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Scoping Comparable Yields, Rice-Wheat Cropping System, With and Without Agro-Chemicals, Punjab, India
An Experiment Protocol
This experiment is based on the discussions held in a meeting on 17 October 2013 at Jyani Natural Farm, Katehra, Fazilka. About 14 farmers participated. This experiment is very simple compared to the version developed in April 2012. It is focused on yield maximization without agrochemicals and does not have any control treatment. On an average most chemical farmers harvest above 18 Q per acre of wheat and 26 Q per acre of rice. If organic farmers achieve yield levels similar to these, it would be considered a success. Following package of practices are proposed for this experiment.
Present focus: Wheat crop of 2013-2014 season (part of the Experiment for rice season will be developed after learning lessons from the on-going rice season)
Wheat will be sown after the on-going Rice. Seed drill with one foot row to row spacing will be used. If one foot space is difficult, we can use the drill that has arrangement for row to row of 7 inches – to get spacing of 14" by closing alternate hole in the seed drill. Wheat will be sown along with Chana as intercrop. It is possible to sow Chana along with wheat by separating the last hole using a wooden ply. This will allow paired row of Chana, after every 8 (in the case of 9 row drill) or 12 rows of wheat (in the case of 13 row drill). Also, we need to ensure draining of excess water in the field by making shallow ridges such that wheat is on top of ridge. This can be achieved using another 'tine' between every two lines of seed-drill. More details on the suggestions for sowing wheat follow. Note: In case you have question/clarification, please call Mr Gurpreet Singh Dabrikhana at 9915195062.
Select a normal field (without the problem of Murk, salinity, flooding etc.) for the experiment. Select a suitable Seed drill that allows row to row spacing of one foot. Wheat will be intercropped with Chana which can be sown by the same seed drill - by separating the last hole (on right or left – whatever convenient) using a wooden ply. This will allow paired row of Chana, after every 12 rows of wheat (there will be 6 rows of wheat on starting side of the tractor). Also, we need to ensure draining of excess water in the field by making shallow ridges such that wheat is on top of ridges. This can be achieved by using another 'tine' between every two lines of seed-drill.
More details on the different suggestions follow.
Seeds – Selection, Procurement and Treatment – required before sowing:
i) Obtain seeds of the two wheat varieties chosen by you – Important: one of the two varieties should be same as in the other fields of the farm.
ii) Seed rate: Wheat: 20 kg per acre and Chana – 8kg per acre. Important – more seeds means dense planting and we do not need dense population. Ideally we need plant to plant spacing also as one foot – both for wheat and chana. But suggested seed rate seems fine.
iii) We would need 250 g seed each of Metha (Fenugreek) and Alsi (Linseed) per acre for mixing with the entire 20kg of Wheat seeds. Mix about 50g seeds of Dhania with entire Chana seed. This may help in plant protection. Note: Add these seeds in the seed drill, just at sowing.
iv) Prime the seeds of the selected Wheat and Chana varieties. Method of priming is given in Appendix I. It may be noted that priming should be done about two days in advance of sowing to avoid last-minute tension.
Most Important: Test germination percent of all the seeds (particularly the major crops wheat and Chana in this case). See Appendix II for the method.
Land preparation and sowing:
v) It is hoped that rice will be harvested by combine by early November. Cut the stubble at ground level by using Reaper. Note: We need two trolley loads of Living Compost for one acre area of the experiment. See Appendix III for the method of preparation.
vi) Cut the standing stubble by using reaper (to mow it down at ground level), remove the loose plant biomass and collect it on two ends of the field by using a 'Rake' (a Jugad to be designed by you – it is essential for the future health of the farm).
vii) Prepare the field (after irrigation, if needed), when soil is in Vattar, as normally done for sowing Wheat/Chana.
viii) Apply two trolleys of 'Living Compost' per acre and about 20kg to 40kg of Ash (per acre) on soil surface, separately. Note: 'Ash' being less in quantity will require more care for uniform application, therefore do not mix it with Living Compost.
ix) Sow the field using a seed drill to achieve 12" row to row distance and a sowing arrangement – 2 rows of Chana after every 12 rows of wheat. Within a row – ideally about 20 cm or 8" from plant to plant. Do following modifications at the time of sowing.
a. Adjust the required pora at 12" (or one foot) distance.
b. Please ensure that we do not sow more than 20kg wheat seed per acre and not more than 8kg seed of Chana per acre.
c. Make changes in the seed box such that last hole on one end receives Chana seed.
d. Attach a heavy duty tine with broad base (about 5" wide) between every two sowing tines – about 4" below ground level such that it should result in a light furrow between every two rows.
x) One would get 6-rows (at start of drill) or 12 rows of wheat (in general) followed by 2-rows of Chana if we are using a seed-drill with 6 tines in front and 7 in rear row. Other row arrangements are feasible and OK, but choice is yours. My choice is 8 rows Wheat and 2 rows Chana. For example with a seed-drill of 4 tines in front and 5 in rear – we would get this combination.
xi) Sow one row each of Sarson on all four sides of the field. This will serve as 'Trap Crops' for some insect-pests.
xii) Soon after sowing, apply all the loose plant biomass back to the whole field manually to achieve at least 4" thickness. Note: (a) All these crops stated above have been noted to emerge out of this thickness of rice straw, (b) Never use broad leaves of trees such as Poplar as surface mulch because they can obstruct emergence. Broad leaves of any crop or trees can be used but only after crushing.
Weed management: One manual weeding at around 30 days, if needed, is recommended. After 30 to 40 days, if weeds are more, use 'bioherbicide' (see Appendix IV) - a need based action. Important: Bioherbicide can only be applied by using a Chatri sprayer taking care that no drop falls on base of the wheat-Chana etc. grown in the planted rows.
Water management: We should not irrigate, if the field is moist at surface. Need of irrigation of wheat can be judged by its wilting. If it is wilting during sunny hours, say at 2 PM but recovers at late evening hours – say at 6 PM, it should not be irrigated. But if it remains wilted at 6 PM, it should be irrigated. It is hoped that, with surface mulch, wheat will need about 3 to 4 irrigations only. Important: Apply 20L urine with every irrigation. It can be slowly poured into water channel as the water enters the field. Note: Chana should not be irrigated, as far as possible. Chana rows can be blocked at ends so that water does not enter in the Chana rows.
Plant protection and nutrition: see Table 1.
Preparing for Rice crop (of May/June 2014): Broadcast 10kg seed per acre of the "Aurogreen" crops (see names of seeds/crops and method in Appendix V) just before last irrigation of wheat, say in March 2014.
Harvesting wheat: When the crop is almost ready for harvest, identify three representative spots each for Wheat and Chana. Cut the plants from one meter long three rows of Wheat and one meter long two rows of Chana, at ground level, using sickle. Sun-dry the bundles for one week. Thresh the bundles manually/separately to separate grains from rest of the plant biomass. Add the 2-types of grains in separate strong paper bags and the other plant parts in separate gunny bags of jute or cloth. Take their weights separately and record the yield data (both for grains and for biomass) in the 'Field Book' with the farmer. Attention: Mr Gurpreet Dabrikhana.
Harvest Chana manually before harvesting wheat by combine (hopefully by mid April). Record the number of gunny bags of grains of the two crops harvested from the whole of one acre. Also, take weight of each bag, if possible, and record data in the 'Field Book'. Attention: Mr Gurpreet Dabrikhana.
Table 1: Different types of sprays for enhancing plant nutrition and plant protection
S. No.
When to Use (days after sowing–DAS)
Gurjal Amrit
Promotes roots and shoot growth, see Appendix VI for method of preparation
Pathi Ka Pani
Promotes plant growth, supports flowers, Appendix VII for method of preparation
Khatti Lassi
Against fungi, Appendix VIII for method of preparation
Fertilizer, as a pesticide
90, 160
Against aphids , Appendix IX for method of preparation
Caution: No spray should be applied during flowering
List of Appendices
Append. No.
Page no.
Special Aurogreen for Broadcast in Standing Rice, Guar or Wheat
Method of urine application – a source of nitrogen
Converting Farm Yard Manure (FYM) into Living Manure
Seed Priming
Testing Germination of Seeds
Urine and Khaadi Soap Mix as a Bioherbicide
Method of Converting Oil-cake to Living Oil-Cake
Method of 'Paata' to rice
Method of Making Gur-Jal-Amrit
Extract of Dry Cowdung (Paathi-Da-Paani)
Method of Making Butter Milk as Pest Manager
Method of Making Herbal Extract
List of different inputs/activities for year 1
Application of 'Ash' as source of crop nutrients
Appendix I
Seed Priming*
Materials Needed:
Seeds of required crop in required quantity, Jeevamrit (without dilution)-sufficient to soak the seed, one kg powdered and sieved lime (or 'Chuna', widely used for whitewash of houses, do not use any modern/branded white-wash) for every 100kg seed.
1. Take high quality clean seed from which chaff and broken seeds have been removed.
2. Put the seed in a suitable size container and add Jeevamrit such that seed is fully dipped in it.
3. Soak the seeds of a given crop for the period suggested in the table below. Note: Number of hours of soaking is very important and it varies from seed to seed and is given below for some seeds for which experiments have been done. For seeds of other crops, farmers are encouraged to develop their own experience.
4. Drain the excess 'Jeevamrit'.
5. Spread the seeds on a gunny sheet. Sprinkle it with required quantity of powdered/sieved lime. Dry the seeds in shade. They are now ready for sowing.
S. No.
Hours of soaking
Moong, Urd
Note: Sowing be completed soonest possible. The primed seeds should not be stored for more than two days.
Appendix II
Testing Germination of Seeds
1. Take approximately 1000 seeds.
2. Soak them in water for about four hours (20 hours in the case of rice).
3. Drain the excess water and line-up the seeds on short side (width) of twin or double sheet of a newspaper. Wrap the seeds in the newspaper, in the form of a tube.
4. Fold the newspaper tube and put in a polythene bag.
5. Add small quantity of water in the bag and drain it after few minutes so that newpaper gets moist (not dripping wet).
6. Drain the excess water again after about 30 minutes.
7. Keep the polythene bag in a room for four days, if it is summer/rainy days, and for seven days, if it is winter.
8. Take out and straighten the folded newspaper tube, unfold the paper so that the seeds are visible.
9. Count the total number of seeds and record in the 'Field Book'
10. Count the germinated seeds and record in the 'Field Book'. Calculate the percent germination.
Appendix III
Method of Preparation of Living Manure and its Use*
This is a method of adding value to the farm-yard-manure (FYM). Most of the agricultural scientists and agricultural research institutions measure value of FYM in terms of quantity of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potash (K) in it. Cattle dung and FYM have been noted to contain microorganisms of all the six types of functional groups of microorganisms – nitrogen fixers, phosphate solubilizers, cellulose degraders, plant-growth promoters, antagonists of disease-causing fungi and entomopathogens. Therefore the real value of FYM is in the population and diversity of agriculturally beneficial microorganisms it contains and not in the concentration of NPK. Its biological value can be further enhanced by the following method.
In the past about two years, we have been suggesting farmers in Punjab through a local NGO – Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM) to enhance the value of manure/FYM by further enriching population of agriculturally beneficial microorganisms before its actual use.
Note: We are not talking of 'compost' prepared by using some standard procedures. For example, Nadep compost or Vermicompost.
Materials needed
1. Half trolley soil, preferably of an organic field.
2. Half trolley farm-yard manure (FYM), as prepared by most farmers in villages.
3. 100kg oil-seed cake of an edible oilseed, eg. Mustard, Groundnut, Sunflower, Safflower etc.
4. 30kg Gur (Jaggary) – old batch, so that its cost is less. Note: molasses, if available, can be used in its place
5. 5-basket full of soil from under canopy of a big Banyan tree
6. 100L of Gur-Jal-Amrit (concentrate)
Method of preparation of Living manure
1. Break all clods in the farm-yard manure (FYM) and soil separately.
2. A day before this activity of making living manure:
(a) spread the oilseed cake on a plastic sheet and sprinkle it with 10-times diluted Gur-Jal-Amrit. Mix the contents once every about one to two hours till the Gur-Jal-Amrit gets soaked fully and cake becomes friable, (b) Soak Jaggary (or molasses) in a suitable container having about 100L of 10-times diluted Gur-Jal-Amrit – it would need mixing with a stick so that it gets suspended well and fully.
3. Identify a suitable place for preparation of Living Manure in the field. Ideally, one should select area under shade of a tree. But any area is okay, so far as we can save the material from excess of rain and Sun. Spread the manure, say on an area of about 20 feet long and about 10 feet wide. Break the clods.
4. On its top, uniformly spread about half trolley load of soil (preferably from a field where we are going to use the product. Break the clods, if present. After this, spread the moistened and friable oilseed cake, followed by 5 basket full of soil from under a Banyan tree.
5. Now uniformly sprinkle about all the Jaggary water suspension.
6. Using a spade mix all the contents of all the layers thoroughly. Add diluted Gur-Jal-Amrit, if needed, taking care that the mixture remains friable. If the mixture is dry and Gur-Jal-Amrit gets finished, normal irrigation water can be used in its place. Note: It will take at least 2 to 3 rounds of mixing before the contents get mixed thoroughly.
7. After mixing, set the contents in 3 feet wide and one foot high bed. Length of the bed can be decided by the space one has. It can be a single length or in several beds, until the contents are finished.
8. Cover the beds with moist plant biomass as surface mulch. It can be crop residues, fallen leaves of trees etc. whatever is handy on a farm.
9. Keep the surface mulch moist by sprinkling water or diluted Gur-Jal-Amrit (if some still remains unused).
10. At about day 5, remove the surface mulch and mix the contents. Sow all the beds with Aurogreen (see Appendix .. for details). Cover the seeds with about one inch layer of the same soil and cover again with surface mulch.
11. If needed, the product is ready for use from day 15, but it is recommended keep the unused beds intact as long as feasible. Note: Growth of root system of the diverse crops would further increase population of agriculturally beneficial microorganisms of different types. It is recommended to use the contents fully within 6-8 weeks of preparation.
12. If the material is not used in 6-8 weeks, fill it in empty bags of fertilizers or of cement – whatever is available. Note: (a) Do not use jute bags because they would also get manureed and become weak with time, (b) store the bags in shade, cover them with about 4" layer of foliage or crop residues, and keep them moist (not wet) by sprinkling water, until use.
Rate and method of using Living manure:
1. Apply two trolley load of the product in year one, one trolley in year 2 and there is no need to use it after this.
2. This product should not be applied to dry field eg. at land preparation. Instead it should be sprinkle-applied just before sowing.
3. For best results the soil-surface should be covered with about 4" thick surface mulch of crop residues.
Important: Innovation in mechanizing the preparation process are encouraged.
Appendix IV
Urine and Soap Mix as a Bioherbicide*
1. Cow urine = 15L [Note: it does not matter. if it is fresh or old]
2. Soap powder = 10 g per 15L
3. Gur = 400g per 15L
Method of Preparation
1. Take about 5L urine in a bucket and dissolve 15g powdered soap in it.
2. Add 400g Gur in it and dissolve fully.
3. Add it into a sprayer after sieving. Fill the sprayer with rest of urine, shake well and spray
*Mr Inderjeet Singh Soholi (phone no. 9915702440) of Punjab used 2 eggs per 15L sprayer in place of Gur and found this recipe useful in killing several different types of weeds. This recipe is not expected to kill Nutgrass (Murk in Punjabi) and Dub-grass (Khabbar in Punjabi).
Appendix V
Special Aurogreen for Broadcast in Standing Crop of Rice (to help following Wheat) or of Wheat (to help following Rice)
1. Take total of six kg seeds of the following legume crops – Horse gram (Macrotyloma uniflorum, Gahat in Punjabi), Mungbean, Urd, Cowpea, Moth, Masar. Note: one can take about 1 kg of each type. Important: We strongly recommend that if and when needed, purchase these seeds from Grocery shops in the village and not from seed stores. But test germination and used seeds that have more than 80% germination.
2. Mix all the seeds and add about 200g each of Saunf, Ajwain and Dill (Soi Aku in Telugu, Sava in Hindi, Anethum graveolens).
3. Soak all the seeds in water, for about four hours. Drain excess water and spread the seeds on a gunny sheet in shade and dry them.
4. Sprinkle 50 to 100 mL of concentrated cow-urine (see Appendix … for its preparation) so that all seeds get smeared. Dust these moist seeds with about 500g dry ash (from kitchen) and mix well. The seeds are now ready for broadcasting.
Important: Sowing/broadcasting should be done about one month before harvesting rice (to help the following wheat), or about one month before harvesting wheat (to help the following rice). Braodcasting can be done just before last irrigation to these crops, -- say in September for Rice and in March for Wheat.
Appendix VI
Gurjal Amrit
Gurjal Amrit is a tested soil health enhancer and plant growth promoter by team members of Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM) in Punjab. It was innovated by Mr Gupreet Dabrikhana (mobile: 9915195062, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com) of KVM.
1. Fresh Cow dung 30 kg
2. Besan (Chane Ka Aata) 01 kg
3. Bajra (Pearl millet) flour * 0.5 kg
4. Rock Salt (powdered) 0.5 kg
5. Mustard Oil 125 mL
6. Gur 1.5 kg
7. Neem Leaves * 01 kg
8. Akk (Calotropis) leaves * 01 kg
9. Cow Urine 2.5 Liter
10. Water to make 100 Liter of total product
· Farmers in South India may use Raagi in place of Bajra;
· Preferably use fresh leaves of Neem and Calotropis but after cutting them into smallest pieces.
Method of Preparation
- Mix Besan, Pearl Millet flour, Rock Salt and Mustard oil in to 5 kg Cow dung in a small container.
- Add this mixture and the remaining 25 Kg Cow dung in a suitable size big drum (eg. 200 liters). Now put all the remaining things like Gur, Neem and Calotropis leaves, Cow-urine and water in to the drum and mix all the thing with the help of a wooden stick. Keep the drum covered.
- Mix the contents twice a day for about 10 minutes every time. Continue the mixing the contents of the drum for 3 days (in summer) to 5 days (in winter) when the mixture will be ready for use.
Method of Use
- It can be applied to all crops, vegetables or fruit trees. Apply to soil to improve soil health. And use as a spray to enhance plant growth.
- For soil application, it can be added to irrigation channel at the rate of 200L per acre.
- For enhancing plant growth, spray-apply after sieving through cloth or strainer. Use at the rate of 2 to 4 liters per spray pump of 15 liters as a plant growth promoter.
Appendix VII
Extract of Dry Cowdung (Paathi-Ka-Paani)*
1. Take a wide mouth container – 100 or 200L barrel, open from top.
2. Add about 50L of water in the barrel.
3. Add about 15 kg of one year old cow dung cakes. Let them soaked fully in water for four days. Note: It may need some weight on top of the Dung Cakes, so that they remain submerged in water.
4. The resultant liquid when sprayed on crops has been noted to improve crop growth by several farmers in Punjab.
5. Take about 2L liquid in a 15 L capacity sprayer. Fill it with water. Mix well and spray.
Note: the dung cakes can be dried and used as a fuel.
* The method was told to farmers by Mr Suresh Desai of Belgaum Karnataka (mobile: 9480448256) during his Punjab travel in 2009.
Appendix VIII
Method of Making Butter Milk as Pest Manager*
1. Take one L milk (whole milk and not toned milk), boil and cool to room temperature.
2. Make curd from this milk when temperature is about 35°C, by adding about 20 g good quality curd. Note: Cover the container with woolen cloth during winter. Otherwise, curd will not set.
3. Make about 10L Lassi from the Curd. Put the Lassi in a plastic drum. Keep the content for one week.
4. After one week, add about one foot long copper strip or about one meter long copper wire (after making a spiral). Keep the content for at least 5-days (can be kept even for 7 days).
5. Lassi will become greenish-blue, and is ready for use.
6. Dilute the 10L Lassi to about 100L by adding water. Spray the diluted Lassi on crop in one acre area.
* It is a widely known recipe among organic farmers and listed on the website www.sristi.org, and they upload such pieces of traditional knowledge after some validation.
Appendix IX
Chemical Fertilizers as Pesticide
Fertilizers are widely recommended for soil application. They have been noted and published to adversely affect soil health. Limited research suggests their use as foliar sprays. Foliar spry has been noted to kill some insect-pests (eg. White fly – a sucking pest) by a group of farmers in Jind district of Haryana guided by Dr Surender Dalal, an important issue in organic cotton. Following recipe is the innovation of this group.
Material needed: 2.5kg DAP, 2.5kg urea, 0.5 kg Zinc sulfate (21%),
Method of Preparation
· Suspend each item in 2L water in separate containers (note: DAP may take 2-days to suspend well).
· Mix the well suspended materials after sieving. The resultant about 6L material may be sufficient for one acre land when crop is young.
· Take one L of resultant liquid in a 15 L sprayer, make the volume to 15L and spray. Note: about 100L liquid may be needed per acre – depending on the age of the crop.


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Charlotte, N.C. – Oct. 15, 2013 – A North Carolina-based manufacturer is calling foul today over inflammatory statements Chinese leaders made in U.S. media outlets Monday that demanded an immediate resolution to government debt ceiling discussions while China still owes hundreds of millions of dollars to American-owned businesses.
"Before the Chinese government engages in international saber rattling at our American system of governance and the ongoing work to resolve important policy issues, they should first get their own fiscal houses in order," said T.J. Bucholz, spokesman for Charlotte, N.C.-based Industrial Piping, Inc. (IPI). "It's the height of hypocrisy to call for debts to be settled when the Chinese can't live up to their own phony standards."
Last week, IPI – a manufacturer of custom fabricated process equipment for the industrial marketplace – urged American officials to open investigations as to why the Chinese government has been allowed to use federal bankruptcy laws to shield its assets in a trade dispute with IPI, but refuses to pay debts when it has hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank to settle with its creditors.
IPI officials were advised that the Hoku Corporation (OTC: HOKUQ) and two of its affiliates filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy July 3, using American-based bankruptcy laws to avoid settling debts owed by China. Contractors in five states, including North Carolina, Idaho, South Carolina, Alabama, and Utah, are owed huge sums of money after they built a Pocatello, Idaho polysilicon plant in good faith.
On July 5, IPI filed a complaint with the United States Trade Representative (USTR) related to the multi-million dollar debt owed by Hoku and its parent corporation, Chengdu, China-based TIANWEI New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. (TWNE). TIANWEI is operated by key Chinese government officials and had revenues of $44 billion in 2011.
Another American contractor – JH Kelly LLC – announced in August 2013 it is also taking its fight against Hoku and TIANWEI to federal court to be reimbursed for its losses. JH Kelly also filed RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) and fraud charges associated with this matter against Hoku in August 2013.
While these debts incurred by TIANWEI and the Chinese government remain outstanding, the Obama Administration awarded a contract and continues to pay Hoku hundreds of millions of dollars for a project in Forest City, Hawaii, a community that recently flipped the switch on a 1.23-megawatt solar farm for military housing on Oahu at a United States Naval base.
Despite asking questions behind the scenes to state and federal officials, IPI has not received satisfactory answers to even basic questions associated with these unscrupulous business practices, Bucholz said.
IPI has not been paid for months of work for Hoku's polysilicon plant in Pocatello, Idaho, which included engineering, project management, fabrication, procurement and construction services.
IPI fabricates and installs industrial manufacturing equipment and piping systems, custom modular process plants, automatic fire protection and also provides engineering services. It employs approximately 300 employees and teamed with an additional group of sub-contractors on the Pocatello project that represent an additional 700 employees and a total of $100 million in completed, but unpaid, work.

subset: commoncrawl


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New model computers are introduced in Peoria Arizona daily. You may love a certain brand and purchase it. But if you forget or be careless about repairing and maintaining them then you will face various technical problems.
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Most laptops have a touchpad that provides the full functionality of a traditional PC mouse. However, it often malfunctions either partially, or occasionally it will fail completely. The simple answer when it fails is to connect a USB mouse and use the laptop without the touchpad. Even after connecting a USB mouse the pointer will sometimes randomly move on the screen because the touchpad is still partly operating. The best solution is to disable or turn off the touchpad; there are two ways to do this.
Many laptops use a function key designed to enable and disable the touchpad. Most use the Fn key plus the F8 key to do this. If this does not work with your laptop look on the key legends of the function keys for what looks like a pointing finger; this is usually the key to press along with the Fn key. However, other laptops have a tiny switch either on the side or the palm rest of the case.
If your laptop seems not to have a touchpad disable key or switch, then you can permanently disable it from the Control Panel of Windows. To disable click on the Start Menu and select Control Panel, double-click on Mouse, click on Device Settings, and click on Disable. Finally click on OK and the touchpad will now be disabled.
If the touchpad operates correctly most of the time but just occasionally twitches or moves the pointer a few pixels, then there is software that may save you using a USB mouse when word processing.
Touchfreeze is a free utility that you can download and install on your laptop. It is a very small program that is simple to install and configure. Touchfreeze disables the touchpad only when you are using the keyboard, it has no effect on most touchpad movements and button clicks, etc. so will not affect the normal operation of the laptop. It helps overcome the annoying problems associated with a faulty touchpad; when using a word processor the pointer jumps to a different line or word, and you continue typing without noticing this until you check the text.
The actions you take to overcome a faulty touchpad depend of how you use your laptop. If you always use your laptop in a fixed place on a table, for example, then you may find that a USB mouse is acceptable all the time. However, if you primarily use your laptop on the move, you probably do not have space for a USB mouse so will either want the touchpad replaced or repaired.


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at first, i have to register myself at the counter. it was a relief as the nurses were really helpful and friendly (maybe because my mom already told them that we will be there for check up, so please treat us right! hehe). after they took note on my height, weight and blood pressure, I have to do something that I hate the most, blood test!!! urrghhh I was so damn stressful! Then, urine test. we waited for the result for quite sometimes. later on, we got the result, the nurse explained to me every details. I also did breast check up (one way to prevent breast cancer). finally, I went to see the doctor. she checked the result and consult me on health during pregnancy. well, overall, my result was normal except for my weight, >45kg.
so I guess this is the "must do" for mom to be to do during their early pregnancy. we need someone to monitor our health, which is extremely important for the baby.


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Based on more than 500 first-hand interviews with the creative geniuses and inspired crazies who transformed a back-room novelty into a cultural phenomenon, this is the definitive account of the world of electronic entertainment.Steven L. Kent is the author of 'The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon--The Story Behind the Craze That Touched Our Lives and Changed the World', published 2001 under ISBN 9780761536437 and ISBN 0761536434.[read more]
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UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.S. hip hop artists Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have joined the U.N. Free and Equal Campaign to encourage greater respect for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky announced their support Tuesday.
Macklemore and Lewis are well-known for their song, "Same Love," which celebrates same-sex relationships, and quickly became an anthem for LGBT equality.
The U.N. Free & Equal Campaign seeks to raise awareness about homophobic and trans-gender-phobic violence and discrimination. It was launched by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay in Cape Town, South Africa last July at an event featuring Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.
Other celebrity supporters include pop star Ricky Martin, South African singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly, and Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury.
From the Associated Press


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Revision as of 22:25, 4 May 2018
- 1 What hard technical problems does DreamFactory solve?
- 2 What types of apps are well-suited for DreamFactory?
- 3 Who is using DreamFactory?
- 4 How would I explain the business benefits of DreamFactory to my manager?
- 5 How does DreamFactory handle security?
- 6 How does DreamFactory scale?
- 7 How can I learn to build an app using DreamFactory?
- 8 How can I log bugs and feature requests?
- 9 How can I get technical support?
- 10 Can I contribute to the DreamFactory project?
- 11 How is DreamFactory different than API Management software?
- 12 How is DreamFactory different than hosted "mobile backend as a service" (aka MBaaS)?
- 13 How is DreamFactory different than "platform as a service" (aka PaaS)?
- 14 What if I don't want to add oci8 and Oracle drivers to my install?
- 15 How do I find my username and password for the Bitnami installation I just spun up?
- 16 cURL Commands for Microsoft cmd line
What hard technical problems does DreamFactory solve?
The biggest technical problem that DreamFactory solves is providing a comprehensive, automatically-generated, documented, and secure REST API for every popular back-end data source, particularly SQL. Without DreamFactory, developers have to manually create, document, maintain, and securely expose custom REST APIs for each new development project. DreamFactory automatically REST-enables your data sources with a standard interface, so it becomes really easy to use SQL, NoSQL, files, email, push notifications, and remote REST / SOAP web services for any new application project, and re-use the REST API across many different application projects.
Second, any real application needs server-side business logic. DreamFactory makes it easy to customize any API call with server-side scripting, using the built-in V8 Javascript Engine, Node.js, PHP, or Python. Event scripts can be used to pre-process any API request and post-process any API response. DreamFactory also supports custom scripting, which can be called directly from your client application or from a server.
Third, DreamFactory addresses the important challenge of back-end data security. DreamFactory provides a user management system with role-based access control access to the entire REST API and scripting system, including table-level and record-level access to SQL and NoSQL, files, email, push notifications, remote REST / SOAP web services, and any custom APIs you add in DreamFactory. The user management system includes an administrative application to manage API keys, end users, user roles, OAuth, LDAP, and Active Directory integration. Under the hood, DreamFactory handles secure password hashing, authentication, and session handling for you with API keys and JSON Web Tokens (JWT) and protects against SQL injection attacks.
What types of apps are well-suited for DreamFactory?
Any data-driven, RESTful application is a great fit for DreamFactory. This includes mobile, web, and IoT apps.
Native, hybrid, and pure HTML5 applications are particularly well-suited for DreamFactory, particularly enterprise mobile apps that need a secure REST API to access data stored in legacy SQL databases.
Web apps that use REST and JSON for data exchange are also well-suited to DreamFactory. Building AngularJS applications with DreamFactory is a popular choice for many developers.
DreamFactory is also becoming a popular technology for IoT applications. Device sensors can easily write data to REST endpoints and human users or machines can read the data via REST.
DreamFactory provides example applications for popular client-side technologies.
Who is using DreamFactory?
Since DreamFactory is open source and REST APIs are flexible, usage is diverse.
The most common use case is mobile app and web app development that requires RESTful connections to back-end data sources, most commonly SQL. DreamFactory is used by enterprise companies for both internal and customer-facing applications, systems integrators, application development companies, ISVs (independent software vendors), freelance developers, students, and hobbyists. See the stories here for some examples of how DreamFactory is being used.
How would I explain the business benefits of DreamFactory to my manager?
From a business perspective, DreamFactory helps in a few ways.
First, DreamFactory solves the backend API integration and security requirements that data-driven mobile applications need. In short, it makes development much faster. DreamFactory automates REST API creation and server-side security controls on your backend data. This means that applications are a lot faster to build and much less costly to maintain over time.
Second, DreamFactory prevents infrastructure lock-in. DreamFactory is open source and server-agnostic. It runs the same way on different clouds (e.g. AWS and Azure) and server operating systems (e.g. Linux and Windows). DreamFactory is database-agnostic too. The REST API and JSON structure are identical for every supported SQL and NoSQL vendor. This provides real portability. You can install DreamFactory in the cloud or on premises. And you can change databases without changing your application.
Third, DreamFactory centralizes control for enterprise IT. A typical Fortune 500 company is planning to build thousands of mobile applications. All these applications need to be secure. Securing back-end data is extremely challenging in this context. DreamFactory provides a centralized set of reusable REST APIs that can be shared department-wide and centrally managed by IT.
How does DreamFactory handle security?
DreamFactory provides a user management system that controls end user access to your back-end data. Each client user (or machine) has an application-specific role that governs access to the underlying data exposed for each API endpoint.
An administrator configures roles in the DreamFactory Admin Console. Each end user is tied to a role in the context of each application (each application has an API key). Each role has a specific set of data permissions. For example, an administrator might set up a "Sales Rep" role and specify that the "Sales Rep" role be limited to read-only access to a particular set of tables and records in your Oracle database via the REST API.
DreamFactory supports a number of access control features:
- Map roles to Active Directory Groups for secure authentication and Authorization with AD
- Map roles to OAuth providers such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and GitHub
- Table-level CRUD access to SQL and NoSQL for each role
- Record-level CRUD access to SQL and NoSQL for each role
- Inherit existing CRUD permissions for SQL and NoSQL at the system, role, and user level (called lookup keys)
- CRUD access to folders and files
- Custom access control to any remote web service, including existing REST and SOAP interfaces
- Custom access control to any custom API you add to DreamFactory
For details on security, consult the DreamFactory Security Guide.
How does DreamFactory scale?
DreamFactory is installed as a LAMP stack (Linux), WAMP stack (Windows) or MAMP stack (Mac). Web servers route API requests to DreamFactory, and DreamFactory returns JSON (or XML) back to your application. DreamFactory supports Apache, NGINX, and IIS web servers and you can use the native file system, Redis, or Memcached for caching.
To scale DreamFactory vertically, install it on servers with sufficient memory, disk space, and processing speed to handle your loads. To scale DreamFactory horizontally, deploy and load balance as many web servers as you need. For details on scalability, including benchmark tests, consult the DreamFactory Scalability Guide and DreamFactory Architecture Guide.
How can I learn to build an app using DreamFactory?
Before building your first application, it's important to understand how REST APIs work. If you don't understand REST APIs, read up on REST first. In a nutshell, each API call you make to DreamFactory is simply requesting a resource with a specific URL path. You can pass parameters in your API calls, such as a sort order and filter string, and these parameters are part of the URL path (appended as parameters in the URL). Querying backend data with the API is asking DreamFactory to return data from a specific URL endpoint. This is a different paradigm than writing a SQL query or a stored procedure to return data from a server.
After understanding the basics of REST, check out the tutorials to learn the basics of DreamFactory by example.
Then walk carefully through setting up the example address book application for your choice of front-end. Links to the example app repos are here.
If you get stuck, search the community forum for an answer or post your question on the forum after searching. You can also contact our support engineers free of charge for a 10-day period (10 days from your first support inquiry). Just email [email protected] or use the in-product chat feature.
Lastly, we provide support subscriptions. More information on support subscriptions is here.
How can I log bugs and feature requests?
If you find a bug or have a feature request, please file a ticket on GitHub or post it on the community forum.
How can I get technical support?
There are few ways to get technical help. A good place to start is the community forum. DreamFactory also provides dedicated email, chat, and phone support when you purchase a Silver or Gold subscription.
Can I contribute to the DreamFactory project?
Yes. DreamFactory is an open source project and anyone is welcome to contribute. Please follow the guidelines here to contribute.
How is DreamFactory different than API Management software?
API management software requires you to build REST APIs yourself and helps you manage your custom APIs.
DreamFactory, on the other hand, is a transactional run-time server for client applications that 1) automatically generates REST APIs for you, 2) enables you to customize API behavior with server-side scripts, 3) manages all the backend security for those APIs, 4) returns JSON / XML from REST API calls at runtime.
Note that you can easily use DreamFactory in conjunction with API management software. If you're using an API management solution today, you can still use it to manage DreamFactory REST endpoints. In this case, DreamFactory handles API generation while the API management software manages the DreamFactory API endpoints, as it would manage any API endpoint.
How is DreamFactory different than hosted "mobile backend as a service" (aka MBaaS)?
"MBaaS" is an acronym for "mobile backend as a service". MBaaS vendors host their customers' back-end data and provide features to reduce the amount of server-side code that developers need to write for their mobile applications.
DreamFactory provides the same simplification benefits of MBaaS. However, DreamFactory is an open source solution that targets enterprises. There are a number of differences between MBaaS vendors and DreamFactory:
- MBaaS products are proprietary. DreamFactory is open source. You can modify the source code if necessary to meet your specific requirements.
- MBaaS companies host your data. DreamFactory does not host your data. You host DreamFactory on whatever server infrastructure you prefer, including behind a corporate firewall.
- MBaaS products typically use NoSQL to store data. DreamFactory supports every major database vendor, both SQL vendors and NoSQL vendors.
- MBaaS products do not specialize in integrating with existing "legacy" databases and file systems inside enterprises. DreamFactory provides REST APIs for your existing SQL databases, NoSQL databases, and file storage systems.
- MBaaS security features are tailored for consumer mobile app use cases. DreamFactory provides enterprise-grade back-end security.
How is DreamFactory different than "platform as a service" (aka PaaS)?
"PaaS" is an acronym for "platform as a service". PaaS products such as Pivotal Web Services and Heroku run server hardware and software (i.e. "platform") for you. Think of PaaS as full-service IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). Instead of having your own Dev Ops team managing AWS provisioning, you can outsource the Dev Ops function to a PaaS company to monitor servers and uptime.
DreamFactory partners with PaaS companies. When you sign up for a PaaS product, you can easily deploy DreamFactory in your PaaS environment, and develop applications with DreamFactory that are hosted on your PaaS of choice.
What if I don't want to add oci8 and Oracle drivers to my install?
You can use the following command to ignore the oci8 requirements.:
composer install --ignore-platform-reqs --no-dev
How do I find my username and password for the Bitnami installation I just spun up?
cURL Commands for Microsoft cmd line
The syntax is very close to Linux based systems, in fact, we recommend Git for Windows[1] but if you are using a different cURL interpreter you might need to format some of the calls a bit differently as double quotes need to be escaped, etc. Below is an example of how to modify these calls:
Example cURL request found in our tutorial section[2]
curl -i -k -3 -X POST "http://localhost:8080/api/v2/system/admin/session" \ -d '{ "email" : "[email protected]", "password" : "pass123" }' \ -H "Content-Type: application/json"
How it needs to be formatted on the cmd line:
curl -i -k -3 -X POST -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d "{ \"email\" : \"[email protected]\", \"password\" : \"password\" }" http://localhost:8080/api/v2/system/admin/session


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Those of you diligent readers of my monthly editorial know that I am now in Israel, having spent the better part of the last 24 hours getting here. I am traveling here as part of a tour package put together by Chameleon Associations and sponsored by Infrastruct Security (check out Andrew Wray's blog off that homepage, too) that will eventually bring us to many of the major security installations in Israel, as well as put us in front of a number of experts in counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, emergency management, and general physical security. Over the course of the next seven days, I'll be providing reports on what I'm learning, what I'm seeing, and what the general atmosphere is here in Israel, arguably the most security-conscious nation in the world. Today, I saw many indications of how seriously Israel does (and doesn't really) take its security. First of all, upon arriving in the Newark airport from the Portland International Jetport (we can fly to Toronto, thus it's international), I found I couldn't go directly to my gate for the second leg to Tel Aviv. Why? Well, there's a second security checkpoint, independent of the one you go through to get to the gates area, just to get into the gate area from which the plane to Tel Aviv departs. This is Israel taking security seriously. You do not get on a plane to Israel unless you've been wanded and someone has looked through your bag. It's that simple. Then they check you in a second time, matching your face, your passport, and your ticket. This is Israel not really taking security seriously. The guy who wanded me got a beep for metal at both of my pockets (cell phone, keys), at my belt (belt buckle) and at my wrist (watch), but was completely uninterested in what was setting off the beep. I guess he was just trusting that it was unlikely that I had gotten a knife through the first security checkpoint, and therefore didn't need me to empty my pockets, but what then was the point of wanding me? Likely, just to make people feel safer. Similarly, the guy who pawed through my bag wasn't even really looking at it. He was just sticking his hand in there because it was his job. Still, as a deterrence measure, this treatment tells potential bad guys not to bother, I figure. Similarly, once we arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, there was a security guy who "black-beaned" me (picked me out randomly, like the black bean in a jar of white beans -- what do you want from me, I just picked the term up. I didn't invent it) and asked me a few questions and looked at my passport before I even got to the passport checkpoint. Still, it was more of a formality than anything else. He either picked me because I looked like a dumb American unclear as to where to go, or because I was number 20. It's doubtful I met some kind of profile of a potential danger (although it's possible handsome guys with beards and stylish Brooks Brothers blazers have been identified as likely threats...). By the way, here's what Tel Aviv looks like from the air: Tomorrow, I'll get into the meat of the conference and have more to report, along with some video of the cool stuff we've seen at the Jerusalem bus station. Stay tuned (those of you surfing the SSN web site on a Sunday, after a couple of weeks of our site being down -- there must be dozens of you!).
Getting to Israel
This blog, by Paul Ragusa, the editor of Security Systems News, offers thoughts, news, and a forum for discussion for those who work in and around the physical security industry, integrating and installing security systems in North America.


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Just checking out some recent tweets from TribLive and Kaboly mentioned that the Steelers have allotted $5.13 million in cap space to sign their rookies for this year. Total value of those deals can't exceed more than $28.25 million.
David DeCastro will get a 4 yr. deal with a 5th year option that the team can pick up if they choose too. The rest of the draft picks will all sign 4 yr. deals. Undrafted free agent players will all get 3 yr. deals.


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Julius Shulman, a renowned architecture photographer who depicted modern houses as the ultimate expressions of modern living and helped idealize the California lifestyle in the postwar years, died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 98.
His daughter, Judy McKee, confirmed his death.
Mr. Shulman was part of a postwar generation of commercial architecture photographers who specialized in Modernist buildings, working on assignment for architects and mass-market magazines like Life, House & Garden and Good Housekeeping as well as architecture publications. Among his peers were Ezra Stoller in New York and the Chicago firm of Hedrich Blessing.
Over a career of more than half a century, Mr. Shulman almost always used black-and-white film, the better to reduce his subjects to their geometric essentials. But he was also able to make the hard glass and steel surfaces of postwar Modernist architecture appear comfortable and inviting.
He largely abjured skyscrapers in favor of houses and was one of the first photographers to include the inhabitants of homes in his pictures. They lent the buildings a charming if sometimes incongruous air of domesticity.
Working mostly in California, Mr. Shulman staged his photographs as tableaus to promote the idea of casual living in a Modernist context. Carefully composed and artfully lighted, his images promoted not only new approaches to home design but also the ideal of idyllic California living a sunny, suburban lifestyle played out in sleek, spacious, low-slung homes featuring ample glass, pools and patios.
Mr. Shulman photographed buildings by some of the era's best-known architects, including Richard Neutra, Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Mies van der Rohe and Oscar Niemeyer. But he also photographed less exalted examples of American buildings, like gas stations, apartment buildings and shopping malls.
Although his best-known work was made from the late 1940s through the 1960s, he continued to photograph into his 90s. In recent years a new appreciation of postwar architecture and design has contributed to renewed interest in Mr. Shulman's work. In 2005 the Getty Research Institute acquired his archive of more than a quarter-million prints, negatives and transparencies.
Mr. Shulman's reputation rests in large part on his photographs of what are known as the Case Study Houses. Begun by Arts & Architecture magazine in 1945, the Case Study House Program enlisted eight architects, including Neutra, Eero Saarinen and the Eameses, to design prototypes for homes that would meet the needs of America's postwar housing boom. Robert Elwall, a historian of architecture photography, said 26 Case Study Houses were eventually built in Southern California, and Mr. Shulman photographed 18 of them.
One of Mr. Shulman's most widely reproduced images, a 1960 view of Pierre Koenig's Case Study House No. 22, shows two well-dressed women in seemingly casual conversation in a living room that appears to float precariously above the Los Angeles basin. The vertiginous point of view contrasts sharply with the relaxed atmosphere of the house's interior, testifying to the ability of the Modernist architect to transcend the limits of the natural world.
Mr. Shulman's other masterpiece, a 1947 picture of Neutra's Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, Calif., pits domesticity against nature in similar fashion. The image shows the architect's mostly glass house as a Cubist array of shimmering squares and rectangles, bracketed in the foreground by two glowing chaise lounges and in the background by the desert and an expanse of forbidding mountains. To the left, a woman is seen reclining beside the house's swimming pool, apparently oblivious to what seems to be imminent nightfall.
The photograph was in fact taken at dusk, but to balance the light Mr. Shulman exposed the house, pool and surrounding landscape separately. In all, the exposure took 45 minutes.
Julius Shulman was born in Brooklyn on Oct. 10, 1910, and grew up on a small farm in Connecticut before moving to Los Angeles while still a boy. He traced his interest in photography to a class he took on the subject as a high school student in Los Angeles. After graduation he briefly attended the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of California, Berkeley, and earned pocket money by selling his photographs to fellow students.
In 1936 he returned to Los Angeles, where he was enlisted by a friend to take photographs of a new, Neutra-designed house in Hollywood with his amateur Kodak Vest Pocket camera. When Neutra saw the pictures, he asked to meet the photographer and proceeded to give him his first assignments.
One was to photograph a house by Raphael Soriano, who would later be the architect of Mr. Shulman's house and studio in Los Angeles. Soon Mr. Shulman, a largely self-taught architecture photographer, graduated from his amateur snapshot camera to a professional-view camera.
He opened a studio in Los Angeles in 1950, by that time drawing much of his work from magazines based in New York. He remained in business full time until the late 1980s, when architectural tastes had shifted to postmodernism, a style that rebelled against Modernism's reductive forms to include decorative ornament and an often willful pastiche of historical references. Mr. Shulman regarded postmodernism with disdain, arguing that its practitioners were interested only in facades, not living spaces.
His self-proclaimed retirement did not prevent him from continuing to work, however. In 2001 he joined forces with a younger photographer, Juergen Nogai; they collaborated on the 2005 book "Malibu: A Century of Living by the Sea" (Harry N. Abrams). In 2006, Nazraeli Press published "Vest Pocket Pictures," a collection of Mr. Shulman's early amateur photographs.
Other books featuring Mr. Shulman's photographs include "Julius Shulman: Architecture and Its Photography" (Taschen); "Photographing Architecture and Interiors" (Balcony Press); "L.A. Lost and Found: An Architectural History of Los Angeles" (Hennessey and Ingalls); and "Modernism Rediscovered" (Taschen).
Mr. Shulman's first marriage, in 1937, to Emma Romm, ended with her death in 1973. They had a daughter, Ms. McKee, Mr. Shulman's only child. In 1976 he married Olga Heller; she died in 1999. Besides Ms. McKee, he is survived by a grandson.
Mr. Shulman believed his photographic mission was to capture the essence of his architectural subjects. But he was not averse to helping them present themselves in a better light. In an interview conducted for the Archives of American Art, he recalled an assignment for Good Housekeeping magazine to photograph a freshly constructed tract house. Since the house had no landscaping, Mr. Shulman improvised.
"I went to a nursery and rented some canned plants five-gallon cans of roses and geraniums, whatever they had in bloom and set them up in front of the house and framed the pictures with these plants. Then we broke off a branch from a walnut tree that was growing nearby and fastened it to a light stand so we could frame the picture with an arching branch, and in the finished picture the house is perfectly landscaped."


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AJ Daulerio's Cultural Oddsmaker runs every Friday. Feel free to email him your thoughts.
Ladies who someday wish to grace the sidelines of a major sporting event, take heed: Your knowledge is primary, of course, but you'll also have to be somewhat attractive. This is not breaking news, mind you, but each year it seems more and more women are realizing that just because they know how to read box scores or can talk intelligently about a game, they're still required to be completely boneable to the drooling masses.
Take Playboy's America's Sexiest Sportscaster award. Granted, it might be an honor that many female sportscasters don't necessarily aspire towards, but consider this: Playboy has no repeat nominees. So, each year, Hefner and company has to find a new batch of lady jock-yappers to be scrutinized by discerningPlayboy readers.
One person who's obviously gotten the memo? Linda Cohn. In the last month, she's started blowing out her hair and finally seeing results from her Pilates classes. She's gone from looking like an elementary school special needs teacher to a substantially hotter elementary school special needs teacher. So, if you spot Cohn exiting the Bristol offices and a pack of screaming, limping kids wearing biking helmets are following her, don't' be alarmed: She's not being chased by zombies; she's just wearing Spanx.
I am probably one of the last men on earth under the age of 50 who still has a Playboy subscription, so that's the only reason I'm aware of this contest. I still read the joke page even though I heard most of them when I was seven, and still look forward to each month's pseudo-celebrity photo spread. Take this month, where the holy haunches of Kim Kardashian are triumphantly unveiled. For the first time in a while, this is actually a photo spread that's worth the $8 newsstand charge. Those of you out there who are hiney-obsessed, you'll be overjoyed.
But until Ms. Kardashian's bulbous bottom starts interviewing athletes and coaches, she's not up for the award.
So this week, I'm cashing in my Sephora gift certificate, dusting off my inner-outer thigh machine and placing odds on some of the nominees for Playboy's Sexiest Sportscaster of 2008.
Let's deform my face, then shake my skull cap. MORE.
Jeanne Zelasko: 3/1
She's probably the favorite, if Playboy's Viagra-chugging demographic were to actually take the time to finally figure out how to turn on their little-used computer. Zelasko's got that whole Kathy Lee Crosby thing rockin', and plenty of older, white World Series viewers probably took one look at here and thought, "Now, there's a lady whose stockings probably smell good." Plus, she doesn't seem terrified of Kevin Kennedy, who resembles most of Playboy readers.
Rachel Nichols: 2/1
Here's a tough one. Most guys under the age of 35 see Nichols pop up on ESPN and their like "Hey, that looks just like the girl from back home who gave me a handjob in the broom closet at that Bar Mitzvah I went to when I was 13," and get turned off. But then, the more you see her on screen, you start thinking back on that glorious day a little more and, before you know it, you're standing in your kitchen over the trashcan with a handful of Palmolive peeking around the corner so you can watch Nichols interview Reggie Bush. She's got fans. Nobody will admit it, but they're out there.
Colleen Dominguez: 4/1
She's the perfect woman for those early 40-ish dudes who actually pay for tanning salon memberships and express their abundance of self-confidence with an extra dollop of hair product. So, she's probably the favorite of the Steve Lavin-look-a-like set. Thing is, she is legitimately beautiful, but seems unapproachable because you know she's only interested in getting hit on by greasy assholes who wear obnoxiously large wrist watches.
Erin Andrews: 1/3
She's clearly the favorite, who's become the erection-inducing siren to the Shanoffian hordes of internet sports stalkers. Only problem is, many may feel slighted by her indifference towards her message board love letters and could express their hurt feelings by voting elsewhere. If Andrews were smart, she'd stop chasing around Pat White for mindless post-game sound bytes and just pose in a goddamned bikini already. Don't fight it, Erin. It's time to show the world that God was a studious craftsman with your body.


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With multi-gigabyte SD cards going for pocket money these days, companies have to work hard to make something that stands out.
The approach that companies such as Lexmark and SanDisk take is to make very fast cards, providing fast, continuous burst rates for pro digital cameras.
OCZ has instead opted for features, and it's made us love this little card. The storage itself is courtesy of a 2GB microSD card – the format favoured by many modern phones, though of course the iPhone doesn't support any extra storage at all – which slots into the side of a regular SD-sized adaptor ready to be fitted into your camera.
The really clever bit, though, is that the bottom half slips off to reveal a fullsized USB connection.
Performance from this 66x card is nothing stellar – a peak of around 8MB/sec – but the convenience of having a card that will fit into your computer, camera, PDA and, possibly, mobile phone is not to be underestimated.


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Encarnacion confident bat will start to heat up
TORONTO -- Edwin Encarnacion has gotten off to a slow start this season, but it's not exactly unfamiliar territory for a player who has been one of the most reliable hitters in the American League over the past two years.
Encarnacion began his 2013 campaign in a similar fashion. Through 20 games, he was hitting just .200 (15-for-75) with a .592 OPS and four extra-base hits. This year, he has a .228 average with a .661 OPS and seven exta-base hits entering Wednesday evening's game.
The issue has been timing at the plate as Encarnacion admitted he has been starting his swing a little late, but hoped that his three-run home run during Tuesday night's 9-3 win over Baltimore is a sign things are about to change.
"Sometimes, when it's early, you try to do too much and you just have to get your timing right," Encarnacion said. "I know it's going to be right, I just feel a lot better, so I hope to continue to do the same approach I did [Tuesday]."
This isn't an uncommon problem to have early in the season. A lot of hitters across the Majors are battling the same type of issues and that's why one of the general assumptions across baseball every year is that the pitchers have the advantage early in the season.
If Encarnacion is on the verge of heating up at the plate it can only mean good things for the heart of Toronto's lineup. Opposing teams have been consistently pitching around Jose Bautista, but so far Encarnacion has struggled to make them pay by hitting just .185 (5-for-27) with runners in scoring position.
Bautista entered play on Wednesday night with the Major League lead in walks with 25. He has reached base in all of his 20 games this season and a trend has emerged where Bautista can go through multiple at-bats in a game without seeing a good pitch to hit. Once Encarnacion starts hitting the way he's capable, it's very likely that pitchers will think twice before automatically pitching around Bautista.
"I thought he had a good road trip, there were some games he was swinging the bat pretty good," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Encarnacion. "Normally, that's what gets everybody, it's usually a timing thing.
"Very rarely, you might need a slight mechanical adjustment with hands or something like that. But that's what the pitchers are trying to do to him, mess with your timing. If you're early, you have a chance. If you're late, you have no chance."


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Casas Adobes Auto Glass – What Should I know?
Simply put, this is glass that you would find in an automobile. Not too many know that in Casas Adobes there are two major forms of auto glass. Each one is used on certain windows in the automobile. Both types of auto glass are more impact resistant and stronger than regular glass.
What Are the Different Kinds Of Windshield Replacement Casas Adobes Services that are Available?
Laminated safety glass-this glass is generally used on a car's windshield. It is comprised of a couple of pieces of glass that has a slim layer of vinyl. The glass is then heated and pressed together in an autoclave, which is a type of oven. When this glass receives a tough impact it will shatter also but usually the shattered pieces will stick to the vinyl and not fall on the ground.
If the windshield just has a tiny vein or nick, the auto glass professional may be able to repair the tiny vein or nick to keep it from spreading further. The repair will generally take fewer than thirty minutes in Casas Adobes. The vein or nick is cleaned thoroughly and dried. Resin is injected and a material like Mylar is used to hold it in place. The professional cures the resin by using an ultraviolet light.
Should You be Fixing Windshield Cracks?
Were you aware that the windshield provides up to 30% of a vehicle's structural strength. In the event of a crash or rollover, the windshield supports the roof and assists the airbags in deploying. Maintaining the windshield will help to ensure safety while operating the vehicle.
In everyday driving conditions, a chipped windshield can quickly turn into a safety hazard if the chip cracks suddenly. It is impossible to determine whether a chip will crack and cause greater issue, but if it is a large chip, chances are it will eventually cause a crack if it goes unrepaired.
A chipped windshield does not mean that the windshield needs to be replaced, but the chip should be repaired as soon as possible. There are several reasons why windshield chips should be repaired rather than ignored:
Glass repair may not be covered by all car insurance policies; avoiding the need for full replacement is the best choice. Repairing a chipped windshield in relatively inexpensive, with do-it-yourself kits starting around $10. Many places offer windshield chip repairs while you are getting an oil change. This can be a convenient way to repair a chipped windshield while having other work completed on the car.
There is no way to know for sure how long a chipped windshield will go without cracking, however it is best to avoid taking chances and have windshield chips repaired as soon as you notice them.
Automotive Glass Replacement - How to Replace Car Glass
With 5.1% of windshields being damaged and requiring replacement each year in the United States, it is important to know what to look for in an auto glass service technician. The first thing that must be stated about choosing a qualified technician may be somewhat cliché. However, it is important to remember that you do get what you pay for, and windshield replacement is highly germane to this point.
Ask Questions
When selecting an auto glass service provider, start by simply asking questions. Find out if the technician is NGA (National Glass Association) certified to be professionally competent in his line of work. Ask if the technician uses the auto manufacturer' recommended products. Also find out if the technician has agreed to meet the Auto Glass Replacement Safety Standard (AGRSS). Above all, be sure the technician intends to provide you with sufficient information regarding all things pertinent. The technician should provide you with some dos and don'ts, such as how much time should be allowed for the bond to cure before the vehicle is safe to drive.
Although it may sound a bit excessive, make sure the windshield is perfectly centered on the vehicle. A misplaced windshield will not provide a structurally sound passenger compartment in the event of a collision or rollover. Also inspect the weather stripping to ensure it fits tightly against the vehicle's body with no bumps, waves, or gaps. If the replacement windshield on your vehicle is not completely bonded to the vehicle, the windshield may become detached in the event of an accident, leading to even greater chance of serious injury or death.


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Papyrus has been around for a while for Windows Mobile Smartphones, where it enhances the views available in that OS on small smartphone screens. It has now come to Symbian S60, bringing some excellent visual enhancements.
There are daily and weekly list views and an excellent grid view that can outline your weekly commitments in full. Meanwhile a monthly view can be enhanced to show today's commitments at the bottom of the screen. Hotlinks to phone numbers make it easy to place calls from any meeting notes. Categories are also supported, and you can create appointments from within the software too. Synchronisation with your PC is also fully supported.


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The hybridization of groupers: A natural blessing or Frankenstein's monster?
Posted on 08 November 2013
Recent innovations in grouper farming, notably the hybridization of certain grouper species, has given rise to concerns over the direction and purpose of this research. What is needed is more science and market insight to help us understand whether the hybrid phenomenon is good, bad, or simply misunderstood.By Dr. Geoffrey Muldoon, WWF Coral Triangle Strategy Leader and Ernest Chiam, WWF-Malaysia Senior Officer for Bycatch and Ecosystem-Based Management
Innovation has been the constant companion of food production systems the world over. More often than not, innovation is pursued with the goal of producing protein more efficiently and with improved yields to meet the food needs of growing populations; but there may be other goals such as increasing resilience to disease, enhancing food security, generating livelihoods, or even reducing production costs.
Fish farming is no exception. From breakthroughs that lead to domestication of previously wild-caught species to cumulative research that seeks to enhance growth rates and survivability of fish through selective breeding and improved feeding regimes, the techniques of farming fish are a constant moving feast. Recent innovations in grouper farming, notably the hybridization of certain grouper species, has given rise to concerns over the direction and purpose of this research.
Toying with natureWhile culturing of grouper dates back to the mid-70s, reports on the successful hybridization of grouper species are scarce with the only recorded hybridization being achieved in the early 80s, between a white spotted grouper (Epinephelus amblycephalus) and a Hong Kong or "red" grouper (E. akaara). Cross-breeding between grouper species is considered desirable, less with a view to developing higher resilience as boosting growth rates under hatchery conditions. This particular research was aimed at producing a faster-growing red grouper (normally a slow-growing but high-priced species) hybrid. Fast forward almost two decades and the science of grouper hybridization has exploded.
In 1996, the University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) achieved a breakthrough and successfully produced a giant grouper (E lanceolatus)/ tiger grouper (E fuscoguttatus) hybrid, dubbed the "Sabah grouper", specifically for live reef food fish (LRFF) markets in Hong Kong. By the early 2000s, the Sabah grouper was being produced in hatcheries in commercia l quantities and was proving popular among fish growers due to its fast growth rates and low mortality, with "preferred" sized specimens of 800 grams – 1 kilogram able to be produced in 8 or 9 months. Moreover, the "unique" Sabah grouper was taking the market by storm, commanding very high prices and rating highly in terms of taste and texture (the most important qualities of LRFF).
Following its success with the Sabah grouper, UMS scaled back its hybrid program. However, research into hybrids continued in private hatcheries, mainly in Taiwan, and here is where the story goes awry. Perhaps giddy with success, researchers began experimenting with new and different grouper variants and not only between Type I species (the original grouper species) but between hybridized and Type I species or between different hybridized species.
Creating a super fishReminiscent of Dr. Victor Frankenstein's experiments, but in a modern world that deals with DNA and not body parts, scientists are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for a "super" fish. And while Chinese consumers are known for their penchant for the rare and unusual, hybrid research seems focused on creating new variant species that satisfies both the discerning tastes of consumer and producers and trader expectations for price and supply. According to Irwin Wong, a live fish trader in Sabah, at last count, there were at least 12 new hybrid grouper variants and research is continuing in the hope of finding that perfect combination of resilience, faster growth, and better taste.
Too much of a good thing?Initially, the Sabah grouper commanded very high prices, with wholesale prices reaching up to USD 40 per kilogram, however these prices have dropped dramatically and are down to USD10-12 per kilogram , where for grouper farmers in Peninsula Malaysia, revenues are barely covering the costs of the production. How did this happen?
According to Dr. Geoffrey Muldoon of the WWF Coral Triangle program, the reasons are obvious – oversupply and commonness.
Once the market had shown its appetite for Sabah grouper, every fish farmer wanted to be involved. Production across the region soared, especially in Hainan Island, China which now ranks as the largest producer and is able to get the species to market at lower costs than Malaysian farmers, from where the species first emerged. Compounding this was that as the species flooded the market, its novelty value wore off. This "boom-bust" element of LRFF supply is not new. In previous years, when the industry first began farming tiger grouper and humpback grouper (Cromileptes Altivelis) at scale, there were regular boom-bust cycles as market alternated between producing these two species. The evidence is again there to see. While prices of Sabah grouper have been going down, prices of the previously disregarded tiger grouper have been going up.
Affecting the environment and the gene poolThe elephant in the room is the potential impacts these hybrids could have on the environment and other wild populations of grouper species. As they are farmed mostly in sea cages, the incidence of escapes is not uncommon, yet to date, little is yet known on the risks to local grouper populations from hybrid escapes. The current thinking is that hybrids are infertile, but there are examples of the devastation hatchery-bred species can inflict on wild stocks; including carp hybrids in Thailand and Salmon in North America. More research is needed and risk mitigation measures must be put in place.
Good, bad, or misunderstood?At a recent Intergovernmental Forum of the six Coral Triangle countries, there was general agreement that "the hybridization of grouper has reached an alarming level, that escapes posed an as yet unknown risk to local wild populations and that in general, this issue needed to be addressed as a matter of urgency." Dr. Chumnarn Pongsri, Secretary General of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), has subsequently called for countries to acknowledge these risks, initiate precautionary measures, and undertake "risk assessment" as a priority.
There are lessons to be learned here. Firstly, the fascination with hybridization of grouper may be misplaced. The pursuit of a faster growing hybrid species is understandable and defensible but there is little evidence to suggest patterns of consumer demand truly merits more efforts on hybridization. Secondly, until the trade can begin to self-regulate in line with markets the viability of a "hybrid," the aquaculture industry will remain uncertain. And lastly, immediate steps need to be taken to better understand environmental risks and impose appropriate safeguards. To this end, initiatives such as the Grouper and Snapper Aquaculture Dialogue that aim to develop fish farming Standards will play a crucial role in securing the industry's future.
The fear among some is that a monster species is being created that will have significant negative impacts on the environment and the LRFF industry that generates income and jobs for thousands of fishers regionally. But in the way Frankenstein's monster was misunderstood, can we condemn something we don't fully comprehend?
What is needed is more science and market insight to help us understand whether the hybrid phenomenon is good, bad, or simply misunderstood.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Geoffrey Muldoon, WWF Coral Triangle Strategy Leader
Ernest Chiam, WWF-Malaysia Senior Officer for Bycatch and EBM