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Advertising Campaigns and Online Marketing
The online marketplace is a very different environment than traditional markets. Online marketing and advertising offers a high ROI and is often present in many stages of the customer engagement cycle. The web 2.0 paradigm means advertisements can be targeted to niche markets using geo-targeting, by segmenting the market based on gathered user data, or through a one-to-one approach. Statistics can be gathered quickly and inexpensively while consumers research and compare products at their convenience.
Social Network Marketing
It has long been known that networking is vital to a successful business. Social network marketing allows your networking to be performed on a global scale through established channels like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. Your viral marketing efforts can spread in the blink of an eye!
+ Connect with your audience
Online marketing gives your brand a voice. No longer is marketing the act of talking at your audience, you are talking with them. Cyberspace offers the opportunity to create meaningful dialog with your customers and provides a mode for your business to project it's brand and voice to the masses.
Global Manufacturing Technology The Global Group offers a wide range of products and services within the Orthopaedic and Neuro-surgical industry. Impact was commissioned to design logos for all sectors of the Global group, including…
Online Marketing & Advertising Services
+ Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
+ Online Advertising
+ Email Marketing
Online Advertising
Advertising online can be a long and laborious process if it is not handled correctly. Our team is very experienced in various online marketing techniques from EDM (email marketing) to Social Network Marketing. Impact Graphics can help you choose the right combination of online advertising avenues to maximise your marketing efforts. Contact us to arrange a quote.
+ Affiliate/Contextual Marketing and Behavioural Targeting
Online advertising offers benefits that cannot be replicated through traditional advertising methods. IMPACT can create your next expandable banner ad, interactive Flash ad, static banner advertisement or other creative advertising content. When developing your next product consider a targeted online campaign or a fun microsite to further your branding and increase product recognition.
+ Google AdWords
Google AdWords has developed into an online ad distribution platform which can serve its advertisements to millions of users on a daily basis. Their adverts can be seen on many prevalent sites such as the Google search engine, YouTube and Gmail. Every time your ad appears, it is tracked. Advertisements can be ordered in advance on a cost per click (CPC) or cost per thousand page impressions (CPM).


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Duplex Home Inclusions.
In the crowded home building market, it seems every builder has a different understanding of what's "standard" in their home inclusions list.
So rather than following the lead of others, Champion Homes offers a 'Not So Standard' Duplex Home Inclusions List. As you will see in the following pages, this includes an extensive list of items that many builders only offer as extra's or upgrades. The Champion standard is a long way from the minimum standard. It's what we believe every home owner expects in a new home. A turn key solution where you can just 'turn the key', walk in and enjoy a beautifully detailed, complete family home.
At Champion Homes, it's included.
The building industry's best kept secret
We recognise that every home owner is going to want air-conditioning. So rather than only offering it as an added extra – we have negotiated with some suppliers of Australia's top brands and include air-conditioning in every one of our homes (unless otherwise stated).
And that's just the beginning... grab a coffee, relax and browse through the exciting list of 'inclusions' that often are only found as extras elsewhere.
Not so standard.
We include what others don't
- Fully ducted reverse cycle air conditioning
- Concrete driveway up to 55m2 (cross over not included)
- Quality floor tiles to entry, kitchen and meals area from the Champion Homes Select Range
- Quality carpet to balance of house from the Champion Homes Select Range
- Tiles to porch from the Champion Homes Select Range
- Tiles to outdoor living area from the Champion Homes Select Range
- Taubmans Premium Endure three coat wall paint system
- Gas pack (subject to mains gas availability)
- Standard insulation to walls and ceiling (excluding garage)
- Standard council fees and requirements

subset: commoncrawl


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The other day, some headlines came out that reminded us of one of the features of ebooks, at least when they are read using the ebook sellers' reading devices and apps: Kobo announced a list of which ebooks readers are more likely to finish... or not finish.
It turns out that being a bestselling book doesn't necessarily mean a lot of people are reading it. For instance, Donna Tartt's The Goldfinch was only completed less than half of the time, and Twelve Years a Slave was only completed a whopping quarter of the time.
What ebooks do people tend to finish, though?
Casey Kelleher's thriller Rotten to the Core was listed as being the most completed book in the UK. Katia Lief's One Cold Night, while listed as being "only" completed 69 percent of the time, is still more often completed than either The Goldfinch or Twelve Years a Slave. I imagine that thrillers, romance, and other easy-to-read books are probably completed much more often than classics and literature.
Some customers might object to ebook seller tracking their reading habits, but if this bothers you, there are some ways around it. Just download the ebook onto your computer and transfer it (sideload) onto your tablet or e-reader. I actually even prefer ebook reading apps like BlueFire to the ebook sellers' apps -- particularly Kobo's app, which I find to be clunky and counterintuitive.
I don't think it's a bad thing that booksellers are tracking our reading habits, though. Perhaps it'll influence what books make it onto the bestseller lists in the future -- not just what sells well, but what people actually read, as in, from beginning to end.


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Project 365 – Day 76
I thought I would grab my camera and try a night shot on my way to pick up my new prescription.
No, not for crazy pills Carrie.
The dope is…I went for an upper GI series today. Oh the fun. Three cups of Barium on an empty burning stomach. As if having it on a full stomach would have made it any more pleasurable.
And the news is….I have acid reflux and duodenal diverticula.
Your asking me? What do I know? Other than I feel like….well…crap, for lack of a better term.
My gastroenterologist wants to start me on antibiotics to rid me of any possible infection, otherwise known as, Diverticulitis. He thinks there is a chance that could be causing my symptoms. I doubt it after seeing the reflux on the screen today. It looked so terrible and from what, I can't understand. Faulty valve maybe? All I know is I need relief. Medications don't help and I have had enough.
I eat very healthy, rarely what one would consider junk food. The only thing I can put my finger on that could be causing the diverticulum is lack of fiber.
I rarely eat bread, or grains. Even though I eat a lot of veggies, maybe it just hasn't been enough. Maybe. Although, I'm hesitant to commit to that thought right now, I'll get back to you. The jury is out.
So, what's next? Good question. I nailed the APRN with every question I could think of. They hate that. I'm convinced they would prefer you to be stupid and not ask questions, but that is not me. I need to know the way things work so I can mull it over and help diagnose myself. My trust in modern medicine is long gone. Add to that the fact that I am currently scheduling an appointment for my mother at Yale New Haven Hospital for a possible Esophageal Bypass surgery, caused from prolonged acid reflux disease. No. I won't sit idly by and not ask.
So I'm off to another endoscopy in a couple of weeks. Days like today I feel over the hill.


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June 18, 2015 -- Professor Adam Winkler commented on the court challenge to gun limits in California. His comments appear in a Wall Street Journal article.
"It's the big, looming unanswered question under the Second Amendment—whether you have a right to carry a gun in public, and under what conditions," said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who has written extensively on guns and the Constitution.
Read more.
He also discussed the topic in the San Jose Mercury News.


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Today I'm excited to have Despina Karras guest blogging for me. Despina was one of my picks during the last round of Pitch to Publication. I asked her to share some of her wisdom with you guys. Here's what she had to say.
Pitch to Publication was a great experience for me. My manuscript was selected by THE most awesome editor ever, Kyra Nelson (I'm not biased—she's seriously amazing) and together we worked on revisions for a little over a month. I now have a stronger manuscript, wonderful new friends (including Kyra), and more confidence in my writing and revisions.
What a lot of people don't know is I entered Pitch to Publication a year ago and ultimately wasn't selected, so I've been on both sides of the contest results. There's so much to gain by entering, even if you aren't selected, so I highly encourage it. I hope some of the following advice will be helpful to you.
-Be prepared.
You only need a query and sample pages to enter Pitch to Publication, but make sure your entire manuscript is completely polished and you have a synopsis ready to go. When I entered I was asked for a partial soon after the entry window closed and a synopsis shortly before editor selections were made. Editors could ask for materials at any time.
-Don't stress.
So you made the entry dateline. Great! Now what? Well, if you're anything like me you'll probably stalk your selected editors' Twitter accounts to see what they're saying about the submissions they're getting. While it's incredibly fun to do this (not to mention informative) don't let the feeds consume you. You can drive yourself crazy wondering if every tweet is about your entry. There's a wealth of knowledge in the editors' tweets—just don't take each one personally.
-Make friends.
While it's always great meeting new people, other Pitch to Publication participants are in your shoes. They're feeling what you're feeling. Connecting with them is a great way to see you're not alone. When my manuscript was selected one of the other mentees started a group for us. To this day, this group has been one of my biggest support systems. You can also find great CPs this way.
-Be courteous.
It's a great feeling when an editor asks to see more of your work. You have every right to be happy about it. Have yourself a little dance party, tell your closest friends—but don't brag about it on social media. For one thing, a request doesn't guarantee your manuscript will be selected. But more importantly there are going to be so many writers who don't receive requests and, simply, it just isn't nice to flaunt you got one.
If your manuscript isn't selected but an editor has taken the time to give you feedback, PLEASE thank them. They're busy people just like you and me so it's really nice when they take time to give advice. I received feedback from an editor last year when I didn't make it in and it was invaluable during revisions.
-Get ready to work hard.
If an editor chooses your manuscript, CONGRATULATIONS! Soak it all in, then prepare yourself for lots of work. When Kyra and I first talked edits, she asked if I would be comfortable with cutting 30K words from my 93K manuscript. I'll be honest – when I read that message I had a slight panic attack. But after a little (okay, a LOT) of freaking out and consideration, I told her I'd do it. The editors want their mentees to succeed, so trust them. Take a day and let their suggestions sink in, and I promise they won't seem as intimidating. Just don't be surprised if you're asked to trim a third of your book or get rid of a character. I had to do both.
-Know this may not be the end of the road.
Ideally, I'd love to say I have a literary agent after participating in Pitch to Publication. That's not the case. Most of the mentees in my class don't have representation yet. You may wonder why I'd encourage people to enter the contest if I didn't get an agent from it. The fact is, after working with Kyra, my manuscript has never been stronger. I queried shortly after Pitch to Publication and received so many partial and full requests. One request has even led to a second round revise and resubmit. I can't promise you'll get an offer of representation during this contest, but I CAN promise your manuscript will look great and be more appealing to agents.
Good luck to everyone entering! I hope you have an experience as rewarding as mine.


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Security Bytes: CPAs facing data fraud risk
Meanwhile, blackmailing malware storms Russia; two adware firms merge; and HP addresses a Sendmail flaw in HP Tru64 UNIX and HP Internet Express.
CPA group faces data fraud risk
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has acknowledged that a hard drive with the unencrypted names, addresses and Social Security numbers of most of its 330,000 members has been missing since February.
The hard drive was accidentally damaged by an AICPA employee and shipped off to an external data-recovery service for repair, in violation of AICPA's policies, Joel Allegretti, spokesman for the New York-based organization, told Computerworld. The hard drive was being returned to the AICPA via FedEx but never arrived, Computerworld reported. Allegretti didn't say when exactly the drive disappeared, but he did say it was due back at the AICPA "towards the end of February."
The AICPA began notifying members whose personal data was compromised on May 8, Allegretti said. Jim McClusky, a spokesman for Memphis, Tenn.-based FedEx Corp., told Computerworld it's unclear what happened to the drive, but that it's working to track it down.
Blackmailing malware storms Russia
A new variant of the GpCode virus is spreading across Russia, encrypting victims' files and demanding ransom for decrypting the files. According to Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab, Virus.Win32.GpCode.af uses a more secure encryption algorithm than a previous variant that was spreading last week.
"Kaspersky Lab strongly recommends that anyone who has had files encrypted should contact [the vendor's] virus lab," the vendor said on its Web site. "Under no circumstances should users give in to blackmail, as this will encourage the authors of this program to create new versions."
Kaspersky Lab has determined that the latest variant was mass mailed starting May 26, when several thousand Russians received an email with this text [translated to English]:
We are writing to you regarding the resume you have posted on the job.ru website. I have a vacancy that is suitable for you. ADC Marketing LTD (UK) is opening an office in Moscow and I am searching for appropriate candidates. I will soon be asking you to come in for an interview at a mutually convenient time.
If you are interested in my offer, please fill out the attached form related to compensation issues and email the results to me.
Viktor Pavlov
HR manager
The attached Microsoft Word file is named anketa.doc and contains malware called Trojan-Dropper.MSWord.Tored.a. Once the recipient opens the file, a malicious macro installs another Trojan into the local system called Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Small.crb. This is the Trojan that takes GpCode from a malicious Web site and loads it onto the local machine.
The author of GpCode has conducted similar mass mailings over several days, and Kaspersky Lab is trying to find and shut down the malicious Web site.
Two adware mavens merge
Two embattled adware makers are merging operations and developing a new brand. Bellevue, Wash.-based 180Solutions Inc. and New York-based Hotbar.com Inc. announced a definitive merger that takes effect immediately, and the new organization will take the controversial Zango name. Zango is a 180Solutions program that delivers pop-up ads, and several antispyware vendors have fingered the program as a form of spyware. 180Solutions has faced fierce criticism in the recent past, with the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) accusing it of "illegal and deceptive practices" in dropping unwanted software on millions of machines.
HP addresses Sendmail flaw
Hewlett-Packard Co. has addressed a security hole affecting Tru64 UNIX and HP Internet Express programs that run Sendmail. Danish vulnerability clearinghouse Secunia said in an advisory that the flaw is caused by a signal-handling error when receiving and processing mail data from clients. Attackers can exploit it to corrupt memory by sending specially crafted data at certain time intervals.
The HP Web site outlines the fixes available for different versions of the affected products.


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Secret diaries. The preserve of people who can't tell you the truth, despite desperately wanting to. Sometimes they're interesting because, if we're honest, most of us are nosy and voyeuristic. Some are boring. I will never care what a financial analyst does all day (#sorrynotsorry). But the point of a secret diary is that it's meant to reveal a mystery in some way. I am trying to think of one which was about someone in a mysterious profession but I can only think of 'Girl with a one-track mind' which is going to give you totally the wrong idea about me. Evidently I don't read enough secret diaries.
BUT. The Guardian has a mental health series on at the moment, and it has featured a few secret-diary-expose-type-things. Yesterday (or maybe on Tuesday – I don't know and it doesn't really matter) there was this: 'The secret clinical psychologist's diary'. I commented on Twitter (obvs) that I thought more could have been made of it. Now, I don't know who wrote it, but I know someone wrote it. As I generally try not to be a douche (no, really, I try quite hard to be a non-douche) I am going to say why I thought more could have been made of it without being cruel.
I think psychologists do a lot. Really. I have been qualified a year and I do a LOT of work. That goes for every health worker I know. But to the outside world what we do is a mystery. Diaries like this are the way – anonymously – to explain it; to make people see that we do more than 'talk to people' and drink tea and hug it out. I don't think the piece says enough about the consultation we do; the teaching; the supervision; the meetings; the paperwork; the demands of the clinical work. Only one clinical case is referred to. This might be because of confidentiality but I obviously don't know. The final paragraph refers to inpatient work but no mention of this is made in the earlier part. Now obviously I don't think this psychologist only saw one person in their working week, but the articles doesn't make much mention of the sheer variety of the work. I am sure, also, that the time constraints are enormous and the pressures immense. In my view, it's no bad thing to say that in the public domain. In fact, in the current climate, I think it's essential. We are under siege but no one is listening. People in power think they can slash our resources without any impact on our wellbeing or the care we can provide our patients with. Well we can't. Public sector staff are beyond stressed at the moment. The stats are freely-available. We need to publicise what we do so that the public at large gets a better understanding of it and of unsustainable it is.
You will see why I was frustrated, I hope.
I think it's great when people want to do this stuff; I just don't think we should be afraid of saying 'we work damn hard in a job that can be difficult and stressful and exhausting and in which we see and hear appalling things'. Really, that's all my frustration is: don't play down what it is you do. We have a history of playing down what it is we do and I don't think it benefits anyone.
I toyed with the idea of writing my own diary but there are issues. I can't write it under my own name because I am easily Googleable and my patients might be traceable. I can't write it anonymously because I have a very particular writing style and it would be patently obvious that it was my work. And I'm too lazy to make it up and invent patients (also I should be writing other things at this very moment in time so, you know, PRIORITIES.
So there we are. Sadly I can do nothing about the points I raise above but it's really not for want of motivation. If you want to know the nuts and bolts of what I do, ask me. But, in case you're interested in the more general stuff, here you go.
I work in an Older People's Community Mental Health Team. Primarily I see people over the age of 75 but sometimes they're younger. Many have dementia; some are low in mood or anxious. Some are in poor physical health; some are at risk of falling or vulnerable to abuse or exploitation. Most live at home but some are in residential care. I do some inpatient work, but that's not the bulk of my clinical work. I have no consulting rooms so see everyone off-site. I cover an entire borough of London so I travel a lot.
I work with patients and their carers. Dementia can wreck entire families and often carers need support. They may be watching a loved one disappear before their very eyes and the strain is often enormous. Typically, I will try to help the person with dementia to manage their memory loss and I might also do some family therapy to think about the impact of dementia on relationships. Often I do assessments of challenging behaviour – not uncommon in dementia – and try to implement strategies to reduce the risk of harm to both the patient and their carers. Sometimes I talk to carers about the grief they are experiencing; about the difficulties of looking after someone who may no longer recognise them when they are still trying to maintain jobs and families and lives of their own.
Sometimes it is heartbreaking.
I use an eclectic therapeutic approach. Different approaches work for different people. I spend a day a week in a family therapy clinic and I am also training in family therapy. In addition to traditional therapy I also do neuropsychological assessments for dementia. These assessments can take up to eight hours to complete, plus time to score and write a report – possibly up to six pages of dense text. Sometimes I have the difficult task of telling someone they have dementia. I try to do this in the kindest way I can but it is never, ever easy.
A couple of times a month I am 'on call', which means I deal with all referrals to the team. I might have to deal with GPs or Social Services or do an emergency assessment. I am on the phone to Social Services a LOT. They all know my voice now. Sometimes patients or their families call because they are worried about something. Often, we can sort it out by telephone. Sometimes we spring into action immediately. Flexibility is the name of the game. It has to be.
Each day I have a team meeting to check how everyone's diary is looking and to see if they are worried about any patients, or to see if they need a second person to accompany them on a visit. When you work in the community you need to make sure your colleagues are safe at all times, so there are multiple processes in place to make sure our whereabouts is logged.
On average, every week I will do two initial assessments with a colleague to see if the person has been referred to the team best able to help them. There is a lot of paperwork attached to these assessments, and more generally. Risk management is a big part of the job. In teams like mine, we see people who are often actively suicidal, or whose use of alcohol might place them or others at risk. Emergency meetings with Social Services are not infrequent. We will do whatever we can to keep people safe – we will arrange for smoke alarms to be fitted; for kitchens and bathrooms to be adapted so that people can stay at home for as long as possible.
I go to meetings. I have a weekly business meeting and referral meeting; I have regular supervision and I also supervise some of the work done by a couple of other people who are new to the team. This means that we have to prepare for all their clinical work, that we have to discuss it afterwards and that I have to go through all their reports with them. I enjoy it, and they are bright and keen to learn. I do some informal consultation with other members of the team if either of us needs some input around our clinical work. I am clinical lead for my team so I go to additional meetings to talk about non-clinical issues. Now and then I write reports to do with service development. If my colleagues are away I might visit their patients to make sure all is well.
I eat lunch at my desk, in a hurry, most days. Every day I take a book to work. Almost every day I end up discussing clinical issues or dealing with admin over lunch. Often I feel like I'm chasing my tail. Sometimes I realise I'm up do date with all my paperwork and I feel smug, but it never lasts very long.
That's an average week, I think. I might have forgotten something, but you get the gist. And you will see, I hope, why I get frustrated when people undersell themselves, and us.


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antibodies-online now distributes 305 researcher-developed products from BioAcademia
Prompted by the observation that most reagents used by Japan's extensive network of biomedical researchers were imported, Dr. Shinagawa set out to establish a network of local scientists who could share valuable reagents that their colleagues might find useful. The idea took root, and today BioAcademia serves as redistribution repository for a host of valuable, interesting, and unique reagents from leading life-science researchers around the globe. Through partnership with antibodies-online, BioAcademia can now distribute these same, researcher developed resources to an extensive global client base of academic and industry research and development professionals. Interested parties may find 305 antibodies, recombinant proteins, and accessory reagents at antibodies-online.com. For more information, contact an antibodies-online scientific support specialist. We offer a wide range of high-quality ELISA kits for various targets and sample types


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Will Shell's Ambitious Floating LNG Project Pay Off?
Over the next couple of decades, natural gas is expected to be the fastest-growing major fuel. Not only is it cheap and abundant in North America, but it's also less harmful for the environment, producing significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions than coal or crude oil.
Given natural gas' numerous advantages over other fuels, several companies are investing heavily in the facilities and infrastructure required to produce, store, and transport the material. While gas can easily be transported within the U.S. through a vast network of pipelines, international shipping is much trickier, since it requires gas to be converted from its natural state into a portable liquefied form.
By cooling natural gas to -162°C (-260°F), companies can produce liquefied natural gas, or LNG -- a clear, colorless liquid that has 600 times less volume than natural gas. LNG can then be shipped via tanker to markets all over the world, where it is converted back into natural gas at regasification facilities and transported to homes, businesses, and other users.
However, LNG is almost exclusively produced in plants that are based on land, which makes it difficult to convert gas produced from offshore and remote locations into liquid form. But one company has developed a new technology that can overcome this obstacle by processing gas directly from remote offshore locations around the world. Let's take a closer look.
Shell's Prelude floating LNG facility
Shell is building the Prelude floating LNG facility, a massive structure that will be 1,600 feet long and 240 feet wide once completed, with a deck as large as seven football fields. Once finished, it will likely be the world's largest floating LNG facility, capable of producing 3.6 million tons of gas annually. For perspective, that's enough gas per year to supply the entire city of Hong Kong.
Once completed, the Prelude facility will be moored in a remote basin located roughly 300 miles northeast of Broome in western Australia, where it will remain for about 25 years, even during extreme weather events such as cyclones, which it has been designed to withstand. According to Shell, Prelude has many advantages over land-based LNG facilities.
By allowing the company to produce gas from remote locations at sea, liquefy it, and then deliver it directly to ships for transport to end-users, Prelude will allow Shell to develop remote gas fields that could not otherwise be developed. Also, unlike land-based LNG facilities, floating facilities don't require pipelines or port facilities. As a result, Shell expects floating facilities like Prelude to be 30%-50% cheaper to build than land-based plants, though they are expected to be more costly to operate.
Shell's peers catch on
Other Big Oil companies have taken note and are moving to develop similar floating LNG facilities. ExxonMobil and BHP Billiton , for instance, intend to construct what would be the world's largest floating LNG facility to develop the Scarborough gas field off the northwest coast of Australia.
According to Exxon, the Scarborough floating LNG plant would begin production in 2020-2021 and would have a capacity roughly double that of Shell's Prelude facility. It would be able to process roughly 1.1 billion cubic feet of gas per day, producing between 6 million-7 million tons of LNG per year from five trains. The two companies expect to reach a final investment decision on the project by next year or 2015.
Will Shell's ambitious project pay off?
While Shell is highly optimistic about Prelude, it remains unclear just how profitable the venture will be. Though Prelude's operating costs will be considerably higher than land-based facilities, that should be offset by lower up-front capital costs over the life of the project, according to statements made by Andrew Smith, Shell's country chair in Australia, to a Parliamentary inquiry committee in Perth.
Still, doubts remain as to the true profitability of floating facilities like Prelude over land-based options. Citing estimates from an unnamed source, the inquiry committee revealed that rates of return for floating versus land-based options for the Browse LNG project, which will involve development of three gas fields located off the coast of Western Australia, differed by just 1%. As with most untested technologies, we'll just have to wait to see whether Prelude will pay off.
While Shell and its integrated oil peers are turning to long-lived LNG projects to offset declining production from their mature fields, one energy company continues to mint profits. Imagine a company that rents a very specific and valuable piece of machinery for $41,000... per hour (that's almost as much as the average American makes in a year!). And Warren Buffett is so confident in this company's can't-live-without-it business model, he just loaded up on 8.8 million shares. An exclusive, brand-new Motley Fool report reveals the company we're calling OPEC's Worst Nightmare. Just click HERE to uncover the name of this industry-leading stock... and join Buffett in his quest for a veritable LANDSLIDE of profits!
The article Will Shell's Ambitious Floating LNG Project Pay Off? originally appeared on Fool.com.Fool contributor Arjun Sreekumar has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2014 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Donald Trump announced Wednesday he has picked Todd Ricketts, a Chicago Cubs co-owner and part of a family of major Republican donors, as deputy Commerce secretary.
Trump chose Ricketts as second in line to Commerce secretary choice Wilbur Ross, a billionaire investor in distressed debt. The president-elect also picked former Goldman Sachs veteran Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary.
Ricketts, an Illinois financier, is the son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. The family has owned the Cubs since 2009. It donated heavily to an anti-Trump super PAC during the Republican primary before backing him.
"Todd Ricketts is an immensely successful businessman with unparalleled knowledge of the finance industry," Trump said in a statement. "As Deputy Commerce Secretary he will help us cut waste and streamline government so that it works for the people of America. The incredible job he and the Ricketts family did in the purchase and turnaround of the Chicago Cubs — one perfect step after another, leading to the World Championship, is what I want representing our people. I am very proud to have him on our team."
Trump previously said the Ricketts family was doing a "rotten job" of running the eventual World Series champion Cubs when the family was contributing money against him.
Ricketts said in a statement that he wanted to advance "practical policies that promote economic opportunity." Ross, Trump's pick for the top Commerce spot, has previously attacked the Obama-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership and advocated for major corporate tax cuts.
In the most recent election cycle, Ricketts donated to Republican Senate candidates Mark Kirk, Kelly Ayotte and Joe Heck, as well as the Illinois Republican Party, according to Federal Election Commission records. He did not personally donate to Trump during his presidential run.


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2014 Volkswagen Polo R
Volkswagen's compact hatchback positioned right between the Up! and the Golf – the Polo – is all set to put on its big-boy pants. That's right; VW is giving the Polo the "R" treatment. No, we're not talking about the "R-Line" treatment, which is little more than some aesthetic changes. We mean the balls-to-the-wall high-performance "R" treatment, much like what the Golf is getting.
The details on this model are not yet complete, but we do know that it will borrow the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine from the outgoing GTI mk6. VW will then punch up its horsepower to the 225-pony range and ship it to the front wheels – no AWD option. According to reports, the Polo R will bolt to 60 mph in just over 6 seconds and give it a 150 mph top speed, making it extremely quick for its class. Sure, the Focus ST will smoke it, but it's a step under the Focus' class.
Much like the Polo R-Line, the Polo R will feature some extra ground effect and larger rims to give it a sportier look, but the complete details on the exterior are not yet known. We also expect the suspension to be lowered and the brake system to be upgraded, giving it better handling and braking to better work with the 45 extra ponies.
According to reports, the Polo R is all set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2013. Rumors are also afloat that the Polo R will hit European showrooms in mid 2013, but there is no confirmation yet. Of course, the Polo will not be offered in the U.S.
We expect to see the Polo R to go head-to-head against the Renault Clio RS and the Peugeot GTi, which each feature a 197-horsepower, 1.6-liter engine. Depending on the weight difference, this could give the Polo R a significant advantage.
We'll add more information to this review as VW releases more details.
Image Note: All images are of the Polo R-Line
2014 Volkswagen Polo R
Horsepower @ RPM:225
Displacement:2.0 L
Top Speed:150 mph
car segment:
body style:
Source: Left Lane News


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1974 Battle of the Bands
Helix came together as a result of Sherwood Music's "Battle of the Bands" held at the C.O.E. (Central Ontario Exhibition) in Kitchener, Ontario. The first year that I was in it with Don Simmons (Helix's original keyboardist) was when we were in a little high school band from Listowel, Ontario called "Homegrown". That band didn't fare too well, but through that experience we met Bruce Arnold & Ron Watson and would go on to form "The Helix Field Band", which would win the next year. After that we started getting high school bookings and proceeded to bomb at each one. It wasn't until we picked up management in the form of William Seip that things started to pick up for us.
In main pic: from left to right: me/Bruce Arnold/Keith Zurbrigg/Ron Watson


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How to Treat Baby's First Fever
Fever in infants can be scary, but don't panic, mama! Read all about baby temperature, and find out how to safely treat your child's first fever.
Use the right thermometer. Babies younger than 6 months should have their temperatures taken with a rectal thermometer. Because their ear canals are so small, you can't get an accurate reading with an ear thermometer.
What is a fever? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that the normal body temperature for a healthy baby is between 97° and 100.4° Fahrenheit (36° to 38° Celsius). A fever would be any temperature that rises to 100.4° F or above.
When to call the doctor? If your baby is under 3 months, you should call his pediatrician immediately. A fever in a baby this young could mean a serious infection. The AAP suggests calling the doctor if a baby is between 3 months and 6 months old and has a fever of 101° F (38.3° C) or higher, or is older than 6 months and has a temperature of 103° F (39.4° C) or higher. Look for such symptoms as a loss of appetite, cough, signs of an earache, unusual fussiness or sleepiness, or vomiting or diarrhea.
Trust your gut. Even if your baby's fever isn't that high, but he's not acting like himself, call your doctor. You're the best judge of whether your little one is truly sick or not.
Keep him hydrated. It's important that baby keeps taking breast milk or formula during a fever to avoid dehydration.
Give him a fever reducer. Your doctor might recommend giving your child some baby acetaminophen (or ibuprofen, if your baby is at least 6 months old) to bring down the fever. Never give more than the recommended dosage to your child; her weight will determine the right dose. And always use the measuring device that comes with the medicine to give your baby exactly the right amount.
Keep this in mind. Some doctors believe that if a child isn't uncomfortable and is eating and sleeping normally, it's often best to let the fever run its course, as that is the body's way of fighting an infection. Ask your pediatrician what he thinks the best course of action might be.
Try a lukewarm bath. If baby is running a high fever and seems uncomfortable, put him in a lukewarm bath to try to bring his body temperature down. You can also wet some washcloths and give him a sponge bath if you don't think he's going to react well to being in the tub.
Copyright © 2012 Meredith Corporation.
All content on this Web site, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, is for informational purposes only and should not be considered to be a specific diagnosis or treatment plan for any individual situation. Use of this site and the information contained herein does not create a doctor-patient relationship. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in connection with any questions or issues you may have regarding your own health or the health of others.
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Last year, BULLETT interviewed Bolivian-American producer Elysia Crampton ahead of her debut album, then called, Shenandoah, but later released as, American Drift. Today, the artist announced a forthcoming sophomore release, Elysia Crampton Presents: Demon City, out July 22 via Break World Records.
The project was created as an epic poem, with each track serving as part of what Crampton calls "an official document of the Severo style." She describes Severo as "an ongoing process of becoming-with, made possible by the family-networks and communities that have inspired and sustained our survival and collective search for transformative justice."
Elysia Crampton Presents: Demon City
Part producer, musician, writer and abolitionist, Crampton's work fuses electronic music with elements of R&B and South American sounds to explore transformation and spirituality. For her new album, she recruited frequent collaborators—Chino Amobi, Why Be, Rabit and Lexxi—to develop an experience that destroys genre confines, while completely engulfing the listener.
"Dummy Track," featuring Why Be and Chino Amobi is the album's first official single and plays with textural percussion and chanting for an exciting electronic landscape. Stream "Dummy Track," below, and preorder Elysia Crampton Presents: Demon City, here.


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Gov. Cuomo earned plaudits from the "right" political precincts recently when the dean of the New York Republican Party gave the state's top Democrat honors for his first 100 days in office.
"So far, I'd give [him] an A — and I hate to say good things about Democrats," quipped Guy Molinari, a former Staten Island congressman and borough president who tangled at times with Cuomo's dad, former Gov. Mario Cuomo.
"I'm very impressed," Molinari said. "Andrew is teaching the Democrats in the state to act more like Republicans. He's come in with sound policies. He's strong and tough."
Briefly turning his eye toward national politics, Molinari, a close ally of Rudy Giuliani, said he might back Mitt Romney for the GOP presidential nod because he "has the best chance of winning."
As for his home state, Molinari praised Cuomo's fiscal conservatism and his decision ending the so-called "millionaires tax," supported by liberal interest groups. He complained that past New York lawmakers let such "temporary" surcharges last for decades.
Other conservatives are also singing Cuomo's praises. A co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots said last week that the new governor acts and sounds like a Tea Partier.
Molinari, a legendary old-school political warrior known to reward friends and punish enemies, said Cuomo's popularity has kept the liberal wing of his party in line.
He also said the governor knows how to leverage power.
"A lot of legislators are afraid of Cuomo," he noted. "They'd better be. Democrats who fight him are going to pay the price."


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As per my 11 words for the year post here's where I think I'm at:
Sleep - still in deficit but there have been less staying up till the wee small hours nights and, despite being on holidays all of January, remarkably few staying in bed till mid/late morning days.
Exercise - there was rather a lot of walking last month, and a bit of swimming too.
Organise - my calendar and schedule are all figured out and up to date. Don't ask about the house.
Budget - money? New Zealand holiday, 'nuff said. Time? Well spent :-)
Create - lots of fabulous memories and the photos and blog posts to look back on.
Cook - my culinary achievement of the month was to discover that Caitlin will eat udon in a stir-fry.
Learn - nothing like a bit of travel to teach you something new.
Teach - kids ask questions, being a teacher is part of the parent job description.
Laugh - noteworthy laugh of the month was playing Waaargh with the McFadgens :-)
Love - Tom has been particularly cuddly lately and he always tells me he loves me when he cuddles. It's good to be loved.
Review - done!
Behold My Jedi-Like Powers of Persuasion
21 minutes ago


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If you like us, use these links to post an easy link on your facebook or other social networking site:
Yahoo Buzz
Alaskan Morels and Operation Salami Drop
Mike Brummer of Hobby's Delicatessen & Restaurant joined Mark and Francis to talk about "Operation Salami Drop" - a drive to send over 20,000 salamis to troops stationed with the 42nd Infantry Division in Tukrit, Iraq. A Donation of $10 will get a salami to a soldier. Contact Stage Left at 732-828-4444 to donate or email email@example.com .
Jay Moore of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension discusses the bumper crop of morel mushrooms. Morel mushrooms, treasured for French cooking, thrive on land a year after it's disturbed by forest fires. Alaska set records in scorched earth last year. More than 6.5 million acres burned, mostly in Alaska's Interior, the vast middle swath between the Brooks Range in the north and the Alaska Range in the south. With the right moisture and temperatures, Alaska could witness a morel gold rush in late spring.
Podcast Date: 6/13/2005


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COMMAND Center The Command Center is a launch pad for all Compass applications as well as an aggregator of their most essential data. Enterprise Service Administration might be seen as a self-discipline and body of knowledge that's in growth, identical to Business Course of Management was 10 years ago. For example, Service Analysis depends heavily on enterprise modelling capabilities and will use available data or course of fashions as an important source for the identification of potential companies. BSM promotes a customer-centric and business-centered method to Service Management , aligning enterprise aims with IT or ICT from strategy via to operations. To be a great businessman, one must have good business qualities and abilities. Verify service availability for times when our system shall be accessible, and upcoming scheduled maintenance durations. Set your roots in a rising business as an office-plant-maintenance entrepreneur.


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What Scrapbooker doesn't love a good font?
Am I right?
Right now the website Lettering Delights is giving you 3 chances for freebies...they have lots of great fonts for scrapbooking layouts, handmade cards, digital cards, digital scrapbooks and more!
ONE. Sign up with an account and instantly get $50 in freebies! They're not crappy....I checked. There are some really cute ones in there. (see example below)
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Freebie Friday
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Labels: Freebie Friday
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Thank you for your donation, every pound raised helps HNT support pre school children with
Special Educational Needs
Donations by cheque
Please make cheques payable to
'Hidden Needs Trust'
and post to:
Rachel Goodfellow
Halfway House Farm
Yeovil Road
If you are a UK tax payer consider adding another 25% to your donation by using "Gift Aid".
This can be done easily by donating via Just Giving
Hidden Needs Trust has linked up with philanthropy group Somerset Community Foundation who manage funds on behalf of local charities and voluntary organisations.
Registered Charity Number 1094446
Please help me raise funds for specialist pre-school education groups. These groups, such as the Opportunity Groups in Blandford, Dorchester, Yeovil and Taunton, are reliant on charity giving as, although receiving funding from local county councils, need in excess of £40,000 each to remain open each year. Raised monies also helps provide the expert staff and resources that are required to ensure each individual child reaches their optimum potential.
Please remember that claiming Gift Aid on a donation increases the total donation by 25%


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My Content
Membership has its privileges! Sign up or sign in to gain full access to both All About Jazz and Jazz Near You. Learn more.
Drummer Steve Johns fleshes out the rhythm section with a time feeling that's very solid and assured. His fills are musical and never distracting, always serving the group, even when the soloists are at their most abstract. This is an extremely cohesive rhythm section and they lay down a groove that the horn men can really relax into.
The liner notes do make brief mention of trumpeter Walrath's having "'learned alongside the great Charles Mingus," and indeed his feeling for melody and his writing reflect Mingus' wonderful lyricism. Walrath has a kind of lean, icy tone. His phrasing is sharp and edgy. He doesn't "decorate" with notes. His lines are smart and to-the-point. He reminds me a bit of Roy Hargrove, although his tone is more brittle.
Reed man Tim Armacost's admiration of Sonny Rollins is hard to miss. His melody lines are always pushing the envelope but still accessible. His unison work with Walrath is flawless and the give-and-take between the two throughout has a wonderful, easygoing balance, despite the complexity of some of the tunes. And each player seems to feel comfortable commenting on his partner's solo at any given point, which adds to the spontaneity and freshness. And the fun.
With two exceptions, "The Days of Wine and Roses" and "Sweet and Lovely," the tunes are all originals. "Free Ditty," by Armacost, has a particularly "free" feeling and there's a lot of interesting interplay between the two hornmen. It's often hard to tell where the written parts end and the improvised parts starta sure sign that each band member is on the same wavelength. At any given point, someone can take the tempo or the mood in a whole different direction, and everyone just falls into step effortlessly.
The head on "Sweet and Lovely" is played in a very traditional way with an almost Dixieland feeling. Walrath's trumpet maintains that easygoing, "lazy river" attitude with his most laid-back solo of the CD. Armacost plays soprano, and although he goes a bit further out then Walrath, the trumpeter inserts some clever structural ideas underneath his solo that keep tugging Armacost back to the melody. The tension is interesting, and Moring's big fat acoustic bass sound holds it all together.
Track Listing: Ornettology; The Days of Wine and Roses; Cave Canem; I Don
Personnel: Bill Moring, bass; Jack Walrath, trumpet; Tim Armacost, tenor; Steve Johns, drums
Title: Way Out East | Year Released: 2005 | Record Label: Apria Records
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In a single floral stroke.
What is there?
In these depths
Of these walls…
This gap in time,
Against which we have been projected -
Mystery of missing ships -
To follow this path of their brief blossoming
And melt the spirit; his mouth will distend
Beneath a pile of corpses, lying massed…
Is your ashen moon to grow?
I might have happily lived some other childhood
And the worlds—skiffs rudderless,
Roiling on and on and on,
This season not their own,
Come, swallows, its good-bye!


text: Yesterday morning I woke up in bad state. I was on edge. Before I could even wipe the sleep from my eyes, I was worried about what had to be done that day, about doing enough to make myself feel like I had accomplished something. It was an undefinable standard that bubbled up from within, and I didn't really know what I could do to meet it. All I knew was that I had to get busy doing something; the voice in my head was screaming, "Get to work!"


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Should cyberspace (or subsets of cyberspace) be treated as distinct places for purposes of legal analysis? Does thinking about cyberspace in that way clarify or muddle legal doctrine and thinking about legal problems?
To the extent that online areas and we are aware that it skews the answer to call them areas, but what else should we call them? are persistent social spaces, they can and should be thought of as distinct places. Not, of course, the kind of places where one goes mountainclimbing, or plays soccer, or eats Italian food; but the kind of places where rules governing conduct can be made and can be enforced, i.e., for purposes of legal analysis.
For instance, many cyberlaw professors meet at such a place the Cyberprof listserv. It is a persistent social space; its existence continues even as individuals come and go, things can happen there while one is away, etc. Unless you define place to mean a geographically circumscribed threedimensional area in which case, obviously, cyberspace(s) are not places, by definition the listserv has placeness insofar as it can support the development and application of rules governing peoples' conduct there.
It is not accidental that the language we use to discuss all of this reflects the placeness of these places visiting Web sites or chat rooms, etc. Just go to our Web site for more information.
Lest we be misunderstood on this point (as we have been on numerous occasions in the past), this does not mean that the Cyberprof listserv is a sovereign state, or a separate legal regime, or anything of the kind. Lots of places the neighborhood where I live in Washington D.C., the local public library dont have, for any number of reasons, separate lawmaking/lawenforcing status.
But they can. And so we need some sort of a theory to decide when they should, and when they shouldnt.
Thinking about cyberspace communities as potentially separate lawmaking and lawenforcing places is a clarifying conceptual move for two reasons. First, because the characteristics of online spaces and online conduct will often make it inappropriate to apply the rules governing similar conduct offline. For example, a single use of a brand name online can give it instantaneous global presence; we might, therefore, want the rules regarding trademark protection to be different online than off, to take that rather significant difference into account. Similarly, the ease of collaborating online (compared to off) should, perhaps, be reflected in our laws regarding the authorship of creative works.
Second, thinking about cyberspace communities as potentially separate lawmaking and lawenforcing places will help clarify the profound jurisdictional muddle that cyberspace presents. The alternative that the answer to the question whose law must I obey will continue to be All of the 140 or so different legal regimes promulgated by the 140 or so different sovereigns that have a plausible claim to make the rules for the people with whom you might be interacting is unsatisfactory, providing neither guidance nor order nor predictability; it may make sense to the law professors, but it doesnt make much sense, we suggest, to the individuals to whom that answer is given (and on whom, ultimately, the responsibility for lawmaking must rest). As online interaction becomes increasingly globalized, it will make increasing sense to talk of the (unitary) law of the place instead.Under what circumstances can territorial sovereigns legitimately apply their law to the cyberspace conduct of extraterritorial actors?
The key word is legitimately. Governments derive their just power from the consent of the governed. That it is often difficult to determine whether consent has, or has not, been given does not obviate the principle: Territorial sovereigns can legitimately apply their law to the conduct, online or off, of those who have consented to the application of that law to them.
We take it that there is no argument about that. There is disagreement about whether, and in what circumstances, territorial sovereigns may apply law legitimately to those who have not consented to its application to them. Some those in what has been called the Cyberspace Unexceptionalist camp say: territorial sovereigns may legitimately apply their law, the absence of consent notwithstanding, to all whose actions have significant effects on people or things within the sovereigns territory.
Nonsense and pernicious nonsense, to boot; the fact that it is set forth in the Restatement of Foreign Relations does not make it otherwise. To be sure, there are circumstances in which a sovereign may legitimately take action against extraterritorial, nonconsenting actors; we certainly recognize that territorial sovereign X may legitimately take action against a citizen of Y who fires bullets into X from outside Xs borders, whether or not the gunman consents. But that is not a case of X applying its law to the conduct of the extraterritorial, nonconsenting actor; that is the application of force, an act or war. Acts of war are legitimate, in certain circumstances, and we could engage in a lively discussion and debate about what those circumstances might be; but whatever ones position on that question, it is selfevident that something considerably more substantial than a significant effect on persons or things within a sovereigns territory is required by way of justification.
If this were not clear in realspace, it is, or will become, clear in the online world, where the effects of online actions can be felt everywhere, instantaneously; in that world, the Unexceptionalist position amounts to a multilateral declaration of war the Hobbesian war of all against all.Does the existence of virtual worlds change the likelihood, or desirability, of the emergence of nonterritoriallybased laws in cyberspace?
This ones too easy! Virtual worlds clearly change (in a positive direction) both the likelihood and the desirability of the emergence of nonterritorially based law, because they have clearer boundaries, and more obvious persistence as distinct social spaces, than other online spaces.
There already have been, and there will surely be an everincreasing number of, disputes among virtual world participants involving assertions of inworld wrongdoing involving inworld assets ...
There already have been, and there will surely be an everincreasing number of, disputes among virtual world participants involving assertions of inworld wrongdoing involving inworld assets, and as the number of transactions involving virtual property, and the value of that property, increases, it is inevitable that participants will assert that some of those transactions are unreasonable, or unfair, or in violation of some agreement between the participants, or otherwise harmful. Law predictable and enforceable rules about the propriety or impropriety of certain actions has enormous value in such circumstances, and will, we predict, emerge in those environments. But we predict that territoriallybased law will not play a significant role in resolving those disputes; it will prove too complex (e.g., to determine which body of territoriallybased law applies) and too expensive (e.g., to track down the realworld identity of the purported wrongdoer and the forum in which a remedy can be effectively granted).
Nor, we would suggest, should territoriallybased law play a significant role in resolving these disputes, insofar as its relationship to the participants, to the transactions, and to the context in which the purported wrongdoing has taken place is more arbitrary, and less organic, than the law that can emerge from the participants themselves.Does the nature of the boundaries between cyberspace and realspace make the development of distinct legal regimes or rulesets impossible? Inevitable? Something in between?
Hard to say. Clearly, the nature of the boundaries matters significantly for determining the extent to which distinct rulesets in cyberspace can evolve from, and coexist with, those that are applicable to real world conduct. In the natural world, new informationsets (species) can emerge and cohere more easily the more impermeable the borders, and the less likely the interchange of information, between them what the biologists refer to as allopatric speciation. Law, too, consists of selfreplicating informationsets, each with a metanarrative that must be continuously repeated and believed in order for a legal regime to continue to exist. While the boundaries between conduct offline and on will undoubtedly affect the extent to which distinct legal regimes can develop, we lack a coherent theory of exactly how that process works, and the kinds of boundaries that might foster, and the kinds that might discourage, the drifting apart of the legal stories we tell each other online from the legal stories that local geographic communities tell each other.
So while it is clear that the boundaries between cyberspace and realspace are changing over time, it is much less clear how the changes will affect the development of these competing narratives. In some ways the boundaries are becoming more and more permeable each day; Web browsers in our telephones linked to our iPods, Google Desktop, VOIP, and any number of other applications have us jumping back and forth across that boundary innumerable times every day.
At the same time, however, the boundaries are becoming clearer and less permeable in other ways. Nobody in World of Warcraft, or Second Life, thinks that he or she is in Kansas. As online spaces become more immersive and multidimensional, they break the metanarrative of territorial legal regimes with respect to online actions, and it becomes much easier for participants to conceive of them as separate spaces, and easier to perceive a demarcation between the real world and the cyberspatial one(s).Are there sources of law applicable to conduct in cyberspace that are distinct from those applicable to conduct in realspace? What might they be?
Yes. Intermediaries (and even individuals) hosting online spaces can establish rules as a condition of entry or as a condition of continued possession of required forms of identification (or working passwords, registrations in namespace databases, etc.). In addition, the collective action of groups deciding what online areas to visit, or what areas to leave, creates a marketplace for rule sets that can shape the contours of applicable rules over time. Moreover, groups of people vouching for each other (and agreeing to stand good for harms caused by members) can effectively enforce rules against members and increase trust and reputation for all members in dealings with third parties. The model for this may be Icelandic law, in which clans compensated victims of unjust actions by their own clan members allowing social order to increase without the benefit of a centralized state.Is the selfordering of participants in cyberspace transactions preferable to the imposition of rules by territoriallybased sovereigns? Why (or why not)?
Yes. Individuals selecting the regimes (rule sets) they want to abide by online are presumptively better than states at knowing which rules will be maximally empowering. As long as the net provides means to avoid contact with (or harm from) those following rules with which you dont agree another instantiation of the boundaries problem differing values can coexist. And the heterogeneous composite of differing rules applicable to different areas of the Internet will better fit the values and preferences of everyone concerned because there is no need for artificial harmonization and no occasion for a race to the bottom. The only minimum requirement is for technical (or other) means to discourage noncongruent regimes those that systematically impose harms on groups whose wellbeing is not taken into account in formulating their rules.Does the existence and behavior of ICANN support, or contradict, the original hypothesis that cyberspace can be, and should be, treated as a separate legal sphere?
We may well come to regard the development of the UDRP as the first instance of a true cyberspacespecific legal regime.
On the one hand, the UDRP (Uniform DomainName Dispute Resolution Policy) demonstrates that effective global dispute resolution (and enforcement of decisions) can be conducted under a cyberspacespecific regime with special application to online conduct a separate law of cyberspace, if you will. We may well come to regard the development of the UDRP as the first instance of a true cyberspacespecific legal regime. But on the other hand, ICANN has not yet demonstrated its ability to take seriously the idea of consensus which might provide a solution to the online subsidiarity problem (the problem of deciding when to make rules globally and when to allow local communitybased decisionmaking).Under what conditions (if any) should existing sovereigns defer to an emerging law of the Internet? Under what conditions (if any) might they actually do so?
Sovereigns should allow their citizens who wish to travel to online spaces and, while there, to be governed by the rules applicable there, provided that those rules dont allow the online spaces to become havens for actions causing substantial harm to outsiders. Just as governments now defer to private ordering by organizations of all kinds that primarily govern their own affairs, they will be persuaded to defer to congruent online regimes because this will allow the resources of local governments to be devoted to the real world problems only they can solve.
About the authors
David Post is currently the I. Herman Stern Professor of Law at Temple University Law School, where he teaches intellectual property law and the law of cyberspace. He is also a fellow at the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School.
Trained originally as a physical anthropologist, Professor Post spent two years studying the feeding ecology of yellow baboons in Kenyas Amboseli National Park, and he taught at the Columbia University Department of Anthropology from 1976 through 1981. He then attended Georgetown Law Center, from which he graduated summa cum laude in 1986. After clerking with then Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, he spent six years at the Washington D.C. law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, practicing in the areas of intellectual property law and high technology commercial transactions. He then clerked again for Justice Ginsburg during her first term at the Supreme Court of the United States before joining the faculty of, first, the Georgetown University Law Center (19941997) and then the Temple University Law School (1997present).
David Johnson is a graduate of Yale College (B.A. 1967, summa cum laude) and Yale Law School (J.D. 1972). In addition, he completed a year of postgraduate study at University College, Oxford (1968). Following graduation from law school, he clerked for Judge Malcolm R. Wilkey of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Mr. Johnson joined Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in 1973 and became a partner in 1980. He recently retired as a partner of WCP and is devoting substantial time to the development of new types of graphical groupware software products. His previous legal practice focused primarily on the emerging area of electronic commerce, including counseling on issues relating to privacy, domain names and Internet governance issues, jurisdiction, copyright, taxation, electronic contracting, encryption, defamation, ISP and OSP liability, regulation, and other intellectual property matters. He helped to write the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, was involved in discussions leading to the Framework for Global Electronic Commerce, and has been active in the introduction of personal computers in law practice. Currently, he is a Visiting Professor at New York Law School where he teaches Cyberlaw.
Editorial history
Paper received 13 January 2006; accepted 15 January 2006.
Copyright ©2006, First Monday
Copyright ©2006, David G. Post and David R. Johnson
The Great Debate Law in the Virtual World by David G. Post and David R. Johnson
First Monday, volume 11, number 2 (February 2006),
URL: http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_2/post/index.html
A Great Cities Initiative of the University of Illinois at Chicago University Library.
© First Monday, 1995-2019. ISSN 1396-0466.


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Esther Williams (August 8, 1922 - ) is a United States competitive swimmer and 1940s and 1950s movie star. Known as "America's Mermaid," she was famous for her musical films that featured elaborate performances with swimming, diving and "water ballet," which is now known as synchronized swimming.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Esther's 2nd Husband- Ben Gage.
Ben Gage, was a radio singer and announcer. He sometimes dubbed the voice of non-singing actors. Gage looked a lot like actor James Arness and could imitate his voice perfectly. He is best remembered for his performance in 1959 Maverick episode with James Garner called "Gun-Shy" (with Gage as "Sheriff Mort Dooley" instead of "Marshal Matt Dillon") as well as "A Tale of Three Cities", "The Misfortune Teller", and "A Technical Error". He also performed a on Batman, Bonanza, F Troop, The Donna Reed Show, The Lucy Show, and Star Trek. Gage was married to swimmer/actress Esther Williams from 1945 to 1959 and they had three children.
2 comments:
- gtonnell said...
My father ran a restaurant in Appleton, Wisconsin, called the Checker Lunch from 1932 to 1942. It was located down the street from Lawrence College --the school Ben Gage attended. My dad hired Lawrence students during the Great Depression -- Ben briefly worked at the Checker Lunch. During one of Lawrence's Prom Nights, the Anson Weeks Orchestra from California was the guest big band. At that time, Ben was a crooner with the Lawrence student dance band and sometime during the evening, his fellow students encouraged him to sing a song with the Anson Weeks band -- the band leader agreed. He was offered a job based upon that impromtu audition and moved to California. A few years later, while living there, he hosted a short (15 minute?) radio program in which he would sing popular songs. The program was short-lived, but I was able to listen to a couple of episodes on my radio in Appleton, Wisonsin.
- January 2, 2011 at 12:52 PM
- Dawn said...
gtonnell, Welcome and Thank you for sharing your wonderful story with us.
- January 28, 2011 at 11:04 AM


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It is important to differentiate between tests that look for antibodies and tests that look for antigens, or the actual organisms (or DNA of the organisms themselves). Antibody testing can be highly unreliable (as can antigen testing). Lyme disease often evades the immune system and thus false-negatives are not uncommon. It may be only after the start of treatment that one finds a Western Blot, for example, becoming positive. This is generally due to the recovery of the immune system and the immune system's ability to now begin to mount an attack and recognize the foreign invaders.
1) ELISA (Enzyme Linked Immunoassay) - a simple, inexpensive test for detection of antibodies created as a response to an infection with Borrelia Burgdorferi (the main causative agent in Lyme disease). Personally, I do not believe this test is of any significant value and may represent a doctor that is not well-versed in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease. It may be a sign to turn and run to find a new doctor if your doctor is relying on an ELISA test to determine the course of your care. In one study, the test was found to be 55% inaccurate. Thus the odds are better with a simple coin toss. The test is not recommended until at least four weeks after exposure. The C6-peptide ELISA is a more accurate form of the ELISA test though still not recommended. A positive ELISA must be followed up with a Western Blot.
2) Western Blot - This is likely the most commonly used test for Lyme disease. It is still an antibody test and thus false negatives are not uncommon, but it is, in my opinion, an important place to start. Western Blot test results will include both IgG and IgM assays. In many traditional infections, IgM is an indication of recent infection whereas IgG is an indicator of late infection. With Lyme Disease, there appears to be a cycling between IgM and IgG and thus, these are not accurate indicators of the length of time the infection has been present in most cases. In my opinion, IGeneX is the best place to have this test performed.
It is critically important that one not look at the NEGATIVE or POSITIVE summary result of the Western Blot test. That criterion is based on CDC guidelines which many argue are not appropriate for Lyme disease. Instead, it is important to look at all of the bands and map those to the known Lyme-specific bands (those bands that represent evidence of serological exposure to Borrelia Burgdorferi). According to Dr. Charles Ray Jones, these are: 18 23 30 31 34 37 39 83 93. Other doctors focus on 23-25, 31, 34, 39, 83-93 as the most specific bands. Additional information on the specific bands and what they mean can be found here.
If any of these bands appear in either IgG or IgM, that is a likely indication of past or present infection with the causative agent in Lyme disease. Thus, that is NOT a clear "negative" test result; "something" consistent with infection with Borrelia was observed. Some labs reports only + (positive) and - (negative) and ignore equivocal or IND (indeterminate) bands. This is, in my opinion, an error. If anything is visible, this is not negative. Quest, for example, does not report IND bands whereas IGeneX does. In my opinion, testing for Lyme disease via Quest, and most other major labs, is not ideal as they do not test for bands 31 and 34 which where used for Lyme vaccine development. Something else to consider is that most labs in the US only test for Borrelia burgdorferi. This may miss many strains of the Borrelia organisms, especially those from Europe.
IGeneX also offers a 30-31kDa Confirmation IgG and IgM test. If results from the initial Western Blot are positive for bands 30 or 31 only, it is possible that these could be due to cross-reactivity with several different types of viruses. In this confirmatory test, highly specific recombinant antigens are used to validate that the positive result is not due to cross-reaction with viruses.
3) PCR (polymerase chain reaction) - a sensitive method of testing where minute amounts of DNA are looked for. In a presentation that I attended by Dr. Aristo Vojdani PhD, it was noted that PCR tests are positive somewhere between 6% and 15% of the time. Thus, it was stated that this is not generally a useful test for the evaluation of Lyme Disease. For PCR to be useful, it should be expected that it may take repeated tests in order to get a positive result.
4) Lyme DOT-BLOT is an assay for the direct detection of Lyme antigen in the urine. The Reverse Western Blot is an antigen detection test in urine where the urine is exposed to rabbit antibodies for Borrelia burgdorferi.
5) IGeneX offers the IFA (immunofluorescence assay) for Borrelia. It has shown many people that have had consistently equivocal or negative results that, in fact, they do have results consistent with Lyme disease. IGeneX also offers a Babesia FISH and a Bartonella FISH (Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization). These are antigen detection tests and not antibody tests.
6) CD57 - We have all likely heard of people with HIV/AIDS getting their T-cell counts or CD-4 cell counts checked on a regular basis. Current information suggests that there is a similar population of NK (natural killer) cells called CD57 cells that are known only to be suppressed in the presence of Lyme disease. Generally guidelines are that a score of < 20 indicates advanced or highly active Lyme disease. Scores of 20-60 are indicative of active Lyme disease where scores > 60 start to suggest that the Lyme infection is less active. A normal test result would be > 200. It is the opinion of some doctors that treatment is necessary until the CD57 test score is 150 or above. The lower the result, the more likely a relapse if treatment is terminated.
The test can be an indication of progression of disease or of progress in treatment. However, it should be noted that it is not uncommon to see only small changes in the results until the end of treatment where the results often then jump quickly to higher levels. It may be the case that this test can both be used as an indicator of Lyme disease presence and as a marker for when to consider stopping treatment. Unfortunately, there are people that feel they are recovering and still have low CD57 scores as well as those that have high scores and are still quite ill. The test doesn't seem to provide consistent value for every patient. For more information on the CD57, go here. The test is now available through both LabCorp and, as of late 2010, IGeneX.
8) Another lab for Tick-Borne Infections is Clongen. I've heard the director of this lab speak at conferences and they appear to have a number of useful tests. I did perform a couple of their tests and was surprised that they did not find anything in my samples. That said, I had already been treated for quite some time for Lyme so I wasn't the best test subject.
Update: While I have had some feedback that the results from some that used this lab for testing were negative when positive results were anticipated, it is another option for those looking for Lyme-related testing.
12) Spiro Stat Technologies emerged in early 2010. Dr. Lee Cowden said in a presentation in April 2010 that Spiro Stat is the only lab that he would use for Lyme disease at that time. Their panel included a lengthy list of microorganisms. I was impressed that they even include the common dental pathogen, Treponema denticola. They offered a Lyme Panel, a Babesiosis Panel, and a Fungi Panel. I talked in more detail about this option in a blog that can be found here.
13) The newest lab to start testing for Borrelia as of late 2011 is Advanced Laboratory Services. This is the first commercially available culture test for Borrelia. This lab has the potential to be a game changer in the world of Lyme disease. If the actual organism can be cultured after years of treatment, the argument over persistence of the organism may be forced to change.
They offer testing for Lyme and all common coinfections. Dr. Schwarzbach is highly respected in the ILADS community and ArminLabs provides another option for vector-borne infection testing. More information is available here.
such as rolfing or similar in order to increase the sensitivity of the testing by moving microbes out of tissues. The test is a urine test. I first learned about this test from Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, and I do think it is a good option. Details on their testing can be found here.
My experience has been that testing for co-infections is a critically important piece of the puzzle. My initial Western Blot was equivocal and yet, I had evidence of Babesia, Ehrlichia and Bartonella. This helped to round out the facts in support of my Lyme Disease diagnosis. I have had the clearest results from the standard IgM/IgG antibody tests (outside of energetic medicine using ART or EAV which were far superior in my experience) from IGeneX and the test above from Fry Clinical Labs when it comes to co-infections. I also firmly believe that people with Lyme generally have at least one co-infection (in fact I would go as far as to say almost always if not always). Each co-infection may require different types of treatments and unless all of them are addressed, the chances of recovery are lessened. Here are some additional thoughts on co-infections:
- Co-infections are the RULE, not an exception
- The average child with Lyme has 2-5 co-infections with an average of 3.
- Treatment of co-infections is required and often, they must be treated BEFORE or concurrent with the Borrelia treatment itself.
- If you don't test for and treat co-infections, you are not putting yourself in a good position for healing.
- Almost everyone with chronic Lyme likely has 1 or more co-infections.
- Co-infections require DIFFERENT treatments in many cases. Do not assume that you are covering them with only the Lyme treatment. Many people don't even know which ones they have.
- Co-infection testing is often unreliable as well and you need to repeat them over time. It took 4 months for my Bartonella to appear and almost 8 for Babesia to finally appear, but they were there.
- If you think you only have Borrelia, odds are you have not looked closely enough.
My current preferred approach for testing for co-infections is to use IGeneX (particularly the Babesia and Bartonella FISH tests). For Bartonella, Galaxy Diagnostics appears to be a very good option as well.
- Lyme ImmunoBlot Panel 3 (IB3) from IGeneX which include the new ImmunoBlot, the Lyme IFA, and PCR.
- Lyme Panel from DNA Connexions (after significant body work)
- Lyme Panel from DNA Connexions (after significant body work)
- Coinfection Panel 3 (CP3) from IGeneX which includes Babesia antibody and FISH testing, Ehrlichia/Anaplasma antibody testing, and Bartonella antibody and FISH testing.
- Bartonella testing from Galaxy Diagnostics.
I would also definitely do a good heavy metal urine challenge test, viral testing, and a good parasite test. All too often, people focus too much on just the Lyme and in my opinion miss many of the other important things that are also going on.
In Better Health,


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Halloween is definitely the scariest of the major holidays, but reading some of the ridiculous myths out there about our favorite holiday might even be scarier. Yes, even the creepiest of witch, ghoul and Jason costumes don't come as close to freaking us out as much as these urban legends surrounding Halloween do. While Halloween may have recently passed (to our dismay, but at least we have time to get our pumpkin farm ready for next October!), fall is still here and Thanksgiving is fast approaching.
Stay Passionate About Fall With Bengtson's
Due to our love of all of the autumn seasonal festivities, the team at Bengtson's Pumpkin Fest is always open to discussing things related to this special time of year. In another blog post about Halloween, we're going to take a look at these myths that would scare the likes of the most terrifying monsters in history. We're already getting ramped up for next season's local pumpkin patch here in Homer Glen, and we want to share our excitement with you! Stay updated with what's going on at our Illinois pumpkin patch here at our blog, or feel free to reach out to us with any questions.
Myth: There's Poison In The Candy
This is an extremely popular Halloween myth, but it is absolutely untrue – people simply don't poison candy. We don't want to come across as naive and overly trustworthy, but the only known case of poisoned Halloween candy occurred back in 1974. Reported incidents are usually hoaxes called in by meddling kids looking to be entertained, especially in this day and age. It's incredibly easy to stick something in your own candy, take a picture with your phone, and post it on social media.
We're not sure why people seem to be so bent on believing that everyone is out to poison your kid's candy. If you're a concerned parent, just make sure that what your kids are eating is candy that's properly wrapped and sealed – don't take caramel apples or other unwrapped treats from strangers.
Myth: Everyone Is Out To Kill Black Cats
Though we're not exactly sure where the superstition around black cats originated from, you'll be just fine leaving black cats alone. If you own a black cat, they're not going to be in any danger of being killed or sacrificed in some strange way. If innocent pets and animals somehow become the victim of horrendous pranks or torture, that is due to the psychopathic individuals that inflict harm on these poor animals, not some superstition surrounding Halloween.
Even the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) says that "while it is true that animals too often become the victims of holiday pranks and cruelty, there is no reason to believe that witches are involved." So, take it easy knowing that your adorable pet black cat is going to be just fine around Halloween.
Myth: Halloween Is A Satanic Holiday
Many Americans seem to automatically equate Paganism with Satanism, but they are not even close to being the same thing. Yet for some reason, this belief seems to be strongly rooted in churches around the country. For instance, Christian Broadcast Network founder Pat Robertson denounced Halloween as a holiday that is a "demonic ritual" and " a night where the devil rejoices."
When you look into the history of this sugar-fueled and costume-driven October holiday, what you'll learn is that Halloween is best understood as a product of 18th-century folklore traditions of Scotland and Ireland. Halloween's strongest roots actually sprout from Catholic traditions – quite the opposite of Satanism. The name 'Halloween' is actually derived from All Hallow's Eve, which is the evening before All Saint's Day (the more you know!).
So instead of worrying about Satan's presence during this fun and festive holiday, relax, dress up, eat a candy bar, and have some fun.
Halloween Is Purely An American Holiday
While it's pretty fair to say that America formed Halloween into what we know and love today as dressing up in costumes and carving Jack-O-Lanterns, the origins of this holiday do not lie in the United States. The origins of Halloween can actually be traced back to a pre-Christian Celtic festival known as Samhain – for the Celts, the first of November marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of the new year. The Celts believed that the souls of the dead mingled among the living at the time. So, they associated the fruits of the harvest with death, afterlife and the supernatural.
Fast forward several years and later, Saint Patrick and other missionaries converted Ireland to Christianity. Then, November 1st become known as All Saint's Day, or All Hallows Day, as we mentioned above. The eve of All Hallows become known as Halloween, including feats, the blessing of the hearth, and lighting candles and bonfires to welcome wandering souls. This still remains a family celebration in Ireland.
Very few early American settlers actually observed Halloween, in fact – it wasn't popularized until Irish immigrants in the 19th century brought over many Halloween customs to the United States.
For Bengtson's, It's Autumn Year-Round!
While the seasons change around the world, our heart continually lies in pumpkin production and all things related to this magical time of year. With Thanksgiving coming up, it's still a great time to use pumpkins for decorations and, of course, pumpkin pie! Stay up to date with what's going on at our Illinois pumpkin fest and pumpkin patch farm here.


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Dublin ContemporaryEvents — By ckenny on September 8, 2011 at 10:29 am
After almost two years in gestation, the inaugral Dublin Contemporary visual art exhibition kicked off in Dublin this week. Hailed by the organisers as one the most ambitious art exhibitions ever staged in Ireland, more than 150,000 visitors from around the world are expected to attend the city-wide event, which runs for 8 weeks until 31st October.
This year, artists will be interpreting the theme of Terrible Beauty – Art, Crisis, Change and the Office of Non-Compliance. The inspiration for the exhibition is drawn from W. B. Yeats's famous poem "Easter 1916", which was written in response to momentous political events in Ireland in the early years of the twentieth century.
The 90 artists from all over the world who are participating in this year's Dublin Contemporary – which is curated by Franco-Peruvian artist Jota Castro and New-York based writer Cristian Viveros-Fauné – will attempt to highlight the potential of art to interpret current events in Irish life through new commissions and small solo exhibitions.
The main exhibition venue is in the grounds of the National Concert Hall on Earlsfort Terrace, on the southside of the city close to Stephen's Green, with smaller exhibition venues in the Dublin City Gallery, Hugh Lane Gallery, the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Douglas Hyde Gallery. A series of sound works can be heard in The Annex warehouse building, adjacent to the Earlsfort Terrace exhibition site, and the neighbouring Iveagh Gardens will host a sculpture park.
Visitors are encouraged to participate in a programme of free tours, talks, seminars and debates which will take place in the main exhibition centre as part of the exhibition's education programme – there's a Collection g the Contemporary series for art afficionados, but novices can opt for the Introducting Contemporary Art course, or one of the Ten Minute Talks held every lunchtime, or one of the daily Highlights tours.
There's plenty for kids to do too, with parent and child mornings, art workshops for all ages, and Art Sparks, a programme which encourages children to "expand their aesthetic sense" and their ability to interpret and express their opinions about the works of art on display.
Tickets cost €15 per adult per day, or €8 for children. Admission is free for the under-fives.
For more information about participating artists, a programme of scheduled events, or to book tickets, see www.dublincontemporary.com.
Images courtesy of www.dublincontemporary.com.


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The Death of the Netbook
I've never really understood the netbook craze. I can see the benefits of having a lightweight, low-power computer that performs 90% of the tasks you use a personal computer for; it just hasn't appealed to me, or my wallet.
I can understand that it's a very cheap way to get online (even though they are double US$ the price in the UK), but I've been perfectly happy with a 13″ Macbook I bought 4 years ago. I haven't seen a purpose to re-spend the money that I invested all those years ago on a laptop that can do half as much.
Other things worry me about netbooks though, they're a stop-gap. Since the iPhone, the dream has been to have a fully-fledged PC available in your hand, that works quickly and has a long battery life. Netbooks bridged a gap by providing a long(er) battery life and smaller screen, but have left it to the big boys to sort out the proper way of interacting with these smaller devices. See my post on netbook touch screen usability for more on how infuriating it gets.
So, in the next two years, netbooks will die completely. They will be replaced by what these users have wanted all along: a tablet PC with a good touch screen interface. For the first year, pretenders to the throne may have to carry a small bluetooth keyboard whilst the niggles are worked out, then the revolution will come, prices will drop and all those people who shelled out their hard-earned money will happily spend again to get a tablet.
If it is not beyond my power, I'd put the whole netbook format on deathwatch. Its death will be prolonged by price, but it will soon fall. The netbook's time will come, and we'll be a whole lot better off with its sucessor.