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GateHouse News Service National Budget
For 11/25/09 editions
Here are the top national stories coming today from GateHouse News Service. Stories are available at http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/.
Contacts: Jean Hodges, (630) 348-3350, (630) 956-8834, firstname.lastname@example.com
Michael Toeset, (630) 348-3356, (630) 835-8870, firstname.lastname@example.com
HAPPY THANKSGIVING: We've loaded this budget with some great content to get you through the holiday. The next national budget will be sent on Friday. If you have something urgent, contact Jean Hodges at email@example.com.
HOLIDAY TV PAGE: We've put together a page showcasing some popular TV shows and movies airing in December, as well as when they'll be on this season.
Niche 2010 schedule: Check out the Niche products planned for next year.
FLU SEASON: H1N1 and seasonal flu content - Stories, columns, cartoons and more on H1N1 "swine flu" and seasonal flu. If your paper has an item to share, please send it to us via Zope or e-mail it
to national@gatehousemedia.
THANKSGIVING CONTENT: Click the link to see Thanksgiving content on the news service. We will update the package as new items come in, so check back often. If your paper has something that would work on a national scale, please Zope it to us or e-mail it to email@example.com.
Niche offers Thanksgiving pages, ads and more.
BLACK FRIDAY CONTENT: Here are some links to Black Friday content. We'll continue to add to this package as we get content from you, so check back often.
'TIS THE SEASON: GateHouse holiday content -- Christmas and holiday content from GateHouse News Service. If your paper has something that would work on a national scale, please Zope it to us or e-mail it to email@example.com.
HOLIDAY PAGES, TABS. Find out what the news service is offering for the holidays this year.
Your news takes center stage as part of remake in New York.
MORNING MINUTES: Includes Word of the Day, Web Site of the Day, Number to Know, This Day in History, Today's Featured Birthday and Daily Quote.
HOME HELP: Weekly home rail, leads with setting the mood with indoor and outdoor lighting, how to correctly use a dehumidifier, tips for choosing a rake, and more.
- Moved early because of Thanksgiving
HOME PAGE: Escape the dark side (basements).
FAMILY TIME: Weekly family rail, with a review of the new "Twilight" movie, surviving-the-holidays tips for single moms and more.
- Moved early because of Thanksgiving
RELIGION NEWS: Weekly religion rail leads with a live nativity displayed in Washington, D.C., and includes items on a marathon swim to benefit a chaplaincy, getting to know religious scholar Huston Smith, and more.
- Moved early because of Thanksgiving
THANKSGIVING FOR DIABETICS: How to have a diabetic-friendly Thanksgiving - SPRINGFIELD – What can diabetics do as they face the challenge of the Thanksgiving meal? Start by surveying the food selections for the meal before making a plate, said Cynthia Ledbetter, MSN, CDE, nurse practitioner at Southern Illinois University Department of Family Medicine. By Todd Smith of the State Journal-Register.
NEW THANKSGIVING SIDES: Altering Thanksgiving menu: Focus on the sides -- Modernizing the T-Day menu is fraught with land mines, not the least of which allegedly cause deceased relatives to roll over in their graves. There's a good reason we always have exactly the same main course as years past.
VEGGIE THANKSGIVING: Vegetarians at Thanksgiving dinner? Whip up delicious meat-free meals - There are typically enough dishes that do not contain meat to satisfy most vegetarians at Thanksgiving. If you want to make a thoughtful gesture, however, for a vegetarian or vegan guest, we've compiled a list of some of the more popular, seasonal vegetarian entrées. By Kiki Benson and Jeanie Burke for the Rockford Register Star.
TURKEY OR TURDUCKEN? Your guide to Thanksgiving's main meal - As Thanksgiving approaches, it's time to think about how you will prepare your bird. Preparing a whole turkey is a complicated endeavor. A whole bird involves at least 10 pounds of meat, skin and bone. Something has to be done with that cavity. A meat thermometer must be procured. By Lainie Steelman of the McDonough County Voice.
SHOESTRING LIVING: Strategies for holiday spending survival - It's here. Black Friday is just days away, and the shopping season is in full swing. If you're like me, you feel a bit of panic begin to rise as the days grow shorter and the festivities slip closer. With unprecedented unemployment and tightened budgets everywhere, I imagine I have a lot of company this year. By Molly Logan Anderson.
PARTY TALK: How to talk your way to popularity at any party -- By avoiding conversational landmines and learning how to make small talk effectively, you can be the hit of any social gathering. By Kathryn Rem, SPRINGFIELD
TURKEY TAKE-OUT: More families getting Thanksgiving dinner delivered - Restaurants and caterers are finding increasing demand for prepared Thanksgiving meals, as more families outsource their holiday dinner preparation. By Steve Adams.
- With photos
- Localize it: Talk to caterers, other companies in your area to add quotes, etc.
REV. TESS BAUMBERGER: Practicing gratitude - As the holidays approach, what keeps coming to my heart is gratitude – gratitude for all the gifts in my life and in my work. So let me invite you to join me in the spiritual practice of gratitude.
- With column mug
DIABETES & VEGGIE FARE: Try vegetarian lifestyle - ROCKFORD – Diabetes expert Caroline Trapp wants you to give yourself three weeks — OK, four counting a week to prepare to do it right — to become a vegetarian. She says a low-fat, plant-based diet can be as effective as some medicines in fighting type 2 diabetes. But she didn't discount other possible benefits such as weight control, more energy and better-looking skin. By Mike DeDoncker of the Rockford Register Star.
SUZETTE MARTINEZ STANDRING: Blind jewelry designer sees God clearly - Jewelry designer Susan Michel of New York brings a unique insight into gifts. Her one-of-a-kind castings and jeweled flowers are surprising. What is most unexpected is that she is blind. Yet no one would know.
- With column mug
FACEBOOK REUNION: Separated siblings find each other through Facebook - After two decades apart, Melissa Greene of Mansfield and her sister Katie Crawford never thought they would see their half-sister and brother again. But they recently found the half-sister, Raquel Rose, in the very town Green lives in. By Stacey Gallotta.
- With photo
THE BEER NUT: Can it on the critique - "Good beer doesn't come in a can." At least that's what Rob Leonard, owner/brewer of Connecticut's New England Brewing Company, was always told. By Norman Miller.
- With photo
5 THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND, THANKSGIVING EDITION: This week's suggestions: Catch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, watch some Thanksgiving football, get out of the house for a movie, start your Christmas decorating and prepare to shop.
- Localize it: Add any pertinent information, e.g. add local parade info, local sports tournaments/games, hot shopping spots, where to get Christmas trees, etc. And feel free to swap out any items for more local happenings.
SUDOKU: Puzzles for November (491-525) are available for download. Previous puzzles are linked to in this file, or visit our Puzzles category.
SUDOKU: Puzzles for December (526-553) are available for download. Previous puzzles are linked to in this file, or visit our Puzzles category.
POP CULTURE: Long and short of a lengthy Thanksgiving classic - The song most closely associated with Thanksgiving is (arguably) "Alice's Restaurant," Arlo Guthrie's sprawling folk narrative from 1967. By Dennis Volkert.
MOVIE REVIEW: Gorgeous to look at, but this 'Mr. Fox' is not so fantastic - Wes Anderson's "Fox" is a fox, a vision to behold, but he besmirches the name of Roald Dahl, whose beloved masterpiece he has gutted and twisted into an unrecognizable mess. By Al Alexander.
MOVIE REVIEW: Father and son take a harrowing, honest journey through a post-apocalyptic world in 'The Road' - A man (Viggo Mortensen) leads his 10-year-old son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) to a new life in a warmer, less violent climate and along the way instructs him on how to shoot himself if he's ever in danger of being captured by cannibals. Drawn from the canon of author Cormac McCarthy, "The Road" is about what happens when civility and morality give way to Darwinism in its most basic form. By Al Alexander.
MOVIE REVIEW: Cage is good as 'Bad Lieutenant' - This is the Nic Cage of old, the risk-taking crazy one who tore through "Leaving Las Vegas," "Wild at Heart" and "Adaptation." By Al Alexander.
- With photo
FLICKS: Default 'Twilight' box office runners-up fail to impress - "New Moon" made $120-ish million this weekend. Flicks is shocked! SHOCKED!! Reports are 80 percent of the tickets were sold to women. What's shocking is men admitted to seeing the movie. But Flicks isn't here to judge — oh, wait, that's exactly what Flicks is here for! By John Meo.
- With column mug
AT THE MOVIES WITH GATEHOUSE: A links collection of this week's movie content.
EMERIL: Emeril's new book aimed at the busy, budget-conscious - The man with bam! is serving up a trio of new ventures: a family cookbook, a radio show on the Martha Stewart Living Radio Network and a casual restaurant slated to open this week in Bethlehem, Pa. By Linda Murphy.
GRANLUND CARTOON: On the real 1621 Thanksgiving menu.
GRANLUND CARTOON: H1N1 and holiday travel.
GRANLUND CARTOON: Osama bin Laden a turkey who continues to beat the odds
GRANLUND CARTOON: The original undocumented immigrants – pilgrims.
GRANLUND CARTOON: On the expected toy shortage and Santa.
O'MAHONEY CARTOON: On holiday travel.
O'MAHONEY CARTOON: On Native Americans, turkeys and Thanksgiving.
MICHAEL WINSHIP: A Jane Goodall Thanksgiving -- Give thanks. Because this isn't one of those Thanksgiving lists of things for which we should be grateful — although health, family, friends, laughter, etc., would certainly all be on mine. And Jane Goodall.
KENT BUSH: Let Thanksgiving be the start of a new outlook -- We're doing it wrong. We constantly dwell on our problems and the challenges that make life tough for us. We never stop long enough to realize how well off we really are. In this Thanksgiving season, many of us will finally take time to make a positive account for things in our life that we are fortunate to have.
PETER CHIANCA: 22 (more) reasons to be thankful -- Around this time each year I like to take a moment to remind my readers that there are still plenty of reasons to be truly thankful. And if I can say that from my perch here in the newspaper business, you can certainly come up with something.
- With column mug
AMANDA JACOBS: Christmas already? Bah humbug - I always look forward to the weekend after Thanksgiving because it marks the traditional kickoff of the holiday season. Once the leftover turkey has been refrigerated, the shopping can begin, the tree can go up and the holiday specials can take over the TV. At least, that's how it used to be. Apparently I missed the memo informing us that the Christmas season now begins almost two full months before the holiday itself.
PHIL LUCIANO: Farewell to Oprah, TV's pied piper - I can't avoid Oprah anymore. I don't click with most pop-cultural phenomenons. Though you might find this amazing, I somehow get through life without Dr. Phil, a Shamwow, Lady GaGa, a slap chop, Cesar Millan or a Snuggie. Just call me a clueless Neanderthal, but I just have no need to waste my time or money on such schlock. And for the longest time, I could simply ignore Oprah.
JERRY MOORE: The primitive thinking of creationism makes our country weak - The polling firm Gallup reported this year that 39 percent of Americans accept the truth of evolution, that 36 percent have no opinion on it, and that 25 said they don't believe it. With such apathy toward the natural world, it's no wonder children from other nations have surpassed American students in science and technology.
CHERYL MILLER: Why do some want government to control health care? - Throughout the national debate on health care reform this year, I have been perplexed by one question: why are some so determined to trade their freedom for the promise of government-backed health care? Why would they relinquish their self-determination to become, essentially, wards of the state?
CHUCK SWEENY: Manufacturers, schools must woo next generation - As I often say to people, countries that don't manufacture become colonies of those that do. President Obama's trip last week to China illustrates how true that is becoming. The president's trip was light on the usual lectures in democracy. This time it was China's turn to lecture us, specifically on the need to get our fiscal house in order by reducing our astounding national debt. China, which manufacturers most of our consumer goods, is worried, because to keep America a going concern, they've had to buy about $1 trillion of our debt.
EDITORIAL: Can America manage a day without complaints? Fed up with a culture of negativity that produces complaints 24-7-365 about the economy, politics and the mundane matters of everyday life, a Missouri congressman decided he'd try to do something about it. Democrat Emanuel Cleaver introduced a resolution with a simple message: Cut the griping. He wants to see the day before Thanksgiving in future years declared Complaint-Free Wednesday, dedicated to setting the criticism aside and acknowledging that whining does nothing to solve problems. An editorial from the Peoria Journal Star.
EDITORIAL: Grading the federal stimulus - A year after Washington began talking about a stimulus to rescue a plunging economy, the debate rages. Was the stimulus, approved by Congress in February, too small or two big? Liberals worry that it was too small, pointing to double digit unemployment figures. Conservatives say it was too big, pointing to record budget deficits. By The MetroWest Daily News.
EDITORIAL: Shop smart, but remember real value of Christmas - If you, like millions of other Americans, will shop for gifts Friday, keep this in mind: Retailers — especially locally owned companies — need your business this year. Think of it as giving twice — first for the recipient and then for the fortunate business that gets your dollar. However, Black Friday has a different connotation for the many people who are unemployed or who have fallen on hard times this holiday season. Now it's more important than ever not to overextend yourself. An editorial from the Rockford Register Star.
THANKSGIVING EXPENSES: Trim your expenses this Thanksgiving - PEKIN – You may dread the Thanksgiving feast as the holiday season's first big bite out of your family budget, but it doesn't have to be that way. Planning is the key for making the Turkey Day meal a little easier for your wallet to swallow, according to Kathy Meier, family nutrition coordinator for the University of Illinois Extension office in Tazewell County. By Art Drake of the Pekin Daily Times.
THANKSGIVING PRICES: Prices for Thanksgiving menu items have dropped - Turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and the rest of the traditional trimmings for a classic Thanksgiving dinner have dropped four percent in price this year, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. By Sara Castellanos.
HOLIDAY RECESSION: How will the economy affect holiday spending? -- How much money will you spend this year on holiday shopping? If you're like many people, you're feeling cautious about the economy, and that will affect your holiday spending.
To localize: Speak to families and retailers in your community. How are families saving money this holiday season? What actions are stores taking to attract consumers? Is your town changing its holiday celebrations in response to the recession? Speak to the area chamber of commerce.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING: Study predicts a lean Christmas shopping season - Many shoppers are expected to gravitate to discounters and downplay gift-giving in favor of get-togethers as they try to keep spending under control this holiday season. Two-thirds of shoppers polled in a recent survey by BIGresearch on behalf of the National Retail Federation say the nation's economic doldrums will throw a damper on their holiday spending plans. By Steve Adams.
- Localize it: add some local quotes, flavor; insert your state's info in 10th graph.
- With photos
FOOD PANTRIES: Area food pantries stretched by economy, families in need - The mention of the holiday season generates a rush of scents and tastes - stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, fresh-baked pies - and triggers memories of full bellies and warm homes. But according to local food pantries, those holiday traditions will be a struggle for many families this year as the economy has added extra strain on household incomes. By Melanie Graham.
- With photos
TO LOCALIZE: Check with your own food pantries to see if they need donations or expect a greater need this year.
FAMILY FOUND DEAD: Family found dead at Addison home - ADDISON – The Addison Police Department is investigating a murder-suicide at home in the village. Responding to a 911 call, police found a man, a woman and two boys dead this morning, officers said. By Eleni Demertzis of Suburban Life Publications. Will be updated.
Business / Ag
DAVE RAMSEY: Weekly financial Q&A, with items on investing and home equity loans.
- Moved early for Thanksgiving
PAUL A. EISENSTEIN: 2010 Nissan Leaf turns heads -- While the 2011 Nissan Leaf is small, its crossover-style design offers a surprising amount of interior space in a stylish package. And its new, lithium-ion battery helps improve range – to 100 miles per charge – enough to more than adequately cover the daily driving needs of the typical American motorist. But the really pleasant surprise came when I slipped behind the wheel of a Leaf prototype.
CONSUMER WATCH: Black Friday may be shtick, but it can still be a good deal -- Black Friday, our newest unofficial holiday, will dawn cold and cheap to thundering herds of price-crazed shoppers. At least that's the hope of retailers. With the Christmas shopping season often fickle, they never know for sure. Black Friday is an example of media and commercial fabrication. It is not the busiest shopping day sales wise and pales to the day after Christmas.
SHOESTRING LIVING: Strategies for holiday spending survival - It's here. Black Friday is just days away, and the shopping season is in full swing. If you're like me, you feel a bit of panic begin to rise as the days grow shorter and the festivities slip closer. With unprecedented unemployment and tightened budgets everywhere, I imagine I have a lot of company this year. By Molly Logan Anderson.
BIZ BITS: Weekly business rail, with a tip on a hot career, BBB advice on shopping online this holiday season and more.
- Moved early because of Thanksgiving
CHECKOUT LANE: The basics of buying a turkey - Chick Piantedosi, owner of Piantedosi's Butcher Shop in Plymouth, Mass., says prices will be cheaper for frozen turkeys, but fresh ones taste better.
- With photos
- Localize it: Get quotes from a local turkey seller, add prices at local grocery stores.
MAKING CENTS: Don't worry, be happy this Turkey Day - With the stores full of turkeys and cranberries, I am reminded that not all people love the holidays. It reminds people of lost loved ones, family grievances or simply tolerating some of your least favorite people for your entire day off. But in celebration of Thanksgiving Day this year, I am going to ask you to shift your focus from what you do not like to what you do like and appreciate.
- With column mug
FINE PRINT: How to find the best bargains on Black Friday - The best day for bargain shopping is just around the corner, and we can't think of a better person to provide advice about navigating all the deals on Black Friday than Edgar Dworsky, the founder of the ConsumerWorld.org Web site.
ADDING HOLIDAY WORKERS: Retailers adding workers before the holiday season - PEORIA – Along with bell ringers, fruit cake and carols, the holidays bring something else: jobs. That's no small matter in a down economy, even if the positions are part time and limited to the end of the year. By Steve Tarter of the Peoria Journal Star. To localize: Are local retailers adding workers for the holiday season?
NASCAR PAGE: 2010 preview page. NOTE: This is our last page of the 2009 season. The weekly page will return just before the season starts next year.
PRO FOOTBALL PAGES: All six pages (New York, Patriots, Chiefs, Rams, Bears and national) have been posted.
WILD TURKEYS: Wild turkeys still flock to Thanksgiving tables - SPRINGFIELD – It may come as a surprise to some, but not all Thanksgiving turkeys come with a pop-up thermometer. The eastern wild turkey still has a place at the table – as it may have had during the first Thanksgiving celebration in 1621. One of the two written accounts of the first Thanksgiving includes a reference to wild turkeys in abundance around the Plymouth colony. Today, some hunters still insist on getting their turkey from the "great store" of wild turkeys in the Illinois woods instead of that other store with a freezer section. By Chris Young of the State Journal-Register.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATION: What went wrong for Notre Dame? Weekly column by Eric Avidon.
INSIDE THE LINES: Giving thanks for exceptional performances - This year, in lieu of preaching, I'll restrict my thanks to football itself. Namely, the MVP race we have going on right now. By Peoria Journal Star sports editor Bill Liesse. Inside the Lines for this weekend's games will be posted Friday for use Sunday.


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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Hosting the annual Engineer's Cup at Steinbrenner Track, the MIT men's track and field team outlasted rival RPI, 180-158.5, to win the competition on Saturday afternoon. The Cambridge Engineers recorded nine events wins but displayed tremendous depth in some of those events to hold on to the team title for the sixth year in a row.
MIT shined in the middle-distance events, as Tech harriers accounted for the top five spots in the 800m and swept the top four in the 1500 meters. Eric Safai surprised the field, winning the 800 out of the slower section with a time of 2:00.93. Patrick Marx took second in 2:01.73. Paul Welle (2:02.30), Richard Prevost (2:02.67) and Logan Daum (2:02.75) came through after Marx.
Justin Bullock led the MIT effort in the 1500, as his time of 4:06.03 was nearly three seconds faster than his closest competitor. Dawit Zewdie was second (4:08.92) while Roy Wedge and Jay McKenna rounded out the scoring for the Cardinal and Gray.
Stephen Serene and Benjamin Mattocks went one-two at 5000 meters, as Serene finished in 15:42.84 and Mattocks came through just over two seconds behind.
Josh Duncavage had a solid all-around effort for Tech, scoring in four events, including his first place finish in the 100-meter dash (11.02 seconds). Duncavage took second in the 400 hurdles, behind teammate Nick Leonard. He was also part of the first place 4x100m relay, joining Leonard, Tyler Singer-Clark and Nathan Peterson, to finish in 43.82 seconds.
Peterson earned first-place points in the pole vault, clearing 15-1.00 feet. Cyrus Vafadari was second with a vault of 14-7.25 feet, more than seven inches better than his seeded height.
MIT's other event wins came from Paul Welle in the 3000m Steeplechase (9:41.58) and Jackson Wirekoh in the triple jump (42-4.00 feet).
Next Saturday, Apri 9, the Cardinal and Gray will take on Bates College, Colby College and the University of Southern Maine, in a meet hosted by Bates.

subset: commoncrawl


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A story which starts with humble beginnings but ends with her being adored by a cheering nation can be seen at Milton Keynes Theatre next week.
The ever popular musical Evita can be seen from Tuesday May 23 to Saturday May 27.
It tells the story of Eva Perón, wife of former Argentine dictator Juan Perón,
Evita follows Eva's journey which gave her extraordinary wealth, power and iconic status.
Her journey sees her start impoverished and later is christened as the 'spiritual leader of the nation' by the Argentine people.
With more than 20 major awards to its credit, and an Oscar winning film version starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Evita is iconic.
The musical features some of the best loved songs in musical theatre, including Don't Cry for Me Argentina, On This Night of a Thousand Stars, You Must Love Me, and Another Suitcase in Another Hall, this spectacular production promises once again to be the theatrical event of the year.
Taking on the iconic role of Eva Perón is Emma Hatton. She recently finished wowing audiences in the lead role of Elphaba in the West End's production of Wicked. Prior to this she performed the principle roles of Scaramouche and Meatloaf in We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, and Donna in the West End production of Dreamboats and Petticoats.
Joining her will be Kevin Stephen-Jones, set to play Argentine President Juan Perón.
He has performed extensively across the UK and Europe in over 20 different operas.
His musical theatre credits include Cats, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Love Beyond.
Tickets for the show are available from £15.
For further information or to book tickets in advance call the box office on 0844 871 7652 or visit www.atgtickets.co.uk/miltonkeynes.


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Pigeon Jeypore Service Center, find Pigeon Jeypore service center with addresses, phone numbers, best deals, latest reviews and ratings, as well as website. Visit Pigeon Jeypore Service Center for service and support after-sales. You can also search a service center and customer care service number in your area as convenient as possible. Pigeon Jeypore Service center, contact details like Address, Phone Number, Email Support info is listed below for the customers of Jeypore and nearest locations. If you have any types of problems related to any Pigeon home appliances, so you can contact with Pigeon Jeypore Service Center.
Pigeon is India's famous home appliances brand, manufactured and distributed by an Indian kitchen appliances, Stovekraft Pvt Ltd. Stovekraft Pvt Ltd is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company in India with corporate office in Bangalore, Karnataka. Stovekraft designs, manufactures and sells a variety of kitchen appliance products under the two major brands including Pigeon and Gilma. It is also an India's most reputed privately owned corporation in kitchen appliances market with the turnover of 5000+ Million INR as of financial year 2012-13.
Pigeon offers a wide selection of home appliances, kitchen appliances and cookware across India. Its main products include Stainless Steel Water Bottles, Joy Rice Cooker, Hybrid Induction Cooktop, Electronic Pressure Cooker, 3D Rice Cooker, All in One Super Cooker. "Ghar Banta Hai Kitchen Se" is the main confidence and motto of Pigeon. Pigeon brings to your kitchen a contemporary lifestyle by converting the kitchen and engaging the homemakers. Pigeon is the nation's biggest maker brand of LPG Stoves, Non Stick cookware, Pressure cookers and Cooktops.
Address: Main Road, Near Indrabhawan Lodge, Jeypore, Odisha, India
Phone Number: NA
Mobile: +91-9437123611
Email Id: NA
Website: http://pigeonappliances.com


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Isaiah 60:1-5... "Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the Glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His Glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising!...
...Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you."
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|Computerized system for developing multi-party property equity exchange scenarios
|Demlog, Jr. et al.
|Home services delivery system with intelligent terminal emulator
|Moss et al.
|System and method for allocating resources of a retailer among multiple wholesalers
|Spiegelhoff et al.
|Credit management for electronic brokerage system
|Automated procurement system with multi-system data access
|Shoquist et al.
|System and method for obtaining information concerning a product or a service
|Bullock et al.
|Automated sales system
|Financial exchange system having automated recovery/rollback of unacknowledged orders
|Hartheimer et al.
|Computer travel planning system
|System for conducting and processing spot commodity transactions
|Anonymous matching system
|Silverman et al.
|Distributed matching system
|System and method for automated selection of equipment for purchase through input of user desired specifications
|Order entry and inventory control method
|Brown et al.
|Invalid walker
|Interactive market management system
|Shavit et al.
|Data terminal and system for placing orders
receiving a buyer's request for quotation over a communication network;
selecting one or more appropriate vendors to be sent the buyer's request for quotation based upon filter conditions, set by the buyer, vendor and the network software; transmitting the buyer's request for quotation separately to said selected vendors over said communications network; and with said selected vendors communicating their quotations either directly to the buyer or to the computerized system which in turn transmits said received quotations to the requesting buyer.
a plurality of terminals, at least one of which being designated a requestor and others of which are designated vendor terminals;
filter and broadcast means for receiving, over said data network, requests from said requestor to engage in transactions with unspecified vendor terminals, and for filtering said requests to determine with which vendor terminals said requests should be matched; and
means for matching said requests with vendor terminals which meet predetermined filter conditions for generating quotes from information contained in a database associated with said vendor terminals, and for accepting said quotes from said vendor terminals, wherein the central database contains information that is insufficient to consummate the transaction.
means at said filter and broadcast means for communicating a selected set of said responses to said requestor.
communicating, over said data network, to a filter means, at least one request for a quotation from a potential buyer of said goods or services;
filtering, at said filter means, the at least one request in order to ascertain a set of sellers potentially capable of supplying said goods or services; and
obtaining, from at least one of said potential sellers, over a data network, quotes to supply said goods or services, and forwarding said quotes to said potential buyer, wherein at least part of the quote information is stored at a location remote from said filter means.
communicating, from buyers to a filter means, requests for quotes (RFQs);
filtering said RFQs so that only sellers meeting a first set of filter conditions receive said RFQs;
transmitting, to remotely located seller databases, the filtered RFQs;
accepting quotes from sellers meeting said first set of filter conditions, and filtering said quotes so that only quotes meeting additional filter conditions are sent to a buyer requesting said quotes.
This invention relates generally to a computerized system forming a computer based communications network of buyer and vendor members for processing requests for quotation for goods and/or services from network members or their representatives and for linking buyers to sellers through the computer based communications network of network members having means for selectively controlling the linkage between network members in accordance with filter conditions of the buyers and/or sellers as well as filter conditions established by the computerized system. The filter conditions determine which of the network sellers will receive a buyer's request for quotation. More particularly this invention relates to a computerized system forming a computer based communications network between network members having filter means for controlling the communication linkage between such network members based upon chosen filter conditions set up by the network members and the system to satisfy one or more requests for quotation from the network members.
Buyers in need of goods and services often spend considerable time locating an appropriate vendor. Buyers use trade publications, directories, recommendations, and other means to locate vendors. If the type of vendor needed is in a foreign country, the problem compounds. Vendors advertise through various media and by direct sales methods to make known to potential buyers what they sell and how to contact them. Once a buyer identifies a few vendors, each must be contacted to obtain product or service price and availability information. This is a time consuming process and companies typically rely on experienced purchasing staff to accomplish it. In addition, when buyers must sell surplus inventory from time to time they must advertise, cold call, sell to brokers or the like. These processes are costly and time consuming for most businesses.
The prior art describes computerized shopping systems which employ some kind of central database of goods and services offered to buyers. Information about the goods and services offered is stored centrally and must be kept current centrally. The volume of information required to be maintained and updated in a central database system restricts it to a limited type or number of goods and services or number of vendors it can offer. It is not feasible for such systems to provide access to all standard goods and services and all suppliers world wide. For such a central database to exist, the amount of information to be stored would be awesome as would be the task of keeping it current. It simply is not feasible for central database systems to satisfy the need of buyers to receive timely quotes on an enormous variety of goods and services from vendors anywhere in the world. For this reason existing centralized database systems are created and maintained by the one or a few vendors whose goods and prices are displayed. These systems necessarily restrict a buyer's choice of vendors.
These systems are like electronic supermarkets which are owned by a single company or an association of suppliers. In such systems a vendor provides its database of goods and/or services to a buyer who orders items from the vendor's database. It is analagous to walking into a vendors store and selecting items from the vendors available stock. Another such system is analogous to shopping in a mall. In this case a number of (complementary) vendors combine to offer their collective inventory to the buyer through individual databases or a combined database of available goods or services. In yet another existing system a primary seller, such as an insurance agency, offers to provide buyers premium quotations from the insurance carriers for which the agency is an agent.
In all of the above cases the vendors responding to the buyers request regarding a particular good or service are either the service provider or a vendor with whom the service provider is involved in another business relationship such as advertisers in a common publication or affliated insurance carriers. These select vendors provide the product and pricing information supplied by the system to buyers. These systems have no capacity to offer an unlimited number of goods and services from any number of vendors who wish to become members of the system. This would require an unrealistically large central database containing information about products, services and vendors. Each vendor would be required to provide detailed information to the central database about its product lines and would be required to update them daily. Accordingly, existing systems are very specialized electronic buying services with a limited selection of goods, services, and vendors. In addition, buyers wishing to sell surplus inventory from time to time cannot use these systems for that purpose.
The present invention is analagous to a cross between telephone and broadcasting technologies. It is this difference which creates the opportunity for buyers to relate to vendors without a rigid structure operating through a centralized computer database as required by existing methods.
The present invention is a computerized system forming a computer based communications network for processing requests for quotation for goods and/or services by broadcasting such requests to network members of the computerized system over any conventional transmitting medium, such as the Internet, to which the computerized system may be connected. No central database of goods, prices, etc. is involved. Instead, buyers formulate requests for quotation and transmit them to the computerized network which broadcasts the request for quotation of one or more specified standard products to prospective sellers based on filter conditions set by the buyer and/or the seller and/or the network operator. The filter compatible sellers' responses are communicated to the prospective buyer either over the communications network or via other acceptable communications means. Their responses are processed by the quotation system and submitted to the requesting buyer.
The method of the present invention processes requests for quotation for goods and/or services from a buyer or supplier of goods and/or services through a computerized system forming a computer based communications network of network members for linking buyers to suppliers with the computerized system having at least one central processing unit including operating system software for controlling the central processing unit and storage means containing the identification of the network members, wherein the method comprises a computerized system receiving a buyer's request for quotation over a communication network; selecting one or more appropriate vendors to receive the buyer's request for quotation based on filter conditions, if any, set by the buyer, vendor and the network software; transmitting or making available the buyer's request for quotation to said selected vendors over a communications network; and said selected vendors communicating their quotations either directly to the buyer or to the computerized system which in turn makes available or transmits said received quotations to the requesting buyer.
The computerized system of the present invention forms a computer based communications network for processing requests for quotation for goods and/or services through at least one central processing unit with said computerized system comprising operating system software for controlling the central processing unit and storage means containing appropriate identity and other information about members of the network, means for potential buyers of product and/or services to transmit a request for quotation to said central processing unit, means for said central processing unit to selectively broadcast or make available said request for quotation to selected network vendor members, means for said vendor members to respond directly to the requesting buyer or to said central processing unit and means for transmitting or making available from said central processing unit vendor's quotations to the requesting potential buyers.
best be understood by reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1. shows a network diagram of the computerized system of the present invention where the Internet is the communications network;
FIG. 2. shows a block diagram representing how a buyer interacts with the computerized system of this invention via the Internet;
FIG. 3. is a block diagram of how a vendor's offer of items for special sale is communicated to network buyer members;
FIG. 4. is a data flow diagram linking vendors and buyers to a hypothetical central office arranged to demonstrate an embodiment of the quotation system of this invention;
FIG. 5. and FIG. 6. show logic for processing requests for quotation such that all filter conditions are met and a predetermined number of vendor responses are returned to the requesting buyer;
FIG. 7. shows a hypothetical list of options for use in preparing requests for quotation to be routed over the network. It is one embodiment of data structures suitable for buyers and vendors to interact via the quotation system network of this invention;
FIG. 8. shows a hypothetical illustration of a request for quotation.
The present invention is a computerized quotation system forming a computer based communications network for processing requests for quotation for goods and services from respective buyers or vendors who broadcast such requests to network members of the computerized system. There is no central pricing database to limit the number of buyers and vendors of goods and services or to limit the number of goods and services which can be processed. However the goods and services must be standard items to ensure that there is no confusion as to what buyers are requesting and what sellers are offering to buyers. FIG. 1 shows the system of this invention as configured using the Internet as the communications network.
A network member is anyone or any company which has registered as a user by completing an application and can be a buyer and/or a vendor in using the services provided by the computerized system of the present invention. The programming (e.g. Internet HTML pages or quotation system provided software) which enables network members to interact with the network would include information sufficient for network members to identify standard goods or services that they wish to identify in a request for quotation. Standardization of product or service descriptions is essential to avoid confusion unless a more text oriented specification is appropriate to the product or service type. To this end preprogrammed menu information is provided to classify product and services in catagories broken down by functional class and subclass corresponding to the products as they are commercially known and identified. Such menus are readily upgraded to include new and revised commercially available products and services from the manufactures or suppliers of such products and services. Buyers would use this information to prepare requests for quotation which will then be clearly understood by vendors. This product and other information and programming or software could be made available to network members either by direct electronic transfer to the user's personal computer or by providing information, software, or data on computer disks, compact disks, or other appropriate means. Providing standardized information to network users is necessary to correlate product and service identifications for buyers and vendors among other system maintenance functions. FIG. 4 shows how information would flow in an Internet embodiment of this invention. The quotation system central office would maintain its Internet site HTML pages and other necessary items by communication with its HTML World Wide Web server. It would download from the Web site requests for membership as well as requests for quotation. The Central Office would process RFQs through appropriate software and would wait for vendors to contact the Central Office FTP site. Vendors would use quotation system supplied software to cross reference their inventory to link with product lists used by the quotation system.When contacted the Central Office would acquire via suitable vendor software the RFQ information required and available from the vendors product database. If the vendor has prepared information relating to special sales, this information would be transferred to the Central Office at this time. Software version and list upgrades would be performed as well. When the FTP transfers are complet, the Central Office would prepare RFQ e-mail for requesting buyers and forward same as required.
New vendors may apply for membership using the quotation system's World Wide Web application form or by contacting quotation system offices by other means. Buyer members would access the quotation system's World Wide Web site and apply for membership or request price quotations or other available information, such as a trade publication search engine or statistical charts of price versus time by product, provided through the quotation system's Web site. New members would receive password information via e-mail to ensure that applicants have provided correct e-mail coordinates.
The invention can be understood readily from the following description of the preferred embodiment in conjunction with the flow diagram of FIG. 2 in which communication between buyers, sellers and the network computer(s) is completed using the Internet. A World wide Web home page is set up to provide access to the network by Internet members. A potential user accesses the Internet using any standard Web browser and becomes a quotation network user by completing a registration application providing necessary data about itself. Once registered, a member can access the forms necessary for preparing a request for quotation ("RFQ"), which will be described in greater detail hereafter. The RFQ is subsequently downloaded to a quotation system central office computer through a file transfer protocol (FTP) connection to the Internet Web server.
The RFQ is then processed to select vendors who are capable of quoting on the RFQ and who meet any other conditions set by the requesting buyer (e.g. language, currency, or vendor location). In addition, vendors may "deselect" themselves from quoting on certain types of RFQs by registering their preferences with the quotation system to avoid receiving RFQs of certain types. The buyer and vendor filters may represent in their simplest form defined classes of suppliers and/or buyers and may extend to delineate conditions of sale and/or purchase. Limitations or conditions included in the RFQ and/or in the response are defined for purposes of the present application as filter information or simply "filters". Filtering performed by a quotation system computer may simply involve limiting the network members to whom the RFQ is given and/or to whom responses are given or may be a more complex selection process. Part of the process of selecting vendors involves quotation system business arrangements and other considerations. An example of this would be providing vendors varying categories of service which may require prioritizing the vendors according to a formula. In this way, by the category of service they choose, vendors may determine the percentage of RFQs they receive from a given number received by the quotation system. FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show sample logic for processing filter conditions to accomplish vendor selection for a given RFQ. FIG. 7 shows hypothetical buyer and vendor information items which could comprise the RFQ data packet.
Once vendors are selected to receive RFQs, the RFQ information may be transmitted to them via FTP over the Internet, however, a preferred way would be to provide vendors with software which permits them to schedule when they wish to communicate with the quotation system. In this case, the vendor software would contact the quotation system over the Internet via FTP; the quotation system would interrigate the vendor's product database (using suitable software which links or cross references the vendor's inventory to the quotation system product and services lists) and retrieve pricing and other information necessary to respond to the RFQ; and thereafter prepare e-mail to be sent to the requesting buyer member. FIG. 8 shows one possible arrangement of RFQ data which would be e-mailed to a buyer. In this example a request for quotation is sent for 5,000 OH006-2000656 type J resistors manufactured by Ohmite for delivery by Aug. 1, 1993. The buyer indicates that the delivery date is firm. Other information such as RFQ date, tracking number and product code are shown. In this case the sender has specified that this request for quotation be routed to vendors in the state of New Jersey USA only. The lower portion of FIG. 6. shows a response from for example Acme Supply, Inc. together with pricing, contact information, delivery and vendor notes indicating that the request can be "Shipped 1000 per box from inventory, subject to prior sale."The e-mail could be configured as HTML pages and read as HTML by the buyer's browser directly or via application helper software provided by the quotation system. One advantage to providing buyers with HTML type e-mail quotations is that hypertext links can be embedded in the quotation along with data about the quotation which would permit the buyer to select a response option directly from the quotation HTML page. The option may be to request that an e-mail purchase order be sent to a vendor and that the buyer's credit information, e.g. on file with the quotation system, be used to effectuate automatically a credit purchase of the quoted product. Other alternatives include providing quotations to buyers via FTP or through interaction with the quotation system World Wide Web Internet site. As an alternative, communications between buyers and sellers may be by telephone, e-mail or other means.
Shipping companies can be included in the process if a credit purchase conditions the vendor's payment on confirmation from the shipper that the delivery has been received and accepted by the buyer. The quotation system would verify the buyer's credit and notify the vendor of the purchase order and credit code. When the vendor ships the package using a participating shipper and the buyer accepts the goods, the shipper would communicate the delivery acceptance to the quotation system computer or directly to the credit provider to permit release of funds to the vendors account. This would be particularly useful in international transactions.
Although the above example uses the Internet as the communications network between buyers, sellers and the quotation system computer, other computer communications arrangements can be used as well. Also, although the quotation computer system may execute all functions using one node on a communications network, it is equally suitable to have multiple nodes at many sites to service all network users. FIG. 1 shows two such quotation system central computers. In this event, all nodes would intercommunicate as required to complete routing of user information and other functions.
The quotation system computer is schmatically shown in FIG. 4 as the "Central Office" and includes a random access memory for temporary storage of information, a read only memory for permanent storage of the computers configuration and basic operating commands, an input/output adapter for connecting peripheral devices and known input and interface devices. Visual output is provided by display adapters and display devices. The network computer is controlled by one or more central processing units which may include a conventional microprocessor and a number of other units interconnected via a system bus. Any operating system may be resident on the computer. Programming for the buyer's and vendor's computer type equipment would be appropriate to the variety of goods and services buyers and vendors wish to sell over the network and would change as new goods and services come into existence and old ones are discontinued. FIG. 3 shows in block diagram a process by which vendors may offer items "on sale" to quotation system buyers. In this case, buyers will be informed of the sale if they identify or have identified the product or its category to the quotation system and provided the vendor has defined filter conditions which include the buyer in the class of buyers to which the vendor wishes to communicate its "on sale" offer.
Limiting the class of recipients may be used by large organizations to communicate exclusively to other members of their organization. For example, large corporations may make special sale offers exclusively to their employees. Alternatively, general users can offer to donate products exclusively to charitable or not for profit organizations.
The process of the present invention begins when a buyer prepares a network compatible request for quotation (RFQ). The buyer additionally may prepare or has previously prepared a definition of the class of vendor to receive the request. The request or requests are telecommunicated to a quotation network computer and is thereafter routed to the specified class of vendors consistent with network software and vendor requirements or conditions, if any. Vendors in the defined class respond to the buyer's request for quotation and the buyer may purchase from a responding vendor. The number of vendors within the specified class will depend on the buyer's class specification. For example, a buyer who specifies vendors of volt meters in New York State will reach more vendors than if New York City alone were specified. Such class specifications are information filters through which only the desired vendors can pass. By joining the network, all vendors are potential class members no matter where in the world they are located. In addition, a vendor may choose to filter out requests for quotation for other than a vendor defined class of requests for quotation, e.g., requests must be for at least 10,000 pieces or for goods produced by a specific manufacturer. The computerized system may also add a filter, for example, to reflect the type of service selected by the buyer and/or vendor. The network computer's filter may time sequence routing of the buyer's request based on the vendor's distance from the buyer's location. This would give vendors with the lowest shipping charges earlier access to the buyer's request and would give the buyer an opportunity to cancel further routings of its request if responses indicate that more distant vendors are not likely to provide more competitive quotes than those already received.
When a vendor wants to receive requests for quotation over the network, the vendor notifies the network of the class of goods or services in which the vendor deals (a "request for quotation class definition"). This can be communicated by voice, telephone, fax, et cetera, or by use of programming provided for that purpose but the preferred method is to use programming provided for that purpose by the network. The request for quotation class definition is transmitted to the network and the network uses that definition to filter all requests for quotation routed to the vendor, i.e.,to the class defined by a buyer of which the vendor is a member. In this way the vendor receives only those requests for quotation which conform to the vendor's request for quotation definition. The number of vendors within a class to receive a request for quotation may be very large. To keep the process manageable network software may be arranged to limit the number of vendors to receive a request for quotation.
By using the present invention, a network member buyer in Frankfurt, Germany who requests a quotation for an electronic part may receive quotations within minutes from previously unknown network member vendors in Cupertino, Calif. and Kyoto, Japan.
Where appropriate, programming would enable the user to receive, review, and reply to responses from network users. Programming would be tailored to the various types of request for response network users require. Users can be buyers and/or vendors. When a user wants to buy something, the programming for preparing a request for quotation is invoked on the user's computer or computer like device. When a user wants to sell something, a request for quotation class definition is prepared using programming provided for that purpose. A typical situation in which a user who is predominantly a buyer may choose to be a vendor is when the user overstocks an item and chooses to resell the surplus inventory via the network. To sell surplus inventory without the network of this invention requires advertising, word of mouth, cold calling, sale to a broker or the like. In addition, the network software could be arranged to enable vendors to donate unwanted equipment, et cetera, to charity network members. In addition, the network filters could be defined to permit intra organizational notices of availability or requirements for products or services, especially in large distributed corporations or governmental agencies.
The network is a routing service with the routing being controlled by class description filters which can be specified by the buyer, the network computer, and the vendors. By analogy, it is like a cross between a telephone call and a radio broadcast where the ultimate recipient is neither an individual nor a mass audience, but a class of recipients identified by their characteristics. In the preferred embodiment the vendor class of network members are filtered to be selected based on their likelihood to respond to the request for quotation. Alternatively, or in addition, the vendor responses may likewise be filtered to satisfy conditions of the vendors responding or in accordance with predefined conditions for facilitating a linkage between the prospective buyer and an acceptable seller.


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Recently, we've noticed a Latin trend of sorts (no, not the Ricky Martin- and Shakira-fueled "Latin Explosion" of the late '90s). Instead, we're noticing a growing number of skin beautifiers that contain active ingredients with roots in Latin America.
You might already know how jojoba, a shrub native to Mexico, helps dry skin, but that's only the beginning. For instance, coastal areas of the Caribbean are home to red mangroves, which thrive despite being hammered by the sun and surrounded by salt water. "The Caribbean is a harsh environment for many plant species," explains Miami dermatologist Dr. Oscar Hevia. "After bearing salt, sea and sun conditions over hundreds of years, the plant develops the antioxidant profile needed to survive." What's good for these plants can be good for your skin — and that goes for plenty of ingredients from Latin America.
Since we're always up for a beauty adventure, let's head south to Patagonia for Undaria algae, through the depths of the Amazonian rainforest for camu camu, and back through Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil to check out the indigenous plants and trees that pack a punch in our skin care favorites.
Like this post? There's more. Get tons of beauty tips, tutorials, and news on the Refinery29 Beauty Facebook page!
Image via RMS Beauty


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5750 Park Blvd
Pinellas Park
Sales Department
Estimated By E.P.A.
Actual Mileage May Vary
I hereby consent to receive text messages from or on behalf of dealer at the mobile phone number I provided above. I understand that I am opting in to receive text messages from dealer or their employees. I include consent to receive phone calls at the mobile phone number I provided. I understand that message and data rates may apply.


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Kuwait Royal Opening for 1001 Inventions
Award-winning production arrives at the Scientific Center of Kuwait
Under the patronage of His Highness the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, an award-winning 1001 Inventions exhibition launched at the Scientific Center in Kuwait and will be open to the public until 7 March 2015.
The interactive 1001 Inventions exhibition themed "Discovering Our Past… Inspiring Our Future" highlights over one thousand years of scientific and cultural achievements made during the creative Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation, which stretched from Spain to China from the 7th century onwards.
Image Source: www.kuna.net.kw
The blockbuster and award-winning exhibition presents the achievements made by inspirational men and women from various faiths who worked together in Muslim Civilisation to achieve breakthroughs that helped create the foundations of our modern world.
Ahmed Salim, Producer and Director of 1001 Inventions, said "We are honoured to be working with fantastic partners in Kuwait to bring a blockbuster 1001 Inventions exhibition to Kuwait. This exhibition is part of a global educational campaign that had already achieved resounding success, reaching over 200 million people around the world with exhibitions, educational programmes, festivals, films books and other media".
He added that this exhibition in Kuwait will bring to live the stories of outstanding individuals from 1001 years ago with the aim of inspiring young people in Kuwait to purse careers in science and technology and helping create a skilled generation of young people ready to face 21st century challenges.
Presss Coverage
شاهد | إنجازات الحضارة الإسلامية في العصور الوسطى في ألف اختراع واختراع https://t.co/DLK5WC3fcO
— قناة الجزيرة (@AJArabic) February 27, 2015
~ Click here for more Press Coverage ~
Mijbil AlMutawa, Chairman and Director of the Scientific Center of Kuwait that was founded by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences said "We are very pleased to be introducing to people in Kuwait this award-winning exhibition that showcases the crucial role people from this region played in the development of science and technology 1,000 years ago. Students and families in Kuwait will be introduced to scientists and scholars who lived during the Golden Age of Muslim Civilisation and understand their contributions to our modern world in a fun and interactive way – people like Ibn Al Haytham, Ibn Sina, Al-Razi, Fatima AL-Fihri and many more."
This Kuwait exhibition features a diverse range of exhibits, hi-tech games, interactive displays and science theatre that bring to life historic role models from Muslim Civilisation aiming to serve as inspirations for young people in Kuwait to pursue careers in science and technology.
Visitors have the opportunity to enjoy eight interactive 'Zones' that reproduce some of the most astounding inventions of the Golden Ages and demonstrates the broad influence that Muslim Civilisation has had on the way we live our lives today.
Image Source: www.kuna.net.kw
Guests enter the exhibition after watching the award-winning short film – 1001 Inventions The Library of Secrets. Told as a short story, the 10-minute movie follows the journey of young children exploring the era of the historically mislabelled 'Dark Ages' and this will give them a better understanding and appreciation when they start exploring the main exhibition. Oscar-winning actor, Sir Ben Kingsley, plays renowned 12th century engineer, Al-Jazari, who introduces the wealth of innovation and advancement that occurred throughout the Muslim World from 7th and 17th centuries.
Exhibitions produced by 1001 Inventions have already received more than six million visitors at blockbuster residencies cities around the world breaking visitor number records in London, New York, Los Angeles,Washington DC, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuala Lumpur, Rotterdam, Sweden, Sharjah, Doha and Istanbul.
TIMING: The 1001 Inventions exhibition in Kuwait is open from 4 February till 7 March 2015. Open from Sunday to Thursday from 9.00am till 1.00pm and 4.30 to 9.30 pm; Friday from 2.00 till 10.00pm; and Saturday from 9.00am till 9.30pm.


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An international team of researchers has developed a model that suggests degradation of tropical forests occurs in a series of "waves", reports the BBC News website's Mark Kinver.
High-value trees were felled in the first "wave", followed by a wave that removed mid-value timber before the remaining wood was felled for charcoal.
The team hopes the model will help manage forests as vital carbon sinks and limit the loss of biodiversity.
The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers said an economic theory was used to provide a general model to predict patterns of tree loss.
This translates to a prediction that waves of forest degradation will emanate from major demand centres and expand into nearby forested areas, targeting resources in sequence, starting with those of highest value," they wrote in their PNAS paper.
"Such a sequence of demand, linked to resource utilisation, has been demonstrated for unmanaged fisheries… but has not been shown for the exploitation of differently valued tropical forest products."
The team used data collected in the area surrounding Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salaam, to see how far the degradation "waves" had travelled between 1991 and 2005.
"The first wave that emanates is high-value timber, and that is mostly used for export," explained co-author Antje Ahrends, an ecologist at the Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh.
"There has been a massive demand for this in China, and this is where most of the timber ends up."
Dr Ahrends said the first wave moved out from Dar es Salaam rapidly, averaging about nine kilometres each year, because the "timber companies had lorries and loads of people working for them".
"For the firms, it is only worthwhile to stay in a forest when timber can be accessed relatively easily," she told BBC News.
"So once it becomes not so easy to get hold of the rest, the companies generally move on."
The first wave had already moved outside of the team's study area, and Dr Ahrends estimated that it was already more than 200km from Dar es Salaam.
The second wave saw trees being felled for medium-valued timber, which was generally used in the city for construction and furniture.
"This is expanding very rapidly, in line with urban migration," she explained. "The town has an average growth rate of about 7% each year, so there is – again – a rapidly growing demand for this material."
The timber is harvested by local companies, again with lorries, allowing large volumes to be collected in a relatively short space of time. This resulted in this degradation wave to also cover about nine kilometres each year.
The third and final wave involved local people collecting wood to make charcoal for cooking.
"It's the most destructive of all of the waves because charcoal burners would collect everything," observed Dr Ahrends, who was based at the York Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Dynamics when she carried out this research.
"It is only worthwhile moving on once there are no sizeable trees left in the forest."
As a result, the charcoal wave had moved relatively slowly – from 20km outside Dar es Salaam in 1991 to 50km away in 2005.
"It is the most difficult of the waves to tackle because it is very poor people who burn charcoal and their livelihoods depend upon it."
"Targeting that wave would mean trying to provide alternative resources for cooking, and alternative incomes for people who burn charcoal.
Species loss
The team also developed their model to gauge what impact forest degradation had on "public good" services, such as carbon storage and biodiversity.
They did this by recording what species of trees were in a particular area of the study, and what size the individual trees were.
"This later enabled us to calculate species richness and also the amount of carbon those trees were storing," Dr Ahrends said.
"We found that there was a very strong linear impacts; for example, tree species richness dropped to only 14 species-per-sample-unit close to Dar es Salaam, whereas it is more than 40 species in areas 200km away."
Dr Ahrends suggested that the model could be used to understand the impact of forest degradation in other sub-Sarahan nations in Africa.
"This is because conditions are very similar: high levels of corruption, weak law enforcement and very rapid rates of urbanisation."
She added that the team's model could help policymakers who were looking at ways to limit deforestation rates.
"What is really important is to understand the pattern of degradation and the way it spreads," she suggested.
"While we have a good understanding of deforestation – which is the complete clearance of a forest – it is much more difficult to measure degradation.
"So if you have this simple model, then you have a basic understanding of how degradation might spread… which may help you develop some prediction of where it might spread from and how far it might spread."
Source: BBC News website
Date: 03/08/2010
Filed under: conservation, deforestation, illegal logging, rainforest, research, tropical timber | Tagged: africa, biodiversity, burning, carbon, catprue, charcoal, degradation, environment, illegal logging, logging, pnas, research, royal botanical gaden edinburgh, science, sequestration, sub-saharan africa, tanzania, timber, tropical rainforests, value, waves, woodfuel, york university | Leave a comment »


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My ASTER GDEM2 has a average elevation error of -10m for my area. (I testet it using 90 defferential GPS reference points and compared it with old Topo25, SRTM, and GoogleMaps).
I would like to correct it by +10m for every pixel. Any idea? Whats the reason for that "error"? It is measured at a different height reference?


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To the editor:
The actions of both chambers of Congress and President Barack Obama over the last four to six months have amused, amazed and saddened me.
The following actions by these two branches of the national government are what I�m referring to:
nHaving a general muck called Obama-care being force-fed to the generally dissatisfied citizenry.
nBudget cuts for the military and a general drawdown of troops.
nCuts in veterans� benefits � (i.e., COLA reductions and a reduction of medical benefits � even for our wounded warriors and disabled veterans).
nThe revelation of the existence of �secret courts being active in our supposedly open country.
nThe revelation that our country�s agents have been spying upon and gathering information on private citizens of this country.
nCongressional exemptions from the laws that apply to ordinary citizens. Did they pass their COLA�s for this year?
The manner in which the citizens of this country have been treated is disgusting, but the manner in which our military has been treated by this group of self-serving, self-anointed princes and princesses is outrageous.
The nuclear so-called agreement with Iran isn�t worth the paper upon which it is written. It invites the Iranian government not only to skirt it but allows Iran to regain all of its foreign assets. How, one wonders, will they be used?
Not only does Iran have the bomb, so does North Korea, which is ruled by a madman who, reportedly, fed his uncle to starved dogs. Just how long will it be until a missile with a nuclear warhead hits Hawaii or Japan. It�s food for thought.
It is a matter of public record that the Middle Eastern terrorists have targeted our homeland for special treatment. We are infidels in their religion and must be obliterated at any cost or sacrifice to them.
The two branches of government referred to in this letter have set themselves up as some sort of royalty so guess who the serfs are? That�s right look to your left, right and into the mirror.
As recently reported in the media, it seems that almost all of our national so-called leaders came back to work more than a little concerned by the upcoming elections and perpetuating themselves in office. How many of these characters went to Washington D.C., an ordinary man or woman, only to become rich and turned into a pompous know-it-all clown? Too damn many of them!
George Orwell�s �Big Brother� has arrived. He is squeezing all of us tighter and tighter. He is trampling upon our constitutional rights without fear or remorse. Soon they will not only know who has firearms, except for the criminal element, in our country but our constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms will be shredded and they will begin actual seizure of lawfully held firearms.
There is a monster running loose with our heads in a noose, and we just sit here watching.
Get out and vote the princes and princesses out of office and send them home where they belong.
Michael A. Stidham


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Painting 4 by Matthew Robinson
I grew up in a small town called Granby in Northern Connecticut. I had two younger siblings whom would join me in building forts and raking trails through the woods of our Connecticut home. We were allowed to play often and provided the time and materials to explore and develop our imagination. We made up games and songs and it were not discouraged. I would gravitate toward creating environments and structures. I loved gadgets, the act of taking something apart to see how it worked or collecting unknown objects. On the weekends we would go on hikes with my dad in McLean�s game refuge or Enders state park to see the waterfalls. We were encouraged to participate in cub scouts, baseball and basketball during our adolescents. My father and I had the special connection within our interest in history. When I was young we would explore turn of the century foundations, metal detect looking for old coins, or tag sale every morning at the �crack of dawn�. Some days we would get to walk around at the dump and find treasures to take home and take apart, fix or polish up or build things with. These are some of my fondest memories and play an important role in my current interests and are evident in my art making practice. This artwork is a response to the transition of landscape environment over time. I watched new homes replace forest and fields in my home town. Recently moving to Brooklyn New York I see a ever changing landscape which there is not one square inch of unaltered land. In edition to subject matter these works play with formal ideas that address ways of seeing. I use elements of Paint, photographs i have taken of my environment, photos of paint, and paintings of photos within my work to physical construct the painting and the structure. Since i construct the structure with materials i would say the paintings are not just illusions of structures but rather structures in themselves.


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Lipper Fund Awards 2011 were announced for U.S. fund winners at a ceremony in New York on Thursday, with MFS Investment Management winning as best overall large group and Delaware Management Co. winning as best overall small group.
In fact, Delaware swept all three of Lipper's three-year small group fund awards, winning not only the best overall prize, but also the small fixed income and the small mixed asset prizes.
Other top three-year group winners were: PIMCO for large equity; Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management for small equity; Loomis, Sayles & Co. for large fixed income; and Janus Capital Management for large mixed asset.
In addition, a first-time award for excellence in fund management recognizing consistently strong risk-adjusted returns for at least five years went to Clyde McGregor, co-manager, Oakmark Global and Oakmark Equity & Income funds.
Another big winner at the Lipper awards ceremony was T. Rowe Price, which dominated the mixed-asset categories with its win of nine out of a total of 14 target-date fund awards.
Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company, announced a total of 286 winners. Thirty-seven trophies went to winners for three-year performance in the largest categories, and 249 certificates went to other funds for superior consistent returns in the three, five and 10 years ended Dec. 31, 2010.
"Lipper has hosted this event for over 10 years. In that relatively short time we've seen a number of new strategies come to market; this is not a field known for sitting on its hands," said Jeff Tjornehoj, head of Lipper Americas Research, in a statement. "As new products and markets open up to link buyer with seller and creditor with debtor, so, too, have mutual funds evolved."
In 1975, Lipper's classification system extended to five categories, only one of which was devoted to bond funds, and now Lipper monitors more than 147 categories, Tjornehoj said.
Not considered for awards were exchange traded funds (ETFs), Standard & Poor's 500 Index funds, money market funds, ultra-short obligation funds and mutual funds in about 20 equity, bond and mixed-asset categories that did not have the minimum of 10 funds with at least one share class. Lipper began identifying winners starting with about 15,929 prospective funds and funds' share classes out of a universe of 21,186.
Best overall winner MFS ranked first out of 46 fund firms in the United States. The award was based on the firm's consistently strong risk-adjusted performance across asset classes for the three-year period from Jan. 1, 2008, through Dec. 31, 2010. In addition, six MFS funds were also individually recognized for top risk-adjusted performance within their peer categories, according to Lipper's Consistent Return metric.
"We're proud to receive this award, which recognizes MFS' disciplined approach to managing clients' assets over a historically tumultuous period for the global economy," said Robert Manning, chairman and chief executive officer of MFS, in a statement. "As we mark our 87th anniversary this week, we look back over history to see that MFS has persevered and thrived through business cycles, volatile markets, and recessions, including 2008's financial crisis."
Both MFS and mixed-asset large group winner Janus Capital Group have climbed back from crises over the past decade to win back investor confidence with improved performance and reduced risk taking, according to a Reuters news story on Thursday.
In winning the overall small company award, Delaware Investments, a member of Macquarie Group, was recognized as the best among 172 mutual fund companies in the small firm group category.
"Delaware Investments has been managing money since the 1930s. One of our core tenets is to provide consistent, long-term investment results for our clients," said Patrick Coyne, president of Delaware Investments, in a statement. "Winning one company-level and two asset class awards in a time frame that, from an overall industry perspective, comprised the worst and best investment results in recent memory, is both gratifying and validating."
Read about Lipper's 2010 best fund awards to T. Rowe Price and RidgeWorth at AdvisorOne.com.


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Mini Teardrop Sola PEARL IVORY Earring
|In stock (1)
Materials: hand blown glass & sterling silver.
Bryce, from Oregon, loves science + art and uses high quality glass and hand torches to create beautiful glass jewelry that has a refraction effect like water in a pool. He met Paola, from Colombia, fell in love and teamed up with her fashion + business savvy.
Esmeralda met Bryce in a jewelry show in NYC and immediately fell in love with the colors and family business story...a perfect blend of beauty + art.
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If the sobering experience last winter taught us anything, it is that back-to-back Ashes series should never happen again - we were not equipped to handle it, says Kevin Pietersen in his first column for The Daily Telegraph
I will have no anger, no negative thoughts whatsoever when England walk out without me at Lord's on Thursday to play their first Test since the winter. I wish my friends in the England team well. I have moved on from the England and Wales Cricket Board's decision to end my international career and have put things in perspective.
Fourteen years ago, I was an off-spinner from Pietermaritzburg who did not know where his life was going. I had a notion that I wanted to make a life in England, but had no idea if I would succeed.
Now I have played 104 Tests, batted at all the best grounds in the world and been lucky enough to score hundreds everywhere. Could I play more Test cricket? Yes of course, but should I sit here thinking I should be playing on Thursday? No, because that is when jealousy and negative thoughts come into your head.
I am grateful for what I have had and have moved on with my life. I have scored 13,500 international runs for England and it would be greedy to want more, so I am at peace with everything.
It took only a couple of conversations with my family to start thinking this way, because of how much I really did not enjoy the winter.
In fact, it has been a relief to be out of the dressing room because it was not a pleasant place in Australia. We were losing and in my opinion the environment was poor, and I was not alone in thinking that. It is a view shared by a number of the players who have spoken their minds since coming back from the tour.
Now I have had time to reflect on the winter it is clear to me that back-to-back Ashes should never happen again. It was really hard for the England team to go to Australia and defend the Ashes just weeks after winning at home.
As soon as we arrived, the Australian media turned the heat up on us. I have had that for years so it did not bother me. It was fun. But for other players you could sense it was a problem. The senior players were tired and it soon became a really long grind against an Australian side who had their backs up in their own country.
Australia knew they came close to winning here. The 3-0 defeat last summer was not a true reflection of that series in terms of the way they played their cricket and we played ours, so I knew it was going to be a tight return contest and we were not equipped to handle it.
Mitchell Johnson was sensational on those pitches and he was handled brilliantly by Michael Clarke. Even if he picked up a wicket in his third or fourth over of a spell, Clarke would take him off and save him for later in the day. It was brilliant captaincy. Johnson's bowling was the best and most aggressive I have seen during my career, and I told him so at the end of the Test series when we shared a beer.
By then I thought that Andy Flower wanted me out. After the Sydney Test, a headline came out claiming Flower had said to the ECB it was either "him or me". He denied saying that but the damage was done.
But my relationship with the other players was fine. We had an incredible tour on and off the field. I was helping all the bowlers out with their batting, and the night we lost 5-0 we were all having a drink in the bar together with our wives and girlfriends, which proves all was OK between us and still is.
I have no issue with the players, as many have said in interviews since the tour ended. I speak to Stuart Broad and I even organised for Graeme Swann to go on holiday to one of my friend's hotels after he retired.
On a personal note, I did not score the runs I would have liked in Australia, but I have played a certain way throughout my career and will continue to do so. There is method to my batting but I play on instinct as well, and I would absolutely play that way again if we could go back in time.
In the first innings at Brisbane, I was caught at midwicket. As soon as the ball left Ryan Harris's hand I thought 'four'. I saw the angle and thought 'bang it through midwicket', but I got caught out. In the second innings, all I tried to do was help a short ball from Johnson to fine leg because it was too tight to pull, but I was caught again.
In Adelaide, I walked out to the crease and felt like I did not know which side of the bat I was holding. I felt that terrible and that is why I was walking at Peter Siddle and playing him on the full.
As soon as I was dismissed I walked out of the dressing room to the nets with Richard Halsall, the assistant coach, and spent 45 minutes trying to figure out how to bat again. I felt that bad, the worst I have ever experienced in an Ashes series.
Why? I do not fully know. But my knee was hassling me a bit. I had an injection a few weeks before and during that innings it was hurting. In the dressing room everyone takes the mickey out of how I bend my knee during my stance because of how exaggerated the movement can be. But in Adelaide, because of the knee pain, I was standing a lot taller in the crease and that changed my game. I said to Halsall and spin coach Mushtaq Ahmed: "I can't bat like that again." I had to work hard to get myself back to playing normally again. In the second innings I made 53 and played very responsibly.
My dismissal in the second innings at Perth has received a lot of attention. I was caught at long on trying to hit Nathan Lyon for a second six. But if I see that ball again, I will still try to hit it for six. No problem. As he tossed it up I thought 'six more there'. If you look at my career, that is how I play. People say it is irresponsible but it was not; it was successful.
Look at the innings that started it all off - the 158 against Australia in the 2005 Ashes at the Oval. I was hooking Brett Lee at 95mph into the stands. Any one of those shots could have gone straight up in the air and been caught. The 186 in Mumbai in 2012 is talked about as the best innings by a foreigner in India. I took risks during that hundred. I am England's leading run-scorer in all forms of cricket because of playing that way.
People say I should have ground it out. Should I? What would have been different?
What I have done during my career is ignore the ridiculous praise and the ridiculous criticism. I have stayed even and been mentally strong enough to keep believing in my methods and what I think is the best way for me to be successful.
It would have been easy for me to start defending a bit more. Would that have made me a better player? No. I am a risk-taker in cricket, in business and all parts of my life.


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Hornish to Start 16th in Martinsville Truck Series Race
October 18, 2008
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (September 18, 2008) – Sam Hornish Jr., driver of the No. 4 Penske Truck Rental Dodge Ram in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in conjunction with Bobby Hamilton Racing, qualified in the 16th position for today's Kroger 200 at Martinsville Speedway.
Making his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series racing debut, Hornish posted a fast lap time of 20.118 seconds at a speed of 94.125 miles per hour. The effort secured the Penske Truck Rental team the 16th starting position this afternoon, the second-fastest of those required to qualify on time.
"I'm really looking forward to my first Craftsman Truck Series race," said Hornish. "I'm having a lot of fun out there and I feel the extra time on track will provide me with valuable experience for tomorrow's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. Martinsville Speedway is of my favorite places to race and I want to get to the point where we can really run well here."
The Kroger 200 will air live on SPEED today beginning at 2:30 p.m. EDT. The race will also be broadcast live on MRN at 3 p.m. EDT.
Driver: Sam Hornish Jr.
Position: 16
Time: 20.118
Speed: 94.125
Pole: Ron Hornaday Jr.
Time: 19.817
Speed: 95.554


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Since 1999, I've taught over 2,000 developers, architects, and managers about application security. This is no small challenge, since the subject is almost totally ignored in most college curriculums and there is a lot to learn. In fact, the MITRE CWE Project lists over 1,000 different categories of security mistakes that developers can make. Many of these security quagmires are not immediately obvious and quite a few are downright diabolical. So I totally understand why developers don't spend their off-hours researching the inner workings of "padding oracle" vulnerabilities and other security lore.
Still, we need developers to avoid making security mistakes that endanger their company and their users alike. Instructor-led training and e-learning are surprisingly effective and critical parts of an application security program. In one very large organization, we found that projects where more than half the team members had received secure coding training, the number of vulnerabilities plummeted by 73 percent. That result is far superior to anything penetration testing programs or automated tools could hope to achieve.
Despite many successes, I recently discovered that I've been teaching blindly. I have simply assumed what I thought my students needed to learn. We realized that measuring what students know, both before and after teaching, could help us provide more effective instruction. So we created "Secure Coder Analytics," a measurement platform that analyzes a development team's security knowledge. To ensure that developers don't feel pressured, the tool protects participants' anonymity.
Secure Coder Analytics draws questions from a pool of 500 questions that cover over 60 different secure coding subject areas. We have vetted the questions and answers for two years with real software development teams. Both the questions selected and the answers to those questions are fully randomized. While the questions are not easy, they have proven to be a reliable evaluation of a developer's knowledge and skill in each area. Over 1,000 developers from around the world have participated, and the aggregate results are revealing.
This chart above shows the five weakest and five strongest areas. The weakest are at or just above the "random guess" level, and are a real cause for concern. However, I am encouraged by the strong scores in important areas like "Preventing Forged Requests" and "Protecting Credentials."
The results for your organization will almost certainly be different. We've found that some organizations do quite well in areas that others totally fail. However, the results are fairly consistent within a particular organization. This suggests that different organizations are successfully teaching their developers about certain security areas. We hope to increase visibility and expand this training to cover what's really important with Secure Coder Analytics, which I encourage you to try out for yourself. In the meantime, let's chat about what you think your developers do and don't know about application security in the comments.


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Sunday, December 24, 2006
Hot Diggety Dog Coffee
Posted by Shanti Marie at 8:41 AM
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Hi I'm a South Carolina artist who made a one year committment to paint every day and to post those paintings on my blogs. The first year came and went so fast I decided to go for another year.....So I painted a painting every day for the next year. Now, I'll just paint! You can purchase any of my work on WWW.dailypainters.com Please visit my web site www.shantimarie.com and my other painting a week blog... http://h20color.wordpress.com


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Sometimes I feel guilty making fun of Megan Fox. Sure, she says dumb shit every now and then and makes a lot of terrible movies, but I bet she is also an decent person with a brain and feelings that probably get hurt when all anyone talks about is how she got famous because Michael Bay wanted to bang her. I'm sure she has her own talents and charms that don't get marketed because they are not as lucrative as her body. While having a lot of money and being married to David Silver might lessen the blow of being completely objectified to point where there are blog posts devoted to your weird thumb shape, I'm sure it doesn't erase it.
But then she does something like this.
Megan Fox: Brazilian Language School Ad with Mike Tyson! [Just Jared]


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The Royal Canadian Legion in Abbotsford, B.C. says it's feeling the pinch this year when it comes to selling poppies at the local Costco.
Branch 15 President Doug Matthews says the popular shopping destination cut their access to the store over the annual two-week fund raising campaign.
"This year, they have cut us down to Friday and Saturday only," said Matthews. "They cut us down to five days from 16 and that makes a big difference in our donations."
Matthews says they make $700 to $1,000 a day at the Costco location, so the reduced access could cut $10,000 from their collections, money that would go to help veterans throughout the year.
Costco Canada says there has been no reduction in access at their locations to poppy sellers, which has been the same for several years.
Matthews said legion members hope other stores will help cover the shortfall.
"We have obtained one new source this year. Canadian Tire has let us in. We never applied there before but we did this year and they acknowledged it."
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