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Who Cares If Piracy Is 'Wrong' If Stopping It Is Impossible And Innovating Provides Better Solutions?
from the not-this-again deptIt appears that the same arguments that many of us have been fighting for many, many years are suddenly playing themselves out again in the National Review Online. It started with a really fantastic article by Reihan Salam and Patrick Ruffini arguing that legislating to deal with "piracy" doesn't work and is the wrong approach anyway, because innovating and providing better solutions simply works better. If you're a regular Techdirt reader, you won't be surprised by the Salam/Ruffini piece -- it hits on many of the key points we've raised. However, it is nicely packaged up in a single article that should be required reading for anyone trying to understand why fighting piracy through legislation is the wrong approach.
In response, Robert VerBruggen, an associate editor at the National Review decided to write a rebuttal that isn't so much a rebuttal at all. As Tim Lee rightly points out, the two sides appear to be arguing totally different things. Salam and Ruffini are pointing out that enforcement isn't working (and isn't workable), while also leading to collateral damage. But, at the same time, innovating and providing solutions that people want do seem to work -- and create new opportunities for content creators and consumers alike. VerBruggen, on the other hand, is pulling out the famed "but... but... piracy!" argument we've seen too often -- as if the fact that "piracy exists" suddenly makes all logic pointless. As Lee notes:
VerBruggen responds by insisting that piracy is wrong. He's right, but this doesn't get him as far as he thinks it does. This isn't just an abstract exercise in moral philosophy. The government has limited resources, and a long list of problems to deal with. The question isn't "should the government try to stop piracy," it's "how many resources should the government devote to combatting piracy as opposed to other problems."This is a key point, and I don't know if VerBruggen is just new to this debate and therefore trotting out silly, long-dead tropes because he doesn't know any better -- or if that's just the best the "other side" can do these days. Either way, I wanted to dig a bit deeper into a few of VerBruggen's really questionable claims.
And VerBruggen never really grapples with this question. He seems to believe that the right amount of enforcement is more than we already have, but he doesn't offer any principled basis for deciding how much more, or how to tell when we've passed the point of diminishing returns. Without such a principle, we're just going to have this debate over and over again, as each new anti-piracy measure fails and Hollywood comes back for still more restrictions.
When brick-and-mortar bookstores complain about the threat they face from Amazon.com, they are complaining that customers will leave them for a superior alternative; when Hollywood complains about piracy, they are complaining that customers have left them for an illegal alternative. They have stopped paying for Hollywood products yet are still consuming them. These are not even remotely similar situations — morally, legally, or economically.VerBruggen says this as if "an illegal alternative" and "a superior alternative" are mutually exclusive. They're not. And that's the issue. History has shown, time and time again, that infringement is a way for consumers to express that they're not satisfied with the official versions and have found "a superior alternative." That the said alternative is "illegal" is an issue, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the best response is a legal one. Why VerBruggen makes these assumptions is unclear.
With this distinction in mind, one might find it rather odd for Salam and Ruffini to insist that the solution to piracy is "innovation" rather than law enforcement. By "innovation," they mean primarily that Hollywood should make it easier and cheaper for customers to buy their content digitally, citing studies indicating that when digital content becomes readily available through legal channels, piracy goes down. But even assuming Hollywood can discourage piracy by cutting prices and offering its content in different ways, since when do we tell crime victims to appease their tormenters?As far as I can tell, this is the craziest part of VerBruggen's argument. It is, effectively, "so what if everyone can be better off by innovating out of this mess, this is wrong wrong wrong!" As we've pointed out for years, if you have a solution where everyone is better off, there is no moral argument. It seems silly to be arguing what VerBruggen seems to be arguing, that it's more moral to have everyone worse off with no piracy, than to have everyone better off with some piracy. It just doesn't add up.
Moreover, in no other industry do we allow consumers to force prices down by taking products for free whenever they, personally, think the legal versions are too expensive or inconvenient. Any customer may refuse to buy a product that's undesirable, or even organize a boycott — but then that customer needs to go without the product.The problem here is easy to spot. It's in the word "take." That's not what's happening here. The truth is that, as in every other industry, consumers force down prices by finding "a superior alternative" as he suggested earlier. Taking implies something is directly taken from the creator and they no longer have it. That's simply not true.
Salam and Ruffini provide no justification for singling out industries that sell intellectual property — and little evidence that these industries' disproportionately young, bratty, and entitled consumers are better equipped than the free market to decide what a "fair" price is for an album or movie that cost thousands or even millions of dollars to create and market.I won't even bother discussing the fact that he appears to be calling the industry's customers, who they're supposed to be trying to win over, as "young, bratty and entitled," and just focusing on his bizarre definition of "free market." He seems to miss that this is the free market. Setting up a centralized government-granted set of artificial monopolies over non-rivalrous, non-excludable goods is a price restriction on a free market. A "fair price" is what the actual market sets -- and that means the market of everyone, not just the customers that VerBruggen likes.
For starters, while making content widely available for low prices does seem to reduce piracy, it hardly eliminates it.Er. Enforcement and new laws every two years has hardly eliminated it either -- in fact, it's been shown to increase the rate of piracy. So, I'm at a complete loss here. If VerBruggen is arguing that the only proper solution is the one that "eliminates" infringement, well, then he's living in a fantasy land, because no such solution exists. The argument that Ruffini and Salam made (which is backed up with pretty significant evidence) is that innovating and providing "a superior alternative" does a better job to reduce piracy than enforcement (which doesn't appear to work at all beyond an initial hit until people scramble and find alternatives). Again, we're back to VerBruggen basing his entire argument on "piracy is wrong wrong wrong," without taking into account what his preferred solution actually does compared to Salam and Ruffini's alternative.
Spotify's payment formulas are not public, but various leaks indicate that on average, artists and labels are paid around one-third of one cent every time a user listens to ("streams") a song. By way of comparison, artists and labels make 70 cents when a song is purchased for 99 cents from iTunes. Thus, a user has to listen to a song on Spotify more than 200 times before earning ad revenue for the artist and label that's equivalent to a sale.Comparing a Spotify play to an iTunes purchase is meaningless, because they're not the same thing by any stretch of the imagination. I mean, why not compare Spotify to radio? In some ways, that may be more comparable. In the US, musicians get paid a big fat nothing for radio plays. Yet, somehow, it's been pretty damn important for artists to get on radio. Because it helps them make money elsewhere. Looking at Spotify in isolation misses the point... but VerBruggen does that again and again:
But piracy does "put pressure on profit margins," as Salam delicately put it on National Review Online recently. By one estimate, per capita, inflation-adjusted spending on recorded music has fallen 64 percent since its peak in the late 1990s, and is lower today than at any time since at least 1973, despite the fact that every other person you pass on the street is wearing earbuds.Again, he's looking at one small aspect of the music business in isolation: how much is spent on recorded music. But he leaves out every other aspect of the music business -- including things like live -- which has grown at an incredible rate over the same time. More importantly, he leaves out that artists earn a larger chunk of revenue from live than they do from recorded music sales -- most of which go to the labels, not the artists. Why focus on that anyway? It's like complaining that automobiles are terrible for transportation because fewer buggy whips are selling. When you have dumb metrics, you're going to get silly results.
The numbers change little when one uses total rather than per capita revenue, and home-video sales are falling as well.Oh come on. Home video wouldn't even exist if Hollywood had its way and banned the VCR 30 years ago, so I'm sorry if I find complaints about the home video market shrinking as evidence of a problem. As we saw with the VCR, new markets develop, and they seem to develop against Hollywood's own wishes -- and then become a huge revenue driver for Hollywood. The best solution, if we look historically, is to get Hollywood out of the way and just let those new models develop to save Hollywood from itself.
That in itself should be troubling to anyone who thinks the profit motive matters — with less profit, presumably, will come less creative output.Thing is, we don't need to "presume" anything. We have data. And the data shows that more music is being created and released and monetized than ever before. And the data shows that more films are being created and released and monetized than ever before. You can presume all you want until the cows come home, but if reality says you're wrong, it's difficult to take those presumptions seriously.
As commentator Eduardo Porter noted in the New York Times, while the total number of music-album releases rose between 2005 and 2010, releases of albums that sold at least 1,000 copies — a rather low standard by which to judge whether an artist is making a significant contribution to the world of recorded music — declined about 40 percent. Of course, like Salam and Ruffini's, Porter's data are highly debatable — he relies on the Nielsen sales database, which excludes some independent releases and does not count sales of single songs.It doesn't just exclude "some" independent releases. It excludes tens of thousands (potentially hundreds of thousands) of independent releases. If you just look at TuneCore and CDBaby alone, you'd realize how silly relying on SoundScan is as a proxy. And, once again, this is only looking at "recorded music" sales in isolation. The fact that fewer albums sold 1,000 copies ignores the massive explosion of new music (which just paragraphs earlier, VerBruggen "presumed" was impossible), meaning that there's a ton more competition. Furthermore, it ignores that recorded music is not the main way that many artists monetize these days, and looking at it in isolation is pretty pointless. Finally, many of those artists who sold less than 1000 albums would have made a big fat $0 under the old system, because no major label would have bothered with them and they wouldn't have had any other outlet. Aren't we all (including, most importantly, the musicians) better off in a world where a whole bunch of artists get to make something rather than nothing? But, again, the "but... but... piracy!" argument blinds VerBruggen to this reality.
The finer points of entertainment economics aside, if widespread and increasingly popular illegal behavior is costing American companies business, and possibly reducing artists' creative output, it is first and foremost a law-enforcement problem, not an "innovation" problem. It is entirely reasonable for Hollywood to petition the government for better anti-piracy efforts, even if the industry has lobbied for bad legislation in the past.Almost nothing in this paragraph is supported by... anything. If law enforcement doesn't work, how is this possibly a law enforcement problem? This is yet another example of someone trying to be right rather than realistic. It's a recipe for disaster, but it's the same recipe that the legacy entertainment industry has been cooking up for decades to no effect. Who would ever double down on that strategy?
Filed Under: business models, copyright, innovation, morality, piracy, reality


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Radhanath Swami's relationship with the Hare Krishna yoga dates back to one winter evening in January 1971, on the banks of river Ganges at Rishikesh, India. Sitting in solitude on a rock in Ganges, young Richard (Radhanath Swami's earlier name) was absorbed in meditation. He had been fasting for over a month, (subsisting on one carrot a day) and sat on the rock in silence from sunrise to sunset. On this late afternoon Richard heard a song ascending from the depths of Mother Ganges' heart.
Ques :- HOW CAN A GOD EXIST AND ALLOW SO MUCH SUFFERING AND EVIL IN THE WORLD AROUND US ?
Answer : Every kind, gentle hearted person is moved by and would want to help alleviate the suffering, miseries of others.
Read Further...
Pareshan is troubled by his inability to chant attentively. He feels frustrated as the chanting session leaves him tired and dry. He's heard in classes that the Holy Names of Krishna is sweeter than the sweetest.
Radhanath Swami | Hare Krishna Yoga and Meditation

subset: commoncrawl


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Presidential candidate Rick Santorum has added two more staffers to his Iowa campaign: Tina Goff, who resigned this summer from leading Herman Cain's efforts here, and Tom Intorcio.
"Day by day, ...
Photos: 2012 Iowa caucus day
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It all started last year when I was desperately trying to prove my lineage to my 5th great grandfather, Nathaniel Brittain, who was a patriot in the American Revolution. I'd hunted high and low for documentation to prove the link between his son, Parks Brittain, and grandson, Milton Price Brittain, but to no avail. One day, I happened on a Google search result that led me to an Ancestry.com message board post from a woman looking for information on the same ancestor. She listed her email address in her post, so I thought, "What the heck, I'm going to send her a note!" Since then, Jennifer (of Climbing My Family Tree) and I have put our heads together to solve a couple of mysteries on our Brittain line and her blog inspired me to start my own. We've also become Facebook friends, and I have fun following her family (both ancestors and current) via the social network.
I truly believe that reaching out to the networks available to us on the Web is a great way to unearth info we're searching for as well as to meet like-minded folks (both relatives and new friends!).
Here are a few ways that you can reach out and touch someone from your own family tree:
- Check out the message boards on the various genealogy websites, such as Ancestry.com, Geni.com and GenealogyWise. You don't necessarily have to be a member to search the boards, and you may come across a cousin who has answers for you, or might like to work with you to solve a mystery. I found one of my favorite new cousins all because of a Google search that led me to her message board post requesting information on what turned out to be our shared 3rd great grandfather. Jennifer and I were both able to help each other discover new information and documents that we hadn't found before, and she was instrumental in my successful attempt to join DAR.
- While you're reading the message boards, why don't you jump on in and post something yourself? Go ahead and ask a question that has been nagging you. Or, you might be able to answer a question for someone else (pay it forward).
- Read the genealogy blogs that interest you, and comment! Reach out to the authors that might have information for you, and ask questions. You never know who might be reading your comments and can help you remove another brick from your wall.
- Look for family-related pages on Facebook and join in the discussions. I've recently found one of my distant Veale cousins and look forward to comparing notes with him as we try to figure out where our Veale line originated.
- Have you checked out Twitter? It's amazing what you can learn in just 140 characters. There are a lot of people out there tweeting about their own research as well as other genealogy news and information. A good way to find general family history content on Twitter is by searching for "#genealogy". Of course, you can search for anything else you like on Twitter, too!


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Volume IX, No. 3
How are charter school authorizers like guardrails on our public highways? Find out in this month's feature on the critical role that authorizers play in ensuring the success of new charter schools. Also this month, we continue the addition of a "Special Report" at the top of the "What's New?" section – this time to observe April as Financial Literacy Month and to focus on some noteworthy efforts under OII's Excellence in Economic Education grant program to achieve the goals of Financial Literacy Month year-round.
What's inside...
Authorizers are Critical to Putting New Charters on the Road to Success
What's New
- Special Report: Focus on Financial Literacy
- From the U.S. Department of Education
- From the Office of Innovation and Improvement
- From the Institute of Education Sciences
- American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- American History
- Arts Education
- Raising Student Achievement
- School Improvement
- Technology in Education
- Charters/Choice
- Leadership
- School Improvement
- Teacher Quality and Development
- Technology in Education
Authorizers are Critical to Putting New Charters on the Road to Success
During this year's Charter School Week, May 2-8, the charter school sector would be well served to adopt the posture of the Roman god Janus, simultaneously looking both to the past and the future. The past up to the present to acknowledge and celebrate the sector's growth over almost two decades; and the present to future in order to take stock of recent studies of student achievement in charter schools compared with traditional public schools and to chart a course for the future – a future with the promise of growth but the challenge to increase not only in quantity but in quality as well.
Nearly 5,000 charter schools now exist in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and represent five percent of U.S. public schools, serving three percent of public school students. Charters have been supported by Administrations of both parties since they were first created in 1992 for their promise of bringing a new source of innovation, choice, and entrepreneurial solutions toward the goal of providing all students with a quality education. Indeed, President Obama is committed to doubling the federal support for charter schools over the next four years, and is proposing to make his investment further reach that commitment by increasing funds for charter schools for Fiscal Year 2011.
The prospective role of public charters has also gained a heightened profile as the Department of Education has included new charter start-ups as one of four intervention models under the historic investment of $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement Grants (SIG) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This opportunity is coupled with the potential for increases in charters in situations other than low-performing-school turnarounds as many states have relaxed caps on the number of charter schools permitted to operate or have taken other measures to level the playing field between charters and traditional public schools.
Whether new charter schools serve as turnaround interventions or as new school options, state and local leaders must ask tough questions about how to increase the likelihood of success for new charters. These questions have become increasingly urgent as recent studies have failed to show that charter schools broadly outperform their district peers. A 2009 study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University provided sobering data concerning charter schools performance nationally, concluding that charters on the whole did not outperform district schools. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, in his remarks at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS) conference last June, acknowledged the CREDO report's findings of minimal accountability in several states.
Authorizers Play a Critical Role
Before the doors of a new charter are opened, critical "upstream" decisions must be made: How will the best-qualified applicants be screened and selected? What assistance could be given to new operators, particularly in the initial start-up year? How should a balance be struck between encouraging innovation and demanding approaches that are research-based? What accountability structures are needed to increase charter schools' student achievement and operational soundness?
These critical questions, as well as others that come "downstream," fall squarely at the feet of charter school authorizers – those organizations charged with approving the creation of new charter schools, overseeing those charters, and determining which charters should close for having not lived up to the commitments they initially made. Each state has its own approach to authorizing. In some cases school districts are authorizers, in some cases authorizers are universities or other nonprofits. But no matter what the structure, how well authorizers carry out their oversight responsibilities can significantly impact the health and quality of the charter schools they oversee.
Recognizing this critical role, The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) has established "Principles and Standards for Quality Charter School Authorizing." The Standards cover five areas, from defining the qualities of an authorizer's own organizational capacities to the rigor and transparency of the renewal decisions authorizers make. According to NACSA, authorizers who implement practices that meet these standards are more likely to have quality charter schools.
By not adhering to the standards, particularly those affecting accountability, the "charter movement is putting itself at risk" by allowing too many second- and third-rate charter schools to continue to exist, Secretary Duncan observed in his remarks at the NAPCS conference last year. "Charter authorizers should do a better job of holding schools accountable," the Secretary observed, and charter schools must support their authorizers – "loudly and sincerely."
In testimony before the Congress earlier this year, NACSA's president and CEO, Greg Richmond, likened authorizers to the guardrails of the charter sector. He cited a NACSA survey that pointed to challenges for the authorizing community in achieving the principles and standards. Thirteen percent of authorizers, for instance, do not conduct an in-person interview with organizations applying for a new charter. One-quarter of them reported having no present guidelines for making renewal decisions, and 20 percent do not apply consistent academic standards across the charters they oversee. Extending his metaphor, Richmond noted, "Without strong authorizer practices in place, a school drifting off course quickly becomes a disaster for its students, parents, and the public."
The entire charter schools community has come to recognize the essentialness of quality authorizing. The National Alliance of Public Charter Schools, the voice for the national charter sector, lists quality authorizing high in its Model Public Charter School Law-[PDF, 2.67MB] that it recommends states adopt. The Model Law specifically calls for all authorizers to "develop and maintain chartering policies and practices consistent with nationally recognized principles and standards for quality charter authorizing in all major areas of authorizing responsibility," … and to carry out all their duties "in a manner consistent with such nationally recognized principles and standards."
The Type of Authorizer Can Make a Difference
The CREDO study, however, offers more than just bad news. In its look at the performance of charter schools across the nation, it found that students do better in charter schools over time. According to the study's findings, first-year charter students on average experience a decline in learning, possibly owing to "a combination of mobility effects and the experience of a charter school in its early years." In the second and third years in charter schools, however, the findings indicate "a significant reversal to positive gains."
Moreover, the CREDO study for the first time provided evidence to support what most have long believed: that charter schools differences in student performance were associated with the type of authorizers overseeing the schools. Looking at charter schools in New York City, where charters are overseen by one of three different authorizers, CREDO found that students in charters under the oversight of the State University of New York (SUNY) Charter Schools Institute (CSI) had outperformed-[PDF, 65KB] students in charters overseen by the New York City Department of Education, which in turn substantially outperformed students in charters overseen by the New York State Department of Education. On the 2008-09 state exams in English language arts, 80 percent of students in SUNY authorized charter schools scored at or above proficiency, compared to 75 percent of students in non-SUNY charters and 77 percent of students in all public schools –charter and non-charter – statewide. Similarly in mathematics for 2008-09, 92 percent of students in grades three through eight in SUNY authorized schools scored at or above proficiency on the state mathematics assessment; the rates for non-SUNY charter schools and all public schools were 89 and 86 percent, respectively.
But despite these results, a quality authorizer such as SUNY is struggling this spring as K-12 education budgets for 2010-1011 are being formulated in state capitals. Current legislative proposals are calling for substantial reductions in SUNY's $2.4 million operating budget. The proposed reduction would set back SUNY's plans to develop stronger tools with which its charter schools could improve their services to special education students and English language learners, according to CSI executive director Jonas Chartock.
Getting Ready for Success in Michigan
Since it became the first public body in Michigan and the first university nationally to charter a public school, Central Michigan University (CMU) has not only grown to currently oversee 58 schools in Michigan, but to be highly regarded throughout the country for its policies and procedures. "CMU's relentless pursuit of excellence," according to NACSA's Greg Richmond, "is helping raise the quality bar for the entire charter movement."
One of the significant ways that CMU assists new charters is to begin "upstream," providing the schools' administrators and teachers with an assessment tool, the Scantron® Performance Series™, an online, computer-adaptive test that evaluates how much growth each student is achieving in a school year and compares students against a national pool. Teachers can log in and see student scores the minute the tests are completed, providing them with immediate guidance to make real data-driven decisions about how to help their students. It also empowers the school's leaders to be able to decide where to direct resources and support within the building.
On an on-going basis for all of its schools, CMU has pioneered several systems designed to reduce red tape and ease the administrative burdens of compliance with state and federal regulations. The challenge for CMU was to not only develop sound oversight practices, but to allow and account for future growth in the number of schools it would oversee. Since its start in 2001, CMU's Web-based Authorizer Oversight Information System (AOIS) has streamlined and automated the regulatory reporting process for CMU's charter schools. The goal, then and now, was to provide school leaders with more time to spend with students, putting "the regulatory reporting on auto pilot," according to Goenner. AOIS has been adopted not only by other charter authorizers but by traditional public schools nationwide.
Efforts by CMU to strike the needed balance between helping the charter schools it oversees and respecting their needed autonomy have had and continue to produce success. In the latest ranking of the top 25 school districts in Michigan, based on the 2009 Michigan Educational Assessment Program, five charters authorized by CMU were in the top 10, including the school in the No. 1 position in the ranking.
CMU has also pioneered strategies and methods, such as the Scrantron testing series, that have been adopted by other authorizers both in and outside of Michigan. Its institute provides training sessions nationally and publishes its research and best practices. CMU staff has written two nationally acclaimed books on universities as charter authorizers and on strategic planning for charter schools. Recently the Michigan Department of Education referred to CMU as "the gold standard in public school academy accountability."
Looking to the Future
As states plan for a new era of charter school growth, and as they consider working with charters on their school turnarounds, it is critical that they study lessons learned from research about achievement and the factors that contribute to it in the relationships between authorizers and charters.
Key Resources:
- National Association of Charter School Authorizers
- NACSA's Principles and Standards for Quality Charter School Authorizing (2009)
- The State of Charter School Authorizing 2008: A Report on NACSA's Authorizer Survey-[PDF, 508KB]
- Charter School Authorizer Funding Policy Guide
- Supporting Charter School Excellence Through Quality Authorizing
- Finding a Balance: How Application and Authorization Policies Impact School Supply
- Holding Charter Authorizers Accountable: Why It Is Important and How It Might Be Done
- 15 Years of Transforming Public Education: Celebrating 15 Years of the Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University
- A Framework for Operational Quality: A Report from the National Consensus Panel on Charter School Operational Quality
What's New
Special Report: Focus on Financial Literacy
While Americans celebrate a number of things in April, financial literacy continues to increase in both importance and the public's awareness because of the recent economic conditions affecting families and students. In proclaiming April as Financial Literacy Month, President Obama noted that America's "future prosperity depends on the financial security of all Americans," urging Americans to "take time to improve our own financial knowledge and share that knowledge with our children."
The Department of Education's Excellence in Economic Education (EEE) grant program promotes financial literacy among K-12 students through a grant to a national nonprofit educational organization. The aim is to improve student understanding in economics and personal finance.
The Mississippi Council on Economic Education (MCEE), a subgrantee of the EEE program, provides professional development in economic education to K-12 teachers in disadvantaged school districts so that students can become financially literate by high school graduation. Teachers put their new skills to use through activities such as the Mississippi Stock Market Game, a student competition that introduces business world concepts through interactive learning. Teachers learn how to integrate financial and economic concepts into the core curriculum while students invest imaginary money and track its progress. The Mississippi Economics and Personal Financial Challenge for middle and high school students culminates with quarterly online semifinal competitions leading up to the annual state finals.
The 2007 Mississippi Economics Student of the Year, Joe Davis, discovered that he really liked economics, so much so that he majored in the subject at Mississippi State University, where he's a junior. "I realized I had a talent, and I figured that I might as well pursue something that I am good at," he said. He is expecting to use the reasoning skills he gained in economics classes to help him in law school.
Mississippi's Senators Thad Cochran (R) and Roger Wicker (R) authored Senate Resolution 485, establishing April 2010 as "Financial Literacy Month," which passed by unanimous consent. "I am pleased that more Mississippi schools are promoting financial literacy and hope that all our residents will use Financial Literacy Month to understand how to improve their management of credit, debt, and savings," Senator Cochran said in the Senate news release. The designation of April as Financial Literacy Month also puts a particular focus on the need for financial literacy in schools, according to Senator Wicker, who noted that "…we can further emphasize financial literacy and good money management skills in students' curriculum as well in outreach activities for individuals of all ages."
Economics and financial literacy are part of the Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well-Rounded Education in President Obama's FY 2011 Budget proposal and the Blueprint for Reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
From the U.S. Department of Education
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, in testimony before Congress on the Department's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2011, began his remarks by drawing members' attention to the looming financial shortfall facing states and school districts. "Every day brings reports of layoffs, program cuts, class time reductions, and class size increases." Potentially hundreds of thousands of educators and other personnel could be laid off if action is not taken quickly to help states and districts cover shortfalls. The Secretary urged members to consider another round of emergency support for America's schools, similar to the aid provided to states through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. (April 2010)
Secretary Duncan joined National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Rocco Landesman to address the spring forum of the Arts Education Partnership on the importance of a well-rounded education and, within it, the importance of arts education. "The arts can no longer be treated as a frill," Secretary Duncan began his remarks, citing research findings that evidence increases in academic achievement and high school graduation rates as well as decreases in discipline problems. This arts education audience also learned that the Secretary played drums in middle school and was introduced to a wide range of musical genres by his father, a college professor and banjo player who was very involved in the university's annual folk music festival. (April 2010)
NEA Chairman Landesman affirmed his agency's interest in strong K-12 arts education programs, describing the best arts education as "offered by a combination of classroom teachers, art specialists, teaching artists, and art and community organizations working together with students and families." (April 2010)
The Nation's Report Card: Reading 2009 details the achievement of fourth- and eighth-grade students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), administered by the Department last year. The report compares national and state results in 2009 with every prior assessment year back to 1992. Fourth-graders showed no overall increase at the national level since 2007, though scores were significantly higher in 2009 than 1992. Among eighth-graders, scores were higher when compared to both 1992 and 2007. (March 2010)
From the Office of Innovation and Improvement
The deadline for applications to the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund is May 11. Interested applicants may want to access information from three pre-application workshops that occurred last month. The purpose of these workshops was to offer technical assistance to interested applicants for the scale-up, validation, and development grants. More than 1,000 attendees participated in the workshops, and over 2,000 attendees participated remotely through the webinars. (April 2010)
Twelve new five-year Teacher Quality Partnership grants, totaling $99.8 million, intended to raise student achievement by improving instruction in our nation's schools, were announced by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The grants, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will be used to reform traditional university teacher preparation programs as well as create teacher residency programs for professionals from other fields entering the teaching profession. "These grants will strengthen teacher preparation and residency programs to ensure that new teachers, whether entering from college or from other careers, have the skills to boost student learning and be highly effective in today's diverse and challenging classrooms," Duncan said. (March 2010)
From the Institute of Education Sciences
The "Digest of Education Statistics, 2009," from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), is the 45th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education – from pre-kindergarten through graduate school – drawn from government and private sources, but especially from surveys and other activities led by NCES. The digest contains data on the number of schools, students, and teachers, as well as statistics on educational attainment, finances, libraries, technology, and international comparisons. (April 2010)
The Request for Applications for 84.305A has been revised to include a new research topic, Analysis of Longitudinal Data to Support State and Local Education Reform. Under this new research program, IES will support collaborations between researchers and state and local education agencies to analyze state and local longitudinal data and identify factors associated with better education outcomes. (April 2010)
"Alternative Schools and Programs for Public School Students," a report from the National Center for Educational Statistics, presents data from a recent survey about alternative schools and programs available to students during the 2007-08 year. (March 2010)
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Secretary Duncan announced that Delaware and Tennessee had won grants in Phase 1 of the Race to the Top competition. "We received many strong proposals from states all across America, but two applications stood out above all others," he explained. "Both states have statewide buy-in for comprehensive plans to reform their schools. They have written laws to support their policies. And, they have demonstrated the courage, capacity, and commitment to turn their ideas into practices that can improve outcomes for students." The Secretary elaborated further on reasons for the two states' winning applications in a Department blog. Delaware will receive approximately $100 million, and Tennessee will receive approximately $500 million. That means the Department will have about $3.4 billion available for Phase 2 of the Race to the Top competition. (March 2010)
Five more states (Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, and Washington) have received funding under the $3.5 billion School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are distributed by formula to the state and then competed out by the state to districts. For a district to apply for funding, it must have a state-identified, "persistently lowest achieving" school or a so-called Tier III school (which has failed to make adequate progress for two years but is not identified as a persistently lowest achieving school). The Department of Education has produced a new series of videos that illustrate how several school districts have successfully turned around low-performing schools using the four models endorsed by the Department's Title I School Improvement Grant program. (April 2010)
According to a new analysis by the Center on Reinventing Public Education, in paying for more than 342,000 jobs – or 5.5 percent of total teaching jobs nationally – ARRA money "mitigated what might otherwise have been a much steeper job decline." (March 2010)
American History
The History channel is working with the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities to offer college scholarships as part of a nationwide educational outreach in conjunction with the April premiere of "America: The Story of Us."Billed as the network's most expensive project ever, the 12-part series (to be shown over six nights) uses either live action or animation to recreate many of the events that it examines. The channel's partnership with the President's Committee makes $25,000 in scholarships available to students creating a video presentation of how their personal stories link with American history. Another $25,000 will be offered to teachers who offer innovative lesson plans in American history. (April 2010)
Arts Education
For the ninth year, April was celebrated nationally as Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM). The U.S. Department of Education again joined forces with more than 25 governmental and cultural organizations in supporting this initiative. The celebration draws national attention to the significance of jazz as both a historical and living treasure. For the Department of Education's role, more than 16,000 public middle schools received a letter-[MS Word, 24KB] and colorful JAM poster-[PDF, 296KB] from OII Assistant Deputy Secretary Jim Shelton. The letter encouraged principals to display the poster in a prominent school location and take advantage of the many educational opportunities surrounding the celebration of this uniquely American art form. (April 2010)
MetLife Foundation and the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts have announced the renewal of the MetLife Foundation Partners in Arts Education Program. The national initiative, now in its sixth year, aims to improve teaching and learning in the arts by supporting and promoting sustainable partnerships between community arts education organizations and public schools. Grants of up to $20,000 will be awarded to support arts education partnerships during the 2010-2011 school year. Currently, more than 11,500 students in eight cities are receiving yearlong arts instruction thanks to 14 partnerships funded by the Partners in Arts Education Program. Grants are restricted to the 33 cities listed in the guidelines, and the application deadline is May 26, 2010. (March 2010)
Raising Student Achievement
Students displaced by Hurricane Katrina who relocated to Texas have made academic gains and are performing slightly better than a demographically and economically matched set of Texas students, according to a report from the Texas Education Agency. Following Katrina, more than 46,000 students from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida enrolled in Texas public schools. The study looked at Katrina students who were in grades 3, 5, and 8 in 2006, and still enrolled in Texas schools in 2009, comparing them to students enrolled in Texas schools who matched the group on the bases of gender, ethnicity, economic background, and by geographic region. (April 2010)
The ninth edition of "Beating the Odds," from the Council of the Great City Schools, examines the academic progress of 65 urban school systems in 37 states and the District of Columbia, with measurable gains from 2006 to 2009 in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math on state assessments. (March 2010)
School Improvement
The five finalist school districts-[PDF, 50KB] for the 2010 Broad Prize for Urban Education are Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in North Carolina; Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia; Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland; and Socorro Independent School District and Ysleta Independent School district, both in El Paso, Texas. The Broad Prize annually honors a large urban district doing the most to improve student achievement. Monetary awards to the winning district and four finalists support college scholarships. (April 2010)
The University of Northern Iowa's Malcolm Price Laboratory School (PLS) in Cedar Falls, Iowa, is the winner of ASCD's first-ever Vision in Action: The ASCD Whole Child Award. ASCD honored Price Laboratory School today at its Annual Conference and Exhibit Show in San Antonio, Texas. The award recognizes schools that move beyond a narrow focus on academic achievement to take action for the whole child, creating learners who are knowledgeable, emotionally and physically healthy, civically active, artistically engaged, prepared for economic self-sufficiency, and ready for the world beyond formal schooling. (March 2010)
Technology in Education
The Federal Communications Commission's released its "Children's Agenda for Digital Opportunity" as part of the FCC's new Broadband Plan to Congress. "Children are our most precious national resource," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in announcing the new Agenda. "We must do everything we can to educate and prepare them to thrive in the 21st century, and keep them safe." The FCC will hold a series of workshops and roundtables to further the Commission's children's agenda. (March 2010)
The Internet is a learning opportunity, not a problem, was the message Don Tapscott, best-selling author of Grown Up Digital, brought to educators at ASCD's recent annual conference. We need to embrace the profound generational differences between students today and teachers. "We are creating a generation that is thinking differently from every generation before," he said. Students today are doing more than multitasking; they have much better abilities to code-switch, according to Tapscott. He urged educators to disable the firewalls erected between them and their students and to "embrace a culture of collaboration, integration, and self-organization." (March 2010)
Innovations in the News
Jefferson Parish in New Orleans, La., is making final plans to open its second charter school, the Jefferson Chamber Foundation Academy, in August. The new school, which will be housed at the Louisiana Technical College campus, will open with 80 students and expects to double that number in five years. Using a self-paced, computer-based curriculum and opportunities for service learning and dual-enrollment classes at the Technical College, the school will serve students at-risk of dropping out. The Jefferson Parish public school system has a 10-percent dropout rate, three percent higher than the state average. [More—The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)] (March 30)
Propel McKeesport charter school in Pittsburgh, Pa., where a "no excuses" motto is on walls as well as t-shirts, is the top winner in a national competition sponsored by New Leaders for New Schools' Effective Practice Incentive Community initiative. Propel's motto captures the philosophy and spirit of the school where last year 100 percent of its 385 students in grades five and six scored proficient or advanced in math. The Gold Gain award from the Effective Practice Incentive Community carries with it both a $100,000 cash prize that will be divided among the staff and a chance to share its best practices with other schools. [More—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette] (March 25)
The Web portal of New Leaders for New Schools' Effective Practice Incentive Community (EPIC) initiative has expanded its contents to include effective leader and teacher practices from the third cohort of low-income schools where New Leaders has principal-in-training programs. The EPIC portal was launched in 2008 and is featuring results from the initiative's activities in four major cities, as well as a consortium of charter schools in 20 states and D.C. EPIC has awarded funds to teachers and schools in high-poverty areas making strong student-achievement gains. Funding for the effort comes in part from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund. [More—Education Week] (March 25) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
Leadership was the focus of the 2010 American Association of School Administrators' National Conference, where members heard from nationally recognized innovators such as Harlem Children's Zone CEO Geoffrey Canada and a local superintendent that was named the National Superintendent of the Year. Betty Morgan has led the Washington County, Md., district since 2001, and the district has achieved Adequate Yearly Progress in all schools and in all areas under her leadership. "Good superintendents are folks who understand people," said Dr. Morgan, and they also have emotional intelligence and know how to "put people in the right jobs so they can be maximized." [More—eSchool News] (March 17)
An award-winning principal in Maine, Mike McCarthy, shares 10 ideas he's learned over his 30-year time as a school building leader. Number one: "If you start making decisions based on avoiding conflict, the students lose." Number nine: Consensus is overrated. "Twenty percent of people will be against anything," McCarthy asserts. By realizing this, "you avoid comprising what really should be done because you stop watering things down." [More—Edutopia magazine] (April 2010)
School Improvement
Two Dallas magnet schools were ranked No. 1 and 2 for the second year by Children at Risk, a Houston-based nonprofit group that rates Texas high schools using 14 measures that include test scores, graduation rates, and the percentage of students taking rigorous classes. The School of Science & Engineering and School of the Talented & Gifted were at the top of the ranking. [More—The Dallas Morning News] (April 4)
STEM research projects in 15 Los Angeles-area schools are getting an infusion of funds from Chevron, as the company provided $1 million in grants to several South Bay school districts. Projects that will be undertaken by students and teachers include a rainwater filtration project at Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, conversion of a wood shop into an engineering lab at El Segundo High School, and a new communications center at the Da Vinci Schools in Wiseburn. School officials said the funds will help students better contemplate career options in the science and technology fields. [More—Los Angeles Daily Breeze] (April 9)
Teacher Quality and Development
The Chicago Public Schools are testing a new teacher-evaluation tool, Excellence in Teaching, in 100 schools, hoping to " … shift the conversation from opinion, judgment and surface-level conversations around a checklist to deeper-level conversation," according to Sheri Frost Leo of the Chicago Public Schools' Office of Human Capital. The new program is intended to define both good and bad teaching, offer a common language for principals and teachers to use to discuss needed improvements, and demand evidence when grading teachers against criteria in 22 categories. [More—The New York Times/Chicago News Cooperative] (April 8) (free registration)
While Innovator readers are likely to have heard about the passing of Jaime Escalante last month, some may not know that Jay Matthews, while a young Los Angeles bureau chief for The Washington Post in the early 1980s, not only covered Mr. Escalante's extraordinary career at Garfield High School, but authored the 1988 book, "Escalante: The Best Teacher in America," which of course became the movie "Stand and Deliver." Mr. Matthews's longstanding, firsthand admiration for what Jaime Escalante achieved makes his tribute published in The Washington Post especially worth reading. [More—The Washington Post] (March 31)
With no less than four national surveys of teachers recently completed, the Mae West line, "I'd rather be looked over than overlooked," comes to mind. Among the national entities gathering input on teachers' perceptions of their profession and working conditions are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the New Teacher Center, and MetLife. According to Education Week, the surveys' findings concerning "what teachers say they need to be successful are remarkably consistent from instrument to instrument." [More—Education Week] (March 31) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
First-year teachers, you have a reality television show about you, featuring actor Tony Danza experiencing what it's like to teach English at an urban high school. The show, "Teach," is filmed at Northeast High School in Philadelphia. Six months into the job, Danza says he enjoys it, but admits to it being "tougher than he ever imagined…." At the end of his first week, Danza said he "felt like calling every teacher he'd ever had and apologizing" because he "just didn't get how difficult their jobs were." [More—The Los Angeles Times] (March 31)
School leaders in Greenwich, Conn., are about to create an "A-Team" of "power subs" to respond to local parent concerns that students stand to lose ground when their regular teachers are absent. The district's deputy superintendent and its math and language arts program administrators are asking elementary principals for their most dependable substitutes, who will be trained this summer to increase their grasp of the elementary math and literacy curricula, and also how to use classroom technology. In the pilot year, school administrators who use the "power subs" will provide feedback to help determine if the program is working. [More—The Greenwich (CT) Time] (March 29)
Technology in Education
"Take out your iPod Touch students, and let's see how we're doing on our reading." This is a likely refrain in the elementary classrooms of the Salem-Keizer School District in Oregon, thanks to federal stimulus dollars for low-income and special education students. The district purchased 775 iPod Touches, software, and accessories for the elementary reading assessment. Classroom assessment results are synchronized to central office computers through wireless connections, allowing school and district leaders to view the aggregated data. The $216,500 purchase of the iPods and related equipment is less than 1 percent of the total stimulus funds received by the district. [More—Statesman-Journal (Salem, Ore.)] (March 31) (free registration)
Students throughout Oregon may soon be able to take online classes based on a statewide cyber-school plan being developed by the state's 20 Education Service Districts (ESDs). ESD leaders cite a pressing need for statewide coordination of online learning, and delivering it to the state's 197 school districts by adding it to the existing set of services ESDs provide will be more efficient and less costly. The prospective cyber courses in an ESD-based delivery system will give parents another option in addition to Oregon's three online charter schools. [More—The Oregonian] (March 29)
The realization that Smartphone technology is increasingly a part of children's life outside of the classroom and needs to find its way into the classroom is attracting increasing funds from both public and private sources. "Young kids and multisensor-touch computing are a huge area of innovation," according to Phoenix Wang, who heads Startl, a new philanthropic venture fund supported by the Gates, MacArthur, and Hewlett foundations. Beyond Smartphones themselves, other handheld devices, such as the TeacherMate, are "… drawing on (students') innate hunger to seize learning with both hands and push all the right buttons." [More—Fast Company] (April 2010)
Penn State University and PBS are partners in a groundbreaking effort to give both teachers and students across Pennsylvania free access to high-quality curriculum materials. The Digital Learning Library (DLL) is the first state-based initiative to spring from an education technology initiative of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Council of State School Officers that aims to create DLLs aligned with state standards. According to Pennsylvania's secretary of education, Gerald Zahorchak, a current focus on assessment needs an equally strong curriculum framework, for which the best materials and resources are critical. "That's why we decided on this partnership," said Zahorchak. [More—eSchool News] (March 24) (free registration)
The TeacherMate, the creation of Seth Weinberger of Innovations for Learning, is in use by more than 40,000 students in 15 states. Weinberger is particularly enthusiastic about the device's potential for the youngest learners, kindergarten through 2nd grade, or what he refers to as "the sweet spot of literacy." The TeacherMate is relatively low in cost at about $40 each; the costs increase to around $100 per device when reading and math software are added. Primarily intended for the students' use with a teacher and not on their own, "preliminary data on the effectiveness of the device are promising, although more research is needed," according to William H. Teale, University of Illinois at Chicago professor of curriculum and instruction. [More—Education Week] (March 18) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
Using Smartphones to solve mathematics problems appears to be a smart idea, based on the experience of North Carolina students and teachers involved in ProjectK-Nect. The project, begun in 2007, is operating in three districts this year and will expand to 10 additional ones outside of North Carolina. The Smartphones, with their multiple applications – Internet access, video-camera capability, and instant-messaging options – were the preferred option of high school students who were surveyed about what mobile technology they prefer to use. [More—Education Week] (March 18) (premium article access compliments of EdWeek.org)
Office of Innovation and Improvement
Jim Shelton, Assistant Deputy Secretary
Doug Herbert
Cynthia Cabell
Sr. Production Editor
Dramon Turner
Production Editor
Emily Archer
Copy Editor
Claire Geddes
Dean Kern
Scott Pearson
Justis Tuia
Carolyn Warren
Article Contributions
Doug Herbert
Dean Kern
Scott Pearson
José Rodríquez
Last Modified: 04/29/2010


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Vim is best used when it is configured for the users needs. Vim has a slew of configurations to develop the type of environment the user requires to do numerous different tasks from spell checking to color syntaxing. There are thousands of scripts and color themes available on the Vim website that can add even more abilities.
I talked yesterday of learning Vim and perhaps just as important is tailoring one's own configuration file (
~/.vimrc). The best place to start is finding a person's
~/.vimrc who is already experienced in Vim. Some distro's may install a custom
~/.vimrc already so it's best to take a look. I personally use Brians Carpers
~/.vimrc which does a good job for me. There are literally thousands out there and people like to share them, so pick the right one for whatever Vim needs to do.
Setting up the terminal and Vim correctly are important parts for long periods in front of the terminal. To help ease reading and prevent eye strain a couple things that can help are choosing a lower-contrast colorscheme and properly sizing the width of the terminal
To pick a colorscheme that is comfortable for viewing for long periods go ahead and start up Vim –
/etc/X11/xorg.conf can provide a good example. Now type:
follow by a space. Now press "tab" for tab-completion – pressing tab will cycle through the available color schemes. For example, this one is called pyte:
72 Section "InputDevice"
73 Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
74 Driver "kbd"
75 Option "CoreKeyboard"
76 # Option "XkbRules" "pc104"
77 Option "XkbLayout" "us"
78 Option "XkbLayout" "en_US"
79 Option "XkbModel" "macintosh"
80 # Option "XkbVariant" "apple"
81 EndSection
83 Section "InputDevice"
84 Identifier "Configured Mouse"
85 Driver "mouse"
86 Option "CorePointer"
87 Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
88 Option "Protocol" "auto"
89 Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5"
90 EndSection
For xterm users (gnome-terminal, stjerm, tilda?, others?…) it's likely that the terminal is set to eight bit color for compatibility reasons (see my post from a couple days ago). Vim though can display in 256 colors and will need to for alot of these colorschemes to work. To set Vim to 256 colors, add the setting to the
set t_Co_256
New colorschemes can be found in at the Vim website. To get a good idea what they look like before installed take a look at Vim Color Scheme Test. Color schemes need to be put in
~/.vim/colors and then a color scheme can be permanently added by putting them in the
colorscheme blue
Terminal Width
The width of the terminal is also important. The human eye can only scan about 10 words before it loses focus (i.e. has difficulty scanning to the next line). Most text in Linux is written with a margin of 72 or 80 characters. Most editors also use a soft-returns (i.e. not a hard line break). Use whatever is best by resizing the window to fit this many characters. Vim cannot set a soft-return and rather uses the window width. This is unfortunate as some terminal apps (tilda, and yakuake) use the entire width of the screen – yes vim has settings like "textwidth" and "wrapmargin" but they create hard-returns, so having a wide terminal is not a good idea with Vim.
V Tips
A few tips I picked up along the line.
- Vim has great help documentation.
:help topiccan be done on about anything.
- Vim has tab-completion for entering commands and bash-completion for files (e.g.
:w ~/Desktop/myblog.txt)
- The mouse can be used in Vim for some functions, but it needs to be enabled. I use this setting as I find that moused in visual mode can be distractive.
set mouse=ni
- To be able to select text with the mouse in this mode hold the shift key
I Insert at beginning of line A Append to end of line
- Tab-mode rules:
vim -p doc1 doc2 gt go through tabs :tabnew To open new tab
- Append a file:
:w >> ~/My-lousy-document
- Check spelllinng:
:setlocal spell spelllang=en_us :setlocal nospell ]s next word [s previous word z= word suggestions
- Spelling can be mapped to a key if used frequently enough, in my
~/.vimrcI mapped spelling the the F7 key:
map <F7> <Esc>:setlocal spell spelllang=en_us map <S-F7> <Esc>:setlocal nospell
- I like to alway have tabs so I put these in my
~/.bashrcto have tabs every time I open a file:
alias v="vim -p" alias sv="sudo vim -p"
My Terminal – Gush


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Our stores in the Auckland region will remain open for Trade customers only. We encourage retail customers to use our Click & Deliver or Drive & Collect service.
Customers outside of the Auckland region and other can still safely get what you need by shopping with us in-store or online. We continue to follow government advice, and thank our amazing team for all their hard work helping our customers.
Planting & Growing
How to grow herbs indoors
Herbs are one of the most rewarding plants to grow. But you don't need a big garden to reap the tasty benefits. All you need is a sunny window or two and a little bit of time. Get started with these inside tips from Bunnings' Greenlife Buyer Sharyn ...
Planting & Growing
How to test and adjust your soil pH level
Knowing your soil pH level is essential to growing healthy plants in your garden. Here's how to make sure you get it right.
D.I.Y. pallet herb planter
Learn how to turn an old wooden pallet into a D.I.Y. herb planter.
D.I.Y. tiered timber planter
Learn how to build a tiered timber planter
How to lay synthetic turf
Synthetic turf is a great, low maintenance way to have green lawn all year round. With the right tools, laying synthetic turf is an easy job that can transform any outdoor space.
How to revive your lawn
Bunnings National Greenlife Buyer Rachel has some great ideas to help give grass a boost, and get your lawn back to its lush, green glory.
Garden Tools
Top five power gardening tools
Keeping your garden neat and tidy is easy if you use the right garden power tools. Discover the five best garden power tools with this guide from Bunnings.
Garden Tools
How to store garden tools
Keep your garden tools out of the way and easy to find. We'll show you an easy way to install hangers onto a brick wall to store garden tools.


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New: UC Berkeley Strikers Still On Campus
Hunger strikers at the University of California at Berkeley tried to block the school's administration building today but people could still get inside, according to a university spokeswoman. The students held a rally today at 3:30 p.m, and then marched to the Chancellor's residence. A twitter message at about 5 pm said "Admin has contacted us: there will be a meeting only if we end up the hunger strike." Strikers posted this video of the march on their Facebook page on Monday night.
Claire Holmes, the university's assistant vice chancellor of public affairs, said about 40 people tried to block the doorway of California Hall late this morning but campus police made sure the building is still accessible.
However, Holmes said the situation at the front entrance to California Hall is "awkward" so people are entering and exiting the building at other entrances.
The attempt to block California Hall came several hours after campus police moved students who have been on a hunger strike for the past week to leave the spot in front of the building where they have been camped out since last Monday.
About 17 people have been refusing to eat until the school agrees to publicly oppose Arizona's new immigration law that empowers local law enforcement to question people they believe may be in the U.S. illegally.
Police woke the demonstrators at 5:45 a.m. and told them to disperse within 20 minutes or they would be arrested, according to Rufino Romero, who is one of the students on strike.
The students moved their things, but then returned to their spot, Romero said. Holmes said police helped the demonstrators move their things this morning and the university had a physician on hand to make sure the demonstrators were healthy.
She said the move was peaceful and there was no arrests, but confirmed that the demonstrators returned to the lawn in front of the building soon after they were moved.
Holmes said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau strongly denounced Arizona's immigration law Friday, which is one of the protesters' demands.
Holmes said Birgeneau, who is out of the country on university business, talked to the hunger strikers by phone on both Saturday and Sunday and has agreed to some of their other demands but not all of them.
She said, "We're trying to work with them" and "there's been quite a bit of back and forth."


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Officials of the small central Texas town devastated by an April 17 fertilizer plant blast that killed 15 people have filed suit against the plant owner and supplier.
The lawsuit filed Friday seeks unspecified damages from plant owner Adair Grain and CF Industries, which supplied agricultural-grade ammonium nitrate toe the plant. A fire at the plant ignited the explosive chemical, flattening homes, schools and businesses and killing firefighters and other first-responders fighting the fire.
The lawsuit filed in state district court in Waco alleges Adair Grain was negligent in how it stored the chemical and that CF Industries was liable for an inherently hazardous product.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
Adair Grain spokesman Daniel Keeney and CF Industries spokesman Dan Swenson told the Waco Tribune-Herald that they hadn't reviewed the lawsuit and declined to comment.


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A pair of US conmen managed to swindle $6m from a jazz pianist through one of the strangest virus-related blackmail scams imaginable.
The odd tale began after the great-grandson of an oil industry tycoon, jazz pianist Roger Davidson, brought his PC in for repair back in August 2004, believing it to be virus-laden. Computer repairman Vickram Bedi, 36, from Chappaqua, New York, first stung Davidson for inflated data retrieval costs and charges - also telling him his machine had infected others in the repair shop.
Bedi and his girlfriend Helga Invarsdottir, 39, then cooked up a far more ambitious and implausible scam. The duo teamed up to claim they had discovered evidence that Davidson's life was in danger while disinfecting Davidson's machine.
Invarsdottir, posing as a CIA agent, claimed a Polish priest affiliated with Opus Dei had put out a contract on Davidson, a bizarre idea that would stretch credulity even in a Dan Brown novel. She subsequently tricked the gullible Davidson, 58, into handing over $160,000 a month in "protection money", paid through regular payments to Bedi's Mount Kisco, New York store.
The scheme ran for a scarcely believable six years before it unravelled - we suspect after a relative of Davidson got wind of the scam - and the authorities were called in to investigate. Bedi and Invarsdottir were subsequently arrested last week, just as they were preparing to leave for Iceland.
The New York Times has more on the bizarre tale here. Net security firm Sophos, which brought the odd episode to our attention, notes that the scam illustrates how conmen can use lack of knowledge about computers to scam the unwary - a reason why the more internet savvy need to keep an eye out for their vulnerable (possibly elderly) relatives. ®


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- Key features
BIC Kayak's catalogue offers a wide range of kayak paddles, to give the best choice possible for every kayak pursuit and paddling style. Mini-ranges called «Beach» (leisure kayaking), «Sport» (all-round and sport kayak), «Sport Soft Grip» (integral foam grips), and «Adventure» (top quality materials, long distance paddling) will help guide you to the perfect paddle for you. The blades of our Sport and Adventure paddles have been custom designed to ensure maximum paddle comfort. The central rib stiffens the whole blade to help spread your effort and the water flow as efficiently as possible during the submerged phase. Making them exceptionally easy on your hands, comfortable to use, and delivering top performance.
- Shipping & Returns
- Our hassle-free 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee is designed to give you peace of mind
- Changed your mind? If you aren't delighted with your purchase, you can return a product within 30 days and we will happily refund the purchase price.
- You can return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund
For more info please check out our Terms & Conditions
- Technical Data
Length 87" / 220cm Weight 2.98 lbs


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Maybe Eminem has finally grown up.
The Detroit rapper known for his occasionally juvenile behavior and lyrics told Spin Magazine that he didn't appreciate Kanye West's infamous on-stage dis of country singer Taylor Swift at last year's MTV Music Awards.
"He shouldn't have done that, man" Slim Shady said. "I mean, she's a little girl."
U.S. & World
Em even takes a swipe at West on his most recent album, "Recovery," which just topped the Billboard chart for the fourth straight week.
The volatile hip hop star has mellowed in recent years after going though a stint in rehab.
Another sign of his maturity? He disowned his own album, last year's "Relapse," calling it a "regression."
"It was...me rhyming to shock people again," he said in the interview.
Eminem will hit Yankee Stadium for two shows with Jay-Z in September.


text:
Associated with the Solar Plexus Chakra. Relates to:
Can help with:
HOW TO USE: To release Equilibrium's energies, shake the bottle vigorously with your left hand until the two liquid fractions mix together. Pour some of the liquid into your palm and rub it on your skin in a complete bane around the body at the level of the solar plexus, or anywhere that you are drawn to do so. For external use only.
DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Alison Effting and the Biochemic Tissue Salts and Aura-Soma communities. The website content is based upon the opinions of Alison Effting and the writings of Dr WH Schuessler, Dr GW Carey, Vicky Wall and John Michael Booth unless the authors are otherwise noted. This information is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional, nor intended as medical advice. We encourage you to make your own health care decisions based upon your own research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. Please do not take yourself off any prescription medication before consulting your doctor.
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text:
The safety gate system PSENmlock provides safe interlocking and safe guard locking for personnel and process protection up to the highest safety category PL e.
The safe guard locking is enabled by the two-channel control of the guard locking. That makes the switch particularly suitable for machines with dangerous overrunin which guard locking up to PL d or PL e is necessary.
Combined with Pilz control technology, you receive a safe, complete solution for guard monitoring.


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An activist who led weeks-long protests over the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014 was found dead inside a burning vehicle, police said, NBC News reported.
The St. Louis County Police Department said the death of Darren Seals, 29, is being investigated as a homicide.
Officers were called to a vehicle fire in the Riverside area of St. Louis just before 2 a.m. Tuesday, police said. When the fire was extinguished, they found a man dead inside with a gunshot wound, the statement added. Police did not name any suspects or suggest a motive in Seals' death.
U.S. & World
In a recent Facebook post, Seals said he was "shot up" three years ago but survived.


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Word Count
Writers Talk About Writing
Word Tasting Note: "Hark"
On his Sesquiotica blog, writer, editor, and designer James Harbeck has a regular feature that he calls "Word Tasting Notes." "Words are delicious and intoxicating," Harbeck writes. "So why not taste them like a fine wine?" Here, he delves into the history of a word we frequently hear (or mishear) during the holiday season: hark.
There are a lot of classic songs sung at this time of the year. But the singers don't always seem to pay all that much attention to what they're singing — to mark their words, as it were. Or else they hear the words and try to make sense of them according to syntax they're more used to. "God rest you merry, gentlemen" (using an archaic sense of rest meaning "keep" or "make") is interpreted as "God rest you, merry gentlemen." And more often you hear it with you altered to ye because it seems more old-style — but ye was always the nominative; you was originally just the accusative... so when ye was in use, it would not have been used here.
And, of course, "Hark! The herald angels sing" is often misunderstood as "Hark the herald, angels sing." Not that those who read it that way can necessarily say exactly what hark the herald means. Is it some combination of, say, ring the bells and what the heck? Or is it that hark is taken as transitive, so that rather than saying hark to the herald or harken to the herald (or hearken to the herald), it is hark the herald (sort of like how some people will, with the awkwardness that comes from dysfluency in formal English, put assist you do something rather than assist you in doing something)?
What does hark mean, anyway? Well... listen. Pay attention. Give ear to. It has a nice, sharp, commanding sound to it — not the weaker liquid and hiss of listen, but the military force you get with march and charge and other orders barked out starkly. It's not the mere inclination of the head but the sudden pricking up of the ears. When you hark, you hear and ken.
Which reminds me: hark but hearken? Certainly the words are related — harken is another spelling for hearken. But why is it not heark? Perhaps because it would look too much like it's pronounced /hirk/? Yet we have no problem with heart and (sometimes) none with hearth. Is it just simpler to follow the the pattern of mark, bark, dark? (Hmm... Mark! Hark to the bark in the dark!)
Well, yes, it's simpler to follow the pattern of bark and dark, which came up from Old English as beorc and deorc, then went into Middle English as berk and derk, and arrived in Modern English as bark and dark. Hark had just the same route: OE heorcian to ME herken to ModE harken and hark. So the real question is, Why hearken? Why not just harken?
And the answer seems to be along the same lines as why God rest ye rather than God rest you: we have these ideas about what is an older, more classic, more formal style — we prefer what linguists call the more marked form (that means the more exceptional one). Just as many people will try to emulate older English by adding eth randomly to verbs or tacking on e to nouns here and there, and will assume thou is more formal (in its time it was actually the familiar term, equivalent to French tu and German du), so they will also go for ye rather than you and will assume that anything with a silent e must be classier. Add to that the force of analogy — with heart and heartening and hearth and (in spelling) hear — and you have sufficient force to make the variant spelling seem more correct.
So why not heark? Perhaps without the en it lacked enough sense of formality; perhaps it was better established in common usage. Or perhaps it just didn't make it into the dictionary... you won't have trouble finding some examples of that spelling.
But, really, we can't always expect archaic usages and modern singers to be reconciled. Especially when more current usages aren't always heard correctly either. As in the fourth line of our song du jour, where "God and sinners reconciled" is sometimes heard as "God and sinners wrecked in style." Well, if we're going to wreck the songs, at least they'll be wrecked in style... Like many a holiday reveler.


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Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, October 2004
- University of Michigan. Survey Research Center. Economic Behavior Program
- Version 1 (Subtitle)
- Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior Series
AbstractThe Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior series (also known as the Surveys of Consumers) was undertaken to measure changes in consumer attitudes and expectations, to understand why such changes occur, and to evaluate how they relate to consumer decisions to save, borrow, or make discretionary purchases. The data regularly include the Index of Consumer Sentiment, the Index of Current Economic Conditions, and the Index of Consumer Expectations. Since the 1940s, these surveys have been produced quarterly through 1977 and monthly thereafter. The surveys conducted in 2004 focused on topics such as evaluations and expectations about personal finances, employment, price changes, and the national business situation. Opinions were collected regarding respondents' appraisals of present market conditions for purchasing houses, automobiles, computers, and other durables. Also explored in this survey, were respondents' types of savings and financial investments, loan use, family income, and retirement planning. Other topics in this series typically include ownership, lease, and use of automobiles, respondents' use of personal computers at home and in the office, and respondents' familiarity with and use of the Internet. Demographic information includes ethnic origin, sex, age, marital status, and education.
AbstractThe purpose of this survey series is to forecast changes in aggregate consumer behavior.
MethodsThe data are not weighted. This collection contains four weight variables; WT (HOUSEHOLD HEAD WEIGHT), WT_HH (HOUSEHOLD WEIGHT), WT_ADHD (ADULT HEAD WEIGHT), and WT_AD (ADULT WEIGHT) that must be used in any analysis. For more information on weights and sampling please visit the Surveys of Consumers Web site and refer to the documentation on Sample Design, and the section on Sample Weights.
MethodsICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection: Created variable labels and/or value labels.; Standardized missing values.; Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes..
Table of Contents
- DS1: Dataset
Time period: 2004-10
Collection date: 2004-10
United States
computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI)
Information on the Index of Consumer Sentiment, the Index of Current Economic Conditions, and the Index of Consumer Expectations and how they were created can be found in the ICPSR Codebook.
Additional information on the Surveys of Consumers can be found by visiting the Surveys of Consumers Web site.
- 35366 (Type: ICPSR Study Number)
Update Metadata: 2015-08-05 | Issue Number: 6 | Registration Date: 2015-06-16
University of Michigan. Survey Research Center. Economic Behavior Program (2015): Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, October 2004. Version 1. Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior Series. Version: v1. ICPSR - Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR35366.v1


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As of Saturday, Evan is officially a three year old! We had a really fun weekend celebrating him and his big day. We started off the day with waffles with whip cream and sprinkles.
The highlight of his weekend was definitely finally getting his new Lightning McQueen bike and helmet. I don't think the kid walked all day-he rode his bike to the bathroom, rode his bike to the fridge-everywhere. He got lots of other fun toys too, but he loves his new bike.
After lunch, a couple of his little buddies came over for cake and ice cream. Since they're still so young, I didn't bother to do games or anything. Just hyped them up on sugar and let them run around.
Don't you watch your favorite movie sitting on your bike with a helmet on?! LOVES his bike.
We finished off our day with dinner at Wendy's and a good friend's wedding reception. It was a really fun day and we were all exhausted at the end.
He's only been three for a couple days, but he's already my very favorite three year old


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Browse Opportunities
Recording Quality Accepted
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submission price: $8.00
Payout: $501 - $1,000
We are currently seeking to expand our management roster. We are based in Brooklyn and are open to great acts from anywhere so long as you're music is awesome and you are eager to work hard to achieve success.
Currently an artist manager, Jared Kaner has held many different positions in the music business. Prior to his management career, Jared was the bass player for a band on a major label, a talent buyer at a concert promotions company, and even began as a ticket office clerk at a popular Boston music venue. It was during his band experience where management occurred naturally.
After she parted ways with her management, Jared became the day-day manager for singer/songwriter Aimee Proal, who he also played guitar for. During this time, Jared oversaw the deals that landed Aimee songwriting placements on Kelly Clarkson's "All I Ever Wanted," and Alison Iraheta's "Just Like You," records. She eventually signed to Emblem Music/Primary Wave. After that, Jared managed Bamboo Shoots for Epic records, where he took a band that no one knew about and got them on tour with the popular band 3OH!3 and a feature on a CW series, giving them their first exposure to a national audience on television.
- Kaner Music
submission price: $10.00
Payout: $501 - $1,000
Icon Music Group is accepting submissions for label consideration.
Icon Music Group is a artist development media company headed by Grammy nominated multi-platinum producer Teddy Bishop based out of Atlanta and Los Angeles. We are developing new talent with investment backing. We immediately want to sign 5 acts ranging from R&B, Hip Hop, Pop, Dance, etc.
There was a time when record labels committed themselves more seriously to developing the careers of their recording artists. Today, it is much harder to find a record label committed to this goal. This is where I.M.G. steps in to help facilitate and turn acts into label ready stars.
If you feel that you have what is take then submit your best music and we wish you good fortune.
Teddy Bishop: Grammy-nominated producer/songwriter contributed to over 40 million units sold worldwide.
submission price: $8.00
Payout: $501 - $1,000
SkyTone Records/DigitalMaster Productions is a Nashville-based label and audio/video production company. We're looking for hits! Send us your best country, rock-country, pop, americana and singer/songwriter material for consideration. We can hear through a rough recording, so demos and work tapes are acceptable. If we like it, we'll be in touch. If your looking for a song critique or consultation services, please use one of our other dropboxes.
submission price: $15.00
Payout: $501 - $1,000
Iron Management, a boutique artist and producer management company located in Brooklyn, NY, is seeking artists to work with our producer clients.
Our producers include:
Will Putney (Rock/Metal)
Carson Slovak (Rock/Metal)
Blake Harnage (Pop/Rock/Indie/Electronic)
Josh Schroeder (Rock/Metal)
Brad Lewis (Pop and Hip hip)
Justin Gerrish (Pop/Rock/Indie Pop)
Jeff Juliano (Mixing Only/Rock/Pop)
We are looking for great artists and songs of all genres for our producers to work with.
- Iron Management
submission price: $5.00
Payout: $501 - $1,000
We are a brand and artist development company with years of industry experience. We are currently looking for artists to work with. Our company specializes in working with artists with all different sounds. We are currently open to submissions from producers, song writers, and artists.
- L Seay / Cre8t2 Branding Agency
Deal Type: Management Signing / Artist Development
Decision Maker: We are the final decision maker
Deal Structure: Negotiable
Compensation: $500+
Song Quality: Rough Mixes, Fully mastered, Broadcast ready
Similar Sounding Artists: The Weeknd, Drake, Pitbull, Akon, Flo-Rida, Katy Perry, LMFAO, Tyga, Chinx, Future, Erykah Badu, Outkast, Kendrick Lamar, Common, Kanye West, Pharrell, Timbaland
submission price: $8.00
Payout: $501 - $1,000
INSIGHTS Management is always looking for a new artists to develop. We are specifically seeking mainstream singer/songwriters in the Pop/Pop Rock genres. Send me your best track for consideration.
There is "no guarantee" we will be interested in taking you on as a client and additional fees may apply for promotion and other services.
25 years of experience, gold record holder as an executive producer and 2 major music placements on Brazilian television, 21 music placements on major broadcasters such as CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC, The CW, USA, E! and MTV. 1 music placement on the DVD "Bad Teacher" with Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake (Director's cut).
- Mike B / INSIGHTS Management LLC
Deal Type: Artist Development
Decision Maker: We are the final decision maker
Deal Structure: Negotiable
Compensation: $500
Song Quality: Rough Mixes, Fully mastered, Broadcast ready
submission price: $10.00
Payout: $501 - $1,000
Random EQ has had great success assisting artists on all levels of the industry with everything from performance to business management! We want to hear what you've got, then help you build a successful business plan! All genres accepted.
Random EQ is a multifaceted independent music management and publishing company. We specialize in artist development, production, licensing and marketing for all genres. Random EQ Music Publishing is currently a licensed publishing company with ASCAP and we are expanding with help from several mainstream partnerships.
- Will D / Random EQ
Deal Type: Artist Development
Decision Maker: I'm the final decision maker
Deal Structure: Negotiable
Compensation: $500+
Song Quality: Rough Mixes, Fully mastered, Broadcast ready


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"Community" is back in session with its original behind-the-scenes dean back in charge, and series star Joel McHale couldn't be happier to re-enroll.
The NBC sitcom enters its fifth season Thursday night with the return of creator and executive producer Dan Harmon, whose distinctive comedy voice was missed by both fans of the cult-favorite series and its ensemble cast. The wildly creative but oft-controversial writer/producer was removed after season three, but was brought back after much rallying from McHale and his castmates.
"There was some really good stuff last year but it did not have the direction that the other seasons had," says McHale. "This year with Dan back the scripts have been so great that with all the things that have happened with the show, when the material's so good, you kind of forget about that stuff. Last year was kind of the crazy year, but now that Dan is back it's like the monarchy has been restored and things are as they should be. So in that sense, the sense of relief that I've had this year has been tremendous."
U.S. & World
The show picks up where Season Four left off, and Harmon and his writing staff deftly address both some of the fallout from the previous episodes – including the characters' graduation from Greendale and the departure of castmember Chevy Chase's character Pierce Hawthorne – and looming challenges like the impending exit of castmember Donald Glover's Troy Barnes after five of the new season's 13 episodes. Glover is pursuing new career paths in both music and television.
"From Season Four there was a lot of unanswered questions, and Pierce's departure was kind of abrupt and it needed to be addressed," says McHale. "And it would have been easy for Dan to say everything was a dream upon his return, but the way he handled it was masterful. And it really answered all the questions that I think fans would have…When I read that, I stood up and screamed 'Touchdown!' It just dealt with it so well. And on top of that, Dan called the first episode as a 're-piloting' and I think the second episode is a re-establishing of the characters.
"With Troy's departure, you will see how if you thought that Danny Pudi was awesome before, he is incredible being this character that is socially different than everybody but is dealing with these big, heavy emotions," McHale teases.
Pleasing the actor most, however, is the new path for his own character Jeff Winger, who finds himself returning to his alma mater as an instructor.
"This year, now that he's a professor, Jeff is once again somewhat destabilized and his immaturities are exposed – a whole new set of them," says McHale. "But there's no doubt, though, that he loves this study group, and he has to really comes to terms with how he feels about the school, ultimately," he adds.
To help fill the void left by Chase's absence, Jonathan Banks ("Breaking Bad") joins the series in a recurring role as another member of Greendale's academic staff, criminology professor Buzz Hickey. "Jonathan Banks' presence in this show is just absolutely, out-of-this-world tremendous," says McHale. 'He's an incredible actor, he's really funny, and it's just a whole different wonderful vibe. You'll see how his character just sings through this thing."
"I know this is going to sound really grandiose but Dan's as specific as Shakespeare was with his words, where there's really no excess," says McHale, hinting that viewers who've loved Harmon's Easter Egg-filled seasons will enjoy the path ahead. "All the stuff that Dan is saying in every episode, they're very deliberate parts of the train-track that is being laid down to get to the end of this season."


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In September 2012, American Nuclear Society members in the Tennessee Valley area turned out in record numbers to support an ANS presence at a public hearing in order to inform the public and media about the nonproliferation benefits of the mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel program. These remarkable volunteer efforts were recognized in several venues at the 2012 ANS Winter Conference & Technology Expo, including the ANS Public Information (PI) Committee meeting, the ANS Board of Directors, and the ANS PI Workshop hosted by Mimi Limbach of Potomac Communications and Craig Piercy, ANS rep in Washington, D.C. The decision was made at the PI Workshop to designate the official name of the Chattanooga hearing as the "Chattanooga Caper."
The ANS Nuclear Cafe caught up with four of the Chattanooga Caper participants—Steve Skutnik, Chris Perfetti, Lane Carasik, and Howard Hall—in the ANS Media Room and arranged an impromptu photo session.
Cheers to these four members for their efforts, and we hope to see additional Chattanooga Caper reps in Atlanta for the 2013 ANS Annual Conference (June 16-20, 2013). Remember to stop by the media room to introduce yourself to the always friendly and helpful ANS staff reps.