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Story by Sgt. Daniel Santana, 2nd AAB, 1st Inf. Div., USD-C
BAGHDAD—Being a tanker in the U.S. Army comes with many challenges. Multi-tasking, fast thinking and effective communication are required to stay alive on the battlefield.
In Iraq, some tankers, like the Soldiers with 3rd platoon, Company C, 1st Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, United States Division – Center, are helping U.S. and Iraqi forces stay alive from above the battlefield—with the aerostat blimp.
After graduating from one station unit training and arriving to a unit, tankers are immediately trained on new tasks and tactics to make them better Soldiers. A well-trained tanker likely knows not only tank operations, but also dismounted tactics, intelligence gathering and calling for fire. Soldiers with 3rd Platoon, Company C must know all that and more.
Upon arriving in Iraq, the platoon was immediately ordered to participate in a 30-day training program, with two weeks of classroom instruction and two weeks of on-the-job training to learn aerostat blimp operations, said Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Heath, platoon sergeant with Company C, 1st Bn., 63rd Armor Regt. and a Goldsboro, N.C., native.
The first day of classroom training included learning a lot of technical information. Soldiers learned the molecular structure and properties of helium, the light nonflammable element with sufficient lifting capabilities for an aerostat.
The aerostat blimp is used to conduct reconnaissance operations.
The classroom instruction was complex and difficult, but learning everything was essential for the mission's success. When the Soldiers started doing the hands on training, it all began to make sense and the platoon started working as a cohesive team, Heath said.
"Learning the different capabilities of the aerostat and being proficient (in its operation) is a great feeling; knowing that we are the eyes in the sky to keep a lot of people safe," said Pfc. Jason Schattschneider, with 1st Bn. 63rd Armor Regt. and a Jackson, Wis., native.
The Soldiers with 3rd platoon learned that there is much more to running an aerostat than just filling a balloon with helium and launching it into the air. Many factors—which the operators must monitor—can cause it to fall from the sky or become damaged.
Occasionally the aerostat must be brought down and moored, which has potential to become a difficult operation and only an expert crew can moor the aerostat safely.
Despite these challenges, the Soldiers with 3rd Platoon, Company C, 1st Bn., 63rd Armor Regt. have kept the blimp flying and providing security for U.S. and Iraqi forces operating in the area.
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One of the most expected franchises on Wii looks like a reality.
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Rumors of a Pilotwings installment on the Nintendo Wii go as far back as April 2006, but things have been suspiciously quiet ever since we discovered that Hudson's flight game was actually Wing Island, and not another installment in the Nintendo franchise.
Thanks to a retail listing for the game, those rumors have finally resurfaced. GameStop is now listing Pilotwings for a 12/31/07 release (obviously a placeholder date), retailing for $49.99. There's absolutely no other info on the game at this time, and as far as we can tell no other retailers are listing it yet, so this could be simple human error. However, whenever a game is listed at retail but not yet officially announced, usually it turns out to be legitimate, so we're hopeful that an announcement is coming soon.
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An easy to navigate audio version of every published Twain novel that features Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer Abroad, and Tom Sawyer Detective). This audiobook also includes a plot overview for each work.
Public Domain (P)2012 BN Publishing
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Back to Hawaii News index
Posted: Wednesday, July 23rd, 2014 1:06 PM HST
Chase suspect being held pending charges
By Ken Hupp - 67AM KPUA News
A 38-year old Pahoa man is being held at the Hilo police cellblock following his arrest Monday on suspicion of attempted first degree murder and two counts of attempted second degree murder.
Riley Asuncion was arrested off Stainback Highway in Panaewa following a chase that began when officers responded to a reported domestic dispute in the SUV he was driving and ended after police fired at him when he tried to run them down.
Asuncion was taken into custody after being treated at Hilo Medical Center for a bruised torso and also arrested on suspicion of assault, unauthorized entry and unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle.


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The Hitman: HD Trilogy has been officially announced today by IO Interactive.
Due out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 early next year, the bundle includes high-definition revamps of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, Hitman: Contracts and Hitman: Blood Money. No word yet on any additional content, but we'll keep you posted.
In total, you'll be able to experience over forty different missions spread across the three games, and makes for an ideal introduction to the franchise for newcomers. No doubt long-time fans will relish at the chance to experience the games again in HD too.
Hitman: HD Trilogy is due out on January 29, 2013 in the U.S. and arrives in Europe on February 1.
Hitman: HD Trilogy confirmed
By Michael Harradence on 13 December 2012
The Hitman: HD Trilogy has been officially announced today by IO Interactive.


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Conference Review: CHI 2007
Published: July 10, 2007
This year, SIGCHI celebrated its 25th annual Computer/Human Interaction (CHI) conference. CHI 2007 took place at the Convention Center in San Jose, California, USA, on April 28 through May 3, 2007. Its theme: Reach Beyond. The organizers asked us to "reach beyond …our comfortable methods and praxis; beyond our exciting and innovative technology; beyond our established scientific frameworks and reputations; beyond the common ground of professional and national cultures; and beyond our far-flung social networks." To what?
Opening the conference, Mary Beth Rosson, Conference Chair, said, "HCI folks are in the middle of everything now, and we've earned that."
While Design Community Co-Chairs John Kolko and Bill Lucas brought us Bill Moggridge's remarkable opening plenary, "Reaching for the Intuitive," and the exceptional interactive session "Who Killed Design?" I still found the overall amount of design content at CHI 2007 lacking. This was particularly disappointing, because the conference convened in the heart of Silicon Valley—world center of the technology industry and home to many UX professionals. If ever there were a CHI that should have been centered more on practice than academia, this was it.
Plus, many Design Community sessions were relegated to rooms that were too small to accommodate their audiences. Not only were design-centered courses full, there were long waiting lists of people hoping to get into them, while sessions for other communities, in larger rooms, were sometimes sparsely attended. I spoke with several attendees who were as frustrated by the limited options for designers as I was. Not only were designers unable to get into the courses of their choice, because their registrations were full, they couldn't switch courses if they weren't enjoying a course they were in.
I attended the Design Community SIG, on Wednesday, May 2, during which Elizabeth Dykstra-Erickson told me that design-focused content will be even more limited next year at CHI 2008, in Florence (Firenze), Italy. Elizabeth and Jonathan Arnowitz are the Design Community Co-Chairs for CHI 2008, but the Conference Committee dictates the number of Design Community sessions. The SIGCHI leadership also enforces the same paper-selection process that, while appropriate for academics, is not an effective means of selecting content for the Design Community. It's discouraging that such passionate advocates for the Design Community as John Kolko, Bill Lucas, Elizabeth Dykstra-Erickson, and Jonathan Arnowitz have met with such limited success in bringing design content to CHI.
CHI 2007 did a better job of serving the UX Management Community, which focuses on "the business and organizational aspects of HCI." (Though HCI is the wrong term. Nobody outside of academia or research uses that term.) Perhaps the Management Community was better served because it is the source of much of the funding for the conference.
The conference also did a good job of serving user research and usability professionals through its Usability Community. I can't help wondering whether the establishment of the Usability Professionals' Association and its popular conference brought home to CHI the need to better serve this community. Will it be necessary to establish an association for UX design professionals and a conference that successfully competes with the CHI conference to awaken CHI to the need to adequately serve the design community?
The organizers of CHI 2007 invited us to: "Join us as we reflect on our amazing accomplishments over the past 25 years while we look forward to those we haven't yet tried to imagine." Perhaps it's difficult to reach beyond and look back at the same time. Still the conference had some high points, which I'll share with you when I describe its content and presenters.
In many respects, CHI 2007 was a well-organized conference. With 25 years of experience putting on conferences, CHI knows how to make a conference run smoothly. Audio, video, and lighting were superb. CHI also provided a lot of services to make attendees' days at the conference easier, including wireless high-speed Internet access and a press room. Friendly volunteers were always available to help.
Two days of workshops, on Saturday, April 27, and Sunday, April 28, preceded the main conference. However, "only those who have had position papers accepted can attend workshops." I did not choose to attend any workshops.
Over the four full days of the conference, CHI offered fourteen tracks of sessions, running in parallel. Admittedly, that's a lot of sessions to manage, especially with this year's unusually high attendance. However, the allocation of rooms to sessions was poorly thought out. As I described earlier, there were overflow crowds for some sessions, while attendance for others was sparse—at least in relation to the size of the rooms in which they took place. For some sessions, overflow crowds were able to watch on monitors that were placed in the hallways. (Unfortunately, this sometimes made the hallways impassable.) However, no monitors were provided for the sessions I regretted missing.
During registration for future conferences, I suggest that the organizers of CHI poll attendees about their needs and preferences. For example, they might ask:
- Are you an academic, student, or UX professional?
- What is your area of specialty? (Provide check boxes appropriate to the category an attendee selected in the previous question.)
- In what communities of interest are you likely to attend sessions? Design? Education? Engineering? Management? Research? Usability?
- What kinds of sessions are you likely to attend? Courses? Experience reports? SIGs? Interactive sessions? ALT.CHI sessions? Papers? Competitions?
- Of all the sessions in the conference program, which are you most likely to attend? (Initially, provide check boxes for sessions in each category an attendee selected in the previous question, but let attendees choose sessions in other categories, too.)
Gathering this information in advance would give the organizers some idea about the demand for space in particular sessions and ensure that people wouldn't be shut out of the sessions they wanted to attend.
Content & Presenters
The majority of the worthy content for UX professionals comprises courses. Attending CHI on a press pass, I wasn't permitted to sign up for courses in advance. Therefore, I was unable to get into the courses I'd planned to attend. I can't review what I didn't experience, so this part of my review will be relatively brief. Last year in Montréal, I had spent most of my time in courses. The rooms there were larger, so I was able to get into whatever courses I wanted to attend.
The upshot of my CHI 2007 experience is that, unless the CHI organizers permit members of the press to sign up for courses in advance or otherwise ensure access to them, I doubt I'll review CHI again. It was bad enough to find myself in San Jose with nothing to do at the conference, but if I had incurred the expense of a flight and hotel accommodation in some remote place rather than simply driven in from my home in the Santa Cruz mountains, I would have been seriously displeased. Without knowing I'd have access to content that would be of interest to UXmatters readers, investing in a trip to another city or country isn't a risk I'd undertake. Of course, I do hope CHI finds a solution to this problem.
In most cases, I'll review only what were for me the highlights of the conference. Unfortunately, there were many hours when there just weren't any really interesting sessions other than courses.
Day 1: An Evening of Courses
Unusually, the conference began on a Sunday evening, April 28, with four courses:
- Human-Computer Interaction: Introduction and Overview
- An Introduction to Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)
- HCI History: Trajectories into the Future
- Drawing Ideas: Visualization and Design Sketching
Day 2: Opening Plenary: Reaching for the Intuitive
Presenter: Bill Moggridge
Day 2 of the conference began strongly with Bill Moggridge's opening plenary, "Reaching for the Intuitive." Shown in Figure 1, Moggridge is a renowned industrial designer, co-founder of IDEO, and author of Designing Interactions. In a time when most organizations are emphasizing user-centered design methodologies over intuitive design and incremental improvement over innovation—despite all the talk one hears about innovation these days—I think the design community needed to hear what he had to say. I really enjoyed his presentation.
Figure 1—Bill Moggridge
Moggridge opened his talk by saying, "After 25 years, we should all be ready to congratulate ourselves for the progress we've made. Perhaps it's time to embrace the more qualitative, intuitive aspects of design—to harness the subconscious aspects of design. Why intuitive design?
- "The problems are getting more complex.
- "Technology is part of our everyday lives—not just work. It's now in every part of our lives.
"Now, we have to design interactivity." Moggridge gave the example of the NTT DoCoMo i-mode mobile Internet service in Japan, which he told us has 32 million subscribers. He said, "The user interface of the phones should be easy enough for everybody. The hierarchy of complexity, in terms of the design problem, requires making decisions quickly, without having to justify them—experimentation." Moggridge showed us a woman struggling to order a drink from a vending machine using i-mode. It took her 35 minutes to successfully order her drink, because of a variety of usability problems she encountered. People from different parts of the world use mobile phones differently. "The way people use phones is diametrically opposite." For example, in Japan, people send text messages, because they consider it rude to talk on mobile phones in public places. In the USA, people spend a lot of time driving and prefer to use their phones to talk with one another.
Moggridge told us, "Designing something that's aesthetically satisfying becomes more important as time moves on." He spoke about venture capitalist David Liddle's "three stages of adoption" for new technology products. First, enthusiasts adopt a new technology. Such people appreciate a technology for what it is and don't care about ease of use or cost. "The fact that it may be difficult to use actually adds to the fun," said Moggridge. Next, business users adopt the technology. During this stage, people realize they can use the technology to help them accomplish their work. Ease of use becomes more important, because business users care about the productivity they can achieve using the technology. Finally, as the technology's volume of sales becomes big enough, it reaches a price point that is affordable for consumers. At the consumer stage, "style and intuitive design" become paramount. "These stages have profound implications for interaction design, as the design process changes with each phase to meet the increasingly practical needs of each new set of users."
"How can we harness intuition? By understanding design and design thinking and developing design skills," said Moggridge. Charles Eames once defined design as "a plan for arranging elements in such a way as to best accomplish a particular purpose."
Moggridge used the analogy of an iceberg to show the relationship between the conscious mind and the subconscious. The conscious mind is like the tip of an iceberg that is visible above the water, while the subconscious mind is like the larger mass of the iceberg that lies submerged and hidden beneath the surface of the water.
According to Moggridge, "Design thinking harnesses design skills
- "to frame or reframe a problem and objectively figure out what the brief is really
- "to envision and create alternatives
- "to select from among the alternatives, however they're generated, knowing intuitively how to choose the best approach"
- "to visualize and prototype the intended solution in order to see what works quickly, in each iteration
- "to synthesize a solution from all of the relevant constraints, understanding everything that will make a difference to the result."
Throughout his talk, Moggridge cited examples of design innovation from his book, Designing Interactions. Intuitive design is the hallmark of that work:
- Jeff Hawkins's design for the PalmPilot—He had four design criteria—size, price, synchronization, and speed. It had to be fast.
- Tim Mott's desktop metaphor—He developed the metaphor for the Xerox PARC On Line Office System.
- Larry Tesler and Bill Atkinson's design for the Apple Lisa operating system—They developed a prototype every day, by brainstorming user interface design ideas, then each of them coding 12 hours a day. Larry was the day shift; Bill, the night shift. Larry's goal was no modes, so he wanted to avoid the kind of hierarchical menu-driven interface in which users couldn't see all levels in the hierarchy at once, making people keep track of the hierarchies in their heads. So, in one night, Bill came up with the design for drop-down menus, which were easily scanned, used highlighting to show selection, and provided keyboard shortcuts. "He thought of all that in one night," said Moggridge.
- Mat Hunter's interaction architecture for digital photography—To help Kodak make the transition from film to digital photography, he created this architecture and developed a UX prototype that let users capture, review, share, and delete images.
- Paul Mercer's toolkit for the iPod—He did not design the iPod, but provided the building blocks for it.
"We now need people with a subjective, empathic approach to design. Intuition is an important moment of crystallization, but based on all the work that's gone before," said Moggridge. "Like most things in life, you can do design well or poorly. It's about having the knowledge and understanding which alternative is best. Education is learning by doing—trying things—allowing the subconscious mind to inform intuitions that guide actions. You do just trust your doing of it. Design has now reached a stage at which Ph.D's, who understand how design works, differentiate between designing user interfaces or objects and services, which have a social aspect. Both industry and designers have failed at making these things as simple as they can be. Perhaps we'll see more development for specific purposes. General-purpose tools are the enemy of simplicity. Designers must know the state of the art—best practices—if they're designing a product that isn't unique, but when designing with no precedent, they must use intuition. Design is spreading its influence—through business as well."
CHI madness followed the opening plenary. For attendees who are interested in papers sessions, there's no better way of getting their flavor. Since I'm generally not interested in seeing papers presented, I wish CHI would include other types of sessions in the CHI madness as well.
Day 2: Bill Moggridge Interview
The organizers of CHI 2007 arranged some special events for members of the press, including an opportunity to interview Bill Moggridge. Here are some of the thoughts he expressed during the interview:
- The trend is to move the person into the environment—with PDAs, wearable computers—into buildings, the architecture, the car.
- Well-designed interfaces don't get in the way. You can learn a lot from games.
- People don't give due respect to the part of the iceberg that's submerged.
- It's difficult to justify or quantify intuitive design.
- A designer gets a great idea; prototypes and tests it. When doing iterative design, inform each attempt with intuition.
- People think of research as understanding ideas.
- You build an innovation process, developing tacit knowledge, but if you don't think, you get stuck in the process. You must be able to adapt to change. You must understand how design works.
- Cars are a very mature interface. Thirty percent of it's computer science. There's an enormous amount of computer intelligence in the car. It gives you computation when you need it.
- Heads-up displays are dangerously distracting for drivers. Anything that's a tiny bit distracting takes away from the ability to focus on driving and is very dangerous.
Day 2: Who Killed Design? Addressing Design Through an Interdisciplinary Investigation
Moderators: Scott Pobiner and Anijo Mathew
Panelists: Bill Moggridge, Bill Buxton, Terry Winograd, and Meg Armstrong
The interactive session "Who Killed Design?" took an interdisciplinary look at design, encompassing viewpoints from both industry and academia. Here's the lineup of panelists (shown in Figures 2 and 3):
- Bill Moggridge—An award-winning industrial designer who designed the first laptop computer—the GRiD Compass—and co-founder of IDEO—a company whose name is synonymous with innovation—Moggridge pioneered interaction design as a discipline. Formerly, Visiting Professor in Interaction Design at the Royal College of Art in London, he is currently an Associate Professor in the design program at Stanford University. The MIT Press recently published his book Designing Interactions.
- Bill Buxton—Currently Principal Researcher at Microsoft, Buxton has balanced design with pure and applied research throughout his career. He is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. Buxton has served as editor for numerous HCI books. His new book on sketching and interaction design, Sketching User Interfaces: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design, launched at CHI 2007.
- Terry Winograd—Professor of Computer Science, Director of the Human Computer Interaction Program, and co-founder of the d.school, or Institute of Design, at Stanford University, Winograd is the author of several books, including Understanding Computers and Cognition, with Fernando Flores, Usability: Turning Technologies into Tools, with Paul Adler, and Bringing Design to Software. In collaboration with David Kelley, Winograd teaches Interdisciplinary Interaction Design at Stanford.
- Meg Armstrong—Currently, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Design and Management, at Parsons, the New School for Design, Armstrong specializes in cultural theory and the application of qualitative design research to product development and innovation. She was formerly Director of User Experience Research for Sapient.
Figure 2—Bill Buxton and Terry Winograd
Unfortunately, I was detained in the press room, so missed the first part of this session, but here's some of the dialogue on "who killed design":
- Bill Moggridge—"It's not close to death. It's been around long enough to do some interesting things, but it's not really grown up yet. We have a lot of learning to do before we grow up. … Prima donna designers are giving way to multidisciplinary teams. … Adobe buys innovation rather than growing it internally. … Designers commit suicide when they say, 'I've got this great idea. Just trust me.' … You build your reputation. Until we start to understand and respect that…."
- Bill Buxton—"I want the world's best industrial designers in C-level and all other roles. The renaissance man is over, but long live the renaissance team. How do we get the renaissance team? … Business schools don't teach collaboration. It's cheating. They're maintaining the silos. … It's not about the world of design. It's about the design of the world."
- Meg Armstrong—"Practice-based learning [is important]. Even identifying a problem is hard for a lot of people—problem setting instead of problem solving."
- Bill Moggridge—"At IDEO, we've been practicing this interdisciplinary approach. … The people who are most successful are T-shaped people, who have one deep specialty and broad knowledge. What you need for team success is this collection of T-shaped people. Just respect each other. It's always interesting to compare the need for creative leadership with the need for collaboration. Set a strong direction and stick to it."
- Terry Winograd—"Engineers love to fix things. What can I connect that to?"
- Bill Moggridge—"What happens with open source design? That's much more confusing."
- Bill Buxton—"Let's stop talking about open source like it's religion."
- Bill Moggridge—"There's a huge difference between design and innovation. One of the biggest differences is trying to invent some new possibility. For innovation, if you really have no idea what it's going to be, you have to use different methods."
- Bill Buxton—"Design isn't art. In Europe, engineering is called product design."
- Terry Winograd—"Design is about trade-offs. Sometimes giving design less time helps, because designers don't overthink it."
- Meg Armstrong—"Time constrains innovation."
- Bill Buxton—"One of the myths perpetrated about design is the flash of genius. You don't expect every design to be Wayne Geary. What I want is good journeyman designers who can crank it out every day."
Figure 3—Meg Armstrong and Bill Moggridge
For more dialogue on this interesting topic, visit the Who Killed Design? Web site.
Day 3: "Get Real!" What's Wrong With HCI Prototyping and How Can We Fix It?
Moderator: William Jones
Panelists: Victoria Bellotti, Mary Czerwinski, Jonathan Grudin, Tom Rodden, and Jared Spool
I really like the format of the interactive sessions at CHI, because they are truly interactive discussions—often on controversial topics. However, this interactive session didn't live up to its description in the conference program, which promised a discussion of prototyping. "A prototype—as a means to evaluate and communicate a good idea—is often an essential step toward useful, shipping products and also toward a deeper understanding of what people really need." Initially, I thought I might have landed in the wrong session. It was an uneasy amalgam of discussion about paper submission—I never did figure out what that had to do with prototyping—and user evaluation—not the creation—of prototypes. But there were some good people on the panel (shown in Figure 4), so I decided to slog through the very dull paper-submission detours in the hope of finding something interesting and was rewarded with some very lively discussion. I'll report only the interesting bits. Figure 4 shows the panel.
The first nugget came from Jonathan Grudin of Microsoft who told us, "Overwhelmingly, prototype evaluations are done by friends of the prototype builders. They like the builders, so they want to say nice things. Later, you realize the product never made it into the marketplace. We never see a paper on why it failed. You see reports in the literature that are very promising and lead others down the same path. … Another problem I see today, there's such a proliferation of products coming out." Prototype builders suggest, "'You evaluate my prototype, and I'll evaluate yours.' We shouldn't evaluate our own prototypes."
Victoria Bellotti of PARC asked, "What do we build prototypes for? Understandability, intuitiveness, usability, accessibility, efficiency, safety, usefulness. They improve some aspect of life."
Mary Czerwinski, also of Microsoft, lamented, "In the visual information space, there are very few prototyping tools. So it's a very costly enterprise. These prototypes require a lot of interesting transitions, which are costly things to prototype. You can't really prototype these things very well—dynamic animations, transparency, rotations, translations, zooming, and so on. Users have to buy into your prototypes, so they're willing to drop their daily tools. I don't see a really good way around this—except some toolkits for information visualization."
Figure 4—Panelists in the interactive session on prototyping
Not unexpectedly, the real gem came from Jared Spool, who began, "I want to take a different tack and talk about the importance of failure. So, I want to talk about me." Jared proceeded to tell us the history of his early career before UIE, which constituted a litany of failure. He was fired from his first two jobs, then experienced problems working for some companies that failed. "And I learned from that" was Jared's refrain. He worked for a company that went bankrupt. He got laid off. He was fired for a dress-code violation. "I learned from my own experience and started my own company, because I couldn't hold a day job. So, failure turns out to be a really important thing that we learn from all the time. Apple has had a tremendous number of failures—the Lisa, the Newton." There have been a lot of failures in the technology industry—Altavista, tablet PCs, Friendster. It's important we talk about failure, so I want to talk about morbidity and mortality." Jared's monologue was one of the highlights of CHI for me. As always, he made me smile. Later, he said, "My position is comic relief." Yes, indeed, and much more.
Then, Tom Rodden got on the failure bandwagon, saying, "We don't celebrate failure enough." He was absolutely right, of course, because without taking risks, there is no innovation, but when you take risks, you sometimes will fail. Tom brought the discussion back to prototypes by saying, "A prototype is the road to a product. Prototypes should support research."
Victoria asked, "How many people think text-editing tools don't need improvement? Software is simply appalling. Why aren't people trying to improve things?" I heartily concur.
About prototyping, Jared said, "We don't have platforms that let us prototype just one feature within an existing system." To which Tom replied, "Open source. People are putting their toolkits out there."
Jared told us, "We have clients that bring us multiple prototypes—three variants based on the same misconceptions. We dissect the failures and go from there." Tom replied, "Instead of using words like success and failure, you should use other words like learning." Jared came right back with, "I don't think you learn anything from success. It's when you fail that you can pinpoint problems, and that's where learning comes from." Victoria admitted, "I've never built a prototype that was entirely successful." Then, Jonathan said, "But we aren't getting reports on failures. It's something we have to deal with." Mary replied, "Sometimes the experimenter is very biased. You have to be aware of that and allow for it." Tom asked, "If you haven't had enough failure, have you been risking enough?"
Jared mentioned Apollo and frameworks and APIs that "let us build on top of other things. This kind of thinking is now prevalent." Victoria replied, "It's extremely difficult to build add-ons to existing software."
Tom stated, "It isn't that easy to identify success and failure." Jared quipped, "In theory, theory and practice are the same, but in practice, they almost never are. Having a way to go back and look at what has and hasn't worked is very useful."
Mary said, "With the introduction of toolkits and programmability in software, I'm optimistic that prototyping will improve." Victoria told us, "I'm very worried that people will become invested in their skills of using software. I'm very concerned that things being designed in a non-ideal way will continue."
Jonathan concluded, "Now, there are better tools for prototyping, and the difference between prototypes and products is going away. You can put a beta up and get feedback very easily. The necessity for innovation is going away. There's a greater need to evaluate what people are doing with what's out there."
Day 3: Moving UX into a Position of Corporate Influence: Whose Advice Really Works?
Moderator: Richard Anderson
Panelists: Jeremy Ashley, Shauna Sampson Eves, Justin Miller, Jim Nieters, Manfred Tscheligi, and Secil Tabli Watson
There is no more skilled panel moderator than Richard Anderson (shown in Figure 5), so I was eager to attend this interactive session. I was not disappointed. This session was a follow-on to a series of on-stage interviews Richard did back at CHI 1999, during which he discussed the various factors that limit the success of HCI within organizations with people such as Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman. Richard opened the session with a recap of the issues they had discussed, including
- methodological limits
- human limits
- Web and Web design limits
- organizational limits
Figure 5—Richard Anderson moderating
Figure 6 shows some organizational limits to HCI that were discussed at CHI 1999.
Figure 6—Organizational limits
Figure 7 shows some impediments to moving user experience into a position of corporate influence this panel discussed. As Richard raised each issue, he asked each panelist to indicate whether he or she agreed or disagreed with a particular position by sitting on the left or right, respectively. So, each time he asked a question, a game of musical chairs ensued. This made the session a lot of fun. In some cases, panelists chose to sit in the middle to indicate they were neutral on an issue. Figure 8 shows the panelists in the interactive session.
Figure 7—Impediments to the corporate influence of UX
Figure 8—Panelists in the interactive session
Here are some highlights from the discussion:
- Jim Nieters—"At Cisco, we don't get involved in a project unless we own the UX. We need to be great team players."
- Secil Watson—"A lot of cross-disciplinary work goes into UX. Our group [at Wells Fargo] does own standards and guidelines. Our group owns the voice of the customer process. We lead through a vision of expertise. We need to make smarter solutions."
- Manfred Tscheligi—"It's too much to be owned by one group."
- Jeremy Ashley—"UX is about quality. Everybody needs to be totally committed to quality. We're part of a much larger structure. We have to figure out how to fit in that structure."
- Jim Nieters—"If we have a senior sponsor to support us, that's what's important. Having their advocacy is more important than anything else."
- Jeremy Ashley—"The challenge is positioning UX maximally within an organization."
- Shauna Eves—"It's a shame we need executive sponsorship, but that seems to be true. Because what the team is doing is so important, you need to be working with executives who understand the value of UX."
- Secil Watson—"It's important that you have a corporate sponsor that brings you to the forefront of key issues. It's important to speak in the forum where strategic decisions are being made. If you can influence decision makers, that's where you get leverage and credibility."
- Shauna Eves—"That should be the CEO who's responsible for customer experience."
- Justin Miller—"At that level, you need to have everybody concerned about customer experience."
- Jim Nieters—"At Cisco, there's a C-level manager for almost every function. Why not a Chief Experience Officer?"
- Justin Miller—"Where I think we generally get stuck at eBay is we think about the user experience of the site. We need to think about the complete user experience—all aspects, customer support. A C-level person can look across the customer experience to create a holistic customer experience that expresses the brand value."
- Richard Anderson—"At eBay, estimating ROI (Return on Investment) was part of every project."
- Shauna Eves—"Calculating ROI is not a challenge for our organization."
- Jeremy Ashley—"If your company asks for ROI, your company doesn't value UX. Better go to another company. When I present ROI arguments, I think we're starting at the beginning. Executives hear voodoo economics. ROI is kind of like opening a fairly tale book."
- Justin Miller—"At eBay, as a company, we had much more demand than supply, so we estimated ROI for everything. Looking at ROI on a project-by-project basis is not the right approach. Now, we're focused on initiatives like conversion rates. Are we able to move those metrics? We focus less on tactics, more on the big picture."
- Secil Watson—"Our challenge was prioritization. We had a lot of customer feedback. We created a hierarchical consumer task model, according to the frequency and importance of activities. We weren't looking at ROI for a project or initiative, but customer tasks. How important is this to the company? Clearly, we could botch this. We understood where the natural tensions were between customers and business cases."
- Manfred Tscheligi—"At Mobilcom, ROI was based on several factors—internal performance measurements."
- Secil Watson—"At Wells Fargo, we've been doing ethnographic research for about four years. The results are phenomenal for us to impact product road maps and design. It's allowed us to talk about customers—what the customer is saying—and show it to a group of executives—more than theoretical tools like personas."
- Justin Miller—"This has been a huge lever for us. It's moved the organization from a situation of tactical optimization to a strategic approach. We do a lot of ethnographic studies every year, looking for cultural differences internationally. We ask executives to ride along, take notes, videotape. It provides a common understanding, and it's provided a huge benefit."
- Jim Nieters—"We couldn't do any of the work we do without ethnographic research. We don't talk about ethnographic research as a separate practice. Executives appreciate the tangible results it delivers."
- Jeremy Ashley—"At Oracle, ethnographic research is part of our process. It helps inform our requirements and establishes positive relationships with customers."
- Shauna Eves—"Once you do the research, you need to go back and do it again. There's nothing you can assume year to year."
- Jeremy Ashley—"We only justify ourselves with the product of our labors. The proof is in the pudding—what we deliver."
- Justin Miller—"You have to know how to influence your own organization—how to change."
- Jim Nieters—"You have to make an impact. Deliver value. Talk less. You have to have a leader who understands strategic flexibility. Find the right leader."
- Shauna Eves—"You have to hire the right people, trust them, give them the tools they need. Make sure your team is enabled."
- Secil Watson—"Think of yourselves as change agents. Start with people who are most sympathetic to your cause. If you really want to impact customer experience, know what will impact it the most."
Day 3: Agile UCD
Moderators: Lynn Miller and Desirée Sy
Lynn Miller (Figure 9) and Desirée Sy (Figure 10) led an excellent SIG (Special Interest Group) on agile UCD (user-centered design). First, they described the agile UCD approach they use at Autodesk. They have two parallel tracks—a development track for the production of code and an interaction design track that also involves customer contact.
Figure 9—Lynn Miller
Figure 10—Desirée Sy
During Cycle 0, which is short—only two weeks—the team establishes a common vision and understanding of what they're trying to build. They prioritize features according to user needs, business goals, and development effort—ranking everything as either must have or nice to have. Then, they plan the development iterations in two-to-four-week cycles. They don't create any detailed requirements or design documentation. The UX team gathers customer feedback and does usability testing.div class="pullquote-wide">"During Cycle 0, which is short—only two weeks—the team establishes a common vision and understanding of what they're trying to build. They prioritize features according to user needs, business goals, and development effort—ranking everything as either must have or nice to have."


text:
March 2, 2012
Final Stats
SURPRISE, Ariz. – Northern Illinois took on No. 11 Arizona State Friday afternoon and stood toe-to-toe with the Sun Devils through nine innings in a 3-3 pitching duel, but ASU's Abe Ruiz hit a walkoff single to squeak by the Huskies, 4-3. Senior Jake Hermsen (New London, Wis.) pitched 7.2 innings for NIU with eight strikeouts against the nationally ranked Sun Devils at Surprise Stadium.
Consistency was the message from Head Coach Ed Mathey after the game. "Right now we're finding out who we really are. We took advantage of our very few opportunities against a nationally ranked Arizona State and contended with them through an entire ball game. The biggest challenge is playing like this tomorrow. If we can find some consistency and play like this against St Mary's and future opponents, we're going to be alright"
Hermsen entered the contest with a 0-2 record, an ERA of 19.06 and allowed 12 earned runs in 5.2 innings pitched. The possessed pitcher from New London, Wis. battled 7.2 innings for Northern Illinois, a career-high, finding strikes to even the count throughout the ballgame that led to eight strikeouts and a mere three walks in 129 pitches. He allowed eight hits in the game, but allowed the errorless Huskies to play ball.
Following the game, Hermsen was named Northern Illinois' Most Valuable Player as presented by the tournament officials.
Mathey added "If Jake Hermsen goes out and pitches like that every game, he's going to get a lot of wins for us this year. We've seen this from Jake in sorts over the years and if he can find some consistency he's going to be a real threat on the mound."
Arizona State was the first on the board with one run in the bottom of the second inning, but NIU bounced back with two to take the lead in the top of the third, 2-1. Senior Troy White (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) was the man of the inning with his two-run RBI single, driving home Jordan Huffman (Sergaent Bluff, Iowa) and Jamison Wells (Combined Locks, Wis./Kimberly) from second and third who reached on singles.
ASU tied it up in the bottom of the third and regained the lead with a solo homerun by Deven Marrero in the bottom of the fifth inning. Trailing 3-2, Alex Klonowski (Kearney, Mo.) tied the ball game with a two-out double to left field that scored White, who reached base after getting hit by a pitch.
With two outs for the Sun Devils in the bottom of the ninth inning, Joey DeMichele squeaked out an infield hit to reach first. The next batter, Ruiz, followed with the game-winning single that drove in DeMichele from first base to give 11th ranked Arizona State its seventh win of the season.
White led the team with two RBI in the game and finished 1-for-3 at the plate. The Huskies have lost all three of their contests versus nationally ranked teams by a combined four runs in 2012.
Northern Illinois will take on St. Mary's (Calif.) tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m., in the Huskies third game of the Coca Cola Classic. GAME NOTES: The Huskies were a combined 6-for-14 (.429) with two outs at the plate, knocking in three runs … Northern Illinois was hitless leading off each inning (0-9) … Jake Hermsen's 7.2 innings was the longest outing of his career; he pitched a seven-inning complete game against Bradley April 26, 2011 … Troy White led the Huskies in RBI with two and now leads the team with seven … In the last two games played against a nationally ranked ASU team, the Huskies have lost by one run in each affair … Northern Illinois lost 10-9 to then-No. 7 Arizona State March 4, 2011 in the opening game of the Coca Cola Classic … NIU has lost three games to nationally ranked teams in 2012 by a combined four runs (11-9, No. 18 St. John's; 3-2 No. 24 Texas Tech).


text:
Influence Metrics
And so I asked question earlier, what's changed w/@TheLadders? Think @adouzet just answered my question. #SecondLook #JobMobile
Tom may want Nick to stay away from Christina but I don't think Christina wants to stay away from Nick. hehehe #Hawthorne
Mobile will be as disruptive to the web S the web was to newspaper. @adouzet Mobile is not an extension of the web. Key fact! #JobMobile
Two simple things a leader should do every day: 'say good morning & thank you.' Dennis Berger, SVP @CDW. #ChicagoWM
Some really cool integration of @TheLadders app from @adouzet. FaceTime, @Skype__TR. In 1 month 150K users. Career intel tool #JobMobile
"Analysis Shows Jump In Marketing Analytics Jobs - Forbes" buff.ly/12VhdPK Not surprised #BigData #Analytics
iMomentous Is a Winner at HR Tech buff.ly/H1lx5v. Be sure to keep this information handy. I certainly will. #MobileRecruiting
Someone shared with Stacy Kraft from @MSIChicago: non-profit is for-purpose. Nice! #JobMobile
Top business schools insert social media into curriculum - Too legit to quit!
This is an encouraging sign, pay raises and bonuses for the average worker are back.
#FF @99GR81 @drchuckwilliams @omaribrandt @rachael_sage @kencooperusa @crisrodrigues @Siegel_Lori @smashfly @dr2b_robin All wonderful ppl!
Good point @courtjorgensen from @USCellular. How do you engage w/thousands of followers on social? #JobMobile
Write down top 5 organizational goals then how does social media align to those goals? What is the impact? ID metrics #7Socialfactors
She might've been the journalist Presidents loved to hate but she was one of the best. RIP #HelenThomas nbcnews.com/video/nbc-news…
Top 10 skills for the successful 21st-Century worker pinterest.com/pin/2595199972… via @pinterest. Totally agree w/ each of these!
Where Is Mobile Recruiting in Healthcare IT Hiring? feedly.com/k/19hND8T
How do you recruit software developers when they don't have a phone at work? @adouzet suggests mobile app. Reduce the noise too #JobMobile
True. ATS applications are broken. My friend @seanasheppard calls it the *anti talent strategy* #JobMobile
11-12% conversion to apply thru mobile. Gotta have a content strategy that serves up snacks not a full course meal. @newmaed #JobMobile
Quick wins for @msichicago? Already doing a lot of social...how to leverage it to #recruiting. Just tweeting jobs NOT the answer. #JobMobile
"Employees Are Our Most Important Asset" feedly.com/k/11aeqiE. Employers have to walk the talk on this claim. #BrandPromise
Just started following @UberFacts thanks to @JennaWolfe @nbc_today. ;-) @LesterHoltNBC we were thinking the same!


text:
Volunteers will be on the Northeast corner of James and Cannon Streets during tonight's Art Crawl, from 7-10 pm, collecting non-perishable food items for the Welcome Inn Community Centre Food Bank. Look for the blue canopy tent.
If you plan to attend tonight, please remember to bring an item for donation on your way out- summertime is generally when foodbanks face the worst shortages.
Non-perishable food items, baby formula, toilet paper, razors, tampons and pads (esp. pads), infant and toddler food, and pet food are in high demand and definitely appreciated.
Also, Dave Kuruc from Mixed Media has compiled a list of tonight's events here.
If you're not going to be at Art Crawl tonight, please consider donating to Hamilton Food Share: www.hamiltonfoodshare.org.


text:
Rehoboth must act to protect Silver Lake
While Rehoboth Beach and state environmental officials put off deciding who owns Silver Lake, a new dock has appeared at the lake's edge. There are plenty of properties that already have docks along the lake; a dock with gazebo is an iconic image of South Rehoboth. One more dock is not likely to destroy the beauty of the lake.
But what's next? While city and state officials continue to wrangle over who owns what, uncertainty reigns.
That uncertainty over legal jurisdiction of the lake and its shore will only prompt property owners to build – sooner rather than later.
And why not? The problem is not property owners trying to make the most of their investments; the problem lies with state and city governments that for years have failed to establish clear lines of ownership and a no-build buffer to protect the lake.
Silver Lake, Lake Gerar and Lake Comegys might look, to some, like nothing more than stormwater retention ponds, but nothing could be further from the truth. These lakes are rare environmentally: they are the only freshwater lakes in Delaware and the freshwater lakes closest to the ocean along the East Coast.
Silver Lake, which in the early 1800s was connected to Lake Comegys, is also historically important: local historian Warren MacDonald has written that in Colonial days, ship captains knew Silver Lake as a handy place to secure fresh water.
As property values throughout the Cape Region rise, pressure increases on property owners to maximize their investments. We've already seen a new house rise at the water's edge, and now a dock is going up that its owner says is in accordance with the existing moratorium.
City officials should take immediate action to protect the lake and claim jurisdiction over lands surrounding it. A 10-foot moratorium proposed by the planning commission should be seen as a minimum; the current 15-foot no-build zone would promote a wider, more protective buffer.
City officials should also assert ownership of public rights of way to ensure that the public will always enjoy views of Rehoboth's beautiful and historic resource: Silver Lake.
Wait a minute. Do people who buy property along the lake own to water's edge? If they do then they are within the law to build a dock. Will we stop people from building docks along the Indian River, Rehoboth Bay, or the Nanticoke? It is true that Silver Lake needs some protection, but until that day is come, then current law abides.


text:
Chandeliers from $50 to $500
To add a little oomph to a space, nothing works quite as well as a chandelier. These high-drama light fixtures often come with a high price tag, but there are a lot of affordable options out there. If you don't have a lot to spend, you can use spray paint to dress up an inexpensive, second-hand find or you can try one of the budget versions listed below...
(marked down from $900)
(marked down from $825 - $1,200)
Other Options Featured on Apartment Therapy:
• Edison Chandelier from Pottery Barn for $399
• Daisy Chandelier from Land of Nod for $119
• Budget-Conscious Plexiglass and Acrylic Chandeliers
• DIY Rope Light Chandelier
• Good Questions: How Should I Paint This Chandelier?
• Good Questions: Rewiring a Chandelier?


text:
Enforcement Report - Week of July 24, 2013
Product Detail
|Product Description
|Eon Mini - 3721 (Charger). Product Usage: Eon Mini system is indicated as an aid in the management of chronic intractable pain of the trunk and/or limbs including unilateral or bilateral pain associated with the following: failed back surgery syndrome, intractable low back and leg pain.
|Recall Number
|Class II
|Code Info
|All serial numbers manufactured
|Product Distributed Qty
|70,638 (combined total of the Eon and the Eon Mini systems)
|Reason For Recall
|St. Jude Medical has informed your doctor that a number of cases have been reported in which discomfort associated with heating occurred at the device site while patients were using the Charging System to charge their spinal cord stimulator. In three cases, patients received a burn to the skin (one second-degree and two first-degree burns) at the implant site. As of June 30, 2012, St. Jude Medical has received 127 total patient complaints of warmth or heating at the IPG implant site during charging for the Eon IPG and 198 reports of similar symptoms for the Eon Mini IPG. These reports resulted in total of 29 explants for Eon IPGs and 43 explants for Eon Mini IPGs. As of June 30, 2012, they have received three reports of skin surface burns (one 2nd degree and two 1st degree burns) believed to be associated with heating during charging. Explant surgery, as with any surgery, presents a risk to patient health. Adverse events associated with an unplanned surgery may be comparable to adverse events associated with planned operations, and may include pain, scarring, and infection, as well as complications from anesthesia.
Event Detail
|Event Id
|Product Type
|Recalling Firm
|St. Jude Medical
|Voluntary / Mandated
|Voluntary: Firm Initiated
|Recall Initiation Date
|Initial Firm Notification of Consignee or Public
|Distribution Pattern
|Worldwide Distribution - USA Nationwide Including Puerto Rico and countries of: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Ireland, Israel, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland and United Kingdom.


text:
This is a 40 page book of sepia tone prints from a larger collection. These were all photographed in Erie County, Pennsylvania while the balance of my sepia images were shot in various other places in Eastern United States.
I am a full time fine art nature and commercial photographer based in Erie, PA. My business is focused on fine art for health care, corporate and discerning homes. I photograph with the intention of bringing nature indoors to help calm the anxious mind - especially in health care settings. Proper use of art has been shown to reduce anxiety in patients to the point of lowering blood pressure. You can read more about this in my blog: www.officeartblog.com
Comment posted.
johnu says
Lovely book. Especially liked the beautiful photos of the bridges. Composition, balance, and inherent beauty of the subjects all came together and created something special. Congratulations
John Ulatowski
posted at 03:31PM Dec 20 PST
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text:
Seventeen Members and Associates of the MS-13 Street Gang Arraigned in Federal Court on Racketeering, Witness Tampering, and Firearms Charges
|U.S. Attorney's Office April 16, 2010
Earlier today, 12 alleged members and associates of La Mara Salvatrucha, or the "MS-13" street gang, were arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge E. Thomas Boyle, at the United States Courthouse in Central Islip, New York, on federal criminal charges, including murder, assault with dangerous weapons, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, witness tampering, firearms offenses, and conspiracy. Five additional defendants named in the indictment were arraigned earlier this week, also before United States Magistrate Judge Boyle.1 The case has been assigned to United States District Judge Joseph F. Bianco.
The arraignments were announced by Benton J. Campbell, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph M. Demarest, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, and Lawrence W. Mulvey, Commissioner of the Nassau County Police Department.
Four of the defendants, Heriberto Martinez, Vidal Espinal, Roger Alvarado, and Carlos Martinez, are charged with the March 6, 2010, execution-style murder of Nestor Moreno, a security guard at El Rancho Bar and Grill in Hempstead, New York. According to the indictment and other court filings by the government, in late February 2010, Heriberto Martinez and several other members of the MS-13 are alleged to have been involved in a dispute with El Rancho employees over an unpaid bar tab. According to court filings by the government, the dispute escalated into a physical altercation during which Moreno sprayed mace at several of the MS-13 members, including Heriberto Martinez. Prior to leaving El Rancho, one of the MS-13 members yelled at a bar employee, in substance, "Watch your back, it's not going to end like this." On March 6, 2010, Heriberto Martinez, Espinal, Roger Alvarado, Carlos Martinez, and another individual allegedly returned to El Rancho and carried out that threat. After surveilling Moreno, Espinal, accompanied by other gang members, shot Moreno in the head at point-blank range with a semi-automatic handgun. If convicted, these four defendants face mandatory life in prison, or the death penalty.
The additional 13 defendants are charged with a series of violent crimes, including attempted murder, conspiracies to murder rival gang members, and assaults that resulted in the death of one victim and left several others seriously injured in Nassau County since 2008. One of these defendants, Emilio Saballos, is charged with threatening and attempting to intimidate witnesses to one of the assaults in order to prevent their testimony before the grand jury. If convicted, four of these defendants face up to life imprisonment, four face up to 40 years, and five face up to 20 years.
This superseding indictment is the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by this Office targeting New York members of the MS-13, a violent international street gang comprised primarily of immigrants from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. With numerous branches, or "cliques," the MS-13 is the largest street gang on Long Island. Since 2002, more than 120 MS-13 members, including more that a dozen clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York. More than 50 of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges. Seventeen of those defendants have received sentences of 10 years or more, and more than a dozen MS-13 defendants have been sentenced or are awaiting sentencing on murder convictions. These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by the FBI Long Island Gang Task Force, comprised of agents and officers of the FBI, Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff's Department, Hempstead Village Police Department, Suffolk County Police Department, New York State Police, and United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"The MS-13 street gang represents one of the greatest threats to the safety of our communities on Long Island, and this superseding indictment demonstrates the ongoing commitment by this Office and the FBI's Long Island Gang Task Force to combat that threat and the violence perpetrated by the MS-13 and other gangs," stated United States Attorney Campbell. "Gang members are on notice that this is a top priority of our Office." Mr. Campbell thanked the Nassau County District Attorney's Office for its invaluable cooperation and assistance during the investigation.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Demarest stated, "Gang violence on Long Island has been on our radar for some time. The Long Island Gang Task Force and our efforts to address gang violence are not new, but we are working with our partners on the Task Force with increased manpower and increased urgency to address current circumstances. The FBI is absolutely committed to policing and preventing gang violence now and in the future."
Nassau County Police Commissioner Mulvey stated, I am proud of our partnership with the federal government to rid our communities of gang violence. These indictments display our steadfast commitment to eradicate this violent conduct and should serve to remind gang members that they will be found, prosecuted, and incarcerated."
The government's case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John J. Durham.
The Defendants:
YONIS ACOSTA-YANES (a/k/a "Brujita")
Age: 25
ERICK ALVARADO (a/k/a "Gato Seco")
Age: 24
ROGER ALVARADO (a/k/a "Michichi")
Age: 30
Age: 22
CESAR LANDAVERDE (a/k/a "Flaco" and "Rebelde")
Age: 22
CARLOS MARTINEZ (a/k/a "Carlito")
Age: 19
HERIBERTO MARTINEZ (a/k/a "Boxer")
Age: 23
SERGIO MEJIA-BARRERA (a/k/a "Pelon")
Age: 37
DIEGO NINOS (a/k/a "Veneno" and "Mico")
Age: 22
ELENILSON ORTIZ (a/k/a "Shorty")
Age: 29
GIOVANNI PRADO (a/k/a "Joker")
Age: 25
FRANCISCO RAMOS (a/k/a "Cruiser")
Age: 20
WALTER REYES (a/k/a "Scrappy")
Age: 20
LUIS RUIZ (a/k/a "Chucky")
Age: 20
EMILIO SABALLOS (a/k/a "Caballo")
Age: 27
DAVID VALLE (a/k/a "Niño" and "Oreo")
Age: 19
EFRAIN ZUNIGA (a/k/a "Panico")
Age: 28
1 The charges announced today are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.


text: Berkeley Springs Former Coolfont Resort in West Virginia Going up for Auction By Associated Press • May 6, 2016 David Benbennick / Wikimedia Commons The former Coolfont resort in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle is going on the auction block. An auction will be held June 21 at Cacapon Resort in Berkeley Springs. March 31, 1816: Bishop Francis Asbury Dies at 70 By Bob Powell • Mar 31, 2015 e-wv, The West Virginia Encyclopedia Listen Listening... / 2:00 Bishop Francis Asbury died on March 31, 1816, at age 70. Born in England in 1745, he volunteered to come to America in 1771 on behalf of the rapidly growing Methodist church. During pioneer days, Asbury was one of many Methodist circuit riders who spread the gospel from community to community. His travels often brought him into what is now West Virginia. And his diary provides some of the best early accounts of western Virginia life. Author Details New Work About Lincoln Assassination By Liz McCormick • Dec 11, 2014 Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who set John Wilkes Booth's leg after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, has been portrayed in a variety of media as an innocent victim who was wrongly accused for conspiring with Booth. December 3, 1787: James Rumsey Tests First Steamboat Near Shepherdstown By Bob Powell • Dec 3, 2014 e-wv, The West Virginia Encyclopedia online. Morgan County Couple Wants You to Meet Local Artists By Cecelia Mason • May 25, 2014 Cecelia Mason / West Virginia Public Broadcasting Many artists, crafts people and musicians have made Appalachia their home, contributing to the culture and economy. A Morgan County couple is working to document the local arts scene through an online video project called ArtVoiceWV. Jack Kelly is a retired public television documentary filmmaker. He and his wife Marla Carr moved to Berkeley Springs a little over a year ago. Updated: Leaks at W.Va. Silica Plant Stopped, No Injuries By Associated Press • May 14, 2014 Crews are cleaning up a leak of hazardous materials at a sand plant in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. U.S. Silica spokesman Michael Lawson said Wednesday about 600 gallons of sulfuric acid leaked Tuesday from the company's plant in Berkeley Springs. About 300 gallons of caustic soda leaked from a tank adjacent to the sulfuric acid tank. Handmade Quilts Blanket Berkeley Springs By Cecelia Mason • Apr 30, 2014 Cecelia Mason / West Virginia Public Broadcasting Berkeley Springs is generally known as a spa and arts town, and right now quilts are the primary form of art on display. Quilt squares are hanging at the local art center, The Ice House, and at businesses throughout downtown. Every year the Delectable Mountains Quilt Guild auctions off the squares to benefit a local charity. How's Our Air?, Stereotyping Young West Virginians That Stay, & A Berkeley Springs Quilt Auction By Dave Mistich • Apr 30, 2014 West Virginia Public Broadcasting / West Virginia Public Broadcasting Listen Listening... / 15:52 The American Lung Association says air pollution in the state's metropolitan areas has generally improved but there's more ozone, or smog, in every county where it was measured. Young people that choose to stay in West Virginia often find themselves stereotyped by those who've left for other opportunities. Also, quilts are the primary form of art on display in Berkeley as the annual Delectable Mountains Quilt Guild's Yard Square Quilt Auction kicks off. What Does the World's Best Water Smell Like? (Hint: It's Not Black Licorice) By Scott Finn • Feb 23, 2014 bottledwaterweb.com When I signed up to be a judge at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, I thought it would just be a bit of fun -- a relaxing weekend in an historic West Virginia mountain spa town. Then came the water crisis: a massive spill of the coal-cleaning chemical MCHM into our water supply, and more than a week under a "do not use" order. And The Winner Is...International Water Tasting Results Are In By Cecelia Mason • Feb 23, 2014 The 24th Annual International Water Tasting took place Saturday in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., and a Canadian town walked away with the trophy for Best Municipal Tap Water. Among the judges for this year's competition was West Virginia Public Broadcasting Executive Director Scott Finn, who documented the event including a popular activity after the winners are announced, the "water rush" where members of the audience get to grab as much free bottled water as they can carry.


text: This application lets you maintain the list of books you own and browse the list of books of your contacts. You could search the books based on title / author / ISBN. In the search results, you could tap on the book and add it to your bookshelf. ...Visualizza di più


text: I was going to get a Planet Bike Super Flash and the corresponding rack mount (http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3108.html) but my night commute came up on me quick and I had to get what my LBS had which was a Blackburn Mars 3.0. I had it hang on my trunk bag but I'd really like to mount it on my rack. So I'm wondering if there is a product for this light like the one I linked to above for the Super Flash. Or does anyone know will the Mars 3.0 hook onto that Planet Bike attachment?


text:
Court notes 7/29/14
Vera F. Bender (per attorney in fact) and Jacob Edward Bender (attorney in fact) to Todd C. Kocher and Kathryn M. Kocher for $80,000; Fairmount Township.
Ronald J. Deritis and Rachael K. Deritis to Joshua J. Perchak for $189,000; Butler Township.
Klac Rex LLC to Hazleton Airport LP for $1.1 million; Hazle Township.
Ian M. Linsinbigler to Ryan J. Ely for $175,000; Exeter Township.
Jeanne Ciampi to Judith A. Barone for $149,000; West Pittston.
Philip T. Williman and Marlo A. Williman to Charles G. Sciandra and Joann Sciandra for $316,000; Lehman Township.
Robert D. Ziembra, Robert D. Ziembra, Carol A. Mancusco and Carole Mancusco to Eric Scott Jendryaszek and Kersti Elaine Jendryaszek for $170,000; Avoca.
Mark Warshal to Nicholas A. Snyder and Diana A. Snyder for $225,000; Dallas Township.
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Looking for business strategy? www.hotfrog.co.uk showcases more than 3557 businesses grouped by business strategy within UK. To find more businesses related to business strategy, marketing or Sales Marketing, and to filter by locality, use the left navigation menu.
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Monty Python Live (Mostly): 5 Reasons You Need To Find An Encore Screening
By Nick Venable 2 years ago comments
The MusicHaving developed both Spamalot and Not the Messiah, Eric Idle has proven his excellence in yet another area of music, and it was a lewd and laudable treat to see just how many of Monty Pythons greatest songs got full-blown musical numbers, while many more were present in instrumentals and as segues between set pieces. The orchestra used was more spot on than the actors were, all things considered, and it was wonderful to hear songs like "Eric the Half-a-Bee" and "Never be Rude to an Arab" make their appearances in lyric-free form.
The "Penis Song" pops up almost immediately nudge nudge and its the first appearance of a 20-ish-person song-and-dance team that were ever-dynamic and eye-catching, often more so than the central fivesome. The music was also where 1983s The Meaning of Life made its presence known, with blatant buffoonery and colorful explosions taking part in performances of "Every Sperm is Sacred," along with a few other perfectly placed numbers. "Sit on My Face" gets a particularly crotch-ity rendition, silly walks are meshed with "The Money Song," and Idles "Wink Wink" series of double entendres are given a dance remix. The entire ordeal, which included a 30-minute intermission, retained its high-energy pacing from start to finish, and it had a lot to do with the music. (And keep an eye out for the costumed reference to Flying Circuss Flasher segment.)
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Homebuilding activity increased in September in Clark County, as measured by building permit totals in a report released Monday.
The data showed 56 new-home permits were issued to build single-family homes in unincorporated parts of the county in the month of September. It was a 19 percent increase over the 47 permits handed out in August and an 80 percent increase over the 31 permits issued in September 2011.
Values also increased for the single-family housing industry, which in September took out permits valued at $18.7 million, up from $10.4 million worth of permits issued in the same month last year.
For the third quarter, or the three months ending Sept. 30, there were 169 permits issued to build single-family houses, representing a 78 percent increase over the 92 permits handed out during the third quarter in 2011.
Commercial construction — office, retail and industrial projects — also improved slightly in September in unincorporated Clark County. There were 26 commercial building permits issued for the month, which held steady with August's 24 permits and with the September 2011 total of 27 permits.
However, the projects permitted in September had a higher collective value than the projects permitted in the same month last year. September's commercial construction permits were valued at $18.7 million, up from a total value of $10.4 million for permits issued during the same month last year.
In September, the county handed out five permits to build multi-family apartment complexes, one of the fastest-growing sectors in the local construction industry. The county has issued 27 permits to build multi-family housing projects in 2011 and 2012. Few of the projects have broken ground.


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Anne, 1er duke de Noailles, (died February 15, 1678, Paris) count of Noailles (grandson of the first count, Antoine of Noailles) who was created the first duc de Noailles and a peer of France in 1663. He had played an important part in the Fronde and had become a protégé of Cardinal Mazarin. He was made premier captain of Louis XIV's bodyguard in 1648 and became captain general (governor) of the newly won province of Roussillon, to which his descendants were usually appointed thereafter.
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Family Law
Family Law Questions? Ask a Family Lawyer Online.
Hi Kirk,
Grandma of 4 yr old took him to pediatrician yesterday. Ordered lab work and is going to call the mother to warn her of dangers.
If Mother gives Dr K any problems or attitude, we're calling DCF. Child is court ordered to spend Labor Day with the mother. I'm sure she will be back at the lake. She text my son the dad that he swims in the lake , they dunk him under. Complete details of their "outings." No regard to the danger. I shared this w/ Dr K. How would a judge look at this mother? To me, she's stupid!
Thank you ! She's not in good standing with the court system anyway. Vanished with the baby at 9 mo for 1 1/2 years.
DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.
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hi im annoyed because i sent some 4 players to my trade pile on fifa 13 on my xbox and when i went into my trade pile they were gone so i want a refund
And you have come to the right place! Your check is in the mail! Make sure to check everyday for it!


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You are probably familiar with the two Charlotte Mason book labels– twaddle and living books. Charlotte Mason's standard is high. Really high. If you read through all her quotes and apply them, you will be left with very little to read your young children.
While I want to avoid blatant twaddle (Captain Underpants, Goosebumps, books with product tie-ins like Blue's Clues, etc.), there are books we love that aren't exactly worthy of the "living book" stamp. Because of this, I've formulated my own personal standard for makes a book a good book–one that is worthy of a home on my boys' bookcases. Here are my five marks of a good book.
1. The tale is well told.
The story makes sense and isn't too predictable. The vocabulary is good because the author wasn't afraid to use some words that might be new to children. The rhyme and rhythm are enjoyable; they don't make me want to poke my eye out!
2. The story inspires.
The story inspires me as well as my children. It inspires us to live right; it inspires us to learn more; it inspires pretend play. The story stimulates my children to draw with a purple crayon (Harold and the Purple Crayon), to make soup (Stone Soup), to gather leaves and create (Leaf Man), or to play in the snow (The Snowy Day).
3. The book begs to be read again.
If the story is well told and inspiring, we will want to read it again! A good book is like a treasure chest. Each time you open it, you will see a different jewel that is hidden within.
4. Parts of the story become part of our family culture.
I know exactly what my children are referring to when they say, "Aha!" or "Oh, Bother!" or "Tut, tut, it looks like rain." It actually warms my heart when my kids quote from Winnie-the-Pooh. It's like a secret bond or an inside joke I share with my kids because I read aloud to them . . . because I read a good book aloud to them.
5. The pictures are beautiful or interesting.
I never really thought about this aspect of a good book until I read Read for the Heart by Sarah Clarkson. She makes the point that picture books are the very first pieces of art that our children will ever see. Of course we want that first art to be beautiful. I had to tack on the word interesting as well. Some of our favorites don't have beautiful art work, but interesting art also serves an important purpose. The bottom line is that the art should be visually stimulating.
"A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a
good children's story in the slightest." -C.S. Lewis
It's Captain UnderPANTS. And I like those books!
Great list!
I totally agree with your list! I also wrote a post about Great Books – Great Friends and used some questions recommended by Ms. M Hale in her book "Beautiful Girlhood" about qualities of a great book. I think all these lists have a common thread – the very things you wrote about in your post!
Perhaps you could add in something for entertainment. Sometimes a good book is just something to be enjoyed for its humor or silliness.
Totally agreeing with family culture!!! There's things that we laugh about and no one else understands because we have read the book together. Oh, and from a post comment, I'd love to meet up sometime for a field trip. Off to read some Thornton Burgess to my children:)
I will apply those to the majority of our books as well, I think that is a wonderful outline of what to look for when finding a wonderful book to share. XOXO


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The Tegu story didn't start with an idea for a new toy for kids — it started in 2006 with two brothers, Chris and Will Haughey, and their shared desire to help people struggling in the crumbling economy of Honduras. The two soon discovered that it was home to beautiful, sustainably-harvested tropical hardwoods — a draw for the grandchildren of an accomplished architect. When they came upon the classic wooden toys of Europe during a trip to Germany, the pieces came together — and they formed Tegu, the brand now renowned for its magnetic wooden block sets. Loved by kids, parents, and parenting blogs alike, the blocks are made from eco-friendly hardwoods and they're built to last — so hand-me-downs retain their just-out-of-the-box appeal.
Bring a little tradition home for the holidays.
The ultimate holiday treats: stuffed rabbits, classic storybooks, and more.
Our absolute favorite pieces for the cool-weather season.
Think basic building blocks can't be improved upon? Think again. Tegu crafts durable, eco-friendly wooden blocks with invisible magnets inside, making for creative, gravity-defying play. Choose here from an array of classic sets your little ones will love.


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Our varsity volleyball team heads into the final round of districts to face Walsh Jesuit tonight. While in the same position last year, the Bombers suffered an upsetting loss of 1 to 3 against Walsh Jesuit. After a tough win against Beaumont, the Bombers are feeling very strong and hope to have revenge against Walsh tonight at 7 p.m. in the Kenston High School main gym.
If the Bombers are able to win this game they will head into the first round of regionals. In the first round, they will be playing the winner of the game between Sheffield High School and Padua Franciscan High School. Then there is only one game standing in their way from states. Let's continue to give our Bombers the support they deserve and hope for a win against Walsh.


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BASTROP, La. (AP) — A northeast Louisiana nonprofit organization has been awarded a grant to help fight childhood obesity.
The Bastrop Enterprise reports (http://bit.ly/ZAg3q7 ) the North Louisiana Community Enhancement Corp. received the $1,000 grant for the Bastrop Community Walking Trail/Childhood Obesity Prevention Project.
The grant was awarded by the UnitedHealth HEROES fund.
Information from: Bastrop Enterprise, http://www.bastropenterprise.com/


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Georgia Church Faces Suit
Ten Congregation Members Say They Lost $1 Million in 'Safe' Investments
The leader of one of the nation's best-known megachurches was accused in a civil lawsuit in Georgia of encouraging church members to invest in a scheme that promised 20% annual returns on safe investments but diverted their money to a failing company.
Bishop Eddie Long, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, and his church marketed, sponsored and hosted "Wealth Tour Live" seminars in October 2009 through which an entrepreneur and another firm recruited investors for a "Ponzi scheme," according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in DeKalb County (Ga.) State Court.
The suit, filed on behalf of 10 church members who claim to have lost more than $1 million, contends that Mr. Long and New Birth church used their "confidential/fiduciary relationship" to "coerce" the church members into investing with Ephren Taylor Jr., the former chief executive of City Capital Corp. in Chicago.
According to the complaint, Mr. Long told the congregation, during his introduction of Mr. Taylor: "I am responsible for everyone I bring before you and what they say."
Mr. Long and his church received compensation from Mr. Taylor, according to the complaint.
Art Franklin, a spokesman for Mr. Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, said the church's legal team wasn't ready to comment on the suit, and referred to an earlier news release that said Mr. Long has asked Mr. Taylor "to do the right thing by quickly resolving this matter with a positive outcome."
The suit alleges that Mr. Taylor told the investors that his companies focused on "socially conscious, safe investments" that would "guarantee results."
Neither Mr. Taylor nor his firm was licensed to sell investments or render investment advice in Georgia or elsewhere, according to the complaint.
Mr. Taylor, who along with City Capital was named as a defendant in the suit, couldn't be reached for comment.
One of the plaintiffs, Lillian Wells, said in an interview that she transferred her retirement savings into a self-directed individual-retirement account with a firm handling money for Mr. Taylor. On Dec. 16, 2009, she said, she was issued a nine-month promissory note for $122,000 that guaranteed 20% interest at maturity.
Ms. Wells said that when she tried to get her money back, City Capital representatives repeatedly tried to persuade her to maintain the investment. She said Mr. Long pledged to help her and other investors at a November meeting, and met with them again in December, but nothing came of those meetings or a conference call with Mr. Taylor in February.
According to the complaint, investors later learned that at least some of their funds went to a unit of City Capital that was purchasing video-sweepstakes machines—and later some machines were shut down amid allegations of illegal gambling.
City Capital's chief executive didn't return calls to the company's Chicago office seeking comment.
The case is one of the highest-profile accusations to date of so-called religious affinity fraud, in which potential investors are targeted through a faith-based organization.
"I've seen more money stolen in the name of God than any other way," said Joseph Borg, Alabama securities commissioner and a past president of the North American Securities Administrators Association. "Seven out of 10 of our cases involve affinity fraud, and in the South, probably 40% to 50% have a religious angle."
Write to Kelly Greene at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Here is my "note"book doodle theme.
If you notice in the second screen, It reads "don't steal music" and in the third screen the word music is gone that is because the word music isn't apart of the wallpaper it is a widget. didn't think ahead about that.
1st screen: check mail, messages, and search are widgets
2nd screen: music is a widget
3rd: call is a widget. and yes that is a fake number.
one of the biggest reasons I love android. It lets me think outside the apple.
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The poll finds support for Gingrich has slipped to 22%, with Ron Paul just behind with 21%. Mitt Romney trails in third place with 16%.
While Ron Paul surges into a solid second place, Romney has fallen and Newt Gingrich is going down too.
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