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Color is a language that allows people to express the emotional and social burdens of abuse, illness, grief, or stress.
Art & Creativity for Healing is an organization offering participants opportunities for healing through various fine art classes and workshops.
This organization was started by Laurie Zagon in Laguna Niguel, California in 2000. It is a non profit organization funded entirely from generous donations from foundations, corporations, and individuals.
Healing Through Art
Emerging from the idea of artist and author of Art for Healing: Painting Your Heart Out (AuthorHouse) Laurie Zagon, this organization has flourished and assisted countless children, teens, and adults with various healing opportunities. Her Zagon Method for healing with art was first executed in a workshop in 1987. From there, Zagon went on to found Art & Creativity for Healing.
The mission of Art & Creativity for Healing is to "support emotional healing through art and creative expression for those living in pain, grief, fear, or stress." This non-profit organization was designed to offer everyone from child through to adult an opportunity for creative expression using paint on canvas as a release from the emotional struggles of abuse, illness, grief, or stress.
Benefits of Creative Healing
The art classes and workshops offered through Art & Creativity for Healing give people a platform from which to express their personal experiences—from encountering chronic or terminal illness, child abuse, substance abuse, and more—in a creative and healing manner.
Art allows people:
- to achieve a great self-awareness;
- to recognize their strength for the ability to confront many emotions; and
- an opportunity to communicate their thoughts and feelings when sometimes words cannot be expressed properly.
Art & Creativity for Healing operates from donations by foundations, corporations, and individuals. This non-profit entity has an online store from which people can purchase various items—such as Zagon's publications, educational DVDs, workshop kits, art supplies, and more—with the profits from the sale of these items going towards the organization's operation.
Learn more about > Art & Creativity for Healing
Art for Healing: Helping is Healing
The following is the transcription of Laurie and some of her program's participants talking about the program Laurie designed to help those suffering from various traumas move past them into a more resourceful state of being.
Young Girl: My name is Sarah and I'm 8 years old. And what brought me here was my little sister Elizabeth who died. I was sad and happy at the same time, because she was going to a better place, but I felt sad because she left us here, and I thought about how much fun a baby sister would've been.
Woman: We're all kind of integrated, of some sort. And we're all a big masterpiece of this giant painting. And each of us have a very important part in life. And how, if you allow it, there will be people and there will be resources and chances available to just kind of let you deal and heal and cope.
Laurie Zagon: There are so many people right here in our community that are hurting. There's so many people here—children, adults, an entire family—that are hurting because they've had something traumatic happen to their lives. This program helps them to process those feelings.
Gannen's Perspective
Young Boy: Hi, I'm Gannen Eck, and I'm 12 years old, and when I was 8 I was diagnosed with severe aplastic aneamia—that's bone marrow failure. And so I had to take 30 pills a day—15 at night and 15 in the morning—and get my blood drawn every night and get a shot every morning. So, it wasn't very fun. I rarely ever got to see my family.
Yeah, I'm completely cured. I can do whatever I want. I'm a normal healthy kid now. I still come to Art & Creativity for Healing because it's just so much fun! It's painting . . . it's my life. I love to paint and draw and I love to do art.
Art & Creativity is a help to children and adults, anybody who's been emotionally hurt or sick in the hospital, so it's a great program for all kids and adults and teens. For everybody to just get out their feelings on a canvas with some paints and stuff.
The Language of Color
Laurie: The beauty of the program is that you don't have to be an artist to do this program. Anyone can do it, young and old.
But the beauty of the program truly is that it's teaching people a new language. It's the language of color and painting on canvas. You don't have to be an artist. You don't have to know how to draw a straight line. All you have to do is sit down and allow us to take you through a series of questions that you answer with colors and shapes on canvas.
It's a lot of fun, but it's also a very cathartic experience. It helps people to release a lot of the pressure cooker steam that sometimes has built up from emotional things that happen in our daily lives.
Art Helps in Ways Words Cannot
Woman: I had emotional trauma growing up, but as an adult I had one of my children die of bone cancer. That was really the most traumatic thing that happened in our lives. My son Brandon was diagnosed with bone cancer when he was 14 1/2. He was a really neat, healthy, active kid.
When the diagnosis came, my son Brandon kind of straightened himself up and said, "You mean I could die because my hip hurts?" I said, "Yeah, you could."
I miss him awful. I have worked for years to try to help myself get past the deep grief, and I've spent a lot of money doing that. But until I came to Art & Creativity, I really was stuck. And doing a couple of the courses related to grief has helped me tremendously.
To the community, I would ask that you be generous to this organization which goes out and helps so many people in so may places, in hospitals, in institutionalized settings. They help people of all ages, from young children through the teens, and through mature in life.
Art does it in a way that words never can.
Laurie: It's normal to have stress. Everybody has stress. So the Art & Creativity program really is designed for every human being that wants to take a class. The language of color and painting on canvas is something universal, and I think that's why we're successful. Mostly because it's easy, and anyone can do it and it's fun, but it also has a way of tapping into areas that maybe people need to release by putting some colorful strokes of paint on canvas.
Healing Families & Individuals
Mother of family: We found Art & Creativity a few years ago when we moved to California from the east. It just kind of sounded like a great organization, and I decided that I kind of wanted to get involved. And then the day before the Pallette of Colors dinner last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So as I was going through chemo and everything, I kind of brought the family here to . . . so Art & Creativity could help them be a family and process everyones' feelings about my cancer.
When I got the diagnosis of breast cancer . . . your world kind of stops. And it just went really vast. And then you have to come home and have a family meeting and tell the kids, and it was just really hard.
Son: One night we had like a big meeting. We talked about how mom was getting breast cancer, and then everyone started crying. Even me.
Mother: I think donations are needed to Art & Creativity because cancer and other diseases, I'm sure, really don't just affect the person, they affect the whole family. And by going through this and by seeing other families and by going to support groups and just seeing that there's such a need, and I think that there's more work to be done.
Program Funding Needs for Art & Creativity for Healing
Laurie: We need your help. We would like to be able to have more and more programs and more and more places that we can reach people that are hurting. We need your help. We need your dollars. Any dollar amount makes a difference to us.
It is so important that you understand that every little bit helps. But I also want you to know that from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Because we could not have done it without you.
Hit By a Rainbow
During the early days, Zagon's illustrations were published in a well known table top, affirmation book in 1989 by Ballantine Books. It's Never to Late To Have a Happy Childhood: Inspiration for Inner Healing was authored by Claudia Black, M.S.W., Ph.D. It was one of the early books on the Law of Attraction, and Zagon's illustrations were chosen to accompany the use of the book's affirmations. Black is internationally recognized for her pioneering and contemporary work with family systems and addictive disorders. Along with It's Never to Late To Have a Happy Childhood, Black has authored a very long list of self-help books, CDs, and DVDs .
Zagon created the Hit by a Rainbow film back in 1990, about the same time as her art was accepted for Black's book. This 28 minute video is well worth watching. In this short film, viewers gain insight into the unfolding of Zagon's life path that brought her to where she is today. She shares her insights and passion as an artist, her observations about light, color, and movement. Viewers can clearly sense how her "inner joy" brought her art alive and how taking each inspired step lead to the creation of the Art & Creativity for Healing Organization.
Many artists don't act on their creative urges due to some type of perception or creative block. Most show up as self-judgment, anxiety, or stress. But, by allowing that initial step, a person can open a vast door of possibility. As you can see by watching Zagon's Hit by a Rainbow many lives were touched along the way. How inspiring to witness how the simple first step of following joy opens a door to helping others, and goes on to create much more than first ever imagined.
Watch the Video
Visit Zagon's website > Laurie Zagon Art & Creativity


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IT & Business websites available on all devices
European countries covered
Unique Visitors per month
Page views per month
Connecting technology marketers with technology buyers across Europe and beyond
Keeping readers informed on latest technology news and insights, helping them make complex purchasing decisions. Combining content and data, we offer advertisers efficient ways to drive sales and brand awareness.
IT & Business websites available on all devices
European countries covered
Unique Visitors per month
Page views per month
We have a highly engaged and well defined reader base of technology business decision makers, IT professionals and tech enthusiasts. With our proprietary data-driven technology we ensure best user experience by delivering the right content to the right audience.
A portfolio of well known brands curated by an experienced editorial team. With over 5000 written, video and audio content published every month, we cover a wide range of technology topics to inform, engage and educate readers.
Reach your customers across all devices and ad sizes with our extensive array of display advertising, delivered either directly or programmatically.
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We offer different options depending on your marketing goals:
A wide range of bespoke solutions can be deployed to meet these requirements. From whitepapers to live events, we adapt to the client needs and produce powerful tools for large scale lead generation projects (partner-zone, mini-site, etc).
See how our solutions work with these recent campaigns
Need to get in touch with us? Tell us what we can do for you

subset: commoncrawl


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Thursday, May 30, 2013
Uploading GEDCOM files -- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
In its conception, the idea is laudable. Create an easy to use program that allows differently designed genealogical database programs to share data. But from the very beginning, few if any of the various commercial implementations of GEDCOM used its entire potential. The developers of each of the commercial programs felt compelled to add their own unique features. Features that were not adequately ingested by a GEDCOM export were lost entirely when imported into a competing developer's program.
This misfit of the data resulted in a steady loss of information. Of course, my program on my computer kept its integrity. But every time my records were shared, a little bit (or more) of the information in my file was lost. Not lost in the absolute sense, but certain pieces of information in my originating program were lost in transferring the data to another program. This alone was a fact that I could have lived with, but the real problems only showed up in GEDCOM's old age.
New features, unheard of and unplanned for, kept cropping up in new programs. Those new programs kept getting more and more integrated with online resources and finally, some of the programs broke entirely away from a single program on a my computer sort of scenario, and instead began to utilize online databases and incorporate those databases into my local program.
If the problems caused by this integration had stopped there, I might have maintained my neutrality towards GEDCOM, but now there is an entirely different problem: GEDCOM uploads onto online family trees. The users of online family tree programs and the developers of those same programs are unanimous in their support of using GEDCOM to upload a file to the Web. But due to the fact that it was so easy to export your data to a GEDCOM file and then almost immediately turn around and share another copy to be uploaded, caused a huge surge in the number of online duplicate family trees.
The argument that it is wasteful to require someone to re-enter their entire database, merely to share that research online is laudable. But that is not exactly what is happening. The vast majority of online family trees are merely copies of previously uploaded family trees. My experience is that this proliferation of family tree online makes finding those that contain original research difficult or nearly impossible.
Rather than sharing the benefit of additional research, the extensive field of copies severely reduced the chance that I could find anything of value in the family tree programs. I have frequently heard the argument (and repeated it in this blog) that the benefit of online family trees is chiefly in giving a serious researcher leads that they may otherwise have missed. In todays world, with some of us literally buried in online family trees that are primarily copies, that advantage, if there ever was one, has vanished into a huge pile of duplicates.
There is literally no way that I can deal with all of the variations and duplicates online. Today, for example, I spent considerable time trying to untangle a number of duplicate online entries for a patron at the Mesa FamilySearch Library. My attempts were largely unsuccessful because the scope of the duplicate entries defied resolution. The original "ease of sharing" mantra of GEDCOM supporters has turned into a sorcerer's apprentice nightmare of duplicate files. How many people believe they are "doing their genealogy" when all they have done is to copy a copy of a copy into an online family tree program. This is demonstrated by the very, very small number of online family trees that are at all supported by source citations, even when those citations are simple to obtain and include.
You might argue that it is too easy to blame GEDCOM for the problem. The real problem is much more complex. That may be true, but will rewriting GEDCOM or producing a substitute reverse the trend to create more and more copies of the same data? Maybe we should focus some serious attention on the issue of duplicates and the difficulty of stopping rampant copies, rather than facilitate more copies by developing even easier to use copying programs?
4 comments:
The problem, James, isn't that GEDCOM makes it too easy to share data. That is good.ReplyDelete
The problem is that software has made it too easy to merge other people's data into one's own. That is bad.
Genealogists should keep their own research separate from that of others. Programs should allow you to virtually assemble data from various sources for reporting only, and NOT allow merging of data sets together.
Online datasets must keep individual data sets separate so that your research is your research and no one else's. And they should check GEDCOM uploads and disallow any that appear to have significant copies of other people's data in them, and force them to remove the other data before accepting the answer.
No, GEDCOM is not and has never been the problem. Data sharing is good.
Programs that allow you to merge other people's data in yours is the problem.
Unfortunately, the problem has advanced too far that I don't know if the patient will recover.
I think that's a great idea, Louis. That's why I keep mine on my own website. But people still take and take and rarely (it's been years actually) ask for sources, or share anything back.ReplyDelete
The only way I can see using online trees is to contact people. If they can't answer me intelligently they're toast.
James, you said, "You might argue that it is too easy to blame GEDCOM for the problem. The real problem is much more complex. That may be true, but will rewriting GEDCOM or producing a substitute reverse the trend to create more and more copies of the same data? Maybe we should focus some serious attention on the issue of duplicates and the difficulty of stopping rampant copies, rather than facilitate more copies by developing even easier to use copying programs?"ReplyDelete
Nothing will stop treebies from copying whatever is on the web or whatever else they run across, no matter how silly (three brothers, Indian Princess, settled in 1535 in Massachusetts).
It does not matter what programs are available.
Tree sites that intend evidentiary foundation, however, should not allow mass-uploading genealogical files, with whatever program.
I am now seeing tree sites given as "sources" in FamilySearch - Family Tree. This site began as a mess of non-evidentiary data and in another 15 or 20 years might be fairly well cleaned up. Or might be equally swampy, given that users are free to add whatever they wish using a variety of easy-click programs.
It is the evidentiary intentions of the persons making the entries, not the *program* that is the glitch.
Thank you so much for this post cause now my sister knows I was not purposely leaving out data and causing her frustration with an uploaded TREE.ReplyDelete
DuSyl of


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Tutorial: How to Create a SendGrid Subuser With Its Own WhitelabelJillian Smith
Our latest VidGrid tutorial is about how to create a SendGrid subuser that has its own whitelabel–separate from its parent account's. We talked about how to create a SendGrid subuser (that shares a whitelabel with its parent account) in last week's VidGrid, so check that out here before you get started.
And read on and watch as Anthony from our Support team walks you through the process.
Video Transcription
Subusers are child accounts available for all silver level and higher customers. Subusers share the same overall credit pool but have their own unique SMTP credentials, settings, stats, and site login. Here are some important notes before you move forward with the subuser creation.
- The subuser creation process must be completed in one single go. If you happen to exit out of the subuser creation, or log out of your account, you will need to start over before the subuser account is completed.
- Another important note is that a new sending IP is needed to fully whitelabel the subuser account. This can be provided by our support team. You can reach us by email, chat, or phone.
Learn How to Create a Subuser with Whitelabel
Now that we've gone over all the important notes, let's move forward and create a subuser.
Getting Started
On your account overview page you will notice to the right of the screen that you will see Account Overview, and below will be the Subuser Management. Once clicked, you will land on this page, Subuser Management. From here, you can manage new and old subusers. In this case we're going to create a new subuser. On the top of the page you'll notice that you'll see a little man with a New subuser line next to it, let's go ahead and click on that link.
Now, you'll land on the User Management page which is Step 1 of 6 other steps that you must complete before having the subuser created.
Step 1
On the account information page (like your parent account) you will need to fill it out with the most accurate information possible when creating the subuser. In this case, my user name is Anthony but there might be other users on the SendGrid system with a similar user name so let's create something very unique. Once all the other information is completed you will want to scroll down to the very bottom of the page. To the left you will see I agree to the Terms of Service. You will want to click that to move forward. Once clicked and all the information has been filled out, you will want to move forward and proceed to Step 2- IP Selection, let's click on the button.
Step 2
Now that you have reached Step 2, you will now select the IP you'd like to use. As you can see, you have your parent account IP and you have the new IP that was provided to you by our support team. Let's select that new IP. Once selected, move forward and select Step 3- Quick Setup.
Step 3
In Step 3–Quick Setup, you'll notice that there are other whitelabel entries that have been created in the past. We don't want to use those for the new whitelabel entry, we want to create a new one, so you'll want to make sure that this is highlighted.
Step 4
The next step is still Step 3- Quick Setup but they're asking for the domain you would like to use as well as the privacy policy URL. In this case, I already filled those boxes and am going to proceed to the next step.
Step 5
Step 5–DNS Validation. As you may notice it's very similar to your parent account whitelabeling process. The first step is to choose a subdomain name. In this case I'm using "testing" because "testing" is a very unique name that I have not used with the parent account. Below, you will notice that "testing" is being applied to all the data fields with the DNS records that need to be added. Once all these records have been added to your DNS host you will want to click Step 6- Confirm Settings.
Step 6
Once completed, you will notice that all their green marks are checked like the parent account and you'll move forward to where you would see all your settings. In this case you'll have:
- User Information
- Contact Information
- Domain Information
- IP Information
Please review all these sections and make sure that they're correct. And there you have it! For more tutorials, check out our full VidGrid series here.
Subusers are available to all Silver accounts and above. To learn more about our Silver plan please click here.


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Thursday, January 13, 2011
Katzper's Haunt 2010 Video
Posted by Rot at 7:51 AM
6 comments:
- The Gill-Man said...
Nice video. I especially loved the music he used! Wonderfully creepy.
- January 13, 2011 at 8:54 AM
- Pam Morris said...
wow really very cool!
- January 13, 2011 at 10:56 AM
- Chris 'Frog Queen' Davis said...
Always look forward to seeing his work! Thanks for the heads up!
- January 13, 2011 at 3:30 PM
- Jay's Shadow said...
Great video and music!
- January 13, 2011 at 5:02 PM
- NoahFentz said...
Thanks for all the great comments AND thank you Mr.Rot for posting it. Sorry it took so long. I had this idea of making two videos. One for Youtube and one for the Haunter's DVD. Unfortunately using a PC and Windows Movie Maker I was only able to squeeze this one out with luck. Very fustrating.
Love watching everyone's videos this year.
Happy Halloween!!
- January 13, 2011 at 10:13 PM
- Sara said...
So fun! I love the feel of this haunt.
- January 14, 2011 at 1:37 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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A UCLA student is in jail today, held on one million dollars bail, after he allegedly stabbed of a female student multiple times, including slashing her throat.
Damon D. Thompson was booked on suspicion of attempted murder.
The attack happened Thursday, just past noon, in a chemistry lab on the Westwood campus, according to UCLA police. Police say they don't know what motivated the attack, but witnesses told police there was some sort of verbal altercation leading up to it, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Local news from across Southern California
Another student who was inside the lab told the newspaper that the suspect appeared to be punching the victim, but he soon realized it was much more serious when the young woman slumped over, bleeding from her neck.
She remains hospitalized in UCLA's Ronald Reagan Medical Center in serious condition. Authorities have not yet released her name.
Thompson walked away from the scene of the attack, but UCLA police immediately sealed the building and took him into custody.
The University will provide counselors today for students who witnessed the attack.


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The mind is an amazing thing!
It controls our lives so much with the actions we make, and the things we say. Everyone is different and I am sure we have all come across a vast range of people, whether they are relaxed yet have many troubles in life, ones who complain constantly and are never happy, happy go lucky ones with minor problems etc. It's all perspective though.
Once you train your mind to find peace in everything, you will have attained the greatest achievement of all.
However, if your mind is not strong enough to support you, your efforts will be somewhat useless. Maintaining a healthy body is the best way to strengthen your mind. Here are a few tips on how to reach a healthy mind through a healthy body.
Indulge in healthy food
The safest and most reliable way to attain a healthy body is through eating food that is good for you. This includes all the green stuff, fresh fruit and vegetables, fish, and meats which are rich and red.
A sweet treat from time to time is not that bad for your health, unless of course you have such health issues as diabetes. Eating what you like can build up your good mood and it will balance your stress levels. However, if you are not sure how to select food to suit your medical conditions, seek the help from your doctor.
Generally, some of the common foods to nurture your mind are herbal tea, salads, chocolate and lemon. Drink water as much as possible and try to cut down on oils and too much sugar.
Train your mind
If you are in for achieving a strong mind, you have to train it. 5 minutes a day is sufficient if you have the willpower to continue it everyday. Simply focus on your slow breaths for 5 minutes to relax, and you are done.
Sleeping also plays a major role in making a healthy mind and it is important to get the required amount of sleep each night. Your health is more important than work and if you focus only on work, your efforts are definitely going to go in a pointless direction.
Good people help good minds
It has been a scientifically proven fact that a person's state of mind can be influenced on a long term basis by the manners and actions of the people they are involved with on a regular basis.
Your brain can actually absorb other people's opinions, views, manners, habits and beliefs, especially if you spend a lot of time with them. Spending time with other people cannot is imperative, therefore the only way you can help yourself is by surrounding yourself with good people.
Don't hesitate to get away from troublesome or badly behaved friends. Relationships and friendships are excellent sources of love, which is essential to achieve a healthy mind.
Minimum media support
In the modern world, a huge percentage of news, television shows, documentaries and movies are focused on sadness, pain and the troubles of life. It is almost impossible to avoid the brainwashing and pointless advertisements.
It is vital to be keen on the outer world, but also it is necessary not to indulge in the negativity of life. Reduce the influence of media in your life and spend more time doing what you love. It will never be a waste of time and energy.


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We do offer periods of unpaid work experience of not less than two months in the Sales and Publicity Department, and not less than two months in the Editorial Department.
If you are a student or recent graduate who is considering a career in publishing, a period of work experience may help you to decide whether this will be a suitable career for you. A longer period provides a much better grounding than a few weeks, and also makes it possible to provide more rewarding and interesting work.
Our offices are in Cambridge, which is a delightful place in which to live and work, but applicants should be aware that it can be very difficult to find accommodation, and that housing costs are very high.
Publishing involves making the world aware of the books that are being produced, and promoting new titles and the backlist is a key element. The marketing carried out by the Sales and Publicity Department lies at the heart of the publishing process, and on its success hangs the future of the publishing house.
The Sales and Publicity Department designs and puts together sales and promotional material, writes blurbs, maintains databases of customers and the media and the increasingly important bibliographical databases, prepares marketing campaigns, leaflets and review lists, as well as corresponding with authors, booksellers and journalists, and more mundane – though no less essential – tasks, such as office filing. We also pursue new leads, and contact potential outlets and sales channels for new books and backlist titles, and promote the list and imprint as a whole.
We offer work experience placements of not less than two months. The placements are unpaid.
If you are interested in coming and would like to discuss the possibilities, please email us at , or see our Contact page for our full contact details.
The Editorial Department deals with manuscript submissions, edits texts and prepares them for publications, and is also responsible for rights and permissions and book design.
Work involved ranges from the mundane, such as filing and maintaining a database of projects under consideration for publication, through rejecting unsuitable scripts, corresponding with authors and external advisers, copy-editing and proof-reading, designing books and covers, and dealing with rights and permissions enquiries.
We offer work experience placements of not less than two months in the Editorial Department. The placements are unpaid.
If you are interested in coming and would like to discuss the possibilities, please email us at , or see our Contact page for our full contact details.


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For the last few weeks, we've been babbling about Siri and its intelligent and humorous responses, but many (including you guys) have stated that voice control is nothing new and that Google had it first, which is true. So what does Android's creator think? He think's talking to your phone is totally lame.
Google Senior Vice President of Mobile Andy Rubin says that Apple's done a good job of determining that voice assistants like Siri are ready for prime time, but think's it's silly to start falling head over heals for artificial intelligence.
"I don't believe your phone should be an assistant. Your phone is a tool for communicating. You shouldn't be communicating with the phone; you should be communicating with somebody on the other side of the phone."
U.S. & World
We want to say that Rubin is completely off here and bash him for denying the smartphone is an assistant. Last time we checked, a smartphone was born out of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). Before Siri, smartphones were a silent assistant. They kept our calendars, contacts, and all of our other data in check — just as an assistant would do.
With Siri, that assistant received a voice, but not only that, Apple also gave it intelligence and wit - something Android's voice features (which are pretty fantastic assuming you know the input lingo) lacks.
Siri is humanizing artificial intelligence, whereas Android is still robotizing it. No wonder Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer thinks Android can only be figured out by computer scientists.
While we understand that phones are communication devices used to connect us to other human beings, smartphones have evolved into much more than just a communication tool. Smartphones are now high-powered cameras and video recorders, editing machines (iMovie), portable media players for music and video, and so much more.
And if smartphones are going to juggle all that stuff, they might as well start acting like an assistant - ones that don't just silently come into work, shuffle data and leave.
All Things D, via GigaOm


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Allergy shots (immunotherapy) are a method of treating allergic
rhinitis and allergic asthma in which small doses of substances (allergens) are
injected under the skin. Allergy shots may reduce or eliminate sensitivity to
the allergen that causes an allergic reaction.
A doctor will do skin or blood tests to determine what
the person is allergic to. Allergy shots are available for some allergies to:
Last Revised:
June 30, 2011
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Rohit K Katial, MD - Allergy and Immunology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


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Below is a written statement from Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta:
"On behalf of the Department of Defense, I want to express our thanks to the Democratic and Republican Members of Congress who voted to temporarily avert sequestration. Hopefully, this will allow additional time to develop a balanced deficit reduction plan that would permanently prevent these arbitrary cuts.
"Had Congress not acted, the Department of Defense — along with other federal agencies — would have been forced to begin taking dramatic steps that would have severely impacted our civilian personnel and disrupted our mission. For more than a year, I have made clear that sequestration would have a devastating impact on the Department. Over the past few weeks, as we were forced to begin preparing to implement this law, my concerns about its damaging effects have only grown. As an example, had Congress failed to act, I would have been required to send out a notice to our 800,000 civilian employees that they could be subject to furlough.
"Congress has prevented the worst possible outcome by delaying sequestration for two months. Unfortunately, the cloud of sequestration remains. The responsibility now is to eliminate it as a threat by enacting balanced deficit reduction. Congress cannot continue to just kick the can down the road.
"This Department is doing its part to help the country address its deficit problem by working to implement $487 billion in spending reductions in accordance with our new defense strategy. The specter of sequestration has cast a shadow over our efforts. We need to have stability in our future budgets. We need to have the resources to effectively execute our strategy, defend the nation, and meet our commitments to troops and their families after more than a decade of war.
"Every day, the men and women of this Department put their lives on the line to protect us all here at home. Those of us in Washington have no greater responsibility than to give them what they need to succeed and to come home safely. My hope is that in the next two months, all of us in the leadership of the nation and the Congress can work together to provide that stability and to prevent sequestration once and for all. Our national security demands no less."
Filed under: Department of Defense | Tagged: Congress, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, United States Department of Defense | Leave a comment »


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Yukihiro Matsumoto
Yukihiro Matsumoto ("Matz"), the creator of Ruby, is a professional programmer who worked for the Japanese open source company, netlab.jp. Matz is also known as one of the open source evangelists in Japan. He's released several open source products, including cmail, the emacs-based mail user agent, written entirely in emacs lisp. Ruby is his first piece of software that has become known outside of Japan.
The Ruby Programming Language by David Flanagan, Yukihiro Matsumoto January 2008
Ruby in a Nutshell by Yukihiro Matsumoto November 2001
"An absolute steal at the price; if you've any interest in Ruby you have to buy this book. "— Andy Hudson, Linux Format
"The Ruby Programming Language is one of the only books on the list to receive a perfect 5/5 stars from Amazon. The O'Reilly resource on Ruby is an excellent guide for those wanting to learn the language from the bottom-up. The text is centered largely around theory and thoroughly explains the API and syntax around the language."— Glen Stansberry, NETTUTS
"The Ruby Programming Language is my new favorite Ruby book. I personally think it is a better text than the famous "Pickaxe" book...If you want the defacto Ruby book, this is it."— B. Donovan, Amazon.com
"Really found this to be an excellent guide to the Ruby programming language. This is definitely not just the API rehashed in print...The writing style is like having an expert sit down and explain to you the various facets of the language, how to use them, points that are notable, etc. And all of this content is within a reasonable 400 pages."— Justin Pease, Amazon.com
"Ruby aficionados have been working for the last few years under a serious handicapt: there was not good, up-to-date reference on their favorite language. Sure, the Pickaxe book provided some guidance, but it's a hybrid work--part tutorial, part reference. And the reference section was a summary, rather than an in-depth exposition. Ever-dependable O'Reilly just released Ruby Programming Language, which is without a doubt the definitive Ruby reference. Not only is it co-authored by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto, the inventor of Ruby, but it is superbly well edited, so that every page is full of useful information presented clearly. And at more than 400 pages, that's a lot of information. Couple this book with The Ruby Cookbook, which I reviewed on this blog, and you have probably the best 1-2 combination for learning and using Ruby. "— Andrew Binstock, Binstock on Software
"For a long time now Dave Thomas Programming Ruby (aka. The Pickaxe) has been the standard in the Ruby community as the book to learn Ruby from. Unfortunately the Pickaxe is not the best programming book ever written. In fact, its bulk and slowness almost killed my inspiration to learn Ruby. I respect Dave Thomas a lot for what he does for the Ruby community but the Pickaxe and I just did not click. Since I didnt find the Pickaxe to be excellent reading material, I had been eagerly anticipating David Flanagans The Ruby Programming Language to come out and unseat The Pickaxe as the de facto book to recommend to newcomers to Ruby. I am happy to say that The Ruby Programming Language did not disappoint. I picked up this book solely expecting to just review it since I already comfortable programming in Ruby. However, once I started reading the book I found myself frequently learning things about Ruby that I didnt know before. Not like little things either like, oh thats interesting. Im talking significant things like holy crap thats sweet!...OReilly is hoping that The Ruby Programming Language becomes the equivalent of K&Rs The C Programming Language for Ruby and I hope it succeeds. I think that every language needs their own K&R book for people to turn to as the definitive authority." "— Rob Olson, Thinking Digitally
"One long-time Rails developer sent me an email with their first impressions of The Ruby Programming Language: "I have been finding the book very useful, and I'm glad I did get it sooner rather than later." Matz said "Ruby is designed to make programmers happy." It looks like similar design thinking went into this book."— Brian DeLacey, Slashdot.org
"...a simple, no-nonsense text that will answer just about any question you might have about the Ruby programming language."— Larry Hannay, Amazon.com


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Burnin' – A Legend Fires up the Relaxation Business
He's the perfect icon for a category whose growth story has always seemed more smoke than fire: Bob Marley, whose dreadlocked likeness is now emblazoned on a leading line of relaxation drinks.
For just as Marley legitimized the languorous reggae beat in the American heartland, so too is the company, behind namesake tea Marley's Mellow Mood, creating a legitimate brand in the midst of what had been a mad scramble by nascent relaxation brands to sign up regional distributors through oddball news stories and marginal branding propositions.
Still, the emergence of legitimate brands in the relaxation category comes as a bit of a surprise. After all, what began as a counterintuitive joke when a California company rolled out Blue Cow as a contrast to Red Bull morphed within a few years into a minor media phenomenon with the arrival of products like Drank, Lean, Purple Stuff and Vacation in a Bottle (ViB).
But in the past two years, Marley and other brands, including Dream Water and Neuro's Sleep variety, have gained mainstream accounts and wide distribution. Between Marley and Dream Water alone, the brands have gained more than 60,000 accounts, and their methods for doing so have involved more mainstream branding than the early party-hearty vibe of brands like Drank, Lean and Sippin' Syrup. While those brands have musical ties as well, they also rely on their association with a slowed, druggy "chopped and screwed" hip-hop format as much as they do their inherent functionality, and the results seem to indicate that chain accounts are willing to try out the category from a less risky set of assertions.
That's not so say that having peace-and-love-and-reggae-and-marijuana icon Bob Marley on a can evoking a mellow mood doesn't evoke a visceral response: Marley Beverage's makers are happy to say the brand does extremely well near (natch!) college campuses. But even if there's some whiff of druggy connotation to the Marley name, it's safe to say that it's a much more ubiquitous presence and a much milder cultural touchstone than a musical format marked by its own founders' fondness for a mixture of Sprite and Jolly Ranchers topped with codeine cough syrup (the "drank" and "lean" from which the names are ultimately derived). Marley's "Legend" album is the watered-down Bacardi of musical releases, while chopped-and-screwed innovator D.J. Screw's 1995 album "3 N' Da Mornin, Part 2" sits at the fringe of the bar, somewhere near the absinthe and the pickled eggs.
Nevertheless, the one key ingredient that both Drank and Marley Beverage, not to mention Dream Water and other more culturally mainstream and financially secure brands, do have in common is that they all employ melatonin as the key sleep-inducing ingredient in their formulas. And with that key ingredient comes the element of risk, both from a regulatory and legal perspective, as well as from the court of public opinion, which has beaten down plenty of brands in the past.
There are other herbal elements in all of these products' "relaxation blends," but melatonin is the most potent from a sleep inducement standpoint, as well as the one one that has the most potential to draw fire from regulatory agencies due to its status as a dietary supplement. In fact, both Drank and a food product, "Lazy Cakes" – a melatonin-laced brownie – have already been stung by letters from the Food and Drug Administration about their packaging as traditional food and drink products instead of nutritional supplements.
The risk is enough to have already caused a change in strategy at Dream Water, which had been selling its product in both a 2 oz. shot format as well as an 8 oz. bottle. The move to a shot was to align the product much more closely with sleep enhancement than the more fun-and-relaxation branding of other brands, according to Dream Water COO Vincent Porpiglia.
"Any drink, any brownie, that's a food," Porpiglia said. " Dreamwater is a shot now, and one of the reasons is because… we don't want to be lumped into the category of a food-type product."
But letters and comparatively small fines from the FDA are nothing compared to the kind of damage that can come from the agency if two other groups start targeting relaxation drinks: the media and the lawyers.
"The FDA is much more likely to take issue if there starts to be a rash of auto accidents or something," said Justin Prochnow, a lawyer with Greenberg Traurig who regularly handles legal and regulatory issues for food and beverage companies, including Dream Water. "All it takes is a few of those, and the FDA starts coming down on people. The letter from two years ago leads you to believe it's not at the top of their list of priorities – but if a rash of things starts to happen, the next thing you know, everyone's involved. Publicity can light a fire under them pretty quick."
As an example, he cites the way the FDA was prodded into issuing more direct sanctions on another category, the group of so-called "energy malternatives" encompassed by Joose, Four Loko, Liquid Charge, and many others. Despite some concerns, those products were growing rapidly until late 2010, when student death and injury created a cacophony of negative publicity that forced the agency to take a hard look at those products, eventually forcing their makers to stop adding caffeine to the drinks. Earlier this century, the FDA also banned the stimulant ephedra from all dietary supplements in the U.S. following the high-profile deaths of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler and Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Korey Stringer. In both cases, media coverage and public outcry seemed to have the FDA working overtime.
Meanwhile, says Prochnow, the push from the FDA or from, say, state Attorneys General, who have also gone after beverage makers in the past, is nothing compared to the plaintiff's bar. Under new California consumer protection laws, for example, he said, "plaintiff's lawyers have been highly active. My bigger concern now isn't the FDA, it's some of the private consumers and their lawyers bringing action."
Indeed, the current list of brands facing class action or civil suits over branding or advertising claims extends from beverages like coconut waters O.N.E. and Vita Coco to Vitaminwater into natural food stalwarts like Kashi. From a lawsuit perspective, times are fruitful, Prochnow said, and melatonin's regulatory issues could launch a lot of civil suits.
The Main Ingredient
For relaxation beverages, melatonin has long served as a dividing line. It's the only ingredient that is commonly used that qualifies as a dietary supplement rather than GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe), which falls under very little oversight when used in a food. That opens the door to regulation by the FDA. But it's also the key ingredient when it comes to fulfilling the functional promise of many of the drinks. While other botanicals like Kava-Kava, Rose Hips, valerian root and chamomile may have noticeable effects, melatonin, when it works, can be a sledgehammer of an amino acid, capable of inducing sleep to the point at which it has been known not just to help flight attendants deal with transatlantic jet lag, but also to helping night-patrolling Marines hack their body clocks so that they can fall asleep during daylight hours.
It's also typically the ingredient that helps indicate the style of brand that a company makes: the presence of melatonin is what allows Dream Water to market itself as a sleep aid, that creates the difference between RelaxZen's daytime and nighttime formulas.
"If you take melatonin, will you probably get sleepy? Yes," said Porpiglia, whose product also includes GABA and 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), both of which are included to enhance the sleep experience, another part of Dream Water's emphasis.
"I can't say that you can rule out the other ingredients, because (in the Dream Water formula) they do have some effect in conjunction with one another," he added. "But I know a lot of companies just take a lot of things and throw them in along with the melatonin, but there's really only one or two that work. That's why they're offering melatonin, you know that they'll feel something. That's one of the two or three that will make it happen. At the very least, companies are doing it because they know it's the one that will have the strongest effect."
One exception to the rule is Purple Stuff, a relaxation drink whose name evokes the heavy buzz of Drank and Lean (its owners attribute it to a throwaway line in a Sunny Delight commercial, however), but whose makers eschew melatonin.
"We started researching our product in October of 2007, talking with ingredient and flavor houses," says Tim Lucas, the CMO of Funktonal Beverages Inc., which makes Purple Stuff. "When we looked at melatonin we saw that it wasn't FDA approved (for use as a beverage). For us, that said that if a kid wrecks his car, if he gets hurt, an insurance claim would come back to us as gross negligence on the manufacturer. We knew we couldn't do it."
While such a case remains hypothetical, even the association with mayhem can bring down a product class. One of the key incidents that caused the FDA to go after Four Loko was a party at Central Washington University at which more than just that beverage was found by police, but also several other kinds of alcohol and a buffet of illicit drugs. Still, it was the Four Loko that drew the worst of the publicity.
Beverage makers are aware that melatonin's effectiveness as a sleep inducer requires some warning on their part. Marley Beverage Company, for example, includes language on its Marley's Mellow Mood telling consumers to "avoid driving or operating heavy machinery after consuming this product."
There's good reason for Marley Beverage to want consumers to take all kinds of care when drinking Marley's Mellow Mood: the brand's success in the past year means that it is in a situation where it has a lot more to lose than its competitors.
Marley is Burnin'
Last year Marley Beverage Co.'s Marley's Mellow Mood (which contains, along with melatonin, other relaxation elements like valerian root*) and a non-relaxation focused coffee sub-line, One Drop, sold more than 1 million 12-bottle cases, said Kevin McClafferty, the president of Marley Beverage. The brand landed grocery accounts like Wegman's and Stop and Shop, and convenience stores like Valero, AM/PM, Casey's and Speedway on its way to getting placement in more than 40,000 stores – a number McClafferty says he expects to at least double in the next year.
"We're blessed with a great brand," McClafferty said. "We finished out the year strong, we exceeded a million cases in our first year, we've added 110 DSD partners, and we've got more opening soon. Things are rocking."
It's not the notion that melatonin will put a consumer to sleep that draws consumers to the brand, McClafferty says – but the opportunity to engage with the Marley legend and some of the associations with the stress-free, Rastafarian lifestyle so clearly associated with the international superstar. But the drink's ability to induce a deeply relaxed state does help drive repeat purchase, he adds.
"We're finding that they pick it up because of who is on the can," McClafferty said. "Trial is driven by Bob and Bob's image. People look at it and they're happy to see it. They taste the liquid, and the first comments we tend to get are that 'this tastes amazing.' And then eventually they realize there's some functionality to it. And that's when they come back to buy more."
With prominent shelf sets and the incredibly popular reggae star driving sales, the brand has a lot going for it, including the backing of many members of the Marley family themselves, who have helped promote the product while on tour. McClafferty said he is aware of the issues surrounding melatonin, and the effects that a wave of bad publicity can have on any beverage category.
"If you're developing a branded functional line, you have to be cognizant of the ramifications of anything you're dropping into your liquid, obviously," McClafferty said.
"Lazy Cakes, things like that bring negative attention to the functional ingredient that we're talking about," he added. "We keep an eye on all of that, of course. We think about everything, and we're 100 percent focused on consumer safety and making sure that our product is in line with expectations people would have of the brand."
Right now, Marley – as it, and other melatonin-employing relaxation drinks, are required to be – is labeled as a dietary supplement, although, also like many other brands bearing that kind of label, it is sold in the beverage aisle or cold box.
But the company, it seems, hasn't put all of its eggs in the melatonin basket. Given the ingredient's issues, McClafferty said the company had indeed given thought to a non-melatonin formula.
"Marley's Mellow Mood Relaxation Drinks have been 'non –melatonin'-based in the UK since we rolled out overseas," last Spring, he said. "The response has been great and the product is pulling."
McClafferty also confirmed a recent test at one of their top retailers (Wegmans), on a melatonin-free formula, which delivered favorable results. The company expects to launch Marley's Mellow Mood (melatonin-free) with them later in February.
"This type of activity gives us some terrific data, should we ever be asked to alter the formula," he said.
Feeling the Effects
The Wegmans exception may be one concerned retailer drawing the line, or it might be indicative of more changes to come. Right now, however, one retailer's concerns and a few sleepy consumers have not been enough to push beverage companies to steer clear of melatonin. In fact, having noticeable effects is one of the key objectives for functional beverage marketers, who watched energy drinks become a viable category at least partially because of the effectiveness of caffeine as a stimulant, and who have seen too many drinks fare poorly because they didn't follow through on a functional promise.
Paul Nadel, the President of Neuro Beverage, spoke with BevNET in the fall about the importance of coming up with a product whose effects consumers can feel when it comes to establishing a functional brand.
"If you get a consumer who tries one and it works, like Sleep, they say 'what else can I try?'" he told BevNET. "If just one works, it builds credibility."
Similarly, the effectiveness of melatonin in products like Dreamwater, Drank, Marley, and others means that they can help the drinks establish a reputation that they work – and sometimes, a brand's aura is more potent than any actual ingredient.
The Four Loko case can be particularly instructive in that regard. For it turns out that regulatory action didn't turn out to be the death penalty for that brand. Even after the FDA forced the brand to take out caffeine, Four Loko's continued use of a high alcohol formula with candy-like flavors and a flashy social media presence has allowed its legend to thrive. For that brand, at least, many of the lost sales have come back.
But the ability of a brand to supersede its ingredients is observed by more sectors of the industry than the beer business. In December, Mark Hall, the President of Monster Beverage Co., made it clear that while he believed "so long as there's a Starbucks on every corner" energy drinks could stand up to any level of public outrage with regard to their caffeine content, if there was another problem ingredient, in most cases, he would just "take it out."
Similarly, John Bello, the founder of SoBe, recently told BevNET that Pepsi was aware that there may have been some potentially controversial ingredients in some SoBe drinks at the time the company bought the brand from him – and that the company eventually simply removed them.
"Even when they took it out," Bello said, "It had that 'fourth dimension' that went way beyond function."
While melatonin fears may be a small element of the risk/reward equation covering the growth of the relaxation category, that branding question is still the larger one. Marley and Dream Water, at least, have begun to surge impressively onto retail shelves, but the category itself is still emerging: it remains to be seen if there is enough of a consumer need for them – or other relaxation brands – to pick up the repeat business that allows them to maintain a shelf presence.
But it's an interesting situation, one that other new, effective, short-lead functional products have also dealt with as they tread the edge of the new beverage frontier: the more repeat purchases there are, the more the products can run afoul of the concerns of the powers that be, whether those concerns, as Hall implied, are ultimately warranted or not.
At least they're aware: searching for alternative formulas, tinkering with messaging and packaging, trying to find an edgy-but-not-too-edgy brand proposition, it's got to make for extra stress when considering how tough trying the normal battle for shelf space can be.
It would be enough to keep someone up at night. But considering the business, it probably isn't.
*(editor's note: an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Marley's Mellow Mood contains GABA and Kava-Kava. It does not.)


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by Jim Harris
On my 30th birthday, just for fun, I went to a fortuneteller. She told me, "I see your picture in a newspaper, and a headline saying 'I did it for love.'" Over the intervening years, I have occasionally wondered what that meant. Now I think I know.
On July 4, 1963, my buddies and I were watching the fireworks at the then-Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, 7500 Germantown Ave. Back then the owners of that beautiful landscape were happy to share it with the community. Anyway, it was there that I first met Janie. The July 4 fireworks between us were instant and mutual. We spent the next year being as in love as a couple of 15-year-olds could possibly be.
It was a pretty platonic relationship by today's standards, but we just couldn't bear to be apart, and we used every teenage trick in the book to steal some time together, laughing, talking and holding hands. Her dad, who was raising her alone, was beginning to disapprove of me. He was a well-respected psychiatrist and author, and as he reminded me often, he had been an Army Ranger in World War II. Janie secretly told me that he had actually been a cook.
Nonetheless, he was the boss, and when our love affair began to affect Janie's school work, he put her into a boarding school to keep her education on track. We still got to date occasionally, but the pain of separation was becoming too much. We made plans to run away.
So, late one night in spring, I snuck up to her school on the edge of the Wissahickon Valley, and was met by Janie and a bunch of her dorm mates at the Lankenau Boarding School. They thought our elopement was so romantic that they took up a collection and gave us $50 for our journey. Janie and I slept in the Wissahickon Park that night (in those days there were no Friends of the Wissahickon-backed gunmen trying to massacre deer in the woods), and then set off in the morning to the Greyhound Bus Terminal.
We had heard that there was a place down south where you could get married at 16. We figured we'd just head south and get more details on the way. We asked the man at the bus station ticket window how far we could get on the money we had, and he gave us a rough idea in terms of miles. We went to a map and randomly picked out Winchester, Virginia. We decided against going to a big city like Washington, D.C., because we thought the police there would be more adept at finding runaways. That was a mistake.
When we got off the bus in Winchester — broke and needing a place to stay — we immediately started going into stores looking for jobs. It was a sleepy little farming town, and we could not possibly have looked more out-of-place in our sneakers and polo shirts if we had been wearing clown outfits.
"You're not from around here, are you boy?" said the man in the general store. I got no job for you, but if you show up at the county garage tomorrow mornin', you can get work pickin' apples." When darkness fell, we didn't know where to go, so we went back to the bus terminal and fell asleep on a bench.
The next thing I heard was, "Wake up son." I opened my eyes to see Sheriff Andy of Mayberry about two inches from my face. He had a friendly smile. His deputy woke Janie up, and they took us back to the police station. On the way there, we whispered to each other that we'd give them fake names, addresses and ages, and maybe they'd let us go. When they separated us for questioning, I told them the whole truth within the first 10 seconds (Janie held out a bit longer).
Our long-suffering parents drove down and took us home. I never saw Jane again. She and her dad moved away shortly thereafter. Ironically, part of my sentence in Juvenile Court was that I had to see a psychiatrist. Not surprisingly, it didn't help. I pined for a good long time, and I made a number of attempts to find
Jane over the next five years or so. It's probably a good thing for everyone concerned that I didn't succeed.
I'm happily married today, and luckier than I have any right to be, but I'm still sorry for some of the stuff that I did in the past. I know it was shortsighted and unwise, but hey, I did it for love. Happy Valentines Day to all you lovers, young and old.


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Novi, MI – May 16 2011 - Cimatron Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of Cimatron Limited (NASDAQ and TASE: CIMT), announced today that it will preview enhancements to 5-Axis machining in the latest version of CimatronE at the Eastec trade show.
CimatronE is a CAD/CAM software solution for mold, tool and die makers as well as manufacturers of discrete parts. The latest version of CimatronE, to be released later this year, includes enhancements to all aspects of the solution. Enhancements to 5-axis capabilities will enable users to achieve a higher surface quality and shorten machining times.
Tool makers can achieve a higher surface quality with new improvements to CimatronE's touch of a button Tilting strategy, which now automatically creates smoother machine motions that also ensure a longer tool life.
The Tilting strategy offers easy-to-program simultaneous milling, which is especially suitable for robust machining of parts with deep cavities, narrow ribs and tiny corner radiuses, using shorter and more rigid tools to achieve the best surface quality and reduce machining time.
CimatronE also offers a new, easy-to-program Swarf Milling strategy for ruled surfaces (surfaces defined by a line driven along two curves). This is the second of two swarf milling strategies available in CimatronE; swarfing increases surface smoothness and shortens machining time by cutting with the side of the tool, rather than with the tip.
Additionally, CimatronE's powerful Automatic Stock Tracing is now available for 5-axis position milling of every kind. This not only ensures a safe toolpath but also increases productivity by eliminating unnecessary air motions.
The Background Calculations capability, which allows users to continue working on a project as usual while toolpath calculations are processed in the background, will also be previewed at Eastec. To further shorten NC programming time, Cimatron will offer the SuperBox, a combined hardware/software solution that greatly reduces the load on individual workstations, while increasing NC calculation speed to instantly boost NC productivity.
The Eastec trade show will take place May 17-19, 2011 in W Springfield, MA, USA. Cimatron's booth number is 5437.
About Cimatron
With over 28 years of experience and more than 40,000 installations worldwide, Cimatron is a leading provider of integrated, CAD/CAM software solutions for mold, tool and die makers as well as manufacturers of discrete parts. Cimatron is committed to providing comprehensive, cost-effective solutions that streamline manufacturing cycles and ultimately shorten product delivery time.
The Cimatron product line includes the CimatronE and GibbsCAM brands with solutions for mold design, die design, electrodes design, 2.5 to 5 axes milling, wire EDM, turn, mill-turn, rotary milling, multi-task machining, and tombstone machining. Cimatron's subsidiaries and extensive distribution network serve and support customers in the automotive, aerospace, medical, consumer plastics, electronics, and other industries in over 40 countries worldwide.
Cimatron's shares are publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange under the symbol CIMT. For more information, please visit Cimatron's web site at: http://www.cimatron.com
This press release includes forward looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such statements may relate to Cimatron's plans, objectives and expected financial and operating results. The words "may," "could," "would," "will," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," and similar expressions or variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Cimatron's ability to control. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward looking statements include, but are not limited to: currency fluctuations, global economic and political conditions, marketing demand for Cimatron products and services, long sales cycles, new product development, assimilating future acquisitions, maintaining relationships with customers and partners, and increased competition. For more details about the risks and uncertainties related to Cimatron's business, refer to Cimatron's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cimatron cannot assess the impact of or the extent to which any single factor or risk, or combination of them, may cause. Cimatron undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
For More Information Contact:
Idit Pass Lagziel
Marketing Manager
Cimatron Ltd.
Phone: +972 73 237 0298
Email: [email protected]
Ilan Erez
Chief Financial Officer
Cimatron Ltd.
Phone: +972 73 237 0114
Email: [email protected]


text:
When having a meal, how many of your senses do you really use?
Of course, there are the obvious ones; taste and smell. If you wanted to be pernickety, you could argue that sight, touch and sound all have their place in the dining experience. But have you ever had a dining experience that focuses exclusively on exploring the senses? Probably not, if you haven't attended the Ubiquitous Chip's event: Ingr3dients. It claims to be the World's first sensory dining experience.
The event was created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Ubiquitous Chip restaurant, situated within Ashton Lane, at the heart of Glasgow's West End. This charming lane is filled with character and very pretty to look at. But if, like me, you enjoy wearing heels… be prepared to stagger along the cobbles looking like you've had one too many cocktails!
I was kindly invited to experience it for myself, and asked Irene to be my ever faithful companion. On the invitation, the event was described as "combining fine food and cutting-edge digital art, including Alasdair Gray's first digital artwork". I don't know much about cutting edge digital art, but I do love my food!
The decor in the Ubiquitous Chip made for tranquil surroundings. Soft lighting, provided by millions of teeny lights, along with an abundance of plants and a gorgeous water feature in the corner of the room, making a relaxing trickling sound.
On the table, there were 3D glasses waiting for us. Safe in the knowledge that everyone was going to look as cool as us, we donned our attire…
One of the waiters pointed out the interactive sea bed, on the way to our seats. It was so cute! There were fish, crabs and lobsters etc, scurrying around the floor from a projection on the ceiling (I assume). When you stood within the "sea bed", they all scurried towards you.
Throughout the event, there were various digital art displays, running in a concurrent theme along with each course. The first image was of a giant fish, darting around the screen and zooming in at you (in what Irene found to be a hilarious fashion; she was cackling away to herself!). We were henceforth presented with our first course: A Tassie of Cullen Skink.
This creamy soup was so moreish; it was so thick and luxurious, with delicate chunks of fish and potato. I could easily devour a massive bowl of this, and intend to recreate it soon!
Next up, there was a visual display of 3D shells. With our glasses on, they looked beautiful and intricate. This was to introduce the next course: Seafood Trinity.
This consisted of:
Queen Scallop, Dulce and Mirin Ceviche
Black Bottle and Beetroot Cured Organic Salmon
Crab, Pear and Celeriac Choucroute
I have to admit, I was apprehensive about this dish. I'm a complete seafood novice; having never tried scallops or crab and not being very keen on smoked salmon. But, in the spirit of adventure (and being able to talk about the food here!), I tried it. The scallops weren't as scary as I thought, but they didn't taste of much. The crab had a lovely texture, and I will try it again. The only gripe is that I felt it was overpowered by the taste of mustard. The salmon was a nice surprise for me; the whisky and beetroot gave it a lovely taste, and I ate the lot!
Whilst we waited on our next dish, the display showed a flock of birds, flying in an erratic fashion and in a sequence that was quite hypnotic. We didn't even notice the waiters coming up to us with our next course: Pressed Perthshire Game Bird Terrine, with Warm Puy Lentil and Shiitake Salad, Sherry and Walnut Pickled Enoki Mushroom.
If I was apprehensive about the seafood, I was terrified of the game bird terrine! I didn't start eating vegetables and fish till my early twenties, so this is a big hike from my picky days. And I'm delighted to report; this was one of my favourite dishes of the evening! I cleared the plate entirely and I kept interrupting my meal with outbursts of "this is delicious", and Irene wholeheartedly agreed. The terrine was pure meaty goodness. The mushrooms complimented it wonderfully, and the salad was sweet and fresh; perfect for lightening the dish.
As we made way for our next course, we were greeted by a massive Highland Cow, strolling across the screen lazily and grazing on nothing at all. This indicated our next meal: Rioja Glazed Shin of Beef, Marrow Beignet, Shallot Essence, with Potato and Sage Gnocchi.
I could have used a spoon to cut through the beef; that's how tender it was. The Rioja glaze was outstanding. Irene's favourite wine is Rioja, so she was especially delighted. She did find the shallot puree rather salty, but I couldn't agree. The waiter told us the gravy was made using a reduction of the meat juices with some wine and chicken stock. It was incredibly flavoursome; if I were serving this up myself, I'd have flooded the plate with gravy (one of the many reasons I'm not a chef!). The marrow beignet was scary in theory (I tried to convince Irene it wasn't bone marrow), but we reluctantly admitted it was very tasty. The potato and sage gnocchi was the star of the show for me, out of EVERYTHING. The only criticism is that there wasn't more of them on the plate. Considering the large portion of beef, I feel more gnocchi would have given a better balance (or less beef, but always more potato if I can get it!).
There was just enough room for our last course; dessert: The Chip's Famous Caledonian Oatmeal Ice Cream, with Caramelised Banana, and Angostura Rum Fattened Golden Raisins.
I'd never heard of oatmeal encrusted ice cream before, and after tasting this, I'm surprised I haven't. It's absolutely gorgeous! It creates a lovely texture, as do the glazed bananas that practically snap when you bite them. Irene wasn't crazy about the raisins, but I loved them. For the second time that night, I cleared my plate.
I tried to take pictures of the 3D show, but they just looked blurry, as if through the eyes of a drunken fool. It would certainly not have done the artist any justice for me to post them here. I couldn't help feeling a bit guilty about these images of the animals we were essentially tucking into. Me being a hardened carnivore as well! I mentioned this to Mal Young, the man who controlled the images, and he alleviated my conscience by explaining the images were more about exploring the locally sourced produce (which Ubiquitous Chip is renowned for), rather than having little animals zooming in at you, with pleading eyes, crying "don't eat meeee". I'm sure it wouldn't placate the vegetarians out there, but it's good enough for me.
Overall, it was a wonderful night. As much as I love having a gab between courses with my fellow diners, I absolutely adored the 3D animations and believe it did enhance the meal on the whole. The restaurant clearly puts a lot of effort into creating an excellent atmosphere, and the staff really do make a fuss over you (in a good way; not in that intrusive way that I detest). If I were to sum up the food in one word, it would be Magnificent.
If you're looking to take someone for a fancy meal, or have a special occasion coming up, I would thoroughly recommend Ubiquitous Chip.


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A Hundred Billion Reasons to Invest in Robotics Technology
Here's a 100 billion reasons why space technology should be on your radar screen -especially if you're interested in robotics.
According to the journal Nature, the Milky Way Galaxy alone contains at least 100 billion planets.
Now forgive me if I sound excited…but that is huge.
After all, just 20 years ago, astronomers still widel y believed that our own tiny solar system contained allof the major planets.
So when I talk about how we are entering an Era of Radical Change, this is exactly what I'm talking about.
It's not about tiny incremental changes but gigantic shifts in thought.
And here is something else to ponder…
With all of this new data, scientists now believe the universe may contain more than 150 billion galaxies. The math is enough to make your head spin.
How Nuclear-Powered Robots Are Winning the New Space Race
All this brings to mind one key point: The odds that we are alone in the universe grow smaller and smaller every day.
That puts us on the cusp of a New Space Race – one that will undoubtedly favor robots.
That's why I think NASA's new Spidernaut is such an important piece of technology. It's an eight-legged robot that looks like it crawled right out of a sci-fi movie.
NASA plans to use these robots to help construct a new generation of space-science platforms that are so large and fragile they'll have to be built in orbit.
As it turns out, spiders are really nimble creatures. NASA designed the prototype arachnid robot to have the grace and weight distribution of real spiders.
If the technology works as planned, these giant spider robots would crawl across a "web" of space tethers so as not to damage delicate equipment.
Now how cool is that?…
It all goes to show you that despite the soft global economy and budget cuts, we've actually never had more interest in space exploration.
But this time it's not just the United States and Russia. Indeed, China, India and Japan are also funding major programs.
For its part, the United States plans to land on asteroids as early as 2016 using a robotic arm to scoop up samples that the spacecraft will bring home to earth.
We also will send a manned mission to Mars, where the plan is to build at least some type of base. It's why NASA launched a new robotic vehicle last November expected to land on Mars in August. Roughly the size of an SUV, the robot has 10 "eyes," a six-foot robotic arm, and is nuclear powered.
Riding Robots in The New Space Race
At the same time, we have a new generation of space entrepreneurs. That's why I keep track of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) co-founder Paul Allen and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and their space tourism companies.
Don't get me wrong. While I find the prospects for commercial space travel exciting, my experience tells me investors will have a much better chance to make money on robotics.
First of all…Here on earth, airlines struggle to break even. Several have gone bankrupt.
So if an airline can't cope with the high costs of jet fuel, how can a company launching rockets for a limited number of tourists be any more profitable?… It just doesn't make sense.
As for robots, these businesses manage to touch the entire technology supply chain. From software to artificial intelligence to sensors to chips, robots employ all of these things.
So, even if we can't find a robot company that justifies a direct investment, we will find numerous opportunities with key suppliers. That's why I think the future of space travel is actually going to ride on robotics.
But don't take my word for it…
Just ask the senior execs at Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG). They obviously believe in the future of spacebots.
In fact, Google will award $30 million to the first team that can land a robotic vehicle on the moon.
To take home the prize, the bot must travel more than 1,600 feet on the surface, then send hi-def images and video back to earth.
It's called the Lunar X Prize, and twenty-six privately funded teams are now vying for the reward. And don't think for a minute this is some kind of gimmick.
After all, it was the Ansari X Prize that provided a huge amount of support for the New Space Race and upcoming commercial travel. And that prize was worth only $10 million!
And remember, when it comes to actually working in hazardous environments like other planets, nothing beats a bot. It doesn't need oxygen, food, or coffee breaks. It doesn't get homesick for its loved ones.
Also consider that new technology promises to keep robots steeped in the latest tech changes, greatly expanding their life spans.
For instance, reprogrammable chips will provide instant upgrades so the robotic hardware lasts longer. We'll beam software patches via satellite so robot "brains" remain rich in new knowledge.
And robots will give us incredible economies of scale…
In the near future, we'll have automated factories in space or on other planets building the robots needed for exploration, experiments, mining, and helping humans.
I recently told you how an arm of the Pentagon known as DARPA wants to recycle dead satellites worth some $300 billion. To do so, it also is pushing advanced robotics.
Thus, the federal government and private industry agree on one key fact about the future – to conquer outer space, they need to invest heavily in robotics.
So, keep your eye on space technology. Eventually, it will earn robotics investors rich returns.
News and Related Story Links:
- Money Morning:
How the "New Cold War" with China Will Change America's Future
- Money Morning:
The "Miracle Material" That Will Change the World
- Money Morning:
3D Chips Will Deliver an Era of Radical Change


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Meandering 363 miles across New York State and linking Lake Erie to the Hudson River, the Erie Canal is widely considered one of the most significant accomplishments of American engineering. Enjoy the calm blue waters of this modern-day marvel and learn more about its important history aboard your cruise.
Opened in 1825, the canal is credited with making New York the busiest port in the U.S. during its heyday, stimulating business and trade in cities along the canal's banks. Today, cruises may include onboard musical performances, stops at the official Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse or wine tastings and shopping at waterfront communities. Itineraries might also spend time on the Hudson River.
Sailings with a "between locks" option let you disembark while waiting for some of the canal's 35 locks to raise or lower your ship. And in your downtime, climb on deck and admire the variety of lush waterscape, passing through lakes or beneath low bridges, watching shores and skies dotted with geese and great blue herons.
These cruises offer exceptional value for your dollar and are easy to budget, as your stateroom and onboard meals are included in the rate that you pay up front.
River cruises are rated according to the quality of the vessel and its accommodations, the number of included amenities and activities both on and off the ship, the class of hotels used for land portions of itineraries, and the level of service delivered. The Erie Canal cruises below are categorized according to the industry rating scale (budget, first class and deluxe). Click any cruise name for the itinerary, dates and prices.
Copyright © 2020 by Vacations To Go. All rights reserved. CST 2072920-50


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It's almost time for the 2013 WitOut Awards for Philadelphia Comedy! As we get closer to the show, we'll be rolling out a series of posts to help you get more acquainted with this year's nominees. Read all about 'em, and then be sure to get your tickets for the big event on January 13th at World Cafe Live!
The nominees for Best Short Run/One-Time Show are:
The Improvised B-Movie Double Feature (Asteroid!)
This fully improvised show celebrated the fun of the low-budget sci-fi/horror films from the golden age of Hollywood. The cast of Asteroid! performed not one, but two fully improvised B-movies, each based on a single audience suggestion with low-budget staples like aliens, monsters, Soviets, and mad scientists.
Fringe Festival Sketch Revue (The Flat Earth)
Philly Improv Theater's first-ever sketch comedy revue featured The Flat Earth, some of the theater's top writing talent and a cast of local comedians. The show brought audiences a darkly comic yet strangely sweet take on everything from the obvious targets to the bizarre tangents in everyday life.
ProMania 2K12 (PHIT Fringe Festival)
ProMania 2K12 was a sport-stravagant celebration of the larger-than-life spectacle that is professional wrestling (with only some of the wrestling). Philly comedians paid homage to the flashy trash talking promos, slick video packages, and bitter rivalries of the squared circle.
Myths & Monsters (PHIT Fringe Festival)
Myths & Monsters was an hour-long improvised hero's adventure following a basic structure parsed by Joseph Campbell. A team of actors moved and breathed in tandem to depict monstrous beasts and terrifying deities encountered during a spontaneously created theatrical tale of trials and transformation of a lone hero. Directed by Philadelphia actor and improviser Nick Gillette.
The David Lynch Show (Camp Woods and Secret Pants)
Camp Woods and Secret Pants presented a special David Lynch themed sketch show lampooning the work of quirky film director David Lynch.


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Village of BartlettHome Menu
Bartlett Businesses
Wondering where to go in the Village for shopping, dining or personal services? Bartlett's business directory is a quick and convenient list of Bartlett stores, restaurants and service providers, as well as the companies in the business parks.
If you own or operate a Bartlett business that does not appear in the directory, please contact Economic Development Coordinator Tony Fradin, 630-837-0800 or email@example.com.
Moretti's Ristorante & Pizzeria
- Category:Restaurants
- Address:1175 W. Lake Street
Bartlett, IL 60103
- Phone:(630) 837-4992 Website:http://www.morettischicago.com/bartlett.php


text: GPU NOS EPU Turbo key Express Gate Direct X10.1 Shop Modal header AMD® Phenom™ II/ Athlon™ X4/ Athlon™ X3/Athlon™ X2 processors (socket AM3) This motherboard supports AMD® Socket AM3 multi-core processors with unique L3 cache and delivers better overclocking capabilities with less power consumption. It features dual-channel DDR3 1333 memory support and accelerates data transfer rate up to 5200MT/s via HyperTransport™ 3.0 based system bus. This motherboard also supports AMD® CPUs in the new 45nm manufacturing process. AMD® 785G / SB710 chipset AMD® 785G / SB710 Chipset is designed to support up to 5200MT/s HyperTransport™ 3.0 (HT3.0) interface speed and PCI Express™ 2.0 x 16 graphics. It is optimized with AMD's latest AM3 and multi-core CPUs to provide excellent system performance and overclocking capabilities. DDR3 1800(O.C.) support The motherboard supports DDR3 memory that features data transfer rates of 1800+(O.C.)/1600(O.C.)/1333/1066/800 MHz to meet the higher bandwidth requirements of the latest operation system, 3D graphics, multimedia, and Internet applications. The dual-channel DDR3 architecture doubles the bandwidth of your system memory to boost system performance, eliminating bottlenecks with peak bandwidths of up to 25.6 GB/s. Furthermore, the supply voltage for the memory is reduced from 1.8 V for DDR2 to just 1.5 V for DDR3. This voltage reduction limits the power consumption and heat generation of DDR3 which makes it an ideal memory solution. PCIe 2.0 support This motherboard supports the latest PCIe 2.0 devices for double speed and bandwidth which enhances system performance. HDMI Support Enjoy Full HD 1080p Multimedia Home-Theater EntertainmentHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a set of digital video standards that delivers multi-channel audio and uncompressed digital video for full HD 1080p visuals through a single cable. Supporting HDCP copy protection such as HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs, HDMI provides you with the highest-quality home theater experience. Hybrid CrossFireX™ Support Boosted Performance with onboard GPU and discrete graphics cardATI Hybrid CrossFireX™ technology is a unique hybrid multi-GPU technology. It takes your gaming experience to the next level boosting PC performance by enabling the chipset's integrated graphics processor and a discrete GPU to operate simultaneously with combined output for blisteringly-fast frame rates unleashing the graphics performance (Windows Vista® OS only). EPU System Level Energy SavingThe new ASUS EPU - the world´s first power saving engine, has been upgraded to a new 4-engine version, which provides total system power savings by detecting current PC loadings and intelligently moderating power in real-time. The EPU automatically provides the most appropriate power usage for the CPU, VGA card, hard drives and CPU cooler fan - helping save power and money. Turbo Key ASUS Turbo Key allows the user to turn the PC power button into an overclocking button. After the easy setup, Turbo Key can boost performances without interrupting ongoing work or games - with just one touch!! GPU NOS GPU NOS technology intelligently detects graphic loading and automatically boosts performance for the most demanding tasks. Unlike other dynamic overclocking techniques, GPU NOS reacts much faster to satisfy your need for graphic power.*GPU NOS does not take effect under Hybrid CrossFireX mode. Express Gate 0 to Internet in Seconds!Express Gate™ is an ASUS exclusive OS that provides you with quick access to the Internet and key applications before entering Windows®. EZ Flash2 Simply update BIOS from a USB flash disk before entering the OSEZ Flash is a user-friendly BIOS update utility. Simply press the pre-defined hotkey to launch this tool and update BIOS from a floppy disk before entering the OS. Q-Fan 2 ASUS Q-Fan2 technology intelligently adjusts both CPU fan and chassis fan speeds according to system loading to ensure quiet, cool and efficient operation. High Definition Audio Enjoy high-end sound system on your PC!The onboard 8-channel HD audio (High Definition Audio, previously codenamed Azalia) CODEC enables high-quality 192KHz/24-bit audio output, jack-sensing feature, retasking functions and multi-streaming technology that simultaneously sends different audio streams to different destinations. You can now talk to your partners on the headphone while playing a multi-channel network games. All of these are done on one computer. MyLogo2 Personalize your system with customizable boot logoYou can convert your favorite photo into a 256-color boot logo for a more colorful and vivid image on your screen. S/PDIF-out on Back I/O Port This motherboard provides convenient connectivity to external home theater audio systems via coaxial and optical S/PDIF-out (SONY-PHILIPS Digital Interface) jacks. It allows to transfer digital audio without converting to analog format and keeps the best signal quality. GreenASUS The motherboard and its packaging comply with the European Union´s Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). This is in line with the ASUS vision of creating environment-friendly and recyclable products and packaging to safeguard consumers´ health while minimizing the impact on the environment.


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Makes 2 dozen
115g unsalted butter, softened
200g light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
200g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp instant coffee powder
225g plain chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 190oC/170oC fan oven/375oF/Gas mark 5.
Beat the butter and sugar together, and add the egg and vanilla extract.
Sift together the remaining dry ingredients, including the coffee powder. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture and mix in the chocolate chips.
Roll into balls. Use your fingers to flatten onto a non-stick baking sheet 5cm/2inch apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and then place on cooling rack.
Store in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days.