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Aprendi que uma longa caminhada e uma conversa tranquila são uma combinação incrível quando se deseja criar um vínculo.
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Step into our wide, open Lobby where rich colours and inviting leather sofas recreate the serenity of the surrounding forest and parkland. Your quiet room or Suite at Crowne Plaza Vilnius is ready for you, or you can take a moment to appreciate our flowering gardens from the Lobby Bar's summer terrace.
Stroll 20 minutes from Crowne Plaza Vilnius to Vilnius' eclectic Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site brimming with Gothic and Renaissance palaces and churches, and admire the free-standing white clocktower of the neo-classical Vilnius Cathedral. Vilnius International Airport is 10 minutes away by taxi and you'll find 15 foreign embassies within 1 km of the hotel. Litexpo's 5 giant exhibition halls are a 10-minute drive away, and we have plenty of secure parking.
A large, glass elevator climbs the outside of our hotel to the 16th-floor restaurant Horizontas, where glorious vistas stretch out from floor-to-ceiling windows and sumptuous fish and steaks are served. Welcome up to 410 clients and colleagues to events in our 9 meeting rooms.
Overlooking leafy Vingis Park and the River Neris, these present a lush backdrop for walking and cycling. At Crowne Plaza Vilnius, you can live life to the full.


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Discover the past, live in the present and get a sense of the future: the Wintringen Chapel cultural site near the Wintringer Hof country inn, around ten kilometres to the south-east of Saarbrücken embodies history and culture, art and deep emotions.
Its location on the traditional St. James' Way route and its function as a gateway to an extraordinary natural landscape, the Bliesgau UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, mean that the Wintringen Chapel cultural site is fascinating, and not only for pilgrims and hikers. The chapel near the Wintringer Hof country inn was constructed on the remains of a Gothic priory church. In many respects, it is now considered a meeting place, and not just because of its proximity to France.
Wintringen and its priory church are first mentioned around 1320 in official documents belonging to the Premonstratensian Wadgassen Abbey. Although the settlement dispersed soon after this, fragments of the church's chancel remained intact and were incorporated into Wintringen Chapel as it stands today. The foundation walls of the former church, which can be recognised in places, hint at its layout. The pilgrimage site has now been transformed into the Wintringen Chapel cultural site. Yet it is still a place of silence to this day, allowing visitors to focus on what is, to associate this with what once was and to meditate about what is yet to come. The Wintringen Chapel cultural site's current theme is "The limits of growth for this planet and its creatures", which is certainly a topic that concerns us all.
Opening hours:
The keys to the chapel can be collected from the farm shop at the following times: Monday to Thursday, 3pm to 7pm; Friday, 9am to 7pm; Saturday, 9am to 2pm
Entry: free
Nearest train station: Saarbrücken
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Pizza with jalapeño peppers, mushrooms, and pepperoni is the best. I was never fond of Hawaiian pizza... The pineapple confuses my taste buds.
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Pizza with jalapeño peppers, mushrooms, and pepperoni is the best. I was never fond of Hawaiian pizza... The pineapple confuses my taste buds.
// remember the future.
Going to have to say multiple cheese pizza is the amazingness.
Hawaiian pizza is a crime against taste buds.
Everything else isn't so bad.
If each mistake being made is a new one, then progress is being made.
i'm surprised by how many of you cuuhhhraaaAzzZYYyyy people like hawaiian pizza.
i like black olives and mushrooms.
I love pizza. I'm pretty much open to any kind, except for pizza with pineapple. I love pineapple too, but something about it on pizza is bleh.
Also, I love the fact I live in the city that is home to this monster XD
The Pizza I would hate is one with Onions.
I love all kinds of pizza but without onions! <3
I don't understand why so many people like Hawaiian/pineapple pizza. I don't like it D:
As for what I like, whenever I go to Cici's, I always end up eating chicken mushroom pizza, veggie pizza, beef and bell pepper pizza, and sometimes just plain old (but good) pepperoni :P
There's a place near me that does amazing vegan pizza, with cheatin' pepperoni and soy cheese. I also LOVE my bf's home made potato, sea salt and rosemary pizza *drools*
Actually, this thread inspired me to go buy myself pizza.
I blame the pictures.
Pepperoni or stuffed crust pizza is my favourite.
But I'll eat cheese or sausage too.
[set by blueangel06661]♥
something with meat, and NO pineapple
yuk! cooked pineapple is so disgusting
Strengthen & Keep Strengthening
However, pineapple on pizzas always goes with smoked ham (at least over here) and ... when I eat a pizza I don't want to be eating pineapple and ham on it. I suppose that's my opinion on it anyway; I prefer meaty pizzas (so ... double pepperoni, pepperoni feasts, mixed-meat, kebab, etc, etc, etc.)
I can probably eat most pizzas provided BBQ sauce is not involved. Put anything that involves BBQ sauce on the pizza (the sauce itself or anything marinated in it) and I won't eat it. BBQ sauce makes me feel sick and nauseous ._. sucks.
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I like all kind of pizzas. Except for Pepperoni
I am an avenger
I can't die because
I need to kill a certain someone before then
Supreme all the way.
Green Chili and Pepperoni
Pineapple and Canadian Bacon
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Cheese and Ranch
Almost all combinations from a restaraunt called Il Vicino etc..
Last edited by rso0; 01-18-2013 at 12:23 PM.
Pepperoni and Bacon~ x3
Darling you'll be ok.❤ ~Pierce The Veil
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What is wrong with you people? Hawaiian is amazing. Anchovies are just disgusting. Who puts fish on pizza?
My Sun and Stars
Moon of my life
Meatlovers with extra cheese <3
I don't like onions at all, so I'll say any with onions is my least favourite :P
ein, zwei, drei, vier bin endlich weg von Dir
fünf, sechs, sieben, acht Du hast jetzt keine Macht
wizzanator does. ^.^
Well, if it's primarily a seafood pizza? With appropriate sauce and stuff it doesn't sound TOO bad, but I wouldn't have anchovies xD More like shrimp, scallops, lobster and stuff.
Am I weird?
ein, zwei, drei, vier bin endlich weg von Dir
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CHICAGO — Coffee may counteract alcohol's poisonous effects on the liver and help prevent cirrhosis, researchers say.
In a study of more than 125,000 people, one cup of coffee per day cut the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by 20 percent. Four cups per day reduced the risk by 80 percent. The coffee effect held true for women and men of various ethnic backgrounds.
It is unclear whether it is the caffeine or some other ingredient in coffee that provides the protection, said study co-author Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.
Of course, there is a better way to avoid alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, Klatsky said.
"The way to avoid getting ill is not to drink a lot of coffee, but to cut down on the drinking" of alcohol, he said.
The participants ranged from teetotalers, who made up 12 percent of the total, to heavy drinkers, who made up 8 percent. The researchers calculated the risk reductions rate for the whole group, not just the drinkers.
Not all heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis, an irreversible scarring of the liver that hurts the organ's ability to filter toxins from the blood. Klatsky said the new findings may help explain why some people's livers survive heavy alcohol use.
Hepatitis C and some inherited diseases can also cause cirrhosis. But the study found coffee did not protect the liver against those other causes of scarring.
Improved liver function
The same study found coffee drinkers had healthier results on blood tests used to measure liver function, whether or not they were heavy alcohol users. Coffee's effect on reducing liver enzymes in the blood was more apparent among the heavy drinkers in the study.
Cirrhosis from all causes kills more than 27,000 Americans a year and sends nearly 400,000 to the hospital.
The findings, published in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, build on reports that coffee also may reduce the risk of liver cancer.
The data came from members of a Northern California health plan. Their coffee consumption was noted only at the beginning of the study, which the researchers admitted was a limitation. They were followed for an average of 14 years.
The researchers found no reduced risk of cirrhosis for tea drinkers. Tea has less caffeine than coffee and there were fewer heavy tea drinkers in the study, so if caffeine is the protective ingredient, an effect may not have shown up for tea in the study, Klatsky said.
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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By Maria Burch, iContact Strategic Advisor
The weather is getting nicer, the kids are almost out of school, and your family is bugging you to take that much-needed vacation. But what will happen to your business while you're out enjoying life with your friends and family? You can't afford to let your business suffer.
You have worked hard at growing your business and your customer base, and you understand the stress of running a business, the importance of keeping your customers engaged, and the need to relax. The good news is that with iContact you can schedule your email messages and social media messages to go out while you are off hiking, traveling the globe, or sitting on the beach.
Since your business can't take a vacation, iContact allows you to create and schedule your messages for the exact day and time you would like them to go out in the future.
"How can I do this?" you ask. iContact makes it very easy.
Email Marketing
All you need to do is create the emails you would like to deploy while you are going to be away. Select the "proceed to send" button, select your lists, and choose the exact date and time you would like us to deploy the message. You can schedule multiple emails to go out at specified dates and times, to ensure your company is not relaxing while you are relaxing.
Social Media Marketing
iContact's social media marketing tools allow you to not only monitor the success of your social media engagement but also to schedule Facebook posts, tweets, and engagement on LinkedIn. Our social tab gives you the functionality to create the posts, add images, shorten links, and easily choose the day and time you would like your messages to appear. We made sure to give you the flexibility to step away from your office while still staying very active on your social channels. The world of social media moves so quickly, and you can't let your business take a vacation from that, or you could miss out on potential opportunities.
Go ahead and book that summer vacation you so badly need – iContact is ready to handle your social media marketing needs while you are away.
When making your summer vacation checklist, make sure to add "schedule email and social marketing," then grab your flip-flops, suntan lotion, and your family, and be prepared to completely relax and recharge while iContact takes care of engaging your customers.
Since your business doesn't get a vacation, iContact makes sure you could still get the one you deserve.


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This is not an offer for credit and should be used for estimation purposes only based on the information you provided. You should not base your decision on this estimate alone. Title, registration, tax and other fees, and personal circumstances such as employment status and personal credit history, were not considered in the calculations.
Front - 7.3 in. (185 mm) NG WAVE floating disc, monoblock 4-pistons BRAKTEC caliper
Rear - 5.9 in. (150 mm) NG WAVE disc, autostand system 2-pistons BRAKTEC caliper
In aluminium with spokes
Front - 1.6 x 21
Rear - 2.15 x 18
Front - Michelin Trial X11 2.75 x 21
Rear - Michelin Trial X11 4.00 x 18 TL
Swingarm - Aluminium, progressive linkage system
Front fork - TECH with aluminium bar Ø 39, 180 mm of travel
Adjustability - Rebound, end stroke and spring preload regulation
Shock absorber - ÖHLINS hydraulic mono shock absorber (2 ways)
Adjustability - Rebound and spring pre-load adjustable
Rear wheel travel - 174 mm


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Cadbury Creme Egg 12 Pack
Caramel Eggs (Box of 3)
Cadbury Creme Egg
Dairy Milk Caramel Special Egg (311g)
Cadbury Little Ones Easter Treasure
Cadbury Easter Treasure Box
Creme Egg 5 Pack (197g)
Chocolate Chunks taste great in the mouth but now you can enjoy them in your 'wallet' too! and these Chocolate Chunks are guaranteed never to melt.
Chocolate Chunks are special rewards that we give registered users whenever you make purchases on Cadbury Gifts Direct and Cadbury Gifts Direct for Business.
Chunks can be saved up and put towards future purchases made on Cadbury Gifts Direct and Cadbury Gifts Direct for Business. They can be used in full or as part-payment and make a real difference to the price you pay. Chunks can't be exchanged for cash - sorry.


text:
Memorial Keepsakes
Sandstone Small Wax Candle
- Availability:
- Ships 2-3 days after order is placed. Please complete all fields or it could delay production/shipment.
- Gift wrapping:
- Options available
A handsome background created in a tan flourish pattern wraps around the entire candle with our elegant title which reads "Forever In Our Memories". Our small wax candle is lightly scented in a fresh Cotton Breeze aroma, and makes for a wonderful memorial addition to any service or home. Personalize your text with up to 2 lines in a coordinating color lettering for a custom presentation. The artwork and your personalization are printed in a special ink directly on the wax exterior and cured for durability. Place this on top of any stand or looks great by itself.
Glass plate shown is not included but can be purchased separately, if desired. Pretty pink scripted word art is written on the reverse side of your personalization, which reads a popular funeral poem which reads: "You left me beautiful memories your love is still my guide, and though we cannot see you, you're always at my side." Ready for gift giving, packaged in a transparent box. Due to space constraints, text personalization only, no photo.
- Memorial Candle Made of White Wax Candle, Lightly Scented (Cotton Breeze); Measures 2.75" Wide x 3" High With Front/Back Printed Word Art Design
- Personalize With Up To 2 Lines of Text For A Lovely Tribute; Gift Box Included; Ships 2-3 Business Days After Order Is Shipped
- We recommend reading about "How to burn a candle" instructions for reference
Returns Policy
PERSONALIZED MEMORIAL PRODUCTS are not refundable due to the nature of the custom created product. Products incorrectly ordered, not reading the full description on our product details page, received AFTER your date needed by, a result of not giving us enough time for production, no due date was specified, or an incorrect ship time was selected is not eligible for a refund. You may return most new, unopened NON-PERSONALIZED items within 10 days of delivery for a full refund, less the shipping. Please phone our customer support line for assistance AND clarification if you are unsure or have questions before ordering.
You should expect to receive your refund within 3-4 weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return a non-personalized item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
TEMPLATE DOWNLOADS are non-refundable due to the nature of the digital product. If you experience any download problems, please contact us via phone or email asap so we can manually send you the template in an email instead of a download link. This request can be made 7 days a week via email. You will receive your template within 1-2 hours or sooner, depending on the off hour time.
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations. FEDEX shipping business days are Monday-Friday only. If you want a Saturday delivery, please call to upgrade your shipping day. Saturday delivery is not given in online checkout.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound. Make sure you select the correct ship time at checkout so you receive your products in time. We are not responsible for refunding any orders that selected the wrong shipping time, please make sure you select the correct ship time and indicate DATE NEEDED BY. Orders not noted with a date needed by cannot be delivered on a date not indicated.


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Found this while browsing last night.
Alice Wang has created a Commodity Love badge that will allow you to tell the world I love my BlackBerry more than my girlfriend. Each badge goes for $29 with free shipping to the US and Canada. Check out Alice Wangs Commodity Love badges and let me know if you decide to pick one up!
Love Your BlackBerry More Than Your Girlfriend? Then This Badge Is For You! | BlackBerry Rocks!


text:
Perl syntax checking has been added to RSTALanguageSupport. You can configure it with the location of a Perl install on your system (by default it scans your PATH for a Perl binary), and then PerlLanguageSupport will automatically begin scanning your code for errors as you type:
Next will be the ability to muck with the @INC path to add other libraries. Currently it only uses the default @INC of your Perl install.


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Rodeo Drive is a one-stop shop for all generations, which was exactly the intention of owner Raquel Koff when she opened the boutiques doors 19 years ago.
Marketing and Advertising director Michelle Tasman – Koff's daughter – conducts all purchasing for the boutique, relying on current trends and gut intuition to fill the store with styles that range from designer sophisticates to trendy, one-of-a-kind fashions to prom dresses for teens.
"We want our women to feel good and be happy, so we're honest when they ask our opinion,†Koff said. "Our biggest motivator is a well-dressed woman.â€
Rodeo Drive
2212C Holiday Manor Center
Photos By CHRIS HUMPHREYS | The Voice-Tribune


text:
News Source : www.newscientist.com
By Dan Jones
It's good for your health, it makes you smarter – and our brains are hard-wired for it. New Scientist counts our reasons to be cheerful
DOOM and gloom are the order of the day across most of the western world. Economies are faltering, the cost of living is going up and [...]


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VMware's introduction Aug. 26 of its NSX network virtualization platform ignited another round of speculation over whether the partnership between the company and networking giant Cisco Systems was fraying as the vendors compete in new markets.
VMware's software-based offering—a combination of its own technology and that acquired last year when company bought software-defined networking (SDN) startup Nicira—came with a healthy list of support from such partners as Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Juniper Networks, Brocade and Arista Networks.
Noticeably absent was Cisco, which has partnered with VMware in such areas as its Unified Computing System (UCS) converged infrastructure solution, cloud computing and desktop virtualization, as well as the creation of the company VCE. However, NSX promises to compete directly with Cisco's Open Network Environment (ONE) SDN effort, leading to renewed talk that what had been a close relationship between Cisco, VMware and storage giant EMC—which owns VMware—is falling apart.
"For all the lip service given to [the Cisco-VMware alliance], that partnership for all intents and purposes is done," Zeus Kerravala, principal analyst with ZK Research, told eWEEK after the NXS announcement, adding that both companies want to be the "control points" in the data center. "That relationship is all but over."
VMware executives downplayed any potential conflict with Cisco, and the two companies the next day issued a press release naming several large enterprises that are using joint solutions from both vendors in such areas as private cloud, desktop virtualization and the data center.
Cisco CTO Padmasree Warrior, in a post on the company's blog Aug. 29, also pushed back at the speculation, saying that VMware is "an important partner to Cisco, and we expect to continue our close collaboration around private cloud and desktop virtualization."
However, Warrior also said the two companies had different views of networking, and that there are significant limitations to VMware's software-only approach with NSX. With ONE, Cisco is taking what executives say is an application-centric approach.
"Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) is an innovative secure architecture that delivers centralized application-driven policy automation, management and visibility of physical and virtual networks," Warrior wrote. "It's built upon a fabric foundation that delivers best-in-class infrastructure by combining hardware, software and ASIC innovations into an integrated system. The architecture provides a common management framework for network, application, security and virtualization teams—making IT more agile while reducing application deployment time."
There are a number of problems with software-based approaches to network virtualization, she said. It doesn't scale, and on its own, doesn't provide real-time visibility into both the physical and virtual infrastructure. There's also a lack of such features as support for multiple hypervisors and integrated security, along with other problems.
"This loosely-coupled approach forces the user to tie multiple 3rd party components together adding cost and complexity in day-to-day operations as well as throughout the network lifecycle," Warrior wrote. "Users are forced to address multiple management points and maintain version control for each of the independent components. Software network virtualization treats physical and virtual infrastructure as separate entities, and denies customers a common policy framework and common operational model for management, orchestration and monitoring."


text:
by Christopher Sherman, AP
Several hundred gun rights activists armed with rifles and shotguns rallied Saturday outside of the Alamo in a demonstration that broke a longstanding tradition of not staging such events at the enduring symbol of Texas independence.
The "Come and Take It San Antonio!" rally was intended to draw attention to a right Texans already have – to carry long arms publicly so long as they don't do it in a menacing manner. Organizers thought it necessary to offer a reminder after several open carry advocates were threatened with arrest at a Starbucks in the city two months ago. The problem remains that a local ordinance effectively limits the open carrying of firearms to police and security guards.
That ordinance was not enforced Saturday. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus mingled in the crowd that police estimated at about 300 to 400, but the larger police presence remained around the perimeter of the Alamo plaza.
"There are too many issues associated with trying to enforce every ordinance here today," McManus said. He said his priority was that people be able to exercise their constitutional rights and that everyone remain safe. Volunteers walked through the crowd placing red plastic straws in rifle chambers, a visible assurance they were not holding a round.
Rally organizers said just holding their demonstration in front of police without incident was a victory.
"(The San Antonio Police Department) is no longer going to be messing with us," said C.J. Grisham, president of Open Carry Texas, with the Alamo's famed Spanish mission behind him.
Organizers had also hoped that seeing a large peaceful gathering of armed citizens in the downtown of the country's seventh largest city would be a step toward making people comfortable with the sight. There were people of all ages in the crowd, including young children. Some waved flags that read "Come and Take It," others dressed in period costumes, but most looked like anyone else one might encounter on the street, they just happened to be carrying rifles.
Men strolling through the streets with rifles isn't an image to which Hilary Rand thinks people should have to grow accustomed.
Rand, a regional manager for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, was at a counter-demonstration about a half mile (800 meters) away. Amid hula-hoops and face painting, Rand called the gun rights rally "bullying" and said it may serve opponents' interest as well.
"If anything, they're just alerting the general public that this is something that needs to be changed," she said. "Just because you can do something doesn't mean that it's OK and that you should. And if anything they're helping to make that argument for us." She said the threat of an accidental discharge was too great to justify gun rights advocates making their point.
For the tourists who just happened upon the rally – 2.5 million visit the Alamo annually – there was initial trepidation among some.
Mark Roberts, 63, of London, Ontario, was among a group of Canadian tourists caught off guard.
"We're not used to seeing guns carried openly in Canada, so that was almost like a culture shock," Roberts said, noting that it appeared well organized. It was more unnerving for his wife.
"I didn't like it at all because you don't know who you're dealing with," Julie Roberts said. "You don't know who these people are."
Another member of their group, Peter Hinch, declared it "fantastic," but was dismissed by his friends as not your typical Canadian.
It didn't give Don Norwood, 49, of Little Rock, Ark., any pause. Norwood, who was visiting the Alamo with his wife and daughter, hadn't expected the demonstration, but gazing over the crowd, he said, "it's healthy, that's what America's about."
The rally proceeded peacefully without incident.
Lee Spencer White, president of the Alamo Defenders' Descendants Association, said her group considers the Alamo its family cemetery and as hallowed ground should remain free of demonstrations, which historically have been held on the adjacent plaza.
From 1905 to 2011, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas were the Alamo's custodians. But in 2011, lawmakers gave the state's General Land office control of the monument where Col. William Travis and 200 Texas defenders famously died in a siege with the Mexican army in 1836. It was Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson who approved the rally here.
"I respect the opinions of folks who say this is not the right place," Patterson said to the crowd on Saturday. "But I submit to you there's one standard we should apply to gatherings here at this sacred cradle of Texas liberty and that is whether our activity and our purpose would be supported by those men who gave it all."
Patterson, who is running for lieutenant governor, asked attendees to not block the path to the mission and to leave their rifles and signs outside when entering the chapel.


text:
So, for ages now I've been saying that unittest is, at its core, pretty sound. I incited a talk to this effect.
I have a vision; I dream of a python testing library that:
- Is in the python core
- Is simple
- Is extensible
- Has tests take care of testing
- Has results take care of reporting
- Aids communication from test to test reader
Hopefully those are pretty modest and agreeable things to want.
However we don't have this: nose is lovely but not in the core [and is a moderately complex API]. py.test is also not in the core, and has previously tripped my too-much-magic alerts. I must admit to not having checked if this is fixed yet. unittest itself is in the core but has some cruft which we should clean up, but more importantly is not extensible enough, which leads to extensions such as the zope testrunner having to muddy the waters between testing and reporting.
The point "Aids communication from test to test reader" is worth expanding on: automated testing is something that doesn't need observation…until the unexpected happens. At that point some poor schmuck such as you or I ends up trying to guess what went wrong. The more data that we gather and communicate about the event, the greater the chance it can be corrected without needing a repeat run under a debugger, or worse, single stepping through the code.
There is a problem with 'assertFoo' methods in unittest, something that I'm not going to cram into this blog post. I will say, if you find the tendency of such methods to crawl to the base class frustrating, that you should look at hamcrest – it and similar things have been very successful in the Java unit testing world; we can learn from them.
Going back to my vision, we need to make unittest more powerfully extensible to allow projects like nose to do all the cool things they want to while still being unittest compatible. I don't mean that nose can't run unittest tests; I mean that unittest can't run nose tests: nose has had to expand the contract, not simply add implementations that do more.
To that end I have a number of bugs which I need to file. Solving them piecemeal will create a fractured API – particularly if this is done over more than one release. So I am planning on prototyping in other projects, discussing like mad on the testing-in-python list, and when it all starts to come together writing up a PEP.
The bugs I have are:
- streams nicely: countTestCases must die/be made optional. This function is inherently incompatible with generative tests or anything beyond the simplest lightweight environments
- no way to wrap code around a single test. This would permit profiling, debugging, tracing, and I'm sure other things more cleanly. (At the moment, one must 'turn on' the profiler in startTestCase, and turn it off in stopTestCase. This is much more awkward than simply being in the call stack). Some care will be needed here, particularly for generative tests.
- code that isn't part of the implementation in the core needs to be able to work with the reporting code; allowing an optionally wider API permits extensions to be debuggable. This needs thought: do we allow direct access to TestResults? Do we come up with some added level of indirection and 'events'? I don't know.
- More data than just the backtrace needs to be included when an outcome is reporter. I've started a discussion on the testing in python list about this. I'm proposing that we use a dict of named content objects, and use the HTTP content-type abstraction to make the content objects introspectable and reliably handleable without tying the unittest object protocol to any given wire format – loose coupling is good!
- The way we signal outcomes between TestCase and TestResult – the addFailure etc methods is concerning: there are many grades of outcome that users of the framework may usefully wish to represent; in fact there are more than we probably want to put in the core. Finding a way to decouple the intent of a particular outcome from how its signalled would allow users more control while still being able to use the core framework. One particular issue in this area is that its possible with the current API to have a single test object succeed multiple times. Or fail (addFailure) then succeed (addSuccess). This causes no end of confusion, as test counts can mismatch failure counts, and so on.
I've got some ideas about these bugs, but I'm approaching a kiloword already, and I hope this post has enough to provoke some serious thought about how we can fix these 5 bugs, compatibly, and end up with a significantly better unittest module. We'll have been sucessful if projects like Trial, nose and the zope testrunner are able to remove all their code that duplicates standard library functionality or otherwise worksaround these bugs, and can instead focus on adding the specific test support needed by their environments (in the Trial and zope cases), or on UI and plug-n-play (for nose).


text:
The SuperFriends, Vol. 1 #1
November 1976
"The Fury of the Super Foes"
(17 pages)
(17 pages)
Ric Estrada
Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Vince Colletta
Jerry Serpe
Milt Snappin
Joe Orlando
Previous Issue
Next Issue
The Fury of the Super Foes
The Super Friends go to three separate locations to stop a band of their old enemies and their protégés from stealing the components of a super-robot found at three secret labs. The technology behind this super-robot is 'Project SR'. A secret ultimate weapon for peace. A robot to end warfare. Super intelligent and indestructable. Its being assembled in three parts at three seperate labs.
Story continues in next issue.
Featured Characters
- Aquaman (Arthur Curry)
- Batman (Bruce Wayne)
- Robin (Dick Grayson)
- Superman (Kal-El, aka Clark Kent)
- Wonder Woman (Princess Diana, aka Diana Prince)
Supporting Characters
First and Only Appearances
- Dr. Street
- Prof. Uther
- Prof. (one) at Undersea Lab at Cape Andrews
- Prof. (two) at Undersea Lab at Cape Andrews
- Prof at Underground Lab at Hudson University
- Prof. (one) at the Secret Eagles Nest Lab
- Prof. (two) at the Secret Eagles Nest Lab
Referenced Only
- The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot)
- Toyman (Winslow Schott)
- Poison Ivy (Lillian Rose, aka Pamela Isley)
- Cheetah (Priscilla Rich)
First Appearance
- Secret Undersea Lab at Cape Andrews
- Secret Underground Lab at Hudson University
- Secret Eagles Nest Lab
- Footnotes try to establish continuity with Earth-One.[1] What ends up happening is that fans designate SuperFriends universe either Earth-1A or Earth-B.
- Bridwell makes it very clear that the SuperFriends are sort of a volunteer organization, under the umbrella of the Justice League of America.
- Bridwell also takes the time to explain that Robin is not a Justice League member.
- In the letters column of this issue, writer E. Nelson Bridwell explains that Marvin White is the son of Daniel White and Diana Prince White (the nurse whose name Wonder Woman took when she came to Man's World), and Wendy Harris is the niece of Harvey Harris, old mentor to the Batman.
- The Toyman seen in this issue is Winslow Schott, whereas the character depicted in the continuity of the cartoon was believed to be Jack Nimball, the second Toyman.
- ↑ Go to the DC Database for more on Earth-One.
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Decision Analytics and Optimization in Disease Prevention and Treatment book
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In an interview at CES 2011, Mike Lazaridis confirmed plans to bring QNX to BlackBerry smartphones, or 'super phones'. The new generation BlackBerry's will require dual-core processors in order to handle the QNX operating system. This is part of the grand 10 year plan that RIM has put together to stay competitive in the market. Mike went on to say:I think in this kind of business you have to have a lot of planning. It's one thing to take a reference design and package it. It's another thing to build a platform that can grow with your customers' needs, that can grow with where the market is going as opposed to where the market is today. To provide that uncompromised performance for enterprise, for government, for large corporations as well as provide an experience for the consumer that's unique.RIM's 10 year business model includes "the BlackBerry communications device, there's the tablet, and there's the super phone, the super smartphone."
The future looks bright for RIM and we can't wait to see what is in store.


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I never knew you could drive so fast in Mexico. The long, dusty desert roads are punctuated with speed signs, but according to the locals they merely represent speed suggestions. If you have a little expendable income, discreetly slip the Federale 500 or 600 pesos—the equivalent of about 40 or 50 bucks—and he'll generally send you on your way—with or without a gracias Senior.
And so it was we found ourselves blasting up the La Paz-San Jose del Cabo highway—Mexico 1—top-down, the wind in our hair and in an unmitigated state of bliss, unhindered by the emasculatory fear of the dreaded California Highway Patrol. Not that we were speeding or anything.
But were one inclined to do so on a Mexican thoroughfare, hitting the 650i's electronically limited top speed of 130 mph would be no big thing, since the car is powered by BMW's twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 of which we've grown so fond. Power tops out at 400 hp and peak torque of 450 lb-ft at 1750 rpm, making this power unit capable of slinging the 650i drop-top, via a six-speed manual gearbox or the nigh-seamless eight-speed automatic, to 60 mph in less than five seconds—a factory-claimed 4.9 to be exact. Which might not be so impressive in the world of fast cars until you consider that this one weighs more than 4,500 pounds. (That figure might be even higher if it had a folding hard top, as on the Z4, but BMW opted to keep a power soft top on the 6 for just this reason.)
And yes, you can have your 6 Series with a six-speed manual transmission, although the eight-speed Sport auto is included as the standard gearbox (and no, you won't save any money by going with the manual). Interestingly, the company claims no difference in curb weight between a manually equipped or automatic 6 Series. But according to EPA estimates, the automatic offers improved fuel economy to the tune of 16 and 19 mpg city and highway, respectively, compared to 15 and 17 mpg with the stick.
In any case, the auto gives you two more forward gears and the option of shifting your own gears with paddles mounted on the steering wheel. They aren't the generic push-pull doodads of old, either, but are arranged exactly like you'd expect in an M car—right paddle for upshift, left paddle for down. The brevity of the gear changes can be altered using the Drive Select (Driving Dynamics Control) switch on the center console, allowing four different modes—Comfort, Normal, Sport and Sport+. Each mode also alters the chassis dynamics, (i.e., stability control and the suspension's active damping and throttle response in ascending levels of aggressiveness).
One thing we've always appreciated about a BMW, any BMW, is the driving position: low in the cockpit, elbow supports at either side should you require them, adequate access to any necessary driver control. Outside of the brakes, throttle and transmission controls, virtually all other vehicle functions, including the dash-mounted audio and climate controls, are accessible through the new-generation iDrive knob and switch cluster, located centrally on the center console. Please trust us when we say the new iDrive has ceased to make the iDrive moniker itself a dirty word.
So there we were, flinging this two-and-one-quarter-ton beast over the mountains en route to inland Baja, marveling at the way the chassis and its Dynamic Damper Control and Active Roll Stabilization (this latter system is an extra-cost option) adjusts that veritable slug of Bavarian mass to the hairpins and varying road surfaces at speeds liable to make other drivers green with envy. Or maybe just green. Thankfully, my drive partner's constitution was suited to the task. Active Roll Stabilization automatically calculates the amount of body roll from situation to situation, and said roll is counteracted by hydraulic actuators in the front and the rear antiroll bars to keep the body as level as possible.
Also optional on the new 6 Series is the Active Integral Steering option, as seen on the latest 7 Series. It's a rear-wheel steering mechanism that turns the rear wheels contrary to the front wheels in low-speed situations to increase the car's maneuverability—in a crowded parking lot or on a narrow street, say. At high speeds, driving speeds, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts for better overall tracking in bends and turns.
Out of the hills now and on to a long, downward slope, it was time to really lean into the throttle and let the turbos sing. (OK, maybe we were speeding a little bit.)
"Is that a Charger up ahead?" my partner abruptly asked, pointing. (The Federales drive Dodge Chargers.) So it was, and I was on the brakes: lightweight floating calipers clamping 13.7- and 13.6-inch discs front/rear, sized adequately in proportion to the 650i's considerable girth. The brake system is central to the stability control (DSC) system, incorporating Dynamic Traction Control, Cornering Brake Control, Dynamic Brake Control, fade compensation and, of course, ABS. So like the roll stabilization system, the brakes adapt themselves for optimal performance in every conceivable situation.
But I was late on the pedal, so even the consistent greatness of BMW brakes—they've literally saved our asses on other days, in other BMW cars—wasn't enough to haul us down into the likely suggested realm of speed. And so whipped past the Fed, cringing, punching a 4,500-pound hole through the Baja atmosphere and trailing a long tail of Mexican dust. He never even looked up.
I've come to really like Mexico.
2012 BMW 650i Convertible
4.4-liter V8, dohc, 32-valve, twin-turbocharged
Eight-speed automatic
Double wishbone front axle, multi-link rear, electronically controlled dampers
13.7/13.6-inch vented rotors (f/r)
Length/Width/Height (in.): 192.8/74.6/53.7
Wheelbase: 112.4 in.
Curb Weight: 4,531 lb
Peak Power: 400 hp @ 5500 rpm
Peak Torque: 450 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm
0-60 mph: 4.9 sec.
Top Speed: 130 mph (limited)


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This post is about the best tips we could find on conducting effective meetings. Meetings remain one of the biggest time-wasters in companies today, compounding to huge annual losses of productivity year after year. Give time back to the team to get things done by implementing these tips.
1. The meeting is defined – scrum? Sales? Weekly catch-up?
What is the point of the meeting? What is the style? What am I expected to bring to the table (literally and figuratively)? How relevant is the meeting to me? After-works drinks and a sprint-planning meeting are two very different kinds of meetings. In advance, each person needs to know what is going on format-wise for most productivity to occur.
2. The person conducting the meeting pre-circulates what will be discussed, so if additions need to be made they can be done on time and not on the fly in the middle of the meeting
Preventing the meeting from going off topic is critical. It is all too easy for the point of the meeting to be lost, and for discussions or arguments to carry over onto unrelated issues. The designated person for organizing the meeting should appoint a time up to when new ideas should be submitted, and then distribute the agenda in good time for everyone to come prepared. This is the agenda that should be followed without exception.
3. A meeting is not a brainstorming session
Unless specified, a brainstorming session is not a productive use of a meeting. It is a vague activity that requires flexible amounts of time to get acceptable results. If something needs to be brainstormed, a brainstorming session can be set up afterwards with the right people.
4. Get really strict – the minutes-taker has an 'off the topic buzzer'
If you have a lively team or group in a meeting, it can sometimes be more efficient to use a loud buzzer to warn people that they are going off topic rather than try to talk them down. The sounding of the buzzer signals that the person must stop talking immediately. This is not for every style of company, but for a passionate team it may be the faster way of reminding people that they are off-topic without having to waste time getting back to the original question at hand.
5. Meet immediately about small steps that otherwise slow down everything
Something like the 2-min GTD rule of replying to an email, not every decision needs to be made in a meeting. The expertise of your staff is not increased by only allowing them to make decisions under supervision. Allow them to make decisions with the understanding that they are responsible for the outcome. If they are unwilling to go this path, then figure out why. Is the company culture too condemning of mistakes? Is it difficult to prove accountability? Do the staff not want the responsibility for some other reason? In any case, find ways to have quick decisions removed from meeting times. This will also remove the need to take up much of more senior staff's work time as they will not have to vet all the smaller ideas and questions from the team.
6. Present in data, and limit slides
Slides are often a waste of time to make as well as a waste of time to present. They fill space rather than inform. Do not use slides for anything except data that is essential to the point you must present. Limited writing. Limited pretty pictures. Just data, wireframes, hard facts and verbally explain the rest. All your decisions and input at the meeting must also be based on verifiable data, rather than speculation or "I just know it". Otherwise, decision-making is hampered. If you really know you have a good solution, you will be able to succinctly explain why it is so.
7. It ends and finishes on the prescribed time (or earlier)
Starting time should be strictly enforced. There is rarely a good reason for people not to turn up at 09:00 rather than 09:05. 5 minutes may sound small, but if you have 6 meetings across the span of the day, this will compound into 30 minutes of wasted time. Develop a reputation for a no-tolerance to turning up late to meetings. I used to have a professor who locked the auditorium door precisely on the hour. Attendance for that lecture was always pretty good! Sure, there can be genuine reasons for being late and those are always to be accepted. But 9 times out of 10, everyone is able to be there with no excuse except tardiness.
8. If you don't need to be there, don't be there
That's why you have the agenda in advance. Don't go if you have nothing to contribute, and just check the minutes of the meeting later to catch up on what happened.
9. If you need to be there, be there
Equally, do not skip meetings where your presence is needed in order to answer questions or provide data. Managers need to go to the social events in order to maintain relationships with the team, boost morale, and allow more casual access.
10. Research: before you turn up with questions, check out if you can find these answers out by yourself – this saves time for everyone
Meetings are better when the questions asked are questions that can only be answered by that particular mix of attendees, rather than things that can easily be found elsewhere or by two individuals conversing. Perhaps this meeting is the only time you see a particular colleague – use that opportunity. Is it the only time sales and product teams are in the same room? There are many questions that need to be asked in this moment than can be answered over long email threads.
11. Everyone leaves knowing what they need to do next
If they don't, it was a pointless meeting. If they weren't expecting a to-do list, they shouldn't have been there.
12. Make sure there are recreational meetings, not just work meetings
If group get-togethers are solely for hard-paced get-it-done meetings, then a poor morale will build up in the company. There need to be more relaxed settings for teams to hang out. They also need to be organized, and invites or notifications sent out. A 'casual corner' in an office is all well and good, but a full team invite to chill is also important to make sure the more introverted or super-busy are included in the bonding.
13. No devices if you can't resist opening tabs
No phones, no iPads, no ereaders, no laptops open UNLESS you are a disciplined note-taker. In this age of ADHD this might sound impossible. But the reason you're meeting in person is because it is necessary. Checking email or Twitter while someone is sharing their ideas or results means you are not engaging, and also being disrespectful. A 15 – 30min meeting should not spell disaster for 99% of your interactions that day (bar instant customer support or crisis negotiations). If you cannot resist changing between tabs whilst taking notes, switch to pen and paper and type up the tasks after the meeting.
14. Do not make it seem like less meetings equals you are less important
Are there some people in the company who would take it personally not to be invited to a meeting, despite not having anything much to contribute it? There are some who feel that they should 'be' there anyways. Make an all-round company objective to start holding meetings for the people who have an active input to give, and that everyone else will be kept informed by way of email or a collaboration tool. This approach to reducing meetings to 'essential people only' needs to be consistent and explained as a practicality and not a hierarchy issue.
15. Use a tool to measure accountability
Depending on the tasks that need to be done, you need to find suitable ways of measuring if things are getting done. How many leads per month should a salesperson close? How many pieces of content should a marketer produce? How many bug fixes should the tech team be able to get done? How long would it take the biz dev guy to get that partnership deal done? If you have an idea of the average acceptable output then use it as a benchmark. Don't let this mean you get sucked into micromanaging. Make it about results. If a team member is able to accomplish the task with 20 emails rather than 100, awesome!
16. Answer questions rather than sit quietly
Everyone can do their part to make meetings go faster. No matter how sophisticated computers are, the best computer is the human brain. If you have an answer or piece of information that your colleagues could find useful in a meeting, give it to them. Don't be shy! The faster people get the right info, the faster they can move on with the job at hand.
17. Allow a really productive meeting to go overtime
Sometimes, magic happens and meetings suddenly turn in an unprecedented but awesome fashion! Yes, timing is important – BUT if great ideas suddenly start rolling out, and really creative solutions start bouncing around savour the moment to harvest these ideas. Sometimes it's just a serendipitous series of events, or just the right combination of factors. You'll know when it happens.
18. Don't force the casual meetings
Encourage, but don't force. A classic sign of someone not wanting to be there is how often they check what time it is. Everybody has different personal commitments. Everybody has different preferences for social activities. Despite your best efforts, it's possible that not everyone on the team gets along. This one came to mind from an experience I had when a guest at a medium-sized company party once. We were all having breakfast at a hotel (about 300 people as far as I recall) and I wanted to go back to bed for a while. The marketing or event team (I don't know which) actually stopped me from going because they insisted I had to be in the room when the CEO walked by! I was baffled, mostly because I explained I was not an employee. And yes – they made me march back to my chair and suffer my headache for an extra hour.
Not cool.
Conducting effective meetings just takes a series of small changes
Instituting change is always tough. But think about it in terms of small steps. Managers need to take the lead on the new meetings format, and maintain the message that it is not an exercise in excluding people but of practicality. Employees should be encouraged to question their presence at meetings where they feel they have little real value to add or take away that couldn't be conveyed in an email or report.
TIme is the most valuable thing we all have.


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The United Kingdom's Department for International Development has announced that it plans to significantly increase its support for refugees who have taken flight to escape conflict and tumult in Syria. The new funding aims to aid more than 45,000 refugees. It will provide emergency food rations for over 18,000 Syrian refugees and safe drinking water and sanitation for thousands more as the escalating violence in Syria continues to drive many families from their homes and across borders, into neighbouring states.
Speaking from Za'atri in Jordan, on the Syrian border, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said:
"In the midst of its sporting triumphs at the London Olympics, Britain has not forgotten the people of Syria. Today's extra support shows we stand alongside those who have lost everything because of the actions of this ruthless regime.
"The stories I've heard today paint a horrifying picture of everyday life for hundreds of thousands of ordinary people in Syria. I've met people left with only the clothes on their backs. I've spoken to families forced to flee their homes in the dead of night, some walking miles under the constant threat of violence and death if caught trying to escape."
The new funding will go to three key humanitarian bodies providing help in the region – the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and UNHCR. In Jordan itself, the new British funding will:
The remaining British funding will be used to help refugees in Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, including:
Additional links:
The Brussels based United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe - UNRIC provides information on UN activities to the countries of the region. It also provides liaison with institutions of the European Union in the field of information. Its outreach activities extend to all segments of society and joint campaigns, projects and events are organized with partners including the EU, governments, the media, NGOs, schools and local authorities.
United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC Brussels)
Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 155, Block C2,7th and 8th floor, Brussels 1040, Belgium
Tel.: +32 2 788 8484 / Fax: 32 2 788 8485


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Although CFR's Ed Husain believes that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will inevitably fall, he believes that the Syrian opposition realizes that Assad "cannot be defeated on the battlefield at this juncture, as many originally thought possible." This realization, he says, was the impetus behind Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib's offer to negotiate a settlement via Russian and Iranian allies of Assad's over the weekend in Munich. Husain believes there will be negotiations through either the Iranians or the Russians or both, but "whether they will be successful is another question." As for Israel's attack on Syrian trucks transporting advanced anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon this past weekend, Husain says Israel was justified. "If arms are being shipped, as it's being claimed, to Hezbollah, which will then be used against civilians or Israeli security interests, Israel is fully in its rights to strike," he says.
The Syrian Civil War is more than twenty-one months old and there is still no resolution in sight. Most experts believe it's a military stalemate right now. What do you see happening in the future?
In the long term, it's inevitable that President Bashar al-Assad will fall in one way or another. He can't hold onto power while most governments and people in the region and most actors in the international community are piled against him. The power balance inside Syria, due to the the sectarianism, the presence of al-Qaeda fighters, the support Syria gets from Russia, Iran, Hezbollah, and, to some extent, even Iraq, will probably allow Assad to hold on to power in the short term. But in the long term, he cannot remain in power with an ongoing domestic military resistance, sectarian distrust, a hostile region, and global isolation pitted against him. The shocking development this past weekend of Moaz Al-Khatib, the new head of the opposition Syrian National Council, reaching out to talk to the Assad regime via the Russians and Iranians, Assad's closest allies, is an indication that the opposition leader now realizes that Assad cannot be defeated on the battlefield at this juncture, as many originally thought possible.
Khatib's offer was first made public on his Facebook page, of all places. He was criticized by other members of his coalition who don't want to talk to Assad. Do you think a negotiation is actually possible?
A negotiated settlement at this stage would be a victory for Assad. But a negotiated settlement gives the opposition time to regroup, to identify extremist al-Qaeda elements within their networks and root them out. A negotiation, at least for the immediate future, is in the best interest of both sides, but it plays to Assad's advantage more because it ultimately guarantees his staying in power. And it shows that the axis against Assad has failed to either remove him or support the opposition enough.
But that being said, I think that Khatib's main concern and his reason for offering to negotiate was not the opposition factions, but the mass of innocent people caught up inside Syria. I think he's sincere in his feelings for the millions of people who live in fear of being killed by al-Qaeda fighters or by the Assad forces. That constituency will support him. Ordinary citizens inside the country will see him and the Syrian opposition as being open to constructive dialogue, and not the terrorists that Assad has tried to portray them as. This also grants Khatib the moral high ground.
The United Nations has had a special envoy to Syria for months, with Lakhdar Brahimi, a veteran Algerian diplomat, currently serving in that role. Is it possible that the United Nations could become the mediator here?
"Put simply, all things being equal, UN mediation goes through Moscow."
I don't think Brahimi or his office have much credibility in the eyes of the Syrian government, especially when compared to their favorite allies, the Russians and the Iranians. If the Russians and the Iranians can help broker some kind of arrangement, it's good news for ordinary Syrians in the short term. But my hunch is that they won't be able to deliver anything that's remotely credible, simply because there are too many dedicated fighters inside Syria now, with too many external forces (i.e., Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar), who are fueling the opposition with cash and arms. So if Brahimi or the Russians or the Iranians, or for this matter, the opposition, come to some kind of agreement, it would divide the opposition and armed groups would continue to fight--but at a reduced level. Put simply, all things being equal, UN mediation goes through Moscow.
Could this lead to Assad voluntarily stepping down?
I can't see Assad voluntarily leaving power; it's not going to happen. But my recent discussion with the Iranians indicates that somehow there could be "free and fair elections" in which Assad would run but there would be other contenders. But Assad does not have a democratic bone in his body; he's not going to run against Moaz Al-Khatib.
Talk briefly about the incident that was in the headlines most of last week, which was the Israeli attack on a truck convoy bringing anti-aircraft missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon, and collateral damage done to a scientific research facility in Damascus. Do you think Israel is now going to become more involved in Syria?
"If Syrian territory becomes like Pakistani territory, a home for terrorists, it's fully within Israel's right to strike preemptively."
I don't think many of us are shedding tears for damage to the research lab, I'm sorry to say. But what's important is the question you ask, which is, "Will the Israelis get more involved?" The answer, judging by the indications coming out of Jerusalem, is "yes." The Israelis have talked about setting up a buffer zone and they're monitoring developments in the Golan Heights much more closely than they had two years ago. Any discussions with senior Israeli military generals, or intelligence officials, always provide indications that while they're pleased about the possibility of Assad being removed, they're deeply concerned about who replaces him. People may find this objectionable, but if Syrian territory becomes like Pakistani territory, a home for terrorists, it's fully within Israel's right to strike preemptively. Not to strike would mean to wait for the arms to reach Hezbollah and terror attacks to be launched against Israel. There is a mindset of some in the international community that you cannot violate another country's sovereignty. Well, territorial sovereignty means controlling rogue elements within a country. But it's not a country's sovereignty if it's home to a terrorist base threatening [another] country. Because Pakistan continues to allow al-Qaeda and other extremists [to settle within its borders], it's open to drone attacks, sadly. The same applies to Syria. If arms are being shipped, as it's being claimed, to Hezbollah, which will then be used against civilians or Israeli security interests, Israel is fully in its rights to strike. The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, denounced this decision, calling Israel a terrorist state. But what would Turkey do if there were targetable PKK terror bases inside Syria?
They would do the same thing as the Israelis, obviously.
What we haven't mentioned is the United States. There was a story published over the weekend that said that Hillary Clinton and former CIA director David Petraeus were working on a scheme to secretly supply the rebels with arms but that President Obama killed the project. The United States really doesn't want to get too involved, does it?
"There are strong arguments for the United States not being militarily involved, and it's important to understand that the prospect of being involved could lead to even more people being killed as greater chaos and instability spreads."
One of the reasons that Obama objected to Petraeus and Clinton's plan had to do with the U.S. presidential election. But I think Obama's concern is that the day after Assad is removed, does the Obama administration inherit a second-tier Iraq, with the sectarian conflict and the chances of a greater flare up in the region? On balance, I think the Obama administration has not taken its eye off the ball. Yes it's not been as involved as some would like, but through its allies, whether it's Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or Turkey, the United States still remains the single largest contributor, $360 million, to the humanitarian disaster that's unfolding. My understanding is that the U.S. intelligence agencies keep a very close eye on the movement of chemical weapons. There are strong arguments for the United States not being militarily involved, and it's important to understand that the prospect of being involved could lead to even more people being killed as greater chaos and instability spreads.
Are you surprised that Assad has been able to stay in power for nearly two years?
No, not at all. I remember discussions with colleagues at the outset of this conflict, who said that Assad would be gone in six weeks, and then they extended it to two months, and then to six months. At each and every point, my hunch was "no," because I've lived in Syria, I've maintained contact with the people, and I've been visiting the country regularly until as late as 2010. However much we hate Assad in the West, he was, at least until the outbreak of the conflict, a very popular president inside Syria. My hunch is that over the last two years, the rise of al-Qaeda fighters inside the country has made people choose between the continuity they had before the uprising with Assad in power, which guaranteed at least some kind of unity inside Syria, and creating a country that is divided, broken up, with sectarian fighting and minorities killed. And when people in Syria look at Egypt today, a country that's much more homogenous [than Syria], they [are asking themselves if they] want to go down that route with daily protests and violence. If that can happen in homogenous Egypt, without the sectarian tensions, what would happen in Syria? Can Assad survive? In the long term, no, but in the short term, I suspect he will continue to survive because, however unpalatable to us, the masses inside Syria's large cities have not yet turned against him.
Make a prediction: Do you expect there will be some kind of negotiation?
Yes. It's not in the interest of any of these parties not to negotiate. But whether they will be successful is another question.


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My main goal this evening is to discredit those who tell you that you can get rich quick by investing in the secondary markets. That won't work. It sort of worked for Warren Buffett, but a lot of his success came from creating a holding company, and buying entire businesses, not just fractions of companies that he would not control.
Even the top entertainers and sports stars rarely become super-rich unless they have an iron discipline, and hand over their excess assets to an honest and talented advisor, who shepherds them and grows them, and gives the client personal advice as needed. That's what I do, though I have no famous clients.
What can past market crashes teach us about the current one?
The markets have largely recovered since the March selloff, but most would agree we're not out of the woods yet. The COVID-19 pandemic isn't close to being over, so it seems that volatility is here to stay, at least until the pandemic becomes less severe. Q2 2020 hedge fund letters, conferences and more At the Read More
As with so many things, it comes down to self-control. Can you defer self-gratification? Will you seek talented advisors who are honest? They aren't easy to find.
Those that become super-rich form their own firms, and use them to further their wealth. They hire talented people to grow their wealth. It can be a purely industrial firm. It can be part industrial and investing, like Loews, Berkshire Hathaway, Leucadia, Carl Icahn, etc. It can be a private firm, whether private equity, a hedge fund, or an industrial firm.
The main idea here is that great wealth typically comes through running a large firm that is very profitable, which concentrates the efforts of others. Significant wealth never comes through your own labors or secondary-market investing. It comes through creating a very profitable firm.
Now, I want to add one more tangential observation here. It's easier to make a lot of money by offering investment advice, than by investing your own money yourself. Why? In offering advice, your margins are virtually unlimited. Every new subscriber is gravy. Your own capital is limited, so your returns are limited.
But the record of newsletters is poor; that's why I have never considered a newsletter. I buy no newsletters because they have no value. I sell no newsletters because my best insights should go to my clients. I have never seen a newsletter in my life that genuinely offered value.
Far better that you build your own firm with your valuable differential insights, than that you try to make money in the public markets. Those who are very rich managed large firms that became dominant.
Now, few of us can do that. That's the way the world works. And most who try it will fail. Far better to aim lower and achieve a happy outcome, than strain after riches that never come.
By David Merkel, CFA of Aleph Blog


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Alberta Boomtowns
Of the 15 fastest growing census areas in Canada over the last five years, 10 are in Alberta, the fastest growing province in Canada. All this growth in times of government restraint has created pressures on schools, hospitals, roads and other services. It has also changed the character of these towns.
Click on one of the maps below to read a profile of that community. The profile will appear below the maps. Or click on the button at the top to see a map of the entire province and a comparison of Canada's 15 fastest growing communities.
For the best experience with this app, please use Firefox or Chrome.
Interactive by Lucas Timmons.
Other Alberta Boomtown stories


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Saturday Notables
Saturday, May 16, 6:05 PM – Memphis Redbirds (18-15) vs. Reno Aces (14-21)
- The night's line-up is as follows:
1. Jon Jay – CF
2. Casey Rowlett – 2B
3. Brett Wallace – 3B
4. Allen Craig – LF
5. Javier Brito – 1B
6. Mark Shorey – RF
7. Brandon Yarbrough – C
8. Donovan Solano – SS
9. P.J. Walters – P
- A lot has changed in the Redbirds line-up over the past 15 days, losing Tyler Greene, Brad Thompson, Shane Robinson and Nick Stavinoha to St. Louis. Also Jarrett Hoffpauir, Joe Mather and David Freese were placed on the DL. What you see above is a new flock of 'Birds to cheer for.
- Brett Wallace, the Cardinals number one draft pick of 2008, transferred from Springfield today and lands in the three-spot for his Triple-A debut.
- The 'Birds are 7-2 in series openers this season. The Reno Aces make their debut at AZP.
1 Comment
My fiancee and I drove down for the Saturday game from Illinois. We have one of the Spring ticket packages. It was really cool to see Brett Wallace in the lineup. Boy oh boy….can that boy rake the ball. He didn't get many chances in the field Saturday….but looked good on the few he did get. How about a little seasoning with the Redbirds and then a July call-up? The Big Birds could sure use his bat right now.
P.J. looked good too Saturday. I think Tony made a bad decision by not allowing Walters to stay in the rotation with the big club. Hopefully he can continue to pitch well in Memphis and get a call-up later down the line. His breaking ball makes guys look really silly at times.


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Windows Phone OS 7.0: Nowhere Near as Clunky as its Name Implies
It's a real pity that Microsoft's new Windows Phone OS 7.0 won't be available until the end of the year, because it seems–at first glance, anyway–to be a robust and elegant offering. Certainly, it is a departure from what we've come to expect from Microsoft (MSFT) in the mobile space and would seem to bring the company into near-parity with innovative rivals like Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG) and Palm (PALM).
But Microsoft's operating system is potentially nine months from market. In the meantime, Apple will likely introduce a new iPhone and iPhone OS, Google the next iteration of Android OS, and Palm the newest version of webOS. Any of these, if not all three, could make Windows Phone OS 7.0 look like table stakes at a game Microsoft is, once again, losing.
For now, demos show it to be an ambitious, impressive reimagining of Microsoft's mobile OS, all gloss and sophistication, where Windows Mobile 6.5 was–let's face it–all PocketPC. As CEO Steve Ballmer said during its launch yesterday at Mobile World Congress, "There is no question in our minds that we needed and wanted to do some things that were out of the box and clearly differentiated from our past and–hopefully you will agree–clearly differentiated from other things going on in the market."
And, indeed Microsoft is doing so. With a Zune-influenced design and savvy integration of not just the Zune media player, but also Xbox Live, Bing, and Office, Windows Phone OS 7.0 is exactly what a Microsoft mobile OS should be. It's the OS the company should have built three years ago.
Which, sadly, may mean it's three years too late. With Microsoft's share of the mobile market in decline and its new OS launching in a market that Ballmer himself described as one "filled with phones that look the same and do the same things," the company has its work cut out for it.
That said, similar observations were made about Xbox, and Microsoft has done quite well with it in a similarly competitive market. But the company's challenge here is far more difficult, I think. The company would have a much easier time succeeding if the launch of Windows Phone OS 7.0 weren't so far off.


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Seat Alerts (Free for iOS and Android)
What it is: an app from ExpertFlyer to land a better seat on an airplane.
How it works: After launching the app, you input your flight information to create a seat alert. The app finds the seat map for your flight, and you select the class of service and type of seat you prefer. Options include Any Window, Any Aisle, Any Two Together, Any Exit Row, etc. The first alert at a time is free, but to monitor multiple flights users either pay 99 cents per seat alert or sign up for a pro subscription plan at ExpertFlyer.com. If a desired seat becomes available, you contact your airline to snag it; the app doesn't do it for you.
Why it's great: If you find yourself stuck in a middle seat or separated from your traveling companion, the app can help you find seats together or a better seat (unless you enjoy the middle). The app has seat data for specific flights on specific dates for more than 130 airlines, along with info from SeatGuru about the best seats. Sometimes you'll find a desirable empty seat without having to finalize the alert.
Why you might hesitate: The app alerts you only that a better seat is available; you must contact your airline to get the seat.
Hotwire Hotels (Free for iOS)
What it is: an app to book a hotel at a discounted price. As with any Hotwire opaque booking, you know the general location, the amenities and star level of a hotel but not its identity and address until after you pay.
How it works: The app can use your device's GPS to search for a hotel in your current location, or you can input your dates and destination for a search. The app then generates a list of hotels available for your dates in that location. You sign in with your Hotwire account and credit card to buy a room, and the app can save this info for future bookings if you want.
Why it's great: It makes scoring a hotel deal very easy. The sliders on the calendar make the app fun to use, and it is very fast. When I test-booked a couple of hotels, the savings seemed greater for a last-minute booking.
Why you might hesitate: You aren't flexible about where you are staying. If you are attending a specific event such as a convention, you may need to know the address before you buy, so you don't wind up at a nice hotel in an inconvenient location.
Hulu + (Free for iOS, Android and Windows 8 but requires a paid subscription to Hulu Plus)
What it is: a free app that allows Hulu Plus members to stream Hulu content that includes current and classic TV shows or movies to their smartphone, tablet or other connected device.
How it works: You launch the app, then either search for specific programs or choose content from Featured and Popular selections on Hulu Plus.
Why it's great: This is a great travel companion when you are killing time at the airport, on a bus or on a train. I plug in my earbuds and typically veg out to current episodes of "Grey's Anatomy," "Glee," "Grimm" or "The Daily Show." I love the fact that when I don't have time to finish watching an episode, Hulu Plus remembers where I left off, even if I resume watching the episode on my home computer.
Why you might hesitate: You primarily travel internationally, where Hulu Plus content isn't available for streaming, or you don't want to pay $7.99 a month for Hulu Plus.
Also, though I have tried the app using Wi-Fi on a flight, video takes up so much bandwidth that video streaming doesn't work well on a plane.


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How To Apply
We are a FREE, public charter school. However, to attend, each scholar must apply for admission through a random, blind, lottery system. There are no specific requirements to apply to an Uplift school.
The Basic Process:
- Applications for admission are accepted beginning December 1 each year for the following school year. Lottery deadline is in the spring and varies by school (check Uplift Education website for details).
- After the deadline, all available openings are filled using a blind lottery among all applications submitted prior to the deadline.
- Any applications received after the deadline, will also be placed on the waiting list in the order received.


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Debenu Quick PDF Library 10.15
Want to create, render, print, secure, merge, split and manipulate PDF files with just a few lines of code? Enhance your capability with Debenu Quick PDF Library: a powerful, royalty-free developer PDF SDK for adding PDF functionality to your applications. With over 900 functions for use with C, C++, C#, Delphi (version 4 to XE4), Objective-C, Python, PHP, Visual Basic, VB.NET, ASP, PowerBASIC, Pascal and more - it's like your ultimate PDF toolkit.
Used by developers of all levels working with PDFs, it's specifically useful for getting products to market faster. It includes a robust API, and is available in a variety of different editions for including ActiveX, DLL, LIB, Delphi and Dylib. Purchase options include single, multiple developer license or source code license. Support is also included for the most common programming languages. Work smarter and faster today with Debenu.
What's new in this version:
Updated documentation for GetFormFieldBorderColor(+Type) and GetFormFieldBackgroundColor(+Type) functions Support for Delphi XE6 Added constant ImageID output to GetImageListItemIntProperty GetPageUserUnit SetPageUserUnit AddPageMatrix GetCanvasDCEx


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Half-Moon Manicure Tutorial | Video
Nail a Half-Moon Manicure With This Easy DIY Trick
The half-moon manicure was seen all over the Fall 2014 runways, and since we love being ahead of the trend, we wanted to know how to get the look now. If you're artistic, it's fairly easy to freehand, but we found a genius trick to mastering the manicure on both hands!
On Kirbie: Camilla and Marc top


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MY RIDE- Dave Richardson: 1987 Ford Bronco II
In 1992, Dave Richardson was a UVA undergraduate looking for a vehicle that would allow him to cart belongings into the hinterlands for pleasure or for work. Fifteen years later, he's still a student– and he still drives his '87 Ford Bronco to conduct fieldwork for his studies as a graduate student in ecology and forestry.
When he purchased the truck, it had less than 50,000 miles; now it has 185,000. But he's nowhere near ready to trade it in.
"It runs really well," says Richardson, explaining that he's taken it across some pretty rough terrain.
"I forded a couple of creeks I shouldn't have," he laughs, "but I was able to get out, no problem."
What drives you? Call 295-8700 ext. 239, then pull up in front of Hook headquarters at 100 Second St. NW, and tell us why you love your ride. Each week's featured driver will receive a free car wash courtesy of H&H Quality Car Care.
1 comment
Awesome ride, dude! Ford Rules! :) I had a Bronco when I was a teenager. She was a mighty fine girl. She'd only average 10 miles to the gallon but the fun I had in her was more than adequate as a pay-off for the sacrifices I made for that. My parents bought her for me for my 16th birthday and said "Corey, running down this road that we call life is what we're doing." And on that note I appreciate what you're doing, Dave.


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If you have not had a chance to drop by Google yet today, make sure you do so to check out their beautiful "doodle" logo honoring the birthday of American archaeologist Howard Carter – arguably the most famous archaeologist of them all – who discovered the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922. As someone who has been fascinated by the Ancient Egyptians for decades, I was really pleased to see it. Yet the occasion also gives me a chance to encourage you as an individual, as well as those of you who are parents providing examples to your children, to make time for the study of science, regardless of what your chosen profession may be.
I suspect that many of my childhood dreams about what I would be when I grew up were no different from those of most American boys who grew up over the past several decades. Sometimes I wanted to be a superhero, or a policeman, or a knight. I liked to imagine that I could do what I read about in comic books or saw on television and in the movies: saving damsels in distress, fighting bad guys and monsters, and having all sorts of exciting adventures. Other fantasies were perhaps a bit more specialist, such as being fascinated by elves and wizards in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, which was difficult to "play" with my younger siblings who had not read the books, as I made them tramp along with me and my friend as we acted out the shall we say "taller" roles, and they played humble hobbits.
Perhaps somewhat unusual as compared to some of my peers was a very early fascination with the sciences, from astronomy to entomology, paleontology, geology, and so on. I virtually inhaled books about subjects such as prehistoric animals, geological formations and epochs, and theories about planetary formation and space travel. Yet of all the sciences the one that probably attracted me the most, and in a way ultimately led me to the intellectual interests I continue to pursue in my spare time today, was that of archaeology, and specifically Egyptology, i.e., the study of Ancient Egypt.
One of the things which my parents did very well with all of us, if my siblings will not think it too presumptuous of me to speak on their behalf, was that in general, if they approved of an interest that we had, they would do their best to provide us with materials or opportunities to explore it. So if someone wanted to learn how to ice skate, for example, they would obtain skates and take them to skating lessons; a child who was interested in numismatics would be given coins, and books about them, and taken to coin fairs. Not every whim was indulged, but on the whole they did their best to try to encourage us to have as broad a set of interests as we were willing to explore.
In my case, I was very happily provided with many books about Ancient Egypt. Though because I was a rather precocious reader – having learned to read at the age of 2 – this often took the form of lavishly illustrated catalogues from museum exhibitions, or scholarly works with few pictures but plenty of footnotes. I taught myself about such things as how to read and write some of the simpler hieroglyphics; the chronological order of the major kings and dynasties; and about the development of different construction methods, theological beliefs, burial practices, and so on.
Tied into this study, and indeed a very essential component of it, was an understanding of how styles and ideas both changed and yet remained constant in Ancient Egypt over time. A sphinx for example, is a beast found at the time of the earliest pharaohs, but is also found well into the Greco-Roman period many centuries later, when Egypt lost its empire and became a colonial province. Some gods became more or less popular over time, and art, object design, and architecture changed to reflect the shift in popularity from one to another. The subtle, naturalistic beauty of the brief Amarna period under Akhenaten and Tutankhamun can be easily contrasted with the pumped-up, masculine style preferred by Ramses the Great.
Of everything that I studied, nothing was as exciting as the work of Howard Carter, which was partially due to the fact that he found a nearly-intact tomb, with a host of artefacts to study that provided an enormous wealth of information on all aspects of Ancient Egyptian life. This included not only theological and political subject matter, but also practical things, such as the kinds of foods they ate, and the clothing, footwear, and personal adornment they wore. Carter's discoveries also told us about the way the Ancient Egyptians looked at each other, within their own families.
For example, you may not be aware of the fact that buried alongside Tutankhamun in his tomb were the mummified bodies of two unborn baby girls: one who died at about 5-7 months of pregnancy, and the other at approximately 7-9 months. One of these little bodies had enough remaining genetic material for later scientists to be able to prove conclusively Carter's theory that at least the one girl, and probably the other as well, was the daughter of Tutankhamun. Although she and her sister had been stillborn, both were honored with a royal burial alongside their father including mummification and traditional funeral masks, just like any other Egyptian princess. Next time a Planned Parenthood supporter gets in your face about a "fetus," hit them with the historical fact that even the Ancient Egyptians did not believe a fetus was simply a blob of tissue, but rather a human being with an immortal soul.
In any case, while in the end I never became an Egyptologist or archeologist like Howard Carter, I remain fascinated by these areas of study to this day, as I do many other areas of the sciences. I do not engage in any sort of scientific practice for a living, and yet if I spot an interesting article about discoveries of new planets or hitherto unknown species of sea creatures, I am once again filled with a childlike curiosity and sense of wonder about the universe. Listening to Ian Maxfield's podcasts over on The Catholic Laboratory, about how faith and science have often worked together, whatever anti-Catholic voices may have told you to the contrary, is not only enlightening but also wonderfully entertaining. Even if like me, your profession is not in the sciences, they are a rich area for exploration and mental stimulation: however you may have done in science at school, to have a diversity of interests and a desire to learn more about the world in which one happens to live should be a joy, not a burden.
When Howard Carter first opened a hole in the sealed doorway leading into the tomb of Tutankhamun, he was asked by Lord Carnarvon, the expedition's chief financial backer, whether he could see anything; Carter famously whispered, "Yes! Wonderful things." I would encourage those of you who are parents to foster this same kind of curiosity and wonder in your children, as my parents did with me. Even if they do not grow up to be chemists, physicists, or biologists, you will kelp them to lead richer, fuller lives by picking up on their budding scientific interests, and perhaps even learn something yourself in the process. A lifetime of learning is not enough to absorb all of the wonderful things there are to be explored in the world.
Archaeologist Howard Carter and friend in The Valley of the Kings (1922)


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I was a little worried my new mobile gig here at Kotaku would preclude me from enjoying Need for Speed: Most Wanted. Looks like EA Mobile and the racing experts at Firemonkeys have me covered. This is gorgeous.
EA Mobile tapped the folks behind the lovely Real Racing 3 to create the mobile version of Criterion Games' take on Need for Speed, and the results speak for themselves. I'll still be giving the console version a little love when it hits, but this version counts as work. Sometimes I really love my job.


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This site is the archived OWASP Foundation Wiki and is no longer accepting Account Requests.
To view the new OWASP Foundation website, please visit https://owasp.org
CAPTCHA (an acronym for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart".) is an access control technique.
CAPTCHA is used to prevent automated software from gaining access to webmail services like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo to create e-mail spam, automated postings to blogs, forums and wikis for the purpose of promotion(commercial, and or political) or harassment and vandalism and automated account creation.
CAPTCHA's have proved useful and their use has been upheld in court. Circumventing CAPTCHA has been upheld in US Courts as a violation Digital Millennium Copyright Act anti-circumvention section 1201(a)(3) and European Directive 2001/29/EC.
Code review of CAPTCHA's the reviewer needs to pay attention to the following rules to make sure the CAPTCHA is built with strong security principals.
- Do not allow the user to enter multiple guesses after an incorrect attempt.
- The software designer and code review need to understand the statics of guessing. I.e. One CAPTCHA design shows four (3 cats and 1 boat) pictures, User is requested to pick the picture where it is not in the same category of the other pictures. Automated software will have a success rate of 25% by always picking the first picture. Second depending on the fixed pool of CAPTCHA images over time an attacker can create a database of correct answers then gain 100% access.
- Consider using a key being passed to the server that uses a HMAC (Hash-based message authentication code) the answer.
Text base CAPTCHA's should adhere to the following security design principals...
- Randomize the CAPTCHA length: Don't use a fixed length; it gives too much information to the attacker.
- Randomize the character size: Make sure the attacker can't make educated guesses by using several font sizes / several fonts.
- Wave the CAPTCHA: Waving the CAPTCHA increases the difficulty for the attacker.
- Don't use a complex charset: Using a large charset does not improve significantly the CAPTCHA scheme's security and really hurts human accuracy.
- Use anti-recognition techniques as a means of strengthening CAPTCHA security: Rotation, scaling and rotating some characters and using various font sizes will reduce the recognition efficiency and increase security by making character width less predictable.
- Keep the line within the CAPTCHAs: Lines must cross only some of the CAPTCHA letters, so that it is impossible to tell whether it is a line or a character segment.
- Use large lines: Using lines that are not as wide as the character segments gives an attacker a robust discriminator and makes the line anti-segmentation technique vulnerable to many attack techniques.
CAPTCHA does create issues for web sites that must be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990) compliant. Code reviewer may need to be aware of web accessibilities and security to review the CAPTCHA implementation where web site is required to be ADA complaint by law.
Examples of a CAPTCHA
How do I upload an image(s)
- UNITED STATES of AMERICA vs KENNETH LOWSON, KRISTOFER KIRSCH, LOEL STEVENSON Federal Indictment. February 23, 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
- http://www.google.com/recaptcha/captcha [[1]]
- http://www.ada.gov/anprm2010/web%20anprm_2010.htm [[2]]
- Inaccessibility of CAPTCHA - Alternatives to Visual Turing Tests on the Web http://www.w3.org/TR/turingtest/ [[3]]
Notes from Renchie Joan...
If we can add a small section like, what are the uses of CAPTCHA when mapped to vulnerability categories. eg,: Since CAPTCHA is basically a challenge-response process, it can be used an effective mechanism against XSRF (CSRF) attack.
Or in preventing Dictionary attacks in a login screen.
Please let me know if you also think these are relevant and fit in the scope of the guide. If yes, then we will discuss and work on it.


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LeAnne Howe is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. She writes fiction, poetry, screenplays, creative non-fiction, plays and scholarship that primarily deal with American Indian and Native American experiences.
Her first novel Shell Shaker (Aunt Lute Books, 2001) received an American Book Award in 2002 from the Before Columbus Foundation. The novel was a finalist for the 2003 Oklahoma Book Award, and awarded Wordcraft Circle Writer of the Year, 2002. Equinoxes Rouge, the French translation, was the 2004 finalist for Prix Medici Estranger, one of France's top literary awards. Evidence of Red (Salt Publishing, UK, 2005) won the Oklahoma Book Award for poetry in 2006, and the Wordcraft Circle Award for 2006. Her most recent novel is Miko Kings: An Indian Baseball Story (Aunt Lute Books, 2007). Her latest two books Choctalking On Other Realities (Aunt Lute Books), a memoir, and Seeing Red Pixeled Skins, American Indians and Film (Michigan State University Press), a co-edited anthology of film reviews were both published in 2013. She is the Eidson Distinguished Professor of American Literature in the English Department at the University of Georgia, Athens. She is available for readings and lectures at colleges and universities.
Follow me on Twitter
Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.


text: I'm sure at this point you've heard about imported Chinese drywall and how might cause health problems in homes. Class action lawsuits against builders, importers, and manufacturers of the material have been filed by people, mostly in Florida, who say their appliances are breaking and their health is suffering due to toxins. The companies that make and use the drywall claim there is nothing wrong with it but the Florida Health Department says different. Take a look at our new article on Chinese drywall information to find out more about how it can be identified and its potential dangers.