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Engineers build 'smallest' gigapixel camera
Big eye Engineers in the United States have built a prototype gigapixel camera the size of a bedside cabinet that can capture an image in a single snapshot with 1000 times more detail than today's devices.
It is not the world's first gigapixel camera, but it is the smallest and fastest and opens up prospects for improving airport security, military surveillance and even online sports coverage, its developers say.
A pixel is a small light point in a digital image, concentrations of which together form a picture.
Today's cameras capture images measured in megapixels - a million pixels - normally between eight and 40 for an average consumer device. A thousand megapixels make a gigapixel, which is thus comprised of a billion pixels.
Most of today's gigapixel images are made by digitally merging several megapixel pictures.
"Our camera records a one gigapixel image in less than a 10th of a second," says project member David Brady of Duke University. His team's report appear today in the journal Nature.
Gigapixel imaging captures details that are invisible to the human eye and can later be examined by zooming in without losing clarity.
No lightweight camera
Dubbed AWARE-2, the device is housed in a box of 75 x 50 x 50 centimetre - most of which comprises electronic processing and communication equipment.
The optical system consists of a six-centimetre ball-shaped lens surrounded by an array of 98 micro-cameras each with a 14-megapixel sensor.
Brady says the optical system on its own weighs about 10 kilograms, but with the case about 45 kilograms.
"The electronic system shrinks by a factor of four in the next generation, however."
In use today are highly specialised gigapixel astronomical telescopes and airborne surveillance systems, which are comparatively large and have a narrow field of view, says Brady of Duke University in North Carolina.
There are also some film-based gigapixel cameras.
"Our technology is most interesting as the first demonstration of high pixel count and wide field of view imaging at finite focal ranges," says Brady.
The cost of such a camera today would be similar to that of a high-resolution digital movie camera, he says - about $100,000 to $250,000.
But as the electronics improve, the price should become affordable for professional and serious amateur photographers within about five years, followed soon thereafter by hand-held gigapixel cameras entering into widespread use.
Extreme detail
Brady says the technology could be used, for example, to stream sporting events over the Internet - enabling viewers to zoom in and watch the game from whatever perspective and resolution they choose.
Similarly, cameras mounted in game parks or at scenic lookouts would allow online tourists to examine a scene in much more detail than if they were actually there.
"Ubiquitous gigapixel cameras may transform the central challenge of photography from the question of where to point the camera to that of how to mine the data," according to the report.


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UPDATED 8.14.2012 by Julie Montanaro
A man accused of beating "Jane Doe" and leaving her for dead on the side of the road in Suwannee County will soon come back to Florida to stand trial for it.
The Suwannee County Sheriff says Shawn O'Bryan will likely be brought back in the next 10 days.
O'Bryan is accused of beating his girlfriend, Shannon Wrench, and dragging her body into the woods off Highway 90.
O'Bryan was arrested Friday at his apartment in the small town of Rantoul, Illinois. His neighbors are stunned by the allegations.
"We each came over and you know, talked from time to time. He's always been ... offered to help fix things. I just would have never thought, you know, this could go on so close to home," neighbor Anthony Chickini said. "It's scary, very scary. I guess it holds true, you don't know who your neighbors are."
Wrench was in a coma for weeks. She is recovering now at Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
A prison transport service will bring O'Bryan back to Florida. We'll let you know when he arrives in Suwannee County to face charges.
Suwannee County, Florida- August 13, 2012
Suwannee County Sheriff Tony Cameron told Eyewitness News reporter Eames Yates "I think we have a very strong case. I don't have any doubt that we can prove what occurred when the time comes."
What the sheriff says occurred was attempted murder in the first degree.
Shawn Patrick O'Bryan is accused of dragging Shannon Wrench onto the side of a Suwannee County road and leaving her for dead with a severe head injury. O'Bryan appeared in court in Champaign County, Illinois and waived extradition meaning he will be sent back to Florida to face his charges.
Suwannee County resident Thomas Mulkey said "it makes me feel very sad for her. My heart goes out for her, but no compassion for him whatsoever."
Another Suwannee County resident, Gloria Presley, said "I feel released because that was a terrible terrible thing for her to have to go through."
Wrench is currently at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida. Her health is improving and deputies say she is now able to communicate.
Sheriff Cameron went on to say "once we had him identified, she is responsible for knowing the situation, that she came to Florida with him in her vehicle. And the vehicle was back in Illinois there at his home."
A woman badly beaten and left on side of the road has now been identified.
Suwannee County Sheriff Tony Cameron tells us she is 34-year-old Shannon Wrench from Rantoul, Illinois.
"We never have something happen like that here and it was just a shock to me and the entire community really," said Joey Wade, local resident.
Once they figured her identity, that led them to 38-year-old Shawn O'Bryan. He was arrested in Rantoul by the police department on Friday.
Officials say Wrench continues to improve everyday. Local residents grew close to the story over the weeks and are happy about her recovery.
"Every body kind of banded together to find out exactly who she was, what happened to her and why it happened to her," Wade added.
"Everybody wanted to know what they could do to help, everybody wanted to help," said Douglas Carl, another local resident following the story.
Formerly known as Jane Doe, Wrench was found July 16 by a passerby.
It was on highway 90 near 153rd road in Suwannee County.
Sheriff Cameron believes her body was dragged to a wooded area near the road.
Wrench continues to recover at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. She woke up from a medically induced coma on Tuesday.
Thursday, Cameron says they identified her through fingerprint analysis.
O'Bryan is still in the Champaign County Jail.
Live Oak, Florida - August 11, 2012
The woman known as Jane Doe in Suwannee County has been identified and the man accused of trying to kill her has been arrested.
34-year-old Shannon Wrench is the woman who authorities have been trying to identify. She's from Rantoul, Illinois. In July she was found in Suwannee County near the intersection of U.S. 90 and 153rd road.
Wrench was able to give authorities information for an arrest and yesterday police in Rantoul arrested Shawn Patrick O'Bryan. He is charged with attempted first degree murder. O'Bryan is being held without bond and waiting extradition to Suwannee County.
[UPDATE] Live Oak, Florida- August 9, 2012- 6:30pm
On July 16th a woman later deemed Jane Doe was found on a road just off of Highway 90 in Suwannee County. No one knew who she was but one thing was certain. She had a serious head wound as a result of blunt force trauma.
Suwannee County Sheriff Tony Cameron said "no matter how she got on that roadway whoever did this took her by her feat and drug her 30 to 40 feet off the roadway and into the bushes and left her."
The Suwannee County Sheriff's office immediately began trying to identify her. Those efforts have finally payed off. After broadening the search using her fingerprints they've confirmed who she is.. but they're not releasing her name due to the active investigation. Her ID isn't the only good news. On Tuesday she awoke from the her medically induced coma in the Shands Hospital at the University of Florida.
Sheriff Cameron went on to say "now that I think that her health is going ot be okay, and that we're going to get her back on her feet, and we know who she is now my next goal is that whoever did this to her needs to be behind bars."
The Sheriff said the woman has been speaking with authorities and confirmed that she is 34 years old.
[UPDATE] Live Oak, Florida- August 9, 2012
Suwannee County's 'Jane Doe' has been 100 percent identified according to Suwannee County Sheriff Tony Cameron. He said that she was identified by her fingerprints. The Sheriff's office continued to run checks through the local crime lab until she was positively ID'd.
Sheriff Cameron also said that she is not from the Suwannee County area but is not releasing her name at this time due to the active investigation. He did say that she is 34 years old and is "rapidly improving" after awaking from a medically induced coma on Tuesday (8/7).
The woman was found on the side of a road off of Highway 90 on July 16th with a severe head injury as a result of blunt force trauma. She was taken to the Shands Hospital at the University of Florida where she was placed in the medically induced coma.
Coming up tonight on Eyewitness News we'll bring you the interview with the Suwannee County Sheriff Tony Cameron.
[UPDATE] Live Oak, Florida- August 8, 2012
On July 16, a local resident found an unidentified woman on the side of the road battered and bruised. It was right off of Highway 90 near 153rd Road in Suwannee County.
"I don't know it's just something about her that says We're gonna fight for you girl," said Lynda Rebel, a Suwannee County resident.
The woman woke up from her medically induced coma on Tuesday.
She's recovering at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Suwannee County Sheriff Tony Cameron said she is "Somewhat responsive."
She's giving signs like a 'thumbs up or thumbs down.'
"The second we get up, yes we look for who's got a new update... Is today gonna be the day someone tells us what her name is?" Rebel said.
Deputies still don't know the identity of this woman. They say people from across the country have been calling, emailing, hoping to have the right information about this Jane Doe.
A candlelight vigil was held Monday night in her honor, the next day, the woman came out of the coma.
"That's what we think about when we get up and that's what we go to bed thinking, we say our little prayers for her every single day," Rebel added.
The Sheriff's Office believes someone was involved in moving her body from the road off to the side. But, there are still no leads to how she got here in the first place.
The Sheriff's Office reminds anyone with information about this to call (386) 364-3412
[UPDATE] Live Oak, Florida- August 7, 2012
Suwannnee County Sheriff Tony Cameron reports that 'Jane Doe' is beginning to appear "somewhat responsive". She has started to give signs like 'thumbs-up' or 'thumbs-down'. They're not sure what she can understand, but they are hopeful for her recovery. Nothing has changed as far as more information about who she is.
Live Oak, Florida- August 6, 2012
Suwannnee County Sheriff Tony Cameron said "We had a resident that was riding by and looked over and said 'there's someone's legs!'"
Those legs belonged to a still unidentified woman, being called Jane Doe, who appears to be 20 to 35 years old. She was found on July 16th with a head injury as a result of blunt force trauma. She was taken to the Shands Hospital at the University of Florida and is currently in a medically induced coma.
Her body was on the side of a road just off of Highway 90... Anything before that is a mystery.
The Suwannee County Sheriff's Office did say that someone was involved in moving Jane Doe's body to the side of the road. At last check there are no leads as to who that person may be.
Sheriff Cameron went on to say "did she fall off the back of a motorcycle and somebody say oh my gosh she's dead and just pulled her off to the side of the road and they were afraid they were going to be in trouble.. I don't know."
The candlelight vigil was held in front of the Suwannee County Courthouse. Many participants just want this girls family to know what happened to her.
Beth Beaver/Suwannee County Resident Beth Beaver said "It could be your sister, your mother, you know, a niece. You know, you just don't know and maybe by getting her information and her picture out there somebody will say wow that's my niece and I haven't seen her in ages."
Anyone with information about Jane Doe is asked to contact the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office. That number is 386-364-3412
Suwannee County, Florida- July 18, 2012
Authorities are trying to determine the identity of a badly injured woman found on the side of the road in Suwannee County.
The Sheriff says the woman was found Monday near the intersection of U.S. 90 and 153rd Road, west of Live Oak. They believe she was lying just off the road way over night.
The Sheriff says they do not know who she is, where she came from or if she's even a local person. She is currently in a medically induced coma in Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
The woman is described as a white female in her mid-20s. With blue eyes, brown hair and tattoo of a wolf on her shoulder. She is between five feet, four inches and five feet, seven inches and 120 pounds.
Anyone with information as to who she is, is urged to call the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office.

subset: commoncrawl


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(Reuters) - The U.S. cable industry, hoping to revive innovation and beat back the emergence of online video, is turning for ideas to Silicon Valley.
Leading players from Time Warner Cable to Comcast Corp will next year set up a showpiece research center in the heart of a region that has spawned recent momentous trends, from social networking to the mobile revolution.
Spearheaded by Louisville, Colorado-based CableLabs, a nonprofit research and development consortium established by the industry, the center hopes to work on projects with startups and established firms; hire engineers; and engage leading universities such as Stanford in experimenting on new tech.
The industry needs to "get re-energized," said Jerald Kent, chief executive of Cequel Communications and co-founder of Charter Communications. "Part of the message is this is not your grandmother's cable business."
The cable industry is grappling with a persistently poor service reputation while fending off stiff competition from Internet-based services like Netflix Inc and Hulu.
Hundreds of thousands of American homes have already dropped their cable or satellite subscriptions this year, hurt by high unemployment and a weak housing market, not to mention regular programming blackouts due to contract disputes.
The cable industry still generated $97.6 billion in revenue last year, with more than 57 million video customers in the U.S., according to research firm SNL Kagan. But steady customer losses have spurred speculation that households will increasingly cut the cord and drop the expense of paying for TV altogether.
The new research facility will look into these trends and explore how it can engage the technology community to overcome some of the issues and challenges facing the industry.
The new facility, which will mainly house engineers, will open in mid-2013 and consolidate CableLabs' current office in San Francisco. It will create "an innovation funnel," Phil McKinney, CableLabs' CEO, said in a news briefing last week.
McKinney, who joined CableLabs in June after having spent over nine years at Silicon Valley giant Hewlett-Packard in various leadership roles, wants developers and other startups to consider cable as a powerful platform for their services and offerings.
CableLabs - whose board members include Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt, Comcast Cable CEO Neil Smit and Cablevision Systems CEO Jim Dolan - will also closely work with its members who have a presence in the area, including Comcast.
CableLabs, which has 175 employees in total of which 100 are engineers, will also forge deeper connections with universities in the Bay Area such as Stanford University, McKinney said.
The group will establish "co-innovation labs" and aim to work with both companies and universities around specific projects, he said, adding that CableLabs will be hiring engineers in the Valley for the new facility and transferring some staff from its Colorado office.
The upcoming expanded presence in San Francisco Bay Area is expected to help the industry get closer to large technology companies, some of which are looking to disrupt the space by attempting to deliver video on demand and on any device.
The cable industry will be able to learn from fast-growing Silicon Valley tech companies on how to serve the younger demographic better, some of the members of CableLabs said.
The proliferation of smartphones and tablets have added to the complexity of the changing nature of people's viewing habits but Comcast's Smit said the company and the industry sees the popularity of mobile devices as an opportunity.
"Mobile is growing and we want to provide our services in mobile format," Smit said, adding that providing wireless internet is also becoming an important area for the company. "Wi-fi is a very important part of our business, both indoor and outdoor aspects of it."
Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Additional reporting by Liana Baker in New York; Editing by Tim Dobbyn


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This brand runs true to size. To ensure the best fit, we suggest consulting the size chart.
The brainchild of Fila Brothers, the Italian label Fila is one of the largest sportswear-manufacturing groups in the world. Known for its ground-breaking inventions in the world of sports, the brand aims to provide protection and comfort to those who love to indulge in sports. Fila offers different types of shoes, clothing and accessories required in the world of sports.


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Well, after building a beautiful "Tazor" with a Stumax 110-52 on 12 cell, and nice paint job, it only lasted a minute. Extreme bad luck struck and it was a total loss.
check out the video.
Updated 02-02-2012 at 08:07 PM by Richard Evans
After many months building one of the nicest planes I have built, bad luck struck less than a minute after takeoff!
The reason for the Crash was that I programed to much travel in the Ailerons, coupled with too much expo.
this and the fact that the wind was blowing about 15 mph. The down wind run got it too far, and when it rolled violently when turning from downwind to upwind, I couldn't see well enough due to the distance and got disoriented just for a second. Thats all it took!
I never let something like this get me down so, here is my next project: http://www.rcaviation.com/showthread...ric-Conversion


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Accidental Fatal Shooting of Gun Instructor by 9-Year-Old Girl Sparks New Debate
Age-Limit Issue Raised After 9-Year-Old Loses Control of Uzi
The death of a shooting instructor at an Arizona gun range when a 9-year-old girl lost control of a powerful automatic weapon has raised the issue of age limits at such operations.
The girl, on vacation with her parents at the Last Stop shooting range in White Hills, Ariz., accidentally shot and killed the instructor, 39-year-old Charles Vacca, while firing an Uzi submachine gun Monday, officials said. The Mohave County Sheriff's Office said the gun's recoil sent the weapon over the girl's head, its bullets striking Mr. Vacca,...


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What Do You Think?
1) That they are endowed with perfect goodness;
2) That they have perfect malice;
3) That they are opposite containing both goodness and malice;
4) That they have neither goodness nor malice. [Dialogues, XI]
Which one do you think is preferable when you look at the world, and why?


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EW councillors agree on framework for pay and allowances
Environment Waikato councillors have voted to retain the way their pay and allowances are structured despite facing a heavier workload over the next three year term.
Community » What's Happening » News » Media releases - archived
You can access our archive of media releases since 2000 by using the filter by date range search on the left hand side. Once you have made your date selections, click the filter button.
This archive does not include the recent media releases.
Environment Waikato councillors have voted to retain the way their pay and allowances are structured despite facing a heavier workload over the next three year term.
The value of Environment Waikato's externally managed investment fund has grown by 4.8 per cent or $2.8 million between the end of last financial year and 31 October, according to figures presented to this week's finance and audit committee.
The Kaimai Catchments Project - aimed at protecting the catchments which flow into Waikato's Waihou River and Tauranga Harbour, and delivering wider environmental benefits - is holding a stakeholder forum and a farmer workshop next month.
Thirteen very successful possum control operations and continued excellence in cutting rat numbers under the Hamilton Halo project are features of the annual report for 2009-10 of the Regional Pest Management Strategy.
Environment Waikato says helicopter monitoring of compliance with effluent management rules is resuming again after being suspended because of an extended period of wet weather over winter.
A trial of a koi carp trap at Lake Waikare has proved successful with more than 1500 kilograms of fish caught.
There is strong community support for a Hamilton-Auckland passenger rail service but a more qualified willingness to pay increased rates to help fund it, according to the results of a survey commissioned by Environment Waikato.
The hunt is on in Hauraki for the "national interest pest" plant Manchurian wild rice.
A project involving Environment Waikato, Hamilton City Council, Matamata Piako District Council, Landcare Research, Lakeland Steel and Inghams Enterprises, is being granted nearly $160,000 over two years to explore turning organic waste into useful nutrients, thereby benefiting the regional economy and the environment.
Job and business opportunities, financial and economic matters, and environmental concerns have topped a new list of issues Waikato people are concerned about, says a report prepared for Environment Waikato and local councils.
As the weather warms up and summer approaches, boat owners in the Waikato are being reminded that all vessels must display a name or contact details.
A proposed Regional Policy Statement (RPS) being released tomorrow for consultation contains new policies for a new era of economic and environmental management, says Environment Waikato chairman Peter Buckley.


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SOCHI, Russia - T.J. Oshie brainstormed while he skated to center ice, desperately trying to come up with one last move to end an epic shootout. He had already taken five shots at Sergei Bobrovsky, and the Russians were still even.
Yet Oshie was chosen for the U.S. men's hockey team with just such a situation in mind, and the shootout specialist concocted one last clever goal to silence an arena filled with screaming Russian fans.
Oshie scored four times in the shootout and put the winner between Bobrovsky's legs in the eighth round, leading the United States past Russia 3-2 Saturday in the thrilling revival of a classic Olympic hockey rivalry.
"I was just thinking of something else I could do, trying to keep him guessing," said Oshie, the St. Louis Blues forward. "Had to go back to the same move a couple times, but I was glad it ended when it did. I was running out of moves there."
International rules allow the same player to take multiple shots after the first three rounds of a shootout, and U.S. coach Dan Bylsma leaned on Oshie's array of slick shots and change-of-pace approaches to the net. Oshie scored on the Americans' first shot before taking the last five in a row, going 4 for 6 against Bobrovsky and disappointing a Bolshoy Ice Dome crowd including Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I aged a couple of years in that shootout," Bylsma said. "We had other guys that are capable, but T.J. was the guy who was going well. It seemed like he was going to score every time he went."
Oshie's final shot was a beauty: He threaded a forehand right through Bobrovsky's pads, the puck punching the back of the Russian net emphatically enough to pop the water bottle on top into the air.
"At some point, you think, 'Does he have any more moves left?'" U.S. captain Zach Parise said. "But he did a good job. ... That's hard to do, to get in a goalie's head and throw him off a little bit."
Oshie was among the final selections for the U.S. roster, and though the 27-year-old from Warroad, Minn., has never had a 20-goal NHL season, he leads American-born players with seven shootout goals this season.
The U.S. men are only interested in the one that all but wrapped up an automatic berth in the quarterfinals next week.
"I think you're going to see T.J. Oshie become a household name after that display he put on," said David Backes, Oshie's teammate in St. Louis. "The kids will be out on the pond probably in Minnesota right now, throwing a 5-hole on the goalie three or four times in a row."
Cam Fowler and Joe Pavelski scored in regulation for the Americans in the marquee game of the preliminary round. Jonathan Quick made 29 saves and stopped five attempts in the shootout as the U.S. improved to 2-0.
Captain Pavel Datsyuk scored two goals in regulation and another in the shootout for the Russians, who rallied from a third-period deficit in a fast-paced game. Russia also had an apparent goal waved off with 4:40 left because Quick's net came off its moorings.
"The U.S. team is a good team and a good test for us," Datsyuk said. "We played good, but the result is not good."
The shootout finish was entertaining, but the entire game was international hockey at its most compelling - and the third period was a thriller.
Pavelski scored the tiebreaking goal for the Americans on a power play with 10:33 to play, but Datsyuk tied it with 7:16 left during a Russian power play, spurring Putin out of his seat to cheer.
After review, the officials waved off Fedor Tyutin's apparent go-ahead goal because the net was loose, incensing the crowd. Russian coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov and Alex Ovechkin both felt Quick had intentionally dislodged his net earlier in the sequence.
"I don't know what happened there, but definitely was a goal," Ovechkin said. "Nobody touched the net. Their goalie touched the net and put it out. But the referee has to see it and at least give him two minutes, you know?"
Quick claimed he didn't even realize the net had come unmoored.
"You need to catch some breaks to win games," he said.
At Sochi, Russia
All events taped unless noted as Live
3 p.m., Men's Cross-Country - 4x10km Relay Gold Medal Final; Women's Snowboarding - Snowboard Cross Competition
7 p.m., Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Short Dance; Men's Alpine Skiing - Super-G Gold Medal Final; Women's Snowboarding - Snowboard Cross Gold Medal Final; Women's Speedskating - 1500 Gold Medal Final; Two-Man Bobsled - Competition
11:35 p.m., Men's Biathlon - 15km Mass Start Gold Medal Final
7:15 a.m., Men's Hockey - Slovenia vs. United States (LIVE)
10 a.m., Figure Skating - Ice Dancing Short Dance (LIVE)
2 p.m., Men's Biathlon - 15km Mass Start Gold Medal Final
5 p.m., Game of the Day: Hockey
3 a.m., Women's Curling - United States vs. South Korea
4 p.m., Men's Curling - United States vs. Sweden
7:30 a.m., Men's Hockey - Russia vs. Slovakia (LIVE)
Men's Hockey - Finland vs. Canada (LIVE)
5 a.m., Men's Curling - United States vs. Switzerland (LIVE)
Medals Table
At Sochi, Russia
Through Saturday, Feb. 15
(51 of 98 total events)
Nation G S B Tot
Russia 4 6 5 15
Netherlands 4 4 6 14
United States 4 3 7 14
Norway 4 3 6 13
Germany 7 3 2 12
Canada 4 5 3 12
Sweden 1 5 2 8
Switzerland 5 1 1 7
Austria 2 4 1 7
China 3 2 0 5
Japan 1 3 1 5


text: A hot tub, baby oil, and 5 hot guys. Can you think of a better way to spend your evening. We also had full body baby oil wrestling match. A lot of cock rubbing and man muscle just rubbing up against each other. Ay caray...that made me HOT. It got me so horny we went into the house and finished what we started.


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Cirilia recorded some helpful videos for this week's Knitbits. All three relate to the free pattern, Rosebud (a lovely cardigan designed by Tonia Barry) but might be quite helpful if you need help picking up sts, have fear of bobbles or if you forget to put in buttonholes some day.
5 Comments
These howto videos are great. You, dear Cirilia are a natural.
Agreed! Thank you!
Love them!
Berroco KnitBits® #272 – Peace on Earth from Berroco
Happy Holidays, this was the best cover (12-24-08 emails) for a Christmas one could imagine. It appears as little earth pictures. Bless you!
Thank you so much for these clear, easy to follow videos on the exact techniques I've been wondering about/having problems with! More please!


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NEW ORLEANS -- Aldon Smith hasn't recorded a sack since Week 14, but the San Francisco 49ers pass rusher remains central to the team's chances of winning Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII.
Justin Smith, who's religiously swallowed up blockers alongside Aldon this season, believes numbers alone don't tell the story.
"That's just a straight statistic, but what you don't always see is teams play us a little bit differently," Justin said Sunday night after the 49ers arrived in New Orleans. "Quarterbacks drift on us a little bit more, and we've been playing some really good quarterbacks in (Matt) Ryan and (Aaron) Rodgers. They're timing guys. They're getting rid of the ball quick. They do their job really well, as well, so it makes our job a little bit tougher."
Numbers, in this case, are deceiving. Aldon didn't record a sack against the Atlanta Falcons, but ProFootballFocus.com tracked him with seven quarterback pressures against Ryan in the NFC title game. Aldon's 19.5 takedowns didn't happen by accident this season, but he's been relatively quiet on paper since Justin suffered a partially torn left triceps against the New England Patriots in Week 15.
Justin is still playing through the pain of that injury and acknowledged Sunday he can't do everything he wants to on the field. We saw the 49ers perform well against run in the win over the Falcons. The pass rush, meanwhile, might not be the dominant machine it was earlier in the year, but Smith and Smith can't be far from Joe Flacco's mind.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.


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Creator of "Hall's Index" Passes
The man who preserved our past in scrapbooks of newspaper clippings -- now the most-used volumes in the library system -- has, himself, become an entry in local history.
Dr. William K. Hall, who earned the gratitude of genealogists and amateur researchers alike, died March 2 in St. Louis at the age of 93.
If you've never searched old family records or birth announcements, "Hall's Collection" may mean little. But news of his death is rippling through the communities of genealogists and historians because of what he gave us.
Hall spent nearly a lifetime creating an index and scrapbooks of the vital records that appeared in Springfield-Greene County newspapers dating to 1865.
These kinds of records are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in family research or the history of southwest Missouri. People use them to trace relatives – perhaps family fortunes – through birth records, marriage or engagement announcements or obituaries.
Local History Librarian Michael Glenn praised Hall's contribution.
"Dr. Hall's 145-year index to items of genealogical interest from Springfield newspapers has proven to be an invaluable tool for historians and genealogists, saving many people countless hours of searching newspapers day by day for death, marriage and divorce information," Glenn said.
Hall began indexing the newspaper items while attending Central High School. He said he did it to keep up with hometown news and to support his own research while at Yale, studying medicine at Harvard, serving 20 years in the U.S. Navy and World War II, and practicing medicine in St. Louis and St. Charles. Hall also wrote numerous genealogy books.
All the while, he continued to cut and paste articles into old magazines. He indexed the items in the back and had photocopies made and bound into books, which he then gave to the library and genealogical groups. The library's collection of 230 volumes stretches 45 linear feet.
Ongoing work to digitize his books and indexes appears on Missouri Digital Heritage, under "Hall's Index & Items of Genealogical Interest from the Springfield, Greene County, MO Newspapers."
"I was saddened to learn…of Dr. Hall's recent death," said historian Sally Lyons McAlear. "There are many genealogical and historical discoveries I owe to his contributions."
McAlear's hope is to see a notice honoring his passing in the 2011 Hall's Index. She added, "His death certainly needs to make the index, after he included countless thousands of other deaths and items of local interest."
Find this article at


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Bilingual thoughts on life, language, learning, and all things Latina.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Blindness - Book Review
On an average day, a man goes blind as he drives his car down a city street. A Good Samaritan comes to his rescue and helps him to his home. Later, the driver and his wife go to a doctor for help. The doctor, unable to provide any answers, sends the patient home, contacts another eye specialist to discuss the matter, and proceeds to see other patients who remain in the waiting room. Sometime later, the Good Samaritan, the doctor, and the patients in the waiting room, all go blind. Soon, people across the city, who appear to have no connection to one another, fall blind. This blindness comes on without warning, suddenly and swiftly.
City officials begin to round up victims and confine them to an abandoned mental hospital. One person, who does not go blind, becomes a silent witness to the behaviors and tragedies that emerge from this epidemic.
This book was mesmerizing, in that peculiar way that roadway accidents and neighborhood fires grip our attention. I was also fascinated by the way Saramago wrote this story; he stressed descriptions that relied on sound, smell, touch – senses that become heightened when one goes blind.
I recommend this book. Here is the movie trailer that was released based on it, though I don't recall the movie being promoted around here. Perhaps I missed it, and it's already out on DVD. At any rate, a movie will only show you the story events. The book, as it was written, allows you to see.
4 comments:
- Ali said...
I've heard good things about this book before. I think the premise might kind of creep me out, though. Did you find it depressing at all?
- July 1, 2009 at 2:29 PM
Yeah, the movie came and went already. I definitely want to watch it though.
I bought another book by Saramago called "Death with Interruptions". He comes up with great premises, but I have yet to dive in to his writing.
- July 2, 2009 at 8:24 AM
- This Brazen Teacher said...
I read this! I did find it depressing, but very eye-opening... hehe.
I read it when it first came out years ago, and just snagged it out a whim at Borders one day when I was bored.
The stream of consciousness style he uses was a little hard for me to adjust to at first, but after awhile I liked it better than traditional styles.
Definitely a good read- and I had no idea they were making this into a movie... no TV kinda ruins my cinema knowledge.
- July 7, 2009 at 12:54 PM
- Literanista said...
I loved it. I'm glad to see you did as well. The current swine flu thing often reminds me of the book.
- July 8, 2009 at 5:02 PM


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Island Drive, Tiki Theatre Village & Juice Factory
MOZ-110 | Moorea, French Polynesia | See Special Notes
Already booked your cruise?
*Price displayed in US Dollars unless otherwise noted; excursions priced in other currencies may be available on select voyages only. Prices are based on the amount Princess typically charges for each excursion, but your price may vary by voyage date and departure time.
Tour at a Glance
Tour Overview
Your half-day excursion begins at the pier where you will board your air-conditioned motorcoach and pass Cook's and Opunohu Bays travelling through a landscape of coffee plantations and pineapple fields.
Nestled under the palm fronds of a coconut plantation on the shores of Haapiti lagoon, the Tiki Village Theatre recreates old-island life with its thatched-roof pandanus houses. Stroll the village and meet the people, see demonstrations of tiki carving and mat weaving followed by a dance performance by villagers in traditional costume. The local craftsmen make their wares available for sale at the village.
Next, visit the Moorea Fruit Juice Factory where juice from local papaya, grapefruit, pineapple and other tropical island fruits is made. In addition, they produce an assortment of 10- to 40-proof fruit brandies, including star fruit, ginger and papaya, as well as 25-proof liqueurs made from coconut, ginger and pineapple. Sample these products and visit the gift shop for island souvenirs and gifts.
Then it's on to Papetoai where you will visit the island's oldest church. The Protestant church was constructed in 1822. Its octagonal shape is unique, built using the original stones of a Tahitian marae or open-air temple that originally occupied the site. This is the oldest European structure still in use in the South Pacific.
You will drive on to Kia Ora lookout for more sensational island and lagoon views and on the return route to the pier, you will pass through Le Petit Village and Afareaitu, the island's largest village.
Special Notes
The Moorea Juice Factory is closed on Saturday afternoons, Sundays and public holidays.
Child Price:
12 years & under only


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Gap Inc. is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter results on Thursday, after the market closes. The apparel retailer's shares have managed to outperform the broader market this year, although the company has had to operate in what many peers have called a very difficult, highly-promotional retail environment in which consumers have been increasingly unwilling to pay full price.
Here's what investors can expect:
Earnings: Analysts are expecting Gap GPS, -1.42% to report a profit, excluding non-recurring items, of 69 cents a share, according to FactSet. The company said on Aug. 7, after reporting better-than-expected same-store sales growth in July, that it expected, excluding a gain on the sale of a company-owned building, earnings per share of 68 cents to 69 cents, which was above analyst forecasts at the time of 66 cents a share, and up from year-earlier earnings of 64 cents a share. Gap has beaten analyst profit projections in each of the last 10 quarters.
On May 22, Gap affirmed its full-year profit outlook of $2.90 to $2.95 a share.
Revenue: On Aug. 7, Gap reported fiscal second-quarter sales of $3.98 billion, up 3% from the same period a year ago, which was mostly in line with analyst projections at the time. Same-store sales, or sales of stores open at least a year, were flat compared with last year.
Stock reaction: Gaps' stock has gained 7.5% so far this year, compared with a year-to-date gain of 6.6% for the S&P 500 and a 2.6% decline in the SPDR S&P Retail exchange traded fund.
The average analyst rating on the stock is overweight, according to FactSet, while the average price target is $45.05, or 7.2% above current levels.
Despite consistently beating profit expectations, the stock has closed lower five times on the days following the last 10 quarterly reports.
Key points: Analyst Richard Jaffe at Stifel Nicolaus expects gross margin to decrease by 0.9 percentage points in the second quarter as a result of promotional activity. Jaffe believes investors have already acknowledged that the second quarter was tough for retailers and Gap, so they will be more interested in Gap's outlook for back-to-school and third-quarter selling trends.
Some other key issues Jaffe will be looking for are which product categories have been driving sales, which have been underperforming and how have customers been responding to the new store designs for its Banana Republic brand. Investors should also focus on how the performance of its Athleta stores, which has become a key threat to yoga-gear maker Lululemon Athletica.


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End-of-life notice: American Legal Ethics Library
As of March 1, 2013, the Legal Information Institute is no longer maintaining the information in the American Legal Ethics Library. It is no longer possible for us to maintain it at a level of completeness and accuracy given its staffing needs. It is very possible that we will revive it at a future time. At this point, it is in need of a complete technological renovation and reworking of the "correspondent firm" model which successfully sustained it for many years.
Many people have contributed time and effort to the project over the years, and we would like to thank them. In particular, Roger Cramton and Peter Martin not only conceived ALEL but gave much of their own labor to it. We are also grateful to Brad Wendel for his editorial contributions, to Brian Toohey and all at Jones Day for their efforts, and to all of our correspondents and contributors. Thank you.
We regret any inconvenience.
Some portions of the collection may already be severely out of date, so please be cautious in your use of this material.
Connecticut Rules of Professional Conduct
Commentary - Rule 3.4
[1] The procedure of the adversary system contemplates that the evidence in a case is to be marshalled competitively by the contending parties. Fair competition in the adversary system is secured by prohibitions against destruction or concealment of evidence, improperly influencing witnesses, obstructive tactics in discovery procedure, and the like.
[2] Documents and other items of evidence are often essential to establish a claim or defense. Subject to evidentiary privileges, the right of an opposing party, including the government, to obtain evidence through discovery or subpoena is an important procedural right. The exercise of that right can be frustrated if relevant material is altered, concealed or destroyed. Applicable law in many jurisdictions makes it an offense to destroy material for purpose of impairing its availability in a pending proceeding or one whose commencement can be foreseen. Falsifying evidence is also generally a criminal offense. Subdivision (1) applies to evidentiary material generally, including computerized information.
[3] With regard to subdivision (2), it is not improper to pay a witness's expenses or to compensate an expert witness on terms permitted by law. The common law rule in most jurisdictions is that it is improper to pay an occurrence witness any fee for testifying and that it is improper to pay an expert witness a contingent fee.
[4] Subdivision (6) permits a lawyer to advise employees of a client to refrain from giving information to another party, for the employees may identify their interests with those of the client. See also Rule 4.2.


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Hilarious Saxophone Prankster Goes 'Careless Whisper'-Crazy [VIDEO]
The saxophone solo in George Michael's song "Careless Whisper" is part of what makes the '80s so '80s.
But what would happen in 2011 if a man with a saxophone and a fake mullet began playing the soothing horn riff in completely inappropriate locations? Like, say, the middle of a department store or a college lecture hall?
As you can see from the video below, a little Careless Whispering always brings a smile to the public, but isn't always appreciated by John Q. Security Guard.
[via Huffington Post]


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Today, I decided to try making some mini matcha cuppies with the matcha powder and adzuki bean paste that I bought from Osaka last week.
Makes 5 dozen
170g butter
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup buttermilk ( or 1cup milk+1 tbsp distilled white vinegar and leave for 10mins)
2 tbsp matcha tea powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup adzuki bean paste
a pinch of salt
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line cupcake pans with paper liner.
2. Cream the butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and eggs yolks, one at a time. Mix well each time, at medium speed.
4. In another mixing bowl, sift the matcha tea powder, salt, bicarbonate of soda and flour. Mix well with a spoon.
5. Add the sifted ingredients to the batter. Beat at medium speed till even.
6. Add buttermilk, vanilla and vinegar. Beat for another min at high speed.
7. Scoop 1 tsp of the batter into paper liners. Put in a small piece of adzuki bean paste.
8. Add more batter to cover the bean paste, up to 2/3 full.
Adzuki Bean Cream Cheese Frosting
80g unsalted butter, sit for an hour at room temperature
160g Philadelphia Cream Cheese, sit for an hour at room temperature
1/2 cup icing sugar
250g adzuki bean paste
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on high speed till light and fluffy.
2. Add the icing sugar and mix well at medium speed.
3. Add the vanilla extract and adzuki bean paste. Mix well.
4. Pipe the icing on top of the cooled cupcakes.


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Rebuilding your political life after a failed presidential bid is tough under any circumstances – especially so if you don't have, say, a seat in the US Senate or the governor's office to go back to, as John McCain, John Kerry, and Michael Dukakis did.
It can take months – years – to get something new going, something befitting the ambition and ego of one who thought he should be president. Just ask Jimmy Carter or Al Gore or George H.W. Bush.
Mitt Romney is finding this out.
The Republican presidential standard-bearer last year not only has to deal with personal political failure after twice shooting for the White House. He's also the symbol of the GOP's major problem these days: the failure to connect with an electorate that is becoming younger and more diverse than its membership – certainly more moderate than the party's leadership.
Mr. Romney may have had a good personal story to tell – an attractive family, a life of quiet good works tied to his Mormon faith – but it came too late in the presidential campaign. Plus, there was no way he could dispel his image as a really, really rich white guy who had trouble relating to working families and less-fortunate Americans – the "47 percent" he derided when talking to campaign donors.
For the record, at least, few Republicans or conservative leaders speak unkindly of Romney these days.
"Certainly he gave a lot for the cause," Tim Phillips, president of the national conservative group Americans for Prosperity, told The Associated Press. "But most of the movement is wanting to look forward. They want to look forward to the next generation of leaders."
"We need as many voices for conservative reform and leadership as possible," said Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, among those Republicans thought to be weighing a 2016 presidential bid. "I welcome Governor Romney and anybody else who will help to make that message and help to take that fight."
Whether or not that happens, Romney, after four months spent recuperating emotionally at the family's beach home in La Jolla, Calif., has begun to reemerge in public view.
He and his wife, Ann Romney, sat down for an interview in the friendly territory of Fox News. Later this month, he'll give his first post-campaign speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.
It's not exactly a "Romney Revival Tour," as the Daily Beast's John Avlon tongue-in-cheeks it. But it's a start.
Speaking to Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday," Romney talked of his loss.
"It kills me not to be there, not to be in the White House doing what needs to be done," Romney said. "The hardest thing about losing is watching this critical moment, this golden moment slip away…. It's hard."
It slipped away early, he learned election night, with the loss of Florida and then Ohio. "By 8 or 9 o'clock, it was clear that we were not going to win," he remembers.
Romney calls his "47 percent" comment "very unfortunate."
"It's not what I meant. I didn't express myself as I wished I would have," he told Fox News. "You know, when you speak in private, you don't spend as much time thinking about how something could be twisted and distorted…. There's no question that hurt and did real damage to my campaign."
It didn't take much twisting or distorting to see the potential damage in the full comment, made at a private fundraiser in Boca Raton, Fla., last May: "There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what … who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims.… These are people who pay no income tax … and so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them that they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Romney also acknowledges what he describes as a lack of effectiveness in his message to Hispanic and African-American voters. "That was a real mistake," he told Fox.
Romney dinged President Obama for how the man who beat him in last November's election has handled the whole "sequester" fiasco.
"No one can think that's been a success for the president," he said. "He didn't think the sequester would happen. It is happening."
"But to date, what we've seen is the president out campaigning to the American people, doing rallies around the country, flying around the country, and berating Republicans," he continued. "And blaming and pointing. Now what does that do? That causes the Republicans to retrench and then put up a wall and fight back. It's a very natural human emotion."
Today, Romney has a realistic view of his place in American politics, a view tinged with longing.
"I recognize that I lost, so I'm not going to be the leader of the Republican Party. Other people will take that mantle," he said. "But I want to have influence on getting our party into a position where we can be successful in solving the problems the country has…. I recognize that as the guy who lost the election, I'm not in a position to tell everybody else how to win, all right? They're not going to listen, and I don't have the credibility to do that anyway. But I still care."


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Accounting Fraud Targeted
With Crisis-Related Enforcement Ebbing, SEC Is Turning Back to Main Street
U.S. securities regulators are turning back toward Main Street, renewing their focus on accounting fraud and other financial-disclosure failings.
Such cases were long a staple of the Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement efforts, leading to more than 25% of civil-enforcement actions filed by the agency in its 2003 to 2005 financial years. The financial crisis shifted attention and money elsewhere. In the year ended last September, accounting fraud and financial-disclosure problems made up just 11% of SEC enforcement...


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Economics (2002-2003)
Admission | Certificate | Courses | Program | Requirements
Department Chairperson: Warren L. Jones
Graduate Faculty
The Department of Economics offers courses leading to the Master of Arts degree. Elective concentrations are available for students interested in the areas of teaching, business, commercial banking/financial institutions, government, community/economic development, international economics, agricultural economics, or entrepreneurship. Further information concerning the program and areas of specialization may be obtained from the department's chairperson. The purpose of the M.A. program in economics is to provide students with a firm foundation for achievement of their goals; furthering their education at the D.A. or Ph.D. level; teaching at the secondary or junior college level; or working as professional economists in business, government, or other institutions.
For admission to the Master of Arts in Economics program, students should have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours of undergraduate economics to include intermediate micro- and macroeconomic theory and statistics. Students without the recommended background will be required to complete, with a grade of C or better, intermediate micro- and macroeconomic theory, and statistics, before they may enroll in any 500-level economics courses. Students without an undergraduate course in mathematical economics, or the equivalent, will be required to enroll in ECON 481G in their first semester in the program. Applicants are encouraged to submit GRE scores prior to admission.
The capstone courses (ECON 506 or 507) are fundamental in providing the knowledge and tools necessary in formulating economic hypotheses and analyzing final results. Students must complete 30 semester hours and may follow either a Thesis or a Non-Thesis Option. Consultation with the department's graduate adviser concerning course selection is required to insure completion of all requirements. Students wishing to take a readings and/or internship course must receive approval from the economics department prior to registration.
Students in economics may select courses outside the Department of Economics which will assist them in achieving their career goals. A maximum of nine hours of related courses is allowed with permission of the graduate committee chairperson. The student may petition for an additional three hours of related course work outside the Department of Economics. All special permissions or petitions must be approved prior to registration. Transfer and extension credit will be accepted in accordance with current School of Graduate Studies policy.
While all economics graduate students must complete the required core
courses (ECON 500 or 502, 503 or 504, 506 or 507), it is possible to elect
courses that will enhance specific career objectives. Examples of elective
concentrations are general business economics, commercial banking/financial
institutions, pre-Ph.D., public service, international trade, agricultural
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate
420G Economic Development. (3) A study of the problems facing developing countries and their underlying causes. Problems such as population growth, urbanization, agricultural transformation, unemployment, education and training, and capital formation are addressed. Students are encouraged to examine solutions to these problems and evaluate the feasibility and practicality of such solutions. A multidisciplinary approach is used. Prerequisite: ECON 232.
425G Money Markets, Capital Markets, and Monetary Theory. (3) An institutional and theoretical study of money and capital markets in conjunction with monetary policy. Prerequisite: ECON 231.
432G Public Finance. (3) A study of the role of government in promoting a system of effective markets. Includes analyses of the implications of various market distortions, the economic implications of a democratic system, the efficiency of a federal structure, and criteria for public investment decisions and government actions. Prerequisite: ECON 232.
435G Comparative Capitalist Systems. (3) A study of the process of transition from socialism to capitalism to include a study of the various forms of capitalism practiced by the major industrialized capitalist nations. The emphasis of the course is on actual transition processes and case studies. Prerequisite: ECON 232.
440G Labor Theory. (3) A critical analysis of the theoretical and empirical literature dealing with labor market processes; the determination of wages, human resource allocation, estimation of aggregate labor supply, labor mobility, the inflation-employment tradeoff, and the economics of labor market discrimination. Prerequisite: ECON 330 or 331, or permission of the instructor.
451G History of Economic Thought. (3) A study of origins and development of economic thought to mid-twentieth century. Includes the mercantilist, physiocratic, classical, historical, and marginalist schools. Prerequisite: ECON 232.
460G Urban and Regional Economic Analysis. (3) A study of the economics literature on urban and regional economic development theories and techniques. Particular attention is paid to economic policies to stimulate employment and foster income growth. Various measurement techniques for monitoring economic development are examined. Prerequisite: ECON 232.
465G Economics of Energy. (3) A study of primary and secondary sources of energy as they affect the levels of production and consumption in the economy. A general survey of the economic and regulatory problems of coal, petroleum, natural gas and nuclear industries (including those of utilities) and a brief discussion of the problems and prospects of alternative sources of energy in the context of national energy policies and individual decision making. Prerequisite: ECON 330 or 331 or permission of the instructor.
470G International Trade. (3) A study of the theoretical and institutional aspects of international trade; effect of trade and factor movements on economic welfare; balance of payments; problems of international disequilibrium; process of balance of payments adjustment; barriers to trade; and the search for economic stability and growth through international cooperation. Prerequisite: ECON 232.
481G Mathematical Techniques. (3) Introduction to the mathematics most frequently used by economists-basic set theory; linear algebra; differentiation; comparative statistics; optimization; constrained optimization; linear programming. Prerequisites: ECON 231 and 232; one year of calculus or permission of graduate adviser required.
500 Macroeconomic Theory and Policy. (3) An examination of current macroeconomic theory. The emphasis is on understanding a generalized model of the economy with multiple causal variables. Differences in interpretations of economic data and theoretical approaches are analyzed. Theory is applied to the current economic conditions. Present and proposed policies are discussed to illustrate the use of theory in solving economic problems.
501 Readings in Economics. (1–3, repeatable to 3) Graded S/U. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and permission of Department Graduate Committee Chairperson.
502 Macroeconomics and Growth Theory. (3) A study of aggregate theory of income, employment, and price levels using both comparative statics and dynamics, along with a discussion of business cycles and growth theories. Prerequisite: ECON 481G, or permission of the graduate adviser.
503 Applied Price Theory. (3) Application of economic theory and methods to managerial decision making. Topics include demand, cost and production analysis and estimation; forecasting; pricing policy; risk and uncertainty problems; and capital budgeting.
504 Price Theory. (3) An analysis of consumer and firm behavior, market and multimarket equilibrium, and welfare economics. Prerequisite: ECON 481G, or permission of the graduate adviser.
505 Economic Policy Analysis. (3) Examples of the application of analytical economic thinking to social issues. Policy issues are selected from the areas of stabilization, employment, inflation, growth, distribution, and regulation, among others.
506 Econometrics I. (3) Elements of the theory and practice of econometrics: including univariate and multivariate single equation models, statistical problems such as multicollinearity, special techniques and applications, and an introduction to simultaneous equations models. Students will complete a project involving hypothesis formulation, data collection, analysis using statistical software, and written presentation of results.
507 Econometrics II. (3) Estimation of single and simultaneous equation systems; estimation of demand, production, investment, and consumption functions; distributed lag models; dummy dependent variable models; multivariate analysis; economy wide models. Can be taken in lieu of ECON 506. Prerequisite: ECON 481G and permission of the graduate adviser.
508 Economic Theory for Decision Makers. (3) This course develops the macro- and microeconomic concepts most useful to decision makers. Topics covered include measuring aggregate economic activity, unemployment, inflation, business cycles, monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, derivation and determinants of market demand, theory of production, theory of cost, derivation and determinants of supply, and comparative performance of firms in alternate market structures. (This course cannot be taken by students enrolled in the Master of Arts in Economics program and does not satisfy entrance requirements for this program. It is designed for graduate students in areas other than economics.)
512 Industrial Organization. (3) An introduction to basic principles of microeconomics in contexts of particular relevance to management decision in order to provide an understanding of the manner in which modern industrial economies function and perform.
513 Economic Theory and Forecasting. (3) A study of the theoretical basis of economic forecasts of the U.S. economy. An understanding of the theory and an evaluation of current forecasts will be used to develop individual forecasts for subsectors of the economy.
515 Economic Development. (3) The theory of economic development stressing the role of entrepreneurship, innovation, capital formation, saving, investment, labor, and foreign assistance. The effect of the changing social and value structures of developing countries on the economic system is also examined.
526 Global Markets. (3) An examination of the theory, instruments, and institutions of the international financial markets. Issues in foreign exchange, eurocurrency, and international bond markets will be studied from historical, institutional, economic, and empirical points of view. Prerequisite: ECON 508 or equivalent or permission of the instructor.
528 American Economic History. (3) A study of the development of the American economy from the colonial period to the present. The course explores both the successes and the failures of the United States economy. The emphasis is on how economic, political, and legal frameworks have interacted to create the American experience. Prerequisite: Any combination of six hours from ECON 231, 232, 328, HIST 105, 106, 300, or graduate standing in a business discipline, economics, history, education (history or related specialty) or permission of the instructor.
535 Small Community Development. (3) This course emphasizes the practical knowledge required to deal with non-metropolitan development issues. The emphasis will vary with changes in the development environment. Topics will include economic trends, federal and state resources available to support economic development, and special problems and opportunities in small community development. Prerequisites: Graduate standing and permission of the instructor.
538 Economics for Managers. (3) The application of relevant theories and methods from microeconomics, macroeconomics, labor, international economics, and regulatory economics to managerial decision making in profit and nonprofit organizations. Topics include market structure, production and cost, foreign exchange and international trade, and public policy toward business. Master's in economics students must receive approval from the graduate adviser before registering. Prerequisites: ECON 508, or ECON 231 and ECON 232, or equivalent.
548 International Economic Relations. (3) An analysis of the fundamental economic principles, forces and governmental policies which determine the economic relations between countries under changing world conditions. MA in Economics students must receive approval from the graduate adviser before registering.
550 Economic Topics and Curriculum Development. (1–3, repeatable to 3) A course designed to assist classroom teachers in the development of elementary and secondary curriculum incorporating economic concepts. This course will also provide an opportunity for teachers with a basic understanding of economics to adapt the latest computer-based television and print matter curriculum materials to the needs of their classes and students. Check with the adviser to determine applicability of this course in your degree program. Graded S/U.
565 Natural Resource Economics. (3) A study of resource allocation in a timeless world, externalities, renewable and exhaustible resources, optimal use of exhaustible resources, price movements, uncertainty, aggregation, and measurement of intertemporal welfare. Case studies of minerals, water, land, and fishery resources will be used. Prerequisites: ECON 330 or 331, or permission of the instructor.
570 International Trade Theory. (3) A detailed examination of classical and modern theories of international trade. Application of modern techniques of economic analysis to international trade theory. A study of the theory of exchange rates and international money markets with an analysis of sources, causes, and the effects of capital flows on the world economy.
580 Skills in Community Development. (3) This course emphasizes the practical skills required to be an effective community developer, including conflict resolution, leadership, comunication, and community capacity-building. The focus is on skill-building, as students are provided opportunities to practice new techniques. Topics will be modified as new technologies and other external factors impact the practice of community development. Graded S/U. Prerequisite: Graduate standing.
588 The Economics of Entrepreneurship: Theory and History. (3) An introduction of the nature of entrepreneurship with an emphasis on historical examples to illustrate the factors leading to successful innovation. The examples will cover a cross-section of entrepreneurs to include founders of major corporations, family firms, minorities, and women. The course includes an introduction to the elements of a successful business plan. Students will have an opportunity to interact with local entrepreneurs. Prerequisites: ECON 508, or ECON 231 and 232, or graduate standing in business or economics, or permission of the instructor.
598 Entrepreneurial Experience. (3) The basic requirement of this course is to develop an actual business plan. There will be an emphasis on detailed documentation and justification of all aspects of the business plan. As an alternative, students may elect to develop a plan for introducing a new product, service, or other innovation in the context of an existing firm. Prerequisite: MGT 560.
599 Internship. (1–12, repeatable to 12 hours) Only three hours per semester can be included in the degree plan. With prior approval of the graduate adviser, up to six hours can be included in the degree plan for internships covering the entire academic year. Graded S/U. Prerequisite: Graduate standing and permission of departmental graduate adviser.
600 Thesis Research. (3) The grade in ECON 600 will remain an incomplete until ECON 601, Thesis, is completed. Graded S/U.
601 Thesis. (3) Graded S/U.
Agricultural Economics cognate courses which may be taken as part of the Economics Master of Arts Program
442G Marketing Grain and Livestock Products. (3) Basis hedging for grains, feeds, livestock, and meat. Three hours lecture. Prerequisite: AGEC 333.
443G Agricultural Finance. (3) Financing problems and opportunities in agriculture. Sources of finance, financing costs, analysis of investment opportunities, financial management, and estate planning. Three hours lecture. Prerequisite: AGRI 220 or permission of the instructor.
447G Commodity Markets and Futures Trading. (3) Futures trading institutions, technical analysis, multiple hedging, and speculation. Three hours lecture.
449G Advanced Farm Management. (3) Effective combination of resources in agribusiness planning and management. Emphasis placed on use of available agribusiness management software. Two hours lecture; two hours lab. Prerequisite: AGEC 349 or equivalent.
455G Advanced Agricultural Marketing. (3) Options on futures, applied research methods, current events. Prerequisites: AGEC 442 and 447 or permission of the instructor.
457G Market Profile®. (3) Use of the Chicago Board of Trade Market Profile® and Liquidity Data Bank® for hedging and speculation. Three hours lecture. Prerequisite: AGEC 445.