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A discussion about the iPhone's flaws - perceived or no - is always difficult because it usually ends with something along the lines of "its popularity is proof enough". Of course, we geeks know all too well the full extent of the idiocy in said statement, so it's simply not good enough. I need more. This got me thinking.
If you had proposed even just a few weeks before the introduction of the iPhone that we'd all clamour the greatness of being locked out of our own devices, you'd be considered a lunatic. Everything goes through one company? We have no control over our own devices? Installing applications on devices we bought could get you jailtime? Surely, you're trolling?
And yet, here we are, a few years down the line. I'm looking at my iPhone right now - in my review here for OSNews I already made it quite clear that I'm very happy with it. It's most certainly the best phone I've ever had - although as a Dutchman, my frame of reference is limited. We have no Nexus One, no Droid, no Pre. My frame of reference consists of Windows Mobile and Symbian on the Nokia E71. I'm sure my iPhone is very tired from besting those two.
Where does this idea that a device or computer needs to be locked down and controlled in order to be stable and secure come from? It's wise to take a few steps back here for a minute, and consider the smartphone landscape in its entirety. For all the press attention the iPhone gets (mea culpa), it's by far not the largest player in the smartphone market. That honour falls solely on the shoulders of the venerable Symbian.
In 2009, Nokia shipped 67.7 million smartphones (39% of the market in 2009), most of which run Symbian. The second largest smartphone maker is BlackBerry, which sold 34.5 million devices (20%). Apple comes in third with its iPhone, selling 25 million of them, grabbing 14% of the market. In total, vendors shipped 174 million smartphones in 2009.
This means that last year alone, 149 non-locked down smartphone were thrown into the world. You can install whatever you want on your Symbian device. BlackBerry owners enjoy the same luxury. In fact, there are even phones out there where hacking the actual operating system is possible, blessed, and sometimes even encouraged, like Android and the webOS. And there's Windows Mobile.
Apple and its devoted followers are trying to convince the world that the iPhone needs to be locked down tight in order to keep it secure and stable. The reality, however, is that last year alone, 2.7 times as many "open" Symbian phones entered the market, and yet, there are no viruses. No trojans. No security breaches. Symbian, despite being a much more lucrative potential market for malicious crackers, is just as safe as the iPhone. The same applies to BlackBerry. Android. webOS. Windows Mobile.
The stability side of things is harder to assess, obviously. My Symbian phone was solid as a rock. I think the phone itself crashed just once during the 12+ months of using it, and the only application I can recall crashing (few times, at most) was a Java-based Twitter client. Heck, even my Windows Mobile phone was stable. The operating system rarely crashed, and applications were stable enough, too. Of course, the overall experience is still nail-bitingly aggravating due to the interface - but as far as stability goes, I had no issues.
In the mean time, my iPhone has already crashed once or twice in the few months I've owned it so far. I've had several applications crash, from complex ones like the Facebook application, all the way down to glorified web page applications like I Can Has Cheezburger. Heck, I've even seen Apple's own applications crash, like Safari.
Is the iPhone any worse than other phones in the stability department? Of course not. However - it doesn't seem like it to me it's any more stable or less crash-prone than any other smartphone out there. Apple makes it seem as if the App Store review process makes applications safe and stable - but the fact of the mater is that a few minutes of usage by an App Store reviewer isn't proper testing. They don't peruse the source code looking for bugs or security issues.
It's a security fence made out of cake and whipped cream - nothing more. Looks fine from 100 metres away, but quite edible up close. It's... Disconcerting.
- Popularity
- Usage; You may call me V


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GRANTS PASS, OR -- Just three months after Casey Conrad left Healthy Inspirations, the company she founded in 2000, one of the company's franchisees, Scott Draper, has purchased the assets of the women's weight loss and fitness company from Jim Rowe. Rowe had merged Slender Lady, the company he bought in 2005, with Healthy Inspirations in early 2007.
"For over five years the parent companies of Healthy Franchising LLC have been working diligently on improving our offering of weight loss and wellness for women," Draper said in an e-mailed statement to Club Industry's Fitness Business Pro. "Although we enjoyed success from day one in both of our Healthy Inspirations centers, we have learned much over the years, let go of those things that did not work, added new operations and offerings that do work, and ultimately now have scalable, working weight loss and wellness models that operate smoothly and efficiently, producing consistent and substantial profits."
Draper did not disclose the purchase price for the assets or whether Rowe will continue to have a role in the new company.
In addition, he did not comment on whether litigation pending against Slender Lady (Healthy Inspirations was attached to this lawsuit earlier this year) related to Rowe's alleged nonpayment of money to franchisees from a previous lawsuit settlement might affect the new owners.
During the past year, Rowe had focused the company's growth at the regional level, opening 10 regions across the country including Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego, Tampa and cities in Hawaii and New Mexico, according to Rowe. Rowe had stated that he expected to open three to five additional regions by the end of this year.Draper did not offer specifics on his expansion plans. He did say, "Our mission is to grow the brand in such a way as to give tangible meaning to the word wellness, by sharing our model and focusing on the success of our stakeholders, whether they be client, franchisee, regional developer, vendor, media or other fellow professionals within the wellness industries."

subset: commoncrawl


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Debates loom over 2nd amendment
•Local instructors say education, not restrictions, is keyAs debates over proposed gun control laws continue to be waged on the national, state and local levels, a lively discussion over gun and ammunition control legislation took place during a Judiciary Committee hearing of the Nebraska Legislature just last week. Among the bills discussed was LB50, introduced by Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha. The bill would hold gun owners civilly liable for damages resulting from the unreasonable placement of a firearm where a minor or mentally handicapped individual could get it. For many individuals, including many gun owners, this debate comes down to two very key elements - education and safety. No matter where you stand on the gun control issue, the fact remains that as long as the U.S. Constitution protects the right to bear arms by American citizens there will be guns. And many would argue that the problem is not with the guns themselves, but with the individuals who make the choice to use them improperly. There are a number of organizations and private individuals dedicated to the goal of educating citizens, especially children, on gun safety. That education begins with an understanding of the dangers of firearms - and the understanding that they are not toys. Louis Stithem has been teaching hunter education and safety, through Nebraska Game & Parks, to area kids since 1973. That was the year Nebraska enacted a law that anyone born after 1977 had to have certification from a hunter education class in order to hunt. Since then the law has been changed to include anyone between the ages of 12 and 29. Stithem believes strongly enough in the importance of educating on gun safety that he has dedicated 40 years of his life to it. And he is not the only one who believes education is a big part of the solution. Several people testified in opposition to LB50, which would impose civil liability on gun owners for the unreasonable placement of a firearm where a minor or mentally handicapped individual could get it. National Rifle Association lobbyist Ron Jensen said the language of the bill is too vague and could potentially criminalize lawful firearm possession. Jeremy Cody, a member of the Nebraska Firearm Owner's Association, said he would prefer introducing youth education programs to teach children to stay away from firearms. "These programs have proven successful at teaching children to stay away from guns," Cody said. Sen. Ashford, who sponsored the bill, said that the gun store owners he spoke to in Omaha expressed support for the bill. "We are asking that firearm owners be responsible," Ashford said, adding that the bill called for common sense safety measures. Stithem couldn't agree more. The whole basis of the hunter education class, he says, is to teach people the safe, responsible way to handle a firearm - whether you plan to hunt or not. "The number of hunting accidents and fatalities has drastically decreased since 1973, when this began," says Stithem. "That was the number one aim when this came about." Stithem was recently granted permission by the Broken Bow Board of Education to teach the hunter education class at the school, his 40th year of doing so. Students must have 10 hours of classroom education and pass a written test to become certified. Stithem says that classroom time includes quite a bit of hands-on training. No live ammunition is ever brought in to the class, and students of the class are not allowed to bring their own firearms. The firearms used for the educational purposes of the class are supplied by the instructor. These hunter education courses, offered all across the U.S., are funded by federal dollars from what is commonly called the "Pittman-Robertson Act." Funds from an 11 percent excise tax on sporting arms and ammunition are appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior and apportioned to States on a formula basis for paying up to 75 percent of the cost approved projects. Because of this funding, the classes are able to be offered at no charge to interested kids. The class is offered in the Spring, and students who complete the class and become certified are then invited to participate in the live shooting program sponsored by the One Box organization. This is a six-week youth shooting program which is also offered at no cost. One Box supplies all of the shells and targets for the program, which generally adds up to $3,000 or more. Everyone involved with the program is certified as live fire instructors. Stithem says that while everyone who takes the hunter education class does not always participate in the live shooting program, it is encouraged to do so. The analogy could be made that taking the class but not applying what you have learned would be similar to taking a drivers ed class, but never actually driving. Youth who participate in the One Box shooting program are allowed to bring their own firearms, however youth who do not have a firearm can use one furnished by the instructors. This class is typically held in mid-March on Mondays. Stithem says he will occasionally get a student who has no desire to hunt, but just wants to learn about gun safety. He says he has also had the student who is in the class simply because their best friend is taking it, so they did too. "I generally ask my students how many have parents who hunt, and only about half say yes. But when I ask how many have at least one firearm in their home it runs about 90-95 percent who do," says Stithem. That is exactly why he encourages youth - whether hunters or not - to take the class. "A firearm is a mechanical tool that people just need to know how to operate," he explains. During his class, Stithem says students learn how to handle all five actions of firearms. As a former math teacher, he says he also takes the opportunity to incorporate teaching science - such as kinetic energy - and math principles into the class. Stithem is also currently serving as a member of the International Hunter Education Association-USA Advisory Committee. He and an instructor from Iowa represent a 10-state region in the central U.S. This committee has been tasked with finding what instructors across the country need to help them with their classes. There are approximately 70,000 volunteer instructors across the country, and Stithem says one of the biggest issues he sees is the challenge of finding a facility to have the class. Every state requires hunter education certification in order to hunt there, as does Canada and Mexico. So the need for facilities to hold those classes is vital. Stithem is a certified as a shotgun instructor with the NRA, and the NBEF Tree Stand Safety program. He has volunteered his time to assist NGPC at Skills Camps, Expo's/ODP's, various shooting events sponsored by NGPC and the 4H, in-service training, training and the certification process of volunteer hunter education instructors. "He is always willing to step up to the plate and aid NGPC and the Hunter Education program in our efforts to train students, instructors and staff, in the concepts of safe, responsible and ethical hunting and participation in the shooting sports," says Heather Weihe, Hunter Education NGPC.SUPPORTING EDUCATION: At least one local group also believes strongly in the importance of firearm Education and safety. Nine years ago, the local Friends of NRA group hosted their first banquet in Broken Bow, with proceeds being used for youth shooting sports and educational opportunities. Matthew Haumont became involved with Friends of NRA in the early 1990s, and remains an active member of the group. He says it is important that people realize Friends of NRA is 100 percent non-political; all money the group raises is used for grants and education. Broken Bow's banquet is one of 12 across the state of Nebraska. This local banquet, set this year for April 19 at the Broken Bow Municipal Building, also has the honor of being one of the top banquets in the nation. Of the more than 1,100 banquets across the U.S., Broken Bow has consistently remained in the top 20. Aside from the fee to attend the banquet, money is also raised through silent and live auctions. Haumont says that when all is said and done, 69 cents of every dollar raised at the event goes toward supporting its programs, while the rest is used to pay for the banquet. For 2013, Friends of NRA in Nebraska granted out more than $120,000 - all of that raised at banquets. However, Friends member Ray Hunt says more than $190,000 was applied for so the group was not able to award as much as they would have liked. Grants given locally for this year include Litchfield High School youth shooting program, Oconto 4-H shooting program, and Pibel Bible Camp for a youth shooting program. A national program Friends of NRA funds helps support is one both Haumont and Hunt strongly support. It's called the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program. The Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program teaches children in pre-K through third grade four important steps to take if they find a gun. These steps are presented by the program's mascot, Eddie Eagle, in an easy-to-remember format consisting of the following simple rules: If you see a gun:STOP!Don't Touch.Leave the Area.Tell an Adult. Begun in 1988, The Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program has reached more than 25 million children - in all 50 states. According to the Friends of NRA website, the purpose of the Eddie Eagle Program isn't to teach whether guns are good or bad, but rather to promote the protection and safety of children. The program makes no value judgments about firearms, and no firearms are ever used in the program. Like swimming pools, electrical outlets, matchbooks and household poison, they're treated simply as a fact of everyday life. With firearms found in about half of all American households, it's a stance that makes sense. This is the type of educational programs Friends of NRA funds supports. Hunt explains that as a local chapter, this group has a vote on the state committee, giving them a more direct hand in how the money raised locally is spent. There is no membership requirement for Friends of NRA - the banquet is open to anyone and everyone. Haumont says the tickets for the Friends of NRA banquet tend to sell quickly, so he encourages anyone interested in attending to get theirs as soon as possible. Tickets may be purchased on line at friendsofnra.org. Along with attending the banquet, Hunt and Haumont also encourage groups to apply for the grants made available by these banquets. "We want local people to apply for these grants, and we will be happy to help them out any way we can to do that," said Hunt. "Shooting sports actually teaches discipline and respect for life and safety," adds Haumont, talking about the programs Friends of NRA dollars support. "It is one of the safest youth activities kids can be involved in." Though involved in slightly different areas, the one thing all three of these men have in common is the desire to educate both youth and adults on firearm safety. All three are very vocal about their shared opinion - that the elimination of guns drastically threatens our very way of life, and is not the solution to the problem. Education, they say, is.


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Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute Meals by Caroline Wright
Do you ever wish that you could have a little genie on your shoulder who would just tell you what to make for dinner? Me, too. I think this book Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute Meals is that genie. It's a straight-shooting cookbook full of the kinds of quick, no-fuss recipes that we crave on any given weeknight.
Quick Facts
• Who wrote it: Caroline Wright
• Who published it: Workman
• Number of recipes: Over 90
• Recipes for right now: Grilled Summer Squash and Halloumi Salad, Spicy Soba and Spinach with Shrimp, Red Lentil Soup with Brown Spiced Butter, Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches with Fresh Aioli, Spaghetti with Ramps and Bread Crumbs, Tomatillos Huevos Rancheros, Roasted Sausage Meatballs with Fennel and Tomatoes
• Other highlights: This is one of those smart cookbooks that will sneak its way into your regular rotation. The recipes are fresh and inventive, but also feel immediately doable without extra runs to the grocery store or unfamiliar techniques. You can flip to any page and be cooking in minutes.
I really like how these recipes are written the way we cook. Instead of an ingredient list with various prepping instructions followed by the recipe itself, this book nixes the ingredient list and integrates everything right into the recipe. Highlights over the ingredients help us with scanning and making shopping lists.
My one wish is that there was some indication of price-per-recipe with each dish. I know this is difficult given the differing price for groceries across the country and people's various shopping habits, but even knowing which recipes are cheaper and which are more splurgy would be helpful when planning meals and budgeting.
This quibble aside, I give this book a big thumbs up. These recipes will be a boon for planning weekly menus that keep us engaged and happy in the kitchen.
• Who would enjoy this book? Cooks needing inspiration for quick and easy weeknight dinners, budget-minded cooks, new cooks looking for simple recipes
Find the book at your local library, independent bookstore, or Amazon: Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute Meals by Caroline Wright
• Visit the author's website: Caroline Wright
Apartment Therapy Media makes every effort to test and review products fairly and transparently. The views expressed in this review are the personal views of the reviewer and this particular product review was not sponsored or paid for in any way by the manufacturer or an agent working on their behalf. However, the manufacturer did give us the product for testing and review purposes.
(Images: Emma Christensen)


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"Where the spirit does not work with the hand,
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Government considers retrofitting school buses with seatbelts
Victoria's Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder says he will consider retrofitting school buses with seatbelts.
Mr Mulder has committed to replace up to 90 older country school buses a year with buses fitted with seatbelts.
He says putting seatbelts into existing buses would be expensive and difficult.
But he says the idea was included in a review of bus safety and Public Transport Victoria is currently considering its findings.
"They are currently analysing the Deloittes report looking at the existing bus fleet looking at whether other improvements can be made," he said.
"Once they've finished that analysis of that report they'll provide me with the relevant information and we'll make further judgement calls based on that."
A veteran campaigner for the policy, Leon Hain, says welcomed the announcement but say older buses must be retrofitted.
He says the Federal Coalition has promised to double the subsidy to upgrade buses if it wins the election.
"Now that Terry's onto it, other states are onto it, we just need New South Wales in on it," Mr Hain said.
"And before the election we've got one party already, let's get the other party to announce that they will give a $50,000 subsidy per bus that is fully safe, new or retrofit."
Topics: schools, road-transport, vic, ballarat-3350, bendigo-3550, mildura-3500, horsham-3400, sale-3850, shepparton-3630, wodonga-3690
First posted


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Tombstone of Julian Russell Sturgis (1848-1904), Compton Cemetery, Compton, by Compton Pottery. 1898. Nairn and Pevsner mention "Several good Art Nouveau TOMBSTONES in the burial ground, the best to Julian Sturgis 1904, the owner of Voysey's Greyfriars. " [Click on this image to enlarge it.]
The poem by Sturgis reads as follows:
'No friendship dieth
With death of any day,
No true friendship lieth
Cold with lifeless day.
Though our boyhood's playtime
Be gone with summer's breath,
No friendship fades with May-time,
No friendship dies with death.' — J.R.S.
Related Material
- Another Art Nouveau tombstone
- Cloisters housing the Watts Memorial
- Mary Watts Memorial plaque
- Compton Cemetery Chapel, Compton, designed by Mary Seton Fraser Tytler Watts, 1898
- Compton Pottery, Cemetery Well
Photographs and caption by Robert Freidus. Formatting by George P. Landow. You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]
Nairn, Ian, and Nikolaus Pevsne. Surrey. 2nd edition. London: Penguin Books, 1982.
Last modified 26 August 2011


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Christmas is all about tradition. And one of our traditions at The Walton Sun in the last few years is to ask residents of this coastal community what they want to find underneath their tree this Christmas. Many were eager to share their hopes and dreams, which we are sharing with you.
Miramar Beach resident Carol Annino said since she usually does not buy jewelry for herself and has not bought any in a long time, she would love to find a small box with a silver bracelet inside under her tree. (Me too, Carol!)
Walton County Tourist Development Council's new Executive Director Jim Bagby's heart's desire is for nine TDC members working in harmony for the betterment of the destination. Good luck to ya, Jim.
Sandestin resident Kent Lillie would like a Ferris wheel for Christmas.
Santa Rosa Beach's Jim Carter wants a new car to give to his lovely wife. Awww, how sweet!
"That one is easy," said Hilary Butler. "Since animal welfare advocacy is a passion of mine, my hope is that my one gift would be that all the homeless animals would get adopted to forever homes for Christmas!"
Freeport's Eileen West would like to see her kids and all seven grandkids under that tree, �but a big old bag of cash� would be nice too, because then she could go see them.
DeFuniak Springs' Erin Adkinson only wants to see the looks of joy on her girls' faces when they see what Santa has brought to them Christmas morning, (followed by lots of turkey and a cozy nap).
Chef Gio Filippone said he has everything he wants: a beautiful wife and two great and beautiful little girls.
WaterSound Beach's Joan Luchese wants peace and joy throughout the world ... and an Apple laptop computer.
Good health is all that Blue Mountain's Jim Shepherd wants.
Blue Mountain's Edmond Alexander would like the GPS numbers for Larry (Dead Fish Charters) Pentel's fishing spots, with directions on how to catch fish like he does.
Eastern Lake's Gary Cooper would like to find retirement notices from every Senator and Congressman currently in office.
Miramar Beach's Jim Reagan would like to wake up Christmas morning to find Keith Knight�s Mercedes under his tree!
Hanie Nasri said he already has all that he wants in his new granddaughter.
Point Washington's Joan Vienot says, "Underneath the package containing the solution to world peace, I would like to find enough money to buy happiness, the keys to the kingdom, and a ticket on my ship coming in. But, I would settle for paid registration to a plein air painting workshop. After that, I wish for everyone else a package full of loyal and fun friends like I have been blessed with!"
"A large bucket of ENERGY � and I don't even need a bow on it!," said Sandestin's Mary Damroth.
"The map to the Fountain of Youth," said Santa Rosa Beach's Karen Schoonover.
"A check from the Social Security Administration indicating all financial woes of the world are solved and prosperity and peace reign over all the world," said Karen Kolenberg.
As for musician Sean Dietrich, he wants smoked oysters, saltines, and cream cheese. "It's tradition," he said.
Sandestin's Sam Reda said the greatest Christmas gift that he and 300 million other Americans could receive would be to discover that we have been dreaming, and �the fiasco� called ObamaCare was only a dream. "Then, with a new plan designed and developed by experts, signed by both political parties, properly tested and implemented, with sound financial parameters, we could then provide real, quality affordable healthcare for all citizens. New year's resolution ... don't get sick!"
Sharon Maxwell hopes people whose lights shine onto the beach get new lighting, not expensive, but turtle friendly for the sea-turtle season.
"A much faster metabolism!" said Nancy Strother.
Michelle Uhlfelder hopes to find something she didn't wrap under her tree. "As a wife and mom of two, I'm usually wrapping everything ... even my own gifts!"
"Two tickets to paradise!" said Sandestin's Peggy Lillie. "Oops! I'm already here! So, a winning lottery ticket that would fund the building and support of a Med Vet Oncology Clinic for pets in the Panhandle."
"A happy plant," said Sherry Londe. "When someone eats the leaves of a Happy Plant, it makes even the grumps in your life have a better day."
DeFuniak's Sara Comander said she is so blessed there is really nothing material she wants. "As I get older, I realize that family and friends are the best gifts of all."
"I have always been a true believer in Santa Claus," said Russell Carter. "I know many hope for peace and harmony throughout the world at Christmas time, so, since others have covered that, I ask for keys to a new Austin Martin ... any color will do."
Suzanne Harris would like to find a donation had been made to St. Jude Children's Hospital in her name. "They give free care to children with cancer."
"I have it on good authority that the Ho-Ho boy got my message about a sound bar for my TV," said a hopeful Stacey Brady.
Mary Lutz would like a magic wand to wave over family and friends to keep them healthy in the new year.
Melanie Barrett hopes to find the swimming pool she has ordered.
Michele Silberman would like to find a Bible opened to John Chapter 3 Verse 16, which states how God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Sandestin's Mark Hodgdon would also like to find a cure to cancer and no ObamaCare for 2015 and beyond under his tree.
�If I could find anything under my tree, it would be my little dog Charlie, who was called to heaven after devoting his 17 years to me," said Sarah Mowell.
We, at The Sun hope all your holiday wishes come true.


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IT Management Slideshow: What Tech CFOs Expect in 2012
By Dennis McCafferty | Posted 03-23-2012
Given the tightknit relationship you probably have with your company's CFO, having your finger on the financial pulse of your organization as it plots its next moves is key for CIOs. And it's not all smooth sailing ahead. While the vast majority of tech-industry CFOs predicts revenue growth, they're anticipating less of it than they did a year ago, according to the most recent Technology Outlook Survey from BDO USA, LLP. At the same time, mergers and acquisitions, and IPO activity is expected to heat up over the next 12 months. "Based on recent economic and marketplace volatility, technology executives are cautious in their revenue projections," said Aftab Jamil, partner and director of the technology and life sciences practice at BDO. "That said, M&A remains an attractive opportunity. The fiercely competitive environment is pushing companies to aggressively target the best and brightest technologies. Among middle-market tech companies, there's an 'acquire or be acquired' mentality." This is the fifth straight year for the survey, and an estimated 100 CFOs from tech organizations took part in the most recent research. For more about the findings, click here.
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Karakuri Coffee Cup
Product Information
|Reveal the secret opening
|Level 5 - Easy
|Karakuri Creation Group
|Other Wood Puzzles
|6 1/4 in x 6 1/4 in x 3 3/4 in / 15.8 cm x 15.8 cm x 9.6
|Pressboard Gift Box
Product Description
A small mahogany coffee cup is firmly attached to a polished wooden saucer. A wooden spoon sits on the plate. So do two white sugar cubes, also made of wood. Can the cup be lifted off the saucer? It seems locked in place. There are no obvious joints, no hidden pieces that can be turned. How will you find the secret opening
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Lil' E's 5th Birthday Cake. It is supposed to be a Great White Shark...some thought maybe a nurse shark because it was so big. It is the first time I have covered a cake completely with fondant. The body was easy to cover. The fins and the tail another story. The cake is a red velvet cake with the fins and the tail made out of rice crispie treats. It was also my first attempt at airbrushing. Over all I was happy with the result. To decorated with swedish fish and sea shells that I made from fondant. For a recipe of the cake see below.
Red Velvet Cake
2 cups sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring
2 1/2 cups cake flour (I used all purpose with great results)
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vinegar
Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Mix cocoa and food coloring together and then add to sugar mixture; mix well. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. Pour batter into 3 (8-inch) round greased and floured pans (or pan size of choice). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from heat and cool completely before frosting.


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The controversy surrounding Duke Energy's coal ash ponds spilled over into the race for N.C. Senate District 48 this week, with Democratic challenger Rick Wood denouncing Sen. Tom Apodaca for taking campaign contributions from the utility.
A week after Apodaca advocated closing Duke's coal ash lagoons, including one in Arden near the French Broad River, Wood released a statement saying, "I believe Sen. Apodaca would be in a better position to speak out for legislation to remove the coal ash dumps if he would stop accepting campaign contributions from Duke Energy."
Apodaca's push for removing the coal ash ponds came after a ruptured pipe at Duke's plant in Eden spilled 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River earlier this month.
Wood said Apodaca, a Republican leader first elected in 2002, has received 25 contributions totaling $65,500 over the last 11 years from political action committees representing Duke and Progress Energy. The two companies merged in 2012 to become the nation's largest utility.
"As a stark contrast to Sen. Apodaca's position, I will not accept any campaign contributions from Duke Energy, if offered," Wood said in his news release. He said there's been a "cozy" relationship between Duke and state regulators, "particularly since the inauguration" of former Duke employee Gov. Pat McCrory.
Apodaca was on an anniversary cruise with his wife Tuesday, but responded to Wood's statement by email.
"Shows how little he knows," Apodaca wrote. "The Democrats took $16 million from Duke during their national convention (in Charlotte in 2012), plus guarantees worth millions more. Does he want them to return it?"
The powerful chairman of the Senate's Rules and Operations Committee said that, if anything, "it shows that money doesn't influence me in doing what needs to be done. (Wood) is just a liberal union candidate that says what the unions tell him. I want to see the economy continue to recover and Western North Carolina prosper with a strong and clean environment... I will continue to push for elimination of coal ash ponds regardless of what anyone says."
As for Wood's pledge not to take any Duke money, Apodaca responded, "I don't think any job creators would ever donate to him, so he has no worries."
According to Apodaca's latest political committee disclosure report, filed Jan. 31 with the State Board of Elections, he received a $4,000 contribution from Duke Energy's PAC on Oct. 31, 2013. Apodaca has taken in $76,200 from various PACs this election cycle, the report says.
Incumbents generally hold strong advantages because of their name recognition, experience and "ties to fundraising networks," said Chris Cooper, a professor of political science at Western Carolina University.
"PACs and interest groups give money to candidates for a lot of reasons," he said. "One is to curry influence with legislators, but they may give it to all incumbents. It may be Apodaca didn't seek out that money. They're just investors, and if you're a smart investor, you give money to the people in power."
Wood is playing to a challenger's key advantage over a political veteran like Apodaca, Cooper said, using the "time-tested strategy" of attacking his record.
"I think what Rick Wood is doing is trying to tie Apodaca to establishment politics, which we know people don't like," Cooper said. "People don't like interest groups, even though we're all AAA members. He has the ability to cast that stone, because he's never lived in that house."
But Wood's attack on Apodaca's funders also draws attention to the "astronomical difference" in their campaign coffers, Cooper noted. As of Jan. 1, Board of Elections records showed Apodaca had raised $147,682 this election cycle and still has $129,651 in cash on hand.
By contrast, Wood's latest disclosure report shows he'd raised $8,022 through Jan. 21, with $6,695 cash on hand after spending $1,826 on postage, newspaper ads, office supplies, fundraising and a website.
"That's a huge disparity," said Cooper. "The most money doesn't always win, but with a disparity this size, it would be a big surprise if Wood were able to pull off a victory."
However, Cooper said even if Wood doesn't upset Apodaca, his campaign could change public discourse and policy by pushing issues near and dear to his followers. He used the example of Ross Perot's quixotic run for president in 1992.
"Nobody was talking about the national debt and deficit until Ross Perot starting talking about it, and it's been a national issue ever since," Cooper said.
Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Wood questions Apodaca's campaign contributions from Duke
The controversy surrounding Duke Energy's coal ash ponds spilled over into the race for N.C. Senate District 48 this week, with Democratic challenger Rick Wood denouncing Sen. Tom Apodaca for taking campaign contributions from the utility.


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If Agile is So Good, Why Isn't Everyone Doing It?
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"To say that companies or CIOs are reluctant to embrace agile is like saying they wouldn't take aspirin for a headache....And they're not only not taking the aspirin, they're banging their heads against the wall and wondering why it hurts." - Jim Johnson, Standish Group ChairmanThe author went on to explore, using case studies and interviews with CIO's of a number Fortune 500 companies, how preconceptions of Agile have caused uncomfortable feelings in their businesses:
Misapprehensions about agile still run rampant in IT organizations. Eugene Nizker, a former financial services CIO and current consultant, ticks off the most infamous ones: Agile teams do not plan. Agile teams skip design. Agile teams do not test. Agile means no documentation.But where there is darkness there is light, and the author covered some success stories of Agile delivering to the enterprise:
It is "a culture and timing change," Waghray (CIO Verizon Wireless, Midwest) says of the process, "but I have never gotten more accolades from a business project."In summary, Wailgum pondered: given the broad range of evidence, why are so many CIO's cool to Agile Software Development?
Read the entire article: How Agile Development Can Lead to Better Results and Technology-Business Alignment
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Agile is doomed in Fortune 500 companies
Shane Witbeck
Re: Agile is doomed in Fortune 500 companies
Ben Hughes
The agile community tends to ignore macro-level issues
Kurt Christensen
Changing a corporate culture is hard. Identifying the right communities to build and then building them is hard. Figuring out how to get multiple agile teams at multiple levels working together and with the product and sales and marketing teams in a sane way is hard.
Everyone likes to bag on Dilbert-esque pointy haired bosses, but my experience in organizations transitioning to agile is that more often than not, the upper-level managers get it. Many like the idea of planning only as much as needed, being able to more easily change priorities, and having better visibility into the *real* progress being delivered. Frankly, most of the resistance I get is from the trenches - sub-par developers and project-managers who can no longer hide behind organizational inefficiencies.
Re: The agile community tends to ignore macro-level issues
Tero Vaananen
In my opinion, much of the agile community focuses on stuff at the project level. This is important (obviously), but it completely ignores how to introduce agile processes and make them work at the program or product level. You may criticize those stupid CIOs all you like, but it's easy to call the game from the cheap seats.
I don't think the question of introducing agile processes is being ignored. There is plenty of advice out there how to do it. The bottom line is that there is no silver bullet in adoption or execution of agile. People just have to do the leg work of learning and adapting. There is no free ticket.
If agile were easy, in deed, everyone would be doing it. But those who can do it, gain to benefit from it.
Re: The agile community tends to ignore macro-level issues
Porter Woodward
One aspect that has bitten me on occasion is the aspect that while adoption of Agile practices may be a strategic move, it's not strategic in scope; meaning Agile methods are tactical in nature. Unfortunately this seems to provide some impedance mismatch. A CIO is (should be) planning long-term, and helping set the strategic goals of an organization.
While adopting Agile may be a strategic goal - it is implemented at a tactical level. And adopting it tactically can be at odds with other strategic goals. How do we communicate with our partners what our product will be capable of one year from now if the requirements are not fixed? How will our tech docs people start to produce the documentation web site and feed the marketing people with materials - do they all switch to Agile as well (doubtful)? If they don't - how does the portion of the organization (IT) that is Agile interface with the portions that aren't?
How does one "black box" Agile - so that it can continue to interface with the rest of the organization and external partners in traditional ways? Can that even be done?
who cares
peter lin
It depends...
Yagiz Erkan
I work in a technology company. There are more than 150 of us and 95% of this number is directly involved with development. We don't have an army of salespeople. We don't have layers and layers of management. So it is not surprising that our agile process has been working marvelously well. It started with Java and now we're implementing it with our .NET projects as well.
My point is, to appreciate how being agile benefits a development team, to see how a process shouldn't get in the way of the developers, one has to have his hands dirty. One has to experience the difference between a process that breaks a developer's coding flow versus a code-centric approach. So I understand how agile development may look different to someone who has a 30,000-foot view on the code that's being produced. I think that's the case with the CIOs in question.
Agile is doomed in Fortune 500 companies
George Petrov
It is much easier and more comfortable to organise meetings and company-paid pub discussions, and talk babble through six months of "planning and design" before moving on to screw up another project and leaving a bunch of poor sods to try and make sense of your copied-and-pasted from another failed project design documentation.
It is much easier for a developer to sit around waiting for the great minds in the ivory tower to come up with their cunning design, which they'll have to work around later, than actually do something.
It is called procrastination. Let's see how long we can get away with talking about things, without actually doing something. It will go on for as long as people are willing to pay for it.
Interestingly, it is the richest, the happiest and most successful companies that adopt the agile style of development, not the ones where every other email is about cost-cutting.
I think we're WAY overthinking this
Bruce Rennie
All you need to do is attend a conference and talk with a few people at random to understand that, for a significant chunk of the developer world, the process is called "ad-hoc". They're not jumping on the agile bandwagon, or any bandwagon for that matter, because they aren't even aware of the problem.
I still run into people who work at shops that don't have revision control systems in place, for god's sake.
Re: who cares
Dave Rooney
All this non sense about agile is stupid.
Why do you feel that agile is stupid? Have you had some bad experiences? Please explain.
What it comes down to is good developers. Get good developers and the methodology largely doesn't matter.
Of course good developers are essential. However, if you just had good hockey / baseball / football / basketball / soccer players on a team without a coach and system that maximizes that the players' effectiveness, what is their overall likelihood of being successful? In some rare cases they may indeed succeed. However, having a system that is tailored to the skills and personalities of the team members, and a coach that knows how to get the best out of his or her team will greatly increase the chances for success.
Do you think that Adobe has bad developers? If not, why are they singing the praises of how the introduction of agile practices helped considerably with the Creative Suite 3 development (www.infoq.com/news/2007/03/adobe-photoshop-agil...). Why are companies like Hewlett-Packard using Agile, when they have good developers? (BTW, HP is 14th on the Fortune 500).
It's the retard managers who have zero clue about software development that feel they need some "magic" methodology to make it work.
First of all, 'retard' is offensive. Please don't use that term. Secondly, yes, there are managers out there like that. They shouldn't be managers. They will find a way to fail, regardless of whatever process is used. That isn't a process problem, that's a people problem.
People hawking agile or some magical methodology don't have any secrets. Just use common sense and be practical.
Agile isn't magic, and there are no secrets! The practices used by the common agile processes have been around for decades. To my knowledge, no one has ever said that this is magic. With XP, for instance, I understand that when Kent Beck was faced with leading the team that worked on the Chrysler C3 project he looked back over his career at what practices had worked, and how his team could maximize the benefit of those practices. Testing is good, so do it all the time. It's hard to write tests after the fact on a large code base, so write a small test, then write some code to make it pass. Restructuring code is difficult and risky, so do it in very small steps, and use the tests you've written as a safety net. Having developers together in a war room has historically been a good thing, so why not put the whole team in one place. Having access to the Customer is good, so provide access all the time. Peer reviews of code are good, so do them continuously. Integrating code frequently is a good thing, so do it all the time in very small steps to minimize the risk of conflicts and outdated code. Working iteratively and incrementally is a good thing (and has been around since the late 50's on life-critical software), so work in very small iterations and releases. Planning is good, so do it all the time, adjusting estimates and priorities as required based on reality rather than what was known when the project started.
Do any of those points sound like magic or are they impractical?
Dave Rooney
Mayford Technologies
Re: The agile community tends to ignore macro-level issues
Deborah Hartmann
It's interesting that Toyota, rather than "black boxing" their new way of working, instead put effort into coaching their partners and suppliers, when their "next" bottlenecks turned up outside their own organization.
Interesting Statistics
Dean Schulze
According to the 2006 "State of Agile Development" survey by The Agile Alliance and VersionOne, respondents said only 29 percent of traditional projects were "somewhat successful" or "very successful." (Conversely, respondents said 81 percent of their agile projects achieved that level of success.)
The Standish Group, which famously compiles its Chaos data on software project failures, reported in its 2006 research that just 16 percent of waterfall projects succeeded as opposed to 41 percent of agile projects.
I find these statistics interesting. The survey conducted by the Agile Alliance found the success rate for agile projects to be twice as high as the survey by Standish. There's a rule about surveys that says that a survey taken by someone with an interest in the results is likely to be skewed in the direction they favor. I think that explains the difference and so I take the Agile Alliance results with a grain of salt. I have to wonder how well their survey was constructed and conducted.
If you consider both surveys, somewhere between one in five and three in five agile projects still fail. That shows that the claim made by agile proponents like Ron Jeffries that no project that is "truly agile" has failed is simply false.
One reason for the resistance to agile maybe that agile proponents have oversold their wares. The statistics above bear that out. The hype surrounding agile is obvious and I think that contributes to management avoiding the move to agile.
As others have pointed out, there are a lot of projects that don't qualify as either waterfall or agile. The project I'm working on now has a BDUF stage followed by an agile stage. We write long documents that have to be approved before we start design and code, but after approval we get feedback, collaborate, and make changes as needed without revisiting the documents. All the docs are out of date almost immediately. It's a strange hybrid, but it works in spite of itself probably because of the quality of people on the team.
The managers on this project aren't open to a transition to agile because what we are doing now works.
Re: Interesting Statistics
Deborah Hartmann
This is entirely appropriate, isn't it?
Change isn't easy: how would you get buy-in from the many people affected by a methodology change, if there is no benefit to them? (i.e. the change will not solve any perceived problem or provide a preceived advantage).
Re: Interesting Statistics
Kurt Christensen
One reason for the resistance to agile maybe that agile proponents have oversold their wares. The statistics above bear that out. The hype surrounding agile is obvious and I think that contributes to management avoiding the move to agile.Right on. I'm a big proponent of agile methods, but I think any time you have a lot of people excited about something (tool, technology, process or otherwise) you run the risk of having those folks over-promise and under-deliver. I don't think there are any bad guys here; it's just human nature.
Keeping a project from going off the rails is hard. Agile just gives you some tools that help make the job easier. To Peter Lin's point, this problem goes away somewhat if you can just go find 10 outstanding developers (that is, if I've got 10 hotshot developers telling me how amazingly smart and great they are, then they had better damn well self-organize and knock my socks off). But for large organizations, that's not always a realistic proposition.
Re: Interesting Statistics
Matt Dragon
There's a rule about surveys that says that a survey taken by someone with an interest in the results is likely to be skewed in the direction they favor. I think that explains the difference and so I take the Agile Alliance results with a grain of salt. I have to wonder how well their survey was constructed and conducted.
However with all the mis-information and FUD being spread about Agile, you'd have to assume that the other survey results are just as tainted. At least with the Agile Alliance the folks they're surveying know when a project used Agile and when someone was just looking for something to point the finger at.
Re: Interesting Statistics
Dean Schulze
It isn't FUD that taints survey results. It's having an interest in the outcome of the survey you are designing or taking. And why does the Agile Alliance know when a project used Agile any more or less than Standish?
The fact that there is a factor of two between the two surveys when it comes to Agile projects shows that one or both of these surveys is bad, or that they were measuring different things.
Re: Interesting Statistics
Deborah Hartmann
From the August 2006 InfoQ interview:
InfoQ: Have you collected any data in relation to Agile in your research?
Jim Johnson: Yes, we've tried that. We hope we can show some of that. We've been putting it in our surveys, but, not everyone fills it out - it's difficult to get clean data on that. We started to try 2 surveys back... hopefully this time we can. In the next few days we'll be doing a last push to SURF members, to close the 2006 survey.
If they reported on Agile in their 2006 stats, it suggests to me that they've adjusted their questions and collected enough data to report (what they consider) reliable stats on Agile project failure/success.
Remember, Standish's data comes from a huge database - over 50,000 projects in the past 14 years... and they survey the same organizations over the years, looking at multiple projects, year after year. I can't imagine the VersionOne sample was comparable, I can't find information on that at the moment.
It would be interesting to know how Standish distinguished Agile projects from traditional ones, wouldn't it? Let's see what InfoQ can do to find out... :-) deb
Re: Interesting Statistics
Dean Schulze
The factor of two difference in the agile success rates between the Standish data and the Agile Alliance data are a red flag. I have to wonder if the Agile Alliance data reflects the "projects that are truly agile don't fail" mentality of some agile proponents and therefore led them to consider some failed projects to be non-agile just because they failed.
The "Agile projects don't fail" mantra leads very quickly to a circular definition.
Re: Interesting Statistics
Vladimirl Levin
Re: Interesting Statistics
Deborah Hartmann
722 individuals responded (though it wasn't recorded how many organizations or projects this represented).
Role breakdown:
20% Project Manager
12% Developer
12% Team Lead
11% Consultant
10% VP / Director of Development
Has your company adopted Agile development practices anywhere within your software organization? 84% Yes, 16% No.
Re: Interesting Statistics
Deborah Hartmann
Some observations on this:
-> "how well received" would replace the typical "scope" question (since our aim is to produce what's needed as we go, not what was promised up front.
--> "how close it came to the original budget and schedule" this is tricky for Agile teams. Projects used to contain fluff requirements (features not really needed or used). With emergent requirements, this could go two ways: the team ends the project earlier, or they deliver more valuable features on the same (or a different) schedule. When they decide to deliver a different featureset on a different schedule (three short releases rather than one long project for example) how on earth do we compare plan to actual delivery schedule? Of course, it can be done for a given project, with the appropriate explanations, but how do we come up with meaningful stats to compare across projects? A further complication is: over time, many Agile teams move away from "projects" to "products" - more closely reflecting the actual software lifecycle in which new features, enhancements and fixes all happen in parallel, according to priorities. This makes the "project" essentially equal the life of the product!
Re: Interesting Statistics
Vladimirl Levin


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Navy suspends company implicated in scheme
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy suspended a Singapore-based company and its president from contracting with the federal government after the arrests earlier this week in a bribery conspiracy scheme.
The president and chief executive officer of Glenn Defense Marine Asia Ltd., Leonard Francis, and his company and its affiliates are barred from federal contracts and can't receive benefits from federal assistance programs.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced the suspension, which can last until the investigation is over, but not longer than 18 months unless legal proceedings have begun. Ongoing contracts can continue if needed, but no new work or anything beyond minimum requirements can be authorized.
Francis and two Navy workers were arrested in San Diego and face up to five years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit bribery.


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Movie News: 'Flashdance' Broadway Musical; Michael Fassbender as a Funny Rock Musician; 'Dorothy of Oz' Teaser
Jason Clarke: With a face that may be more familiar than his name, Jason Clarke has effectively segued between starring (Showtime TV's Brotherhood) and supporting (Lawless) roles. He's now in talks to star as Abraham Lincoln's father in The Green Blade Rises, a historical drama that will be produced by the very busy Terrence Malick. The story revolves around the future president's youth; Diane Kruger will play Abe's stepmother. [Deadline]
Michael Fassbender: Although he has occasionally demonstrated a light touch in his dramatic roles, Michael Fassbender is, frankly, not known at all for his comedic abilities. He hopes to change that with a starring performance as a rock musician in a movie titled Frank. Fassbender will play the leader of an "eccentric rock band" in the comedy, to be directed by Lenny Abrahamson. Domhnall Gleeson, a young actor who may be best known so far as Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, will also star as an aspiring musician. [Showblitz]
Flashdance on Broadway: Mark your calendars for next summer, when you can safely pull out all those ripped sweatshirts in storage. That's when Flashdance will sing and dance its way to Broadway. The stage version has been in development for years, but the show's producers say it will definitely trod the Great White Way in August 2013, a little more than 30 years after Jennifer Beals combined the skills of metal welding and sexy dancing to popular appeal. [Arts Beat]
Dorothy of Oz Trailer: With Sam Raimi's Oz: The Great and Powerful heading to theaters next year, the makers of the animated Dorothy of Oz want to remind you that they're coming, too. The new teaser provides a very colorful and decidedly different look at the magical land of Oz, featuring an all-star cast led by Glee's Lea Michele, and narrated by Patrick Stewart. [Screen Rant ]
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Crossroads for Humanity: Profit 'til Collapse or Scale Back to Survive
Erik Assadourian writes about a possible grim future and a crossroads for humanity.
|Erik Assadourian is the Director of the Transforming Cultures project
|Related Posts
|What is True Sustainability?
|Sustainababble DC?
|More Businesses Pursue Triple Botton Line for a Sustainable Economy
|Read More
|ERIK ASSADOURIAN | May 27, 2014
A few weeks back I attended an "Accelerating Sustainability Forum" at the US Chamber of Commerce. While there was lots of rosy talk about sustainability, in truth, most of the focus was on growth, even though it's becoming increasingly clear that true sustainability is going to require a massive scaling back of human enterprise. In the Guardian's Sustainable Business blog I tried to grapple with that conundrum.
You can read the full article there though I'll leave you a few tidbits to ponder here:
While climate change was discussed openly in the Chamber's Hall of Flags – a feat in its own right, given the state of the climate conversation in America – many of the businesses in the room were clearly still drinking Jeffrey Immelt's "Green is Green" Kool-Aid.
It's hard to fault people who are searching for the right lexicon to convince corporations to prioritize sustainability, but perhaps the business case is not the solution. Because, let's be honest: as the world goes to hell in a hand-basket, there will be huge opportunities to profit off the decline, whether on skyrocketing food and energy costs, private security services, or ecosystem services no longer freely provided by nature, such as water treatment and pollination (robotic bees anyone?).
I then try a different frame, one focused on survival:
Let's explore an alternative way to frame sustainability, one that might have better outcomes when appealing to companies' sustainability officers. Rather than focus on the profits that could be reaped in the pre-end [of the world] period by businesses and investors that plan appropriately today, let's consider that, even for the best planners, the end will still be filled with unimaginable horrors, ones that they, their families and their companies probably won't survive.
However, in truth, I don't think this type of far-sighted planning will succeed–as the example on the paint company Benjamin Moore I discuss in the piece reflects–so I conclude with the obvious point that regulation (or perhaps I should say "governance" and give a shout out to State of the World 2014) will be essential to save companies from themselves.
So does that suggest that the only way to save the free market is to make it less free? Do companies need regulators to proactively step in to make the sweeping changes necessary to organize the economy as a subsystem of the Earth system, rather than assume the inverse? Probably. But in truth, the only way that will happen is if some really smart companies enable that political leadership, using their influence to shift the focus to stopping the end of the world rather than just profiting in the pre-end stage.
So in other words, we're in a Catch-22 that may stymie any real progress toward degrowth until its far too late. But there may be a silver lining, as I note in the piece by quoting Bob Mankoff's comic punchline:
"And so while the end-of-the-world scenario will be rife with unimaginable horrors, we believe that the pre-end period will be filled with unprecedented opportunities for profit."
Enjoy it while it lasts!


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Computers are already widely used to aid the designer in rendering what he sees in his mind, but how about using the computer to actually generate forms (drawings) for the designer to select from and modify? This was the idea behind the language Grammatica, designed by Chris Carlson and implemented with the aid of Mathematica during his doctoral studies in architecture at Carnegie Mellon University."Grammatica implements a paradigm of exploratory design by incorporating a language for describing styles and standards of design and functioning as a system that can generate examples of a given style," explains Carlson. "In the back end of the system, Mathematica solves the nonlinear constraints that arise in the descriptions of designs, and in the front end, Mathematica renders the results."
For example, Grammatica could help an architect by generating window designs typical of a particular era. Carlson actually tested this by describing (as a 100-statement grammatical program) the forms found in early Gothic window traceries--arches, circles, and cusps--and the relationships they assume in historical examples. Then given the geometry of the outermost arch of a tracery in the Cathedral of St. Étienne, Meaux/Seine-et-Marne, France, Grammatica generated plausible designs for the window.
In addition to describing a historical style, Grammatica could generate alternative floorplans or design brickwork, signage systems, or house frames based on constraints and rules specified by the user. "With these capabilities, Grammatica brings the computer a step closer to being a more substantive partner in the design process," says Carlson.


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This is a yearly column by the editor, updated with latest information.
This is a big weekend for many young people in Levy County, as they leave high school and move on to the next phase of their lives.
Graduation ceremonies are scheduled for most Levy County schools this weekend, a landmark day for a few hundred young adults who are ready to venture out into the world.
This graduating class has been through a little more than many of us. These young people were fourth-graders on Sept. 11, 2001, when two planes smashed into the World Trade Center in New York, one hit the Pentagon and another crashed in Pennsylvania, changing the face of America forever.
They are venturing into an uncertain world, one filled with fear of terrorism, one filled with eroding freedoms in the name of security.
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As a city, Worcester has many fine qualities that I'm sure will come to me eventually. Unfortunately, embrace of the serenity prayer has never been one of them.
The head of our public works department is angry at the Environmental Protection Agency for trying to improve air and water quality. Our police chief is perpetually peeved at judges for not issuing life sentences to jaywalkers. Our legal department is so ticked off at defense lawyer Ed Ryan that it's suing him in federal court, for reasons best left unexplored. In Worcester, we even harbor an animosity toward food trucks.
With this in mind, I've coined a nifty new slogan for the Chamber of Commerce: "Worcester: A City in Search of a Scapegoat."
The latest object of our collective wrath, oddly enough, is the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Maybe you've heard of it — UMass is a world-class academic health center, home to the 2006 co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, one of the fastest-growing centers in the country, and an authority on diseases such as AIDS.
In other words, UMass is no slouch. Just weeks ago, in fact, state and city leaders were falling all over themselves to praise the school for opening the $400 million Albert Sherman Center.
"It is about jobs and investment, but for so many people and families, it's about hopes and cures and therapies," Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray said at the lavish unveiling.
Details, details. But just because UMass is the city's biggest employer and its research scientists sport enormous brains, we can't allow it to go off half-cocked whenever it feels like it. That's the City Council's job.
So when Worcester leaders recently learned that UMass had created nonprofit subsidiaries to buy buildings at the Massachusetts Biotechnology Research Park, they reacted with the same level-headed maturity typically displayed by Mel Gibson when he's arrested for drunken driving or breaking up with a girlfriend. The outcry was led by Jordan Levy, the modest radio personality who broke the story and only mentioned that on his show about 10,000 times, while whipping everyone into a frenzy by predicting that the sale will cost the city $2 million in lost property taxes.
"When this event happened, it was a question as to whether we were stabbed in the heart or the back," said City Councilor Konnie Lukes, a comment I will explain at length as soon as I figure out what it means. Councilor Kate Toomey, whom I always fear will burst into tears, called the lack of communication a "major insult" to the city.
"I really believe at this point in time the milk's been spilled and no sense to cry over it," she said. Good for you, Kate! And allow me to note that our micromanaging city manager is a terrific, hard-working administrator, but if he doesn't calm down he's going to give himself a heart attack.
I sympathize with the city's frustration with the secrecy surrounding the sale, but only to a degree. So does Kevin O'Sullivan, president of the Massachusetts Biomedical Initiatives.
"I can see why people are upset," he said. "But if it wasn't for UMass, that park wouldn't be here today … UMass is the best suitor for the park and doesn't deserve to be thrown under the bus. I think they'll attract commercial entities that will pay taxes."
Indeed, and now we're learning that estimates of lost tax revenues have been overstated. Besides, shouldn't we be happy that a city jewel continues to invest here?
Much of the anger toward UMass has died down as the dust settles. But this latest city temper tantrum should remind us that the sky won't fall over Worcester just because our leaders can't control the weather.
Contact Dianne Williamson at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Mon.20.SEP.2010 -- The Emergency of Mind
In our previous MindForth coding session we got tantalizingly close to an ability of the AI Mind to exhaustively dredge up knowledge from its knowledge base (KB) in response to queries from a human user. Now we hope to tweak some parameters of conceptual activation so that the AI chain of thought will not be derailed during interrogation by a human user. The following archived exchange shows the problem.
Transcript of AI Mind interview at 18 54 10 o'clock on 20 September 2010.
Human: what are you Robot: I AM A PERSON
Human: what are you Robot: I AM A ROBOT
Human: what are you Robot: ANDRU IS AN ANDRU
To ascertain why the AI above says "ANDRU IS AN ANDRU"
instead of the desired "I AM ANDRU", we will insert code
for diagnostic messages into the thinking modules of the
robot AI
By putting test messages right into the heart of the
NounPhrase most-active-noun selection process, we have
discovered that the "I" concept with an activation of 43
was beaten out by the "ANDRU" concept with activation 49.
It is possible that activation was building up on "ANDRU"
each time that "ANDRU" was passed over as a candidate to
be the subject of a response.
When we go into
ReActivate and have it up the activation of a selected
concept not by 16 but by 18, then the range between "I"
and "ANDRU" narrows from 43 versus 49 to 45 versus 49,
becuase the increment in ReActivate affects the proposed
subject concept "I" from the "what are YOU" query, but not
the lurking "ANDRU" concept, which has been incremented by
32 points of activational "spike" when the previous
statement "I am a robot" was being generated. We may try
to narrow the gap even further by inserting one or more
calls to
PsiDecay into the gneration process. We fear tweaking
the ReActivate parameters too much, because we could upset
some differential tests elsewhere.
No, we do not insert a call to PsiDecay, because it would affect all concepts equally. Instead we go into the VerbAct module and we change the following code.
\ psi @ 58 = IF 32 spike ! THEN \ BE; 15sep2010 \ psi @ 57 = IF 32 spike ! THEN \ AM; 15sep2010 \ psi @ 66 = IF 32 spike ! THEN \ IS; 15sep2010 \ psi @ 67 = IF 32 spike ! THEN \ ARE; 15sep2010psi @ 58 = IF 28 spike ! THEN \ BE; 20sep2010 psi @ 57 = IF 28 spike ! THEN \ AM; 20sep2010 psi @ 66 = IF 28 spike ! THEN \ IS; 20sep2010 psi @ 67 = IF 28 spike ! THEN \ ARE; 20sep2010
By lowering the "spike" value that passes between "AM"
and "ANDRU" before the KB knowledge is summoned, so
that "ANDRU" is incremented not by 32 points but by only
28 points of activation, we finally get the desired
response of "I AM AN ANDRU" as the third tidbit of
knowledge retrieved from the knowledge base (KB). Now we
need to test the robot AI further and see if a wide range
of knowledge items can be retrieved from the KB without
Oh jeeze Louise, oh heaven help the human race.
Look at the following conversation which we just got with
no other interventions after the preceding paragraph
reported the "I AM AN ANDRU" response.
Human: you are software Robot: SOFTWARE ARE THE SOFTWARE
Transcript of AI Mind interview at 20 30 24 o'clock on 20 September 2010.
Human: what are you Robot: SOFTWARE
Human: what are you Robot: I AM THE SOFTWARE
Human: what are you Robot: I AM A PERSON
Human: what are you Robot: I AM A ROBOT
Human: what are you Robot: I AM AN ANDRU
Human: what are you Robot: I AM A PERSON
Human: what are you Robot: I AM THE SOFTWARE
Human: what are you Robot: I NEED ME
When we run the "dot-psi" report to check conceptual
activations, it looks as though the various "I AM..."
answers were all so inhibited that the chain of thought veered off into "I NEED ME" as
the final item above.
Since we are not writing here for The Journal of
Irreproducible Results, anybody may download both Win32Forth and
MindForth and conduct psychological experiments with
the emerging AI
Mind. And look out, world. The emergence may turn into
an emergency.


text:
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text:
GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- With 12 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus -- a SARS-like virus -- officials of the World Health Organization in Switzerland encourage vigilance.
"Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all member states to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome and to carefully review any unusual patterns," WHO officials said in a statement.
"Testing for the new coronavirus should be considered in patients with unexplained pneumonias, or in patients with unexplained severe, progressive or complicated respiratory illness not responding to treatment. Any clusters of SARS or SARS in healthcare workers should be thoroughly investigated, regardless of where in the world they occur."
New cases and clusters of the novel coronavirus should be reported promptly both to national health authorities and to WHO, officials said.
However, WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied, officials said.
WHO continues to closely monitor the situation.


text:
Backwoods, The (US - DVD R1)
Gabe Powers takes a straw dog hunting trip deep in the deep forests of Spain...
Two couples take a drive into the Spanish countryside for a hunting trip and a bit of relaxation. On the way they bump into a few of the less savoury locals. The trip further sours when they find a mutated and feral little girl chained up in a rundown shack. The decision is made to take the girl to the authorities when the less savoury locals come looking for her.
Well crap, there goes my theory that Paddy Considine and Gary Oldman are the same person, because here I'm seeing both of them on screen at the same time. Last month it was Patrick Dempsey and Rob Morrow. What's next, Elias Koteas and Christopher Meloni?
Has anyone here ever seen Straw Dogs? Great film—really upsetting, really dark, but a great film. Straw Dogs is one of those movies that has been dissected to death by film historians (and in this case feminists), and gone from reviled to respected in its nearly forty years on film, and without a doubt paved the way for the future of shocking and grimy horror films like Last House on the Left and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The film explores one of director Sam Peckinpah's favourite themes, that of 'manhood', and the modern interpretation of what that word means. Mathematician David Sumner (as played by Dustin Hoffman) is a modern man who is tested by archaic means. In the end he finds it in himself to match the outdated definition of 'manhood', but has sacrificed himself emotionally, possibly beyond redemption.
Backwoods explores these themes too, through Considine's character, but gives him a more old-fashioned ally and simplifies his enemies. For the most part it doesn't build upon the themes, rather explores them from a slightly different angle. What writer/director Koldo Serra does do is introduce maternal fears to the stew. Both 'manhood' and 'motherhood' are common themes for thrillers and horror films, but rarely are they mixed. Unfortunately, just when these juxtapositions are getting interesting Backwoods slides back into Straw Dogs territory, where it continuously comes up short. Perhaps Serra should've let his actors and their actions speak to his audience, rather then laying out their emotions in rocky dialogue.
Straw Dogs was also an early frontrunner concerning the ghoulish actions of rural psychopaths (a popular little sub-genre lately) in Hollywood and Europe. But like his heroes, Serra's redneck monsters are sketchily drawn, and their motivations aren't very intriguing, at the same time the villains are too thickly drawn to work as bogeymen. Serra's sense of suspense is lacking, though he manages to eek out a few rigid shocks, but there isn't a lot of what I'd call fright. Backwoods just doesn't push the buttons as hard as our desensitized minds have come to expect, and an ending that should come as a shock comes instead as a forgone conclusion.
Backwoods is par for the straight-to-video Lionsgate course. The transfer is presented in anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen, and looks pretty good for a lower budget production. Blacks are thick and solid, but contrast is a bit fuzzy. Details, especially smaller and sharper details are a little too soft, and edge enhancement is an issue throughout. The transfer's greatest asset is its lush greens, though some of the browns and skin tones are a little messy.
Fernando Velázquez's score isn't exactly subtle, and it isn't exactly original, but it does sound pretty good on this 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and it doesn't overpower the rest of the audio. The soundtrack's worst moment is a folk rock song that plays at the beginning and end of the film, which blatantly expresses the film's underlying allegory in heavy handed lyrics—'there's a war, between the rich and the poor', etc. Dialogue is clear and centred, though there are a few issues with its volume levels. The track really comes to life during the final act thunder storm, which really works out the rear and LFE channels.
Nothing here but some Lionsgate trailers, and not one for Backwoods either.
Backwoods is a perfectly average thriller that doesn't achieve the proper level of real darkness in its plot or shocking visuals. Paddy Considine and Gary Oldman are both very good, Virginie Ledoyen is striking, and the photography is pretty, but if you've already seen Straw Dogs you've already seen better.
Review by Gabriel Powers
Vincent Pina Member Join Date: September 2005 Location: United States Posts: 154
I heard this is an interlaced transfer.
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
Yes. Almost every Lionsgate transfer is interlaced.
Maladroit Member Join Date: December 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 468
No matter how many negative reviews I read, Paddy and Gary in the same film has me sold.
"Elias Koteas and Christopher Meloni," haha, they are the same person. Only Meloni can do comedy.
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
Anyone that's witnessed the glory of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie knows that sentence is not true.
Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian
Disc Details
Release Date: 15th April 2008
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: No
Video: NTSC
Aspect: 2.35:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Colour: Yes
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Subtitles: English
Extras: Trailers
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Koldo Serra
Cast: Gary Oldman, Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Virginie Ledoyen, Paddy Considine, Lluís Homar
Genre: Thriller
Length: 97 minutes
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"Stress from the holidays, traveling and briefly staying in a new environment can weaken your immune system," says allergist Dr. James Sublett, chair of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Indoor Environment Committee. "Being in these different situations can also mean coming in contact with allergens that can spur sudden allergy and asthma attacks."
To help deck the halls with holiday cheer instead of tissues and allergy medications, the ACAAI has put together tips to help you understand what can trigger your symptoms when returning home for the holidays.
Allergies are coming to town
Even if you've never before had a problem with your grandma's cat, you may find yourself suddenly sneezing and wheezing. These sudden symptoms are known as the Thanksgiving Effect, which earned its name after visiting relatives and college students, heading home for holiday breaks, suddenly noticed an allergic reaction to their pet. Allergies can strike at any age, meaning being a houseguest in a pet's home can be bothersome. If you notice you are having an allergic reaction, ask the host to keep the pet away from where you will be sleeping. Be sure to take your allergy medications and wash your hands immediately after petting your new furry friend.
Pass the sneezy pudding
Festive feasts are a staple of this time of year but they can contain several health hazards if you have a food allergy. Be sure to check ingredient labels and don't be afraid to ask your loved ones how the meal was prepared. Items like stuffing can contain shellfish and holiday sauces can often have peanuts or tree nuts included.
Oh Christmas tree, how sappy are your branches
If you find yourself sneezing around the Christmas tree, wreaths and garland, you might be allergic to terpene. Naturally produced by plants, terpene can be found in oil and sap. Poinsettia plants can also be a problem for those with a latex allergy. Other decorations, such as menorahs and ornaments might be laden with dust from being stored in an attic all year, irritating those with a dust mite allergy.
Make a list and check it twice
Before you travel home for the holidays, pack wisely. Be sure you take along allergy medications, an inhaler and allergist-prescribed epinephrine if you are at risk for a severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis. If you rely on immunotherapy (allergy shots) for relief, be sure to schedule an appointment with your allergist before you leave.
Allergies and asthma shouldn't put a damper on holiday celebrations. Before you set out to visit with friends and relatives this season, check out smoke and pet-free hotels in the area just in case you need a new place to stay. If you'll be away from home most of the season, find a local allergist you can see in your temporary destination by visiting www.acaai.org/AllergistFinder.© 2013 Brandpoint
The views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of College Central Network, Inc. or its affiliates. Reference to any company, organization, product, or service does not constitute endorsement by College Central Network, Inc., its affiliates or associated companies. The information provided is not intended to replace the advice or guidance of your legal, financial, or medical professional.