text:
The world is still reeling and shaking from afterthoughts of what happened in March, 2011 when Japan was hit by a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, which exposed how vulnerable all basic institutions have become when Nature acts up—something bound to happen anywhere or anytime in this era of climate change and global transmission of hard-to-treat infectious diseases.
Lessons from a tsunami are a terrible thing to waste, so last week, the Food Policy Research Initiative based atUniversity of Toronto and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health hosted a symposium of Japanese food and agricultural experts and Toronto public health leaders to survey what others can learn from Japan's response to the crisis.
Crises can provoke multiple breakdowns in government institutions and practices, keynote speaker Yoko Niiyama ofKyoto University told the crowd, so crisis preparation and management cannot just be about damage control.
The violent earthquake and tsunami killed over 15,000 people and destroyed or damaged some 400,000 buildings in short order, said Niiyama, who has helped design government communication strategies. But the longer-lasting human aftershocks included everything from destruction of prime agricultural land from salted ocean water, to a nuclear horror show and release of radioactive radiation, to widespread mistrust of government information, especially as relates to the safety of the food supply.
Both the mistrust of government officials and move to transparency and engagement were "quite revolutionary for Japan," she said. People didn't accept being treated as consumers, and insisted as citizens that they wanted information allowing them to make their own decisions.
Picking up that thread, keynote commentator Blake Poland of the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health argued that all regions need to take advantage of today's calm before the storm to develop legislation requiring full public disclosure and decision-sharing in governing emergencies. Such legislation needs to open up possibilities to move beyond simply reverting to the old order once the emergency was over, he said.
For me, Poland's suggestion made me realize all the advantages Japan had going into the crisis, almost all absent across North America. The law has to require many measures of emergency preparedness that could be started now. Almost none of the right stuff can be brought into being overnight after the emergency.
Most of the things that went well during the Japanese crisis were the result of longstanding social practices, not short-term government responses. Japan is famous for its strong sense of social cohesion and disciplined commitment to collective well-being. This isn't just cultural, argues Richard Wilkinson of The Spirit Level fame, but a product of longstanding practices promoting equity. Japan has its one per cent, but its top 20 per cent of earners only enjoy four times the income of the bottom 20 per cent (compared to 6 in Canada and 8 in the US), and it's that rough equality that supports the team spirit and collaboration so important in a crisis.
Japan's food system is also advantaged by personalized and cooperative relations. Rice itself, unlike wheat and corn, grows best on small family farms that are spread across the country. Rice paddies flourish at the doorstep of Tokyo's airport, for example. A widespread gift-based system (enkomi) centers on gifts of rice to family members and friends, says Kyoto agriculture professor Motoki Akitsu .
An informal friendship (teikei) system features the most powerful cooperative movement in the world. About a fifth of Japanese households belong to one of almost two million co-ops. In 1965, co-ops launched what North Americans call Community Supported Agriculture, which sell fresh produce to millions of families.
Women lead most co-ops and also run almost 17,000 small-scale food processing and direct sales companies which flourish at over 16,000 farmers markets across Japan. These have flourished thanks to the relative isolation of Japan's mountainous areas, says Sumiko Abe, chief scientist at Rural Women Empowerment and Life Improvement Association, allowing women entrepreneurs to "act as a catalyst" for mid-range suppliers, strongly committed to serving customers as friends. The teikei system is called "farming with a human face," and women-led direct trade companies are called "life-protecting business."
The prevalence of such a community-based short-circuited farming, processing, and retailing ethic sustained trust that bolstered calm during periods of acute concern over food contamination during radioactive releases from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.
Most unusual by Canadian standards, the government's ag department backs urban as well as rural producers, as well as local and regional foods. Almost every region has a hot of specialties, Kyoto, where most symposium speakers come from, boasts 41 specialty vegetables unique to the area. Since 2008, the ag department pushed for half the calories eaten in Japan to be grown or fished in Japan, and now encourages local shopping as a measure to share in the burdens of post-quake reconstruction.
If such relationships weren't embedded in society well before the earthquake and tsunami, I believe, the natural disaster could have produced a social and health disaster. The irony of successful Japanese emergency response in the worst of times, I thought as I left this symposium, is the preparation built into the system that works in the best of times. "These things don't just come out of the blue of an unengaged population," says Poland.
In public health lingo, such measures are called "creating enabling and supportive environments." Indifference to that empowerment agenda may just be the explanation for why such measures aren't on the North American government to-do list.


text:
If you're looking to step up your presenting game and take it to the next level, you'll want to master such skills as:
- Relying less on the lectern or standing in one place, and replacing that with confident movement around the room--a way to keep your audience's attention and even emphasize key points;
- Using gestures and props strategically, to make your message stick in the minds of your listeners and to help you speak more smoothly (a trick you can take advantage of);
- Speaking without notes while still remembering your key points--and making it easier for your listeners to remember them; and
- Handling Q-and-A with ease, ready to answer questions or handle difficult questioners without getting anxious.
Here's what participants in the last Good On Your Feet! workshop had to say:
- "I feel more confident in my ability to give presentations--thanks!"
- "I found useful the question-and-answer response tactics and a pausing technique that I can use."
- "Most valuable: practicing with feedback from Denise and the other participants."
- "Most valuable for me were the graceful ways with questions and answers, critiques, video recording and moving around (walking and talking).
Register today for the workshop--spaces are limited! I look forward to working with you.
Use the Evernote clip button, above, to save this post in an Evernote notebook. Go here to subscribe to Step Up Your Speaking, my free email newsletter that looks at a different speaking topic in depth each month...then become a fan of The Eloquent Woman on Facebook and join the conversation with thousands of other women (and men) about public speaking skills and confidence. Subscribers also get a 25 percent discount when they register for our next Good On Your Feet! workshop on dynamic speaking skills, March 2 and 3 in Washington, DC.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
#J16Forum: Idle No More – Where Do We Go From Here?
Teach-in & Public Forum
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
University of Victoria
First People's House Ceremonial Hall
7-9pm PST
UPDATE: Here are the SPREECAST ARCHIVE LINKS from #J16Forum. We had multiple stream crashes due to our audience size and traffic volume, but you can watch the archive in segments below.
Part 0—Opening: http://www.spreecast.com/events/idle-no-more-where-do-we-go-from-here [Note: There is no video/audio on this one, but this has the opening 15 mins of online chat]
Part 1: http://www.spreecast.com/events/idle-no-more-where-do-we-go-from-here-1
Part 2: http://www.spreecast.com/events/idle-no-more-where-do-we-go-from-here-2
Part 3: http://www.spreecast.com/events/idle-no-more-where-do-we-go-from-here-3
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/521252821238499/
Downloadable HI-RES POSTER: click here
Wab Kinew (Media Personality, Director of Indigenous Inclusion, University of Winnipeg)
Dr. Taiaiake Alfred (Professor, Indigenous Governance, UVic)
Janet Rogers (Victoria Poet Laureate, Idle No More Victoria Organizer)
Mandee McDonald (MA Student, Indigenous Governance, UVic, Idle No More Victoria/Denendeh Organizer)
INFO: What is the Idle No More movement and where do we go from here? Bringing together local community organizers, university students and professors, and special guests, this will be an opportunity to learn, share and discuss the growing, global Indigenous Peoples' movement and how it affects and involves all Canadians. All nations and peoples welcome.
Tea, coffee and refreshments will be served.
Please use the #J16Forum hashtag to join the discussion on Twitter during the event. Live back channel conversation will be moderated – and online audience will be able to interact and ask questions to the panel.
Co-presented by the UVic Faculty of Human & Social Development and the University of Victoria.
For more information on Idle No More, please visit:
Idle No More [Intro Video]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksESR2BVlqY&feature=youtu.be
Wab Kinew: "Idle No More Is Not Just an 'Indian Thing'" – http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/wab-kinew/idle-no-more-canada_b_2316098.html
Chelsea Vowel: "Idle No More only sounds vague. Let's talk specifics" http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/idle-no-more-only-sounds-vague-lets-talk-specifics/article7098267/
Looking forward to seeing you there.


text:
I decided my name should be Juliet when I was 10. It took a further 17 years to let it rise from the back of my mind, where I had swiftly buried it, and become my identity. Don't ask my "real" name: it's not polite.
Changing my name was easy - a deed poll costs about £30. Changing my body is far harder. In Britain, there are two gender reassignment routes: expensive (private) or slow (NHS). Having declined the terms by which I could raise £30,000 for private treatment, I've chosen slow - which some people feel shouldn't exist. Without it, though, I'd face a lifetime in a body I loathe, being asked to meet social expectations which feel alien to me, creating mental health problems that would require (state-funded) treatment for years, even decades.
Beginning the gender reassignment process is the next, admittedly huge, stage in managing my lifelong gender dysphoria. Fulfilling the classical transsexual narrative - the one that gender clinics like to hear - I knew I was "different" as a child. My first indication of how came at primary school, when a friend said: "We've got to make you more masculine."
Why? I didn't consider myself predominantly masculine or feminine: I liked violent toys (particularly Transformers - the irony had not yet become apparent) AND fluffy kittens. I hadn't realised the fundamental role gender plays in most children's development: how it provides both a group to belong to and something to define themselves against, and a base for all future personal development. And all this before most are old enough to question why girls should do X and boys should do Y (or, more often, in both cases, not do).
Unlike most of my contemporaries, I had reason to question gender stereotypes. Aged 10, I saw two men cross-dressing on television (I'd love to say it was these two, but it wasn't), and I felt an irresistible urge to copy them.
Putting on a dress, I was floored by a surge of energy. Momentarily, I felt completely at ease: then total confusion. Why was I turned on? Was I a "transvestite"? Did I want a "sex change"? Then fear: what if my family caught me? What if my classmates found out? Nobody must ever know, I told myself, cross-dressing behind closed curtains, panicking when my parents' car pulled up the drive before I'd covered my tracks.
Publicly, I struggled to present a convincing masculine persona. First, I became misogynistic, resenting the girls at school who I imagined had an easy, fun relationship between their gender identities and their bodies (little did I realise, aged 13, how utterly absurd that was). Soon, I learned to respect women: I turned my rage on myself, and my inability to feel comfortable in my body, let alone fit in with my peers.
I never joined my classmates when they waxed fantastical about who was "fit". I didn't dare admit, even to myself, that I enjoyed cross-dressing and found transgender people attractive (not that I knew the word "transgender" then). I channelled my frustration into football (which became my main concession to masculinity) and fronting a punk band.
Isolated, I scoured the mainstream media for like-minded individuals, but it seemed the closest people to me in the public eye were objects of ridicule: Lily Savage or Pauline Calf. I knew I wasn't a drag queen, or a transvestite, but I didn't know what I was.
I refused to admit how drawn I was whenever I saw the word "transsexual" - usually in my parents' Daily Mail. Their coverage tended towards stories about greedy transsexuals milking the state or their employers, usually accompanied by cartoons of burly men in floral dresses with stubbly legs (little has changed - note the pronouns).
Then I discovered Eddie Izzard, who hilariously normalised cross-dressing, and The Smiths, with their sublime glorification of the outsider. I felt less alone - but I still knew nobody like me in suburban Surrey.
The internet was a godsend: at last, I found men who dressed as, or had become, women. Finally, I accepted myself. Moving to college, I was ready to come out - but as what?
I declared myself gay and a cross-dresser: "gay" because although I felt attracted to males who were somehow female, I still considered them men; and "cross-dresser" because it seemed the most innocuous term. I picked a male image off the post-punk peg - spiky hair, raincoat, DM boots and Joy Division T-shirts - and started cross-dressing with female friends, periodically scandalising the people of Horsham (it wasn't difficult) by wearing makeup and women's clothes around town. Mostly, though, I kept my femaleness private: I didn't want my gender to become sensational (at least, not all the time), and presenting as male seemed the easiest option.
After two idyllic years, I went to university in Manchester. Now, the city has a vivid transgender scene - including Sparkle, Britain's only national transgender celebration - but I arrived too early. In turn-of-the-millennium Manchester, as elsewhere, trans culture was struggling to achieve visibility within, let alone a distinct identity from, the gay scene made famous by Queer As Folk.
I soon realised that men-only clubs weren't for me, gravitating towards Manhattan's, with its cross-dressing barmaids and bizarre opening times, and the Hollywood Showbar. Both featured drag acts, but I rarely saw transgender people there: when I did, they were a small number, often huddled in a corner, nearly always at least 20 years older than me. I created my own spaces, cross-dressing at club nights I organised: I felt accepted by my friends, but lonely, still knowing no trans people.
In Brighton one summer, I went out as Juliet for the first time, aged 20. A friend took me to Harlequins, where trans people were made especially welcome (its toilets were designated 'Gents' and 'Ladies/TV/TS'). Its music and decor resembled the campest gay clubs - there were drag acts followed by a hyper-cheese disco. Although I hated the playlist (OK, apart from the numerous guilty pleasures), I loved the atmosphere, and the liberation it provided: I'd never felt so myself.
After graduating, I took a postgraduate course at the University of Sussex. Feeling more comfortable, I became more open about my 'cross-dressing', but I was only just discovering the deliberately vague, all-encompassing transgender identity theorised in the 90s by Leslie Feinberg, Kate Bornstein and others - all cornerstones of Sussex's Gender Studies MA programme (which I neglected in favour of Literature and Visual Culture).
Feeling more at home in Brighton, I finally acted on my belief that I was a gay man. I had two brief relationships with men, both of which foundered on their sexual disinclination towards my irrepressible femininity. I realised that the reason I didn't fit into the gay scene was because I was not a gay man. Instead, I finally admitted to myself that I must fit somewhere on the daunting, ill-defined CD/TV/TS spectrum. But where?
• Juliet Jacques's column will appear fortnightly. You are invited to post comments and questions for Juliet below, and are very welcome to share your own experiences.


text:
Somebody must pay for the plumbing if transparency is to fulfill its promise.
"The art of the possible," a catchphrase among boosters of the modern transparency movement, may be running headlong into practical necessities.
In late 2008, we cheered when the District of Columbia announced it had surfaced 260 data feeds that could be mashed up usefully by citizen coders. Apps for Democracy, an initial contest with modest prize money, is now a recurring D.C. event and has proliferated to San Francisco, Seattle and New York.
The idea was spread by the Sunlight Foundation in "helping citizens, bloggers and journalists be their own best watchdogs, by improving access to existing information and digitizing new information, and by creating new tools and Web sites to enable all of us to collaborate in fostering greater transparency." The foundation funded Code for America, which created a replicable model for data mash-up contests.
Sunlight cut its chops in this space with Apps for America, which encouraged the same kind of transparency in the federal government. The contest's second round, Data.gov Challenge, found talent to interrogate raw resources in the federal data repository, the holdings of which began with 47 entries and now approaches 120,000 data sets.
It's hard to dispute that information wants to be free, but - and it is an increasingly large "but" - somebody must pay to for the plumbing if transparency is to fulfill its promise.
It isn't that surfacing government data is bad, but it comes with a bow wave. The more data feeds, sets and sources that are surfaced, the larger the wave. Government sets the wave in motion for all the right reasons and now finds itself with an unpaid mandate of its own creation - providing context.
In a recent analysis, Daniel Castro, senior analyst of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, wrote, "Although Web sites like Data.gov provide tools for users to rate the quality of data sets, agencies responsible for maintaining data sets should take on more responsibility for noting any data quality issues. For example, agencies should make clear any known limitations of data sets, such as poor survey response rates, grossly inaccurate data or outdated information."
There are also the serious matters of data definitions, standards and architectures - the life's work of a small, unsung group of data professionals. They make the case for bringing old-school disciplines to these new pursuits. It's the kind of thing you can't get done by crowdsourcing alone.
Several states - Maine, Utah and California - have brought data sets (about 40 each, excluding GIS data) together in a single spot on their respective portals. Those relatively small numbers may prove advantageous as they and others ramp up for what comes next. In addition to raw data, states are packaging and presenting data in consumable ways - through stimulus tracking tools, searchable state checkbooks that show revenue and expenditures, and campaign finance disclosure services.
Whether done by governments or third parties (friendly or not), and 44 years after the dawn of the open government movement, we still may be closer to the beginning of the process than the end. Perhaps the greatest risk is the digital equivalent of malicious compliance - where government makes available huge volumes of "undisciplined" data in ways that can't be used to hold public agencies accountable, keep communities safe, fuel economic activity or some other public good.
Looking for the latest gov tech news as it happens? Subscribe to GT newsletters.


text:
Create your account to continue.
Must be at least 6 characters long
Re-type the password you entered above
Postcode lookup failed. Please try again or fill in your address manually.
We need your personal details to help us verify that you are over 16, this is a legal requirement. Your data will be held securely and will NEVER be used for any other purpose.
Start typing in the box below to find a single cause. You may also click 'See all our causes' if you need some inspiration.
This option allows proceeds from your ticket(s) to be added to a central fund which is used to support all of our local causes.
Contact support - 0118 2020102


text:
Can Microsoft do that?
With the full public release of Windows Vista only a few months away, tensions are heating up between Microsoft and some security software vendors, and plenty of pundits are saying that this situation looks like a 2007 repeat of the great Microsoft-Netscape battles of old. In the following report, we briefly summarize the facts and then explain why this situation is worlds apart from that landmark battle over web browsers. If anyone should be sweating bullets, it's Microsoft.
As previously reported, antivirus and security firms Symantec and McAfee object to x86-64 Windows' PatchGuard feature for 64-bit versions of the OS, which protects the kernel from any unauthorized changes or tampering. PatchGuard is not a feature of Microsoft's 32-bit operating systems, including the forthcoming 32-bit versions of Windows Vista.
Microsoft originally planned to keep third parties out of the kernel using PatchGuard, but in an attempt to appease the EU, the software giant announced that it would relent. Under pressure, Microsoft proposed new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for access, but Symantec responded by saying that such a move wasn't good enough, and McAfee followed suit.
Late last week, Microsoft offered to host an online meeting, inviting many security companies to attend in the hopes of straightening out this kerfuffle. Technical glitches with LiveMeeting added extra drama, as key players were booted from the meeting accidentally. Were certain companies getting the short shrift? A Microsoft spokesperson told Ars that "the first session had some technical difficulties which caused a delay, but the issues were resolved and the meeting continued as planned. We're grateful that over 20 partners were able to successfully participate in the call." Additional meetings have also been scheduled, so that anyone who wants will have an opportunity to participate. When they attend, they'll learn one thing above all others: Microsoft isn't going to relent further.
PatchGuard is here to stay
Microsoft is clear that they have no intention of disabling PatchGuard altogether, or allowing security firms to bypass it or the API designed for interaction. As a result, the meeting yesterday served to discuss the "methods by which third-party software can work alongside Kernel Patch Protection on x86-64 platforms without disabling it." In Microsoft's view, a solution has been found and is being put in place.
Microsoft has promised to allow third-party vendors to send alerts that are similar to the ones used by the built-in security software, but they will not allow the disabling of the Windows Security Center in favor of a replacement interface. Security Center first made its debut with Windows XP SP2, but the functionality of the Vista version still seems to be in flux. (The beta I tested had no way to replace the built-in firewall with a third-party program, but Microsoft says that newer versions are more flexible in this regard.)
Shortly after the announcement of Microsoft's API plans came another bombshell: these methods, which will take the form of new APIs, will not be ready by the time of Vista's release. Instead, Microsoft promises to have the set of documented kernel APIs ready by the "Vista SP1 timeframe," for which an exact date has not been given. We estimate the first service pack will ship more than 12 months after the launch of Vista. Symantec and McAfee are not pleased.
What's the real problem?
The issue of PatchGuard and the wait for new APIs overshadows the real issue: the presence of Microsoft's OneCare antivirus solution and its prominent placement in the Vista operating system. Privately many antivirus companies are fuming. Not only is Microsoft moving in on their turf, but they also feel as though the company is locking them out of the OS, and therefore out of the antivirus business. Sound familiar? There's no shortage of people claiming that this is Netscape, Part II.
There are many important differences this time around, however. For example, this CNet Australia article draws strong comparisons to Netscape's fate at the hands of Microsoft and Internet Explorer (going so far as to call what's happening to McAfee and Symantec as "Netscaping"), but it fails to mention the key difference, as do most of the other analyses I've read so far.
The key difference
Microsoft never charged for Internet Explorer. Netscape had to compete against a web browser that was integrated into the OS and came seemingly "free of charge." With Windows Vista, OneCare may be promoted by the OS, but it is not free. OneCare costs $49.95, but provides protection for up to three PCs. Sunbelt president Alex Eckelberry has called the pricing model "predatory," but the point is: there is a price. If OneCare is going to be a success, customers are going to have to pony up for the service, making it less of a Netscape situation. Ultimately this battle is about antivirus market share, but the established players have years of experience selling software and the new competition in town (Microsoft) isn't giving its wares away for free.
Microsoft will, of course, benefit from including OneCare's sign-up icon in the Windows Vista Welcome Center, but as the recent Google-Dell bundling hookup shows, software companies can attempt to work deals with OEMs for similar placement. In fact, Symantec and McAfee have both used extensive bundling deals to preload Dell, Gateway, and other PCs with their software. Indeed, long before there were complaints over Internet Explorer 4 there were bundled copies of anti-virus software on most OEM computers destined for the home.
Is OneCare really a bundling threat? Surely it is, but it cuts both ways, as I will soon explain.
Download the PDF
(This feature for Premier subscribers only.)


text:
Wine Spectator Score
+ Add Critic Score
Submit a Critic ScoreClose
Alderbrook Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley 1995
Region: USA » California » Sonoma County » Dry Creek Valley
Winery: Alderbrook Winery
Color: Red
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Alderbrook Winery:
Anthony Terlato and family Gathering at the table has always been at the heart of the Terlato family. From my childhood, I can remember dinners and evening gatherings with family, cousins, and friends, laughing and enjoying each other's company with Verdi or Puccini playing in the background. Of course, my mother and grandmother prepared the most delicious foods, and my father opened plenty ... Read more
Anthony Terlato and family Gathering at the table has always been at the heart of the Terlato family. From my childhood, I can remember dinners and evening gatherings with family, cousins, and friends, laughing and enjoying each other's company with Verdi or Puccini playing in the background. Of course, my mother and grandmother prepared the most delicious foods, and my father opened plenty of good wine. I remember the conversations with my cousins were always lively. Now when we gather with my sons Bill and John and their children, we can enjoy the wines that we market and the wines we produce. Rutherford Hill, Chimney Rock, Sanford, Alderbrook, and our namesake label Terlato Family Vineyards are wines that are made for the central moments in your life, carefully crafted, to be memorable. We are the Terlato family and our commitment is to quality wines that you can also share with your family and friends, as you take the time to gather around the table as we still do enjoying quality wine, carefully prepared food, good conversation and each others company. It's a tradition worthy of passing down from generation to generation. Vineyards Estate Vineyard The prominent varietal on our estate is Zinfandel with 39 acres planted. We have 15.6 acres of Syrah and just a bit of Alicante Bouschet. After unneeded vines were removed in the 1990s we conducted extensive soil research. This research informed our rootstock and clone selections. We utilize advanced technology like subterranean irrigations systems on many of our vineyard blocks. Underground irrigation delivers water right to the vine's root zone and minimizes wasteful water evaporation. Old Barn We named this vineyard in honor of, literally, the old barn that overlooks the Zinfandel vines. The wooden barn built in 1900 is considered a historic landmark which served as an illegal winery during the prohibition. Today the old barn is still functioning, storing the farming equipment that we use to cultivate the vineyard today. The vineyard is located at the far end of Dry Creek Valley, planted in well-drained, river washed soils. Three Goose The Three Goose block is located right next to the Old Barn block. We named this vineyard block Three Goose to honor the trio of happy geese that live at this site. We find it comforting to see these big white birds marching around the vineyard, serving as sentries. The geese living amongst these old vines are proof that sustainable practices can allow agriculture and animals to exist peacefully together. Wagon Wheel Wagon Wheel block is owned by the Perotti family who has a 3-generation long history of growing grapes in Sonoma County. This block is about 3 miles south of our Old Barn block on the west side of Dry Creek. We applied the term Wagon Wheel because of the look these vines take on as they develop through the growing season. Wagon Wheel is the term for head trained vines. Head training was a method of training vines that was done before the advent of wire trellis systems. Vines trained in this fashion resembled the shape of a wagon wheel. Each spoke of the wagon wheel would support a spur from which the shoots would grow. This would best balance the vine and weight of the fruit and also allow more sunlight. Wind Machine Wind Machine is another old-vine block of Zinfandel located within the Perotti vineyard. This site has red clay soils that are well-drained. the Wine Machine block is, no surprise, guarded by a towering wind machine. the wind machine at this location assures us that the valuable crop is protected from detrimental frost. Wind machines protect vineyards by mixing warm and cold air to help keep the temperature in the vineyard from falling below freezing. Grape vines are vulnerable to frost damage each spring when they awake from dormancy and the new buds begin to break open. A trusty Wind Machine provides welcome protection from frost damage. Tasting Room Open 7 days a week 10 AM - 5 PM Closed New Year's Day, Easter Thanksgiving and Christmas Read less
Do you love Alderbrook Winery? Follow them to show your support. Why?
Food Pairings for Alderbrook Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley
Photos+ Add an Image for this wine
Best Wine Deals
$23.3916% offCharles Krug Zinfandel 2008
$29.9840% offHenriot Blanc Souverain NV


text:
If you're looking for beautiful wall art for your home or office, look no further than my gallery in Killarney, Co. Kerry.
My friendly and helpful staff will assist you in making your selection, and we ship worldwide.
Click the link for a virtual tour of the space, and be sure and drop in if you're in the area.


text:
Behzad Mottahed
- Product & Marketing Management Certification, Lucent Technologies/Wharton Business School, May 2011
- Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
- D.Eng., Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, May 1998
- Ph.D., Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken NJ, May 1998
- M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA, May 1986
- B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Massachusetts, North Dartmouth, MA, May 1984
- Computer Integrated Design and Manufacturing of Electronic Systems
- Knowledge-based Engineering Systems
- Design Optimization
- Liquid Cooling of Electronic Systems
- Electromagnetic Interference Shielding
- Advanced Electronic Packaging System
- Advanced Thermal Management
General Information
- Managed various products from concept to manufacture
- Network Wireless Unit- Introduced, designed, and manufactured three generation of wireless products.
- Participated in the growth of the business from few hundred million to multi- Billion Dollars a year.
- Experienced in design and analysis of System Level, Frame Level, and Pack Level electronic systems.
- Knowledge-based Engineering System- Higher quality and faster production tool. Demonstrated that use of system in design of electronic equipment can save up to two order of magnitudes from time to market.
- Extensive knowledge of operation and production systems
- Directed a team to carry on the Design Concept, Engineering analysis, prototyping and Cell System Requirements for CDMA (and UMTS) wireless systems of a multi-sector, pole-mountable, small and large wireless products, including in-building applications.
- Managed a team for Development of Shielding Technologies and guidelines. This led to higher quality and higher reliability products.
- Managed a team for Development of noise reduction techniques in electronic systems, with implication for all Lucent Technologies. This led to higher customer satisfaction.
- Introduction of Liquid Cooling technique in design of electronic systems.
- Power conversion technology, (Forward looking environment (Bell Labs research)). Responsible for investigation of high power density and efficiency Off-line Switchers and DC-DC power converters.
- 1998 - Present, Senior Manager for Wireless Product Solution, Lucent Technologies
Institutional Service
- 1992 - Present, Adjunct Professor, Stevens Institute of Technology
- Developed the following courses: Integrated System design and manufacturing of Electronic systems, Reliability Engineering:
- Taught courses in Production Systems, Manufacturing Processes, Concurrent Design and Manufacturing, Introduction to Robotics, Computer Integrated Design and Manufacturing, System Design of Electronic Equipment, Computer Numerical Control, and Fluid Mechanics.
Professional Service
- Member of the Research Committee on Reliability of Photonics Systems part of ASME Center for Research and Technology Development, 2000 - Present
- Voting member of American Society of Acoustics. Developing standards for noise measurements and limits for various electronic equipment, 1997 - 2002.
- Co-chaired the Design session of the Mechatronics conference, Atlanta, GA, 2000
- Member of Tau-Beta-Pi, National Engineering Honor Society
Honors & Awards
- Quality Excellence Award at Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories
- Lucent President Golden Award for product development and cost reduction Base Stations, 2002-2004
- Network Systems Quality Golden Thread Award, 1997
- GSM Golden Quality Award for design of STF (GSM)- Network Wireless Systems, 1996
- Network Wireless Systems Award of Excellence for Snap-in Shield Design, 1995
- Silver Quality Excellent Award for Japan Common Amplifier Design – Network Wireless Systems, 1992
- Full Graduate Scholarship for Academic Excellence, Mechanical Engineering Departments, Tufts University and MIT
Patents & Inventions
- Method and apparatus to increase convection heat transfer in an electrical system and a method of manufacturing the same" U.S. Patent Number 6,493,224
- "Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Enclosure", U.S. Patent Number 6,297,969
- "EMI Shielding Enclosure", U.S. Patent Number 6,274,808
- A Method Of Determining The Minimum Number Of Securing Points Required On an Electronic Isolation Shield To Sufficiently Secure The Shield To A Circuit Board", U.S. Patent Number 6,266,877
- "Modular design of electronic equipment systems" US patent number 6,151,210
- "An Electronic Isolation Shield and a Method of Determining the Minimum Number of Securing Points required on the Shield to Sufficiently Secure the Shield to a Circuit Board", US Patent number 6,060,659.
- "Electronic Component Enclosure for RF Shielding", US patent number 5,557,063
- "Thermal Detection Elements", US patent number 5,550,526
- "Self Fastening EMI Enclosure" US patent number 5,565,656
- "Housing for a wireless base station" US patent number D393,644
Selected Publications
Conference Proceedings
- Mottahed, B.D., Kaytoma, H.. (Nov 17-22, 2002). "Proceedings of IMECE'02: New Orleans, Louisiana", "Cooldown Simulation for the Compact Ignition Tokamack (CIT), Poloidal Field (PF) Coils".
- Mottahed, B.D.. (May 22, 2000). "50th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, - New Emerging Technologies", "Knowledge-Based Engineering System for Design of Electronic Equipment".
- Mottahed, B.D., Manoochehri, S.. (May 13, 1997). "2nd Annual Lucent Pro/E User Conference Proceedings", "A Knowledge-Based Engineering System for Integrated Mechanical Design of Electronic Equipment",Holmdel, New Jersey.
- Mottahed, B.D., Manoochehri, S.. (Nov 1994). "1994 ASME Winter Annual Meeting", "Effect of Joint Configuration and Tolerances on Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Effectiveness of Enclosure", ASME, Symposium on Structural Analysis in Microelectronics and Fiber Optics, Chicago, Illinois .
- Mottahed, B.D., Manoochehri, S.. "International Symposium on EMC, Sendai '94, Japan", "Effects of Angle of Cut and Gap Size on the Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness". pp. 128-131.
- D. Kalyon, H. Gevgilili, J. Kowalczyk, S. Prickett and C. Murphy. (2006). ""Use of adjustable-gap on-line and off-line slit rheometers for the characterization of the wall slip and shear viscosity behavior of energetic formulations"", Journal of Energetic Materials. 24 175-193.
- E. Birinci, H. Gevgilili, D. Kalyon, B. Greenberg, D. Fair and A. Perich. (2006). "Rheological characterization of nitrocellulose gels", Journal of Energetic Materials. 24 247-269.
- Mottahed, B.D.. (2000). "Journal of Polymer Engineering & Science", "Enhanced Shielding Effectiveness of Polymer Matrix Composites Enclosures Utilizing Constraint-Based Optimization". Vol. 40 (n. 1), pp. 6169.
- Mottahed, B.D., and Manoochehri, S.. (1997). "Journal of Polymer Engineering & Science", "Investigation of Composite Materials Selection and Joint Layout Design to Enhance EMI Shielding of Electronic Equipment". Vol. 37 (No.3), pp. 653-666.
- Mottahed, B.D., and Manoochehri, S.. (1997). "Journal of Applied Polymer science", "Material and Geometry Factors in Joint Design of Electronic Equipment to Minimize Electromagnetic Interference". Vol. 64 pp. 1667-1679.
- Mottahed, B.D., and Molki, M.. (1996). "International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer", "Artificial Roughness effects on Turbulent transfer Coefficients in the Entrance Region of Circular Tube". Vol 39 (No. 12), pp. 2515-2523.
- Mottahed, B.D.. (Nov 2000). "IEEE Transaction on Advanced Packaging", Vol. 23 (No. 04), pp. 699-707.
- Mottahed, B.D., Manoochehri, S.. "7th Mechatronics Forum ".
- Mottahed, B.D., and Manoochehri, S.. (1999). "Polymer-Plastic Technology and Engineering,Marcel Dekker Inc.", Vol 38 (No 5), pp. 883-925.
- Mottahed, B.D., Cercioglu. N.. (Dec 1999). "Poly'99-Polymeric materials for Microelectronics & Photonics Applications: Mechanics, Physics, Reliability and Processing".
- Mottahed, B.D., and Manoochehri, S.. (Feb 1996). "IEEE Transactions on Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology (CPMT)-Advanced Packaging", "Joint Design Methodology Based on the Electromagnetic Shielding Capabilities". Vol. 19 (No.1), pp. 238-247.
- Mottahed, B.D., and Manoochehri, S.. (1995). "Polymer-Plastic Technology and Engineering", "A Review of Research in Materials and Simulation, Design factors, and Testing and Measurements Related to Electromagnetic Interference Shielding". Vol. 34 (No. 2), pp. 271-346.
- Mottahed, B.D., and Manoochehri, S.. (Feb 1995). "IEICE Transaction on Communications", "Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness: Effects Due to Gap Size and Angle of Cut". Vol. E78-B (No. 2), pp. 207-211.


text:
CNET has a great analysis of SOPA ("Stop Online Privacy Act"), also known as the E-PARASITE Act ("Enforcing and Protecting American Rights Against Sites Intent on Theft and Exploitation Act."):
House leaders assured Silicon Valley they would correct serious defects in the Senate bill. Unfortunately, SOPA does just the opposite. It creates vague, sweeping new standards for secondary liability, drafted to ensure maximum litigation..
The House bill, for example, dubbed the "E-PARASITE Act," proposes alternative versions of several provisions from Protect IP, including new authority for the attorney general to cut off access and funding for "parasite" foreign Web sites. (SOPA requires the U.S. copyright czar to determine the extent to which these foreign infringers are actually harming U.S. interests, data collection that logically should precede such sweeping new powers.)
Once the Justice Department determines a site "or a portion thereof" is "committing or facilitating" certain copyright and trademark violations, it can apply for court orders that would force ISPs and others who maintain DNS lookup tables to block access to the site.
Search engines (a term broadly defined that includes any website with a "search" field), along with payment processors and advertising networks, can also be forced to cut ties with the parasites. Operators of innocent sites have limited ability to challenge the Justice Department's decision before or after action is taken.
SOPA also includes its own version of another Senate bill, which would make it a felony to stream copyrighted works. The House version allows prosecution of anyone who "willfully" includes protected content without permission, including, for example, YouTube videos where copyrighted music is covered or even played in the background.
While supporters deny that such minimal infractions would meet the bill's definition of "willfully," the actual text suggests otherwise. Prosecutors need only demonstrate ...


text:
Blood Transfusion and Agglutination
- This topic has 7 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 10 months ago by biohazard.
November 16, 2007 at 4:53 am #8593InfariousParticipant
I understand the ABO and Rhesus systems quite well but I don't understand why O is the universal donor if O contains anti-A and anti-B antibodies. Wouldn't it agglutinate A, B and AB type blood? Or is the agglutination negligible? Or are antibodies removed from blood destined for transfusion?
November 16, 2007 at 6:43 am #77837mithParticipant
O has neither, AB has both
November 16, 2007 at 7:06 am #77839
O lacks the A and B surface antigens, therefore the receiver's immune system does not destroy thehse blood cells. O blood does have A and B antibodies, but since the volume transfused is usually relatively small, the little amounts of antibody that are transfered to the recipient are not a big problem. However, as far as I have understood, in big operations or when there has been a massive loss of blood, matching type of blood is always the optimal choice, and only if it is not possible, O type is given.
November 16, 2007 at 11:44 pm #77880RevengedParticipantquote Infarious:I understand the ABO and Rhesus systems quite well but I don't understand why O is the universal donor if O contains anti-A and anti-B antibodies. Wouldn't it agglutinate A, B and AB type blood? Or is the agglutination negligible? Or are antibodies removed from blood destined for transfusion?
the anti-A and anti-B antibodies are found in plasma…
plasma is separated from red blood cells by centrifugation…
only the O red blood cells are transfused (not the plasma)…
in clinical practice you'd always match blood types as it is not possible to fully separate plasma and red blood cells…
November 17, 2007 at 3:32 am #77888InfariousParticipant
Thanks Biohazard and Revenged.
November 18, 2007 at 5:06 pm #77982
Good you specified my answer a bit, Revenged.
It is indeed so that the antibodies are found in the plasma (and on the surface of B-cells in the form of a membrane-bound immunoglobulin), but since both are separated from the red blood cells, it is not a big problem. Tiny amounts of both plasma and white blood cells (including B lymphocytes) usually remain among the erythrocytes, but like I tried to say, the amount is so small that usually it causes no harm. Despite this, in big transfusions this can have an effect, if O blood is given to a non-O recipient.
November 24, 2007 at 3:40 pm #78442mcarParticipant
Antibodies are needed to be removed.
November 24, 2007 at 8:58 pm #78458
As far as I know, the antibodies remaining within the erythrocytes need not be removed, and I'm not even sure if there is an efficient / cost effective way of doing that. After all, virtually all antibodies are removed when the plasma is separated. Any antibody traces remaining with the red blood cells should not be a problem. At least during some smallish operation requiring a unit or two of red blood cells, whatever antibodies there are with them is not a problem. And like I said before, in bigger operations a matching type of blood is used if available.
Want to specify a bit what you meant with this 'need to be removed'? 🙂
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.


text:
This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
The QX performance boats display Bennington's exceptional attention to detail with a fresh twist on a timeless design. You'll find a raw and striking profile that is inspired by the universal appeal of sleek lines and distinct handcrafted styling. Our line of fiberglass boats empowers your creative side, choose from over 20,000 color options and create something that is completely unique to you.


text: MR.-HANKEY'S-XXXCALIBUR-LGXL-(SHORT4) 0 0 / 0 Share Share https://hankeystube.com/xxxcalibur/mr-hankeys-xxxcalibur-lg-xl-short4/attachment/mr-hankeys-xxxcalibur-lgxl-short4/ Copy the link 07:34 MrHankeysToys first ride on Beowulf med AMAZING 10 04:29 Trying huge SIGMALOID Mr Hankeys Toys for the FIRST TIME in my ASS! 30 03:21 Teresa meets Solatok, from Mr. Hankey's toys 10 03:20 Riding Solatok, from Mr. Hankey's 13 11:28 Our first time pegging in the shower! Big Daddy by Mr. Hankey's Toys is our new favorite dildo! 6 04:42 Tiny Goth Pussy Stretched by HUGE Hankey's Toy Dildo 12 02:08 Step Bro fucked and made Fart loudly. CODY CACHET dildo From Mrhankeystoys 6 01:27 He's in control 23 03:02 Straight Hot bro fuck my hungry hole EL REY huge toy From Mrhankeystoys 29 15:30 Play with my EL REY huge toy from Mrhankeys on Chaturbate and fuck hungry big ass 2


text:
Here, help arrivedBy Edward Cone Print
Cantor Fitzgerald and its electronic trading subsidiary eSpeed lost 700 employees, including 180 members of technology staff. The response of those still on the job: Restore service to customers in less than two days....">
Here, help arrived in the form of one of eSpeed's competitors. ICI/ADP, another electronic trading company, offered to take care of eSpeed's clearing and settling of transactions through its own connection to banks. By Wednesday night, the eSpeed team had mapped its financial back-office system to ADP's system, and had successfully sent test transactions to J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and other banks.
The cooperation of other companies, including vendors and fellow financial firms, turned out to be key to Cantor/ eSpeed's quick recovery. ADP got the back-office component hooked up overnight, Compaq delivered 100 desktop computers at 2 a.m. on Wednesday and Verizon expedited the installation of voice lines and the transfer of some of eSpeed's digital circuits. Cisco provided a phone system based on Internet protocols, in a hurry. Microsoft had an NT team continuously on hand, as eSpeed's server and desktop maintenance group had been especially hard-hit. Meanwhile, UBS PaineWebber provided temporary office space in Manhattan. When units for running tape backups were in short supply, Claus was able to borrow one from a friend at another company by driving to his office at 11 p.m.
Trading in eSpeed stock resumed the first week of October. Shares, which had closed at $8.69 on Sept. 10, closed at $5.91 on Oct. 5. The firm was weakened by the loss of so many people and the related shutdown of its voice-broker business.
But it survived as a viable business. Thanks to planning, the company can keep operating, even if something should happen to Rochelle Park. Its data center in London will serve as the mirror site going forward.
And going forward, the company's systems should be even more resilient. "We are learning a lot of lessons as we are restoring the system," says Noviello, including how to automate more aspects of bringing systems back up. "And we are not restoring our bad habits."
IT Solutions Builder TOP IT RESOURCES TO MOVE YOUR BUSINESS FORWARD
Which topic are you interested in?
Data Storage
IT Management
What is your company size?
What is your job title?
What is your job function?
Searching our resource database to find your matches...


text:
$117.96 $260.00 You Save 54% ($142.04)
SALE -- Bvlgari tie with Navy 'Bowling' Monkey design, sevenfold tie, fancy Saglione silk, hand made in Italy. Genuine Bvlgari merchandise. Men novelty ties. Genuine Bvlgari men accessories collection online, very unique and hard to find. Great gift, comes with all Bvlgari tags, authenticity tags and Bvlgari gift box.
Bvlgari neckties are sevenfold ties, hand cut, hand finished by artisan tailors in Italy. Bvlgari uses the best Saglione silk for their printed silk sevenfold ties.


text:
About Scott Harris
The Scott Harris Eyewear collection is a diverse collection that features both traditional, unisex styling and the ultimate in high fashion designs for those seeking a unique look. Every model of Scott Harris eyeglasses are constructed from the finest components available, including spring hinges from Germany and Japan, and a wide array of base metals from Japan.
Within the Scott Harris collection are styles made of stainless steel, cobalt, and titanium. All three of these materials have various features and benefits, which gives the consumer the opportunity to select not only the fashion they want, but the material that best fits their needs.
CoolFrames Designer Eyewear Boutique is an authorized Scott Harris online retailer. All frames are guaranteed to be defect-free and authentic. We will replace any defective or damaged items to ensure 100% satisfaction. Our in-house optical lab can install custom prescription lenses into any eyeglass frame and many sunglass styles. We specialize in Essilor presciption lenses including Varilux Progressives, Transitions as well as Crizal Alize and Sapphire (Forte) Anti-Reflective coatings.


text:
Thanks to the generosity of this week's sponsors: Aquinas and More, Ave Maria Press, Franciscan Media, Magnificat, Sophia Institute Press, and Susan Vigilante
This week's giveaway:
Inspired: The Powerful Presence of the Holy Spirit
By Fr. Gary Caster (Servant Books)
About the book:
While the Holy Spirit has been the focal point of the Charismatic Renewal movement since the 1960s, for many Christians the Third Person of the Trinity is an impenetrable mystery. Inspired explains the role of the Spirit in each Christian's life. Fr. Caster shows readers how the Spirit's action brings God's power and perspective to every area of life.
Spiritual Resilience: 30 Days to Refresh Your Soul
By Robert J. Wicks (Franciscan Media)
About the book:
We've all had times when bouncing back from the ordinary stress of daily life or an unexpected tragedy seems to be an insurmountable challenge. We need a way to recover resilience. If you're facing difficult times, no matter your faith tradition, Dr. Robert Wicks is here to help you regain your balance by discovering resources you may have been taking for granted. Through 30 daily reflections, you can gradually find your way back to a place of serenity and renewed energy. Wicks draws on the wisdom and insight of great teachers and healers throughout the ages, as well as the wealth of insight from the Scriptures to show how a renewed spiritual life can bring you to a place of psychological strength.
Gifts of the Visitation: Nine Spiritual Encounters with Mary and Elizabeth
By Denise Bossert (Ave Maria Press)
About the book:
The biblical encounter between the Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, before the births of Jesus and John the Baptist, is at the heart of Gifts of the Visitation by popular speaker and syndicated columnist Denise Bossert. She uses their story to highlight nine gifts experienced by both women as they awaited the arrival of their sons and to encourage readers to develop these gifts themselves.
In her debut book, speaker, columnist, and Catholic convert Denise Bossert showcases the seasons of birth, grief, newness, and challenge experienced in the hearts of Mary and Elizabeth at the Visitation and invites readers to see these times in their own lives as opportunities to let God make all things new. Within each of those seasons, nine gifts emerge—spontaneity, courage, joy, readiness, humility, adventure, hospitality, wonder and awe, and thanksgiving—equipping readers to present Christ to the world as Mary and Elizabeth did.
Bossert's encounter with Mary, which led her to Catholicism, serves as the window for discovering and exploring the gifts and helps readers look inside their own hearts to discover what the gifts of the visit between Mary and Elizabeth mean to them and how they can be Christ-bearers to others.
Strength in Simplicity: The Busy Catholic's Guide to Growing Closer to God
By Bishop Emmanuel De Gibergues (Sophia Institute Press)
About the book:
At last — a spiritual book for Catholics who have to devote more time to making dinner and picking up the kids than to meditation and prayer! Essential (and easy) reading for busy Catholics, Strength in Simplicity shows you how to grow closer to God in the things you already do every day, without burdening you with numerous devotions or complicated methods.
Author Emmanuel de Gibergues explores the virtue of simplicity — that is, having the single intention of pleasing God in all that you do. You'll learn what a difference simplicity can make for you — as it did for our Lord and our Lady. You'll come to recognize the signs of true simplicity and find out how to practice simplicity toward God and in your life's activities. Even better, you'll find the secrets of practicing simplicity within yourself — a deceptively difficult spiritual discipline that de Gibergues makes easy here.
As this book helps you bring the calming and transforming virtue of simplicity into every part of your life, you'll become better able to direct all things to God and learn new ways to be attentive to His presence in your life. Don't rush through life without this saving message!
He Leadeth Me
By Fr. Walter J. Ciszek, S.J. (Ignatius Press) - From Aquinas & More Catholic Goods
About the book:
He Leadeth Me is the deeply moving personal story of one man's spiritual odyssey and the unflagging faith which enabled him to survive the horrendous ordeal that wrenched his body and spirit to near collapse.
Captured by the Russian army during World War II and convicted of being a "Vatican spy," American Jesuit Father Walter J. Ciszek spent some 23 agonizing years in Soviet prisons and the labor camps of Siberia. He here recalls how it was only through an utter reliance on God's will that he managed to endure. He tells of the courage he found in prayer-a courage that eased the loneliness, the pain, the frustrations, the anguish, the fears, the despair. For, as Ciszek relates, the solace of spiritual contemplation gave him an inner serenity upon which he was able to draw amidst the "arrogance of evil" that surrounded him. Learning to accept even the inhuman work of toiling in the infamous Siberian salt mines as a labor pleasing to God, he was able to turn adverse forces into a source of positive value and a means of drawing closer to the compassionate and never-forsaking Divine Spirit.
He Leadeth Me is a book to inspire all Christians to greater faith and trust in God-even in their darkest hour.
Magnificat Lenten Companion iOS App
About the app:
The Lenten Companion App is designed to help you live all the graces of Lent.
Presented in a day-by-day format, the Lenten Companion App contains:
LITURGY - daily Mass prayers and Scripture readings
PRAYER - a cycle of prayers for morning, evening, and night inspired by the Liturgy of the Hours
MEDITATION - spiritual reflections for each day of Lent
Other unique features include:
ESSAYS - to enlighten , inspire, and deepen your relationship with God
POETRY - capturing the spirit of the season
PENANCE SERVICE - to prepare well for your Lenten confession
DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS - for various occasions and growing in faith
CHANTS - for Lent and Easter... listen while you read and pray
This one-of-a-kind application has been developed with the needs of your prayer life in mind. Use it to grow in love and knowledge of Christ and the Church this Lenten season.
Breakfast with the Pope
By Susan Vigilante (Richard Vigilante Books)
About the book:
This prize-winning memoir will change forever how you think about faith in the modern world. Under the hot Italian sun Susan Vigilante wrestles with the meaning of love in the face of betrayal, the agony of childlessness, and above all whether a God who does not answer prayers exists—or loves. Set in the stunningly beautiful and ancient hill town of Castel Gandolfo, home to the summer palace of the Popes, this is a book you will never forget, an often hilarious, always deeply moving spiritual memoir about seeking creativity after barrenness, faith amidst doubt, compassion in suffering, and above all choosing love even knowing it must come with pain.
About the Author
Sarah Reinhard
When she's not chasing kids, chugging coffee, or juggling work, Sarah Reinhard's usually trying to stay up read just one…more…chapter. She writes and works in the midst of rural farm life with little ones underfoot. She is part of the team for the award-winning Catholic Mom's Prayer Companion, as well as the author of a number of books. You can join her for a weekday take on Catholic life by subscribing to Three Shots and follow her writing at Snoring Scholar.


text:
- This event has passed.
Camtasia: Level 1
Event Description
Add your voice to a PowerPoint presentation and make it available to your students online. Learn to use Camtasia, a screen-recording program that lets you narrate PowerPoint presentations, still images, or videos. You will also learn how to upload the final product so students can access it. Registration is required.
If you will need special accommodations, please contact the event organizer.


text:
Sausage Sizzle and wine….all served with smiles. It was very enjoyable
Meanwhile inside the cathedral Terry sold programs and CD's…
The Buildings were beautiful….
And the Beautiful garden with the statue of the Crucifixion
Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the East
~ your dedicated Virtual Assistant~
Learn to love cooking.
honest recipes
Dedicated to Your Physical, Mental and Spiritual Health
Play with your food!
Raise Your Vibe to Feel Alive
Info and Updates about the Ukulele
Staying connected "With Just 4 Strings"; posts from UKULELE MIKE & Collene Lynch | ukulelemikelynch.com
All art is about truth - as a result all artists are liars
Mixed media, painting, Japanese woodblock printing, lino printing, digital printmaking, photography and found imagery. Inspired (mostly) by regular trips to Berlin.
Love life!
Urban sketches, etchings, watercolours, pen and ink.
Celebrating Life, Spirituality, Creativity and Kindness!
Food | Travel | Lifestyle
Southern Moreton Bay Islands
personal photo blog - my own random world
Journal of a food photographer living in France


text:
About Diocesan NFP Ministry
Helping couples to deepen conjugal love and achieve responsible parenthood is part of the Church's total pastoral ministry to Catholic spouses. Fulfillment of this ministry includes both education and pastoral care. This means "instilling conviction and offering practical help to those who wish to live out their parenthood in a truly responsible way" (Familiaris consortio, no.35). Diocesan Natural Family Planning services must be based on the Church's doctrine and moral teaching, as well as on the accumulated wisdom of the sciences. Concretely, diocesan Natural Family Planning (hereafter NFP) ministry involves the following:
- Instruction on human fertility and procreation including a fundamental education of the fertility cycle and how to interpret the physiological signs of fertility
- A process for enabling couples to understand motivation and other factors that affect their decision making with regard to responsible parenthood
- Formation in recognizing the value of moral commitment and spirituality that reinforces the human decision while integrating wholesome attitudes toward parenting and family life.
To help couples become proficient and secure in using NFP, dioceses must provide competent NFP services. Such services should call upon the laity (especially the married), clergy, religious, healthcare professionals, and others in related fields.
(Introduction, Standards for Diocesan NFP Ministry, p. 1)
The above opening section from the Standards for Diocesan NFP Ministry highlights the unique character of NFP education offered under the auspices of the Catholic Church. Diocesan NFP ministry seeks to provide quality NFP services within the context of education on the Sacrament of Marriage. NFP ministry brings science and faith together in a way that supports a married couple's moral stewardship of their God-given gifts of human sexuality and fertility.
In the Catholic dioceses of the United States, NFP ministry is usually located in the office of marriage and family life. In some dioceses, NFP ministry can be found under other offices such as that of faith formation, respect life activities, or Catholic Charities. Some Catholic hospitals may provide NFP education. Regardless of where the NFP ministry is housed, it is typically administered by the Diocesan NFP Coordinator and is staffed by volunteer NFP teachers.
The following provides information on diocesan NFP ministry programming and specific resources for the diocesan NFP coordinator, NFP teacher and clergy.
Diocesan NFP Ministry - Their Stories
In the dioceses of the United States, inspired men and women, single and married, laity, religious, and clergy have responded to God's invitation to share His divine plan of married love with the faithful. These individuals are the pioneers of diocesan NFP ministry. Read their stories in the links below.
For an overview of the history of diocesan NFP ministry in the United States read "USA Catholic Diocesan NFP Ministry."


text:
My friend Debbi has a great expression. When a task is daunting and spread out in front of you, and you're getting that slightly crampy feeling in the pit of your stomach, she'll look right at it and say "Don't panic early."
I find this a really lovely way of saying "don't panic", which I've always found dismissive and always makes me want to say something like "I'll panic if I bloody well want to" or "WHAT IS YOUR OTHER PLAN." When Debbi says "don't panic early" I feel like she's respecting my right to panic, isn't taking anything from me, but wants to be sure that my timing is right, and I don't waste any energy while we're still in a phase that could have some solutions other than panicking.
On Friday, I took a look at the blanket, and I took a look at the date, and I took a look at Megan and something happened.
I panicked. Now, there is still some time to finish, I know that. I've got a few weeks I think, before there could be a baby, but I'm still on the last border pattern and after that there is another border pattern and then there is all the edging and… I felt sure that panicking was the right thing to do. I set about getting really hysterical about the whole thing, and then I channelled my inner Debbi, decided it wasn't time, and set about knitting. That was my weekend. I'm happy to say it mostly panned out. I'm six rows from being finished that border, and then there's just the second border and then there's the edging and….
It was time to panic. I felt sure of it that time. I went on a search for my inner Debbi, couldn't find her and called the actual Debbi instead. (Sometimes only the real thing works.) Debbi listened carefully while I explained what needed doing, and she looked carefully at the picture of Meg, and then she said something very real, and very accurate.
That's what she said. Panic. She also said things like "*%#%&^ how many rows are in that edging? 1600? IS IT SIXTEEN HUNDRED?" and she said things like "IT IS BIG ENOUGH DON'T MAKE IT BIGGER DO THE EDGING" and she also said "holy (*&%$#^, you need to panic. Do it now."
"It's not too early?" I asked her, hopefully… wondering if maybe Debbi had just come unglued for a minute and didn't have her wits about her. It happens to the best of us, especially in the face of laceweight baby blankets, they're pretty discombobulating. "Debbi, isn't it too early to panic?"
Debbi thought about it, and then very calmly, she said:
"No. I think you're late."
I'm going to get right on it.


text:
I am new to this forum. I really liked to read posts on this forum community so far. Recently I am facing a problem on one project I am working on.
Currently I am working on a game project, which is being developed using EGL(Embedded opengl), C++ and WinCE as the operating system. The game behaves pretty good on Win32. I have code for both Win32 and WinCE. When I run the game on the Embedded device, I can see 'Screen Freezes' and 'Black Screens' some times. And when it freezes, the device has to be restarted. Does anybody have an idea what might be messing that up. Please let me know, if anybody had encountered any such problems before.


text:
Preeclampsia Foundation launches Virtual WAT
The Preeclampsia Foundation does not necessarily endorse any research or news found in this forum, we just want to share what is out there. Please use your own discretion to evaluate any information you find here.
1 post • Page 1 of 1
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Return to "Announcements and Preeclampsia in the News"
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


text:
Winter storm warning issued for Saturday through Sunday in Litchfield, Hartford counties
TORRINGTON >> The city is slated to be in the bull's-eye of an incoming snowstorm that could drop up to 15 inches of snow Saturday night, according to a local meteorologist.
Quincy Vagell, a meteorologist for WTNH, said on Friday that the storm will drop between 10 and 15 inches of snow in Torrington. "There's a lot of moisture, so we are looking at a lot of snow in Torrington," Vagell said. "You're probably in the bull's eye."
Litchfield County at-large will see the most snow in the state.
Flurries will start falling Saturday morning, with the heaviest snow falling starting between 6-7 p.m. and continuing through about 3 a.m., Vagell said.
"It begins to taper off," said Vagell. "It's probably over by Sunday morning."
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather warning for Litchfield County that begins Saturday at 5 a.m. and expires at 1 p.m. Sunday. A winter weather warning is also in place for Hartford County from 1 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday.
Vagell said the storm is being caused by a lot of cold air in the area, which means a higher liquid to snow ratio. He said the Northwest Hills at large will receive the most snow as a result. The wind shouldn't be a factor, however, but Vagell said temperatures will be in the teens as the snowfall begins and rise—curiously, he added—to the 20s on Saturday night.
"The biggest thing is Sunday, we are not going to see any more residual [snow] on Sunday," Vagell said. He said people who made afternoon plans on Sunday will probably be able to go through with them, as long as they clear their snow.
There could be scattered outages around the state.
The city is already preparing its roads for the incoming storm.
Bob Lizotte, superintendent of streets, got straight to the point about what his department will be doing this weekend.
"We're gonna plow the snow until it stops; then we're gonna go home," said Lizotte Friday.
The street department is deploying its fleet of 19 plow trucks as it tries to keep the snowfall from affecting city roads.
In all, his crew of 26 employees will plow about 180 miles worth of city streets.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy urged residents to avoid travel during the storm. In a release, officials said the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will continue to monitor the storm's progress and coordinate any response or assistance as needed.
"I am asking residents to use caution as they head out on Saturday and to limit their travel during the height of the storm beginning at 8 p.m. on Saturday night," Malloy said.
Malloy said it "doesn't appear to be a major storm" but in a release on Friday, state police called the snow event just that, adding that they were deploying specialty emergency vehicles and make them available across Connecticut.
State police also recommended motorists stay off the roads, and suggested, if driving is anticipated, people should "storm ready" their vehicles proper tires, adequate gas and proper wipers. "Motorists should have a fully-charged cell phone, bottles of water, nourishment bars or other non-perishable food, extra clothes, a shovel, flares and blankets in case of emergency," the release said.
Reducing speed and leaving extra room between cars while traveling is also a necessity for safe driving during the storm, police said.
"As we were all reminded during last winter season, individual preparedness is essential," said Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Reuben F. Bradford in a news release. "Every home and business should have a basic emergency plan that can be used for any emergency."
"I recommend that all Connecticut residents take three simple preparedness steps: Get a kit, make a plan, and stay informed," added Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Deputy Commissioner William P. Shea. "Taking these three simple steps can greatly enhance our resiliency to any emergency.
Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 860-489-3121, ext. 328.


text:
my name is Marcus Große and I am working in the field of 3d measurements using structured light. Our group
is evaluating the use of GPU's for image processing tasks. In order to get to know OpenCL I have written a kernel, which averages twentyone gray value images and writes the results into global device memory for later usage (see provided kernel code below).
The runtime of the kernel (which is measured using the clGetEventProfilingInfo) is about 113ms (GPU).
To get that fast I am using loop-unrolling as described here "http://developer.amd.com/gpu/ATIStreamSDK/ImageConvolutionOpenCL/Pages/ImageConvolutionUsingOpenCL.aspx" (about 10ms faster compared to non unrolled case).
An implementation on the CPU takes about (140ms, no loop-unrolling used and only one core used). So the
for this problem there seems to be no big performance gain, when using the GPU. I have a few question related to that result.
- The problem may be that for every memory access there is only one addition made, so that the memory bandwith hinder a faster execution. Is this plausible?
- As image dimension (global buffer dimension) is a multiple of 16 memory accessed should be coalesced in my implementation. Is there a way to check this or can someone point me to problems in my kernel-code that surpress coalesced memory access?
- Are there other options to decrease execution time?
- We use a NVIDIA-Geforce 9500GT. When switching to a more recent model (perhaps the upcoming Fermi-Cards), which speed-up may be achieved for this presented problem (factor >10?)?
- I adressed the same problem, using image_2d and image_3d instead of the one dimensional buffers "l" and "r". The runtime is about the same compared to using two one dimensional buffers. I had expected a speed up due to caching of memory reads?
Questions not related to results.
- I am also eager to see more examples written in OpenCL, which handle image processing. Perhaps someone can point me to a link or book?
- If I do not assign the local variable avgl,…,avgl3 to the global buffer avgL the GPU seems to skip the entire
calculation of theses values which makes it difficult to track memory read/write time consumption compared to calculation time consumption. Is there a work around?
thanks in advance,
Marcus Große
I am using CUDA-Toolkit 3.0 + NVIDIA 9500GT
//'l' contains image data of one camera, 'r' contains image data of a second camera, average values are computed for both cameras (stored into 'avgL' and 'avgR')
__kernel void AverageKernel(__global float* avgL,__global float* avgR, __global float* l, __global float* r)
//get position of workitem in image
unsigned int nx = get_global_id(0);
unsigned int ny = get_global_id(1);
float inv_pics=1.0f/21.0f;
//variables used for loop unrolling
float avgl=0.0f;
float avgr=0.0f;
float avgl2=0.0f;
float avgr2=0.0f;
float avgl3=0.0f;
float avgr3=0.0f;
int c=0;
//average calculation of 21 images of size 640x480
for(int c=0;c<7;c++)//loop-unrolling
//writing results to global device memory


text:
Trade Group Concerned About Retransmission Consent Collusion In Harrisburg, Pa., and Charleston, S.C.
PITTSBURGH, September 16, 2013 – The American Cable Association called on the Federal Communications Commission to block or condition Sinclair Broadcast Group's acquisition of TV stations from Allbritton Communications in two television markets, claiming that Sinclair's "side car" deals and coordination agreements were purposefully designed to side step the agency's local TV station ownership limits and enable price-gouging collusion at the retransmission consent bargaining table with ACA Members.
"The FCC should deny this TV station deal because it will reduce competition and harm consumers. Sinclair has clearly made plans to negotiate retransmission consent for two Big Four stations in the Harrisburg, Pa., and Charleston, S.C., markets. Sinclair's intent is as clear as it is anti-competitive — to gain insurmountable bargaining leverage over ACA Members and stage, when needed, massive and strategically timed blackouts to enhance the receipt of windfall profits," ACA President and CEO Matthew M. Polka said.
ACA set forth its views in a September 13 Petition to Deny or, in the Alternative, Condition license transfers in two markets that was filed with the FCC, arguing that Sinclair's virtual control of two network affiliates each in the Harrisburg and Charleston markets would reduce local television competition. In reviewing such license transfer applications, the FCC is charged with determining whether the transaction meets the public interest, convenience and necessity legal standard. In this case, because of the unmistakable anti-competitive impact of the transaction in the affected markets, ACA is calling upon the FCC to deny or condition the license transfers involving the Harrisburg and Charleston stations.
In July, Sinclair announced it was buying seven TV stations from Allbritton for nearly $1 billion. The deal calls for Sinclair to create, though "side car" deals and existing and newly created coordination agreements, "virtual" Big Four TV station duopolies in Harrisburg and Charleston. In Harrisburg, Sinclair intends to negotiate retransmission consent for the ABC and CBS affiliates and on behalf of the ABC and Fox affiliates in Charleston.
Under FCC rules, the duopoly ownership of more than one of the four most highly rated stations in a local market – typically, the affiliates of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox – is prohibited. Virtual duopolies are formed through contracts or agreements entered into by separately owned stations that wish to combine forces without formally merging and thereby triggering the duopoly prohibition, and without undergoing the FCC's license-transfer approval process.
In February, more than two dozen ACA Member company executives urged the FCC to recognize that coordinated retransmission consent negotiations on the part of separately owned, same market TV stations create an attributable ownership interest under the local TV ownership rule. FCC adoption of this proposal would allow ACA Members facing retransmission consent collusion to rely on the duopoly ownership prohibition in filing an FCC action against the coordinating stations. It would also permit the FCC to bring enforcement actions on its own.
In its Sinclair-Allbritton petition, ACA said denying or conditioning the sale would allow the FCC to address the transaction-specific harms at issue while it continued to consider adoption of ACA-proposed broader reforms to address the widespread problem of coordinated negotiations. ACA has documented that separately owned, same market TV stations are coordinating retransmission consent negotiations in at least 20% of local TV markets, involving 48 instances in 43 different markets where Big Four stations have opted to collude
Because Sinclair could not otherwise acquire Allbritton's broadcast stations in Harrisburg and Charleston under the FCC's local television ownership rule, Sinclair is following the playbook of an increasing number of stations seeking to increase their market power.
Instead of buying Allbritton stations in only those markets where the FCC's ownership rule would not be implicated, Sinclair intends to rely on a series of alleged "assignments" of its own stations to "sidecar" companies that appear to have been established for the primary purpose of holding Sinclair's broadcast licenses in markets where the two companies' broadcast stations overlap. In doing so, Sinclair will effectively retain the rights in those stations pursuant to a variety of contractual arrangements.
ACA urged the FCC to deny the Sinclair-Allbritton transaction in these two markets or, in the alternative, condition approval on a requirement that Sinclair and its virtual duopoly partners refrain from coordinating negotiations for pay-TV carriage on behalf of any of their non-commonly owned stations or in any way colluding in the negotiation of retransmission consent — which may include engaging in joint carriage negotiations, each appointing the same agent to negotiate on behalf of each of the stations, negotiating separate carriage deals but sharing details of each of their carriage negotiations, or sharing any details of their carriage negotiations at any time.
"There can be no policy justification for permitting multiple broadcast stations in the same local market that are licensed to operate as direct competitors to coordinate their retransmission consent negotiations, especially when the stations involved are affiliates of the major national networks," Polka said. "The substitution of collusion for competition will drive up the price of monthly cable bills and embolden TV stations to increase their reliance on blackouts to get their way."
If all of its pending transactions are approved, Sinclair would own, control, or negotiate retransmission consent on behalf of 149 stations, including 33 Fox affiliates; 27 ABC affiliates; 25 CBS affiliates; 14 NBC affiliates; 23 CW affiliates; 20 MyTV affiliates; 5 Univision affiliates; 1 Azteca affiliate; and 1 independent station, reaching approximately 38% of all U.S. television households. Allbritton owns eight television stations, all of which are ABC affiliates.
About the American Cable Association
Based in Pittsburgh, the American Cable Association is a trade organization representing nearly 850 smaller and medium-sized, independent cable companies who provide broadband services for more than 7 million cable subscribers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America. Through active participation in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C., ACA's members work together to advance the interests of their customers and ensure the future competitiveness and viability of their business. For more information, visit https://acaconnects.org/


text:
Yesterday, the bus fam (that is, Chicklet, Nerd, and yours truly) hopped the 4 and headed to Seattle Center to attend a retro birthday party for my friend (and world-famous author) Sundee. Fellow natives of the 2-0-sickness: Remember back in the day, when the Center was the place to hang out in the summer (at 9: ferris wheel! at 13: cute boys!), and those rides and games at the Fun Forest seemed at least as good as Disneyland's? My perspective has changed a bit since the 80s (about the Fun Forest and Disneyland), but I'm still sad that the park won't be around for little Chicklet to enjoy.
I digress.
Instead of taking the 4 home from the festivities, we took the Monorail and transferred downtown, because, 1) I was in one of my nostalgic moods, 2) Chicklet had never ridden the Monorail, and 3) we wanted to save time. (The two-minute ride to Westlake beats any bus, and stopping downtown gave us the option of catching a faster route up the hill.)
We used our extra minutes to visit the new(ish) Kress supermarket on 3rd & Pike. I've been waiting for about a gazillion years for a grocery store to open downtown, and it was long past time for me to check it out. Plus, we were out of wine.
We get our produce (and a lot of other staples) from an organic delivery service, and we live within walking distance of a grocery store, so I won't be using this Kress for major shopping trips. That said, it's got a pretty good selection and reasonable prices. And since, like most transit types, I'm downtown a lot, I'll certainly be using it for quick stock-ups (they carry my favorite crackers!) between transfers–and for grabbing something (chocolate) to share at a party.
Of course, as I learned on my very first visit, I'm not the only bus rider who appreciates the new Kress.
Captain finished shopping at the same time we did (which is to say, just in time to catch the 27), and all four of us enjoyed a speedy ride home with our purchases.


text:
Baseball's Late Rally Falls Short In 8-5 Loss To No. 9 OSU
STILLWATER, Okla. - The Arizona State University baseball team cut into its deficit late and brought the tying run to the plate in the final inning, but was unable to complete the comeback in an 8-5 loss to No. 9 Oklahoma State on Friday night at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, Okla.
Tthird baseman Dalton DiNatale represented the tying run in the top of the ninth with two outs and a three-run deficit after a pair of singles by shortstop Drew Stankiewicz and right fielder Jake Peevyhouse, but a flyout to center field dropped ASU to 7-5 this season against ranked opponents, including 4-3 to top-15 teams on the road.
The Sun Devils (24-18) scored three runs in the top of the third inning to take a one-run lead, but the Cowboys (33-13) countered with four in the bottom of the frame, including three unearned, and never gave up their edge.
Starting left-hander Brett Lilek (4-3) was chased with two outs in the third inning and took the loss. He conceded six runs, including three unearned, on five hits and struck out a pair in 2 2/3 innings.
Right-hander Eric Melbostad took over for Lilek and gave up a pair of runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings. Left-hander Nick Diamond struck out a pair in 1 1/3 scoreless innings and right-hander Josh McAlister conceded a base hit, but induced a double play to end the eighth inning unscathed.
The Cowboys used a pair of two-out hits in the bottom of the second inning to take an early 2-0 lead. Second baseman Tim Arakawa knocked a two-out RBI double down the right-field line to drive in the first run of the game and center fielder Ryan Sluder followed with an RBI single up the middle.
Designated hitter RJ Ybarra capped off a three-run top of the third for the Devils with a two-out, two-run single that gave ASU a 3-2 advantage. Left fielder Chris Beall led off the frame with a single and scored three batters later courtesy of a pair of throwing errors by OSU's pitcher and catcher, respectively. Center fielder Johnny Sewald, who was hit by a pitch, and Stankiewicz, who reached on the Cowboy's second error of the inning, came home on Ybarra's base hit to center field.
OSU countered with four runs in the bottom of the third frame to retake the lead, 6-3. A run-scoring double by first baseman Tanner Krietemeier tied the game and put a pair of runners in scoring position. Lilek secured a swinging strikeout in the next at-bat, but consecutive throwing errors by Stankiewicz resulted in three unearned runs for the Cowboys.
A leadoff home run by catcher Gage Green in the bottom of the fourth and a sacrifice fly by second baseman Tim Arakawa in the fifth extended OSU's lead, 8-3.
Peevyhouse's bases-loaded fly ball in the seventh inning was dropped by OSU left fielder Aaron Cornell to bring home a pair of runs and cut ASU's deficit to three, 8-5. Sewald and Stankiewicz led off the frame with a single and a double, respectively, and Ybarra took a full-count walk to bring Peevyhouse to the plate.
Cowboys left-hander Alex Hackerott (3-1) scattered two hits and a pair of runs across two innings to earn the win and right-hander Brendan McMurray (13) secured his 13th save of the season with a scoreless ninth. Starting right-hander Jon Perrin allowed three unearned runs on six hits, and was replaced with a four-run lead and a pair of runners on base in the fifth inning.
ASU moved to 13-8 all-time against Oklahoma State…Ybarra secured his 15th two-out RBI, second most on the team.
Up Next
The Sun Devils take on No. 9 Oklahoma State in the second game of their three-game series on May 3 at 1 pm PT, in Stillwater, Okla. The game will be streamed online via OKState.TV ($) and live stats will also be available.
Pitching Matchup
ASU - LHP Ryan Kellogg (6-2, 3.15 ERA)
OSU - RHP Tyler Buffett (2-1, 1.85 ERA)
Postseason Banquet | Register HERE!
Join the Sun Devil Baseball program and fellow supporters for an unforgettable evening. The 31st annual Baseball Postseason Banquet will be held on May 27 on the outfield grass at Winkles Field-Packard Stadium at Brock Ballpark from 6-8 p.m. Tickets are $60 or buy a table for 10 people for $600. Fans can also sponsor a student-athlete's dinner for $60. There will be open parking in front of Packard Stadium in Lot 59.
Single-game tickets, Mini Packs and Flex Plans are on sale now. Admission for ASU students is free with a valid Sun Card. Purchasing season tickets will give fans first opportunity and priority at selecting seats at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 2015. Ariz.
Join the conversation all season using the hashtag #OccupyPackard
Twitter: @ASU_Baseball | Facebook: Sun Devil Baseball | Instagram: ASU_Baseball


text:
can some1 pls help me......i am writing a vbscript to remove hyperlinks linked to the graphical objects.
i am able to successfully remove the hyperlinks that are present in each worksheet. but if the worksheet is password protected then the program shuld not remove the hyperlink. in my code it also removes the hyperlink even when no password is provided.
the code that i am using is given below:
Dim sheetProtected As Boolean
Dim cancelPwd As Boolean
Dim sheetPassword As String
Dim hashyperlinks As Boolean
hashyperlinks = False
Dim i As Integer
Dim wSheet As workSheet
For Each wSheet In AppExcel.Worksheets
'Check for protected worksheet
'Turn off error checking
On Error Resume Next
If wSheet.ProtectContents = True Then
'Sheet is protected, re-protect at the end
sheetProtected = True
sheetProtected = False
End If
If sheetProtected = True Then
'Get the sheet password
AppExcel.WindowState = xlMinimized
'Set the worksheet and workbook names on the
'get password form
frmProtectsheet.strSheetName = wSheet.Name
frmProtectsheet.strWorkbookName = ObjExcel.Name
'Show the form
frmProtectsheet.Show vbModal
'Get the password and check if the user clicked
'the cancel button
sheetPassword = frmProtectsheet.txtProtectpwd
cancelPwd = frmProtectsheet.cancelPwd
If cancelPwd = False Then
'Clear errors
'Try to unprotect with the users password
wSheet.Unprotect (sheetPassword)
If Err.Number <> 0 Then
MsgBox "You have entered an incorrect password for the """ & wSheet.Name & """ worksheet in the """ + ObjExcel.Name + """ workbook. Try to retype your password or click the 'Cancel' button to bypass this worksheet.", vbOKOnly,
End If
End If
Loop While Err.Number <> 0 And cancelPwd = False
End If
For i = wSheet.Hyperlinks.Count To 1 Step -1
If wSheet.Hyperlinks(i).Type <> 0 Then
hashyperlinks = True
End If
Next i
'Turn error checking back on
On Error GoTo 0
' 'Re-protect protected sheet
If sheetProtected = True And cancelPwd = False Then
wSheet.Protect (sheetPassword)
End If
Next wSheet
can some pls help
thnxs in advance


text:
There is a number of ways of how to implement a user input validation and display an error message, for instance that one suggested by Dave Ward. In this post I am going to show you another relatively simple and elegant solution that provides with both reliability and reasonably pleasant user experience.
The solution is based on using a ServerSideValidationExtender control from Web Client Software Factory validation bundle. The ServerSideValidationExtender control allows asynchronious invocation of a server-side validation handler that performs a validation right after a user finished entering data without a postback thus signifcantly improving the user experience at the same time leveraging robustness and security of server-side validation.
Code exampleFor this example I will be using a really simple markup code:
<asp:Label ID="lblEmail" runat="server" Text="Email: ">
<asp:TextBox ID="txtEmail" runat="server">
<asp:CustomValidator ID="cvEmail" runat="server"
ErrorMessage="Email is already used"
onservervalidate="cvEmail_ServerValidate" />
<wcsf:ServerSideValidationExtender ID="ssveEmail"
ValidateEmptyText="false" runat="server" />

<asp:Label ID="lblLogin" runat="server" Text="Login: ">
<asp:TextBox ID="txtLogin" runat="server">
<asp:CustomValidator ID="cvLogin" runat="server"
ErrorMessage="Login name is already used"
onservervalidate="cvEmail_ServerValidate" />
<wcsf:ServerSideValidationExtender ID="ssveLogin"
ValidateEmptyText="false" runat="server" />

<asp:Button ID="cmdRegister" runat="server" Text="Register" />
that effectively results in that UI in a browser:
For each TextBox control requiring asynchronious server-side validation I've added a CustomValidator control and a ServerSideValidationExtender that has its TargetID property set to an ID of a corresponding CustomValidator control.
Next I've added some code to the validation handlers for the CustomValidator controls to the page's code behind and that's it:
protected void cvEmail_ServerValidate(object source,
ServerValidateEventArgs args)
args.IsValid = string.IsNullOrEmpty(
protected void cvLogin_ServerValidate(object source,
ServerValidateEventArgs args)
args.IsValid = Membership.GetUser(args.Value) == null;
Note that the IsValid equals true when a user can not be found. The server-side validation handler is being executed asynchroniously every time a corresponding TextBox loses its focus and if validation has failed (meaning that a user was found and login name or email is not available) a corresponding error message is displayed immediately on the page without a postback so a user does not have to click a submit button and wait for the page to render again to see the result of the validation.
The only trick here is that in the server-side validation handler we can only access a value of the control being validated because values of other controls on the page haven't been updated on the server side (no postback, remember?!).
Note. In the production code you may want to add some layout and styling to your HTML markup, and of course there will be perhaps other input boxes on a form with may be more validator controls but the approach won't change: no additional code required, the same well-known validation pattern but with nicer user experience. I would also recommend to implement a simple but very useful change to the ServerSideValidationExtender control suggested by Jarod Ferguson.