be done.
"The governments together - and this has to be done by both the federal and the state government - they need to hold the regulator accountable for delivering a much better result in the interests, and the long-term interests, of consumers," he said.
The chief executive of the Energy Networks Association, Malcolm Roberts, agrees power bills have risen steeply, but says the increases are justified.
"We look at the different factors that have been pushing up network costs, that's the higher cost of capital thanks to global financial crisis, the need to replace ageing assets, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland, so we're going through a bit of an investment peak," he said.
"There's the continuing need to build extra capacity to meet peak demand. It's too simplistic to suggest that high network costs reflect just some argument about regulatory failure."


text:
There are days when that feeling akin to writers block applies to your entire life: you're unsure why you're doing what you're doing and you don't know how to move forward with your to-do list, let alone begin. Writing for Lifehacker, Mike Vardy has a process to clear your head and identify what tasks are most important.
Big Paper: Write Down What You're Doing
He first suggests you find a big piece of paper (bigger is better, Vardy says). On it, write out what your tasks are, who you're doing the task for and why it's your responsibility. Then grab a cup of coffee or tea, and meditate on it--stare at what you've written and really think it over until you're done with your drink.
Small Paper: Everything That Doesn't Matter
Next, begin crossing out the stuff that doesn't really matter to you or feel urgent. Now, take the items you crossed out and write them on a small piece of paper (smaller is better, Vardy says).
Big Paper: Everything That Does
Take the items you didn't cross out and write them on a large piece of paper. Then...
Compare the two pieces of paper. While doing this, you should (hopefully) realize that the smaller stuff shouldn't get in the way of the bigger stuff. The small paper represents stuff of little import, the big paper represents stuff of bigger import.
Read more about Vardy's method at Lifehacker.
What methods do you use to get unstuck?
(Image via Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com)


text: Come learn about the uprising that inspired others around the world including Occupy: the Egyptian Revolution. We will be closing a photo exhibit on the ongoing Revolution, called "Stand Your Ground… The Sun is Rising" with a book reading from Egyptian author Hoda Rashad! Come JUNE 11 to hear more about the ongoing Revolution, ask questions, and hear excerpts from Hoda Rashad's book, "Rising From Tahrir" about the spring 2011 uprising. JUNE 11 @ 8pm-10pm Old Crow Tattoo & Gallery 362 Grand Avenue Oakland, CA 94610 32421


text:
Saving the Street Fighter Franchise 76
Gamasutra did an in-depth interview with Yoshi Ono, producer of Street Fighter IV, about trying to bring the series back to the quality and popularity of the '90s. Ono also talks about broadening the market to include casual players, who were slowly driven away from the game by the increased focus on competitive play. Quoting: "If you think about chess for instance, a kid and a grandfather can play the same game, with the same ruleset, and understand what's going on. I think through our competitive spirit back then; we were always out to out-complicate each other, and make our systems deeper and deeper. It was ok then because there was a wide player base who understood how to play these games, but that's not true anymore. What we're trying to do with Street Fighter IV is bring them back in. There's not a whole lot of other fighting games out there to compare it to, but hopefully, if we play our cards right and get people back in to the genre, we can blossom the genre itself again and spread things out and get it back to the way it was."


text:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Greenville Volleyball improved to 14-5 overall and 7-1 in SLIAC play Thursday, Oct. 7 as they claimed the 3-1 victory over Benedictine-Springfield.
It took Greenville four sets to put away their opponent, but behind a fourth set .462 kill percentage and only one error, they closed the door on Benedictine 25-19, 15-25, 25-20, 25-21.
Panther Volleyball will next travel to Principia College where they will play in a double header against Eureka College and Spalding University. Greenville will look to extend their six match-winning streak, and first place SLIAC standing.


text:
On Monday police apprehended two Queens, N.Y. men who allegedly had stolen 1,400 gallons of used cooking oil from a local North Bergen business.
North Bergen Police arrested Youngil Kim, 48, and Byung Ho Choi, 55, outside of Five Guys Burgers and Fries, located at 2100 88th St. at about 8:50 a.m.
According to Commander of the Detective Bureau Lt. Frank Cannella, North Bergen Police were called after the manager of the restaurant spotted someone stealing their used cooking oil, stored in two containers behind the building. He also noticed that a yellow van and the man stealing the oil had both appeared on the store's surveillance cameras the last time their grease was stolen on Sept. 11.
He alerted police, who arrived on the scene and conducted a motor vehicle stop of the yellow van. It was outfitted with a plastic bladder to hold the oil, as well as a generator connected to a pump, which sucked the oil into the vehicle.
"I never knew restaurants got paid to get rid of this stuff." – Frank Cannella
After police reviewed the store's surveillance tapes, they were able to witness Choi allegedly committing the "exact same crime" while using the same vehicle on Sept. 11, said Cannella.
Cooking oil waste can be sold and turned into biodiesel fuel. Cannella said that Five Guys sells its grease to Darling International, a contractor who buys inedible cooking oils for about $1 a gallon, making the total worth of the loot $1,400.
"I never knew restaurants got paid to get rid of this stuff," said Cannella, who said that no other such crimes have been reported in North Bergen before.
However, since arresting the duo, Cannella said that numerous businesses have called the department believing that the same grease truck individuals were allegedly responsible for their oil being stolen.
Cannella said that the two men operated a company called Hyundai Cyclin Inc. out of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Cannella said that he has told callers to contact their local police departments and file a report. The North Bergen Police will then coordinate with those agencies, he said.
Kim and Choi were arrested for two counts of theft each, one for the first incident and the other based on the Sept. 11 surveillance footage.
Judge Nino Falcone set their bail at $10,000 each with no 10 percent option before transferring the men to Hudson County Jail, located in Kearny.
Anyone with more information of similar thefts should contact the North Bergen Police Detective Bureau at (201) 392-2095.
Alleged purse snatcher caught with check
On Sept. 14 Debra Colantuono, 38, of Cliffside Park was arrested on the charge of theft by unlawful taking after police traced a stolen purse back to her through video surveillance.
According to Cannella, on Sept. 9 a female victim shopping at Walmart, located at 2100 88th St., reported that one female distracted her, while another removed her purse from her shopping cart.
The incident was reported to North Bergen Police, who, along with store security, analyzed the building's surveillance cameras. Two white females were shown taking the purse, exiting the store, and entering a dark colored SUV before driving away.
The victim said that the Coach purse, along with its contents, which included $150 cash, a Coach Wallet, Coach wristlet, gift cards, and makeup, were worth several thousands of dollars.
Cannella said that police were at the store continuing their investigation on Sept. 10 when Walmart security reported that one of the women allegedly involved had attempted to make a purchase with a personal check, which was declined.
They were able to identify her by her license number which they had on file.
When police visited her home on Sept. 14 to talk about the incident, police said she agreed to cooperate.
Colantuono told police that a female acquaintance that she only knows as "Amy" showed up at Walmart when she was there, said Cannella.
"The victim was not targeted; it was the first person that they saw," said Cannella, according to Colantuono's statement. "While Amy distracted the victim, she [allegedly] reached inside the shopping cart."
After driving onto Tonnelle Avenue, Amy allegedly kept the cash before emptying the contents of the purse and threw the purse itself out of the window.
Police are following leads on identifying the other accomplice, said Cannella.
Judge Nino Falcone set Colantuono's bail at $2,500 with a 10 percent option. She was released on the same day of her arrest.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at email@example.com.


text:
The lights are on
We compiled a list of the stupidest
video game titles of all time a few years ago, but that doesn't mean
developers have magically stopped coming up with terrible names to afflict
their games with. Here are the best of the worst for 2014.
Ar Nosurge: Ode to an Unborn StarThere's really only one place to start a list of dumb video
game titles, and that's Japan. Gust's latest offering perfectly illustrates the
two central tenets of eccentric Japanese video game titles: made-up words that
you can play the entire game without figuring out what the heck they mean, and nonsensical
subtitles that sound intellectual, but fall apart if you think about them for
more than two seconds. First of all, if a game has "Ar" in the name, I better
be playing as a pirate. Also, I'm not sure what an ode to an unborn star would
sound like, but I'm guessing it's even lamer than most poems.
Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk SkyHow many nonsensical titles can one developer come up with
in a year? In addition to Ar Nosurge, Gust released not one but two Atelier
games in 2014: Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky and Atelier
Rorona Plus: The Alchemist of Arland. Kim, our resident JRPG expert, tells me that Atelier is a French word that means workshop. Turns out English also has a word that means workshop – it's workshop. Hey Gust: It's okay to translate your games directly into English next time; save the French for the PAL version. Throw in a couple of ridiculous character names and you have the perfect recipe for feeling like an idiot when you ask the clerk at your local video
game store for one of these games.
Bravely DefaultGiving your title a deeper meaning can be tricky, and Square
Enix flew a little too close to the sun with this one. The title refers to the
game's Brave/Default system, which allows you to perform powerful multi-hit attacks
by borrowing actions from subsequent turns ("Brave") or saving them up in
advance ("Default"). Without that knowledge, however, Bravely Default just sounds
like the most boring game ever – as if doing the most basic, expected thing is
somehow courageous. Actually, that's the perfect title for a JRPG...
Fencer FApparently at some point JRPG fans must just stop asking
questions that they assume will have stupid answers – like what the deal is
with the "F" at the end of Fairy Fencer F. I'm guessing Compile Heart was trying
to go for a triple alliteration, but just ran out of ideas for the third word
and said screw it. One thing is for sure, though: If I'm not stabbing fairies with
an epee in this game, I'm going to be sorely disappointed.
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1Okay, I've tolerated a lot of stupid
and absurd
JRPG titles in the past, but Idea Factory has finally gone too far. I'm willing
to assume that Hyperdimension Neptunia is just the name of the planet that's
overrun by oversexualized anime girls. I'm also willing to give Idea Factory the
benefit of the doubt for why there's no space in "Birth1" – maybe someone's
spacebar was just broken; it happens. What I can't accept is the semicolon breaking
up "Re;Birth." Seriously, a semicolon?! It's time to shut the factory down,
boys, because you're clearly out of ideas.
Coming Up Next: We go
from the absurd to the confusing with a handful of ambiguous and misleading
Email the author Jeff Marchiafava, or follow on Google+, Twitter, and Game Informer.


text:
Did anyone else catch the final? It started at 3:30 AM, I woke up at 6:30 and caught the last set and a half. I have to say, I am totally back into tennis because of these two. I haven't seen shot making like this in a long time and Feds and Nadal never disappoint. There are so many layers to their rivalry:
-the different surfaces
-the different styles
-the fact that Federer needs one more title to tie Sampras and he wants it desperately.
-the different personalities
It is VERY reminiscent of Borg (efficient all court master) v. Johnny Mac (petulant young lefty).


text:
Hey all,
I want to be able to take a Google News query and be able to automatically populate it into a CMs so a client can review and select articles to publish to their "Media" page.
Does anyone have any experience with. I'm fairly new to PHP/MySQL but have had good luck thus far.
Any thought and advise would be greatly, greatly appreciated. I've done a little reading through Googles documentation but thought I would canvas the community to see if anyone has attempted this. I'm sure its out there as its not the most original idea lol.


text:
Federal Reserve Bank officer addresses the financial crisis to kick off Distinguished Speaker Series
LaVaughn Henry is vice president and senior regional officer for Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland | October 6, 2011
The Williams College of Business launches its Distinguished Speaker Series with a presentation by LaVaughn M. Henry, PhD, vice president and senior regional officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Cincinnati Branch. Henry's topic is "Lessons Learned: Monetary Policy and its Role in Addressing the Financial Crisis of 2008 and the Recovery from the Great Recession."
Henry is speaking on Wednesday, Oct. 19, from noon to 1:00 p.m. in Duff Banquet Hall in the Cintas Center.
Attendance for this event is limited and made available through the sponsorship of PNC Bank, which also provides funding for student and faculty development. Registration is available online through Oct. 7 at www.xavier.edu/dss. For more information please call 513-745-4272.
Henry joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland as vice president and senior regional officer for the bank's Cincinnati Branch Office in August 2009. Prior to joining the Fed, he was director of regional communications at Fannie Mae and assistant regional manager for government affairs at Ford Motor Company. Henry has served in senior economic positions with the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He is also active in the community, participating in numerous organizations including the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, serving as a member the board of directors.
Henry is a member of the Economic Advisory Panel of Xavier University and the Harvard Club of Cincinnati. He has several professional memberships including the National Association for Business Economics. He earned doctoral and master's degrees in economics from Harvard University, and a bachelor's degree from Rockhurst University in his hometown of Kansas City, Mo.
Xavier's Distinguished Speaker Series, presented by PNC Bank, brings top-level business, academic and political leaders to campus to discuss world issues, introduce new ideas, generate discussion and further the educational mission of Xavier. Previous distinguished speakers include: Robert Castellini, chairman of Castellini Co. and CEO of the Cincinnati Reds; A.G. Lafley, former president and CEO of Procter & Gamble; E.W. Scripps president and CEO Kenneth Lowe; Ellyn McColgan, president of Fidelity Brokerage Company; Sara Mathew, president and COO of Dun & Bradstreet; and current Procter & Gamble president and CEO Bob McDonald.


text:
Year after year, the accolades for Wheeling High School continue to pile up. The school appears on lists of best high schools in the nation. It has hosted U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.
Former principal Lazaro Lopez -- who guided the school's transition to a career-oriented, STEM school -- was named the best principal in the state.
But with all the national recognition and praise that surround Wheeling High School, state data shows the school's test scores -- which consistently hover near the bottom of the pack compared to other suburban schools -- have remained stagnant, or dropped in the years since administrators shifted to a STEM-focused curriculum. The STEM acronym stands for the program's areas of emphasis: science, technology, engineering and math.
This year, only 50 percent of Wheeling students met or exceeded state standards in math on the Prairie State Achievement Exam. In science it was 61 percent, and both scores dropped a few points from previous years.
In 2007, the year Lopez took the reins, the average composite ACT score was 21.6, the exact score as five years later. This year, the composite score dropped to 21.1, still above the state average of 20.3 but lower than in many other suburban schools.
Administrators are quick to say the numbers don't mean the school is failing. In fact, they argue that Wheeling is a success for simply not doing worse on those national numbers -- which they contend don't paint the full picture of the school. Success, they say, comes in spite of the school's changing demographics and increasing number of at-risk students who otherwise could have caused scores to plummet further.
Ten years ago, Wheeling High School was 20 percent low-income students; this year the number is 42.4 percent, much higher than the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 average of 25.5 percent.
A decade ago, Wheeling was 58.4 percent white with a Hispanic population of 28.5 percent; now those numbers have nearly reversed themselves with 50.7 percent of students identified as Hispanic and 39.8 percent white.
"When 43 percent of your population is living in poverty, that does affect what's going on at home and their ability to work in school when they are thinking about outside stresses," said Wheeling High School Principal Angela Sisi. "We are striving for higher, but we have to meet the students where they are and help them succeed from there, not just on the ACT, but in life."
Wheeling's situation is unique in District 214, which is why officials said it is unfair to compare Wheeling to such neighboring schools as Prospect High School, which consistently is a top performer in the suburbs on standardized tests. There, only 10 percent of the student population is low-income. Compared to schools with similar populations, such as in Chicago or other suburbs with low-income, diverse populations, officials say Wheeling is a success.
The shifting demographics are a main reason Lopez said they decided to shift the school's focus to STEM and make sure every student worked toward a career pathway while at Wheeling.
"We could see there was going to be a difficult demographic shift, and we knew based on data in other communities that that typically means a significant drop in performance levels, so we wanted to make sure that didn't happen at Wheeling," said Lopez, who is now the District 214 associate superintendent for curriculum and learning.
The STEM focus at Wheeling permeates the entire curriculum, officials said, with the scientific method being used to teach students how to ask the right questions and do research in English, social studies and foreign language classes as well.
Officials at Wheeling touted student growth on the ACT compared to where those same students scored on the EXPLORE test upon entering high school. EXPLORE is another test administered by ACT that is used as a predictor of college-readiness. Officials said with students coming in at a lower level each year, it's more difficult to achieve higher levels of success.
The Class of 2012 entered Wheeling with an average EXPLORE score of 16.5; for the Class of 2014 that score was down to 15.4. The national expected growth from EXPLORE to ACT composite is about 4.5 points; at Wheeling it has been 6.5 points.
"There are a lot of schools that look like ours that aren't having those kinds of results," Lopez said. "Because their entry point is lower, their ending point is lower. Our students are entering more at risk but reaching higher levels of achievement, so that is a success."
But the ACT and EXPLORE numbers are only a few measures officials are using to gauge Wheeling's success.
Access to and success on STEM-related Advanced Placement tests is another focus for the school, Sisi said. Each year more students are enrolled in AP classes, which teach at a college level, as well as taking and passing (with a score of 3 or higher) the tests, she said. Passing scores on AP exams can be used for college credit.
In 2007, students took 119 AP tests in math and science subjects, while 207 tests are projected to be taken in 2014, a 74 percent increase, according to district numbers. In all subjects, 353 AP tests were taken in 2007 at Wheeling, with the number rising to 653 tests this year.
"All students should be able to take an AP course," Sisi said. "It's not about watering down the curriculum, but it's changing the way you teach."
When the shift to STEM-focused curriculum was first brought up, Lopez said, it wasn't about boosting test scores.
"The goal was for school to be relevant and engaging to the students. If it's relevant, the kids are more likely to show up, to do better in classes and be better prepared for the future when they leave school," he said. "The goal is for kids to walk across the stage and have a future," Lopez said.
For Wheeling graduates that can mean something different. Only 46 percent of the Class of 2013 indicated that they were going to a four-year school, down from 50 percent in 2011. Officials attributed that drop to the financial difficulties of attending college.
So far the school hasn't been tracking its graduates to find out how many of them major in STEM-related fields and how many get jobs in the workforce or post-college in STEM fields, but Lopez said it may hire a company to compile that data in the future.
For senior Nick Gross, the access to after-school programs in robotics and classrooms such as the nano technology lab have helped him plan for a future at college and a career in STEM.
"If I hadn't gone to Wheeling High School, my whole education and future would be completely different," Gross said.
Wheeling is still a rarity nationwide -- a public nonselective (applications not required) school with a STEM focus -- as one of only about 100 members of the National Consortium of Specialized Secondary Schools in Math, Science and Technology.
Of the schools in the consortium, only two other than Wheeling come from Illinois -- the Illinois Math and Science Academy, a state-funded boarding school in Aurora with highly competitive admissions, and the Proviso Math and Science Academy, a public school that requires students to apply and be admitted in District 209.
"It's not even about STEM," Lopez said. "It's about every school needing to identify its strengths and use those be relevant to its community. For some it might be STEM, for others it might be something else."
And in spite of struggling test scores, officials said Wheeling will be sticking with STEM for the foreseeable future.
Lopez doesn't deny that the STEM transition and his own advocacy of the school has brought a lot of regional and national attention to Wheeling, but he said it's only been a positive thing for the students and the school.
"The students realize that people are paying attention to what happens at Wheeling," he said. "It helps them feel good about what they're doing and reinforces the notion that what we're doing there is important."
It's also helped by bringing in partnerships with colleges and manufacturing companies, government grants and high-tech equipment such as the new nano technology lab that many students would never have access to otherwise.
Students at Wheeling also have access to college credit while in high school through a partnership with Harper College. Since 2007 there have been 460 dual credit classes taken by Wheeling High School students and another 108 college certifications earned by the students, giving many graduates a leg up in the working world, officials said.
"We have to focus on growth because we can't control where the students are when they come into high school," Lopez said. "We are a success. When you walk into Wheeling, the students are excited to be there and they are very much aware of the unique opportunities they have."
Success: Wheeling only public nonselective school with STEM focus in state


text:
Federal Safety Net Health Care Coverage for Kids with Diabetes Varies Significantly by State
Article ID: 602418
Released: 30-Apr-2013 2:55 PM EDT
Source Newsroom: Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan
Available for logged-in reporters only
Journal of Pediatrics
Newswise — Ann Arbor, Mich. — Federal funding for health care coverage of children with diabetes varies significantly from state to state across the United States, according to new research from the University of Michigan.
The new research, published earlier this year in the Journal of Pediatrics, examines a public program for children with chronic diseases called the Children with Special Health Care Needs program, which is funded through Title V of the Social Security Act of 1935, and provides federal support and serves as a safety net for children with chronic diseases.
In the study, researchers found geographic disparities in access to coverage for medical services and medications, says lead author Joyce M. Lee, M.D., M.P.H., associate professor of pediatrics at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Detailed state-by-state descriptions are available in this interactive map: http://diabetessafety.net/"States administer Title V programs individually, defining their own medical and financial criteria for eligibility," Lee says. "This has resulted in a patchwork safety net for children with chronic disease, which could have an impact on future health outcomes.
"We performed this study because we wanted to better understand the safety net that exists for kids with diabetes. This is increasingly important, because the overall burden of diabetes in children is rising in the U.S., and diabetes imposes a large financial burden on families who must manage the disease."
Lee and her co-authors found that children with diabetes were eligible for Title V programs in just 32 states, which at a minimum would provide assistance with coordination of care for these children.
However, only twenty-six states (51%) provided medical coverage to pay for visits with health care professionals and medications like insulin. Only 24 states also covered diabetes supplies (for example, glucometer strips, syringes).
"If children do not have access to a private health plan, and they do not qualify for income-based programs like Medicaid, unfortunately children in many states will not have access to the basic elements of care, simply based on geography," Lee says.
Title V programs are unique because they designate eligibility based on diagnosis of a chronic disease. Although Title V programs have financial eligibility requirements, in at least 10 states, these income limits were more generous compared with the federal limits for Medicaid or State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Title V programs may serve as the insurer of last resort or provide secondary coverage for children with private or public insurance, particularly in children who are underinsured.
"We hope this research will further highlight the need for uniformity of health benefits for children across states. Kids who live in different states should not have differential access to the care they need," Lee says.
Additional authors: Sarah J. Clark, M.P.H., Peter Wolfgram, M.D., Jaimie Sarrault, B.S.
Disclosures: None
Citation: doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2012.12.009
About the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital:Since 1903, the University of Michigan has led the way in providing comprehensive, specialized health care for children. From leading-edge heart surgery that's performed in the womb to complete emergency care that's there when you need it, families from all over come to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital for our pediatric expertise. In 2013, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital was ranked eighth in the nation in Parents Magazine's 10 Best Children's Hospitals ranking. To learn more, go to www.mottchildren.org.


text:
I am working at National library in Slovenia on the IMPACT project of digitazing and OCR books from 19th century. It aims to significantly improve access to historical text and to take away the barriers that stand in the way of the mass digitisation of the European cultural heritage.
We are working also with xml files - there are about 5.000 files.
We are changing (find-replace) some mistakes in them with Text crawler.
We have already correct some mistakes - background color, color of fonts, etc., but we can't find a simple Regular expression for finding and replacing these example:
find: <GraphicRegion id="r[0-9]">
replace: <GraphicRegion id="r[0-9] type="other">
The field [0-9]* shouldn't be changed
and the > should be chaged with type="other">
We have examples like this:
Find: <GraphicRegion id="r12">
Replace: <GraphicRegion id="r12" type="other">
Find: <GraphicRegion id="r42">
Replace: <GraphicRegion id="r42" type="other">
Find: <GraphicRegion id="r8">
Replace: <GraphicRegion id="r8" type="other">
Thank you for your help.


text:
Dark, cold outer space is the new wine and spirits frontier.
The extraterrestrial terroir taste in Meteorito, a cabernet made at Chile's Tremonte winery, comes from a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite from the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.
Winery general manager Ian Hutcheon, owner of the nearby Centro Astronomico Tagua Tagua and anxious to join his two passions, submerged the 3-inch space rock in some of his 2010 cabernet for a year.
In a blind tasting with colleagues, he found the bottled wine had a livelier and fresher taste, "with a curious twist." It's coming soon to New York, where it will cost about $20 a bottle.
The Ardbeg whisky distillery on the Scottish island of Islay, on the other hand, announced that it had sent plastic vials of unaged single malt molecules where no dram had gone before: the International Space Station, 250 miles above earth.
The mission: a two-year study with space research company NanoRacks to see how the famously peaty spirit ages in near zero-G. The cost to find out how complex flavor molecules called "terpenes" interact with charred oak in this atmosphere is half a million dollars.
Will all this result in new aromas and flavors for a space-inspired whisky? We'll beam down the results next year.
Space's vast potential for wine and spirits was only one highlight among 2012's weird and wacky stories.
An over-the-top wine rack in the style of a giant Transformer robot toy is posted on Craigslist for $7,000. Six feet tall, weighing 1,000 pounds and made from old automobile and motorcycle transmission parts in China, it's billed by its Arizona owner as "ridiculously cool."
Most of the 32 welded bottle slots store wines vertically, so it isn't ideal for super pricey wines, but perfect for the fan-boy geek who has everything. First posted in June, it's still available.
The French designers of a cute vine-pruning, data-collecting robot named Wall-Ye V.I.N., which debuted in September, are now taking orders. Red with white trim, Wall-Ye is 20 inches tall and has two arms, four wheels and six cameras.
It's solar-powered, doesn't get tired, drunk, or go on strike, and costs 25,000 euros ($33,100). Chateau Mouton Rothschild offered its prestigious vineyards for test runs, according to Agence France-Presse.
The newest wine pairing is with perfume, long a no-no combo for serious tasters. After being called out by a winemaker at Napa Valley's Rombauer Vineyards for wearing a vanilla scent, fragrance marketer Kelly Jones set herself the task of making five perfumes, introduced this year, that she says enhance wine.
"I didn't want scents to smell like wine spilled on my shirt," Jones said in a telephone interview. "For 'Notes of Merlot' I picked up on the varietal's whiffs of candied violet."
Others may prefer to try out new mini-aerosol flavor-spray for the mouth, Wahh Quantum Sensations, which provides a fleeting feeling of drunkenness "without the harmful effects of alcohol." Designer Philippe Starck and Harvard University scientist David Edwards say the purpose is to "accent life with a magic wand."
The past year was also a time of strange wines we definitely don't need, like Almond Roca cream dessert wine from Washington State, which takes chocolate-infused wines to a new, treacly level.
British merchant Sheldon's Wine Cellars offers the "uncomplicated, easy-drinking" 2011 Royal Blush Rose, with a label based on nude Prince Harry photos taken at an August bare- it-all-party in Las Vegas.
And there are the wines of Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Labels of her Sonoma-made Vin d'Amour chardonnay, cabernet, and white zinfandel feature a portrait of the famous 84-year-old sex therapist.
Dr. Ruth says the obvious -- that wine helps couples relax and get aroused, but too much impairs performance. Which is why she wanted her wines to have a weak 6 percent alcohol. Fifty shades of chutzpah!
Eroticism is also key to the just-launched G-Spirits line of vodka, single malt whisky, and rum, created by former bartenders Maximilian and Julian Goldbach in Germany. Before bottling, every single drop of booze is poured over the naked breasts of beautiful women, like Hungarian playmate of the year Alexa Varga, to give the taste "a unique erotic character."
According to Max Goldbach, their customers, mostly men (surprise!), range from 18 to 72. Lest you are worried about how sanitary this is, the website claims that medical personnel supervise. The labels are X-rated, which is why you'll have to go to the website to view.
Maybe G-Spirits call for the nuttiest wine accessory of the year, Vinderpants. Advertised as "underpants for your wine," the cotton and spandex bottle coverings appeal, I think, only to those with a very special sense of humor. Still, there were just two left in stock on Amazon.com when I checked right after Christmas.


text:
The development of aircraft and other technical products is increasingly based on numerical simulations, demanding for safe estimates of the accuracy of the results. In particular the uncertainties on the simulated conditions and geometries need to be addressed, in order to obtain an optimum design that is robust against such uncertainties.
Within the German national project MUNA, running from 2007 to 2012, altogether 12 Partners from research and industry have collaborated on the Management and Minimization of Uncertainties and Errors in Numerical Aerodynamics. While in the first phase the focus has been on the reduction of numerical errors, in a second phase since 2010 DLR, TU Braunschweig, Stuttgart University and Trier University have developed methods and tools for handling large numbers of stochastic uncertainties.
The results of the second phase will be presented during the Final Workshop on 25 October 2012, covering the following subjects
The detailed program is going to be defined.
Participation is free, but registration by e-mail to email@example.com is requested.