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Saturday, February 06, 2010
Hot Chocolate in Costume
Start time: 16:00
Place: Hotel Danieli
Organizer: C.C.I.
Hot chocolate with cakes and sweets in the magnificent lounge of the Hotel Danieli, the Venetian Carnival time tradition since 18th Century. Dress Code: costume.
During the carnival time our atelier C.C.I. costumes will be located in the Hotel Danieli. You will find a wide choice of first quality costumes, masks, hats, wigs and accessories from the 16th to the 20th Century
Partecipation costs: Euro 50
Moon Masquerade at the Luna Hotel Baglioni
Start time: 18:30
Place: Luna Hotel Baglioni
Organizer: Baglioni Hotels
We are waiting for you at the Luna Hotel Baglioni to celebrate together the Venice Carnival !
The evening will start at 6.30 pm in the warm atmosphere of the Fireplace Room with our Welcome Cocktail: just in front of the warmlighted-on fireplace you will savour the typical Venetian Canapés while sipping exquisite Cocktails, created for you by our Chef Carlo.
During the cocktail you will be part of one of the most renowned Italian Operas, "Il Trovatore" by Giuseppe Verdi revisited in a funny way by top-level artists, prouded boast the stage of the most famous Italian and International Theatres as well as La Fenice Opera Theatre.
Starting from 8.00 pm we will escort you to the elegant ambience of the Marco Polo Ballroom, with original frescoes by the Pupils of the Tiepolo School, where our Chef will amaze you with a refined Carnival Buffet Dinner. The Marco Polo Ballroom is the perfect setting to experience the real Carnival of Venice and you will have the chance to parade your Venetian Carnival costumes and traditional Masks !
We will entertain you with special Artists and make you dance till late with Dance Music of our Disk-Jockey: international covers, rock, group dances, music by '70s and '80s… At the end don't miss the exquisite typical Venetian desserts: frittelle and galani, prepared by our Chef Carlo.
A sparkling and exciting evening is waiting for you in the elegant ambience of our Luna Hotel Baglioni to celebrate in the most unforgettable way the Carnival of Venice!
Dress Code: Carnival Costume (Costume d'Epoque or Cloak with Mask)
Rate: 290,00 Euro per person (VAT and Wine from Canova Selection included)
Cancellation Policy: by 12.00 p.m. of 29th January 2010, with the whole rate as penalty.
Partecipation costs: Euro 290
Gala Dinner and Ball Carnival Dream
Start time: 20:30
Place: Dandolo Palace (Hotel Monaco & Gran Canal)
Organizer: C.C.I.
In the magnificent hall of the Ridotto, the heart of the Carnival in the 18th Century, a Gala evening to introduce our guests in the magic historical Venetian culture. After the welcome cocktail will be performed a special version of the international music show "Carnival Dream", followed by the Dinner with music and entertainments and the Ball with minuets, rondo, waltzes, leaded by dance masters. Dress code: costume
Partecipation costs: Euro POSTI ESAURITI
The Serenissima Gran Ball. The legend of Mozart, homage to its famous operas
Start time: 21:00
Place: Palazzo Pesaro Papavafa, Calle della Racchetta, 3764 Canareggio, Water Door
Organizer: Incentive Harmony di Nicolas & Jeanne-Bénédicte Arnita
The Ball will be located in the authentic Venice, in a 14th century Palace, Palazzo Pesaro Papafava, with its precious gothic facade & its elegant quadriform gothic windows overlooking the canal of the Misericordia. The palace will be illuminated entirely with candlelights to create a memorable atmosphere.
The prestige and the genius of Mozart derive from the fact that it is spaced on all the musical kinds: from the chamber music to the sinfonia, from sacred music to opera.
In this evening they will be gone to egeuire some you leave of its more famous works.
21.00: Elegant cocktail with Baroque Quartet
21.45: Seated Gala Dinner wines included
23.00: The best parts of his famous operas
Midnight: Live music and dances
Dress Code: costume and mask
Cost: 285 € per person
Do not hesitate to consult us for the rent of costumes
Our Atelier will be under your disposal for costumes, masks and accessories.
The Palace is reachable by 5 minutes walk from Ca D'Oro vaporetto stop: Calle Racchetta, Cannaregio 3764. Reachable also by its water door (in front of the Church of the Misericordia).
For further informations, contact our office:
Tel: +39 041 5201855 +39 041 7793002, Fax: +39 041 52 85914, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com, Web: www.incentiveharmony.com
Partecipation costs: Euro 285
Carnival opening show
Start time: 21:00
Place: Piazza San Marco
Show: ARLECCHINO SERVITORE DI DUE PADRONI, by FERRUCCIO SOLERI
Partecipation costs: Free
Diner Dansante "Le Menuet"
Start time: 21:00
Place: Hotel Danieli
Organizer: C.C.I.
A Dinner in the Hotel Danieli, the most exclusive Hotel of Venice, located few steps from Piazza S. Marco. A Master of Dance and a baroque ensemble will involve the guests in dancing minuets, rondo and other group dances, during and after the dinner . Dress code: costume
Partecipation costs: Euro 250


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Today I have the honor of interviewing Vivian Eisenecher, author of "Recovering Me, Discovering Joy," and a sought after speaker, mentor and writer since 1996. Her other published works include articles for "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and Woman's World. Her inspirational story has been enthusiastically received by churches, companies and corporations, national organizations and national associations. She is passionate about reducing the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse. She loves helping people meet their potential and discover joy in their lives!
Question: I love the definition of authentic success that you give in your book. You spell out PROCESS as an acrostic and go through the seven components of process. Could you abbreviate them here for my readers?
Vivian: Authentic success is not a destination. It is a PROCESS that includes: Perseverance, Resilience, Openness, Compatibility, Enthusiasm, Self-esteem, and finally, Spirituality.
1. Perseverance – The ability to stick with a project or situation until it is completed regardless of setbacks and disappointments.
Success in many things comes word-by-word, step-by-step, or stroke-by-stroke. Nothing is mastered in one giant leap forward. I thank God everyday for the gift of 'stick-to-it-iveness' He has so graciously bestowed upon me. Perseverance has allowed me the successes I now enjoy, and continue to build on every day.
2. Resilience – The ability to roll with the punches, to deal effectively with life's adversities. To continue to move forward even after failure.
I can't begin to relate to you how many times I tried to stop drinking and failed. I would bet I tried to quit fifty times. So, what if I hadn't made that fifty-first try to quit? I'd be dead! Boy, am I glad I decided to get up and try one more time. Today, I have deep-rooted resilience, and it is such a tremendous advantage for which I am grateful every day.
George Patton once said, "Success is how high you bounce after you hit bottom." Well, I'm on a bungee cord to the heavens, and I'm taking everybody I know with me. I am sitting on one sweet victory, and the opportunities my failures have awarded me are astronomical.
3. Openness – This includes open-mindedness–being receptive to other arguments or ideas and open-endedness–not rigorously fixed.
To remain successful, we must consider any success as an open-ended project. It is a fluid, evolving experience, not a one-time event. In my mid-forties, I figured I had attained all my goals. I had a beautiful boy and girl, a nice home, and I was happily married to a successful husband. I was even a good tennis player, which was very important to me at the time. By the standards I was brought up to believe in, I had done well. I had 'arrived!'
I had arrived all right, and was on the brink of complete destruction.
I had what looked like success, but I didn't have authentic success. Why? My thinking was closed-ended, and my life was at a dead-end. I had stopped imagining. I had stopped dreaming. I wasn't open to new challenges, new opportunities for success.
We must look at every completion as a new beginning. Today, I have learned to leave the door open, and listen for new thoughts…
4. Compatibility – The ability to exist together in harmony. But authentic success means much more than that.
One of the best ways to become successful is to surround ourselves with successful people. Behind every achiever is usually another achiever. No-one achieves greatness without the help of others. By reaching out to others with generosity, we lay the foundation for lasting relationships.
The most powerful tool we have for building lasting and mutually beneficial relationships is a service attitude, in which our goal in every relationship is to add value to the other person's life. If we approach our relationships with that attitude, we will always be able to find shelter in the friendship and trust of others.
5. Enthusiasm – The state of being inspired.
Enthusiasm is one of the most empowering and attractive characteristics we can have. The level of our talent isn't nearly as important as the intensity of our passion.
When we're passionate, we're focused, purposeful, and determined, without even having to try. Pursuing our passion will sustain us when no external rewards seem evident. The chance for success at what we are passionate about is much greater than anywhere else in our lives.
When we enjoy doing something, we make it a priority. We discipline ourselves to be able to include it in our lives. We make sacrifices in other areas of our life in order to be able to concentrate on our passion. And sacrifice is usually the only difference between those who succeed and those who don't.
6. Self-esteem – The appreciation of one's worth.
Without self-esteem, it's difficult to tap into our inner strengths. Self-esteem is a tool that can help us weather thousands of obstacles.
Having a self-worth more powerful than any rejection or failure that we encounter enables us to move forward with confidence. With high self-esteem, it is difficult for failures to defeat us. We can accept setbacks and move on. This kind of self-worth is essential for continued success.
7. Spirituality – One's personal relationship with God
By adhering to God's principles on a daily basis, we exponentially increase our chances of success. Nothing can compare to the power derived from our trusting acceptance of His gentle perfection. On the contrary, by refusing to place God first, I am deprived of His help.
Belief in God's great power carries a huge amount of positives in concentrated form. Faith increases our social awareness, expanding our interest and perspective. Keeping God central in my life helps keep me from getting all mucked up in self-gratification, which is one of the core traits often found among the success-challenged.
Success is best achieved under His direction. Fulfilling our uniqueness within His moral and ethical guidelines will bring us success upon success. When we start having little victories, a momentum begins. Every success empowers us for more success. As we become more successful, we are in a position to give more and take less. All of my successes since I turned my life around are a direct result of adherence to His plan, which includes: Perseverance, Resilience, Openness, Compatibility, Enthusiasm, Self-esteem and Spirituality. This is my continuous path for authentic success.
Question: What would you say is the hardest part about being both and addict and a depressive would be?
Vivian: My low grade depression (dysthymia) fueled my alcoholism. It was a catalyst, a trigger. But when I was depressed and drinking for relief, I was miserable. Not only did I feel bad (depressed) but I felt bad about my drinking, too! I didn't want to give up alcohol because I thought it was the only solution for me. It lifted me up if just for a little while. But alcohol is a depressant and so I would sink lower requiring more alcohol for the same affect. That is the classic definition of addiction, isn't it? And so it became a deadly cycle for me.
Originally published on Beyond Blue at Beliefnet.com

subset: commoncrawl


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SQLIGHT performance
(1) By akreidly on 2020-06-02 12:45:13 [link] [source]
Dears, I have installed and using SQLITE on Android Machine, im facing performance issues especially during an insert statements as the below example: im inserting 10000 records: using BEGIN TRANSACTION the first 2000 inserts are done in sec and the second 2000 take more time and the 2000 take more and the last 2000 might take up to 30 minutes. any help is appreciated. moreover, is it parctically better to install multiple instances of sqlite if i have this amount of data (i have millions of records) and what im experiening might be caused by this amount of huge data. im using index on some columns as they are needed, i tried to remove the index it helps a little but i have to use indexes , knowing that even if i remove the index the performance is not acceptable as its taking time to insert
(2) By Larry Brasfield (LarryBrasfield) on 2020-06-02 15:20:15 in reply to 1 [source]
You should consider dropping the index before the insert and reinstating it (aka "rebuilding the index") after the mass-insert is done.
It seems a bit odd that you would use an "Android Machine" for working with large amounts of data. You might be exposing file system limitations.
Is it the case that your insert data is already ordered in a way that forces b-tree rebalancing disproportionate to the log of the record count? If that is so, a different insert order could help.
And if it is really true that dropping the index only "helps a little", then something strange is happening, such as excessive rebalancing or something else not evident in your problem statement.
(3) By akreidly on 2020-06-02 16:08:44 in reply to 2 [link] [source]
thank you for your post. i would like to ask you is there any adminisration GUI for SQLITE that might help in this matter .
Knowing that SQLITE is implemented on POS machine, we are expecting high load and no oher db engine could be deployed on a POS machine.
(4) By Ryan Smith (cuz) on 2020-06-02 16:44:22 in reply to 3 [link] [source]
I don't think there are any GUI's that will run on Android currently, and what do you mean with POS machine? (I'm crossing fingers that it means Point-of-Sale) :)
If you have access to a proper computer/OS, you can try DB Browser for SQLite on Mac, Linux or Windows, also SQLiteSpeed if it's specifically a Windows machine. A quick Google would probably list a few more.
I'm not sure if the sqlite cli can run on Android terminal/command line, One would think it should easily be able to - but I haven't tried it.
I have one question about your original post - You stated that it does not help when removing the Indexes, and Larry pointed out why that should make it quicker. My question is, if you do remove the indexes, do the inserts still take exponentially longer the more you insert? (i.e. doe the first 1000 and the last 1000 inserts take significantly different time to complete?)
(5) By Richard Hipp (drh) on 2020-06-02 20:38:40 in reply to 4 [link] [source]
I'm not sure if the sqlite cli can run on Android terminal/command line
It does. Just compile the CLI, "adb push" it, then us "adb" to log on and use it.
(6) By Richard Hipp (drh) on 2020-06-02 20:46:59 in reply to 1 [link] [source]
We can help you more if you:
Send us your database schema.
Send in the exact text of the INSERT statement you are using.
Tell us specifically which version of SQLite you are using.
(7) By anonymous on 2020-06-02 23:47:50 in reply to 1 [link] [source]
Your bottleneck might be at the storage level. Does your process write to external SDcard? You could try to run it on 'internal'/system storage if there's such, usually it's faster.
I'd try to do the whole thing on a normal PC system, to rule out possible side-effects of mobile target environment. You get better tooling too for further diagnostics.


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Source: The Herald
Folk rock musician Melissa Etheridge will perform Sunday at the Tulalip Amphitheatre.
Etheridge released her debut, self-titled album in 1988, but gained fame withher fourth album "Yes I Am" in 1993, including hits "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window."
She is also a notable activist for gay and lesbian rights.
The show starts at 7 p.m., doors open at 5 p.m.
You must be 21 or older to attend. Tickets start at $25, available at www.ticketmaster.com.
Next up is Foreigner on Aug. 25 and the Doobie Brothers and America on Sept. 7.
Tickets start at $30 for these shows.
The amphitheatre is at 10400 Quil Ceda Blvd. Tulalip.
For more information, visit www.tulalipamphitheatre.com.


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There's been a lot of speculation that Apple will use space-age Liquidmetal alloys to make morphing iPhones or other sci-fi technology, but the company has already used the exotic alloy — and in the most unlikely place.
The pin for ejecting the iPhone 3G SIM card is made from Liquidmetal, an extremely hard and light metal alloy, according to Atakan Peker, the alloy's co-inventor, who spoke to CultofMac.com last week.
Peker recognized the metal when he opened his iPhone 3G. It's as hard as nails and has a distinctive color and feel.
"That's my metal," he said. "I recognized it immediately. Take it from an expert, that's Liquidmetal."
CultofMac.com has independently confirmed that Apple used Liquidmetal. Apple sourced the part from Liquidmetal Technologies as a test of the company's manufacturing capabilities. Apple has a very strict policy that normally requires at least two separate sources for parts. The policy is insurance against supply problems like factories burning down.
But because Liquidmetal is state-of-the-art, there weren't two sources of Liquidmetal parts. Liquidmetal Technologies didn't even have two production lines. Apple decided to source a non-essential part: a SIM card ejector pin. The pin was also a good test of Liquidmetal's unique properties — it must be strong and inflexible.
"It is practically unbendable by hand unless you want to hurt or cut your fingers," Peker said.
Peker co-invented Liquidmetal in 1992 with engineering professor Bill Johnson when he was a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology. He was the first scientist to make Liquidmetal, a form of bulk metallic glass, in the lab.
Peker subsequently went on to become VP of research at Liquidmetal Technology, a Caltech spinoff set up to commercialize the technology. Liquidmetal is the commercial name of a series of bulk metallic glasses developed at Caltech. Apple has signed an exclusive agreement to use the company's IP in consumer electronic products.
It's not clear how long Apple sourced Liquidmetal for SIM ejector pins. European models of the iPhone 3G have ordinary steel pins, and maybe also those shipped to Asia, Peker said. "They're not Liquidmetal," he said. "They bend like paperclips."
The iPhone 4 doesn't ship with a SIM card pin.
Congratulations to reader @crosby who was the first to correctly name the Liquidmetal part in last week's competition. @crosby wins a brand new Magic Trackpad.


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Research funding from the dairying and soft drink industries could be declined on ethical grounds under proposals being worked through by the University of Canterbury.Who the hell cares who funds research? Surely the issue is the quality of the research, not who funds it. If research is able to be published in peer-reviews journals or books hasn't it meet the standards required of academic research? After all if someone thinks you have said or done something wrong in your paper they can write a response to your work pointing out the error. Such a thing is not unusual.
The university is in the midst of a wide-ranging debate about ethical research funding - who academics should and shouldn't accept money from, and for what research purpose.
Currently, research funding from the tobacco and armaments industries could be declined.
Some academics have argued that should extend to certain industry-funded alcohol, gambling, dairying, mining and soft drink research.
Others believed there should be no prohibition and that the acceptance of funding should be left to individual moral judgements.Some sanity after all.
Later we are told,
Professor Sally Casswell, a Massey University public health researcher with a particular focus on alcohol, said she strongly believed research funding should not be accepted from the alcohol industry.But let me guess, she has no problems whatsoever about researchers taking money from anti-alcohol groups.
Such funding was an attempt by the industry to position itself as a partner in policy research, Professor Casswell said, but only industry-friendly policies were supported.And of course the anti-alcohol groups support all research on alcohol not just industry-unfriendly work. You may not like the conclusions reached by some research but you should play the ball not the man.
Eric Crampton makes good sense on this issue:
However, Dr Eric Crampton, head of research at the NZ Initiative think-tank, said industry-funded research could be extremely valuable, so long as funding arrangements were disclosed and unethical behaviour could be censured.Yes indeed. All research money comes with strings attached, that's why you judge research not on the source of funding but on the quality of the output produced. Unless, of course, you want to make sure your views are the only ones heard.
Dr Crampton previously worked at the University of Canterbury's economics department and was frequently critical of research on the societal harm from alcohol.
He maintains an adjunct senior fellow position with the department.
One-fifth of his university position was funded through a grant from the Brewers Association of Australia and New Zealand, he said, "and everything that I did was totally up for anybody to look at or comment on, or censure me if I was behaving badly".
"It is distortionary to automatically believe that industry funding is bad and evil and that government money comes with no strings and no agenda."


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Help | |
New American Bible 2002 11 11 IntraText - Text |
These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan ( 1 in the desert, in the Arabah, opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab;
it is a journey of eleven days from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of the highlands of Seir).
In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the Israelites all the commands that the LORD had given him in their regard.
After he had defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei,
Moses began to explain the law in the land of Moab beyond the Jordan, as follows:
"The LORD, our God, said to us at Horeb, 'You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
2 Leave here and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the surrounding regions, the land of the Canaanites in the Arabah, the mountains, the foothills, the Negeb and the seacoast; to Lebanon, and as far as the Great River (the Euphrates).
I have given that land over to you. Go now and occupy the land I swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I would give to them and to their descendants.'
3 "At that time I said to you, 'Alone, I am unable to carry you.
The LORD, your God, has so multiplied you that you are now as numerous as the stars in the sky.
May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over, and bless you as he promised!
But how can I alone bear the crushing burden that you are, along with your bickering?
Choose wise, intelligent and experienced men from each of your tribes, that I may appoint them as your leaders.'
You answered me, 'We agree to do as you have proposed.'
So I took outstanding men of your tribes, wise and experienced, and made them your leaders as officials over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties and over tens, and other tribal officers.
I charged your judges at that time, 'Listen to complaints among your kinsmen, and administer true justice to both parties even if one of them is an alien.
In rendering judgment, do not consider who a person is; give ear to the lowly and to the great alike, fearing no man, for judgment is God's. Refer to me any case that is too hard for you and I will hear it.'
Thereupon I gave you all the commands you were to fulfill.
"Then, in obedience to the command of the LORD, our God, we set out from Horeb and journeyed through the whole desert, vast and fearful as you have seen, in the direction of the hill country of the Amorites. We had reached Kadesh-barnea
when I said to you, 'You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD, our God, is giving us.
The LORD, your God, has given this land over to you. Go up and occupy it, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, commands you. Do not fear or lose heart.'
Then all of you came up to me and said, 'Let us send men ahead to reconnoiter the land for us and report to us on the road we must follow and the cities we must take.'
Agreeing with the proposal, I chose twelve men from your number, one from each tribe.
They set out into the hill country as far as the Wadi Eshcol, and explored it.
Then, taking along some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, 'The land which the LORD, our God, gives us is good.'
"But you refused to go up, and after defying the command of the LORD, your God,
4 you set to murmuring in your tents, 'Out of hatred for us the LORD has brought us up out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites and destroy us.
What shall we meet with up there? Our kinsmen have made us fainthearted by reporting that the people are stronger and taller than we, and their cities are large and fortified to the sky; besides, they saw the Anakim there.'
"But I said to you, 'Have no dread or fear of them.
The LORD, your God, who goes before you, will himself fight for you, just as he took your part before your very eyes in Egypt,
as well as in the desert, where you saw how the LORD, your God, carried you, as a man carries his child, all along your journey until you arrived at this place.'
Despite this, you would not trust the LORD, your God,
who journeys before you to find you a resting place - by day in the cloud, and by night in the fire, to show the way you must go.
When the LORD heard your words, he was angry;
and he swore, 'Not one man of this evil generation shall look upon the good land I swore to give to your fathers,
5 except Caleb, son of Jephunneh; he shall see it. For to him and to his sons I will give the land he trod upon, because he has followed the LORD unreservedly.'
"The LORD was angered against me also on your account, and said, 'Not even you shall enter there,
but your aide Joshua, son of Nun, shall enter. Encourage him, for he is to give Israel its heritage.
Your little ones, who you said would become booty, and your children, who as yet do not know good from bad - they shall enter; to them I will give it, and they shall occupy it.
But as for yourselves: turn about and proceed into the desert on the Red Sea road.'
"In reply you said to me, 'We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up ourselves and fight, just as the LORD, our God, commanded us.' And each of you girded on his weapons, making light of going up into the hill country.
But the LORD said to me, 'Warn them: Do not go up and fight, lest you be beaten down before your enemies, for I will not be in your midst.'
I gave you this warning but you would not listen. In defiance of the LORD'S command you arrogantly marched off into the hill country.
Then the Amorites living there came out against you and, like bees, chased you, cutting you down in Seir as far as Hormah.
On your return you wept before the LORD, but he did not listen to your cry or give ear to you.
That is why you had to stay as long as you did at Kadesh.


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Please visit the rules page.
Show All Answers
The Parks & Recreation Division.
The small dog park is available to dogs weighing 30 pounds or less. The large dog park areas are open to dogs of all sizes.
Yes. Unfortunately, dogs can cause injury to people and other dogs. They are dogs and do not always act in ways we understand. That is why everyone should act responsibly with their dog and respect the rights of other people and dogs. Familiarizing yourself with the dog park rules are a good first step to a safe Hound Mound experience.
Prevent a dog fight before it happens by learning the "4P Warning Signs":
Posture: A dog's body language can communicate fear, hostility or submission. Learn to read and respond to your own dog's body language, and others.
Packing: More than two or three dogs packed together can lead to trouble. Break it up before it starts by leading your dog to a neutral area at least 30 feet away.
Possession: Whether it's you, a ball, or a treat, most dogs will protect what is theirs. Remain aware.
Provoking: If your dog is continuously annoying another dog or dogs, or provoking attention, it's time to leave the park.
An injured dog may bite anyone nearby. A dog fight can be violent and is upsetting to everyone present. Keep calm. Even the calmest, most pleasant, well-adjusted person may become upset, angry or belligerent, if they or their dog is injured in a fight. Emotional behavior is automatic; try to remain calm and as objective be as possible. Never reach your hands into the middle of a dog fight. You may get bit, and often by your own dog.Distract the dogs and divert their attention. A blast of water from a water bottle, a loud whistle, or a pocket air horn may work. If your dog is not in the fight, make sure he/she does not join in. If a fight occurs, control your dog and remove him/her to a neutral area. Maintain a cool head. Getting upset and yelling will only add to the frenzy.When warranted, exchange contact information with the other dog owners. If you can't because you must attend to your dog, designate someone else to get information. Remember, owners are solely liable for injuries or damage caused by their dogs. This includes injury to another dog or person, no matter how it began, who said what, or whatever.
Water is provided in the park. Outside food and drink is prohibited.
Yes. Dogs must display current identification tags and must be healthy, parasite free, and properly vaccinated, as required by Chapter 6 of the Town's Code of Ordinances. If requested by an animal control officer, owners must provide current vaccination and registration information.
Yes. Dogs must be at least 4 months old and have their rabies shots to come to the Hound Mound. This is because a puppy's immunity must build up to fight bacteria and other stuff.
First, remove your dog from the situation. Second, (if it is safe) politely tell the dog's owner that you feel their dog is aggressive and ask them to take some action to control their dog or leave the park. If you do not feel safe or a polite request has no effect, call Flower Mound Animal Control at 972.874.6390. It is up to users of The Hound Mound to police each other, in a friendly manner, to keep dog park safe for all.
Dog bites are rare at dog parks, especially if all users follow the rules and respect other people and dogs. But if someone is bitten, get the person who was bit medical attention immediately, including calling 9-1-1 if necessary; get the identity of the dog who did the biting and its owner; contact Flower Mound Animal Control at 972.874.6390 or Flower Mound Police Department at 972.539.0525 to report the bite, who got bit, and the identity of the dog who bit and the owner.
The Hound Mound was established on the concept that dog owners would police themselves and each other. If you see someone who forgets the rules (i.e., forgets to pick up poop) politely introduce yourself, remind them of the rule, and thank them when they comply with the rule. If there is a rule violation that you think might lead to a dangerous situation or injury, please contact the Flower Mound Police Department's non-emergency line at 972.539.0525.
Because of the danger of heat stroke, staff warns against extended use of the park during the heat of the day and any day use by long hair breeds.
Signs of heat stroke are intense, rapid panting, wide eyes, salivating, staggering and weakness. Advanced heat stroke victims will collapse and become unconscious. The gums will appear pale and dry. Any temperature above 106 degrees is dangerous. The longer the temperature remains at or above 106 degrees the more serious the situation.If you suspect your dog has heat stroke, place him/her in a tub of cool running water or spray with a hose, being sure the cool water contacts the skin and doesn't simply run off the coat. Thoroughly wet the belly and inside the legs. Run the cool water over the tongue and mouth. Take a rectal temperature if possible to know when to stop cooling. A safe temperature is about 103 degrees. Seek veterinary attention as soon as possible.


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Attorney Keith Brais Obtains Ruling that Cruise Lines Can Be Held Responsible for Over Serving Passengers Alcohol
Miami lawyer Keith Brais obtained a ruling from a Federal Court finding a cruise line can be held responsible for a rape caused by the over service of alcohol. The complaint failed in the Southern District of Florida alleges a passenger participated in a Norwegian Cruise Line organized pub crawl which occurred on the cruise ship NORWEGIAN SUN. After the pub crawl, the passenger remained at the last bar to have additional drinks with some of the other pub crawl participants. The plaintiff alleges she became intoxicated from the drinks served on the cruise ship. Court papers reveal the passenger walked to a public ladies room located near a café. While in a stall, a man opened the door, spun her around and raped her. Affidavits filed in the case assert due to her intoxicated state she was unable to fend off her attacker.
Norwegian Cruise Line filed a motion for summary judgment arguing the Florida "dram shop" statute applied to the service of alcohol aboard its cruise ships. The Florida dram shop statute shields companies from liability for injuries and damages caused by their service of alcohol except when the person served is under the age of 21 or the person served is known to be "habitually addicted" to alcohol.
The Federal Court rejected the application of the Florida dram shop statute. Instead, it followed the Florida state appellate court's legal holding in Hall v. Royal Caribbean Cruises which found the statute is contrary to the uniformity of maritime law. This case solidifies the maritime law that a cruise line has a duty to exercise reasonable care for its passengers including reasonable care in the service of alcohol. A copy of the Court's order can be found at this link.


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LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska has lost its top offensive lineman, most likely for the rest of the year.
Coach Bo Pelini said Tuesday that Spencer Long will have surgery Thursday on his left knee. Long was hurt on the Huskers' fifth play from scrimmage on Saturday at Purdue. Nebraska won the game 44-7.
Long was an Outland Trophy candidate after making first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American in 2012.
Pelini says it looks like Long is gone for the year, "but the prognosis going forward's a little bit better."


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Charlie Parker was introduced to the crime fiction world in May 1999 with Every Dead Thing. It won a Shamus Award for best debut novel, and was also the LA Times Book of the Year. Parker is the creation of John Connolly, a Dublin-based author who was once a journalist for The Irish Times. The character is easily one of our favourites in the crime genre, even though the books often detour into the supernatural. So, we decided to put together this guide to the fictional life and times of Charlie Parker…
Now a tough private detective, Parker was once a cop with the NYPD. The books are peopled with genuinely mean human criminal types, and Connolly introduces supernatural foes in the novels as well. Yet he never uses the supernatural to explain away loopholes in the plot. There aren't any, and the Charlie Parker books all offer solid and original mysteries. He is a PI – albeit an occult detective – after all.
Parker's bloodstained past has turned him into a man for whom evil is not just a philosophical concept, but a palpable presence. As he himself says, "I have learned to embrace the dead and they, in their turn, have found a way to reach out to me."
Some of Connolly's malign forces sometimes have more than a whiff of David Cronenberg's Body Horror about them, while at other times there's more than a hint of the ghost stories of the great English writer MR James. He seems to share that writer's fascination with arachnid horrors that scuttle around in the dark with clicking legs. The settings are generally – but not exclusively – the bleak and dark forests of Maine, and its isolated and introspective small communities.
Every Dead Thing (1999)
In the first book, Parker is still working for the NYPD. Returning home after several drinks too many he finds the bodies of his wife Susan and daughter Jennifer. They have been blinded, and then hacked to death. Racked with guilt over his drunken failure to prevent the slaughter, he leaves his job. While making himself available for private work, he takes on a missing persons case. In his heart and soul, however, he has only one objective: retribution. His search for the killer who slew his family – a mysterious entity known as The Traveling Man – takes him far away from the chills of Maine to the haunted swamps of Louisiana. We get to meet Angel and Louis, who appear later in the series, and there is a violent and cathartic conclusion to Parker's first quest.
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Dark Hollow (2000)
Parker has kissed New York goodbye and retreated to a wintry Maine where he is both hiding from the past, and trying to earn an honest living as a private detective. He gets drawn into an investigation of a double murder which has echoes of his own recent tragedy. What starts out as a relatively straightforward job – collecting some child support money from an abusive and absent husband – goes downhill fast. The case involves a new double murder and a dreadful mass killing going back decades. As in Every Dead Thing, we have descriptions of the action which alternate between Parker's voice and a third-person narrative. We also meet a memorably sinister and evil adversary who is even the subject of a nursery rhyme: 'Caleb Kyle, Caleb Kyle/When you see him run a mile.'
Buy now on Amazon
The Killing Kind (2001)
This is one of Connolly's most powerful stories. As with the fate of The Donner Party in 1846-47, the template of a group of settlers heading into the unknown only to meet catastrophe is almost a metaphor for America itself. While setting out to investigate the unlikely suicide of a well-connected young woman, Parker is drawn to the mysterious disappearance of the Aroostook Baptists, a religious community that disappeared in northern forests of Maine four decades earlier. Here we have the chilling introduction of a man with a curiously childish name – Mr Pudd. Forget the avuncular sound. Mr Pudd is capable of true evil, and with his pet spiders he is genuinely a creature of nightmares.
Buy now on Amazon
The White Road (2002)
Charlie Parker heads south again to investigate South Carolina's worst nightmare. The daughter of one of the oldest and wealthiest white families in the state has been murdered. And the apparent killer? A young black man called Atys Jones. This is not the Deep South of white colonial mansions and genteel aristocratic folk with impeccable manners. Instead there is an air of resentment and bitterness, of decades of grudges and rancour, that is carried like a bad smell on the breeze. To add to Parker's problems, a man who has blighted his life beyond redemption – the Reverend Aaron Faulkner – is petitioning for a review of his jail sentence, with a strong chance of success. With his new partner Rachel pregnant with their child, Parker fights for sanity and survival in both southern badlands and northern forests.
Buy now on Amazon
The Black Angel (2005)
When a young black woman is snatched from the streets near her New York home nobody is terribly bothered, least of all the NYPD. But someone has made a mistake. A terrible mistake. The young woman is 'blood' with the frightening Louis. When Parker needs physical help, he usually turns to Louis and Angel. Louis is a tall, bald black man with a carefully trimmed beard, turning to grey. He is also an implacable killer, who wears $2000 suits. Angel is a shambolic and pear-shaped crook who could wear a $2000 suit and make it look like a potato sack. Improbably, the two are lovers, but they provide a devastating go-to rescue team when Parker is in trouble. The search for Louis' missing cousin lays bare old wounds which involve atrocities dating back to World War II and, more tellingly, a potent artifact which has brought death and destruction upon those who have sought it.
Buy now on Amazon
The Unquiet (2007)
This focuses on Parker's investigation into a child abuse scandal, but also introduces a rather unpleasant group of death-watchers called The Hollow Men. The reputation of a child psychiatrist is coming under scrutiny for suspected child abuse. When Daniel Clay's daughter begins to receive unwelcome attention from a bereaved father, Merrick, who holds Clay responsible for his daughter's death, she hires Parker to intervene. Connolly's prose here is typically sonorous, even biblical at times. The constant and recurring theme in this, as in all the stories, is that of angels. These are not the beatific, pious creatures of a Renaissance painting, but much more formidable entities. At best, they are morally neutral, but possess tremendous power and resilience. At their worst, they are nasty, leathery things that smell of death.
Buy now on Amazon
The Reapers (2008)
Parker's supernatural comrades Louis and Angel take centre stage in The Reapers. In many of the books, the wise-cracking and gritty dialogue between Charlie, Angel and Louis provides a sharp contrast to the prevailing atmosphere of dark things just around the corner. Things are slightly different here. Louis, very much the untouchable and remorseless hard man in most of his appearances, becomes the hunter turned prey. The Reapers are an elite band of killers, of which Louis himself was once a member. Now he is the focus of their attention, and is the target of their fearsome leader, Bliss. In a smart reversal of the normal roles, it's Parker who heads up the eventual rescue mission to save the lives, and souls, of his friends.
Buy now on Amazon
The Lovers (2009)
Charlie Parker is forced by events to re-examine his own troubled past while being stalked by a pair of sweethearts for whom death presents no kind of barrier. Charlie has lost his investigator's licence and is back working behind the bar. Events draw him into trying to discover the truth about his own father – like him, a cop – and the man's suicide following the tragic shooting of a pair of teenagers. As well as being a straightforward mystery, the book begins to shed light on one of the essential enigmas about Charlie Parker – the reasons for his seeming ability to commune with the spirit world. Is this a gift or a curse? You are left to come to you own conclusions.
Buy now on Amazon
The Whisperers (2010)
With a challenging mixture of the contemporary (human trafficking) and the ancient (a shadowy man called Herod, after the New Testament king), Charlie has to grit his teeth and combine forces with one of his old foes, The Collector. Is The Collector a real man? Might he be from the other side? There is little ambiguity about the supernatural with Charlie. He believes in it, but it is up to us as readers to decide how far we'll be drawn in. "I knew of the existence of a form of evil that was beyond human capacities, the wellspring from which all other evil sipped," explains Parker. The Dark Side is as real to him as the the messages he receives from his dead daughter, written in the condensation on a window or in the dust on the attic floor.
Buy now on Amazon
The Burning Soul (2011)
Despite the title, Parker is faced with a relatively earthbound mystery. A teenage girl goes missing from a remote Maine village called Pastor's Bay. In the same village lives a child killer – someone who as a child killed another one – under a new identity. Coincidence? The tale has chilling echoes of Britain's infamous Jamie Bulger murder case, where a toddler was killed by two young boys who were convicted, served a prison terms, but then released with changed names and identities. Parker is hired by his lawyer friend, Aimee Price, to investigate why Randall Haight's new identity and anonymity has been breached. There is a memorable opening chapter featuring some very scary ravens, and their looming menace serves as a metaphor for the rest of the book. Parker must negotiate his way through a minefield of obstacles including the FBI, crooked cops and Boston mobsters.
Buy now on Amazon
The Wrath of Angels (2012)
A plane crashes in the forests of Northern Maine. When a pair of woodsmen discover the wreckage, they realise that there is something sinister about the crash site. Years later, when both are on their death beds, they whisper hints about their fears. Charlie Parker is drawn into the mystery, and in doing so he is faced with two of his most implacable enemies. One is the repulsive Brightwell, who seems to have been reborn as a homicidal child with a fast developing goitre and a mouth like a lamprey. The other is the seasoned killer known only as The Collector. The Collector proves to be one of the Parker's deadliest foes. He is a lean, mean, greasy-haired killing machine. And he stinks of cheap tobacco.
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The Wolf in Winter (2014)
In the 12th Charlie Parker novel, we have a remote Maine community called Prosperous that can trace its roots to a religious movement founded in 18th century England. There is a medieval church that has been uprooted and rebuilt in America, stone by stone. We have a settlement where the town Selectmen are locked into an ancient and evil conspiracy. And all of this is uncovered by Parker when he looks into the death of a homeless man called Jude who was one of Parker's clients. For the full review, click here.
Buy now on Amazon
A Song of Shadows (2015)
After the enormous cliff-hanger which ended The Wolf in Winter, Parker fans were relieved to find that their man managed to make the final leap across the chasm between life and death, and has survived fight another day. Battered, bruised and nearly broken, Parker ends up recuperating in what seems to be a 'nothing to see here' seashore village. However, he attracts trouble like jam attracts wasps in high summer, and soon five people die in close proximity to Parker's convalescing house and a hitman is on his way from Florida to Maine. Needless to say, ghosts from his past come back to haunt our hero. Read our review of A Song of Shadows here.
Buy now on Amazon
A Time of Torment (2016)
Life gets no easier for Parker, and his war wounds are slow to heal. Here, the forces of darkness are represented by an isolated, independent – and incestuous – group of villagers who are known as The Cut. They have their own rules, and even their own god – a mysterious being known as The Dead King. With his long-time friends Angel and Louis very much in attendance, the troubled Parker follows a trail which starts with a brutalised prisoner, and ends in a cataclysmic shootout where no-one is interested in taking prisoners. We reviewed A Time of Torment in April 2016.
Buy now on Amazon
A Game of Ghosts (2017)
Parker is hired to find the private investigator Jaycob Eklund who has been tracking the murderous Brethren. They have been hiding in the shadows for generations. Eklund has managed to join the dots, linking them to countless murders and the paranormal. He is now in the wind. Parker, Angel and Louis are searching but get pulled into the orbit of the Mother, a silver haired squat woman with control over a criminal empire. Revel in the characters: repulsive assassin Donn Routh, 'the Cousin' of the Brethren; the creepy incestuous Buckners, and, of course, the Collector. Read our review of A Game of Ghosts here.
Buy now on Amazon
The Woman in the Woods (2018)
The body of a young woman has been unearthed from a hasty grave in the Maine woods. It's been five years but the pathologist finds evidence she had a baby just before she died. But where's the child? Parker is hired by lawyer Moxie Castin to help the police. Meanwhile, we are introduced to Quayle, a dapper, otherworldly and murderous adversary. Along with his pale consort, Pallida Mors, they are hunting and leaving a trail of bodies in their wake as they close in. They are on a collision course with Parker as Connolly hints at malign supernatural forces carrying a global existential threat. Read our full review here.
Buy now on Amazon
A Book of Bones (2019)
In the 17th novel in the series, Parker leaves his usual stamping grounds and heads to London and Amsterdam on the trail of Quayle and Pallida More, who themselves seek the pages of an arcane occult text. As Quayle attempts to gain the power he believes he needs to defeat Parker, he recruits two men and sends them to commit sacrifices at ancient ritual sites in Britain. This draws in the local police while Parker focuses on his dogged pursuit of Quayle, but will the deadly solicitor once again escape? Read our full review here.
Buy now on Amazon
The Dirty South (2020)
1997, Burdon County, Arkansas. Someone is murdering young black girls and the county sheriff is doing his best to cover the crimes up. That's the way it is in The Dirty South. Ex New York cop Charlie Parker is languishing in a Cargill jail cell after a run in with the town's police chief, Evander Griffin. Mired in grief, mourning the loss of his wife and daughter, Parker is driven solely by the desire for revenge. So far the search for their killer has proved fruitless. Teaming up with Griffin might just be the one thing that gives Parker a new purpose in life as he goes hunting for a depraved killer. Read or full review here.
Buy now on Amazon
The Nameless Ones (2021)
In John Connolly's next novel, Charlie Parker's supernatural cohort Louis – an impeccably dressed occult assassin – takes centre stage. Maine and the Deep South are left behind as we head to The Netherlands, where a man called De Jaager has been crucified, with the remains of four others scattered around his cross. He was a confidante of Louis, who arrives to hunt down the killers – Serbian war criminals who have fled back to their homeland. Five of them shouldn't pose any problems for an accomplished angel of justice like Louis. The sixth, however, is a different kettle of death. On sale 8 July in the UK and 1 October in the US.
Pre-order now on Amazon
More Charlie Parker…
In 2013 Charlie Parker was admitted to an exclusive club. The writers at Crime Fiction Lover chose him to appear among the 12 best private detectives of all time, and you can read his PI Case file here. If the 16 novels in our guide aren't quite enough, you'll also find Parker in a novella entitled The Reflecting Eye in a 2004 collection of short stories by John Connolly called Nocturnes. So far, you won't be able to see Charlie Parker appearing in any films or television series. Despite occasional rumours on the topic, the rights remain firmly with the author at the moment. However, his short story The New Daughter – also in Nocturnes – was adapted for the big screen and starred Kevin Costner.


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MailChimp allows you to improve your email marketing, offering the ability to send marketing emails and targeted campaigns. Power BI allows you to monitor and explore that data using the MailChimp APIs, offering a set of out-of-box content for your analytics. The dashboard, reports and dataset curated for the MailChimp scenario allow you to easily access data such as Top Campaigns of Total Opens by Day of Week.
In this post we'll focus on how the Power BI and MailChimp integration content pack helps you explore and monitor your MailChimp data. For additional details on how to get started, please see the MailChimp content pack for Power BI.
The content pack brings in data from your Campaigns and Lists in MailChimp. Simply connect through your MailChimp account and provide access to Power BI.
A dashboard is automatically created once you've provided credentials and given access to Power BI. Each tile includes a specific metric you can monitor from the dashboard view. Select one of the tiles to drill in further to the reports, such as "Total Emails Sent".
This is just one of four pages of reports that are included as part of the out-of-box content: Campaigns Overview, Top Campaigns, Lists Overview and List Members. Different tiles on the dashboard may lead to different report pages.
Hovering over any of the items on a report provides more details. You can also select a particular entry, such as product name, to cross filter the other visuals by that selection. For example, selecting the campaign "January Photography" will filter the other visuals, so you can see the totals for that specific campaign, including where it was opened, etc. The filter pane allows you to change the slice of data you're viewing.
Pinning visuals will load them to your dashboard. You can fully customize the dashboard to meet your needs, including rearranging and changing the size of the tiles.
You can also switch into Edit mode to view all the fields available for your reporting. This allows you to edit or add additional visuals to customize your report and dashboard.
You might have also noticed a question box back on your dashboard. This allows you to ask a question of your data, in natural language, and get visual results. Try "Show total emails by campaign title" or "Show total clicks by location on a map". Those results can also be pinned to your dashboard.
The dashboard updates daily, ensuring you're monitoring the most up-to-date data. This Power BI content pack offers an initial set of metrics and insights; continue to explore your MailChimp data to discover even more.
We're always interested in hearing your feedback – please contact us at http://support.powerbi.com to let the team know how your experience was and if there's anything we can do better. We look forward to hearing from you!
- Try Power BI
- Learn more about Mail Chimp
- Follow @MSPowerBI on Twitter
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Atlantis to carry next generation vaccine candidate on last space voyage
On July 8, at approximately 11:26 a.m. EDT, the space shuttle Atlantis will streak skyward from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, for one last mission. While the STS-135 flight marks the end of the space shuttle's glory days, its final trip may open a new era of research into infectious diseases, thanks to space bound experiments conducted by Cheryl Nickerson, and Roy Curtiss III, along with their colleagues at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.
Nickerson, a microbiologist and authority on infectious pathogens, has been using spaceflight or spaceflight analogues since 1998 as an exploratory platform for investigating the processes of infection. Her provocative approach to microbial research has already paid rich dividends. In earlier experimental missions, Nickerson's team demonstrated that conditions of microgravity present aboard the space shuttle have the potential to increase the disease-causing capacity or virulence of microbes like Salmonella – a major causative agent of food-borne illness.
Further, her research demonstrated that spaceflight globally altered gene expression in Salmonella and other pathogens in critical ways that were not observed during culture on Earth, and were governed by a master switch regulating this response. "Our earlier work showed the potential for spaceflight to provide novel insight into the mechanisms of microbial virulence that may lead to innovations in infectious disease control here on Earth," she said.
Curtiss, director of the Biodesign Institute's Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, has engineered an experimental vaccine strain, which will fly aboard Atlantis on its journey to the International Space Station Laboratory. By removing the disease-causing components of Salmonella and incorporating a key protective antigen from Streptococcus pneumoniae, Curtiss has produced a powerful oral vaccine against pneumonia, that has shown promise in phase 1 human clinical trials. The ability of spaceflight to enhance the efficacy of this recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccine, or RASV, will be the focus of the Atlantis mission.
Current experiments aboard STS-135 will build on decades of earlier research by Nickerson and Curtiss, in attempts to improve the effectiveness of RASVs. These vaccines exploit Salmonella's renowned infectious capacity in order to produce a strong, system-wide immune response. In addition to the defensive response to Salmonella, the vaccine recipient also marshals an immune response to secondary disease antigens studded on the pathogen's surface membrane—in this case, antigens to pneumococcus, the causative agent of pneumonia.
"Many breakthroughs in life sciences research and translational advancements to the healthcare setting, have been achieved through studying the response of biological systems to extreme environments," Nickerson says. The extreme environment in the present study is the reduced gravity present during spaceflight, which alters a fundamental physical property encountered by living cells, known as fluid shear.
Fluid shear refers to the physical forces exerted on cells by the extracellular liquids surrounding them. Previous experiments by Nickerson aboard the space shuttles Endeavour and Atlantis showed that changes in fluid shear due to microgravity induced important cellular responses in pathogens, including unique alterations in gene expression and virulence.
Nickerson notes that the responses of pathogenic cells to microgravity may be closely correlated with their behavior during infection here on earth, where the effects of low fluid shear environments present in the body are believed to contribute to virulence. Such pathogen responses, however, may often evade detection in conventional in vitro experiments on earth, where gravity may be masking this effect. In the current study, this approach is being applied to Salmonella vaccines. Because RASVs can be produced against a wide variety of human and animal pathogens, the outcome of this research could influence the development of vaccines against many other diseases in addition to pneumonia.
Unlike existing anti-pneumococcal vaccines, Curtiss' RASV may be given orally and acts to stimulate mucosal, humoral and cellular immunity, offering enhanced protection. Diseases due to Streptococcus pneumoniae include community-acquired pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis, and bacteremia, and are responsible for some 10 million fatalities per year. Pneumonia poses a particular threat to newborns and the elderly, who may fail to mount an effective immune response after receiving current anti-pneumococcal vaccines.
The current experiments planned for Atlantis' final mission represent an interesting twist in Nickerson's research into microbial virulence and modes of infection, which she has pursued with longtime collaborator Mark Ott, a senior microbiologist at the Johnson Space Center and a Co-Investigator on the RASV flight experiment. Again, the pathogen of choice is Salmonella, but here, the invader has been genetically re-engineered to protect from infectious disease, rather than to cause it. The outcome of this research has the potential for better protecting astronauts, who are keenly vulnerable to infection during spaceflight, as well as to help engineer better therapeutics for infectious diseases on earth.
Specially designed growth chambers containing the vaccine strain will travel with Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station. During spaceflight, crewmembers will activate the samples, while simultaneously, an earthbound sample will be grown under otherwise identical conditions. The spaceflight cultured RASV strain, upon its return, will be evaluated against the control sample and analyzed for its ability to protect against pneumococcal infection.
Nickerson and Curtiss hope that results from the RASV spaceflight study will offer important clues for producing a more protective anti-pneumococcal immune response, while limiting undesired side effects.
Although the space shuttle program now enters retirement, space-based research into infectious diseases and vaccinology will continue, thanks to the newly signed Space Act Agreement between the National Laboratory Office and the Biodesign Institute, which will grant routine access to the ISS for continuing research. Nickerson is enthusiastic about spaceflight research and the significant clinical potential for the current study:
"It is incredibly exciting to me that we have the opportunity to utilize spaceflight as a unique research and development platform for novel applications with potential to help fight a globally devastating disease."
Cheryl Nickerson's research was profiled in the May 2011 issue of Wired Magazine: http://www.wired.co.uk/magazine/archive/2011/05/features/space-medicines-final-frontier.
Richard Harth, firstname.lastname@example.com
Biodesign Institute


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Hyderabad May 13, 2007
Manoj - the second son of Mohan Babu - is a jovial guy having no airs. He is quite friendly and very grounded in his behavior. He is always seen cutting cool jokes. We met Manoj at Think Smart office for a friendly chitchat. Here are the excerpts -
What went wrong with Sri film? Sri is an action film right from the frame one till the climax. And I admit my performance was bad as I did not believe in the story and could not connect with the character and it reflected in the film. However I got good name in fights departments. I knew the result of the film halfway through the production. We (me and Sunil) used to tease director Dasarath that it is going to be a flop.
What about Raju Bhai? I loved the character of Donga Dongadi (debut film). Likewise I loved the character of Rajubhai as well. There is a realistic touch in Rajubhai character. The story of the film is about how a tapori joins the gang of goons. It is a family entertainer with realistic touch.
What are the highlights of Rajubhai? Songs and fights. The fights in this film are done without any wirework and computer graphics. There is a twist in the film. If that works out, the film will do well at the box office.
Tell us about the music of Rajubhai? I know Yuan Shankar Raja since my childhood and he is like a brother. Working for this film first topped his agenda over 8 simultaneous projects he is right now working on. All the tunes in this film are fresh. We took only one song from original and this song sports Sunil.
Tell us about director Surya Kiran? He is the one who came up with the idea of remaking Chitram Pesuthadi. That film was already being dubbed in Telugu when Surya Kiran narrated me the subject. We bought the rights and remade the film as Raju Bhai. The major advantage of working with Surya Kiran is that he is a terrific actor. He acts and then asks us to do that.
Did you make any changes in original? The original is a complete serious film. We added comedy touch in the first half and seriousness in the second half for the Telugu version.
You inherited the great voice of Mohan Babu. How do you feel about it? It is a blessing. I can speak just like my father. But my age does not suit that voice. I will try to develop my own modulation and dialogue delivery. May be as I grow up and become big, I use his voice modulation while doing serious character.
Are you open for multistarrers? Yes. I am open for mulristarrers. Generally our heroes work in multistarrers only if the heroes belong to same family. My father and brother worked for Game. We all know the result. The chemistry did not workout between them as the real relationship of father-son dominated the screen relationship of protagonists.
But egos come first in Telugu film industry? I am open. If anybody gives an advertisement for actors, I would be the first person to stand in the line and give an audition. I don't mind even if I get rejected. But I am willing to try. I don't mind doing the roles of hero, villain or comedian. I am keen to break the barriers of ego and star feeling to act in interesting films. I have seen many actors with terrific talent not getting film chances. I want to put myself in their position and compete with them.
Do you do any homework to play a character? I think doing homework is very important while playing character. We don't have training or rehearsals while preparing for the films. I had the fortune of seeing the shooting of 'Planet of Apes' in USA. I observed Matt Damon doing rehearsals by observing apes. Hollywood makes greatest films ever and at the same time they do so much of homework unlike in Telugu films where we go to sets and work there without any preparation.
Who is your favorite actor? Rajendra Prasad is my favorite actor. I used to put banners in Tirupati theaters during his film releases. I feel that every actor should be like Rajendra Prasad who is very talented and versatile. I also like Kantha Rao.
Who is your favorite actress? My favorite actress keep on changing from time to time. Now it is Rani Mukherjee.
What is your dream role? I want to do a film like Tom Hanks' Castaway.
What is your opinion on Telugu cinema vajrostavalu controversy? Nannu involve cheyyakanti (Dhee style). adi peddavalla godava
You have flexible body. How do you manage? I run 6-7 kms a day. I got a flexible body and I survive on non-oil food when I want to slim down. My next film might require me to be extra thin. I will have to change my looks and shed lots of weight for that character.
Why are you so fascinated with Jackie Chan? I am a huge fan and I always wanted to meet him. I tried in LA and Hong Kong, but I missed him. I finally got a chance when he was in Hampi, India to shoot for Myth. It was my most memorable moment.
After working with you choreographer Ganesh Acharya opined that you have body movements of Hrithik Roshan and expressions of Govinda? Chala ekkuvaidani anipinchindi. I should not listen to such compliments.
What is your next project? It might get confirmed in a couple of weeks. I might be doing an experimental film in which I play a 'lean guy' (bakkodu) character.
More chitchats Sunil VN Aditya Gopichand MS Raju Seenu Vytla Visakha Singh Sumanth Vedika Lawrence Raja Sekhar Sumanth 4 Satish Thati Krishnam Raju Shabana Azmi Maniratnam Cherry Farzana Mohan Goteti Ravi Varma Sumanth Reema Sen Vishal Nayana Tara Nagarjuna RK (Hyderabad Nawabs) Mohit Ahlawat Sumanth 3 Dr. Haranath Policherla Gangaraju Gunnam Ajay Dhanush Keeravani Rama Rajamouli Anushka Nitin Meera Chopra Ileana Dil Raju 2 Mahesh Babu 3 Sharvanand Kalyani Malik Sumanth 2 Sekhar Kammula 2 KM Radha Krishnan D Rama Naidu MS Raju Nagarjuna Puri Jagan Jayasudha Anil Krishna Allu Arjun Anthony Krishnam Raju Allari Ravi Babu Devanand Ramana Gogula YVS Chowdary Brahmanandam Sekhar Kammula Madhu Sharma KS Rama Rao 2 Sumanth Srihari Mohan Babu 2 Sania Mirza Suresh Kondeti KV Ramana IAS Raja Surya Vikram 2 Srikanth Chinnamatur Prabhas 2 Satya Krishnanan Prabhas 1 MRV Prasad PG Vinda Jaya Devi Sri Prasad AM Ratnam 2 Sonu Sood Ram Gopal Varma 3 Mahesh Babu 2 Shankar Vikram 1 Mohan Babu 1 KS Rama Rao 1 Dil Raju Manyam Ramesh Tarun Raghu Babu Krishna Vamsi Posani Krishna Murali AS Ravi Kumar Chowdary Sravanthi Ravi Kishore MS Raju AM Ratnam Nagarjuna Ram Gopal Varma 2 SS Rajamouli Venkatesh Mahesh Babu Ram Gopal Varma Vanisri


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L Is For Lemon Colored Template | Learn Your ABC's Worksheet | Printable Digital Download by Dog And Mouse Company
L Is For Lemon | Learn Your ABC's colored template print out by DogAndMouseCompany.com© This is a COLORED JPEG digital download worksheet aimed toward preschool or kindergarten aged children who are beginning to learn the alphabet. Can be used in a lapbook folder project for your child.
DogAndMouseCompany.com© For Personal And Classroom Use Only. Redistribution And Resell Prohibited. Education And Learning For Kids. All Rights Reserved.


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We've been looking at Bose gear a lot recently, so rather than halt the trend we're going to continue with a quick peek at the CineMate Series II 2.1 sound system today. This compact 2.1 home theatre system sports Articulated Array speakers and is specifically aimed at users looking to hook up a sound system to their TV. There's a simple setup, with a four button easy to use remote control.
Bose CineMate Series II specifications
* 2.1 channel configuration
* 2 speakers and sub-woofer, all wired
* Integrated Amplifier
* 1 x Optical audio input (SPDIF)
* 1 x audio line-in
The key with the Bose CineMate Series II is it's ability to fool the user into believing that they have full surround sound produced by just two speakers. Bose reckon they do this, and describe the process with a couple of boffins in the video below.
Bose CineMate Series II video
Bose CineMate Series II reviews
Amazon – 4 out of 5
CNet – 3.5 out of 5
Epinions – 3 out of 5
BestBuy – 4.4 out of 5
Pros – Ease of use and setup, sound quality
Cons – Lack of treble/bass controls
Whilst the 3.7 score for the Bose CineMate Series II doesn't exactly light up the home theatre sound system world, the reviews are not massively negative. So if you're looking for a sound system for a spare room or may be just have a small lounge the CineMate Series II may be what you're after.
Tags: bose, sound system


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Indoor Car Covers
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Natalie stands at the edge of a platform built around a towering oak. In front of her hangs a horizontal rope ladder she must cross to reach the next landing. Beneath her is a 15-foot drop to the ground. "No," she says, shaking her head. "I can't do it."
We're at Holiday Valley Resort's Sky High Adventure Park in Ellicottville, N.Y., and though Natalie, 7, is the youngest in our group, she must go first so I can help her with lanyards that connect her to the safety line. One of the park's guides offers to go with her, and she makes it across. Smiling, she is ready to go forward on her own.
My children and I traveled to Holiday Valley for a challenge and we've found it. The adventure park opened in 2011 with eight courses in 4 acres of forest on the side of a mountain. Each course features a series of "bridges" to traverse as well as two or three zip lines. It's been so popular that courses have been added every year, and there are now 12, including two devoted exclusively to zip lines.
There is also the mountain coaster, which takes riders 283 feet up the side of a hill. And just this summer, the park's new climbing forest opened. The only one of its kind in North America, it features 10 trees fitted with climbing holds that take harnessed adventure-seekers up to 45 feet.
But we haven't come here just for the thrills. We've also come for the beauty. Holiday Valley opened as a ski resort in 1957 and is set in rural Cattaraugus County. There are no traffic snarls, malls or swaths of suburbia to ruin what have been dubbed the Enchanted Mountains.
We drive just down the street and find the heart of Ellicottville at East Washington and Jefferson streets. Narrow Victorian-era storefronts are home to shops and restaurants, and the flower-filled sidewalks invite strolling through the village.
For dinner, we settle in at the Ellicottville Brewing Co., which just doubled in size and added an expansive outdoor patio with a fire pit, tables and a bar. The fire takes the chill out of the air and it's easy to imagine it filled with skiers who aren't afraid of the cold — especially when there's beer involved.
After all the action at Sky High yesterday, we are in need of some relaxation. We could golf on Holiday Valley's recently redesigned par 70, 18-hole golf course or even hit the spa, but our little pack likes to swim. Fortunately, the Tamarack Club, where we're staying, built its pool with all four seasons in mind. You enter the water indoors, but can swim through a narrow passageway to the outdoor pool, which is kept at 86 degrees. Once outside, you're surrounded by ski slopes. The air is crisp, but the pool is warm enough to stay comfortable.
We lounge away much of the day this way, but keep returning to the memories of our adventure the day before. The hardest obstacle had us walking uphill on a tightrope while holding onto a horizontal log that dangled above the rope. I lost my balance as I approached the platform and started to fall backward. I barely caught myself and avoided a fall. I admit that I was scared.
My 9-year-old, Audrey, on the other hand, wanted to do the toughest course her age permitted her to do. She asks if we can come back next year, when she will be 10 and allowed to try a course that's harder and higher off the ground. "You'll do it with me, right, Mom?" she asks.
Of course I will. There are still courses — and fears — left to conquer. We'll be back to enjoy the beauty of the forest at its fall finest and the rush of a new challenge.
» Go Local. Set the clock back at DJ's Restaurant, an old-fashioned diner packed with golfers who go for hot coffee, eggs, good service and reasonable prices. 34 E. Washington St., Ellicottville, N.Y., 716-699-8966
» Embrace Fall. Holiday Valley Resort's Fall Festival (Oct. 12 & 13) offers chairlift rides for spectacular views of fall foliage, live music and food. Find a carnival, food court and 400 arts vendors in downtown. ellicottvilleny.com/fall-festival
» Eat. Order gourmet pizzas, duck a l'orange or a caprese salad at Dina's Restaurant, which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner in an elegant, yet casual setting. 15 Washington St., Ellicottville, N.Y., 716-699-5330, dinas.com
» Play. For an indoor thrill, the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel is just 10 miles away in Salamanca and offers table games, slots, the Western Door Steakhouse and a spa. 777 Seneca Allegany Blvd., 716-945-9300, senecaalleganycasino.com
» Stay. With its wrap-around porch, The Jefferson Inn, located in the heart of the village, looks the part of the classic Victorian bed-and-breakfast. Enjoy the hot tub at night and the blueberry-stuffed French toast in the morning. 3 Jefferson St., Ellicottville, N.Y., 1-800-577-8451, thejeffersoninn.com


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(CNN) -- Behind closed doors in recent days, senior White House aides have been saying that measuring President Obama's first 100 days is the journalistic equivalent of a Hallmark holiday.
President Obama called Sen. Arlen Specter after Specter switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party.
"They don't mean anything," quipped one aide, "but you have to observe them."
But literally in the next breath the very same aide got pretty bold -- saying anyone doing one of these anniversary stories would be "hard-pressed to find another administration that has done as much" as Obama so early in a presidency, even when compared to the productivity of FDR.
"[Most productive] I think in my lifetime," said the senior aide. "An extraordinary beginning, but just the beginning."
In other words, Obama is just showing up for work on this "Hallmark holiday" with more than just a crummy greeting card to celebrate the occasion.
There will be metaphorical flowers and candy in the form of a White House welcome for the president's new BFF and favorite Democrat, Sen. Arlen Specter, to claim bipartisanship.
That's followed by a quick afternoon jaunt to the Midwest to show off early results at a town hall meeting in Missouri (the Show-Me State, get it?).
All of that capped off by the bright lights of a prime-time news conference in the East Room of the White House.
All this begs the question: Why did Obama's team suddenly embrace all this hoopla for what they claim to be an artificial holiday?
Part of the reason is that the president's advisers privately express some amazement that amid all of the crises facing America, Obama's approval ratings are sky-high.
They know it's probably inevitable that his poll numbers will come down, so they want to keep using what is probably their best asset -- the president himself -- now while they have the public's attention and can take advantage of his appeal.
"The American people are taking a measure of the president," a second top White House aide told me, "and they are saying 'we are happy with the decision we made' " in November.
Another reason for the aggressive sales pitch is even some of the president's fiercest Republican critics have to grudgingly admit the man has been busy charting an ambitious course in tough times.
He's signed 19 executive orders and 12 laws, most notably the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, the largest recovery package ever.
Not to mention an expansion of children's health insurance and historic pay equity changes. Watch highlights from Obama's first 100 days »
On foreign policy, he's largely kept campaign promises to wind down the war in Iraq, increase the U.S. troop presence in Afghanistan, and begin the process of shutting down the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
But now comes the really hard part, and there are political land mines all around.
On domestic policy, Obama is facing roadblocks on his grand plans for health care and energy amid Republican charges he will sink the country deeper into debt to pay for it all. Oh, and did I mention there's still great uncertainty about the housing market, stock market, and auto bailouts?
On foreign policy, Iraq and Afghanistan are still huge wild cards. Meanwhile, the administration's diplomatic overtures to Iran, Cuba and Venezuela could produce spectacular results or they could fail dramatically and feed into Republican charges he's weak on national security.
The Specter party switch gives the president a tactical victory in that if his party has a 60-seat, filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, he can potentially muscle through key pieces of his agenda.
But this alone will not solve Obama's problems. There will be days when Specter bucks the president, and days when conservative Democrats like Sen. Ben Nelson jump ship, and suddenly 60 votes evaporate. iReport.com: Grade Obama's first 100 days
That's why the Specter move has to be considered in a much broader context -- this is an opportunity for Obama to deal with a much broader campaign promise that he has not come close to achieving, changing the tone in Washington and figuring out how to get both parties to work together. Can Obama use this moment to develop a genuinely bipartisan governing coalition, or will bitterness over Specter's move just lead both parties to retreat to their respective corners?
Look for the president in tonight's prime-time press conference to try and pivot to the next 100 days by saying the early burst of activity -- in the words of a top aide -- has been "a good down payment on change and he's ready to work to bring both parties together.
"The president has accomplished a lot," asserted this top aide, "but he also laid the foundation for the next 100 days."
The success of those next 100 days and beyond may largely be measured on how well the president can forge consensus with key Republicans on some of these big issues.
Maybe sending a few Hallmark cards to Capitol Hill can help break the ice.
All About Guantanamo Bay • Arlen Specter


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This editorial shoot shot by the amazing Jessie Kenney was one of our top favorite shoots to style, shoot and create. It was created for our first print issue (so check it out to see the rest) and these were some extra shots we had.
Styling by Heather Rome
Creative Direction Priscila Barros
Hair and Make Up Sue Anne Tiger


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University of California, San Diego
In this course we will learn about Recommender Systems (which we will study for the Capstone project), and also look at deployment issues for data products. By the end of this course, you should be able to implement a working recommender system (e.g. to predict ratings, or generate lists of related products), and you should understand the tools and techniques required to deploy such a working system on real-world, large-scale datasets.
This course is the final course in the Python Data Products for Predictive Analytics Specialization, building on the previous three courses (Basic Data Processing and Visualization, Design Thinking and Predictive Analytics for Data Products, and Meaningful Predictive Modeling). At each step in the specialization, you will gain hands-on experience in data manipulation and building your skills, eventually culminating in a capstone project encompassing all the concepts taught in the specialization.
Specific details
Category of Education
Computer Sciense and IT


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SAN JOSE, Calif. – June 26, 2012 – As end-user demands for premium mobility and collaboration solutions continue to escalate, and businesses seek cost-effective ways to deliver the technology needed to meet those expectations, Cisco today announced a bevy of new services and capabilities for the Cisco® Unified Communications Manager platform. The services and capabilities are part of what's called Cisco Unified Communications (UC) Release 9.0 and directly address many of the key challenges IT managers are facing today as they seek to "collaboration-enable" their employees both in the office and on-the-go.
Cisco UC Release 9.0 is the foundation of a unified collaboration strategy and includes the following key advancements:
- Support of third-party endpoints. A new Cisco Unified Communications Manager feature called Extend and Connect works with Cisco Jabber™ and is designed to bring any third-party phone—including phones at hotels, airports, convention centers, or even far-flung places like offshore oil rigs or cruise ships sailing half way around the world—into the Cisco UC environment.
- How it works: With Extend and Connect, telecommuters and business travelers can simply input the phone number of their preferred voice device into a Jabber® client running on their Windows PC, and Cisco Unified Communications Manager will route all voice traffic directly to that phone number. This allows the worker to use any third-party phone but get the experience of using a full-featured enterprise phone, so they can enjoy all the communications services they have at the office while they're on the road, such as presence, IM and click-to-call. Extend and Connect can maintain excellent voice quality at all times without being dependent upon the quality of the broadband link.
- Cisco believes employees at businesses globally should have access to Cisco's UC environment, even if those employees are not using Cisco endpoints. Extend and Connect gives businesses a cost-effective way to give employees access to the Cisco UC environment by allowing any vendor phone—old or new, analog, digital or IP—to be controlled by Cisco Jabber. As long as the phone is connected to a telephone line, the user can enjoy all the features and capabilities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager that they would if they were using a Cisco IP Phone. With Extend and Connect, businesses can stretch existing investments by continuing to use existing endpoints while easing migration off legacy PBX systems and providing Cisco UC environment capabilities.
- Support of fixed mobile convergence gives users of any type of mobile phone access to more desk-phone-like features, anywhere—without the need of a smartphone, a data plan, or a mobile client installed on the phone. Enterprise-grade telephony features such as unified inbox, message waiting, callback, conferencing and direct-extension dialing are now available via a new systems interface that ties Cisco Unified Communications Manager with the user's mobile service provider, providing transparency, intelligence and control beyond the realm of the user's office.
- Video quality, security, and usability improvements. Video is on the rise in the enterprise—which means IT departments need a way to address quality, security and usability. UC Release 9.0 delivers:
- better bandwidth management via a built-in implementation of Call Admission Control (CAC). CAC automatically creates a logical view of the network so the system can dynamically update traffic management across clusters and locations to help ensure optimal call quality, even during peak usage periods.
- support for additional video endpoints. Cisco Unified Communications Manager is Cisco's platform to manage all collaboration endpoints; with this release, the recently announced Cisco TelePresence® TX9000 joins other telepresence endpoints (including C-Series codecs and SX, MX, EX, VX, Profile, 3000, 1300, 1100 and 500 Series) that are also registered to and managed by Cisco Unified Communications Manager.
- next-generation "dial by email." Also known as "Uniform Resource Identifier" (URI) dialing, this feature allows users to reach any endpoint in the system by dialing a contact's email address in lieu of a traditional phone number. Cisco UC Release 9.0 is designed to support both legacy as well as future URI-based systems and will further simplify the use of video technologies such as TelePresence.
- Enhanced Customer Collaboration. Cisco UC Release 9.0 contains many features that help businesses implement and manage contact center solutions. Key elements include:
- the introduction of Packaged Contact Center Enterprise, which provides an easy to install, pre-engineered, bounded, and packaged deployment model of Cisco's enterprise contact center software. Customers will be able to implement a contact-center solution more quickly and administer it more easily, helping to drive faster return on investment and lower total cost of ownership.
- Precision Routing for Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise. Precision Routing enables contact centers to drive complex call-routing decisions that better match customer desires with agent attributes and competencies, without the complexities typically found in skills-based routing solutions.
- Multiple enhancements to Cisco Unified Contact Center Express. With Cisco UC Release 9.0, Cisco adds historical reporting through Cisco Unified Intelligence to provide important metrics for managing the contact center. Cisco UC Release 9.0 also adds Web chat to Cisco Unified Contact Center Express, opening a new channel for customers to connect with a contact center. Plus, with this release, contact-center supervisors using mobile devices can perform key tasks such as managing agent skills to impact what types of calls are routed to a particular agent.
- Additional features that enhance management and usability. Cisco UC Release 9.0 also supports native call queuing, so in-bound callers and groups of callers can be automatically put on hold and properly routed into a queue and given custom greetings and announcements. One Button to Record is also a new feature, allowing users to start or stop call recording directly from an endpoint. Customers can configure One Button to Record to comply with local call-recording regulations (e.g., to notify all parties that call recording is in progress).
- Licensing improvements. In Cisco UC Release 9.0, Cisco introduces user-centric licensing throughout its entire collaboration portfolio. Now, businesses can purchase licenses based on four distinct types of workers: deskless (roaming) workers, desk-bound workers, occasionally mobile workers and road warriors. Additionally, Cisco is announcing Cisco Unified Workspace Licensing Premium Edition to address the growing mobile workforce by adding mobility solutions (like Cisco Jabber Mobile) to the collaboration mix. This builds on the Cisco Unified Workspace Licensing program launched four years ago and helps businesses purchase Cisco Unified Communications software licenses simply, flexibly and economically. The solutions have become widely adopted and reached nearly 10 million users worldwide in May 2012.
Global availability of Cisco UC Release 9.0 is targeted for Q3 CY 2012. Extend and Connect, one of the many key advancements, requires both UC Release 9.0 as well as Cisco Jabber 9.1. Cisco Jabber 9.1 is scheduled to be available in Q4 CY 2012.
Supporting Quotes
Nick Ciesinski, network architect, University of Wisconsin
"We've relied on Cisco Unified Communications for several years, and this latest version brings several updates that answer pressing business needs: voice traffic has increased exponentially on our network—especially during peak times when applications are due for enrollment and financial aid. Native queuing gives us a way to automate the handling of those spikes in call activity. Additionally, video is becoming increasingly important on our campuses, and URI dialing will ease the process of placing such calls. Plus the centralized license management will save time and effort."
Thomas Wyatt, vice president and general manager, Cisco
"Enterprise IT managers want to address user demands for access to collaborative technologies on a variety of devices. At the same time, resellers are looking to enable IT managers to maximize the value of existing investments while they transition to next-generation collaboration technologies. Cisco UC Release 9.0 does all of this."
Additional Resources:
- Join Cisco product leaders as they share a strategy update, announcements overview, and demonstrations of these new solutions in the Collaboration Announcements webcast on June 26 from 9 to 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Cisco product experts will respond to questions in real time. Replay available at noon PT on June 26 with experts available in community forum to respond to questions.
- Learn about Cisco Unified Communications.
- Learn how flexible financing services from Cisco Capital® can streamline the acquisition of Cisco technology for customers and partners around the world.
- Engage with us through the Cisco Collaboration Community, @CiscoCollab on Twitter, and Cisco Collaboration on Facebook. And, hear directly from our Cisco Collaboration leaders through our Cisco Collaboration Blog.
- Partners: Visit the Cisco Partner Central website.
Technorati Tags:
Cisco Unified Communications, Cisco Unified Communications Manager, IP telephony, Cisco Jabber, Cisco TelePresence, Cisco Customer Care, contact center, video, bandwidth
About Cisco Collaboration
From award-winning IP communications to mobility, customer care, Web conferencing, messaging, enterprise social software, and interoperable telepresence experiences, Cisco brings together network-based, integrated collaboration solutions based on open standards. These solutions offered across on-premises, cloud-based or virtualized platforms, as well as services from Cisco and our partners, are designed to help promote business growth, innovation and productivity. They are also designed to help accelerate team performance, protect investments, and simplify the process of finding the right people and information.
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.
# # #
Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. A listing of Cisco's trademarks can be found at www.cisco.com/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company.
Availability Disclaimer: Many of the products and features described herein remain in varying stages of development and will be offered on a when-and-if-available basis. This products and features are subject to change at the sole discretion of Cisco, and Cisco will have no liability for delay in the delivery or failure to deliver any of the products or features set forth in this document.


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Genesco, a specialty retailer of footwear, sports apparel and related accessories, has sued Visa USA for $13.3 million in fines that were assessed against the company after a credit card data breach in 2010.
In a 49-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee last week, the Nashville-based retailer claimed that Visa's fines were unjustified and unenforceable under the law.
Genesco's lawsuit is the first to challenge a credit card company on the issue of fines resulting from payment card data breaches.
Genesco, like every other entity that accepts credit and debit card payments, is required to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS), a set of controls put in place several years ago by Visa, designed to help companies bolster defenses against attacks designed to steal data.
Over the years, credit card companies have assessed hefty fines against merchants who suffered payment card data breaches, purportedly as a result of their failure to comply with PCI DSS requirements.
Genesco was one such company. In 2010, the retailer suffered an intrusion in which unknown attackers attempted to steal payment card information from its networks.
According to Genesco's complaint, the attackers installed packet-sniffing malware on the company's network in an apparent bid to grab unencrypted card data as it was being transmitted for approval to card-issuing banks. The malware was designed to capture the card data and transmit it back to the attackers periodically.
After the intrusion was discovered, Visa issued an alert to affected card issuers, informing them that every Visa card that was processed by Genesco over a one-year period between Dec. 2009 and Dec. 2010 had been compromised. Visa later collected a total of $13.29 million in fines from Wells Fargo Bank and Fifth Third Bank, the two "acquiring banks" that had authorized Genesco's participation in the Visa payment system.
Under PCI DSS rules, acquiring banks are contractually responsible for ensuring that any merchants they authorize for payment card transactions are fully compliant with PCI DSS requirements. They can be fined if one of their merchants gets breached as a result of a failure to comply with PCI. Acquiring banks typically pay the fines to the credit card companies, and later recover it from the merchant that suffered the breach.
In keeping with the practice, both Wells Fargo and Fifth Third collected from Genesco the amounts they had paid to Visa by way of fines.
In its lawsuit, Genesco claimed the fines were totally unjustified. It noted that Visa's own rules specify fines only in situations where a breach occurred because of a company's failure to comply with PCI. Even then, fines are applicable only if more than 10,000 cards are compromised. There also needs to be actual and demonstrable financial damage resulting from fraud or counterfeiting before a fine can be imposed.
None of these situations applied with the 2010 intrusion, Genesco said in its complaint. The company noted that it was fully compliant with PCI requirements at the time of the breach. As required under PCI, no card data was ever stored on Genesco's systems at any time during the intrusion.
The only card data that was potentially exposed was the unencrypted card data being transmitted for approval. Visa's own rules at the time did not require companies to encrypt such data while it was being transmitted, Genesco maintains.
The retailer also challenged Visa's assertion that all card data handled by the company over a one-year period was exposed in the intrusion. Genesco maintained that the servers handling the transactions were rebooted periodically. As a result, even if some card data had been stored in server log files they would have been erased each time the server rebooted. This would mean there was little chance that all cards that were handled by the company over a one-year period would have been exposed.
Importantly, Visa failed to show that either it or any card issuers suffered any actual damages from the breach, Genesco said. According to Genesco, the intrusion did not result in any fraudulent activity or financial losses remotely amounting to the fines charged by Visa for the intrusion.
The company has also challenged the legality of Visa's actions, noting that the fines amounted to an illegal penalty rather than a fine based on actual damages. "Visa does not even pretend that the non-compliance fines represent actual damages that Visa incurred," as result of Genesco's alleged failure to comply with PCI, the company said in its complaint.
Visa did not respond to a request for comment.
Jaikumar Vijayan covers data security and privacy issues, financial services security and e-voting for Computerworld. Follow Jaikumar on Twitter at @jaivijayan or subscribe to Jaikumar's RSS feed. His e-mail address is firstname.lastname@example.com.
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