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Over the last 14 sections, we have discussed digital photo retouching from the basic principle to the composition of digital photos. Digital photo retouching can span from simply removing unnecessary parts to introducing imaginary or nonexistent elements into the photograph using multiple layers and channels, and so infinitely expanding its boundaries.
Digital photo retouching can be either easy or hard, depending on your intentions and ability. In this section, we will first look at some of the completed digital works, and follow a simple step-by-step guide with some useful tips.
■ Text and picture by Sim Hyun-Jun (studioSUM President, SunChon National University Department of Photographic Art Instructor)
▲주상복합-Park, Jin Myung
▲panorama landscape-stock photo
A panoramic photo is a photograph specifically shot to include a wide landscape. Prior to the introduction of the digital camera, panoramic images, which are mainly used to shoot vast landscapes and which are by no means easy to capture on 3:2 or 4:3 films, were shot using special panoramic cameras. Most panoramic cameras were expensive and difficult to acquire unless you were a professional photographer specializing in panoramic photographs. (Even today, panoramic cameras are still very expensive.) To create a panoramic photo, you had to shoot with a 5×4 camera equipped with a 12×6 holder using a 120mm film, or simply shoot with a 5×4 film in wide angle and trim the top and bottom to give a panoramic impression.
▲digital panorama - Sim, Hyun Jun
Since digital photos became popular, it has become easier for everyone to create a panoramic photo using a digital camera and some basic Photoshop skills. Of course you could always use a wide-angle lens on a high-pixel digital camera to shoot a wide angle photograph and trim the top and bottom, but if you don't have a wide-angle lens or a camera with high pixel resolution, you can always put several photos together to create a panoramic photograph. This is called stitching. Photoshop has a feature called Photomerge which can automatically stitch several photos, which is very handy when it comes to creating a panoramic photo.
▲Photo A: Panoramic photo of Cheongdam Bridge
Photo A shows a panoramic photo of the Cheongdam Bridge. These days, the bridges on the Han River are well illuminated and make for splendid nighttime scenery. Recently, water fountains were added at each end of the Banpo Bridge, creating a beautiful view..
▲Photo B: The original photos
The three original photographs in Photo B were shot to create the panoramic photo. These photographs were shot in 1.5:1 ratio crop body, with a 17-35mm lens. ISO 100, aperture f11, and shutter speed 15s. I could have used two landscape photos, but the maximum width range was approximately 25mm due to the crop body (converted from 35mm film camera), even with a 17-35mm wide-angle zoom lens, so it was difficult to include the buildings on the other side of the bridge. I also wanted a higher resolution photo. Three portrait photos would certainly yield a higher resolution than two landscape photos.
▲Original photos within a large format document
To create a panoramic photo from several photos, there are a few things you need to consider: First, selecting an appropriate tripod and head. The photos to stitch must have the same lens axis, that is, their centers must be identical, and absolutely steady with no shaking. In short, you will require a strong tripod with soft and precise panning.
Especially for nightscape photos like Photo A, which are shot with long aperture, even a slight instability might dramatically affect the quality of the image.
The second thing to pay attention is the distance between each photo.
To effectively stitch the photos, each photo must have some sections overlapping with the adjacent ones. This may depend on the lens you will be using, but in general it is suggested that you shoot each photo with 15 to 20% overlapping sections. It is also preferable to use a lens which doesn't have a distortion toward the edge. I would suggest using a normal lens or a telephoto lens. If you use a wide-angle lens, the edge of the image will be severely distorted, and you will have difficulty stitching the photos due to the distortion in the overlapping sections.
To create a panoramic photo, you can either put each photo together in Photoshop manually, or use the Photoshop's Photomerge tool to automatically stitch the photos. First, let's look at the manual option. Open the original image in Photoshop, check its size, and create a document larger than the three photos aligned side by side. Drag the original images to the newly created document in appropriate order. Positioning the layer according to the image order would also make things a little easier. When you've finished positioning the images, the next step is the most important part: putting them together. Although they are shot with overlapping sections, these sections do not exactly correspond with each other. Even if with a telephoto lens, which has no perspective distortion, the images will not overlap with exact precision. This is primarily due to the slight distortion toward the edge of the lens.
▼Displaying the Grid
To resolve, use the Distort tool in the Transform menu to adjust the distortion of the image so that the overlapping sections can fit together. To make things easier, I suggest you turn on the Grid and the Guide Line to show the horizontal and vertical grids. (View>Show>Grid)
▼Putting the images together
When you've finished putting the photos together, adjust the brightness of each image. Even if you use the same aperture, shooting photos at night inevitably results in a slightly different aperture for each shot. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the aperture of each image (select one photo as the base aperture) with the Level or Curve tool. If you adjust the brightness of the image, adjusting the adjacent sections might also brighten or darken the opposite sections.
▼Adjusting the brightness of adjacent sections
Again, this is due to the insufficient light at the edge of the lens.
To resolve this, apply a masking to each layer and use a brush to correct the distortion and brightness together by carefully removing the overlapping areas.
When you've finished adjusting the distortion and brightness, you'll see that the outer area of the panoramic image is now uneven.
Use the Crop tool to cut the image to the desired size. Cutting the image wider will make it more panoramic.
It's almost done. Retouch the imperfect areas and adjust the overall color. Nightscape photos are generally amazing but when magnified, there may be some notches like unlit street lamps or neon signs. These notches are likely to disrupt the light pattern, so it's better to take a close look and fill them in. Next, look at the overall image and adjust the water surface and buildings that appear too dark; finally, burn the outer perimeter of the image so that it appears as a single photo.
▼Partial editing
▼Burning the outer perimeter
You can also convert the color or crop to a different size to create another photo.
▼A wide crop
▼Black/White conversion
So far, we've learned how to put the photos together in Photoshop manually. This is a very precise task producing a high-quality output, but if the images don't fit together, it may become quite difficult to cut and stitch each section with another. In Photoshop, there's a feature called Photomerge which helps complete this task more easily.
The Photomerge tool automatically detects the intersection of two adjacent images and put them together using appropriate methods such as Auto, Perspective or Cylindrical, and creates a smooth tone between the two adjacent sections.
The Interactive Layout also enables a more precise correction.
The best solution to create a panoramic photo is, therefore, to use the Photomerge command to put the images together, and make necessary corrections manually for a perfect photograph.


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ZSNES is a SNES/Super Famicom emulator for x86 computers. It runs on Windows, MS-DOS and Linux/FreeBSD and supports mode 7, sound, Super FX, and a lot more.
Follow ZSNES
Other Useful Business Software
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User Reviews
Pretty Much Z Best SNES Emulator ever and because it is mostly written in Assembler (ASM) its ULTRA FAST!! and while it is said it may not be the most accurate SNES-emulator.... its still the best to me ;:^_^;; iconic UI ^_^ =D and its been on hold for a long time now x(.... the Dev's doing life stuff ;;^_^;; so its understandable..
I tried some snes emulators out there I could find: BSnes, snes9x, and etc.. And quite honestly, I always come back to ZNES. It might not be so accurate in it emulation, but I've been having much less issues with my games with znes. Especially with stafox and starfox 2. snes9x runs it ridiculously too fast, Bsnes runs it too fast as well, and it doesn't seem to have quite the same kind of slowdown spikes as the snes has. On znes once you properly set the emulation speed, it runs at a pretty accurate rate. My only complaint is that sometimes I'm having input problems. mostly delayed input. And the audio can get "dirty" with white noise static playing over some sounds. And the video recorder is not very accurate and buggy, it doesn't record the memory state, so anything that's calculated randomly won't appear at the same place during the recording, and it can totally ruin everything. But if you set it to full screen with the trilinear filter I think, you can record it live with something like msi afterburner. But besides that I didn't have much issues ever ! The user interface is also getting slightly dated especially the rom browser. But, oh well..
oh, games) these are always needed. Thanks nice game. Might use it.
This is great. Thank you for your work guys!
This is great. Thank you for your work guys!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Remember what your mom told you about burning the candle at both ends? Well, it might just produce gold.
That's the dream of Pascale Delaunay, a systems engineer at Cisco by day who's training for the 2012 Olympic Games by night, dawn or pretty much any waking hour she can grab. If her Olympic dreams come true, she could become the first woman to bring home a medal for Haiti.
Born in France and raised in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, Delaunay has spent most of her 29 years in the United States. She began working for Cisco in 2005 and started training in earnest for the Olympics two years later when she moved to the Los Angeles area and met world-class track and field coach Ernie Gregoire. Her sport of choice: triple jump.
"I think the triple jump is one of the tougher events," Delaunay said at a recent training session at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. "It's very technical. You have to have a balance of strength, speed, power, agility and rhythm. They all have to come together in one jump. I like that challenge."
Cramming in a demanding high-tech career and her rigorous Olympic training regimen is no cakewalk. Delaunay typically starts her day at 4:30 a.m. so she can fit in a couple of hours' cardio, weight training or skills training at the gym before putting in a full day's work at Cisco, then meeting with her coach for more training in the afternoon. Later, after dinner and a little family time, she trains some more before bed. It takes discipline, focus and extreme time management, she says.
"I definitely have to scope out what I want to achieve on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis and on a yearly basis," she says. "And I had to learn to sleep fast—to get as much rest as I can in a short span, and then wake up and start working the plan."
Delaunay, who has a dual degree in electrical engineering and French from the University of Rhode Island, says it helps that she can use tools like video conferencing and Cisco WebEx. They allow her to sometimes work from home and cut down on travel—big pluses if you're nursing an injured ankle, as Delaunay was recently.
"Technology is absolutely one of the key reasons I'm able to do this," she says, adding that she and Gregoire use a lot of video in their sessions and talk over the Internet when she travels to meetings. "I don't think I would be able to do it on a steady 9 – 5 schedule."
"It's very tough," says Gregoire of Delaunay's dual life. A former U.S. Olympic coach, Gregoire has worked with such track and field megastars as Larry Myricks, who in 1988 made the fifth-best long jump in history. He says the emotional stresses of a full-time job can translate to physical stresses for an athlete. "It's not just track—it's the weight room, it's the rehab," he says.
Delaunay's life recently got a little easier. That's because Cisco granted her several weeks' supported leave and additional financial support so that she can fully focus on her goal. Delaunay says it's made a huge difference. She has been jumping far beyond her recorded personal best at an official meeting of 13m 50cm (the world record is 15m 50cm; the Olympic record is 15m 25cm). If all goes to plan, she will go to France for training camp at the end of May, then on to London for the Games, which run July 27 – Aug. 12.
So why has Delaunay chosen to represent Haiti when she could have tried out for—and probably gotten more financial backing with—the French or U.S. Olympic teams?
For Delaunay, who prides herself on her Haitian heritage and still speaks Creole and French at home, it came down to something much bigger than herself.
"I felt that I could have a more positive and bigger impact representing Haiti," she says, her face lighting up as she imagines standing on the medals podium to the sound of La Dessalinienne (Haiti's national anthem) and returning to her Caribbean homeland to stir young imaginations.
"You have young girls who really don't have a future to look forward to aside from being married," she says. "I want them to expand their dreams. You can be an engineer, you can be in technology, certainly you can be a successful athlete."


text:
About CHESTER
Lounge in style with this Italian made Chester compact sofa, which features a slim profile and a feather and fibre seat cushion, for a classic and timeless look.
Designed by Matthew Hilton for Habitat, the compact sofa is fully upholstered in a removable, durable cover with dark stained feet.
Part of the Habitat best selling classic Chester sofa range, available in leather and fabric options, in various sizes and colours and with oak stained or dark stained feet.
Will it fit?
We want you to love your sofa and enjoy it for years to come, so before you make your purchase, please check that it will fit perfectly into your home.Sofa Measuring Guide Sofa Buying Guide
- Assembled dimensions: W120 x H79 x D85cm
- Seat height: 42cm
- Diagonal depth: 112cm
- Seat depth: 60cm
- Product weight: 38kg
Packaged dimensions:
W115 x H74 x D90cm.
Please note that this is just a guide - due to their handmade nature, our sofas may vary slightly in size.
Product Details
- Product Code: 385244
- Design exclusive to Habitat.
- Designed by Matthew Hilton .
- Feet require assembly.
- Removable Cover
- Legs require assembly.
- Cover: 46% wool, 39% cotton, 15% polyamide.
- Structure: solid spruce and particleboard frame upholstered in polyurethane foam.
- Seat cushion: foam core with feather and fibre top.
- Back cushion: 50% feather and 50% polyester fibre-filled for superior comfort.
- Feet: solid beech in dark stained finish.
Care Instructions
Professional clean only.
Never use any chemicals or other household cleaning liquids such as soap, bleach, stain remover, benzene, shoe polish or waxes as they can destroy the leather.
Delivery & Returns
UK Mainland: FREE when you spend over £500.
Large & bulky orders under £500 will cost £9.95 to deliver.
Republic of Ireland: Furniture deliveries cost £135.
We recommend you try before you buy with our free fabric swatch service.
Returns made easy
UK Mainland: FREE returns
Republic of Ireland: Furniture returns cost £68
The CHESTER Collection
2 Seater SofaWidth(cm) 170 Height(cm) 79 Depth(cm) 85£1,400.00
ArmchairWidth(cm) 75 Height(cm) 79 Depth(cm) 85£895.00
3 Seater SofaWidth(cm) 200 Height(cm) 79 Depth(cm) 85£1,600.00
3 Seater Chaise SofaWidth(cm) 200 Height(cm) 79 Depth(cm) 142£1,900.00
Right-Arm 4 Seater Corner SofaWidth(cm) 275 Height(cm) 79 Depth(cm) 195
was £2,500.00
now £2,250.00
Left-Arm 4 Seater Corner SofaWidth(cm) 275 Height(cm) 79 Depth(cm) 195£2,500.00


text:
Dont Quit!
Conquering frustration in one area of your life.
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Visitor Comments: 28
(28) terrin, February 3, 2010 4:31 AM
thank you
i really enjoy your stories and insights. thank you!! I think my item will be candle lighting. it is so simple but it seems that no matter how prepared I am-- i manage to blow it..a minute, 30 seconds 5 minutes etc.....it's really pathetic. .... i think i have such a hard time because it's non-negotiable.
(27) , January 31, 2010 4:49 AM
Exercise-finally doing it
Thanks for affirming what I'm doing this year. Since my son was born 4 years ago, I hadn't exercised at all. This past Rosh Hashana, I made a plan with my Rabbi, went to physical therapy, and now have a plan in place working out twice a week. It's sooooo hard to keep up with my 3 times a week at home exercises too (which I need to do), thanks for the reminder to keep at it!
(26) aviva, January 28, 2010 8:41 PM
(25) Anonymous, January 28, 2010 7:04 AM
Quitting was never an option for me.
Six years ago I was entrusted with the raising of my two precious grandchildren when their mother became unable to do so.Although there has been abundant frustration, quitting was never an option for me. I wanted to further my Jewish education, and found you and Aish.com to enable me to achieve both goals. The children and I learn on Aish.com together now! Thank you for helping me bring the illuminating light of Jewish learning to our next generation!


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2001 Football
bluffton vs. defiance
Records out the window Saturday for annual Bluffton-Defiance battle
November 5, 2001
Setting the scene
Emotions will be running high in Salzman Stadium Saturday afternoon as Bluffton College faces longtime rival Defiance College in the Beavers' final game of the 2001 season. Defiance, ranked 28th in the latest AFCA Division III Coaches' Poll, has already clinched the Heartland Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national playoffs, but the Yellow Jackets will be looking for a win to be the sole champions of the HCAC.
A Bluffton victory could deny Defiance the conference championship outright, however the Yellow Jackets would still advance to the playoffs thanks to their 27-7 win over second-place Anderson last Saturday. The Ravens host Manchester (2-7, 1-4) Saturday and will be listening intently on the score from Salzman Stadium, as a Bluffton win would vault the Ravens into a share of the conference championship along side Defiance.
Carpenter looking for 100th win
BC head coach Carlin Carpenter will be in search of his 100th career win as the Bluffton legend wraps up his 23rd season at the helm of the BC football program. Carpenter, who is a 1964 graduate of Defiance College and a member of the DC Athletic Hall of Fame, is an even 10-10 all-time against his alma mater. He owns the longest tenure among Ohio's collegiate head football coaches.
The series
Bluffton has lined up against Defiance more than any other opponent in the 85-year history of BC football. The Beavers have met Defiance 76 times, with the Yellow Jackets narrowly leading the all-time series 37-36-3. Since 1985, however, Bluffton holds a 9-5 advantage and has won the last two meetings.
Together again
These two teams met on the football field at least once every season from 1923 to 1997 before Defiance joined the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 1998, which caused a two-year hiatus in the series. Last season, with both teams members of the HCAC, the rivalry was renewed with Bluffton taking a 31-30 win in Defiance, which denied the Yellow Jackets a trip to the playoffs and a share of the HCAC title. Both teams finished with a 7-3 mark last season, but Bluffton shared the conference title with Hanover.
The coaches
BC Head Coach Carlin Carpenter is 99-118-1 in his 23rd season at Bluffton College. Defiance Head Coach Greg Pscodna is 26-29 in his sixth season with the Yellow Jackets. These two men shared the 2000 HCAC Coach of the Year award.
Last meeting
November 11, 2000: Bluffton 31, Defiance 30: After falling behind 14-0, Bluffton went on a 31-3 scoring run to seemingly put the game away, but the Yellow Jackets scored two late fourth quarter touchdowns to get back into the game. Defiance's final TD came with just 33 seconds left in the game, but the extra point kick sailed wide left and Bluffton recovered the ensuing onside kick to clinch a one-point victory and a share of the HCAC title.
Senior running back Tyson Goings rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns in the win, while quarterback Brad Moore passed for 208 yards, including a 24-yard TD strike to Jovan Johnson, who caught eight passes for 155 yards in the game.
Last week
A huge momentum swing just before halftime knocked the wind out of Bluffton's sails as the Beavers fell to 20th ranked Thomas More College 50-14 in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. Bluffton trailed 21-7 and appeared to be going in for a key touchdown with just six seconds left in the first half, but TMC picked off a BC pass and returned in 90 yards to go on top 28-7. The Saints then scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half, while the Bluffton offense went three-and-out over the same span.
Defiance, meanwhile, collected a huge HCAC win over Anderson 27-7 to clinch at least a share of the conference title and an automatic berth into the national playoffs. The Yellow Jackets racked up 226 yards on the ground and forced five turnovers, which limited the high-powered Anderson passing game to 264 yards.
Strength vs. strength
In many ways these two teams are near mirror images of each other. Both teams own strong rushing attacks (DC #1, BC #2 in rushing offense), both take care of the football (DC #1, BC #2 in turnover margin and time of possession) and feature solid defenses (DC #1, BC #2 in pass defense and total defense). Neither team has had to rely heavily on throwing the football, as Defiance ranks sixth in the HCAC in passing yards per game and Bluffton ranks seventh.
Defiance, who returned 18 starters this season, holds in the edge in the scoring department, however, as the Yellow Jackets rank second in scoring offense (30.2 ppg, BC #5 with 22.2 ppg) and first in scoring defense (12.7 ppg, BC #3 with 24.3 ppg). Defiance also leads the league in quarterback sacks, but Bluffton has committed the fewest penalties and has the league's best fourth-down defense.
Individual leaders
Bluffton moves the football primarily with sophomore running back Jovan Johnson (#2 in HCAC with 104.4 ypg, 6 TD) and junior quarterback Brad Moore (#4 in HCAC with 143.7 ypg, 10 TD). Defiance, meanwhile, uses two players at both those positions to get the job done. Running backs Maurice Hooker (#1 in HCAC with 108.7 ypg, 10 TD) and Mike Moran (#3 in HCAC, 91.2 ypg, 9 TD) lead the running game and rank 1-2 in the league in scoring, while quarterbacks Walker Graher (83.7 ypg) and Kevin Kelly (75.1 ypg) share the passing duties and share an identical pass efficiency rating, which is below that of Bluffton's Moore.
Bluffton's Johnson leads the HCAC in all-purpose yards (177.6 ypg), while Defiance's Kyle Acheson ranks first in interceptions (5). Both teams feature talented middle linebackers, as Bluffton's Chris Sommers ranks third in the HCAC in tackles (9.8 tpg) and Defiance's Nate Schaublin ranks sixth (9.6 tpg). Kickers Matt Daniel (DC) and Adam Burgess (BC) share the HCAC lead in field goals made (8).
Seniors hope to go out winners
Today is the final game in the career of 10 Bluffton College seniors, who own a 23-16 overall record in their four years at BC. This class includes Chris Clemens, Jeff Company, Tom Marshall, Rick Orr, Jon Richardson, Ben Schwab, Josh Slaughter, Jon Spradling, Jamie Stevens and James Wagner.


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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Convicted triple-murderer Michael Wayne
Brunner's latest attempt at freedom proved short-lived Tuesday.
Brunner, 46, escaped from the medium security Kentucky State Reformatory just before 8 a.m., but was back in custody at 10:05
a.m., after being caught in a field about three miles from the prison.
"He wasn't out very long," said Cheryl Million, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Corrections.
Brunner pleaded guilty in 1993 of killing his girlfriend and two neighbors Louisville. He is serving a life sentence with parole eligibility in 25 years for the October 1990 slayings.
The first sign of an escape attempt came at about 7:45 a.m., when an employee at the Roederer Correctional Complex, which is adjacent to the reformatory, noticed Brunner near the fence, Million said.
The prison began a head count and went on lockdown just after 9 a.m. when Brunner was classified as escaped, Kentucky State Police spokesman Chip Perry said.
More than 100 officers from the prison, state police and local agencies took part in the search. Perry said extra officers were available because a training course was taking place at the prison and the escape call went out during a shift change, when more officers than usual were on the prison grounds.
"They had a lot of additional personnel on hand," Perry said. Perry said Brunner was found in a field near U.S. 42 about three miles west of the prison. LaGrange Police Detective Bruce Goodfleisch and Oldham County Police Officer Roy Franklin found Brunner unarmed and wearing prison-issue khaki pants, a T-shirt, cap and tennis shoes, Perry said.
"He gave up with no resistance," Perry said.
Million said exactly how Brunner got out of the prison remained under investigation Tuesday. The escape attempt wasn't Brunner's first, corrections officials said.
He was also convicted in 2003 of burglary and attempted escape from the maximum security Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, according to the Department of Corrections.
Brunner was back in the segregation unit at the prison Tuesday and will face charges related to the escape attempt, Million said.
Million said Brunner was transferred from East Kentucky Correctional Complex, a medium security prison in West Liberty, to the reformatory, which is near several residential neighborhoods, because he had a clean record for three years.
Director of Pupil Personnel for Oldham County Schools, John Mitchen, said seven area schools, including Oldham County High School, were locked down after being notified of the escape.
Brunner was charged with killing his girlfriend, Tanya Vaughn, 27, and two neighbors, James "J.C." Craig, 50, and his wife, Audrey Faye Craig, 47, in October 1990. Police at the time said Brunner was abusive to Vaughn and were called to the house they shared for a domestic violence complaint about 30 minutes before she and the neighbors were shot to death.
Brunner was sentenced to prison and, in 2003, was one of three inmates captured trying to escape from the maximum security penitentiary in western Kentucky. Prison officials said Brunner and the other two inmates used a pair of pliers to cut through an inner
fence, then used a homemade rope to climb a wall.
A security guard stopped the three men, prison officials said.
La Grange is about 22 miles east of Louisville.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


text:
Submission + - 1024-bit RSA encryption closed to being hacked
Madas writes: Scientists are close to cracking 1024-bit RSA encryption. Apparently, a team of researchers working in Europe and Japan have cracked a 307-digit Mersenne number using the special number field sieve method developed by cryptology professor Arjen Lenstra. The scientists think that it will be a cinch to crack 1024-bit RSA encryption using the same method. The security industry shudders!


text:
Welcome to Eternal Collection
Eternal Collection is the home of stunning costume jewellery which will make you feel fabulous. Here you'll find the perfect costume jewellery and accessories (including our famous clip-on earrings), whatever your style, whatever the occasion.
We've sourced unique pieces from around the world, crafted from the most beautiful Venetian Murano Glass, sterling silver, Swarovski crystal, semi-precious gemstones and pearls. Quality craftsmanship lies at the heart of each of our designs and makes wearing a piece of Eternal Collection costume jewellery feel extra special.
We genuinely believe we have something for everyone with a diverse range that showcases:
- stunning enamel, crystal, pearl and diamante clip-on earrings and pierced earrings
- head-turning Swarovski earrings for daytime and evening
- costume bracelets, bangles and one of the best ranges of brooches
- scarf rings and silk scarves to provide the finishing touch
- gorgeous Swarovski crystal necklaces and the perfect pearl necklace
- striking Murano glass pendants and necklaces
- an extensive range of Murano glass earrings
- semi-precious gemstone necklaces and matching earrings
- gold and silver fashion necklaces
- adjustable fashion rings
We receive many compliments from customers on the presentation of our jewellery as all purchases are individually tissue-wrapped and presented in our stylish jewellery boxes.
Personalised gift cards can be included at no extra cost and we offer a gift wrapping service for a small charge, too.
Throw our passion for customer service and very friendly team into the mix and we can pretty much promise you will not be disappointed.
With Eternal Collection, you can count on great service, fast delivery, a personalised gift service and a no-quibble money-back guarantee – so why not take a leisurely browse through all we that we have to offer and start shopping right now.


text:
November 11, 2005
Attacks that make ordinary people think is that all you've got?
UPDATE: Now that the concept of "superprecedent" has been created to beat down the Bush nominees, it's time for a new one -- you know: super-recusal. Some legal scholars attach special significance to what they call super-recusal, which is...
13 comments:
- Too Many Jims said...
I agree that he is not "ordinary" but here is what Prof. Bainbridge wrote after getting off a conference call set up by Alito supporters to push back against these critiques: "The White House did not offer an effective response to that charge on this call. They need a better set of talking points. What did Alito promise and did he keep that promise? Because what they said today didn't cut it for me."
Much ado about nothing? Probably, but one would think they could do a better job of anticipating and responding to these sorts of things.
- F said...
I imagine people's objections on this particular issue are more closely connected to the fact that Alito said he would step down in such a situation during his confirmation hearings and then failed to do so when the occassion arose.
In addition, I'm not so sure it is only a morsel of controversy, I mean, judicial recusals and willingnes to recuse oneself even where there is only the appearance of a conflict of interest is a vital component of retaining (the fiction of?) judicial independence and blind justice.
It's not something I think should act as a barrier to confirmation but it is something that should be a solid and well addressed talking point on all sides.
- Bruce Hayden said...
I think Ann is right. This article just points out that, so far, there is little to attack Judge Alito with.
I have seen the two cases of financial interest before. In the Vanguard case, when someone complained, he did recuse himself and it was reheard. And I can't see that he used Smith Barney as his broker being of any consequence. For one, it is almost inconceivable that it would have affected him financially.
The one with his sister is even less note worthy. There he never ruled on the case at all. Rather, he was just one of 15 judges present when a motion to rehear was denied. And, of course, she wasn't a party, but rather an attorney for one of law firms representing one of them. How distant do you have to be? She wasn't a party, nor apparently actually an attorney directly working for a party.
- Mark said...
I think the problem is not so much that Alito has created an appearance of impropriety, although he might have, but that he appears to have violated his promise to Senate. That is important, I think. Even some conservatives (i.e., Prof. Bainbridge) think that it may become a problem and that the White House's talking points are not convincing.
What Alito should do, in my opinion, is to apologize for violating his promise and state that it won't happen in the future.
- R C Dean said...
For God's sake, he's a customer in those firms, not an owner or investor. His 'interest' in those firms is nonexistent for purposes of conflict of interest analysis. There's no conflict or appearance of conflict here to anyone who takes a moment to think about it unblinkered by partisan hatred.
You might as well say no one who owns a Ford vehicle can sit on a case involving Ford Motor Company.
- Elizabeth said...
If he didn't need to recuse himself for any of the reasons presented, that's one argument. But doesn't he need to keep his word? Shouldn't he have instead told Congress, "I'll make that decision when faced with it" rather than make a promise then decide he'd promised too much? This is another instance of the bar being much lower for Republicans than Democrats.
- digital mule 2 said...
I may be wrong, but I thought that the decision in the Vanguard case was not whether to pay but who to pay, the creditors or the wife. I don't see the financial interest in the outcome then for Vanguard or for the judge.
- Ann Althouse said...
Elizabeth: Without delving into the original text of the promise, I'd say the promise has to be interpreted and imposing an extra-strict standard of recusal was never intended and is only being posited now for political reasons. That's how it looks to me, admittedly, from a distance. Why am I keeping a distance? Because I don't think it's anything worth spending time on.
- Pooh said...
This is another instance of the bar being much lower for Republicans than Democrats.
Though I self-identify as a Dem., I think this represents a failure to do just the opposite of what you suggest: raise the bar for a Republican. The very worst these two cases represent is minor errors in judgment of an extremely techinical nature with no real-world effect. My guess (with absolutely no evidence to back it up, for, as Prof. A. said, I have better things to spend my time on.) is that one is likley to find minor "oops" moments like this on the record of any long-serving jurist. If this is the best that "No on Alito" voters have, they have nothing.
- Elizabeth said...
That's a fair and cautious distinction, but I'm still wary of close parsing of what "is" means, or "promise" means, and so forth. It may be that we need to back off holding people closely to their public statements, without room for maneuvering, but I'm not comfortable doing that for one party, when that party had such a heyday with exactly this kind of "aha!" moment.
I don't know enough yet about what the boundaries of what he promised, as opposed to what he did, but it seems fair to examine it publicly.
- Elizabeth said...
Pooh, we're talking two different bars. I refer to lowering the bar on truthfulness. I don't care so much about what should guide a judge on deciding to recuse himself, but I do care that Alito apparently stated to Congress, during his hearings, that he would do so in situations involving this company. Later, he appears to have decided he set too stringent a limit in that promise. If that's not the case, then we'll find that out by public investigation and discussion. If it is the case, then we can argue about whether it's a meaningful issue or nothing to care about.
- James B. Shearer said...
I think Alito forgot what he had told the Senate and got careless. I don't believe he carefully reconsidered whatever considerations had led him to his original conclusion that he should recuse himself in these cases and came to a different conclusion. This "recusal wasn't really needed" spin feels like an after the fact rationalization to me.
I don't think this is a big deal as there wasn't a signifcant conflict but Alito did foul up. He should just admit it.
- Pooh said...
That's a fair point. However, does the fact that the Republicans use "Aha!" moments make it any less slimy for the Dems to do it? I think we may find that James' intution is largely correct, and the best thing for Alito to do is simply say "my bad, but no harm done" and move on.
Even if he did break a "promise" how is such a minor misstep relevant to anything of substance? He apparently likes to eat pizza when he's displeased, is that germane? Forgive my flipness, but if you want to oppose him you can find good reasons. Using this minor flap as justification for a 'no' vote just seems like a shell game for disguising results-oriented thinking.
Of course, if at the hearings he is asked about the matter and says "I never promised anything", then all bets are off. So I guess its worth asking the question, but probably not much more.


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FCC Revisiting Mobile Device Radiation Standards 80
MojoKid writes "Did you know that the FCC hasn't updated its guidelines regarding maximum radiation levels in mobile devices since 1996? FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is apparently aware of this, because he's looking to launch a formal inquiry into the matter. In a statement that was recently circulated, the FCC isn't exactly concerned that current standards are too lax, but it makes sense to periodically review standards for an industry that changes and evolves so rapidly and dramatically. There has been much debate in recent years about the potential danger of radiation from cell phones, and although there has been some study on the subject, there is not yet a general consensus on whether there is a real danger from mobile device radiation, and if there is, what the acceptable levels might be."


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Brown Sues to Aid Swindled Students
A shuttered San Diego vocational school was sued Monday for allegedly bilking students out of millions of dollars in tuition for computer classes that were not delivered, according to a joint lawsuit by California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and San Diego District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis.
"Students are saddled with enough debt going to school, and it's outrageous that they paid for classes that were never taught," Brown said.
"The school's owners failed to give refunds and misled students, causing hundreds of complaints to come in to our consumer protection unit," Dumanis said. "Thanks to the efforts by the attorney general and our office, these students will get their money back."
The suit, which seeks millions of dollars in fines and restitution, accuses the owners and operators of MicroSkills of charging students about $25,000 in tuition and of closing the San Diego campus without refunding students. The suit accuses the owners and operators of soliciting students to enroll even as the school was going to close October 20. "Defendants continued to sign up new students and receive payments from students for such training during the time defendants intended to close their school," said the lawsuit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court.
As many as 350 students were affected, and the suit alleges the company falsely promised refunds would be provided for any classes not provided.
"I was trying to better myself and instead this turned out to be a big downfall and now I'm in debt," said 28-year-old student Kevin Schatte. The Spring Valley resident lost more than $21,000 in tuition.
California law requires when a private for-profit vocational school closes it must refund, within 30 days of closing, tuition for all classes that were not provided. MicroSkills and its owners failed to provide either partial or full restitution.
The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction, restitution of tuition to as many as 350 former MicroSkills' students of approximately $2.5 million, and civil penalties of at least $2 million.
The suit targets Firouz Memarzadeh and Farah Memarzadeh, husband and wife of La Jolla, the Memarzadeh Family Trust and others.
The school's address is 7340 Miramar Road #207, San Diego, California. The complaint is attached.


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UH Manoa to develop partnership with Windber Research Institute
Collaboration will enhance capabilities in genomics, proteomics and bioinformaticsUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
UH Manoa Chancellor's Office
Lisa Skotnicki, (814) 467-3463
Windber Research Institute
The University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Windber Research Institute (WRI) to develop a strategic business relationship and research alliance in the growing fields of genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics.
Manoa Chancellor Peter Englert met with Windber officials this week at their campus in Windber, Somerset County, Pennsylvania. "The memorandum is an important first step in creating a synergy between Windber's expertise in proteomics and UH Manoa bioinformatics computing capability through the Maui High Performance Computing Center and our on-campus research expertise," Englert said. "We are very pleased to be able to combine these assets to enhance the performance capacity of both our organizations."
The Windber Research Institute is a world-class, state-of-the-art biomedical research facility created in September 2000 as a partner with Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. Since that time, WRI has expanded the scope of its operations and developed partnerships with numerous biotechnology companies and academic institutions.
"We are extremely proud to become a partner with the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa and we are looking forward to providing the capabilities available at the Windber Research Institute to ensure that this partnership will contribute significant scientific advances," added F. Nicholas Jacobs, president, WRI.
Collaboration on specific research initiatives will be developed in additional agreements, Englert said. "Our own proposal to develop a UH Manoa Center for Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics Research awaits approval by the Board of Regents," he said. "In the meantime, we expect that our work in these important fields can move forward aggressively as a result of our relationship with WRI."
Terms of reference:
Genomics — The determination of genome sequences and their interpretation
Proteomics — The determination of the structure and function of proteins
Bioinformatics — Information technology applied to biology
For more information, visit: http://www.wriwindber.org


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After recently determining the "low impact" property uses that could be permitted in rural village zoning, the Amity Township Planning Commission agreed on May 8 to decrease the permitted density of multi-family developments for rural villages.
Commission members said the township's current zoning ordinance (of 1991) should be amended for rural villages to permit two units per acre instead of the current three units per acre.
It also agreed to change the number of single-family, semi-detached units from seven units per acre to four units per acre.
Various members of the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission proposed the creation of a modern rural village in Amityville to permit by-right businesses in the existing (and new) buildings that would hopefully result in a successful, profitable village and make it a destination point in Amity Township.
"I don't want to see someone trying to build some huge apartment complex -- that isn't what we're trying to encourage," said Chairman Paul R. Weller.
"I want this to be as restrictive as possible unless attached to a business," said member Terry L. Jones.
The rural village would be located in the area of Weavertown and Old Swede roads at Old Airport Road and on properties that are zoned medium density residential (MDR).
Township Engineer John Weber provided the commission with an Amityville rural village map to indicate the six land parcels in the proposed rural village boundaries that have between five and 10 acres.
Under the current ordinance of three units per acre in MDR, a 10 acre parcel could contain up to 30 apartment units.
The result of multi-family developments would be more children attending the Daniel Boone School District, increased school costs, higher property taxes and then program cuts to reduce the district's $5 million annual budget deficits.
Weber said an exception to the new decreased density could be when the multi-family housing would be attached to a commercial use.
He said in that case, a dual usage on a large property cold have three housing units.
"The idea was that we wanted to 'incentive-ize' the dual use," said township Solicitor Brian F. Boland.
Commission members said their next steps are to refine the ordinance's supplementary regulations that include signage, parking, landscaping, and exterior lighting.
Their intent with the low impact property uses, density considerations, and other future ordinance amendments is to continue to protect residents.
An example of that would be to not allow items to be displayed in front yards.
Jones said the current sign ordinance that allows a two-foot sign for a small home occupation business in MDR is too restrictive to home occupations.
"The township's rural village purpose is different than home occupations and supplementary regulations should be less restrictive to commercial owners," said Boland.


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With Rick Rubin tooLooks like I stand corrected on the Dixie Chicks, they have a new album coming out. Their new song, "Not Ready to Make Nice" is about everything that has happened.
With Rick Rubin tooLooks like I stand corrected on the Dixie Chicks, they have a new album coming out. Their new song, "Not Ready to Make Nice" is about everything that has happened.
Basically the only semi-country band I can stomach. I haven't heard their new album -- The Onion's AV Club kind of panned it because it wasn't really country or rock, but somewhere in between.Originally Posted by pedro
I'm still searching for the acoustic version of "Carl Perkins' Cadillac". I only heard it once, but it haunts me to this day.
"I prefer books and movies where the conflict isn't of the extreme cannibal apocalypse variety I guess." Redsfaithful
Rodney Crowell is in that group, too. Funny song.Originally Posted by WVRed
"Hey...Dad. Wanna Have A Catch?" Kevin Costner in "Field Of Dreams."
Originally Posted by Johnny Footstool
The new album is not great, but it has a couple of incredible songs that make the album worth it. Also, if you haven't heard Patterson Hood's solo record, I recommend that highly. Belinda Carlisle Diet is hilarious.
Originally Posted by nycredsfan
You might want to check out The Star Room Boys if you haven't already. It's more neo-traditional, but they are great.
Get your nunchucks and the keys to your dad's car. I know where we can get a gun
I have and really like This World Just Won't Leave Us Alone. I have meant to pick up their first record for a long time and just never have.Originally Posted by pedro
Another underrated band that I really like is Richmond Fontaine. Their album Post to Wire is great.
Richmond Fontaine is one of our local darlings here in PDX
Originally Posted by westofyou
Have you seen them play? I never have, but always imagined that the would be a great live band.
I haven't but Pedro went to their last record release show IIRC.Originally Posted by nycredsfan
They are really good although sometime they play w/out the pedal steel player and it's nt quite as interesting.
Get your nunchucks and the keys to your dad's car. I know where we can get a gun
The first time I saw the DBT's [ before Gangstabilly was released ] they were touring with the Star Room Boys and sharing the drummer and bass player. The Truckers have been my favorite band ever since.
Favorite Group in Country Music?
Definitely a Trick Question. I'm using all my lifelines, Regis..
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."
The Dixie Chicks are cool now. They dissed the man. The authority figure.
Cue Rick Rubin and undoubtely a song about their traumatic experience.
Frankly I think it's absurd anyone cared what they said.
This is the time. The real Reds organization is back.
What were they when they were selling all those CD's before they dissed the man?The Dixie Chicks are cool now.
I mean other than good role models for girls who were interested in music.
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He also accuses me of having comments so that I can get "vile ad hominem, anonymous hate-speech" which he thinks, I "rel[y] on for traffic." What proof does he have that that is my reason for having comments or that it helps my traffic? I'd be very surprised if the ugliest comments brought more traffic. I think they hurt traffic, so I certainly am not relying on them for traffic. I do think a vivid, flourishing comments section keeps readers coming back to this blog, but not because of the ugliness. I think that drives people away.
This is more serious:
[T]hese were not just homophobic comments. They were vicious personal attacks on a specific human being, using both my sexual orientation and my illness as targets.But generic attacks on gay people as a group are much worse than attacks on a specific person who is a public figure, like Andrew Sullivan. They are still mean, but they are more like the anti-Bush material that goes on about how he was an alcoholic or used cocaine or whatever. I'm not saying it's good, just that it's different from general bigotry. And I would like Andrew Sullivan to acknowledge that I have a good number of active commenters here who are gay men. (Lesbians too.) So there is plenty of pushback against homophobia, and anybody who hates gay people is not going to be happy in my comments section.
Sullivan goes on to criticize me for not deleting the comments that attacked him:
I am glad she does not deny that she engaged in this thread herself, and she did so long after many of the references to my HIV were published. It seems to me that if you are actually contributing to a comment thread, you tend to have read the thread leading up to that point.Well, try it some time. There are hundreds of comments. I skim. I look for spam. I stop at the names of commenters I know and like. I have a free speech policy and ignore stuff that looks like low-quality junk. I have a lot of idiosyncratic strategies for getting through it all, and it's still a lot of work. I'm telling you: Your assumption is wrong.
So the idea she had no idea what was afoot is ludicrous.I may know what's "afoot," but only in a vague way, and not oriented toward finding things to delete. My working strategy is not to delete. From that I have exceptions. One is to look closely if someone emails me and points to something specific. Sullivan never did me that behind-the-scenes courtesy. He just made a post attacking me — and reprinting the ugly stuff. If he really wanted it excised, he wouldn't have reprinted it. He wanted to expose it and air it out. And there you see the value of my non-deletion policy. The ugly stuff is self-destructing! It argues against itself. Why drive it underground? Why empower the haters by letting them see they got to you? They are their own worst enemies.
She has already accused me of being a racist, a heterophobe and a misogynist...I appreciate those 2 links, because I wouldn't have remembered what I'd said. Go ahead and read those old posts of mine. I didn't generically call him a racist. I found racism in the way he talked about Bobby Jindal. As to heterophobia and misogyny.... well, frankly, I do think Sullivan has a problem with women. Does he ever write positively about women? For the most part, women barely exist in his world. And when one comes into prominence — notably Sarah Palin — he seems to feel a special antagonism.
[E]ven if everything Althouse says in her defense is true, it says a lot to me that she is unable even to offer a word of apology or regret, or to remove any of the vilest personal attacks in that thread. I offended her a while back with a post on her announcement that she was getting engaged to one of the commenters on her site... I subsequently apologized for any offense she subsequently felt.Did he really apologize? I emailed him about his outrageous insult and he posted something, but it wasn't really to the point. And anyway, "I subsequently apologized for any offense she subsequently felt"... that's what's called a nonapology. Okay, if it's really that easy then: Andrew, I am subsequently sorry if anything on my blog subsequently offended you.
I was too glib, and insensitive, but it's in a different universe from the hate speech she publishes.It's different all right. The difference is, what was said about me, you wrote. I didn't write any of the the offensive comments. I just have an open forum and a free speech policy. To say I "published" it makes it sound as though I pre-screened it. Ironically, you published those comments. You chose to copy and paste them on your blog.
If Althouse had not partially built her traffic on this kind of stuff for years, and if she weren't a big blog, and a contributor to bloggingheads and other MSM outlets and a professor at a university, I'd let this slide as I usually do....Since I didn't respond yesterday, he may have thought I was letting it slide, because he came up with this second post:
Just check out Ann Althouse's reaction to Garance Franke-Ruta's rather anodyne reference to Jessica Valenti breast controversy on bloggingheads....Oh, for the love of God.
I have no idea what the reference is....Don't worry. It has to do with breasts. It would only bore you.
... she threatens to hang up and tells Garance that she is involved in character assassination. But she is happy to post the vilest attacks on my being gay and having HIV and refuses to apologize.Again, jeez, I don't post the comments! I have an open comments section and a policy against deletion. In the Bloggingheads, I was in a one-on-one conversation with someone who was quietly sticking a dagger in and I called her on it. Where is the contradiction? I don't like crap said about me — and believe me, the breast controversy was a shitstorm — and I completely understand that you don't like crap written about you. Do you realize that my free speech policy includes leaving hundreds of insults against me in my comments section?
Finally, Sullivan restates my asserted free-speech position and then quotes something I wrote in 2005, when I was annoyed by the trend in the comments and said "I'm adopting a new, more activist form of supervision." He then says:
Maybe I missed a post after that where she expressed her willingness not just to accept but to participate in threads that accuse an HIV-survivor of AIDS dementia because they disagree with him.Let me use his word, "disingenuous." It's disingenuous to assume that a policy I stated 4 years ago is the policy I maintain and employ today. Obviously, it's not. Digging up the old defunct policy is a lame device that Sullivan is using to push the point he's been tying himself up in knots trying to make, that the insulting remarks came from me. They did not.
Why antagonize me over this? My inclination is to be sympathetic to anyone with an illness, and I like substantive argument (or funny snark) and not mean-spirited trash.
And, Andrew, if you ever want to go on Bloggingheads and talk about it one-on-one, let me know.


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US Government OKs Sale of Sharper Satellite Images 82
itwbennett (1594911) writes The U.S. government has lifted a long-standing restriction that meant companies like Google and Microsoft didn't have access to the most accurate pictures taken by imaging satellites. Satellite operator DigitalGlobe said that it received approval from the U.S. Department of Commerce this week to sell sharper images to its clients. Until now, satellite operators like DigitalGlobe were prevented by law from selling images to foreign or commercial organizations in which features smaller than 50 centimeters were visible. The restriction was meant to ensure that foreign powers didn't get access to satellite images that were too good.


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Cats can get into the stickiest situations.
Years ago, when I was in junior high or high school, our cat was a great trophy hunter. He'd catch birds, mice, moles, flying squirrels and, occasionally, a weasel.
He didn't have a taste for eating moles or weasels, but instead left their carcasses lying on the driveway or in the yard.
He once brought a live chipmunk into the house and, as if it were scripted, let the darned thing go. We chanced around like Keystone Kops, trying to corner it and get it out of the house.
Our current feline friends aren't much for hunting, except for the occasional spider or fly, but they can get into some interesting predicaments. Pinball — so named because he bounces from place to place — is especially adventuresome.
One morning last week, I heard a commotion in the kitchen and thought maybe the neighbor's cat had gotten into the house the night before, when we'd had the back door open.
Pretty soon, I heard my husband shout a scream of alarm and then, a little while later, I heard him talking to someone. I hadn't heard the phone ring, so I wondered if he'd called someone or was talking back to the television.
When he came downstairs, he informed me that the flypaper I'd had hanging in the kitchen was no
longer there. Strange, I thought, he had been upstairs the whole time, so how could he know …?
Then he explained: Pinball had gotten into the flypaper and, alarmed, raced upstairs and landed, claws deployed, on Al, who had been sleeping.
That explained the commotion in the kitchen and the shout upstairs.
Al had managed to pull the super-sticky strip of paper off the cat, but a fair amount of residue remained.
Pinball slunk around for awhile, alternately looking embarrassed and ticked off. He just couldn't seem to get rid of the sticky stuff.
I Googled and learned that baby oil, mineral oil or cooking oil were supposed to work well for dissolving flypaper goo. I figured the cooking oil probably would be the safest, since cats clean themselves with their tongues.
I put some oil on a paper towel and wiped the affected area until the cat became a mass of claws.
His fur is still a little clumpy, but at least he's not sticking to the furniture.
It could've been worse: Pinball has short hair. Our other cat, who's half Persian, has very long, very thick fur.
Dee Camp is a reporter at The Chronicle. She can be reached via email at email@example.com.
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Millions of children across South Africa sang "Happy Birthday" to Nelson Mandela today as he turns 95.
People around the world are joining South Africans in celebrating his life.
British entrepreneur Richard Branson is among those volunteering 67 minutes in their communities, to honor the 67 years Mandela gave to the struggle against apartheid and creating a new South Africa.
In New York's Times Square, South African artist Paul Blomkamp is showing his giant portrait of Mandela, which he says was inspired by the leaders great energy.
Mandela himself is in the hospital where he has been since June with a recurring lung ailment, but reports say that his health, which had been described as critical but stable, is improving.
His illness has intensified a bitter family struggle over Mandela's legacy and inheritance.
Mandela helped create a post-apartheid South Africa, and he is still very much in South African minds, despite having left public life over a decade ago.
How are South Africans feeling about their country's progress since the end of Apartheid, and what is South Africa's role in the region today?
- Jason Beaubien, global health and development correspondent for NPR. He tweets @jasonbnpr.
Nelson Mandela turns 95 today, and people around the world are joining South Africans in celebrating his life. The United Nations has declared today Mandela Day with a call for citizens everywhere to take responsibility for making the world a better place. British entrepreneur Richard Branson is among those volunteering 67 minutes in their communities to honor the 67 years Mandela gave to the struggle against apartheid. In Times Square in New York, a South African artist is showing his giant portrait of Nelson Mandela.
Mandela himself remains in the hospital in South Africa where he has been since June with a lung infection. NPR's Jason Beaubien is in Johannesburg, and he is with us now. Jason, what's the mood like there today?
JASON BEAUBIEN, BYLINE: It's been actually quite festive, considering that Nelson Mandela is in hospital in critical condition. People were out in the streets sort of dancing and singing "Happy Birthday" this morning. At schools all across the country, people were singing "Happy Birthday" to him. Yeah, it's been actually quite upbeat, and sort of a lot of people have been taking this opportunity to really reflect on a very special person, not just in South Africa but in the world.
The Star Newspaper has a big two-page spread of 95 quotes to live by from Mandela, laying out his philosophy both as a freedom fighter and as a politician and as a man. So, it's been really a time to reflect on his legacy and think about, you know, this very special figure in South Africa's history.
HOBSON: And the people that are out there singing "Happy Birthday," are they of all races?
BEAUBIEN: Yeah, they are. I went to a white - predominantly white school - it was a private girls' school - this morning, and they were singing in Xhosa, in Mandela's own native language. They were singing "Happy Birthday" to him. And then, you know, when I crossed the street and there was all these black kids from a much poorer neighborhood from the poor public schools, and they were out singing in English and dancing on the sidewalks, singing "Happy Birthday" and singing old anti-apartheid freedom songs. Yeah, so everybody has really been engaging in year's Mandela Day.
HOBSON: And as you say, sadly, he is still in the hospital in critical condition. What do we know about his condition because there have been some reports that it's improving a bit?
BEAUBIEN: Yes. There have been some reports that it's improving a bit. It is very limited, the amount of information that we get. But some of Mandela's family members who visited him just recently say that he's responsive, that he's been watching television, that he very much sort of communicates with his eyes even though he can't speak at the moment because of a breathing apparatus. But they're saying that he is very much improving.
HOBSON: And is there optimism on the streets that he's going to get better and get out of that hospital and go back home?
BEAUBIEN: Many people here sort of accept that this is a man who spent 27 years in prison, had a very hard life, suffered from tuberculosis. And he's now 95. And I've been struck by South Africans, by - many of them very much seem to be - having prayers for him. And it's not necessarily prayers that he will come out, but prayers just that he is well, that he's in good hands. And even if he passes away, people sort of accept that it's very much the end of his life.
HOBSON: Jason, let's talk about South Africa. It has been now 14 years since Nelson Mandela left office. How much of the country today is a result of him and what he did?
BEAUBIEN: A lot of it is. I think the stability that has been here in South Africa is really quite remarkable given the anger that was there towards the end of apartheid. And much of the optimism and, you know, the Rainbow Nation, you know, their flag is - they refer to it as the flag of the Rainbow Nation. The sense of we are all here together was really planted. That seed was driven home by Nelson Mandela.
HOBSON: So a renewed optimism, although we do hear still about a lot of problems in South Africa, about high levels of violent crime, about still a strong economic divide with whites still disproportionately wealthy compared to blacks.
BEAUBIEN: Absolutely. I mean, this country still has numerous problems. I mean, unemployment, officially, is about 40 percent. You know, it's probably even higher than that. It still has the worst, the largest HIV epidemic in the world. There is a lot of discontent when you talk to young people about how the equality that was talked about during the struggle hasn't sort of trickled down to them, particularly on an economic level.
And it isn't even so much a sense that the whites have all of the power anymore. There has been a big shift of wealth to a very elite black class and a black middle class. But there's still millions of people who are being left out of that. And the frustration among, you hear every time you walk through one of the townships, economics is going to be a big factor whether they can bridge that economic divide down the road. And it's going to be a big fight.
You got several labor unions at the moment, South African Airways. Some of their employees have been on strike. The gold miners are in negotiations at the moment. They're asking for 100 percent increase in wages. Gold producers are offering 5 or 6 percent. You're know, you're heading for a big fight in that sector.
So, yeah, there's - there are some major problems that still need to get worked out, and they're not going to get worked out tomorrow.
HOBSON: Finally, Jason, I mean, there have been questions about whether Mandela's death, when it happens, is going to cause violence or political chaos in South Africa. Is that still a concern?
BEAUBIEN: You know, I don't think that there's going to be violence or, you know, riots the day after he dies. But I do think that it's a legitimate concern. It's a legitimate question. And it's something that I have heard brought up from people here in South Africa. There is a large number of people from throughout the African continent who are living here. A lot of people from Zimbabwe, a lot of Nigerians, people from Ethiopia, Somalia and there's a lot resentment towards them from native South Africans who are unemployed, who feel that these other Africans are driving down wages, they're stealing jobs.
A group of Somalis, who I spoke with, basically said, we're concerned that the protection that Mandela always sort of extended to us by the way that he spoke about all of humanity deserving theses rights were worried that that shield is going to be lifted if he's no longer there. Mandela has been a steadying force in South Africa even when he's lying there in his hospital bed. The fact that he's there, that he has laid out this vision of a united, Democratic, peaceful country. Nobody wants to challenge that while he's still around. And potentially, some people might try to rock the boat once he's gone.
HOBSON: NPR's Jason Beaubien joining us from Johannesburg, South Africa on this 95th birthday of Nelson Mandela. Jason, thank you so much.
BEAUBIEN: You're welcome.
HOBSON: And we'd love to hear from you. You can go to hereandnow.org. You can also go facebook.com/hereandnowradio to tell us about this or any other story you hear on this program. Up next, a financial columnist will join us to tell us why she is paying so much attention to Tyler Perry's TV shows. That's just ahead. HERE AND NOW. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Wyatt's goal, 2 assists power Hickory past Foard
Trying to keep pace with conference leader Watauga, the Hickory soccer team made the most of its early opportunities on Thursday.
The Red Tornadoes scored in the first four minutes of the first and second halfs on their way to a 3-1 victory over Fred T. Foard.
To read more of this story, pick up the Friday edition of Catawba County's community newspaper, The Observer News Enterprise, at newsstands throughout the county.


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Hynix touts 'world's first' 1Gb GDDR 5 chip
Thanks for the memory
First Qimonda, now Hynix. Yes, the Korean chip-maker has become the second manufacturer to begin sampling GDDR 5 graphics memory chippage.
But while its German rival is pitching a 512Mb part, Hynix has a 1Gb chip - the first of its kind in the world, the company claimed - on its books.
GDDR 5 ups the maximum data throughput to 20GB/s, up a bit on the 16GB/s today's top-of-the-line GDDR 4 chips deliver. The bandwidth is 5Gb/s, delivered over a 32-bit bus.
Error compensation, adaptive interface timing and the ability to adapt the signalling characteristics to match patterns in the data being sent over the bus all contribute to the higher transfer rate.
Hynix said its 1Gb part will be fabbed at 66nm. The chip will go into mass-production during H1 2008.
Sponsored: Minds Mastering Machines - Call for papers now open


text:
Submission + - Windows 7 versus Windows XP on a Netbook (legitreviews.com)
Justin writes: "Many in the industry are counting on Windows 7 to bring the netbook market to the next level. Having netbook manufacturers ship netbooks with 7+ year old Windows XP pre-installed surely deterred some from joining the ranks of households with the small, light and portable netbooks. It seems Microsoft has addressed most of the pitfalls of Windows Vista on a netbook by increasing battery life and performance to be very close to that of the lighter weight Windows XP. Legit Reviews has the full scoop of battery life and performance tests pitting Windows 7 against Windows XP on the ASUS Eee PC 1005HA Netbook."


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It's supposed to be good for the skin!
It's supposed to be good for the skin!
Damn. That was hot!
very very very nice
I guess it is an all natural, protein enriched face cream.
But the cum in the eyes, that is bad. My friend got cum in his eye, and his eye got a bad infection
i don't know what i wanted more to suck the dicks or lick her clean


text:
Eaton Scientific Highlights International Potential for Tropine 3 as a Globally Accepted Non-Hormonal Treatment for Hot Flash Symptoms -- Menopause Hits Harder Outside the United States
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Eaton Scientific Systems, Ltd. ("Eaton" or the "Company") a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pristine Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB: PRTN) is pleased to highlight the increasing international potential of Tropine 3 for the non-hormonal treatment for pre-menopausal, peri-menopausal, and post-menopausal women experiencing hot flashes.
"Menopause affects women all over the world, but according to recent research it actually appears to affect women in Asia and Latin America at a dramatically younger age along with greater and longer symptom prevalence," stated Michael Borkowski, CEO of Eaton Scientific. "With this in mind, we intend to develop Tropine 3 to take advantage of potential global marketing and distribution opportunities."
Recent scientific research has indicated that women in the United States and Europe reach menopause at a median age ranging from 50.1 to 51.4 years. This same research study concluded that in Latin America the median age of menopause was 43.8 to 53 years, and in Asia from 42.1 to 49.5 years. Other large research studies also concluded that the frequency of menopause symptoms range from 36–50% of women in North America, up to 45–69% in Latin America, 22–63% in Asia, and 74% in Europe.
The earlier onset of menopause and increased prevalence of menopause symptoms outside of North America represents an important strategic opportunity to expand Tropine 3 awareness on a global scale. The Company could potentially enter into business arrangements with established drug distribution organizations to accomplish this.
About Pristine Solutions, Inc.
Pristine Solutions, Inc., through its wholly-owned subsidiary company, Eaton Scientific Systems, Ltd., holds the intellectual property and global marketing rights to Tropine 3, a patent pending novel indication of an existing FDA approved drug for the non-hormonal treatment of hot flashes in pre-menopausal, peri-menopausal, and post-menopausal women. The company is preparing for Phase 1 & 2 Clinical Trials with the goal of FDA approval of Tropine 3.
Forward-Looking Statements/Disclaimer
Information in this document constitute forward-looking statements or statements which may be deemed or construed to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "forecast," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "intend," "expect," "should," "believe," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve, and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause Pristine Solutions' actual results, performance (financial or operating) or achievements to differ from the future results, performance (financial or operating) or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The risks, uncertainties and other factors are more fully discussed in Pristine Solutions' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements attributable to Pristine Solutions herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by the above-mentioned cautionary statement. Pristine Solutions disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this estimate, except as may be required by law.
SOURCE Eaton Scientific Systems, Ltd.
CONTACT: Mark Bernhard, Capital Group Communications, +1-415-332-7200, email@example.com
Posted: September 2012


text:
DENVER - Spirit Airlines plans to add service between Denver and Detroit next year.
Starting Feb. 14, the carrier plans to offer flights between the cities every day except for Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Daily flights between the cities are scheduled to begin March 1.
Spirit started offering flights to and from Denver International Airport in May.


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Photo by: Todd Kirkland
Atlanta Braves officials pick up trash on the field as security stand by during the eighth inning of the National League wild card playoff baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012, in Atlanta. The Cardinals won baseball's first wild-card playoff, taking advantage of a disputed infield fly call that led to a protest and fans littering the field with debris, to defeat the Braves 6-3. (AP Photo/Todd Kirkland)


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HUNTER songstress Catherine Britt was named female artist of the year at the 41st Country Music Awards of Australia on Saturday night.
It marked the third Golden Guitar for the 28-year-old who also picked up best female artist in 2009 followed by single of the year last year.
''I've had the most amazing year out on tour. Being named best female next to Troy [Cassar-Daley] who was named best male is such an honour,'' Britt said.
For a gallery of red carpet pictures, click here.
Britt is celebrating her latest success on the back of the release of her album Always Never Enough, for which she wrote almost every track and co-produced with Bill Chambers.
She claimed just one award from seven nominations tonight but said she couldn't ask for any more recognition than best female artist.
It has been a hugely successful festival for the performer. In addition to promoting her album, Britt has launched her band the Hillbilly Killers, which also features Tim Rogers (You Am I) and Bill Chambers.
''Watching and playing with the new band has been one of the highlights of the festival,'' Britt said.
''Tim [Rogers] has had the best time. He's a big fan of Tamworth and said he'll be back every year.''
The female singer brought a distinctly Novocastrian flair to the Golden Guitars by performing her song Charlestown Road about the street she grew up on.
See how other Hunter musicians and fans spent their time in Tamworth by clicking here.
However it was Troy Cassar-Daley who was the big winner on the night, claiming four awards including best male artist and album of the year.
''It's still hard to believe your name is on these things,'' the humble performer said backstage about his Golden Guitars.
Central Coast duo Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson claimed duo of the year on the back of the release of Wreck & Ruin again proving they make a winning combination.
The husband and wife picked up a swag of awards in 2009 with their previous album together Rattlin' Bones.
The full list of winners for the 2013 Country Music Awards of Australia are:
SINGLE OF THE YEAR Country Is - Troy Cassar-Daley
TELSTRA NEW TALENT OF THE YEAR Chelsea Basham - Laugh It Off
VIDEO CLIP OF THE YEAR Piece Of Me - The McClymonts, directed by Duncan Toombs
GROUP OR DUO OF THE YEAR Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson - Adam & Eve
INSTRUMENTAL OF THE YEAR Yackandandah1852 - Pete Denahy
TOP SELLING INTERNATIONAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR Blown Away - Carrie Underwood (Sony)
SANITY TOP SELLING ALBUM OF THE YEAR Two Worlds Collide - The McClymonts
APRA SONG OF THE YEAR Home - written and recorded by Troy Cassar-Daley
ALTERNATIVE COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Big Days & Little Years - Camille and Stuie, produced by Stuie French
BUSH BALLAD OF THE YEAR Looking Back - written and recorded by Graham Rodger
VOCAL COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR Women in Song - Tamara Stewart, Sara Storer, Felicity Urquhart
HERITAGE SONG OF THE YEAR The Drovers Wife - written by Luke O-Shea & Peter Gabrielides, recorded by Luke O'Shea
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Troy Cassar-Daley - Home
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Catherine Britt - Charlestown Road
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Home - Troy Cassar-Daley, produced by Troy Cassar-Daley


text:
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text:
Jan. 19, 2001
Following a year in which the Gauchos narrowly missed postseason play and finished above the .500 mark in consecutive seasons for the first time in eight years, the 2001 season looks to be a promising one for UCSB. The Gauchos return their entire starting alignment from last season, including three senior infielders in Chad Peshke, Jeff Bannon and Dave Molidor and junior first baseman/designated hitter Tyler Von Schell. Von Schell, Peshke and Molidor were 2000 All-Big West selections. With the return of a few veterans back from injuries and contributions from the right newcomers, UCSB hopes it can earn its first postseason appearance since 1996.
The Gaucho pitching staff took the biggest hit in the off-season, losing its two top arms to graduation. However, not only does head coach Bob Brontsema return five experienced hurlers, but he adds seven new pitchers, three of whom have been drafted.
"I feel that we've increased our depth with the new guys we've brought in behind Rylie Ogle, Jim Bullard and Jeremy Sugarman, and we'll have considerably more options going into this season compared to seasons past."
Ogle (2-0, 6.98) is the preseason favorite to be the Gaucho ace, provided he stays healthy. Sugarman (2-6, 6.52) and 6-7 Bullard (3-3, 3.98) should each get considerable innings both as starters and out of the pen. The remaining spot in the starting rotation may be filled by hard-throwing transfer James Garcia (El Camino JC). Matt Moran (Consumnes River JC) and Rob More (Utah Valley State College) both have the ability to pick up innings out of the bullpen early in the season. Returnees Jamie Gonzales and Russell Wirth and freshmen Matt Vasquez (Santa Barbara HS), Mike Sutherland (West Torrance HS), Justin Angevine (El Dorado HS) and Keith Kelley (redshirt), should solidify the UCSB staff.
"How quickly our freshmen are able to make the transition to Division I baseball will determine the amount of innings they see. I'm excited about their skills, but we'll just have to see how they progress," said Brontsema of his young guns.
The Gauchos may also call on sophomore outfielder Jared Schumaker for relief duty. Shumaker redshirted 2000 after suffering a shoulder injury.
The Gauchos start the season with a behind-the-plate competition between Donovan Warrecker, Jimmy Walker and Taylor Vogt for a second consecutive year. The welcomed change, however, is that now both Warrecker and Walker have a year of Division I experience under their chest protectors. Warrecker started the majority of the games in 2000, and brings a steady bat to the plate. The senior hit .320, good for third on the team, with ten doubles and five homers. Walker, who clubbed three homers in 35 at-bats in 2000, has improved his play in the off-season and should see significantly more innings this year. Vogt, after redshirting 2000, looks to contribute this season with his strong arm and power at the plate.
Only seven games over the last two seasons did not see seniors Chad Peshke, Jeff Bannon, and Dave Molidor in the starting lineup, and their dependability is paramount in the Gauchos' quest for a Big West Championship. The 6-5 Molidor will again start at third base, coming off a year in which he was named First Team All-Big West and led the Gauchos in four offensive categories (.378 avg., .567 slg., 32 BB, .474 OB%). Bannon, the Gauchos' 6-3 starter at short, enters 2001 as last year's team leader in home runs (11), triples (3) and total bases (106). Honorable Mention All-Big West selection Chad Peshke will start at second base for a fourth straight year. He brings a streak of 157 consecutive games started following a season which saw him lead the Gauchos in five offensive categories (213 AB, 56 R, 71 H, 20 2B and 7 SB). First Team All-Big West selection Tyler Von Schell (DH) and Mike Kolbach will likely both see time at the first base and designated hitter spots. Von Schell, a junior, led the Gauchos with 53 RBI in 2000 and finished second on the team with ten big flies.
Brontsema is grateful to have such an experienced and productive group of veterans. "Obviously, I feel very comfortable with our infield. We have proven players at every position, and we'll go as far as they can take us this year."
Walk-ons Blair Havens, Dave Licht and Matt Stevens, and freshman Nate Sutton can play any position in the infield, and will see time in reserve roles.
The return of the season's end starting trio and increased depth due to improved health should make the outfield grass UCSB's biggest area of improvement in 2001. Jeff Carter returns and is expected to start in left field, but he will have competition from R.J. Smith, Andy Campanella and walk-on Nate Sutton. Carter and Campanella each hit .288 last season, while Smith hit at a .252 clip with an outfield-leading three homers. Jared Shumaker and Ryan Spilborghs are both back after recovering from season-ending injuries last year. Shumaker's speed and strong arm make him the early favorite to start in center. Spilborghs, who carries a respectable bat, is a strong candidate to start in right. Transfer Jed Stringham could play the outfield, but with plenty of power, will probably see most of his action at desingated hitter.
"We have a strong lineup," recapped Brontsema. "As always, pitching will be of the utmost importance. Our offense is well-balanced, we'll just have to see how our pitching develops throughout the season, particularly those pitchers who have yet to play Division I baseball."


text:
Kind of a trick quote, isn't it? Or is that the lofty puffery we've learned to love? Or are you one of the ones who've come to find that sort of thing insipid? Or funny? Or damned scary?
His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.That is, to lead, you must follow.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman.All right then. Hopefully, everyone will tag along after his tagging along and everything will be lovely.


text:
Obituary & Guest Book Preview for Willard Randolph
Willard Randolph Obituary
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: Willard Randolph Apr. 13, 1930-Dec. 3, 2013 Willard Randolph of Gautier, Mississippi completed his earthly journey and went to his heavenly home on Tuesday, December...
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text:
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text:
A sea of movement lay before his eyes. Matoran, Toa, and countless other species wove around each other as they ran between the shattered remains of what had once been the body of their Great Spirit and the slowly rising structure of a new village. Taken over by Makuta and rendered uninhabitable in combat, the massive robot that had once housed a universe was now being evacuated so a new life could begin on Spherus Magna. It was a beautiful scene—species long thought of as enemies working together for the greater good, with the natives of this world welcoming them with open arms.
The sight filled him with disgust.
From atop a cliff overlooking the crowd, Ahkmou scowled. The Po-Matoran had long been a valuable (or so he assumed) ally to the Makuta, and had been rewarded with control over the city of Metru-Nui once the villain's plan reached completion. Then came the day the sky was torn open, Makuta killed, and Ahkmou found himself facing very, very real danger.
Even those "noble" Toa would probably kill me on sight, he thought. I was lucky to escape before they found me. Chances are they either think I'm dead, or don't care to see if I'm alive.
A more sentimental being might be hurt by this realization. Ahkmou only grew angry.
"I was supposed to be one of them," he seethed. "If I had the power of a Toa, I could make them all bow to me again! I would make them suffer if my destiny hadn't been stolen from me!"
"Destiny? You cling to destiny…"
Ahkmou suddenly felt cold. He dared not turn around to see who the harsh, contemptuous voice belonged to, merely remained still as a statue as the sound of footsteps grew steadily louder. A spear was thrust into the rock beside him, granting him view of the scaly hand that clutched it.
"Another Matoran…one who wants to be a Toa. You should have died with your Great Spirit."
Ahkmou gulped. "I-I have no love f-for Mata Nui. I'm glad he's g-gone."
The stranger replied with eerie silence, and Ahkmou found himself continuing to speak. "Maybe I am a Matoran, but it's not like I chose to be. And I certainly don't want to be a Toa like them!"
He made a shaky gesture towards the Toa below. Seconds later, he could feel the stranger's noxious breath battering him as a question formed: "Not like them? You are not like them?"
His anger granting bravery, Ahkmou responded, "Of course not! I hate them!"
The stranger chuckled, a terrible noise that sent a shiver down Ahkmou's spine. "You hate them. Good, you hate them. We hate them too. Convince me that I shouldn't hate you."
Words spilled out of Ahkmou, relating a brief summary of his most noteworthy deeds: plotting to steal the Great Disks only to be foiled by Toa; spreading a plague among his people only to be found out and punished by Turaga; feeling not the slightest inkling of guilt as he enslaved and commanded his fellow Matoran during his great (if short) reign over Metru-Nui. He spoke of how he was, without a doubt, the most hated, treacherous Matoran in the eyes of his species, and that he was perfectly fine with that. The stranger did nothing but listen attentively.
"I don't care what they think of me. I care that they won. Now I'm cursed to hide from them like a coward because the power I so rightfully deserve was robbed from me—stolen by Onewa and the others, and then ripped from my grasp by Mata Nui himself! I want that power back…I want to use it against them. All of them."
When Ahkmou was finished, he waited for the stranger's reply. Moments later, a hand grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around before he could protest, bringing him mask-to-jaws with a Zyglak. A hideous grin was spread across the creature's face.
"Your hatred is real. You are an outcast. You are like us."
Ahkmou attempted to hide the terror in his eyes. He was unsuccessful.
Letting go of him, the Zyglak added, "I think I won't kill you. You are a Matoran, but not like the other Matoran…how interesting. We never expected to find something like you."
Pulling its spear out of the ground, the Zyglak turned and took a few steps away from Ahkmou. It then paused and looked back over its shoulder.
"Perhaps I won't hate you. Perhaps I'll even give you a choice. Take your chances with me, or take your chances in the wild…or take your chances with them."
Ahkmou took a long, hard look at the Zyglak, fathoming the sheer depth of his fear for the monster. Then he looked back at the settlement the Toa were building, letting his bottomless rage wash over him.
With a hateful smile, he turned and followed the Zyglak.
Edited by Pahrak #0579, Oct 30 2013 - 07:30 PM.


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The Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences gave away $33m to eleven winners, all in one fell swoop
The annual science prizes set up by Yuri Milner over the past year are worth $3m apiece. That is more than twice the cash that accompanies a Nobel prize, the awards with which they are inevitably compared. But no one goes into science for the money. Kudos and tenure? Yes.
And this is where the prizes differ. The Nobel prize has a cachet that will not be surpassed in a hurry. For all its faults, and sometimes, because of them, the prizes are seen as the pinnacle of a scientific career. Unlike the Milner prizes, there is a limit on the number of people who can share a Nobel prize. That is grossly outdated in modern science, where breakthroughs rarely come at the hands of so few. But the very same restriction makes the Nobels more exclusive, with all the implications that brings.
The latest prize from Milner, the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, is a collaboration with his "old friends" Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, and Sergey Brin of Google. In one fell swoop, the three gave away $33m to eleven winners, none household names, but all major forces in modern biology. Milner set the tone for the windfalls last summer, when he gave $27m to nine scientists for fundamental work in physics.
Next to the prizes from Milner and his friends, the Nobels look antiquated. The nomination and selection process is secretive and obscure, and worthy winners go uncredited because of the arbitrary maximum three-person limit on winners. And the awards ceremony is often bizarre.