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Jack Reacher (US - BD RA)
Gabe adequately reviews this categorically adequate polticial thriller...
Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me. And sure enough, ex-military investigator Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is coming. He knows this shooter-a trained military sniper who never should have missed a shot. Reacher is certain something is not right-and soon the slam-dunk case explodes. Now Reacher is teamed with a beautiful young defense lawyer named Helen (Rosamund Pike), moving closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the strings. Reacher knows that no two opponents are created equal. This one has come to the heartland from his own kind of hell. And Reacher knows that the only way to take him down is to match his ruthlessness and cunning-and then beat him shot for shot. (From Paramount's original synopsis; the errors are their own)
I now understand that Jack Reacher is based on Lee Child's incredibly popular political thriller/crime novel One Shot, the ninth in a series of books celebrating the exploits of former Army Military Police officer, Jack Reacher (hence the title). But I'd like to think I could be forgiven for assuming the worst when the film was first announced. Ignorant of Child's work, I approached Jack Reacher with heavy trepidation. I'm not concerned with Cruise's private life, which has no bearing on his prowess as a performer, I'm concerned with the generic qualities of the movies he produces for himself. Following a near meltdown of his public persona, Tom Cruise has been rebuilding his superstardom with suspiciously interchangeable action franchises, each built around suspiciously interchangeable central characters. With the Mission Impossible series successfully resurrected via Brad Bird's outstanding Ghost Protocol (a film that smartly pushed Cruise's character into a supportive role), movies like Knight and Day and Jack Reacher appear moot and regressive. Having now seen the film, I can verify that Jack Reacher is a homologous, mostly non-descript, PG-13 action flick and that the title character is a grumpy variation of Mission Impossible's Ethan Hunt. However, producer/actor Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie know how to exploit the property to something near its fullest potential. It's not going to be easy to remember the movie into next week (I can't imagine too many people rushing out to own a copy for its re-watch value), but, as a quick chunk of homogenized film entertainment, it mostly works.
McQuarrie is relatively untried as a feature director, having made only one movie before Jack Reacher – another mostly generic, yet charming, interchangeable crime thriller called Way of the Gun. He's more famous for his screenplays, specifically his work with Bryan Singer, including Public Access, The Usual Suspects (which won him an Oscar), Valkyrie, and Jack the Giant Slayer. Way of the Gun has enough of a cult following that I'm surprised he hasn't been set in the director's chair on more occasions. His direction here is a fine, cool blend of simple momentum and crisp compositions that serves the plain product. He also clearly has a comfort zone and is perfectly willing to tailor his choice of adaptation and script to suit it – Jack Reacher's shoot-out climax is very similar to the shoot-out climax of Way of the Gun, minus some of the comedy and harder-R violence, and plus a little more high-tech firepower. He appears to be having the most fun when depicting unglamorous violence, specifically a sequence where two clumsy hoods try to attack Cruise in a small bathroom and manage to miss all but a single blow, but the 'family friendly' rating continues to hold him back from the point of bliss. What's especially strange is that so much of this film, from the concept to cinematography and Joe Kraemer's James Horner-ish score, feels like it was born out of the 1990s, not the 2010s. This includes the acting styles, the curt sense of humour, and the unearned bouts of emotional button-pushing, but mostly refers to the basic subject matter and its pointless PG-13 rating. The '90s-ness feels a bit off, but does keep McQuarrie from over-cutting his action and depending too much on shaky camera techniques.
The cast is made up of well-meaning famous faces, but no one but Cruise, who the script was written to specifically appease, is prepared to deal with the exposition-heavy dialogue. No one is specifically bad, but we've seen much better from the likes of Rosamund Pike (who has zero chemistry with Cruise), David Oyelowo, Richard Jenkins, and especially Robert Duvall. McQuarrie's big coup is casting Werner Herzog as the film's highest-level villain. Herzog has been cast for his wonderful voice on several occasions and appeared as an actor in other peoples' movies, but he's not known as an actor. His character is a spoof of a supervillain who only speaks in pseudo-poetic anecdotes that would not be out of place as voice-over on one of his documentaries. What's particularly adorable here is that Herzog sort of sought out the role. Assuming Cruise and McQuarrie have captured the character Child wrote (apparently Cruise has little in common physically with the Jack Reacher described in the books), Reacher is presented as a small part of a bigger tapestry – less of a central character and more of a reactive force. The less we know about the character personally, the better the film works (sort of like any film adaptation of Donald E. Westlake's Parker). There's no question that, at 130 minutes, Jack Reacher is an overlong movie and the time spent filling in the title character's personality is the most obvious candidate for deletion.
Jack Reacher was shot on 35mm and is presented here in 1080p and a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. McQuarrie and cinematographer Caleb Deschanel avoid the grimy, high contrast imagery of Way of the Gun in favour of a relatively natural and smooth look. The sharpest details are broken down mostly between the extreme close-ups of various crime scene evidence and less extreme facial close-ups set against relatively soft backgrounds. In both cases things are plenty sharp and plenty complex. The colour palette rarely stands out as particularly stylized, but is pretty eclectic throughout the film's various locations. The daylight sequences are a bit on the yellow/orange side, as if the city is trapped in a place of constant sunrise/sunset. Lighter interiors are de-saturated, featuring a blue base that is tinged by fluorescent whites, but not usually at the risk of warmer hues, like skin tones. The darkest sequences feature a mix of warm and cool images set against deep pools of black. These darker scenes are the most impressive in terms of colour quality, because the more vibrant hues are so poppy and crisply separated. The shadows are mostly made up of strong, thick blacks (some of which are infiltrated by blues and purples on occasion), but the contrast levels don't usually equate particularly hard edges. The whole film is swimming in surprisingly clean, bandless blends that recall the look of digital photography. There is enough grain to verify the 35mm source, but no major noise issues outside of some minor pixel vibrations on some of the richest reds. There are some minor blooming and haloing effects throughout the transfer as well.
This DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack gets off to a super-strong start with the film's opening sequence. This depicts the cold and relatively silent murder of random civilians via a high-powered sniper rifle. The crack of the gunfire pierces the calm silence and echoes softly into the rear channels as the soft sound of panic rises from the site of the violence, hundreds of yards away. Other highlights include a punchy, bone-crunching, directionally heavy car chase (obviously inspired by Bullitt) and the shoot-em-up climax, which features both dynamic gunplay, LFE-rattling car engines, and the added aural appeal of pounding rain. Joe Kraemer's music as mentioned, sounds a lot like the big, throbbing string and brass blends that defined political thrillers throughout the '90s. The sound design is such that the music stands in place of ambient sound much of the time, especially during the various 'fact-checking' montages. I found the music a bit intrusive and overbearing during some of the dialogue, but can't deny that it sounds rich and full on this track, nor did I miss the natural ambience it sat in place of.
The extras begin with two commentary tracks. The first track features McQuarrie and Cruise, who do a decent job recording a sort of 'brass tacks' commentary. The tone is a bit dry and businesslike, but generally cast & crew praising isn't the default discussion as much as it's the filler between genuinely interesting pieces of technical discussion. As the film's writer and director, McQuarrie more or less leads the discussion of the more vital information (the editing process, the specifics of camera types/placement, character development, etc), while Cruise acts as something of a moderator, both 'interviewing' McQuarrie and acting as a (usually unneeded) technical interpreter. The second track features composer Joe Kraemer working solo and is, not surprisingly, much lighter on information, because he only speaks when his music is not playing a vital part in the action. It's definitely not a track for everyone, but those who enjoyed the score have a chance to listen to most of the music as an isolated, 2.0 track and those that speak the language of music will definitely learn something from Kraemer's classroom lecture speaking style.
Up next is When the Man Comes Around (26:50, HD), a general behind-the-scenes featurette/EPK that quickly tracks the making of the film from the original book One Shot, casting (noting Cruise is much shorter than the character described in the books), budgeting, shooting two units, adaptation, and filming the climatic shootout. You Do Not Mess with Jack Reacher: Combat & Weapons (10:30, HD) covers the film's action style, stunts, and specific fighting method (the same one used for Batman in Chris Nolan's movies). The Reacher Phenomenon (11:10, HD) closes things out with a look at the Jack Reacher books. Interview subjects throughout the featurettes include Cruise, McQuarrie, producer Don Granger, author Lee Child, stunt coordinator/2nd unit director Paul Jennings, stunt coordinator Robert Alanzo, and cast members Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, David Ouyelowo, and Werner Herzog.
Jack Reacher is more or less the movie I was expecting based on the ad campaign, but it works just fine as basic entertainment, for whatever that is worth. Awkward dialogue and languishing run-time aside, the story makes sense, Cruise is good in the title role and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie keeps things visually sharp and simple. This Blu-ray image quality is sharp and clean, the music-heavy DTS-HD MA sound is rich, and the extras fill out all pertinent behind-the-scenes factoids.
* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray image quality.
Review by Gabriel Powers
David Blackwell Senior Member Join Date: February 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2,831
I'm watching this tonight. Thanks for the review, Gabe
Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13
Disc Details
Release Date: 7th May 2013
Discs: 2
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 2.40:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English, Dolby Digital 5.1 French, Spanish, and Portuguese
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: Director and Actor Commentary, Composer Commentary, When the Man Comes Around, You Don't Mess with Jack Reacher: Combat and Weapons, The Reacher Phenomenon, Trailers, DVD Copy, Digital Copy
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog, David Oyelowo, Robert Duvall
Genre: Action, Crime and Film-Noir
Length: 130 minutes
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Family is important but is often neglected. Let's take some time to reflect on how much we love our spouses and children and why.
Website: http://inlovewithmyspouse.com/
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Latest Activity: Sep 9, 2013
Started by Joyful Mommy Jan 4, 2011. 0 Replies 0 Likes
Being a wife and a mommy is the JOY of my life. Let's share about the JOY of mommyhood, and in doing so make life even more joyful... …Continue
Started by In Love With My Spouse Jan 11, 2010. 0 Replies 0 Likes
Too many times I hear of people who are falling out of love with their spouse or confessing to be in love with somebody else. Sometimes it can be a bit ridiculous the stories you here. I know that…Continue
Now that GFC is down and I've lost all my followers, I've joined Linky Followers like many of you have. I would love it if you could follow my blog as a little "birthday present" to me! Leave me a comment if you followed me and I promise I'll return the favor.
I officially made the switch from Blogger to WordPress and got a "blog makeover!" Please stop by and let me know what you think!
Just hit over 100 followers thanks to some of you moms! Thank you! I hope I was able to follow all of you back! Hoping to find more blogs to follow and more people to follow me!
I would love it if people would follow me at www.lucasandmahina.com. Leave me a comment with your blog and I'll follow you! I'd love to find more mommy bloggers!

subset: commoncrawl


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In many indigenous cultures around the world, the ancestral practice of tattooing is dying, and so when I see features like Aljazeera's "Algeria's tattoos: Myths and truths," I have hope that the traditions and the beautiful stories behind them will continue -- and perhaps spark a revival as we have seen with other cultures where tattooing has played a prominent role.
In addition to a great slideshow of the edler generation of the Amazigh, or Berber tribe, there are some personal stories of these tattooed women, which make it a must-read. Here's a taste:
Read more here.
Berber tribe
tribal tattoo


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Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division Washington, D.C. 20210
This letter is under review in light of issues raised by the U.S. Supreme Court in Ragsdale v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc. and other judicial decisions. It may be superceded by FMLA2002-5-A. (http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/opinion/FMLA/2002_08_06_5A_FMLA.htm) March 26, 1999 Dear Name*, Thank you for your letter of March 3, 1999, seeking information on the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) as it would relate to an employer's more generous medical leave of absence policies regarding length of leave and job restoration. In enacting FMLA (29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.), the Congress stated that one of the purposes of this law is to entitle employees to take reasonable leave for medical reasons, for the birth or adoption of a child, and for the care of a child, spouse, or parent who has a serious health condition. The FMLA allows up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave in any 12 months—with group health insurance coverage maintained during the leave—to eligible employees for the above mentioned family and medical reasons. Upon completion of the leave, the employee must be returned to work to the same or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits and other terms and conditions of employment. It is unlawful for any employer to interfere with or restrain or deny the exercise of any right provided under this Act, or to discharge or in any other manner discriminate against an employee for opposing or complaining about any unlawful practice related to this law. The FMLA (§ 29 U.S.C. 2652) and the Regulations (§ 29 CFR 825.700) describe the interaction between FMLA and employer plans and provide that nothing in FMLA diminishes an employer's obligation under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or employment benefit program or plan to provide greater family or medical leave rights to employees than the rights established under FMLA, nor may the rights established under FMLA be diminished by any such CBA or plan. In your letter, you give an example of a more generous employment leave plan that permits an employee to take up to 52 weeks of medical leave and to return to work. If the employee fails to return to work within the 52 weeks of medical leave, the employer may terminate the employee's employment. You asked whether the employer can lawfully terminate an employee's employment if an employee has been on a medical leave of absence for 52 weeks with12 of those weeks also designated as FMLA leave, or whether the employee, after 52 weeks of a medical leave of absence, would be entitled at that point to an additional 12 weeks of FMLA leave. In response to your question, we wish to note that the FMLA requires covered employers to provide eligible employees with up to 12 workweeks of leave in a 12-month period for any one or more of the specified family or medical reasons. By its terms, FMLA requires unpaid leave, but also provides for the use of appropriate paid leave for any portion of the unpaid leave required by the Act. (See § 29 U.S.C. 2612(d) and § 29 CFR 825.207.) If the employee is unable to or does not return to work at the end of 12 weeks of FMLA leave (provided the employer designated the leave as FMLA leave and so notified the employee in writing), all entitlements and rights under FMLA cease at that time. The employee is no longer entitled to any further job restoration rights under the FMLA. (See § 29 U.S.C. 2612(a) and §§ 29 CFR 825.200 and .214.) An employer, however, must observe any employment benefit program or plan or CBA that provides greater family or medical leave rights to employees than the rights established by the FMLA. (See § 29 CFR 825.700.) Thus, the employer in your example may have an obligation under its own "medical leave of absence" policies to extend leave benefits for up to 52 weeks, but not beyond 52 weeks. If the medical leave of absence also qualifies as a serious health condition for FMLA purposes, the employer may designate 12 weeks of that absence as FMLA leave so long as the employee is eligible. While the discrimination prohibition in FMLA (§ 29 U.S.C. 2615 and § 29 CFR 825.220) would prevent an employer from treating FMLA leave takers differently than it would treat similarly situated employees who were not FMLA-103
Working to Improve the Lives of America's Workers
Page 1 of 2
U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration Wage and Hour Division Washington, D.C. 20210
eligible for FMLA leave, the FMLA would not require, nor prohibit, an employer to extend leave benefits beyond the 52 weeks. The above information should be viewed as general guidance based upon the limited information contained in your letter. If we may be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Michelle M. Bechtoldt Office of Enforcement Policy Family and Medical Leave Act Team
* Note: The actual name(s) was removed to preserve privacy in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552 (b)(7).
Working to Improve the Lives of America's Workers
Page 2 of 2


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Technology use at Edinboro University has drastically changed over the last 25 years.
Search for permanent university president to launch soon. Hannan stepping down in June 2019.
The hosts discuss their first three selections to celebrate the launch of "Pokémon Let's Go: Eevee" and "Pokémon Let's Go: Pikachu."
The men's basketball team kicked off this weekend, landing win number one of their season, 81-63, against Thiel College on Saturday at McComb Fieldhouse.
The Fighting Scots women's basketball team will next be in action on Dec. 1 when they will travel to West Chester University and again the next day to Bloomsburg University to play in their first two PSAC games of the season.
People within and outside the Edinboro community were encouraged to be "stronger than hate" during a vigil focusing on the tragedy that occurred in Pittsburgh in late October.


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Selecting & Evaluating Communication-Related Databases
The collection development process for communication studies presents unique challenges including limited collection budgets, an interdisciplinary subject area, the rapid progression of the disciplines within communication studies, and the increasing significance of additional media formats. Librarians today face a new challenge that librarians of yesteryear only wish they had – which Communication-related database(s) should a library subscribe to?
These resources may help you to answer this complex question.
Journal Coverage
[Communication Abstracts, ComAbstracts, and Communication & Mass Media Complete] This Excel spreadsheet, posted to ALA Connect, is based on an analysis completed in December 2006.
Send questions, comments, or suggestions about this site to the Electronic Resources in Communication Studies listserv
Created: November 2007


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COMMUNITY GRAIN BANKING - Changing the lives of farmers
- 2 مشاركة
- العمر 20
It is a well-known fact that food is the most basic necessity for survival. Then, come the other needs. So, ensuring food security for all the people in the world is the need of the hour. Now, let us look at a case study from the Kashipur District of Orissa, India where establishment of community grain banks by an NGO has changed the lives of the farmers living there.
Initially, the people living in that area were heavily dependent on the borrowings from the moneylenders for buying agricultural inputs, who charged exorbitant rates of interest. Therefore, the farmers did not have any surplus left after harvest since they had to pay their loans back. The alarming rate of deforestation had further increased the severity of problem as availability of food items such as fruits, tubers and mushrooms (which were used as emergency foods during the lean season) had reduced. Thus, the farmers fell into the cycle of debt and poverty.
An NGO named "Agragamee" which analyzed the situation in that area came up with Community Grain Banking as the solution to their problem. It trained the people of the community on the management of grain banks, record keeping, grain storage and calculation of interest on the money they lend through the grain banks. They also provided them with initial monitoring and support. Therefore the farmers were now able to sustain their livelihoods, earn more profits and the people need not depend on the money lenders anymore. The community was able to attain food security. By looking at this case study, we can understand the importance of community grain banks and the role of NGOs in ensuring food security.
- Bharath


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This might be the craziest recipe I have ever tried. I stumbled on this recipe while surfing the internet, and I knew that I had to give it a try. Caramel and Cheetos? It was too crazy not to try.
The verdict? It was surprisingly good and very addictive. You can't taste the cheese once the Cheetos are covered. You just get the crunchiness from it. The best part about these Caramel Cheetos is that you don't get orange fingers from eating them! The caramel seals in the orange coating and keeps your fingers clean. Make sure you use the original crunchy Cheetos for this recipe. I don't think the cheese puffs would stand up to the hot caramel coating.
Serve these at your next party. They taste delicious and are guaranteed to be a conversation starter!
Caramel Cheetos
recipe from gardenweb.com forums
(Printable Recipe)
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 cup margarine or butter
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 - 20.5 oz. pkg. Cheetos® - crunchy
Preheat oven to 250.
In a large pan, mix sugar, margarine or butter and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Boil 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and add soda. Stir until light in color and foamy.
Pour Cheetos in a large bowl. Pour caramel mixture over the Cheetos and stir, coating each piece. Transfer to a large roasting/jelly roll pan (15x10). Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and spread out into a single layer on some non-stick aluminium foil. Break into pieces once it has stared to cool.


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CSX Diablo PC3 16000 DDR3 2x1GB Review
When it comes time to build that killer new rig, part of the equation is the system memory. If you won't be overclocking (blasphemy!!) then just about any good set of memory will do the job. Now if you will be overclocking, benchmarking or just hardcore gaming, then just any set will not do. At this point DDR2 memory is incredibly inexpensive, so there is little to lure the masses from their DDR2 comfort zone into the realm of DDR3. Four gigabytes of performance DDR2 memory will set you back less than $150. The same four gigabytes of performance DDR3 will hit the budget to the tune of $350 and up. A steep price of admission for moving to the newer product. But isn't that always the case when migrating to a newer technology? Two gigabytes of DDR3 1333 MHz, on the other hand, is quite inexpensive at this point with many kits retailing for around $100 mark. Still, the performance modules do come with a premium, as can be expected.
One of the performance DDR3 sets of memory just recently introduced is the CSX Diablo DDR3 2000 MHz 2x1 GB set. Featuring XMP (Extreme Memory Profile) for X38 (7-6-5-14 1600MHz 1.85v) and X48 (8-7-6-15 1866MHz 1.9v) based motherboards, performance is just a quick couple of settings away. To reach the 2000MHz speeds, a NF790I chipset motherboard, or at least a well tweaked X48 board, are required. Timings for use at 2000MHz are 9-9-9-28 but should be able to be tweaked to reach 8-7-7-19 at 2.0 to 2.1 volts. With 2.0 plus volts required, it's a good thing CSX has used its "Extreme Metal Cooler" to help offload some of the heat from the Micron D9GTR memory chips. With the product name of Diablo, the implication is that this is one hot set of modules. Will that heat be the temperature of the modules or the performance that is delivered? Let's find out.
Closer Look:
The modules come in a standard retail blister package. The front view shows the Diablo name on a fiery background and shows these modules to be the Extreme Performance DDR3 series. The rear view shows the modules. Nothing more, nothing less.
The documentation that is included with the Diablo kit shows off the CSX memory lineup and includes a set of installation instructions so that the installation goes off without a hitch.
The Diablo modules are rated at 2000 MHz with 9-9-9-28 timings. Although XMP profiles are incorporated into the SPD programming for use with Intel chipset boards (X38 1600MHz and X48 1866MHz), to reach the 2000MHz speed requires an Nvidia 790i chipset based motherboard or "a highly tweaked X48 board." There isn't an XMP profile for the 2000MHz speed, but the literature for these modules states that they can run at 8-7-6-19 1t at 2.0 to 2.1 volts.
There is no need to wonder what memory chips are attached to the Diablo modules. Why, you ask? CSX has included that information on the info tag on the heatspreader. This set uses Micron D9GTR modules. The JEDEC DDR3 specification calls for 1.5 volts to be supplied to the memory modules. So you can imagine the increase in volts to 2.0 is going to cause some heat to be generated. CSX has covered with the installation of the Extreme Metal Cooler that is used to help dissipate the heat load.
Now let's see if the Diablo modules perform as well as they look.


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JPN301 Japanese Comp and Conv
This course is designed to enable students to read, write and converse in Japanese within a range of everyday, natural contexts. One of the main goals is to broaden students' exposure to various forms of Japanese. Through this process, students will gain a greater knowledge of Chinese characters and word compounds, thus increasing their ability to articulate themselves as literate speakers of Japanese. In addition to this primary objective, a range of practical skills will be emphasized, including listening comprehension, analytical reading comprehension, public speaking/discourse, informal group discussion and essay composition.
- 3
- Effective Expression/Written
- Liberal Arts
- Must be enrolled in the following level: Undergraduate
- May not be enrolled in the following class: Freshman
- JPN202 Minimum Grade of D- or Japanese Placement Level 5


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T-shirt bras, also commonly known as contour bras, are designed to appear invisible underneath shirts or blouses. Unlike a designer lace bra, t-shirt bras are seamless and specifically constructed without ornamentation. Soft cups help to prevent nipple show through form fitting tops.
HerRoom's collections of t-shirt bras are available in a stunning array of colors and delicate materials, including lace, satin, and microfiber. Purchase today and take advantage of HerRoom's free shipping and hassle free returns to experience the web's best intimate apparel experience. Browse our selection!


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Nexenta has implemented as many as 100 systems using SanDisk SSDs in locales such as India, Europe, and the U.S. Enterprise customers in the hosting, financial, media/entertainment, and telco industries, have found increased performance, with decreased TCO, when deploying this solution.
The Challenge
Current and estimated future application workloads—business-critical applications, cloud computing and storage, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), and data backup—create challenges for businesses as they configure their IT infrastructure. These application workloads have requirements that range from highly-variable IOPS to large data throughput and uptime reliability.
"Enterprise customers, such as banks, telcos, and government agencies all have the same issue," commented Tarkan Maner, Nexenta Chairman and CEO. "They have data from seven to ten years ago– tier two or three, known as 'cold storage' –that they are attempting to manage and store. Some of those workloads with older data may not need the same level of performance, accessibility, and risk management; while tier one storage workloads—from big data analytics, social media, hosting services, to the Internet of Things (IoT) applications—require speed, compliance, security, and high IOPS from their storage architecture."
As a result, customers are looking for more freedom in their choice of hardware. For legacy storage, they are seeking cost benefits and a low total cost of ownership (TCO), whereas with first-tier storage, lower latency, scalability, and greater performance are key criteria. In both cases, reductions in capital expenditure (CapEx) and operational expenditure (OpEx) are required. Solid state drives (SSDs), such as those provided by SanDisk, can address these challenges to meet customers' Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and be executed at the lowest possible TCO, without increasing architecture complexity or OpEx.
Tarkan Maner,
Chairman and CEO
The Solution
Enterprise-class SSDs are uniquely designed for applications and workloads requiring low latency, high I/O performance (IOPS), reliability, endurance, energy efficiency, and consistent performance. In addition, enterprise-class SSD models address explicit types of workloads, such as those use cases that are write-intensive, read-intensive, or mixed-use. Together, Nexenta and SanDisk provide a complete end-to-end storage system management framework, which leverages high- performing, enterprise-class SSDs from SanDisk. SanDisk's Optimus SAS SSDs enable NexentaStor to offer tiered storage for mixed-use case environments that require low-latency SSDs for write-intensive and mixed-use I/O. Nexenta customers can achieve a lower TCO by using Optimus SAS SSDs to reduce both read and write latency in a ZFS hybrid storage pool when compared to legacy storage systems.
When Nexenta evaluated potential storage partners in the marketplace, SanDisk stood out because of the write-cache capabilities of the Optimus Extreme and Optimus Ultra SSDs, which are at the heart of the Nexenta solution. For read-cache requirements, Nexenta encourages customers to utilize Optimus Eco or Ascend SSDs. Available in a range of capacities and endurance points, and powered by SanDisk's Guardian TechnologyTM Platform, the Optimus SAS SSD family delivers solid-state solutions with a combination of performance, reliability, and value that satisfies the demands of the most I/O-intensive enterprise server and storage applications.
"In this business, everything goes back to these six criteria: security, manageability, availability, reliability, total cost of ownership, and scale. We look for partners to deliver on all six segments. SanDisk is the leader in the SSD space, and understands the platform space very well," said Maner.
NexentaStor uses SanDisk SAS SSDs for two purposes: as a low-latency write log (ZIL) to improve overall storage system performance; and as a high-IOPS read cache (Level-Two ARC or L2ARC) to improve "hot data" placement and primary access latency. SanDisk's Optimus Extreme, with up to 45 drive writes per day (DWPD) in a 2.5" form factor, is an ideal enterprise-class SSD for Nexenta ZIL deployment for most enterprise and cloud use cases. SanDisk provides additional Optimus SAS SSDs with up to 10 or 25 Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD) that are ideal with L2ARC.
The Result
Nexenta has implemented as many as 100 systems using SanDisk SSDs in locales such as India, Europe, and the U.S. Enterprise customers in the hosting, financial, media/entertainment, and telco industries, have found increased performance, with decreased TCO, when deploying this solution.
"Together, SanDisk and Nexenta meet the needs of our customers in multiple segments—tier one storage to what we call the "tier n" storage. Flash and SSD architectures are needed for tier one and tier two types of applications, where customers are looking for better performance and faster IOPS," said Maner.
In addition, both Nexenta and their customers have been pleased with the responsive customer support from SanDisk. "SanDisk consultants rapidly customized the firmware design to suit our customers' needs," said Eddo Jansen, Sales Engineer, Nexenta Systems. "The support lead times of many of SanDisk's competitors are very long; this is another way that SanDisk wins in the marketplace."
As this partnership develops, Nexenta looks forward to using SanDisk PCIe devices to interconnect and share resources across different nodes to continue to improve speeds and latency. "At the end of the day, there are a few trends—one is convergence and the other is hybrid solutions—that will place a strong focus on ash storage and SSDs as we move forward into the future. Our partnership with SanDisk is not only about great technology, but also about great service—touching our customers on multiple levels to deliver better processes that enable them to be successful. We are proud to be part of SanDisk's great partner ecosystem—as we deliver the best technology and the best service—with the best people—to our customers," said Maner.
Nexenta and SanDisk have partnered together to provide the manageability, reliability, security, and scalability that Nexenta's customers are seeking. "As the global leader in Software-Defined Storage, Nexenta needs to partner with the best solution from an SSD and ash perspective," said Tarkan Maner, Nexenta Chairman and CEO. "SanDisk gave that opportunity to us—the ability to better serve our customers worldwide."


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EMR, EHR and MU Presentation
John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 10 blogs containing over 8000 articles with John having written over 4000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 16 million times. John also manages Healthcare IT Central and Healthcare IT Today, the leading career Health IT job board and blog. John is co-founder of InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit and LinkedIn.
I recently had the great opportunity to go to breakfast with Valerie Migliore and Karin Eichler during my visit to my in-laws in the upstate New York area (Rochester specifically). Despite being very pleasant ladies I was also happy to see they could speak EMR speak with me. I've met a whole lot of different people over the years and far too often I go and meet with someone who is just getting into the EMR world and so they're still learning the ways of the EMR (excuse the Star Wars reference). I still enjoy those types of visits, but I really enjoy meeting with people like Valerie and Karin who can share with me some other EMR perspectives. In fact, they often show me new ways that I hadn't looked at something before.
Turns out Val and Karin recently did a presentation about EMR, EHR and meaningful use in Syracuse, NY. They shared their slides with me and I thought they provides some interesting roadmaps and perspectives on EMR selection and implementation. I particularly liked the 17th slide where they show 2 staff involvement pie charts (between leadership, business, clinical and IT) for a successful EHR project and an unsuccessful EHR project (requoted from Shahid Shah's http://www.slideshare.net/EHRoutlook/guaranteeing-successful-ehr-implementations).
I'd have liked to have been at the presentation to hear what they said with the slides, but I've embedded their slides below so you could learn from these smart people as well.
As a side note, I believe Valerie and Karin are working to build their EHR consulting clients in upstate NY. So, if you're in that area and looking for someone to work with I can put you in touch with them.


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Main Site - :: Why Won't God Heal Amputees? ::
My beliefs are as follows: - I believe that there is one God, the God of the Bible. - I believe that the Flood was an actual happening and that Noah's ark was historical. - I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God - I do not believe in Evolution, however I do not understand it, I believe God made all animals according to their various kinds. - I believe the Earth is about 6,000 years old not billions. - I believe anything the Bible says - I believe in Heaven for the saved. - I believe those not saved will be annihilated in hellfire. - I believe when we die we sleep until the resurrection at the end of days.That is about most of the beliefs I can think of right now. Which one would you like to discuss?


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The Royal Horticultural Society has announced the winners of the annual RHS Photographic Competition. This image of an olive tree surrounded by tulips wins Josie Elias the first prize of £1000 and the prestigious title of RHS Photographer of the Year 2012. Josie says: "We stumbled on the Iris Garden at Plantas Distintas in Marnes, Spain quite by chance. I was particularly intrigued by the contrast of the gnarled old olive tree and colourful spring flowers."
James Arnold, the competition organiser, says: "We have had a record number of entries this year, doubling figures from last year. The judges have been astounded by the extraordinary quality of the images which people have produced from all over the world; it's simply breathtaking and very difficult to choose a winner."Picture: Josie Taylor/RHS Photographer of the Year 2012


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Over 18? Want to give something back to your sport while at the same time making a difference in a child's life?
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC's) hunter safety course is taught by hundreds of dedicated volunteer instructors who periodically hold classes in their community. The course is targeted at young people ages 12 to 16 and teaches them the knowledge, skills, and attitude to be a safe, responsible hunter. Not only does hunter safety training decrease hunting accidents and fatalities, it also increases compliance with hunting laws, improves ethics and enhances the image of hunters. The hunter safety program is so popular that 93 percent of non-hunters and 89 percent of active hunters support hunter safety training as a requirement for accessing the privilege to hunt.
The Commission has training opportunities for volunteers who desire to teach our traditional hunter safety courses and bowhunter education courses. For knowledgeable hunters who want to volunteer with the program by teaching small groups of students hands-on activities at the shooting range, we can train you to assist in our Skill's Day training.
Florida Hunter Safety Instructor job description.
To become a hunter safety instructor, you must be a certified graduate, work well with people and capable of speaking to large groups. The reward is public service to your community and a role in continuing the heritage of hunting by developing safe, responsible and knowledgeable hunters.
For additional information, call during business hours or complete the FWC Hunter Safety Volunteer Application and Background Check Authorization Form and mail to the appropriate regional office.
For more information on the hunter safety program, contact your local hunter safety office or visit the hunter safety web site.
FWC Facts:Prescribed burns help prevent more serious wildfires and are good for wildlife such as white-tailed deer.
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This is a lightened up recipe for Alfredo sauce tossed with Spaghetti, shrimp and Peas. Most alfredo sauces call for using all cream; here I've swapped out some of the cream for whole milk. A little bit of cream goes a long way. This still retains that rich and creamy texture and flavor that I love alfredo for but without the heaviness.
Traditional Alfredo sauces don't use cream or milk; they are made of butter and Parmesan. Outrageous amounts. Two sticks per pound of pasta and 2 or 3 cups of Parmesan! This makes even the full cream recipe appear tame in calories!
This comes together quickly and is perfect when your short on time but want a hot, delicious home cooked meal. You can even replace the shrimp with leftover cooked chicken or steak and the peas for broccoli, cauliflower, spinach or whatever vegetable you have on hand. Cooking the vegetables right in the water with the pasta saves time and spares a pot from being dirtied. You can also use cooked frozen shrimp: just be extra careful not to over cook them.
Nothing says comfort more than a plate full of pasta tossed in a creamy sauce! Throw some succulent shrimp and sweet peas into the mix and you have a satisfying and complete one-dish meal.
Light Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp & Peas
(by Reeni)
12 ounces Fettuccine or Spaghetti
1 cup frozen Peas
1 and ½ cups milk
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, plus more for serving
1 pound medium-sized Shrimp, deveined with tails off
Freshly cracked black pepper
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish, optional
lemon wedges for serving, optional
1. In a large stockpot, cook pasta and peas in plenty of boiling salted water according to package directions to al dente.
2. Meanwhile make the sauce. Heat milk and heavy cream over low-medium heat in a deep saute pan. Add butter and whisk gently to melt. Slowly simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Sprinkle in cheese and whisk to incorporate. Add shrimp and simmer until shrimp curl up, stirring often. Remove from heat.
3. Add the drained pasta and peas to the shrimp sauce and toss. Season with black pepper. Garnish with parsley and serve with Parmesan cheese and lemon wedges.
I'm taking your side dishes for the Showdown! Add your links to the bottom of the post HERE.
Do you love burgers? Join us and rate Katie Lee's Award Winning Logan County 'Grilled Cheese' Burger. Find out the details/ get the recipe and add your link to the bottom of the post HERE.


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Mary Lewis — Babe of the Day
Meet Mary Lewis, a model from Indiana who cuts a striking figure in a bikini.
We can't stop looking at Mary's model portfolio, and we bet you won't be able to turn away from it either. I mean, why would you?
Here are some of our favorite shots of Mary.


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Innovation and Taste Going Strong at 2008 IFT Expo
The heat and humidity of the Big Easy could not wilt the innovation of the annual food technology show.
Attendance was down to 15,000 (from 23,296 in 2007), but many members expressed great emotional attachment to New Orleans at this IFT Show.
The Institute of Food Technologists' Annual Meeting & Food Expo returned to New Orleans June 29-July 2 for the first time since beating Hurricane Katrina by just a month in 2005.
Beauty from within, healthy bones and healthy hearts were the primary messages we heard at a quieter IFT Food Expo this year. Omega-3 fortification, fiber fortification and antioxidants in superfruits were at the forefront again. The conversation was about escalating prices of both ingredients and food and how it will become more difficult to innovate in a slowing economy.
In addition to the usual IFT programming surrounding the show, there were three charitable events planned to help the struggling city and its citizens. Kerry Ingredients planned to put show-going volunteers to work Saturday before the expo started in New Orleans neighborhoods that still need work rebuilding, but that event was canceled. A spokesperson said apparently not enough people were arriving in the Crescent City early enough to take part. Instead, Kerry made a monetary contribution to the organization involved: Beacon of Hope.
ABF Ingredients and its subsidiary companies – AB Enzymes, Abitec, Ohly, PGP International and Protient – held a dinner cruise on the Creole Queen riverboat. A silent auction and raffle raised $12,000 split between Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, a New Orleans home-building charity, and Cecily's Fund, which helps educate Zambia's children orphaned by AIDS.
The IFT association had its own program the day before and the day after the show. Volunteers worked with America's Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana to sort, repack and deliver surplus and donated food to needy residents.
IFT officials termed the show a success, despite attendance of just over 15,000 (down from the 2007 Chicago show's crowd of 23,296, the second biggest IFT Show ever) and 951 exhibiting companies. Chicago, which is the venue every third year, always draws heavier crowds than New Orleans, Orlando, Fla., or Anaheim, Calif., which also regularly host the show.
Technical sessions included: organic and natural certifications, food safety, essential fatty acids, newer sources of fiber, consumer research, the safety of imported foods and ingredients and functional foods (reports on all those subjects are available on the IFT web site).
The two days preceding the food expo, IFT held its International Food Nanoscience Conference. This emerging field has great potential to influence all stages of the food supply chain. Scientists and other experts discussed current research, the ethical and societal implications and examples of nanotechnology already in use.
All the right ingredients
Putting aside the association meetings, technical conferences and after-hours activities, the core of the annual event is the Food Expo, at which many of those 951 exhibiting companies introduce new products, with heavy emphasis on the ingredient side of the house.
Leavening agent Levona (now renamed Levona Opus) was introduced to the ICL Performance Products portfolio in 2006. At this year's show, Levona Brio debuted. Although primarily a leavening agent, its replacement of sodium acid pyrophosphate with calcium pyrophosphate helps food processors reformulate products with "low sodium" and "good source of calcium" claims.
When InterHealth Nutraceuticals Inc. started coming to the IFT shows, nutraceutical ingredients were eyed with skepticism by some consumers, according to Jay Martin, director of marketing. "Now that those kinds of ingredients are showing up in Coke and Pepsi products, consumer acceptance is growing, and that only opens the door for more," he said. InterHealth is seeing more applications of its two key products. SuperCitrimax, an extract of the fruit Garcinia cambogia, helps curb appetite and reduce caloric intake. ChromeMate, a patented form of biologically active chromium nicotinate, helps insulin metabolize fat, turn protein into muscle and convert sugar into energy. Chromium-activated insulin increases the amount of blood sugar available for energy production nearly twenty-fold.
Still flying the "Texture changes everything" banner, National Starch Food Innovation showed textural differences — from a delicate crunch to a crispy snap — in baked potato chips and crackers. The different texture profiles are the result of its starches and other ingredients, as well as research and development at its new (opened in June) Texture Center of Excellence. As for brand-new-for-the-show ingredients, National Starch debuted its first natural/organic emulsifier, Q-Naturale, suitable for sparkling and still beverages, waters and juices. It was developed with supplier Desert King from quillaja, an organic, sustainable crop. Officials say it should be more price- and supply-stable than gum Arabic.
Also opening a Texture Innovation Center — just the week before the show — was TIC Gums, near its Belcamp, Md., headquarters (more on that in our upcoming September feature on texture). At the show, TIC's focus was on Pretested Saladizer Max, an emulsifier that can replace more expensive propylene glycol alginate in dressings, marinades and many applications without any discernible difference in mouthfeel.
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A group of activists opposed to cuts in city services is outside the Mayor's Office in City Hall right now, protesting the decision to close some public pools. The group, which is still calling itself the Coalition to Save the Libraries after its fight last year on that issue, is now comparing the city to The Valley Club, the Huntingdon Valley swim club thrust into the national spotlight recently for rejecting a group of mostly minority children from a Philadelphia day camp.
The group, including about 50 adults and children waving signs and chanting slogans, gathered around a plastic baby pool filled with toys outside City Hall before coming inside. Two of the children held signs saying "Closing our pools = changing the complexion of our city." That's a reference to an initial statement from the president of the Valley Club, who said the day campers were rejected because "there was a concern that a lot of kids would change the complexion" of the club. He later said that was a terrible choice of words and didn't reflect the safety concerns behind the decision.
Eric Braxton, a long-time Philadelphia activist, took the comparison a bit further in a speech to the protesters. "While we should condemn the Valley swim club, let's recognize that the city of Philadelphia has done the exact same thing to thousands of young people in Philadelphia." Braxton later said accusing the city of discrimination was fair because many of the closed public pools served "poor and working class" neighborhoods.
Forty-six of the city's 73 public pools are being opened this summer. Mayor Nutter is in Harrisburg today, lobbying for the budget deal he struck with City Council to increase the city's sales tax by 1 cent on the dollar and to make changes in the city's pension plan. Those issues must be approved by the state General Assembly, which is locked in its own budget battle. Without those changes, the city will implement a back-up budget that includes larger cuts, including to the city Police Department and Fire Department.
UPDATE, 1:40 pm: Clay Armbrister, Nutter's chief of staff, came out to speak with the protesters, who greeted him with catcalls about the city budget. "What people need to understand is we're in a very, very dire economic situation," Armbrister said. He was interrupted by Sherrie Cohen, a regular participant in these protests and daughter of the late Councilman David Cohen, who tried to start a chant of "So are we." It didn't take.
"It was unfortunate that we had to make some choices," Armbrister responded when one of the children asked who decided to close the pools. "We didn't have enough money to keep all the pools open."