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How To Program a Philips Pronto Using USB on Mac OS X
This article explains how I got my Philips Pronto Universal Remote editing working under Mac OSX using a USB-to-RS232 Adapter.
Philips Pronto Remote Control
No universal remotes made today are as versatile as the original Philips Pronto line. My two TS-1000's are still going strong, although they are wearing out. These remotes have been discontinued for a few years now, and earlier this year Philips Home Entertainment division was sold off so there's little hope they'll make a come back. We're still waiting for someone to produce a reliable touch-screen remote with programable button designs and IR commands. The closest match on the consumer market today I can find is the L5 Remote, which adds an IR dongle to an iPad or iPhone, however its macro ability is limited and it freezes frequently if you press buttons too quickly (due to a hardware limitation of the dongle and iOS interface). I have the L5 and I'll post an article when I get it working satisfactorily.
Connecting a Philips Pronto to a computer requires rs-232 serial communications, using a special cable that converts the minimal 4 pins of a 9-pin connector to a male 4 "ring" 1/4″ phone plug. This cable comes with the Pronto, so if you don't have one you'll either need to make one or find one on the Internet.
USB to RS232 Adapters
RS-232 and USB are both serial interfaces using different hardware technologies and speeds. Conversion between the two requires more electronics than wiring for different pinouts. There are several "rs232 to usb" adapters on the market, ranging between $15 and $30. They are based on either the Prolific PL-2303 chipset, FTDI chipset, or custom chipsets, and the reality is that most of these work better on Windows and Linux than on the Mac. The reasons for this are that the Linux kernel has always had good drivers for the popular serial technologies, and manufacturers usually focus on writing Windows drivers, so the Macs are a bit of a half-hearted effort. It also doesn't help the situation that the switch from Snow Leopard to Lion or Mountain Lion was also a major change from 32-bit drivers to 64-bit.
I own all three of the most popular USB rs232 adapters:
- Plugable USB to RS-232 DB9 Serial Adapter (Prolific PL2303 Chipset, has an OpenSource Mac driver)
- Belkin USB SERIAL PORT ADAPTER F5U409 (MCT/Philips P87C52X2BA Chipset)
- Keyspan by Tripp Lite USA-19HS Hi-Speed USB Serial Adapter (Custom TI Chipset)
For Linux the PL2303 Chipset is probably the best choice. For Windows all three are suppose to work but your milage will vary depending on the OS version and the device you are connecting. However for the Mac OS X, despite the fact the PL2303 chipset has an OpenSource driver for the Mac to play with, the only one I recommend and could get working with the Pronto Remote was the Keyspan USA-19HS:
The Keyspan USA-19HS adapter is also hackable and programable, although I did not need to do anything special like that to get it working.
ProntoEdit and Tonto
ProntoEdit is the computer application provided by Philips that allows you to download, edit, and upload the detailed configurations for the Pronto Remote. There are versions called "ProntoEdit" and "ProntoEdit Professional", which are tied to specific devices and which version of the software you need will depend on the remote you have. ProntoEdit only runs on Windows (and likely only older version of Windows). The only way to use this software on a Mac or Linux is in a Virtual Machine and is beyond the scope of this article. If you are looking for this software it's getting hard to find because Philips closed down the web site, so your best course is to start HERE. The manual for using this software (and it applies to Tonto as well) can be found HERE.
This article is going to use Tonto as the editor.
Tonto is an OpenSource project to replace ProntoEdit and the software works enough like ProntoEdit that if you are familiar with one you can use the other. The Tonto project itself is no longer active and replaced on SourceForge by another project with the same name, but the software can be found HERE. The important thing to know here is that this application only works in "32-bit" mode.
Snow Leopard, Lion, and Mountain Lion. Although the Keyspan USB adapter will work on all MAC OS X releases, because it's a 32-bit only application I have not been able to get the Tonto software working on Lion or Mountain Lion. It's working only on Snow Leopard. It's a Java application, so you might get it working on the later OS releases if you limit your system to "Java J2SE 5.0 32-bit", or just running Snow Leopard in a VM, but I did not spend a lot of time trying those out. For the purposes of this article I'm going to focus directly on Snow Leopard.
Steps For Getting Tonto Working With Philips Pronto On Mac Snow Leopard
This section describes the steps I took to get the Keyspan USB Serial adapter, Mac OSX Snow Leopard, and the Philips Pronto Remote all working together.
If you've ever tried any serial adapters on your system, make sure you have no conflicting USB RS-232 Serial Drivers installed. Using a Terminal Window, type the following:
sudo -s
cd /System/Library/Extensions
ls | grep -e KeyspanUSA -e Prolific -e BelkinF5U -e 2303 -e USBSerial
This should produce a list of possible kext directories for serial USB adapters. You need to be careful about this step because if you have used other specialized USB devices with this computer those drivers may also appear in this list and removing them may cause that device to no longer work when you plug it in. I highly recommend that you perform a "cp -r " command and copy any directory listed to another safe location in case you have to put it back later.
For each of the drivers you plan to remove, perform the following steps (in all cases replace the string "drivername" with the name of the kext driver listed from the above ls command):
kextunload drivername
cp -r drivername ~/Downloads/USBdrivers/drivername
rm -r drivername
Reboot your computer.
Making sure first that the Keyspan adapter is NOT PLUGGED IN, install the "Driver for USA-19HS (Mac OS X 10.6.x to 10.8.x)" from the Tripp Lite website. Then as a precaution, perform the following actions using the Terminal program:
sudo -s
cd /System/Library/Extensions
kextload KeyspanUSAdriver.kext
You may or may not get an error on the "kextload" command, depending on whether the driver was already loaded or not. After this reboot your computer.
Plug in the Keystone RS232 adapter into a USB port. If the system prompts you to go into System Network preferences, do so. If it doesn't, then go to System Preferences and select Networking. If there is already a "Keyspan USA-19H" service listed then highlight it and click "Advanced…". If there isn't one, click the "+" sign in the lower left corner, select the "Keyspan USA-19H" interface, click "Create", then click "Advanced…" Once in the "Advanced…" settings, set the Vendor to "Null Modem" and click "OK", then "Apply". If you see more than one Keystone network device make this change for all of them. You can now exit preferences. Lastly, verify that the OS has actual serial devices by running the Terminal program and performing an "ls /dev/*erial*" command. You should see pairs of "KeySerial" device files, one called "cu" and another called "tty".
Note that the Network Preferences "Connect" button will never produce a successful test, but it will make the LED on the adapter flash while it's being attempted.
Syndicated 2013-03-03 20:50:46 from Keith Barrett Online » Open Source


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The way you challenge your friends online will never be the same again - Studio Liverpool's senior designer Karl Jones explains why.
Cross-platform gaming is one of the key features of PlayStation Vita that's got everyone talking. This allows PS Vita users and PlayStation 3 users to connect, play games and share content.
Here, we speak to Karl Jones about how this will enhance your gaming experience in WipEout 2048 and how he believes it could affect the future of gaming.
"The cross-platform features in WipEout 2048 allows any combination of up to eight PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 players to play together, racing at the same time, on the same track, in the same race," says Jones. "Accessing a Cross-Play game is simple. PlayStation Network handles everything and it's a seamless experience for both PS Vita and PS3 players. PS Vita players simply choose to play a Cross-Play race, and they will appear in the game lobbies of online PS3 players and of course the lobbies of any other PS Vita players using Cross-Play."
When WipEout 2048 launches, anyone who buys the game will immediately have access to four tracks from WipEout HD. They can then connect to PS3 users who also own this title and compete in Cross-Play races.
Later this year, all of the remaining tracks from WipEout HD and WipEout HD Fury will be available to download on PS Vita for Cross-Play races, and PS3 users who have previously downloaded these titles and now own WipEout 2048 will get them for free for PS Vita.
WipEout 2048 makes use of many of the PS Vita system's unique features, and is the first title on the system to fully embrace simultaneous Cross-Play. "We like to be pioneers at Studio Liverpool. Whenever we develop a new game, we always want to do something cool and new with our technology that either hasn't been seen, or hasn't been seen in a title like ours," explains Jones. "Whatever technology we choose to develop can't just be technically impressive, it also has to be fun and make sense for our game.
"When we saw how powerful PS Vita was, we decided to see how it coped with running our PS3 game, and it coped really well. It then dawned on us that if we could get these two systems talking to each other, we could create a true, Cross-Play gaming experience between a home console and a handheld device. We did, and it's great."
Players will be able to take on up to seven of their PSN friends in WipEout 2048, and the team at Studio Liverpool is hoping that the Cross-Play features will encourage new fans to get on board and start racing online. "We expect the changes we've made to general gameplay in WipEout 2048 to give us a large influx of new fans. This means that the community of online players that already exists on PS3 will benefit from the new blood joining their games from their PS Vita systems" says Jones.
"The flip side is that PS Vita players will be able to experience the awesome PS3 game that they may have otherwise missed out on. I think the best thing about our Cross-Play is that it will keep our communities playing together. It'll no longer be split between home console players and handheld players; they'll be one big happy family."
Following the launch of PS Vita on 23 February 2012, there will be a lot of new, innovative features for users to experiment with, and Jones believes that Cross-Play could be something we'll be seeing a lot more of. "I suspect cross-platform features will start to become a more common feature in games that it's suited to. This means that we might start to see gamers playing on their home console or TV and then leaving their house and continuing a game on the train to work."
You can get your hands on WipEout 2048 when PS Vita launches in late February. Until then, keep up to date with all the latest PS Vita news by signing up to Inside PS Vita at au.playstation.com/psvita.
PlayStation Australia has arrived on Facebook. Post comments and share all the latest PlayStation happenings along with the rest of the PlayStation community at the Official Australian Facebook Fan Page.
|Publish date:
|Tue Feb 21 10:00:00 GMT 2012
Streaming music videos and over 100 pre-programmed music channels on your PS3™, absolutely free.
Sign up to PlayStation®Network today. FREE TO JOIN, FREE TO PLAY!

subset: commoncrawl


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Binghamton University hosts Richmond art, history trip
Binghamton University's Office of Continuing Education and Outreach is offering a trip to Richmond, Virginia, October 14 – 17.
The trip will include tours of a variety of sites including Stratford Hall Plantation and the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. Excursions to the Confederate White House, Agecroft Hall, Virginia House, Wilton House, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, and the Walters Museum in Baltimore are also included.
The trip costs $479, which includes deluxe bus travel, entrances and tours at each site, driver tip, leader service, a three-night, double occupancy hotel stay with breakfast, and brunch in Baltimore on the return trip.
For more information, visit http://continuinged.binghamton.edu or call 607-777-6857.


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So when No. 4 Michigan State enters Value City Arena on Sunday for a 4 p.m. contest against the Buckeyes, it may feel different for an Ohio State team that's known nothing but winning under head coach Thad Matta.
"It always feels like a trophy I on the line when we play one of the top tier teams in this conference," junior guard Lenzelle Smith Jr. said. "Michigan State is a very good team that always makes deep runs in the tournament. When you play against good teams like Michigan State, it's always a good feeling."
This time there won't be a trophy on the line, at least for Ohio State.
Instead, the Buckeyes (19-7, 9-5 Big Ten) are hoping to hold onto their two-game lead for fifth place in the conference, positioning, if maintained, would give the team a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
But above all, Ohio State is hoping team earn something it hasn't had since beating then-No. 2 Michigan on its home floor on Jan. 13 – a quality win.
"Badly," Smith responded when asked how much OSU needs a win against a highly regarded opponent. "We need wins immediately. Any win we get now, no matter who we play, is going to be a good thing. To beat a ranked opponent would mean so much more."
Perhaps that's the case because the Buckeyes have only won one game against a ranked opponent this season in eight tries. And in Ohio State's last attempt on the road against Wisconsin last Sunday, it was handed a 71-49 loss that Matta has continued to harp on even after the Buckeyes responded with a blowout win over Minnesota on Wednesday.
"We got embarrassed at Wisconsin, and I don't know if guys felt like (the Minnesota) win kind of relieves us of that or people forgot, but I still remember it," Smith said. "I'm pretty sure (Matta) still remembers it and he's not going let it go. I'm not going let it go, and I don't expect anybody else to let it go."
Whether Ohio State has truly grown from the humbling loss to the Badgers may be more evident against Michigan State (22-5, 11-3). Though Matta was encouraged to see his team show some resiliency with a mid-week win over Minnesota, the Gophers' have been in a rut of their won with four losses in their last five games.
Michigan State is also coming off a loss, but it was a four-point nail-biter against No. 1 Indiana. The Spartans aim to bounce back against the Buckeyes with the hopes to stay within striking distance of the Hoosiers, who hold a one-game lead over Michigan State for first place in the Big Ten.
A win for both teams could go a long way in shaping the rest of their seasons, and the Buckeyes feel as if they have a shot to beat the Spartans after falling to them in East Lansing on Jan. 19 by only three points.
"They're a better team in some ways, and they're a different team in other ways," Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said of the Buckeyes, analyzing how they have developed since January. "They've still got one of the best defensive guards in the country (Aaron Craft) and (Deshaun) Thomas, who is capable of getting 30 any night."
Last season Ohio State closed out its regular season in the Breslin Center, a game where former guard William Buford buried a jumper with only one second remaining to lift the Buckeyes to a 72-70 win that gave them a share of the Big Ten title.
A week after that game, Ohio State faced Michigan State again in the Big Ten tournament championship. That time it was the Spartans that prevailed, 68-64.
This time there's no hardware at stake, but Matta simply hopes his team will show it is still capable of playing with – and perhaps beating – the best teams in college basketball.
"The biggest thing I want for this basketball team is to play at the highest level they can play at and play as a team," Matta said.


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Food and Faith is a blog of the Presbyterian Hunger Program.
The first real day of spring is a very distinct day and it is not marked on any calendar. It is the day in March when the world begins to move again; the sidewalks become filled with people walking with their families and friends and it suddenly seems that everyone is on a bicycle.


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By The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — The Columbus Police Department will launch a gun buy-back program on Monday.
The Commercial Dispatch reports guns can be exchanged for cash payments at the Wal-Mart parking lot, Townsend Community Center, Sim Scott Park and the East Columbus Gym.
The first set of buyback dates are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
The City Council approved the program at the recommendation of Mayor Robert Smith and Councilman Kabir Karriem.
Participants can anonymously swap guns for payments of $20 for BB guns or air pistols, $100 for hand guns, $200 for rifles or shotguns and $300 for military/assault rifles. City officials say the weapons will be destroyed.
"No one has to worry about selling the guns and putting them back in circulation," Columbus Police Chief Selvain McQueen said.
There is one exception, McQueen said. "We will run the guns to see if they are stolen and try to get them back to their owners."
There were 13 homicides in Columbus between 2008 and 2012, seven of them in 2011. Three of the crimes remain unsolved.
There have also been 160 arrests for aggravated assaults with a firearm in the same five-year period according to the police Department.
McQueen said he hopes the program will help reduce gun violence in Columbus.
The effectiveness of such programs is contested.
"They did that in Detroit and it's still one of the most dangerous places on the planet to live," said District Attorney Forrest Allgood.
Rep. Gary Chism, R-Columbus, also is a critic of gun buy-back programs.
"I personally think it will increase crime and gun thefts," Chism said. "If thieves need some cash, they now know they can steal someone's gun and exchange it for money."


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By Daniel Inman
Stock markets across Asia rallied in November with Japan leading gains because of a sharply weaker yen while China bucked the trend to extend this year's slide.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average shot up 5.8%, benefiting from the slump in the local currency as investors bet the opposition will win elections next month and pressure the central bank to take more aggressive monetary easing. The yen hit seven-month lows against the euro and the dollar in November, benefiting Japan's exporters as their goods become cheaper to overseas buyers.
"This has been an immediate reflection of what the [Liberal Democratic Party] brings to the table," said Ed Rogers, chief executive and chief investment officer of Rogers Investment Advisors in Tokyo. The sharp increase in Japanese stocks in recent weeks might be sustainable: "it could be the start of the uptrend," Mr. Rogers added.
At the start of the month, President Barack Obama was re-elected U.S. President with investors initially wary over how he would tackle the looming U.S. fiscal cliff at the end of the year. While worries still linger, the general feeling among investors is that a deal will be reached on the U.S. budget talks.
"What we have done in November is cross off some of the worries we had, and there are less excuses not to buy equities," said Gary Dugan, chief investment officer, Asia and the Middle East, for Coutts & Co. in Singapore.
A broad measure of stocks across the region, the MSCI All Countries Asia, has climbed 3.4% in the month up to Thursday, beating Europe and the U.S. over the same period. The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 2.2% so far this month and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%.
The clearer political outlook in the world's biggest economy also means traders can focus on the improving economic picture in Asia. The Chinese manufacturing sector expanded in November for the first time in over a year, according to HSBC. Even small economies like the Philippines remained resilient to tepid global growth by expanding 7.1% in the third quarter—pushing the local stock market to a record high.
"Right across the region we are starting to see a pickup in external demand and that can only be good for markets when investors are underweight equities," said James White, senior analyst at First State Investments in Sydney, which manages $159 billion worth of assets.
The outlier was China with the Shanghai Composite Index cementing its position as the region's worst performing index, losing 4.3% for November, and down 10% year-to-date. A smooth leadership transition by the ruling Communist Party did little to restore faith in the market, with stocks falling as investors remain concerned over the state of Asia's biggest economy and the absence of sizable policy measures from Beijing.
"What we might see is the Chinese economy slowly recovering. We are still waiting for a stimulus package and that might come in the quarter around March 2013. That will be a key event for Asia in 2013," said Matthew Sherwood, head of investment market research at Perpetual Investments in Sydney, which has assets under management worth $25 billion.
Chinese shares that trade in Hong Kong, have fared better, with the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index up 0.4% in November. That is left Chinese stocks in the mainland now at the biggest discount to their Hong Kong counterparts since January 2011 at 4.2%.
On Friday, markets were digesting the most recent comments regarding U.S. fiscal cliff negotiations; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday that he thought Congress could complete a deal before year-end, while Senator Charles Schumer said that progress is being made.
The U.S. dollar advanced against the yen to ¥82.61 compared with ¥82.12 late Thursday in New York, helped by better-than-expected industrial production data.
The weaker yen gave Japanese stocks a boost, with the Nikkei up 0.5%, as exporters continued to rise on a softer currency: Canon climbed 1.2% and semiconductor maker Advantest Corp. added 1.1%.
Also in Tokyo, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gained 4.2% and 3% respectively after the two companies announced that they would integrate their power system operations, with a new company to be established in January 2014.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index bounced back 0.9%, pushing away from the fresh multiyear low that it reached on Thursday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index was 0.5% higher.
Bourse-operator Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing fell 0.8% after saying it was raising around US$1 billion in a share placement after getting approval from the U.K.'s Financial Services Authority for its proposed US$2.2 billion acquisition of the London Metal Exchange.
Write to Daniel Inman at email@example.com


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EdgeStar AP14002HS $419.00
Designer 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner & Heater – Stainless Steel
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Description & Highlights
EdgeStar Designer 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner & Heater – Stainless Steel
One of the most versatile units on the market, the EdgeStar Designer 14,000 BTU Portable Air Conditioner & Heater – Stainless Steel (AP14002HS) ensures comfort in any season. Powerful cooling capabilities give you up to 500 sq. ft. of refreshing air.
Confident in the quality of their products, EdgeStar sets itself apart from other manufacturers by backing their portable air conditioners with an industry-leading three (3) year limited warranty.
Seasonal Versatility:Capable of supplying both hot and cold air, this combo unit is built for year-round use.
Energy Efficiency Ratio:This portable air conditioner has a high 10.5 EER, meaning it consumes significantly less energy than others in its class.
Dehumidify Mode:Humidity can be just as much of a hassle as heat, so let the Dehumidify Only function with a 90 pints per day capacity make quick work of humid spaces.
Three (3) Speed Fan:Find your perfect setting and control noise and air output by choosing a high, medium, or low fan setting.
Self-Evaporative System:Equipped with an auto-drain system that exhausts all condensate, the need to manually drain water from the unit is eliminated**.
Easy-to-Read/ Easy-to-Use Control Board:The LCD control panel is large and easy-to-read, and the user-friendly push-button interface lets you quickly select operation modes and other settings.
Energy Smart:Due to energy smart operation, this unit only uses as much power as absolutely necessary, making it possible to use all day for just over a $1.
Energy Saving Programmable Features:Cut costs by setting the unit to run only when you need it, and have it efficiently cool your space before you even get there using the 24 hour programmable timer-- The timer allows you to set the unit to cycle on automatically, or once it is on, you can set it to automatically turn off.
Intelligent Auto Restart:The auto restart function stores your settings, so that in case of a power outtage, it will pick right back up where it left off when power is regained.
Easy-to-Use Window Kit:Venting your portable air conditioner is a simple three step process, and your purchase includes all the necessary materials-- Simply connect the vent hose to the back of the unit, remove the cap from the window vent kit and connect it to the exhaust hose.
Eco-Friendly:Designed to be an environmentally friendly product, this portable air conditioner uses non ozone-depleting R410A refrigerant.
Stainless Steel Element:The contemporary stainless steel element ensures a durable construction while also complementing your home décor.
Three Year Limited Warranty:This portable air conditioner is backed by an industry-leading three (3) year limited warranty.
Portable Air Conditioner Product Rating*:
* This portable air conditioner has achieved our 4.5 star product rating based on independent testing of its BTU class, cooling capacity, durability, and quality of components.
** In high-humidity environments, water accumulation may occur. This unit is equipped with a direct drain option for continuous use in these environments.
*** All portable air conditioners require that the exhaust hose be vented outside of the room you are trying to cool.
CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: Click here for important information regarding Prop. 65 for CA residents.
- Brand: EdgeStarDehumidify mode: 90 pints per day
- 14,000 BTU powerTrue stainless steel front
- 24-hour timerNoise level: 52 dB (low), 54 dB (med), 56 dB (max)
- R410a (CFC-Free) refrigerantCFM: 224 (low), 259 (med), 283 (high)
- EER: 10.5Cord length: 5.9 ft.
- Auto swinging louversInput Voltage: 115V / 60Hz
- Auto restartWattage: 1,255 W (heat)/1,332 W (cool)
- Washable pre-filterAmps: 12
- Three (3) fan speedsWeight: 72.8 lbs.
- Four (4) rolling castorsDimensions: 33.25" H x 18.5" W x 13" D
- Temperature Range: 60-77°F
- Height: 33.25"
- Width: 18.5"
- Depth: 13"


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Francis Francis
Francis Francis Espresso Machines
Beautiful and well-made, Francis Francis espresso machines are a true marriage of striking Italian design and state-of-the-art technical innovation, crafted for the sole purpose of creating the perfect espresso experience in the home. It goes without saying that the finest home espresso requires a machine of the highest-quality, we believe technical perfection alone is not enough: it takes a machine that is also visually stunning to fully indulge all the senses and enjoy the ultimate beauty of the espresso moment.
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Java Runtime Environment Version 6.0 Update 35
Oracle has released "Java Platform, Standard Edition 6 Update 35" also know as 'Java Runtime Environment Version 6.0 Update 35'.
This release contains a security-in-depth fix. For more information, see Oracle Security Alert for CVE-2012-4681. JDK 6u35 contains Olson time zone data version 2012c. For more information, refer to Timezone Data Versions in the JRE Software.
First of all download and run either jre-6u35-windows-i586-s.exe for Windows 7/ XP 32-bit or jre-6u35-windows-x64.exe for Windows 7 / XP 64-bit.
If you use 32-bit and 64-bit browsers interchangeably, you will need to install both 32-bit and 64-bit Java in order to have the Java plug-in for both browsers. These installers are available in the Java SE Runtime Environment 6 Downloads section of Oracle's Java website.
When the License Agreement screen pops up, look in the "c:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Sun\Java\jre1.6.0_35 directory" when you're using Windows XP or "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\jre1.6.0_35\" when your're using Windows 7. For the x64 version look in the "C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\Sun\Java\jre1.6.0_35_x64\" directory.
In that directory you will find the 'jre1.6.0_35.msi' and a Data1.cab file. The jre1.6.0_34.msi file is the one we can use to deploy "Java Runtime Environment Version 6.0 Update 35" by using MSI technology. Don't forget Data1.cab because this is an uncompressed msi:
Start up the AdminStudio Tuner and create a response transform file. It's as simple as that if you want to do a default deployment. For an advanced deployment you can further tweak you J2RE configuration two ways:
- by changing the 'Setup Properties'
- by changing registry settings
The result is the same. You can change some basic 'Setup Properties' in the Tuner:
- AUTOUPDATECHECK - Java Update mechanism - on {1} or off {0}
- EULA - popup the EULA when you first start a Java applet - on {1} or off {0}
- IEXPLORER - indicates that the Plug-in should be registered with the Internet Explorer browser - on {1} or off {0}
- JAVAUPDATE - indicates that the Java Update feature should be disabled (the Update tab in the Java Plug-in Control Panel will not appear) - on {1} or off {0}
- MOZILLA - indicates that the Plug-in should be registered with Mozilla 1.1 and later browsers - on {1} or off {0}
- SYSTRAY - System Tray Icon on {1} or off {0}
... but you can also collect the JRE's registry settings to tweak the JRE a little more.
Launch the "Java Control Panel" (available in c:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\javacpl.exe). Most settings you will change by using this utility will then be stored in the registry in [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft]. Some examples:
- Click on the "Update" tab. If you uncheck the "Check for Update Automatically" you will shutdown the Java Update mechanism. This may be wise, because we want to deploy newer versions by using ZENworks and not automatically by using the Java Update mechanism.
- If you want to disable the 'Update' tab, then use this registry setting to enable (00000001) or disable it (00000000):
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Update\Policy]
- Click on the "Advanced" tab. If you open up the "Miscellaneous" node by clicking on the + sign, you can uncheck "Place Java icon in system tray". Which just does what is says. Now it has become more difficult for users to fiddle around with the J2RE configuration. If you change this setting, this registry setting is changed:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Plug-in\1.6.0_35]
Some settings however are stored somewhere else. Some examples:
- Click on the "General" tab. Click on 'Network Settings'. The settings you configure here are stored in:
C:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Application Data\Sun\Java\Deployment\deployment.properties.
This 'deployment.properties' file is used for storing and retrieving deployment configuration properties in the Java Control Panel. They are also used for customizing runtime behavior for both Java Plug-in and Java Web Start. There is always a User-Level deployment.properties file. Its location, which is non-configurable, is described here. There may also be an (optional) System-Level deployment.properties file. If it exists, its location is determined by a System Administrator through the deployment.config file as described here.


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text:
By Tiernan Ray
Tuesday morning's press events start with a conference held by BlackBerry (BBRY) and its CEO, John Chen. The company received some positive mention thus far with Microsoft on Sunday and Monday trumpeting the news of its "BBM" instant messenger software coming to Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Phone, and that Ford will dump Microsoft's software for autos in favor of BlackBerry's "QNX" embedded OS.
Chen emerges, smiling warmly, greeting some familiar faces in the front row, in a sober grey suit and purplish tie. He seems raring to get going with the proceedings. He wants to start off by talking about progress.
He was reminded Velentine's Day was his hundred-day anniversary at the company. Today's presentation will talk about progress made and about devices. Foxconn execs are also here today. There will also be a discussion of the server business, and the focus on enterprise.
Everyone is asking him about the Facebook (FB) WhatsApp deal, for $19 billion, "which we don't have," he quips, to much laughter. He's very proud of BBM, and we even like to change the name of the company to BBM.
Chen wants to talk about two phones, the first one being "Jakarta," for the Indonesia market, made with Foxconn, officially known as the "Z3." The phone is up and ready to go after only these months from the deal, and "it's a very attractive phone," and it's coming in April, some time, and will cost less than $200. "We have a plan for expanding that phone in different parts of Southeast Asia, and there's a plan to go global with it "sometime in the future, before I die," he jokes (he knows the time frame but won't say).
Chen has seen a lot of major customers in the first 90 days on the job. They've told him how much they love the keyboard. They didn't like the Q10 phone as much, and he found out it's because they like the "belt" on top of the keyboard. "We are going to release a phone I call a classic; none of my people like that, but I would like you to write it as 'classic,' but they're forcing me to call it 'Q20,' and it will be coming out around the end of the year."
Chen welcomes his "dear friend" Terry Gou, head of Foxconn, to the rostrum. Gou says BlackBerry has "unique assets." He has "100% confidence in BlackBerry," and Foxconn is "completely behind" the company. "We will make this work," he says.
Chen moves on to talking about the "tentpole" for getting the company back on track. That includes security, and things like the Q20 which "return productivity to the professional."
He welcomes up server product lead John Sims. Sims says the "BES" program suite is extending to more devices, but the company is also providing tools to "expose" the platform's capabilities to developers. BES is also going up the stack, he says, and getting into vertical application areas, especially to regulated industries such as healthcare and finance.
"BES is the foundation of that strategy. There will be a "BES 12" before the end of the year. It will have "very competitive cross-platform support" including not only iOS and Android, but also Windows Phone. It will be on the market at the same time as the BlackBerry classic, he says, and the two will prove a "very strong combination," he says. BES will also address the Internet of Things.
Also new today will be a "eBBM Suite" of products. The first is "BBM Protected," allowing a secure connection for messaging and chat. He says it is a response to customers having expressed concern about unregulated chat and wanting a record of chats. It will come out "before the summer." More products in the suite will follow this year, and will be offered on a subscription basis, as a way to further monetize BBM.
SAP is going to partner to support various apps on BES. Guava, another partner, will provide background analysis applications for BES, which BlackBerry will resell.
The company will simplify pricing of BES. That's another customer request. There we'll be two classes, "silver," and "gold," for "basic EMM," and secure management, respectively. The silver is $19 per user per year, plus $4 in support costs annually. Gold is $60 per user per year. Sims says the pricing should prove very competitive with other management offerings out there.
Another thing will be to allow easy, free upgrades from older BES licenses to BES 10 or BES12. "This allows us to bring that 80,000 user base along with us. It's called "Easy Pass."
Sims says that some customers switched to competitors because BES did not have cross platform support. BlackBerry will offer them free trade-overs this year to switch back.
At this point, "everything is about execution," concludes Sims.
Chen wraps up by saying he's organized the company around four areas: devices, services, messaging, and machine-to-machine. Along with that, he's assigned Eric Johnson to build a direct sales force with a "much more high-touch model."
"We are putting actions in a rather urgent manner." Focusing on listening to customers. "One thing I got very excited about, we are are releasing a BES that go across the 5, 7 and 10. We call it 12. Everyone asks me why we're missing 11. We think it's doubly interesting. Customers wanted a choice of whether to be on premise or in the cloud, so now we'll give them a choice of both."
During the Q&A, Chen was asked if he would bring BlackBerry services to other platforms. He's had conversations with other platform vendors. "I would love to do it, but it's not the highest order bit for me." He notes the announcement by Microsoft about BBM on Nokia. "There's some priorities where we have a strategy laid out."
Asked about whether mistakes had cost the company customers, Chen says "there's some truth to the statement. But it was more about spreading ourselves too thin. I love BB10, but it took me a little while to get used to it. I think consumers, if it's not intuitive to them, they get scared. I think that's the biggest thing we did, we didn't do enough education. I love swiping. It's actually quite intuitive. We should have rented 'Minority Report' as a commercial and then everyone would have thought swiping was cool. But we did spread ourselves too thin, and did some damage to our enterprise market. That's not going to be anymore."
Asked about security, Chen goes into a riff about how BlackBerry's security was built into the actual chip from Qualcomm, and that it is far more secure than the "good enough," offerings from other MDM vendors. He quips, "I say good is not good enough," a play on the name of competitor Good Technologies. He also mentions the company's "staggering" collection of 44,000 patents, its early history in security patents.
Regarding Mexico, he's very grateful that BlackBerry is "doing very well there," and would like to find a way to manufacture in Mexico. That involves finding a way to get parts into the country and product out, he quips.
A journo asks how the company will deal with the bring-your-own-device phenomenon. "The answer is 30-70: thirty percent of the entities out there are more into the company or government controlling what you can bring in. A lot of them go through what is corporate owned. We recognize that [BYOD]; we want to focus on that 30%, but we don't want to lose that rest of the market. That's the reason for the focus on BBM. But for the next twelve to 18 months, I think you see us go back to win that 30% of the industry.
Regarding flagship devices, "we have a few high end devices we are working on, but I'm unable to show you and share with you right now."
How will success be measured? I should be able to get the company back to cash flow break-even by the end of this fiscal year, and back to profit next fiscal year. We'll know in one year from today whether that's been a reality.
Regarding competition for Jakarta from low-end Android phones, Chen thinks BlackBerry has enough special features that "we can be very competitive in the market."
The WhatsApp deal has not changed his thinking about BBM, which has for awhile now had a mission to get broadly distributed on many platforms. Everyone is going after connected cars, he notes, and so BBM is "beyond connected devices" and phones. Our mission, he says, is to put BBM into the hands of the enterprise. He notes BBM is embedded in every LG phone that ships.
He doesn't have a plan for "wearable" computing, "at least not yet," Chen says. "We need to build a very solid phone geared toward the high end," says Chen. "I'm not going to play the, let's build a $75 phone. That's not our sweetspot. That's not where our sales force and the channel are focused. BlackBerry is more for serious computing, rather than just another phone."
Asked about relations with carriers, "We have a really — I am pleased to say the two major carriers in the US and us are getting better by the day."
The Q20 will also be made by Foxconn, "unless their prices are too high," he jokes, to much laughter in the room.
Asked again about WhatsApp: "I guess I have to thank Facebook; I've been getting this question on a daily basis. We just got, yesterday, the number now is 85 million monthly active users. And that's before Windows contribution, the LG phones are going to roll out. I think you will see a natural rise and progression of our user base. It's not up at 450, or whatever the number was, but one of the things about BBM is the very high and long engagement, which is because it's really more of a professional user base."
Regarding the decline in Indonesia in sales since making BBM cross-platform. He expects there will be some aspects of BBM on Jakarta that will help the BlackBerry take back some share.
Regarding the importance of apps on BlackBerry: "We have the BlackBerry World where we will certify apps to be secure. Certain apps will go through BlackBerry world to be certified. I think we feel that's a value add."
Regarding QNX: "QNX is a wonderful micro kernel and a Linux derivative, so it fits into a lot of application environments. But it's been focused on the the automotive market. If we want to focus on billions of end points, there are a whole bunch of other models, tools, development APIs of how you collect and transmit data. BlackBerry is not the only company that can put it together. I will seek partners. It cannot be a stand-alone kernel, and I declare it so. That would be very foolish of us. It is going to have to be more integrated into the server and the handset business."


text: DTrace and the little ustack helper that couldDTrace and the little ustack helper that could: "Flamegraphs are awesome if you need to profile your node.js application. They provide a nice looking visual view of where your application is spending its time. Although they're well documented, no one has ever said a word on how they work internally, but everyone mentions "ustack helper" which, right now, works only on SmartOS."


text:
IN.gov - Skip Navigation
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To request access to or a copy of public record(s) pursuant to the Access to Public Records Act (Ind. Code 5-14-3). Please note there may be a copying fee associated with your request. Complete and submit the form below:
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text:
It works
Reviewed By Kevin G (Aurora, CO) Reviewed for a 1993 Mazda RX-7 —7/29/2016 9:35 AM
This stuff seems great for my race application
Reviewed By Michael S (COLORADO SPRING, CO) —4/15/2016 6:49 AM
So just upgraded to new rotors and pads on all four. So far this fluid is awesome. Don't know much about cars but know that if you don't give it all the right fluids doesn't matter how good your hardware is it will fail sooner.


text:
A simple flour, sugar, and butter crust holds an enticing blend of pistachios and chewy coconut in these easy bar cookies.
Groves of pistachio trees thrive in California, New Mexico, Iran, Italy and Turkey. Store pistachios sealed in an airtight container in a cool spot; freeze them for longer storage. Look for pistachios, already shelled in your grocery's produce or bulk food areas.
During winter holidays, use red-dyed pistachios alone or in combination with natural green pistachios.
© 2017 ®/TM General Mills All Rights Reserved


text:
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Designer Tidbits: Tula Pink
Q: To what or whom would you dedicate this collection, or what inspired this collection?
A: I dedicate this collection to myself and everyone who decides to make something out of it. I see us being in it together, but not in a cheesy way. I start the process by providing the color and the design and they finish it by cutting it up and reinventing it into a whole new product. It's all based on a love of this crazy fabric craft of ours. So, yes, I dedicate this one and all of them to us.
Q: What is your favorite project using this collection?
A: My new pattern Spacedust might be my favorite project of all time. I made the original quilt sort of organically without a plan. It took me forever to make but I had a shape in my head and I HAD to piece it. You know how that goes. I put it on my blog and people went crazy for it but I had no idea how to simplify the construction to the point where I could tell someone else how to make it. It took me almost two years to figure it out but I finally did and The Birds and The Bees was the perfect fabric collection to make it sing. It's a paper foundation piecing project which is my all time favorite thing to do. I consider it a great introduction to paper foundation piecing. It looks a lot more complicated than it actually is.
Q: What would be your collection's theme song?
A: The 1965 Jewel Akens version "The Birds and the Bees," obviously. I hear it in my head every time someone says the name
Q: If you could live in a movie, what movie would it be?
A: If I could live in a movie it would probably be Akira Kurosawa's Dreams. The movie is almost all visual. It's beautiful and mysterious. You never know what is going to happen or what is possible and what is not. The world that Kurosawa creates is so vibrant and intense with color and texture. There has to be a little magic, especially if we are talking about fantasy worlds. Magic and color are the key.
Q: What makes you nostalgic?
A: Maybe music. Salt N' Peppa can sometimes bring a nostalgic tear to my eye and I know all the words to Motown Philly (Boys II Men) by heart. Other than that not much. I am mostly all about what's next. I don't keep things and I'm not terribly sentimental.
Q: What is your favorite TV show of all time?
A: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's something I usually keep to myself. Buffy doesn't exactly add to my street cred but since you asked. I watch it all the way through every year or two. There is something about a 15 year old with superpowers and a massive shoe collection that hits close to home for me. When I was a kid I thought that I was psychic. It turned out that the life of a 10 year old is just really boring and predictable
Q: If you could be a modern day fictional character, who would you be?
A: I would be the Caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. He always seems to know what's going on and never seems too worried about anything. I could easily spend my days sitting on top of a mushroom spitting prophecies at everyone. I think it would be very satisfying.
Q: What's the strangest compliment you've ever received?
A: A few months ago someone asked me to take a picture with her baby. The baby was sleeping so I just knelt down by the stroller and smiled. It was hilarious. I felt like the President.
Posted by Fat Quarter Shop at 9:00 AM
Labels: Designer Tidbits, Free Spirit Fabrics
17 comments:
- Mommarock said...
Love these bright beautiful colors!!
- August 2, 2012 at 9:17 AM
- Rosa said...
Love these stunnig collection!!
- August 2, 2012 at 10:52 AM
- Maria Wallin said...
This is such a gorgeous collection and I just love Tula! The Birds and the Bees are just the most stunning collection ever! <3
- August 2, 2012 at 12:26 PM
- Mary said...
I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to TULA PINK last week-end right here in my hometown, Walla Walla, WASHINGTON! What fun it was to hear the story behind the designs.
- August 2, 2012 at 2:00 PM
- CFLife said...
Tula, your fabrics speaks and we listen by cutting the pieces to create a joy.
- August 2, 2012 at 2:34 PM
- Crissy said...
I LOVE this collection! And the comment about Salt N Peppa bringing a nostalgic tear to Tula's eye ... AWESOME! Thanks for the fun interview, I enjoyed reading it.
- August 2, 2012 at 3:41 PM
- Books_Bound said...
"When I was a kid I thought that I was psychic. It turned out that the life of a 10 year old is just really boring and predictable."
Hahaha. :) Love a designer with a bit of a sense of humor!
- August 2, 2012 at 3:43 PM
- Jamie Mueller @ SunFlower Seeds said...
Yeah, that was my baby!!!!! Love ya Tula!
- August 2, 2012 at 5:55 PM
- Lucy @ Charm About You said...
Oh gosh, as if The Birds and the Bees wasn't reason enough, knowing she loves Buffy makes me like her even more!!
- August 3, 2012 at 7:41 AM
- Jo said...
Heavenly!Can't wait until I am off my fabric diet.
- August 3, 2012 at 8:45 AM
- kitty said...
I love Tula. The Birds and The Bees is absolutely STUNNING!!
She's one of the very best contemporary designers to me!
- August 3, 2012 at 8:52 AM
- Lori said...
I love the bright colors in her fabrics. That is too funny about the baby in the stroller.
quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
- August 3, 2012 at 9:13 AM
- Kim~Stay Joyful said...
Love all of the colors in the collection! Lovely indeed!
- August 3, 2012 at 9:53 AM
- Judith Blinkenberg said...
How nice to meet you Tula! Your fabrics are wonderful and especially the purples and blues are my favorites. Thank you for sharing yourself to us. Great Lady!
- August 3, 2012 at 12:56 PM
- Lisa said...
Hi Tula, it is so nice to meet you finally. I find your designs very creative and imaginative. Each new collection inspires me to create. My only problem is it is so beautiful I don't want to cut it. Glad to see you getting over being camera shy! Glad to finally get to tell you how much I love your book and designs. I cannot wait to see what you do next.
- August 3, 2012 at 8:39 PM
- Jess said...
I love these colors...they are just beautiful! Adding it to my wishlisht :-)
- August 4, 2012 at 7:56 AM
- PamKittyMorning said...
I knew there was a reason I always felt like Jenny was part family, we also loved Buffy! It was our 'family' show while Frankie was growing up..it was the good years for sure.
- August 6, 2012 at 12:00 AM


text:
Lovely brownstone house, just North of the famous Central Park, 4 stops (10 mins with express subway 2 or 3 ) from the Time Square. Great place for students or families (budget minded) rooms for rent!
The Upper East Side Apartments are recently renovated apartments (PRIVATE bedrooms with lockable doors). Our private bedrooms can easily accommodate 3-4 adults, with no extra charge for the 3rd or 4th adult. Amenities include: computer with internet
Times Square Beds is on the 2nd Floor, 354 w 39th Street (between 8th - 9th Avenue), New York City, NY 10018. We are only 100 metres from the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Times Square is a symbol for the vibrancy of Manhattan.
We're NY's #1 boutique hostel, with flat-screen TVs, an elevator, free Wi-Fi, the latest movies shown nightly and more!
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Find the best New York hostel for your travels today! Rates do go up, so we advise booking early. Compare discounted rates and reserve affordable backpacker lodging for your upcoming trip.


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The Population Approach
The IDF population approach to the prevention of type 2 diabetes aims to bring about important changes in the health of a large percentage of the population.
Type 2 diabetes is a disease of slow onset, the prevalence of which increases with age. Its prevention, therefore, cannot be accomplished rapidly or with a single measure, and the approach must instead be methodical and sustained over a long period of time.
In societies that encourage unhealthy lifestyles, information and education alone will not succeed. Attention must be paid to the creation of an environment and conditions that are conducive to achieving and maintaining an active lifestyle and healthy eating habits.
The IDF population approach recognizes that the health sector alone cannot accomplish population wide changes. New strategic relationships with groups not normally associated with health but whose activities have an impact on health are needed. For example, the food industry (producers, processors, distributors, retailers and restaurateurs) is a key partner for reducing the energy density and fat content of food.
The IDF population strategy requires the governments of all countries to develop and implement a National Diabetes Prevention Plan [2]. This national plan would encompass many groups including schools; communities (for example, religious and ethnic groups); industry (marketing, investment policy, product development) and the workplace (health promotion within the working environment).
Based on the findings of lifestyle prevention studies, the IDF recommends that:
- Everyone is encouraged to engage in at least 30 min of moderately intense physical activity (eg. brisk walking) most days of the week.
- Everyone should be encouraged to maintain a healthy weight.
- Adults with BMI > 25kg/m2 in Europids and > 23kg/m2 in Asians (race/gender specific – see table B) should be encouraged to attain and maintain a healthy weight and/or 5-10% weight reduction.
- Children should be encouraged to attain and maintain weight for height in the normal range.
Priorities in developed and developing worlds:
- Approach needs to be culturally sensitive
- Cultural beliefs (eg. about obesity) need to be understood and addressed


text:
Plug a Vision card into any Garmin 5000/4000, 500/400 Series chartplotter to add premium mapping features and enhanced graphical capabilities. All the new Garmin plotters feature a worldwide basemap that, when optional Vision cards are added, offers the high-detail charting of BlueChart g2 plus high-resolution satellite imagery, above and below the water 3D perspective, auto guidance technology, aerial photographs for real-world reference and coastal roads with points of interest. Enhanced details include:
|Garmin HXEU491 Kotka to Hanko BlueChart g2 microSD/SD
|Garmin HEU491S Kotka to Hanko BlueChart g2 Garmin Datacard


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The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod's Veterans of the Cross helps veteran church workers and their spouses in financial crisis. The program supplements low or inadequate pensions of retired pastors or their widowed spouses to help them afford the cost of necessities such as medication, food and utility bills. The average monthly support is between $500 and $1,000. Veterans of the Cross stipends are approved annually and continue as long as need is demonstrated.
The program was created in 1937 to help care for the spiritual and physical well-being of retired servants of the church, who had enrolled in the old, low-benefit pension plan. They often had staggering medical expenses and experienced difficulties meeting their basic needs. Today, some retirees need supplementary assistance because of lifetime service in small congregations that are unable to afford full-time salaries and thereby have a lower rate of contribution to the worker's Concordia Plan Services retirement account.
The program is funded by the LCMS Office of National Mission thanks to faithful donors. It is administered by Concordia Plan Services.
Learn more about this ministry by downloading this info-sheet.
Download View Complete Collection
You are welcome to download and print copies to share with your congregation, school, Bible study groups, and other friends and family.
The Veterans of the Cross program is supported by direct donations. Your donations are necessary to continue providing stipends to our church veterans in their times of need.
Give Now
Give by mail: The Lutheran Church—Missouri SynodAttn: Veterans of the Cross P.O. Box 66861 St. Louis, MO 63166-6861
Give by phone: 888-930-4438
Stay Connected! Join the LCMS Network:
Contact us online
• Church Info Center: 888-843-5267 • Staff Switchboard: 800-248-1930 • Donor Care Line: 888-930-4438
1333 S. Kirkwood Road St. Louis, MO 63122-7226 Directions
Subscribe to the digital edition of The Lutheran Witness
© 2003 – 2010The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.All Rights Reserved. The LCMS is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity. Our Tax Identification Number is: 43-0658188


text:
A* orthogonal matching pursuit - or is it
The delightful thing about the A* routing algorithm is that it is provably the optimal algorithm for the purpose, in the sense that it's the algorithm that visits the fewest possible path nodes given the information made available. See the original paper for proof. Despite its simplicity, it is apparently still used in a lot of industrial routing algorithms today, and it can be adapted to help solve other sorts of problem.
A colleague pointed out a paper about "A*OMP" - an algorithm that performs a kind of OMP (Orthogonal Matching Pursuit) with a tree search added to try out different paths towards fitting a good sparse representation. "Aha," I thought, "if they can use A* then they can get some nice recovery properties inherited from the A* search."
However, in reading the paper I find two issues with the A*OMP algorithm which make me reluctant to use the name "A*" for it:
- The heuristics used are not "consistent" (this means you can't guarantee they are always less-than-or-equal to the true distance remaining). This lack of consistency means the proof of A*'s optimality doesn't apply. (Remember, A*'s "optimality" is about the number of nodes inspected before finding the best path.) (EDIT: a colleague pointed out that it's actually worse than this - if the heuristic isn't consistent then it's not just sub-optimal search, it may fail to inspect the best path.)
- Since A*OMP restricts the number of paths it adds (to the top "B" atoms having largest cross-product with the residual) there are no guarantees that it will even inspect the true basis.
These issues are independent of each other. If you leave out the pragmatic restriction on the number of search paths (to get round the second issue), the first issue still applies. OMP itself is greedy rather than exact, so this doesn't make A*OMP worse than OMP, but to my mind it's "not as good as A*".
In practice, the authors' A*OMP algorithm might indeed get good results, and the experiments shown seem to do so. So my quibbles may be mere quibbles. But the name "A*" led me to expect guarantees that just aren't there (e.g. guarantees of being better than OMP). It's quite easy to construct a toy problem for which A*OMP will not get you nearer the true solution than OMP will.
It's not obvious how to come up with a consistent heuristic. For a given problem, if we knew there was an exact solution (i.e. zero residual was possible within the sparsity constraints) then we could use the residual energy, but since we can't know that in general then the residual energy may overestimate the distance to be "travelled" to the goal.
One minor thing: their "equivalent path pruning" in section 4.2.3 is a bit overkill - I know a simpler way to avoid visiting duplicate paths. I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader :)
Syndicated 2012-07-13 06:38:06 (Updated 2012-07-15 06:50:08) from Dan Stowell


text:
Okay, I'm trying to keep my daughter distracted by showing her something on the computer for a few minutes. I figured an episode of the Tartakovsky Clone Wars would be ideal--just a few minutes long, brightly colored, and previously tested on Chux Jr with positive results.
Where the hell is Lucasfilm hiding the online videos? I cannot find them on starwars.com for the life of me. It would appear they've banned anyone from posting them anywhere else, too. Anyone have a direct link to where these Emmy & Annie-winning episodes have been squirreled away online?
Yeah, Lucas isn't trying to hide these so his inferior sequel can't easily be compared to it, my a**.


text:
The Northern Michigan Retreiver Club is proud to host a Retriever Handling Seminar Training Drills to Master Blinds presented by Tera Lanczak of Bay Blue Kennels on June 9, 2013. This one-day seminar (75$) will involve both classroom lecture and hands-on demonstrations, emphasizing blind retrieves and handling concepts.
This seminar will focus on blind retrieves and handling skills for young, intermediate, and advanced dogs.
The seminar will be held in Onaway, Michigan on Sunday, June 9, 2013, from 8:00 to 5:00 pm.
To sign up, or get more information, click on the link below.


text:
Web Stories
University Players will present 'Chicago,' March 28-30 and April 4-6
Posted March 28, 2002; 11:55 a.m.
Bob Fosse's satirical musical 'Chicago' will be presented by the Princeton University Players at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, March 28-30, and Thursday through Saturday, April 4-6, in the Frist Film/Performance Center. An additional matinee performance will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 6.
"Chicago" is based on a 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins. It premiered on Broadway in 1975 and was revived in 1996, receiving rave reviews and seven Tony Awards. A story of "murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery and treachery," Chicago follows Roxie Hart's rise into the public eye as she is arrested and tried for the murder of her lover, Fred Casely.
The musical is a senior thesis production for director and choreographer Amanda Brandes '02. It features the singing and dancing talents of members of Sympoh, BodyHype, diSiac and several a cappella groups. The production also features the final undergraduate performances of Princeton theater veterans Devin Sidell '02, Elizabeth Greenberg '02 and Rakesh Satyal '02.
Admission is $6 for students, $10 for faculty and staff, and $12 for general admission. Students may also redeem "student events eligible" tickets from the Passport to the Arts program for free admission. To order tickets, call the Frist Ticket Office at 258-1742.
Contact: Marilyn Marks (609) 258-3601


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Hey everyone, I just thought I would share the story of my first day turkey in MN from this past Sunday. It all started on Friday night when I see one of the guys that has been hunting the same area where I will be going and he is telling me there is no turkeys out there and to not even bother. I just said I will take my chances with 4 days to go hunting. The next morning (day before my hunting starts) I am out there at about 7:30 doing a little calling to just try and figure where they are and I hear 2 gobblers. So I go out Saturday night with my 9 year old nephew who is EXCITED to go hunting the next morning, we set up our blind and did a little light calling but heard no gobbling, but we did see a bunch of deer. The next morning I go to wake him up at 5:00 am and he literally jumps off the coach and is almost immediately ready to go. We get all set up that morning in our blind at 6:00 am and start calling about 6:20, it is really foggy out and the fog is rolling down the hills due to a light North wind, it was really cool. At 6:25 we here some gobbling not real far away but couldn't convince him to come for a look. So at 8:00 he is getting hungry and a little tired so we go for breakfast and his dad comes and gets him to spend the rest of the day with his mom and grandma. I decide to go back out and I am set up at 3:00 pm. I hear a real distant gobble about 3:25 and I gobble back and wait a couple of minutes for a response and I hear nothing so I decide to take a little nap because it is so nice out. Next thing I know I hear something off my right shoulder and look out the blind window and there stands a big tom. As I am trying to get all the crap of of my lap and he is steadily going towrds my pretty girl decoy (2 hen set up) and he gets to her and takes another step to the second hen and then at 3:40 pm the Browning 12 ga silver hunter ROARED and the season was over. Here are the pictures from that day.
Weight 23.4 lbs, spurs 1.25" and 1.3125" and beard 9.75" NWTF score of 68.525. When I register this with the NWTF it will rank #35 in the total score of all MN turkeys taken.


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TN -- My husband went to the hospital (on a Wed.) to get 2 bags of blood because he was malnourished and his levels were EXTREMELY low. He was eventually admitted b/c 2 bags turned into 8 with no improvement. BCBSTN (Marketplace insurance) denied his first claim for admittance saying it was unnecessary. Friday morning around 1:30 a.m. he was transferred to a bigger, better, trauma-level hospital to be evaluated b/c they didn't know what was wrong. After testing/x-raying/scanning all day, it was determined around 5 p.m that he had a bowel obstruction which needed immediate surgery but there were two other cases that went before him.
He didn't get into surgery until Saturday morning. His bowel obstruction turned into a perforation and all but 100 cm of intestine had to be removed to get necrotic tissue out. He was left open and kept in a medically induced coma until surgeons could decide how best to put it back together. Two weeks of a coma (even after medication for sleep was discontinued) and four surgeries later, his kidneys had shut down requiring dialysis (which I had to fight for) and all of intestine eventually necrotized and he was left with no way to connect his pancreas to his colon requiring him to be fed intravenously for the remainder of his life.
I found out he coded and was basically was being kept alive by medications and a ventilator. I allowed him to go peacefully after discontinuing all medications that were keeping his heart beating -- truthfully he had been dead for 12 days but his body was going through the motions.
After he died in August I called the insurance company to report his death and have him removed from my policy. I was told just to let it ride until the end of the year and he would drop off automatically. After losing his income I was no longer eligible for a tax premium credit (which was my concern in the first phone call to BCBS) and my premium jumped $110/month.
In November we were informed that my employer would offer affordable insurance the following year so I called to cancel my policy for January and the rest of the year. I was advised NOT to pay the premium and it would cancel on its own (2nd bad advice) at the end of December. My employer's insurance (also BCBS) was over $100 less/month so I switched as of Jan. 1, 2015 (so I thought). Fast forward one year (I switched to a Cigna policy) and I file my income tax in Feb. 2016.
At the end of Feb. I get a letter from the IRS stating that the HealthCare Marketplace/BCBSTN had "informed them" that I had been given a tax premium credit for the month of January 2015 that I "Failed to file" on my return so they were reviewing it and would hold it until after I filled out an amended return to pay back the $316 that had been paid "on my behalf" which included my husband who had been dead for FOUR months!!!
After placing blame on each other (HC Marketplace vs. BCBS/TN), at least 3 one hour plus phone calls, and giving me the run around for two months, I get a call yesterday from BCBS big-wig saying basically this: because my pharmacy had incorrectly billed two prescriptions the wrong BCBS policy and they paid a whopping $23.29 my policy would/could not be retro-terminated for Dec. 31, 2014. IF they changed the date of my termination from Jan '15 to Dec '14 they would be "forced" to (a veiled threat) also retro-terminate my dead husband as of Aug '14.
The reason this upset me is that without husband's income I lost the tax premium credit and would OWE BCBS $150/month for the higher premium I SHOULD have paid in 2014. OR I could keep quiet and leave things the way they were and owe the IRS for the unreported tax credit in 2015. Blackmail so either way I get screwed because of THEIR mistake. I will NEVER AGAIN have BCBS insurance even if it means paying a penalty for no insurance!!!
In the midst of all this, I also fax proof of my employer insurance date of enrollment and explained the situation and the IRS approved my refund and sent it to me. NOW I have to figure out what to do with an amended return and pay more money and probably a huge penalty to the IRS. BCBS not only kicked me while I was down but they ruined me for life. The year I lost my husband I had to PAY IN thousands of dollars to the IRS for taxes on his 401K. Now this -- the IRS will audit me every year for life.
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE -- They dropped my family coverage stating that we were no longer using their coverage, without any notice to me. I found out when I had a check up during my pregnancy. They were still taking my monthly payment, just not giving us coverage. This all happened one month before I delivered my daughter.
NOW, 7 months later they still have yet to pay the amount that they were suppose to cover for the delivery. They have constantly put us off and given us terrible answers. I would NOT recommend anyone to use this insurance. Not only was the coverage terrible, but the people were unhelpful and unfriendly. If their part is not covered soon, we are looking into legal advice in order to get them to pay what they were supposed to cover.
DECATUR, GEORGIA -- I was approved for IUD (merina) at the doctor's office, which I go ahead getting done. 2 months later, received a bill of $1300 that am supposed to pay, BCBS didn't pay a penny. Am still figuring out what to do, if I call them they say "Give us a week, we'll call you back." The procedure I did is preventive which should be cover by BCBS.
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA -- My wife got a new job at the university and the employer will pay for health insurance, which by the way is also BCBS. I called BCBS on Monday asking how I can terminate her policy (she is in my policy as dependent). The attendant told me fill a termination form, put my wife's name, and send back to them. I did.
Today (Wednesday) I was checking for bills and found out that myself and my child will be terminated from the policy as well. I called BCBS and the attendant told me I cannot terminate just one dependent. It is either everyone or no one. I explained that my wife is going to get a new BCBS policy through her employer but the attendant just repeated the same. I ask her if I could make a new policy for my child and myself after the current one is terminated but the attendant told I have to wait for the next enrollment time, which is in July 1st. I asked to talk to her supervisor who told me the same story.
After I complained that this makes no sense, that BSBC is pushing me to keep her in my plan, and BSBC will be absurdly receiving two payments to cover the same person, the attendant told me to ask her employer to postpone her coverage until July 1st and I keep paying for her. I asked them to suspend the termination form and the supervisor told me she is not sure whether they can do that either. She is going to call me back whenever to give their decision. What kind of unreasonable people work for BCBS? What silly rule is that? It makes no sense. They would keep the same number of subscribers as none of us is leaving BSBC anyway.
Jan 25, 2011 I injured my back in a fall at my house and was taken to the ER by EMS. CT done, nothing broken. Was given some meds and told to follow up with my PCP. Started feeling worse and having pain moving down my legs within a week. Went to Walk in at my PCP and they ordered a Stat Same Day MRI, the results of which, they sent me to a Neurosurgeon for consult due to the issues found on the MRI as well as my symptoms (MRI showed a bulging/herniated disc at L4/L5). I couldn't do PT after 6 additional weeks of trying to hopefully get better, nothing was working.
They scheduled a discogram to examine the Disc structure. The discogram confirmed the suspicions. Not only was the disc herniated but I had a Grade IV tear in the disc with significant leakage into the canal. The MD who did the discogram agreed with my neurosurgeon that due to the damage and the DDD in the disc that fusion was the only sensible option due to likelihood of reinjury or disc space collapse resulting in major issue potentially. I was 2 weeks from having surgery and then the BCBS of NC brick wall came up. They denied my surgery. My Surgeon put in an immediate appeal and he was denied... all because they said it "wasn't medically necessary."
I went through 1st level internal appeal at BCBS which was a bloody joke. Their supposed internal review physician was a bloody family practice MD, they don't know anything remotely about spinal surgery or surgery in general for that matter so WTF... DENIED again!!! This was July... I had a setback and major pain issues that nearly had me admitted due to exacerbation of pain issues and my pain meds were increased... OK filed 2nd appeal. Hearing was Aug 26 (same day as Irene is about to come barreling through our fine town). Thought it went well... Got letter this past Saturday, DENIED again.
Neurosurgeon on appeal says I don't need fusion, I need disc resection (oh the moron also asked about disc replacement but I find it funny because bloody BCBS of NC still think disc replacement is experimental despite the fact that several other BCBS affiliates DO cover it). My neurosurgeon will not do the disc resection because he doesn't think it'll solve the problem long term and is concerned about I'm sure legitimately being held liable if the surgery fails and I end up worse. I think he's dead on on what needs to be done, but once again BCBS thinks they know better.
The sad truth is BCBS of NC only cares about one damn thing. Getting my money and not paying out theirs despite their responsibility to their members. The less they pay out the bigger the higher up douchebags bonuses are (don't lie, we know the truth). I'm sick and tired of my life being ruined by these **. If I could pay for my surgery myself I would and then sue the hell outta them for the cost plus bad faith actions on their part leaving them WIDE OPEN to punitive damages in the millions potentially. I can't be the only person fighting with them over this. If you are in my same situation feel free to contact me please.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- Blue Cross Blue Shield denies me coverage of medication I need without consulting my doctor or myself. Couldn't valuable information be found by contacting the person who prescribed this medication? Does Blue Cross Blue Shield believe that they know what is better for your health than a doctor I see every two to three months? Why don't we pick and choose when and if we should pay our premiums without consulting a huge corporate conglomerate based on falsities? That makes just as much sense.
The death panels are already here, and they work for the insurance companies to deny you the medicines and procedures we need. Insurance companies use their own employed doctors to come up with more and more ridiculous reasons to deny you have proven medical treatments that have been commonplace for years. The hide behind the statements of a "doctor" solely under their employ. This "doctor" makes bonuses off of how many claims they can deny to people who need them.
The best thing this country can do is implement a single-payer healthcare system like every other developed country in this world. Even Cuba has free health care to all citizens and they don't have a car built after 1950 or the internet. The richest country in the world leaves it citizens to deal with the hypocrisy of an insurance company that does not pay out to its customers when needed.
COLUMBUS, GEORGIA -- There are too many months, days, and countless hours during the year of 2014 that I spent on the phone with numerous incompetent and rude employees of BCBS GA. They literally drove me insane to the point I ended up having to go to the hospital for stress related illness on top of my physical illness. They are continuing to cause me stress to this current day over claims that they filed inaccurately (paid the incorrect provider of service... one that I had never heard of, or been to, and that had never heard of me or received the payment that BCBS GA sent me an EOB as having paid incorrectly to them)!
Now, if your head is spinning over that one, BCBS GA was rude to me again when I called them to bring this to their attention and rectify! I filed two formal complaints over issues with them and never heard from them regarding any resolution to the complaints. I am so sick of them... they are like a nightmare that won't go away and leave me alone! I will never, ever, have anything else to do with this company or speak to anyone representing the company! They have proven to me that even the numerous supervisors and recorded phone calls that I had with them that they are also incompetent! You've been warned now so use them at your own risk!!!
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA -- My daughter was in rehab at Pavillon in Mill Spring, North Carolina. They do not accept BCBS insurance so I had to pay the entire amount $24,000.00 out of pocket which I cannot afford. At her discharge they gave me paperwork to file with BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD of NORTH CAROLINA and for 4 months now BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD of NORTH CAROLINA keeps contacting me with petty reasons why they should not pay, reasons that are completely unrelated to the fact that she had a legitimate reason for admission like the hour code of her admission was incorrect or the code for her daily detox was incorrect or TONIGHT the incorrect place code was entered.
As a physician, it is obvious to me that BCBS is fraudulently avoiding paying my daughter's claim. Also, Pavillon is A SCAM OPERATION more interested in profit than in helping patients.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- BUYER BEWARE! On the healthcare marketplace website they list plans for you to choose from. They are not outright fraudulent but there is vital information that they purposefully do not disclose regarding the BCBS Blue Choice PPO plans. That is the fact that very, very few doctors, many hospitals, clinics and other medical institutions do not accept this form of coverage. It makes the insurance close to useless and you end up paying $500 or so a month for insurance that you cannot use and still have to pay the majority of your medical bills.
If you have to go to a specialty doctor, it may almost be impossible to find one that accepts it. Their regular Blue PPO plans are accepted by a wide variety of medical professionals, however their BLUE CHOICE PLAN should only be taken with awareness of this caveat - it may be hard to find medical treaters who will accept that insurance.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA -- My wife does not like doctors, has not been to one in over 2 years. After she turned 50 I made her get a blood test. Guess what? BCBS denied the claim completely! Did not even bother to get the insurance reduced rate. Now she has canceled all the tests the doctor requested that are normal for her age. BCBS does not care about preventing anything!!! If you are not dying, do not expect BCBS to pay a penny. Don't know if they will pay anything at that time either. Will not be with them long enough to find out.


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For a quick and tasty meal that's ready in only 30 minutes, add baked salmon to a fresh salad made with chickpeas, arugula, herbs and olives. Top with our zesty homemade Dijon dressing.
Serve the salad with a generous drizzle of your favorite olive oil, a lemon wedge and crusty bread.
Substitute 1/2 cup of your favorite fresh veggie for the radishes, if desired.
You can serve the salad right away or refrigerate up to 3 hours so the flavors can develop.
© 2017 ®/TM General Mills All Rights Reserved


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On May 10, a group of third-grade students from Western Trails, Roy DeShane, Cloverdale and Carol Stream elementary schools spent time with NBC Meteorologist Andy Avalos on a virtual field trip to the NBC studio and weather station. Avalos showed students around via an iPad and showed students the tools he uses to predict the weather as they watched on a projector screen. The field trip was part of District 93's 1:1 Personalized Learning program.
Carol Stream students go on virtual field trip with NBC weatherman
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