text:
Since I couldn't keep up with writing every day (or nearly so) weeks ago at the Summit, recap post(s) weren't going to go up until after the fact. Since my life has been pretty crazy since getting home (combined with some semi-minor problems with the web host), this isn't getting finished until way late. I honestly don't know where everyone found the time to write in the middle of all of this, because I flat-out need more sleep than that. I'm only grabbing the highest of the highlights here, and I'm doing this the weeks after! Normally I would say that I'll try to do better next year, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen.
Wednesday started out with a Keynote address, as most conferences do. This one had a few announcements, such as SQL Server v.Next getting a real name replacing its Codename. Instead of "Denali", we now have "SQL Server 2012." Nobody should be overly surprised by this, unless you were really hoping for 2011. The technical content of the keynote was very heavily focused on end-user flavors of BI technologies. Some of the stuff we'd seen before, but there were some new bits here and there. Generally, the "managed self-serve BI" space looks pretty similar to what it did before, being based around PowerPivot and other similar tools in Excel, like tabular data stores (VertiPaq). I thought it was an awful froofy* presentation, but most Keynote-type presos are. What was shown on screen was fine and all, and was neat to look at, but as I've said before, the hard part about "managed self-serve BI" is the "managed" part. There's a lot of work that still needs to happen on the back end by people who know what they're doing with respect to both the Business and the Data in order to get to the point where a C-level manager is poking around in Excel and making good, data-backed decisions. On that note, though, how many business users have the technical know-how to do the work that needs to be done in Excel to get there? And how many of those are C-level managers? OK, that's a different post for a different day.
The main sessions on Wednesday for me were pretty heavy SSAS & related topics (like Data Mining). I had a big lightbulb kick on in Craig Utley's SSAS Aggregations session confirming something that I had been suspecting, so the whole thing got off to a really good start for me. I can't work on our aggregations situation right this second, but it's something that will be making it onto my list for the mid-term after some current project work gets finished up.
Some of the days at PASS Summit have special wardrobe…themes. For the last couple years, there has been #sqlkilt day. This particular theme occurs on the same day as the Women in Technology lunch/panel discussion. Its purpose is to "support women in technology" by the guys wearing skirt-like apparatus. It's cool, but a kilt guy I am not. Anyway, Wednesday this year was SQL Saturday day, where one was to wear their favorite SQL Saturday shirt. Since I'm not a speaker (yet?), all I have is my t-shirt from Nashvegas's SQL Saturday last year. (It bothered me to wear a t-shirt on a conference day at first, but I got over it by lunch or so.) Coming out of the keynote I looked for what shirts everyone had on. Honestly, a non-zero part of this was me looking for who else just had t-shirts on, but I also wanted to see what everyone else was wearing. Turns out: There weren't many! I wish I knew why this was. I suppose it could be due to not hearing about it…But I'm a little afraid that it's because not that many have SQL Saturday shirts! People!! Free training by high-quality speakers (ie, not me). I'm sure there's one near you. Website right here. Check it out.
Wednesday night was the vendor reception & some extra-curricular activities afterwards. We had planned to go to two things, but at one point, we were standing on the expo floor when we realized the first thing had started about a half hour ago. We started back to the hotel (which, due to when we started to schedule this trip, wasn't close), when we realized we weren't going to be able to get everywhere we wanted to when we wanted to. So, scrapped the first event, and got some food before heading to SQLKaraoke. I don't know how much of that really needs to be discussed, as it's fairly self-explanatory. Suffice to say that I fulfilled what had become a lifetime goal in recent years, tried to make friends/be nice to the cranky local guy sitting at the end of the bar, and we got home at 0300 again.
Thursday… yeah, that keynote didn't happen. Haven't had a chance to go back and watch it yet, either.
More BI-related sessions for me, as that's what I do now. I did go to one Engine session the whole time, and it was Aaron Bertrand's (blog | @AaronBertrand) "T-SQL: Bad Habits to Kick" on Thursday. I was looking to see what kinds of things I do that are bad, because, honestly, T-SQL is not my strongest suit. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything major that I didn't already know, but I did get some background as to the "why"s on a few things. Plus, the only reason "what happens when you don't declare a length on a varchar() variable" wasn't news is because we ran into that in an old store
d proc at the end of September. I did learn about TRY_CONVERT() in SQL 2012, though. Although at first blush, it sounds pretty good, it also looks like it could be a big crutch. OH, and also I'm glad that I'm not the only one who finds non-ANSI 92-style joins hard to read at this point. Alright, so obviously I got more out of that session than I initially thought.
Thursday night had an interesting occurrence or two. I mean, there was this thing (someday maybe we'll tell my parents, haha). I'm pretty happy about that. Yeah, it was an over-the-top nerdy thing to do, and more than a little weird, but that fits us pretty well, so I'm OK with it. Some people did make the chilly trek out to Puget Sound with us, and I/we are very, very grateful to everyone that did. We <3 our SQL Family.
We went to the official second-to-last night Gameworks party for a little bit, but were pretty worn out. We tried to hang on, but once again turned in early. Tammy was passed out on the couch within about three minutes of walking in the door, and I didn't last a whole lot longer. I think I did try to write something that night, but realized quickly that if I wanted to keep drool off my work laptop, sleep was in order. Plus, I knew we had to get up early on Friday, because it's Friday, and…
Friday…Dewitt Keynote!
See, for at least the last couple years (that's as far back as I know, because I didn't pay close attention to the conference in 2009, as I was bitter about not going), the last day of the conference's Keynote has been a presentation by Dr. David DeWitt. This has yet to disappoint. This year, the topic was Big Data, including discussions about Relational DBs vs NoSQL DBs. I learned a lot from this, and think I understand why Microsoft is going in the direction that they are when it comes to NoSQL & related technologies. It will be fun to see where this goes. Dr. DeWitt's keynote is available on-demand here (along with the others), but they do require minor registration. His slide deck is available here.
I would be remiss if I didn't bring your attention to this little thing that happened at the beginning of the Friday Keynote. The song was hilarious, but I'm still pretty sure that Buck Woody with a 12-string is > *
More BI sessions on Friday, of course, along with a Professional Development one. The PD session was a panel discussion entitled, "Are you a Linchpin? Career management lessons to help you become indispensible." The discussion was led by Andy Leonard (blog | @AndyLeonard). Panel members were: Andy Warren (blog | @SQLAndy), Stacia Misner (blog | @StaciaMisner), Louis Davidson (blog | @drsql), Brent Ozar (blog | @BrentO), Thomas LaRock (blog | @SQLRockstar), Kevin Kline (blog | @kekline), and Jeremiah Peschka (blog | @peschkaj). While writing this post, I listed everyone out, then almost deleted this whole paragraph to start over, because I felt like this was the biggest name drop bomb in the history of blogging. I then decided to leave it, because I can use that blob of names to make a point: Every single one of them has a blog and Twitter account. One could argue about an incorrect causation/correlation conclusion, but I think it's telling that some of the most successful people in SQL Server Land use these communication methods heavily. I sometimes goof around on Twitter more than I use it constructively, and only like four people read my blog regularly, but if you're a SQL Server DBA/Dev/etc and enjoy helping people and rubbing elbows with others that do, there's no time like the present to start using these mediums if you don't already. There are plenty of people here already who will support you and help you grow and learn.
Conference centers always start the tear-down ASAP at the end of the last day. I understand this—there's a hard number of hours between when one event ends and the next one begins. It always makes me sad, though. Nothing says an event is over like the registration desk getting torn down in front of you. The good news for us on Friday afternoon while this was happening is that we had spent a lot of time with the awesome community that we're a part of, and there were still good times ahead, both Friday night and at future events. More on that later, though.
To be continued…
I will cover some of the weekend happenings in another post soon, but more importantly, I have a few lessons learned and/or overall comments to make about the PASS Summit. I'm not going to get that written right now and this post is already too long and has taken me too many days to finally get together, so I'm going to split that up and get to it very soon. Thanks for reading so far…
* As usual, I reserve the right to make up my own words, as this is my blog.


text:
Fridays guidance for intraday traders of Emini Indices
Emini S&P [ES]
Trading to the long side: We remain bullish into the 2630 resistance zone. We have first support at 2583.50 and holding this will likely have us seek out 2604.25 which is first level of resistance. It is a Friday, if participants want to hurry through this into the next resistance zones expect 2614.50 to throw a layer of resistance and if it is all risk-on Friday expect 2631.75 to offer up amazing resistance.
The Downside Story: Although range bound conditions between initial support and initial resistance appears to be what looks more probable, below 2583.50, expect 2573.25 to offer up very nice support. The sentiment needs to switch to the dark side to take use lower today and if sellers persist, they may find the juice to driver it all the way to 2555.75 which should halt the slide for the day.
Emini Dow [YM]
Trading to the long side: First support today for the blue chips index is at 23858 and holding this will likely push towards first resistance at 24036 which has decent resistance. If buyers insist on finding value higher, expect 24125 to find some additional layer of resistance and halt the gains. However, since it is bulls ball we could see us pushing higher above here if the ES move higher persists and take this all the way to 24275 where there is ample resistance.
The Downside Story: If sellers want to show that they are not all done and sell it below first support [23858] then expect 23769 as another level for YM sellers to find a guard shack. And if they are past this level, expect 23619 to offer up amazing support for the day suggesting some profit taking on longs for the week.
Emini Nasdaq [NQ]
Trading the long side: The tech sector appears primed for a January squeeze into resistance as FAANG group of equities show some balance this week. We have first support at 6592.75 and holding that will have us flirt with first resistance which is at 6655.75 which we could not find strength in the overnight session to go visit. Above that first resistance is 6687.25 and has decent resistance. Buying strength could have us looking for 6740.25 provided the broad market participants are singing along. Never ignore the fact that the S&P is the mother ship.
The Downside Story: Failing initial support at 6592.75 will have us go quickly to seek out 6561.50 which has good support. Sellers could do a profit taking session today if they sell below here and seek value lower. We will run into a wall of support at 6508.25 for the day.
Emini Russell [RTY]
Trading the long side: The small cap index is showing some strength in recent trading sessions. We have first support at 1439.9 and right now as we write this, we are trading slightly above this level. Pushing higher has first resistance at 1453.3 and only strength in the broad market today can steer this market along higher to secondary resistance which sits at 1460 even. If value seekers are looking for a higher close, expect 1471.3 to halt the buying spree and price for the day.
The Downside Story: Failing to hold 1439.9 will of course not be too good today and there is secondary support at 1433.2. If sellers are not done taking profits, expect 1421.9 to halt the losses for the day as that region serves as a good wall of support for the day.
If you like what we do, come visit us at https://www.tradeguidance.com and fill out a contact form and tell us what you like trading and what your style is. Regardless of the size of your portfolio or trading account, our service provides you with undivided attention where our Lead Analyst takes a personal interest in your financial success with one-on-one mentoring. Unlike other services where you could perhaps message in a chat room and expect a response or expect not to be rebuked for your seemingly silly question, we strive to give you that one-on-one attention and help you learn a repeatable method.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Planner Hack: Do It Yourself!
Creating a Custom Planner
in May of 2006, I wrote on my Rohdesign Weblog in some depth about my interest in the analog task management system created by Bill Westerman, for use in his Miquelrius notebook. In that post, I pondered the idea of ditching my Clié N610C in favor of a Moleskine for my personal agenda and task management.
The week after this post, I picked up a new, ruled Pocket Moleskine notebook, a set of 4 ultra-fine 0.38mm Uniball Signo RT Gel pens and a package of 3M sturdy tabs (686-RYB) to create a custom weekly planner. Over the weekend, I planned out the page format, determined how many pages I'd need through December 2006 and began drawing up my custom planner, pictured above.
You may want to visit the Flickr page, and check out the notations I've placed on the image there, complete with detailed descriptions of each area of the planner.
Planner Formatting
On the ruled Pocket Moleskine, I found I could divide the page vertically into 3 sections of 7 lines each, with room at the top of the page for the month on the top left of the page and week number on the top right of the page. I've even kicked around the idea of using this space up top for inspiring quotes.
Next I added the days and dates to each section of the two-page spread, dividing the 6th block on the lower right page in half with a vertical rule for Saturday and Sunday. The Uniball Signo 0.38mm pen worked very well, as the thin line dried quickly and didn't bleed through the Moleskine paper stock.
I continued with this format for 31 two-page spreads, through December 31, 2006. Pocket Moleskines have 192 pages, so it's possible to do an entire year and have several pages left over for notes (one distinct advantage over a stock Moleskine Weekly planner).
In the remaining back section after December 31st, I separated sections with the sturdy 3M tabs for 5 next-action lists where I can capture tasks to be completed. The toughest decision was the allotment of pages for each action list before starting the next (I chose 6), though I can always move the tabs around if need be.
I've decided on a 6 month test to see how my system works, before I decide to either create a new book for 2007 myself, or buy one of the flexible covered Moleskine Pocket Weekly planners from Modo & Modo.
Symbols and Use
Once the planner was created I started populating it with activities and tasks for each day of the week. I made use of the space to the right of each day for recurring or regular events, and the bulk of the 7-line sections for activities or tasks.
Inspired by Bill Westerman's symbols, I created a similar set, with a circle as an open action, checked circle for completed action, slashed circle for deferred (with an added arrow symbol to indicate where it was deferred to) and a dash for items which are informational rather than actionable. As I use this system I suspect a working set of symbols will emerge and become more refined.
Initial Impressions
After using the new custom planner concept for about a week, I'm appreciating the full week across two pages. I can now see how my entire week is shaping up with a single glance. I can have much more detail for each day or even each entry. With the Palm, I could see a full week, but it was either filled with very tiny type, or the type was large but clipped off, requiring additional taps to see an entry.
I like having my planner open at my desk while I work - I can glance down between tasks and be reminded of what's to come, or recall an item I need to add to the agenda. I never need to worry about the pages blinking off to save battery life. The quick "wake from sleep" mode (cover closed) is wonderful!
I'm also finding a small book handy for storing small bits of information, such as a business card, a post-it note or whatever. Because the Moleskine has an elastic strap, stuff stays inside. If I'm concerned about something staying put, I can store it in the Moleskine's inside back cover pocket.
My capture of thoughts has increased since switching to a Moleskine planner. This is a good thing, because I'm now capturing ideas that were formerly floating away when faced with entering text using Graffiti on the Palm - even though I'm pretty quick and accurate with Graffiti 1.
I'm not as worried about the Moleskine as I was with a Palm. I can drop it, slide it in my back pocket and sit on it, or toss it across the room without the screen cracking, or resetting the device. As an added bonus, the Moleskine is thin, and the width and height are less of an issue than I'd suspected.
Overall, I am very pleased with the new system. It seems to fit my needs well, feels good to use, lets me experience the tactile sensations of pen on paper, and frees me to enjoy the process again.
I do hope my notes and images are helpful to others considering a PDA to paper switch, and those keen on customizing a Moleskine as a planning tool.


text:
Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
Defining Connections
|The Connections Standard | The Interconnectedness of Mathematics | Applying Mathematics to Other Subjects | Asking Questions | Relating Connections to the Other Process Standards | Your Journal
For many years, mathematics was thought of and taught as a series of isolated topics. Students in the elementary and middle grades learned number concepts and skills, geometry concepts, and measurement skills. Even with the limited number of concepts, there was little discussion of their interrelatedness. In high school, formal algebra, geometry, and statistics courses made up the mathematics curriculum -- usually as separate courses. In today's mathematics classroom, helping students see the connections between these strands enables us to introduce concepts much earlier. Through building new knowledge of relationships and making connections between mathematical concepts, students develop a greater understanding.
In the middle-grades classroom, we should provide opportunities for students to experience mathematics as an integrated set of topics that relate to one another. The role of the teacher is to select problems and tasks that connect mathematical ideas within topics and across the curriculum. These tasks will help students build on previously studied mathematical ideas and to develop new ideas. However, this cannot be accomplished if we focus instruction on abstract manipulation of symbols before students understand the underlying concepts. In order to do this effectively, it is important for the teacher to recognize and understand the mathematics being developed so that the connections can be identified and become an integral part of instruction.
In this section, we take a look at some aspects of connections that we can use in the middle grades to help students gain a better understanding of mathematics.
|Teaching Math Home | Grades 6-8 | Connections | Site Map | © |
© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy


text:
Main Futures:
- CS4 , CS5, CS6 compatible
- Full HD resolution 1080p
- Fully changeable
- No additional plugin needed
- 2 Logos and 1 TextHolder
- sfx sound included
"Compiler" project is created entirely in AE.
I'll again try to create something complex and real. This time I use lots of 3D layers, with "old school" technique, that involved lots of frame to frame animation.
Everything was created in AE so everything can be fully customize.
The flares and particles comes from Videocopilot's Optical flares and Trapcode Particular but I included the pre-rendered version in the file so YOU DON 'T NEED ANY PLUGINS .
Sfx sound is included.
RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION : i7 processor, 16GB RAM . Render time with recommended configuration on a full version of the project is approximately 2 hours.
Please check my other files in my portfolio and follow me on VideoHive. Additional info about all of our project along with tutorial section about easy customization of purchased project you can find on after-effect-templates.com.
From recent, we reduce our price for customization of all our projects.
• Now, the price for customization is the same as the price for the template. If you want to hire us to customize the project and you already pay, for example, 25$ for the template, the cost of our customization service would also be 25$.
• Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com and we will give you all the additional information you need or check our site after-effect-templates.com. You can find more customization info, short and useful basic customization tutorials in our tutorials section, and some problems issues resolving in our support section.


text:
A cool overcast morning highlights a warm pier with a bright blue door and hints of turquoise water. "Portal" is a landscape (horizontal) orientation image.
All prints are archival quality (100 year), are signed by the artist, and include a certificate of authenticity. Images and media 12"x18" and larger are part of the limited edition of 50.
CUSTOM FRAMED FINE ART PRINTS: Prints 12"x18" and larger are printed on Fuji Lustre Archival Paper or Arches® Aquarelle Cotton Rag (310 gsm) paper. These limited edition prints are professionally framed, un-matted in hand-made, reclaimed barn wood or pallet wood with UV conservation glass. Framing adds an additional 4 - 8 inches per side depending on image size. Please CONTACT me directly for more information about framing options.
ACRYLIC FACE MOUNT: Limited edition acrylic mount images have a 1/4" acrylic overlay on archival FujiFlex Crystal paper. Acrylic images do not require additional framing, though they may be framed in reclaimed barn wood to maintain more rustic vs. modern look - CONTACT me directly if you would like framing. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery for all acrylic orders; framing adds an additional two weeks.


text:
Hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs has set his sights on becoming the first black majority owner of a top football team.
The rap entrepreneur, who has his own Bad Boy Records label, clothing line and vodka brand, officially launched his own cable channel, RevoltTV, this week and now he wants to focus his efforts on taking over a team in the National Football League (NFL).
He tells Bloomberg TV, "I'm more of an owner type of guy. So I have aspirations to become – it will happen – to become the first African-American majority owner. Not having a small stake but actually owning an NFL team. I think it's time for that. A majority of the players in the NFL are African-American but there are no African-American owners. So that's one of my dreams."
The star, who previously expressed an interest in buying London soccer club Crystal Palace, won't be the first hip-hop star to move into the sporting industry – Jay Z recently sold off his minority stake in the Brooklyn Nets basketball franchise in his native New York to become a sports agent. But Combs insists he won't be following his pal over to the administrative side of the business.
He says, "When I see my friend having a sports agency, I support him. When I get the calls, 'Oh, we need to do Bad Boy Sports,' I'm like, 'No, that's not my lane.' I stay in my lane."
Hip-hop mogul Sean 'Diddy' Combs has set his sights on becoming the first black majority owner of a top football team.


text:
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday's 43-minute rain delay was too long to allow starter Jake Arrieta to continue his outing when the game resumed in the sixth inning. Instead, he went to right-hander Tommy Hunter, who struck out the first two batters he faced, then gave up back-to-back solo homers to Daniel Nava and Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
"It would have been around 50 minutes before he threw his first pitch," Showalter said of Arrieta. "I think that was a little too much, especially with the weather and the time of the year. [At 20 minutes], I'd consider it more. … The thing was we were hitting [when the game resumed in the top of the sixth], so you didn't know how long that inning was going to be, so you had to start getting somebody loose. And if we hit for 20 minutes, then you're talking about over an hour. It was well over that mark."
Arrieta, who retired the Red Sox in order in the fifth and was at 71 pitches, spent the delay in the clubhouse riding the exercise bike to stay warm.
"They wanted to be careful because it's early in the year," said Arrieta, who allowed three runs on three hits and walked four — two of which scored. "I was a little upset about that, but they have my best interests as well as the team's in mind. Me having a low pitch count, [I felt] like I had two or three more innings to give, keep some of the guys in the bullpen that didn't need to throw [Wednesday], but that's things we're going to have to kind of deal with throughout the year, especially early when the weather is bad."
Showalter didn't discount the notion that he could make Arrieta available out of the bullpen over the next few games, or even use him as an option if the Orioles are forced to play a double header with bad weather expected in New York this weekend.
Around the horn
The cab that pitchers Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez were riding in to the ballpark Thursday was hit from behind, but both were fine. … Showalter said that Mychal Givens — the Orioles' second-round pick in 2009, who has been converted from shortstop to pitcher — was throwing 92-94 mph in his 1 1/3 hitless relief innings for Class-A Delmarva on Wednesday night.


text:
Inventing Licensing Tips
If you don't have the resources to produce, market, sell and distribute your invention idea, licensing your patent to companies is a great way to make money on your invention. Only a few patents (about 6%) are licensed for royalty, but it can be very lucrative. Use these licensing tips:
Make contacts at trade shows and elsewhere who can help you get a foot in the door of the right companies and help you avoid the wrong ones.
Take time to develop negotiating skills.
Focus and concentrate on obtaining a win-win licensing agreement.
Know when to sign on the dotted line and when to walk away.
Leave room for further negotiations at the negotiating table by planning, listening, studying, and strategizing.


text:
Post Malone
United StatesContemporary Hip HopContemporary R&BAr
Follow this Place and be the first to know about their Events.
This beer price is an estimation from the reports of other users. Do you agree with set price? See most common price submits from users bellow.
Do you know about an Event but can't find it listed? Click to add a missing show.
Add general information, links and events, and let everybody know how awesome this Place really is.Start editing


text:
Utah governor vows to review judge's polygamy ruling
- Image 1 of 2
- Image 2 of 2
SALT LAKE CITY – Gov. Gary Herbert has expressed concern over a federal judge's ruling that struck down key parts of Utah's polygamy laws, saying his legal counsel would determine the ramifications of the decision.
Herbert says while he had not had a chance to review U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups' ruling, he's "always a little concerned" when public policy changes are made by the courts.
The Republican governor told The Salt Lake Tribune he would "much rather see decisions on social issues" made by the Legislature, but he still needs "to understand the arguments and logic" that went into the ruling.
Waddoups, a nominee of President George W. Bush, said in his decision handed down Friday that a provision in Utah law forbidding cohabitation with another person violated the First Amendment.
The ruling was a victory for Kody Brown and his four wives who star in the hit TLC reality show "Sister Wives." The Brown family sued over Utah's bigamy laws in July 2011 and fled Utah for Las Vegas last year under the threat of prosecution.
Polygamy supporters have hailed the judge's ruling, saying it decriminalizes the practice in Utah.


text:
About yaga
Does surge pricing lead to more drivers and quicker pick up times?
It seems that everyone is really missing that the taxi drivers said their strike was going to be from 6PM to 7PM. At 7:30ish PM Uber sends out it's tweet. The strike was over.
But as Mike said there's just a lot of people that really want to slam Uber. There's also a lot of celebs that want to make it look like they are standing up for people but instead just showing why they should stay out of politics.
...I would have added another term to the judgement. I would have made Bloomberg go on TV and recite the crime statistics before and after Stop and Frisk was stopped. It would be hard to find a way to gloss over a drop in the crime rate even if it was relatively small.
I think that we've let people off so much in the past few years (I'm looking at you various wardrobe "malfunctions" and all the "the press took my statements out of context" remarks) that we don't really think of lies as actual lies anymore. We need to get back to calling everyone on their bullshit and stop letting celebrities, athletes and politicians off the hook.
First sentence, last paragraph, shouldn't that be Note not Not?
I know that Clapper lied to Congress but we all can be fairly confident it was with the full knowledge and support of the President. If that is the case shouldn't we be talking about impeachment of the President? Doesn't it at least call for a full investigation that would either show that Clapper was doing his own thing or that the White House was giving him his marching orders?
Just wait until they goatse the government.
Why is encryption spelled with an "i" in the third sentence? Or am I imagining that?
He was an admiral and was the Chairman of the JCS. He retired in 2011. It was a good catch though.
He should have voted no.
Manning didn't call himself a hacker. And no, the point was not correctly made that Manning should have had to read all 700,000 pages of documentation to be able to say that he was a whistle blower. I will agree though that he should have presented things much better to receive the whistle blower protection.
The legal system, even the military courts, are supposed to take into account intent as much as the letter of the law and I personally don't believe that he should have been charged with espionage. He did however break the law and should be punished appropriately. I'm not sure that 100 years in a military prison is appropriate.
What's sad is that we used extend them. However, on the even side of things, would I as a US citizen be afforded any rights in your country?
Just when you think the President can't make himself seem any worse, he does. People can truly boggle the mind sometimes.
If they are part of the case, their names should be released.
When people actually tried to make something with their patent and when patents were very limited in terms of years granted and what could be patented, I think they had a small benefit. Even now, if they were used properly, I think they would have a small initial benefit if the patent was held by a small company. But I definitely agree with you that most patents concerning drugs are doing more harm than good.
Actually to hell with politically correct anything.
While it's true that the companies can lobby for more control, at least it's open and someone can try to watchdog it. Look at a country like Brazil, where the backroom dealings and out and out corruption aren't as easy to track or watchdog. Or a reporter that tries to write about it gets, at best a warning to stop, and, at worse, killed.
Obviously at least 15% of the respondents said they weren't proud to be an American.
The comment, and just about all the responses so far, are meant to move the discussion to a different issue.
It's not a police state, it's an idiot in Canada, an idiot with some power in New Braunfels, TX and an even bigger idiot of a district attorney. Now this case has nothing to do with being a police state and everything to do with a couple of idiots that don't want to admit they are idiots and release the kid. They are going to ride this to a conviction so they can then say they were right for doing what they did, or go down in flames.


text:
Twitter's much-anticipated redesign launched last week, causing quite a bit of industry buzz. From new brand pages to embeddable tweets, the recent changes to the social networking site are major.
The new version enhances the way we use Twitter and just may bring users back to the platform rather than continue a mass exodus to third party apps.
Four tabs now give you all the information you want to see quickly and easily. The redesign should be rolled out over the coming weeks but mobile web visitors, Twitter for iPhone users, and Twitter for Android users can see the change now.
What are the major changes? Let's examine them.
Homepage Redesign
Navigating the Twitter platform as a user following or being followed by a large number of users is incredibly hard. Now, users are presented with a simpler design allowing you to quickly see Twitter stats, trending topics, and suggested users to follow. Although the new homepage is a slight improvement, it still isn't as customizable as some third party apps.
Additionally, all the accounts you follow will show tweets more dynamically. Tweets expand to show more information – you can preview embedded photos or play videos directly in Twitter streams. This should keep more users on your Twitter profile and not bouncing off the site regularly to view photos or video.
@ Replies – Connect
Connect where the conversation starts – @ replies. The revamped @ connect tab allows you to see not only @ replies but also interactions.
"Track your impact across Twitter" by looking at the actions other people take related to you and your tweets. This feature reminds me of Google Ripples and can be used the same way – to help you find those influencers in your niche.
# Discover
Find others talking about the same things you're interested in with the Discover tab. As you use Twitter more, your Discover tab will be personalized based on what's happening in the world, who you're following, and your current location. Additionally, you can browse categories of interests, find friends, discover who to follow, and more.
Profile Pages
A streamlined design, the new profile pages "put you and your interests front and center." The change to "Me" or profile pages is mostly in the reorganization of the same information you're used to seeing – tweets, followers, following, favorites, lists, recent images, and users similar to you.
Brand Pages
The biggest changes to roll out are brand pages on Twitter – a much-anticipated addition. Rolled out to just 21 brands, the new brand pages have a lot of improvements over standard profiles or verified accounts.
The biggest change: the addition of customizable header images allows for more real estate to insert your brand logo, a promotion, or special. If you've ever tried to customize a Twitter background you know that it can be hard to make all information visible in such a small space. More space means more opportunities to brand your business.
Another change, and one of my personal favorites, is the embeddable tweet option. Now tweets can be embedded on web pages and in blog posts. This means automatic links back to your Twitter profile whenever someone embeds your tweets. Prolific tweeters who receive notoriety for their awesome tweets can now get an added bump in "link juice" by having their tweets embedded and linked to their profile.
Search API will now always return "real" Twitter user IDs. The with_twitter_user_id parameter is no longer necessary. An era has ended. ^TS
— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011
Ever wanted to feature a specific tweet at the top of your brand's Twitter page? Now you can with Twitter's new brand pages. You can feature a particular tweet above your timeline, which auto-expands to show video or embedded photos in the tweet. This allows you to showcase your brand's breaking news, special product, featured content, and more.
Lastly, branded pages will have the advantage of their @ replies and mentions separated for easier review. Tweets just mentioning the brand name will be separated from tweets directed at the brand. If you've ever managed a branded Twitter account you know that this separation can be key, especially if you have a lot of @ replies and mentions in a day.
All these changes certainly come as no surprise to Twitter users. The platform has needed a fresh update for a long time. The only questions is – are they enough?
Related reading
Top advanced YouTube SEO tips to boost your video performance
YouTube is not just a social media platform. It's a powerful search engine for video content. Here's how to make the most of its SEO potential.
Social media: How does it affect SEO?
It's not the actual social activity that matters, but what happens as a result of that activity. Three ways to harness the power of social media for SEO.


text:
iCondom from mtv staying alive on Vimeo.
MTV, in apparent recognition that contraceptive access can be a challenge and that people like to play with their phones, is launching a mobile app that tells people where to buy condoms. (Is there a Grindr add-on option?)
Mashable says much of the information will be crowdsourced. (It also includes this asinine passage: "iCondom is well-timed with a controversial new government health care plan that would eliminate out-of-pocket costs for women's birth control. Condom controversy usually revolves around a condom's ability to prevent pregnancy rather than its ability to prevent sexually transmitted diseases." Huh? Also, stop accepting the framing point that basic health care is "controversial.")
MTV App Locates Places To Get Condoms [Mashable]


text:
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (pronounced /ˌviː.əraɪˈɡoʊsə/; born January 23, 1953), born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of Mayors. He was elected mayor on May 17, 2005, defeating incumbent mayor James Hahn, and then re-elected for a second term in 2009. Prior to his election as mayor, Villaraigosa was the California State Assemblyman for the 45th District, the Speaker of the California State Assembly, and the Los Angeles City Councilman representing the 14th District. Villaraigosa is unable to run for a third term in 2013 due to term limits.
Before being elected to public office, Villaraigosa was a labor organizer. Villaraigosa served as a national co-chairman of Hillary Rodham Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign and as a member of President Barack Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board.
Born Antonio Villar in the City Terrace neighborhood of Los Angeles County's Eastside, Villaraigosa attended both Catholic and public schools. His father abandoned the family when Villaraigosa was 5 years old. At the age of 16, a benign tumor in his spinal column briefly paralyzed him from the waist down, curtailing his ability to play sports. His grades plummeted at Cathedral High School. The next year, he was expelled from the Roman Catholic institution after getting into a fight after a football game. He graduated from Roosevelt High School, and, with the help of his English teacher Herman Katz, went on to attend East Los Angeles College. Villaraigosa eventually transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but he did not graduate by the time that he left in 1975. At UCLA, Villaraigosa was a leader of MEChA. At this time, he went by the name "Tony Villar" but began using his birth name, Antonio, in the 1980s.


text:
Your browser does not support iframes.
Terrell Springs started off 2012 by making a mad dash to Lancaster from Great Falls in the wee hours of the morning.
No, the trip wasn't in the New Year's Day plans of he and his girlfriend, Ashley Boulware. However, their daughter, Telia Alani Springs, couldn't wait.
"I had the emergency flashers on all the way," he said.
Chef Nancy Hughes hopes you're hungry.
The author of "15-Minute Diabetic Meals" and the "The 4-Ingredient Diabetes Cookbook" has put together an easy-to-make Molasses Drumsticks with Soy Sauce recipe that's finger-licking, lip-smacking good.
"The molasses gives it a deep, earthy sweetness. It's like a real dark, rummy brown sugar," Hughes said in an instructional video posted on the American Diabetes Association website.
A simple food suited for paper plates and disposable utensils has once again become the rage in trendy, high-end restaurants.
Sliders – small, three-bite burgers – have two personalties, said David Gerard Hogan, a professor of American history at Heidelberg College in Ohio.
According to Hogan, author of "Selling 'em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food," sliders have become a "bifurcated" food, enjoyed by both the upscale and working class.
Editor's note: Cole Waddell is a Lancaster resident who was living in New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. He moved back here in 2005. This is the third part of a three-part series about Southerners who shared Christmas dinner there each year.
Six months after Dec. 25, 2001, finds me cleaning out my Aunt Ellen's accumulation of cards and notes.
One card is from Mrs. Boyce, a lady she knew.
The holiday season is hectic enough without fretting over what to buy for whom and how much to spend on gifts for coworkers, friends, neighbors and teachers.
Homemade cookies can make a lasting impression.
According to a recent survey, 40 percent of consumers plan to spend less this year on holiday gifts. Holiday baking is a great way to tighten your budget without shrinking your gift list.
Here are a few tricks and techniques to ensure sweet success this baking season.
When family comes home for holidays, the big meal of the day always gets the brunt of the attention.
However, by working ahead, you can wake sleepy heads with an aroma from the kitchen and a memorable Christmas breakfast they will remember this time next year.
Here are a few tips to consider before your house fills up with guests:
You just walked by the bulletin board in the break room and saw a big question mark on the list by your name.
You've been so busy that tomorrow's Christmas party at work was forgotten. It's a week earlier this year since there is one less weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Now you're in a cooking quagmire.
Potatoes can be a mystery. With many stores now carrying multiple varieties, trying to figure out what potato works best for what can be a guessing game.
Potatoes usually fall into two categories (baking and boiling). The chief difference between the two types is the starch content.
Baking potatoes are relatively high in starch. Boiling potatoes are lower in starch and waxy, which holds them together when boiling or in soup and stews.
In the late 1860s, chili was frontier food.
The mixture of dried beef, suet, chili peppers and salt was pounded together into compact bricks and left to dry in the hot sun was a regional dish enjoyed by those in Texas and neighboring Louisiana.
Easily transported, these bricks could be dropped into a pot of boiling water on the trail to make a stew-like soup for settlers and cowboys trekking across the Midwest.
There is a quotation by Albert Einstein tacked up in my work cubicle. He was a genius when it comes to capillary forces, general relativity, matter-energy equivalence and how light from another star can be bent by the sun's gravity.
It isn't Einstein's ability to comprehend atomic vibrations, wave-point duality and critical opalescence that I respect. Gosh, I have trouble just spelling Brownian motion and thermodynamic fluctuations, much less discerning what all of that means.
Copyright © 2019
The Lancaster News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Lancaster County and Lancaster, South Carolina, and the surrounding area..


text:
"I used My eCoach for a few years as my classroom website and for surveys and quizzes.
Two years ago, the district asked us to learn to use moodle because it is linked to student's grades, etc... At first, the moodle class page was separate, but needed to be accessed by student username and password. Many students forgot passwords or changed them or couldn't get on because of other reasons. This year there is a link within the students portal site to a moodle classroom page. (They still need their username and password.) This link was not to the webpage I had made earlier, but to a new one. I switched all the information over to the new because I was told the parents would be able to access it from their portal site, also. This was not true. I then switched back to My eCoach and found it so easy to use!
The parents and students both can keep up with assignments because they do not need to remember passwords! This past week, I put together an online test in portal-moodle because I was told it would grade the test and link the grade to my gradebook. What a disaster! The transferred grade was not correct and I am dealing with many e-mails from students who could not submit their finished tests. I believe I will try the on-line quiz in My eCoach next time and just copy over the grade.
I am still only using a small portion of what is available in ecoach, but am looking forward to trying all the new things that Barbara and her team have developed over the past year or so."
Susan Brown
High School Science Teacher
Osceola High School - Pinellas, Florida


text:
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Marketing Case StudySet Visions creates visual content that works successfully across various social media platforms, print and marketing. This allows our clients to successfully run their marketing campaigns with seamless supporting print publications.
A long-standing client challenged us to create a fresh new approach to their brand imagery. They wanted to step away from their traditional 'trade' style brochure and to create images that inspire and captivate the end consumer instead.
Our in-house interior designer wanted to include architectural details with a realistic sized bathroom to bring the traditional pottery suite to life. Homely touches were added through tactile props, adding to the lifestyle feel without detracting the focus from the product.
The CGI team created supporting photorealistic detail shots, pushing the creative feel through camera and composition. These shots not only cross sell products but also promote the aspirational lifestyle that can be achieved with this pottery and interior design scheme.
These images are perfect for lifestyle brochures, original blog content and will be used as promotional images on aspirational interiors design sites such as Pinterest and Houzz. For more info and to see our portfolio work for both CGI and Photography visit setvisions.co.uk.


text:
Thank you for playing the Premier Sunday crossword.
Here at Crossword Tracker we have found the answers to the last 427 dates
of Premier Sunday crosswords. If you want the answers to clues of other dates,
just make a search using our search on the right.
Below is the list of the recent days crossword. Just click on a certain date to find the answers to all clues for that date.
|Premier Sunday, March 11th, 2018
|146 clues
|Premier Sunday, March 4th, 2018
|146 clues


text:
Two Huntsman MIS Teams Make it to Finals in Global Competition
March 2013
By Steve Eaton
Two teams of Huntsman students have made it to the finals of a systems information contest that drew 82 teams from some of the best universities in the world.
The Utah State University students will be going to Bentonville, Ark., to participate in the 2013 Walmart IT Summit and AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference April 18 – 20. The Association of Information Systems, the organization that is hosting the competition, is a professional group for individuals and organizations that lead the research, teaching, practice, and study of information systems worldwide.
There were 82 teams from 17 universities that entered the contest and just six teams in each of four different categories made it to the finals. Only five universities, counting USU, managed to get more than one team to the championships. Some of the universities that still have teams in the running include Carnegie Mellon University, University of Alabama, Brigham Young University, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, all schools known for their MIS programs.
One team of three Huntsman management information systems (MIS) students, which included Gina Baldazzi, Kristen Tenney, and Kyle Bell, submitted a training video they created and became finalists in the "interactive learning module" category. The video, which a former student, Marielle Sanchez, helped them create before she graduated in 2012, is aimed at helping people learn how to create an "entity relationship diagram," which Gina described as "the blue prints for a data base." She said they wanted to create something that was not too technical so that even those who are not MIS students could understand it.
"We think all business students can learn from this video," Gina said. "With this training business leaders will know how to better communicate their database needs with the IT professionals who will be helping them."
David Olsen, who heads the Management Information Systems Department, said that the students were able to hit a "sweet spot" because they identified a critical need which made their project stand out. He said both teams found innovative solutions that earned each of them a place in the finals.
The other team of three MIS students, which included Vishal Patel, Dannaea Ward, and Eric Schnell, entered the "IT risk identification category" and were asked to do a case study for a fictional health care company that was trying to decide if it should store private patient data in an online secure cloud storage system or on a more traditional protected system.
The team recommended that the company choose an approach where it would use on-demand software that is hosted and maintained online by a third-party vendor.
"With the boom in such cloud offerings, the enterprise world is rapidly moving toward these types of solutions for the benefits they offer and the cost savings they can deliver," Eric said.
Based on the risks involved with choosing this approach, the team also cautioned the company to set high security standards, to plan a clear exit strategy in case of vendor conflict, and to implement a strict policy to guard against fraud.
"We are happy to represent the MIS department here at USU," Kristen said. "Getting the Huntsman name out there, especially with two different teams is a big deal to us. It shows that we are getting a quality education, even when compared to other top schools across the nation."
Dr. Olsen said MIS students at the Huntsman School of Business are prepared to enter the job market when they graduate.
"We have very talented students here and many companies are recognizing that," Dr. Olsen said. "They now seek out our students because of what they can offer."
Both teams said they are excited for the opportunity to go to the convention hoping it will open up job opportunities for them.
"The end of the game is to get a good job," Dannaea said. "When you add to our formal education competitions like this that offer excellent networking opportunities, it can lead to a very good job."
Vishal said he wants people to see that Huntsman MIS students can compete with the best.
"We just want to tell people that we are Aggies and we can deliver," Vishal said. "It's school pride. We want people to know that are not just famous for our ice cream."


text:
A new study from money-saving brand www.vouchercloud.com has revealed the biggest fears throughout the UK, split by those living in each region.
As many as 35% of those living in the South East of England admit to being afraid of death and dying, while Britons elsewhere in the UK are more afraid of heights, clowns and thunder and lightning.
The team at www.vouchercloud.com conducted the study as part of its ongoing research in to what Britons' most common fears and phobias are. A total of 2,187 Britons aged 18 and over were quizzed on their biggest fears and how much of an impact these had on their everyday lives.
Initially all respondents were asked 'Do you feel that your particular fear(s) are rational or irrational?' to which two thirds of respondents (65%) revealed that their fears are 'rational'; with 35% describing them as 'irrational'. All respondents were then asked 'Have you ever opened up to your friends and family to talk about your fears?' The majority of respondents, 54%, admitted that 'no' their friends and family were unaware of their fears, with a further 72% of these individuals revealing it had never come up in conversation.
Respondents were then asked whether or not they felt their fears had made any sort of negative impact on their everyday lives. The most common responses were either 'yes, because there is chance I might have to face it anytime, anywhere' (37%) or 'no – my fear is not something you come across day-to-day' (31%).
In order to determine the biggest fears throughout the UK, respondents were provided with a list of possible fears and told to select all that applied to them. Once all of the results were collated and split per region, each region's biggest fear were revealed as follows;
1. East of England – spiders (43%)
2. London – clowns (39%)
3. Wales – thunder and lightning (38%)
4. South East – dying/death (35%)
5. North West – various pets/animals (31%)
6. Yorkshire and the Humberside – heights (30%)
7. Northern Ireland – heights (27%)
8. East Midlands – flying (25%)
9. South West – being overweight (21%)
10. North East – clowns (19%)
11. Scotland – heights (18%)
12. West Midlands – spiders (18%)
Matthew Wood, managing director of vouchercloud.com, said: "It's interesting to see what the biggest fears are around the UK, and how some regions have similar fears while some are a little unexpected. It was particularly interesting to see how the biggest fear in the East Midlands is flying when they have their own airport.
"It's totally normal and actually very healthy to be afraid of something, and whether it's considered rational or irrational – it's personal to you and your life experiences. Don't let anyone pressure you in to facing up to your fears in a bid to get over it, but we'd always recommend trying to overcome your fears at one point or another, purely so it doesn't have an impact on your enjoyment of life and isn't passed on to your children. While you may not think that you're showing fear, children pick up on all sorts and always copy those within their immediate group."
Don't miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.
Here are four ways you can be sure you'll be amongst the first to know what's going on.
1) Make our website your homepage
2) Like our Facebook page
3) Follow us on Twitter
4) Register with us by clicking on 'sign in' (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.
And do share with your family and friends - so they don't miss out!
Always the first with your local news.
Be part of it.


text:
American Airlines
Flight attendant's pins from 9-11 crash returned to American Airlines
The gold pins glisten as if they had never been in the fiery explosion of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon on 9-11.
The two pins — AA wings and an Association of Professional Flight Attendants logo — worn by a flight attendant on that flight, were returned to American Airlines on Thursday after sitting unclaimed for over a decade in a government agency box.
"It just helps you to know they will never be forgotten, even 13 years later," said Cathie Ong, who received the pins on behalf of American and the families of crew members who died in the terrorist attacks during a ceremony at the C.R. Smith Museum. Ong's sister, Betty, was a flight attendant on American Flight 11, which crashed into the World Trade Center.
The pins sit in a shadow box on top of an American flag and will be permanently displayed for the public at the flight museum, which is part of American's flight academy, where thousands of pilots and flight attendants go for training every year.
Though it is not known who the pins belonged to, the flights attendants on Flight 77 were: Michele Heidenberger, 57; Renee Ann May, 39; and Jennifer Lewis, 38, and her husband, Kenneth Lewis, 49.
The flight attendant wings pin and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants union pin might never have made it back to Fort Worth if it hadn't been for the keen eye of Joan Cote, director of USO Delaware.
Cote often gives tours of Dover Air Force Base that include the offices of the Joint Personal Effects Depot, a military organization that collects personal effects of fallen military personnel. Items retrieved at the Pentagon are kept at the depot.
"Every time I go in there, I look at the things in the boxes," Cote said, describing the Flight 77 items that are on display in glass cases in the depot offices. "I think about who that belonged to."
When she saw the two American pins in 2012, she took a picture of them and emailed them to some of her friends who worked at the airline. Cote said she figured American didn't even know the pins existed — and she was right.
John Hale, American's vice president of flight, heard about the pins and contacted Cote to find out how the company might obtain them. The two started the paperwork process with the government agency, finally receiving approval a year later.
The pins have been cleaned and are in good condition. They were not melted by the jet fuel fire that burned for hours after Flight 77 hit the Pentagon.
APFA president Laura Glading said she wept the first time she saw the pins.
"Our uniform would be nothing but a polyester-blend suit but when we put on those pins and those wings, we are transformed into a professional," Glading said. "These [pins] are very important to us."
Cote was tasked with transporting the pins from Delaware to Fort Worth. She flew to Fort Worth in October with the pins, which were placed in the cockpit for the ride back to Texas.
"I felt the crew members in my heart," said Cote, remembering she thought to herself, "I'm taking you home."
Andrea Ahles, 817-390-7631


text:
GraphicRiver Realistic Web Shadow Generator Shadows Action 142078
Script & Plugin \ Add-on \ Photoshop \ Actions \ Utilities
Shadow \ Action \ Thanks \ Realistic \ Shadows \ Effects \ Images \ Really \ Giallo
Add-on - Realistic Web Shadow Generator Shadows Action 142078 by Giallo @ GraphicRiver
Script & Plugin \ Add-on \ Photoshop \ Actions \ Utilities
Great generator for realistic Photo Shadows and Web Sliders Watch how this Action works!! CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO
Remember to follow the instructions and the tips inside
This very cool Action allows you to create a fantastic realistic shadow effect. With just one click! You select a Layer and then Click Play: done! It works great with images, rectangular shapes, rounded corners chapes etc…
Realistic Shadows for web boxes, photos and images of every size
This Photoshop Actions Set is crafted to always give outstanding results: automatically detects the shape and the size of the image/Layer you're working on and create a perfect and realistic shadow effects. These kit of shadows effects allows you to create trendy effects in seconds! No skills required, always a perfect result!
Inside the pack you'll also find some suggestions and instructions.
Check this Bundle before buying
An Action wich creates a real float shadow with any skill
If you're a web or graphic designer you must have this Action! Enjoy!
Hi my name is Gianluca Giacoppo, I'm a Graphic Designer / Photomanipulator.
I've knowledge in web design, communication design, skills with Adobe Photoshop and the photomanipulation process. In my Portfolio here you can find a bit of everything: illustrations, templates, GUIs, Mock-ups, Photoshop Actions and Styles. Have a look around
I like to design everything, but most of all I like to provide tools for professional designers like me. I'm not available for freelance work at the moment.
My Latest Work
What the buyers say about my items.
- "Great file, exactly what i was looking for" by StefanGolchert link
- "Nice work" by ttheb64 link
- "Good work." by M2A link
- "Yes it does – really great stuff. Uses the same steps I would normally use for a shadow…but automated Great way to speed things up while designing." by WPExplorer link
- "Superb pack. Very nice. Thanks, man!" by zedd3r link
- "Great job 5 stars!" by aedaddy link
- "Tested and it works great!" by zedd3r link
- "thanks guy , fantastic item & very useful!!! " by MehdiRyah link
- "Handy item, works as advertised. Minor problem was fixed immediately and courteously. Good job." by SBSB link
- "This should the one MUST HAVE action to get! I love, love, LOVE it! I like to simplify my life LOL Thanks again! You rock" by MissBxx link
- "Really handy. Great work, much appreciated." by hey_funboy link
- "sweet!" by ttheb64 link
- "hi, very nice work. thanx" by olblue link
- "you are one of the best around GR! I have a lot of your files…this was is one of my favs! thanks" by Daniel_R link
- "I purchased it before it was featured It is indeed a great set" by fimbul link
- "Works just as it says. Great tool. Will use often. Thank you very much." by will777 link
- "WOW ! Really cool actions! i`m shoked…. Very powerfull. My old smallest photos have a new life!! Many thx!" by olegtim link
- "I gotta comment on how valuable and powerful is this action. Compare with other plugins and the expensive those plugins are, this cheap enlarge action is stunning! amazing!
It've saved tons of time and the quality of the unsharp effects is just incredible. There is a lot of science and knowledge behind this. Thanks for this item Giallo…" by Daniel_R link
- "Very impressive results. I've been chasing a client for hi-res images only to be told 'the photographer lost them…" Enter this amazing action and I suddenly have lovely punchy hi-res shots to work with.
Great item, thanks a lot." by velocity_uk link
- "Hoping this will give the edge to some images for Photodune that i took before i had a tripod Thanks Giallo." by joiaco link
- "I love this plugin, just got it a few hours ago…Thanks again guru, very nice action!" by noahjnet link
- "hello giallo, i bought your work and is very nice." by miitiicoo link
- "Nice fun styles. Great quality and attention to detail. Lovely work thanks" by indigochris link
- "I love those styles! They are really a lot of fun – and easy – to work with." by Christian1606 link
- "Great work! Icons look amazing!" by olegtim link
Add-on Files Included: Photoshop ATN; Minimum Adobe CS Version: CS2.
Flyer and Poster Urban Mock-ups - Set Pack; Sphere Maker Photoshop Action; Realistic Stationery Mockups Set 3- Corporate ID; Book and Notebook Elegant Mock-ups; 5 Realistic Logo/Branding Mock-ups - Layered PSD's; Realistic Stationery Mockups Set 2- Corporate ID; Realistic Stationery Mockups Set 1- Corporate ID.
Keywords: box shadows, floating shadow, professional shadow, real 3d shadow, realistic shadow, shadow action, shadow generator, shadowbox, shadows pack, slider shadow, web box effect, web box shadow, web slider shadows.


text:
Recently added item(s)
You have no items in your shopping cart.
Outsmarting Rodents Since 1898. ™
Advanced Search
Contact Us 1.855.584.2867
Learning Center
Customer Service
Shop Our Other Brands
Learn More
Email Us
Read Our Articles & Tips
Customer Support
© 2019 Woodstream Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
29 E. King Street, Lancaster, PA 17602


text:
Hagel tries to alleviate Dem fears
Chuck Hagel is moving to assuage concerns raised by pro-Israel Democrats over his nomination as defense secretary, laying out a hawkish posture toward Iran and Hezbollah and apologizing for characterizing powerful activists as the "Jewish lobby."
In a letter to California Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Jewish Democrat, Hagel said he fully supports unilateral sanctions on Iran and condemned Hezbollah as a terrorist threat to Israel. He called it "a very poor choice of words" when he referred in a 2006 interview that the "Jewish lobby" tends to "intimidate" lawmakers, saying he understands how such words "can be construed as anti-Israel."
Story Continued Below
"Most Americans, myself included, are overwhelmingly supportive of a strong U.S.-Israel strategic and security relationship," Hagel said in the letter, adding he would work to "expand the depth and breadth" of the countries' ties if he's confirmed as defense secretary. "This broad support comes from both Jews and non-Jews alike."
( PHOTOS: What they're saying about Hagel)
Hagel's comments give a window into how the Nebraskan and the White House are quickly moving behind the scenes to eliminate dissenters in the Senate — particularly among Democrats who pose the greatest threat to his nomination. Hagel is also expected to meet this week with Sen. Chuck Schumer, the hawkish New York Jewish Democrat, as part of his meetings with senators.
In his letter, Hagel also lays out a bit of a softer side, referring to Boxer as "Barbara," and signing his name simply as "Chuck" — a luxury given to him since he served as a member of the exclusive club for a dozen years.
( PHOTOS: Chuck Hagel's career)
The former Nebraska GOP senator also went to lengths to alleviate fears on the left that he has a shaky record on gay rights and women's issues. He told Boxer he "fully" supports the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" law that prohibited the service of openly gay individuals in the military.


text:
HomeRestoreWindow RestorationWindow Glass Stain Protection
Window Glass Stain Protection
Our Glasstastic brand products are designed to help home and building owners enjoy easier maintenance, better appearance and longer life of their glass surfaces. Our Certified Technicians offer advanced sealing treatments that bond to the glass and fill in the microscopic pores on your glass surfaces, protecting against damage and making it easier to clean.
Our Glasstastic Hard Surface Protector is a revolutionary, permanent, non-stick, invisible coating for window glass. The one time application makes dirt and grime easier to clean by 90%. It also protects the surface from staining or etching from mineral deposits and salt corrosion caused by rain runoff, sprinklers, pool sweeps, etc. Imagine no more worries about water spots!
Once your glass has been treated, harsh chemical cleaners are no longer needed. Our Glasstastic Maintenance Cleaner is a safe and effective product designed for cleaning the treated window glass surfaces without damaging the protective coating or polluting the environment. No one knows window glass stain protection like The Glass Guru!
Contact The Glass Guru today to schedule your Professional Glass Treatment!
Services vary by market, Call Us for availability.
*All products/services shown may not be available in all areas. Please contact us for availabilty.
Corporate Office
Quick Contact Form


text:
Let's investigate. Exhibit A: A still from My Idiot Brother, a Sundance 2011 film also starring Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Rashida Jones and Hugh Dancy, among others. Exhibit B, another still, is below. What's the verdict?
Personally, I think the clothes are more of a bonerkiller than the beard and the hair. Because add some crisp white shorts and a headband and you get Richie Tenenbaum.


text:
Knowledgebase: NE1™ Web Builder > Modules (Guestbook, Prayer Request, Blog, Gallery, etc.) > Guestbook Module
Guestbook: Public/Private Posts
Posted by , Last modified by on 21 December 2010 02:56 PM
Public/Private Posts:
As in the NE1 Comments module, the Guestbook module allows for posts that are both public and private. A site visitor may wish to keep his/her comments private. When filling in the form, they have the option of doing so. A private comment, therefore, is one that is only seen by the webmaster. Public comments are published on the website for everyone to see. You can view all the public posts by clicking the "Browse All Posts" button at the top of the Guestbook admin page (chosen from the Add-On Modules tab). You can view all the private posts by clicking the "Browse Private Posts" button.


text:
Dems' recess plan: Focus on climate
The White House, congressional Democrats and their allies are plotting an August recess offensive to promote President Barack Obama's climate change plan and head off Republican opposition.
The full-court press shows that liberals have learned from past August congressional recesses, when Republicans, aided by the tea party, out organized Democrats and managed to demonize cap and trade and blame them for high gas prices.
Story Continued Below
"The Democrats should seize the opportunity to contrast themselves with the nihilistic House Republicans by advocating solutions to these challenges — including climate change," said Daniel Weiss, senior fellow and director of climate strategy for the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
( Also on POLITICO: OFA embraces tea party blueprint for August push)
The strategy is two-fold. First, liberals hope to better articulate the threats posed by climate change to the average citizen, including sea level rise, drought and wildfires. Second, they plan to call out Republicans in Congress who are skeptical about climate change science.
The president's climate change plan includes a range of measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions, including new Environmental Protection Agency regulations for power plants.
Organizing for Action, the successor to Obama's campaign arm, is planning a "national action" day Aug. 13, which will focus on climate change.
Ivan Frishberg, climate change campaign manager at OFA, said the group is organizing events in the states and districts of the 135 lawmakers it has labeled "climate deniers" as part of the action day. The events are aimed at "holding them accountable" for questioning climate science, he said.
"With these folks, it's hard to get to a conversation about solutions when they deny the science," Frishberg said.
OFA's strategy is designed to show lawmakers who oppose measures to tackle climate change that there is support for the president's plan.
"This is a chance for people at the grass-roots and the local level to say, 'Yes, that's what we want,'" Frishberg said.
The Obama administration has launched its own campaign to sell the climate plan, with the president dispatching key members of his administration — including newly confirmed EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz — to take part in "an aggressive outreach effort," a White House official said in an email.
"[I]n the coming weeks and months you will continue to see the President, senior officials, and members of the Energy Cabinet, highlight the importance of this plan for our public health and our ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters such as floods, wildfires and hurricanes," according to the official.
Starting next week, McCarthy will begin traveling around the country to discuss the importance of acting on climate change. The White House official said her schedule includes speeches, media events and meetings with outside groups — all of which will be promoted heavily on social media. And the official added that McCarthy will begin meeting with states soon to discuss the agency's pending climate regulations.
Meanwhile, White House energy adviser Heather Zichal has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill this month, briefing Senate and House Democrats on the details of the plan and strategizing about how best to sell the president's climate agenda.


text:
National three-year award with gold, silver, bronze designations marks a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and achieving a healthy work environment
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), Aliso Viejo, Calif., recently conferred a silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence on the CVICU at Medical City Dallas in Dallas, Texas.
The Beacon Award for Excellence — a significant milestone on the path to exceptional patient care and healthy work environments — recognizes unit caregivers who successfully improve patient outcomes and align practices with AACN's six Healthy Work Environment Standards. Units that achieve this three-year, three-level award with a gold, silver or bronze designation meet national criteria consistent with Magnet Recognition, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and the National Quality Healthcare Award.
AACN President Teri Lynn Kiss, RN, MS, MSSW, CNML, CMSRN, applauds the commitment of the caregivers at the CVICU at Medical City Dallas for working together to meet and exceed the high standards set forth by the Beacon Award for Excellence. These dedicated healthcare professionals join other members of the exceptional community of nurses who set the standard for optimal patient care.
"The Beacon Award for Excellence recognizes caregivers in stellar units whose consistent and systematic approach to evidence-based care optimizes patient outcomes. Units that receive this national recognition serve as role models to others on their journey to excellent patient and family care," she explains.
The silver-level Beacon Award for Excellence earned by the CVICU at Medical City signifies continuous learning and effective systems to achieve optimal patient care. The CVICU at Medical City earned its silver award by meeting the following evidence-based Beacon Award for Excellence criteria:
- Leadership Structures and Systems
- Appropriate Staffing and Staff Engagement
- Effective Communication, Knowledge Management, Learning and Development
- Evidence-Based Practice and Processes
- Outcome Measurement
Other Beacon Award designations include bronze and gold. Recipients who earned a bronze-level award show success in developing, deploying and integrating unit-based performance criteria for optimal outcomes; gold-level awardees demonstrate excellent and sustained unit performance and patient outcomes.
AACN honors the CVICU at Medical City and other Beacon Award for Excellence recipients with announcements in AACN Bold Voices, the monthly award-winning member magazine distributed to more than 100,000 acute and critical care nurses nationwide. AACN also honors awardees at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, the world's largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families.
About the Beacon Award for Excellence: Established in 2003, the Beacon Award for Excellence offers a road map to help guide exceptional care through improved outcomes and greater overall patient satisfaction. U.S. or Canadian units where patients receive their principal nursing care after hospital admission qualify for this excellence award. Units that receive the Beacon Award for Excellence meet criteria in six categories: leadership structures and systems; appropriate staffing and staff engagement; effective communication, knowledge management, learning and development; evidence-based practice and processes; and outcome measurement. To learn more, visit www.aacn.org/beacon or call (800) 899-2226.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN joins together the interests of more than 500,000 acute and critical care nurses and claims more than 235 chapters worldwide. The organization's vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. To learn more about AACN, visit www.aacn.org, connect with the organization on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aacnface or follow AACN on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aacnme.


text:
The funeral organised by fans for Bryan Cranston's fictional character on Breaking Bad raised $17,000 for charity on Saturday.
The memorial for Walter White, the chemistry teacher-turned-drug manufacturer played by Cranston, attracted 200 people in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the series was set and filmed.
Admission to the event helped raise thousands of dollars for the city's Healthcare for the Homeless organisation, which also helps people battling drug addictions.
The 'mourners' attended a funeral procession led by a hearse and White's infamous motor home, where the character cooked up meth on the cult hit.
The fans convened to a cemetery where they could pay their respects to White at a real grave site and Breaking Bad set decorator Michael Flowers was even on hand to give a eulogy. Following the service, fans were invited to a local restaurant for a reception.
However, some Albuquerque locals have slammed the faux memorial, insisting it will draw TV tourists the the site where their loved ones are buried.
A petition has been launched in a bid to have the grave removed, pointing out that the home where the show was shot already draws up to 10,000 cars a month.
The funeral organised by fans for Bryan Cranston's fictional character on Breaking Bad raised $17,000 for charity on Saturday.


text:
Globe-trotting Secretary of State John Kerry was on one of his rare stopovers in Washington, when I caught up with him the other day. "I'm here a lot more than people think," he said, smiling but sounding defensive, even before he sat down to begin our conversation in the sunny anteroom of his headquarters on the seventh floor of the State Department.
Never mind the 245,000 miles and counting on the old Boeing 757, he insisted; he's not permanently on an airplane, leaving Foggy Bottom to run on autopilot. Neither is he a cockeyed optimist, promising a Middle East peace that remains as elusive as ever. And yes, he is consulted by the White House—recent evidence of his exclusion from major decisions and policy reviews to the contrary. "I can call the president anytime and see him anytime I need to," he told me in what amounted to his first extensive comments on the latest outbreak of second-guessing that has greeted his wide-ranging diplomatic forays. The secretary of state went on to dismiss the "Washingtonian… political babble" that he is permanently cut out of the Obama loop, protested that "I'm inured to all of that by now" and just generally told his critics in polite but insistent terms to pipe down.
Story Continued Below
Certainly, there are plenty of critics to answer; everyone, it seems, is taking a swing at John Kerry these days. Just hours before our interview, his old friend and longtime Senate colleague John McCain had called him a " human wrecking ball," an insult apparently aimed at the secretary's penchant for careening around the globe on person-to-person diplomatic missions. Not long before that, the French foreign minister publicly torched his Iran nuclear deal, calling it a " fool's bargain," while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted it as " the deal of the century"—for the Iranians.
And then there was a scathing column by Jackson Diehl in the Washington Post, mocking Kerry for living in a "dream world" of his own making, a "delusional" bubble where peace is really possible in the Middle East, the Russians are actually trying to help us end the war in Syria and the Egyptian generals who overthrew an elected government didn't in fact carry out a coup.
Clearly, the harsh words sting, especially at a moment when Kerry has so many diplomatic balls in the air that it's almost impossible to say whether he'll end up looking like a negotiating genius—or a secretary with a bad case of overreach. "I am an optimist," Kerry told me, "because I am one by nature; in this job you have to be. But I am not running around suggesting to people anything is easy or will happen quickly. Never suggested that ever…. If Middle East peace was easy, it would've been done a long time ago. I have no illusions. But I would ask Jackson Diehl and anyone else who was critical of our engagement: What is the alternative?"
And yet, listening to Kerry as he describes the many fronts of his frenetic diplomacy, from the deadly gridlock of the Syrian civil war to the maddening grind of persuading the Israelis to talk peace with their neighbors, his optimism is still what surprises. The secretary of state is not in a dream world exactly, but he is taking on some of the heaviest diplomatic lifts of the last several decades with a blithe confidence and willingness to bang his patrician head against brick walls that others would avoid—and have.
What's the goal of all this? You get the sense from Kerry that engagement is his ideology, that showing up has become a form of strategy for him, a rationale that is a convenient blend of his personal mission—and the broader challenge of proving that America, while tired and bloodied by a decade of overseas military engagements from Afghanistan to Iraq, has not abandoned the stage altogether. What is the choice, he asks rhetorically over and over again. What is the choice?
As he says of his long and so far not very rewarding talks aimed at starting a Syrian peace process: "Do you just sit on your rear end and do nothing? Or do you try to get to the political solution? … I'm not starry-eyed about it. It's harder than hell…. But I know the alternative is worse. If you want a complete implosion of Syria, and you want to see terrorism rise—which it is, even now—and you want more pressure on Jordan, which is our ally and friend and beleaguered by refugees, do nothing."
Of course, to many, nothing is more or less exactly what all the months and months of talking have so far produced; in fact, the latest effort to bring the warring Syrian parties to the table in Geneva has just been pushed back to an indeterminate " striving" for a meeting by the end of this year.
But it's fair to say that rarely has a recent secretary encountered so many simultaneous crises, and this week's fracas is not over Syria but the terms of a possible interim deal with the Iranians for a six-month freeze on their nuclear program, a deal that Kerry failed to close despite flying to Geneva earlier this month. Now, not only are the Iranians themselves balking, but there's a full-scale uproar among Kerry's longtime colleagues in Congress, who may just yet scotch the deal by passing even tougher sanctions on the Iranians.
So who, I asked him, was tougher to bargain with: the Iranians, the Israelis, allies like the French, Democrats on Capitol Hill, Republicans on Capitol Hill, or the White House back home wanting to control it all? Just hours earlier he had left a briefing on Capitol Hill with fuming senators of both parties in his wake and little progress in heading off the threat of additional sanctions before talks with Iran resume this week ("John Kerry's Iran Briefing Succeeds… in Solidifying GOP Against Him," ran a headline in Foreign Policy).
"I honestly don't calculate this week as tougher than a lot of weeks over the course of the last nine months," Kerry responded.


text:
My Dr Feelgood
All you wanted to know about my dr feelgood porn, but were shy to ask, just in pics. Thousands of XXX fuck images in one place, browse our porn-photo-guide and realize all your secret desires asap on AboutFuck.com. We have a lot of amateur pussies, jizz lovers, naughty girls, anal fans and hot moms with skilfull hands. Enjoy teen kittens and mature honeys as well. European, latina, indian, filipino, we have women on every taste, browse all our pages and find your horny as fuck girlfriend or wife.
copyright 2011-2019 www.AboutFuck.com All Rights Reserved.


text:
Flash storage became a mainstream product in 2013 as storage vendors from the tiniest startups to the legacy behemoths shipped solutions to apply flash memory technology to increasing storage performance.
Those solutions, ranging from combination SSD/spinning disks to sharing PCIe flash storage in multiple servers to hybrid disk/flash storage arrays to full-blown all-flash arrays, made 2013 a good year for customers looking for ways to squeeze ever more performance out of their storage solutions while trying to keep budgets under control.
CRN has collected 10 interesting and unique ways storage vendors have applied flash technology. So sit back, secure your seatbelts, and turn the page for ways to get mind-boggling performance in the data center.


text:
About 700,000 Americans will have a stroke this year—that's one person every 45 seconds. Fortunately, you can reduce your chance of suffering a stroke by gaining a greater understanding of how this condition occurs and by identifying common risk factors and symptoms.
A stroke can occur by two different mechanisms. When a blood vessel (artery) leading to or within the brain becomes blocked this event is called an "ischemic stroke." Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells in your brain and when the blood flow stops even for just a few minutes, the cells begin to die. As a result, these cells can lose their ability to function. Alternatively, a "hemorrhagic stroke" can occur if a blood vessel within the head ruptures and leaks blood into the surrounding brain tissue. This bleeding causes acute swelling and compression of brain tissue leading to cell death.
The specific physical abilities that will be lost or affected by a stroke depend on the extent of cell death and where in the brain the stroke occurred. The brain is divided into four primary parts.
If the stroke starves oxygen-rich blood from these brain regions, the following related functions will be affected:
Some factors that increase your risk of stroke are genetically determined. Others simply happen naturally or are due to lifestyle. The factors resulting from heredity or natural processes can't be changed, but those that are environmental can be modified with the help of our comprehensive approach to vascular care.
The five uncontrollable risk factors include:
The basic controllable risk factors include:
The risk of stroke is greatly reduced by lowering your blood pressure, smoking cessation, beginning or increasing exercise, controlling medical problems, maintaining optimal weight and eating a healthy diet.
The warning signs of a major stroke are:
"Temporary strokes" (transient ischemic attacks or TIAs) can occur days, weeks or even months before a major permanent stroke. The symptoms occur rapidly and last a relatively short period of time, usually from a few minutes to several hours. The usual symptoms are like those of a major stroke, except that the signs and symptoms are temporary, typically lasting 24 hours or less. If you experience a TIA, you may be up to 9 times more likely to suffer a major stroke in the near future.
Assessing your level of risk is an important step that you can take to prevent a stroke. The St. Joseph Hospital Vascular Institute offers a comprehensive screening program to help you get this critical information. Screenings include a medical history, physical examination and blood tests to check for high cholesterol or other conditions that may contribute to atherosclerosis. An ultrasound examination of your carotid arteries, the blood vessels in your neck that are the primary blood supply to the brain, will also be performed to determine if there is significant disease (a.k.a. atherosclerosis). An ultrasound is a non-invasive examination that uses ultrasound waves, instead of X-rays, to visualize the neck and other peripheral arteries. For more information, click here.
Time is critical. Until a few years ago, acute strokes were regarded as untreatable. Brain cells were thought to die within minutes after a stroke began, so acute treatment was believed to be useless. Now researchers have discovered that treatment following a stroke, especially if begun within three hours of onset, can help preserve brain tissue. At the St. Joseph Hospital Vascular Institute, advances in treatment and rehabilitation have also made it possible for many stroke patients to regain full function and quality of life. Treating a stroke depends on where the stroke occurred in your brain and whether it's ischemic or hemorrhagic. The doctor may use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) scan or angiography (injecting dye through a catheter inserted into the suspected blocked blood vessel and taking x-rays of the vessels) to determine the stroke type and location.
Some of the cutting-edge treatments offered at the St. Joseph Hospital Vascular Institute include:
Most stroke patients can benefit from rehabilitation, and today the outlook for stroke patients is more hopeful than ever before. Because of advances in treatment and rehabilitation available at the St. Joseph Hospital Vascular Institute, many stroke patients are being restored to a fully functional life.
To learn more about stroke visit the American Stroke Association website at www.strokeassociation.org.


text:
Diary of a Film Startup Part 16: Top Ten Lessons, So Far/
Previously: Film Marketing Tools
Train to Stockholm We get amazing indie films submitted to KinoNation almost every day to our Private Beta launch. Here's one that's beautifully shot, with a theme of cross-border connectivity that will, I think, appeal to many video-on-demand platforms. Keep submitting movies!
10 Lessons As we close in on year's end -- and 4 months work on KinoNation -- I thought I'd share some lessons we've learned that really apply, I think, both to startup ventures AND to indie filmmaking. They seem obvious to me with hindsight, but they weren't obvious when we started just a few months ago.
1 ASSUMPTIONS -- the premise for any startup or film is based on a series of assumptions which may or may not be true. It's critically important to accept that your assumptions -- about market, audience, revenues, etc. -- may be fundamentally flawed. Job # 1 is to identify what your fundamental assumptions are. For KinoNation, the assumptions are that: a) filmmakers and content owners will want to use a service like this, b) that VoD platforms will be prepared to take our films, and c) that the numbers (costs vs future revenue) will actually add up to make the venture worthwhile.
2 TEST & VERIFY -- it's much faster and cheaper to test your assumptions before you start shooting or writing code or hiring people. The key is to test & verify in a thoroughly objective way. Avoid what many entrepreneurs and filmmakers do, which is to hear only what they want to hear (positive validation) and filter out what they don't want to hear (negative validation.) We tested our assumptions in #1 by making hundreds of calls and asking people, before we wrote a single line of code. And we continue to test and listen and test again. You really can do similar verification before making a movie.
3 PIVOT -- be prepared to change course, based on testing, feedback and early results. We were pretty sure we'd use the industry leading software for transferring huge movie files (Aspera) until we discovered it would cost us $100 for each film uploaded to us. So we built the software ourselves. That was a pretty major pivot, with significant risk, but we did it fast, and within less than a month we had people using our Upload Manager to transfer their ProRes files to our cloud servers.
4 BE TRANSPARENT - talk to competitors, be open about your plans. So many entrepreneurs and filmmakers want to keep their idea secret. Bad idea. Ideas are ten a penny. It's execution that's really hard. The upside from sharing your idea -- and the feedback you get -- far outweighs the risk that someone will take your idea and execute on it themselves. Startups or screenplays or ideas in "stealth mode" tend to die from lack of exposure to the real world. I've had meetings with most of our competitors, and I've learned enormously from each one. Competitors can be remarkably open, friendly and supportive.
5 LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIENCE -- in the case of KinoNation, audience means filmmakers and VoD platforms and consumers of on-demand films. Talk to everyone, invite criticism and listen carefully, even if the feedback conflicts with your own beliefs. They may be right, you may be wrong. Many of our beliefs about the world of on-demand films have been significantly amended after listening to feedback.
6 RELEASE EARLY AND FAST -- there's no better way to verify that you're on to something (or not) than by having real people check it out, use your service, watch your dailies, etc. Get it out there fast, at least to a limited audience, and shorten the feedback-loop. In the startup world it's known as MVP -- Minimum Viable Product.
7 DON'T WASTE TIME AND MONEY ON STUPID STUFF -- there are so many "busywork" items beckoning to you when starting a business or prepping a movie. Setting up a company, printing stationery, opening a bank account, etc. Don't let it distract you. It doesn't achieve much. Do it only when you absolutely must, and not before. e.g. open a bank account after you first get that first check!
8 STRIVE FOR FIRST MONEY -- keep your sights on the point where your first income arrives. That's actually the crucial target. It's not launching the website or wrapping the shoot. It's getting that first check. For KinoNation the first income will be in Q1 of 2013, and once it comes it -- even if relatively small -- it will be the first "real" validation of our business assumptions.
9 BE CHEAP, LEAN & MEAN -- startup companies and startup movies die because they run out of cash. You'll never have enough. Be incredibly cheap. Run things lean and mean, but always be aware of the 3 factors "fast" "inexpensive" and "high quality" -- you can only ever have 2 out of 3.
10 IT'S A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT -- making movies, or starting a business is a long haul, always longer and harder than you expect. You'll have times when you accomplish a lot, and times of intense frustration. You have to pace yourself, take fun breaks, and bust the stress with exercise. You will fail to finish this marathon if you don't balance life, work and passion.
Next Up: Post # 17: From Upload to Cash in Hand: How KinoNation Works
Roger Jackson is a producer and the co-founder of film distribution start-up KinoNation. He was Vice President, Content for digital film pioneer iFilm.com and has produced short films in Los Angeles, documentaries in Darfur, Palestine and Bangladesh, a reality series for VH1 and one rather bad movie for FuelTV. You can reach him at email@example.com.


text:
The 2-1/2" long fork lets it double as a serving tool. Both fold neatly into the 4-1/2" long handle.
The sleek design gives it elegance. Made entirely of stainless steel, it is beautifully machined and finished.
For those who take a lunch to work or are keen campers, it can cause envy among others.


text:
Charing Ball at Madame Noire asks a provocative and probably long-overdue question: Are Black Gay Men the New "Mammies" of Reality Television?
[T]he gay black man has become the new housemaid "Mammy" to these women's Scarlett O'Haras. Most of these gay characters harken back to a time in cinematic history where the white rich women in the antebellum South needed their "sexually non-threatening" black female maids to nurture and basically make them feel good about themselves. If the black maids weren't "fussin'" after the mistress of the house, making sure her dress fitted properly and her hair was tight, she was in the kitchen, dancing, smiling and singing Go Down Moses. The gay male characters of today act very much in the same [vein]. But instead of shucking and jiving for the approval, and favor of rich white women, these gay best friend characters trade on their non-sexual "companionship" for heterosexual legitimacy.
[M]ore often than not, it is assumed that since the men are gay, he is there for the sole purpose to entertain or serve these women in some way. I have watched on several of occasions, characters from these shows not only proudly proclaim their affinity for "The Gays" but then go on to declare the gay character as "one of my girls." Well they are not girls. They are men, albeit gay. ...
Moreover, on these shows, ALL gay men are into the same thing (i.e., fashion, hair, makeup, electronic music and listening to the women banter about their heterosexual sex life). And because all of these gay male characters are the same, it gives an unfair expectation of how gay men are in real life. ... The irony is that the gay male sidekick is supposed to show how progressive and completely accepting of homosexuality these women are. However, watching these reality TV show characters tote these men around on their arms like latest handbag would be just as bad as watching a character in an old black and white film, saying that she loves Negro people because, "I have a Black maid."
Many of the Black gay characters on television—the reality genre in particular—come across as caricatures based upon the asexual "sassy Black gay sidekick." But "the gays" seen on series such as Real Housewives of Atlanta are ... often much more theatrical than those seen elsewhere, no?
LOGO's After Elton took on the phenomenon of the "sassy Black gay sidekick" some years ago, interviewing Noah's Arc director Patrik-Ian Polk, myself and others. Read that report HERE.
Thanks Michael Gipson!