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Article Text
Background To assess the extent and nature of claims regarding improved sports performance made by advertisers for a broad range of sports-related products, and the quality of the evidence on which these claims are based.
Methods The authors analysed magazine adverts and associated websites of a broad range of sports products. The authors searched for references supporting the performance and/or recovery claims of these products. The authors critically appraised the methods in the retrieved references by assessing the level of evidence and the risk of bias. The authors also collected information on the included participants, adverse events, study limitations, the primary outcome of interest and whether the intervention had been retested.
Results The authors viewed 1035 web pages and identified 431 performance-enhancing claims for 104 different products. The authors found 146 references that underpinned these claims. More than half (52.8%) of the websites that made performance claims did not provide any references, and the authors were unable to perform critical appraisal for approximately half (72/146) of the identified references. None of the references referred to systematic reviews (level 1 evidence). Of the critically appraised studies, 84% were judged to be at high risk of bias. Randomisation was used in just over half of the studies (58.1%), allocation concealment was only clear in five (6.8%) studies; and blinding of the investigators, outcome assessors or participants was only clearly reported as used in 20 (27.0%) studies. Only three of the 74 (2.7%) studies were judged to be of high quality and at low risk of bias.
Conclusions The current evidence is not of sufficient quality to inform the public about the benefits and harms of sports products. There is a need to improve the quality and reporting of research, a move towards using systematic review evidence to inform decisions.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode.
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Article summary
Article focus
The marketing of sports products has become a multibillion-dollar industry, but research in this area has previously been labelled as methodologically poor.
We aimed to assess the extent and nature of claims regarding improved sports performance made by advertisers for a broad range of sports-related products and the quality of the evidence on which these claims are based.
Key messages
The current evidence is not of sufficient quality to inform the public about the benefits and harms of sports products.
There is a need to improve the quality and reporting of research, a move towards using systematic review evidence to inform decisions.
Strength and limitations of this study
We attempted to identify a representative sample of products, but it is possible the products we analysed are at the worst end of the spectrum.
We did not give the manufacturers much time to respond to requests for information, given more time a number may have provided more references.
Exercise is important for improving overall health across a variety of conditions.1 The promotion of exercise is therefore an important public health priority, particularly for the 'economically and socially disadvantaged'.2
Currently, the public are faced with a large number of adverts that make claims about enhanced performance and recovery for a wide range of products, including drinks, supplements, clothing and footwear. Regulators require that marketing communications containing health claims must be supported by documentary evidence and 'must not mislead consumers by exaggerating the capability or performance of a product'.3 In spite of this, some adverts for sports drinks have previously been shown to mislead the public into incorrectly concluding that the drinks contained no carbohydrates or additives.4 In addition, while some supplements have been shown to potentially improve performance, many have no proven benefits and may cause serious side effects.5 The marketing of sports products has become a multibillion-dollar industry,6 and the consumption of the so-called energy drinks is increasing year on year,7 but research in this area has previously been labelled as methodologically poor.8
The current confusion as to which products are actually beneficial for sports performance is highlighted by the European Food Safety Authority decision to approve certain products, such as carbohydrate–electrolyte drinks to enhance water absorption during exercising and maintain endurance performance, while not approving a variety of other products; including L-carnitine, glutamine or typrosine, which claim to aid muscle recovery.9 We therefore aimed to assess the extent and nature of claims regarding improved sports performance made by advertisers for a broad range of sports-related products, and the quality of the evidence on which these claims are based.
In order to obtain a representative sample of adverts applicable to the general population, we searched the top 100 general magazines and the top 10 sport and fitness magazines in the UK and the USA for the month of March 2012 according to the Magazine Audit Bureau of Circulations. This selection of magazines is distributed to over 30 million customers in the UK alone. We excluded magazines specifically aimed at body building. One reviewer (RD) examined each page of included magazines to identify adverts. All adverts were then assessed by second reviewers (AW, CH, MT and RD) as either relevant to sports or not. A third round of reviews (CH and RD) assessed adverts that included specific performance-enhancing claims.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria
We included oral sports drinks, oral supplements, footwear and clothing or devices (such as wristbands). To be included, adverts had to make a claim related to sports performance (defined as improvement in strength, speed, endurance, etc) or enhanced recovery related to sports (eg, reduced muscle fatigue). We excluded adverts related to purely weight loss, skin or beauty products, sports equipment (eg, bicycles) and classified adverts. We therefore only included adverts from the actual manufacturer of products rather than suppliers.
We then analysed the websites of any products making enhanced performance or recovery claims. A data extraction template (MS Word) was used to extract data from each web page, and five reviewers (BON, CH, DSL, MT and PJG) inserted page number, url and screen shots of all web pages viewed with the associated claims. To reduce errors, we directly cut and paste any claims and searched the web pages for any references related to these claims. We compiled a database of all retrieved references and then two reviewers (AS and GJ) emailed all manufacturers with the claims and the associated references asking them (1) to confirm whether our list of claims and retrieved references was complete; (2) whether other data existed to support the claims; (3) if additional data were published, could they provide us with the relevant references and (4) if the research was unpublished, could they supply us with a copy of the report.
Data extraction
We extracted the following data (from both the magazine and the websites) of included sports products into Microsoft Excel: product category (ie, sports drinks, supplements, footwear, clothing or devices); website; number of pages viewed; number and type of enhanced performance claim(s); references cited for the claims; qualifiers related to the claim (eg, such as 'should be used in conjunction with a healthy diet and training programme') and whether the product was endorsed/backed by a sports person or team. One reviewer (JH) acted as custodian of the data and checked all entries for consistency.
Quality assessment
We obtained full-text copies of all cited references and assessed them using the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) Levels of Evidence.10 For treatment benefits, the highest level of evidence for claim is a systematic review of randomised controlled trials or an N-of-1 trial (level 1) followed by randomised trials (level 2) and non-randomised studies (level 3). The lowest level of evidence is mechanistic reasoning, which includes expert opinion and animal studies (level 5).
We assessed whether a study was appropriate for critical appraisal (recording the reasons if it was not appropriate). Six reviewers (BON, CH, DSL, JH, MT and PJG) then recorded the presence or absence of the following elements of critical appraisal: a clear hypothesis, control group, power calculation, randomisation, allocation concealment, intention to treat, blinding (investigator and/or subjects) and sports outcome (subjective or objective) that demonstrates improved performance or recovery. Extracted data were checked independently by a second reviewer. One reviewer (CH) then assessed included studies using the Cochrane method for risk of bias, assessing studies as high, unclear or at low risk of bias, which was checked by a second reviewer (JH).11 Discrepancies were resolved by consultation with other reviewers.
We also collected information on the participants involved in the included trials (categorised as 'regular people' who do not exercise or compete seriously in sport; amateur athletes including 'regular people' who exercise seriously and sports professionals); adverse events; whether study limitations were discussed; the primary outcome of interest and whether the intervention had been retested in a subsequent trial or test group.
We summarised data by raw counts and continuous data with medians and ranges, and for dichotomous data, we presented percentage and associated 95% CIs. We analysed data using Microsoft Excel.
We examined 92 magazines containing 1807 adverts, of which 615 (34%) advertised sports products (figure 1). After excluding 380 adverts, which were not product specific (ie, individual shop adverts), we included the remaining 235 advertised sports products in the analysis. From these, 54 (23%) different products made 113 enhanced performance or recovery claims. Of these, we found only three (2.7%) references for one product (ACCELERADE) to back up these claims, which were appropriate for critical appraisal, and 22 (42%) products that were endorsed by athletes. Six (12%) products made direct comparisons with other products in their advertised claims and three provided disclaimers. All the latter were US-based products, and cited the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in disclaimers: "these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose treat, or cure disease."
We then assessed products' websites for claims (one product on reassessment was designated a dietary product) and viewed a total of 1035 web pages (web appendix 1). From these, we identified 431 (median 7, range 0–65) performance-enhancing claims for 104 different products, and a total of 146 references (range 0–46) associated with these claims (figure 1). More than half (52.8%) of the sites that made claims did not provide any references. One site (http://www.poweradegb.com/) provided approximately one third (46) of the references found, of which 24 (52%) were appropriate for critical appraisal.
We contacted 42 companies and received responses from 16, of which two were unwilling to share their research (Panache and New Balance), one provided a video of the product in use and said that this was 'sufficient' (Nike), one pointed to the work of one researcher but did not answer whether the company had any research on its actual product (Merrell), one responded that they would get back but did not, one declined due to staff absence and one directed us back to their website (web appendix 1). In total, we received additional referenced material from nine companies; obtaining two published,12 ,13 one in press14 and two unpublished studies that we included in the analysis (Effect of a electrolyte replacement beverage compared with a commercially available carbohydrate supplement on the rate of fat oxidation during moderate-intensity cycle ergometry exercise, 2010; Summary of the study on the influence from compression sleeves worn during short-time intensive effort on lactatemia). We also received four bibliographies: one of these was a comprehensive bibliography of Lucozade-associated research (web appendix 2), which arrived outside the time lock, and due to its size, we analysed separately in an associated article.14a
We were unable to perform critical appraisal for approximately half (72) of the references identified (figure 1). Of note, five references could not be identified despite extensive searching involving an information specialist, and eight were animal studies15–22 including a comparative study of different diets on rat metabolism published in 1930.19 None of the 74 studies, which were critically appraised, were systematic reviews (level 1 evidence), and approximately half of the studies were categorised as level 3 evidence (non-randomised studies). As a result, 84% of the critically appraised studies were judged to be at high risk of bias. The presence of this level of bias means that the conclusions are likely to change based on future (high-quality) research.11
Table 1 shows that in the 74 studies, the total number of participants was 2031 (median 15): two thirds (1310 65%) were men. Two studies provided a quarter of the participants (n=505).23 ,24 Excluding these two, the average number of participants per study was 16 (range 5–69). Nearly half (48.6%) were classified as 'regular people' who exercise and 39.2% as endurance/serious athletes and 10.8% professional sports people (in one study, it was unclear who the participants were). Nearly three times (423:146) as many sportspersons or teams endorsed products than evidence was made available.
Randomisation was used in just over half of the studies (43/74, 58.1%); allocation concealment was only clear in five (6.8%) studies; and blinding of the investigators, outcome assessors or participants was only clearly reported as used in 20 (27.0%) studies. The majority of studies (83%, 95% CI 73% to 92%) used a surrogate outcome (rather than a direct outcome of sports performance or recovery) and only two studies (2.7%, 95% CI 0 to 25%) repeated the intervention in the study protocol.25 ,26 Overall, the majority of studies reported a clear hypothesis; but only four studies reported that they used a power calculation (5%, 95% CI 0 to 28%), and very few studies (11%, 95% CI 0 to 33%) discussed limitations of their studies.
We were unable to perform meta-analysis of individual outcomes across specific products due to the heterogeneity, poor reporting and the sheer number of outcomes reported across the studies.
Three of the 74 (4.1%) studies were judged to be of high quality and at low risk of bias.27–29 In the first of these, the methods of blinding by Berven et al27 were clearly reported: "capsules had the same size and appearance and were indistinguishable from the active capsules." In addition, the study clearly reports intention to treat: "clinical and laboratory data were analysed in all included subjects (based on 'intention to treat'). In addition, a per-protocol analysis was performed." In the second study, Roffe et al29 clearly reported the randomisation procedure: "randomisation was performed in blocks of 10….The randomisation code was not known to the investigators who gave out the sachets. The code remained concealed from everyone except the pharmacist who prepared the sachets…." The third was one of the few studies to report a power calculation: "A priori power analysis revealed power values of 0.14, 0.71, and 0.99 for small (0.25), moderate (0.75), and large effect sizes (1.25), respectively, for the n size used in the study. These findings indicate that the n size used in the present study was sufficient to detect significant differences among groups."28 Of note, all three of these studies reported no significant effects of the intervention.
There is a striking lack of evidence to support the vast majority of sports-related products that make claims related to enhanced performance or recovery, including drinks, supplements and footwear. Half of all websites for these products provided no evidence for their claims, and of those that do, half of the evidence is not suitable for critical appraisal. No systematic reviews were found, and overall, the evidence base was judged to be at high risk of bias. Half of the trials were not randomised, and only 7% reported adequate allocation concealment. We found only three trials that were reported with sufficient details to be judged high quality and free from bias.
The absence of high-quality evidence is worrying. For instance, investigations have shown that in trials that did not use allocation concealment (compared with those that did) the effect estimates were 40% larger,30 and results fluctuate widely above and below the estimates.31 In terms of blinding, it is well known that "psychological effects could arise from participants' knowing that they have received a 'promising' new treatment"32; in terms of assessors not being blinded this also presents substantial room for bias: "outcome assessors with inclinations for or against any of the interventions being compared may make biased assessments."32 The placebo effect of carbohydrate drinks, which has been shown previously, makes blinding especially important.33 Competitive endurance cyclists told that they were receiving a carbohydrate sports drink, when in fact it was water, performed 2% better than whey they were told the truth. In addition, in a study that tested the effect of carbohydrate ingestion in male trained volunteers, increased time to exhaustion was significantly improved when participants and researchers knew the capsule content, but not in the double-blind condition.34
Combining these problems with the fact no systematic reviews were found means that it is virtually impossible for the public to make informed choice about the benefits and harms of advertised sports products based on the available evidence. Yet, a simple search of PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/) reveals a number of systematic reviews that could be used to better inform the public: a meta-analysis by Vandenbogaerde, included 88 randomised crossover studies of carbohydrate supplements with or without protein before and/or during exercise provided 155 estimates for performance effects.35 Of concern is that this study reports a funnel plot, which shows 'asymmetrical scatter is very likely the result of a publication trend towards positive effects'.35 Systematic review may come to conclusions that are different from those of individual studies. For instance, a systematic review of the effect of exercise-induced dehydration on time–trial performance concludes that relying in thirst sensation to gauge the need for fluid replacement maximises cycling time trial performance.36
We found that very few trials (2.7%) repeated the interventions under study conditions. In intervention trials retesting the intervention allows estimation of individual responses, takes account of regression to the mean and assesses the reliability of the effect measure.37 The lack of power calculations in studies is also concerning, the sample should be large enough to be able to detect a statistically significant effect; however, the exact size of the study to detect a meaningful effect was seemingly left to chance in most studies. Moreover, many studies used a surrogate outcome of performance or recovery, and undertook studies within laboratory settings, which limits the validity of the studies as "laboratory studies assessing the impact of certain interventions on athletic performance can produce results that have no relevance to the real athletic world."38
Some limitations of the present study are worth discussing. We attempted to identify a representative sample of products, but it is possible the products we analysed are at the worst end of the spectrum. To avoid 'cherry picking', we undertook a search for a broad range of products. The number of adverts and the web pages we assessed required a number of reviewers for this task. We did not give the manufacturers much time to respond to requests for information, given more time a number may have provided more references. Our assessment of whether a claim was actually performance enhancing was subjective. Yet no manufacturer responded that any of the claims were incorrectly identified for their products. We also did not investigate heterogeneity of effects or publication bias as the number of outcomes and the substantial variation in these outcomes means that it was not possible to combine or undertake such analyses.
We therefore conclude that the current evidence is not of sufficient quality to inform the public about the benefits and harms of sports products. There is a need to improve the quality of the research conducted in this area and its reporting, and a move towards using systematic review evidence across the board for decision-making.
We acknowledge the BMA library for their help in obtaining full-text papers and Mary Hodgkinson for help in compiling the databases of retrieved references.
Supplementary materials
Watch a video of the authors discussing the paper
A group at the University of Oxford's Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, have examined the evidence submitted by sports products manufacturers to support the adverts for their products.
Here they discuss the general problems with obtaining that evidence, and the quality and generalisability of the science underpinning those claims.
Watch the video >>Supplementary Data
This web only file has been produced by the BMJ Publishing Group from an electronic file supplied by the author(s) and has not been edited for content.
Files in this Data Supplement:
- Data supplement 1 - Online table 1
- Appendix 1 - Online Appendix
- Appendix 2
To cite: Heneghan C, Howick J, O'Neill B, et al. The evidence underpinning sports performance products: a systematic assessment. BMJ Open 2012;2:e001702. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-001702
Contributors DC and CH conceived the project and drafted the initial protocol. DC, CH and MT contributed to the finalisation of the protocol. RD, CH, MT and AW reviewed the magazine articles. BON, PJG, DSL, MT and CH reviewed the websites, and BON, PJG, DSL, MT, JH and CH appraised retrieved articles. RD maintained the magazine database and JH the Web database. AS and GJ contacted manufacturers and compiled responses. All authors contributed to the writing of the draft and approved the final manuscript. CH is the guarantor of the data.
Funding The research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.
Data sharing statement The corresponding author is happy to supply a copy of the data or the list of websites and/or references upon request.
Linked Articles
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Pro-Quality Work from Your Entry Level DSLR
By dcarpenito at March 22, 2011 | 8:18 pm | 0 Comment
You don't need an expensive DSLR to make beautiful images, but there are some basic considerations that your entry level DSLR does require. By Gary Fong Working as a professional wedding photographer for over 20 years kept me busy shooting over 1,000 weddings for many satisfied clients. It goes without saying that technological advancements in the industry saw me through
Blog , For Photographers , Photography Equipment Advice , Wedding Photography Preparation Tips , Wedding Photography Techniques

subset: commoncrawl


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text: This compendium collates practices for combating hate crime from across the EU. The practices have been compiled by the Working Party on Improving Reporting and Recording of Hate Crime in the EU. In the list below step-by-step descriptions of the practices are broken down by country and category. The aim of the compendium is to help policymakers and practitioners such as law enforcement officers understand what is being done elsewhere in the EU to combat hate crime, and which elements could be adapted for use in their own national contexts. Read more >>


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Released on February 5, 2007
The accompaniment recording for this show is now available directly through Music Theatre International. Please contact your MTI representative or login to your MTI account to arrange for the rental of these tracks.
For more information and to listen to samples of the tracks, please visit: MTI Performance Accompaniment Recordings


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News Bytes
By Deividson Luiz Okopnik and Howard Dyckoff
Contents: |
Please submit your News Bytes items in plain text; other formats may be rejected without reading. [You have been warned!] A one- or two-paragraph summary plus a URL has a much higher chance of being published than an entire press release. Submit items to firstname.lastname@example.com. Deividson can also be reached via twitter.
News in General
Red Hat Announces Fourth Annual Innovation Awards
The fourth annual Red Hat Innovation awards will be presented at the 2010 Red Hat Summit and JBoss World, co-located in Boston, from June 22 to 25. The Innovation Awards recognize the creative use of Red Hat and JBoss solutions by customers, partners and the community.
Categories for the 2010 Innovation Awards include:
- Optimized Solutions: Recognition of striking performance,
scalability and/or usability enhancements delivered with open source
- Superior Alternatives: Recognition of the most successful
migration from proprietary solutions to open source alternatives;
- Extensive Ecosystem: Recognition of the use of Red Hat or JBoss'
expanding partner ecosystem to create innovative architectures based
on open source solutions;
- Carved out Costs: Recognition of customers who have leveraged
open source solutions to significantly cut costs and extract added
value from existing systems;
- Outstanding Open Source Architecture: Recognition of the use of Red Hat, JBoss and partner offerings to create innovative architectures based on open source solutions.
Submissions for the Innovations Awards will be accepted until April 15, 2010. Four categories will each recognize two winning submissions, one from Red Hat and one from JBoss, and the Outstanding Open Source Architecture category will recognize one winner who is deploying both Red Hat and JBoss solutions. From these category winners, one Red Hat Innovator of the Year and one JBoss Innovator of the Year will be selected by the community through online voting, and will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Red Hat Summit and JBoss World. To view last year's winners, visit: http://press.redhat.com/2009/09/10/red-hat-and-jboss-innovators-of-the-year-2009/.
For more information, or to submit a nomination for the 2010 Innovation Awards, visit: www.redhat.com/innovationawards. For more information on the 2010 Red Hat Summit and JBoss World, visit: http://www.redhat.com/promo/summit/2010/.
Novell and LPI Partner on Linux Training and Certification
Novell and The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) have announced an international partnership to standardize their entry-level Linux certification programs on LPIC-1. Under this program, Linux professionals who have earned their LPIC-1 status will also satisfy the requirements for the Novell Certified Linux Administrator (CLA) certification. In addition, Novell Training Services has formally agreed to include required LPIC-1 learning objectives in its CLA course training material.
Adoption of Linux, including SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, is accelerating as the industry pursues cost saving solutions that deliver maxiumum reliability and manageability. A 2009 global survey of IT executives revealed that 40 percent of survey participants plan to deploy additional workloads on Linux over the next 12-24 months and 49 percent indicated Linux will be their primary server platform within five years.
"This partnership represents the strong support the LPI certification program has within the wider IT and Linux community. This historical support has included contributions from vendors such as Novell and has assisted LPI to become the most widely recognized and accepted Linux certification," said Jim Lacey, president and CEO of LPI. "We look forward to working with Novell to promote the further development of the Linux workforce of the future. In particular, by aligning its training and exam preparation curriculum to support LPIC-1 objectives, Novell has recognized the industry's need for a vendor-neutral certification program that prepares IT professionals to work with any Linux distribution in an enterprise environment."
Under the terms of the agreement, all qualified LPIC-1 holders - except those in Japan - will have the opportunity to apply for Novell CLA certification without additional exams or fees. Novell Training Services will include LPIC-1 objectives into its Linux Administrator curriculum and programs which include self study, on demand, and partner-led classroom training.
More information about acquiring dual certification status can be found at Novell here: http://www.novell.com/training/certinfo/cla/ and at the Linux Professional Institute here: http://www.lpi.org/cla/.
Conferences and Events
- ESDC 2010 - Enterprise Software Development Conference
March 1 - 3, San Mateo Marriott, San Mateo, Ca
- RSA 2010 Security Conference
March 1 - 5, San Francisco, CA
- Oracle + Sun Customer Events
March 2010, US & International Cities:
March 2, New York
March 3, Toronto
March 11, London
March 16, Hong Kong
March 18, Moscow
- Enterprise Data World Conference
March 14 - 18, Hilton Hotel, San Francisco, CA
- Cloud Connect 2010
March 15 - 18, Santa Clara, CA
- Open Source Business Conference (OSBC)
March 17 - 18, Palace Hotel, San Francisco, CA
- EclipseCon 2010
March 22 - 25, Santa Clara, CA
- User2User - Mentor Graphics User Group
April 6, Marriott Hotel, Santa Clara, CA
- Texas Linux Fest
April 10, Austin, TX
- MySQL Conference & Expo 2010
April 12 - 15, Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA
- Black Hat Europe 2010
April 12 - 15, Hotel Rey Juan Carlos, Barcelona, Spain
- 4th Annual Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit
Co-located with the Linux Forum Embedded Linux Conference
April 14 - 16, Hotel Kabuki, San Francisco, CA
By invitation only.
- eComm - The Emerging Communications Conference
April 19 - 21, Airport Marriott, San Francisco, CA
- STAREAST 2010 - Software Testing Analysis & Review
April 25 - 30, Orlando, FL
- Usenix LEET '10, IPTPS '10, NSDI '10
April 27, 28 - 30, San Jose, CA
- Citrix Synergy-SF
May 12 - 14, San Francisco, CA
- Black Hat Abu Dhabi 2010
May 30 - June 2, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Uber Conf 2010
June 14 - 17, Denver, CO
- Semantic Technology Conference
June 21 - 25, Hilton Union Square, San Francisco, CA
- O'Reilly Velocity Conference
June 22 - 24, Santa Clara, CA
Distro News
RHEL 5.5 Beta Available
Red Hat has announced the beta release of RHEL 5.5 (kernel-2.6.18-186.el5) for the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 family of products including RHEL 5 Server, Desktop, and Advanced Platform for x86, AMD64/Intel64, Itanium Processor Family, and Power Systems micro-processors.
The supplied beta packages and CD and DVD images are intended for testing purposes only. Benchmark and performance results cannot be published based on this beta release without explicit approval from Red Hat.
The beta of RHEL 5.5, called Anaconda, has an "upgrade" option for an upgrade from Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.8 or 5.4 to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5 beta. However Red Hat cautions that there is no guarantee the upgrade will preserve all of a system's settings, services, and custom configurations. For this reason, Red Hat recommends a fresh install rather than an upgrade. Upgrading from beta release to the GA product is not supported.
A public general discussion mailing list for beta testers is at: https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/rhelv5-beta-list/ The beta testing period is scheduled to continue through March 16, 2010.
SimplyMEPIS 8.5 Beta5
MEPIS has announced SimplyMEPIS 8.4.97, the fifth beta of the forthcoming MEPIS 8.5, now available from MEPIS and public mirrors. The ISO files for 32 and 64 bit processors are SimplyMEPIS-CD_8.4.97-b5_32.iso and SimplyMEPIS-CD_8.4.97-b5_64.iso respectively. Deltas, requested by the MEPIS community, are also available.
According to project lead Warren Woodford, "We are coming down the home stretch on the development of SimplyMEPIS version 8.5. There is some work to be done on MEPIS components, but the major packages are locked in to what may be their final versions. We've been asked to make more package updates, but we can't go much further without switching to a Debian Squeeze base. Currently, we have kernel 18.104.22.168, KDE 4.3.4, gtk 2.18.3-1, OpenOffice 3.1.1-12, Firefox 3.5.6-2, K3b 1.70.0-b1, Kdenlive 0.7.6, Synaptic 0.63.1, Gdebi 0.5.9, and bind9 9.6.1-P3."
Progress on SimplyMEPIS development can be followed at http://twitter.com/mepisguy/ or at http://www.mepis.org/.
ISO images of MEPIS community releases are published to the 'released' subdirectory at the MEPIS Subscriber's Site and at MEPIS public mirrors.
Tiny Core Releases V2.8
Tiny Core Linux is a very small (10 MB) minimal Linux GUI Desktop. It is based on Linux 2.6 kernel, Busybox, Tiny X, and Fltk. The core runs entirely in ram and boots very quickly. Also offered is Micro Core a 6 MB image that is the console based engine of Tiny Core. CLI versions of Tiny Core's program allows the same functionality of Tiny Core's extensions only starting with a console based system.
It is not a complete desktop nor is all hardware completely supported. It represents only the core needed to boot into a very minimal X desktop typically with wired Internet access.
Extra applications must be downloaded from online repositories or compiled using tools provided.
The theme for this newest release is to have a single directory for extensions and dependencies. This greatly improves systems resources by having a single copy of dependencies, also greatly improves flexibility in "moving" applications present upon boot, dependency auditing, and both batch and selective updating.
Tiny Core V2.8 is now posted at http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/tinycorelinux/2.x/release/.FreeBSD 7.3 Expected March 2010
The FreeBSD 7.3 Beta-1 for legacy systems was released on January 30. The production release is expected in early March.
Software and Product News
Ksplice "Abolishes the Reboot"
Ksplice Inc. announced its Uptrack service patching service in February, eliminating the need to restart Linux servers when installing crucial updates and security patches.
Based on technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ksplice Uptrack is a subscription service that allows IT administrators to keep Linux servers up-to-date without the disruption and downtime of rebooting.
In 2009, major Linux vendors asked customers to install a kernel update roughly once each month. Before Uptrack, system administrators had to schedule downtime in advance to bring Linux servers up-to-date, because updating the kernel previously required rebooting the computer. By allowing IT administrators to install kernel updates without downtime, Uptrack dramatically reduces the cost of system administration.
Ksplice Uptrack is now available for users of six leading versions of Linux: Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, Debian GNU/Linux, CentOS, Parallels Virtuozzo Containers, and OpenVZ. The subscription fee starts at $3.95 per month per system, after a 30-day free trial. The rate drops to $2.95 after 20 servers are covered. A free version is also available for Ubuntu.
Visit the Ksplice website here: http://www.ksplice.com/.
MariaDB Augments MySQL 5.1
MariaDB 5.1.42, a new branch of the MySQL database - which includes all major open source storage engines, myriad bug fixes, and many community patches - has been released.
MariaDB is kept up to date with the latest MySQL release from the same branch. MariaDB 5.1.42 is based on MySQL 5.1.42 and XtraDB 1.0.6-9. In most respects MariaDB will work exactly as MySQL: all commands, interfaces, libraries and APIs that exist in MySQL also exist in MariaDB.
MariaDB contains extra fixes for Solaris and Windows, as well as improvements in the test suite.
For information on installing MariaDB 5.1.42 on new servers or upgrading to MariaDB 5.1.42 from previous releases, please check out the installation guide at http://askmonty.org/wiki/index.php/Manual:Installation/.
MariaDB is available in source and binary form for a variety of platforms and is available from the download pages: http://askmonty.org/wiki/index.php/MariaDB:Download:MariaDB_5.1.42/.
Moonlight 3.0 Preview Now Available
The Moonlight project has released the second preview of Moonlight 3.0 in time for viewing the Winter Olympics. The final release will contain support for some features in Silverlight 4.
Moonlight is an open-source implementation of Microsoft's Silverlight platform for creating and viewing multiple media types.
This release updates the Silverlight 3.0 support in Moonlight 2.0, mostly on the infrastructure level necessary to support the rest of the features. This release includes:
- MP4 demuxer support. The demuxer is in place but there are no
codecs for it yet;
- Initial work on UI Virtualization;
- Platform Abstraction Layer: the Moonlight core is now separated
from the windowing system engine. This should make it possible for
developers to port Moonlight to other windowing/graphics systems that
are not X11/Gtk+ centric;
- New 3.0 Binding/BindingExpression support.
Download Moonlight here: http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/.
OpenOffice.org 3.2 Faster, More Secure
At the start of its tenth anniversary year, the OpenOffice.org Community announced OpenOffice.org 3.2. The latest version starts faster, offers new functions and better compatibility with other office software. The newest version also fixes bugs and potential security vulnerabilities.
In just over a year from its launch, OpenOffice.org 3 had recorded over one hundred million downloads from its central download site alone.
OpenOffice.org 3.2 new features include:
- faster start up times;
- improved compatibility with ODF and proprietary file formats;
- improvements to all components, particularly the Calc spreadsheet;
- usability makeover and new chart types for the Chart module.
A full guide to new features is available at http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/features/3.2/.
All users are encouraged to upgrade to the new release, because of the potential security vulnerabilities addressed in 3.2. Any people still using OpenOffice.org 2 should note that this version was declared 'end of life' in December 2009, with no further security patches or bugfixes being issued by the Community. For details, see http://development.openoffice.org/releases/eol.html.
The security bulletin covering fixes for the potential vulnerabilities is here: http://www.openoffice.org/security/bulletin.html.
Download OpenOffice.org 3.2 here: http://download.openoffice.org.
New Release of Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g
In February, Oracle released the Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g, a component of Oracle's Fusion Middleware.
The Enterprise Pack for Eclipse is a free set of certified plug-ins that enable developers to build Java EE and Web Services applications for the Oracle Fusion Middleware platform where Eclipse is the preferred Integrated Development Environment (IDE). This release provides an extension to Eclipse with Oracle WebLogic Server features, WYSIWYG Web page editing, SCA support, JAX-WS Web Service validation, an integrated tag and data palette, and smart editors.
Also new with this release is Oracle's AppXRay feature, a design time dependency analysis and visualization tool that makes it easy for Java developers to work in a team setting and reduce runtime debugging. The new features in Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g allow WebLogic developers to increase code quality by catching errors at design time.
FastSwap support enables WebLogic developers to use FastSwap in combination with AppXRay to allow changes to Java classes without requiring re-deployment, also reducing the amount of time spent deploying/re-deploying an application.
GWOS Monitor Enterprise Release 6.1 Adds Ubuntu Support
GWOS Monitor Enterprise Release 6.1 has added support for Ubuntu servers. It also includes many improvements and strengthens the GWOS platform for monitoring heterogeneous, complex IT environments. This new release, part of the ongoing evolution of the GWOS solution stack, is available to Enterprise customers with a current subscription agreement. GroundWorks is also available in a community edition.
Highlights in this new release include:
- Ubuntu Server 8.04 LTS and Ubuntu Server 9.10 are now supported
- Tighter integration between the event view and state-oriented
views, reducing the time to diagnose a problem anywhere in the
monitored environment;
- Connect to affected systems directly from the status viewer with
two clicks. This feature, subject to administrator control, enables
faster remediation of detected problems by operations staff. Supports
console (SSH), web-based (HTTP/HTTPS) and graphical (VNC, RDP)
- Viewing all historical and performance information over
arbitrary time periods;
- Direct web links to specific service groups, services, host
groups and hosts within the portal application. Back-links to the
monitoring system are particularly useful when included in
notification messages and ticketing systems.
- Updated components including Nagios Core project 3.2 and the
JBoss Portal;
- Performance improvements for large systems configuration.
GroundWork 6.1, Enterprise Edition with Ubuntu support, is only $49 for the first 100 devices monitored. Download it here: http://www.groundworkopensource.com/newExchange/flex-quickstart/.
Also in January, GroundWork released Brooklyn, their iPhone app for GroundWork Monitor and Nagios. The iPhone app costs $8.99 at the Apple App Store.
Talkback: Discuss this article with The Answer Gang
Deividson Luiz Okopnik
Deividson was born in União da Vitória, PR, Brazil, on 14/04/1984. He became interested in computing when he was still a kid, and started to code when he was 12 years old. He is a graduate in Information Systems and is finishing his specialization in Networks and Web Development. He codes in several languages, including C/C++/C#, PHP, Visual Basic, Object Pascal and others.
Deividson works in Porto União's Town Hall as a Computer Technician, and specializes in Web and Desktop system development, and Database/Network Maintenance.
Howard Dyckoff
Howard Dyckoff is a long term IT professional with primary experience at
Fortune 100 and 200 firms. Before his IT career, he worked for Aviation
Week and Space Technology magazine and before that used to edit SkyCom, a
newsletter for astronomers and rocketeers. He hails from the Republic of
Brooklyn [and Polytechnic Institute] and now, after several trips to
Himalayan mountain tops, resides in the SF Bay Area with a large book
collection and several pet rocks.
Howard maintains the Technology-Events blog at
blogspot.com from which he contributes the Events listing for Linux
Gazette. Visit the blog to preview some of the next month's NewsBytes


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See the 'Pitch Perfect 2′ Cast Filming in Louisiana [PHOTOS]
If you're just as aca-excited as we are for 'Pitch Perfect 2,' then you are totally going to flip over these pics of the Bellas filming in Louisiana.
As we previously reported, Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow and more have all signed on to reprise their roles in the cult classic, while Hailee Steinfeld has also joined the cast. And all of these lovely ladies and more were caught filming by photographers while shooting the movie down in Baton Rogue, La., on May 20. Check out the pictures below!


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The kids are back in school and the summer crowds are gone. The temperatures remain pleasant with plenty of sunshine, but without the humidity. Both visitors and locals are removed from the hustle and bustle of the summer tourist season. Fall with all its pleasures has arrived. Couples more than anyone else will find fall in Myrtle Beach to be the best time of year. Here are seven reasons why.
Photo: Surside Beach Pier
1) Couples-Friendly Golf Courses
With over 100 golf courses the area has a well-deserved reputation as the "Seaside Golf Capital of the World." Here are a few favorites that couples can enjoy playing together.
Golf Digest rated Heather Glen Golf Links in Little River, as one of the Top 50 Public Courses in 1987. The course features 27-mature, well-maintained holes designed in a Scottish 19th century layout.
Photo: Heather Glen Golf Links
Located along the scenic Intracoastal Waterway, Arrowhead Country Club features 27-unique holes that play to the strengths of both men and women. This Raymond Floyd Tom Jackson beauty received the "Best of the Grand Strand Award" in 2012 from WMBF News.
Photo: Arrowhead Country Club
Willbrook Plantation in Pawley's Island ranked in the "Top 25 Places to Play in the US" from Golf for Women magazine. Crafted from an historic rice plantation, the course wanders through a picturesque marsh.
Photo: Willbrook Plantation
For a more complete set of Myrtle Beach golf courses check out this helpful guide.
2) Relaxing Spas
Rest and relaxation are always needed, but with more than 40 local spas to choose from, where do couples go?
Cinzia Spa in North Myrtle Beach delivers on the promise of a soothing ambiance that will help you leave your problems at the door.
Photo: Cinzia Spa
Coastal Holistics in Myrtle Beach won the "Best of 2014 Day Spa" from WMBF News for balancing, body, mind, and spirit to achieve wellness.
Photo: Coastal Holistics
Body & Beyond Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork in Murrells Inlet provides specialized massage techniques relieving symptoms from multiple aches and pains.
Photo: Body & Beyond
3) Romantic Myrtle Beach Restaurants
Whether it's a special occasion, or just a memorable evening dinner, these romantic Myrtle Beach restaurants provide an exquisite dining experience.
SeaBlue in North Myrtle Beach is a favorite of local and visiting couples with their blend of quality ingredients, creative offerings, and a relaxed environment.
Photo: SeaBlue
Aspen Grille is the perfect choice for a quiet evening that features an outstanding Southern dining experience in a comfortable setting.
Photo: Aspen Grille
For thirty years, the Gulfstream Café in Garden City has been pleasing their guests with fabulous sunset views and seafood favorites.
Photo: Gulstream Cafe
4) Shopping Delights
With its mix of outlets, specialty stores, boutiques, malls and shopping destinations it might be an understatement to say that shopping in Myrtle Beach is a delight.
If one outlet with your favorite brands is good, then two Tanger Outlets – Hwy 501N and Hwy 17N in Myrtle Beach – must be great.
Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach features specialty stores from accessories to shoes, dining, House of Blues, Alabama Theatre, and Alligator Adventure, all located along the Intracoastal Waterway.
Photo: Barefoot Landing
Broadway at the Beach has more than 80 shops and boutiques along with dining, Ripley's Aquarium, Hard Rock Café, Celebrity Square, Legends In Concert, and The Palace Theatre.
The Hammock Shops Village in Pawley's Island is a collection of boutiques and specialty stores nestled in a shaded grove. You can also see the famous rope hammocks being made by hand.
Photo: The Hammock Shops
5) Exciting Entertainment
From the home of the Shag dance in North Myrtle Beach and numerous live music venues throughout the area to world-class live theatres, nighttime is the right time for couples.
Alabama Theatre at Barefoot Landing presents their Opryland Production ONE The Show with celebrity performers on the weekend. The South's Grandest Christmas Show begins November 2, 2015.
Photo: Alabama Theatre
The Gilmore Theater located at the junction of Hwy 17N and Hwy 17N Bypass presents The Carolina Opry, Thunder & Light, and Time Warp. The Carolina Opry Christmas Special begins November 2.
Photo: Gilmore Theater
The Palace Theatre at Broadway at the Beach presents Jersey Nights and Cirque Extreme. Their Christmas Wonderland begins November 3.
Photo: Palace Theatre
Checkout these live music, concert and dance venues - House of Blues, Celebrity Square, 2001, and the Boathouse. There's always good music playing and a hopping nightlife in Myrtle Beach free from the typical spring break crowd.
6) Adventurous Fall Day Trips
Besides 60 miles of beach there are a number of quaint towns that make for the perfect day trip outside of Myrtle Beach. You'll just have to stay an extra day, or two.
West of Myrtle Beach on Hwy 501 is Conway, SC with historic tours and attractions, downtown shopping, dining, and river adventure all served with a heavy dose of southern hospitality.
Photo: Conway, SC
Prior to the American Civil War more than 25 percent of the world's rice was cultivated in Georgetown County, just south of Myrtle Beach. Historic Front Street in Georgetown, SC tells the story of the area's riches and its people along with delightful dining and inviting shops.
Photo: Georgetown, SC
7) Local Myrtle Beach Wineries
For those that find pleasure in the fruit of the vine, you may care to develop your own Coastal Wine Trail. There are plenty of Myrtle Beach wineries to satsify your discerning tastes.
Classic European style wines await you at Silver Coast Winery in Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Tours run anytime of day with tastings. You'll also find an art gallery and gift shop for souvenirs.
Photo: Silver Coast Winery
La Belle Amie Vineyard in North Myrtle Beach, features a tasting room and gift shop where you can try their "Twisted Sisters" wines.
Photo: La Belle Amie Vineyard
Next stop is the Duplin Winery tasting station in North Myrtle Beach at Barefoot Landing. It's perfect for tasting a variety of muscadine wines and learning the story of wine making in the Carolinas.
Photo: Duplin Winery
With so much to do, could it be that Roy Orbison was singing about Myrtle Beach when he recorded his 1989 hit "Anything You Want (You Got It)? Either way, it's all here waiting for you!
Photo: Long Bay Resort


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Fife Blacksmiths offers a full range of products and services for metal handrails and wrought iron hand railings Our strong and excellent reputation in the Edinburgh, Lothians, and Fife areas have proven our efficient track records, making us one of the top companies to go to for all your metal handrail needs.
Handrails provide stability and support for descending or ascending areas but we give our customers more than just that. With our highly capable and experienced blacksmiths, we can make any handrail design and detail to fit with your personal style and the interior and architecture of your home or commercial space. We make top quality custom made handrails for your staircases, your rooftops, balconies, patios, decks – absolutely anywhere you need them. Some of our customers have even used metal handrails to distinguish several areas of a big room, giving the handrails a divider function.
Aside from its obvious functional purpose, we can add curves, scrolls, patterns and other details to your railings to complement the interior and exterior of your house. Our staff's invaluable expertise will help you make your house or premises more beautiful with our excellent hand railings.
But aside from our custom made railings, we also do simple designs for our customers who simply want to have them made for functional purposes. Whether the metal handrails are used to define property lines or add security, we can do it.
Our reliable and top of the line quality services adhere to strict codes and regulations, ensuring you of utmost excellence in safety and reliability. Our superior finished products are also great value for their quality, as we fit your requirements to your budget as much as we can. Our dedication and attention to detail has been highly valued by our many customers who have given us 100% customer rating every time. We ensure you that our great reputation will exceed all your expectations.
Take a look at our photo gallery for a few examples of our hand railings products. This gives you an idea about the kind of work and quality that we give here at Edinburgh Blacksmiths. More of our previous projects and other products are available at our showroom, which is open to serve you from Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm.
From planning to designing, installation and assembly, we will be with you every step of the way. Contact us now and let us help you plan your design.


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Our Client Tier System is designed to reward you with better discounts as your business grows.
Every new account begins at our Base Tier, ensuring you receive value from your very first purchase.
As your yearly volume increases, so does your opportunity to save.
Our new B2B (Company) Accounts offer a comprehensive solution for companies seeking to streamline their procurement process and empower their teams.
With a B2B account on our website, your company can link multiple employee accounts under one central business panel. This integration provides a unified view of all transactions, invoices, and benefits, ensuring efficient management and coordination across your organization.
Replaced By | Discontinued in ESD Price List - Available at Distribution |


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Table of Contents
This chapter describes the embedded SQL package for PostgreSQL. It was written by Linus Tolke (<firstname.lastname@example.com>
) and Michael Meskes (<firstname.lastname@example.com>
). Originally it was written to work with C. It also works with C++, but it does not recognize all C++ constructs yet.
This documentation is quite incomplete. But since this interface is standardized, additional information can be found in many resources about SQL.
If you see anything in the documentation that is not correct, does not match your experience with the particular feature or requires further clarification, please use this form to report a documentation issue.


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Author: Grayson Smith
Illustrator: Alana Kyle
Publication Date: 2013
Publisher: Peppermint Toast Publishing: Independent
Pages: 32
Recommended Ages: 3 to 8
Reviewed by: Renee and Dominic (Mother and Son)
Information About The Book: A tale of wonder and imagination, Flight of the Mite is a children's read-aloud picture book, written by Grayson Smith and illustrated by Alana Kyle. As a tiny mite stares in wonder at the nighttime stars, she becomes certain that if she were only able to travel to them, she would meet a world of wondrous creatures. She determines to build a flying contraption, and through persistence, ingenuity, and wise counsel, journeys to the nearest star. There she encounters the Others of her dreams and finds herself on an adventure where she learns that her imagination is her most important tool! This story of imagination, courage, and determination is perfect for the little mite in your life! Flight of the Mite is the first book published by the independent small press, Peppermint Toast Publishing, out of New Westminster, British Columbia. Peppermint Toast Publishing strives to work with emerging authors and artists towards the high-quality and environmentally-friendly publication of children's picture books and literature, in profit-sharing partnership with local charitable organizations.
Peppermint Toast Publishing is happy to be contributing $3 from the sales for each copy of Flight of the Mite sold, going to help sick kids get better at BC Children's Hospital. Visit their Online Store to purchase your copy!Peppermint Toast Publishing | Amazon (Canada)
The Buzz About the Book
Mother and Son Review by MDBR: "Flight of the Mite is a delightful, rhyming picture book featuring an adorable little mite who dreams big as the main character; a magical story underscoring the importance of imagination in children's development; and absolutely gorgeous and whimsical illustrations. I highly recommend this book to children ages 3 to 8 and I think it would be a great choice for reading aloud to children in a classroom or library setting."
"This is our new favourite story to read and will be a book that we will be keeping to pass down to future member of our family." ~ Raincity Parent
"This wonderful piece of children's literature is well crafted and appropriate for children and adults, the message is clear, embrace diversity, ones weakness may actually be strength. The most interesting and entertaining part is that there is a consistent rhythm and rhyme to the story, keeping the powerful message light and playful." ~ Active Lee Dadding
" I have read the sweetest story!...The combination of these two talents [i.e., the author and illustrator] working together has left us with a sweet rhyming story about a little mites big imagination." ~ Moments in Mommyland
"I recently received a new children's book to review called Flight of the Mite. So of course I went to the best critic in the house – my 4 year old son[...]. We sat down to read the story together and discovered a delightful tale about imagination and discovery... The illustrations are delightful and [my son] insisted that we stop to discuss some of them along the way. There was more than one "wow!" over a picture of the mite climbing a dandelion." ~ Prenatal to Parenting
About the Author: Grayson Smith
Grayson Smith was born in Alberta, but attended a boarding school in Germany for 11 years. After high school, he attended SFU, where he obtained a degree in Criminology and met his beautiful wife, Linda. Throughout university, Grayson wrote stories when he should have been paying attention in class. After completing his degree, he became a police officer, and still enjoys that job thoroughly. As of 2012, Grayson gets to re-envision the world through the eyes of his baby son, Josiah. Writing is a wonderful way for Grayson to express the silliness and vagary that simmers beneath his well-practiced outer layer of respectability and professionalism.About the Illustrator: Alana Kyle
Alana Kyle was born and raised in the Lower Mainland. As a small child, she was sweet, quiet, and frequently lost inside her own head. Ever since she was young, she was motivated by her love of artistic creativity and attention to detail, and remains captivated by storybooks and imagination. Alana attended and graduated from Emily Carr University of Art + Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and also obtained a three-year diploma of Illustration and Design from Capilano University. She works as an illustrator and graphic designer, and lives in Coquitlam.Links to More Information
Peppermint Toast Publishing | Twitter | Goodreads
Facebook (Peppermint Toast Publishing) | Facebook (Flight of the Mite)
* $25 Book Blast Giveaway *
Contest ends: August 19, 11:59 pm, 2014
Open: Internationally
How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Grayson Smith and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send and email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.
a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.
You know, nothing says happily ever after like a big Mac - at least in Hong Kong. Their McDonald's has become a popular wedding destination. It's fast food venues now offer wedding packages. The Deluxe includes a pair of balloon wedding rings, and a crystal McDonald's house.
It seems the young couples have fond memories of first dates of Hong Kong McDonald's, where true love blossomed under golden arches.
It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


text: THE CLEAR QURAN® Series is one of the most eloquent attempts to masterfully and accurately capture the elegance and vigor of the Quran in the modern English language. Its clarity for an average reader is evident in the choice of easy to understand words and phrases that reflect the beauty, flow and power of the original text. Along with just enough footnotes to clarify complex and contextual meanings, and brief Surah (chapter) introductions, this copy groups verses and titles them based on the theme of those verses (hence the word Thematic in the title), to provide internal coherence to readers – Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Thanks to the dedicated team of scholars, editors, and proof readers lead by Dr. Mustafa Khattab, we believe that THE CLEAR QURAN® Series is the finest translation of the Final Revelation in the English language available today.


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With a vote of 52 to 47, today, Republicans in the Senate succesfully blocked a Democratic-backed bill that called for equal pay for women.
But, as the AP reports, passing the bill was not the only intent of Democrats. The bill was obviously intended to draw attention to schism that have developed between the two parties on women's issues.
"The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., would require employers to prove that differences in pay are based on qualifications, education and other "bona fides" not related to gender. It also would prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who ask about, discuss or disclose wages in response to a complaint or investigation. And it would make employers who violate sex discrimination laws liable for compensatory or punitive damages. Under the bill, the federal government would be exempt from punitive damages.
"Proponents of the bill say it is the next step after the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which Obama signed into law in 2009. The law effectively overturned a Supreme Court decision that had strictly limited workers' ability to file lawsuits over pay inequity. Ledbetter said she didn't become aware of her own pay discrepancy until she neared the end of her 1979-1988 career at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Ala."
The campaign of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was also quick to respond to the vote.
"Of course Gov. Romney supports pay equity for women," Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg told the AP. "In order to have pay equity, women need to have jobs, and they have been getting crushed in this anemic Obama economy."
The Washington Post reports that before the vote, Democratic senators took to the floor to explain why this bill was necessary.
Mikulski, the bill's sponsor, said the pay gap between the genders is still wide.
"In 1963 we made 59 cents for every dollar that men made. Now it's 77 cents," she said, according to the Post. "What does that mean? It means every five years we make an advancement of one penny. Oh no. No more. We're not just going to take it anymore."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said the legislation would cause more problems than it solves.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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These garlic dill pickles are my favorite pickles for every day eating. For crisper pickles, skip the processing step and make them as fridge pickles.
I grew up in a household that appreciated a good garlic dill. As a kid, one of my very favorite after school snacks was a chunky pickle. I would fish one out of the jar with a fork, stabbing until I could get get traction and then drop it into a plastic cereal bowl. I'd slowly nibble away at the pickle over my book of the moment, until all I had left was the stem end of the cucumber and wrinkly, vinegar-scented fingers.
We also believe that no good sandwich is complete without a pickle. My parents take sandwich construction very seriously, and often buy jars of pickles that have been pre-sliced lengthwise just for this purpose (prior to being stacked between the lettuce and the cheese, these pickles are blotted on papertowels, so that the sandwiches aren't made soggy by too much additional liquid).
However, up until recently, the idea that a homemade pickle was actually the best kind of pickle didn't occur to any of us (even taking into account the fact that my father has spent the last 30 years hunting for a pickle to replicate his beloved Polski Wyrob that he hasn't been able to find since they left Chicago in 1978). I began my pickle enlightenment sometime back in the early spring, when I first started combining asparagus with a vinegar-based brine. I've been spreading the pickle gospel out west to my parents in Oregon for sometime now, and it appears that the indoctrination is complete.
My mother and I just spent the last hour on the phone and more than half our conversation revolved around homemade pickles (she now keeps a jar of brine in the fridge, and consistently replenishes the cucumber supply). I can't tell you how proud I was tonight when she said, "I don't think I'll ever buy another jar of pickles again, when making them at home is so easy and so much better." She's also got her sights set on making these zucchini pickles (I admit, I sent her the link with a note suggesting they'd be a good way to use up the stampede of garden squash that is coming her way).
And, while I don't think that my dad will ever find a pickle to compare to the Polski Wyrobs of yore, these garlic dills may just give his taste memory something to get excited about.
For those of you who prefer a smaller batch thank these garlic dill pickles, check out my Refrigerator Dill Pickles.
Garlic Dill Pickles
- 2 overflowing quarts of pickling cucumbers sliced into fat coins*
- 4 cups apple cider vinegar
- 4 cups water
- 5 tablespoons pickling salt
- 16 garlic cloves peeled (2 per jar)**
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper per jar*** 2 teaspoons total
- 1 teaspoon dill seed per jar 8 teaspoons total
- ½ teaspoon black peppercorns per jar 4 teaspoons total
- Wash and slice the cucumbers.
- In a large saucepot, combine vinegar, water and salt. Bring to a simmer.
- Arrange jars on counter and dole out the spices to each. Pack the cucumber slices firmly into the jars. You don't want to damage the cukes, but you do want them packed tight.
- Pour the brine into the jar, leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
- When 10 minutes are up, promptly remove the jars from the pot and allow them to cool on the countertop. When the jars are cool, check the seals (by pushing/tapping on the lid).
- Pickles can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to a year.
- If you want to skip the boiling water process, these pickles are also wonderful as refrigerator pickles. Just pop the jars into the fridge once they're cool.


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Compatible models: Epson SureColor SC-P600, Epson SureColor SC-P607, Epson SureColor SC-P608, Epson PX5V2.
Version: .01F
Fix errors : ink out, ink cartridge is low, ink cartridge near end, ink cartridge is empty, incompatible ink cartridge.
Functions: Reset ink chip level, make chipless firmware.
Additional info:
Why Reset Ink Chip For Epson P600, P607, P608, PX5V2 ?
– Modify printers Firmware -> printer will not require Ink Cartridges (IC Chips on cartridges) anymore. You will not need to reset ink chips or replace them if they are broken.
– You can use CISS or Refillable Ink Cartridges on those printer models that doesnt have AutoReset Chips developed yet! Instead of using expensive Epson OEM Ink Cartridges. You can use third party Ink Cartridges, CISS or Refill Cartridges now !
– Reset Ink Chip Allowing printers to work without limits and the chip reset. All you need for printing is to refill the ink tanks in time.
How to chipless firmware Epson P600, P607, P608, PX5V2
– For updating the printer firmware into a chipless one you need:
Firmware Program compatible with your printer model.
Activation Program compatible with your printer model.
A computer with a Windows operating system and Internet access, only 1 printer driver software on computer.
USB cable.
Activation key.
Before you continue with the reprogramming of the firmware, please make sure that the device is installed on your computer. Remove any other printers driver software on computer. And make sure that any other devices (except mouse and keyboard, printer), which are connected to your computer via USB or LPT ports are disconnected. It's preferable that the computer is connected to the "UPS" (uninterruptible power source) device, because if during the reprogramming process the electricity source has any interruptions, then the reprogramming will be carried out with an error, which makes the device unable to work.
STEP 1. Download Firmware and Activation for Epson P600, P607, P608, PX5V2:
- Download Firmware: Click Here
- Download Activation: https://bit.ly/3mQMkIE
Unpackthe ZIP archives of these programs. Password Extract Activation is 12345
STEP 2. Turn off your printer using the power button and wait at least one minute.
STEP 3. Connect the printer to a Windows computer using a USB cable.
STEP 4. Turn on your printer using the power button and wait printer ready to work.
STEP 5. Launch the Chipless Firmware program on your computer.
At this point, chipless firmware will be downloaded to the printer. The completion of the download process on to the printer will be indicated by the word FINISHED on the printer display. After that, press the BACK button on the control panel and the printer will turn off.
STEP 6. Turn on the printer in normal mode (using the power button) and run the Chipless Activation program on the computer
STEP 7. In Chipless Activation select your printer model and click the Activate Online button. In the window that opens, enter the activation key and click OK. The program will send a request to the chiplessprinter.com server and activate chipless firmware.
An activation key can be purchased at chiplessprinter.com. The key has a limited validity period and is suitable for only one specific printer.
STEP 8. Save the firmware recovery code, which will be generated in the appropriate program window. This code will be needed if necessary, to restore chipless firmware.
STEP 9. Turn off the printer using the power button. The device is flashed into a chipless version.
STEP 10. Install the supplies in the printer and turn it on. The printer will be ready for use.
IT's IMPORTANT! Do not turn on the printer after activating the firmware without consumables installed – this may lead to the failure of the print head of the printer.


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- continue or suspend LWP execution
#include <sys/lwp.h> int _lwp_suspend(lwpid_t target_lwp);
int _lwp_continue(lwpid_t target_lwp);
The _lwp_suspend() function immediately suspends the execution of the LWP specified by target_lwp. On successful return from _lwp_suspend(), target_lwp is no longer executing. Once a thread is suspended, subsequent calls to _lwp_suspend() have no affect.
The _lwp_continue() function resumes the execution of a suspended LWP. Once a suspended LWP is continued, subsequent calls to _lwp_continue() have no effect.
A suspended LWP will not be awakened by a signal. The signal stays pending until the execution of the LWP is resumed by _lwp_continue().
Upon successful completion, 0 is returned. A non-zero value indicates an error.
If the following condition occurs, _lwp_suspend() and _lwp_continue() fail and return the corresponding value:
The target_lwpid argument cannot be found in the current process.
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:


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Thursday, 01 July 2021 11:19 AM EDT
An experimental drug can prevent intestinal damage caused by celiac disease, an early trial has found — raising hopes that it could become the first medication for the serious digestive disorder.
With celiac disease, the immune system attacks the lining of the small intestine when a genetically susceptible person eats gluten — a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.
The symptoms of celiac include diarrhea, abdominal pain, fatigue and weight loss. Underlying it all is an aberrant immune system attack that damages hair-like structures in the intestinal lining called villi. Villi absorb nutrients from food, so people with celiac can become malnourished and develop problems like anemia and thinning bones.
Right now, the only treatment is "rigorous avoidance of even traces of gluten in the daily diet," said lead researcher Dr. Detlef Schuppan.
But a lifelong gluten-free diet is difficult to maintain, said Schuppan, a professor at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University, in Germany.
Gluten can lurk in many processed foods, from pasta and breakfast cereals to sauces and soups to energy bars and chips.
Beyond being a practical burden, the strict diet is a "social and psychological" one as well, Schuppan noted.
And even when patients manage to adhere to it, he said, some can still have intestinal inflammation and symptoms.
The new study, published July 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at whether an experimental drug can prevent that intestinal damage.
The drug, dubbed ZED1227, inhibits the activity of an enzyme called transglutaminase 2 (TG2) in the intestines, Schuppan explained. TG2 plays a key role in the autoimmune response that marks celiac.
The trial, which was funded by drugmaker Dr. Falk Pharma, enrolled 163 adults with celiac disease who'd been successful with a gluten-free diet for at least a year.
The researchers randomly assigned the patients to one of four groups: three were given various doses of ZED1227 to take every morning for six weeks; the fourth took placebo pills.
Thirty minutes after each morning dose, the study patients ate a biscuit containing a moderate amount of gluten, as a way to test the drug's ability to block gluten-induced inflammation.
After six weeks, the trial found, patients on any dose of the drug showed fewer signs of intestinal damage, versus the placebo group. As for side effects, skin rash was the only symptom more common among medication users; that was seen in 8% of patients on the highest dose.
Dr. Joseph Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic, called the findings "encouraging."
The trial "proves that blocking this key enzyme is feasible," said Murray, who is also a medical advisor to the Celiac Disease Foundation.
Whether that will also lessen patients' symptoms and improve their quality of life remains to be seen in larger studies, Murray said.
Like Schuppan, he noted that gluten-free diets are tough to maintain, and are not always enough on their own.
"About 30% of patients continue have substantial issues despite doing their best on a gluten-free diet," Murray said.
Those patients will be the focus of future research. Schuppan said his team is planning a trial that will test ZED1227 in celiac disease patients who are not completely responding to a gluten-free diet.
If ZED1227 or any other medication becomes available for celiac, that does not spell the end of the gluten-free diet.
According to Murray, it's likely patients will still have to follow diet restrictions. But, especially given the difficulty of avoiding gluten entirely, medication should make people's lives easier, he said.
"There is real hope we will have additional treatments for celiac, which heretofore has placed the entire burden of care on the patient," Murray said.
Roughly 1% of the world's population has celiac disease, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. In the United States, it's estimated that 2.5 million people are undiagnosed.
© HealthDay
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Google on Monday responded to a new round of finger pointing, this time from Microsoft, which claimed Google was using falsified cookie policies to bypass certain security features in the Internet Explorer Web browser. The new accusations followed an earlier revelation that Google and other advertisers were using "a special code" to bypass Safari's third-party cookie policies. Google had apparently heard enough, however, as the company issued a response to Microsoft's allegations late Monday evening. Read on for more.
"Microsoft omitted important information from its blog post today," Google wrote in a statement. "Microsoft uses a 'self-declaration' protocol (known as 'P3P') dating from 2002 under which Microsoft asks websites to represent their privacy practices in machine-readable form. It is well known – including by Microsoft – that it is impractical to comply with Microsoft's request while providing modern web functionality. We have been open about our approach, as have many other websites."
In the end, Google's stance is essentially, no we don't comply with the policy but it's outdated and most other companies don't comply with it either. "Today the Microsoft policy is widely non-operational," Google wrote. "A 2010 research report indicated that over 11,000 websites were not issuing valid P3P policies as requested by Microsoft."


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In today's high tech world many of you have heard the term "high definition." The quality of a high definition lens is similar to the quality of a digital camera. They allow for sharper, clearer, crisper vision throughout the whole lens, giving you the best vision possible!
High Definition lenses are made of the same materials as conventional lenses. What makes digital lenses different is the process by which they are made. To create these lenses an advanced digital technology is used to resurface the lens allowing for greater precision over the entire lens surface. Surfacing the lenses this way provides you with more visual comfort, improved peripheral vision, sharper definition and less eye fatigue.
These lenses are ideal for all patients who want to experience the latest in lens technology, while those with high prescriptions and large amounts of astigmatism will experience the greatest wow factor. Watch the video below for more information and be sure to ask our optician about HD lenses!


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The latest Disney heroine is not a princess.
She's one of over 250 children, hailing from a humble farming community.
Like other Disney ladies, she has big dreams and big determination. Like most Disney ladies, she has outlandish amounts of hair.
Her name is Judy Hopps. She is a bunny. She is a cop. Don't call her cute.
Zootopia, which opens on March 4, 2016, introduces a big fantasy scenario: Animals evolved beyond their predator/prey relationship into a thriving society. They built an astonishing modern world without the aid of opposable thumbs. They have smart phones, are bi-pedal, and speak the same language. Rhinos can chat with mice and foxes can scam elephants. There are no humans, monkeys, or primates in this almost-perfect paradise. We'd just screw it up somehow with pestilence and such.
But Zootopia isn't a Utopia, which is why there is a police force. Can Officer Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, crack a perplexing series of crimes that threaten the safety and harmony of Zootopia? Being a Disney heroine means she needs and reluctantly accepts help from a clever, dashing bad boy type. Of course, it's a slyer-than-sly fox named Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason Bateman.
Zootopia is packed with astonishing detail. It's the type of movie to watch more than once because so much is going on in the background. It's clever, cute, and keeps adults engaged with winks at pop culture and the human experience. Of course sloths work at the DMV. Of course rabbits have a veggie farm. Of course, the mayor is a lion. But you'll never guess who runs the town mafia or why wolves make rotten guards. Owwww-oooooooooooo!
The moments between the plot-development scenes were my favorites. They could have made a film with twenty different vignettes of life in the city and it would have been delightful. The plot is purely a mechanism to trick out the worthy message that nobody—in any society—should be judged by the circumstances of their biology. Being a human with opposable thumbs, a smart phone, and torturous visits to the DMV, it's easy to equate Zootopia's world with our own. The message has never been more timely, or obvious.
My major gripe with the movie is that the explanation behind the crimes made zero sense and was wrapped up a bit too tidily. This was where the movie went off the rails a bit for me, but I reminded myself that it is aimed squarely at kids who probably don't watch re-runs of Columbo on Netflix.
Is Zootopia worthy of a trek to a theater? It's the best animated film to come out in months and if your family is clamoring for a movie outing, it would be a great choice. However, it's not a must-see, don't miss type of film like Inside Out or Frozen. It's pleasantly funny and artful. I'm sure it will return in sequels, as the characters easily lend themselves to further adventures. Zootopia will be mandatory to own on disc or streaming. Repeated viewings wouldn't get stale because of the tremendous attention to detail and knowing nods to other Disney movies.