text:
Shutdown won't hurt Tea Party: Column
- Why%3F Tea Party hold safe seats%2C while moderate seats are up for grabs.
- So by voting with conservatives for party unity%2C moderate members will be targeted.
- It%27s a long time before elections%2C but a debt deal may kick the can into next year.
The poll numbers tell the story of a Republican Party that has shouldered much of the public's blame for the government shutdown and the near-default. These dismaying numbers, no doubt, are a major concern to many Republican House members who are up for re-election in 2014.
There is one group, in particular, that stands to lose more than any other and it's not the Tea Party contingent that has used its distaste for Obamacare to jam the gears of Congress.
Instead, it is the couple of dozen moderate House Republicans who will likely pay the price for the rashness of their ultraconservative colleagues. The reason is simple: Unlike their Tea Party colleagues who hold safe seats, these House members are in the GOP's most vulnerable districts.
The predicament of the moderates is a reflection of the harshness of the political divisions in our country today. Their vulnerability stems from the fact that they have voted as a bloc with conservatives on the more than 40 votes to defund Obamacare in the interests of party unity. That record makes it hard for them to dissociate themselves from the Tea Party, which can now be a liability even in moderately strong Republican districts. Historically, this is the fix that Southern and border-state Democrats found themselves in when they supported the civil rights programs of Democratic presidents.
Unsentimental business
If there is anything like a certainty in American politics it is that the Democrats, in search of the 17 seats they need to regain control of the House, will target these susceptible Republicans. Electoral politics is a very unsentimental business and a highly paradoxical one, in which Democrats are working to unseat the Republicans who are most likely to cooperate with them.
Chances are that there are about two dozen names on the hit list of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the organization charged with deposing Republicans. These are Republicans who are known to students of elections as "marginals" — members who have won their seats with less than 60% of the two-party vote. There is a subgroup that might be referred to as the "ultramarginals" — those who are elected with less than 55%.
The Democrats will waste little time or money on the fire eaters of the Tea Party, including those who have been most outspoken against Obamacare and urged its repeal or delay.
Even in such a state such as Arizona, where Democrats are becoming more competitive, they will probably not want to invest much money in challenges to Republican Reps. Trent Franks, who won his last election with almost 63.7%, or Paul Gosar, with 67%. Even in a highly competitive state such as Florida, Republican Rep. Ted Yoho, one of the most outspoken advocates of a default as a cure for Obamacare, won in 2012 with a comfortable 64.7%. But his Republican neighbor, Rep. Daniel Webster, has no such cushion. He won his seat with a trifle more than 51.8%.
'Marginal' moderates
Republican "marginals" such as Webster are vulnerable especially in states that President Obama won in 2012. There are 16 of them, and even if the Democrats win them all in 2014, it will still not give them the majority they need to take back the House. Even so, 16 Democratic wins would dramatically change the dynamics in the House by making Republican control vulnerable to even a handful of defections.
All of which may make moderate House Republicans even more vulnerable. They will need to keep their wary eyes not only on Democrats but also on threats from their own party. The Tea Party that reviles the moderates as RINOs — Republicans in name only — will likely challenge them in primary elections.
There is, of course, an entire year between now and the 2014 elections, and it is certainly possible that the agonies of 2013 will fade from the memories of the voters. But if those major sticking points over the budget and the debt are simply kicked down to road until next year, the memory of voters will be fresher.
Putting the shutdowns and brushes with default behind them as quickly as possible is imperative if these endangered moderate Republicans are to survive.
Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors. To read more columns like this, go to the opinion front page or follow us on twitter @USATopinion or Facebook.


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Despite high feed prices and significant culling, dairy farms continue to crank out the milk.
A ray of hope pierced through the weakness last week as barrel cheese prices posted the first increase since the beginning of the year. Relentless cash price weakness resulted in the decline in Class III futures, eliminating nearly $1.25 per cwt. in closer months before selling subsided, resulting in a price bounce. A trending market always has a retracement, and this is it. It is unclear whether this will hold or if it is the proverbial "dead cat bounce" in a down-trending market.
There is yet to be a shortage of milk supply, which would require buyers to scramble for available product. And current market fundamentals do not suggest this will take place in the near future. Milk production in 2012 was up 2.1% over 2011, despite high feed prices and significant culling. Dairy farms continue to crank out the milk.
Dairy cattle slaughter in December totaled 259,000 head, down 10,000 from November and down 3,000 head from the previous year. This is the lowest December slaughter since 2009. Higher milk prices caused dairy farmers to hold back, hoping to capture as much of the better milk prices as possible. However, overall dairy cattle slaughter for 2012 outpaced 2011 by 6.4%, totaling 3,101,000 head.
Despite the heavy culling seen last year, dairy cattle inventory on Jan. 1 totaled 9.22 million head, down only 10,000 head from a year ago, according to the USDA's "Bi-annual Cattle Inventory" report released last week. Replacement heifers totaled 4.55 million head, down 2% from last year. However, this is the third highest number of replacement heifers over the past 20 years, with the percentage of heifers to milk cows at 49.4% and the fourth highest percentage over the same period. It appears that a large part of the higher slaughter numbers each month may have been mainly turnover of the herd. Cows that were sold for one reason or the other were quickly replaced. Another generation with better genetics is improving milk production rather than retracting it.
We may be on the verge of another round of increased culling and farm liquidations. Milk prices have been and will be declining for the next few months unless milk supply and/or cheese supply tightens. The All-Milk price for January was $20.00, down 90 cents from December.
While milk prices and futures prices have been declining, feed prices have been steady to higher. The latest USDA "Agricultural Prices" report showed the average corn price in January increasing 11 cents to $6.98 per bu. Soybean prices declined 20 cents per bu., still remaining high at $14.10, while the alfalfa hay price remained unchanged at $217.00 per ton. This put the milk/feed ratio at 1.58, down 8 points from December. This may be magnified over the next few months.
The nation's drought has changed very little so far this winter. With only 6 weeks of winter remaining, concern is developing over the potential for adequate moisture for optimum yields this year. Even though corn futures may not need to increase in the intent to purchase more acres, soybean price may increase in order to make sure of adequate supply. If we add a potential yield reduction in wheat due to dry conditions in the Plains, spillover support could run through the grain complex. This could increase grain prices substantially. Time is running out for trend-line yields, which could be devastating to both feed and food prices.
My recommendation is to purchase call option, call option spreads, or futures contracts to cover feed needs for the rest of the year, if you have not already followed my earlier advice. Do this soon, as any price retracement will be minimal. This will be critical for the dairy operation this year.
Upcoming reports:
- Global Dairy Trade auction on Feb. 5
- World Agricultural Supply and Demand report on Feb. 8
- Dairy exports report on Feb. 8
Robin Schmahl is a commodity broker and owner of AgDairy LLC, a full-service commodity brokerage firm located in Elkhart Lake, Wis. He can be reached at 877-256-3253 or through their website at www.agdairy.com.
The thoughts expressed and the data from which they are drawn are believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed. Any opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. There is risk of loss in trading and my not be suitable for everyone. Those acting on this information are responsible for their own actions.

subset: commoncrawl


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Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 10:06 am
Post subject: Top FSSA official's contract raises questions
From WTHR in Indianapolis:
13 Investigates--Top FSSA official's contract raises questions
Indiana Democrats are calling on Inspector General David Thomas and Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi to investigate the state's arrangement with Fort Wayne resident Dick Rhoad.
13 Investigates first raised questions about Rhoad's contract with the Family and Social Services Administration two months ago. As the agency's chief financial officer, Rhoad oversees the spending of billions of dollars every year on services for Indiana families. FSSA Secretary Mitch Roob said he is very happy with Rhoad's work.
"Dick Rhoad is doing a great job for the taxpayers of this state," Roob told Eyewitness News earlier this year. "He's doing a great job for us. We'd be lost without him."
Roob was so impressed with his CFO, in fact, that in January he allowed Rhoad to resign and, according to a new contract, hired him back the very same day with a bigger paycheck. Now, instead of getting paid about $100,000 as a state employee, each year Rhoad gets $180,000 as a private contractor - for doing the same thing he did before.
"It's not an exorbitant salary," Roob said. "He went from being a state employee with benefits to being a contract employee with no state benefits.... He's not making more money doing this."
So why make the change? The answer lies in a new Fort Wayne neighborhood where you'll find Dick Rhoad's home - 120 miles from his office in downtown Indianapolis. In his first six months on the job, Rhoad billed the state more than $14,000 to commute from home to work. Week after week, according to state documents, taxpayers paid for his gas money, his meals and his stays at Downtown hotels.
Eventually, the state budget agency told FSSA it couldn't do that, which meant Dick Rhoad would have to pay his own commuting expenses. But FSSA figured a way around that by making Rhoad's position a contract job that pays an extra $80,000 a year to cover benefits and that commuting expense.
$2 million contract
And if an extra $80,000 sounds like a lot, consider this. 13 Investigates obtained an earlier version of Dick Rhoad's contract that would have paid his private consulting company $2 million over two years.
"I'm pretty sure the other contract was a draft that was never enforced," Roob told Eyewitness News.
Roob contends the earlier contract was just an idea that never got very far. But it did get far enough to be approved by Rhoad, by the agency's chief attorney and by Secretary Roob. All of them signed the $2 million contract.
"The point is," Roob said, "we didn't do it."
Rhoad himself declined our requests to talk about the contracts and his new job, but his boss defends the deal.
"We have an ethics opinion on this to make sure that it was being done above board," Roob said.
Both state statute and administrative ethics rules prohibit conflicts of interest. State law also bars a state employee from leaving an agency to go right to work for a company that does business with that same agency.
At FSSA's request late last year, State Ethics Commission Director Mary Lee Comer offered an informal opinion that the arrangement with Rhoad did not appear to violate any ethics requirements.
In one email, Comer wrote that the post-employment prohibition didn't apply to Rhoad because he wasn't leaving FSSA to work for a private company - he was leaving to work for FSSA itself. In a follow-up e-mail on the conflict of interest issue, she simply suggested that FSSA not finalize Rhoad's new contract until after he official terminated his state employment.
FSSA did not stick with that timeline. Instead, the contract was executed on his last day as a state employee.
Both independent observers and state Democrats are now raising concerns about the deal.
"I see an attempt to really get around these rules," said government watchdog Julia Vaughn told Eyewitness News. "Shortcuts were taken to ensure this could happen so it does raise concerns."
IUPUI political science professor Bill Blomquist said state ethics rules might need to be tightened up to address unique situations like this. Even if Rhoad's new contract is ethical, he added, turning a powerful state employee into a private contractor might not be a good idea.
"If you have an in-house CFO, there's no question that anything that person does is public record and available to the press, to the public, to anyone who's available to scrutinize it," Blomquist said. "When you contract out to a private contractor, then it becomes a question."
Wednesday afternoon, state Democrats filed a request with Inspector General David Thomas for a formal review of the Rhoad contract.
"From the face of it, it looks like there's possible violations," said Democratic Chair Dan Parker. "That's why a prosecutor needs to look into it...We're not in the business of allowing people to get rich off of state government. State government is there to do the people's work."
In a letter hand-delivered to Thomas' office, Parker wrote: "I believe that this contract may be in violation of at least one state ethics law and possibly a criminal statute that prohibits public servants from profiting from government contracts."
Governor Mitch Daniels Wednesday referred comment on the matter to Secretary Roob. In an earlier interview with Eyewitness News, Roob said he didn't understand the questions about Rhoad's contract.
Roob said Rhoad was the man he wanted for the job, the agency needed him working in both Fort Wayne and Indianapolis, and making his position a private one with a higher salary was what FSSA had to do to keep him.
"I think we're trying to find an issue where there really is not," he said. "I kind of don't see what we're trying to get at here."
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Publix tops the charts in terms of customer satisfaction again this year, according to data from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index.
Lakeland-based Publix Supermarkets Inc. is No. 1 again in 2013 for grocery stores. Following behind is Whole Foods Market in the No. 2 spot and No. 5 is Winn-Dixie. Publix has been the highest ranked grocery store on the survey since 1994.
Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie chain's customer satisfaction grew this year by 2.6 percent, which could be attributed to the brand's new look at renovated stores and its merger with Bi-Lo LLC, a South Carolina-based grocer chain.
Upscale apparel retailer Nordstrom topped the list this year for department stores. Following Nordstom was Target ranked second, and Kohl's in third.
The AMSI index tracks customer satisfaction in industries like grocery stores, retail department stores, drug stores and gas stations.
For more shopping news in Southwest Florida, follow reporter Justine Griffin on Twitter and Facebook or email her at firstname.lastname@example.com. Read What's In Store in print on Tuesdays.


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The winners of the Kiwanis Rex Riley Scholarship from 10 years ago have taken divergent paths since graduation from Morenci Area High School. Five of the six remain in Michigan and each has done well since their scholarship helped them through school.
Morenci Kiwanis members have scheduled their annual soup and pie supper fund raiser Wednesday, Feb. 13. Meals will be served from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. A raffle for a hand-crafted bench made by Dick Kelly will bring in additional money for the scholarship fund.
Crystal Miller earned a degree in criminal justice studies from Siena Heights University. She knew then that a law enforcement career wasn't what she was after. Something out of uniform and a little more toward undercover is what interested her.
She worked for a security company to earn money during college and her first job out of college was at a juvenile facility.
Then she found the job that caught her interest: working for a private investigation firm where she balances investigatory work with running the office.
Crystal, who now lives in Lincoln Park, expects to wrap up her work for a master's degree in 2009. She's studying business administration to give her a better handle on marketing and investing, but she'll continue to devote a portion of her time to investigation work.
Julie (Vanlerburg) Alward doesn't know what free time means. With two preschool boys—Darrin and Drew—her own job and her husband's business, she's a busy woman.
Julie earned a communications degree from Michigan State University, focusing on program coordination. She started working with real estate issues at Citizens Bank, but when the bank closed, she found a job with Sargents Title Company where she works in the escrow department for real estate transactions.
The Alwards live in Vernon, southwest of Flint, where they own a lawn care and snowplowing service—mostly contracting the work out to others. In addition, her husband, Derrick, has a plumbing company in nearby Durand.
Brad Turnwald earned a bachelor's degree in organizational studies from the University of Michigan. It's the study of how organizations operate, he said, with a focus on communication, psychology and economics rather than number crunching.
Shortly after graduation, he took a job with the Hantz Group financial services firm and he's still there today. Brad started work as a financial advisor and now serves as site manager for the firm's insurance division in Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor office is the firm's second largest, next to the headquarters in Southfield.
Brad says he still enjoys golf and basketball, just like in high school, but he plays a lot less of each.
Brad Frederick is the only one of the six who chose to stay in the Morenci area, and he's happy to have found a career close to home.
Brad studied marketing, logistics and purchasing at Central Michigan University. There weren't many career options in the area when he graduated and he was weighing offesr with Lear in California and Toyota in Kentucky.
Instead, he became engaged and decided to stay in the county. He found his calling when he was hired by the Gil Henry and Associates real estate company. With Gil Henry, Sr., planning to retire this year, Brad and Gil Henry, Jr., will buy the business.
Brad and his wife, Onsted native Abigail, are the parents of a daughter, Loryn.
Matt Robertson has traveled far in his 10 years out of Morenci. He headed for Western Michigan University to study business, but ended up with a degree in broadcast and cable production.
He took a job with an AM radio station in Kalamazoo, starting as a sports producer, then the afternoon show producer, and finally as a news reporter and Saturday morning news anchor.
He became a teaching assistant with the Loy Norrix High School Education for Employment radio broadcasting program for a year before studying for a master's degree at the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
He worked briefly in North Carolina on a reality television project for WE Network, then taught television production and editing for a year at Western Kentucky University.
Now, he's working as an executive assistant at Dreamworks Animation in Los Angeles. The stereoscopic 3D department where he works is leading the initiative to add 3D format to all animated movies starting next year.
What do you do when you've earned a teaching degree and you live in Michigan? Amy (McVay) McDowell's husband, Travis, was fortunate to find a job near Flint, where the couple lives, but Amy had to look in other directions. She searched for jobs that required a teaching certificate and she came up with an interesting match: an on-line tutoring service.
At Central Michigan University she earned a certificate to teach secondary English and she's using it in the virtual classroom. The flexible schedule has worked out well since she's been assisting her father with health issues.
Private users can buy minutes with the tutoring service, but it's also available at many public libraries. Students range from middle school age to college prep.
"You never know who you're going to get next," Amy said. "The service is really growing and it just went 24 hour."
The self-described garage sale fanatic also set up an eBay store and she's trying to spin some old writings together into a novel.


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I've been playing around with VideoLan a lot recently; transcoding files for my Ipod, watching movies in ASCII mode (yeah....I know), and streaming cartoons on my home PC so that I can watch them at work. I can do all of this stuff fine.
Some of you may know of a feature in VideoLan that allows you to view streams in a grid, like they use in surveillance monitors.
Screen1 Screen2|
Screen3 Screen4|
I have two USB webcams; one in my room, and one facing my window facing the driveway. I was successfully able to stream each camera separately and view them remotely, however configuring the grid/video matrix has been driving me nuts. I followed the steps in the documentation, and even used a script that someone else created to make the grid, but it never works.
Has anyone seen a tutorial where videolan has been used to create a working surveillance setup?


text:
How does a free coffee sound? Cookies, too. It's all free. Instead, you pay for the time you spend drinking, eating and hanging at the café.
That's the new business model proposed by Ziferblat, a small Russian chain of coffee shops that's just opened a location in London. Instead of paying for what you eat, you pay for how long you sit — three pence per minute, or about $3 per hour.
Ziferblat, Russian for "clockface," might be the first shop of its kind in the UK, but it's well established in Russia. Its founder is Ivan Mitin, a mustachioed man from Moscow with a tendency to philosophize.
"Ziferblat is a space where you can come and feel at home in a big city," he explained. "It's something like a treehouse for grownups, or living room in the center of a city where anyone is really open to each other. When they don't wear the masks that society forces us to wear in a big city."
Thought provoking, yes. But, essentially, it's a coffeehouse. It started in Moscow as a venue for poetry readings, art shows and the like, relying solely on donations to pay rent. As it grew in popularity — and the rent increased — Mitin had to impose a minimum donation, which equalled about a rouble a minute. So Ziferblat became known as a pay-per-minute café.
"You can use the space as you like. Sit and work here with your computer, you can draw pictures, you can read a book, you can invite your friends or you can meet someone new and have a chat with them, and everything is for free here, except for the time people spent," he said. "And time costs three pence a minute."
London is notoriously expensive, so when word got out that a cafe was giving away free tea and biscuits, cynics were quick to consider exploiting it: why spend $4 at Starbucks when you could get as much as you like for pennies at Ziferblat?
"The key difference between Ziferblat and your standard coffee chains is that they are not treating you just like someone they want to get money out of," said Alexi Duggins, editor of Time Out London. And if he likes a place, there's a good chance that place will do well. At least for a while.
"It's really significant that they don't call you customers; they call you micro-tenants, because they want people to be there and to share the space in a way they feel comfortable with, " he said.
So far, micro-tenants are plentiful. Students without their own living rooms, telecommuters, people who don't like the dark appeal of local pubs, shoppers in need of a relaxing space, they're all here.
" It's quite nice to come here to just sit and chat and not invade other people's space," said one micro-tenant. "You don't feel the pressure to leave, unlike other cafes where they're like 'here's the bill, leave now.' So I like it. "
Another agreed. "I think this is a lovely idea. It feels as though this is what pubs were meant to be: a social place, something where you can get on with something, you can interact with people, you can have a drink and a toast and a relax," the tenant said. "We need it so badly. I think every corner should have something like this."
But look, if he's giving everything away for free, how is he making any money? Mitin's vague about that — but confident his formula works.
"The price of teabags or beans is not that high and by giving it for free, it's not like we're giving gold here," he said. "It's not that big a problem."
A quick look at what the café offers confirms that. Cut-rate tea bags, supermarket brand cookies, coffee beans bought in bulk. Simple things. And it's mostly self-serve. If you want a luxurious caramel macchiato, you've got to make it yourself.
"People who come here already know why they come here and they admire this idea, and they don't try to use it," Mitin said. "Let me drink 10 cappuccinos in 10 minutes and die here."
And with around ten branches of his own in Russia, and numerous copycats opening up nearby, Mitin is sure the rest of the world is open to the idea.
"London is really expensive and that is one of the challenges why we choose this city, because if it will work here, it will work everywhere," he said.


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Services » Police Department
The City of Effingham Police Department values the input of the residents that it serves. The Department seeks feedback on the manner in which service is provided. Residents can use this online form to provide constructive feedback about a situation they were involved in or observed. Members of the Department's Administration will use the information to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. If you wish to discuss a matter in person, contact the police department and you will be referred to the appropriate supervisor.
Thank you for taking time to provide feedback on the quality of service offered by our organization.
Jason McFarland, Chief of Police
What is your age?


text:
Archive for March, 2012
- Self-inflicted red states on March 28, 2012
The observation that nature is asymmetric allows us to introduce reasoning that is as organized as the logic of symmetries currently in use, by using symmetry as a foil in a proof by contradiction.
One result is the discovery that nature, the universe, does indeed have a non-random sense of direction with fortunate ethical consequences and implications for political science and other fields of inquiry.
"Very scrupulously set out. It is extremely well written and beautifully literate." -Dr. Diané Collinson, author of Plain English, Fifty Major Philosophers, Fifty Eastern Thinkers, coauthor of works including the Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers
"This book contains some serious mathematics – smart, thought-provoking, and engrossing." -William H. Barker, PhD, Isaac Henry Wing Professor of Mathematics, Bowdoin College, coauthor of the textbook Continuous Symmetry: From Euclid to Klein
Pagan runes encoded in a monument to the Bard? In a world where we become "cybertypes" by watching personalized chronicles, Shakespeare's pagan gods emerge, as the planet slides into chaos in the grip of a media takeover, in a vast usurpation of human identity.


text:
Hello Leobrazil, greetings and welcome to the Narutopedia! Thanks for your edit to the File:Water dragon.JPG page.
We do hope that you will stay for a long time. Enjoy your stay as we work to become the best Naruto info site out there. BELIEVE IT!
If you're looking for something to do why not look over the Forums or more specifically Narutopedia Collaboration for a list of projects we're working on. And the Community portal has a lot of recent discussions and places to go listed on it.
Please leave a message on my talk page if I can help with anything! -- ShounenSuki (Talk) 17:05, 11 March 2011
Image policy
Read it before uploading any other images. Omnibender - Talk - Contributions 23:28, April 7, 2011 (UTC)
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


text:
Super Bowl XLV
Dallas, Texas
Feb. 6, 2011
6:30pm FOX
The STEELERS have done what nobody expected them to do, overcame the odds and have advanced to play the Packers in the biggest game of the year!
Join us here to talk about the game LIVE as it happens.
These 2 teams are nearly a mirror image of each other on defense. Former Steelers Def. Coordinator Dom Capers now runs the defense in Green Bay. Coach Dad Lebeau, the author of the 34 zone blitz still calls the shots for the black n gold. Both defenses will be ready to go so the offenses will have to be very careful. The first team that allows the big play on defense or makes the big mistake on offense could be the winner of this game. It's certainly a contest that should more than live up to the hype that the Super Bowl always gets.
Stairway 7 is nearly complete, 1 game to go!


text:
MWC 15 Special
Remember when I told you last October that Google had plans to fork Android for wearables? Well, Google made it official now as "Google Wear" and it makes sense for Google since wearables are a hot topic for the industry and one of "the next big things" after smartphones have reached its penetration in developed market. As Google said in a blog posting, "we're only at the beginning [with mobile technology]" and that "we've barely scratched the surface of what's possible with mobile technology". That's why Google said it's so "excited about wearables" because "they understand the context of the world around you, and you can interact with them simply and efficiently, with just a glance or a spoken word".
Android Wear is said to be a project that extends Android to wearables and Google said that it's starting with the most familiar wearable - watches. Going well beyond the mere act of just telling the time, a range of new devices along with an expansive catalogue of apps will give Google Wear users:
For developers, there's a new section on developer.android.com/wear focused on wearables. Starting today, there's a download of Google's Developer Preview available so developers can tailor their existing app notifications for watches powered by Android Wear. Because Android for wearables works with Android's rich notification system, many apps will already work well.
Last but not least, Google unveiled that it's also already working with several consumer electronics manufacturers, including Asus, HTC, LG, Motorola and Samsung; chip makers Broadcom, Imagination, Intel, Mediatek and Qualcomm; and fashion brands like the Fossil Group to bring watches powered by Android Wear later this year.
Cheers ~ Arne
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Historically, I've checked the quality of arXiv output by reading the PDF it creates; I learned today that this actually a serious mistake. If you look at the PDF and DVI for my most recent article, you'll see that the PDF looks fine, and the DVI is essentially unusable from a mathematical perspective. The tikz pictures don't come out at all, and there seem to be serious font issues.
I'll note that this file compiles fine as a DVI on my home computer.
What's causing this? Is it a problem a user can fix by include font/style files with his/her upload? is there someone at the arXiv I should be telling to install something? Why is the arXiv less competent than a home installation of MikTeX?
EDIT: So, the take-away seems to be that your DVIs from the arXiv will only look right if you use Computer Modern. Hooray for all math papers looking the same!


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ARLINGTON — The Cowboys and Dez Bryant have agreed on strict off-the-field guidelines for the wide receiver in an effort to keep him out of trouble that has plagued him throughout his first two years in the NFL.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Saturday night after his team's preseason win over St. Louis that the receiver has been receptive to the changes that will impact his personal life.
"Very much willing to do anything he can to help himself and help the team," Jones said. "He's very open-minded and cooperative to doing the right thing by his teammates and the right thing [in general]. Everybody is counting on him."
Some of the restrictions Bryant must adhere to are conditions that he asked to be put in place for him, according to a source with knowledge of the guidelines.
Some of the rules Bryant will have to follow, according to a source, are:
-- Bryant will not drink alcohol.
-- There will be times put in place to restrict how late Bryant is out at night, but he won't necessarily have a specific, drop-dead curfew time. It will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
-- Bryant won't visit strip clubs or nightclubs unless an establishment is hosting a team function and he has a security team with him.
-- He must attend counseling sessions twice a week.
-- A multi-member, unarmed security team will be assigned to Bryant, with at least one man with him most of the time.
-- Members of the security team will drive Bryant to games, practices and team functions.
"Dez wants somebody to be with him all the time and help look out for him so no one tries to start anything," the source said. "Dez is on a mission to win back any fans he lost.
"This is something that Dez is requesting, and he's all into it. He really wanted to do this."
Bryant was arrested in mid-July in DeSoto on a Class A misdemeanor family violence charge for allegedly assaulting his mother, Angela. The Dallas County district attorney's office hasn't decided if it will pursue charges. Bryant's mother has requested that the charge be dropped.
Bryant's agent, Eugene Parker, said he was aware that the Cowboys would take action of some sort.
Bryant hasn't been made available to the media since he was arrested six weeks ago. He left a practice against San Diego last week, and an MRI exam showed that he has patellar tendinitis in his right knee.
Bryant didn't play against St. Louis and won't play in the Cowboys' preseason finale Wednesday against Miami. But he's expected to play in the team's season opener Sept. 5 at the Giants.
This isn't the first time that Jones has placed restrictions on one of his players. In fact, Jones said Saturday night that this isn't even the strictest set of guidelines he's required a player to follow in his 23 seasons as owner.
In 2008, Jones provided Adam "Pac-Man" Jones with a four-man security detail at the team's expense. In October that year, however, the cornerback got into a fight with one of his security guards at a downtown Dallas hotel, damaging a bathroom.
Jerry Jones said earlier this month that if Bryant continued to get in trouble off the field there would be "dire consequences" for him.
Jerry Jones and Cowboys coach Jason Garrett have talked about how Bryant is in better shape this year than his first two seasons with the Cowboys.
"I see much improvement in Dez in every respect," Jerry Jones said during training camp. "But he's screwed around here and got his benefit-of-the-doubt collateral down to nothing. And he's also very vulnerable. Now you've got to act differently when you're in those shoes. He's got to gain a bunch of that back. He can do it, and I hope he does.
"I know how much football means to him. I know what an opportunity he's got. Instincts tell me that that's going to be a big motivator for him."
Follow Brandon George on Twitter @dmn_george.


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Igor Dubakov
Miejsce zamieszkania:Latvia
Wlasna strona internetowa:http://www.advanced.lv
New technologies are taking their place in our life with more and more certainty, giving new opportunities also in business. Three-dimensional images (3D) have become very popular in the world and have already proved their effectiveness. Spherical panorama is most distinguished among other visual advertisements.
Customers have a possibility to order from us creation of three-dimensional images and to place them as in their own home page, as in our advertisement portal. When advertising in media you can indicate internet addresses where all interested persons may learn more about your offered services with a help of spherical panorama visitation. You also have a possibility to place in our home page your already made 3D panoramas.
The most highlight panoramas by Igor Dubakov
House of Blackheads, Ratslaukums, Riga
Melngalvju nams (The House of Blackheads), the impressive Gothic treasure of Riga, was first mentioned in 1334 as a building owned by the Great...
1905 Monument Riga
Very few Russian Monuments remained in Riga since USSR collapse. One of them located on the right embankment between Stone and Railway bridges. It...
LIDO Recreation Centre
The LIDO Recreation Centre in Krasta street 76, Riga, was opened at the end of 1999. The LIDO Recreation Centre which has, in some respect, become...
Railway Bridge in Riga
Information on the railway bridges over the river Daugava in Riga The first railway bridge over the river Daugava was opened on 1 January 1873...
Monuments of Krišjānim Valdemāram
St. Peter's Church, Riga
First mention of the St. Peter's Church is in records dating to 1209. The church was a masonry construction and therefore undamaged by a city fire...


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Even Miley Cyrus has fallen for Justin Bieber – for his pranks, that is.
"It sounded like a little kid," Miley told Access Hollywood's Billy Bush in an interview for Access and "The Billy Bush Show" of the "Baby" singer's recent late-night prank call. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I am so mad.' Then I get a text, he's like, 'Haha.'"
VIEW THE PHOTOS: She's Just Bein' Miley!
U.S. & World
However, Miley told Billy that she wound up laughing, too.
"I have him in my phone as Bieber Fever, so that's always pretty funny when you get one of those [texts]," she said.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Boy Who Makes The Tweens Swoon — Justin Bieber
The "Can't Be Tamed" singer said she can't prank Biebs back – thanks to her little sister Noah's crush.
"I can't really be mean because my little sister is like, never ever going to have a boyfriend until it can be Justin Bieber," Miley said. "She's saving herself for the Biebs."
And Justin's not the only one with a nickname in her phone.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Miley & More At The 'Hannah Montana The Movie' LA Premiere
"My little sister is Mrs. Bieber in my phone," she added.
Copyright 2010 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Miley Cyrus In 'Hannah Montana: The Movie!'
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Miley Cyrus: I Feel 'Real' & 'Normal' With Liam Hemsworth
PLAY IT NOW: Miley Cyrus: 'I'm Breaking Away From What People Think I Should Be'
More from Access: [ Miley Cyrus Justin Bieber Music ]


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The first thing we need to do after creating our project (Creating Your First ASP.Net Web Application) is to drag a GridView control from the ToolBox onto the .aspx page. This can be done in either design mode or source mode. For the purpose of this tutorial I'm going to assume you know how to do the initial set up of the GridView control with a SqlDataSource (If not, this page has a few examples towards the bottom). When setting up your SqlDataSource be sure to click the "Advanced" button and check the box for automatically generating insert, edit and delete methods. I am going to enable the Edit and Delete Buttons as that will allow me to use that same column for the Insert button in the footer.
At this point your code should looking similar to this:
As you can see all of the columns were generated as BoundField controls. Howerver, we are going to have to convert these into template fields so we have access to the FooterTemplate. The easiest way to do this is to click on the smart tag (the small box with an arrow in it that appears to the upper right of the gridview), then select "Edit columns...". The smart tag is available when in Design Mode but not in Source Mode. In the selected fields portion on the lower left of the wizard that pops up just select a column then click on the "Convert This Field Into A Template Field" link that is under the Properties window. Repeat this for each of the columns including the CommandField. After completing this step your GridView should now look more like this:
Now that we are using TemplateFields for each of the columns we also have access to the FooterTemplate for each of the columns. One way to edit the FooterTemplate is to once again click on the smart tag and select "Edit Templates". Then just select the FooterTemplate for each column and insert a TextBox, except the first one which will need a HyperLink control instead. You could also just manually add the FooterTemplate and its controls to the GridView by hand. I like to rename the TextBoxes to something that will let me know which column they are going to be inserting data into as it helps keep me from using the wrong textbox once it's time to start working on the codebehind. In the HyperLink control we added for the first column I'm going to set its CommandName property to "Insert", then in the GridView control we're going to make use of the OnRowCommand event. We'll also need to set the ShowFooter property to true. So now my GridView looks like this and hopefully yours should be similar:
Now all that's left is to handle the actual code to insert the data into the database so let's switch over to our .cs file and find the OnRowCommand event we created for the GridView. The first thing to do in this method is to check which Command is being used, since we only want our code to execute on the "Insert" command. To do this we check the value of the RowCommandEventArgs CommandName property. The next thing we'll do is create our insert parameters and finally we'll execute the insert command. Now that all sounds good, but let's go ahead and see what all of that looks like in code.
That's it, we now have a gridview that allows you to also insert data. The only real downside to this method is if you happen to have no data available in the database. This is because the gridview will display the EmptyData Template and the Footer Template will not be displayed (sounds like a good topic for another tutorial). You'll also want to implement any validation/error checking that may be necessary depending on your database setup and/or project requirements.
This post has been edited by Nakor: 29 March 2011 - 11:12 AM


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This a layered design with chevron and flowers in rich fall colors. The background has chevron, while the foreground has simple, yet elegant flowers and birds. We thinks it creates an absolutely stunning design.
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Distant Pull
Originally uploaded by powlagua.
Paul Goode is showing drawings at Chop Suey, not sure until when, but I know he will have stuff in the ADA 12x12 bins when this show comes down. The Chop Suey show is filled with mostly small ink drawings and the room kind of felt like a selection of possible tattoos. I think the designs are created intuitively but I got a lot of cultural references out of them like Asian dragons, South American mazes, and Native American designs. Some of them start to look like something, like the forest-floor skull I see in the piece pictured above (you really need to click on the photo to see it bigger and better). See more examples here.
Paul has a blog and often writes about Richmond arts and culture. Check it out!


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Christ Is Risen!
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
I don't agree with the closing of the Eastern Christianity forum and replacing it with a weaker, more sanitized version. But I will have to side with CAF on this one for being consistent with their new subforum's stated purpose. If the CAF mods consider Orthodoxy as "non-Catholic," well, I and others do not agree but it is their site.
It is a constant reiteration that the Orthodox are not catholic.
How? Good ol Sparky banned me because I was defending Holy Orthodoxy. And she was quite nasty about it. Of course it continues to seem like I am an active member.I am okay with it though. The members there do not seem very Eastern oriented (including their own in communion with Rome). I sensed much anger there.
We are considered 'Catholic' enough to be welcomed to receive the body and blood at their mass, but not to post in their forum. It seems schizophrenic to meJohn
Sorry, I had a thought to share on the whole CAF situation.I don't really post on CAF. I have an account there, and I rarely go there. But as I understand it, the situation is something like this.You are invited to a neighbor's house. You go in, make yourself at home, kick off your shoes, eat their food, smoke their cigars (if you smoke), drink all their beer and you don't leave. You mock their cooking, their decor, their family and friends. Then, other people who come in, you do your level best to turn them against your hosts. You do this for a good long time. How long do you think they're going to let you stick around?This is the situation with CAF. From what I understand, and I did poke my nose in the forum in question a couple of times and I was horrified, I saw the Church being routinely insulted, mocked and an active tendency to try to convert Catholics from their faith. These were your hosts. Needless to say, I didn't post or stick around, but surely you cannot blame your hosts, after several years of being charitable, for finally saying: "Okay, it's time to go find your own playground. You've had your fun and insulted us enough."Again, I don't speak for CAF. I don't post there. But I'm only going by perception. And for what it's worth, that is the general perception in Catholic circles. Those of you who were banned, you made yourselves unwelcome to your hosts and they finally showed you the door. You should give them credit for allowing you to stick around as long as they did.And, for what it's worth, I won't stick around here and make myself unwelcome. I've already imposed on your hospitality long enough. I'll look for replies, but...I would not want to be a burden.May you be eternally blessed with Christ's peace.
And, for what it's worth, I won't stick around here and make myself unwelcome. I've already imposed on your hospitality long enough. I'll look for replies, but...I would not want to be a burden.May you be eternally blessed with Christ's peace.
Gregory Palamas was a good voice to have on the EC forum. He was a voice who didn't simply surrender to western thinking. It seems like there are very few left on that forum who haven't just assumed the Latin theology. Ghosty offers a good perspective but he is the only one who consistently posts who offers anything but Latin theology. There are several who post once in a while - LakaYaRabb, ronyodish, yeshua - who are good but there are very few who post more than a couple posts a week.
Don't be shy. Anyone who reads CAF & ByzCath on a regular basis knows that A Simple Sinner (to name but one) utilizes this strategy quite frequently. It is rather odd how some Eastern Catholics prey upon other Eastern Catholics, but seems to the norm on both forums (CAF moreso than ByzCath) at present.
My brothers and sisters,I've read this thread virtually from the time it was begun and I want to say a few things about it. Let me begin with some background before I get into the circumstances that birthed this protest movement and those which have continued to nourish it. . . .Joe
And, for what it's worth, I won't stick around here and make myself unwelcome. I've already imposed on your hospitality long enough.
Well, if THAT was what was going on, then why not simply SAY SO?? Just say: "Look - We are tired of our Church being trashed and our views being insulted by Orthodox posters, and we are going to ban all of them and remove the whole section and start a new section instead that does not tolerate the Orthodox presence."
Instead, they pretended they had not banned virtually all the Orthodox posters... And gave no announcement or explanation of the removal of the section...
It was a place of spirited debate, and Rome was losing, and when their apologists, who were theological bullies accustomed to plowing their official line over their Protestant counterparts, came in and tried bullying the Orthodox, they were handed their defective heads... The bullying of the Orthodox by Rome was OK, but the Roman bullies getting beat up by the Orthodox was not, you see...
There really is no way to get around the fact that it was the SUCCESS of the Orthodox in those discussions that frosted the cake of their removal...
Had they been but bitter and ineffectual and snide complainers, they would have been kept around as museum pieces for Roman derision... But you see, it was the conversions to Orthodoxy on the part of so many Eastern Catholics that pushed it over the edge, and the fact that Rome was LOSING the debates, and the Roman understanding of the Orthodox-Rome Schism was being shown to be false, and the theology of Rome too... Rome simply had no answers against us there, so they got rid of us and concealed what they did... It is that simple...Arsenios
Yeah, two posts ... you've really been making a nuisance of yourself, haven't you?
I do not recall your username on DCF, but I do recall one new Orthodox poster who was acting like a troll. We get a lot of trolls at DCF, and when someone comes in all guns blazing, is insulting to other posters and does not carry on a reasonable conversation - they tend to get banned because we believe they are a troll. It is possible I misread your intention, and I jumped on the trigger too soon, thinking that you were, in fact, simply another troll. If you were this person, you were, to my perception, just one more in a long line of trolls we had to deal with that day. I was a bit tired and frazzled. Meanwhile, we have several Eastern Orthodox posters on DCF, they are really respectful and great contributors to the community there. I find their spirituality quite admirable.So, long story short - you weren't banned because you were defending Orthodoxy (if you are the person I'm thinking of) you were banned because I thought you were a troll. If you want to give me your username over there, I can go back and review what it was that might have given me that impression. But if you are the one I'm thinking of, that was the reason.
I don't know what their policy is on banning. Again, I'm not a moderator over there. The only thing I know is that there were many, many complaints made about Orthodox behavior, and apparently when the higher ups (namely the man Karl Keating or someone else on the main staff who pays good money to run that forum) finally looked, he/they pulled the plug, lock, stock and barrel. If your eye offends you pluck it out and all that.
Well, you see...the goal should not be to bully or beat up on anyone. That is a lack of Christian charity, is it not? Who is the one who should be the better example of Christ's charity?
Well, you see...the goal should not be to bully or beat up on anyone. That is a lack of Christian charity, is it not?
With the Orthodox, they have no humility
Perhaps you're right. Perhaps you are better at debate and managed to convince some people to your argument. You won a few souls to your cause. Bully for you. But what did you really accomplish? A lot more hurt, a lot more pain, a lot more division in the Body of Christ.
Indeed! Really???You solved the dilemma! The Orthodox posters were better debaters! No Sparky. It is all about truth. The truth always shines forth like a beacon of light. The Orthodox faith, that Pearl of Great Price, will always stand for the truth. Voices were silenced by deceptive means. Members were banned without being so labeled (like you did to me). The action speaks for itself.
The Catholics.
But if you're really into truth, you'd take a long, hard look at your own behavior and pride.
You caused more division.
Again, good for you.
Regarding messages you received: anyone who was registered at DCF at any time received those messages because the site underwent renovation and all posters had to be notified. It was down for a couple of weeks. If you cannot access the board now, that means you are still banned. If you can, then you're not. You might check first before I do anything else.
If I personally was rude to you, I do apologize.
However, you did truly come across as a troll from the get go.
But again, I cannot know since I do not remember all the particulars and since I don't have your username, I cannot find out.
If you'd come in and had been charitable, I'm sure things would have been different.
If you behaved all the time on CAF the way you did one day on DCF, I'm surprised they let you stay as long as you did on CAF. They must have nerves of steel or they weren't moderating the forum.
Okay, I finally found the thread on DCF in question, Mickey. I read it through. And, while you were annoying, I believe I did pull the trigger too soon. I was indeed having a bad day, and my tolerance was rather low. And, for what it's worth, while I did say "don't let the door hit you on the way out" I did not say where the door should hit you. That being said, you were rude, you did not post an introduction (per the rules) and you did a swansong post (which automatically gets you suspended at least). These last two give the impression of trolling. That was my impetus for the banning. It had nothing to do with your defending Orthodoxy, as I said before. We have several others who do, and none of them torqued me like you did that day.Now, I am not certain how to proceed. I have to check with the head admin. As far as I know, you are not banned presently because of the board renovation. I can inform them you may be posting again, and if so, I'll let someone else moderate you, if that is what you prefer.
And I should clarify:I did not remember our exact dialog until I reread the thread just now. All I remembered is the impression I had of your replies, which was quite negative. Considering your reaction, I figured perhaps I'd over-reacted since I was having a rather bad, stressful day. That does seem to be the case, even though you did violate some rules.I am trying to be reasonable here. I hope you do realize that.
Yes. I have done this. And I have discovered that I am the most wretched of all sinners.Really?Good for me? I have Catholic friends at DCF. They can private message me, but I can not respond. I am still banned--please label me as such. That is all I ask.And I apologize if you construed my defense of Holy Orthodoxy as being rude. That was your perception. I received pm's of support before you abruptly banned me. So then you remember our dialogue?But you just said that I came across as a troll? I suppose since we agree about very little, I would say that you initiated the nastiness and you will blame it on me. I revealed my DCF name in my prior post here as "aka". If you care to pm me that would be fine. But I am not going to rehash what was posted many months ago on DCF. All I am asking is that you label me as banned. I was defending my faith. If you see that as a threat, or uncharitable, then that is your perception. I am not often accused of being uncharitable. But I have surely had my uncharitable moments.Really? So then you do remember our dialogue? Is this your professional opinion as a Roman Catholic moderator?
One more thing, I think I should explain the swansong rule. Usually if someone posts a swansong, we take it as you don't want to be there anymore and you want to go, so we help you. (As...harsh as that may sound.) Usually those who post swansongs ARE trolls. Which is why I went and did what I did.I will double check to see if you are still banned, but I do not believe you are since, as I said, the board settings changed. Either way, I will inform them that you may be posting. And, as I said, I'll let someone else moderate you.The whole division of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches truly, truly truly saddens me. It does get me very upset emotionally. There are few things that do, and that is one of them. That combined with everything else probably hit me hard that day. That is why I will not remain here long, because there is little I can do to bridge that gap other than pray that it end.
all these places are a scam and a good money maker for the catholic church...
I believe Steve Ray (owner of DCF forum) spends about 10k a year of his own money on his site. While he does certainly make money off his videos, lectures, and books, the forum itself is a very expensive. I can vouch for that in that we don't make any money off this site for sure!
I will double check to see if you are still banned, but I do not believe you are since, as I said, the board settings changed. Either way, I will inform them that you may be posting. And, as I said, I'll let someone else moderate you.
That is why I will not remain here long, because there is little I can do to bridge that gap other than pray that it end.
i never read this forum and i never will.....
i could only take so much about hearing the pope preached more than christ or even the Holy Virgin preached more than Christ....and about their false satanic apparition ,fatima,lourds,sacred hearts,Divine mercy...medugorije,,,and other ones they flock too...and another one that was just recognized....they seek new Revelation's flock to them like moths to a flame,,and forget what the holy apostle recieved from Christ and given to our Holy Father's for our salvation....all these places are a scam and a good money maker for the catholic church...
and about their false satanic apparition
If you have never read the dialogue, nor visited the forum, you are just a character witness and don't know what actually transpired.Your opinion of the Roman Catholic Church is well known on this site. Please, when voicing your opinion, use a more charitable tone. Many people view the Orthodox Church as cold, harsh and full of hatred because certain people choose to voice valid opinions but in a way that is consistantly seen as aggressive and intolerant. Yet, when you visit an Orthodox Church and speak with a parish Priest and members of the parish, it is a warm, welcoming place. Ridiculing people into submission will only lead to resentment and they will have little to no will to even step foot into an Orthodox parish, let alone seriously look into its beliefs and theology. You don't have to subscribe to some distorted neo-ecumenical views to love your brothers and sisters and show them the utmost respect and charity, you only have to act Christian.I believe he is refering to Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites, Father Deacon.
I don't know what their policy is on banning. Again, I'm not a moderator over there. The only thing I know is that there were many, many complaints made about Orthodox behavior, and apparently when the higher ups (namely the man Karl Keating or someone else on the main staff who pays good money to run that forum) finally looked, he/they pulled the plug, lock, stock and barrel.
If your eye offends you pluck it out and all that.
Read their TOS. They don't have to give warning, as I understand it.
Well, you see...the goal should not be to bully or beat up on anyone. That is a lack of Christian charity, is it not? Who is the one who should be the better example of Christ's charity?Is there really success in causing more division and hatred rather than charity? Really?
Think about it. The root of our divisions (all of them, Orthodox, Catholic, and even Protestant) is rooted in human pride, the deadliest of all sins. With the Protestants it is to make each individual their own pope. With the Orthodox, they have no humility and therefore "non servum" (that is my perception, for what it's worth, and I do not think it is far off the mark)....We are all guilty of it. The goal should be to break that cycle, but since we are all rooted in ugly pride it will not happen.
With Rome a sense of intellectual and spiritual superiority.
Perhaps you're right. Perhaps you are better at debate and managed to convince some people to your argument. You won a few souls to your cause. Bully for you. But what did you really accomplish? A lot more hurt, a lot more pain, a lot more division in the Body of Christ.
Since Catholic Answers is a Catholic organization whose goal is to defend the Catholic faith, I think converting Catholics to commit schism and therefore mortal sin would be upsetting to the board's owners, don't you think?
It really is what I described above - you went in, ate their food, drank all their beer, then proceeded to turn the hosts' other visitors and family members against them.
Congratulations! I'm sure our Lord is happy.
All the Latin Catholics had to do was answer each question honestly, that should have been able to dominate any discussion if they presented Truth in their arguments and that true information had merit. But they did not or could not always be honest and when that happened the audience saw right through them.
My suggestion would be that this thread quietly close in a day or two - not to preclude forever discussion of CAF - there will be, from time to time, some particularly outrageous event there that merits a new thread here. But, this thread has had its useful life; its mere existence should be a reminder to CAF for a long time to come that the choices they made were poor and wrong.
In the light of this, and after considerable discussion, the Administrators and Moderators have come to the consensus that the time has come to close this thread and maintain it as a "sticky" as a permanent record of the events. The thread will be closed one week from this post on Wednesday 18th June to allow those who wish to make final contributions to it to do so (please be aware though that forum rules still apply, and any posts which are irrelevant to the topic will be moved). Remember that our mission here is not to dwell on the wrongs committed to us, but instead to participate in the blessed discussion that we were enriched by before these events took place.Thank you,The Admin/Mod Team
The thread will be closed one week from this post on Wednesday 18th JuneThe Admin/Mod Team
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Beretta Competition Gun and Gear Promotion
Beretta Brings Back Popular Promotion That Gives Customers Up To $300 Worth Of Beretta Gear With Purchase Of New Competition Shotgun.
ACCOKEEK, MD –-(Ammoland.com)- Beretta USA recently launched an exciting new promotion offering up to $300 worth of Beretta Gear for free when customers purchase a new competition shotgun.
Now until September 30, 2009 customers who purchase a current model competition shotgun, either semi-automatic or over/under models, can get a Beretta Gear package with a selection of items including Beretta caps, range bags, gun cases, shell bags, hearing and eye protection.
Eligible guns include the same models shot by champions on the Beretta Team Shooters roster like Will Fennell, Leo Harrison, Anthony Matarese, Vincent Hancock, and Scott Robertson.
The newest over under competition model, the SV10 Prevail, the Olympic gold-winning model DT10, the unique, break-open, semiautomatic UGB Xcel25, the Urika2, Teknys and 686, 687, 682 Gold E clay target models – are all included in this promotion.
"This competition gun and gear promotion was very popular last year and we think our customers will be just as excited about it this year," said Mike Vrooman, Beretta's Shotgun Marketing Manager.
"It's a huge bonus to those who take advantage of this offer, not only will be shooting the best shotgun available today, but they also get a great package of free Beretta gear valued at up to $300."
Offer is good for purchases made between June 5 and September 30, 2010 of eligible shotguns. All required documentation must be submitted and post marked by October 31, 2010.
For additional information on the Beretta Gear promotion, visit www.berettausa.com. To take advantage of this promotion visit a Beretta dealer.
Beretta, established in 1526, is the oldest industrial dynasty in the world tracing its roots through 16 generations of continuous family ownership. Firearms bearing the Beretta name have been sold for almost 500 years. Beretta USA Corp. was founded in 1977 and supplies the standard sidearm to the U.S. Armed Forces. Today, Beretta manufactures, distributes and markets a complete line of firearms, accessories and apparel. Beretta also owns and operates six retail Beretta Gallery stores worldwide. For additional information, visit www.berettausa.com.


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SDMetal.com conducted an interview with Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SEPULTURA) and his stepson Richie Cavalera (INCITE) on February 14 at Brick By Brick in San Diego, California. You can now watch the chat below.
SOULFLY has tapped Terry Date (PANTERA, SOUNDGARDEN, DEFTONES) to produce the band's next studio album, tentatively due before the end of the year via an as-yet-undetermined record label.
Date previously mixed SOULFLY's "3" (2002), "Prophecy" (2004) and "Dark Ages" (2005) albums, but has never produced any of the group's CDs.
SOULFLY's forthcoming album will the follow-up to last year's "Enslaved", which found the band's mainman, Max Cavalera, getting in touch with his most extreme tastes.
"['Enslaved'] is definitely influenced by deathcore, death metal, and everything from old bands I listened to [like] ENTOMBED, NAPALM DEATH, CARCASS, to new bands like I DECLARE WAR, MOLOTOV SOLUTION, IMPENDING DOOM . . . Because I like a lot of these new bands, too," Max told the Phoenix New Times.
In addition, Cavalera is working on his autobiography called "A Boy From Brazil", for release later this year. The book is being written by British rock author Joel McIver, whose 20 books to date include "Justice for All: The Truth About Metallica", "Crazy Train: The High Life And Tragic Death Of Randy Rhoads" and "Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography". The book's foreword will be written by Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, ex-NIRVANA).
Although Max will not have time to release a new album from his CAVALERA CONSPIRACY project — which also features his brother, drummer Igor Cavalera — this year, there's tentative talk of doing a dubstep/reggae/EDM remix record of CAVALERA CONSPIRACY songs, an idea Igor is especially keen on.
CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's sophomore album, 2011's "Blunt Force Trauma", sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 122 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's debut CD, "Inflikted", opened with 9,000 units to enter the chart at No. 72.


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I don't know why I'm still surprised when I bake a dessert with beans… and it comes out amazing. I mean I already showed you my success with the beet-bean brownies and the deep dish cookie pie, but somehow the concept never fails to fascinate me. Beans?! Not only are they what I often consume for protein in my meals—being low in fat and super high in fiber—but they can be used to replace a majority of the flour and butter in baked goods! I think what gets me most, though, is that they're not simply a healthy substitution; beans make things like cookies and brownies so incredibly rich and fudgey and moist. I may never bake without beans again!
….I just won't tell people this until after they taste my goodies :]
These rich chocolate cookies remind me of these double chocolate fudge cookies my mom used to make from a mix when we were kids. Everyone looved them, especially straight from the oven, all warm and full of gooey chocolate chunks. These bring me back to that same eye-rolling indulgent taste of fudgey bliss, but with a grown-up twist of spicy chiles, cinnamon, tart dried cherries… and of course our healthy little secret ;]
I also gave each cookie a generous sprinkle of coarse sea salt, which really brings out the richness and leaves you craving more sweet after each bite.
chili-chocolate-bean cookies, from My New Roots
- 1 ½ cups black beans, or one 15 oz. can
- 2 T coconut oil
- 1/3 cup organic cocoa powder
- 1/4 t coarse sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/4 t cayenne pepper
- 1/4 t cinnamon
- 1/3 cup maple syrup, honey or agave
- 2 eggs or 6 T egg whites
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped dried cherries


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Tasha W
Question: My turn signals are out just the turn signals
where is the fuse located for the turn signals
Rick W
Car Brakes: How Do You Know When to Change Them?
By Zach Bowman For those who suffer a daily commute through heavy traffic, your vehicle's braking system can bring thousands of pounds of metal, plastic and empty Starbucks cups to a stop hundreds of times before you get to work. It goes without saying that these pieces wear out, but they do so slowly, meaning you may not notice they need attention until ...


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Fight Comp Of The Week Ep 18: Man Escapes Taser Attack From Club Security, Dropped Like A Zombie, Girl Harlem Shaking, Thanksgiving Fight, 100 African Slaps & More!
Edited by drecannonzapproved
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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Banks Plan National Cyber-Attack Drill
Simulation Designed to Help Test Defenses
By Tracy Kitten, September 23, 2013
More than 1,000 banks will test their incident response strategies by participating in a simulated cyber-attack exercise. SWACHA's Dennis Simmons says the drill, which is open to more participants, will help bolster defenses.
Banks are interested in testing their defenses in the wake of recent cyber-attacks, says Simmons, president and CEO of SWACHA, a regional payments association. Those attacks include account-takeover attempts linked to phishing and ACH and wire fraud, as well as distributed-denial-of-service attacks that are sometimes waged as modes of distraction to veil fraud.
"[The simulation] helps an institution understand its own internal communication and internal response to these types of incidents," Simmons says in an interview with Information Security Media Group. And the drill can help banks and credit unions update their cyber-attack response plans.
Educating banking institutions about the possible risks they face during a cyber-attack is a goal of the simulated attacks, he says. For example, he points out: "The bad guys may launch a DDoS attack to divert attention [so they can] hijack an account or initiate fraudulent wire transfers."
Open to More Participants
Banks can still sign up at the FS-ISAC website to participate in the two-day drill in October, which is sponsored by SWACHA, along with NACHA-The Electronic Payments Association; the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center; and numerous state banking associations.
Banking institution employees participating in the simulated attacks will be e-mailed attack scenarios and then asked to develop response strategies, he explains. "It's a tabletop exercise. All you need to participate is an e-mail address and telephone."
During this interview, Simmons discusses:
Communication challenges banking institutions face in the wake of a cyber-attack;
Why payments breaches and network vulnerabilities are getting more attention; and
How law enforcement is working with SWACHA, FS-ISAC and others to encourage more cyberattack simulations.
As head of SWACHA, Simmons is a nationally recognized payments expert. He serves on the board of directors for NACHA. He's chairman of NACHA's Government Relations Committee, past chairman of NACHA's Electronic Check Council and past co-chairman of NACHA's Risk Management Advisory Group. He also is the immediate past chairman of the Payments Executives Leadership Forum. He is a founding member of the board of directors of the Secure Remote Payment Council and a member of the advisory council and faculty of the Bank Operations Institute at Southern Methodist University.
FS-ISAC CAPP Exercise for Financial Institutions
FS-ISAC Financial Institution CAPP Exercise
October 16 - 17, 2013 and
October 23 - 24, 2013
These CAPP Exercise sessions are designed for financial institutions that provide payment services. For more information, click here for a downloadable summary.
What would your financial institution do in the event of a cyber attack on your online banking environment?
Over a two-day period in the fall of 2013, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS‐ISAC), in conjunction with the Payments Risk Council (PRC), is conducting a simulated attack on payment processes to help you assess your company's readiness in the event of such an attack or event.
A similar exercise was conducted in 2012 that helped the industry identify ways to prevent, detect and respond to cyber attacks against payment processes. In a time when account takeovers, breaches at technology companies, denial of service attacks and other cyber‐crimes are affecting the industry, it is imperative that your company knows how to react if it happens to you.
Your organization can't afford to miss the 2013 CAPP Exercise.
CAPP Exercise Benefits
By participating in this simulated cyber attack exercise, your organization will be able to:
Evaluate your current risk mitigation procedures related to cyber attacks and identify potential critical gaps in planning
Engage in a live test of your incident response team's ability to respond to major incidents
Raise awareness and educate your staff regarding procedures to respond to complex threats
Benchmark your business practices based on the responses of other firms
Develop appropriate risk mitigation recommendations in response to the types of attacks used in this exercise
Receive an after‐action report highlighting lessons learned from the exercise and category benchmark results
Demonstrate regulatory compliance
When will this take place?
Choose from one of two weeks:
October 16–17, 2013 - Registration Deadline: 10/9/13
October 23–24, 2013 - Registration Deadline: 10/16/13
Who should participate?
Financial institutions that provide payment services and are exposed to cyber attacks.
How much will this cost?
Participation is free.
How do I register?
You may register by using This Link.
How much time will this take to complete?
The exercise will be conducted over two consecutive days and the concluding survey will require less than one hour each day to complete
You will receive each day's scenario in the morning and we ask that you complete the survey portion by 12:00 midnight EST
Organizations may wish to use this as an opportunity to conduct a drill within their own company - time requirements will vary
What does our financial institution get out of participating?
Your institution's incident response team will be able to evaluate your readiness if faced with a cyber attack. All participants will receive a summary of the exercise results.
What is the Payments Risk Council?
The Payment Risk Council's goal is to share payment risk information for ACH, checks and wire payments as well as best practices to mitigate payment risk. PRC members are financial institution risk professionals, NACHA risk staff and ACH regional payment association managers.
Will this be an actual vulnerability test of my system?
No, this exercise is only a simulation. Each day of the exercise you will receive an email with that day's scenario, a link to a broadcast of information about the scenarios and a series of questions for your organization to answer. When you are ready to answer the questions, you can click on the link to the survey tool to answer the questions for that day.
Will my organization's information be published?
No, all participants and their input will be anonymous.
If my organization is not a member of FS-ISAC, can we participate?
Yes, this exercise is for the benefit of all organizations involved with payments.
Will the exercise require any special software?
No, you will only need an internet connection and email. You will be provided a link to an online survey tool called Survey Monkey where you will enter your responses.
What type of job functions should participate in the exercise?
IT Risk, IT Operations, Line of Business Managers, Call Center Management, Online Banking Managers, Treasury Managers, Legal and Compliance, Corporate Communications and any other function in the financial institution that would respond to a cyber attack against the institution.
What will my organization have access to when the exercise is completed?
You will have peer data to compare through an interactive after action report. Again, all company information will be kept confidential.
How can I use the results to benchmark my own organization's performance?
Data will be available to you to sort by industry type, geographical location or size.
What is FS-ISAC?
The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center was launched in 1999. The FS‐ISAC was established by the financial services sector in response to Presidential Directive 63 from 1998. That directive – later updated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7 in 2003 – mandated that the public and private sectors share information about physical and cyber security threats and vulnerabilities to help protect the U.S. critical infrastructure
https://www.fsisac.com/fs-isac-capp-exercise-financial-institutions" target="_blank">http://https://www.fsisac.com/fs-isac-capp-exercise-financial-institutions


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Monday, January 21, 2013
Sports News
No. 14 NC State holds off Clemson 66-62
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[January 21, 2013]
(AP) -- Devin Booker did everything he could to keep Clemson within reach of No. 14 North Carolina State.
The 6-foot-8 senior finished with a career-high 27 points in the Tigers' 66-62 road loss to the Wolfpack on Sunday. That included scoring 18 in the first half while the rest of this team combined to go 3-for-24 from the field.
"I got the ball a lot more," Booker said. "I just took shots with more confidence. Most of the guys relied on me in the first half because they weren't hitting shots. I just did what I had to do."
Booker made 13 of 18 shots and finished with six rebounds in 39 minutes. But he didn't score in the final 8 1/2 minutes and didn't get a shot in the final 6:44 of the game as the Tigers turned to Rod Hall and the Wolfpack mixed in some zone defense to slow him.
Clemson coach Brad Brownell knew at halftime his team had to get Booker some help to win.
"That's the message every day, to be honest with you," Brownell said. "We struggle to score sometimes."
For N.C. State, freshman T.J. Warren scored 21 points while Richard Howell scored the go-ahead basket with 1:56 left.
Howell finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolfpack (15-3, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who never trailed yet still found itself in a tight game against a league opponent that wouldn't go away. N.C. State scored the game's first 10 points and led by nine early in the second half.
Ultimately, the Wolfpack held on, with Howell's three-point play breaking a tie and Scott Wood's 5-for-6 performance at the line in the final 28 seconds helping N.C. State keep its grip on the lead.
[to top of second column]
Hall added a season-high 16 points for Clemson (10-7, 2-3), including the tying three-point play with 3:37 left. The teams then traded baskets before Howell took a feed from Wood into the center of the paint while Milton Jennings jumped to block any shot from behind. Howell collected the ball and finished the layup despite the contact from Jennings, then made the ensuing free throw for the 60-57 lead.
Clemson had a final chance to tie the game, but Hall slipped as he tried to catch an inbounds pass with 8.7 seconds left. The ball went to Lorenzo Brown, who hit a free throw with 5.5 seconds on the clock to make it a two-possession game.
The Wolfpack had upset then-No. 1 Duke here last weekend for the program's first 3-0 ACC start since the 1988-89 season, only to follow that with a 51-50 loss on a last-second basket at Maryland on Wednesday night. This performance was harder to figure considering N.C. State was the preseason favorite in the ACC and unbeaten at home this year.
Clemson shot 41 percent for the game and went 5-for-19 from 3-point range.
N.C. State shot 45 percent but made things harder on itself by going just 14-for-23 from the foul line.
Press; By AARON BEARD]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Salaam and Greetings of Peace:
I weep for Mumbai in the wake of the horror, and for Baghdad and Kabul, for Gaza and Jerusalem, for Karachi and Kashmir and Kosovo. Tears fall like rain for Darfur, Burma, North Korea, Tibet, Nigeria, Somalia, Congo, Zimbabwe. Where there is terror, imprisonment, torture, war, murder, genocide, rape, disease, poverty, and famine, how can anyone be at peace in the world?
Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.
– The Talmud
Perhaps to be just, loving, merciful, generous, kind, and to walk with humility in spirit, is the beginning of the solution, one person at a time, for as long as we are able. Little by little, the enormity of the world's grief will diminish, and slowly, slowly the spirit of loving-kindness, the spirit of God, will spread and rise in the heart of His creation. This ordinary work may not be completed in our lifetime, or in our children's or grand-children's lifetimes, but if we continue to teach the next generation, and they the one after them, to paraphrase Dr. King, justice will indeed flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
Ya Haqq!


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HSCIC has released a trial version of the new IG Toolkit assessment aimed specifically at independent contractors and care homes.
HSCIC has been listening to and engaging with a range of organisations across the sector, including
general practices, dental practices, ophthalmic and care homes. We have worked with users through
focus groups, conference calls, and demonstrations to develop the trial version.
If you work in a general or dental practice, ophthalmic or care home and use the existing toolkit you can log in directly to the trial at:
If you don't have login details please request a temporary login from the
Contact us page.
Your feedback is appreciated; please let us know whether you find the trial version intuitive,
meaningful, understandable and relevant to your business so we can continue to develop the IG Toolkit.
Feedback can be given by using the "Make a suggestion" option at the top of each page.
We will be setting up a number of workshops and events over the coming months. If you would like to
host, attend, or contribute to one of the events, please contact us to register your interest via
IG Secretariat.
Your IG Toolkit session will automatically timeout in 5 minutes
Please press Ok within 5 minutes of this message appearing to stop your session
timing out


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The American Nurses Association (ANA) describes nursing as "an art and a science;" it takes a unique blend of dedication, compassion, and understanding to comfort the sick and make people feel good when they're ill or in pain. Anyone who's spent time in the hospital …Continue Reading National Nurses Week – May 6-12
We want to hear from you. Connect with us.


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Call of the Wild Movie v. Does 1 – 1,062 — F.Supp.2d —, 2011 WL 996786 (D.D.C. March 22, 2011)
One of the craziest things about the copyright infringement lawsuits that have been brought against BitTorrent users accused of trading movies over the internet is the vast number of John Doe defendants that are usually lumped into one case. After the plaintiff copyright owners file a complaint for infringement — sometimes against thousands of anonymous defendants — they ask the court for leave to take expedited discovery. Then the movie companies serve subpoenas on the John Does' internet service providers, asking the ISPs to disclose the identities of their customers associated with particular IP addresses.
Prosecuting a case against thousands of copyright infringement defendants is an enormous task, both for the plaintiffs' attorneys as well as the ISPs who must respond to the subpoenas. Having so many defendants risks making the case unmanageable. So one may question whether it is appropriate under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to have so many unknown defendants all in the same case. In the nomenclature of civil litigation, the question is whether the joinder of all the defendants in one action is appropriate.
In three of the BitTorrent copyright cases pending in federal court in Washington DC brought by the US Copyright Group on behalf of a handful of independent film makers, groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU and others argued improper joinder. These organizations filed amicus briefs in the cases of Call of the Wild Movie v. Does 1 – 1,062, Maverick Entertainment v. Does 1 – 4,350, and Donkeyball Movie v. Does 1 – 171, arguing that joining all the defendants in one action violated Rule 20 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The court rejected these arguments, finding that joinder was proper, at least in such early stages of the litigation where the defendants had not yet been identified.
The court considered three factors when answering the question of proper joinder: (1) whether the claims arose from the same transaction or occurrence or series of transactions or occurrences, (2) whether the legal and factual questions are common to all defendants, (3) and whether joinder would cause prejudice to any party or needless delay.
Same transaction or occurrence
The court observed that claims against joined parties must be "logically related," and that this is a flexible test, with courts seeking the broadest possible scope of action. The court held that the claims against the BitTorrent users were logically related, based on plaintiffs' allegations that the BitTorrent protocol makes every downloader of a file also an uploader, and accordingly, every user who has a copy of the infringing file on the network must necessarily be a source of download for that infringing file. This is an interesting finding, in that the strength of plaintiffs' allegations were based on how BitTorrent works.
Common legal and factual questions
As for this second factor, the court found that the legal and factual questions were common because the parties would be litigating the same copyright claims, and all of the claims related to the use of BitTorrent.
Prejudice or needless delay
The court said some intriguing things about the interests of the parties in making its findings on this factor. For one, it said that leaving all the defendants joined in the same action would benefit them all, in that they would be able to see the defenses that other defendants were making. The court also expressed concern in favor of the efficiencies afforded the plaintiffs in filing these mass lawsuits. The plaintiff movie studios have been criticized for filing suit against large numbers of defendants in one action rather than separate suits against each defendant (and thereby having to pay only one filing fee to start the action versus several thousand filing fees). The court saw this question squarely in favor of plaintiff. It found that forcing plaintiffs to administer multiple actions, and having to pay the filing fees in all those actions "would certainly not be in the 'interests of convenience and judicial economy,' or 'secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of the action.'"


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Topics: Developments in Front-end and Final Manufacturing of Semiconductors, HB-LEDs, MEMS, Printed/Flexible Electronics, and More
SAN JOSE, Calif. — December 12, 2011 – SEMI today announced a "Call for Presenters" for technical sessions and presentations at SEMICON West 2012, which takes place July 10-12 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California. Technical presentation abstracts are due March 15, 2012.
SEMICON West 2012 will feature more than 40 hours of technical sessions and presentations across three show floor technology stages — the TechXPOTs — focused on critical industry topics shaping design and manufacturing of semiconductors, high-brightness (HB) LEDs, MEMS, printed and flexible electronics, and other related technologies. SEMI is soliciting technical presentations in topic areas including:
Wafer Processing
- Emerging Architectures for Logic and Memory
- Advanced Materials and Productivity Solutions
- Advanced Lithography
- Probe Card/Handlers
- Semiconductor Test Strategies
- Adaptive Test
- Contemporary Packaging Technology and Productivity Solutions
- New Packaging Solutions
- Packaging Materials
- Trends and Opportunities in 3D-IC
- Testability and Thermal Management of 3D-IC
- Interposer Solutions for Packaging
"Extreme Electronics"
- Opportunities in MEMS
- High-brightness LED Manufacturing
- OLED Manufacturing
- Printed and Flexible Electronics
Prospective presenters are invited to submit abstracts (maximum 500 words) on key industry issues and topics in the areas listed above for consideration. Presentations should focus on the latest developments and innovations in these technology areas, inclusive of supporting data. Submissions may be made online from the SEMICON West 2012 website at: www.semiconwest.org/Participate/SPCFP.
On-line submission for abstracts is now available at: www.semiconwest.org/node/8311 . The deadline for abstract submission is March 15, 201 2. If you have questions, please contact Agnes Cobar at Email Contact.
About SEMICON West
SEMICON West is the flagship annual event for the global microelectronics industry. It is the premier event for the display of new products and technologies for microelectronics design and manufacturing, featuring technologies from across the microelectronics supply chain, from electronic design automation, to device fabrication (wafer processing), to final manufacturing (assembly, packaging, and test). More than semiconductors, SEMICON West is also a showcase for emerging markets and technologies born from the microelectronics industry, including micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), photovoltaics (PV), flexible electronics and displays, nano-electronics, solid state lighting (LEDs), and related technologies. For more information on SEMICON West 2012, please visit: www.semiconwest.org
About SEMI
SEMI is the global industry association serving the nano- and micro-electronics manufacturing supply chains. SEMI companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Bengaluru, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org.
Association Contact
Deborah Geiger/SEMI
Email: Email Contact
Phone: 1.408.943.7988
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