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Cisco, one of the pioneers in the IT industry, offers a wide variety of devices ranging from switches to blade servers to address every IT management need of SMEs and enterprises. Managing an IT shop full of Cisco involves lot of management challenges such as monitoring for availability and performance, managing configuration changes, archiving firewall logs, troubleshooting bandwidth issues, and much more, which demands potent Cisco network monitoring software. OpManager's Cisco monitoring capabilities offer comprehensive management support for Cisco environments.
OpManager's Cisco network monitoring tools support a wide range of Cisco devices such as ASR series, Catalyst series, Nexus, UCS, etc. and technologies such as NetFlow, IP SLA, CBQoS, NBAR, and much more. OpManager's Cisco monitor takes an integrated approach and supports all these devices and technologies single handedly so that you can view, analyze and control them from single console.
Monitoring is very essential because it helps identifying problems proactively. With networks being the backbone of today's business operations, it is highly impossible to have even a few minutes of downtime. Monitoring network via scripts or manually is of no use as both the approaches are reactive. OpManager is a Cisco monitoring tool that takes a 3-step approach in monitoring the Cisco devices - data collection, threshold verification & fault notification. OpManager monitors all Cisco network devices such as Nexus, ASR, Catalyst series via SNMP and CLI protocols and monitors Cisco UCS via UCS Manager API.
OpManager periodically monitors the Cisco devices and cross verifies the collected value against the set threshold levels and notifies via email and SMS to assigned technicians and network admins about the fault once the threshold is violated. No manual intervention is required. Cisco monitoring software helps you identify the fault at its early stage and fix it before impacts the business or end users.
With over 200+ widgets available out-of-the-box, you can create dashboards and have a quick look at all the performance metrics that you wish to see.
OpManager supports more than 1000 devices of Cisco out-of-the-box. Once you install OpManager you don't have to spend much time in configuring. You can start monitoring them straight away and receive alerts for faults.
OpManager out-of-the-box monitors performance metrics such as CPU/memory utilization, backplane utilization, buffer hits, buffer misses, input/output packet drops, CRC errors, interface collisions, interface input/output bits, & much more periodically via SNMP. Cisco network performance monitor allows you to easily create custom SNMP monitors from the Cisco MIBS.
Interfaces need to be monitored because they decide the connectivity of the network. OpManager's cisco port monitor recognizes more than 230 interface types and monitors them for availability, traffic, errors and discards via SNMP. You can set thresholds to all these performance metrics and monitor Cisco proactively.
Network maps pictorially represent the connectivity between devices and other networks. OpManager draws a network map by discovering the seed device and other interconnected devices, and draws a map. The map is always up-to-date as it automatically adds or removes the devices once they are added or removed from the network.
OpManager monitors all the blade servers, fabric interconnects, fabric extenders, virtual interface cards, rack mount servers, etc. for performance. It leverages UCS Manager XML API to monitor the components. OpManager also supports VMware monitoring for the VMs inside UCS. The benefit with this Cisco network monitoring tool is you can monitor your network and server infrastructure together from a single console.
The most common bandwidth issue reported by end-users is that they find it slow to access the business critical applications. To gain more visibility into such issues, SNMP based monitoring is of no use. You need to adopt advanced technologies such as NetFlow from Cisco to understand your bandwidth utilization across applications, users and devices. With NetFlow-based monitoring you can perform in-depth traffic analysis and determine the who, what, when and where of bandwidth usage.
OpManager's cisco port monitor gives you the right insight you need on your bandwidth by performing network traffic monitoring & security analytics in real-time. The NetFlow/ IPFIX flows are typically exported from the Cisco routers, switches & firewall to the NetFlow collector inside OpManager, where the collected Flows are stored in the database for further analysis. It helps you to analyze your network traffic in detail and provide reports on traffic usage by IP address, applications, port & protocols. This Cisco network monitoring tool also supports a wide variety of Cisco technologies such as NBAR, CBQOS, IPSLA,etc. and devices such as WLC and WAPs.
OpManager's cisco monitor also supports a wide variety of Cisco technologies such as NBAR, CBQOS, IPSLA,etc. and devices such as WLC and WAPs.
Get real-time visibility into interface traffic with Cisco network monitor and compare them with it's max speed, average speed and volume present in the live graph. You can get instant visibility into how much bandwidth was used up by hosts, applications, and conversations across a specific interfaces. Bandwidth reports summarizes your overall bandwidth usage statistics to help you take suitable decisions regarding bandwidth management.
NBAR helps you overcome the limitations of identifying the bandwidth usage of applications with dynamic port. It helps to classify applications with Layer7 AVC and provides reports on NBAR2 applications traffic and its percentage to total traffic along with details such as application name, source and destination IP, source and destination port, protocol and size of application.
CBQOS (class based quality of service) enables you to view network traffic segmented by class of service and measure the effectiveness of your QoS policies. It lets you validate your QoS policies with reports on pre-policy, post-policy and drop in different traffic class.
OpManager's cisco monitor enables you to monitor continuous traffic on the network such as to measure latency and performance of VoIP connections and measure the round trip time between different branches in the WAN. It also provides medianet reporting for parameters such as jitter, packet loss, and RTT. You can also monito and gauge the performance of your linux devices using a linux network monitor like OpManager.
Cisco WLC helps you monitor traffic over wireless controllers and drill down to stats on top applications, SSIDs, APs, clients and QoS. You can drill down to conversation details to keep track of your bandwidth usage and secure the WLAN from threats. Learn more
Security devices generate tons of security and bandwidth log data, if analyzed will provide network security posture. Proper tuning of the policies and configurations of the devices will strengthen the network security. Analysis of policy and log data will address your following security requirements.
OpManager's cisco network monitoring capabilities support a variety of Cisco security devices like PIX, ASA, FWSM, SSM of CSC, SSL WebVPN, SSL VPN Client, VPN Concentrator and IronPort proxy.
OpManager collects and analyzes logs from the security devices and generate security and bandwidth reports. It presents detailed picture of virus, spam activities and attacks happened in the network in the firewall security reports. Answers who is using the bandwidth, for what purpose, which protocols used, URLs visited and bandwidth consumption in real time. It analyzes the usage and non-usage of rules, policies for anomaly, generates reports to optimize policies and suggest reorder of rules/policies. Alerts for bandwidth thresholds, anomaly security events and any security event of your interest.
Tackle the shadow IT
OpManager offers Cloud Control reports to find out who are using which apps/app categories.
Performance of firewall depends on strong and effective firewall policies. OpManager analyzes the policies, will let you know the anomalies in them, will suggest reorder of policies based on criticality and usage. With the help of these reports, you can optimize the policies and strengthen the network security
OpManager collects complete information about your company's internet bandwidth usage from the firewall. It presents a variety of reports like who is using, how much, which protocol, what websites, across which geographical locations, inbound, outbound, intranet and internet. With these, you can optimize the bandwidth usage. You can instant action for sudden jump in the usage with alerts and live reports.
OpManager provides the following firewall compliance reports to meet the regulatory requirements, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, SANS, NIST and NERC CIP. It also provides Security Audit & Configuration Analysis Report.
To cater to various business needs, network administrators carry out frequent configuration changes in their Cisco management process. Every single configuration change carries the risk of creating a network outage, security issue and even performance degradation. The problem becomes more complex when there are multiple devices from multiple vendors. Network administrators face a daunting task when it comes to configuration management. With ManageEngine OpManager, you can take total control of the entire life cycle of Cisco devices configuration management. . Following are some of the critical features supported by OpManager for Cisco network configuration management.
Cisco network monitoring solution with OpManager offers a integrated solution for an easy network configuration, change and compliance management (NCCCM) with comprehensive functionalities such as multi-vendor support, continuous monitoring of configuration changes, instant notifications on configuration changes, automation of repetitive configuration tasks, insightful reporting etc.
OpManager's cisco monitoring feature takes entire control of your configurations. It periodically takes backup of your configurations, baseline a configuration, revert when a faulty configuration is applied, and push configurations, from its web client itself. It does not need logging into the actual devices. It offers full history of the configuration backup.
Faulty configuration change can bring the entire business to a halt. OpManager's cisco monitor tracks the configuration for changes. If any unauthorized change is carried out, alarm is raised and the same is notified via email and SMS. It also includes a change approval board for reviewing and approving configuration changes.
OpManager's cisco monitor helps administrators to define and enforce standards. The standards could be anything - ensuring the presence or absence of certain strings, commands or values. It will scan the configuration for compliance to the rules/ policy defined and report violations. Reports on policy compliance and violations are generated.
All actions performed by the OpManager users are properly recorded as audit trails. Information on 'who' changed 'what' and 'when' can be easily deciphered. This will ensure accountability for actions in the organization. Also OpManager presents the information on the entire network configuration management process in the enterprise in the form of comprehensive, informative reports.
The biggest challenge for any administrator is to find out the occupied and free ports of a switch. It further extends to finding out what devices are connected to which port. This helps them to take informed decisions or carryout maintenance without much effort. OpManager's cisco port monitor simplifies this by discovering the devices that are connected to the switch port as well. It also provides visibility into MAC, VLAN, status, and availability of ports.
OpManager's cisco port monitor provides Cisco network mapping with an option to include mapping of physical ports to switch ports. You can provide the mapping of the physical ports and switch ports in a CSV file, which can be imported into OpManager. OpManager's cisco monitor automatically retrieves the VLAN details, Virtual IP Addresses of a device, and detects all the devices connected to a port.
OpManager's cisco monitoring feature allows to create different groups based on the location or building. The Switches can seamlessly be moved within groups anytime. Switches in different groups can be scheduled to run at different times. Whenever a switch is mapped, the results are automatically published as a csv file that can directly be opened in Microsoft Excel. OpManager also offers full history of a switch port which helps administrators to get the details of the devices that are connected to a port in the given period and vice versa.
When it comes to managing the switch ports, auditing is utmost important to know who did what and when. OpManager's cisco monitoring feature logs all the events performed using the tool with the name of the User and the date and time of the event. This helps administrators to track and audit the changes made.
In most cases, administrators might also want to get the current status of the switches. From the port details view, they can perform the following actions:


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Harnessing the awesome power of the ocean waves Schematic illustration of MBARI's wave-power buoy. © 2012 MBARI Harnessing the awesome power of the ocean waves MBARI engineer Andy Hamilton looks out his office window in Moss Landing and points at the waves crashing on the beach below. "Pretty impressive, aren't they? You'd think there'd be a way to make use of all that energy." Since 2009, Hamilton has led a team of engineers trying to do just that. Their goal is not to replace the hulking power plant that overlooks Moss Landing Harbor, but to provide a more generous supply of electricity for oceanographic instruments in Monterey Bay. Hamilton's "power buoy" project is funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which sponsors research into revolutionary new technologies that might one day be used by the U.S. military. The project started with a three-month grant to assess the availability of wave power around the world, and to assess DARPA's previous attempts to generating electrical power from the waves. Hamilton's initial research and calculations showed that DARPA's previous efforts had been too timid—their small prototype buoys were never able to take advantage of the full energy of the waves. So Hamilton proposed to "go big" (but not as big as commercial wave-power projects). He spent another nine months using computer models to test different buoy designs under a variety of simulated wave conditions. In the end, he came up with a buoy that was 2.5 meters (8 feet) across. Hanging in the water below this buoy is a massive metal plate 3 meters (10 feet) wide and 5.5 meters (18 feet) long. Because most wave motion occurs at the sea surface, the buoy rises and falls with the waves, but the plate, 30 meters (100 feet) down, remains relatively stationary. Between the surface buoy and the metal plate is a large hydraulic cylinder with a piston inside. As the buoy rises and falls, it pushes and pulls on this piston. This forces hydraulic fluid through a hydraulic motor, which in turn runs an electrical generator. Engineering in the real world This sounds simple in concept, but as is often the case, things become much trickier when you try to build a real device that will work in the real ocean. Fortunately, Hamilton recruited a team of resourceful engineers to work on the project. Mechanical engineer François Cazenave has worked full time on this project for the past 18 months. Other team members include mechanical engineer Jon Erickson, electrical engineer Paul McGill, and software engineer Wayne Radochonski. Mechanical technician John Ferreira prepares the power buoy for a deployment in MBARI's high bay. At this stage in the design process, the hydraulic piston was enclosed in a cylindrical housing of yellow foam (at lower left). Image: François Cazenave © 2011 MBARI One of the first challenges the team faced was figuring out the best way to convert the vertical motion of the waves into rotary motion that could power a generator. First they bought a custom-made generator from an outside company, but that turned out to be too inefficient to be useful. Going back to the drawing board, the team designed their own system using an off-the-shelf hydraulic motor similar to those used on earth-moving equipment and on MBARI's underwater robots. These hydraulic motors use moving hydraulic fluid to drive a rotating shaft with up to 95 percent efficiency. Another challenge that Hamilton's team faced was designing a mechanism that would return the piston to its starting point after a wave had passed. Hamilton initially envisioned using a large metal spring for this purpose, but the metal spring turned out to be much too heavy. So the team redesigned the system to incorporate a pneumatic spring—a chamber filled with nitrogen gas, and mounted at one end of the piston. As the piston moves with the waves, it compresses or decompresses the nitrogen gas in the chamber. After the wave passes, the gas in the chamber returns to its original pressure, forcing the piston back to the middle of its stroke. In yet another challenge, during the first field trials of the new piston, the cable attached to the metal plate swung from side to side, damaging the seals of the hydraulic cylinder and causing it to leak. The team added a long metal tube as a guide to make sure that the cable pulled in line with the axis of the piston. In a later deployment, metal shards in the hydraulic fluid caused additional damage. Eventually the engineers rebuilt the system, adding a fluid reservoir/pressure compensator and an in-line filter to keep the hydraulic fluid clean. Over the past year, the power buoy has been deployed in Monterey Bay about half a dozen times. With each deployment, the team added new features and refinements. By late 2011, the buoy was generating up to 400 watts of power, more than twice what MBARI's existing moorings can produce using wind generators and solar panels. Hamilton says, "Remarkably, the system is behaving very similar to our models. We were aiming to produce about 500 watts of power, so we've almost hit our target." A technician tests the power buoy's metal "plate" (actually a series of steel beams welded together) in the MBARI test tank. Image: François Cazenave © 2011 MBARI The next challenge: making useable electricity Although we tend to think of the open-ocean waves as long, gentle rollers, anyone who has been at sea knows that wave motion is often erratic and unpredictable. So is the voltage produced by the generator on the power buoy. As each wave passes, the generator first speeds up, then slows down again, generating electricity at from 0 to 500 volts (AC). In late spring of 2012, the team will test a new version of the system that incorporates power-conditioning hardware and software to change this fluctuating voltage into a steady 24 volts (DC) useable for scientific instruments. Initially, this current will be used to charge batteries on the buoy. Any excess current will be run through a series of resistors that dissipate the energy as heat. During the upcoming deployment, the team will also test new hardware and software that could dramatically increase the efficiency of the power buoy. Surprisingly, this involves adding resistance to the system—essentially making the piston harder to push at certain times in the wave cycle. The new software continuously and automatically changes the resistance of the system to adjust the load on the generator and optimize the speed at which the generator turns. If the generator is spinning too fast, the software increases the resistance of the system to generate more power. If the generator is moving too slowly, the software reduces the resistance of the system, allowing the generator to speed up. MBARI engineers and technicians recover the power buoy during stormy sea conditions. On the right side of the image you can see the metal "plate," which has been hoisted up on the stern of the boat. Image: Kim Fulton-Bennett © 2011 MBARI The dream: an underwater charging station As if the challenge of extracting energy from the waves wasn't enough, the power buoy project includes another ambitious element—an underwater charging station for undersea robots. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are undersea robots that are programmed at the surface and then travel beneath the waves, collecting information as they go. However, many AUVs can only run for a day or two before their batteries need to be recharged. Working in tandem with Hamilton's team, a group of MBARI engineers led by Jim Bellingham and Brett Hobson have been working on an underwater "docking station" that will eventually hang down beneath the power buoy. When an AUV senses that its batteries need charging, it will automatically home in on the docking station, plug itself in, download its data, recharge its batteries, then head out for its next mission. Hamilton says, "This is the ultimate dream for the power buoy. We're working on the pieces of it now." So far, the AUV-docking team has built a non-powered docking system, and have been developing software for MBARI's long-range AUV so that it can automatically find and park itself inside this "mock dock." They are also working on the electronics for the actual charging dock. In field trials, the AUV has entered the "mock dock," but cannot yet do this consistently. The power buoy floats in Monterey Bay at sunset, with the Moss Landing power plant in the background. Image: François Cazenave © 2011 MBARI The future of wave power Hamilton's development grant for the power buoy runs out in Fall 2012. By that time, he hopes to demonstrate the system's usefulness and attract additional funding for the project. According to Hamilton, "A lot depends on finding a 'science driver'—a specific science project that would benefit from this extra power we're producing." He adds, "We're not trying to compete with wind and solar generators. We're complementing them. As with most renewable energy sources, it's better to have some redundancy." Although big storm waves carry a lot of power, it turns out that the bulk of the wave energy in Monterey Bay is provided by moderate sized waves that occur relatively frequently. Cazenave explains, "The power buoy must be able to survive storm waves, but it is most efficient in the most common types of waves—say two meters high. There is more energy in bigger waves, which can reach four to five meters around here, but they are not so common." The vastness and changeability of the ocean will always hamper our efforts to understand this global environment. One of the key challenges for oceanographers over the next decade will be how to power complex instruments that remain in the open ocean for long periods of time. MBARI's wave-power buoy is part of the solution to this problem. For additional information or images relating to this article, please email firstname.lastname@example.com. Share Like this? Share it! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Email
News MBARI technology plays key role in new sustainable ocean management strategy Behind the Scenes 06.25.24

subset: commoncrawl


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Updated April 3, 2022 at 11:42 AM ET
Long-serving Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski gave a calm final press conference to end a 47 year career, following his team's 81-77 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four.
"First of all, congratulations to North Carolina, " Krzyzewski said. "It was a game that the winner was going to be joyous and the loser was going to be in agony. And that's the type of game we expected. We would have liked to have been on the other side of it, but I'm proud of what our guys have done."
He added: "It's not about me, especially right now. I'm just concerned about these guys. I mean, [they were] already crying on the court, and I mean, that's the only thing I can think about."
In the other game of the night, the Kansas Jayhawks beat the Villanova Wildcats 81-65 to set up the final championship game for the 2022 men's NCAA basketball tournament.
Kansas vs. Villanova
The Jayhawks, entering Saturday's game against Villanova as the No. 1 seed, dodged a repeat of their 2018 semifinals loss to Villanova. The team last won a national championship in 2008.
Kansas' top scorers, David McCormack and Ochai Agbaji, led the way in the absence of Villanova's second-leading scorer and strong defender Justin Moore, who tore his Achilles tendon in the regional final win over Houston last week.
Duke vs. UNC
UNC star Caleb Love made a key 3-pointer and three late free throws to inspire his team to victory.
Before the game, the two teams had played each other 257 times throughout their history, but had never faced off in the NCAA tournament before.
Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski had been looking for redemption and a neat epilogue to his legacy. He retires the winningest coach in Division I men's basketball history.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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A gilded cage for an invited ruler. The square of Sienna's Palazzo Pubblico.
I stumbled upon an interesting idea recently while researching medieval social organization. While the topic may sound dry, it's actually fascinating stuff. A welter of communal, democratic and mercantile structures all co-existed. These are essentially the building blocks of the modern nation-state and corporation, along with many alternatives to those options.
I've already written about the peasant revenge gang that was the commune. The idea of a podesta is also pretty fascinating. While they started simply as foreign governors, they became much more interesting. From chronicler Leander Albertus:
The citizens, seeing that there often arose among them quarrels and altercations, whether from favoritism or friendship, from envy or hatred that one had against another, by which their republic suffered great harm, loss and detriment; therefore, they decided, after much deliberation, to provide against these disorders. And thus they began to create a man of foreign birth their chief magistrate, giving him every power, authority and jurisdiction over the city, as well over criminal as over civil causes, and in times of war as well as in times of peace, calling him praetor as being above the others, or podestà., as having every authority and power over the city."
There's a lot of factional strife in the modern era, after all, and some of the reasons for a figure like a podesta are still there. A capable outsider, mutually respected by most of the factions, might be a really good way to run a really fractious place and mediate disputes. Notably, the podesta's powers were later scaled back to mostly judicial functions, and they were intentionally isolated within their palaces to prevent any one group from having control
This idea seems like it could be really useful right now, especially for areas with a lot of distrust and political divisions. I could easily see something like a podesta being great for running a city-state or particular enclave. Outside perspective has its advantages, especially in dispute resolution. Local councils or military leaders still had plenty of power in cities with a podesta, but the respected stranger offered some check on local ambitions and provided a handy long-term perspective.
Importantly, in its most successful days, the podesta was chosen by locals, not imposed from the outside. Otherwise, they would end up terrible at settling disputes and would likely get thrown out by rebellion in the process.


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Munchkin Axe Cop
Regular price
Chop off their heads and take their stuff! Axe Cop is a cop. With an axe. And he knows how to use it.
Axe Cop is the hit webcomic written by Malachai Nicolle (age 5) and drawn by his brother Ethan (age 29). With his friends Dinosaur Soldier and Sockarang, Axe Cop fights crime! He hunts down the bad guys (like Giant Robot Zombie, Vampire Man Baby Kid, and Dr. Stinky Head) and CHOPS THEIR HEADS OFF. Just don't get blood on you, or you might turn into something totally different, like Bat Warthog Man or Avocado Warrior.
There's only one game that can match the anything-goes action of Axe Cop -- and it's Munchkin. So clearly we had to bring you . . . Munchkin Axe Cop. Using original art from the series (and a few brand-new pieces by Ethan Nicolle), this game drops you into the world of Axe Cop.
You know what to do. Chop the bad guys' heads off and TAKE THEIR STUFF!


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Careers in Culture
Writing and Publishing
A career in writing and publishing is a rewarding one with many opportunities and challenges. Using quizzes and interactive tools, this site will lead you to discover:
- Whether a career in writing and publishing is right for you
- The skills you need to be a writer or publisher
- The multiple opportunities available in writing and publishing
- Tools and tips for getting your ideal job
If you have an interest in words and a creative mind, a career in writing and publishing could be for you.
Table of Contents
What You Need To Know -
Starting With You
Challenges and Opportunities
What's Happening Today
Focus On Your Career
What You Need To Do -
What Words People Do
Career Routes
Work Search Strategies
Want More Information?
Printable version
Words on the Move: Careers in Writing and PublishingA classroom ready printable booklet. You will find quizzes on a student's aptitudes and knowledge of the sector; articles and testimonials on career options and paths; and work search strategies including sample résumés and interview questions. Sample Pages |
Has your love affair with the written word pushed you towards exploring a career as a writer? Do you look through your local library or bookstore and wonder why you can't find a certain kind of book? Are you wondering how your writing talents might work best in today's marketplace? In the universe of instant communication, writers are in demand, and publishing is crossing from print into many different electronic formats. Good writing and publishing skills and experience open doors to innumerable occupations. Some writers dream of penning the great Canadian novel, play or screenplay, but the vast majority make their living as journalists, freelance writers, technical writers or, working in publishing houses.
Words on the Move! Careers in Writing and Publishing is part of a series of online resources to help you research, plan and achieve your cultural career goals. The series was developed by the Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC), a national not for profit organization that represents artists and arts organizations across Canada in consultation with writers and those working in the publishing industry. Explore CHRC's website to learn more about other careers in culture.
Website organization
Section 1 – What You Need to Know
In the first section, "What You Need to Know", we:
- Look at the various job opportunities available in writing and publishing.
- Help you determine if careers in writing and publishing might be in your future.
- Examine some of the things successful writers and publishing people have in common.
- Explore the future of writing and publishing and learning.
Section 2 – What You Need to Do
In the second section, "What You Need to Do", we:
- Explore the various educational paths you should follow in order to make yourself marketable in a competitive writing and publishing field.
- Show you how to market yourself by creating great cover letters, effective résumés, and performing well in interviews.
- Provide you with a list of helpful links, so that when you are ready to pursue your exciting new career, you will have all the tools at your disposal.
Careers that begin with words
Career Audiences
Book Publishing |
Magazines and Newspapers |
Business and Government |


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The group said popular flavors will move beyond sweet, salty and fatty into sour in the form of tart, acidic and bitter flavors such as fermented cherry juice, varietal vinegars and sour beer.
"With do-it-yourself pickling and brining, you will see more sauerkrauts, pickles and tart flavors at restaurants," says Jorge de la Torre, dean of culinary education at Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts. "The old shrub drinks from colonial times as well as the vinegar drinks from Korea and Thailand will figure into more craft cocktails."
There also will be a move to healthier ingredients such as brown rice, high-fiber grains and vegetable broths as opposed to old-time fatty favorites such as butter, bacon and cream, Sterling-Rice said.
"A big health change for restaurants is vegetable stock," says Victor Matthews, chef and owner of Black Bear Restaurant in Colorado Springs. "Traditional vegetable stock is simple, plain and mostly based on mirepoix."
Asian influences will continue to be strong with Thai, Vietnamese and Korean favorites being incorporated onto menus.
Veggies will become a more integral part of the meal with dishes such as cauliflower steaks, squash noodles and celery juice cocktails.
Children's menus will expand beyond hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese with a greater variety of vegetables, protein-rich grains and Asian flavors that will help mature children's tastes.
Artisan foods and restaurants are picking up in steam as well.
"Lots of chefs are going local lately whether it's the honey they use, the fruit and vegetables they buy or the wine and cheese they offer," says Gale Gand, creator/owner of Gale's Root Beer. "And it makes sense. It tastes better, has less food miles on it, shows support for our country and makes good copy on the menu."
Reducing portion and plate sizes will become increasingly important, and fruit will be laced with savory flavors to bring a naturally refreshing and sweet touch to appetizers, soups, vegetable sides and meaty entrees.
With so many different diet considerations among consumers from vegetarians to those who are gluten-free, restaurants also will place importance on specialized options. And finally, popcorn will become the snack of choice in 2013 and appear in snack bars, croutons, ice cream and more.


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Hot and Sour Soup
4 dried Chinese fungi (about 1 ounce), such as wood ears or cloud ears
2 tablespoons canola oil
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon red chile paste, such as sambal oelek
1/2 cup canned bamboo shoots, sliced
1/4 pound barbecued pork, shredded
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
Pinch sugar
2 quarts Chinese Chicken Stock, recipe follows
1 square firm tofu, drained and sliced in 1/4-inch strips
3 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Chopped green onions and cilantro leaves, for garnish
Chinese Chicken Stock:
1 (4-pound) whole chicken
1 bunch green onions, halved
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3-inch piece fresh ginger, whacked open with the flat side of a knife
1 onion, halved
1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
About 3 quarts cold water
Put the wood ears in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes to reconstitute. Drain and rinse the wood ears; discard any hard clusters in the centers.
Heat the oil in a wok or large pot over medium-high flame. Add the ginger, chili paste, wood ears, bamboo shoots, and pork; cook and stir for 1 minute to infuse the flavor. Combine the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a small bowl, pour it into the wok and toss everything together – it should smell really fragrant. Pour in the Chinese Chicken Stock, bring the soup to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the tofu and cook for 3 minutes.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and stir until smooth. Mix the slurry into the soup and continue to simmer until the soup thickens. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 direction to get a current going, then stop stirring. Slowly pour in the beaten eggs in a steady stream and watch it spin around and feather in the broth (it should be cooked almost immediately.) Garnish the hot and sour soup with chopped green onions and cilantro before serving.
Chinese Chicken Stock:
Put the chicken in a large stockpot and place over medium heat. Toss in the green onions, garlic, ginger, onion, and peppercorns. Pour about 3 quarts of cold water into the pot to cover the chicken by 1-inch. Simmer gently for 1 hour, uncovered, skimming off the foam on the surface periodically.
Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and pass the stock through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to remove the solids and excess fat. Cool the chicken stock to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator, or chill it down over ice first.
Yield: About 2 quarts


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Scott Adams and Spasmodic Dysphonia
Dilbert creator Scott Adams was stricken in 2005 with a rare condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia, which prevented him from speaking in a normal voice. The condition is somewhat bizarre, because sufferers can sometimes sing or speak in unusual circumstances, just not with their normal voices. The condition has struck a variety of famous people (according to Wikipedia), including Darryl McDaniels of Run DMC, and Diane Rehm from NPR.
For Adams, the condition meant he could still speak publicly, sing, or speak to himself while alone. But in normal circumstances his vocal cords would seize up and he simply couldn't speak. And to make it worse, Adams reported that no one has ever recovered from the condition. In late 2006, Adams noticed that he could speak perfectly in rhyme. So he repeated a rhyme ("Jack Be Nimble") over and over, and then...something changed. Since then, he has been able to speak semi-normally. It's not perfect, but he reported in January that he is still in a state of partial recovery.
After the jump, read Adams's report of his original recovery. I would just link to it, but his blog entries from that period have disappeared.
Good News Day As regular readers of my blog know, I lost my voice about 18 months ago. Permanently. It's something exotic called Spasmodic Dysphonia. Essentially a part of the brain that controls speech just shuts down in some people, usually after you strain your voice during a bout with allergies (in my case) or some other sort of normal laryngitis. It happens to people in my age bracket. I asked my doctor - a specialist for this condition - how many people have ever gotten better. Answer: zero. While there's no cure, painful Botox injections through the front of the neck and into the vocal cords can stop the spasms for a few months. That weakens the muscles that otherwise spasm, but your voice is breathy and weak. The weirdest part of this phenomenon is that speech is processed in different parts of the brain depending on the context. So people with this problem can often sing but they can't talk. In my case I could do my normal professional speaking to large crowds but I could barely whisper and grunt off stage. And most people with this condition report they have the most trouble talking on the telephone or when there is background noise. I can speak normally alone, but not around others. That makes it sound like a social anxiety problem, but it's really just a different context, because I could easily sing to those same people. I stopped getting the Botox shots because although they allowed me to talk for a few weeks, my voice was too weak for public speaking. So at least until the fall speaking season ended, I chose to maximize my onstage voice at the expense of being able to speak in person. My family and friends have been great. They read my lips as best they can. They lean in to hear the whispers. They guess. They put up with my six tries to say one word. And my personality is completely altered. My normal wittiness becomes slow and deliberate. And often, when it takes effort to speak a word intelligibly, the wrong word comes out because too much of my focus is on the effort of talking instead of the thinking of what to say. So a lot of the things that came out of my mouth frankly made no sense. To state the obvious, much of life's pleasure is diminished when you can't speak. It has been tough. But have I mentioned I'm an optimist? Just because no one has ever gotten better from Spasmodic Dysphonia before doesn't mean I can't be the first. So every day for months and months I tried new tricks to regain my voice. I visualized speaking correctly and repeatedly told myself I could (affirmations). I used self hypnosis. I used voice therapy exercises. I spoke in higher pitches, or changing pitches. I observed when my voice worked best and when it was worst and looked for patterns. I tried speaking in foreign accents. I tried "singing" some words that were especially hard. My theory was that the part of my brain responsible for normal speech was still intact, but for some reason had become disconnected from the neural pathways to my vocal cords. (That's consistent with any expert's best guess of what's happening with Spasmodic Dysphonia. It's somewhat mysterious.) And so I reasoned that there was some way to remap that connection. All I needed to do was find the type of speaking or context most similar - but still different enough - from normal speech that still worked. Once I could speak in that slightly different context, I would continue to close the gap between the different-context speech and normal speech until my neural pathways remapped. Well, that was my theory. But I'm no brain surgeon. The day before yesterday, while helping on a homework assignment, I noticed I could speak perfectly in rhyme. Rhyme was a context I hadn't considered. A poem isn't singing and it isn't regular talking. But for some reason the context is just different enough from normal speech that my brain handled it fine. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Jack jumped over the candlestick. I repeated it dozens of times, partly because I could. It was effortless, even though it was similar to regular speech. I enjoyed repeating it, hearing the sound of my own voice working almost flawlessly. I longed for that sound, and the memory of normal speech. Perhaps the rhyme took me back to my own childhood too. Or maybe it's just plain catchy. I enjoyed repeating it more than I should have. Then something happened. My brain remapped. My speech returned. Not 100%, but close, like a car starting up on a cold winter night. And so I talked that night. A lot. And all the next day. A few times I felt my voice slipping away, so I repeated the nursery rhyme and tuned it back in. By the following night my voice was almost completely normal. When I say my brain remapped, that's the best description I have. During the worst of my voice problems, I would know in advance that I couldn't get a word out. It was if I could feel the lack of connection between my brain and my vocal cords. But suddenly, yesterday, I felt the connection again. It wasn't just being able to speak, it was KNOWING how. The knowing returned. I still don't know if this is permanent. But I do know that for one day I got to speak normally. And this is one of the happiest days of my life. But enough about me. Leave me a comment telling me the happiest moment of YOUR life. Keep it brief. Only good news today. I don't want to hear anything else. SOURCE: The Dilbert Blog (link currently dead) 10/24/06.
See also: an MSBNC article on the situation.


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VLADIMIR BOUGRINE (also BUGRIN)
1938 - 2001
Welcome to paintitrussian.com, an online art gallery dedicated to the works of Russian artist Vladimir Bougrine (1938 - 2001).
Vladimir's life was devoted to religious and mythical painting, and his technique was probably one the most intricate, unique and secretive of all 20th century artists.
You will find this website is divided into three main sections:
About Vladimir Bougrine
> biography
> exhibitions
> vision (a possible explanation for Vladimir's technique)
> newspaper clippings
> Our online art collection of oil on canvas and oil card, divided into twelve themed galleries
> If you are interested in buying artwork, please refer to our 2006 catalogue for latest details on prices and availability
detail of Vladimir's technique


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Ohio Clean Energy Proposal Clears Another Hurdle
< < Back toAn Ohio effort to require billions of dollars in state investment in alternative energy has cleared another hurdle.
The state Ballot Board on Monday ruled the Ohio Clean Energy Initiative's constitutional amendment as a single issue. It's the fourth such petition submitted under the same title since 2012.
The amendment calls for $1.3 billion in annual investments over a decade in infrastructure, research and development related to solar, wind and other energy sources.
Backers can now begin collecting the more than 385,000 signatures required to get the latest version before voters. It's too late for supporters to make the ballot this November, though they can try for other elections.


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Blob Communication Tools for BODY MIND SPIRIT
"The World YMCA is focusing upon Youth Empowerment.This book is a wonderful, beautiful tool,to communicate this message. "
Johan Vilhelm Eltvik
Secretary General, World Alliance of YMCAs
A massive collection, almost 200 pages, of resources to use in YMCA's worldwide.
Great ALL AGE TOOLS - Children, Youth, Leaders, Executives, Seniors +
Great for all areas of Y Programmes - Sports/ Fitness/ Youthwork/ Teams/ Faith/ Housing/ Personal Development+
Great visuals - attractive for all because the Blobs use the primary forms of communication = FACE & BODY LANGUAGE


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I really think you can't have too many gift bags during the holiday season! And it's so easy to make a really cute, personalized one using the Cricut and kraft bags you can buy at Michaels or Joanns.
When you use a coupon, it gets really economical to do this. And they can even be personalized that way!
I used a 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" mini kraft bag as a basis to today's "Ho Ho Ho" Christmas gift bag.
I cut the "Ho Ho Ho" from the Close to My Heart Cricut Artiste cartridge at 5" and adhered it to a layered set of patterned papers.
Then, again using the Close to My Heart Cricut Artiste cartridge and the matching Close to My Heart Merry Christmas stamp set, I cut out the ornament and stamped it. Quick and easy!
Here is a view of the Close to My Heart Artiste Cricut cartridge (click HERE to order):
1) Leave a comment below - Favorite winter breakfast?
Click HERE if you don't know how to leave a comment. Click HERE to leave a comment if you are seeing this in an email.
2) That's it!
And a fabulous new promo to go with it! (see below):
When you place your order HERE, the system will prompt you upon checkout to pick out your free/star item(s)! Wait until the system prompts you and then click on their link to add your items.
You can also download a PDF of the catalog HERE.
Want to see more of my projects?
Click HERE to see my gallery!
Subscribe to Obsessed with Scrapbooking to learn more about ways to use the Cricut in your scrapbooking!


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Silver Cherry Pouch - Made entirely by hand!
Product Info
- Size 11 x 16 cm- Silver / Red / Green - Shoulder strap made with durable fish thread (90 cm full length)- 55'000 tiny glass beads- Production: Four women, four days- Handwoven top and embroidered bottom making it hard and durable.
Silver Cherry Pouch handmade by mega talented artisans in our team in Guatemala.It is made with the best quality glass beads making it resilient and long lasting,if you treat it with love <3
*Not just a smiling face
We pay our team 3 x the market standard to honor the women who create our products. At the end of the day it's just a beaded banana, what makes it special is what it means to the woman who made it and the person who will wear it.
Are you interested in knowing more about our story, we invite you to meet our co-founder Bernabela here and test your attention span with a more in depth report on our commitment and impact here.
View all our pouches here <3
Info about shipping can be found here
Product Care
Here is how to best take care of your new Pura Utz treasure.


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What will you practice today? Will your great-grandchildren's children care?
When I began this leadership work many years ago, my focus was a bit different versus today. You could say, quite rightly, I have evolved my thinking.
However, well before I found myself immersed in The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership© and what's been created since, the foundation was set with seven key principles. I thought I would share those with you today and let you kick them around and, hopefully, respond with your thoughts.
Principle #1: Leaders focus on themselves. Sounds kind of selfish, yes? But hold on a minute. If you are not working on your personal growth, how the heck can you be a leadership role model for others?
Principle #2: Leaders simplify their lives. In today's fast-paced, multi-tasking world, exasperation is staring at you in the next Tweet, text or email that demands your immediate attention and action. Have you cleared your desk lately? Deleted those emails that have stacked up since email was invented? Tossed files (please recycle)? Clearing the desk really does clear the mind.
Principle #3: Leaders establish priorities for themselves. Keep in mind, that there is no great value in getting things done, if they are not valuable to do. Have you separated yourself from what is least important in your life yet? If not, why not?
Principle #4: Leaders define their destinations. Do you know where you're going? Do you need a personal GPS (Goal Performance Strategy) guide? Take some time to stretch out and create a personal vision and some stretch goals for the several areas in your life: Personal, Family, Professional, Financial, etc. Jot down just a few ideas in each category, reflect on them a bit and then get busy adding action steps to help you reach those outcomes. New Year's Day is not the only time to make resolutions.
Principle #5: Leaders plan their time based on importance. All of my coaching clients have heard my suggestion that they take some L.E.A.D time each day. Listen to yourself with a 10 to 15-minute planning/re-planning session; Evaluate how you are doing in each area of your life; and Adjust what needs reconsidering. Finally, Determine, once again, if the destination you set is still correct.
Principle #6: Leaders nurture their creative genius. Are you aware of your creative genius? Or, are you just stomping through each day hoping to make it back home in one piece? Ugh! Every person is a creator. You have created your life to this point. Happy? Yes? No? What are you going to do about it? Robert Fritz, an author/colleague from years ago told me, "The creative process is alive. It is improvisation. And it is one of the most powerful and intimate involvements with one's life I know."
Principle #7: Leaders don't arrive, they evolve. You've probably heard something like that before. It's very true. There is no end point with leadership. It takes constant practice and is a continuing saga. And, keep in mind, depending on your life story, the memory of you takes a while to slip from this Earthly atmosphere.
Live your life with purpose. Create your Masterpiece. You wouldn't want to disappoint your great-grandchildren's children would you?


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After analyzing hundreds of proteins produced by the DNA of tumor cells, researchers have identified one protein that may be central to a new treatment for the often-fatal childhood cancer neuroblastoma. Oncologists hope to translate the finding into pediatric clinical trials of a drug that blocks the protein's activity.
"Our study implicates this protein as a promising treatment target for high-risk neuroblastoma," said pediatric oncologist Kristina A. Cole, M.D., Ph.D., of the Cancer Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "The fact that drugs acting on this protein are already being studied in clinical trials for adult cancers may hasten the process of testing this treatment strategy in children." Cole is the lead author of a study published online February 2, 2011 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Neuroblastoma, a cancer of the peripheral nervous system, usually appears as a solid tumor in the chest or abdomen. It accounts for 7 percent of all childhood cancers, but because it is often aggressive, it causes 15 percent of all childhood cancer deaths. While low-risk forms of neuroblastoma may spontaneously disappear, in high-risk forms, the cancer tends to return after initial treatment, usually with lethal results.
In the current study, the Children's Hospital researchers performed a comprehensive screen of hundreds of protein kinases encoded by the DNA of neuroblastoma cells. As enzymes, kinases stimulate chemical reactions in the cell, and have been implicated in many cancers as promoting growth and survival of cancer cells. The study team used RNA interference, a powerful research tool that uses small RNA sequences to prevent cells from producing proteins, to interrupt the action of each of the more than 500 kinases made by neuroblastoma tumor cells.
Methodically testing each kinase, one after the other, the researchers identified 30 kinases that, when depleted, caused neuroblastoma cells to die. Among those kinases, cell checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) had the strongest effect. "This screen was an unbiased study," said Cole. "We did not know beforehand which kinase would have the most potent effect. In fact, we would not have suspected CHK1, which was thought to be a tumor suppressor. It actually has the opposite effect in neuroblastoma. Its signals appear to drive neuroblastoma growth, likely by allowing them to tolerate stress to DNA caused by the MYC and MCYN oncogenes, which are active in neuroblastoma. Blocking CHK1 activity by RNA interference or by small-molecule inhibitors kills neuroblastoma cells."
When cancer cells are treated with chemotherapy, they can repair themselves though CHK1 signaling, making the chemotherapy less effective. Normal cells have redundant repair pathways and are not affected by CHK1 inhibition. Therefore CHK1 inhibitors are already being tested in adult clinical trials, in combination with chemotherapy, as a possible treatment for lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and other solid tumors. The current study suggests that neuroblastoma cells are particularly sensitive to CHK1 inhibition, without being combined with other agents.
CHK1 is not the first kinase with an important role in neuroblastoma. Some of the collaborators in this study from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia previously discovered that the anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene (ALK), which carries the code for the ALK kinase, gives rise to some high-risk forms of neuroblastoma. Children's Hospital is currently testing ALK inhibitors in pediatric clinical trials of neuroblastoma, under the sponsorship of the Children's Oncology Group, a cooperative multicenter research organization.
"While it is compelling that there is single-agent activity in neuroblastoma," said Cole, "we anticipate that CHK1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy will be significantly more potent." Cole expects pediatric oncologists to begin testing CHK1 inhibitors in pediatric clinical trials for neuroblastoma within the next few years.
The National Institutes of Health, the Super-Jake Foundation, the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation, the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation and the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute provided financial support for this study. The corresponding author was John M. Maris, M.D., director of the Center for Childhood Cancer Research. All the co-authors are from both Children's Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
"RNAi screen of the protein kinome identifies checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) as a therapeutic target in neuroblastoma,"
For more information:
Colea KA, Hugginsa J, Laquagliaa M, Huldermana CE, Russella MR, et al. RNAi screen of the protein kinome identifies checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) as a therapeutic target in neuroblastoma. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Early Edition published online February 2, 2011, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1012351108Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Early Edition published online Feb. 2, 2011.


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NSA leaker Edward Snowden is the subject of an open letter of support just published from behind bars by John Kiriakou, a former CIA agent currently serving time for sharing state secrets.
In a letter dated June 13 and published Tuesday by Firedoglake,
the imprisoned CIA vet salutes Snowden for his recent disclosures
of classified documents detailing some of the vast surveillance
programs operated by the United States' National Security Agency.
"Thank you for your revelations of government wrongdoing over
the past week," Kiriakou writes. "You have done the
country a great public service."
"I know that it feels like the weight of the world is on your
shoulders right now, but as Americans begin to realize that we
are devolving into a police state, with the loss of civil
liberties that entails, they will see your actions for what they
are: heroic."
Beginning with the June 6 publication of a dragnet court order demanding the phone data
of millions of Americans, The Guardian newspaper has released a
collection of leaked documents attributed to Snowden for which
the US government has charged him with espionage. He is
reportedly now hiding in a Moscow airport and has sought asylum from no fewer than 20 countries to avoid
prosecution in the US. Should he be sent home and forced to stand
trial, however, Snowden will likely find himself in a peculiar
position that the former Central Intelligence Agency analyst can
most certainly relate to: Kiriakou is currently serving a
36-month sentence at the Loretto, Pennsylvania federal prison for
revealing the identity of a covert CIA agent to reporters.
Before Kiriakou pleaded guilty to one count of passing classified
information to the media last year, the government charged him
under the Espionage Act of 1917. He has equated the prosecution
as retaliation for his own past actions, saying the charge wasn't
the result of outing a secret agent but over exposing truths
about the George W. Bush administration's use of waterboarding as
an interrogation tool in the post-9/11 war on terror. As in the
case of Snowden, Kiriakou's supporters have hailed him as a
whistleblower. As the government sings a very different song,
though, the CIA analyst offers advice to Snowden in what is the
second of his "Letters from Loretto" published by Firedoglake
since Kiriakou's two-and-a-half-year sentence began earlier this
"First, find the best national security attorneys money can
buy," writes Kiriakou. "I was blessed to be represented by
legal titans and, although I was forced to take a plea in the
end, the shortness of my sentence is a testament to their
"Second, establish a website that your supporters can follow
your case, get your side of the story and, most importantly, make
donations to support your defense."
Kiriakou goes on to encourage Snowden toward garnering support
within members of Congress and other institutions capable of
calling attention to his case, such as the American Civil
Liberties Union. Before he concludes, however, he bestows on
Snowden what he calls "the most important advice I can
"DO NOT, under any circumstances, cooperate with the FBI,"
Kiriakou warns. "FBI agents will lie, trick and deceive you.
They will twist your words and play on your patriotism to entrap
you. They will pretend to be people they are not – supporters,
well-wishers and friends – all the while wearing wires to record
your out-of-context statements to use against you. The FBI is the
enemy; it's a part of the problem, not the solution."
"I wish you the very best of luck," Kiriakou writes before
signing off. "I hope you can get to Iceland quickly and
safely. There you will find a people and a government who care
about the freedoms that we hold dear and for which our
forefathers and veterans fought and died."
When Snowden first revealed himself to be the source of the
leaked documents last month, murmurings quickly began circulating
of Iceland possibly extending his way an offer of asylum. The
list of countries asked to consider his request reportedly now
exceeds 20, and the likes of Ecuador, Bolivia, Cuba and
Switzerland have all been floated as options. As Firedoglake's
Kevin Gosztola recalls, though, the Federal Bureau of
Investigation likely won't rule out dirty tricks to try and take
down Snowden before he escapes, at least if Kiriakou's
experiences are any indication.
"According to Kiriakou, the FBI also tried to set him up,"
Gosztola writes. He goes on to cite a January 2013 interview in
which the CIA whistleblower recounted a previously untold story
about the government's alleged efforts to indict Kiriakou on even
more charges.
"In the summer of 2010, a foreign intelligence officer offered
me cash in exchange for classified information," Kiriakou
said. "I turned down the pitch and I immediately reported it
to the FBI. So, the FBI asked me to take the guy out to lunch and
to ask him what information he wanted and how much information he
was willing to give me for it."
"After the lunch, I wrote a long memo to the FBI – and I did
this four or five times. It turns out — and we only learned this
three or four weeks ago — there never was a foreign intelligence
officer. It was an FBI agent pretending to be an intelligence
officer and they were trying to set me up on an Espionage Act
charge but I repeatedly reported the contact so I foiled them in
their effort to set me up."
Kiriakou is one of eight Americans charged under that World War
One-era legislation by President Barack Obama, who has prosecuted
more people under that law that all previous leaders combined.
Snowden became the latest US citizen to have their name added to
that list and joins the likes of WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning
and NSA whistleblower Thomas Drake. In a question-and-answer
session hosted by The Guardian last month, Snowden celebrated
those men as "examples of how overly-harsh responses to
public-interest whistle-blowing only escalate the scale, scope
and skill involved in future disclosures."
"Citizens with a conscience are not going to ignore
wrong-doing simply because they'll be destroyed for it: the
conscience forbids it. Instead, these draconian responses simply
build better whistleblowers. If the Obama administration responds
with an even harsher hand against me, they can be assured that
they'll soon find themselves facing an equally harsh public
response," Snowden said.
In his first statement since entering Moscow more than a week
ago, Snowden published a note through WikiLeaks on Monday
dismissing the White House's hunt for leakers, calling their
tactics deceptive, unjust and "bad tools of political
"In the end the Obama administration is not afraid of
whistleblowers like me, Bradley Manning or Thomas Drake. We are
stateless, imprisoned or powerless. No, the Obama administration
is afraid of you. It is afraid of an informed, angry public
demanding the constitutional government it was promised – and it
should be," Snowden wrote.
Republished with permission from: RT


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This is a true story, proving how fascinating the mind of a six year old is. They think so logically.
A teacher was reading the story of the Three Little Pigs to her class. She came to the part of the story where first pig was trying to gather the building materials for his home.
She read. 'And so the pig went up to the man with the wheelbarrow full of straw and said: 'Pardon me sir, but may I have some of that straw to build my house?'
The teacher paused then asked the class: 'And what do you think the man said?'
One little boy raised his hand and said very matter-of-factly, 'I think the man would have said, 'WTF! A talking pig!'


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At Graphtek Interactive, we understand the challenges facing today's business owners. There simply aren't enough hours in your day to oversee day-to-day operations, manage Web development programs AND coordinate the Internet marketing and social media campaigns necessary to get your business noticed online. Believe us, we understand. It's called being human!
We also understand that every business has different objectives and needs. That's why Graphtek Interactive's website design, website development, custom programming and Internet marketing solutions are custom-tailored to each client's specific goals.
Graphtek Interactive's personalized approach to Web development, website design and Internet marketing provides a single-source solution for clients who are serious about increasing revenue and staying visible in today's increasingly competitive interactive landscape.
While our highly experienced staff at Graphtek Interactive won't be able to run your day-to-day business, we can be your web development and interactive marketing partner. Together, we'll develop a customized approach to cultivating an online presence that works hand-in-hand with your business objectives.
Are you ready to let Graphtek Interactive help increase your profits and grow your business?
Contact Graphtek Interactive today to schedule your no-obligation consultation or call us now at (760) 341-4583.


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Last night my husband and I attended a private screening of Edward Burns new film Newlyweds, and in Edward Burns fashion it was a total character driven, dead-on depiction of marriage, family, and all that relationship interaction stuff. I gave my husband the knowing eye about 50 times during the film. This movie is greatly entertaining, laugh out loud funny, and gets two thumbs up from me. I give myself four thumbs up for not asking Edward Burns about Christy Turlington during the Q&A.
After the film Mr. Burns himself showed up to talk about the film and the making of with his co-star, Caitlin FitzGerald. Now it's easy to think that writers always write about their own lives, but in truth I think that quickly gets old and they then write about everyone else's lives. Edward Burns confirmed this when I asked him if, like his hero Woody Allen, he was constantly writing down ideas for films even when not working on one. He basically answered yes, then told a story about taking the train to DC and pulling out his laptop to document the conversation of the couple sitting next to him.
Still, Ed Burns is married to Christy Turlington, the world's most amazing supermodel (yes, I came of fashion age in the early '90s). So instead of the Woody Allen question, I really wanted to ask: Does Christy's skin need exfoliating in the morning? Do you have any room in the closet or is Christy taking up all the space? Does she use your razor when her disposable is crapped out? Does the most awesome supermodel living kick you in the shins when you're talking too much at the dinner table?
Oh, the burning, burning desire to know if Christy is just like me us. But I stuck to the topic, because Edward Burns is one of the country's best screenwriters and actors, and I was soon so engrossed in his work and discussion thereof that I hardly indulged in fantasies of me and Christy hanging out, drinking lots of wine, and enjoying a bitchfest about our husbands and sisters. Check out the movie and you'll totally get the reference. Newlyweds is available nationwide On Demand and via Digital Download beginning December 26, 2011, with a select theatrical showing starting in January 2012.


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fennel and herb-crusted salmon
with garlic potatoes
- ⅓ cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1kg kipfler (waxy) potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
- 10 cloves garlic
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 2 cloves garlic, extra, crushed
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
- ½ cup (35g) panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs
- 1 x 1kg side of salmon, skin on, trimmed and pin-boned+
- 2 tablespoons store-bought grated horseradish
lemon and horseradish crème fraîche
- 1 cup (240g) crème fraîche
- 2 tablespoons store-bought grated horseradish
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Place 2 tablespoons of the oil, the potato, whole garlic cloves, salt and pepper in a large deep-sided roasting tray and toss to combine. Cook for 15 minutes, turning halfway, or until golden.
- While the potato is cooking, place the fennel seeds, crushed garlic, parsley, thyme, lemon rind, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and remaining oil in a small bowl. Spread the skinless side of the salmon with the horseradish and press on the breadcrumb mixture to coat. Remove the tray from the oven and push the potato to one side of the tray.
- Place the salmon on the same tray, skin-side down, drizzle with the remaining oil and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the potato is golden and salmon is just cooked through. Set aside for 5 minutes to rest.
- While the salmon is resting, make the lemon and horseradish crème fraîche. Place the crème fraîche, horseradish and lemon juice in a small bowl, sprinkle with salt and mix to combine. Serve the salmon with the potato and horseradish crème fraîche. Serves 6.
+ Ask your fishmonger to pin-bone the fish for you. Alternatively, run your fingers along the fish and remove any bones with tweezers.


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Thousands of scientists, doctors, policymakers and people living with HIV are meeting this week for the annual International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C., the first time the conference is being held on U.S. soil in 22 years.
The goal is to try to turn some crucial advances in HIV research into practical measures to save lives. In recent years, studies have found, for example, that using HIV treatment drugs can prevent infection in healthy people; that circumcising men can protect them from HIV; and that treating patients early, before they become sick, reduces the risk that they'll infect others with the virus.
''Future generations are counting on our courage to think big, be bold and seize the opportunity before us,'' Dr. Diane Havlir of the University of California, San Francisco, a co-chair of the International AIDS Conference, told the AP.
(MORE: Treatment as Prevention: How the New Way to Control HIV Came to Be)
To coincide with the conference, this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is devoted to new research on HIV. One study, focusing on the benefits of early treatment, issues new recommendations for adults with HIV, advising that all patients be treated immediately potentially life-saving antiretroviral medications, or ARVs.
The new guideline comes from the International Antiviral Society-USA panel, and revises current recommendations, which advise that drug treatment should begin when levels of patients' immune cells, known as the CD4 count, drop below 350 cells per mm3 of blood. The new guidelines initiate treatment immediately, regardless of a patient's CD4 count.
The panel says that it revised its advice for ARV treatment based on studies conducted over the past two years, which show that patients at all stages of infection may benefit from drug treatment. In particular, trials in which HIV-positive patients began ARVs soon after infection showed that they could lower their risk of tuberculosis, bacterial infections, other AIDS-related complications and even death from the disease by 41%, compared with those who waited to start therapy later, when their CD4 counts dropped to 350. In another study, those who began drug treatment at CD4 counts of 350 had a 38% increased risk of developing full blown AIDS and dying prematurely of the disease than those who didn't wait as long to start ARVs.
(MORE: HIV Continues to Spread Among Gay Men, Studies Show)
The question of when to initiate ARV has always been a tricky one for AIDS clinicians; because the drugs have serious side effects, doctors must balance their potential life-saving benefit against these adverse events, including cancer and lipid imbalances. But with advancements in drug development, newer therapies that are easier to take have made it possible to start patients earlier, and when it comes to confronting HIV, experts say, the sooner the better.
The guidelines include recommendations for which drug combination newly infected patients should receive. The combinations include a cocktail of four medications that all hit HIV at different points in its life cycle: two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, a non nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, along with either a ritonavir-based protease inhibitor or an integrase inhibitor.
Starting drug treatment for all HIV-positive patients may also have another benefit — recent trials have hinted that hitting the virus hard with anti-HIV medications soon after a person is infected may hamper HIV's ability to jump from that patient to a new host during sexual contact. If that's the case, then the new guidelines may also help to reduce transmission of the disease. "There is no CD4 cell count threshold at which starting therapy is contraindicated," the authors write.
(MORE: Truvada: 5 Things to Know About the First Drug to Prevent HIV)
In the other papers appearing in the JAMA theme issue, scientists report:
Differences in foreign-born and U.S.-born HIV patients in the U.S.
Among the 191,697 people diagnosed with HIV and living in the U.S. between 2007 to 2010, 16% were born outside of the U.S. The four states reporting the highest numbers of people born outside the U.S. and diagnosed with HIV (California, Florida, New York and Texas) were also the top four states with HIV cases overall.
Nearly 40% of foreign-born, HIV-positive patients were infected via heterosexual contact, compared with 27% of U.S.-born patients. For men born either in the U.S. or in another country, the majority of HIV diagnoses were in men who have sex with other men.
By race or ethnicity, the proportion of HIV patients born outside the U.S. varied: among white patients, 3.3% were born outside the U.S.; of black patients, 10% were born outside the U.S.; of Hispanics, 42.2% were foreign-born; and among Asians, 64.3% were not born in the U.S.
Of the 25,255 people diagnosed with HIV who specified a country or region of birth outside the U.S., the most common region of birth origin was Central America (including Mexico, 41%), followed by the Caribbean (21.5%), Africa (14.5%), Asia (7.9%), and South America (7.6%).
Although 95% of patients with HIV live outside the U.S., public health experts say it's important to understand the socioeconomic characteristics of those who are foreign-born and affected by HIV and living in the U.S., to better target prevention and treatment programs that are more effective and culturally meaningful.
Hope for an AIDS-free generation
Pointing to the continued evolution in ARVS, as well as the latest understanding that the drugs can help protect healthy, uninfected people from HIV infection, authors Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and Gregory Folkers, also of NIAID, provide hope that eventually HIV may be a scourge of the past.
ARVs have saved an estimated 700,000 lives in 2010 alone, the authors write, but additional efforts to prevent new infection can help push that number higher. Among the strategies, say Fauci and Folkers: use ARVs to prevent infection (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved this month the first anti-HIV drug for prophylactic use in uninfected, high-risk people); establish stronger programs to prevent transmission of HIV from pregnant women and mothers to their children; encourage male circumcision to reduce HIV transmission during sexual contact in developing nations. Combining these strategies will be essential to developing an action plan against HIV, the authors say.
"With collective and resolute action now and a steadfast commitment for years to come, an AIDS-free generation is indeed within reach," they write. "Achieving this goal, however, will require implementing a multifaceted global effort to expand testing, treatment and prevention programs, as well as meet the scientific challenges of developing an HIV vaccine and possibly a cure."
MORE: Free HIV Tests May Be Coming to a Drug Store Near You
Alice Park is a writer at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @aliceparkny. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.


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There are a couple of girlie Hollywood movies adopted from British books that I found very cute, like Bridget Jone's Diary (from the novel of the same name) and The Wedding Date (from "Asking for Trouble" by Elizabeth Young). I'm thinking, will the popular "Shopaholic" series (by Sophie Kinsella) have a chance to hit the silver screen as well? Before it happens, I've already seen an irresistible impulse hitting me, this time wasn't about handbags or fancy place mats, but quail egg. I was at a supermarket's check-out, holding a box of quail eggs (2 dozens). While I was wondering if that was too much, a trendy and young lady came after me, awaiting to pay her 3 boxes of quail eggs (72 nos!!!). I checked her over from head to toe ... you know I'm nosy, she didn't look like having an army to feed. Mmm... maybe she want to make a mosaic artwork or something - dotting these little cuties onto a hot mountain of coarse salt ... well, I don't make this part up, such a "mosaic" was used to be seen at food vendors back to my home country. Maybe, I should make one mosaic center-piece too... a dinner party could always be arranged later. Or maybe, I could also look that trendy and young if I was holding 72 quail eggs? Or maybe... why I needed a reason for? Quail eggs are just cheap and delicious! Finally, the cashier ringed up two euros times 3...
Now you know why I had so many "odds and bites" that needed to get rid of before my trip last week. But no regret, they are delicious! And they remind me a lot about my childhood. Our ma-ma used to make (hard-boiled) them as often as moms these days making pop-corn.
I particularly like to talk about the pancake. The leavening agent is yeast instead of the popular baking powder, so it will yield bread-alike aroma and texture. Just like bread, these pancakes can go savory, or sweet, or plain. I like mine savory ... and complex; therefore my batter consists of whole grain flour and poppy seeds. After the cakes are made, topped with sour cream and chives, dotted with hard-boiled quail egg and blanched asparagus. It is a nutritional and nostalgic meal to me.
Recipe of yeast-rise pancakes with quail egg& asparagus (yield 4 servings)
*styling idea and recipe courtesy Sale & Pepe maggio 2006*
- 100g plain flour
- 100g whole grained flour
- 1 - 2 tablespoon(s) poppy seeds
- 50 g butter
- 2 (chicken) eggs
- 3 g dry yeast
- 20 g sugar
- 3 dl whole milk (I used American measuring cup... 1 + 1/4 cups)
- 2 stalks of asparagus
- 6 - 8 quail eggs
- spoonfuls of sour cream
- some chives, finely chopped
- salt and pepper
To make the pancakes:
- In a small pot, slowly warm up the milk and butter. Until the butter all melts, turn off the heat and wait until the liquid be lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the liquid for 5 minutes. Then whisk in the (chicken) eggs.
- Well-combine the yeast mixture with the two flours, poppy seeds and sugar. Cover, ferment the mixture in room temperature for an hour. After that, deflate it and stir again, now you are ready to make the pancake. The procedure is the same as ordinary pancake's: pre-heat a non-stick skillet, brush a bit of oil/butter, pour spoonfuls of batter in, cook both sides until golden brown. Cover the cooked cakes with a tea towel while you proceeding the rest of batter and the following steps.
To cook the eggs - place the eggs in a small pot, fill up with water. Once the water boils, turn the heat off and let the eggs sit for 3 minutes. Drain, then rinse with cold water, peel the shell and halve the eggs.
To blanche the asparagus - bring a pot of water to boil, add a pinch of salt and a bit of oil, place the asparagus in for a couple minutes. Drain, until it cools to touch, slice.
To assemble: stake up three pancakes, drop a big spoonful of sour cream on top, sprinkle some chopped chives, dot a halved egg, stick some slices of asparagus around. Salt and pepper to taste.


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Blue Buffalo Healthy Gourmet Adult Turkey and Chicken Entree Canned Cat Food
Blue Buffalo BLUE Healthy Gourmet Adult Turkey and Chicken Entree Canned Cat Food was created for the health and overall well-being of your precious cat. Made with top quality natural ingredients, Blue Buffalo BLUE Healthy Gourmet Adult Turkey and Chicken Entree Canned Cat Food features protein-rich deboned chicken with wholesome whole grains, garden veggies and fruit including cranberries to help support your kitty's urinary tract health. You can feel good about feeding your feline friend because this food contains NO chicken or poultry by-product meals, artificial preservatives, corn, wheat or soy!
Why We Love It
- Delicious, protein-rich Turkey with Healthy garden veggies
- No by-products, fillers, soy, corn, or wheat
- Made in the USA
About Blue Buffalo
BLUE Buffalo's True Blue promise is the pillar of their business, straight to every customer; the finest natural ingredients, and no chicken/poultry by-product meals, corn, wheat, soy, artificial preservatives, colors or flavors. BLUE Buffalo is the only food made with unique Lifesource Bits; a precise blend of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants created by veterinarians and animal nutritionists. With recipes for all tastes and diets, including limited ingredient diets, high protein, grain-free, wholesome grains, and exotic proteins, BLUE Buffalo always starts with real meat, and ends with good health.
Turkey, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Chicken, Ground Brown Rice, Natural Flavor, Guar Gum, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Potassium Chloride, Carrageenan, Cassia Gum, Taurine, Salt, Cranberries, Choline Chloride, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Sodium Selenite, Niacin Supplement (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin (Vitamin B7), Potassium Iodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9)Guaranteed Analysis
Nutrient | Guaranteed Units |
Crude Protein | 10.0% min |
Crude Fat | 6.0% min |
Crude Fiber | 1.5% max |
Moisture | 78.0% max |
Taurine | 0.1% min |


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Fourteen (14) Member Associations of Badminton World Federation (BWF) are vying to host events in the BWF World Superseries 2014-2017 tournament cycle; with China presenting two of a total 15 bids.
Three newcomers – Australia, Chinese Taipei and Thailand – are competing with the 11 BWF Member Associations currently hosting the annual 12-event circuit. China, which stages two tournaments in the ongoing 2011-2013 cycle, is seeking to continue that trend with bids to hold events in Changzhou and Guangzhou (proposed shift from Shanghai). However, with the badminton showpiece set to remain at 12 tournaments, competition is tight to be part of the enhanced BWF World Superseries set-up, comprising seven World Superseries events and five top-tier World Superseries Premier events which boast greater prize money.
Seven BWF members – Australia, China (Guangzhou bid), Denmark, England, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore – are competing for the prestige of showcasing a World Superseries Premier event. The other Member Associations in the reckoning – China (Changzhou bid), Chinese Taipei, France, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand – have their sights set on the World Superseries level. South Korea currently hosts the US$1 million Victor Korea Open which is part of the present OSIM BWF World Superseries.
Canada, Switzerland and the USA initially expressed an interest in contending for a host place on the tour but each has since chosen not to proceed with bidding.
The new cycle will usher in a four-year series in which players stand to earn the sport's biggest jackpots ever as badminton steps up its profile in the international arena.
The five top-tier World Superseries Premier tournaments promise to be more lucrative campaigns for winners, each with minimum prize money of US$500,000 (2014; 2015); US$550,000 (2016); and US$600,000 (2017). This is a significant boost from US$350,000 for 2011 and 2012 and US$400,000 for next season.
Meanwhile, World Superseries prize money will increase by US$25,000 annually, starting with a minimum US$250,000 in 2014 and rising as follows: US$275,000 (2015); US$300,000 (2016); US$325,000 (2017). Prize money for the seven events in the ongoing World Superseries is US$200,000 for all three years (2011-2013).
"The bidding for these 12 events has been extremely competitive and those countries and cities which are selected will have met some high criteria because we are looking to raise the bar in a number of ways," noted BWF Chief Operating Officer/Secretary General, Thomas Lund.
"Badminton as a sporting and entertainment spectacle is improving each year and, as a result, is generating more interest and excitement worldwide. The fact that so many countries and cities now want to be part of BWF's elite circuit is testament to this fact.
"We are currently evaluating the bids against the criteria and we will announce the host cities at our next Council meeting in November. It is going to be tough to exclude any of these Member Associations but, at the end of the process, we are confident we will have chosen the very best cities in which to showcase badminton."
Text by Gayle Alleyne


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WHO issues new guidance for treating children with severe acute malnutrition
GENEVA – WHO today released new treatment guidelines for the almost 20 million children under-five worldwide who have severe acute malnutrition.
Severe acute malnutrition is when children suffer severe wasting that may or may not be accompanied by swelling of the body from fluid retention. It occurs when infants and children do not have adequate energy, protein and micronutrients in their diet, combined with other health problems such as recurrent infections. It is diagnosed when the circumference of the upper arm is less than 115 mm or when the weight for height of a child is severely reduced.
Children with severe acute malnutrition are among the most vulnerable people in the world. They are very thin: most of their fat and muscle has been used by their bodies to stay alive.
Main recommendations
The updated WHO guidelines recommend that children with severe acute malnutrition who do not have health complications that require hospitalization, receive special, high-energy food and antibiotics to treat infection. This allows them to recover at home with their families. They also give guidance on how to treat them for HIV and, if necessary make recommendations on how to treat severely malnourished infants under six months.
"The guidelines are critical because many national health plans currently overlook children with severe acute malnutrition… If these children don't get the right medical and nutritional care, very often they die,"
Dr Francesco Branca, Director, WHO Department of Nutrition for Health and Development
"The guidelines are critical because many national health plans currently overlook children with severe acute malnutrition. This can be fatal. If these children don't get the right medical and nutritional care, very often they die," says Dr Francesco Branca, Director of WHO's Department of Nutrition for Health and Development.
New guidelines reflect new opportunities and technologies
The new guidelines supersede those issued by WHO in 1999 which recommended that all severely malnourished children be hospitalized, given fortified formula milk and appropriate treatment including antibiotics. The guidelines have been updated to reflect new opportunities and technologies that allow severely malnourished children who have an appetite and no evident medical complications to be effectively treated at home with specially-formulated foods that provide energy and nutrients and antibiotic medicines.
"It's generally better for children and better for their families if they're treated as outpatients," says Dr Elizabeth Mason, Director of WHO's Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health. "It can be easier for families who need to continue providing and caring for other children, and it allows vulnerable, malnourished children to stay home and avoid the risk of getting hospital infections."
The proactive use of antibiotics is important because the immune system of a child who is severely malnourished can virtually shut down. This lack of immune response means both that the body cannot fight off infection and that tests may not detect infection, even when one is present. Evidence shows that giving a broad spectrum antibiotic such as amoxicillin enables the child's body to fight off common infections like pneumonia and urinary tract infections which can be fatal to this group of children.
However, the new recommendation is specifically for children with severe acute malnutrition—not those who are simply undernourished. Widespread use of antibiotics among children who do not need them would increase the risk of infections becoming resistant to lifesaving antibiotics—a situation that would harm the health and survival of all children.
Severely malnourished children with HIV
Another new aspect of the guidelines relates to the treatment of severely malnourished children with HIV. The 1999 guidelines did not recommend HIV testing of children with severe acute malnutrition. At that time, there was poor availability and little experience of treating children with antiretroviral drugs. Circumstances today are very different. We now know that antiretrovirals significantly increase survival of children with HIV, and access to these drugs is improving. The new guidelines recommend that children with severe acute malnutrition in countries where HIV is common be routinely tested for the virus, and those who are positive should start on antiretroviral drugs as well as special foods and antibiotics to treat their severe malnutrition.
Infants under 6 months with severe acute malnutrition
The other group whose needs are addressed for the first time in these guidelines are infants under 6 months with severe acute malnutrition. WHO recommends that all babies under 6 months are exclusively breastfed for optimal nutrition and protection against infections. This is particularly important for babies who are severely malnourished. Health services should give special support to mothers of these infants to breastfeed as well as treating the child with antibiotics. If there is no realistic prospect of a severely malnourished baby being breastfed, the family may need breast milk from another woman, e.g. a family member, a neighbour, a wet nurse or a milk bank. If this is not possible, they will need infant formula and support to prepare and use it safely.


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The Wi-Fi Hotspot Finder webapp displays free wireless internet hotspots in your area on a Google Maps mashup. To use it, just give it your address, city, or zip and it'll display many of the nearby hotspots. This sort of tool isn't new by any means, but it is returning better results in my area than previously mentioned webapps like Hotspotr. If you give it a try, let's hear how the hotspot finder measures up in your area in the comments. While you're there, you may want to download wiPod, which stores all that hotspot information in note form for easy browsing on your iPod.
Free Wi-Fi/Hotspot Finder [AnchorFree via FreewareGenius]


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About Coast To Coast Auto Transport
Coast to Coast Auto Transport is dedicated to providing you with the best service in the industry. Whether you need your vehicle transported due to business relocation, a military assignment, or for personal reasons, we take special care to make this process as stress-free as possible.
Your automobile will be carefully handled and professionally transported in a timely manner. At Coast to Coast, we own all our trucks and our drivers are full-time employees with benefits. This shows our dedication to managing your transportation needs through and through.
Coast to Coast is committed to providing dependable and ethical service. Our success relies on your satisfaction. For that reason, we make sure you are completely aware of the pickup and delivery schedules, special conditions, and all costs prior to transporting your vehicle. In fact, in most instances, you won't be charged until your vehicle is delivered to its proper destination!


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Poll of Hundreds of Film Critics Name 'Roma' the Best Movie of 2018
As we all know, everyone is a critic — and just about everyone voted in this year's Indiewire Film Critics Poll. A record-high "232 critics voting from 32 countries" selected their top picks for the movies and performances of the year, and when the ballots were tallied, there was a one clear winner: Roma from director Alfonso Cuarón took home the top prize.
Here are the top ten films of the year, according to hundreds of film critics, via Indiewire:
- Roma
- First Reformed
- Burning
- The Favourite
- Cold War
- Shoplifters
- BlacKkKlansman
- Zama
- You Were Never Really Here
- If Beale Street Could Talk
Cuarón also took the prize for Best Director — and Roma also was named the best foreign language film with the best cinematography — while the top acting awards went to The Favourite's Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz, First Reformed's Ethan Hawke, and Burning's Steven Yeun. The best documentary was Minding the Gap (which you can watch right now on Hulu, by the way) while the best first feature was Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You. The Favourite also won the top screenplay prize.
At this point, Roma has won enough preliminary and critics awards to be an absolute lock for a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. But can it actually win the top prize? It has several things going against it, most importantly the fact that it is a Netflix film it remains to be seen whether the Academy, with its older, traditionalist membership, will want to reward a company that some feel is working to undermine the theatrical moviegoing experience.
It's maybe the most interesting storyline of the 2018 awards season — which will come to a conclusion at Oscars on Sunday, February 24.
Gallery — ScreenCrush's Picks For the Best Movies of 2018:


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