text:
Data controller (hereinafter – CATFLY) – means UAB "Rainė", a company established under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania: address: Gedimino g. 45-7, LT-44239 Kaunas, Lithuania; registration code: 304456342, e-mail: [email protected]; website: www.catfly.com.
Rules – means these Personal data security rules which CATFLY adheres when performing Personal data controlling and processing actions.
Personal data – means any information relating to natural person – the Data subject, who is identified or directly or indirectly identifiable by using such identifiers as a an personal identification number, one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.
Data processing – means any operation which is performed on Personal data such as: collecting, recording, organizing, storing, classifying, grouping, combining, altering (supplementing or correcting), transferring, publishing, using, logical and (or) arithmetical operations, searching, disseminating, destructing or other operation or set of operations.
Data processor – means natural or legal entity, public authority, agency or other body which processes Personal data on behalf of the Data controller.
Automated data processing – means data processing operations completely or in part performed by automated means.
Consent – means any freely given, voluntary expression of will of acceptance to Personal data processing of the Data subject.
Direct marketing – means the activity of offering goods or services to persons by post, telephone or other means of direct contact and (or) asking their opinion on the goods or services offered.
Services – means entertainment services provided by the Data controller or via Third-Party websites on the Website (quizzes, surveys, photo-mapping, etc.) for the provision of which Personal data is used.
Cookies – means files uploaded to Users computer, phone or tablet, or other device when the User visits the Website, and which can be used to identify the User to the Website.
User – means a natural person who uses the Services of CATFLY.
Data subject – means a User, who connected to the Website of CATFLY or uses the Services of CATFLY using Facebook Account, and who provided his Personal data and the Consent to CATFLY.
Website – means CATFLY controlled and administered website www.catfly.com, dedicated to provide CATFLY Services.
User Account – means a unique informational profile of the User who connected to CATFLY using Facebook Account thus submitted Personal data to CATFLY, where the User can access his Personal data which he has already submitted and perform other actions.
Facebook Account – means a User-controlled account created in the website www.facebook.com.
Third Party – means natural or legal person other than Data controller, User or Data subject.
Other definitions used in these Rules correspond to definitions established in Personal data legal protection law no. I-1374 of the Republic of Lithuania and Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (hereinafter – GDPR).
The Rules come along with Terms of Services (hereinafter – TOS), accessible at: http://www.catfly.com/terms
The purpose of these Rules is to regulate the principles and procedures for collecting, processing and storing Personal data of the Data subjects, as well as establishing the rights of Data subjects, the potential risks for Personal data security breaches, Personal data protection measures and other matters related to the processing of Personal data.
The Rules are drafted in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016, Personal data legal protection law no. I-1374 of the Republic of Lithuania and other legal acts regulating Personal data processing and protection.
CATFLY processes Personal data, in accordance with these Rules, for the following purposes:
For identifying the Users on the Website;
For the proper performance of contractual obligations which CATFLY assumes with the Data subject, i.e. provision of Services;
For direct marketing purposes.
CATFLY follows the following principles for data processing:
Personal data is collected for defined and legitimate purposes;
Personal data is processed accurately and conscientiously;
Personal data is processed only for legitimate interests;
Personal data may be constantly updated;
Personal data is stored no longer than it is required by the Regulation or other laws and legal acts;
Personal data is only processed by the employees that are authorized by the head of CATFLY.
Personal data provided by the Data subject is considered to be confidential information that may be disclosed to Third Parties only in the cases provided by the law;
CATFLY for direct marketing purposes uses only that Personal data provided by the Data subject that is provided voluntarily and expressly Consenting to the processing of Personal data for direct marketing purposes.
The Data subject must get acquainted with these Rules and read them before submitting his/her Personal data on the Website of CATFLY and issuing his/her Consent. CATFLY allows the Data subject to access these Rules at any time on the Website.
Information about the amendments and/or updates of these Rules is conveyed to the Data subject by e-mails, sent according to contact details provided by the Data subject. The Data subject shall have the right to withdraw the Consent if he/she does not agree with the amendments of the Rules, upon receiving the withdrawal of the Consent, CATFLY immediately destroys all of the Personal data of the Data subject in its possession.
Personal data is processed by manual and automated means using Personal data processing measures of CATFLY.
CATFLY shall only process Personal data that is transferred to it by the User following the registration to the Website of CATFLY or when the User uses the Services of CATFLY through www.facebook.com platform and Consents to the specific User's Personal data on the www.facebook.com platform being transferred to CATFLY for the purposes of providing the Services.
For the purposes and in accordance with procedures established in these Rules CATFLY processes the following Personal data:
User's first name and last name which are indicated on the www.facebook.com platform;
E-mail address;
Date of birth;
Telephone number;
User's "Like" information on the www.facebook.com platform;
User's commenting information on the www.facebook.com platform;
User's sharing information on the www.facebook.com platform;
User's photos on the www.facebook.com platform;
User's friend list on the www.facebook.com platform;
User's IP address;
Time and date of the signing in to Website of CATFLY by the User;
Software versions of the internet browser and operating system of the User.
CATFLY receives and collects Personal data in the following ways:
When a User registers/signs in to the CATFLY Website, using a Facebook Account, CATFLY receives the data from Facebook (www.facebook.com);
When a User uses the Services of CATFLY without separate registration on the Website, CATFLY receives the data directly from Facebook (www.facebook.com);
Data collected by methods specified in the clauses 3.4.1 - 3.4.2 is collected and processed only with prior Consent of Data subject (the User).
Personal data specified in the clauses 3.3.1 – 3.3.3 of these Rules CATFLY processes when the User registers at CATFLY Website or provides such data for the purposes of using the Services.
Personal data specified in the clauses 3.3.4 – 3.3.12 of these Rules is processed by CATFLY when the User, seeking to use the Services of CATFLY, through the platform of Third Party (www.facebook.com) Consents that the Third Party (www.facebook.com) in that specific case will transfer the relevant Personal data to CATFLY. CATFLY accepts and processes the specific Personal data only to the extent necessary to provide the specific Service. For the avoidance of doubt, CATFLY notes that various Services of CATFLY require varying scope of Personal data specified in the paragraphs 3.3.4 – 3.3.12 of these Rules, accordingly, the User, seeking to receive specific Service of CATFLY, for the purposes of receiving the Service in each specific case indicates the Personal data he/she is transferring through www.facebook.com data transfer interface and Consents for the Personal data transferring.
CATFLY shall only collect and process Personal data of the Data subject when it is in advance provided with User's clearly indicated Consent that his/her Personal data would be processed in accordance with the procedure and legal grounds provided in these Rules. User's Consent may be expressed in two following ways:
Consenting that for the purposes of providing the Services the User's Personal data would be transferred and processed by CATFLY, when registering to CATFLY Website;
Consenting on the www.facebook.com platform that for the purposes of providing the Services User-specified Personal data would be transferred to CATFLY, when transferring Personal data through www.facebook.com platform or by using the Services of CATFLY through www.facebook.com platform.
The Data subject has the right at any time to address CATFLY and to withdraw his Consent for the processing of Personal data. CATFLY allows the Data subject to withdraw its Consent or to alter the scope of Personal data processed by CATFLY. This can be done by signing in to CATFLY Website or by altering the relevant privacy settings in Facebook Account. In this case, part of the Website's features may not work.
The right to process Personal data is granted to the employee of CATFLY only by the decision of the head of CATFLY. An employee who is authorized to process Personal data shall:
Do not disclose, transfer and submit to any means where Personal data would be accessible to persons who are not authorized to process them and who are not entitled to receive Personal data in accordance with these Rules or relevant;
Uphold the secrecy of Personal data;
Immediately inform the head of CATFLY or his authorized person of any known circumstances that may endanger Personal data security;
Comply with the provisions of legal acts regulating Personal data protection.
Personal data in CATFLY database is stored for 3 (three) months from the time when the last active action was performed on User's Account or from the last time when the User submitted his Personal data for the purpose of receiving the Services of CATFLY. Upon expiration of the data storage in the database term, the Personal data of the User shall be destroyed, except the cases stipulated by the relevant laws, where Personal data cannot be erased due to proper implementation of that laws or the realization of legitimate interests.
Impersonalized and aggregated Personal data, i.e. such data that makes it impossible to identify a specific Data subject, as well as other data that cannot be linked to any specific person, may for statistical purposes be stored in CATFLY database indefinitely, depending on the needs of CATFLY.
CATFLY transfers Personal data only to the following categories of the data recipients:
For legal entities and organizations that ensure appropriate protection of Personal data and undertake to use Personal data transferred by CATFLY for lawful and legitimate purposes only;
For legal entities with whom CATFLY has concluded respective service contracts and for which only impersonalized and aggregated Personal data is transferred from which the recipient of the data could not identify the identity of the specific Data subject;
Authorities which have the right to receive Personal data and have submitted a document issued and valid in accordance with procedure established by legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania, which undoubtedly confirms the right of the recipient of the data to collect and process Personal data;
To Data subjects, when receiving a written request from the Data subject to provide the data about that Data subject which is possessed and processed by CATFLY.
CATFLY may include Third-Party content in its Services (www.youtube.com videos, www.google.com maps an etc.). In that case CATFLY may only provide the Third Party with impersonalized data, unless the Data subject has given Consent to Third Party for using his Personal data.
CATFLY uses Google Analytics services to analyze User behavior on CATFLY Website. CATFLY informs that the Personal data of the User, who has given the Consent for Personal data processing, may be transferred to the operator of Google Analytics – Google Inc.; registration code: 0001288776; address: 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States of America.
CATFLY uses Facebook's, a social networking website's, plugin, which allows Facebook to receive information that the User has started using CATFLY Services. CATFLY informs that the Personal data of the User, who has given the Consent for Personal data processing, may be transferred to the operator of www.facebook.com – Facebook Inc.; registration code: 0001326801; address: 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, United States of America.
CATFLY indicates that it does not use and disclose to any Third Parties special categories of Personal data, related to Data subject's health, racial origin, religious beliefs and political opinions, except the cases where such disclosure is required by the authorities and is based on the relevant laws or when the Data subject explicitly directs CATFLY to disclose special categories of Personal data to Third Parties.
CATFLY uses OPEND (http://www.useopend.com/), Advertising Technology platform which sends targeted advertising communications they deem to be relevant within accepted data categories. Data uploaded to OPEND becomes fully anonymized and encrypted on upload and they never see any Personal data. The following sectors are the industry types that the Users can expect to receive Third Party products, information, services or special offers from: Automotive, Broadband, Call Centre, Charity, Competition & Prize Draw, Daily deals, Dating, Debt, Education, Fashion and clothing, Finance (short term loans, pension reviews, car finance, investments, equity release, credit cards, investment & savings, claims companies, mortgages), Fitness, FMCG, Freebie Sites, Gaming, Gambling, Gardening, Government, Health & Well-being, Beauty, Home & Lifestyle, Mobility, Home Improvement, Home Furnishings, Household, IT/Technical, Insurance (Life, Home, Automotive, General, Health, Private Medical, Travel, Pet, Personal & Other), Legal Services (Injury Claims), Leisure, Lottery & Sweepstakes, Magazine Subscriptions, Mail Order, Market Research, Music, Online Bingo, Online retail, Pensions, Pharmaceutical, PPI, Premium Rate, Property, Product Testing, Publishing/Media, Reclaim (Flight Delay, PPI), Retail, Sport, Stores, Surveys, Telecoms, Toiletries/Cosmetics, Tracing, ID & Fraud, Travel (Holidays, Hotel, Airlines, Travel booking, Car hire, Parking, Caravans, Holiday homes, Time share), Utilities, Vehicle Test Driving.
Personal data may also be transferred to Third Parties in other cases stipulated in the laws or other legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania.
In all cases when transferring Personal data to Third Parties CATFLY shall ensure that Personal data processor or other subject receiving Personal data is capable of ensuring appropriate Personal data protection with accordance to the requirements of GDPR.
Data subject shall have the right at any time to address CATFLY with a request regarding providing the information about Data subject's Personal data being processed. Upon the request of the Data subject, CATFLY, by post or by e-mail, within 20 calendar days provides the Data subject with Personal Data he requested and which is in CATFLY possession.
Among other things, the Data subject shall have the right be provided with the information on where the Personal data is collected from, what Personal data is being processed and what is the purpose of the processing.
Data subject when exercising his rights established on articles 5.1 and 5.2 of these Rules, shall have the right to be provided the Personal data associated with him in a systematized, commonly-used and computer-readable format. This data is provided to the Data subject free of charge.
Data subject shall have the right to obtain the rectification of false, incomplete and/or inaccurate Personal data of his and/or suspend the Personal data processing actions of such data, provided that the Data Subject determines that his Personal data is false, incomplete and/or inaccurate and Data Subject cannot rectify such data himself, or if he determines that Personal data is processed unlawfully and not in a good faith.
Data subject shall have the right to object to Personal data processing for the purposes of direct marketing. The right to object can be exercised by notifying CATFLY by post, e-mail or in the preferences of User's Account.
Data subject has the right to object the Personal data processing and/or to obtain the erasure of Personal data ("the right to be forgotten"). Once received the request of the Data subject for the erasure of all of his Personal data CATFLY within 20 calendar days destroys the all of the Data subject's Personal data in their possession and deletes the User Account of the Data subject on the Website.
CATFLY has the right to refuse to comply with Data subject's request for the erasure of the Personal data or restriction of processing of Personal data, if it cannot terminate Personal data processing and erase Personal data due to obligations set in the relevant legal acts or due to lawful instructions of relevant authorities.
Data subject can exercise all of his rights established in these Rules by notifying CATFLY (by post: Gedimino g. 45-7, LT-44239 Kaunas, Lithuania; or by e-mail: [email protected]) and providing a personal identity document. In some cases, requests may be denied should they be of a repetitive nature, exaggerated or completely unfounded. The right to object that his Personal data would be used for the purposes of direct marketing Data subject can exercise in his User Account on the Website.
CATFLY ensures all other rights, guarantees and interests of the Data subject which are provided by applicable laws.
With regards to the fact that CATFLY is active not exclusively to the territory of the European Union, CATFLY does not guarantee that non-European Union citizens or residents who use the Services outside of the European Union will have access to the rights granted by these Rules.
If the User expresses Consent to the use of his/her e-mail address for direct marketing purposes, CATFLY may send e-mails and newsletters to the User.
If the User no longer Consents to his/her data being processed for the purposes of direct marketing, the User has the right to withdraw his Consent for Personal data processing for the purposes of direct marketing in the preferences of his User Account, as well as sending CATFLY a notification by post or by e-mail.
CATFLY uses Cookies on the Website. Cookies are used to improve the functioning of the Website and to optimize the activities on the Website, suiting it to the needs and interests of the Users and Data subjects.
The User agrees to use Cookies by ticking the relevant box on the active panel of the Website noting that he/she is acquainted with these Rules and agrees with use of Cookies.
The User or the Data subject has the right to object the use of Cookies on his computer, phone, tablet device or other device. The User may at any time disable the use of Cookies by changing the preferences in the User Account or by deleting all the Cookies from his browser and refusing to give his Consent for use the Cookies if asked once more. If the User disagrees with the use of Cookies, part of the Website's may no longer work properly.
CATFLY implements appropriate organizational and technical measures in order to protect Personal data from accidental or unlawful destruction, alteration, disclosure and any other unlawful processing. To ensure Personal data protection CATFLY implements or intends to implement the following Personal data protection measures:
Administrative (secure processing of documents and computer data and their archiving, as well as regulating the organization of work for different areas of activity, introducing personnel to the requirements of Personal data security before and after employment or in similar relations and etc.;
Hardware and software security (administration of servers, information systems and databases, maintenance of working areas and CATFLY premises, maintaining the security standards for the servers where databases are stored and etc.);
Communications and computer network protection (common use data, programs, firewalling) and etc.
CATFLY stores all the User Personal data in the "Google Cloud Storage" data storage server or in other properly secured remote server. CATFLY ensures that the security of the remote server where Personal data is stored is secured by the following means:
Access to data cache where Personal data is stored is provided with use of two-factory authentication method, when the person logging in has to submit unique password or nickname and to confirm his identity by using other device attributed only to him (f.e., electronic signature is associated with a particulars persons phone). Access to server data is granted only to CATFLY employees or authorized persons;
all of the data in the server or data storage device is encrypted;
data backups of the server are periodically performed;
the server records and stores the history of all logins and data processing operations and include, among other things, the information on specific individuals who were logged on to the server;
CATFLY shall only use those remote server services that ensure appropriate compliance with GDPR and offer appropriate data protection measures.
All the Personal data processed by CATFLY which is transferred to it in non-digital medium (i.e. in the form of documents), is stored in accordance with the following security regulations:
Documents containing Personal data shall be transferred only to specific CATFLY employees who require said documents for carrying out their job functions or carrying out instructions by the head of CATFLY.
CATFLY shall not assign job functions and issue instructions related to Personal data processing to employees who are not properly acquainted with these Rules and other mandatory local legal acts regulating internal data security of CATFLY and have not signed the non-disclosure agreement on confidential information.
Documents containing Personal data in no case can be stored in the premises of CATFLY that intended for common use or premises which have unrestricted access.
CATFLY employees or authorized persons may not, in any case, leave the documents containing Personal data in a single room with other persons who are not mandated by CATFLY to perform Personal data processing actions.
CATFLY employees are not permitted to remove the documents from CATFLY premises, which contain Personal data or copies of such data, unless it is necessary for the proper performance of job functions or for carrying out CATFLY obligations or existing contracts. The extraction of documents containing Personal data from the CATFLY premises must in all cases be reported to the head of CATFLY.
CATFLY employees who carry out Personal data processing functions are required to properly safeguard documents and data files and to avoid making copies of any Personal data. CATFLY document copies containing Personal data may be made only if it is unavoidable due to security requirements and according to objectives of these Rules and must be destroyed immediately after the copies of the documents become redundant. Copies or storage devices of the documents must be destroyed in such a way that they would be impossible to restore.
CATFLY personnel, who process Personal data, may only perform Personal data processing actions using the computers or intelligent devices, which are owned by CATFLY and are intended for performing work related tasks, and which have licensed and secure software installed in them. All of the computers or intelligent devices, used for Personal data processing by CATFLY employees, must be protected by passwords which must be changed at least once in every 3 months and must consist of a combination of at least 8 symbols with lower case and upper case letters and numbers.
CATFLY employees and authorized persons have no right to transfer computers or any other intelligent devices that are used in Personal data processing, except in cases provided in these Rules or according to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, to any Third Parties. CATFLY employees or authorized persons are not entitled to disclose their unique login names and passwords to any Third Parties.
CATFLY periodically, but at least once a year, performs the testing of managed IT systems, including databases, which test reliability, resistance to overload, resistance to cyber-attack, viruses and other threats to system reliability of CATFLY servers and information systems. During the testing of CATFLY controlled systems, Personal data is not used.
The processing of the Personal data of a child shall be lawful where the child is at least 16 years old. Where the child is below the age of 16 years, such processing shall be lawful only if and to the extent that Consent is given by the holder of parental responsibility over the child.
CATFLY processes the Personal data of children younger than 16 years old only where the Consent is given by the holder of parental responsibility over the child in an appropriate form, as it is provided under the provisions of GDPR, for the Personal data processing on their Facebook account, which is used to sign in to CATFLY or to use CATFLY Services.
When CATFLY determines that the User, who is under 16 years old, has submitted Personal data without the Consent of the holder of parental responsibility over the child or by indicating the wrong age, CATFLY, from the moment that such information is discovered, will take reasonable steps to immediately erase the Personal data of this User. In this case, CATFLY may delete the User Account.
Personal data security breach – means an act or omission that results or may result in undesirable consequences as well as are in conflict with the stipulations provided by the legislation regarding Personal data security. The degree of impact, damage and the consequences of Personal data protection breach in each case shall be determined by the head of CATFLY or by a commission established by its authorized person.
In the event of Personal data security breach, CATFLY shall immediately, but no later than within 48 hours of becoming aware of Personal data security breach, notify the State data protection inspectorate and the Data subjects, except the cases where the breach of Personal data security does not pose a real risk to the rights and freedoms of the User and the Data subjects.
In cases where the breach of Personal data protection is not due to force majeure cases (lightning, flood, fire and etc.) and is a direct consequence of human action, when CATFLY becomes aware of the breach of Personal data protection, it immediately notifies the relevant law enforcement authorities regarding possible criminal offence committed.
Compliance monitoring of these Rules is carried out by the head of CATFLY or by a person authorized by him. The Rules are renewed and, if necessary, updated at least once in a calendar year. The updates or amendments of these Rules come into effect from the moment of their publication, i.e. from the date they were posted on CATFLY Website. In the event that User does not agree to the amendments of the Rules, he/she has the right to refuse the Services of CATFLY and/or exercise the rights granted to the User by these Rules.
CATFLY employees, who are authorized to process Personal data of the User, confirm in writing that they are introduced with these Personal data security Rules.
CATFLY employees, who violate Personal data legal protection law of the Republic of Lithuania, other legal acts regarding Personal data processing and protection or these Rules, are liable under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania.


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Recall Cam comes to an end, center prepares to shut down
It turns out last Thursday (March 22) was the last day for the recall webcam.
Our partners at 5Nines.com, who provided the streaming video of operations at the Recall Processing Center for free, needed their server for an event on Friday. We were going to set it back up on Tuesday morning, but since operations will be winding down on Wednesday, it did not make sense to start everything back up again just to shut it down the next day. Today is the last day for temporary staff, and Wednesday will be the last day for G.A.B. staff.
Thank you to:
- Everyone who watched the recall webcam during its two-month run and kept an eye on their government.
- Anton Kapela at 5Nines.com, who set up the webcam and provided the service at no cost to taxpayers.
- All the temporary staffers who worked so hard on this tedious but important project with the world looking over their shoulders.
The next step in the process is the Government Accountability Board's special meeting at 9 a.m. Friday, March 30, when the Board will decide whether the recall elections for the Governor and Lt. Governor will go forward. Their decision on the sufficiency of the recall petitions (whether there are at least 540,208 valid signatures) will be based on the work done at the Recall Processing Center.
The Board's meeting will be carried live on WisEye.com. The agenda and Board materials will be posted here the day before the meeting.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I'm currently documenting an algorithm which involves deleting a node in a directed dependency graph while maintaining the implied dependencies between its parents and children.
Take for example the following graph:
Edges are added from all parents to children before node
X is deleted to ensure that the implied dependencies are maintained.
Question: Is there a standard terminology for such an operation?
Update: Thanks to a change in my algorithm, node
X is now guaranteed to have only one parent. This reduces the above operation to a simple node contraction with the parent. While my immediate problem is now solved, I'm leaving the question open and unanswered as I'm still curios to know the solution had my requirements not changed.


text:
Brought to you by
'PROTECTS WHAT'S GOOD' is our brand promise, defining and influencing everything we do. It encompasses the importance of protecting food, protecting people and protecting futures, for which driving environmental excellence is fundamental.
Beverage cartons are made from a material called liquid paperboard (LPB), which is constructed from paperboard with layers of plastic, and in the case of long-life products, a thin layer of aluminium foil. Paperboard makes up the largest proportion of these materials - about 88% of Tetra Pak 1 litre fresh milk carton for example.
For more than 40 years LPB has been used to package a wide range of foods including milk, juices, cream, custard, sauces and soups.
Find out information about the container deposit scheme in your state.


text:
Social networking service Twitter could be used by terrorists as a tool in planning attacks, the US military claims.
In a report by the Federation of American Scientists, Tweets (Twitter messages) have been identified as way of communication for terrorists regarding future attacks. One chapter of the report, entitled 'Potential for Terrorist Use of Twitter' highlights the fact that the first reports of the Los Angeles earthquake in July appeared on the social networking site rather than through traditional news services.
"Terrorists could theoretically use Twitter social networking in the US as an operational tool," the report says.
It is also feared that Tweets from troops stationed overseas could be used by terrorists as information for attacks.
The report also claims that al-Qaeda forums have discussed the use of satellite navigation and mapping tools during attacks, with one post highlighting the use of mobile phone navigation tools in 'Marksmanship, Border Crossings and in Concealment of Supplies.'


text:
Subscribe To Trailer For Morgan Spurlock's Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope Arrives Online Updates
I've already subscribed
The experience of attending Comic Con in San Diego is likely different for everyone. I like to think of it to be a sort of rock concert for geeks. Not only is it a chance to celebrate the movies, TV shows, comics and costumes we love, but also an opportunity to be surrounded by people who are just as excited to be there. There's an energy at the convention that's not quite comparable to anything else I've ever experienced.
Just watching the trailer for Morgan Spurlock's documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope has me itching to return to San Diego, and fondly reminiscing past visits to the convention. Directed by Spurlock (Super Size Me), the documentary looks at the annual San Diego Comic-Con through five attendees who visit the event. It looks like we catch a glimpse of at least some of them in the trailer, which was posted by iTunes. You'll also see Seth Rogan and Kevin Smith, both of whom share some of their thoughts on the convention.
It seems like the documentary is going to showcase various angles of the convention, with a collector, a geek and a designer all featured in the above trailer. Between the comics, the toys, video games, and panels for just about anything worth geeking out over, there's certainly enough ground for the documentary to cover. Showing the event through the eyes of five different people should offer a personal touch, and some interesting perspectives on the convention.
With Spurlock at the helm, and the involvement of people like Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, and Jeremy Chilnick, who shares a writing credit for the documentary The Greatest Movie Ever Sold with Spurlock, we may be in for something very entertaining and interesting, especially for those of us with an interest in Comic-Con and general geek/pop culture.
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope releases in theaters on April 6, 2012.


text:
- IDEALS Home
- →
- School of Information Sciences
- →
- National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) @ Illinois
- →
- Preserving Virtual Worlds
Preserving Virtual Worlds
Recent Additions
application/pdfPDF (23MB)
(Atari, Inc., 1979)An archival information package for Atari, Inc.'s game Star Raiders. This package contains a ROM image of the game Star Raiders as well as source code for the Atari VCS emulator called "Stella" capable of utilizing the ...
application/zipZIP (108MB)
(On-Line Systems, 1980)This is an archival information package for the computer game Mystery House created by Roberta and Ken Williams for the Apple II system in 1980. It is the first interactive fiction work to use computer graphics. The AIP ...
application/zipZIP (505MB)
(William Crowther, 1977-03-11)This is an archival information package for the seminal computer game "Adventure," containing original source code for the game as well as an updated version of the code by Matthew Russotto (http://www.russotto.net), along ...
application/zipZIP (240MB)


text:
This is M·A·C Cosmetics Instagram Profile (@maccosmetics). Here you can discover all stories, photos, videos posted by M·A·C Cosmetics on Instagram Profile.
You can see all stories, posts, likes, followers, followings, comments, and so on identified with M·A·C Cosmetics Instagram Profile from here.
Altogether M·A·C Cosmetics has 22,563,963 followers and follows 1,002 on Instagram. Since joining Instagram M·A·C Cosmetics has posted around 7,381 photos and videos there altogether.
As of now M·A·C Cosmetics is verified profile on Instagram.The website url of M·A·C Cosmetics Instagram is http://bit.ly/2MBDIW4
On the off chance that you need take after more updates or need to get general cautions at whatever point M·A·C Cosmetics posts anything on instagram click here and follow the user.
M·A·C Cosmetics (maccosmetics)'s Instagram User Id is : 319897212
M·A·C Cosmetics's Photos shared recently. Find all instagram photos and videos of maccosmetics Instagram account...


text:
Serena Williams beats Ana Ivanovic to win first Cincinnati title
For the top-seeded American, the triumph marked her first in six visits to Cincinnati and sent a message that she is in top form heading into the year's final grand slam, where she is the two-time defending champion.
"It's just amazing to finally win here," said Williams, who fired a dozen aces and broke her opponent four times. "The fans were amazing and it's so wonderful to be here."
After falling behind early, Williams broke her ninth seeded opponent's serve in the sixth game of the first set to pull even and then broke again four games later to wrap up the opener in 38 minutes after consecutive double faults from Ivanovic.
A year removed from losing the Cincinnati final in a third set tiebreak to Victoria Azarenka, the world number one left nothing to chance in a dominant second set.
Williams broke Ivanovic to open a 3-1 lead in the second set and then relied on her powerful serve to carry her the rest of the way.
It marked the fifth title of the year for the 32-year-old American following wins in Stanford, Rome, Miami and Brisbane.
The Cincinnati tournament is the last of the key tune-ups ahead of the Aug. 25-Sept. 8 U.S. Open in New York.
For 26-year-old Ivanovic, a former world number one who was chasing her fourth title of the year, her run to the Cincinnati final will put her back in the top 10 of the world rankings for the first time in five years.
"It's been a great week for me in Cincinnati," said Ivanovic, who was coming off a nearly three-hour win over fifth seed Maria Sharapova in Saturday's semi-final.
"I really want to congratulate Serena. I think I got a lesson on how to serve today. Maybe after you retire you can give me some tips."


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INDIANAPOLIS - For the first time since 2006, the No. 24 Georgia College & State University men's basketball team will head to the NCAA Tournament, after being selected as the fourth seed in the Southeast Region.
The 22-6 Bobcats will head to Augusta State University's Christenberry Fieldhouse in Augusta, Ga. taking on fifth-seed Barton College (24-6), the Conference Carolinas champion. Barton won the NCAA National Championship in 2007.
The regional tournament begins March 14 or 15 with specific details to come.
In the 2006 season, the Bobcats pushed through to a Sweet-16 bid, losing the region championship game. All-time, the Bobcats have now made five trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Visit www.GCSUBobcats.com to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GCSU Athletics Hall of Fame. The GCSU Department of Athletics sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, GCSU prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the Bobcats' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement.


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As a general rule, national-level officials should be invited only to national League events, state-level officials to state League events, and local/regional officials to local League events. (A member of Congress may be invited to both national-level League events and to League events in his/her home district.)
If a state or local League believes that a national-level official (such as a cabinet member or a federal agency official) is the most appropriate speaker for a state or local League event, that League is asked to consult with the national League office to see if the LWVUS/LWVEF has any plans to invite that individual to a national League event.


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Bank-Owned Ritz-Carlton® Condominium in San Francisco, California to Be Sold at Auction By Concierge Auctions
Live auction of luxurious downtown condo to take place on December 10
PR Newswire
Nov 10, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A bank-owned condominium, located within the luxurious Ritz-Carlton® Residences on historic Market Street in the heart of downtown San Francisco, will be sold during a live auction on December 10, Concierge Auctions has announced. Originally listed for $1,274,490, there is no minimum bid required to participate. The sale is being conducted in cooperation with listing broker Jeffry Peargin of Pacific Union International, an affiliate of Christie's Great Estates.
"I'm excited to be working alongside Concierge Auctions," stated Peargin. "Given that this is a bank-owned condominium, the commitment to sell is evident. With the highest-caliber amenities of the Ritz-Carlton® and immediate access to world-class museums, upscale shopping, and gourmet restaurants, we're confident we will find the ideal owner for this gorgeous residence."
Unit 1502 within the Ritz-Carlton® Residences is a 1,195-square-foot, classic luxury condominium boasting two opposing master suites with unparalleled views of downtown San Francisco. The property contains two and a half bathrooms with modern luxury finishes throughout, including wall-to-wall carpet in the bedrooms, polished hardwood flooring in the living areas, Italian-marble flooring and hand-hewn tiles in the kitchen and baths, and double-paned windows for sound minimization. An open gourmet chef's kitchen includes top-of-the-line amenities - Kohler fixtures, granite countertops, a Viking refrigerator and Miele dishwasher. Each bathroom also has Kohler fixtures, and the convenient laundry closet is outfitted with a GE washer and dryer.
Constructed more than a century ago by Chicago architects Daniel Burnham and John Root as the original Chronicle Building, the West Coast's first skyscraper, this historic structure eventually transformed into The Ritz-Carlton® Club and Residences, San Francisco. Owners of the 101 individual residences enjoy access to unrivaled services and amenities, including private lounge access, wine storage, valet parking, a fitness center and full service doorman. The Ritz-Carlton® Residences are perfectly situated in the heart of San Francisco among some of the most prestigious addresses in the world, steps from significant locations including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the Jewish Museum, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and the Giants ballpark. The Ritz-Carlton® Club is mere blocks from the Powell Street cable car turn-around and is only 20 minutes from the San Francisco International Airport; 30 minutes from the Oakland International Airport; 25 minutes from Sausalito and Berkeley; and one hour from Napa and Sonoma.
"At Concierge Auctions we are specific about the properties we represent," stated George Graham, CEO of Concierge Auctions. "Our success is predicated upon partnering with the most premier luxury product, and it doesn't get any more exclusive than the Ritz-Carlton® Residences. The new owner will name their price amongst other bidders during a live auction in an open, transparent forum, and in less than thirty days will be enjoying the utmost in luxury and amenities on one of our nation's most sought-after cities."
The live auction of Unit 1502 within the Ritz-Carlton® Residences, San Francisco will be held on December 10. No minimum bid is required to participate. A 2.5-percent commission is offered to the buyer's broker. See Auction Terms and Conditions for full details. The property is open for preview daily by appointment from 1 to 4pm. To schedule a preview, call 877-214-3785. For more information, visit www.SanFranRitzAuction.com.
About Concierge Auctions: Concierge Auctions is the preeminent luxury real estate auction firm serving high-end sellers nationwide through an accelerated marketing process that obtains fair market value for high-end properties in a 60-day timeframe. As a preferred auction partner to Sotheby's International Realty® and other luxury brokerage firms nationwide, the company has executed auctions from New York to Hawaii and hosts a database that includes more than 100,000 luxury real estate buyers and agents from all 50 states and 38 countries and territories. The principals of Concierge Auctions have been involved in the transfer of more than $2 billion in luxury real estate sales over the past 10 years. For more information, call 888-966-4759 or visit www.ConciergeAuctions.com.
SOURCE Concierge Auctions


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If you are a registered vendor but have not received the Business Registration
Certificate in the mail, you may obtain
a certificate online. Please note that this certificate is not
required by all businesses in New Jersey, but only those doing business
with the public sector and with the casino service industry.
In most cases, you may submit
Form NJ-REG online. Exceptions and additional requirements include:
Public Contracts
When seeking a public contract, an affirmative action report (Form AA-302) will also be required. The Certificate of Registration may not be used as evidence of compliance with the affirmative action requirements and submitted in lieu of Form AA-302. Both forms will be required. The Division of Contract Compliance and Equal Employment Opportunity in Public Contracts provides guidelines for awarded public contracts.
In addition, answers to frequently asked questions are provided by the Division of Local Government. While designed for local government contracting, the FAQ page contains guidance that it is applicable to most New Jersey government procurement activities.


text:
If you buy a new BMW, you'll want driving pleasure to come as guaranteed. For this reason, BMW offers a warranty on the bodywork for twelve years and three years for the paint work. For the entire vehicle (excluding the replacement of worn parts), a warranty of three years is applicable, and for any Genuine BMW Parts and Accessories purchased after the fact, a two year warranty is applicable. Service you can count on - we guarantee it.
Please click here to view the BMW Warranty brochure.


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Old Trainer
The Old Trainer: Cat, dogs at home under same roof
D ear Old Trainer: My granddaughter is coming to live with me while she goes to college. I have Sally, a Shih Tzu, and Willie, a Lhasa Apso, and she has Moody, a 4-year old cat. I want this to work because she is so much company to me, so I don't want the dogs to bother the cat. They are both trained and never cause any problems, but they have never been around a cat. Do you think there will be a problem?
– Anita, Reno
Dear Anita: Don't worry, Anita, there is no genetic enmity between cats and dogs. The public believes there is because when a dog sees a strange cat both of them obey natural impulses. The cat flees for the nearest tree, the dog's pursuit reflex kicks in and he chases the cat.
The belief is so widespread society uses the perceived hostility as a metaphor for any groups who don't get along. But millions of people have both, and the dog never bothers the cat.
I am one of them. Bob the cat came out of the woods one day and joined the pack while we were on our walk. He just walked up and started loving on the dogs like they were old buddies he hadn't seen in a while.
Now he eats and sleeps with the dogs, and they treat him like a member of the pack. He picks a different one each night to sleep with and they let him curl up next to them. They stroll around the yard together and if the dogs mark, he marks too.
There are three reasons you have no worries. One, your dogs are trained. If they bother Moody just tell them no. Two, both breeds are gentle and loving, and will welcome a new member of the pack. Three, Moody can take care of himself. He will box their ears if they get uppity.
To prepare the dogs and make the transition easy, here is all you have to do. Tell Sally and Willie that Moody is coming to live with them and you want them to behave. Talk to them every day and use the name Moody each time you talk to them. When Moody arrives, let both dogs approach him and sniff him while your granddaughter holds him and strokes him. Be calm and relaxed while they meet. If you are tense, the dogs will know it and think it is because of the cat.
Give them time and space to work out the new arrangement. Moody may spit and hiss a little and the dogs may give a few perfunctory barks to warn Moody to respect their territory, but let them work it out unless you have to settle a squabble.
Feed Moody on a chair or bench where the dogs can't get to his food, and fix him a place he can relax away from them. Pet them all and let them know everything is fine and you approve of the new arrangement. Within a few days they will be friends.


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Websites. 1000 social media websites. Blogs. YouTube. SEO. There are thousands of ways to market online. What's a business to do? Here are some tips on how to turn the online monster you've created (or are thinking of creating) into your servant.
When managing your online presence seems overwhelming, it's probably because you didn't plan. If you don't know where you're going, you'll have no idea if you're getting there or not. Fortunately, you can change this whenever you want.
This is where many people start - they start doing before planning. If this sounds like you, take a deep breath, back away from your monitor and take some time to plan your activities. Make a schedule. Define your goals. Then work on making them happen.
Social media sites make it easy to implement. Slap up a post or a picture or comment and voila! You're done! But how do you know it's what's most beneficial?
Websites or other corporate social media tools that are not current demonstrate a failure to implement. Most businesses can improve in this area. My business included.
Do you know how many people read your last Facebook post? Did anyone like them? Do you know who they were? How did that Facebook post compare to the previous one - and the one before it?
How about your site traffic? Is it up or down from last month? How about your search engine rankings?
Not measuring the results of online activities means you're shooting at targets without knowing you've hit them. This is why many business owners say marketing online doesn't work for them. They or their staff don't measure the results they get.
Analyze, Study & Plan Again
So you've planned, implemented and measured. Can things be improved? Of course they can. Take what you've done and build on it to make it better.
If you don't know HOW to make it better, you're in luck. There are at least a few million pages of online advice (including this one) on how to improve every aspect of your online presence.
If you've read my earlier blog posts, you'll know this stuff isn't rocket science. It's "common sense" - but we all know how prevalent that is these days. I came across a website just before writing this post that proudly exclaimed their latest news on the homepage - except it was from 2011. When the primary purpose of a website is to create confidence about doing business with you, how does something like that benefit your business?
Most "problems" with websites and online marketing are solved by following the steps above. If you don't have time or patience to follow the prescription, then feel free to call "Dr. Mark" at 905-227-6667. I'd be happy to help you manage your online marketing needs so you don't have to.


text:
Darth Vader Is the Meanest Boss Ever in Funny PC Store Ad [VIDEO]
Oh, how the mighty have fallen! In this commercial for Currys PC World, Darth Vader appears to have taken a job in retail middle management. Guess there's not a lot of job openings for "evil galactic overlord" these days.


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Retired pastors Mervin and Jane Dick will give the next presentation at Tabor College's Lifelong Learning series at 9:45 a.m. Friday. Their presentation is "Traveling Without a Map," about their life stories, including their battle with colorectal cancer.
Both are Tabor College graduates and each holds a master of divinity degree — Mervin's from Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary at Fresno, Calif., and Jane's from Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colo. They have served Mennonite Brethren churches in Kief, N.D., Weatherford and Edmond, Okla., and Fresno, Calif. They moved to Denver in 1984, and both were involved with inner-city relief work for 18 years there.
The session will be in the Wohlgemuth Music Education Center. Cost is $4 for a single session or $15 for the entire semester series.
For more information, contact coordinator Connie Isaac at (620) 947-5964 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Donny De Renzo's '56 Chevy
On a list of things to do one day it seems like every classic truck lover has a favorite truck they'd like to build from the ground up. For Donny De Renzo of Penngrove, California, his dream was to find a '56 Chevy shortbed complete with a factory optional Panoramic rear window and really go to town. To help make the task not such an overwhelming proposition Donny, enlisted the help of Sonoma County Street Rodz in nearby Petaluma.
The crew at SCSR consists of the Costa family along with good friends Marty Frey and Kyle Simmons. In the early days, SCSR was a little more than a serious hobby the guys did to escape the daily rigors of constructing custom homes. On the weekends, SCSR showed their latest efforts at Reno's Hot August Nights to Pleasanton's West Coast Nationals. Come Monday morning it was back to the grind, and Jeff Costa was sweating out every complicated little detail to make sure one-off 8,000-12,000 square-foot homes went up without a hitch. Donny said it was Jeff's ability as a project manager to stay four steps ahead of everything he had planned to do. "We'd brainstorm over what I was planning, and Jeff knew way in advance how to avoid the pitfalls."
Things started to rock and roll when Jeff located the '56 big-window on a farm outside of town and hauled it back to the shop. He called Donny and the year-and-a-half build was under way. A lot of money was saved because Donny was able to do a lot of the grunt work. Under Jeff's supervision, Donny completely disassembled the truck and got it ready to blast down to the bare metal. All of the sheetmetal went to Max at American Canyon Stripping while Donny borrowed SCSR's in-house sandblaster to take the frame down to bare metal.
Once the frame was primered, the rails were boxed and a Total Cost Involved IFS was installed. Jeff's brother Stephen, who had 25 years experience as a welder for Chevron, took care of all SCSR's welding chores. Not only did Stephen weld the frame, he welded in new cab corners and a floor from Brothers in the '56's cab. The original bed was in terrible shape, so Jeff located a pristine example to replace it. For bed wood, a kit from Brothers was installed and an aluminum 19-gallon gas tank from Classic Performance Products was mounted underneath.
Donny's '56 rides on airbags via AccuAir controls up front with a Total Cost Involved static suspension in the rear. The non-posi differential with 3.33:1 gears came out of a '72 Camaro; Monroe shocks are used for dampening. For wheels and tires, the '56 rides on 17-inch Wheel Vintiques wheels shod with 225/50/17 Hankook tires from Jay & Bill's Tires of Petaluma. Under the hood, power comes from an '88 Chevy 350 remanufactured by Blueprint Engines of Kearny, Nebraska. SCSR sources all its engines from Blueprint; in this instance Donny's motor is a 355-incher putting out 390 hp with 410 pounds of torque. For carburetion, an Edelbrock 1406 sits on top of an Edelbrock Air-Gap intake manifold. The exhaust chores are handled with San Francisco–made Sanderson headers piped into Flowmaster mufflers manufactured in nearby Santa Rosa, California. Kelly at the Muffler Works in Petaluma installed the exhaust system. Transmitting the 355's power is accomplished with a Gennie shifted 700-R4 rebuilt by Rohnert Park Transmissions.
Climate control is available in the cab thanks to an air conditioning unit from Vintage Air. The instrumentation comes from Auto Meter gauges fed voltage from the truck's Keep-it Clean wiring harness installed at SCSR by Jeff. Jason Gradney, at Gradney's Custom Upholstery in Santa Rosa, stitched the red and, gray vinyl interior. The '56's seat was fashioned by using a third seat from a '92 Chevrolet Suburban. The red leather and billet aluminum steering wheel came from the folks at Budnik in Huntington Beach, California. In cab entertainment is provided by an Alpine sound system.
The exterior colors on Donny's '56 are Dove Gray and Emergency Red done in DuPont Imron by Jimmy Warren of Santa Rosa. With the paint and interior completed, the windows were next. Don at Redwood Glass in Petaluma used a combination of PPG plate, curved windshield, and rear window glass from Brothers to seal the truck from the outside elements. A family–owned business since 1954, the chrome plating on Donny's '56 was done by Gene Hutchinson at Custom Chrome & Bumper in Yuba City, California.
Thanks to the good guys at Sonoma County Street Rodz, along with Donny showing up regularly to pitch in with his labor, Donny was able to build his truck for around $60,000. A bargain at twice the price we'd say. CCT


text: Recruiting There are several opportunities for HSG students to become a part of the Research & Innovation Hub team. Since April 2006, more than 30 researchers have achieved their PhD at the Hub, and we delivered more than 300 scientific publications. Our collaboration contract with the University allows us to hire PhD students jointly with an institute, such as the ITEM, IWI, IFPM, or IfM. As employees of SAP these researchers take practical relevance to their work and as researchers for the University, they take with them the academic rigor that is well known from their institutes. As of 2015, we have around 15 PhD candidates in the program who receive mentoring or support from Prof. Dr. Elgar Fleisch, Prof. Dr. Oliver Gassmann, Prof. Dr. Sven Reinecke, Prof. Dr. Robert Winter, Prof. Dr. Heike Bruch, Prof. Dr. Jan Marco Leimeister, and Prof. Dr. Peter Leibfried. Additionally to the PhDs, we employ on average 10 students in different positions. They work as interns, working students, and bachelor or master thesis students and contribute the research projects. Due to the different projects and research topics, the students get a good overview of the work as a PhD candidate, as well as a project lead within a major corporation. If it is a god fit, students may become PhD candidates as well. We always look for new talent, so if you are interest in joining us at SAP, have look at the career portal were all positions published.


text:
Thanks to Annual Partner Survey participants!
Many thanks to all those who shared their opinions and experiences in the Annual Partner Survey in October -November, 2012. The survey is part of our ongoing efforts to understand and enhance the NISE Net partner experience. Nearly 300 people completed the survey.
Drawing winners:
As a token of appreciation for participants' time, each survey participant was entered into a drawing to win one of twenty $100 Amazon.com gift cards or one of three fantastic sets of nano educational materials to use with your visitors. Winners are:
Gift Cards:
- Doug Borzynski, Buffalo Museum of Science
- Marylene Palard, University of Texas at Austin, Microelectronics Research Center
- Steven Russo, East Kentucky Science Center and Planetarium
- Margaret Connolly, Northwestern University, International Institute for Nanotechnology
- Beth Heroux Cox, Science Museum of Minnesota
- Melanie-Claire, Mallison, Cornell University NanoScale Science and Technology Facility (CNF)
- Helena Carmena, California Academy of Sciences
- Sandra Cavazos, Imaginarium of South Texas
- Lori Kistler, Catawba Science Center
- Calvin Uzelmeier, Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC)
- Elizabeth Kelley, Franklin Institute
- Cathy Boggs, University of California - Santa Barbara - Center for Nanotechnology in Society and California NanoSystems Institute
- Dawn Baldwin, Children's Museum of Science & Technology (CMOST)
- Kathy Chen, California Polytechnic State University
- Kitura Main, Headwaters Science Center
- Kaleigh Muller, Cornell University Center for Materials Research
- Cassandra, Henry, Science Spectrum
- Nancy Healy, Georgia Institute of Technology
- Harold Evensen, University of Wisconsin, Platteville
- Brenda Raney, Science Museum of Minnesota
Educational Materials:
- Traci Kallhoff, Exploration Place
- Lisa Hoover, Chabot Space & Science Center
- Erin Graves, Catawba Science Center
Survey Background:
This survey represents an integral component of our ongoing efforts to understand and enhance the NISE Net partner experience, and as such, the participation of our partners is absolutely vital. The questions included in the online survey were designed to assess the ways in which the resources available through the Network are put to use, as well as how the Network might better support partners' efforts. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Liz Rosino at email@example.com.


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Find us on:
Find a Board Certified Endodontist near you who is specialized in diagnosis and root canal treatment.
Review Date: Monday, June 01, 2015
American Association of Endodontists
Search for a pediatric dentist in your area who provides oral health care for children from infancy through adolescence.
Review Date: Monday, November 12, 2012
American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
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Peatlands are wetlands with a thick water-logged organic soil layer (peat) made up of dead and decaying plant material. Peatlands include moors, bogs, mires, peat swamp forests and permafrost tundra.
Peatlands represent half of the Earth's wetlands and cover 3% of the global total land area. They are found in almost every country in the world. Examples of naturally forested peatlands are the Alder peat forests in Europe and the lowland humid tropical peat swamp forests in Southeast Asia. Small tracts of tropical peatlands are also found in parts of Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean.
We are dedicated to saving the world's peatlands. Through our research, field restoration work and advocacy, we promote the conservation and rehabilitation of peatlands. Read more on what we do
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During the course of the ["Dateline"] interview, [James] Mason said it was impossible for Serrano to have committed the murders, since it would have required his client to fly from Orlando to Atlanta, exit one of the busiest airports in the world, and arrive at a hotel five miles away in less than a half hour.
"I challenge anybody to show me, I'll pay them a million dollars if they can do it," said Mason on the show....
Dustin Kolodziej, an enterprising law student at South Texas College of Law, decided to take up Mason's challenge. In December, 2007, Kolodziej retraced Serrano's alleged route and made a video recording of the travel. He made the Orlando-to-Atlanta-hotel trip in under 28 minutes.
... Was Mason's "Dateline" exclamation a rhetorical flurry or an actual offer that created an implied oral contract when Kolodziej accepted?
June 19, 2009
Give this law student a million dollars.
43 comments:
- rhhardin said...
A gift is always optional.
- The Drill SGT said...
I'm not a lawyer, but I sleep with one.
I thought a contract had to have both an offer and an acceptance.
I presumed that the acceptance had to be recognizeable to the offeror in advance of the execution of the agreed terms, else how could the offeror be compensated for potential non-performance of a contract that the offeror was unaware of.
- OhioAnne said...
How does Mason's comments differ from those of someone who says "I'll pay $50 to the person who finds my wallet."?
In the wallet scenario, the person is making the offer to the person who finds the wallet - whoever that may be.
Since Mason actually loses if his challenge is proven, however, I'd say rhetorical flourish rather than an implied unilateral contract.
- Penny said...
Only a lawyer, and someone "living" off their teat, could see this as a reasonable discussion point.
Objectivists? Move to the right please. Judges? Move to the left please, and hang on tightly to Obama's balls.
- The Drill SGT said...
How does Mason's comments differ from those of someone who says "I'll pay $50 to the person who finds my wallet."?
in my mind, the reason this in not an example of unilateral contract, which is what your wallet example typifies, is because the non-performance of the contract is valuable to the offeror.
the fact that 100 people attempted to find my wallet and failed is valueless to me.
the fact that 100 people tried and failed to make the trip in under 28 minutes is extremely valuable to me as the defense attorney. Therefore, I wanted the contract to be bilateral. I did not make a unilateral contract offer.
he says.
I on the other hand, am rooting for the law student :)
- JAL said...
Did the half hour include killing the guys?
I mean, if that isn't factored in, it would be unlikely the student demonstrated it could be done.
- Zeb Quinn said...
Does venue and jurisdiction reside in Orlando, Florida ?
- Diamondhead said...
I'm no lawyer, I think the student will lose based on Leonard v. Pepsico.
- dbp said...
I hope the law student wins this, but even if he doesn't I'm pretty sure his career prospects have suddenly improved.
- dbp said...
Will Mason have to pay anyone who makes the trip in under 30 minutes from now on too? I mean, he didn't say he would only pay the first person who made it...
- kynefski said...
I'm with dbp. Revealing Mason to be a dick should prove to be worth more than a ticket from Orlando to Atlanta.
- The Drill SGT said...
Revealing Mason to be a dick should prove to be worth more than a ticket from Orlando to Atlanta.
He's an F'ing trial lawyer.
Proving he wasn' a dick like the rest might be worth a million. but the value of learning what is already know to millions? valueless :)
- Cedarford said...
Well, you go on national TV as a very wealthy trial lawyer and offer a national audience a huge reward for finding something out - that a client's trip was possible, that you find a copy of Obama's "secret Kenyan birth certificate", proof that a billionaire his client is divorcing has a child by a movie actress...and someone actually produces it? My feeling is the rich lawyer deliberately ADVERTISED, in full knowledge of the law, a verbal contractual guarantee. That he best make good on - if not in lawsuit - at least in knowledge that he will be hounded the rest of his career by an aggrieved law student who will do his best to inform any client or court that the guy's word is crap. That he is a welsher.
But as far as the case goes, it took authorities 3 years to crack his alibi, but threw lots of resources at it because it was a quadruple murder and Serrano had all the motive in the world. But rack it they did - enough to satisfy judge, jury, and appeals that he was guilty and well-deserving of the "bye-bye! injections."
Even so, authorities were still unable to disprove his alibi, and in 2000, he left the country for Ecuador.
It wasn't until 2001 that Phil Dosso inadvertently told Ray that his former partner had an estranged son from a previous marriage named Juan Agacio.
Ray, who had fruitlessly searched numerous passenger manifests for any link to Serrano, pored through the same records in search of Juan Agacio. He found him on a flight from Atlanta to Orlando, which arrived at about 3 p.m. on the day of the killings.
In another stroke of luck, authorities allegedly found a parking ticket stub from the Orlando airport, dated Dec. 3, 1997, which allegedly bore Serrano's fingerprint.
Finally, Serrano's nephew, Alvaro Penaherrera, came forward and told police that he had rented a car for his uncle Dec. 3, 1997. He also told police that Serrano visited him and his brother that day.
With the new evidence placing Serrano in Florida the day of the crime, authorities were able to obtain a grand jury indictment in 2001..
- Daryl said...
The best place to begin is to define what a contract is: namely a legally-enforceable agreement.
In order to determine whether there is a contract at all, we must first determine what sort of contract it would be.
It cannot be a bilateral contract, because Kolodziej never made words of acceptance to Mason. Further, because Mason framed his offer in the language of a "reward," it looks very much like a unilateral offer.
A unilateral offer is one for which the only way to accept it is by completing performance. In this example, the only way to accept Mason's offer would be to actually demonstrate what Mr. Mason claims to be impossible. Also, if one took Mason's offer seriously, he was probably only offering to pay a single reward to the first person to demonstrate such a thing (so the reward was limited in scope).
A more common example of a unilateral offer would be putting up a poster that says "lost dog: Fluffy, $500 reward." The only way to accept the offer is to bring Fluffy to the owners.
On the facts given, it is clear that K did perform what Mason asked, which, if Mason's asking was a unilateral offer, meant that K both accepted it and performed at the same time.
Mason's best defense is, as was pointed out earlier, Leonard v. Pepsico, in which Pepsi put out a commercial stating that if a certain number of Pepsi points were obtained, a the reward would be a Harrier fighter jet. Some guy sent Pepsi a check for $700k, which would have purchased enough Pepsi Points (you could buy PP from Pepsi directly, or obtain points by drinking the swill), and said he wanted a Harrier. Pepsi refused to cash the check and told him it was only joking. A ridiculous, and mostly frivolous, lawsuit ensued. Because Pepsi's "offer" was humorous, and a reasonable person would have understood as much, it was not an offer at all (it did not create a power of acceptance in anyone who heard it). Because no contract was created, so no contractual remedy was possible.
- Daryl said...
Mason's language was not that of a joke, but of a well-known hyperbolic device (offering a million dollars for something). However, K may have had good reason to think that M was not joking. For one thing, being a super-rich asshole lawyer with super-rich asshole murderer clients, Mason would have a million dollars to spare. Pepsi obviously did not have any Harrier jets to spare (they are protected military hardware). I would want to know whether Mason ever made similar statements on other occasions--which would suggest it was a genuine offer. I would want to know if Mason ever published similar terms, for example on a web site. Those actions would tend to dispel in reasonable viewers any belief that the reward offer might have been made as a hackneyed cliche and not as a serious offer.
It was much more foreseeable that Mason's words would be relied upon by persons attempting to disprove his claim, than was foreseeable that Leonard would try to buy Pepsi Points for a Harrier jet. Words that foreseeably induce reliance suggest that Mason's statements were a unilateral offer.
If it was a unilateral offer, then Kolodziej is entitled to his expectation, reliance, or unjust unrichment damages. In this case, K did not enrich Mason at all (in fact, he harmed Mason's reputation by proving him wrong, but that injury is not one recognized by the law), so unjust enrichment would net K nothing. K's out of pocket expenses actually occurred in reasonably foreseeable reliance on M's offer would probably be much less than a million dollars. K's expectation is a cool million exactly. That is the best theory of damages for K to pursue, assuming that there was a contract.
In Leonard, the plaintiff did not actually have out-of-pocket expenses (except for filing the frivolous suit, but those costs are generally not recoverable in the American system)
In this case, Kolodziej probably did incur costs while trying to demonstrate the falsity of Mr. Mason's claims (for example: plane tickets, unless he's related to someone in the airline business). Kolodziej may be entitled to a remedy in quasi-contract, an equitable doctrine. In equity, the court (not the jury) would weigh a super-rich asshole defense lawyer who made bombastic, cliched claims on national television, against an enterprising young law student who maybe should have known that it was just a bombastic cliched claim.
Kolodziej's recovery, if any, would be limited to the actual costs incurred in attempting to disprove Mason's claim, so long as they were reasonably foreseeable by Mason at the time he made the alleged offer.
It also must be said that the general rule on lawsuits brought by law students is: the law student loses. On that basis alone, I would advise K not to sue M.
- Bender said...
No one has mentioned Carbolic Smoke Ball yet?
Don't law students watch The Paper Chase any more?
- Daryl said...
Notice how much random junk I put into my answer that isn't relevant to Althouse's exact question "Was Mason's "Dateline" exclamation a rhetorical flurry or an actual offer that created an implied oral contract when Kolodziej accepted?"
You have to play it safe when you are answering a law school exam, because you never know exactly what the professor wants. The safest thing is to throw the kitchen sink at it. For example, professors will often fail to ask about remedies in their exam questions, but they ALWAYS want to see a discussion of all the possible remedies, and why they would or would not be available to the parties under certain circumstances.
Defining concepts is a great way to earn points, even though the prof never said "please define these concepts for me when you answer your question."
The best source of organization for an essay is the syllabus. I stopped making outlines. I just bring the syllabus to open-book exams. Applying that strategy, I saved sooo much time during finals month, that I was able to spend more than 8 hours a day [redacted]. That's why I started with "what is a contract" and ended with equitable remedies.
I can't tell you what the professor actually wants to see on the exam, and the professor won't tell you either with her question. The "question" isn't supposed to be answered directly, it's just a "prompt" designed to get you to vomit out lots of analysis that hits all of the issues on the prof's checklist. Vomit profusely, and unless you can see a much better order to use, vomit in the order of the syllabus.
Avoid professors who give "theoretical" questions, like Althouse's "empathy" exam!!! Sorry Althouse, I'm sure you're a great prof, but I could never afford to take your con law class. You want to give the best grades to people who read the most and study the hardest, the lame law dorks on the law prof track, just like you were many years ago.
It's best to take classes from professors who will give traditional issue-spotting exams, because it's easier to con your way through them with the above-described methods.
Law professors can't do arithmetic to save their lives. If they offer "extra credit" or points for "participation," they will say that it only has a small impact on your grade. But they don't have a clue, because they can't do math. These things can mean the difference between an "A" and a "C," if you have an especially clueless prof. Try to calculate for yourself whether it's worthwhile to do the extra credit.
Oftentimes, you can't calculate it because the prof won't give you sufficient information. In that case, assume that it will radically affect your grade, and fear it appropriately.
Don't show this list to a law prof!
- Beldar said...
The "under 28-minutes" part of the trip was just from the Atlanta airport to the Atlanta hotel -- not from Orlando to the Atlanta hotel. Nevertheless, that's the timing that Mason claimed was impossible to duplicate.
The (former) law student has a serious and well-credentialed lawyer representing him. The case is pending as No. 4:09-cv-01889 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division (Hon. Gray H. Miller), but Mason hasn't yet filed an appearance or answer.
Carbolic Smoke Ball is indeed the applicable starting-place for contractual analysis even today, but it's far from dispositive (there are more serious "consideration" issues here). In this case, the analysis is going to be delayed, and perhaps complicated, by some threshold choice-of-law issues. My guess is that Florida's substantive law will end up controlling, but I don't know if that will matter to the outcome. There might also be personal jurisdiction and venue fights preliminary to any weighing of the merits.
I would be very surprised, however, if the plaintiff's counsel has not already extensively briefed all of these issues. Mason would be well advised to take the case very, very seriously.
- traditionalguy said...
The Judges who rule on the Unilateral contract theory will be hard put to give the offerer a pass since he was a lawyer who knew what he was saying is a valid contract open to acceptance by performance. Giving Pepsi a break is one thing. Pepsi is a commercial enterprise advertising to catch attention with a wild scenario, and everyone knows their ads are a trick anyway. But a trial lawyer trying to influence potential jurors is serious business to Judges. He wants the I was "joking" pass awarded by a court,but I doubt he will get that pass on these facts since The Contract Law Treatise and textbooks revision costs would be too great for Judges to change the law for this careless lawyers benefit. Lawyers are "officers of the court" and are held to a higher standard. He will lose.
- Richard Fagin said...
I have to give Daryl an "A" for articulating how to write a law school exam answer. I have tried to give similar advice but have not even come close to the "vomit in the order of the syllabus" tip, which is, unfortunately, as precise an explanation of how to get a good grade as I've ever read.
- dave_WI said...
further, and Mason wrote back that he'd consider any further communication "extortion and/or mail fraud."
now a days they might rule for Mason.
- dave_WI said...
Revealing Mason to be a dick
That is the same as saying 'acting like a lawyer'
- former law student said...
In future, Mason might want to invest in a hat made of, say, chocolate, to allow him to use a different familiar rhetorical device.
- Big Mike said...
Reminds me of Lord Peter Wimsey in Dorothy L. Sayers' Five Red Herrings, where Wimsey needs to prove that the perpetrator can get from where the body was left and the evidence was planted to a particular train station within a certain period of time.
So perhaps truth is just as strange as fiction.
- Bender said...
Looking at the complaint itself, the word "challenge" is repeatedly used by the plaintiff to describe Mason's statement. A challenge, in typical usage, would mean something other than unilateral performance, i.e., one would expect the challengee to accept by words before performing.
Looking at the tape and transcript themselves, there is a HUGE ambiguity, in that Mason's statement at issue is isolated, that is, cut off from the rest of the interview.
Murphy (showing hotel footage): And the last part of the timeline, the defense argued was even more implausible. In less than half an hour, Serrano would have had to get off a wide body jet, exit Atlanta airport—one of the busiest in the world—and arrive back at his hotel five miles away. All in time to be photographed looking up at that surveillance camera.
Mason (cut back to interview): I challenge anybody to show me, I'll pay them a million dollars if they can do it.
Murphy: If they can do it in the time alloted?
The challenge/"offer" is taken out of its original context, such that it is uncertain what the "it" is. That is, the terms of the challenge are not so certain as to be the basis of a contractual offer -- what is the "it" to be performed? And nowhere is unilateral acceptance by performance implied.
Moreover, Mason did NOT make this challenge/"offer" to the world, much less to the plaintiff. Rather, he made it to a single reporter and his camera crew. It was NBC that conveyed Mason's statement to the world in airing the interview, not Mason himself.
The closer one looks at the case, the more it falls apart.
- traditionalguy said...
The script of Smokey and the Bandit was a similar challenge and Burt Reynolds won it fair and square. To speak in an interview with an NBC reporter on camera and promise to pay $$ to anyone that can do an act will not be confusing to a Judge. That is an offer open to acceptance by performance. Blowing smoke by the losing party and his empathisers cannot change the facts and the law. Exaggerating is mere everyday lying. But promising a reward during the exaggerating is enforceable by courts.
- former law student said...
Mason did NOT make this challenge/"offer" to the world, much less to the plaintiff. Rather, he made it to a single reporter and his camera crew. It was NBC that conveyed Mason's statement to the world in airing the interview, not Mason himself.
The argument is that a high rolling trial lawyer doesn't realize that speaking in front of a network news camera will ensure the widest possible dissemination of his offer?
That's what they call a penguin argument -- it will never fly.
- Mattman26 said...
No consideration, kids, and thus no contract. Promissory estoppel yes, but alas much smaller damages.
- Daryl said...
No consideration, kids, and thus no contract. Promissory estoppel yes, but alas much smaller damages.
1 - The consideration is, on one side, $1M, and on the other side, meeting the challenge (it was necessary for Kolodziej to meet the challenge in order to accept the unilateral offer). Thus consideration exists.
2 - Promissory Estoppel is not the proper doctrine, per #1, but even if it was, PE does not compel that damages be limited to reliance. PE says that damages should be limited judicially based on what's "fair." That could mean anything from $0 to $1M.
- TmjUtah said...
The law student needs to get Obama to weigh in on this.
I mean, shucks, we all know who determines what contracts are binding, right?
- Beldar said...
There's not "no consideration," but there's a legitimate question as to whether it's adequate, given that it's indirect. The benefits to the parties don't have to be exactly reciprocal or of comparable value for consideration to be considered real and, oftentimes, sufficient.
The makers of the Carbolic Smoke Ball got the purchase price -- not only of the plaintiff, but of all the other people who were influenced by their public guarantee.
Nothing went directly from the law student to Mason or Mason's client, but Mason's client potentially benefitted indirectly from the making of the statement and the perception that the challenge couldn't be met.
I would not be surprised to find that Mason repeated something very like this assertion of impossibility in briefs and/or oral arguments. As long as such a public statement is not publicly refuted, it arguably has value to Mason's client in his efforts to overturn his conviction.
And without regard to the specific fate of Mason's client, Mason himself -- who, after all, is being sued as a principal, not an agent -- benefits from public perceptions that he's a persuasive, articulate, hard-nosed fact-capable advocate. The viewers of this TV show aren't limited to, or even mostly on, appellate courts, and Mason would be a liar if he claims that no part of his motivation in permitting the interview was personal and entrepreneurial for purposes of his law practice.
With due respect to everyone offering hip-shot opinions here -- and mine, admittedly, is no more than that -- unless and until someone has dug into the relevant precedents from the specific state jurisdiction which will control (and it's far from clear which state's substantive contract law will apply), our hip-shot opinions all fall into the category of "wild-ass guesses" rather than "educated guesses." I think it's likely that the case will be resolved on summary judgment after a little bit of discovery clarifies the underlying facts. But I doubt it'll get bounced on a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss unless there's a state-court precedent so obviously on point both factually and legally, but which nobody here has cited yet, that is (to use the colloquial phrase popular among Texas trial lawyers, but which has no connection to the Carbolic Smoke Ball case) "stronger'n train smoke."
- Brett said...
The question here isn't consideration. It's whether Mason's remarks constituted an offer. If they did, then it was an offer looking to unilateral contract which Kolodziej could accept by performance. The promise to pay was consideration for Kolodziej's performance, which was in turn consideration for the promise.
An offer is sufficient if the offeror manifests an intent to be bound, if the offer contains all the material terms, and if it's communicated to the offeree. These particular statements were made publicly and Kolodziej evidently received them, so communication isn't an issue. The statements contain all the material terms of the arrangement: $1m in return for demonstrating that one can fly from Orlando to Atlanta, exit the airport, and arrive at a nearby hotel in less than half an hour. So the only issue is whether Mason manifested an intent to be bound.
The offeror's intent is measured according to how it would have appeared to a reasonable person -- the so-called objective theory of contracts. Here, arguably, a reasonable person might have understood Mason as simply stressing the implausibility of the prosecution's timeline. On the other hand, the language Mason used ("I challenge" and "I'll pay") certainly could be reasonably interpreted as promissory in nature.
- comatus said...
As poetically as "rhetorical flurry" describes what some trial attorneys do, the term of art in question is a "rhetorical flourish."
- Joe said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Joe said...
The article is incorrect. The 28 minutes was from the Atlanta airport to the hotel five miles away.
The problem with the defense theory is that they assume that the time Serrano was video taped in Atlanta was a limiting factor. It wasn't, it was just the time he actually arrived.
In other words, the defense argued that all these coincidences would have to happen between two set times, completely ignoring that the times were simply set by Serrano. (In other words, Serrano didn't HAVE to do the crime in the time alloted, it just happens to be the time he DID commit it.)
- rhhardin said...
Up it to a billion dollars, Zimbabwe.
- former law student said...
The question here isn't consideration. It's whether Mason's remarks constituted an offer. If they did, then it was an offer looking to unilateral contract which Kolodziej could accept by performance. The promise to pay was consideration for Kolodziej's performance, which was in turn consideration for the promise.
I agree the case hinges on intent. Mason may argue that refuting his assertion harmed his defense case, which no reasonable attorney would pay even one dollar to have happen. (Courts generally avoid judging the adequacy of consideration, but the amount goes to the reasonableness of the purported offer.) Thus his challenge was more like a bet than it was an offer. And courts should not enforce bets as a matter of public policy against gambling. So even if Mason had been serious about the amount, the challenge was an unenforceable bet.
- Smack said...
Though I agree the case depends upon whether or not there is a valid offer..it is NOT a question of subjective intent (i.e. did Mason intend to create an offer). Instead it is a matter of objective intent (would a reasonable person believe Mason created an offer).
Typically, for a generalized public advertisement or reward to be considered an offer 3 things need to be present: Definiteness as to the class of persons that can accept, the manner of acceptance, definiteness as to the material terms of the deal.
Here, the class of potential acceptors is definite: "anyone who could do it in under 30 minutes." Furthermore, the manner of acceptance is defined from the offer as full performance: in other words, a unilateral contract. The definiteness of the material terms IS a potential problem though. Mason's challenge is predicated on someone matching or besting the time it took Serrano to travel in the manner he did. However in describing the time it took Serrano to do the feat, Mason stated: "In less than half an hour, Serrano would have had to get off a wide body jet..." Thus, from the statement, it is unclear as to the exact amount of time it took Serrano to complete the feat and, therefore, is not definite as to the time limit afforded for performance (a material term).
Finally, I think Leonard v. Pepsico can be distinguished. In Leonard, the Pepsi offer for the Harrier was in a catalogue with many other offers: shirts, towels, etc. Thus, given the attendant circumstances of the Harrier offer it was possible to assume a reasonable person could not have believed it to be a valid offer. Here, there is no other offer to bound Mason's offer of one million dollars for the challenge. Given these circumstances, it seem that a reasonable person would have no choice but to conclude that it was an offer.
- mo79 said...
"It cannot be a bilateral contract, because Kolodziej never made words of acceptance to Mason. Further, because Mason framed his offer in the language of a "reward," it looks very much like a unilateral offer."
I'd say that's wrong. If it was a bileteral contract OFFER he got no takers and this is a non-issue.
It doesn't automatically become an unileteral offer just because it failed to become a bilateral contract.
- former law student said...
Here, the class of potential acceptors is definite: "anyone who could do it in under 30 minutes." Furthermore, the manner of acceptance is defined from the offer as full performance: in other words, a unilateral contract.
The use of "anyone" distinguishes the case from the familiar unilateral ones. Only one of the prospective dog finders, house painters, one-only-at-this-price shoppers, etc., can accept offers by performance. To interpret Mason's words as an offer, one must allow it to be accepted by performance again and again, at least till it could be considered to be expired by lapse of time. Reading it to mean "the first" anybody who shows him is not required. Would an objective observer consider that Mason wanted to pay out tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to be proven wrong?
- Daryl said...
Former Law Student: I agree the case hinges on intent. Mason may argue that refuting his assertion harmed his defense case, which no reasonable attorney would pay even one dollar to have happen. (Courts generally avoid judging the adequacy of consideration, but the amount goes to the reasonableness of the purported offer.) Thus his challenge was more like a bet than it was an offer. And courts should not enforce bets as a matter of public policy against gambling. So even if Mason had been serious about the amount, the challenge was an unenforceable bet.
Wrong. When we ask whether a statement is an offer, or mere puffery, we look to the objective meaning of the words as they would be understood by the audience. A secret intent not to pay out if the conditions are met does not mean that this is not an offer.
The point of a challenge, as pointed out by Mr. Dyer, is to create the perception that something is impossible because (i) there's a lot of reward money, so people are motivated to do it, yet (ii) nonetheless, no one has done it. That is a valuable thing, worth a lot more than a peppercorn.
Former Law Student: To interpret Mason's words as an offer, one must allow it to be accepted by performance again and again, at least till it could be considered to be expired by lapse of time.
No. In fact, if you interpret it that way, then it would not be a valid offer, because it would be indefinite as to the scope of the reward.
Further, it doesn't make any sense to interpret it that way. The point of the challenge was to create the perception that this thing was IMPOSSIBLE because no one could do it (and if someone could do it, surely they would come forward and claim the million dollars). Once one person does it, it's obviously not impossible anymore. There's no point to rewarding anyone else.
- Mattman26 said...
I stand by my "no consideration" conclusion (although I agree that whether there was an offer is questionable as well). There was no benefit flowing to the offeror. If anything, the "performance" of making it in less than half an hour was to the detriment of the offeror.
- kris said...
Haven't you people ever heard of Mrs Carlill and the Carbolic Smoke Ball?
Lefkowitz v Great Minneapolis Surplus Store?
Anyone? Bueller?