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The apartment seems wonderful and not to forget those cheese pies. Have a great trip Popi.
Trip Start
Mar 03, 2010
Trip End
Feb 06, 2011
Where I stayed
Olga's Katoi Traditional House in Kalopanagiotis
"Olga's Katoi" is a very beautiful traditional House, - the most beautiful in the village of Kalopanagiotis and very close to the centre of the village.
It is a stone-built complex of various levels built on a steep slope. The central house has a history of more than 300 years.
The complex preserves its original structure and it consists of a huge sitting room with a fireplace, with chairs all around and many photos and Cypriot traditional decorations hanging over the walls. In this main original structure there is a wooden staircase leading upstairs to a couple of rooms.
It is an imposing building in Kalopanagiotis, and the owners are two authentic Cypriots full if kindness and love. I feel that I can unreservedly call Agni and Dino my friends and I am so happy and lucky to have met them.
I am shown to my room, a spacious room with a big covered balcony overlooking the whole village and the mountains around. From the balcony I can see a big vinery arbour. Back to my room again, I have two single beds instead of a double one, but it is o.k. I unpack and in a rush I go and meet my friends. There is a small toilet, and the bathroom is in a separate room just next to it. The drawback I find here however is that there is not a mini bar or a small fridge to keep at least a bottle of some cold water or some fruit. This is something important for me, and I decide to tell my friends when I meet them.
I am chatting with Dino when Agni shows up in the main room which is called (katoi) with 3 cups of coffee in a tray and some sour-cheese cake which I had tried earlier in their house in Nicosia and it was so delicious!
We sit and chat for hours and they are telling me of how Agni had come up with the idea of restoring the house, her suggesting to the Cypriot Tourist Organization and the creation of Agrotourism in Cyprus. She is telling me of film stars from the United States who stayed in the house while filming a movie in the area. She opens up to me and she is so sad when she admits that many people steal different things from the rooms at times! We talk until it gets dark, and it is time for dinner. Agni is an excellent cook and she tells me that most of the times she is asked by her guests to prepare lunch or dinner for them. She shows me around the kitchen and the dinning room, and I help her set the table.
Dino opens a bottle of some fine red wine, and we enjoy a home-made Cypriot dish the three of us. It is here while dining when I tell them about a mini bar or small fridge in the room. They inform me that very soon all rooms will have one. We make plans for tomorrow, and Dino promises to take me to the Monastery of Trooditissa since I want so much to visit.
Dinner is over, and it is time for me to climb the stairs and get to my room.
I can't wait to have a shower, make some phone calls and rest. Tomorrow seems to be a promising day!


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Plenty of proud war veterans Veteran licence plates by city
Surrey and Chilliwack are the top spots in the region when it comes to the number of war veterans who have put commemorative licence plates on their vehicles.
Surrey has 1,770 veterans' plates registered, while Chilliwack has 1,350 – both far more than the 850 registered in the City of Vancouver.
Chilliwack's high number despite having less than a sixth the population of the two bigger cities is because it was once home to Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack and large numbers of ex-military personnel still live there.
Langley, with 840 veterans' plates, and Abbotsford with 830, were just behind Vancouver, according to the statistics provided by ICBC.
Cities with the highest per capita use of veterans plates tend to be ones that have high levels of car ownership and large seniors populations.
ICBC spokesman Doug Henderson said another possible factor is the large number RCMP officers who live in Surrey.
He noted many Mounties qualify for veterans' plates if they have served in overseas operations.
Veterans plates in Metro Vancouver make up about 0.5 per cent of the region's 1.38 million registered vehicles.
ICBC stats show there are 10,500 veterans plates registered in the Lower Mainland, Sea to Sky corridor and Sunshine Coast.
The provincial total is 27,040.
Abbotsford 830
Burnaby 520
Chilliwack 1,350
Coquitlam 360
Delta 570
Hope 100
Langley 840
Maple Ridge 430
Mission 220
New Westminster 280
North Vancouver 470
Pitt Meadows 100
Port Coquitlam 130
Richmond 540
Surrey 1,770
Vancouver 850
West Vancouver 260
White Rock 280
Source: ICBC

subset: commoncrawl


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By Brandon Speck/NEMS Daily Journal
It seems like a yearly problem and this year is no different. Rain – even snow – is postponing softball and baseball games. With the playoffs in the visible future, teams getting all of their division games in becomes a challenge.
"It is every year. Doesn't seem like you can get into a routine," Mooreville softball coach Perry Wilburn said. "Play two or three and sit out a week. Now we're starting to lose games."
Mooreville was one of several area teams forced to postpone Thursday. The Lady Troopers moved a key Division 2-3A game against Nettleton to Monday. Mooreville was originally scheduled to play Itawamba AHS on Monday. That game may not get rescheduled.
North Pontotoc and Lewisburg will push it to the limit, scheduling a 2-4A game on a rare Wednesday, April 18, a day before playoff play-in games are scheduled.
"What do you do? There's nothing you can do about it," North coach Shane Montgomery said. "One thing you can't control is the weather. You just can't get anything in sync."
Wilburn says the non-division games get teams ready for the games that count, but says his team is fortunate to have already played 19 games, some of them he schedules in tournaments in case the weather does what it usually does.
"If you get a pretty day, get in as many innings as you can," Wilburn said.
Baldwyn at New Site was one of Thursday's casualties. The two will play at 5 p.m. Monday. Four of Baldwyn's five remaining games are division games.
layoffs hurt
Baldwyn coach Jessica Taylor has already seen what too much time off will do. Her Lady Bearcats were forced to go 12 days (rain and basketball) between a win in the Tupelo Tournament and a shutout loss at home to Mooreville.
"We've only played 14 games and we're usually into the 20s," Taylor said. "We could play five to six games in a week, pretty much all division games."


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Eureka Springs school district wins lawsuit, keeps over $800,000
Good news for the Eureka Springs School District: On Thursday it was announced the Arkansas State Supreme Court had declared the district the winner in a lawsuit with the Arkansas Department of Education involving $824,914.
The lawsuit stems back to the 2010-2011 school year, when the school district's millage income exceeded the $6,023 allocated to each student by the state, meaning the school district had brought in more money than the state allows it to keep. The state said at the time the school district must pay back the funds and would have to do so every subsequent year as long as Eureka remains a "property-rich" district.
At issue for Eureka Springs, however, is the fact that while the property valuations may be considered "wealthy," in actual fact, 77 percent of the elementary school children in the district qualify for the Free and Reduced Lunch program, i.e., poverty level.
In February 2011, Rep. Bryan King (R-Green Forest) filed House Bill 1435. Sponsored by nine other legislators from around the state, the bill was intended to keep the excess funds in the districts that generate them, as is stated in the enacting state code language in 1999.
"It isn't as if Eureka Springs is the land of milk and honey, despite the extra funding," King said today. "Having said that, the school has just build a multi-million dollar high school on their own, without state funding. And it's certainly not as if the excess money would help neighboring Green Forest or Berryville in any way. The school deserves to keep its own money."
"I continue to subscribe to the conclusions I reached in Opinion No. 2010-94," State Attorney General Dustin McDaniel wrote at the time, although he did acknowledge there appear to be inconsistencies in the wording of the law.
Citing Dupree v. Alma School District in 1983, McDaniel wrote that "basing educational funding upon disparities in tax revenues between property-rich and property-poor school districts is inconsistent with the constitutional requirements of equal protection ... and of adequacy and equity in education" and said that such disparities "widen the gap."
He said what the court defined as the "main issue" was that "when all counties are assessed at the proper level, the gap will still exist between the poor and wealthy districts and the mandate of the constitution will remain unfulfilled."
He did not define or make reference to a definition of "the proper level," however.
In February, the ADE informed the Eureka Springs School District it would not approve this year's school budget, because the district refused to remove the contested funds from its income line.
In an interview with the Citizen, Eureka Springs School District Superintendent Curtis Turner expressed relief at the decision.
"The court affirmed we had won on every point of our lawsuit," Turner said. "Obviously we feel local money should stay local. We feel we are entitled to these funds. We don't get state funding anyway, other than some specific restricted entitlement programs, so yes, we feel whatever we generate should be used to operate our schools here locally."
Turner said he was still "floating in the air" from the good news. "It's so premature that everything hasn't soaked in yet," he said. "It's a good feeling. Had we lost the lawsuit and been forced to return the money, it would have made things pretty thin here. A tough situation. Fortunately that didn't happen."


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Jos Buttler and Ravi Bopara led a late charge that nearly helped England chase down a record 300 runs in the fourth One-Day International (ODI) match against Sri Lanka at Lord's. Lasith Malinga helped Sri Lanka defend 12 runs in the last over. Buttler scored the fastest ton by an England player in ODIs but England went down by seven runs.
After conceding a massive 300 for nine, England started on a very bad note as Alastair Cook and Ian Bell were both out early to leave England reeling at 10 for two in 3.2 overs. They might have lost a third wicket as well, as Gary Ballance was adjudged out caught behind, but he reviewed the decision and was found not out. Along with Joe Root, Ballance added 84 runs as both batsmen got to 40s before getting out in quick succession.
Earlier, Kumar Sangakkara led the way with an innings of 112 runs from 104 balls in the fourth One-Day International match between England and Sri Lanka at Lord's. It was Sangakkara's first international century at Lord's. Sri Lanka posted a daunting target of 301 for England.
Sri Lanka started on a positive note, with opener Kusal Perera scoring at a fair clip. However, his fellow opening partner Tillakaratne Dilshan struggled to get the ball off the blocks. Perera got to 19 off 14 balls with two boundaries and a six before edging Harry Gurney to Chris Jordan at slip. That brought in Sangakkara and a very productive period of play for Sri Lanka


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Humane Society Sues Government over Poultry Slaughter
WASHINGTON Chickens and turkeys should be covered by the same law as cows, pigs and other animals when they are slaughtered, the Humane Society of the United States said in a lawsuit filed Monday against the Agriculture Department.
Before becoming T-bone steak or pork ribs, livestock must be stunned or otherwise unable to feel pain, according to the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act. However, the Agriculture Department maintains that the 47-year-old law does not apply to poultry.
The Humane Society argues that common methods of slaughtering poultry are not only cruel; they increase the risk of contamination that leads to food poisoning. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Typically, birds arriving at a slaughterhouse are dumped from their crates onto conveyor belts, then shackled upside down on a conveyor line, the Humane Society said. The humane slaughter act specifically prohibits shackling and hanging of conscious animals by their legs, the Humane Society said.
Birds are then dipped into electrically charged water to stun them, their necks are cut by machine and they are dipped into a scalding vat to loosen feathers, according to the lawsuit.
Studies show that birds defecate and inhale when they are stunned, contaminating the water of the stun bath as well as birds themselves, the Humane Society argued.
"Consumers may well be at an increased risk for contracting a potentially life-threatening foodborne illness," said Michael Greger, the group's director of public health and animal agriculture.
A poultry industry spokesman called the lawsuit a publicity stunt for Thanksgiving, when people will eat an estimated 45 million turkeys.
"We do have humane handling and slaughter in the industry," said Richard Lobb, spokesman for the National Chicken Council. "The system is set up to stun the bird so that it is insensitive to pain when it is killed, and it should be dead before it enters the scalder."
Examples mentioned in the lawsuit are exceptions, he said.
Had Congress intended to cover poultry, the law would have said so specifically, Lobb said.
The law applies to "cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine and other livestock." In the lawsuit, the Humane Society argues that poultry counts as livestock.
Agriculture Department spokesman Steven Cohen said a separate law, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, governs inspection of poultry processing plants.
The law ensures "birds are slaughtered in a manner that's consistent with good commercial practices and they are handled in a way that minimizes discomfort and accidental injury," Cohen said.
About 9 billion birds are slaughtered for food every year in the U.S., the Humane Society said, citing Agriculture Department estimates. About 36 million cattle, 100 million pigs and 3 million sheep and lambs are slaughtered annually, the group said.
The Humane Society was joined in the lawsuit by another animal rights group, San Francisco-based East Bay Animal Advocates, and five individual consumers.
Source: Associated Press
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Have used this adapter for years and it still works! The only frustration that I have with it is that now I have the iphone, the adapter has a really hard time fitting into almost all the cases that I have, so i'm always taking my phone out of the case to charge it while i'm on the road. other wise, fantastic!
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Methane—made and taken apart by microbes, in the Earth, by people
Roald Hoffmann
A Kiln on a Landfill
A few years ago, I spent some time at the Penland School for Crafts in the Blue Ridge country of North Carolina. There I met Jon Ellenbogen, a potter with a good background in technology. Jon showed me pictures of glass and ceramic kilns and of greenhouses on the site of the nearby Mitchell/Yancey county landfill. Once a smelly six-acre eyesore, the landfill now provides not only a home for artists and greenhouses, but also, importantly, the energy they consume. From methane.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 33 percent of methane released into the atmosphere by human activity comes from landfills. This production is the result of microbes (they're at it, around the globe) that decompose the buried waste. Landfill gas is roughly 50 percent methane, 45 percent CO2 and a few other gases. The total gas-generation potential of the Mitchell/Yancey landfill is 2 cubic feet of methane per pound of refuse buried. Figuring that each year the dump operated, it swallowed perhaps 10,000 tons of waste, there's lots of methane there. EnergyXchange, Ellenbogen's nonprofit organization, reasoned, why not use it? If only more landfills around the country did so!
Biogas may be generated from any organic waste, but animal manure is an especially good source. Large-scale animal productions of swine, poultry or cattle are natural places to site biogas digesters—dedicated residences for domesticated methanogens. And there are already millions of small ones, adapted for household use, installed around the world, especially in China and India.
The Indian biodigesters work mainly with cow manure—it takes three good cows to provide a household with cooking gas and some lights. The Chinese digesters, a somewhat different design, use human nightsoil. In both designs, there is much useful digested manure left in the end.
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A quick and delicious pizza!
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Spread a layer of the tomato paste onto the pita bread. Scatter the remaining ingredients, except the spinach leaves, over the top.
Bake in a hot oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pizza base is crispy and the top is heated through. Scatter torn spinach leaves over the hot pizza and serve.
Add your favorite fresh herbs for extra flavor.


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Full profile →'">
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
Music curation is suddenly the hot topic when it comes to streaming music services after the reports that it will be the distinguishing feature of the yet-to-be-launched Beats Music. Yes, it seems like song suggestions from a real human being trump that of an algorithm, at least on paper, and the threat of this new feature by Beats has caused both Spotify and Rdio to respond with curation features of their own.
But just making suggestions isn't enough, according to a secret Beats Music training document. Their belief is that the way you make suggestions is just as important as the suggestions themselves. In an article on Gigaom.com, a number of the significant rules for curation are spelled out. Among them:
- "Avoid overly clever transitions or organizing principles that will be lost on the average listener (unless the playlist itself is geared toward connoisseurs).
- Talking down to listeners is not desired. Avoid elitism.
- Playlists should provide the best listening experience within a specific context."
It seems that most Beats Music curators providing playlists will be freelancers, so the company definitely wants to make sure that it spells out the ground rules for what it believes to be the desired user experience. Apparently there will be some celebrity curators as well who won't have the same restrictions, since their main attraction is their unique tastes, but everyone else is to be held on a fairly short leash.
According to the document, the curators will be given access to a web authoring system that will allow them to listen to songs, them compile them into the desired playlist. This can be based on an artist, genre of music, year or everyday activity of the listener, but is ultimately based around a given demographic. The playlists are then limited to 70 minutes or less, which corresponds to what's supposed to be the average commute time in the US.
While not much else is known about the other features of Beats Music yet, it can be said that they really get this part of offering human-designed playlists. It's the listeners who will make or break the service, and they have to come first above the ego of the curator. There's going to be a lot of competition in the streaming space soon with Apple's iRadio rumored to launch next month, so Beats Music is only going to get one chance at getting this right. It's hard to say if other services offering the same feature have thought it through as Beats seems to have done, but if this is to be the killer feature everyone believes it's going to be, they should.
If Beats Music launches by the end of the year as rumored, we'll have our answer about the importance of curation, and the company's view of it, in the early days of 2014.
DISCLAIMER: I know Ian Rogers, the CEO of Beats Music, and have interviewed him in one of my books - "Music 3.0: A Survival Guide To Making Music In The Internet Age 2nd edition." I've not communicated with him since he's joined Beats Music.


text: The Small Victory Your Admin Account Wins You If Your Laptop's StolenJamie Condliffe4/17/13 5:21amFiled to: HumorCartoonComicxkcd71EditPromoteShare to KinjaToggle Conversation toolsGo to permalinkOf course all your email accounts, social networks, cloud services and payment details are up for grabs if someone grabs your laptop while it's logged in—because, really, we're all to lazy to log-in over and over. But at least your drivers are safe!AdvertisementToday's XKCD was a real treat to wake up to, but best of all was the mouse over:"Before you say anything, no, I know not to leave my computer sitting out logged in to all my accounts. I have it set up so after a few minutes of inactivity it automatically switches to my brother's."It's serve him right for switching the language setting on your phone to Arabic all those years back, right? [XKCD]Reply71 repliesLeave a reply


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Is the CCIE still worth it ?
I would like to start by answering my own question. The answer for me is yes. I was filled with such a deep sense of satisfaction/accomplishment when I was notified that I had passed. I felt that I had earned it and that I truly deserved it. I realize that there are people who feel that Cisco has made the exam too easy. That they have made it possible for technically inferior people to pass it with little or no experience. I can tell you that if I felt Cisco had "handed" me the certification, I would have refused to take it. I would not have been able to live with myself knowing that someone had just given it to me. Some may feel that the exam has become too easy (or easier than past versions). For others, it may be impossible to achieve for a variety of reasons.
My opinion is this:
I went through my own little personal hell to achieve this goal of mine. At the tail end of my pursuit, I was a better person/engineer for having done it. This is all I need to know. I don't need triple CCIE's or other respected 4 digit people to embrace my accomplishment or to bring credibility to my achievement. I survived one of the toughest Military boot camps in the world back in 1988. I remember feeling the same way after graduating. I remember feeling the same sense of accomplishment/satisfaction. There were people who went through boot camps long before I did during wartime that claimed that modern boot camps (like mine) were for whimps. This didn't bother me then and it doesn't bother me now with the CCIE discussions.
The bottom line for me is that I learned a lot about myself. I proved to myself once again that there is nothing I can't accomplish. No one will ever be able to steal my thunder in that respect with words or opinions. As far as technical ability, I didn't need the CCIE to prove anything. I was born with it. So, I don't mind people assuming that I'm technically inferior because I happen to have a 5 digit number.


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The River as the Original Facebook of the L.A. Basin | KCET
The River as the Original Facebook of the L.A. Basin
Matt Huffman, along with several others, shared his story about the L.A. River in December. Tell yours on April 30th.
It is said there was a great "council tree" of the Gabrielino village of Yangna that once sat in the flood plain of the Los Angeles River near what is now downtown Los Angeles. Under the shade of that 60-foot high Sycamore, tribal leaders debated and shared stories that would guide the prosperity of the village.
This sharing of stories at a designated platform--one can liken it as being the original Facebook of Los Angeles basin--will happen this Saturday when community leaders invite villagers, councils and storytellers to gather at El Rio de Los Angeles State Park for some face-to-face social networking at Departures LA River StoryShare day.
David de la Torre shared his story (in Spanish, too) last December.
Villagers who "like" the Los Angeles River may want to heed the drums (and trumpets, keyboards) of Ozomatl and gather to share their wisdom on the river. While oral histories are significant to document historical events, this harvesting of stories can change the course of the river. Recollections go beyond numbers and stats of census data by giving voice so the river can be recorded, documented, and interpreted.
Is the Los Angeles River to be a green refuge for birds and fish alongside Griffith Park? Or is there something about the industrial grit along Downtown Los Angeles that makes it a unique visual reference for the city in film? Or is it like Los Angeles, diverse in form and function?
Share Your Story
On Saturday, April 30th, join KCET Departures to share your story at El Rio de Los Angeles State Park. More info here.
And with enough voices answering the village request for oral histories, documentation is not just archived for reference, it becomes source material and reminders how vital the river is to the city.
It becomes chatter that can matter.
Twitter: @KCETdeparturesFacebook: KCETdepartures
vanishing coral
Earth Focus
An Introduction to Coral Reefs
An Introduction to Coral Reefs
native plants
Earth Focus
Get a Grip, Folks: Cheerios' 'Mistake' is Actually a Teachable Moment for Gardeners
Get a Grip, Folks: Cheerios' 'Mistake' is Actually a Teachable Moment for Gardeners
Socal Wanderer
SoCal Wanderer
Wildflowers Are Blooming and Seagulls Are Mating on Anacapa Island
Wildflowers Are Blooming and Seagulls Are Mating on Anacapa Island
L.A. Histories Told Through L.A. Addresses
'All Night Menu' Returns to Tell Histories Through L.A. Addresses


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Last One Standing Math Games - Grades 3 & up
A fun and easy way for students to learn and practice basic math skills! These self-checking games can be played in groups of 3 or 5 students. Grade 2 set covers addition and subtraction. Grade 3 set deals with multiplication, division, and fractions.


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I know this sounds a little crazy, but this guy is usually on point.
Who the hell would want Jason Taylor?
Next to B.B. this guy is the biggest individual enemy known to the JETS!!
Why let go of T.J. for L.T.?
Wasn't he a huge locker room leader?
Getting rid of Feely for 300K?
Who's left?
Wallace Wright? Probably our best special teamer along with the L.B. dude who's name escapes me....Murrell?
I know it's just business or trimmin' the fat,
but maybe the guy is burnin' out or crackin up or something.
Some of these moves are raising eyebrows~


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To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
One of the many business strategies to win more government contracts is to "team" with other companies that provide specific specialties or qualify for socio-economic benefits. Sometimes, these partnerships are formal through a "teaming agreement" or "joint venture," or informal without a written agreement. Under any arrangement, a government contractor is usually concerned about officially being considered "affiliated" with its project partners because of the possible loss of the socio-economic benefits the government contractor possesses. Now, a recent Eleventh Circuit case, Agility Defense & Government Services v. United States Department of Defense,[1] has taken fears of "affiliation" to a new level.
A traditional government contractor was concerned about an affiliation determination in regard to socio-economic preferences, usually concerning small business and certification status (such as HUBZone, 8(a), veteran, etc.). Typically, the small business would bid on a set aside project and promise to do the required portion of the scope of work, while subcontracting the remainder to a large company. Prior to bidding, as referenced above, some partners would solidify the arrangement through a teaming agreement or joint venture. But, any agreement, division of scope of work, and control had to be carefully crafted and assigned to avoid being considered affiliated by the government, which would result in the small business losing its status for a period of time (in addition to not being awarded the government contract).
To determine whether two separate business concerns are effectively affiliated, the government applies a totality of the circumstances test. In a Size Protest, the Small Business Administration will evaluate the incorporating documents of both companies, the agreements between both companies and the realistic relations that exist (i.e., sharing of employees, facilities, back office support, etc.) to determine if affiliation exists.
Affiliation is not always negative. Potential contractors might be able to affiliate with a partner to show that the company is of the appropriate size to complete the project, has the necessary capital or bonding capacity necessary for the project and has a track record of responsibility before being considered for a contract.
But as a recent decision from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals shows, government contractors must now be aware of a new pitfall of any affiliation with their partners. In Agility Defense, the Eleventh Circuit held that an affiliate can be suspended indefinitely based solely on its status as an affiliate with a potentially-seedy entity. In that case, Agility Defense & Government Services and Agility International, Inc. (Affiliates) were suspended by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA)[2] pursuant to 48 C.F.R. § 9.407-1, after its parent company, Public Warehousing Company, K.S.C., was indicted for fraud.[3]
The Affiliates then sued the DLA, claiming that the agency could not indefinitely suspend them while legal proceedings against Public Warehousing continued. Because the DLA had not brought legal proceedings against the Affiliates within the timeline required by 48 C.F.R. § 9.407-4, the district court ordered the DLA to terminate their suspensions.[4]
On appeal, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court after concluding that the term "legal proceedings," as used in 48 C.F.R. § 9.407-4(b), means "legal proceedings against the indicted government contractor."[5] But, more importantly, the appellate court held that in order to suspend an affiliate under the regulations, an agency must satisfy only three requirements: (1) it must establish that the affiliate has the power to control the indicted government contractor or be controlled by the indicted government contractor; (2) it must specifically name the affiliate; and (3) it must provide notice of the suspension and notice of an opportunity for the affiliate to respond.[6] "Together," the Court stated, "the suspensions of an indicted government contractor and its affiliate constitute one 'suspension decision' because an affiliate is 'include[d]] in the suspension of the indicted government contractor."[7] What's more, "no showing of wrongdoing by the affiliate is required for suspension or disbarment."[8]
As one might imagine, the Eleventh Circuit's decision carries tremendous implications for affiliates of government contractors. Not only might such an affiliate be indefinitely suspended based on actions of the contractor, but the affiliate might be debarred—a more permanent prohibition against the affiliation—as a result of a contractor's conviction.[9] Losing a socio-economic benefit is bad enough if "affiliation" is determined when such determination is unwanted because of the lost business opportunities associated with such benefits. Now, the risk of being debarred should cause all government contractors to review their current partnership arrangements and perform solid due diligence before entering into future "teaming" arrangements.
As referenced above, "affiliation" is determined utilizing a "totality of circumstances" test. So there is not a "checklist" that a government contractor can easily follow to ensure affiliation does not exist, while still ensuring adequate legal protections in any partnership relationship. The bottom-line is that the government is concerned about "control." Control is not only reflected in a team's written agreements, but also in regard to a factual analysis concerning common ownership, past projects for which the team partnered, bonding arrangement, and practical control on any project.
Partnering with other companies provides a competitive advantage against other bidders on government projects. But the decision to partner should be made after careful consideration, so as to avoid the unintended consequence (indeed, a potential death sentence) of becoming a suspended or debarred government contractor. Consulting with knowledgeable legal counsel who understands the regulatory environment of government contracting and procurement law can also help a company get and maintain an edge in government contracting—and possibly avoid guilt by affiliation.
[1] Agility Def. & Gov't Servs., Inc. v. United States Dept. of Def., No. 13-10757, 2013 WL 6850891 (11th Cir. Dec. 31, 2013).
[2] The Defense Logistics Agency is a combat support agency of the Department of Defense. Id. at *2.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id. at *3-4.
[6] Id. (citing 48 C.F.R. §§ 9.403, 9.407-1(c)). Providing the affiliate with notice of and an opportunity to respond to its suspension in writing are "are constitutionally adequate procedures" to negate a due process violation from the affiliate's indefinite suspension. Id. at *5.
[7] Id. at *4 (citing 48 C.F.R. §9.407-1(c)).
[8] Id. at *3.
[9] Id. at *4.
See more »
DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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How can a work-at-home mom blogger bring her child to work? Here are five ways!
When I was a child, the day I looked forward to the most was the "Bring your child to work day." My parents were both teachers, and so, off to their school I went with my mom and dad. I loved being able to pass out papers, write on the chalkboard, collect lunch money, walk the hallways and "correct" papers. It's something that still puts a smile on my face because they were such great memories.
Unfortunately, it's a little impossible to have a "Bring your child to work day" with my kids. I work from home, and on top of that, I work online. I have no office to go to. I have no boss to report to. And I don't have officemates with other kids for them to play with. It's just me, myself and I.
It's a question I get asked a lot from fellow mom bloggers: "How do you get your kids involved with your work?" I do the very best I can to involve my sons in my work life. It never occurred to me that I was positively impacting my kids until this past Monday afternoon when I heard my oldest son tell a fellow classmate, "My mom brings me to work all the time! I love it."
So this week, here are five ways I'm loving for mom bloggers to bring their children into their blogging lives! This really excites me to share with you!
Many mom bloggers are offered the opportunity to go away on blogging trips for a company or a travel destination. Whenever you're invited, always ask if you can bring your child(ren). It's a wonderful way for your child to experience what you do, but also a wonderful way to be together. I recently went on a trip where children were allowed to come and it was incredible to see the amazement in their eyes as to what their moms did. Very special.
Mom blogger events pop up all the time throughout the country, especially in the big cities. The events are often geared towards just the moms, but there are times when kids are allowed to attend. Bring your kids along when it's possible! My sons tagged along to an Xbox event with me once and they still talk about it! It's fun for them to get a glimpse of your work world and events are absolutely part of that!
Include them right on your blog. Depending upon their age, have them actually become a correspondent or guest writer for your blog. Let them feel connected to your blog through actually blogging for it. I started a section called "Alex Rocks" on my blog where my son Alex reviews clothing and talks about his fashion finds. He loves it!
Another way to really bring your child into your work? Have them help you review toys! Toy companies love a mom's honest opinion on toys, but it's also important to have your child's perspective, too. Allow your children to help you review toys — what do they like? What don't they like? What would they change? Best part is — your children usually gets to keep the toy! :)
Content for blogs is king. It always will be. Many times bloggers have to leave their house to create some of their content — shopping hauls, grocery store, craft store, fitness center, local news channel, etc. Have your child tag along as your "assistant" for the day. I did a local news segment last week and took Alex with me. He watched from the sidelines, held my notebook and cell phone and felt like a king himself!
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As someone who can turn his nose up at "catchy hooks" I have to admit I am quite impressed by new local minstrels Days of Rae. Their Quiet Profanity release had me thinking of Mazzy Star, which I can totally appreciate. But that's not to pigeonhole them — they stand firmly on their own feet here.
My hat goes off to these people, who in only a year have made very thorough rounds of the Twin Cities, getting their feet dirty at all kinds of local stages. Lead singer Cherie Rae Cobbs' voice cuts through the air like a good steel cuts fancy hard cheese. Any local venue should be delighted to be graced with such high caliber musician-ship.
Catch their next show at Jo Jo's Rise & Wine Cafe on February 20th, or the following week at the Hexagon Bar on February 25th.


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Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.
Christian institutions hoping to win a free campus in western Massachusetts might soon face competition from others who are willing to pay for it, according to terms of a year-end donation from the property's billionaire owners.
Last Friday (Dec. 28), Hobby Lobby Stores donated a 217-acre campus in Northfield, Mass., to the National Christian Foundation (NCF), a Georgia-based charity that administers donor-advised funds.
NCF now plans to do what Hobby Lobby has tried in vain to do since acquiring the property in 2009: give it to a Christian institution that will honor the legacy of its founder, 19th-century evangelist D.L. Moody.
"We're committed to maintaining the spirit with which the campus was founded," said Aimee Minnich, president of NCF's office in Olathe, Kan., in an email. "So our first intent would be to find an educational institution as the final owner of the property."
NCF received no requirements from Oklahoma's Green family, which owns the Hobby Lobby craft stores chain, according to Hobby Lobby real estate analyst Les Miller. Although the Greens have long hoped someone would get the campus free of charge, it's now possible NCF could sell it.
"Our intent is to find a permanent owner for the property and turn it over to them, either by sale, or by donation, or by some combination of those two," said NCF spokesman Steve Chapman.
The gift to NCF marks the latest chapter in a saga that began just over three years ago, when Northfield Mount Hermon School consolidated onto one campus and sold its 43-building Northfield campus to Hobby Lobby for $100,000. The Green family poured $5 million into repairs and renovations with hopes of seeing a new C.S. Lewis College operating on the site by 2012.
But finding a recipient with sufficient means to run the facilities has proven difficult. First the California-based C.S. Lewis Foundation fell short of fundraising targets to launch a C.S. Lewis College on the site. Then an eight-month search process turned up a new recipient, Arizona's for-profit Grand Canyon University, in September. But GCU pulled out when projected costs for maintenance and upgrades climbed from $150 million to more than $180 million.
"We had hoped to be able to find a qualified recipient of this property ourselves and made great efforts to do so," Miller said in an email. "When we were unable, we decided to enlist the help of NCF."
By giving the real estate to an NCF donor-advised fund, the Greens remain involved and may make recommendations on who ultimately receives the property. They also receive new benefits, notably a big 2012 tax write-off for the fair-market value of the Northfield campus. Hobby Lobby declined to comment on the campus' appraised value.
The donation comes as Hobby Lobby faces whopping new federal fines—$1.3 million per day, starting Jan. 1—for noncompliance with a federal mandate to provide birth control coverage to employees. Miller said these new financial pressures, which are the subject of a federal lawsuit, did not factor into the decision to unload the Northfield property.
Giving the property to NCF seems to help Hobby Lobby pursue its original goal for the property, observers say, while lightening burdens associated with doing so.
"It was a smart move for Hobby Lobby to give it to the foundation," said Lisa Featherngill, managing director of planning for Abbot Downing, a Wells Fargo company that advises ultra-high-net-worth families. "They can leverage the foundation's network of charities (to find a recipient), they can get the write-off … and they don't have to be as involved in the transaction as they have been" up to this point.
And if NCF is unable to give or sell the campus to an educational institution, the new arrangement allows for additional options.
"Sometimes people will give an appreciated asset to a charity so that the asset can be sold within the donor-advised fund and basically avoid capital gains on the sale," said Featherngill, who's based in Winston-Salem, N.C. All proceeds in that case, she said, would be available for NCF to distribute to other charities.
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" The law demands good works and uses its terror--rejection, shame, fear of punishment, unanswered prayer, personal tragedy, etc.--as motivation. Here performance is a necessity to secure the blessings and avoid the curses. Grace, on the other hand, allows us to serve on a different basis--not from fear but on the basis of love and gratitude, from appreciation and gladness for blessings freely given and freely received.
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Description: ArtBin Super Satchels are great for carrying and storing sewing, art and craft supplies. Each comes with a secure latch and convenient carrying handle. Stackable and acid-free. 1 Compartment Super Satchel has a non divided space the easily holds fabric pre-cuts, fat quarters, quilt blocks, 12 x 12 inch paper and more. Approximately 15 1/4 x 14 x 3 1/2 inch. Translucent Aqua.
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Hamms Motion Signs |
SIGNSWooden, Metal and Lighted Signs |
Styles, Top and Bottom Types |
Bottlecaps and Coasters |
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WWII and Camouflage (OD) Cans |
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Here is an online album of vintage beer advertising items for sale. We'll try to keep it updated. As you probably realize, some of this stuff will go QUICKLY, while others may wait for a "loving home" to adopt them. Contact Steve at firstname.lastname@example.com or Barry at email@example.com for details.
US $205.01 (15 Bids) End Date: Thursday Oct-02-2008 14:09:53 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |


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3 Weather Alerts High Wind Watch issued March 28 at 7:33PM PDT expiring March 30 at 11:00PM PDT in effect for: Clark High Wind Watch issued March 28 at 7:33PM PDT expiring March 30 at 11:00PM PDT in effect for: Clark, Lincoln, Nye High Wind Watch issued March 28 at 7:33PM PDT expiring March 31 at 8:00PM PDT in effect for: Esmeralda, Lincoln, Nye 3 Weather Alerts
President-elect Trump tweets he'll be leaving businesses 'to focus entirely on running the country' Marie Rossiter 4:12 AM, Nov 30, 2016 5:23 AM, Nov 30, 2016 Share Article Previous Next Donald Trump's sprawling international business creates countless conflicts of interest, which could lead to corruption. And handing his business over to his kids wouldn't solve that. Here's why. SEE MORE: Trump's Business Could Make His Presidency An Ethical Minefield For one, this is not a blind trust — like, at all. In a blind trust, one person hands off their business to someone else and doesn't communicate with them. That's unlikely to happen. What's more, Trump appointed his three oldest kids to his transition team. And his daughter Ivanka Trump has been in a meeting with Japan's prime minister and a call with Argentina's president . She also met with Indian businessmen who spoke to Donald Trump about expanding deals with his ventures. Plus, in a true blind trust, Trump would sell off his company assets, just as previous presidents have. But Trump plans to hold on to his, meaning he'll profit from any business gains during his presidency. And previous presidents have set another standard Trump hasn't followed: releasing tax returns . That means we don't know the full scope of the potential conflicts of interest surrounding Trump — or his kids. Trending stories at Newsy.com Donald Trump's DC Hotel Is A Big Conflict Of Interest Trump's Transportation Secretary Pick Is No Stranger To White House Donald Trump Wants To Outlaw Burning The American Flag President-elect Donald Trump gives the thumbs up as he arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016 in Bedminster, N.J.. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Carolyn Kaster Copyright Associated Press Show Caption Hide Caption Previous Next President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday morning to announce he's leaving his businesses in total "in order to fully focus on running the country."In a series of tweets, Trump announced a press conference scheduled for Dec. 15 in New York City with his children to discuss his decision. RELATED: Trump administration, Carrier reach deal to keep nearly 1,000 jobs in USThe president-elect tweeted while he was "not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses."Here is the full series of tweets from President-elect Trump: I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my ...— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016 great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country in order to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! While I am not mandated to ....— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016 do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses..— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016 Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2016 Share Article A Share A A A Share Article


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U.S. Stocks Rebound on Retail Sales; Treasuries, Yen Fall
Lu Wang and Jeremy HerronU.S. stocks rose, with benchmark indexes rebounding from their biggest drops this year, while Treasuries retreated as retail sales climbed more than economists predicted in December. Emerging-market stocks fell and the yen weakened while natural gas gained a third day.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 1.1 percent by 4:30 p.m. in New York, the biggest one-day advance since Dec. 18 after sliding 1.3 percent yesterday. Treasuries fell for the first time in four days. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index slipped 0.2 percent and European stocks climbed. Japan's Topix Index sank the most since August and the yen lost 1.2 percent to the dollar after the nation posted a record current-account deficit. Gas futures jumped 2.2 percent while gold retreated.
U.S. retail sales rose 0.2 percent last month, beating the 0.1 percent increase projected by economists as consumers bought holiday gifts. Federal Reserve board members Charles Plosser and Richard Fisher separately called for an end to the central bank's monthly bond-purchase program after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart backed reductions yesterday. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s fourth-quarter profit dropped while Wells Fargo & Co.'s net income rose as major banks began reporting results.
"We're probably at the stage in the stock market cycle where good news will continue to be seen as good news," Martin Leclerc, founder of Barrack Yard Advisors LLC, which oversees $270 million, said by phone. "I would say that after this massive move we've had it does feel like the animal spirits are still resurrected."
Valuations, Fed
Today's rebound trimmed the S&P 500's drop in January to 0.5 percent after the gauge yesterday capped the worst start to a year since 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7 percent after sinking 1.1 percent yesterday.
The S&P 500 trades at 15.6 times estimated earnings, exceeding its 14.1 average multiple over the past five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as three rounds of Fed stimulus helped propel stocks higher. The S&P 500 climbed 30 percent in 2013, its biggest annual jump since 1997.
Last week's weaker-than-estimated U.S. payrolls report shouldn't discourage central-bank policy makers from pursuing cuts to asset purchases after they announced the first $10 billion reduction last month, Lockhart, who won't vote on policy in 2014, told reporters yesterday. The economy was on a "solid footing," he added.
Plosser, an opponent of bond purchases, said today that the Fed's decision to taper was the right move and that the economy is on "firmer footing." Fisher said he "would have preferred to pull back our purchases by double the announced amount." Fed policy makers next meet Jan. 28-29.
Time Warner
Yields on 10-year Treasury notes rose four basis points, or 0.04 percentage point, to 2.87 percent, Bloomberg Bond Trader data today showed.
Shares of Time Warner Cable Inc. climbed 2.7 percent after the company rejected an acquisition offer from Charter Communications Inc. Intel Corp. and Jabil Circuit Inc. paced gains among technology companies, rising at least 3.9 percent as analysts upgraded their stock. Intuitive Surgical Inc. rallied 6.8 percent after sales beat analysts' estimates. JPMorgan rose 0.1 percent while Wells Fargo gained 0.1 percent after reporting fourth-quarter results.
Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are also set to report earnings this week. Earnings for companies in the S&P 500 probably climbed an average 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter, while sales probably increased 1.8 percent, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Earnings Season
"Earnings are going to dominate for the next two or three weeks," Patrick Kaser, a managing director and portfolio manager at Brandywine Global Investment Management in Philadelphia, said by phone. His firm oversees about $50 billion. "People are concerned about the rate of growth in the economy right now. How we finished the quarter going into January, I think that's going to matter the most for where we are right now."
MSCI's emerging markets gauge trimmed an earlier drop of as much as 0.6 percent. Benchmark indexes in Russia and Turkey erased earlier declines. The Turkish lira weakened 0.2 percent to 2.1835 per dollar after weakening as much as 0.8 percent to 2.1974 after data showed that the country's current-account deficit widened.
South Africa's rand slumped to a five-year low on concern labor disputes at the world's three biggest platinum producers will weigh on mining output and dent the country's exports. The currency declined as much as 0.7 percent to 10.8952 per dollar, the weakest intraday level since October 2008.
Dollar Gains
The dollar gained for the first time in four days, with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rising 0.4 percent.
Japan's currency slipped against all 16 of its major counterparts after the nation's current-account shortfall widened more than economists projected in November. The yen weakened to 104.22 per dollar, posting the biggest one-day decline since Dec. 18 after rising to 102.86 per dollar yesterday. The yen dropped 1.2 percent per euro, while the dollar was little changed at $1.3679 per euro.
Japanese index futures rose, with contracts on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average gaining 1.2 percent to 15,685 in Chicago after jumping 1.3 percent to 15,620 in Osaka.
The S&P GSCI Index of 24 commodities gained 0.1 percent. U.S. natural gas extended its three-day gain to 9 percent as forecasts showed a return to below-normal temperatures in that may erode inventories. Gas surged 5.5 percent yesterday, the most since April 29, after Citi Futures Perspective forecast a record drop in American stockpiles after last week's cold weather.
Oil, Nickel
West Texas Intermediate oil advanced 0.9 percent to $92.59 a barrel on estimates that U.S. crude supplies dropped for a seventh week before a government report tomorrow.
Nickel rose 0.9 percent today in London, completing the biggest three-day rally since since August, on concern that global supplies will tighten during a ban on exports from Indonesia, the world's biggest producer of the mined ore.
Gold futures for February delivery fell for the first time in four sessions, with futures losing 0.5 percent to settle at $1,245.40 an ounce in New York. Spot gold dropped 0.7 percent and silver retreated almost 1 percent.
Cattle futures touched a record in Chicago amid tight beef and animal supplies.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index erased losses in the final 30 minutes of trading to close 0.2 percent higher at the strongest level since May 2008. The benchmark for European equities trades at 13.8 times its members' projected earnings, more than the average over the last five years, after advancing 17 percent in 2013.
European Movers
Celesio AG slid 4.4 percent after McKesson Corp. said it failed to gain support from enough shareholders to enable it to buy the German drug wholesaler. Ashmore Group Plc plunged 12 percent as the asset manager said that clients withdrew a net $3.5 billion from its funds in the three months through December. Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA slipped 2.8 percent after the Portuguese retailer said that sales growth slowed in Poland.
"The risk in the European market is if profits don't follow multiple expansion, as that makes the market expensive," said Nathalie Martin-Pelras, who oversees the equivalent of $1.3 billion as chief investment officer at KBL Richelieu Gestion in Paris. "After 2013's multiple expansion story, corporate results have to deliver in 2014."


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Friday, February 11, 2011
t-shirt bag
I took a long drive to visit my cousin who's battling cancer today.
While driving solo I thought about t-shirts.
I know I've seen bags made out of t-shirts....
I wondered how it was done.
I had lots of time to plot and plan how I would do it.
It gave me a chance to solve a little problem instead of
thinking sad thoughts.
When I got home I destressed.
I sewed.
I made a t-shirt bag!!
If you have children you have lots of t-shirts.
If you have children you also know there are lots of t-shirts that go
My kids seem to wear the SAME ones all the time.
I took two shirts about the same size and put one inside the other.
Here I cut holes for the handles and pinned.
I sewed along the bottom of the bag...of course...;)
I used a 2 1/2" bias binding and sewed it on the WRONG side
(around the handles)
then rolled it over and top stitched it down.
Here's the best part!
Stitch doodling!
Feed dogs down......
Darning foot on.....
I doodled a flower...
I trimmed the TOP layer off the petals
being very careful NOT to cut that bottom orange layer.
This was my play time today...
What was yours??
stitch doodling,
t-shirt bag
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Data backup versus data archiving
Companies should split backup and archiving into two separate initiatives to help them differentiate between copying data for recovery, and retaining data for future reference and retrieval.
Backup vs. archiving: Make the break
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Too many companies believe backup and archiving are one and the same; in fact, they're separate processes that can actually improve each other.
Our IT departments need another process like Bill Gates needs to borrow a few bucks. While there's little chance of ever spotting Bill queued up at your local ATM, it's very likely IT can benefit from evaluating existing processes to see if improvements can be made. One area that should command attention--if it hasn't been addressed already --is the separation of backup (data protection and recovery) from archiving (data retention and retrieval). This effort is especially important because external influences such as record-retention and information privacy regulations must be properly balanced with the need for better overall data protection strategies.
Yes, I'm recommending adding yet another process to IT's long, daily to-do list; but, in reality, most companies can achieve this process refinement by splitting backup into two separate initiatives. The reason is simple: Organizations should differentiate between copying data for recovery, and retaining data for future reference and retrieval.
It took a long time to formalize data protection operations. By now, most shops have ingrained procedures to back up data nightly. The biggest issue for data protection is backing up large volumes of data in a short period of time--and there won't be any relief as long as IT continues to protect unchanging data on a regular basis. Archives are still considered part of the backup process because IT is used to retaining historical backups for months or years, typically referring to this data as "corporate archives." Right now, many of you use these archives to meet regulatory requirements or satisfy electronic record-retention programs. The archiving process equates to saving old backups, usually on tape media.
The reasons for keeping archiving separate from backup may not always be evident, largely because the definitions of these terms are often misconstrued. The true definition of archiving was rarely understood or even questioned because it was usually considered something that occurred at the end of data protection operations. It became generally accepted that archives were just copies of historical data created from old backups. Only compliance issues or an electronic discovery request that required delving into the old data would create the need to use an archive. Because this older data was needed relatively infrequently, businesses rarely perceived archives as readily accessible information that could be leveraged in everyday activities.
Where to make the break
The combined process of backup and archiving served IT departments well up until the turn of the 21st century, but a change is needed. Record-retention regulations, such as HIPAA, require organizations to keep certain electronic business records, including e-mail, for specified periods of time. The increased scrutiny of corporate governance due to high-profile incidents involving Enron, ImClone and other major companies has compelled organizations to implement electronic records management programs to deter executive malfeasance, among other inappropriate activities.
As organizations were being required to retain more information, litigators and regulators began to target these formal data repositories, seeking a smoking gun for specific legal or regulatory matters under investigation. Recent changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (effective December 1, 2006) encourage organizations to produce more evidence in electronic format, creating a renewed urgency for organizations to keep data accessible in case a subpoena arrives.
Because backup and archiving were treated as one, IT departments probably didn't realize just how much of the same data they were copying repeatedly during the backup process. Backup solutions should be used for copying data from a primary storage system (or server) to a tertiary system. They enable IT to protect the primary copy of data from corruption, or to prevent data loss if the primary copy is accidentally or maliciously deleted. As backups get older, they become much more difficult to restore because the data is usually stored in larger data sets such as full monthly backups. Recovering large data sets is a slow and laborious process, so these backups should only be used in a worst-case scenario to recover data necessary to continue normal business operations. Worst-case scenarios are simply not appropriate for data retrieval for business sharing, electronic discovery and other scenarios.
Archived data needs to be searchable and accessible so that specific information and files can be found quickly. The key functions of archiving include setting parameters for how long the information should be retained, data permissions (who can access it, can it be altered, etc.) and where it should be kept. All of the functions create data attributes that can be indexed and used for search. The rich index created by archiving applications can find data quickly to respond to an electronic discovery or regulatory inquiry. An archiving application may also automatically identify duplicate content and store only the attributes of the copies, thus saving storage space.
When trying to rationalize splitting the archival and backup processes, organizations can take their lead from electronic discovery trends. On numerous occasions, regulators or litigators have turned up smoking guns within unmanaged, out-of-control backups. The Enterprise Strategy Group estimates that 46% of organizations have experienced an electronic discovery request in the past 12 months; the growing likelihood that a company will find itself on the receiving end of one of these actions has prompted IT departments and in-house counsel to find a better way to quickly locate relevant information. It costs approximately $2,000 to $3,000 to restore a backup tape and make it searchable, whereas an online archive has been indexed and is ready for attorneys to conduct keyword or other queries.
The benefits of archiving | ||||||
Points of intersection
Backup and archiving processes can intersect at two specific points. First, IT should archive inactive data to free up capacity on primary storage and servers, and reduce the amount of data that needs to be backed up regularly from these systems. If the data being protected is old, unchanging or rarely accessed, but still needs to retained, there's no reason to keep the information on production servers and storage. That data can be archived and moved to lower cost storage where it will still be accessible. This takes the aged data out of recurring backup operations. Organizations can complete backups much faster and save money on tertiary media by archiving. The brute-force alternative is to simply delete old data from primary systems. However, this would put an organization at risk of being out of compliance with regulations and limit the opportunity to leverage the information for other business purposes.
The second point of intersection involves adding information archive systems to the backup schema for data protection purposes. Efficient archiving mandates that the data doesn't reside anywhere else (because it was moved from primary systems). As such, IT must back up the archive system as part of the backup schema so that archived data is also protected appropriately.
By segregating the archive process from backup, IT will have another process to manage with its own infrastructure and resources. However, it should be easier to rationalize an investment in archiving, especially when an organization is trying to reduce backup windows, comply with regulations and expedite the electronic discovery process. The potential benefits of taking one large, laborious process (backup) and splitting it into two (backup and archiving) should be apparent.
Dig Deeper on Data storage compliance and archiving
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We all gave thanks, ate turkey, drank beer, and watched football last weekend. And now we're back at work, sitting at our desks, and counting the days until we can repeat this series of events (note: it's only 23 days away). Here is our wrap of Thanksgiving '08.
- King Ing gave a preemptive thanks to something we're all grateful for.
- DeGags, our resident college football handicapper, nailed all the turkey-day games. I can finally pay off my credit card bills now (thanks DeGags!)
- It was a bad weekend to be an overpaid and selfish athlete in NY. Stephon Marbury got benched after refusing to play and Plaxico Burress pulled a DV¹
As you drink your coffee this morning, take a moment to check out our Biggest Douche Tourney. We're down to the final round and voting will close soon. Curtis Montague Schilling holds a narrow lead over Barry Lamar Bonds.
¹ "To pull a DV": DV stands for Derrick Victor, a kid I went to high school with. In our junior year he shot himself in the foot with a loaded gun and now whenever anyone shoots themself it will now be referred to pulling a DV.


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Editor's Page
Letter to the Editor
Music Is His Life and His Livelihood: An Interview With Bill McCann of Dancing Dots
We interview the maestro of a company that makes composing and printing music accessible--Deborah Kendrick
Surfing into the Future: An Introduction to Web 2.0
Having trouble using MySpace, YouTube or Basecamp? We examine the reasons--Stephanie Bassler
Scanning and Reading on the Move: A Review of Zoom-Ex and Zoom-Twix
We evaluate two new, versatile products from ABISee--Lee Huffman
A Reading Machine in Your Pocket: Introducing the KNFB Reader Mobile Edition
We report on the debut of the Kurzweil-National Federation of the Blind Reader Mobile Edition--Deborah Kendrick
Exploring Methods of Accessing Virtual Worlds
We present some possible solutions for accessible navigation and communication in virtual worlds such as Second Life--William S. Carter and Guido D. Corona
Google It! A Guide to the World's Most Popular Search Engine
This book will make you an expert web searcher--Deborah Kendrick
We recap exciting new products we found at this year's conference--Jay Leventhal
AccessWorld News
Entire Issue
Copyright © 2008 American Foundation for the Blind. All rights reserved. AccessWorld is a trademark of the American Foundation for the Blind.
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What football match are you watching this weekend? I bet its the World Cup final isn't it?
Well The Cynical Challenge is delighted to reveal that, for the first time in weeks, you can warm up for the international football on offer with a healthy dose of the Russian Premier League.
After its summer hiatus Russia's top flight is back, with Thursday's game between Spartak Nalchik and Terek Grozny kicking off the second half of the country's football season, which runs between March and November. And while the battle (on second thoughts that's probably the wrong word) between the two sides from the North Caucasus may not whet the appetite, it's a pleasure to have the Russian Premier League back on the agenda.
Whether you're a regular Russia-watcher, or if you're just looking for some football to watch in the yawning chasm between the end of the World Cup and the start of the English Premier League, it's worth updating yourself on what's been going on during the summer break.
Dinamo on the move
First up is Dinamo Moscow, who have been making waves. The club revealed details last month of the redevelopment of Dinamo Stadium. It used to be my favourite stadium in Moscow - a roofless, concrete dustbowl full of Soviet-era charm, set in the grounds of a tree-lined park - but it was admittedly decrepit. With the help of $1.5 billion of investment from backers VTB Bank they are set to transform Dinamo Stadium into what has been described as a 45,000-seater "glass egg", to open in 2018.
They have also been among the most active in the transfer market this summer. They picked up Serbian defender Marko Lomic from Partizan Belgrade last week, but the real headline-grabber was the free transfer signing of Germany international striker Kevin Kuranyi from Schalke.
Many fear that Kuranyi will go the way of other big-name signings from outside Russia - Maxi Lopez, Maniche, Fernando Cavenaghi - who struggle to adapt to Russia's impenetrable language and cultural specificities. However, Kuranyi is different - a true citizen of the world. Though he doesn't speak Russian, the German has a bit of a pedigree for languages - born in Brazil to a Hungarian-German father and a Panamanian mother, he speaks German and Portuguese fluently, and can understand Hungarian, Spanish and English. In addition, Kuranyi's wife is Croatian and has been able to help the striker due to the similarities between Croat and Russian.
I tipped Dinamo at the start of the season for a shot at the Premier League title, which was starting to look a little embarrassing as they slumped 13 points behind leaders Zenit before the summer break, and parted with promising manager Andrey Kobelev. But with cash to burn in the transfer market, an able manager in Miodrag Bozovic and a top-class strike partnership in Kuranyi and former Liverpool player Andriy Voronin they look much better prepared for the second half of the season.
CSKA a selling club?
Over at CSKA, meanwhile, transfer rumours are rife. Having brought in Manchester United's Zoran Tosic at the start of the summer, the club looked to be building for the title run-in - they currently lie second in the table. But the performances of their players at the World Cup have started tongues wagging, and they may find it difficult to keep some of their big foreign signings.
Serb Milos Krasic has already made clear his intention to move to Juventus. He effectively bid farewell to CSKA fans in May, with the intention of moving on after the World Cup. Despite wrangling over the size of the transfer fee, Juventus are likely to get their man sooner rather than later.
Chile's Mark Gonzalez has also done much to enhance his reputation after a good World Cup in which he was Man of the Match against Switzerland. His stock had fallen after a disappointing spell at Liverpool, but his first months at CSKA have been impressive and he may well earn himself a move back to one of Europe's big leagues.
But top of everyone's shopping list is CSKA's Japanese playmaker/forward Keisuke Honda. Signed in January from Dutch club Venlo for €6m, Honda has been a revelation for fans and headline-writers alike, putting in some scintillating performances for both club and country. There are already suggestions that he may be a target for AC Milan, though his agent recently cast doubt on the link, suggesting the rossoneri don't have the cash. Still, Honda is a wanted man.
Match-fixing rears its head
Aside from transfer speculation, in recent days a rather less happy tale has been doing the rounds in recent days - one which may impact Russia's hopes of hosting the 2018 World Cup. On Tuesday FK Khimki, a Russian First Division Club from the northern suburbs of Moscow, approached the league administrator to report an approach to one of their players to throw their game against FK Volgar-Gazprom that evening. A football agent named Sergey Panov had allegedly leaned on a Khimki player to influence the outcome of the game - an allegation Panov denies.
The match went ahead and finished 1-1, with little evidence of match-fixing or interference. It was revealed after the game that Khimki goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky had himself asked teammate Aleksandr Tarkhanov to introduce him to Panov, who is Tarkhanov's representative. The pair met, and the match-fixing scandal subsequently ensued.
This is not the first time Roman Berezovsky has been embroiled in controversy. Last April the player received an anonymous phone call before a home match with FK Rostov, ordering him to throw the match or risk the consequences. The game ended 1-0 to Rostov, though there is no suggestion that Berezovsky underperformed (see the video of the winning goal yourself).
But these kind of rumours continue to dog Russian football, to the great detriment of the country's bid to host World Cup 2018. Indeed, speaking after the game, Tarkhanov also revealed that this wasn't the first time Khimki had been approached.
"Before a game in Saransk we were approached," he said. "There were whispers. The lads started warming up and began asking whether we would actually lose the game on purpose, and whether in exchange the opposition would allow us to win the return game.
"In Nizhny Novgorod it was the same situation. They say to us - we'll give you this game and then later you'll return the three points."
It should be emphasised that at this stage the allegations have yet to be proven. But at the risk of sounding like Lord Triesman, one wonders just how many of these types of arrangements are being struck across the Russian leagues.
Big money and allegations of match-fixing - just another season in Russian football eh?


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Punxy Phil sees no shadow, predicts warmer days ahead
February 2, 2013 1:30 PMYou might want to keep those parkas on hand for the snow headed our way this weekend, but after that it looks to be clear sailing to spring, according to the world's most famous groundhog.
As thousands watched, Punxsutawney Phil, Pennsylvania's prognosticating rodent, emerged from his burrow on Gobbler's Knob this morning and did not see his shadow.
That means an early spring is on the way instead of six more weeks of winter.
The prediction enjoyed an official seal of approval with Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley on hand to witness the 127th year of the Groundhog Day tradition.
The prediction is made during a ceremony overseen by a group called the Inner Circle. Members don top hats and tuxedos for the ceremony on Groundhog Day each year.
Bill Deeley, president of the Inner Circle, says that after "consulting" with Phil, he makes the call in deciphering what the world's Punxsutawney Phil has to say about the weather.
Phil is known as the "seer of seers" and "sage of sages." Organizers predicted about 20,000 people this weekend, a larger-than-normal crowd because Groundhog Day falls on a weekend this year.
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Posts in the 'Teacher Gifts' Category
Summer has finally begun, and the kiddos are out of school. That last week is always a crazy one…especially trying to find the perfect gift for all the teachers and teaching assistants. We like to give to gift cards, something the teacher can use for the classroom and something they can use for themselves.
What better way to package them, then in our new paper card sleeves. Remember, you don't always have to do something up on the computer, or add fancy flourishes…sometimes a colorful Sharpie does the trick! That's just what we did with ours, and we think they look pretty great.
What are your summer plans? Are you heading out to the lake, a road trip or sticking close to home? Whatever your plans, we know that the new issue of Garnish – the magazine is going to have lots of fun summer ideas for you. Look for it in this space soon!
Garnish + Enjoy
Categories: Bright Ideas!,DIY,Gifts,Packaging,Teacher Appreciation Week,Teacher Gifts
Tags: kraft paper card sleeve
We saw this great idea on Pinterest and had to put our own Garnish spin on it. So here you go…
- 1. our squat gable box
- 2. animal crackers for when your classroom feels like a zoo (packaged in our glassine bag)
- 3. chewing gum to help you stick to it
- 4. crayons to color your day bright and cheerful (how fun are these that we found at Target!)
- 5. erasers to remind you everyone makes mistakes
- 6. lifesavers for when you've had one of those days (also packaged in our glassine bag)
- 7. Mounds bar for the mounds of confidence you give your students
We made a simple label on our computer that we jazzed up with some clipart we found online. Tie the whole thing up with ribbon and you've got the perfect gift for the teacher!
Garnish + Enjoy
Pin ItCategories: Bright Ideas!,Gifts,Packaging,Teacher Gifts
Tags: glassine bags, squat gable box
Is it the middle of May already?! Time to start thanking those men and women who spend all day with your children…their teachers.
We found this very cute apple scrub brush in the dollar bin, and it was the jumping off point for this fun gift. Along with a cute tea towel and mini size soap, we put in a well deserved gift card. And of course, we just had to use our new paper card sleeve and oval label to jazz it up. Our cardboard clamshell keeps everything where it should be on the bus ride to school. We think your child's teacher will appreciate this one!
What do you like to give as a gift to the teacher? Do you have a go-to gift or an idea you'd like to share? Leave us a comment….we'd love to hear from you!
Garnish+ Enjoy
Pin ItCategories: Gifts,Packaging,Teacher Appreciation Week,Teacher Gifts
Tags: cardboard clamshell box, oval labels, paper card sleeve
The end of the school year is approaching very quickly. In fact, in some parts of the country, your children may already be on summer vacation. Well, if you are in need of a teacher's gift, we have an idea for you. What about some jam and scones?!
If you are really ambitious, you can and your children can make some homemade jam. Refrigerator jam is quick and easy to make yourself. You can pick up some yummy scones at your local bakery or supermarket (or make those yourself too!). And if you want to add a little something extra, what about a gift card to a coffee shop. We used our small no soup for you container for the jam, our french fry scoop and a cello bag for the scones and we put it all inside one of our berry baskets.
This is also a great favor for a bridal shower, or a BBQ with friends.
Garnish + Enjoy
Pin ItCategories: Bridal Showers,Gifts,Packaging,Teacher Gifts
Tags: cellophane bag, french fry scoop, paper bowls with lids, twine, wood pint berry boxes
We received a lovely email from Sarah, showing us how creative she was with some Garnishes. She put together these thoughtful gifts for her child's teacher…how cute!
Sarah says:
thank you so much for your fantastic products! we made 4 preschool gifts for my son's teachers, for the end of the year. the 'two for the road' container was perfect for a pot of flowers and a 'no soup for you' cup of sweets. they were easy for my 4 year old to carry and give to his teachers, who all thought they were fantastic.
thank you for helping us make the day of some ladies who work very hard at loving little ones!
Thank you so much for sharing Sarah! What are you thinking about giving as teacher's gifts this year? Give us a holler and let us know.
Garnish + Enjoy
Categories: Packaging,Teacher Gifts
Tags: drink carrier, paper bowls with lids
This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Don't worry if you forgot, we've got a great idea for you. And the best part…it is super easy! You know how sometimes you leave an apple on the teacher's desk? Well kick it up a notch and leave an apple pie!
It just so happens that the mini apple pies that they sell at Starbucks fit perfectly into our large nut and party cup. It was meant to be. We added in of our Say What? wooden forks, jazzed up with some ribbon (just use a handy glue dot to attach it). That's all there is to it. If you don't have a Starbucks in your neck of the woods, there are lots of mini treats to be had at your local bakery or grocery store. Say "thanks", the Garnish way!
Garnish + Enjoy
Pin ItCategories: Bright Ideas!,Gifts,Packaging,Teacher Appreciation Week,Teacher Gifts
Tags: nut and party cup, Say What? wooden cutlery
We realize it's January…but it's never to early to start thinking about who you ♥ for Valentine's Day! Today's post is a quick and easy way to show the love…
We used our small ripple cup and some of our red tissue to hold everyone's favorite candy, PEZ! You could use it as a place holder on the dinner table, and it's easy enough to leave on a teacher's desk at school. Garnish makes lovin' so easy!
Garnish + Enjoy
Pin ItCategories: Packaging,Teacher Gifts,Valentine's Day
Tags: ripple cups, wax tissue
One of our customers, Audrey, sent us these pictures to let us know how she Garnished up our berry baskets. She wanted to give to give her teachers some berry cookies…in the berry baskets, how adorable!
If we were a teacher at the school, we definitely wouldn't mind finding one of these pretty baskets on our desk. You can check out the details of Audrey's teacher gift on her blog, Plays With Food. Thanks so much for sending us your pictures Audrey!
Garnish + Enjoy
Categories: Garnish Pal's,Teacher Gifts
Tags: wood pint berry boxes
Yes…we think it is finally happening…spring has sprung! That means that the school year will soon wind down. Maybe it's time to start thinking about how you're going to thank those teachers that make your kids want to go to school everyday! (well, most of the time) Jaime sent us an email to let us know what she did for Teacher Appreciation Week…
What a cute way to use our wooden berry baskets! Who knew that strawberries could look so good! Be sure to check out the rest of post on Jaime's blog here.
Garnish + Enjoy
Categories: Here's a Thought,Teacher Appreciation Week,Teacher Gifts
Tags: wood pint berry boxes
That's right! Valentine's Day is quickly approaching (can you believe it's almost February?!)…and we're here to give you some more ideas. Our tie top bags are the right size for any gift you want give. Does your child's teacher like coffee? Fill it with some gourmet coffee beans. Does you husband play golf? Fill it with some fancy golf balls. Or, you can rock it out old school, and fill it up with candy.
And how great are our small kraft paper bags as a vase? We just cut the bag to size with some fancy scissors and popped in a small bud vase with a flower. Such a cute idea! Don't forget to ask for your set of print-ables at check out, and be sure to stock up on some square, round and oval labels.
Garnish + Enjoy
Categories: Here's a Thought,Teacher Gifts,Valentine's Day
Tags: kraft tie top bags, little lunch bags, square labels