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Faster broadband should help U.S. compete in world economy.
Harnessing digital power is key to effectively tackling 21st-century challenges.
The D80 Center mobilizes university students to put the skills they are learning in college to work in the field in countries around the globe.
Emergency responders have to prepare for many different disaster scenarios. But when that involves what amounts to an unthinkable catastrophe, planning often falls short.
According to Elizabeth May, head of Canada's Green Party and former executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada, there now appears to be a concerted push in the U.S. to increase doubt among the general public concerning global warming and our role in causing this.
The nation's communities need more than an economic stimulus to address their challenges.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will move to create formal net neutrality rules prohibiting Internet providers from selectively blocking or slowing Web content and applications, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced today.
20 percent of the tweets contain requests for product information or responses to the requests.
Local government leaders must collaborate during tough economy.
The MIT Media Lab in collaboration with researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have created a new iPhone application that enables users to track and report outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as H1N1 (swine flu), on the ground in real time.
A new method to detect toxins and contaminates in municipal water supplies has undergone further refinements by two Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers according to a news announcement today.
A new publication that recommends best practices for the next generation of portable biometric acquisition devices-Mobile ID-has been published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
The leakage puts social network users at risk of having their identity linked with their browsing behavior.
Northern Michigan University (NMU) has announced that it has deployed one of the largest active WiMAX networks in the U.S.
"Well, controlling always contains an element of prediction, because if you can successfully control something, you can predict what is going to happen to it."
Todd Sander, director of Digital Communities and deputy director of the Center for Digital Government was featured on Federal News Radio yesterday, discussing our Digital Counties annual survey.
For much of the last week, staff from Poker Flat Research Range have been assisting fire personnel in mapping the Crazy Mountain Complex fires with unmanned aircraft. The mapping operation is using 40-pound Insitu ScanEagles equipped with infrared cameras.
Not only does the system provide full freight details for 23,000 stations in 40 countries, but also can instantly indicate the position and progress of individual wagons.
Nearly 40 percent of Chicago residents, especially Latinos and those aged 67 or more, have limited or no access to the Internet, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In the five months since passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), thousands of research-related awards have been made, supporting important scientific efforts across the country, according to a statement from the Science Coalition released today.
The frequency of wildfires will increase in many regions as the climate warms in the coming decades, according to a new study by atmospheric scientists at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
A new study finds that in order for a response to be effective, quick detection and treatment are essential, and any delay beyond three days would overwhelm hospitals with critically ill people.
A new survey by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found that approximately one in six public health workers said they would not report to work during a pandemic flu emergency regardless of its severity.
A student team in the Virginia Tech College of Engineering has already built a "blind car" and is giving select blind participants the opportunity to drive.
Researchers from the Fraunhofer nstitute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF in Magdeburg have developed a method that visualizes the processes inside energy conversion plants such as photovoltaic, wind, biogas and hydroelectric power stations.
Four newly designed solar power collection dishes are unveiled at Sandia National Laboratories' National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF).
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS in Sankt Augustin, Germany, have developed a video speech recognition system that does not require expensive updating measures.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University say they have found a novel and reliable way to help predict the intensity of the next big flood, using common cell phone towers across the United States.
A new study in the July 3 edition of Science suggests that US communities along the Gulf Coast may have to deal with a growing number of hurricanes because of changing weather patterns.
According to the Science and Technology Directorate, new technology is desperately needed to battle secret tunnels used by criminal enterprises.
A new scientific system, designed to rapidly evaluate the world's air traffic patterns, accurately predicted how the H1N1 virus would spread around the world earlier this year.
The "city of the future," as it is described by Abu Dhabi officials, is currently planned as the cornerstone of a global cooperative effort to develop or improve sustainable technologies.
The 19th World Conference on Disaster Management wrapped today in Toronto, Canada after a robust two-and-a-half-day program that covering the full spectrum of disaster management issues.
According to a new white paper from the American Telemedicine Association to be published in the peer-reviewed journal, Telemedicine and e-Health, telemedicine, or information technology enhanced healthcare, must be a core component of any viable healthcare reform strategy.
One innovative telemedicine project, for example, is providing distant nursing home patients with Parkinson's disease access to neurologists at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU.
Scientists and researchers representing 13 U.S. government science agencies, major universities and research institutes produced the most comprehensive report to date on national climate change, offering the latest information on rising temperatures.
A new type of robot being developed will make it easier to detect drugs, weapons, explosives and illegal immigrants concealed in cargo containers.
A new and novel computer modeling platform can help hospitals and cities to be more prepared for catastrophic public health scenarios,
Harris County Commissioners Court has unanimously approved the creation of the Houston Ship Channel Security District, a public-private partnership that will fund enhancements to security technology, infrastructure and processes along the ship channel.
Researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, have created a framework to calculate the true environmental cost of travel.
As described in an article to be published in the August 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine and released online yesterday, medical problems contributed to nearly two-thirds (62.1 percent) of all bankruptcies in 2007. Between 2001 and 2007, the proportion of all bankruptcies attributable to medical problems rose by 49.6 percent.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California (UC) Berkeley have come up with a new memory storage medium that can pack thousands of times more data into one square inch of space than conventional chips and preserve this data for more than a billion years.
Not only does research show that rural residents may be more likely to maintain normal levels of social contact than urban residents, but the researchers said that the decreased access to hospitals and physicians also make rural areas especially vulnerable during an epidemic.
Increasing sea levels, coastal erosion, changing sea ice conditions, and permafrost thaw threatens municipal infrastructure, such as transport links, the survival of Inuit subsistence hunting and fishing activities, and the fabric of Inuit culture and society.
Researchers are developing the Standoff Patient Triage Tool (SPTT), a device that classic Star Trek fans will recognize for its resemblance to the medical diagnostic tool known as the tricorder.
The START Center at the University of Maryland releases a report looking at terrorist incidents against religious figures, institutions and military targets.
Information engineers in India and Japan have been working on a way for software to distinguish between personal web pages and commercial pages they say are designed to fool consumers.
The maximum award available under the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program will be increased from $20 million to $200 million.
A new study has found that 67% of the fatalities in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005 resulted from direct impacts of the flooding that occurred when the levees collapsed.
Organizations communicating health and safety information during a crisis need to respond quickly and in common terms when communicating to the public, otherwise audiences will seek information elsewhere.
Conventional smoke detection and sprinkler systems are important safety tools and help to save lives, but indiscriminately soaking an office building, home, or workplace with water can cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Classroom Toolbox for Green Retrofit of U.S. Schools
HealthMap began picking up informal reports of the influenza outbreak in Mexico as early as 1 April.
Now cyber-criminals are beginning to create their own search engines which lead users directly to pages designed to infect or defraud them.
With more than 9 million people incarcerated across the globe 2.25 million in U.S. jails and prisons alone, it is vital that correctional officials and health professionals be prepared for a worst-case scenario that involves pandemic influenza reaching inmates and staff.
The benefits of these prescribing systems for patients is not so clear cut according to new research published in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
A computer forensics expert has now developed a forensic toolkit that allows police and other investigators the chance to lay bare the contents of XBox hard disks,
Researchers have developed a Smart Charger Controller to manage peak demands in the electric grid.
Two different swine influenza infection computer models from Indiana and Northwestern Universities, generated on April 27, both predict about 1,000 cases in the United States within three weeks.
Computer scientists at UC San Diego and Microsoft Research have created a plug-and-play hardware prototype for personal computers that induces a new energy saving state known as "sleep talking."
No matter how large or sturdy new levees and floodwalls surrounding New Orlean are constructed, they cannot provide absolute protection against overtopping or failure in extreme events.
The Homeland Security Policy Institute has just released its latest Commentary that suggests that a joint threat assessment could be a powerful protective tool for both countries.
Public commenters who participate during the early phases of regulatory policymaking play an important agenda setting role.
Imaging device fits in the palm of a hand.
A team of University of Miami College of Engineering researchers are implementing a self-powered monitor system for bridges that can continuously check their condition using wireless sensors that "harvest" power from structural vibration and wind energy.
California's biggest energy utility announced a deal Monday to purchase 200 megawatts of electricity from a startup company that plans to beam the power down to Earth from outer space.
National Science Board recommends comprehensive, coordinated federal strategy needed to transform U.S. energy economy.
A Northeastern University physicist and his team tracked the spreading potential of Bluetooth and multimedia messaging service (MMS) viruses and predict that these viruses will become a real threat to users of smartphones.
NIST has contracted with the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. to help it develop an interim 'roadmap' for determining the architecture and initial key standards for an electric power Smart Grid.
Daylighting also represents the single largest 'new' opportunity for energy savings in commercial lighting today and for the foreseeable future.
Researchers from the Regenstrief Institute, Inc. in collaboration with the Marion County Health Department (Indianapolis, Ind), have developed and tested a technology that allows public health officials to abandon a traditional, inefficient paper approach to alerting the medical community about public health crises.
Vivek Kundra, chief technology officer of the District of Columbia, spoke with Digital Communities editor Blake Harris about his management approach, IT governance innovations, cost-cutting measures and the pace of innovation. Today, President Barack Obama named Kundra the "federal CIO."
In a changing landscape of new media on the web, do local governments need to address how their staff conduct themselves on many popular sites as the New York Times recently has done?
Nationwide emergency responder interoperability a priority.
Kansas State University engineers are developing an energy-harvesting radio that could transmit important data -- like stress measurements on a bridge, for instance -- without needing a change of batteries, ever.
Is Web 2.0 simply another hype storm created by technocrats and marketers in an attempt to generate new demand for products? Or do these technologies offer a real answer to some of the traditional shortcomings of citizen government interaction?
Web 2.0 lets local government organize and interact with citizens.
California community was Digital Cities Survey winner for 2007.
IT-powered productivity can help communities weather hard times.
An interview with John Davies, vice president of Intel's World Ahead program
An interview with John Davies, vice president of Intel's World Ahead program
Common themes ran through many of the presentations and roundtable discussions.
Municipal Wi-Fi and wireless projects are spreading like wildfire, but without a more holistic view in their planning and implementation, the benefits to communities will likely be limited.
Musings on the yearlong search for a full definition of digital communities -- something that will help to define the evolution of 21st century communities.
Musings on the yearlong search for a full definition of digital communities.
The city of Tempe boasts the largest ubiquitous border-to-border high-speed broadband network in North America (40 square miles) that provides Wi-Fi access to residents and the business community as well as to its municipal workforce.
While there may be other higher profile Wi-Fi initiatives, such as Philadelphia or San Francisco, Corpus Christi nevertheless continues to lead in the Wi-Fi arena.
Kristine Sigfridson, Acting CIO, City of Phoenix, talks about that city's perspective and the pilot Wi-Fi programs they have launched despite concerns.
Glenn Sangiovanni, former Mayor of St. Cloud (pictured) and Jonathan Baltuch, president of MRI discuss St. Cloud's municipal wireless initative.
MuniWireless Silicon Valley proved a varied and interesting forum to discuss many vital issues related to municiple wireless.
America is rapidly losing ground in the broadband race and this has a serious economic impact, hampering the ability to compete globally.
For the Washington County, MD, a new wireless permitting and inspections system has dramatically changed how building inspections are carried out in the county.
At a recent Digital Communities event in Los Angeles, CA, technology leaders from both the city and the county of Los Angeles presented what was in essence a call to action for wireless deployment.
Richard Lewis, CIO of the City of Houston, discussed some of the background and strategy behind their wireless initiative RFP.
W2i conference in Houston (Feb. 28 to March 2) offered a rich and iin-depth program to engage participants.
Two of the six proposals submitted to the city would offer free access -- the one from the joint forces of Google and EarthLink and one from SF Metro Connect, a collaboration between Cisco Systems, I.B.M. and SeaKay, a non-profit group involved in developing community networks.
Following the Sago coal mine explosion in Tallmansville, West Virginia, where 12 trapped miners died in the worst mine disaster in that state since 1968, U.S. experts have started to assess how new wireless technologies might mitigate such incidents in the future.
According to the non-profit organization Public Benefit Broadband Inc., communities may be best served when public private partnerships take a regional approach.
One small indication that wireless technologies like Wi-Fi and WiMAX are set to transform the digital landscape is the growing number of year-end top ten lists that now included wireless developments.
Holley Metering Ltd., China's largest meter manufacturer, is now rolling out a new wireless automated meter reading (AMR) system for China's public utilities.
In recent weeks Cisco Systems has unveiled what it described as the first "intelligent wireless mesh solution" that will make it easier for municipalities to provide high-speed wireless network and Internet connectivity services.
The Wi-Fi Alliance and market research firm In-Stat announced that sales of Wi-Fi chipsets had already passed the 100 million mark for 2005.
One of the high points of the World Summit on the Information Society, for both media and participants, was the unveiling of a "$100 laptop" by Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of the MIT Media Lab and UN secretary general, Kofi Annan.
For the more than 17,000 participants who made their way to Tunisia last week to attend the World Summit on the Information Society, the chances are that the truly massive event was both more and less than they hoped for.
World Summit Seeks to Focus on Opportunity
Wireless Nomad, a new Toronto group launched at the beginning of this year as a member controlled, not-for-profit cooperative, believes it has found a way around the pitfalls experienced by other community wireless groups.
Under new policies and initiatives from its Ministry of Communications, Italy is turning to Wi-Fi and WiMAX to make broadband Internet access more universally available throughout the country.
Enforta BV and Moscow-based InfiNet Wireless, have concluded a deal that will create the largest WiMAX network in the Russian Federation, one that is expected to span 28 major cities within the next two years.
While many municipalities now have their sights on Wi-Fi, it is interesting to note that what is reportedly the largest Wi-Fi/WiMAX network up and running in the country isn't found in a major sprawling city like New York, San Francisco or Philadelphia. Nor does it stretched along a high tech corridor like Silicon Valley.
San Francisco city officials have publicly released the responses they received to their Request for Information and Comment (RFI/C) on the proposed construction of an affordable wireless Internet network to serve the entire city.
Yesterday, Oct.12, 2005, Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee, WI, announced a $20 million-plus initiative to create a citywide Wi-Fi network, one that would be built at no cost to the city or taxpayers. It is a move that he and other city officials believe positions Milwaukee to become the first fully wireless large city in America.
Following a renewed commitment on the part of the Indian government to build what will be the most extensive wireless network in the world, trainers from the many participating partner agencies in the initiative -- dubbed the National Alliance for Mission 2007 -- came together September 22-23, 2005 to develop a training plan and curriculum to support the undertaking.
Safety continues to be an overriding concern in New Orleans recovery efforts. Now, apart from all the obvious flood and wind damage from Hurricane Katrina, some residents are returning to find a red tag on their homes.
Free or low-cost broadband Internet access for lower income families is proving a significant factor in the Wi-Fi initiatives of key American cities like Philadelphia and San Francisco.
One of the highlights of the inaugural Muniwireless Conference, held in San Francisco September 28-29, was the release of what was described as the first comprehensive statistical analysis on the municipal wireless market.
Two of Canada's leading communication companies, Rogers Communications and Bell Canada, have announced an agreement to jointly build and manage a Canada-wide wireless broadband network that is expected to reach more than two-thirds of all Canadians in less than three years.
Last week (Sept. 15), the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee released a bipartisan "staff discussion draft" of legislation that proposes to rework laws governing U.S. telecommunications to accelerate the deployment of broadband Internet services.
Corpus Christi, Texas, sees Wi-Fi not only as the technology to improve its own government operations, but also as a means for businesses and citizens to connect in new and innovative ways.
Taipei is well on its way to installing what some experts have called the world's largest Wi-Fi grid with more that 10,000 access points that will blanket the city's 272 square kilometers.
In recent weeks, Intel Corporation has started to publicly unveil the extent of its new global initiative designed to help communities use wireless technology and innovative applications to expand and improve municipal government services for businesses and citizens.
Overland Storage Announces Highest-Performing Disk-Based Backup and Recovery Appliance
New Report on 2003 Storage Management Software Market
Toppan and Sony Successfully Develop 25 GB Paper Disc
Iomega Brings Hard-Drive Performance to a Removable Disk
IBM Acquires the Business Continuity Services Unit of Schlumberger
IBM Introduces the Fastest Global Mirror for Disaster Recovery
Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
San Diego's Street Services Division creates the right blend of technologies to track work orders and staff response, all while saving money for the city.
Stearns County's integrated law enforcement solution makes believers out of police chiefs and sheriffs.
Florida takes a statewide approach to information and infrastructure security.
Missouri system lets users search docket entries, parties, judgments and charges online.
New York GIS data sharing cooperative proves key to 9-11 disaster recovery.
Recognizing the best in technological innovation and development.
Aging Workforce: No Natural Limit to Life Expectance, Says Duke Researcher
SkillSoft/SmartForce Merger Good for the E-learning Industry
California Offers Web-Based Professional Development Training
Pennsylvania Announces Stakeholder Group to Enhance Workforce
Sugar pills and placebos worked just as well as some anti-depressants, doctors found.
Pennsylvania officials working hard to help unemployed.
Fifty-three campuses will make use of learning software.
Managing just got a little easier.
The new tool helps match initiatives with employees.
The workshop was intended to help Asian-Pacific federal workers advance their careers.
Reform in IT workforce was the subject of a May conference.
The grants will help state agencies help unemployed residents.
Online-learning efforts will target at-risk youth and the working poor.
Discrimination claims continue to rise, and the federal government is worried.
Governments have hard time attracting workers.
Report by FLETC shows dramatic cost savings and increased participation in online courses for e-learning program.
GeoLearning, Inc. selected to deliver online training to federal agencies.
New York expands support services program for state workers.
The Partnership for Public Service makes recommendations to increase applicant pool.
National Information Technology Workforce Convocation will feature new data on demand for high tech workers.
Positive results for E-Learning programs reported.
Gov. Gray Davis proposing consolidation of agencies.
The General Services Administration is studying the barriers to telecommuting.
New federal legislation targets shortage of IT managers.
Andre van der Meer heads an intergovernmental project
Economic development used to be about industry, infrastructure and material resources. In the global Information Age, it's about attracting the human kind of resources.
The Internet and TVW have your full-access pass to the legislative hearings and court proceedings of Washington state.
As a representative of Washington state's First Congressional District since 1995, Rick White gained national attention for his efforts on issues related to the Internet and technology. He was also one of a handful of members selected to develop the final Telecommunications Act of 1996. As the founder of the Congressional Internet Caucus, he has not only worked to educate other members of Congress about the Internet but also to create -- through its use -- a more open and participatory government. White talked with Editor at Large Blake Harris about his past efforts and new initiatives.
Jeffrey Eisenach is president and co-founder of The Progress & Freedom Foundation located in Washington, D.C. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Virginia in 1985, and since 1995 has served on the faculty of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He has also held policy positions in government at both the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of Management and Budget. Editor at Large Blake Harris spoke with him about the changing role of government in the digital age.
Ira Magaziner is senior advisor to the president for policy development, where he chairs a joint National Economic Council/ National Security Council initiative that is working to increase U.S. exports. He recently supervised the administration's development of "The Framework for Global Electronic Commerce," which outlines the U.S. government strategy for promoting global electronic commerce on the Internet. He now co-chairs the task force charged with implementing this strategy worldwide. Editor at Large Blake Harris spoke with Magaziner about his role as "point man" of the digital commercial revolution.
Cyber-guru and best-selling author Don Tapscott answers questions about the looming impact of the Net generation and how it will transform the way society works, plays and communicates.
A new generation of mobile data systems-cuts access time to national law enforcement databases.
Denver Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Craig Cook tells how his district has been using technology to reengineer educational processes from top to bottom.
How can local governments develop and maintain power in a virtual global economy? Saskia Sassen, professor of urban planning, author and scholar, discusses tomorrow's cities.
"There will never be enough jobs in the knowledge sector of America or any country to accommodate the millions and millions of people let go in the traditional industrial sectors, blue- and white-collar manufacturing and service." -- Jeremy Rifkin on information technology and the end of wage labor.
John M. Eger -- former advisor to Presidents Nixon and Ford, director of the White House Office of Telecommunications Policy, and a former vice president of CBS -- is today helping define the new role of cities within the global information economy.
"We didn't set out to have [our fiber-optic network] state-owned. We put it out for bid. The problem was we didn't have anybody who wanted to build it to every part of the state."
Edwin Meese III served as counselor to President Ronald Reagan from 1981 until 1985, making him the President's chief policy advisor and manager of the administration of the Cabinet, policy development and planning. He was then appointed the 75th Attorney General of the United States, a position he held from February 1985 to August 1988. He currently holds the Ronald Reagan Chair in Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy research and education institution. Meese recently keynoted Government Technology's conference on Justice and Public Safety in the 21st Century, where he was interviewed by Staff Writer Blake Harris.
William Greider is an award-winning author and reporter who has covered politics from the nation's capitol for more than 30 years. His best-selling books include "Secrets of the Temple" -- on the inner workings of the Federal Reserve -- and "Who Will Tell The People: The Betrayal of American Democracy," an eye-opening and tough-minded account of how accountability and responsibility have decayed in the American political system.
According to Marshall McLuhan's successor, government buildings will be replaced by networks, and large administrative sectors will begin to disappear.
The Bangemann Challenge -- an information technology contest -- is pushing European cities to strive for better technology developments and applications.
A state government department runs its internal networks on Internet technology with surprising results.
Many cyberspace enthusiasts believe hyperdemocracy can help empower voters and revitalize democracy. Others insist it could undermine democratic practices.
The new Electronic Policy Network puts a world of information at the fingertips of anyone involved or interested in government and social policies
The future of cyberspace will rely not on our ability to police it, but on what we collectively build there that is of real public assistance and social value.
Community networks can provide valuable information and services for citizens, but also pose several difficulties. Before you plan yours, hear what other communities have learned along the way.


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Datapipe Growth in 2011 Exceeds 2009 and 2010 Combined
February 1, 2012 by FindMyHost News
Web Hosting Services – Jersey City, N.J. – Despite a challenging global economy, Datapipe headed into 2011 with high expectations based on a very successful 2010 in which the company doubled the net growth they experienced in 2009. Those expectations were rewarded as net growth in 2011 exceeded that of 2009 and 2010 combined.
"Datapipe has built a team that includes some of the best talent in the industry. Their commitment to delivering value for our clients every day drives our success," said Robb Allen, Datapipe CEO. "2012 will be another exciting year as we launch new products and enter new markets."
Datapipe saw growth in all markets with Europe and Asia both growing more than fifty percent. Stratosphere the company's Enterprise Cloud Platform more than doubled for the third consecutive year. Additionally, the company significantly expanded its New Jersey, London and San Jose data center footprints.
Datapipe continues to make sustainability a top priority. All of its US data centers are run on 100 percent renewable energy. The company was also recently chosen by the EPA as one of ten organizations nationwide to receive a Green Power Leadership Award for its green power purchases in 2011. And, Datapipe was recently recognized by The New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA) with an Environmental Quality award for preserving and enhancing air quality in New Jersey.
About Datapipe
Datapipe offers a single provider solution for managing and securing mission-critical IT services, including cloud computing, infrastructure as a service, platform as a service, colocation and data centers. Datapipe delivers those services from the world's most influential technical and financial markets including New York metro, Silicon Valley, London, Hong Kong and Shanghai. For more information about Datapipe visit www.datapipe.com or call (888) 749-5821.
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subset: commoncrawl


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A collection of scholarly works about individual liberty and free markets. A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.
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Historical Period:
The 20th Century and Beyond
Kurt Leube is a Professor in the Department of Economics at California State University, Hayward; a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University; and Professor and Academic Director of the International Institute for Austrian Economics. Leube is a historian of economic thought, with an emphasis on Austrian economics, and a scholar of law and economics and economic philosophy.


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A total of four long-time members of the Hope College faculty are retiring at the conclusion of the current school year.
Retiring are Charles Aschbrenner, professor of music, who has taught at Hope since 1963; David Jensen, director of libraries with the rank of professor, who has been at the college since 1984; Roberta Kraft, adjunct associate professor of music, who has taught at Hope since 1975; and Dr. Nancy Sonneveldt Miller, dean for the social sciences and professor of education, who joined the faculty in 1968. Their combined service to the college totals 142 years.
Charles Aschbrenner joined the faculty in 1963, and is a professor of music as well as chair of the piano area at the college. He has lectured and performed as both a soloist and a collaborative pianist throughout Michigan and the Midwest, as well as abroad.
He is a certified Dalcroze Eurhythmics instructor, and is intensely interested in the issues of movement, rhythm and physical freedom in performance. He has presented lecture-demonstrations across the United States as well as internationally in both Austria and Serbia. His articles on rhythm and movement have appeared in the "Journal of the Dalcroze Society of America," and his Web site "Pulse Patterning for Pianists" has attracted international responses.
Aschbrenner has been the liaison for the Holland Piano Teachers' Forum, the local chapter of the Michigan Music Teachers Association (MMTA). He has served on the state board of the MMTA as membership chair, and has served the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) as collegiate competitions chair and, most recently, scholarship foundation chair.
In September 2004 he was named the "Teacher of the Year" by the Holland Piano Teachers' Forum. In October of this year he was grand marshal of the college's Homecoming parade.
Aschbrenner completed his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Illinois in 1959, and his Master of Music at YaleUniversity in 1963. He further studied with renowned teachers Nadia Boulanger in France and Adele Marcus in New York City.
Before coming to Hope, Aschbrenner had an appointment at StephensCollege in Columbia, Mo.
David Jensen came to Hope as director of libraries in 1984.
His tenure at the college has included the construction of the Van Wylen Library, which opened in January 1988; adaptation of new technologies that has ranged from computerizing the card catalog to developing access to more than 30,000 electronic journals and nearly 20,000 electronic books; and shepherding the growth of the collection from about 190,000 volumes in 1984 to 370,000 volumes currently. In 2004, the library was named the national winner in the college category of the "Excellence in Academic Libraries Award" presented by the Association of College and Research Libraries.
Jensen received a "Provost's Award for Service to the Academic Program" from Hope in January.
Jensen graduated from GreensboroCollege in 1965 and completed his M.S.L.S. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968.
Immediately prior to coming to Hope he had been a technical information specialist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Chapel Hill. He had also supervised the University of North Carolina School of Library Science/U.S. EPA Library Intern Program.
From 1970 to 1978 he was director of library services at Greensboro College, prior to which he had been an assistant reference librarian at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He taught library science at both the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and at North Carolina Central University in Durham.
Roberta Kraft's tenure with the department of music officially goes back to 1975, although she had actually begun working with the department some years earlier, a relatively short time after her husband George, now retired, had joined the kinesiology faculty in 1967.
A pianist, she was the department's first staff accompanist. She has performed actively with Hope students and faculty, as well as with her husband, with whom she has given roughly 400 programs. In addition to her teaching at Hope she maintains a private studio.
Kraft has been active with the Michigan Music Teachers Association, including serving as president from 1998 to 2000 and as vice president the previous two years. Her association with the MMTA began through the local chapter, Holland Piano Teachers Forum, of which she was a charter member in 1969 and which she served as president for three terms.
In 2003 she was named the "Teacher of the Year" by the MMTA, which had presented her with a Distinguished Service Award in 2002. The Holland chapter named her the local "Teacher of the Year" in 1995.
Kraft has also taught public school in the Junction City, Kan., Holland and Saugatuck-Douglas school systems. She is a performing member of St. Cecilia Music Society of Grand Rapids, and a member of the American Guild of Organists and The National Guild.
She earned her bachelor of music education degree at WheatonCollege and a master of music degree at IndianaUniversity.
Nancy Miller has been a member of the Hope faculty since 1968, and has served as dean for the social sciences since 1985.
She has served the college in a variety of ways, including as interim provost during 2001-02 and as a faculty representative to the Board of Trustees. She chaired the Hope committee that developed the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication. In 1995 she delivered the Baccalaureate sermon.
She is on the national board of Bread for the World. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees for Western Theological Seminary since 2001. For more than 30 years, she and her husband Phil have coordinated the Christmas Project for Bethany Christian Services. She is also on the board of the "Breakfast with Baby" outreach program at Fourth Reformed Church.
Her past community involvement includes three terms on the Board of Education of the Holland Christian Schools. She has been an elder at Christ Memorial Church, and has served the Reformed Church in America in a variety of ways, including as an at-large representative with the General Synod Council.
She and Phil, who is a past member of the college's Board of Trustees, received the "Family Award" from the Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area in 2001 and an Outstanding Volunteer Award from the West Michigan Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2004. She received the third annual Lakeshore ATHENA Award in October of this year.
Miller is a 1962 Hope graduate. She holds a master's degree from the University of Michigan and a doctorate from Michigan State University. Prior to joining the Hope faculty she had taught at the elementary and junior-high level in the Wyoming Public Schools.


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Bryn Oh
Saturday, July 1, 2017
Happy Canada Day!
Happy Canada day everyone! We are celebrating our 150th anniversary .. .yes we are a young country. To celebrate, here in Toronto, we have a giant yellow rubber duck. Largest in the world I understand. It symbolizes our... well it reflects the deep roots of.... well... Ok it has nothing to do with Canada or our heritage, its just super fun to have floating in the harbour. Yay giant rubber duck I love you.
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Bryn Oh
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Product Description
The 2.5mm Hyperflex AMP3 shorty springsuit is a top of the line offering for the uncompromising user. Unlike most springsuits, the AMP-III is made of a really high grade of superstretch neoprene that is softer and more flexible than other 100% stretch neoprene. The waterproof back zipper (with anti-flush barrier) works together with the sealed seams to keep water from flushing the suit, which keeps you warmer for longer. Completely redesigned this season, the AMP-3 is the warmest and most flexible suit ever produced by the guys up in Jersey. A great buy in our opinion!


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PowerShell Studio : "...given some of the challenges I've been having recently (mostly with Pester), I decided to give VS Code another try... After about an hour of suffering with terrible performance, I shut it down and came back to PowerShell Studio... a great product!"—HONDAAL, 08/21/2020
PrimalScript : "PrimalScript is such a great tool. It was my go-to for any scripting needs, and I still miss using it to this day. Can/'t recommend this product highly enough!"—Ryan Aubrey, 07/15/2019
PowerShell Studio : "Keep it up guys, during the years I have seen the product and getting better with each release... You really made my job as a dev much much easier!"—Daniele Catanesi on LinkedIn, 12/05/2018
PowerShell HelpWriter : "I've always loved the way their products make my work/life easier. They just keep delivering."—Thomas Ross on LinkedIn, 06/22/2018
SAPIEN Software Suite : "...some of the best software I've ever used. I've literally had my hands on it for two weeks and my life has completely changed... Seriously could go on for hours about how great your products are."—Nate, Customer, 10/06/2017
PowerShell Studio : "I am finding new functionality in this tool it seems every 1/2 hour. I wish I had found this tool a long time ago. I had to personally pay for it but its already gotten me my end of year bonus and paid for itself many times over."—InBoise, customer, 08/25/2017
SAPIEN Software Suite : "I never in my wildest dreams thought that I could fully own such a wonderful set of tools. You guys have truly surpassed yourself. ...you folks at SAPIEN sure know how to keep customers happy."—Miguel Velez-White, 01/23/2017
PowerShell Studio : "Still without a doubt the most productive IDE I have worked with in 20 years! Keep up the great work!"—Ken, Blog Reader and customer, 01/19/2017
WMI Explorer : "Just bought WMI Explorer and found a property I was *sure* wasn't in WMI after an hour of googling in 30s! Great product!"—Shawn Maiberger via Twitter, 09/16/2016
PowerShell HelpWriter : "...a great asset for PowerShell professionals looking to create complete help documentation."—Jeff Hicks, 05/22/2015
PrimalScript : "...made me three times the scripter than I was before."—Jarvis Davis, TechEd 2014, 05/14/2014
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Hayfever rates have soared to record levels and are only going to get worse in the coming years, sufferers have been warned. As the nation braces itself for one of the most severe summers in recent years, charity Allergy UK said almost a third of the population are now victims. Professor Jean Emberlin, its scientific director, told the Daily Express: "We now have one of the highest rates worldwide." Read more >>
The cartoon by Paul Thomas from the Daily Express shows a man working in his garden wearing what looks like a space suit. His neighbour leans over the fence and asks him, "How's the hayfever?"
The joke (and the answer to the question) should be obvious: the man's hayfever is very bad — that's why he's wearing the special suit.
Hayfever (also hay fever) is a medical condition caused by pollen (=powder produced by flowers) that affects your nose and eyes as if you had a bad cold. • Triggered by grass and tree pollen, hay fever leads to sneezing, red and itchy eyes and sore throats.
See if you can spot the following items in the cartoon: lawnmower, skylight, flag, fence, lawn, flower beds, plant pots, bird box, chimney, butterflies, shed, trowel, flat cap, beanie hat, roof, greenhouse, bushes.


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(CNN) -- There are happy songs -- and then there is "Happy."
The bouncy tune by singer/composer/producer/rapper Pharrell Williams has occupied the No. 1 spot on the charts for more than a month.
It's spurred countless covers -- including one by Academy Award-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, reprising her guest star role in the 100th episode of "Glee."
There is even a YouTube version of "Happy" that has gone completely to the dogs.
What is it about this song, which is so infectiously enjoyable that Meryl Streep had to shimmy to it when Williams performed at the Oscars?
Is it the catchy melody? Is it the insistent nature of such lyrics as "Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth"? Is it that extra bounce you feel when the back up singers airily croon "Because I'm happppppyyyy"? Or is it the joy of watching Williams and several other folks dance, bounce and lip-sync along with the song in the music video?
Simply put, the song is all those things, even as it has managed to seemingly capture the rush of happiness in its lyrics and melody.
Not a bad trick for a tune that slowly grew from a single on last summer's "Despicable Me 2" soundtrack to such popularity that Robert Morast, a writer for the Virginian-Pilot, recently entered into a debate of whether it should be considered for the official state song of Virginia.
"Pharrell's hit track is a jolt of mood-lifting music," wrote Morast, who was more partial to the Carter Family's "Can the Circle Be Unbroken." "And while it's fine to be happy, the best art is crafted with a range of emotional perspectives."
Even with its slow build, "Happy" caught ears from the beginning. Upon release it was quickly dubbed "an instant contender for 2013's Song of the Summer" by Rolling Stone. Since then, it's topped the charts in more than a dozen countries besides the United States, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Poland.
Violinist Lindsey Stirling, who's worked with John Legend and mixes classically styled music with electronic dub-step beats, asks simply, how "can you not love ('Happy')?"
"I was with a friend, and when ('Happy') came on, her baby started kicking and trying to dance," Stirling said. "We were laughing hysterically and saying 'Even babies love this song.' "
She said she believes the reason "Happy" is so beloved is because of its uplifting message.
"I get so excited when something this positive goes this big," said Stirling, whose album "Shatter Me" will be released at the end of April. "It's spreading good feelings and isn't at all controversial. It's just something that is making people really happy."
Williams has partnered with the United Nations Foundation in celebration of Thursday's International Day of Happiness, encouraging fans to donate to the organization and submit content to his 24Hoursof Happiness.com site.
Visitors were asked to tag their submissions, be they dancing, singing or just "being happy" with the #HappyDay. At noon Thursday, in each time zone around the world, Williams will highlight some of the best.
"Happy" is also one of the lead singles on Williams new album "Girl," which has already shot to No. 1 in almost 80 countries and on streaming music giant Spotify. The singer is overwhelmed by the goodwill.
"This is probably the most I've ever been humbled in my entire life," Williams told the Los Angeles Times about his song and the reaction to it. "Because it's something bigger than me, bigger than anything I've ever done."
No doubt that makes him happy.


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*For selected area only
Versailles Charm FA11176
A Bouquet of 9 Stems of Purple and White Roses Hand Bouquet
Walk around the magical garden of Versailles and you'll find an everlasting beauty among the trees and flower beds in that famous place. Find the charm of Versailles here in this impressive bouquet of pink and white roses.
Wrapping, bear, decoration, packaging/vase and fillers may vary. FlowerAdvisor reserves the right to replace any item with another of equivalent value depending on season and availability.


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What is hyperthyroidism?
Hyperthyroidism develops when the body is exposed to excessive amounts of thyroid hormone. This disorder occurs in almost one percent of all Americans and affects women five to 10 times more often than men. In its mildest form, hyperthyroidism may not cause recognizable symptoms. More often, however, the symptoms are discomforting, disabling or even life-threatening.
What are the causes of hyperthyroidism?
- Graves' disease: Graves' disease (named after Irish physician Robert Graves) is an autoimmune disorder that frequently results in thyroid enlargement and hyperthyroidism. In some patients, swelling of the muscles and other tissues around the eyes may develop, causing eye prominence, discomfort or double vision. Like other autoimmune diseases, this condition tends to affect multiple family members. It is much more common in women than in men and tends to occur in younger patients.
- Postpartum thyroiditis: Five to 10 percent of women develop mild to moderate hyperthyroidism within several months of giving birth. Hyperthyroidism in this condition usually lasts for approximately one to two months. It is often followed by several months of hypothyroidism, but most women will eventually recover normal thyroid function. In some cases, however, the thyroid gland does not heal, so the hypothyroidism becomes permanent and requires lifelong thyroid hormone replacement. This condition may occur again with subsequent pregnancies.
- Silent thyroiditis: Transient (temporary) hyperthyroidism can be caused by silent thyroiditis, a condition which appears to be the same as postpartum thyroiditis, but is not related to pregnancy. It is not accompanied by a painful thyroid gland.
- Subacute thyroiditis: This condition may follow a viral infection and is characterized by painful thyroid gland enlargement and inflammation, which results in the release of large amounts of thyroid hormones into the blood. Fortunately, this condition usually resolves spontaneously. The thyroid usually heals itself over several months, but often not before a temporary period of low thyroid hormone production (hypothyroidism) occurs.
- Toxic multinodular goiter: Multiple nodules in the thyroid can produce excessive thyroid hormone, causing hyperthyroidism. Typically diagnosed in patients over the age of 50, this disorder is more likely to affect heart rhythm. In many cases, the person has had the goiter for many years before it becomes overactive.
- Toxic nodule: A single nodule or lump in the thyroid can also produce more thyroid hormone than the body requires and lead to hyperthyroidism. This disorder is not familial.
- Excessive iodine ingestion: Various sources of high iodine concentrations, such as kelp tablets, some expectorants, amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone – medications used to treat certain problems with heart rhythms) and x-ray dyes may occasionally cause hyperthyroidism in patients who are prone to it.
- Overmedication with thyroid hormone: Patients who receive excessive thyroxine replacement treatment can develop hyperthyroidism. They should have their thyroid hormone dosage evaluated by a physician at least once each year and should NEVER give themselves "extra" doses.
What are the signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism?
When hyperthyroidism develops, a goiter (enlargement of the thyroid) is usually present and may be associated with some or many of the following features:
- Fast heart rate, often more than 100 beats per minute
- Becoming anxious, irritable, argumentative
- Trembling hands
- Weight loss, despite eating the same amount or even more than usual
- Intolerance of warm temperatures and increased likelihood to perspire
- Loss of scalp hair
- Tendency of fingernails to separate from the nail bed
- Muscle weakness, especially of the upper arms and thighs
- Loose and frequent bowel movements
- Smooth skin
- Change in menstrual pattern
- Increased likelihood for miscarriage
- Prominent "stare" of the eyes
- Protrusion of the eyes, with or without double vision (in patients with Graves' disease)
- Irregular heart rhythm, especially in patients older than 60 years of age
- Accelerated loss of calcium from bones, which increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures
How is hyperthyroidism diagnosed?
Sometimes a general physician can diagnose and treat the cause of hyperthyroidism, but assistance is often needed from an endocrinologist, a physician who specializes in managing thyroid disease. Characteristic symptoms and physical signs of the disease can be detected by a trained physician. In addition, tests can be used to confirm the diagnosis and to determine the cause.
TSH (THYROID-STIMULATING HORMONE OR THYROTROPIN): A low TSH level in the blood is the most accurate indicator of hyperthyroidism. The body shuts off production of this pituitary hormone when the thyroid gland even slightly overproduces thyroid hormone. If the TSH level is low, it is very important to also check thyroid hormone levels to confirm the diagnosis of hyperthyroidism.
ESTIMATES OF FREE THYROXINE AND FREE TRIIODOTHYRONINE: When hyperthyroidism develops, free thyroxine and free triiodothyronine levels rise above previous values in that specific patient (although they may still fall within the normal range for the general population) and are often considerably elevated.
TSI (THYROID-STIMULATING IMMUNOGLOBULIN): A substance often found in the blood when Graves' disease is the cause of hyperthyroidism.
RADIOACTIVE IODINE UPTAKE (RAIU): The amount of iodine the thyroid gland can collect, and a thyroid scan, which shows how the iodine is distributed throughout the thyroid gland.
THYROID SCAN: This information can be useful in determining the cause of hyperthyroidism and, ultimately, its treatment.
How is hyperthyroidism treated?
Appropriate management of hyperthyroidism requires careful evaluation and ongoing care by a physician experienced in the treatment of this complex condition.
Before the development of current treatment options, the death rate from severe hyperthyroidism was as high as 50 percent. Now several effective treatments are available and, with proper management, death from hyperthyroidism is rare. Deciding which treatment is best depends on what caused the hyperthyroidism, its severity and other conditions present.
• Antithyroid Drugs
In the United States, two drugs are available for treating hyperthyroidism: propylthiouracil (PTU) and methimazole (Tapazole). Except for early pregnancy, methimazole is preferred because PTU can cause fatal liver damage, although rarely. These medications control hyperthyroidism by slowing thyroid hormone production. They may take several months to normalize thyroid hormone levels. Some patients with hyperthyroidism caused by Graves' disease experience a spontaneous or natural remission of hyperthyroidism after a 12- to 18-month course of treatment with these drugs and may sometimes avoid permanent underactivity of the thyroid (hypothyroidism), which often occurs as a result of using the other methods of treating hyperthyroidism. Unfortunately, the remission is frequently only temporary, with the hyperthyroidism recurring after several months or years off medication and requiring additional treatment, so relatively few patients are treated solely with antithyroid medication in the United States.
Antithyroid drugs may cause an allergic reaction in about five percent of patients who use them. This usually occurs during the first six weeks of drug treatment. Such a reaction may include rash or hives; but after discontinuing use of the drug, the symptoms resolve within one to two weeks and there is no permanent damage.
A more serious side effect, but occurring in only about one in 250-500 patients during the first four to eight weeks of treatment, is a rapid decrease of white blood cells in the bloodstream. This could increase susceptibility to serious infection. Symptoms such as a sore throat, infection or fever should be reported promptly to your physician, and a white blood cell count should be done immediately. In nearly every case, when a person stops using the medication, the white blood cell count returns to normal. Very rarely, antithyroid drugs may cause severe liver problems, which can be detected by monitoring blood tests or joint problems characterized by joint pain and/or swelling. Your physician should be contacted if there is yellowing of the skin (jaundice), fever, loss of appetite or abdominal pain.
• Radioactive Iodine Treatment
Iodine is an essential ingredient in the production of thyroid hormone. Each molecule of thyroid hormone contains either four (T4) or three (T3) molecules of iodine. Since most overactive thyroid glands are quite hungry for iodine, it was discovered in the 1940s that the thyroid could be "tricked" into destroying itself by simply feeding it radioactive iodine. The radioactive iodine is given by mouth, usually in capsule form, and is quickly absorbed from the bowel. It then enters the thyroid cells from the bloodstream and gradually destroys them. Maximal benefit is usually noted within three to six months.
It is not possible to eliminate "just the right amount" of the diseased thyroid gland, since radioiodine eventually damages all thyroid cells. Therefore, most endocrinologists strive to completely destroy the diseased thyroid gland with a single dose of radioiodine. This results in the intentional development of an underactive thyroid state (hypothyroidism), which is easily, predictably and inexpensively corrected by lifelong daily use of oral thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Although every effort is made to calculate the correct dose of radioiodine for each patient, not every treatment will successfully correct the hyperthyroidism, particularly if the goiter is quite large and a second dose of radioactive iodine is occasionally needed.
Thousands of patients have received radioiodine treatment, including former President of the United States George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara. The treatment is a very safe, simple and reliably effective one. Because of this, it is considered by most thyroid specialists in the United States to be the treatment of choice for hyperthyroidism cases caused by overproduction of thyroid hormone.
• Surgical Removal of the Thyroid
Although seldom used now as the preferred treatment for hyperthyroidism, operating to remove most of the thyroid gland may occasionally be recommended in certain situations, such as a pregnant woman with severe uncontrolled disease in whom radioiodine would not be safe for the baby. Surgery usually leads to permanent hypothyroidism and lifelong thyroid hormone replacement therapy.
• Other Treatments
A drug from the class of beta-adrenergic blocking agents (which decrease the effects of excess thyroid hormone) may be used temporarily to control hyperthyroid symptoms until other therapies take effect. In cases where hyperthyroidism is caused by thyroiditis or excessive ingestion of either iodine or thyroid hormone, this may be the only type of treatment required. Iodine drops are prescribed when hyperthyroidism is severe or prior to undergoing surgery for Graves' disease.


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The second half of wedding cake class we learnt to work with royal icing, fondant and gumpaste.
Royal Icing - made from egg whites and powdered sugar. It dries hard and is usually used to pipe flowers, stringwork, flooding and as glue to stick things onto the cake. The recipe that we used in class was very similar, if not the same as the one that I've always used, however, one major difference is the way that it is made.... Usually I would make it just like I am making meringue except there is just a boat load more powdered sugar in the recipe, right? WRONG! To make royal icing you shouldnt beat it too hard/fast. By doing this you are incorporating too much air and it becomes unstable. This is especially important for stringwork, the tiny airpockets will make the icing inconsistent, therefore becoming more fragile and simply put a b*tch to pipe. So when making meringue be sure to whisk the egg whites on a slow to moderate speed. It may seem like its not getting anywhere but the whites with the sugar should be whipped for at least 30 mins so be PATIENT it'll get there.. eventually. Also for added stablity and flexiblity in your royal icing you can add a small amount of gum arabic.
Piped royal icing flowers - There are templates that you can find online (mainly from Wilton). We made daisies, pansies, daffodils, apple blossoms and primroses.
Monograms (I kept calling these mammograms! hahaha) - These are usually letters that are piped before hand and left to dry before transferring onto a cake. To make these you need to pipe the outline of the letters. Let that dry over 24 hours, then thin down the royal icing so that it no longer stands at peaks and pipe inside the lines to 'flood' it. Let this also dry overnight. When peeling off the parchment be very gentle and use a spatula to help you. Needless to say, make sure you make plenty of extras as they are very fragile.
Fondant - this is a sugar based dough that is usually used to enrobe modern cakes and is used to make many cake decorations. It dries out when left exposed so remember to always keep your fondant well wrapped and preferably with a bit of crisco (shortening aka FATTTT) rubbed on it.
These were little ribbon roses we made from fondant. As you can see it starts to dry up which gives it the crackly look also known as 'elephant skin' so you need to either work faster or keep it well covered if you are not using it.
Using fondant is kind of like playing with play doh you just work with it and move it around how you want, to create all sorts of cool stuff on your cake. This was our practice dummy cake, we were practicing different techniques on it and as you can see, I've created a rose bush type thing out of fondant with a fondant bow on top. On the sides you can see stringwork and piping with royal icing.
You can also make you own pearls out of fondant. Just roll out a sausage using the fondant then using a ruler measure and cut the pieces the same size. This will ensure that when you roll the fondant, they will come out the same sized pearls. Drop these pearls into a bed of cornstarch so that the bottoms wont flatten and let them dry. When they're dry, rub off the cornstarch and stick onto cake. The ones shown aren't finished yet because usually you would dust them with some pearl dust or shimmer dust.
More pretty roses! :) Tip - if you need your fondant to dry quickly, make sure to add a bit of gum tracaganth to it when making it from scratch or just knead a tiny bit into it when working with it.
Gum paste - this is very similar to fondant except because it doesn't dry out as quick, it gives it more open time to work with. The inclusion of gum tracaganth in gum paste gives it more flexibility to be rolled out thinner therefore creating more realistic flowers.
This is a rose made out of gum paste before petal dust is added. You need to paint the flowers with petal dust to give it dimension and a more realistic look otherwise it will look too flat and too uniform.
Leaves - These are just cut with leaf cutters then pressed into a veiner to create the texture on the leaves.
This was my very much failed attempt at making a tulip! lol I let the petals dry, curved too much. Usually you just need a slight curve and only 6 are used to make a tulip but because mine were almost bent 180 I decided to put all the petals I made together to form one mother load flower which funnily enough looks like a peony! WIN!! :)
My lovely bouquet of roses with little white blossoms in between. It was so difficult to tie them together! You need to do it one at a time, binding them together at the stem using flower tape.
These probably were my best work in terms of flowers, they were really easy to make too. Just cut out the one petal, thin out the edges using a baller and wrap around the already made stamen. Finish with petal dust and leaves.
I loved making flowers, its time consuming but it was quite therapeutic. When I have time I will post up step by steps of how to make each of these flowers :)
Peace! x


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We, as Sun Campus Ambassadors, represented Sun Microsystems at Swedish Game Awards 2009 final ceremony on 13th of June at KTH main campus. Game awards is one of the biggest game development contest and Sun Microsystems is one of the biggest sponsors of this event. This year around 200 people visited the stands and talked with us about Java and Java FX. We encouraged students and professional game developers to use Java FX and distributed Java books and mugs.
The competition started in 2002 as a sub-project to Excitera, the student-driven entrepreneurship association at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), and was then called KTH Game Awards. Excitera Mobile Awards, a mobile application development competition, was started a year later and is now a part of Swedish Game Awards. The Categories for Swedish Game Awards 2008 have been changed to reflect changes in both technologies and the industry. They have now put the focus on the game, instead of on the platform. When contestants design a game, it doesnt matter what target platform they have intended for it, as long as the prototype runs on either Windows XP, OSX (as a Universal binary) or Linux (latest stable build of Ubuntu). The competition also support emulators and so called "mods", modifications of existing games, such as Half-Life 2 or Unreal Tournament.
After a very tough final round Robert Larsson, from Chalmers University, won the Java FX and best execution awards by his game Imperii. We would like to congratulate Robert and hope to see more Java FX projects in the market.


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Michele Kendzie, Photographer, Scrapbook Designer, and Mom of Three Unschoolers in Fredericksburg, Virginia
2014 Scott Kelby Photowalk - Occoquan, Virginia
I participated in the world-wide Kelby photo walk today, October 11, 2014. I enjoyed seeing a new town I'd never visited before and chatting with other photographers. I was disappointed by the dreary weather, but got a few photos I really like anyway. Read more about the photo walk at http://kelbyone.com/photowalk/Read More


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|Photo credit; Michelle Potter
|Photo credit; David Perry
Take a stroll through the garden with me as I share insights, tips and "I wish I had known better" thoughts. As a designer, container gardener and plantaholic I have learned by simply getting my hands dirty that thumbs really can go from brown to green. Join me on a fun adventure.
|Photo credit; Michelle Potter
|Photo credit; David Perry
Thank you for introducing us to these great blogs.ReplyDelete
Karen, Thanks for sharing these great photographers with us. Really inspires me to get out there with my camera and record our latest snowfall_so beautiful. I will return to these sites over and over.ReplyDelete
I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I do!ReplyDelete
Karen, I am honored and touched you found such value and inspiration in my words and photos that you would share The Sage Butterfly with your friends. It is times like these that make me glad that I have decided to open up and share. Thank you for your kind words, your sincere introduction, and your support. And I appreciate the introduction to David Perry.ReplyDelete
Lovely post -- It's one of the reasons I nominated you.
kevin, that has been a lovely end to a tough day. Thank you SO much. I am truly honored and feel very humbled to know that you enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy sharing ideas and discoveries.Delete
Karen you picked 2 wonderful blogs...I love bothReplyDelete
Hi Karen, I am familiar with the Sage Butterfly blog and visit often, but don't know the other blog. I will definitely have to check it out.ReplyDelete
Karen, I never truly understood the beauty of nature in winter until I attended a lecture by Rick Darke, plantsman and photographer. Since then the winter landscape has come alive for me. Not only the remaining grasses, but the Eupatorium, the coneflowers, viburnums and crabapples. Their colors and shapes, leftover berries. The Panicum and Miscanthus struggling to stay upright against the wind, and yes the stillness of a frost laden winter morning. I love each and every season.
I speak every fall to Garden Center customers, and at the end of my presentation I always have a line "Add flower bulbs to your garden and nourish your soul" I look forward to reading and seeing these blogs. Thank you for pointing them out.
You'll really enjoy these blogs Richard. Thanks for stopping by.ReplyDelete
Karen thank you for letting me stroll along with you in your garden, its so nice to share good dreams with people that that have the same dreams. Feel free to visit me in the orchard.ReplyDelete
Thanks for stopping by Sarah!Delete


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BARRINGTON -- TURBOCAM International, in partnership with the Network for Educational Opportunity, announces a Scholarship Information Night to be held January 24th (Thurs.) 7:00 to 8:30PM, bringing school options and scholarship information to families.
Thanks to a recent law passed by the New Hampshire legislature, families may be eligible for financial need-based scholarship awards to pay tuition at an independent/private school, a public school outside of their district, or for homeschooling expenses. This has created a flurry of interest from families in need and levels the playing field, giving low-income children the opportunity to attend a school they would otherwise not be able to afford.
One size does not fit all in education and the need-based Education Tax Credit Scholarships empower families to choose a school that is a great fit for their child.
To connect parents with scholarship information and information about the many schools they are now empowered to choose, the Scholarship Information Night will be held on Jan. 24, 7 :00 to 8:30PM, in the cafeteria of TURBOCAM International, 607 Calef Highway, Barrington, NH 03825.
Representatives from The Network for Educational Opportunity will be on hand to explain the financial need-based Education Tax Credit Scholarships available to families. To qualify for scholarship eligibility, you must have a child/children between the ages of 5 and 20 who has not yet graduated from high school. Your income must not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level, which means $69,150 for a family of four or $81,030 for a family of five (add $11,880 for each additional person in your family).
No registration is necessary for Scholarship Information Night. All members of the community are welcome to attend this family-friendly event. Light snacks and refreshments will be served. More information about the Education Tax Credit Scholarship Program can be found at www.networkforeducation.org or call 888-325-1776.
TURBOCAM International supports and has built several schools in Nepal, India and Ghana, bringing education to over a thousand children in some of the poorest communities in the world. The company is building facilities and developing training programs for manufacturing skills in Rochester, and is pleased to have the opportunity to contribute $100,000 in support of NEO scholarship awards for children in New Hampshire.


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Steve James made his name exploring the hopeful side of sports with one of the most acclaimed documentaries of all time: 1994�s �Hoop Dreams.� Now, he�s shining a light on the potential dangers of athletics in �Head Games.�
James� latest documentary depicts the damage, depression and even dementia that players often endure after years of repeated concussions. He focuses mainly on football but points out that this kind of debilitating brain injury can occur in any sport, from boxing to women�s soccer, and he hopes that young, amateur athletes and their families pay particular attention.
With the film being available in some theaters and on demand beginning this weekend, James was kind enough to take the time to choose his five favorite sports films. Here he is, in his own words:
�Raging Bull� (1980): Scorsese�s masterpiece is the undisputed heavyweight champion. A biopic of Jake LaMotta that�s not really a sports film yet somehow manages to capture the sport in all its brutality and beauty, along with the rage, aspirations and impotence that fuel both its participants and fans.
�Slap Shot� (1977): The funniest sports film ever. But also one of the most trenchant critiques of contemporary America I�ve ever seen in a comedy. George Roy Hill�s film is about violence, capitalism and unfulfilled dreams set in the world of minor league hockey. It holds up beautifully, too � it�s every bit as relevant today as it was when it was made.
�Senna� (2011): A riveting documentary about the Formula One racing rivalry between legendary Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna and French driver Alain Prost that ultimately ended in tragedy. A formally groundbreaking documentary by Asif Kapadia that is drawn entirely from thousands of hours of archival television footage along with only the voices of contemporaries offering insights.
�Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson� (1993): Barbara Kopple�s overlooked great documentary was made around the time that Tyson was convicted and went to prison for raping Desiree Washington. It does a magnificent job of detailing his rise and fall without moralizing or painting him as a monster. An honest, human account.
�The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner� (1962): A great and angry film from the British kitchen sink realism movement of the early �60s that tells the story of a troubled, blue-collar teen from a dismal family background who discovers running as an escape. Tom Courtenay gives a great performance in this gritty Tony Richardson film which has one of the most uncompromising climaxes to any sports film ever.


text: There are many reasons for reissuing a design, but getting your hands on the original tool to make it is as good as any. Armed once more with the tooling that he himself fashioned back in the day in his own workshop, Tom Dixon has launched a black companion piece to his iconic, stackable 'Jack Light' (the latter manufactured by Eurolounge), whose colour serves to emphasise the product's strongly graphic form. Made from plastic and rotary-moulded, 'Jack Black' can be used as seating or as an accessory, and comes without a light.


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(CNN) -- On Friday, teen pop singer Rebecca Black was a little-known artist on an independent label.
A weekend later, her song, "Friday," is an internet sensation -- largely for all the wrong reasons.
Viewed from two angles, the video's quick, bright flash of internet fame showcases flip sides of the Web's potential.
On one hand, it's a glance at how art (and, yes, maybe that's a tenuous term in this case) that might have languished in obscurity a decade ago can literally become world-famous overnight.
On the other, it showcases the willingness of a mostly anonymous Web population to savage the fledgling efforts of a 13-year-old girl for sport.
On Friday, the song's YouTube video, which was posted February 10, had a few thousand views.
On Tuesday, it was pushing 6 million.
Her name was a top trending topic on Twitter for two days running, and opinion-makers from "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest to Billboard magazine spread the word. And, in almost all cases, the word wasn't good.
News sites were asking if it's the worst song ever. Billboard called the song "straight out of Auto-Tuned hell." Rolling Stone called it an "unintentional parody of modern pop."
The tune comes from Ark Music Factory, a production house that Billboard says holds casting calls for singers and flies them to Los Angeles to record. Its website features a host of other teen and tween female "exclusive artists" with similar songs.
The song, for what it's worth, is the sort of lightweight bubblegum fluff that one might expect from an aspiring teen (barely) pop artist. It's simplistic, heavily (and we mean heavily) auto-tuned, and features lyrics that can be called repetitive at best, asinine at worst.
"Yesterday was Thursday/today is Friday./We're so excited ... . We gonna have a ball today./Tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday comes afterwards/I don't want this weekend to end."
And then there's the video, which features a rap break from a rapper who appears about 20 years older than everyone else in the video and drops borderline-creepy lines about getting "in the back seat" and wanting to scream when he sees a school bus drive by.
You've read the caveats -- watch the YouTube video if you wish.
As all viral videos do, it has inspired a host of spoofs and parodies. (Personal favorite: "Bob Dylan" reworks the tune).
And while there were some positive comments on the video, they're far outnumbered by digital disses.
"no. bad. not cool. not good music. please, are her 15 minutes of fame over yet?" wrote one user.
Even the "Harry Potter"-inspired Lord Voldemort Twitter account, not known for playing nice, chimed in.
"Congratulations Rebecca Black, you just beat out Sirius 'a curtain killed me' Black as the most pathetic person with that surname," the account owner wrote, referencing another "Potter" character.
Others were far more personal and far nastier. Some of the response videos posted on YouTube were profanity-laced tirades taking shots at not only the song, but Black herself.
All that directed at a girl who, according to her page on Ark's website, is a "fun, loving 13-year-old" in eighth grade who's proud of her lead role in her school's production of "Oklahoma!"
By Tuesday, some Web users were pushing back.
"I feel like people should leave her alone ... she had the guts to do this ... she's just a kid and the beat is catchy ... she's like 13 what did you think the lyrics would sound like?!?!" read one YouTube comment.
And on her Web page:
"I know you are probably really scared and stressed out and uncomfortable with what has happened in the last few days, but I assure you that all of us absolutely love you," one commenter wrote. "You should take your newfound fame and roll with it.
"Even people making jokes about your video can't get it out of their head and already know all of the lyrics. You've made a lot of people really happy..."
Gossip blogger Perez Hilton slammed the song as "HIGHlariously bad," but added that she "looks like a sweet girl" and shouldn't "let the bad reviews get to you too much!"
And, in the all-publicity-is-good-publicity world of show business, who's to say all the flak the video has taken will be a bad thing for the young singer.
"Say what you will about the downfall of modern music, but Rebecca's rocket-trajectory proves that at the very least, labels are finally catching on to this whole Internet thing,"Drew Grant wrote Tuesday for Salon. "Even if people crap all over 'Friday,' it's still become a major sensation in under five days, with a reach that would have been impossible for much better acts that were limited to radio play."


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Vermont House passes net metering bill on voice vote; raises cap to 15%
The Vermont House gave final approval of the net metering bill on a voice vote Thursday.
H.702 raises the cap on how much renewable power utilities can accept from customers. The current limit is 4 percent of peak power demand; the new proposed cap will be 15 percent.
The legislation allows more homeowners to install solar systems and feed excess power to the grid.
Customers can avoid having to buy expensive solar batteries with a net metering system. Utilities get a boost from the locally distributed power and credit customers' bills for the electricity.
On Wednesday, Democrats, Republicans, Progressives and independents overwhelmingly supported the proposal, 136-8, on second reading.
Rep. Tony Klein, D-East Montpelier, said "net metering is one of Vermont's most successful renewable energy programs" because it has helped to avoid "hundreds of millions of dollars in costly transmission projects."
The expansion of net metering is part of the state's longterm push for renewables. The state's goal is to be 90 percent reliant on renewable energy by 2050.
House Speaker Shap Smith said in a statement that the net metering bill is "an important step as we move towards a carbon-free energy future."
Republicans on Wednesday said they are concerned about the impact of the program on ratepayers.
The bill now goes to the Senate.
Gov. Peter Shumlin supports H.702.
"Today the House of Representatives gave its strong backing to an effort to expand Vermont's net metering program, which has helped our state become a national leader in solar energy and green jobs," Shumlin said in a statement. "I thank the House, and in particular the Members of the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, for their thoughtful and thorough work to advance this legislation."
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


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Students of Turner County High School [in Ashburn, GA] started what they hope will become a new tradition: Black and white students attended the prom together for the first time on Saturday.
My favorite quote has to be:
"There was not anybody that I can remember that was black," [Mindy Bryan] said. "The white people have theirs, and the black people have theirs. It's nothing racial at all."
So, it's a black-white thing, but it's not racial... at all. Gotta' love The South.


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Hi everybody
Since two Hours i´m sitting in this damned Freezone ****. Restart etc doesn´t work
The Ingameinformation says: 5 Races to drive and one Race FreeZone Break .... absolutly Bullshit .... this is not the first time that i´m sitting more then one Races in the FreeZone.
Stop it please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2 Hours FreeZone?
General Discussion about Trackmania Nations ESWC.
Moderator: TM-Patrol
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1
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Charlie Hunnam was on Conan last night. For those of you who've been wondering if he's still with his girlfriend Morgana, and didn't believe me when I said this was her yesterday, he mentions during the interview that he lives with "my girlfriend". Like I said, we're good. He's not (yet) Henry Cavill.
You see the way he's kinda slouching in his seat on the show? This is how it was when I was with him and Idris Elba at the Pacific Rim junket. The man is… comfortable. It's a lot of sexy body language. Until he gets really animated talking about dick fighting an intruder in his house. My favourite part is when Andy Richter jumps in with, "You're like a scientist!"
What he says about the "dentist" when he's referring to motorcycle riders? Ha. But as I mentioned the other day, my friend Kiu just bought a Harley and when I sent him the video, here was his reply:
"I don't blame Charlie for throwing it back at guys he doesn't know who approach him and criticize him for wearing sneakers, flip-flops, t-shirts, no helmet, etc.
Having said that, and as cool as Jax is on the show (and Charlie probably is in real life), riding without proper gear is stupid and he should watch what he says outside of the show (just in case he really is a role model that young guys look up to for attitude and styling cues).
FYI, the rule of thumb in the biking community is this: for each 1.5 km/h you are travelling over 50 km/h, you will lose approximately one millimeter of skin when you hit the pavement with just your street clothes on (i.e., not even counting bare skin which would cause you to lose even more). Therefore, if you are going around town at 65 km/h (not even highway speeds), you are going to lose about 1 cm of skin when Carter, Skyler, Madison, Kiara or whichever spoiled brat decides to hit you while he/she is texting and driving mom's Range Rover at the same time. At 100 km/h (which I've seen "real" Harley riders routinely exceed with barely any gear on), you're going to lose over 3 cm of skin, which will easily expose bone and tendons.
So Charlie Hunnam is a stud, no doubt, but he should really keep his views on proper motorcycle gear to himself – as should dentists.
God, I sound soooo old."
This Public Service Announcement was brought to you by old people.
Jesus, Charlie. Be careful.
Also, this is Audrey, Kiu's new – and first ever – Harley. He called her Audrey after Hepburn because "she always looked so good in black". Oh, so bikers can be nerds too.


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Auto and tech companies alike are vying to get their self-driving cars on the road
With driverless vehicles predicted to hit the market as soon as 2020, auto and tech companies alike are vying to get their self-driving cars on the road. At the consumer ele… https://www.globalpatentsolutions.com/blog/2016/03/auto-tech-companies-drive-autonomous-vehicle-development/
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We believe anything's possible in life when you look and feel your best.
So we try to make healthy choices about how we live, what we eat and what we put on our skin – the body's largest organ – choices that minimize exposure to synthetic chemicals while harnessing nature's abundant power to nourish and restore.
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The result is clear, healthy skin – and hopefully a little kick in your step – so you can get out there and make the most of every day, or Live Major.
Check out our products and let us know what you think – we love what we do and hope it shows.


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Chile's Atacama Desert may be the driest desert on the planet, but this barren part of Northern Chile is also full of history.
It's this history that Chilean author Ariel Dorfman seeks to revisit in his memoir, Desert Memories: Journeys Through the Chilean North. The book follows Dorfman on a three-week road trip to explore the roots of his wife Angelica's ancestors – and to delve deeper into the origins of modern Chile.
About the author
Dorfman is a Chilean-American novelist and playwright who has written extensively about modern Chile. Born in 1942, Dorfman's family moved to the United States shortly after his birth, but they returned to Chile in 1954, and the author attended Universidad de Chile. Exiled during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, Dorfman now balances his time between the U.S., where he is a professor at Duke University, and Santiago.
For Dorfman, the Atacama is a fascinating place because of the way its emptiness demands self-reflection and introspection. The place is unique because it has attracted people in search of something – whether it be minerals or distant stars – for hundreds of years.
Mining in the Atacama
Dorfman explores mining communities – both the old and the new – through interviews over multiple generations in Desert Journeys. Cities in the Atacama grew rapidly in the 19th century due to the discovery of nitrate, a popular fertilizer. The nitrate boom sparked Chile's transition into a modern state and brought thousands of migrants from throughout Chile and the world to new communities in the desert.
While the discovery of synthetic nitrate put an end to nitrate extraction, copper mining from the Atacama Desert is now Chile's largest export. Desert Journeys provides an indepth look into these fascinating communities in Northern Chile.
Planning your trip
Desert Journeys is a great book for anyone planning a trip to the Atacama. You can also check out many of the locations in Dorfman's book for yourself, including the former towns of the nitrate boom and the region's world-class astronomy facilities.


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Clarksville, New Hampshire
|This article is a stub. Help us to expand it by contributing your knowledge. For county and town page guidelines, visit U.S. County Page Content Suggestions.
Clarksville is a town in Coos county, New Hampshire. It was formed in 1792 and has gone by the following other name/s: Dartmouth College Grant. Its parent county/ies is/are Grafton. For more information, contact the county at 408 NH Rt. 145, Clarkesville 03592. On the attached map, Clarksville is shown as 2 in Coos.
For information about the state of New Hampshire see New Hampshire Family History Research.


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Ideas & Inspiration
How to Prevent Weeds in Garden Beds
Your garden beds can be flower-full and weed-free with the proper preparation.
When you are preparing your garden bed for planting, the digging and raking also stirs up dormant weeds waiting for room to grow. Applying a weed preventer now will stop weed seeds from growing and make your flower beds weed-free all season.
After applying a weed preventer over the ground, spread a blanket of mulch around your plants. It blocks the sunlight, preventing weeds from growing.
Mulch also saves money on water. A thick blanket of mulch reduces evaporation, so you don't have to water as much.
Plus, your flower beds look crisp and clean with a finishing touch of mulch.
- Before applying any weed preventer, hand pull any large weeds. Rake the smaller weeds to loosen them from the soil and discard.
- Apply the weed preventer throughout your garden bed, according to the package instructions.
- Lightly water a granular weed control before mulching.
- If your garden bed is already mulched, use a topical weed preventer and water the mulch to ensure the weed preventer evenly spreads.
- Some weed preventers can be used several times in the growing season. Check package instructions for application frequency.
1. Choose the right mulch:
- To improve your soil and add nutrients to your garden, use compost.
- For natural-looking mulch, use shredded bark, bark nuggets or pine straw. Bonus: Pine straw is good for acid-loving plants like azaleas.
- For an informal-looking mulch, use wood chips. They last a long time but can take nitrogen from the soil as they break down. Save them for use around big shrubs.
- For a low-maintenance mulch, use lava rocks, gravel or pebbles. Be careful. Dark stones absorb heat and light ones reflect sunlight so they can overheat plants in hot weather.
2. Apply at least 2"-3" of mulch either by hand or with a trowel, garden fork or shovel. Keep mulch away from plant trunks or stems, where pests or diseases hide.
3. Add more mulch if it breaks down or starts to look thin.


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The 2014 RIP 9 is here and it is lighter, stiffer and more capable than its predecessor. Travel has been increased to 125mm in the rear. Up front, 120mm or 140mm are the fork options and they deliver a head angle of 70.5 and 69.5 degrees, respectively. Our test bike split the difference with a 130mm fork, thus delivering a 70 degree head angle. Chainstay length is maintained at 17.9 inches and BB height is the same as well, at a 1 inch drop from the axle height.
Weight is 6.85 lbs for a medium and that is about .5 lighter than the last version. Stiffness has been improved with a better process for shaping the tubes. The rear dropouts take a 142×12 maxle to further improve rear stiffness. An ISCG mount is included and the dual-link CVA has been moved to accommodate it with the correct chain line.
Cable Routing remains external, as the cables run on the sides of the down tube and articulate with an s-bend as it meets up with the rear triangle. The dropper post cable routing is external as well, as it runs along the right side of the top tube. This external routing is easier to install and maintain, but nowhere near as clean as the new internal cable routing in some bikes today. It works well enough for the derailleur and brakes. The dropper post though should have an internal routing option, as the external cable is unwieldy as it bows to the side when the saddle is dropped, or it goes in between the linkage and the frame which causes some rubbing.
The frame is much more attractive than the previous generation, as all the tubes flow together much better. Red bearing caps adorn the frame throughout and every bolt seems to be red anodized for this green frame. Our small frame unfortunately could not accommodate a water bottle in the front triangle, so a consolation mount is available at the bottom of the down tube. Just for the record, we will never use a bottle mount down there.
Continue reading for ride impressions and full photo gallery.


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HP to Cut 24,600 Jobs Takes $1.7 Billion EDS ChargeBy Reuters - Print
HP will cutr 7.5 percent of its work force seeking to realize savings from its acquisition of Electronic Data Systems (EDS). HP will carry out the workforce reductions of EDS and HP employees over the next three years. Nearly half of the job reductions will take place in the United States. EDS was headquartered in Plano, Texas, near Dallas.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co plans to cut 7.5 percent of its work force, or 24,600 jobs, seeking to realize savings from its recent acquisition of Electronic Data Systems Corp, the company said on Monday.
HP said it will carry out the cutbacks over the next three years, while replacing about half the jobs in new areas of its services business. It announced the plan ahead of a meeting with Wall Street analysts to detail the merger plans.
Nearly half of the job reductions will take place in the United States, the Palo Alto, California-based company said. EDS was headquartered in Plano, Texas, near Dallas.
HP said it will take a charge of $1.7 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter ending in October. Accounting for goodwill will cost $1.4 billion, while cost of the restructuring will involve anther $300 million.
HP estimated $1.8 billion in annual cost savings once the three-year cost-cutting program is completed.
"We are good at integrating companies ... I believe we will do it well," Chairman and Chief Executive Mark Hurd told financial analysts at the company's headquarters.
At the time the $13.2 billion merger of computer services provider EDS into HP was announced in May, Hewlett-Packard counted 178,000 employees on its books and EDS had 142,000 employees.
Including the value of common stock, options and restricted stock units, the enterprise value of the deal totals $13.9 billion. The deal closed last month.
Hewlett-Packard said the vast majority of the cuts would focus on eliminating overlapping jobs at EDS in corporate functions such as legal, accounting, information technology and human resources.
Work-force reduction plans will vary by country, based on local legal requirements and consultation with works councils and employee representatives, HP said. The company will provide employees affected by this restructuring program with severance packages, counseling and job placement services.
(Reporting by Eric Auchard, editing by Richard Chang, Gary Hill)
© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved
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