text:
'The Z30 is arguably the best BlackBerry to date, but it's devoid of any truly unique features that might draw fans from the other side of the fence.'
'The BlackBerry Z30 is a great phone for messaging, whether it's through SMS, email, Whatsapp, BBM or Facebook Messenger. '
'The good news is that the Z30 is unquestionably the best touchscreen BlackBerry to date. '
'The app ecosystem needs to be more advanced.'
Nice big screen, a large battery
Attractive appearance
Good price, Fast performance, World phone
Abysmal battery life, Runs older Android OS
Looks good for a ruggedized phone
Bulky, no 4G, dim screen with muted colors
Sturdy, solid design
Water, dust and shock proof
Exquisite noise cancellation & calling quality
Lots of great apps
Great design & Larger screen
Stunning design and build
Dual SIM card system with hot-swappable slot on the side
Poor quality display
User interface is pretty noisy
'good weighting'
'Lots of built-in apps and features.'
'good looks'
'The display is both wonderfully bright and superbly responsive. '
'The result is a phone that is slick and fast to navigate.'
'the phone is slender, glossy slab of Samsung goodness.'
'The phone is very fast, stable and is a clean slate with no added manufacturer or carrier bloatware.'
'The fact that the phone is unlocked and can be used abroad with other carriers is also a very big plus.'
ReviewGist helps you find the best products to buy by making sense of online reviews. We are currently aggregating 376,500 reviews covering over 29,474 products.


text:
I think I have mentioned this in a couple other food blog posts, but my wife has a serious obsession with buying Groupons. The one big advantage is that they are good for trying new restaurants, this is the case for the Groupon for the Rooftop Lounge/K'Ya at the Casa de Camino Hotel. This location is a boutique hotel that was originally built in the late 1920's and was a getaway for Hollywood stars. The hotel retains the roaring 20's glamour and has the ambiance of a upscale European Hostel. The Clientel at the hotel and restuarant is a 30 something hipster crowd. The overall ambiance was provided by the guitar performer, a group of L.A. style hipsters hanging out over cocktails in the lobby and old school decor. Since the Rooftop Bar was closing, we tried K'Ya Bistro. K'Ya Bistro is connected to the hipster lobby of the hotel, so the good vibes were flowing.
The menu at K'Ya reminds me of a small plate gastropub, with seasonal Asain-Fusion and Modern American Comfort food dishes. We ordered the Ahi Burger, Cheese Plate, Shrimp Cocktail, Calamari and a couple of their Signature Mojitos.
First thing to come out was the Mojito's. I ordered the Berry Mojito and the standard. We both agreed that the mojitos had the right balance of sugar to rum and mint. These drinks were actually quite strong; although since the bartender has some skills, we didn't even notice until we stood up. The berry muddled into this drink added a subtle freshness to the flavor and made me want to order another.
Cheese Plate
The Cheese Plate was pretty standard as it included the usual suspects of brie, camembert, blue and gouda. accompanying the cheese was toasted bread, water cracker, dates, dried cranberries, green apples, nuts. Some of the noteworthy cheeses were the double cream brie and the highly marbled blue cheese. This cheese plate lacked a liquid topper like a fruit chutney, honey or vegetable jam, which is a real shame. The addition of this extra component could have tied all the individual parts together into a dignified cheese plate.
Ahi Burger
The Ahi Burger was my favorite dish of te night. It consisted of a fluffy brioche bun, lightly seared tuna, tomato, arugula, and wasabi mayo dressing. The bread was fluffy, light and squishy to the touch. When I bit into the burger, the texture was soft and pleasant. The slightly firm texture of the tuna complimented the soft and lightly toasted bun. The flavors of the tuna was extremely fresh and vibrant and stood out in the dish. The wasabi-mayo dressing and arugula added a little kick to the gentle flavors and helped tie the dish together. I would highly recommend this dish and it is one of the better ahi burgers I have tried.
Shrimp Cocktail
The Shrimp cocktail was also pretty standard. Not much to say about it, besides the shrimp tasted fresh. The dish came with two sauces, a red cocktail sauce and a mystery green sauce, which was pretty unexciting. No need to dwell on this dish…it was just shrimp on haphazardly assembled on a plate. This dish would benefit from a more artistic plating.
The Calamari was an interesting and tasty dish. It consisted of deep-fried calamari (rings and tentacles) that was wok'd in a slightly spicy Kung Pao sauce. This dish was also served with fresh shredded carrots, green onions and sprouts. When all the ingredients were mixed together, the vegetables created harmony to the flavors of this dish by balancing the salt of the sauce and the oil from the deep fry. Great textures and great flavors. I recommend this dish.
My Final thoughtsThis restaurant was a nice discovery for dinner and as a hangout. This restaurant had a good vibe and some really good food. Two of the four dishes were amazing and two were just above standard. I would come back here for a small plates dinner and some drinks with friends. I am giving K'ya Bistro in Laguna a 3.5 of out 5 stars. The restaurant almost got a 4, but the appetizers didn't impress me enough. I will be back in a couple of months and will report back if I was WOWED by ALL the dishes. I think this restaurant is a gem and the staff appeared to be very engaged and friendly. I predict that my next experience will be even better.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
After their comprehensive defeat at Lord's back in June, some experts were confidently predicting that Australia would be on the wrong-end of a clean sweep in both of the back-to-back Ashes series.
Mitchell Johnson, if he was mentioned at all, was written off by all and sundry. After all, not only did he not hand homework in on time, he couldn't be relied upon to hit a barn door, let alone a set of stumps.
Fast-forward a few months and you can see that conventional wisdom has held…to the extent that no barn doors have been dented.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of English pride.
Mitch and his mates have a bit of time on their hands before Australia visit South Africa next month – that nice Mr Lehman has let the class off homework – so they're free to assist in contradicting another of those things that "everyone knows" – SQL is always faster than PL/SQL.
What we're going to cover here (among other things) is :
- a quick overview of the LOG ERRORS mechanism (Mitch doesn't do any other speed)
- a recap of the older PL/SQL SAVE EXCEPTIONS
- performance comparison between the two with errors present
- Explore the limits of LIMIT
- performance comparison when no errors are present
Mitch is standing at the top of his run. A random English batsmen is quaking at the crease, so let's get started… Continue reading


text:
Martin, Confused. Do you mean you want to change the localname (the bit after the namespace in the URI) or the label? In your examples below, you have the same string for the localname and label. This looks like a bug. Let me explain things from the point of view of the tabulator, for example, which actually uses the rdfs:label for users. 0) if you want to change the label, don't change the URI. Keep the URIs the same, unless the meaning has changed, in which case make a new URI and keep the old one marked obsolete. The actual string used in the URI has no meaning, it is just an identifier. If it seems weird but people use it - make sure it is well documented but don't change it if there is data using it out there. Do make sure the labels track the meaning and usage. 1) Please use for the RDFS label what you would expect to see in a form which a user is filling in. Ideally give it in several languages. So gr:valueAddedTaxIncluded rdfs:label "includes VAT"@en, "TVA inclus"@fr . This will be often shorter than a long URI localname The label has to be a reasonable prompt for the user, and not a complete explanation of what the field means. It should be usable also as a column heading in a table, for example. So while the URI is "gr:availableDeliveryMethods" the best label might just be "delivery methods". The longer string makes it clear for developers but the short label is quite explicit enough for a column header or field name in a report generated for a user. 1.1) DO NOT do gr:appliesToDeliveryMethod rdfs:label "appliesToDeliveryMethod". This is worse than nothing. If you leave no rdf:label at all for gr:appliesToDeliveryMethod, then tabulator will synthesize a label "applies to delivery method" from the camel case. Actually on a form it will typically use the string "Applies to delivery method" as in English often form field names are capitalized. If you give an rdf label which actually is just the same as the URI localname, you are saying that that is the string which you recommend be used for the form. This will force tabulator to display the camel-case, which is not user-friendly. 2) Never put explanations for ontology engineers in the label. In the comment, OK, not the label. NOT rdfs:label "NewPropertyName1 (Note: See old URI foo:LongPropertyName1 used previously)" . but more like rdfs:label "new form label1"; rdfs:comment " (Note: See old URI foo:LongPropertyName1 used previously)" . You don't want that stuff showing up for users, in reports, forms, etc. Tim On 2011-04 -21, at 14:28, Martin Hepp wrote: > Hi Bob, > Thanks! > > In my opinion, explicit versioning of ontologies should be avoided in general; rather, one should evolve deployed ontology in a backwards-compatible fashion only. While there is is quite some academic work on ontology versioning, fact is that in practice, if you use fine-grained versioning, the Semantic Graph will break more frequently and you will need a lot more inferred triples. > > So in GoodRelations, we use only one version of the ontology (http://purl.org/goodrelations/v1) and all modifications are as much backwards-compatible as possible. From time to time, we have widened the domain or range of a property from a single class to the union of multiple classes or other minor changes, but the side-effects of that are practically irrelevant, in particular if you judge them in the light of real-world data quality of WWW data. > > Thus, we do not use owl:priorVersion, owl:versionIRI, owl:backwardCompatibleWith etc., because it is still the same ontology. > > I intend to keep it like that ;-) > > It's only now that I would like to use shorter labels for 2 - 3 conceptual elements that are already in use, without forcing anybody to > > - update data or > - update derived ontologies or > - change queries. > > owl:sameAs for all classes, properties, and individuals would further reduce the type of reasoning needed to ensure backward-compatibility, but would at the same time turn GoodRelations into OWL Full. > > As for the SemWeb Vocab Status ontology: For keeping things simple, we just use owl:deprecated for the few elements that have been deprecated over time. From my perspective, the popularity / usage of an existing element is more important than the indicated degree of stability. > > Martin > > On Apr 21, 2011, at 2:43 PM, Bob Ferris wrote: > >> Hi Martin, >> >> I think this issue is also related to ontology versioning and assigning an applied version of an ontology in a dataset (see, e.g., [1]). >> OWL provides some properties to describe an version of an ontology, e.g., owl:priorVersion, owl:versionIRI, owl:backwardCompatibleWith (see [2,3]). However, all these relations have a range and domain of owl:Ontology. I'm unsure, whether you also like to type every property or class as an ontology (I think from a philosophical point of view this doesn't matter). >> So far your class and property alignment to prior versions looks good. Albeit, I would separate these axioms from the core ontology, because they are only need if one likes to process reasoning with backward compatible term definitions. >> Furthermore, you can make use of the SemWeb Vocab Status ontology [4] to mark an term, e.g., as 'archaic'. >> >> Cheers, >> >> >> Bob >> >> >> [1] http://answers.semanticweb.com/questions/2815/how-do-i-knowmodel-the-applied-version-of-an-ontology-specification >> [2] http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/REC-owl2-syntax-20091027/#Ontology_IRI_and_Version_IRI >> [3] http://www.w3.org/TR/2009/REC-owl2-syntax-20091027/#Ontology_Annotations >> [4] http://www.w3.org/2003/06/sw-vocab-status/ns# >> >> On 4/21/2011 11:46 AM, Martin Hepp wrote: >>> Dear all: >>> >>> I am considering to rename a few conceptual elements in the GoodRelations ontology. However, they are already in use in data, queries, and applications. Thus, I am thinking of the least intrusive way of implementing this. I think this question is also relevant for many other OWL vocabularies on the Web. >>> >>> Attached, please find my proposal. It critically depends on the ability of typical triple-stores to compute basic(*) inferences for >>> >>> - owl:equivalentProperty for owl:DatatypeProperty and owl:ObjectProperty entities, >>> - owl:equivalentClass for pairs of owl:Class and >>> - owl:sameAs for pairs of "ontological" instances, e.g. value nodes defined in the vocabulary. >>> >>> With "basic", I mean that additional triples for the additional class membership or property or instance must be materialized; this could be a subset of the complete theoretical implications. >>> As far as I know, Virtuoso does support this to a sufficient degree, but I am unsure about other parts of widely deployed infrastructure. >>> >>> It would be no problem to express the necessary inferences by means of a SPARQL CONSTRUCT rule or in SPIN. >>> >>> Please share any suggestions and concerns with me. >>> >>> Old, but in use: >>> --------------- >>> foo:LongClassName a owl:Class ; >>> rdfs:label "LongClassName" . >>> >>> foo:LongPropertyName1 a owl:DatatypeProperty ; >>> rdfs:domain foo:LongClassName ; >>> rdfs:label "LongPropertyName1" . >>> >>> foo:LongPropertyName2 a owl:ObjectProperty ; >>> rdfs:domain foo:LongClassName ; >>> rdfs:range foo:SomeOtherClass1 ; >>> rdfs:label "LongPropertyName1" . >>> >>> foo:LongNameIndividual a foo:SomeOtherClass2 ; >>> rdfs:label "LongNameIndividual" . >>> >>> Now, we want to rename those elements as follows, without breaking old data nor old queries / applications: >>> >>> foo:LongClassName --> foo:NewClassName >>> foo:LongPropertyName1 --> foo:NewPropertyName1 >>> foo:LongPropertyName2 --> foo:NewPropertyName2 >>> foo:LongNameIndividual --> foo:NewNameIndividual >>> >>> Proposal: >>> -------- >>> a) Step 1: Define new classes, properties, individuals and link back to their old variants >>> >>> foo:NewClassName a owl:Class ; >>> owl:equivalentClass foo:LongClassName . >>> rdfs:label "NewClassName (Note: This was foo:LongClassName previously)" . >>> >>> foo:NewPropertyName1 a owl:DatatypeProperty ; >>> owl:equivalentProperty foo:LongPropertyName1 ; >>> rdfs:domain foo:NewClassName ; >>> rdfs:label "NewPropertyName1 (Note: This was foo:LongPropertyName1 previously)" . >>> >>> foo:NewPropertyName2 a owl:ObjectProperty ; >>> owl:equivalentProperty foo:LongPropertyName2 ; >>> rdfs:domain foo:NewClassName ; >>> rdfs:range foo:SomeOtherClass1 ; >>> rdfs:label "NewPropertyName2 (Note: This was foo:LongPropertyName2 previously)" . >>> >>> foo:NewNameIndividual a foo:SomeOtherClass2 ; >>> owl:sameAs foo:LongNameIndividual ; >>> rdfs:label "NewNameIndividual (Note: This was foo:LongNameIndividual previously)" . >>> >>> b) Step 2: Deprecate the old elements in OWL 2 style (using owl:deprecated) >>> foo:LongClassName a owl:Class; >>> owl:deprecated true; >>> rdfs:label "LongClassName - Deprecated, use foo:NewClassName instead" . >>> >>> foo:LongPropertyName1 a owl:DatatypeProperty ; >>> owl:deprecated true; >>> rdfs:domain foo:LongClassName ; >>> rdfs:label "LongPropertyName1 - Deprecated, use foo:NewPropertyName1 instead" . >>> >>> foo:LongPropertyName2 a owl:ObjectProperty ; >>> owl:deprecated true ; >>> rdfs:domain foo:LongClassName ; >>> rdfs:range foo:SomeOtherClass1 ; >>> rdfs:label "LongPropertyName1 - Deprecated, use foo:NewPropertyName2 instead" . >>> >>> foo:LongNameIndividual a foo:SomeOtherClass2 ; >>> owl:deprecated true ; >>> rdfs:label "LongNameIndividual - Deprecated, use foo:NewNameIndividual instead" . >>> >>> c) Since the owl:deprecated property is not defined in OWL1, I would also add the following axiom in order to remain within OWL 1 DL: >>> #OWL 1 DL compatibility of the OWL2 deprecated property >>> owl:deprecated a owl:AnnotationProperty. >>> >>> Thanks in advance! >>> >>> Best >>> >>> Martin >> > > >Received on Thursday, 21 April 2011 19:20:01 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Friday, 17 January 2020 16:21:11 UTC


text:
A handsome horse with a glossy black coat and a pretty white star on his forehead, Black Beauty seems to lead a charmed life.
Although his mother warns him that there are 'bad, cruel men' in the world, he begins his life in a happy home, with a friendly groom to look after him and plenty to eat. However, when a change of circumstances means that he is sold, he soon discovers the truth of his mother's words. Anna Sewell's moving story is one of the best-loved animal adventures ever written.


text:
Panel votes 13-5 to OK Roberts' nomination
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee today approved John Roberts' nomination as the next Supreme Court chief justice, virtually assuring his confirmation by the Senate next week.
The official tally of 13-5 was anticlimatic, with the committee's 10 majority Republicans lined up solidly behind the conservative judge's nomination to the full Senate weeks in advance.
But the decision by three Democrats to join Republican efforts to make Roberts the nation's 109th Supreme Court justice outlined the division in the minority caucus over whether Democrats can, or should, mount even symbolic opposition to Roberts to send President Bush a message on his next Supreme Court nomination.
Five Democrats — Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Joseph Biden of Delaware, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Charles Schumer of New York and Dick Durbin of Illinois — opposed Roberts in the final vote, and many of the arguments merged with senators' worries about the upcoming replacement for the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor.
Senate Judiciary chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., told reporters after the vote he thinks Bush may name a replacement for O'Connor within days of the final vote on Roberts.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan commended the committee "for moving forward in a civil and dignified way," noting the White House hopes this sets an example for considering Bush's second nomination to the court.
Liberal groups that had opposed Roberts expressed disappointment with the committee vote, with Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, singling out Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
He said the Wisconsin Democrat was the only member of his party on the committee who voted in favor of both John Ashcroft to become Bush's first attorney general and now Roberts. Neas said that Feingold's vote was a "tremendous mistake and a tremendous disappointment."
But Leonard Leo of the conservative Federalist Society said the fact that only three of eight committee Democrats supported Roberts was evidence of partisanship. "We're supposed to think the Democrats are being magnanimous? Give me a break," Leo said.
Roberts' confirmation as the 109th Supreme Court justice is all but assured because most of the Senate's 55 Republicans are supporting him and Democrats have decided not to filibuster his nomination.
But Democrats who oppose his nomination said they can't take the risk that Roberts will prove a conservative ideologue on the court.
Feinstein told a packed Judiciary Committee hearing room that her vote was decided after Roberts refused to fully answer questions from her and other Democrats in his confirmation hearing last week.
"I knew as little about what Judge Roberts really thought about issues after the hearings as I did before the hearing. This makes it very hard for me," said Feinstein, an abortion rights supporter.
"I cannot in good conscience cast a 'yea' vote," she said. "I will cast a 'no' vote."
Biden said his vote was a close call, but Roberts "does not appear to share the same expansive view of fundamental rights of previous nominees I have supported. I'm unwilling to take the constitutional risk at this moment in the court's history."
Feingold and Sen. Herb Kohl, both Wisconsin Democrats, and the committee's top Democrat, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, decided to support making the conservative judge the nation's 17th chief justice.
"I will vote my hopes today and not my fears," Kohl said.
Kohl said Roberts made it clear to him that he will be a modest judge, not an activist, and will approach arguments with an open mind.
"I take him at his word that he will steer the court to serve as an appropriate check on potential abuses of presidential power," Leahy told the committee and former Sen. Fred Thompson — Roberts' escort through the confirmation process — who watched from the crowd.
Those statements likely are directed at the president, who is expected to soon make public his choice to replace O'Connor, who has been a swing vote on issues including affirmative action, abortion, discrimination and death penalty cases.
Replacing her could give the president a chance to swing the court to the right on many issues.
Widely mentioned candidates include federal appellate judges Janice Rogers Brown, Edith Brown Clement, Edith Hollan Jones, Emilio Garza, Alice Batchelder, Karen Williams, J. Michael Luttig, J. Harvie Wilkinson, Michael McConnell and Samuel Alito.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, lawyer Miguel Estrada and Maura Corrigan, a member of the Michigan Supreme Court, are also considered possibilities.
"We're already talking about the next nominee in code," noted Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "Sen. Kohl, who voted yes, is talking about the balance of the court with O'Connor. Sen. Feingold is mentioning that he may not be receptive to Justice Brown. I can understand it. That's the way this situation is in 2005."
Democratic Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Max Baucus of Montana have announced their support for Roberts. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana has indicated she is leaning toward voting for the nominee. Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota is viewed as a possible vote for him, as well.
Senate Democrats opposing Roberts so far include Democratic leader Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer of California, John Kerry of Massachusetts and New Jersey Sens. Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg.
The White House wants Roberts to be in place as the nation's 17th chief justice when the Supreme Court begins its new term on Oct. 3.


text:
I've been tweeting off and on for the last few days about the upcoming snow event for Chicago this morning (photo above courtesy CBS Chicago, shows slick road conditions in Bolingbrook - a Southern suburb of Chicago).
This was the second snow event in the last 10 days (the first was in Minneapolis last week) where nearly all of the short to medium range computer forecast models were very consistent in their snowfall forecasts from a relatively lengthy period out from the event, and did not fluctuate as the event approached.
Long time followers and weather buffs know that the computer models typically have a hard time with snow events, and tend to show large swings from run to run, especially a few days out. So the consistency here was impressive, if not even a bit scary at times...
The screen shot below (click to enlarge) shows a composite of the computer model snowfall forecast runs since midday yesterday. This particular view is centered on the western suburbs of Chicago, but it applies to most of the city in this particular case.
I've circled in red the computer model forecast "cluster" of values which generally called for up to 1 inch of snow, on average, this morning. The green line above the red circle, calling for 2-3 inches of snow, is the National Weather Service forecast that most of the public and media are accustomed to using.
Actual snowfall this morning averaged 0.5-1.0 inch at most Chicago area reporting stations. So, the long and short of this story is that the short to medium range forecast models nailed this one - and they had been forecasting similar values for at least the last 3 days, very consistently.
A similar situation took place in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area on Wednesday of last week, with an actual snowfall of 2 inches at most locations in the central and eastern metro (see map below), and an "official" NWS forecast of as many as 4-6 inches leading up to and during the event. There again, the model runs were very consistent in calling for amounts near 2 inches well ahead of the event and showed very little fluctuation throughout.
So, are the short to medium range models getting better at handling snow forecasts? Various tweaks, software and hardware upgrades were made to most of the models over the last 6-12 months, and I think we are indeed seeing some positive results.
This is obviously not a scientific study by any means. I only use the 2 most recent cases in the Chicago and Minneapolis areas because my company provides forecast and storm warning services for snow removal companies, hospitals and schools in both of those areas, so I naturally keep a close eye on them.
I will say that I am very impressed with how the models have handled the smaller, fast moving (and typically more difficult to forecast) events so far this young season. Granted, we have yet to see a "major" storm in either area, and I am anxious to see how the models will perform leading up to a larger event this winter.
Stay tuned for more!


text:
PLANTATION, Fla. – Peggy Miller hopes her legacy of helping senior citizens maintain their independence continues as she retires from Broward Meals on Wheels.
Miller has been taking meals to seniors for the last 27 years. The agency serves over 1 million meals to seniors in Broward County yearly.
"It's just a matter of it being hidden," said Miller, the former executive director of Broward Meals on Wheels. "Most seniors are not going to tell their kids they are hungry. They are not going to tell someone they need something."
"When I go to the freezer to fix my supper, it's like a gift or something," said recipient Patricia Clarke. "I really appreciate it."
Each day, dozens of volunteers spread out across Broward County to deliver meals and check on clients.
"A lot of these people don't even see many people throughout the week, so they really crave having that socialization," said volunteer Karen Reynoldson. "It's good for me, too. It makes you feel good."
Miller's main focus while leading the agency was to help its clients remain independent. Broward Meals on Wheels added nutritional counseling programs, grocery shopping services, emergency meals for seniors after hospital discharge, and meals for clients' pets.
"Peggy, over the years of leading this agency, has really come to define what we are as being more than a meal for our clients and providing more than a meal in the community," said Broward Meals on Wheels Executive Director Mark Adler. "She has seen unmet needs in the community and built programs around those needs."
Miller's main message was that seniors are valuable people.
"They are valuable to our culture and they are value to our future," she said. "If you don't have seniors, you have no past."
"I have somebody to talk to for a little while and it really helps," added Clarke.
"I think we're the champion for the homebound senior. We are the lifeline between them and the rest of the world," said Miller.
Click here to learn how you can become involved with Broward Meals on Wheels.


text:
Amicus Brief From Public Knowledge Distills Ultramercial's 'Complex' Patent To 16 Lines Of Code
from the one-rarely-sees-javascript-in-a-legal-filing dept
Public Knowledge has entered the battle against Ultramercial, the holder of a broad patent for an abstract idea that it has casually stapled "on the Internet" to in order to push it through the patent office. At one point the patent was rejected by the court, but Ultramercial repeatedly tapped the words "on the Internet" until the CAFC obligingly agreed that the insistent tapping had some merit and overturned the lower court's ruling.
WildTangent appealed this ruling in 2012, drawing immediate support from Redhat, the CCIA, Google (in conjunction with Verizon, no less) in the form of petitions for the Supreme Court to hear the case. A couple of months later, the Supreme Court vacated the CAFC's ruling, asking it to reconsider the case in light of Mayo v. Prometheus. As of Sept. 24th, Google [et al, incl. Redhat, HP, Zynga and Homeway, Inc.], the CCIA and the EFF have also filed amicus briefs on behalf of WildTangent, urging the CAFC to rule in a consistent manner on Ultramercial's patent in light of its decision on Mayo.
Public Knowledge's brief takes a somewhat novel approach, attacking the supposed complexity of the patent head on
Today, Public Knowledge filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to review an important case on software patents, WildTangent v. Ultramercial. The basic question in this case is whether a patent to a simple, abstract idea can be valid simply by tacking on enough legal and technical language to that idea, even if that extraneous language has no real meaning.As Public Knowledge points out, ideas aren't patentable and what Ultramercial has here is nothing more than an abstract idea obscured by layers of technical language.
The patent in question is U.S. Patent No. 7,346,545. That patent basically describes a simple idea familiar to anyone who has watched videos on the Internet: the idea of taking a video available for purchase, and showing it for free in exchange for viewing an advertisement first.
Whoever wrote the patent on advertising in this case, however, was clever. Instead of simply describing the simple idea for what it is, the patent expounds an eleven-step process in a patent claim of 349 complex, technical-sounding words. This was enough to convince one court that the process required "intricate and complex computer programming," thus making it patentable and not an abstract idea.Public Knowledge's brief exposes the extremely simple underlying process of Ultramercial's patent. What took its patent lawyers 349 words to explain boils down to 16 lines of code -- hardly the indicator of "intricate and complex computer programming." As a demonstration in PK's blog post, Charles Duan turns the following process steps into two (short) lines of code.
As an example, here are two steps of the process claimed in the patent.82 words and three complex sentences reduced to 11 words of code spanning two lines. Duan refers to
"a fifth step of offering to a consumer access to the media product without charge to the consumer on the precondition that the consumer views the sponsor message;
a sixth step of receiving from the consumer a request to view the sponsor message, wherein the consumer submits said request in response to being offered access to the media product;
a seventh step of, in response to receiving the request from the consumer, facilitating the display of a sponsor message to the consumer;"
For all those words, here's the computer code that implements them:
if (window.confirm("View ad or buy?")) {
And if no one believes it's that simple, Public Knowledge has provided a working version of its sixteen lines of code at this URL.
Here's the process Ultramercial's suing about in all of its 16-lines-of-code glory.
As Mike has pointed out before, the only reason Ultramercial even has this patent is because it convinced the CAFC that the addition of "on the Internet" turns an abstract idea into a patentable process. The additional wording describing the "process" is a diversionary tactic. Hopefully, a second run through will find the CAFC willing to cut through the dense wording and ridiculous "Internet" assertion and find Ultramercial's patent invalid.
Filed Under: amicus brief, on the internet, patents
Companies: public knowledge, ultramercial, wild tangent


text:
PEPPERELL — At their Nov. 26 meeting at the Pepperell VFW, the newly founded Global War on Terrorism Monument Committee appointed officers and created subcommittees to get their project underway.
The group's purpose is described in their tentative mission statement: "GWOT (Global War on Terrorism) is a group of Pepperell-area veterans who plan to organize and construct a public monument to honor veterans who have served post 9/11 (and have received a campaign medal), by fundraising."
Bobby Connolly will serve as chairman, Robert Leddy as vice-chairman, Matt Boisvert as treasurer and Kevin Hayes as clerk. Mike Carr will serve on the surveying subcommittee, Adam Taylor on the design subcommittee and Mike Levesque on the fundraising subcommittee.
The goals for the committee's next meeting are to finalize a mission statement, discuss site surveys, ideas for fundraising, and the pros and cons of being a town committee versus a nonprofit organization. They also plan to set a time and location for regular meetings.
The next meeting will take place at the Pepperell VFW on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m., during the monthly Veterans' Breakfast.


text: Leapfrog Group Honors St. Joseph Hospital in Orange and St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton for Being among the Safest Hospitals in the Nation Jun 12, 2012 Contributor: St. Joseph Health–St. Joseph Hospital in Orange and St. Joseph Health–St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton recently earned an "A" Hospital Safety ScoreSM from The Leapfrog Group, recognizing these hospitals for being among the safest in the nation. The Leapfrog Group, which is an independent national nonprofit run by employers and other large purchasers of health benefits, calculated scores for hospitals across the nation with assistance from the Hospital Safety ScoreSM as well as The Leapfrog Group's Blue Ribbon Expert Panel. Scores were created using publicly available data on patient injuries, medical and medication errors, and infections. U.S. hospitals were assigned an A, B, C, D, or F for their safety. Out of the 264 hospitals that received a grade in California, only 37 percent received an "A" grade. "It is a great honor to be recognized as two of the safest hospitals in Orange County and in the state," said Darrin Montalvo, Executive Vice President of St. Joseph Health, Southern California Region, which is the parent organization for the hospitals. "At St. Joseph Health we pride ourselves on our commitment to providing perfect care to the communities we serve, and this is a testament to our success." Calculated under the guidance of The Leapfrog Group's nine-member Blue Ribbon Expert Panel, the Hospital Safety ScoreSM uses 26 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to produce a single score representing a hospital's overall capacity to keep patients safe from infections, injuries, and medical and medication errors. The panel includes: John Birkmeyer (University of Michigan), Ashish Jha (Harvard University), Lucian Leape (Harvard University), Arnold Millstein (Stanford University), Peter Pronovost (Johns Hopkins University), Patrick Romano (University of California, Davis), Sara Singer (Harvard University), Tim Vogus (Vanderbilt University), and Robert Wachter (University of California, San Francisco). "It's The Leapfrog Group's goal to give patients the information they need and deserve before even entering a hospital," said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. "We congratulate the hospitals that earned an 'A' and we look forward to the day when all hospitals in the U.S. will earn the highest scores for putting patient safety first." To see more information about Hospital Safety Scores, visit www.hospitalsafetyscore.org, the Hospital Safety ScoreSM website, which also provides information on how the public can protect themselves and loved ones during a hospital stay. St. Joseph Health provides a full range of care facilities throughout Orange County, Calif., including: acute care hospitals, home health agencies, hospice care, outpatient services, skilled nursing facilities, community clinics and physician organizations. St. Joseph Health – St. Joseph in Orange was recently re-designated a Magnet facility for nursing excellence and was named one of the top 10 hospitals in the Los Angeles/Orange County area by U.S. News & World Report. St. Jude Medical Center recently earned a three-year accreditation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer and received a "3 star" rating for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft procedures from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. St. Joseph Health is committed to providing and maintaining a continuum of care that matches the diverse needs of the communities it serves through its technologically advanced facilities and its over 10,750 dedicated employees that strive daily to provide perfect care while building the healthiest communities and ensuring every encounter is sacred. About St. Joseph Health St. Joseph Health is a $4.7 billion integrated Catholic health care delivery system sponsored by the St. Joseph Health Ministry. We provide a full range of care facilities including: acute care hospitals, home health agencies, hospice care, outpatient services, skilled nursing facilities, community clinics and physician organizations throughout California, Texas and New Mexico. Our 24,000 dedicated employees strive daily to provide perfect care while building the healthiest communities and ensuring every encounter is sacred. St. Joseph Health is committed to maintaining a continuum of care that matches the diverse needs of the communities we serve. For more information about St. Joseph Health, log onto www.stjoe.org. About The Leapfrog Group The Leapfrog Group (www.leapfroggroup.org) is a national organization using the collective leverage of large purchasers of health care to initiate breakthrough improvements in the safety, quality, and affordability of health care for Americans. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey allows purchasers to structure their contracts and purchasing to reward the highest performing hospitals. The Leapfrog Group was founded in November 2000 with support from the Business Roundtable and national funders, and is now independently operated with support from its purchaser and other members.


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Two years ago I published The Handbook of 5GW, an edited volume of pieces that looked at the fifth gradient of warfare. My publisher in that process was Fred Zimmerman, of Nimble Books. Fred's new venture, Nimble Combinatorial Publishing, is definitely making waves — including being in the latest edition of Forbes!
The first impulse of most people like me, who have spent much of their careers writing for love and money, is to loudly answer NO WAY. I firmly believe that it is impossible to replace the creativity of the human mind and the skill of writing learned over years with an algorithm.


text:
SKF W 608 R-2RZ Bearing
Bearing W 608 R-2RZ SKF - In Stock - Min Qty 1
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Inspection and maintenance of SKF W 608 R-2RZ Bearing after installation should be checked regularly.
The use of SKF W 608 R-2RZ Bearing can not be careless, and the impact may be damaged by indentation fracture.
SKF W 608 R-2RZ should be avoided in wet places, and gloves should be worn to prevent sweat from getting on.


text:
Consumer preferences for Hawaiian orchids revealed
Orchids are the fastest-growing group of potted flowering plants in the United States, outranked only by poinsettias in sales. The wholesale value of potted orchids in the U.S. has risen 80% in the last decade (to $126 million in 2007), but information concerning consumer preferences for orchids is still very limited. To help Hawaiian garden centers and orchid growers gain insights into consumer attitudes and preferences, researchers from Texas A&M University designed a study that analyzed consumer preferences affecting orchid purchases and the relative importance of different orchid "attributes", including species, price, size, and color.
California, Florida, and Hawaii are the major potted orchid producing states in the United States, accounting for 94% of total production. Hawaii provides ideal conditions and the perfect natural environment for orchids to grow year-round. Despite these perfect growing conditions, Hawaiian potted orchid production has remained relatively flat since 2002 due to increasing competition from foreign suppliers and larger domestic producers. Though orchids have experienced a growth in consumer popularity in the last decade, producers need more information concerning orchid markets and consumer preferences.
Marco A. Palma, Yu-Jen Chen, Charles Hall, David Bessler, and David Leatham from Texas A&M conducted the survey in Akatsuka Orchid Gardens, headquartered on the Island of Hawaii, in 2008. The full study was published in the latest issue of HortTechnology. When consumer preferences for orchid attributes were analyzed, the results revealed that most respondents (57.8%) were able to identify the specific orchid species they has just purchased, but 42.2% of consumers could not identify any orchid species.
The analysis results also revealed that price was the most important factor affecting consumers' purchasing decisions, representing 30.90% of influence, followed by size (26.28%) and species (25.58%). Color was the found to be the least important orchid attribute. Although specific colors were not used in the choice experiment design, consumers stated that they preferred multicolor orchids.
According to Palma, "the most preferred or first-choice product would be the attribute combination having the highest utility values, which is a large multicolor bamboo orchid at the lowest price of $8.00". The researchers observed that orchid growers in the state of Hawaii could benefit by growing larger orchid pots (five and six-inch diameter pots) with less expensive species that can be sold at a lower price.
"While these results cannot be extrapolated to represent preferences of the total population of orchid consumers in the U.S., they provide insights for consumers on the Island of Hawaii, and may also be useful in designing an extension of this article to determine flowering plant buying preferences in other regions of the country," the researchers concluded.
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text:
New engine
New engine
I'm sorry, what?
Tesla motors is already using "Tesla motor", it is called AC induction motor.
Excuse me,
had to look up what a Tesla turbine is. It is a blade free turbine that generates rotation from a flowing medium.
What kind of medium do you have in mind to feed into a Tesla turbine? The idea of using the air flow around the vehicle has already been discussed at great length. The end is, drawing energy from there will result in slowing down the vehicle MORE than the gained energy can accelerate it.
TESLA specifies the overall efficiency of their energy storage (charging+discharging the battery) to be above 90%. What point of energy conversion do you think a Tesla turbine would improve.
Well, see, you have this little jet engine in front of the Tesla turbine ...
??? you want to take an electric zero emission car and add a gas jet engine???
Why not just buy a generator and install it into the trunk space in front?
Oh that's right because the goal was a 0 emissions car.
If it uses gas I'll just go buy one of the cheaper model hybrids already on the market.
Silly me Brain was joking!
The original comment by Person1996 is partly correct. In a open system with nitrogen pressure as was mentioned, the Tesla disc turbine will work fine...but the nitrogen is lost to atmosphere, and is expensive to re-charge.
As for the use of vehicle air flow while braking to power a Tesla Turbine...it is feasible (there are Tesla wind turbines available now http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyvf7iyi-wM), but probably not practical.
However, there are other ways to use the Tesla Turbine idea with the Tesla car...
For example, Formula One cars are beginning to use regenerative braking as a way of recovering energy for re-use in another part of the course. There are various methods and devices used to do this, including flywheel, generator, hydraulic, etc.
The Tesla disc turbine can accomplish regenerative braking, and much more. Here's how...
A Tesla Turbine can also function as a pump. It is basically a hydraulic pump/motor that can compress air during braking. The air is stored, and during acceleration, air pressure is released into the same Tesla turbine for acceleration.
Why a Tesla Turbine?
Powerful, efficient, reliable...just like the Tesla car!
There's a reason why Nikola Tesla said his turbine was "the greatest of all my inventions" !
(see wikipedia, "Tesla Turbine" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_turbine)
Tesla turbine reaches only about same efficiency as emotor turned to generator. Not worth the extra complexity.
After Tesla Was released from contract at Edison he and a friend name Edwin Herbert Hall worked on Tesla's generator which he first called the Tesla Turbine. As they progressed Hall came up with his theory called the Hall Effect. Together they invented a new type of passive movement generator employing the Hall Effect. This generator strangely enough also could be used as a motor. Using 68 percent less energy than a conventional motor and about half of the energy of the original Tesla Motor. I would like to forward the Hall papers, his bio and the Hall Effect Theory, if you would give me an engineering email address to pass these wonderful documents on to you.
The current Tesla Roadster motor is well over 90% efficient. There is very little efficiency left to improve. Timo, help me as I have forgotten the actual amount.
Since Tesla turbines are being discussed Tesla did some kind of slick trick utilizing two Tesla turbines. Does anyone steeped in Tesla lore remember what this was?
I don't know the exact efficiency. They claim 88% overall efficiency, which means pretty d*mn good engine efficiency because you already lose nearly 10% at PEM and batteries.
This is from http://www.teslamotors.com/goelectric/efficiency
Converting the chemical energy to free electrons (electrical energy) can be greater than 90% efficient – some energy is lost to heat in cells and other battery pack components such as current conductors and fuses. The remaining components of the Tesla powertrain – the drive inverter and motor – are also extremely efficient. Overall, drive efficiency of the Tesla Roadster is 88%
Here's a great use for a Tesla Turbine...
Mount one in the Tesla car, and power it by gasses resulting from an on-board plasma vortex combustion chamber.
The fuel? ANYTHING! Even garbage! The plasma disintegrates virtually anything into its component gasses which then can be run in the turbine. Because of its robust disc design, the Tesla Turbine can sustain direct biomass combustion, or run on virtually any fuel, with little or no particulate pollution.
Modern materials such as ceramic carbon nanotube allow much higher turbine temperatures and speeds than in Nikola Tesla's time, at one-third the weight.
100 years ago, Tesla claimed between 5 and 10 horsepower per pound of engine weight. A modern well-engineered Tesla Turbine should develop more than nine times that amount, or 90 horsepower in a one pound package.
Make it virtually silent, (low noise is another attribute of the Tesla disc design) and you have a mighty fine generator!
Garbage in, power out.
Then when you drive home to plug in the Tesla car, it POWERS THE HOUSE !; )
As for the above question from "searcher", above, about the double turbine, here's what Tesla said...
"I am now building a double turbine, one with two wheels which must revolve in opposite directions. It is for a special purpose, and I cannot talk much about that, but each wheel develops 200 horsepower, that is 400 horsepower, and it weighs 88 pounds." - Nikola Tesla, from "Motor World", September 18, 1911
The special purpose he spoke of was for a power supply for his special flying machine which had "neither gas bag, wings nor propellers".
@mrfixitrick, Fascinating post, plese visit new esoteric thread I started. I recall something in ferference to about the twin turbine thing something about a power generating station it seems. It turned out to be rather sucesful if I recall correctly.Wish they would do a movie about Tesla.
Excuse the typos, didn't proofread and its late.
Its a good thing that Tesla is moving towards the Eco friendly cars. This will be good for our environment and our health also. Most of the companies trying to make such cars. But they are very expansive. I hope Tesla should make this car economical so that everyone easily able to buy it.
mrfixitrick, Please have a look at experiment I am discussing and underlying idea or objective would like to get thoghts from you be they be favorable or not. Thanks, It is on the "esoteric ramblings" thread.
All ideas here sound good and kinda sci fi as well. On a more serious note why not apply newer technology to a different field? Locomotive power units, use these engines with the compressed gas setup to power a locomotive. No emmission mass transit/cargo haul? Sounds possible.
outdatedtech tech will also invite you to visit "Esoteric Ramblings" and critique idea I am discussing about the wheels. One thing though you will have to get out of the "Laws of Thermodynamics" box to do so. Ijust don't think ai hsve ever really got my logic concerning this over. The point is the system completely breaks off from operating system and is doing it's thing completely seperate and has managed not to disturb the the dynamics of the original system. Just think something going round and round can generate electricity. Also this device x or devices x, yet uninvented, facillitates this. All have to do is develope mysterious device x or devices x. Not perpetual motion, just another regen syetem. Be candid, my skin has been thickened by this idea,ha.
starshereas and Person1996, You are invited, also, to go to "Esoteric EV Ramblings" and crituqe the idea of the wheels as source of regen, but please remember we are talking about uninvented devices in the mix. Does it sound remotely doable if devices could be invented to facillitate this?
"The point is the system completely breaks off from operating system and is doing it's thing completely seperate and has managed not to disturb the the dynamics of the original system. Just think something going round and round can generate electricity. Also this device x or devices x, yet uninvented, facillitates this. All have to do is develope mysterious device x or devices x. Not perpetual motion, just another regen syetem."
You keep describing perpetual motion then saying it's not perpetual motion. Your arguments are a form of verbal perpetual motion. And please stop posting on every other thread inviting people to post on your special thread. Why not have a laser beam shoot power from a solar collector in space as in an 'yet uninvented system' to power your car? It's easy to come up with ideas like this.
dsm363, If you will notice one of your previous discussions mentioned stopping "esoteric discussions" wll as you can see that was partly the inspiration for the title of my thread.dsm363 I do not want to be unpleasant with you because I do have respect for your manner on the website but as you probably read I am trying to get out of the way of what you would consider more professional sites. I would be delighted if you chose to make comments on the thread. But if you will notice I said that for all you guys that have passed judgement on my concept just to pass over it if you would be so kind. Please, in spite of your obvious technological know how, it is possible that you are missing something that I am looking at. Bet a lot of people thoght Tesla as well as many others were "Looney Tunes" on their stuff and possibley they were on much of their stuff , who hasn't been that have made real contributions. Please refrain from giving the impression that your knowledge is the last word on things . This is a free and open website. Please don't make request of me to stop inviting select people to take a look at my concepts. Any of my comments you don't like ar think are off base just kindly disregard. I think it is absolutely my privilege to invite whoever and whenever I want to. You are not being forced to read my comments. Whenever you see comment by searcher all you have to do is just skip it. And I in turn would ask you in turn to please stop making comments in reference to my inviting people to check out my ideas. I have a right to them whether they are "no gos" or not.Please do not attempt to deprive me of this because as you well know no one knows it all. I would again use one of Will Rogers quotes, "Everybody is stupid, just about different things" and that applies to me as well as everybody else.
Dsm383, In further defense of my concept. The reason I proposed the elaborate set up of the rails with receptors of some type on them is try to show that if eletrical energy could be thrown off in tesla like manner of some form or another and stored outside of the vehicle without interferring in the least with the ongoing thermodynamics of the car moving down the road then we seem to have some type of effective regen in my view. Then this being the case we could move the system inside the car and perhaps conduct the tesla type capture or transmission of eletrical current in a much more pratical,effecient, and safe way. I insist I am not speaking perpetual motion as the second system would be operating completelety on its own without interfferiing with the thermodynamics of the first system, and of curse would be just transmitting this derived eletricity from the turning wheels {turbines if you will} back to a battery. Just a conceptulization. As for what devices and how they would work, then that's where you guys come in. I honestly think it could be done over time by the right engineers. To use some outlandish comparison that you did with the laser beam thing is not fair as I believe this concept is more down to earth and practical than that. I just know that a lot of the elctricity stored in the EV battery is coming from a turbine turning somewhere by using the overwhelming force of water rushing or what ever and at the end of the cycle there are four wheels turning with overwhelming force and seemingly should not be that difficult to take this overwhelming force and send this same type energy back to battery for storage. At least some electicity by means of an ultra light and unobtrusive system. Of course I submit and agree if it interfers with the initial cycle of car going down the road it's a no go but just feel in my gut there should be a way to devise system that would effeciently avoid this. I do wish I could articulate this better. Have a nice day.
To Searcher: With respect to the "wheels as a source of regen", note that you left off braking. The key is braking. Please look up and comprehend Lenz's law and Faraday's law.
David70, Cetainly will do and I would like to take this orporunity to invite you to the "Esotoric EV Ramblings" where we can discuss laws,thories, way out maybe stuff and not get in the way of possibly more pertinent issues. Go to the thread and probably repeat what I have already heard a bunch of times,where my concept concerning the wheells breaks down.
Also would apprciate an answer on this one I requested but never got. Got to ramblings to answer it please though.If there there is a stream that has never known to have gone dry and there is a millpond on it with a waterwheel and grist mill. Just how close to a perpetual, or relatively perpetual motion machine is the water wheel if it is theretically turning all the time{which I don't think this is needed at all times, actually} but theoretically how close is it? Just have to believe their are some near perpetual motions going on in our world and so why does everybody just want to blank their mind out to possibilities by just the "pat statement" aw that's perpetual motion and it thus won't work.Thanks for the reference points and excuse my stubbornness.
Einstein: "Only two things are infinite: the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not entirely sure about the universe."
In the IT field, computer operators have the rep of being the mental southpaws, the wingnuts. Never had a personal contact to judge by before!
I didn't quite understand and dictionary isn't helping. What rep do they have?
Brian: Perpetuum mobile invention would be a device that taps into human stupidity and converts silly ideas into electricity. Wow, you could judge the IQ of a driver from the vehicles speed.
At least that's a pattern already established today!
Come on now guys I have acknowledged the intelligence etc. of all you and have even tried to be congenial to the point of semi-suckup mode. Why such sarcasm? Will you not concede that my concept might have some possible merit and maybe I am just not doing a good job of communicating it.
Oh yes, would appreciate a serious, non smart alecky answer to the millpond question. Know it may sound crazy, but would like to here a serious response to it.
As far as smart alecky, sarcastic, and rude surely you know by now I am quite capable of this without even a couple of suck-ups joining in on my behalf and triple teaming someone.
Oh BrianH, seriously since occupations came up, what do you and timo do for a living. I have asked this before, several told me their occupation, think VolkerP did in fact. Always have acknowledged all you guys seemingly being very technologically sound. Oh I am sorry I forgot BrianH edited or something an online technical thing. Writing skills and techno skills, good combo, especially for this site, along with his antic sense of humor. I have timo pegged for a mathmatecian who is probably one of the best read persons on the Tesla cars outside of some of the actual employees.
Sorry I aggrevate you all with my persistence. Very possibly is a no go but sorry I will have to insist further, will go to msc sources until thouroughly convinced it is a no go. Thus the invitations to other view points. Think I already have yours pretty well established. Have a splendid day.
Ok I haven't had a chance to review your design though I will. Just in case there was a lack of description on my part. I visualized harnessing wind or solar energy to power a compression unit or gas generator of some sort. Store the produced gas and use it as needed to refuel the train. Using older steam engine style components this is a very wasteful process, but substitue a modern diesel electric engine - diesel engine + tesla turbine and leave the rest alone with exception of a few storage adaptations. Free energy, non poluting, easier to bring into production then millions of tiny gas stations for cars.
@otdatedtech, Certainly not a problem,just whenever convenient. Don't conclude some of my remarks are a broad generalization, just a gripe about certain ones.
@VolkerP, What would be your estimate of the speed of your vehicle,ha.
I'd give just about everybody a hitch. Have to use that funny helmets in this car, you see...
Why VolkerP, this is no longer a vehicle but a time capsule. Wow, that is fast.


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1* It shall come to pass
I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
2Even upon your male and female servants,
in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
3I will set signs in the heavens and on the earth,
blood, fire, and columns of smoke;
4The sun will darken,
the moon turn blood-red,
Before the day of the LORD arrives,
that great and terrible day.b
5Then everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD
will escape harm.
For on Mount Zion there will be a remnant,
as the LORD has said,
And in Jerusalem survivors
whom the LORD will summon.c
* [3:1–5] In many places in the Old Testament, Hebrew ruah is God's power, or spirit, bestowed on chosen individuals. The word can also mean "breath" or "wind." In this summary introduction to his second speech, Joel anticipates that the Lord will someday renew faithful Judahites with the divine spirit. In Acts 2:17–21 the author has Peter cite Joel's words to suggest that the newly constituted Christian community, filled with divine life and power, inaugurates the Lord's Day, understood as salvation for all who believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ.
a. [3:1] Is 44:3; Ez 39:28–29; Acts 2:17–21.
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sponsoring organizations.


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Chandler Lutz reports.
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ABUJA, Nigeria, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Nigeria should court investors ready to help with the exploration of the oil reserves said to be in the country's Lake Chad basin, an executive said.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. Vice President Namadi Sambo said the company discovered oil within the basin. He called for the courting of "willing and ready investors that will facilitate speedy and timely exploration in the second phase of the exercise," reports Nigerian newspaper The Guardian.
Offshore Nigeria is an active region for oil explorers, though saboteurs have targeted those operations in a bid for a greater share of the benefits from the government. The government in July recommended a $5 billion fine for a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell for a spill at an oil field in the Niger Delta.
The Guardian describes the Lake Chad basin as a "hotbed of terror." Militant group Boko Haram aims to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria. The country is divided largely along the northern mostly Muslim are and southern mostly Christian region.
Nigeria gets almost all of its export earnings and about 40 percent of its government revenue from the oil sector. The report from The Guardian didn't outline a reserve potential in the Lake Chad region.


text:
WISN 12 News investigates: Sex offenders living for free on taxpayer dime
After they serve their prison terms, some of the state's most violent sex offenders eventually return to the community under the state's supervision.
But as WISN 12 News investigative reporter Colleen Henry discovered, as wards of the state, offenders' expenses are being paid by taxpayers at rates reflecting the high life.
Jack Lechler, Dick Kunz and Don Mogenson are retirement buddies -- men on a mission to save the state from itself.
"We're old guys that are just looking at reality and common sense," Lechler said.
Two years ago, the state placed a sexual predator around the corner from Kunz's Manitowoc home. The men started asking questions and checking property records. The rent alone left them stunned.
"Fifteen hundred dollars a month for 480 square feet, which is basically the size of a two-car garage," Kunz said. "This would be about five times the market value."
The Manitowoc sex predator is one of 32 whose success in treatment earned them supervised release in homes across the state.
In March, the state placed two sexual predators in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood. The rent the state pays for the 1,100-square-foot bungalow is $2,400 a month. That's the going rate for many of Milwaukee's toniest addresses, luxury high-rises that boast majestic lake views and amenities such as swimming pools and fitness centers.
"Twenty-four hundred a month rent," Henry said.
"And we're paying that? Oh God," Roxanne Jurkowski said.
Jurkowski has lived in Bay View for the last 20 years.
"Why can't they give it to people, young children who need it," Jurkowski asked.
Across the street, Vito Schwartz asked the same question.
"Twenty-four hundred dollars a month. That's ridiculous. How do they get away with that?" Schwartz asked.
WISN 12 News reviewed property records and learned the landlord bought the Bay View home in February for $98,000. It's one of at least eight properties linked to that same operation. It often buys foreclosed homes and leases them to the state at a premium.
Like the Manitowoc home, the owner bought it for $35,000 and charges the state $1,600 a month.
In Green Bay, the home cost $33,000 and rents for $1,800 a month. A Beloit home cost $32,000 and rents for $1,800 a month.
The homes were purchased by several limited-liability corporations. WISN12 News tracked them all back to a Fond du Lac office building.
The landlord did not return calls, so WISN 12 News took those questions to the state.
"Who signs the dotted line when they decide to pay $2,400 for a place that's probably worth about $700 rent?" Henry asked.
"I don't have that information offhand. Someone can get that for you," said Kevin Moore of the state Department of Health Services.
Moore said finding housing for supervised release sex offenders is very difficult.
"You've got a couple of guys who have figured out how to do it really, really well, with great benefit to them financially, clearly. Why can't you guys do that?" Henry asked.
"If there were a number of people competing for this line of business, obviously, things would probably look a little bit different, but it's not that case," Moore said.
Moore said it's critical for the state to find suitable, safe housing quickly, or a judge could order the predator released without any supervision.
But that doesn't satisfy Lechler and his buddies.
"If they ignore you and wear you out, you'll go away, and that seems to be the wish of most of our public servants," Lechler said.
They've been hounding lawmakers to do something about the runaway costs of housing the state's most dangerous sex offenders.
"We don't necessarily want to be the Three Musketeers or the Three Amigos, but we certainly don't want to be the Three Stooges," Lechler said.
The state spends more than $500,000 a year to house 32 on supervised release. The men note that's just a fraction of the $2 million total cost to keep them in the community -- a price tag that includes monitoring and sex offender treatment.
The state Legislature authorized an audit of the supervised-release program to determine if costs are out-of-line and search for potential savings that won't compromise public safety.
The state has not bought properties itself, arguing the supervised-release population is so fluid, it could be left holding properties with no one to live in them, but that option will get a new look in the audit.


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Apple, Samsung accuse each other of deceitful courtroom tactics
Keywords:Apple? Samsung? design patent?
"While we are in court here we are getting disclosed on 20 [new Samsung] witnesses—we are getting gamed here," Apple's lead attorney told Judge Lucy H. Koh.
"I don't see what you are complaining about—they are following the same procedure you followed the last two weeks," Koh replied.
"They don't have time to call all these witnesses," responded the Apple attorney noting both sides have used more than 14 of the 25 hours each is allotted before the nine-person jury. "This is an effort to disguise who is actually going to be called," he charged.
Judge Koh declined to change any procedures for deadlines about disclosing a rolling list of seven witnesses to be called. "Anything else—I'm afraid to ask," Koh said.
Apple also objected to video Samsung plans to submit of a deposition that shows a product mock up. Apple requested the mock up be presented in court so the evidence could be examined because another witness will testify about the mock up.
"It seems like cross examination fodder to me," said Koh.
A Samsung attorney noted the witness wanted to attend and bring the mock up. However his company is currently in unspecified negotiations with Apple and e currently now refuses to testify in person, forcing Samsung to reply onj the deopisition video.
The exchange left open questions about the nature of the mock up and expected testimony on it as well as the Apple talks with the witnesses company.
"That video is coming in," the judge ruled.
Earlier today Woodward Yang, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Harvard testified as an expert witness for Samsung. He said Apple's iPhone 4, 3GS and 3G infringe three of the Korean giants patents.
The patents include US7,577,460 on sending pictures in a mobile email, US7.456,893 on saving a bookmark in a photo gallery and US7,698,711 on playing background music on a handset.
"The patents are valid and the accused Apple devices infringe those patents," said Yang who helped develop one of the first CMOS imagers for a camerphone while at Hyundai Electronics.
Under cross examination, Apple attorney Bill Lee tried to raise doubts about whether the iPhones infringe the patents given the wording in the claims and the exact sequence set out in one of the claims.
He also noted court documents in which Samsung admitted it does not use any of the patents in its current handsets.
"Samsung [shipped] 65 smartphones over the last three years and of all those 65 products it could not identify a single one—not one—that practices these very important inventions described today," Lee said.
Lee also recalled p-ages from an internal Samsung presentation shown earlier in which Samsung compares its S1 phone in development to the iPhone in areas including use of the cameraphone.
"When it came time for Samsung to design the camera function for its smartphone, rather than look to its patents they looked to the iPhone," he charged.
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Aubrey O'Day's colorful pooch is definitely a show stopper.
The ex-Danity Kane singer who was kicked to the curb from Diddy's girl group fended off critics who who said the singer-turned-Playboy model shouldn't be dyeing her pooch's fur.
"She prefers it," O'Day told Usmagazine.com. "[The dog] loves attention and because she's colored and has different outfits, she gets so much of it."
U.S. & World
The crooner most recently was spotted toting around her 1-year-old teacup Maltese Ginger whose paws, ears and tail were dyed green at an event in New York City two weeks ago. She changes the dog's look "for different occasions and recently died her green because she "loves the [Boston] Celtics," she said.
"She likes to have looks," O'Day told Usmagazine.com. "It actually seems like such a taboo weird thing nowadays, but if you research online, you will see a whole underworld of dogs who are dyed."
O'Day said she's working on a natural dog dye and said her vet has to sign off on any color she applies to her pooch, the magazine reported.
"I do it like anyone would color hair," she said. "She sits on my lap, and I have a brush, and I paint it on and use foils."
The singer recently made headlines when she said in an interview on Fox News that both Cuban dictator Fidel Castro and Hitler were "brilliant."


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I need to read out a file, analysis and store difference data in CSting and Int. I create an ArrayList but how can I store both CString nd Int to that ArrayList? Or how can I convert CString to String^
and so I can store them into an ArrayList?
I don't understand that ArrayList can store object but why a CString do not count as object?
Thanks so much!


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Wayward Souls is an action-adventure game built for quick playthroughs and massive amounts of replay value!
Wayward Soulscom.noodlecake.waywardsouls
Wayward Souls is an action-adventure game built for quick playthroughs and massive amounts of replay value. It was inspired by Spelunky, Secret of Mana, and our previous game, Mage Gauntlet.
Procedurally generated random levels mean that every time you play the game, it's a different experience. Control one of six characters, all with their own unique playstyles, abilities, and equipment. Explore and fight for survival, in combat where your tactics, positioning, and timing matter.
- Fancy control scheme with no virtual buttons or sticks to fumble over.
- Unlock new areas, for increasingly punishing difficulty.
- 13 area types, all with different monsters, potential traps, and rare encounters.
- Each character can find equipment combinations that change their gameplay.
- Victory is based on your increasing skill as a player, not solely on grinding.
- Hats.
- No IAP ever, even for the hats. All content updates will be free for our fans.
- Unprecedented scope and variety for an action-adventure game on Android, maybe anywhere.
What's in this version : (Updated : 6/18/2015 12:59:00 AM)
- 1.32.0
- Major new feature: Pet system! You now have a small chance of finding different pets in the dungeon. Some pets attack, some provide stat bonuses
- Testing a better animation system with more frames for walk animations. Using the pets to test them for now, let us know what you think!
- New rare content and rooms added
- Lots of other tweaks under the hood
1.32.1 - Small tweaks and fixes
1.32.2 - Added Gauntlet Mode! 6 floor dungeon that's quick to play but extremely difficult!
Required Android O/S : 2.3+
Screenshots :


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Full match highlights from FC Dallas' 2-2 draw with the Philadelphia Union.
GOAL: Amobi Okugo's header off a throw-in gives the Union a 1-0 lead.
GOAL: Walker Zimmerman heads in Michel's corner kick to tie the match.
RED: Je-Vaughn Watson is ejected after receiving a second yellow card for simulation.
GOAL: Second half substitute Aaron Wheeler gives Philly the late 2-1 lead.
NO GOAL: Blas Perez's equalizer goes uncalled after being cleared from behind the line by Sheanon Williams.
GOAL: Perez heads one home in the 97th minute to salvage the road point for FC Dallas.


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(CNN) – Former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney has bested fellow Republican Gov. Sarah Palin in the fundraising race in the first half of the year, a very early indicator of potential strength in the 2012 GOP presidential race.
Romney's Free and Strong America PAC raised $1.6 million in the first six months of this year, according to a statement released by the political action committee Thursday. (updated Thursday: a Romney aide has provided CNN with a total number of donors, both itemized and unitemized, for the first half of the year.)
Romney's take is more than twice the roughly $730,000 raised in the same period by Palin's SarahPAC - but the Alaska governor's political action committee has pulled in an additional $200,000 since she announced July 3 that she would be leaving office by the end of the month. Romney and Palin each received funds from more than 11,000 contributors.
Romney's PAC had roughly $841,000 in cash on hand as of June 30. It said Thursday it had contributed about $36,000 to federal candidates and political action committees and nearly another $27,000 to state candidates.
Romney's PAC contributed $5000 each to South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, Virginia Rep. Eric Cantor, Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, and to Jim Tedisco, who mounted an unsuccessful bid in New York's 20th Congressional District during a special election earlier this year. The PAC also contributed $1000 each to a group of Republicans who were targeted in a Democratic ad campaign because of their opposition to the $787 stimulus bill passed soon after President Obama took office.
Romney's PAC contributed to four Republicans in Virginia running for state offices, as well as to Chris Christie who is running against New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine in 2010.
The New Hampshire affiliate of Romney's federal PAC also contributed $10,000 to the New Hampshire Republican Party, according to Thursday's statement.
(updated to reflect additional information from the Romney team)
@Annie, Atlanta July 16th, 2009 12:22 pm ET
To Soccer mom in NC – Sarah Palin may be just like you and me, but I don't think we want to see either of us running this country. Just saying.
Why can't a woman run the country? We have been balancing budgets for ages. Not to mention running our households AND our businesses with great success. Do not insult woman by implying we are not capable.
Or are you one of those liberals that lives on entitlements? Just asking.
I hate Mitt Romney. I would never consider voting for him.
He put most of his money in the pot.......He's not fooling me......Anyone who is giving in to him is as foolhardy as he.......
All the people that love to strap their dogs on the roofs of their cars will vote for "Mittens"
Yes, the poll are right,because America people can't stand for Obama slogan"change we can believe in )any more,so they are looking for the real leader that will come to save America.even now they can't wait until 2012,is too long, they can't patient for hungry 31/2 more years,Obama never know how America people are starve,and America people never know about Obama"change "because he doesn't want America people to know his goal,thay are wake up now and they need change too,so America begin see their real leader now,that man is Mitt,he will come to save America in 2012 as the poll say it. hope still ahead, but we have to wait America,your dream will come true in 2013,good luck Mitt.
I want Palin! Please let it be Palin! I will vote for her in a Repug primary to ensure an Obama victory! Obama 2012!
What did 65m do for him last election. It was personal money that he burnt...Go away Mit!
phoenix86: sitting here and making fun of the other bloggers does not give you any credubility.....it makes you sound pretty base.
At least we agtree that Romney is better than Palin.......too bad 'Barry' as you say will win by a landslide in 2012 also and you will be here in four years complaining just like now.
he needs to change his name. we just can't have a president mitt. what if newt is the vp? we'd have a mitt and a newt on the same ticket. we'd be the laughing stock of the world.
I wanna know.... who actually thinks Palin is a good candidate for Prez? Who are these people????????????
phoenix86 July 16th, 2009 12:36 pm ET
"We are going to need Romney to fix the Obama trainwreck. 57% income tax rate now going through the congress.
Barry…four and the door."
I notice you always blame it all on Obama. You remember Bush-Cheney don't you? Think hard....I know it hurts. You can do it.
Please CNN, do your job and properly vet ALL candidates this next election! Romney is just another elite career politition that has the ability to change his skin to appease his audience. IMHO, he is another Barack Obama. We need someone with grass roots. Someone that knows what it is to struggle, balance a budget, and who has worked a real job! NO MORE LAWYERS EITHER (those that study constitutional law, do so to learn how to bend, and get around them).
LIBERALS.....LEAVE PALIN ALONE!!! Let her run....quietly donate to the SarahPAC...let the Republicans critisize her intelligence....then on November 4, we can celebrate a landslide victory for Obama!!! Sarah Palin...PLEASE RUN FOR PRESIDENT!!
GOP = Party of Tolerance July 16th, 2009 11:49 am ET
" She knows how to relate to the common working person."
Uh-huh.......You betcha.......OK now.
Romney is someone that can fix the economy...I hope it's not to late by the time he can come in and do something.
When the time comes, if Romney lets palin, the lightweight, non-intelligent, uninformed, see alaska from her house, become the nominee over him, he is a complete wuss.
raise another six million dollars for health care fix....it is for good use....
Mitt screwed Massachusetts so it's only fair he gets to stick it to the rest of the Union. We're REAL glad he's left us.
The GOP is finished. They have nothing left to offer other than fear and racism.
To the first comment...most Russians do laugh at Obama...having lived there, having famiy members who are Russian, I can say this with certitude...btw, if you had watched the 60 minute episode on racism in Moscow you would see why...if you have traveled the world you would know that racism (despite what our media tends to portray) is hardly an American trait...many of the few blacks in Russia are leaving...they have been attacked and beated in public places for 'taking jobs'...but if you wish to keep drinking the kool-aid and maintain your ignorance about the world...that is your right!
Unless Ron Paul is running, Obama will get another 4 years.
The real Sarah Palin will emerge again and show America and the world the woman she really is..a leader, problemsolver mending the country that is so broken...$1.6 million Sarah will raise in one week..she has the support of million upon million of Americans ..Dems and Ind....will flok to her side....just wait and see you hateful pundits...!!


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Winter is the driest time of year, and here in the high desert, we are especially susceptible to cracking and chafing. The best thing you can do is prep your skin now for the dry days ahead and get into the habit of taking care of yourself to avoid bandaging and pain later.
First things first: quit showering so much. Sometimes, in the winter, all you want is a hot bath, but hot water saps the moisture from your skin. Taking cooler showers or baths can help tame the dry rage, but as much as you can avoid showering and still stay clean, the better off you'll be. When you do shower, use a moisturizing body wash rather than soap, or even shower oil (Eucerin and Aveeno both make one for under $10). Exfoliate no more than once a week with a sugar scrub or loofah to get the dead skin off. The last thing you want to do is irritate your skin, because the very air around you is going to do its best on that front.
A million grandmothers can't be wrong, so, for your face, try a cold cream instead of washing every night. Especially if you wear makeup, a cold cream can get the gunk off without stripping your face of the moisture it so desperately clings to in the cold weather. It might feel a bit weird the first few times, but just wiping the dirt off instead of lathering up will keep your cheeks fresh and smooth, and you'll save on face moisturizer.
Alternatively, you can try something like Say Yes to Cucumbers Hypoallergenic Facial Towelettes, which will remove the grime without leaving you totally dry. Wanna be super cheap about it? Baby wipes work wonders.
Regardless of how often you shower, you should always moisturize afterward. Get a good, Ph-balanced lotion (like Cetaphil or Lubriderm) and put it on after you step out of the tub. Find the right face lotion for you, ideally including at least 15 SPF for the winter sun (Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer rocks), and use it anytime you get your face wet. Also, get a good lip balm and carry it with you wherever you go.
Probably the No. 1 place you're going to feel the chapping is your hands, particularly your cuticles. On top of moisturizing every time you get out of the shower, you should put lotion on your hands after you wash them. Ironically, bacteria and germs hide much better in the cracked, dry skin that comes from washing your hands too often than in smooth, moisturized hands, so you've got to find the proper balance of cleanliness and moisturizing. Keep a bottle of lotion on your desk at work or in your bag or wherever you'll have it on hand.
Slather up before you go to bed with something like Burt's Bees Hand Salve, and if you want to be really good, wear white cotton gloves to bed.
The very best thing you can do to keep your skin hydrated is hydrate from the inside out. Drink plenty of water, and do your best to keep the alcoholic eggnog and cider to a minimum in your holiday revelry.
Quick Hits: An incomplete list of where to find skin-saving products in Santa Fe
Both Whole Foods Market (753 Cerrillos Road, 992-1700) and Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy (530 W Cordova Road, 820-1517) offer an array of mainstream and organic skin-care products, but we love the local La Montañita Co-op (913 W Alameda St., 984-2852) for its friendly, down-home vibe. Several local spas also carry a variety of products; find some of the best selections at Body (333 W Cordova Road, 986-0362) and Ten Thousand Waves (3451 Hyde Park Road, 982-9304). For even more local, natural products, try Milagro Herbs (419 Orchard Drive, 820-6321). Downtown, Cos Bar (128 W Water St., 984-2676) offers high-end brands like Kiehl's.
Katherine Cox is a writer living in Albuquerque.


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How Will the Padres Become Watchable in 2012?
They hired a sideline reporter. Her name is Britt McHenry.
And you are welcome.
It's nice to see old crotchety baseball execs are finally getting the fact that sex sells. And let's face it: if you're going to commit time and money to watching bad baseball, the least the front office could do is give you something nice to look at.
As long as they don't partner her with Gary Templeton, things could be looking up in San Diego.
Hate me 'cuz I don't do all my thinking with my brain, just don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.


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Archive for December 2017
Happy 5th Birthday The Shrimp Bucket – The Best Shrimp in Town
Once in a blue lagoon, I get to be invited to savor "the best in town." This time, I was lucky to grace the birthday celebration of The Shrimp Bucket, which is known to many as being the "Best Shrimp in Town." I totally agree, not because I was invited, but for the reason that I have had the chance to savor pounds of shrimps from its Greenhills branch, in repetitive visits, of course.
Yeah, I was ushered to the table reserved for "us." After a few high-fives and fist-bumps with colleagues, my other blogger-colleague and I decided to pre-start with a bucket of cold beer. Call it cocktails? LOL!
Before mayhem erupted, I walked around the tent city and took some photos of their booths.
Fry Station is where two varieties of chicken wings were to be served – one was deep fried or their Plain Salted Buffalo, while the other is called Belachan, an Indonesian version of shrimp paste that's a bit spicy. Yep, instead of saying, "it tastes like chicken," this time, the chicken tastes like shrimp!
Beside the Fry Station was their drinks station aptly named "Sip! Sip! Hooray!"
The Grill Station served Braised Beef Short Ribs (I think that was it) with a fourth-serving of corn on the cob. It's Shrimp Bucket's way of serving non-shrimp entrées for those who are allergic to seafood, especially shrimp. Though it wasn't in the outdoor cookout, Shrimp Bucket also serves a variety of fish, pork and, as mentioned above, old fashioned fried chicken.
Then, we come to the Shrimp Station, where they started serving shrimp in two varieties of sauces – The Mardi Gras and Salty Eggspereience. I stuck it out with the latter. Oolala!
Paul Martires, the co-owner of Shrimp Bucket, opened the eat-all-you-can anniversary celebration, thanking everyone who came, and gave a short synapse of how Shrimp Bucket started in 2012. The unique idea of the restaurant was to serve seafood in plastic bags, or "Bags by the Pound," filled with shrimp, crabs or mussels, with a choice of nine (9) flavors:
- The Mardi Gras
- Salty Eggsperience
- Coco-Sol (South of Luzon)
- Frenchy Lemon Pepper
- The Spaniard
- Coco-Curry
- Sumatran Surprise
- Hawkers Delight
- Salt and Pepper
Mr. Martires also mentioned the way they prepare their diners before eating, by giving them plastic bibs (looking more like aprons because of the length) and plastic gloves for both hands because you will look silly, if not having much difficulty, eating shrimps, crabs and mussels with silver or aluminum utensil that using your hands.
Incidentally, Martires owns a logistics company and was exporting shrimp. That led him to decide to start The Shrimp Bucket because he knew the ins-and-outs of the supply chain of shrimps. Cool, huh?
Hosting the event was the lovely Diana Dayao, public communications consultant, Viva recording artist and composer, radio and event host, columnist and founder of Manila Street Love, a mobile outreach and love campaign in Manila. @dianasotodayao
And so, when the bell rang for each of the food stations to open up (okay… there was not a bell; we just started seeing people literally run to the booths), everyone rushed to the Shrimp Station. I later fell in line when it was half the amount of people compared to when it opened up.
Can't imagine eating as much shrimps as my tummy can accommodate.
And like I mentioned, you have two selections of sauces: The Mardi Gras and Salty Eggsperience. I kept choosing the latter. That flavor stuck in my head (and my taste buds) since trying Shrimp Bucket several times in the past.
Here's a quick view of The Shrimp Bucket's tent city… and (happy) me with my usual #tongueout selfie!
Would you believe The Shrimp Bucket now has seven (7) locations to choose from?
- Bonifacio Global City
- Nuvali
- Greenhills
- UP Town Center
- il Terrazo Mall
- Ayala Malls The 30th
- Circuit Makati
For more about The Shrimp Bucket, visit:
- facebook.com/TheShrimpBucket
- twitter.com/theshrimpbucket
- instagram.com/theshrimpbucket
Reference: PR company PerkComm | personal online research
Photos taken and owned by @raffypekson @miniphils


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This was part of my menu for a tea party. I had to choose some foods to suit the extremely hot weather at the moment, as well as things that would go well with Chinese tea. I flipped through my summer wagashi recipe books and decided that a co0l, non-melting kanten/agar agar dish would go down well.
Started out planning green tea and red bean agar, but found my matcha had expired and turned a dusky brown colour *yuck*. Looking around in the kitchen for tasty alternatives, I found some strawberries in the fridge — small Korean strawberries which, if you're lucky, can be very sweet. This batch wasn't, so I didn't mind using them to make agar-agar instead of enjoying fresh with crème frâiche (Carrefour's La Reflets de France premium house brand, great with scones too).
I put the strawberries into the microwave for a short while, then mashed them with a potato masher (a fork will also do). As there were only a few strawberries, I chucked in some canned pears leftover from the improvised gluten-free pear muffins, and mashed up the whole lot.
Measured the fruit puree then added water to make up 1 litre. Put in quite a lot of sugar, which I normally wouldn't do but since these were for a party, the tastebuds of the guests took priority over my own food preferences.
Heated the mixture and added the agar-agar powder according to the packet instructions, then chilled it in moulds. Super easy and they were a big hit!
The full tea party menu:
Strawberry & pear agar-agar
Pumpkin walnut sponge cake [adapted from this]
Earl Grey creme caramel [using this basic recipe]
Chinese "gong fu" tea: oolong and pu-er
Filed under: Asian snacks, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, Japanese, Southeast Asian, vegetarian, wheat-free | Tagged: agar-agar, dessert, jelly, kanten, pear, strawberry, summer, sweet, wagashi | 1 Comment »


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Brussels Airlines is embarking on a new future with Lufthansa: former Lufthansa Chairman Wolfgan Mayrhuber and SN Airholding Chairman Etienne Davignon have signed an agreement, which initially envisages a strategic stake in SN Airholding SA/NV and, in a second step, the full integration of the Belgian carrier in the Lufthansa Group.
In a first step, Lufthansa is taken out a stake of 45 per cent in SN Airholding SA/NV for 65 million euros via a capital increase. After securing the air traffic rights of Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa will then have an option of acquiring the remaining 55 per cent from 2011. It would then wholly-own the Belgian carrier.
The price for taking up the remaining 55 per cent depends on performance-related factors so that the cost for complete acquisition of Brussels Airlines could amount to a maximum of 250 million euros.
Lufthansa Chairman Wolfgang Mayrhuber emphasised that the bundling of strengths was necessary and sensible in order to strengthen competitiveness and overall cost efficiency. "With Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa, two airlines whose services ideally complement each other and which enjoy an excellent reputation well beyond their home markets, are joining forces. Together we can offer more destinations, optimised connections, mutual use of each other's frequent flyer programmes and extended lounge access, which will enhance the attractiveness of the portfolios of both airlines. Belgium and Germany as well as the Star Alliance member-airlines will profit from the merger. The fusion will not least contribute to strengthening European aviation. That is important, since only a strong and economically successful European airline structure can provide the quality global connections required by European business and industry, and offer employees long-term prospects.
Etienne Davignon welcomed the successful outcome of the negotiations with Lufthansa: "A joint future with Lufthansa provides us with the best chance of operating successfully against the competition. Lufthansa's multi-hub and multi-brand strategies constitute the best prerequisites for the stability and future growth of Brussels Airlines".With the integration of Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa will further strengthen its position as a leading international network carrier. Through improved access to an attractive and important European market with huge economic potential and a high volume of premium traffic, Lufthansa will also gain in competitiveness. Brussels Airlines and its strong Africa network will profit from additional customers for the connections that can be laid on from the Brussels hub.
In their joint future, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa can profit from substantial synergies in respect of earnings and costs, which are likely to rise gradually to a mid-double-digit million euro figure annually within three years of regulatory approval.
The airlines in the Lufthansa Group carried 63 million passengers to 208 destinations last year. A total of 5.8 million passengers flew with Brussels Airlines and its partners. Brussels Airlines operates in a network encompassing 62 destinations. The merger will add a further 12 destinations to the Lufthansa network, the number on offer to Brussels Airlines customers will rise by 133. Lufthansa employs around 105,000 employees and operates a fleet of 513 aircraft (consolidated fleet). Brussels Airlines operates a fleet of 49 aircraft with a workforce of about 3.400 staff.
Initiation of admission procedure to membership of Star Alliance
Adaptation and safeguarding of air traffic rights
Complete takeover of SN Airholding SA/NV and Brussels Airlines after securing traffic rights on the basis of a call option, which can be exercised from 2011