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Resolution: standard / high
Figure 5.
Visualization of S. aureus peptidoglycan metabolic pathway. Node colours correspond to fold changes of differentially expressed genes 40 min after treatment with 4 μg/ml of fosfomycin (red - upregulated, green - downregulated, grey - genes not differentially expressed). Metabolites are represented by grey-shaded nodes without the plus sign on the connecting arcs.
Petek et al. BMC Microbiology 2010 10:159 doi:10.1186/1471-2180-10-159


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FoxFeed Blog
The latest reporting and analysis on breakthroughs in Parkinson's research and issues that matter most to you.
Team Defeat Dystonia Completes First Super Sprint Triathlon
October 07, 2015
78 team members — including several with movement disorders — joined together to raise over $80,000 for Team Fox.
Jumping Gigawatts! Its Back to the Future Themed Fundraisers!
October 06, 2015
2015 marks the 30th anniversary of the iconic Back to the Future trilogy and Team Fox members everywhere are celebrating while also speeding a cure for Parkinson's.
A Note from Our CEO: The Road to a Parkinson's Disease Cure
October 06, 2015
"The road to a cure is not a straight line."
How Much Do You Know about the Latest Parkinson's Research?
October 02, 2015
Test your knowledge of promising treatments.
Emory University to Host 5K for Team Fox
October 02, 2015
Oxford College of Emory University in Georgia is turning their Family Day races into a Team Fox Fundraiser.
Tribute: Scientific Advisor Eldad Melamed, MD, Has Died
October 01, 2015
Premier Parkinson's researcher Eldad Melamed, MD, a member of The Michael J. Fox Foundation Scientific Advisory Board for more than 10 years, has died.
Take the Survey to Share Your Parkinson's Experience with the FDA
September 30, 2015
Lend your voice to the FDA as they collect patient input on living with Parkinson's disease.
Podcast: The Dystopian Experience of Dystonia
September 30, 2015
In our latest podcast Allison London shares how her dystonia has impacted her life and why she's on a mission to raise awareness.
The New Prescription for Parkinson's: Puttering
September 29, 2015
A recent paper from The University of Michigan shows that more everyday physical activity, perhaps more so than vigorous exercise, is associated with less severe motor symptoms.
Boston Globe Profiles Promise of Parkinson's Drug Development
September 28, 2015
An article in the The Boston Globe this weekend covers the history of Parkinson's and the promise of new therapies targeting alpha-synuclein to slow or stop the disease.
Popular Topics

subset: commoncrawl


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Saturday, November 7: Concordia's Open House
John Molson MBA ranked #12 in the world by Corporate Knights
Meet JMSB's entrepreneur-in-residence
Two new and improved programs at JMSB
Why daring to compare online prices pays off offline
JMSB is a world-class business school, committed to academic excellence in teaching and research.
If you want to start a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, or want to continue your education, visit our future students' site and experience life at JMSB.
Learn about the resources available to you as a JMSB student: advising, registration help, campus services and more.
Learn about what JMSB can do for your company. Our students have a reputation for being top-notch employees and our customized executive training programs are world renowned.
Learn about how you can stay connected to JMSB and keep learning well past graduation.
JMSB events
UpcomingOct. 15GradProSkills Workshop - Meet the Entrepreneur - Greg Adelstein (GPCB599) 12 p.m. — 1:30 p.m.
UpcomingOct. 15Dobson Practicum Rocket Pitch 5:20 p.m. — 8 p.m.
UpcomingOct. 21Van Berkom Investment Management Program information session 6 p.m. — 7 p.m.
News & accolades
October 9, 2015
October 9, 2015
October 8, 2015
October 7, 2015


text: http://askubuntu.com – I really like how I can set wallpaper to change every 5 minutes or so. The problem is that I already got used to current ones and I want to see new wallpapers. I can search and add new ones of course but it seems too manual to me. So my question is are there any services which provide daily fresh wallpapers and how can I set my system to automatically download and use the new ones? p.s. There are always some lovely wallpapers in bing (HowTos)


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At the Sheraton Hartford Hotel at Bradley Airport, we're committed to making your stay as comfortable and convenient as possible. Whether you're looking to catch up on some work or spend some quality time with your family, you'll feel right at home when you stay with us. Our location inside the Bradley International Airport, between terminals A and B, is great for those flying into and out of the area. We're also just minutes away from the area's most famous cities and attractions - Hartford, Springfield, the Basketball Hall of Fame, Six Flags New England, and more. Relax in one of our 237 spacious guest rooms. Spend an evening in total comfort as you slip into our dreamy Sheraton Sweet Sleeper® Bed. Take comfort in the thoughtful touches in each guest room, such as our 32" flat panel televisions, Starbucks® Coffee, Shine for Sheraton™ bath amenities and complimentary High Speed Internet Access. Experience even more comfort in our Sheraton Club Rooms, which have been renovated to include new bedding, bathrooms and amenities. Plus our hotel is 100% smoke-free, so you can breathe easy. Spend quality time together at the Link@Sheraton experienced with Microsoft, the perfect spot to surf the web, play games and grab a bite to eat. When your day of work or play is through, recharge in our Sheraton Fitness Programmed by Core Performance, or take a splash in our indoor pool. Enjoy familiar comfort and a memorable stay at Sheraton Hartford Hotel at Bradley Airport.Starwood Hotels
24 hour front desk
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No smoking
Parking (surcharge)
Room service
Storage available
Wedding services
Free Wi-Fi
Get Rates
Get Flight + Hotel


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Content Stats
Contact Info / Websites
Community Stats
- Voting Level
- Icon Aura
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- Level
- 5
- Out of 60 possible levels.
- Exp. Points
- 270 / 280
- Experience points earned / Points to reach next level.
- Exp. Rank
- #156,222
- What place you are in compared to other users.
- Vote Power
- 4.49 votes
- Based on your experience points, your vote is worth this much.
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- Voting Rank
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- 594 View All Posts ›
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Recent Game Medals
Porbeagle Shark 5 Points Lift a Porbeagle Shark! Medal Stats.
Perfect Crab Quiz 50 Points Uncover 6 Crabs in a row! Medal Stats.
Sandbar Shark 5 Points Lift a Sandbar Shark! Medal Stats.
Caribbean Reef Shark 5 Points Lift a Caribbean Reef Shark! Medal Stats.
First Flight 5 Points Your very first flight! Medal Stats.
Slip and Slide 10 Points Don't hit anything after sliding through an oil slick Medal Stats.
Come with me if you want to live 10 Points Rescue and secure a civilian Medal Stats.
Blunt Force Trauma 25 Points Kill 100 zombies with your vehicle Medal Stats.
Perfect Defense 25 Points While stopped during a task, don't let a single zombie reach your vehicle's hood Medal Stats.
Gun Slinger 25 Points Weaken a hood grappling zombie with 1 weapon, then quickly switch to another weapon to finish it off with one shot Medal Stats.
Total Medals Earned: 1,004 (From 105 different games.)


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This course provides an overview of Faculty Self Service in ISIS. As a CU faculty member, you can use Self Service to do things like access class information, view advisees, and see their weekly schedule.
In this course, you will learn how to:
· Locate a faculty member by viewing his or her class schedule.
· View your own class schedule on a class-by-class or weekly basis.
· Find the FERPA statement within faculty Self Service
· Browse CU's course catalog.
· See which students are enrolled in your class.
To take the course:


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The defeat in the Senate last Saturday of the Dream Act, which would have granted conditional legal status to qualifying undocumented college students, graduates and military hopefuls who arrived here before age 16, was just the most recent action on a proposal that has been circulating for nearly a decade. And each time it has come up for a vote, UC San Diego's Wayne Cornelius has followed it, as he has every other federal immigration proposal that has come and gone since then.
Cornelius is one of the nation's leading scholars on immigration and U.S.-Mexico border issues, a political scientist and director emeritus of UCSD's Center for Comparative Immigration Studies. He is now associate director of the university's Center of Expertise on Migration and Health.
After years of observing the politics of immigration, Cornelius has his own take on why the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act failed this time around, in spite of unprecedented student activism and a streamlining of the bill that allowed it to clear the House. He shares his opinion on the Obama administration's strategy of pushing tough enforcement as a means to win support for broader immigration reform, a strategy he believes is doomed to fail.


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I want to use tag groups to display posts based on certain tag groups on my frontpage bundled.
The top tag group would be for example with "featured" tag.
Then below that I would have some other logical tag groups split.
Is that possible with this plugin? So like in the regular wordpress functions you can specify if you want to print something, or just get the programmatical output in an array, I would very much like it to happen here too. Example, single_tag_title() prints the tag, whereas single_tag_title( '', false ) outputs the tag to a variable.
That would be some great feature


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ROCHESTER, Minn., July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Here are highlights from the July issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource. You may cite this publication as often as you wish. Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource attribution is required. Reprinting is allowed for a fee. Include the following subscription information as your editorial policies permit: Visit http://www.bookstore.mayoclinic.com or call toll-free for subscription information, 800-876-8633, extension 9PK1.
Vitamin D -- Builds Bones and Much More
Researchers identifying new health benefits
Vitamin D is essential to strong bones. Inadequate vitamin D can lead to osteoporosis, a brittle bone disease.
Recently, researchers have found that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of other diseases. The July issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource reports some new findings and guidelines on how much vitamin D is enough.
Fall prevention: With age, decreasing muscle strength can increase the risk of falls and bone fractures. Several studies have found that vitamin D supplements may benefit muscle strength and balance, helping older adults stay steadier on their feet.
Cancer prevention: Observational research indicates that low levels of vitamin D increase the risk of some cancers -- including those of the breast, colon, rectum, ovary, kidney, lung and uterus. Although unclear why, vitamin D in adequate amounts appears to help regulate cellular growth, potentially preventing cells from becoming cancerous.
Chronic pain prevention: Vitamin D deficiency is increasingly recognized as an important cause of muscle pain and weakness.
Protection against autoimmune diseases: Evidence is mounting that
vitamin D may offer protection from type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and
rheumatoid arthritis by reducing inflammation and strengthening the immune
system. In one study, researchers found a 40 percen
|SOURCE Mayo Clinic
Copyright©2008 PR Newswire.
All rights reserved


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Vans Authentic Denim Chevron Shoes
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Stash Points: 4,999
What is this?This is the number of points you get in The Zumiez Stash for purchasing this item. Stash points are redeemable for exclusive rewards only available to Zumiez Stash members. To redeem your points check out the rewards catalog on thestash.zumiez.com.
A washed denim upper finished with chevron detailing is built atop a durable vulcanized rubber outsole with Vans waffle tread for a comfortable fit with plenty of style.
|More Details


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SRN Rewind Special Report: Sonnen, UFC Fight Night Recap
Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.
The Sherdog Radio Network "Rewind" took in all the build up and fireworks of the UFC's debut on Fox Sports 1 on location in Boston, and host Jack Encarnacao this week brings a special report of the all-important week for the UFC.
In "SRN Rewind: First Person, UFC on FS1" Encarnacao walks listeners through the fight week experience, from public workouts and media scrums to the high of the fights to the post-fight presser. The report includes exclusive one-one-one interviews with Chael Sonnen and Renato "Babalu" Sobral, and choice audio from UFC President Dana White's remarks to the media.
More episodes
Beatdown: Mike Dolce, UFC 192 Recap Oct 5, 2015 Beatdown After The Bell: UFC 192 Cormier Vs Gustafsson Oct 3, 2015 Roundtable: UFC 192 Cormier Vs Gustafsson Oct 2, 2015 Beatdown: 'King' Mo Lawal Sep 30, 2015 Cheap Seats: Jon Jones, UFC 192 Discussion Sep 29, 2015


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A Star Is Born.
Tag: kelly rowland
November 10, 2014 @ 6:43 PM EDT Songs
March 31, 2014 @ 7:32 PM EDT Songs
Mama Knows Best.
November 4, 2013 @ 11:28 AM EDT General
Rock On With Y'all Bad Selves.
July 22, 2013 @ 12:10 PM EDT Videos
For Ms. Rowland's emotional tune, she takes a dip into her darkest secrets in the hot and steamy visual aid. Her album Talk A Good Game is available now.
June 19, 2013 @ 10:00 AM EDT General
America woke up this morning to the street life as Pusha T joined Kelly Rowland for a live performance of their duet. Kelly's Talk A Good Game is in stores now. rtny
June 12, 2013 @ 10:12 AM EDT General
The street life is no place for such a pretty face. But with Pusha T close by, Kelly hits the pavement on her latest drop produced by Pharrell. Talk A Good Game drops next Tuesday.
June 11, 2013 @ 8:13 AM EDT General
Following the audio premiere earlier in the day, Kelly brought Wiz along with her to the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon for their first live performance. Talk A Good Game June 18.


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I'm currently enrolled in the ART institute of Tampa and studying game art and design. My wish is to work for Lucasarts and being part of the next battlefront project.
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Looking down the road its been almost a year since I left Highschool.


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Join the Register's Danny Lawhon for a discussion of all things NCAA Tournament at noon. Hawkeye questions, Cyclone questions, Panther questions, bracket pool advice -- it's all game, and it's all free. But beware: Free advice comes at a price -- to your chances in competition, that is.
Keep things clean, fun and relaxed and we'll all geek out together. Enjoy!


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I was just scanning Publisher's Marketplace for interesting book news, and I had to laugh at Melissa Horozewski's deal with Running Press: Austentatious Crochet, "crochet patterns for lovers of Jane Austen." I'm not a crocheter myself, but I can see some BookPage readers getting excited about this one.
Listed below that deal was another one that had me cracking up: I'm Not the Biggest Bitch in This Relationship. If that title has you raising eyebrows, maybe this will change your mind. The book is
an anthology of humorous essays about dogs from bestselling writers, including Rita Mae Brown, Laurie Notaro, Carol Leifer, Jen Lancaster, and Tony Award winner Jeff Marx, with the full support of the Humane Society.
Also in The Book Case: Read about Trisha's clever title pick from a couple weeks ago.
Have you seen any funny titles lately?
Last Friday night, I went to see David Sedaris at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. I've been a fan of Sedaris' odd sense of humor and way with words since I first read 2000's Me Talk Pretty One Day, and it was exciting to see and hear him in person!
He started off by reading two stories from his upcoming book of fables, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk (which we blogged about several weeks ago). The stories were about animals with decidedly human characteristics, including a young stork who wants to know where babies come from and an Irish setter who loves his wife (they were married by their owner's former girlfriend) but has resigned himself to her infidelity. Though the stories were different from Sedaris' usual essays, they were unmistakably stamped with his caustic wit.
He followed the stories with a longer essay about airplane travel, which was my favorite piece of the night, and then he read some selections from his diaries and took questions from the audience -- including a couple who had cut short their honeymoon in order to come to the show! Now that's devotion -- but Sedaris is worth it.
Related in BookPage: Read Sedaris' handwritten answers to a few of our questions about 2008's When You Are Engulfed in Flames.
British author John le Carré, who does spy suspense like few others, has a new book coming this fall—from a new publisher. His 22nd novel, Our Kind of Traitor, will be published by Viking on October 12.
Though not much is known about the new book yet, Viking describes it as "a fast-moving story that reveals the battles of the British Secret Service in addition to the brutal maneuvering of the international criminal world."
Le Carré is nearly 80, but like his compatriot P.D. James, his age hasn't affected the quality of his work, which continues to garner top-notch reviews and hit bestseller lists.
Related in BookPage: Review of le Carré's last thriller, A Most Wanted Man.
Those of you who read Kate's interview with Neil Gaiman in honor of National Library Week will be happy to hear that we have some more information from the prolific author: background on his latest project, Instructions, a picture book for all ages.
Before you read Gaiman's comments, you have to watch this book trailer—one of my favorites in recent memory. In it, Gaiman reads the whole book out loud, and illustrator Charles Vess's illustrations come alive:
Kate Pritchard: How did Instructions come about? I know the poem was one you had written a while back, but how did it become a picture book?
Neil Gaiman: It became a picture book because Blueberry Girl came out, hit the New York Times bestseller list, much to everyone's astonishment, and became a beloved book in no time flat. [Laughs]
Normally it takes a very long time for these things to happen, and Charles Vess and I are looking around and faintly reeling. And our editor, the lovely Elise Howard, said, you know, I would love another book from you guys. Now, bear in mind that Blueberry Girl had taken Charles Vess four or five years to draw and paint, he'd been working on it for years and years. So I thought, oh good, we've got another book for 2013 then. And Charles and I started talking and he suggested, I think, doing a book of my poetry. And I said, well, you know what, doing the book poetry, I'm not sure, and I'm not sure we're ready for that yet. I'm sure one day we'll do a collected poetry of Neil Gaiman, but why don't we just take a poem that everybody loves, like "Instructions," and do that? And Charles said OK, and Elise said, what a great idea, and I figured we had a book for 2013.
And, it was magic. Absolutely, absolutely magic. The pages just started flooding in. A few weeks later, there's all the pencils, and I'm going, who is this man and what has he done with Charles Vess? And then he painted them, and then we had a book! And now it's out, and it's out a year after Blueberry Girl, which means it took Charles something ridiculous like four months to do. Which is only mad, when you know that it took Charles, working on Blueberry Girl, years and years and years and years and years. And it's just . . . I kind of think of it as a strange bonus from the gods, you know, that Instructions shouldn't be out for years, but it is. And Charles just got inspired, and did it. So that's why it exists, and I'm so happy with it.
Also in BookPage: Like what you read? Browse our Neil Gaiman archives.
Will you read Instructions, now on sale?
On Sunday, Crown Publishing Group announced the publication date (Nov. 9) and released the cover for Decision Points, George W. Bush's memoir.
From a Crown press release:
Since leaving the Oval Office, President Bush has given virtually no interviews or public speeches about his presidency. Instead, he has spent almost every day writing Decision Points, a strikingly personal and candid account revealing how and why he made the defining decisions in his consequential presidency and personal life.
Looking forward to Decision Points?
Related on The Book Case: A blog post about political bios.
This morning we learned (via GalleyCat) that Harlan Coben is venturing into YA territory with a three-book deal from Penguin Young Readers Group. The first book in the series will be published in 2011 and follow a teen investigating a family conspiracy.
If Coben's Myron Bolitar books are any indication, the new series will be funny in addition to a page-turner. (Need an example of Coben's humor? In an interview with BookPage, he said, "I love writing about the suburbs of America; it's sort of a last battleground of the American dream. It's where everyone, you and I and everyone else, fights to find some sort of happiness." He stops himself before getting too profound. "Wow, that was deep, give me a moment. (short pause) OK, I'm OK.")
When I recently posted an excerpt from John Grisham's YA book on Facebook, a reader asked, "Is everyone jumping on the YA bandwagon? First Candice Bushnell, now Grisham..." I suspect many of you will have a similar reaction to Coben's news.
Are you happy about this new series? Do you wish Coben would stick to his adult thrillers? Maybe this will sweeten the deal: Myron Bolitar and Win Lockwood will appear in the teen books.
Related in BookPage: our interview with Coben about Tell No One. Reviews of Coben's books for adults.
This is a big week for book releases, so keep your eye on BookPage.com for a bunch of new content. I am especially excited about the following reviews and features (click the links to keep reading):
Interview with Andrew Gross about Reckless
Thriller writer Andrew Gross honed his writing skills collaborating with James Patterson on books like Jester. Four solo novels later, he's become a best-selling author in his own right and has started a popular series starring police detective Ty Hauck, a tough guy who always tries to do the right thing. In Reckless, Gross pits Hauck against a group of unlikely terrorists whose target is America's financial system. Though Hauck is no longer a detective, he can't let this case go since in solving it he will also avenge the death of a friend. We asked Gross a few questions about the book, the thriller genre and what sparks a writer's imagination.
Review of Anna Quindlen's Every Last One
Anna Quindlen's previous novels have all been centered on families—whether average, non-traditional or dysfunctional; she even calls herself "hyperdomestic." It comes as no surprise, then, that her sixth novel, Every Last One, begins with a lengthy description of the minutiae of the everyday life of Mary Beth Latham—wife, mother of three teenagers and owner of a successful landscaping business.
Interview with Hampton Sides about Hellhound on His Trail
Memphis historian and subculture explorer Hampton Sides was six years old on April 4, 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel by a prison escapee named James Earl Ray. Sides remembers that his father, who worked at the Memphis law firm that represented King during his marches on behalf of the city's striking garbage workers, came home that evening, poured himself a stiff drink and braced his family for the worst.
Review of Michelle Boyajian's Lies of the Heart
Katie Burrelli, the protagonist of Michelle Boyajian's Lies of the Heart, didn't have the most satisfying life even before the death of her husband. She's the kind of woman who has always seen herself as second best; not as pretty as her beautiful sister Dana, not as beloved by their parents, not as popular as her friends. Then she meets Nick while he's fishing for clams in their native Rhode Island. They marry, and he becomes a speech therapist for developmentally challenged people while she becomes, halfheartedly, a documentary filmmaker.
With so many great choices. . . which book will you read first?!
Writer Joyce Carol Oates is perhaps best known for the sheer volume of her work. Though like any writer she's always pulled elements of her books from her own life—for example, many of her 50-plus novels are set in her native upstate New York—Oates has never been inspired to publish a memoir, until now.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Oates has completed her first memoir. A Widow's Memoir chronicles Oates' life in the wake of her husband's 2008 death. Oates and Raymond J. Smith had been married for 48 years and together ran a successful literary magazine, The Ontario Review. Surprisingly, Oates went on to find new love at 71 with neuroscientist Charles Gross, whom she married last spring.
A heartbreaking selection from the book—also interesting for its glimpse into how Oates separates her personal and public personas—was just published in the most recent issue of Atlantic Magazine. [Via]
Related in BookPage: our interview with Oates about My Sister, My Love, based on the Ramsey case. Handwritten Q&A with Oates about The Falls. Reviews of Oates' books for teens. Reviews of Oates' books for adults.
It's always a treat to have the opportunity to speak with authors after you've read their books. So I was thrilled to interview Emily Giffin about her latest novel, Heart of the Matter, for our May issue.
We mostly talked about Heart of the Matter, of course, but I was delighted as our conversation veered off-course a few times. I couldn't include all of the great content in my print interview, so here's the dish on Giffin's writing process, how she balances a full-time writing career with raising three young children and—gasp—some then "off-the-record" (and now public) details on the upcoming movie version of her debut novel, Something Borrowed.
We've heard the good news that Something Borrowed (and Something Blue) are being adapted for film. Something Borrowed is slated to begin filming this summer. What can you tell us about that experience?
It's been totally thrilling and I've been very involved with the details and become very close to both producers and the director. It's been such a positive experience. I've heard that it can be a very negative experience for writers and they can be completely not involved and hate the direction. They have listened to my thoughts, and they don't always agree with what I say—which is fine, because I've always viewed it as a separate project—but they listen and they are just great people. So it's been awesome. Ginnifer Goodwin has been cast as Rachel—she's perfect. So sweet. And John Krasinski is in for Ethan.
[This is where Abby devolved into total celeb geek mode and Emily and Abby discussed all the casting options and possibilities. Recently, more of the cast has been revealed (and even seen on set the week of April 19), including: Kate Hudson as Darcy, Colin Egglesfield (from the new Melrose Place) as Dexter and Steve Howey (who co-starred with Hudson in Bride Wars) as Marcus. Giffin said the movie is slated for release in early spring 2011, and you can bet I'll be first in line at the theaters.]
So will you get to be on set and meet all these fabulous people?
My book tour starts May 11 and filming starts April 27 and I'm like, 95% of my life is totally boring, why do these two things have to happen at once? But I should be able to get up there a few times. And technically, in the contract, I'm supposed to have a small speaking part.
How does your creative process work? What comes to you first? The characters? The situations?
It's pretty much worked the same with all of my books. It's more of a very general premise. What would happen if a woman fell in love with her best friend's fiancé, or what would happen if a couple got married and then, a few years into their marriage, one changed their mind about something that was fundamental to their marriage? Or what would happen if you ran into your "one who got away" and suddenly you realized that being with him was an option. I think I always start with that scenario, and I try to make it very relatable. Most everyone has someone from their past who they wonder about; and most of us have a friendship that is not 100% pure, marked by an undertone of insecurity or competitiveness, or something toxic about it. I think women—people—of all ages can relate to that. So the situation comes first and then the characters emerge from that. And then as I get to know the characters and write about them, the plot comes after [that]. It's a very character-driven process for me.
Do you outline and plan it all out?
No, I don't. I haven't for any of my books. I have a very general sense of beginning, middle and end, but I don't outline any scenes or specifics. I just think to myself, "Ok, this is where they're starting out, this is where they're going and this is where I think they'll end up." But in many cases they don't end up where I think they will because as I get to know them, I think to myself, "Well, that's not actually what this person would do." You get to know the characters as you spend time with them, and sometimes I'm very surprised. For me, it's a lot more fun to write that way. It's inefficient, but I enjoy the little surprises along the way.
How do you balance a full-time writing career with raising three young children?
I think it's interesting that people often ask that question. In a way, I think it gives me too much credit. I think every time we go into a bookstore, Harriet that she'll have a role model—someone who does both.
You initially tried to break into publishing by writing a YA novel. Do you ever think of revisiting that genre and writing anything for a younger audience now that you're a best-selling author?
Occasionally. If I had more time, I definitely would. I have been writing the screenplay for Baby Proof and I've been thinking about young adult books. I just wish I had more time because there is so much I would like to do. But I have to prioritize because I do have small children and I don't have all the time in the world to work. So I think I'm going to stick with what I'm doing, for the most part.
Are you working on your sixth novel? Can you tell us anything about it?
I've started it. But it's a little too new to get into what it's about.
Read the complete interview with Giffin on BookPage.com.
Fans of The Office—and funny women everywhere—rejoice! Writer/producer/blogger/twitterer Mindy Kaling (who plays the hilarious Kelly Kapoor on the workplace sitcom) has just inked a book deal with Random House's Crown imprint.
The Contents of My Purse, slated for a fall 2011 release, will be "a collection of comic essays detailing moments from a woman's life, including everything from relationships to fashion."
Or, as Kaling tweeted: "My book will be essays and personal anecdotes, pictures, fashion, and general opinionated bossiness about how women should live. Twitter has an 140 character limit, but I hear books can have something like 500,000 characters!"
While she is best known for playing the outrageous, unstable Kapoor on The Office, Kaling is also co-executive producer of the show and has written 18 episodes over the course of its six seasons (the most recent of which was last night's hilarious, ridiculous "Secretary's Day.")
If that didn't keep her busy enough, Kaling has signed a deal to write and star in a new NBC comedy, and is in the process of writing her first feature-length film, The Low Self-Esteem of Lizzie Gillespie. Not too shabby for a woman on the cusp of her 31st birthday.
Are you a fan of Mindy Kaling? Will you buy her book?


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What People Are Saying About Getting Beyond BetterOctober 7, 2015 by Skoll Foundation
What people are saying about Getting Beyond Better
The compelling new book about social entrepreneurship by Roger Martin and Sally Osberg
"You couldn't ask for better guides…the authors produce a highly nuanced definition of social entrepreneurship." More…
"Highly recommend! Martin and Osberg have written a book that shines new light on the concept of social entrepreneurship – and, more broadly, achieving widespread social change." More… (Jeff Bradach, 20 Sep 2015)
"This is a book I want to share with everyone because I think we all want a world that works better, and especially works better for those that have the least. Disrupting the status quo is not easy, but it is so needed." More… (Anonymous, 25 Sep 2015)
Getting Beyond Better: Author Q&A with Sally Osberg and Roger MartinOctober 6, 2015 by Alison Gilbert
Q & A with Sally Osberg & Roger Martin, co-authors of Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works.
Getting Beyond Better hits stores today! Jeff Kehoe, Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review Press, spoke with Sally and Roger about the book during the 2015 Skoll World Forum.
Q: Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen says that every product has a job to do. If we think of your book as a kind of product, what's the job that it's doing?
SALLY: We write about the job we needed to do at the Skoll Foundation, after our first couple years of channeling Jeff Skoll's vision—and, really, DNA—around that special kind of entrepreneur who brings a disruptive impact to solving the world's most pressing problems.
We needed a definition and to apply some criteria so we could choose among the hundreds of wonderful proposals that came our way. With the help of Roger Martin—one of our wonderful board directors and a genius when it comes to strategy, who was no way going to let us [think] in a non-rigorous way about this—we actually started to clarify what social entrepreneurship is.
We came to the realization that it's about equilibrium change. Social entrepreneurs attack systems and equilibria in society that are stuck, held in place by a set of forces, and that desperately need to change. These equilibria lead to the marginalization, suffering, or a large-scale disadvantage of some segment or element of society.
Once we got that clarity, we could really look at the social entrepreneurs. We could start to understand those who were trying to do good in the world, and those who were on an order-of-magnitude journey to make that impact in the world. That's where the definition [and framework] arose.
ROGER: Part of the book's job is to provide would-be social entrepreneurs some ideas for how they can create equilibrium change. We share the mechanisms and models that we've seen out there that work, because now we have the real benefit of working with 91 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship-winning organizations and over 100 social entrepreneurs.
Also, we'd love to see more funders enter the field and support it. It becomes easier for funders to say: 'I will support this thing called social entrepreneurship' if they can understand what it is, identify social entrepreneurs, and have a sense of what models work.
Q: The original articulation of your book was in a 2007 article you coauthored in the Stanford Social Innovation Review: Social Entrepreneurship: the Case for Definition. How has your thinking evolved since that very impactful piece?
ROGER: We've been working and learning along the way. In the 2007 article we established the notion that it's about creating the equilibrium change, and said, it's great if they can. What's evolved is we've tried to look at what mechanisms they use to drive change, and we made this distinction between social entrepreneurship and social advocacy.
Now we have a view that those two things are often complements of one another. Equilibrium change can be driven by a social entrepreneur who creates a product or service that starts a transformation. If there are great advocates for it, they can bring more resources—like the government—to drive it faster.
The cost structure of what they do is also important. You have to create a model that has decreasing costs with scale. If your costs are the same as you do more of it, it's very expensive. It's great if you can create a cool platform, like Kiva, where you spend up front to create the platform, but then as more and more people use it, costs per user fall.
SALLY: We're no longer quite fighting the battle for social entrepreneurs as "entrepreneurs"—which we tried to do in the original article, to really anchor social entrepreneurship in entrepreneurship.
Now, we can move on. The real challenge is summoning the body of evidence to tell us what social entrepreneurship is getting done in the world.
It can provide real lessons and impetus for policy and business to track this wave, and make the better world we all know is possible.
ROGER: Our 2007 article helped spur conversation and debate, so I think we have a much better idea how social entrepreneurship works, but my suspicion is that people who love social entrepreneurship and want to drive it will cause us to learn some more.
So, we're having fun watching and learning as much as we can, as fast as we can. But we don't know everything, that's for sure….
Q: You have said you want to keep social entrepreneurs optimistic. Can you explain?
SALLY: Tough-minded optimism [is] how I believe social entrepreneurs go about optimism. They see the opportunity and they ask themselves, "If not me, who? If not now, when?"
They pull up their socks, they get to work, but they keep in their sights this vision for what can be made not just better, but can be transformed—and that's what they work towards.
Now that's optimism on steroids, but it has the rigor, determination, and the discipline underneath it, that, to me, is so quintessentially socially entrepreneurial.
ROGER: The great social entrepreneurs already implicitly say, "I'm not just going to make it better, I'm going to fix it." Our hope in categorizing an equilibrium change and explaining what it is, is to describe what "fix" looks like and why it's so important, so that more folks who would say "I don't like the current situation," will say "Ah, the goal I should have is 'I should fix it, I will change that equilibrium.'"
Part of the job of the book is to help make it easier for people to conceptualize what a real fix would look like, so they can keep their optimism high and their aspirations high.
Sally Osberg and Jessica Jackley on Social Entrepreneurship, Kiva and MoreAugust 25, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally Osberg recently sat down with Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva. Their thoughtful and impactful discussion at the Commonwealth Club of California focused on Jessica's new book, Clay Water Brick: Finding Inspiration from Entrepreneurs who do the Most with the Least.
Topics included Jessica's time in the field while at Kiva and what she learned from the entrepreneurs she met, the trend of savings, the story behind the title of her book (hint: it's about an entrepreneur), the importance of providing for families, microfinance, crowdfunding, how Jessica decided to include her personal life in the book, managing risk based on a bad experience, and making decisions with the "head and heart." Jessica says she is now consulting with companies on how to support working mothers, is on the board of nonprofits and has another project in the works she can't share yet. "I want to get back to alleviating poverty," she says.
A short excerpt:
Sally: Kiva is approaching $1 billion and in sharing many metrics about borrowers, lenders and reporting repayment rates consistently on its web site, that doesn't tell the story of Kiva's impact. How are you going about the challenge of seeing whether Kiva's loans actually alleviate poverty?
Jessica: Kiva does a great job of providing a window of how the field partners actually work. There are a handful of markers of social impact and the organizations explain what that looks like to them, such as training, prioritization of women…Change happens in ways we can measure quantitatively. Not just repayment rates. I get excited about the touchy-feely story stuff; I love seeing the stories speak for themselves. I have met people whose businesses failed after getting the loans but their lives are still changed for the better and they are grateful for that opportunity…Maybe they are now much better equipped to take a bigger swing at things and get it right…I've seen changes in their confidence because of going through the training and the program that goes along with a loan…It's in the mission that poverty alleviation …but I also think about the impact in the lives of lenders. To participate and believe great things are possible is a good thing for the world…
Sending our admiration and wishes to President CarterAugust 20, 2015 by Alison Gilbert
Our thoughts are with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who today begins treatment for melanoma. The extended Skoll community has so enjoyed its meaningful collaboration with President Carter through the Skoll Foundation, Participant Media, and The Elders. We wish him a hasty and complete recovery.
Here's sending our abiding admiration—along with strength and love—to President Carter, his wife Rosalynn, and his family.
Video from The Guardian.
5 Ways Social Entrepreneurs Can Make Their Content Go Viral—from an editor at UpworthyAugust 17, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Adam Mordecai is editor-at-large at Upworthy. When he's not trying to get millions of page views (300 million to date) on issues like racial justice, climate change and economic inequality, he focuses on training new curators and advises nonprofits on how to tell great stories.
He recently shared some of his best tips for going viral to an audience full of social entrepreneurs at the Skoll World Forum, and today we're sharing them with you. But first things first: "Going viral is partly science, partly luck and partly hard work," Mordecai says. "There is no recipe guaranteed for success every time."
Take heart. "There is data and science behind virality."
Five of our key takeaways from Adam:
- Facebook is the driver of the Internet, and that's where we put all our focus. Facebook wants strong stories, clear headlines, timely stories, authentic voice, and added context. (See above video around 26:12 for details and examples)
- Tell really good stories. Give people a reason to go to that page. Stories that build empathy are the ones that are needed to make a better world. If you give people all the information they want but they don't feel connected to it, it's going to be much harder for them to retain the information.
- Ask these three questions when you are making a piece of content: 1. Is the content substantive, engaging and maybe even entertaining? 2. If a million people saw it, would the world be a better place? 3. Does the content deliver on the headline?
- Headlines matter. Framing your content matters. Upworthy did an experiment (which you can see completely at 20:00) and in it, there were two headlines. One was "Two monkeys got peed on and see what happens next" and the other was "Remember Planet of the Apes? It's closer to reality than you might think." They were published separately on the same video. The first headline got 700 times the views.
- You're not always going to win. Some of your failures will be your best learning experiences, ever.
Boston Globe Gives Big Kudos to CeresAugust 6, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Today's Boston Globe op-ed, "Obama leaves coal with nowhere to go," credits Skoll Awardee Ceres:
President Obama's Clean Power Plan is remarkable, and not just because it gives the United States some global credibility on climate change. The real brilliance is that the proposal — which would cut carbon emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels over the next 10 years — backs the opposition into a corner with no credibility….
….huge swaths of other industries that once might have been right there with the US Chamber of Commerce and coal companies in fighting new regulations are now competing to have the greenest image. That's partly because of behind-the-scenes work by Boston-based Ceres. The nonprofit has worked for a quarter-century to convince big businesses to adopt sustainability as a guiding principle. Ceres greeted Obama's plan with a letter of support signed by 365 companies, including Unilever, Nestle, General Mills, and Staples. Companies such as UPS, Cisco Systems, PepsiCo, United Continental, and General Motors now boast tens of millions of dollars of savings just by meeting their own energy targets."
Read the rest: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/08/06/obama-leaves-coal-with-nowhere/pVWWn4DWb9oCsrddwiWxUI/story.html
5 Skoll Community Interviews on The Daily ShowAugust 6, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Today is Jon Stewart's last day on his popular The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, so we thought it fitting to share clips from his past interviews with luminaries in the Skoll Foundation community.
Malala Yousafzai, recipient of the 2014 Skoll Global Treasure Award:
President Jimmy Carter, who spoke at the 2008 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship and is one of The Elders (Skoll Foundation Founder Jeff Skoll and CEO Sally Osberg are members of The Elders Advisory Council):
Filmmaker Jehane Noujaim shares the history of her film "The Square." In the extended web-only segment, she talks about censorship, and discusses why "it's a really dark time now" in Egypt.
Arianna Huffington, who wrote the foreword to our CEO Sally Osberg and board member Roger Martin's upcoming book and spoke at the 2012 Skoll World Forum closing plenary:
President Mohamed Nasheed, who spoke at the 2012 Skoll World Forum closing plenary:
Sally Osberg to Accept NonProfit Times Power & Influence Top 50 AwardJuly 31, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
We're pleased to announce that our President and CEO Sally Osberg was honored with the NonProfit Times Power & Influence Top 50 award. She will receive the award Sept. 17 in Washington, D.C.
As the NonProfit Times says, "Sally is a systems visionary…she understands the past, can envision a future and put it together."
Sally, who co-authored the upcoming book, Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works, has been an agent for social change throughout her career. As our President and CEO, she partners with Founder and Chairman Jeff Skoll and heads the Skoll Foundation's team in identifying and supporting innovators pioneering scalable solutions to global challenges. She is a well-known proponent of thought leadership, research, and alliances that advance the work of social entrepreneurs solving the world's most pressing problems. She founded the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, the largest gathering of innovators around the world.
Other winners of the NonProfit Times award include Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Jacqueline Novogratz, CEO of Acumen, Darren Walker, President and CEO of the Ford Foundation, Diana Aviv, President and CEO of Independent Sector, Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation, Alberto Ibarguen, President and CEO of the Knight Foundation, and many more luminaries.
See the full list of winners here.
Prioritize, Capitalize, Right Size and More: 5 Insights from the Skoll Foundation on Monitoring and EvaluationJuly 28, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Ehren Reed, the Skoll Foundation's Director of Evaluation, was recently asked what matters when he is looking at the measurements social entrepreneurial organizations use.
"Organizations have the power to achieve the change donors are looking to make," he says. Here are some of his "izes," as he calls them:
- Contextualize. It's helpful when I can see clearly how the work is contextualized within an organization's efforts. Whether it's Kevin Starr's 8- Word Mission Statement or a theory of change, there needs to be clear description of their goals, and the actions they are doing to lead to that. I want to know how those metrics you're sharing connect with that core strategy.
- Prioritize. There are a ton of things that you could be measuring. The fact that you have gone through an exercise to winnow it down to meaningful measures is a good sign. Those measures should be influenced by what you are able to do with that information. If you are collecting something you are not making use of, you are wasting time and money.
- Capitalize. Don't answer a question that you need not answer. There are certain outcomes and indicators that are critical to your work, and more attributable to your efforts. Concentrate on those. There are others that you can say, 'We made a contribution to those.' Leave those alone. For example: Citizen Schools increases graduation rates of students who attend their program by 20 percent over a control; that's the compelling story. I don't need to know whether that leads to greater income generation after high school graduation; there are studies that already show me that. Be efficient with the way you are spending your dollars.
- Right Size. Not everyone in the organization needs to look at all the same data. At One Acre Fund, workers in the field pay attention to which farmers are attending trainings, what types of uptake are they having with particular techniques they are being taught, and types of repayment rates. That's the type of information they need to know to see if they are doing their job effectively. Middle managers look at aggregated data. Leadership looks at only a key set of performance indicators. So right size your approach accordingly.
- Systematize. The idea that we see M and E as a separate report gives me pause; it's a dangerous misnomer. It needs to be part and parcel of your programmatic activity. If it's all focused on a report which comes out once a year, and there is not a lot behind the scenes leading up to that report, that gives me pause. An example: Your car dashboard metrics allow you to know if your car is functioning effectively. You look at the dashboard every day. It's only when you get to the selling of the car that you say, 'It gets a lot of miles per gallon,' or 'It's been in two minor accidents.'
Hear more from Ehren: http://skollworldforum.org/session/skoll-world-forum-2015/seminars/the-dark-side-of-me/
A Successful Social Entrepreneur Shares 3 Top Ways to Run an OrganizationJuly 23, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Sebastien Marot of Friends-International was recently asked, "What are the three most important things for you to successfully run your organization?" Here are his answers.
- A strong vision/mission: Keeping the best interest of the child at the center of our work, high demands on quality, promoting a developmental approach (not charity), with creativity (knowing new development models are needed and the needs for system change) and pure stubbornness.
- Building a strong and well organized organization: Building teams, with strong delegation and trust, leading to keeping our work local, yet within a global view.
- Together: Together with the children/youth, parents, teams, partner NGOs, donors, and Government.
Read the rest of the interview: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alexandre-mars/the-social-entrepreneur-i_2_b_7843802.html
What 5 Experts Think of the Millennium Development GoalsJuly 14, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
The United Nations just released its 2015 Millennium Development Goals report, so we thought it was a good time to share the thoughts of five experts who joined the United Nations' Tomas Anker Christensen in discussing the MDGs—and measuring development efforts in general—at the recent Skoll World Forum. Launched by world leaders and the UN in 2000, the MDGs gave eight measurable goals to alleviate poverty and improve lives by the end of 2015.
Listen to the conversation, above, moderated by Pamela Hartigan of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepeneurship. Panelists included Michael Green of the Social Progress Imperative, Bjorn Lomborg of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, Bunker Roy of Barefoot College, Dorothy Stoneman of YouthBuild USA, and Patrick Awuah of Ashesi University.
We know not everyone has time to watch a one-hour session, so here are some highlights from each:
- "Metrics makers are not connected to the very poor people who live on less than a dollar a day," Roy said. "These are the people Mahatma Gandhi called the very last man and woman. With due respect, these goals are a joke, because they don't relate to the lifestyle and reality of rural communities living around the world who are living a hand-to-mouth survival existence."
- "Focus more money on the best targets and just spend the money there…that's like quadrupling global aid," Lomborg said, referring to the number of targets or goals. "If we ask governments to do fewer things that are harder to screw up, they will more likely have done a lot of good in 2030."
- "Ultimately, this is about…holding leaders to account by citizens and making these things part of the political debate….what the MDGs did have was an underlying concept: extreme poverty," Green said, after his earlier remarks on his Social Progress Index and examples of how it's worked. "So whatever you spoke about related to the MDGs, everyone kind of knew what it was…It needs to be an underlying concept for these 'people's goals' communicated in a simple form so that it becomes part of the political debate so a politician can say, 'Vote for me because GDP went up and we made progress on this' …and it's not about 17 goals."
- "When we began to measure, we decided to ask the nonprofits we work with, what should we measure?" Stoneman said. "So they set the objectives and we have measured them for 25 years: How many people apply? How many people come every day? We measure academic gains, academic achievement, industry-recognized credentials, completion of the total program, placement in jobs or post-secondary education or retention of jobs and post-secondary education, and recidivism for those who have had previous problems with the law…we encourage the government to hold people accountable for outcomes but when they do it too rigidly, it creates a negative effect…."
- "There is a lot of positive that came out of the MDGs around poverty, infant mortality and maternal care; that gives me hope that if goals are stated properly, we can in fact achieve them," Awuah said.
Read more: http://skollworldforum.org/2015/04/19/forum2015-a-warning-on-global-development-goals/
Doing the Unexpected: How One Social Entrepreneur Changed PathsJune 30, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Jenny Bowen thought her work was almost done. After 17 years of running Half the Sky, she had helped transform China's child welfare institutions, and she could "see the light at the end of the tunnel."
"We have lots of work left to do, but I can see where it's going. So done, right? Mission accomplished."
Or so she thought.
But then, she stepped back to reflect on her life while writing her memoir "Wish You Happy Forever: What China's Orphans Taught Me About Moving Mountains," and "now I am writing a whole different story…you just end up going from one to another."
Thus is the life of a social entrepreneur, who "disrupt a status quo they see as sub-optimal," according to Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally Osberg.
Jenny's new endeavor is called OneSky. Jenny shared a little about it at the Skoll World Forum this year: read more
Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship Publishes GSBI Methodology White PaperJune 25, 2015 by The Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship
The Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI) Shares Insights Based on 12 Years of Accelerating Over 360 Successful Enterprises
Santa Clara University's Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship has released a white paper aimed at helping social-entrepreneurship accelerators and incubators succeed. The paper, "The GSBI(R) Methodology for Social Entrepreneurship," is available at www.scu.edu/MillerCenter.
The white paper encapsulates lessons from 12 years of working with over 365 businesses that are tackling social problems around the world through the Miller Center's Global Social Benefit Institute, or GSBI. The GSBI is internationally recognized for helping social entrepreneurs become investment-ready and prepared to "scale" — or reach exponentially more beneficiaries. GSBI's well-honed methodology serves as a best-practices framework for incubating and accelerating these global social enterprises.
The Miller Center is offering this free white paper in response to the rapid rise of accelerators and incubators focused on helping social entrepreneurs scale their solutions to the world's critical problems affecting the poor and the planet. It identifies key strategies so others can benefit from its successes and failures.
The paper describes three key success factors for a successful accelerator: social enterprise selection, stage-specific programs for social enterprises, and deep executive-level mentoring. It also shares mistakes to avoid, such as being unprepared for the due diligence process that potential funders require.
"Founded in 2003, the GSBI has led and changed the way accelerators help social entrepreneurs," said Sally Osberg, CEO and President of the Skoll Foundation. "The social entrepreneurship movement is booming and there's no need for newcomers to reinvent the wheel. This paper helps everyone in our ecosystem accomplish our shared goal of using innovation and sound business practices to solve problems that are keeping three billion people from living their full potential."
The GSBI invites applications from businesses or organizations that are "impact first," when true to the name, the intention is to create good environmental or social outcomes as a forethought, not an afterthought. Based on where the enterprises are in their lifecycles, they are matched to the appropriate programs within the GSBI — a "Boost" program consisting of three days of intensive, on-location training; a six-month online-only program for early-stage, developing ventures; or the 10-month GSBI Accelerator, which combines online and in-person mentoring for ventures on the cusp of robust growth.
"We have applied this stage-appropriate methodology in over 60 countries," said Pamela Roussos, senior director of GSBI. "What sets us apart is our 80+ Silicon Valley executive mentors who accompany the social entrepreneurs on their journey through weekly meetings for entire duration of their program. More than 85% of our last cohort received funding. Our methodology contributes to this success record and we would like others to benefit from it."
Photo credit goes to Victoria Yundt, a Santa Clara University student who visited the social enterprise Solar Sister in 2013.
The Stigma of Mental Illness in Pakistan: BasicNeeds on PBS NewsHourJune 22, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Up to 40 percent of the population in Pakistan could have mental health issues, yet getting help isn't easy. The stigma against mental illness is prevalent, and even for those who do want to get help, psychiatrists are in short supply. As part of the PBS NewsHour "Agents For Change" series, special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro looks at the efforts being made by BasicNeeds to change this situation.
Jeff Skoll Honored by Jefferson Awards FoundationJune 19, 2015 by Alison Gilbert
Last night The Jefferson Awards Foundation, America's most prestigious and longest standing organization dedicated to activating and celebrating public service, honored America's most outstanding philanthropic achievers in 2015 at its annual gala in Washington, D.C.
Skoll Foundation founder and chairman Jeff Skoll was presented with the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen. Other honorees included U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Kid President team (Brad Montague and Robby Novak), Lauren Bush Lauren, and Laysha Ward. Learn more about the Jefferson Awards winners here.
Jeff closed out the ceremony by reflecting on the threads that ran throughout the evening, "themes of courage, of overcoming, of doing, of family and unsung heroes." He reflected on a realization he had as a young man: "It seemed to me that the world of the future might not be as a pleasant a place for our kids… with new diseases and wars and more coming down the pike."
And he shared three lessons he's learned:
Lesson One: "There's nothing like seeing how the rest of the world lives to make you realize how interconnected we all are. If anybody is suffering, if anybody is living in poverty, if anybody is sick, that affects our lives. And it's in all of our best interests to make sure that everyone in society has the opportunity for a better life."
Lesson Two: "Stories well told. Telling your story can advance your cause and it's an important part of our common cause together."
Lesson Three: "We're all in this together. None of us can do it alone." He concluded, "I'm so inspired by hearing your stories tonight and to be part of this. It's an incredible organization that the Jefferson Awards has become."
Click here for a full video of the ceremony. You can watch Jeff Skoll's speech at the 1 hour 44 minute mark.
Blue Ventures Study Shows Marine Management PaysJune 17, 2015 by Alison Gilbert
Velvetine, a local fisher from a village on the coast of Madagascar, reports: "Before we started doing octopus closures, we were only catching two or three octopus in a day, and some days we wouldn't catch any at all… With the closures we make a small sacrifice, but we can still glean on other reefs, and after waiting we catch more octopus; the catch is good in the days after openings. I have more money for food and for my family."
As Velvetine knows, marine management pays. An eight-year study by marine scientists from Skoll Awardee Blue Ventures puts facts behind Velvetine's experience. During that time, coastal villagers used Blue Ventures' approach of setting aside designated areas of their fishing grounds as temporary "closures" to octopus fishing. When closed sites were reopened to fishing after the 2-3 months of the closure, rapid growth rates of reef octopus resulted in a surge of catches.
The study, published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, shows that these temporary closures generate significant and recurring economic benefits for the communities. When comparing the 30 days before and after a temporary closure, the researchers found:
- 85% increase in catch per fisher per day.
- 81% return on investment. (On average, $1 worth of octopus left in the closure sites had grown to $1.81 by the end of the closure period.)
- 136% increase in village income.
Fisheries scientist and study co-author Daniel Raberinary explained the impact of these findings. "By demonstrating that effective fisheries management can reap dividends, this model is playing a powerful role in building local support for marine conservation."
A beautiful interactive webpage and infographic summarize the study's key findings. The full paper, FAQs about the findings, and more can be found here.
New Educate Girls Case Study Documents Use of Measurement, ScaleJune 8, 2015 by Sally Farhat Kassab
Dasra, a strategic philanthropy foundation in India, wrote a case study on Educate Girls affirming of the importance of investing in measurement. Here's more from Dasra's Divya Pamnani and Arjav Chakravarti:
"Dasra worked closely with EG's leadership to assist in the development and execution of its expansion strategy. The case study demonstrates how the organization harnessed the potential of impact assessment as a learning tool to improve program design and delivery, strengthen its model, and grow effectively.
Within a decade, EG has grown from working in 50 schools to over 8,500 schools. By replicating its program in other gender-gap districts of Rajasthan, EG impacted the lives of nearly one million children. The effective use of measurement enabled EG to adapt quickly, better respond to beneficiaries, demonstrate continued impact, build partnerships with the government, and attract significant resources to scale.
An account of EG's measurement journey, it offers valuable lessons for social organizations working across diverse sectors, at different stages of growth."
Read it here: http://www.dasra.org/pdf/eg-educate-girls-measurement-journey.pdf
"It's All the Same Thing" – Mark Plotkin on Preserving the AmazonJune 4, 2015 by Alison Gilbert
"'Who cares about the Amazon? We have to worry about global warming and climate change.' Well guess what, it's all the same thing."
In a beautiful new 2-minute film, ethnobotanist and Amazon Conservation Team co-founder Mark Plotkin explains the interconnectivity between many of today's greatest global challenges and the Amazon rainforest.
"Whether you're interested in changing climate, whether you're interested in too many poor people, or whether you're interested in drug resistant bacteria—which is a much greater threat to our species than climate change, deforestation, terrorism, nuclear weapons—you have an interest in the greatest expression of life on earth, which is the rainforest, which is home to most of the world's terrestrial biodiversity."
80% of our antibiotics come from nature, and the best antibiotics are waiting for us in today's rainforests. It is, of course, crucial to protect those natural resources. The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) works in partnership with indigenous people of tropical America to conserve the biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest as well as the culture and land of its indigenous people.
ACT partners with the Trio Indians to create programs in which elder shamans pass their botanical healing wisdom to the next generation of healers within the tribe. Mark's goal is to fully document the entire spectrum of Trio knowledge of animals and plants.
In honor of Mark's 60th birthday this month, ACT seeks to raise $60,000 to create the first ever Shaman's Encyclopedia of the Amazon. "The lasting importance of achieving these goals is the creation of a template that other tribal peoples throughout the Amazon can adapt to their own needs and – in so doing – have a positive impact on saving oral shamanic wisdom in all of lowland South America."
Learn more about this groundbreaking project and how you can help support it: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/saving-the-rainforest-shamans-at-sixty#/story
Nina Smith Wins Dwell on Design AwardJune 3, 2015 by Skoll Foundation
GoodWeave honored with Nice Modernist Award for its campaign to end child labor
Since its founding in 1995, GoodWeave has worked to eliminate child labor from the rug industry with current operations in India, Nepal and Afghanistan. These efforts were recognized Saturday with the receipt of the inaugural Dwell on Design "Nice Modernist Award" by GoodWeave's founding Executive Director, Nina Smith. Dwell Media President Michela O'Connor Abrams presented the award on Saturday at the LA Convention Center in conjunction with the Dwell on Design Awards ceremony. The event included a special screening of the GoodWeave film short Stand with Sanju.
"We're always inspired by the caliber of talent on view at Dwell on Design," says Dwell Media President Michela O'Connor Abrams, which includes 2015 exhibitors and GoodWeave licensed brands Ariana and notNeutral. "We established the Dwell on Design Awards to celebrate not only the quality and innovation of this work, but also the humanitarian side. By awarding Dwell's first Nice Modernist Award to Nina, we are honoring the impact GoodWeave has had in reducing child labor in the carpet industry by 75% from 1 million to 250,000, and it is my hope the awareness raised by this award helps GoodWeave achieve its goal of zero child laborers by 2020."
Learn more: http://www.goodweave.org/uploads/Nice_Modernist_Award_Press_Release.pdf
Jefferson Awards Foundation Names Jeff Skoll a National Award RecipientJune 2, 2015 by Jefferson Awards Foundation
The National Service Awards Ceremony will be Held June 18 in Washington, D.C.
The Jefferson Awards Foundation, America's most prestigious and longest standing organization dedicated to activating and celebrating public service, will honor America's most outstanding philanthropic achievers in 2015 at its annual gala in Washington, D.C. Taking place in the Grand Ballroom of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on June 18, 2015, the organization will honor this year's recipients for their exemplary achievements in service.
During the gala, which is sponsored by Target and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the Jefferson Awards Foundation will present awards to the top schools in its Students In Action program as well as award more than 50 local Jefferson Awards winners who have made a difference in their individual communities nationwide.
"Our mission at the Jefferson Awards Foundation is to recognize and celebrate outstanding achievement in public service. A testament to this mission, we are honored to recognize these amazing individuals and organizations for their incredible work in service," said Hillary Schafer, Executive Director of The Jefferson Awards Foundation. "We continue to believe in, and activate their causes and look forward to sharing impact on a national level through our ceremony."
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor will receive the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official at the ceremony for her continued dedication and concern for fair process in the criminal justice system, calls for reform of the criminal justice system and dissents on issues of race, gender and ethnic identity. Previous recipients of the award include: former Arizona politician Gabrielle Giffords, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and politician and sociologist Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
The Kid President team, consisting of Brad Montague and Robby Novak, will be awarded the award for Outstanding Service by an Individual 25 or Under. Through their work, Robby and Brad hope to foster creativity and compassion in young people while making the internet a more joyful place. Previous recipients of the 25 or Under award include 2015 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Patrick Ip and Vision For and From Kids founder Lillian Pravda.
Philanthropist and social entrepreneur Jeff Skoll will be presented with the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen. Skoll created the Skoll Foundation in order to bring to life his vision of a sustainable world of peace and prosperity. He will join the ranks of previous recipients of this award including comedian Bob Hope, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and founder of DonorsChoose.org Charles Best.
Lauren Bush Lauren will be presented with the Samuel S. Beard Award for Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 or Under for co-founding FEED, a social business which donates a portion of each sale to feed children around the world, through giving partners such as the United Nations World Food Programme, UNICEF and Feeding America. This award has been given to politician Bobby Jindal and football player Peyton Manning in past years.
Laysha Ward, Chief Corporate Social Responsibility Officer of Target, will be present to accept the award for Outstanding Service by a Major Corporation for Target. The Jefferson Awards Foundation continues to recognize Target for its commitment to integrate corporate citizenship into its daily operations, with direct responsibility for sustainability, diversity and inclusion, service and philanthropy and other key reputational strategies.
About the Jefferson Awards
The Jefferson Awards Foundation (JAF) is the country's longest standing and most prestigious organization dedicated to activating and celebrating public service. Through its programs, JAF trains and empowers individuals to serve and lead in their communities, amplifying their impact through the organizations vast network of media partners, mentors and volunteers. To learn more about the Jefferson Awards Foundation, visit: JeffersonAwards.orgor engage on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.


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My gelding Cecil is 25 and he did well during the summer keeping weight on, but I would like to add like 25-50 more pounds for winter. Right now he gets about a pound of senior feed and a pound of sweet feed a day and ge is on 45 acres of pasture.
But him and Romeo lose weight in the winter.. We have decided we are going to get round bales so they have food infront of them at all times, but is there anything else I can do to make sure he stays fat and happy this winter?


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4 Halloween Themed Cocktails
Wanting to make some Halloween inspired cocktails? Look no further.
3-4 parts Cranberry juice
Splash of Grenadine
Add ingredients to a tall glass filled with ice, stir and serve.
DonQ Screamer
3/4 oz. orange curacao liqueur
2 oz. sour mix
1 orange wedge
Sugar and cinnamon mixture
In a cocktail shaker, add rum, orange liqueur, sour mix and ice. Shake vigorously. Rim a martini glass with the orange wedge and then dip in the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Strain into the martini glass and garnish with an orange peel twist.
The Obituary Cocktail
1/4 oz. dry vermouth
1/4 oz. Vieux Carre Absinthe
Combine with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker. Stir then strain into a chilled cocktail glass; no garnish.
The Afterlife
1/2 oz. Frangelico
1/2 oz. Lemon juice
1 oz. Chile Piquin-Cinnamon syrup
2 dashes of wormwood bitters
Shake ingredients together and strain into a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.


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Resolution: standard / high
Figure 2.
Autocorrelation in ChIP-chip data. An example data set on histone-3-acetylation, which is provided as part of the software documentation, is used to demonstrate the package's autocorrelation plot. For each base-pair offset d, it assesses how strong the intensities of probes mapped to genomic positions x + d are correlated with the probe intensities at positions x. The computed correlation is plotted against the offset.
Toedling et al. BMC Bioinformatics 2007 8:221 doi:10.1186/1471-2105-8-221


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Publix, shoppers help stock House of Hope
STUART - Publix supermarkets delivered more than three tons of food to House of Hope in April, thanks to the grocer's Food for Sharing program.
The program enabled Publix shoppers to buy food that would be donated to a local hunger-fighting organization. Publix stores in Martin County designated House of Hope as the beneficiary.
Publix tallied shoppers' donations and delivered palettes towering with such items as canned vegetables, stew, tuna and peanut butter.
The two deliveries in April totaled 6,074 pounds of food. The second came just when the stock of vegetables was getting drastically low on the House of Hope shelves.
House of Hope is a Martin County-based nonprofit agency that provides food, clothing, case management and financial assistance to local residents in need. In 2011, the agency provided local residents with 179 tons of food – the equivalent of about 280,000 meals.
House of Hope stocks its pantries in Stuart, Indiantown, Hobe Sound and Jensen Beach thanks to local food drives and donations as well as purchasing food from the Treasure Coast Food Bank.
For more information about House of Hope, call 772-286-4673 or visit http://www.hohmartin.org.
Subscribe to TCPalm.com and our Treasure Coast Newspapers
Need Help? Call us at 1-877-710-6180.
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Swapped uniforms?
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Sports Open Line: Rams GM Les Snead, Cardinals Writer Jen Langosch of MLB.com
November 11, 2013 7:17 PM
Sports Open Line Read More
St. Louis Rams GM Les Snead joined Scott Warmann and Mike Claiborne to discuss the Rams 38-8 victory over the Colts.
Sports Open Line
Cardinals writer Jen Langosch joined Scott Warmann and Mike Claiborne to talk about the MLB trade market and latest Cardinals news.
Sports Open Line


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I need to write a regular expression so I could replace the invalid characters in user's input before sending it further. I think i need to use
string.replaceAll("regex", "replacement") to do that.
The particular line of code should replace all characters which are not unicode letters. So it's a white list of unicode characters. Basically it's validating and replacing the invalid characters of user's first name.
What I've found so far is this:
\p{L}\p{M}, but I'm not sure how to fire it up in regexp so it would work as I explained above. Would this be a regex negation case?


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Humidity: 71%
Wind: 3 mph
October 11, 2012 1:58 pm
It may be some time before Aaron Wilkins and Matt Walker hunt in thick timber after their harrowing face-off with a grizzly bear.
The Powell guys were hunting wolves on opening day in the Reef Creek area between Russell and Camp creeks. They had seen no wolf sign, but they did see bit of old bear scat and tracks higher up the drainage.
October 09, 2012 9:04 am
When Shoshone National Forest wrote its National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan in 1986, pine beetles were not an issue. But the bugs are devastating the forest now, said District Ranger Terry Root.
October 02, 2012 9:15 am
Wyoming's first regulated wolf hunt started Monday, and challenges from environmental groups are not expected to stop it this year.
Two gray wolves had reportedly been killed in Wyoming's trophy zones as of late Monday afternoon. One was killed in the Sunlight area, and the other in the Pacific Creek area, said Eric Keszler, a Game and Fish spokesman in Cheyenne.
September 25, 2012 9:15 am
September 11, 2012 8:54 am
A 3-year-old male grizzly bear that was haunting the Heart Mountain area was destroyed early Friday morning.
The bear was euthanized because of fears that the human-habituated bear was a danger to humans, said Luke Ellsbury, Wyoming Game and Fish Department large carnivore biologist.
September 06, 2012 9:16 am
A black bear damaged beehives west of Powell between Ralston and Lane 9, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department confirmed. The bear is suspected to also have damaged a pool owned by Kelly and Mindy Christensen, but the department won't confirm that.
September 04, 2012 9:12 am
August 02, 2012 10:00 am
The fate of diseased whitebark pine will play a part in the effort to remove grizzly bears from the endangered species list.
A federal appeals court ruled last year that more data was necessary to explain the decline of whitebark and how that decline will affect the grizzly population before delisting can be achieved.
August 02, 2012 9:46 am
The Powell library has been around for 100 years now, with a history of steady growth.
Library staff will celebrate its centennial Aug. 9. (See related story.)
"The first semblance of a library in Powell was formed by 10 women in a cabin used by the employees of the Bureau of Reclamation in 1910," wrote Cindy Moore, Powell library branch manager, in a letter to The Powell Tribune.
July 17, 2012 9:54 am
Heart Mountain pipe ceremony brings cultures together
Heart Mountain and the people who revere the mountain seemingly were able to summon an energy jump-start following a Crow Indian pipe ceremony there Saturday.
The ceremony was simultaneously sacred, serious and celebratory for natives and folks of European descent.
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