text:
"If we are to teach compassion for all life
in this world, and if we are to carry on
a real campaign against cruelty, and against
the destruction of our environment, we
have to begin with reaching children."
~ Betsy Seeton
People all over the world view this article on Tippi. It's the most viewed page on my website since I posted it. I can only guess that the attraction to this story aside from the beautiful photos that her parents took, leave many in awe because being close to wild animals is a desire held in the hearts of most humans. I've seen blog posts that criticize the parents and challenge the authenticity of the photos. I don't know why some people are so ever ready to judge others. If you read about Tippi from interviews and read what her mother has said about their time in Africa, you will find that Tippi was not put in danger.
Enjoy the photos and story. Please drop me a comment at the bottom and tell me your thoughts.
FROM http://www.telegraph.co.uk: A remarkable range of pictures in a new book show Tippi Degre - a French girl labelled the 'real-life Mowgli' - growing up with wild animals. (CLICK HERE TO READ AN ARTICLE IN KOREAN.)
Her "brother" was an elephant, her best friend a leopard and her playground the African bush.
Now Tippi's new book, 'Tippi: My Book of Africa', showcases the magical images that have led to comparisons with Rudyard Kipling's young hero in The Jungle Book.
Born in Windhoek, Namibia in 1990, Tippi Benjamine Okanti Degre was named after Tippi Hedren, the actress who starred in Hitchcok's 'The Birds'.
Living with her French parents, wildlife photographers Sylvie Robert and Alain Degre, the three of them travelled extensively through Africa on a unique and incredible adventure.
"It was magical to be ale to be free in this nature with this child," explains Sylvie, Tippi's mother. "She was a very lucky little girl - she was born and raised until the age of ten totally in the wild. It was just the three of us living in the wild with the animals and not too many humans."
From sitting on the back of an ostrich, lying peacefully with a young leopard or sitting on the trunk of an elephant, these amazing pictures show an unusual bond and tranquility between man and beast.
"Tippi always said that everybody was gifted and this was her gift," explains Sylvie. "She was in the mindset of these animals. She believed the animals were her size and her friends. She was using her imagination to live in these different conditions."
Using her innocence and imagination, the young 'Mowgli' befriended one of the giants of the animal kingdom, Abu the African elephant.
"She had no fear," says Sylvie. "She did not realise she was not the same size as Abu the elephant. She would look into its eyes and speak to him.
"She was a year and a half when they first me and it was a special time - just incredible. In another picture, you see her with the caracal, she looks almost sad in this photo but she is confident."
But some animals were so taken with Tippi, that she almost became an extension of them.
Her mother added: "Linda, an ostrich from one of the African farms we visited, was so nice that we couldn't even take a photo of Tippi riding her. Linda was so afraid of riding Tippi she didn't want to move."
However, despite the apparent ease and comfort with which they interact, Sylvie and Alain always put Tippi's safety first.
"You can't just meet any of these animals and act like this with them," explains Sylvie. "Wild animals will either run away or attack you if they are either frightened, injured or need to protect their young.
"But in the arid or semi desert regions of Southern Africa people have farms of 10 000 to 20 000 hectares. The farmers often keep orphan animals and raise them in their house. Sometimes they are tame or used to humans and so this is how Tippi was able to be so close with them."
However, there were moments when Sylvie and Alain, who have since divorced, had to keep a special eye on their daughter.
Sylvie said: "The photo with Tippi next to the young lion cub Mufasa sucking her thumb is wonderful.
"The year after this photo we came back and we went to see him and he was huge.
"Mufasa came to Tippi and he friendly brushed her with his long tail, like a cat would do, and she almost fell down. I had to take her away - I was not at ease."
The extraordinary photographs of little Tippi Degré that first appeared in newspapers in 2008 told only part of the story," writes Matthew Campbell for the Sunday Times. "The elephant was a veteran circus performer and had featured in films and commercials."
Matthew explained that other animals photographed with the girl were orphaned creatures that had been brought up by humans on ranches. Linda, an ostrich befriended by Tippi, who is photographed perched on her back, lived on an ostrich farm. She was destined to become somebody's dinner."
Now aged 18 and having just started a degree in cinema at University in Paris, Tippi is facing a different jungle - the concrete kind.
But for Sylvie, her decision to bring up her child in the African wilderness was the correct choice - and she has no regrets.
"For me it was incredible to think you offer all of this to a child," she says. "Because I was at ease, because I liked it and because we had lived with the Meerkats in the Kalahari desert for six years before Tippi was born, I believed it was fantastic to have that to offer to a child compared to what I would be able to offer to a child living in a city for example.
This summer Tippi passed her Baccalaureate and entered La Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris where she follows her past two years of cinema studies at the Lyceum.
Sylvie added: "Tippi believes she is African and she wants to get a Namibian passport. She wants to become an ambassador for Namibia. It is like Mowgli's story, but Tippi's is true."
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tippi Degré (born 4 June 1990) is a French girl, who spent her childhood in Namibia among wild animals and tribespeople.[1] After moving to Paris, France with her parents, she returned to Africa to make six nature documentaries for the Discovery Channel. She is known among other things for supervising the tigers in Fort Boyard, off the coast of France, which is the stage for a popular international game show.
Kim Willsher meets Tippi.....
Tippi Degre is hanging upside down from a trapeze slung from the beams of the cramped Paris flat. The phrase "little monkey" springs immediately to mind - and not just because of her childish acrobatics.
"I miss Africa - that's my home," the 12-year-old says sadly. Then she plops herself in front of the television to watch a music video.
For 10 years, Tippi wandered the bush dressed only in a loincloth, befriending some of the world's most ferocious animals.
Her playground was the hills and the harsh desert tribelands of southern Africa; her companions were big cats, elephants, snakes and crocodiles.
She moved to the French capital with her mother three years ago. Since then a book of her adventures has been published, she has set up a website, and has returned to Africa to film six nature documentaries for the Discovery Channel.
The trip was, says Sylvie Robert, Tippi's mother, a "wonderful experience", despite the gruelling filming schedule. "She was really at home, because at heart she is a little African."
Tippi disagrees. "No, Maman, it's not true that I loved it. It was great to see the elephants and the lions, but it would have been better if it hadn't always been in front of the camera. It was hard work, it was difficult, it was hot and I was not happy all the time. I was worn out at the end of it."
PHOTO CREDITS: on elephant Photo: SYLVIE ROBERT / BARCROFT MEDIA LTD. FROM TIPPI MY BOOK OF AFRICA
By Betsy Seeton
"If we are to teach compassion for all life in this world, and if we are to carry on a real campaign against cruelty, and against the destruction of our
environment, we have to begin with reaching children."
-- Betsy Seeton


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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (March 26, 2014) - The ETSU Academic Support Services department would like to congratulate women's tennis player Sofia Espana-Perez on winning the NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women's Enhancement Programs' Postgraduate Scholarship for Careers in Athletics.
Perez stood out among a field of hundreds of applicants to win one of only 13 prestigious postgraduate scholarships for women minorities which will allow her to continue her education at a postgraduate level at a school of her choosing. After graduating from ETSU, Perez plans to pursue a master's degree in sports psychology.
"It was an honor to be nominated by the athletic department and humbling that I was chosen by the NCAA for such a prestigious honor," Perez said.
A senior from Mexico City, Mexico, Perez has maintained an institutional GPA of over 3.9 while majoring in psychology and minoring in sociology. In addition to excelling in the classroom, Perez is currently unbeaten in Atlantic Sun play in both singles and doubles and has played an integral part in helping ETSU to a five-match win streak and a share of first place in the A-Sun.
"I give credit to the amazing support staff that has helped me along the way including the academic department, Dr. Epps, my coaching staff, my teammates, and my family," Perez said. "Without their help and support, none of my success would be possible. Finally, I would like to thank the NCAA for affording me the opportunity to continue my education and allowing me to pursuing my career goal of one day working with student-athletes."
Along with the scholarship, Perez also earned a spot in The NCAA Career in Sports Forum (CSF). The CSF is a four-day event through which selected student-athletes and scholarship recipients will explore and be educated on careers in sports, with a primary focus on intercollegiate athletics.
This scholarship program was created by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee with the goal of increasing the pool of and opportunities for qualified minority and female candidates in intercollegiate athletics.

subset: commoncrawl


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Saturday, April 18, 2009
Word of the Gay: "Sother"
Posted by Queers United at 12:00 AM
Labels: play on words, significant other, sother, word of the gay
2 comments:
AW!!! How cute! I like that one!! :)
- April 18, 2009 at 5:02 PM
- George Hamilton said...
I loved sother when I first heard it in "Same River Twice." I hate using "girlfriend," and "lover" sounds too sexual to use in front of my preschooler. So it's not only gays that use it! I have nothing against gays, but I'm straight as a laser beam! lol
- April 25, 2009 at 3:47 AM
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Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Opinions please
In my haste to make these mosaic tile quilts, I cut the background fabrics 10" x 10" (which should have been the finished size). Lesson learned.In order to save the pieces, I'm going to applique them to one big solid piece of fabric.
Here are my three color choices for the background fabric: dark teal, dark gray, or a dark pearl lavender.
I would love your opinion! Which one do you think?
Oh, and here are some pictures of my quilting buddies.
It makes for an enjoyable afternoon of quilting.:)
Happy Tuesday Friends.
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My Kiddos
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Baby shower for a little boy
I threw a baby shower this weekend (with the help of my mom), for my friend and neighbor. After two sweet girls, she is having a little boy now!
It was so fun. I'm so excited for him to come so I have a sweet little baby to snuggle ( if his Momma will give him up:). I guess you can imagine after having four kids that I love sweet little babies. Since I'm not having any more of my own, it will be fun to have another little one near by. :)
I hope you all had a safe and fun weekend.
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baby shower
Thursday, June 24, 2010
From the mouth of my almost 6 year old, Ashton:
I was walking him into church one Sunday and he stopped me dead in my tracks, took both of my hands in his, and said in all seriousness, "I am so blessed that I get to worship at this church."
(Referring to his Dad) "If you want to catch some boldness, go with him."
"When I grow up, I think I'll either be a preacher or maybe a secret service agent".
This kid cracks me up.
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My Kiddos
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Featured Artist: Lori Vliegen
Lori is the Featured Artist this week from
Sharing Stitches.
I have to say that Lori is a dream to work with. Not only is she extremely talented, but her work is meticulous. Every little stitch is perfectly placed. Her lines are clean. She has beautiful writing, and great color choice. If I owned a licensing company, I would have Lori's stuff strewn all over Hallmark!
Oh, and did I mention how sweet she is?
Here is her artist's interview:
1. Tell us about your art, Lori. What kind of style do you consider it and what are your favorite mediums to work with?
To satisfy the textile side of my work, I'm currently having fun with fabrics, threads, buttons, beads, ribbon, hand-carved stamps, recycled dryer sheets, and anything else I can get my hands on. For my paper side, I love using watercolor pencils and micron pens to create playful, whimsical doodles in my journals.
2. What inspires you?
Just about everything.....especially if chocolate is involved.
3. How do you define "artistic success"?
When someone tells me that something I've created has spoken to them, it's the greatest compliment I could receive!
4. Did you enjoy art as a child? When did you learn how to sew?
I loved arts and crafts when I was a kid! My mother taught me some simple sewing stitches, and I began making clothes for my troll dolls and barbies.....and my first "fabrics" were kleenex! Then I discovered embroidery, crewel and counted cross-stitch, and I've been stitching ever since!
5. Is there a part of the day that you enjoy creating the most? Tell us how a typical creative day may go for you
I love to take advantage of the natural light that streams through my windows in the morning. My favorite days are when life allows me to just sit and be creative during this small pocket of sunshine time!
Thanks Lori! You are so talented!
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Featured Artist
Sharing Stitches
Monday, June 21, 2010
Mosaics + Quilting = My True Love
I went into my local quilt shop last weekend to pick up some solid white Kona fabric. I braced myself for nothing else! I had all four kids with me, so I really couldn't browse anyhow. But you know how easy it is to be swayed by all the lovely new fabrics.
Imagine my nerdy delight when I saw this book up by the counter. Mosaics plus Quilting? Be Still My Heart. Combining my two passions? Of course I
to buy it!
The book comes with 6 different patterns, and the one below is the first one I'm making. My intent is to use ONLY scraps (aside from the white background).
Below is my first tile block that I made last night! I can't decide if I want to use a straight stitch or an applique stitch.
My mind is swimming with all the possibilities after seeing this technique. I'll be sure to keep you update on my progress:)
I also wanted to say thank you to all of you who took the time to comment on my kitchen post (seems the color is in the majority!) So I'm keeping it for now. And also thanks if you left a comment on my summer parenting woes...:) You guys always make me feel better.
Happy Monday! Here's to a little creating...in any shape or form!:)
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Thursday, June 17, 2010
Making the Decision
Let me be frank here. My kids have been out of school for one full week now. It's been a little bit of a struggle!
(Lipstick found and still not washed all the way out of his hair!)
The older two are so used to being micro-managed all day long at school that they have had a hard time adjusting to the fact that they can play and then when they are done with that play some more. They keep coming to me for something to do. I am a firm believer in playing for the sake of play, so I will start projects with them and then hope that their imaginations take over. It has been slow but they are slowly getting used to being in summer mode.
And Mama here is not used to having all four, 24/7. Let's just say that those 6 hours of school have been missed just a little...Did I mention that the heat here in Central Florida has been record breaking? Temperatures feel like 109 today and that severely limits any outside activities.
I woke up yesterday morning with a tiny bit of dread. I wanted a day void of silly nit-picks and arguments. A day when I didn't have to raise my voice about this mess and that mess. A day where I could maybe find 20-30 minutes to quilt (alone...please). I prayed for some patience. I prayed for some patience. And then I prayed for a little more.
And then...it hit me.
It was all about a decision. I decision I could make. A decision to have a good day or a bad day. A decision to embrace the messes and the boredom. To actually enjoy them. To let go of toys strewn everywhere and wet pool towels laying all over the carpets. To build blocks and watch Tom and Jerry with them. To get in the pool and splash and yell and not worry about the time. To help them build forts and get out all the sheets and chairs. To set up that art project they've been begging for with paint. To make the one millionth snack of the day.
Because one day they will all be grown up. Because one day they will have memories of their childhood summers. Because one day I will be here with all of the time in the world to have a clean home and I will miss their stinky fingerprints. Because eventually I will have all day to quilt if I want to and I will miss their sweet voices asking me to play with them.
So I am making the decision to have fun this summer. Do you want to join me? Let's suck the marrow out of life!
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My Kiddos
Summer Pillows
I did some summer accessorizing this week to brighten up our home a little. I did a little tutorial too on the pillowcases.
Head on over to
The Blessed Nest
for the tutorial. I am honored to be guest hosting today (sometime this afternoon) for the Bloggers Guide to Summer. There may even be a little give-away;)
Have a blessed day Friends!
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Our House
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Featured Artist:Heather from Audrey Eclectic
Aren't these bookmarks lovely? I love the artwork combined with the tattered lace and velvet strips.
They are made from today Featured Artist, Heather from Audrey Eclectic. Heather's work is so romantic. Her layered collages are my favorite! I was so pleased to have Heather's work featured in Sharing Stitches. Her style is so uniquely different. Learn more about her here in todays interview.
Hi Heather! Will you tell us a little bit about your art?
What kind of style do you consider it and what are your favorite mediums to work with?
I call my art 'mixed media folk art.' I love to do portraits with an old-timey vibe, but use modern techniques to create them. I usually work on canvas or wood and use various papers for my collage. Then I paint the portraits with acrylics.
Did you enjoy art as a child? When did you learn how to sew?
I've loved to draw since I was very little. I was ruining furniture with my drawings by the time I was 3 ;) sewing took much longer. I've only really learned to sew in the past few years, although I did take some home ec. classes in junior high (but promptly forgot everything they taught me!) With the help of my friend Holly Hall of
, I've learned to not fear my sewing machine
What inspires you?
History....old photos...stories....nature.....my home, in the middle of the prairie :) my family, faith, and being blessed with love.
Is there a part of the day that you enjoy creating the most? Tell us how a typical creative day may go for you.
I feel like I am much more focused and clearer in the mornings. Love the morning light too. I try my best to paint at night after my little one has gone to bed, but I find its best not to paint tired. That's when I make mistakes.
Please go check out her website. Her portfolio is full of so many beautiful pieces!
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Featured Artist
Sharing Stitches
Sunday, June 13, 2010
My Kitchen Revealed
This project took me three months. I had to take all the cabinets off (obviously), but I only did one section at a time.
I lightly sanded the doors and bases, cleaned them well, did two coats of primer, and then painted them with 2-3 coats of white kitchen paint. I soaked all the handles and hardware, gave them a good scrubbing, and then painted them with black spray paint.
I do LOVE the white cabinets and I'm so happy with how they turned out. I have already cut backerboard for the backsplash and have started on the stained glass mosaic, which I'm excited about.
However, the turquoise color on the wall isn't exactly what I envisioned. It's way brighter than I wanted. I know I can always paint over it, but I was hoping I would get used to it.
Tell me the truth (it won't hurt my feelings). What do you think of the turquoise paint?
Oh, and just in case you're wondering, I spent less than $100 on everything. I would love a brand new $20.000 kitchen makeover, but this will do. :)
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Saturday, June 12, 2010
Real Quick...Check it out!
Check it out...
I'll be joining the likes of Meg from Whatever, Ashley Ann, and Julie from Joy's Hope to celebrate "The Bloggers Guide to Summer" next week. There will be giveaways, tutorials, and summer activities over at
Blessed Little Nest
(one of my favorite new blogs.) You will love Heather, her sweet family, and all her amazing talent. It all starts on Monday.
And on another note, if you are looking for an on-line quilt along, I found a great one over at
Crazy Mom Quilts.
I finally found something to do with my
gray and yellow fabric
and I'm over the moon:)
I hope y'all are having a great weekend. See ya Monday:)
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Thursday, June 10, 2010
Just a Swingin'...
School's out now...
So once again blogging is kind of on the back-burner.
I know I promised a tutorial for the round table runner and pictures of my kitchen.
I'm trying, but for some strange reason these four kids think it's more important that I feed and play with them!;)
I'm working on it though... I promise!:) Pictures coming soon...
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The Gospel reading for today (John 10: 11-18) features the image of Christ as the Good Shepherd. It was one that we are all familiar with. "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. . . I know my own and my own know me." We can understand the meaning of this image. Jesus loves us. He died for us. This is an incredible sacrifice and gift. Yet, most of us don't know what it means to be a shepherd. The people for whom this Gospel was written were very familiar with that profession. In modern day America, most of us don't have a whole lot of contact with sheep.
Hearing this Gospel reminded me of Heaven Has Blue Carpet: A Sheep Story by a Suburban Housewife by Sharon Niedzinski. Niedzinski, a Christian, was a suburban housewife when she and her husband decided to pack up their six children and move to the country. When she saw the rolling hills that she now owned, she thought that a "flock of cotton-white sheep grazing . . . seemed like the perfect finishing touch." She spent the next sixteen years learning from these sheep and coming to a whole new understanding of what it means to be a good shepherd as well as what it means to be a sheep. She shares her wisdom and insight in "Heaven has Blue Carpet." For example, sheep are horrible gluttons. Left to their own natural urges, they can actually die from overindulgence. Niedzinski reflects, "Left alone, living without moral guidance or restrictions, living according to our inherent urges, we also will destroy ourselves and our environment. God the Father, our Creator, knew this. That is why he sent his Son to earth, to show us how to live. His Son would be our Shepherd, and if we would follow him, he would lead us into an abundant life."
Also, sheep's tails need to be cut off a few days after birth or else they will be "plagued with pests and infections." Niedzinski found this process so painful – she hated to hurt the lambs. "We all have experienced or will experience the Shepherd's knife. We may even experience a piercing, passing-out level of loss. But remember, we're in his arms, and he's holding us tight against his heart. Like the sheep, we may never understand why our Shepherd allows our knifelike disappointments and tragedies. We must remember that he is God and we are not. . . His picture is bigger than our picture."
As a shepherd, Niedzinski had to take care of all of her sheep, even the ones who paid her no attention. The Good Shepherd is like that as well. "Before I even knew the Good Shepherd and began following him, he was there in my life . . . leading, guiding, and protecting me. He was always there. Like the complacent, need-nothing sheep. I just never looked up."
Lastly, sheep are born to die. "Their ultimate purpose was not to take place in Sheep World but in their master's world, in our home. Only those lambs who reached my standard ended up on my table. . . We were not born just to live; we were also born to die to self (the cross) and to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ (our destiny!)."
The image of the Good Shepherd is pregnant with meaning. I am very thankful to Sharon Niedzinski for helping to explain more of it to all of us.


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Blaine, Minnesota
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We never want you to spend more money than is needed. We offer warranties on Garage Door Openers in Blaine, you can make sure that you don't spend a dime on repairs ever again. Using its simple handy remote control technology, you're able to efficiently drive within your garage without any issues. Whether your garage is attached to your residence or below a bedroom are the kinds of things you'll want to consider as you shop for the opener that is most suitable for your circumstances.
Blaine is a city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in the State of Minnesota. The population was 57,186 at the 2010 census. The city is located mainly in Anoka County, and is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Interstate Highway 35W, U.S. Highway 10, and Minnesota State Highway 65 are three of the main routes in the city.


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The Supreme Court will hear arguments this week on two cases related to same-sex marriage, the first involving a California referendum that barred gay marriage, the other involving a federal law that prevents the government from recognizing same-sex unions. A variety of outcomes are possible, but it seems prudent to take stock of public opinion on same-sex marriage before the decisions come down.
Support for same-sex marriage is increasing — but is it doing so at a faster rate than in the past? Is it now safe to say that a majority approves it? How much of the shift is because people are changing their minds, as opposed to generational turnover? Is there still a gap between how well same-sex marriage performs in the polls and at the ballot booth? How many states would approve same-sex marriage today, and how many might do so by 2016?
Polling trends
Eight national polls on same-sex marriage have been conducted so far this year, according to the PollingReport.com database. The consensus of these polls is that support for same-sex marriage now exceeds opposition to it; on average, the polls have 51 percent saying they approve same-sex marriage, and 43 percent saying they are opposed. However, the polls differ in the exact numbers, showing 46 percent to 58 percent of Americans in favor of same-sex marriage (and anywhere from 36 percent to 46 percent against it) making it uncertain whether supporters of same-sex marriage now constitute an outright majority.
What's clearer is the long-term trend. The chart below documents national polls on same-sex marriage since 1996, as according to PollingReport.com. (It excludes polls that offer a three-way choice between same-sex marriage, civil unions, and no legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples, focusing on those that require a binary choice.) The polls are accompanied by a trendline determined through Loess regression to reflect the change in public opinion over time.
In the past, we have sometimes considered the possibility that support for same-sex marriage is increasing at a faster rate than before. The data seems to suggest, however, that the increase in support has been reasonably steady since about 2004.
This can be seen by comparing the sensitive Loess trendline to a simple linear trendline, as in the following chart. Before 2004, the lines do not match up all that well, reflecting the slow rate of increase in support for same-sex marriage between 1996 (when 27 percent of Americans said they supported same-sex marriage in a Gallup poll) and 2003 (when 33 percent did on average among 12 polls conducted that year). Same-sex marriage took on a more prominent political role following a Massachusetts court decision to allow it in that state in late 2003, but that produced little immediate effect. An average of 33 percent of Americans said they supported same-sex marriage among 19 polls conducted in 2004, the same as the previous year.
Support for same-sex marriage then began to rise at a rate of about 2 percentage points a year, growing to an average of 37 percent in polls conducted in 2006, and 41 percent in polls conducted in 2008. It has continued to increase at about the same rate since then. At some point in 2010 or 2011, support began to outweigh opposition in the polls. Among the 37 polls conducted since 2012, all but four have shown more Americans supporting same-sex marriage than opposed to it.
Nevertheless, this seems to reflect a steady gain in support for same-sex marriage rather than there having been any one inflection point. The linear trendline implies that support for same-sex marriage should be 50 percent right now, not meaningfully different from the average of 51 percent among the eight polls conducted so far this year.
The steadiness of the trend seems consistent with the idea that the shifts are partly generational, with younger Americans gradually replacing older ones in the electorate. However, some voters have also changed their opinion to favor same-sex marriage while fewer have done the reverse, as can be seen in surveys that track generational cohorts over time. As a rule of thumb, perhaps about half of the increase in support for same sex-marriage is attributable to generational turnover, while the other half is because of the net change in opinion among Americans who have remained in the electorate.
Ballot initiatives
Before last year, the increased support for same-sex marriage at the polls had largely failed to translate into success at the ballot booth. The lone exception had been a 2006 Arizona ballot proposition to ban both same-sex marriage and civil unions that was rejected by voters there; Arizona voters approved a more narrowly-defined ban on same-sex marriage in 2008, however.
Some of the reason for this was because the propositions had mainly been placed on the ballot in conservative states where they were likely to succeed. California's Proposition 8 in 2008, however, was a reality check for same-sex marriage advocates. Some 52 percent of voters there approved a ban on same-sex marriage in one of the nation's most liberal states.
Subsequent research has found that polls may slightly overstate support for same-sex marriage, as compared to ballot results. This could reflect a form of social desirability bias: some voters may think it is "politically correct" to say they support same-sex marriage even if they are still uncomfortable with it. Another factor may be that the voters who reliably turn out for elections are older (and therefore less likely to support same-sex marriage) than the broader set of Americans who are included in polls of all adults.
The momentum in favor of same-sex marriage finally seemed to win out in November 2012, however, when vot
ers rejected a Minnesota constitutional ban on it, and voted to affirm it in Maine, Maryland and Washington State. (Note that a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was approved by North Carolina voters in May 2012.) Did these results reflect a major shift in public opinion? Or were they predictable enough based on the long-term trends?
In 2011, I published a model projecting ballot initiative results for same-sex marriage based on two scenarios: one which assumed a linear increase in support, and the other which assumed an accelerating trend.
In general, the more conservative linear model was closer to the mark in forecasting the 2012 results. It predicted that 48.8 percent of voters would vote in support of same-sex marriage on average among the five states, fairly close to the actual figure of 50.1 percent. By contrast, the accelerated model predicted that 53.6 percent would vote to support same-sex marriage in these states.
This would tend to suggest, as the polling data does, that while the increase in support for same-sex marriage may be impressive, it has mostly been a consequence of support building slowly and steadily over time, rather than there having been sudden reversals in public opinion.
However, the predictions were not especially accurate when looking at individual states. Both versions of the model underestimated same-sex marriage support in Maryland and Minnesota, while both versions overestimated it in Maine, North Carolina and Washington.
There are a couple of complications in the analysis. One is that there is an increasing variety of propositions relating to same-sex marriage on the ballots, from those that seek to ban it (as in North Carolina) to those that ask voters to approve it (as in Maryland), and from those that seek to do so by statute (as in Maine) to those that would alter the state constitution (as in Minnesota). This contrasts with the situation from 1998 through 2008, when essentially all of the ballot measures sought to ban same-sex marriage in the state constitution, and the major point of differentiation was whether or not civil unions were also included.
The landscape may only grow more complicated, particularly if the Supreme Court issues a split or ambiguous ruling. Moreover, very few states that are plausible candidates to approve constitutional bans on same-sex marriage have not already done so. Instead, there may soon be some states that will seek to repeal constitutional bans that were previously put into place by voters, something that no state has yet attempted.
While ballot wording will remain a complicating factor, it is possible to be more precise about the contours of public opinion in individual states. Our 2011 model looked at only two demographic factors specific to each state: how many voters in those states were regular churchgoers, and how the voters rated themselves on an overall conservative-liberal scale. There are clearly a number of other factors that also affect opinion on same-sex marriage, however, most notably age, race, urbanity and education levels. The statistical challenge is that it is tough to reliably account for all of these demographic factors (while at the same time controlling for other factors like the year in which the measure was on ballot) given a relatively small sample of 39 ballot measures since 1998.
One workaround is to focus on some cases for which far more detailed demographic data is available, and then to make inferences about the other states from there. In particular, I looked at individual-level survey results from exit polls in 2008 in the three states that voted on same-sex marriage ballot initiatives that year (California, Florida and Arizona). Each of these states are quite demographically diverse, and among them more than 5,000 voters were surveyed in the 2008 exit polls. Using this data, I applied logistic regression to analyze how more than a dozen demographic characteristics affected these voters' decisions on same-sex marriage. In essence, the technique is to predict how likely an individual voter is to support same-sex marriage given their particular demographic profile.
From these results, I was able to infer how voters in the other 47 states might have reacted to same-sex marriage ballot measures in 2008. The model suggests that voters in only eight states (and the District of Columbia) would have been ready to approve same-sex marriage by that time, and correctly infers that same-sex marriage would narrowly be defeated in California. It also suggests that only about 42 percent of voters nationwide would have approved same-sex marriage had there been a national referendum that year.
It is also possible to project how the results in each state might change over time. I assume that support for same-sex marriage will continue to increase by one and a half percentage points nationally per year, which reflects the recent historical trend from both polling and ballot-initiative data. (The way that the model is designed, support might be projected to increase slightly faster or slower than that in individual states based on the number of swing voters.) Thus, we can extrapolate the results forward from 2008 to 2012, and to future years like 2016 and 2020.
This model predicts the results of the 2012 ballot propositions quite accurately, accounting for some of the more subtle demographic distinctions that we had lost previously. (For instance, Maine is a relatively old state and a rural one, which may account for why it initially rejected same-sex marriage in 2009 despite being liberal and irreligious.) It projects that voters in roughly 20 states would have voted in favor of same-sex marriage last year, including the four states that actually did so.
The model also projects, however, that a national referendum to approve same-sex marriage would have narrowly failed last year, 48 percent to 52 percent, despite national polls showing more voters approving same-sex marriage than opposing it. For right now, it is probably best to treat the question of whether a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage as having an ambiguous answer. Polls are on the verge of saying that they do, but the ballot results are more equivocal.
By 2016, however, voters in 32 states would be willing to vote in support of same-sex marriage, according to the model. And by 2020, voters in 44 states would do so, assuming that same-sex marriage continues to gain support at roughly its previous rate.
Thus, even if one prudently assumes that support for same-sex marriage is increasing at a linear rather than accelerated pace, and that same-sex marriage will not perform quite as well at the ballot booth as in national polls of all adults, the steady increase in support is soon likely to outweigh all other factors. In fact, even if the Supreme Court decision or some other contingency freezes opinion among current voters, support for same-sex marriage w
ould continue to increase based on generational turnover, probably enough that it would narrowly win a national ballot referendum by 2016. It might require a religious revival among the youngest generation of Americans to reverse the trend.
It's also possible, of course, that the Supreme Court decision could somehow kick-start public support for same-sex marriage, causing it to accelerate faster, or that the recent spate of Democratic and Republican politicians coming out in favor of it could do so. But one no longer needs to make optimistic assumptions to conclude that same-sex marriage supporters will probably soon constitute a national majority. Instead, it's the steadiness of the trend that makes same-sex marriage virtually unique among all major public policy issues, and which might give its supporters more confidence that the numbers will continue to break their way regardless of what the Supreme Court decides.


text: NOR-CAL Beverage Co. Inc. NOR-CAL Beverage Co. Inc. Related By Webdev|November 15th, 2017|0 Comments Share This Story, Choose Your Platform! FacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditGoogle+TumblrPinterestVkEmail About the Author: Webdev Leave A Comment Cancel reply Comment Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of new posts by email.


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Italian graphic designer Emanuele Abrate has come up with an interesting project titled 'Who Designed it?', in which he substitutes wordmarks of famous logos with the names of the designers and agencies who created them.
Logofonts, by Emanuele Abrate
Emanuele Abrate illustrates the typefaces used in some of the most famous brands.
Guaranteed Value vs. Value Assessments (or MyPanera vs. My Starbucks Rewards)
Due to recent conversations that I've had with clients in friends, I've been thinking a lot about consumer behavior surrounding discounted items. One of my clients attests the following, which I found the be pretty interesting:
The current emphasis on web coupons and social site tie ins neglects another fundamental rule of retailing: guaranteed value. We tend to buy high-priced items at discount because we perceive that we are getting a good deal. But the same psychology works in reverse sometimes. We believe we are being overcharged unless we are getting a discount. Without guaranteed value, we tend to decide to purchase at the last moment, or decide not to purchase in advance because we assume or fear the price will be too high.
In this argument, he goes on to note spending habits on airline tickets, hotel rooms, Netflix and other luxury items like those offered by Groupon. Granted, I'm giving you a snippet of this client's argument without the full context, but the point is pretty clear. The notion of discounts genuinely changes buying habits for certain items and services. It's absolutely true that I may decide which mode of transportation (much less which airline) to book for a family vacation. The airline industry, particularly with the emergence of discount fliers like Ryan Air and jet blue, show a pristine example of buying habits and how discounts dissuade consumers from spending money on what once was a pretty average price. However, this mentality certainly doesn't work for all purchases. Read more


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This project looks at developing general adaptive capabilities in robots and multi-robot systems. By general capabilities we mean capabilities that perform well over a range of tasks and environments. Such capabilities go further than specialized skills in increasing the autonomy and applicability of robotic systems.
One form of general adaptivity is spatio-temporal adaptivity. This project uses reinforcement learning to allowing robots to dynamically adjust their behavior to any given environment while performing a set task.
To best demonstrate how the structure of a group of robots can adapt, we look at transportation, where a group of robots have to traverse an environment between a source and a sink. Transportation is a sub-problem of foraging in that the positions of the sources and sinks are known, eliminating issues of search. The simplicity of transportation makes it easier to show that the improvements in the group performance are due to a change in the groups spatio-temporal structure.
The controllers we use for the robots are behavior-based. The robots used in the experiment below had three different abstract, high-level behaviors: direct target approach, wall following, and stopping. By learning how to relate different input states to any of these three behaviors, the robots can improve their performance. On top of the movement behaviors we implemented a concurrent set of communication behaviors for cooperation. The communication strategies are described in a separate section below.
The three high-level movement behaviors take care of lower level tasks such as obstacle avoidance, position estimation, and keeping track of what target to visit next, the source or the sink.
The adaptive element of the controller uses reinforcement learning to relate the different input states to the available movement behaviors. The reinforcement learning uses a naive Q(λ) algorithm with an accumulative eligibility trace and a Boltzmann Softmax action selection algorithm.
The input space is made up of several highly abstracted virtual sensors. In the experiment we describe below we used a five bit input vector. The first bit indicated the presence of a visible target. The second bit was on for a relatively short amount of time at random intervals, providing an unbiased fragmentation of the input state. The three final bits reflected the presence of the three colors used for the color markings. They only reported on the markings on the closest of the visible robots.
To improve the learning rate of the group we developed two communication strategies based on language-less communication in animals and humans. The first strategy was called expressed behavior evaluation and the second imitation. In order to scale to large groups, the strategies only used local communication.
The expressed behavior evaluation strategy was inspired by wordless calls of encouragement or warning in humans and animals. Humans and some animals can recognize the active behavior in others and estimate their input state. This is very difficult to achieve in robots, so our robots broadcast locally every new state-action pair they went through. When a robot received a state-action message referring to a Q-table entry with an exceptional value in the robot's own Q-table, the robot would send a feedback message to the originator of the state-action message. On reception of a feedback message, a robot would assume that its current state and action was an exceptional combination and update its Q-table accordingly.
The imitation strategy was inspired by imitation learning where a student repeats the actions of a teacher, hence experiencing the same state-action chains and receiving similar reward. In our system this is implemented as storing and broadcasting locally the eligibility trace that lead to the highest reward. Similar cooperation strategies have been shown to work in a grid-world, pursuit domain by Ming Tan. Our results show that the same improvements in learning rate can be achieved in more realistic simulations.
Pioneer 2DX with PTZ camera and laser. The colored fiducial simlifies vision-based recognition.
As an initial demonstration of spatio-temporal adaptation, we did a series of experiments where five Pioneer 2DX robots simulated using Player and Stage , had to traverse a 6-by-7 meter rectangle containing a source and a sink on opposite short sides. The robots were equipped with PTZ cameras and SICK laser range finders. The robots also wore color markings emphasizing their orientation with red on the left side, green on the right, and yellow at the rear.
The robots received a reward on arrival at a target, source or sink. The reward, r, was inversely proportional to the traversal time, t, and relative to the optimal traversal time, to: r=1+(to/t).
Our experiments demonstrated statistically significant improvements in both individual and group performance. They also demonstrated the value of our cooperative strategies. Below a graph illustrates the performances of the three different learning strategies.
The improvements were due to both spatial and temporal reorganization. The robots learned to follow a circular path, minimizing interference. They also learned to stop when they saw other robots approaching, i.e. they did not see their yellow markings.
- Torbjørn S. Dahl, Maja J Mataric´ and Gaurav S. Sukhatme, A machine learning method for improving task allocation in distributed multi-robot transportation". In Complex Engineering Systems, Dan Braha, Ali Minai, and Yaneer Bar-Yam (eds.), Perseus Books, Reading, Massachusetts, 2004. [PDF][PS]
- Torbjørn S. Dahl, Maja J Mataric´ and Gaurav S. Sukhatme, Adaptive Spatio-Temporal Organization in Groups of Robots. In the Proceedings of the 2002 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. [PDF][PS]
The project is funded in part by the Deparment of Energy (DOE), Robotics and Intellgent Machines (RIM), grant number DE-FG03-01ER45905, for "Multi-Robot Learning in Tightly-Coupled, Inherently Cooperative Tasks", and in part by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Defence University Reseach Instrumentation Program (DURIP), grant number 00014-00-1-0638 for "Equipment Support for Dynamic Adaptive Wireless Networks with Autonomous Robot Nodes".


text: Mandiant's release on Tuesday of a mother lode of information on Chinese hacking efforts could turn out to be a financial mother lode for the company itself.Mandiant, founded in 2004, was well known in Internet security circles for cybercrime response and forensics before this week. But by the end of the day of the release of its 60-page report on what it said was proof of efforts by a Chinese military unit to hack into 141 businesses, most of them in the U.S. -- it was one of the highest-profile security companies in the world.The report, titled "APT1: Exposing One of China's Cyber Espionage Units," led mainstream television network news broadcasts on Tuesday evening, and was featured on everything from National Public Radio to tech journals and blogs. Company founder Kevin Mandia, a retired Air Force officer, was interviewed by multiple media outlets.The timing could be very good for Mandiant. Several security experts said they think it will go public sometime this year, although Mandiant CSO Richard Bejtlich would not comment on that. And, as Anne Flaherty of the Associated Press put it in an explainer on the company, the report "puts Mandiant front-and-center at a critical time on a national debate about cybersecurity. Its founder [Mandia] testified earlier this month to the House Intelligence Committee on hacking threats."But it also raised questions about how the report was rolled out, and whether the information it collected could have been made public earlier, to assist companies that may have been hacked by APT1 or "Unit 61398" of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, but were not among Mandiant's clients. Mandiant has been tracking APT1 and other such groups in China since 2006.The company suggested in its report that the targets of APT1 likely went well beyond its clientele. "The activity we have directly observed likely represents only a small fraction of the cyber espionage that APT1 has conducted," the report said.But Bejtlich told CSO Online on Wednesday that Mandiant has issued public reports consistently on advanced persistent threats (APT). He said the firm's January 2010 M-Trends report specifically addressed them.[Also see: Chinese Army link to hack no reason for cyberwar\u00a0| Hack findings highlight China, U.S. in game of spy vs. spy]The difference in this report, he said, was that it finally felt confident enough to name a specific Chinese group, with government sponsorship, as the source of a large group of attacks. "We believed we had a really good case," he said.Chester Wisniewski, a senior security adviser at Sophos, said that Mandiant, as a private, for-profit enterprise, doesn't really owe anyone anything. "They are entitled to share what they please," he said."It isn't exactly news to those of us in the business of protecting businesses from these types of attacks," he said, aside from the attribution to as specific team in China. "Most of the malware samples were already being detected by our antivirus and I presume the same to be true for others."Bejtlich said Mandiant felt the timing of the report's release was good for two other reasons. "This is a time when there is a real push for security," he said. "The president just signed an Executive Order, our CEO had just testified on intelligence sharing and there are bills coming [in Congress on cybersecurity.]"He added that there has been some frustration in the security community about the administration's apparent unwillingness to confront China. He said having White House Press Secretary Jay Carney talking about, "speaking to the Chinese in the most serious tones," is not enough. "We're here to play a part, and we wanted to present the evidence."Bejtlich said Mandiant felt that this Army unit in particular would be particularly damaged by this. "We don't think they can pivot quickly to backup plan. This was an attempt to make life difficult for the adversary."Gary McGraw, CTO of Cigital, suggested another possible reason. "I think the Chinese goaded them into it," he said, noting that Chinese officials, in denying any involvement with the hack of The New York Times, said it was "unprofessional" to make the accusation "without any conclusive evidence.""They probably figured, 'OK, we'll show you some evidence,'" McGraw said.There are also questions about the comingling of media strategy with Mandiant's commercial interest. The New York Times had hired Mandiant in January to trace an attack on the computers of reporters and other employees following the newspaper's stories on the financial dealings of China's Premier Wen Jerboa.Mandiant then allowed The Times to break the story on its APT1 report by providing it with an advance copy, allowing time for reporters to "test the conclusions with other experts, both inside and outside government," and providing advance interviews with company leaders. The Times published its story Monday, a day before the official release of the report.The newspaper acknowledged in its story that while Mandiant is not now working for the Times, "it is in discussions about a business relationship."Bejtlich acknowledged that the relationship developed between Mandiant and The Times during the investigation of the newspaper hack led to the coordination of a story in The Times on the release of the report.That is normal, Chester Wisniewski said. "It isn't unusual to prefer your customers when it comes to these things," he said."It was mutually beneficial," Bejtlich said. "We were not in a position to talk to others in the intelligence community, but The Times could." He added that Mandiant felt this was the best way to give the report as much exposure as possible.He acknowledged that some other media outlets scooped by The Times, were upset. "And I'm totally sympathetic to that," he said.


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Your First Steps Towards Financing
Download this information in PDF format.
Establishing relationships with creditors and lenders prior to seeking funding is key to successful financing. The more they know and understand you as a person, the more they will trust you. When it comes to money, nothing is more important than trust.
Additionally, be sure to find the right lender. If you approach a lender known for helping businesses that are far different from your own – your chances of success are much smaller. The Northern California Small Business Development Centers (NorCal SBDC) can assist you in finding loans in your community.
Several variables are weighed by banks and lenders in making loan decisions. Those include: credit history, financial stability of the company, the company's ability to service debt, strength and value of the collateral, economic outlook, and the support available by the company's guarantors.
What Your Lender Needs
- Company's financial statements including the balance sheet, income statement and business tax returns
- Collateral
- Personal financial statements and tax returns
- Monthly cash-flow projections based on obtaining the loan
- Thorough business plan
- Specific details on how the loan would be used
- Company management profile & outlook
1. Financial Statements
Having a professional analyze your financial statements prior to asking for a loan can help you clean up simple mistakes and unnecessary flags for potential lenders. Additionally, having an accountant or a NorCal SBDC Business Advisor help you understand the contents of your financial statements will prepare you for answering lender questions.
Keep in mind that financial statements report conditions during a defined period of time. If you have a large project or sale that is pending, proof of that pending income should be provided to the lender. Providing a written summary of the financial statements can go a long way to helping you get funding.
2. Ability to Service Debt
Having a plan to pay back a loan is crucial to securing funding. Prepare projections with expenses and earnings and incorporate the new loan payments into your plan. NorCal SBDC Business Advisors have a template for this spreadsheet and can help.
Be sure to include a built in safety net for when projections fall short of expectations. This advance consideration helps lenders know that you've thought the request through, have considered cash flows, and are committed to repayment of the debt.
3. Collateral Value
Collateral is essential to business lending in today's market. Without it, a lender relies solely on future performance or existing cash flow to repay the debt. This can translate into higher risk and interest rates for borrowers.
Loans that are self-collateralizing – meaning that the asset purchased with loan funds has a defined market value (such as equipment loans) – are sometimes easier to secure. Construction improvements on storefronts that are leased or rented are more difficult to secure and lenders can ask for a "blanket lien" on the business assets. Be prepared to provide a collateral package to your lender and try to confine the lien to specific assets so that others are unencumbered for future financing.
A NorCal SBDC Business Advisor can help determine the best use of available collateral for your business.
4. Industry Outlook
Lenders typically rely on written material about any given industry, may not fully understand yours, and could misinterpret average standards of performance.
Don't allow your company to be lumped into industry trends that don't adequately reflect your company's future. Be proactive by providing a summary of what is happening industry-wide and how you are approaching future opportunities. A NorCal SBDC Business Advisor can show you how to find relevant industry information to include in your loan package.
5. Guarantor Support
By approaching your lender with a personal guarantee, you send a clear message that you are willing to stand behind your business. It is a big red flag for a potential lender when questions regarding the development of a corporation to protect personal assets are mentioned, so be aware of the message you're sending.
6. Increase Your Odds
Over the past three years, NorCal SBDC Advisors have assisted companies like yours secure $66.8 million in loan funds. With locations throughout Northern California and confidential no-cost coaching just a click or call away — don't wait to find out how our services can benefit your business.


text: Over the years I have read many a self-help book that advocated for being in the "now". Although I feel there is great merit in acknowledging and celebrating every moment you have, I also feel that the past and it's lessons both good and bad are incredibly meaningful. My career would not have been as successful if I did not have the plethora of stories I refer to about my grandmother, grandfather, and mother. I have many memories of both negative and positive experiences. Discovering how to use our pasts to guide and empower us can be tricky. Our culture has evolved into one that spends time looking for who is to blame for our inadequacies. Often times people spend years in therapy or going to workshops to try to discover who or what has made them unhappy. I am all for trying to heal trauma and unfortunate childhood experiences, but the art of reframing them into a model for resiliency is a far greater gift. Negative experiences can become templates for living with better understandings of who we are and what we can be. Unfortunately I feel it is much easier to use parents, siblings, spouses, or co-workers to corroborate reasons why we don't live our lives to the fullest. We identify "them" as the culprits that have created our inadequacies, and as a result the storyline becomes our reality. I spent many hours being at odds with my mother and how she parented and who she choose as my stepfather. If only I had been aware of how I was wasting precious moments of my life discussing what essentially could not be changed. My saving grace became the work I chose. I became acutely aware of how the perceptions of my past clouded my judgment and how it often made me anxious. I can still fall into some of the "painful past" dialogue when I forget that I can use my past to reinforce how I deal with the present. I have often called this " finding the bless in the mess". It is rare to find someone who reached adulthood without having a person in their life that was not dealing with a full deck. In fact I have met some incredibly successful individuals that have survived families that make living in an insane asylum seem like a walk in the park. None of us is given the choice of who will be our family of origin. So it is up to us to learn to shape our lives in the most authenticate way possible, by recalling, reclaiming and recasting our experiences to help serve us not shame us.


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The band cites influences such as Kyuss, Slo Burn, Mustasch (early), Truck Fighters, Hendrix, Doors, The Who, Electric Wizard, Brant Bjork, etc. Unfortunately, the only way that you can get their tunes is at one of their shows. Such a shame because their are some pretty badass tunes posted on their MySpace page. Right now the band is currently searching for a new guitarist.
More videos


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while writing content, what will be the impressive way to start?
while writing content, what will be the impressive way to start?
Usually with lots of gunshots, blood and screaming!
But of course, it depends on what the content is about. If you are writing business or sales content, perhaps this is not the best beginning. It really depends on what you are writing, so you'd need to give some kind of example or context.
The best place to start in writing content is to actually work out what it is you are writing about and to make sure you actually know the subject well enough to be able to write content about it.
And don't forget the needs of your audience…
While writing content focus not only on the needs of your targeted audience but the benefits it will be given to the users. Make it interesting and be creative to produce a signature in your story.
To write content you need five steps
thanks to all for guidance.
The best way to start writing content is to just start writing it. What's your topic? Get all your ideas on the screen. Then look them over and see if you 1)Have said all you wanted to say 2) have said too much 3) read through your paragraphs and realign your thoughts. Be sure that you haven't added something to the end that would be better at the beginning, etc. At this point you will see the pieces of your puzzle begin to form a complete picture and you will know exactly how you want the piece to begin.
One VERY important thing to remember is to not make your content long because you think it's good SEO.
In order to check the quality of your content you should submit your articles on ezinearticles.com and if you get approved then your articles are good enough to publish on virtually any site on the internet but if your article get rejected then you will be notified what is the reason behind this, it can be due to bad grammar or spelling mistakes or some other thing that you need to work on. Keep on trying and when your acceptance rate on ezine nearing to 100% , this is the time when you are about to rule the web with your quality content.
After observing the blogs then you will get huge idea about article writing…Although I have to say something to you. You need to analyze keyword by google planner tool. You may try to click it.I think you will get a better idea…Best of luck.
This is the poorest advice I have ever read. Adding your original content to an article farm is SE unwise and will do nothing for your reputation as a good writer. There is tons of trash on article sites that have not been properly spell or grammar checked.
Moreover, why submit your original content to a third party to approve it unless you will be paid for doing so? There are dozens of free online grammar/spell checkers available and dozens of both free and paid software packages available for download.
A good and impressive way to start content writing can be to start with an interesting descriptive of the problem you are going to write about.You may start with some question about it or some incident that makes reader think about your content to follow.
That, certainly, will make your reader to read whole of your article with full attention.
I agree that there are lots of article sites with very low quality content but you will not fine any trash in ezinearticles. You can try it yourself, I guess you don't have any experience working on ezinearticles otherwise you will not post such comment here. The software will not work 100% correctly when it comes to check grammar/spelling checking, it has to be done manually.
After twelve years in this business, I've had plenty to do with ezine articles, especially when they posted my ripped content under one of their member's names. Why you would suggest that someone put their original work on any article farm merely to have their grammar checked is beyond my comprehension. Google penalizes content they find on farms and posting on one of them is certainly no way to build expertise or credibility as a writer.
True, content checkers make some mistakes but they catch they major ones. Just like anything, if you disagree with something they have tagged, you need to make your own decision and there are plenty other credible resources on the web that can help you learn to do that.
Although writing well takes talent, it is basically a skill that just about anyone can improve upon. But it takes work. There are no easy roads. Shortcuts only serve to cut yourself short in the end.
One of the best ways to get started writing high quality and impressive content is to make a few key decisions. You need to first identify who you are writing for and secondly determine what that audience wants to read, what is important and captivating to that audience. Another big consideration is the length of what you are writing. The flow of information in today's world is enormous. Decide on a few key elements and elaborate on those making sure you don't get long winded. Hit the big points and move on because that is what your readers will do.
Capture your reader's attention in the first sentence or two…
If they are not totally enthralled by the end of the first paragraph, you have an uphill battle.
The presentation of the content is extremely important. Make sure to use powerful words throughout the article/page. Also, make sue of customized images for increasing the readability.
Before you start writing a content ask yourself few questions.
For who you will write, who are your target users, what you will write and what they want… questions like that.
What "powerful words" would those be? How do images increase readability? Images bring focus to different areas of a page, but they do nothing to make content more readable.


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High Sierra Trail
In August, 2018, we hiked an out-and-back 120 miles on the High Sierra Trail. We started/ended at Sequoia National Park - Crescent Meadow. Our turn around point was the summit of Mt. Whitney. Our whole journey took 10 days. We had three thunderstorms, saw lots of animals, met funny and interesting people and had a great time exploring new wilderness. We hope you enjoy these photosRead More


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Hyped 2 Death
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 1979-1981. Stunning warped pop. Way too smart to be outsider music," but probably too drug-addled to be anything else. Along with their phenomenally-rare 45 (which leads off Homework #103 [formerly #5]), the three of them made up a 12-song cassette as well called "Exist" Heres both (with lots more to come). This is how Zoomers account begins: "The last thing I remember about The Zoomers was driving down the levee road on the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, tripping my ass off on LSD in my Dads Lincoln Continental drinking Papst Blue Ribbon beer by the 12 pack and throwing Zoomer 45s at whatever we could hit and that wasnt much, except for that rather large dog that later turned out to be a cow (its amazing how much everything looks the same at 100 mph). But like my Mom always said its the thought that counts, anyway at the end of a 3 day acid bender, thinking was the last thing on my mind." - Hyped 2 Death.
Sold Out


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American Apparel Hits Rock "Bottom"
American Apparel is looking for the best bottom in the world to be the "face" of their new ad campaign. They're inviting girls and women to upload pictures of their butts to the website (wearing AA underwear or body suits, of course) and then asking people to judge the submissions with a score of 1-5 and the option to add snarky comments. It's low budget and lowbrow. For girls, however, it's
high stakes.
Here's their invitation: "Confident about the junk in your trunk? Show us your assets! Post a photo of your booty's best side for judgment. We're looking for a brand new bum (the best in the world!) to be the new "face" for our always expanding intimates and briefs lines. The winners will be flown to LA, photographed and featured online. Send in a close-up photo of your backside wearing American Apparel panties, bodysuits or briefs for consideration and vote for your personal favorites."
Geez, American Apparel, try listening to girls instead of objectifying them. As Thalia, age 19, says, "You don't need to exploit us to benefit your company. Someone who is a CEO should have more common sense, don't you think?"
We do.
So, here's our reply – grow up and get someone on your marketing team who's got some brain cells and some principles. Sign our letter to AA's CEO and Corporate Relations people to add your name to the protest.
Joseph Teklits and Jean Fontana, Corporate Relations
Dov Charney, CEO
747 Warehouse St.
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Dear American Apparel:
The sexualization of women and porn-inspired media have infiltrated the everyday culture of the youngest girls. According to the 2007 APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls in Media, the negative impact on girls and women is indisputable: the sexualization and objectification of girls and women in media wreak havoc on our psychological, emotional, cognitive and relational lives.
Your recent campaign is a perfect example of the insidious ways marketers and media promote sexualization and body obsession as "girl power." American Apparel is directly and unconscionably undermining girls' healthy development by equating confidence with looking sexy, winning with being judged on their appearance, and personal value with 15 seconds of fame. The objectification of girls' and women's bodies is a real concern in a country where 1 in 4 women is a victim of violence, and sexual harassment is rampant. This ad campaign invites girls to self-objectify, inviting girls to post pictures of just one body part, and inviting others to comment and rate it is demeaning and dangerous.
By launching this campaign at a time when sexting is in the headline news, American Apparel is literally placing girls in jeopardy of prosecution by inviting them to post highly sexualized images of themselves online.
Don't insult us with the usual defense: this is not real girl power; this is not just girls feeling good, making choices or feeling confident in their bodies. American Apparel is selling girls for parts, and we're not buying. We demand that you stop this ad campaign today and commit to more responsible marketing practices.


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Spice, in this case, is actually S.P.I.C.E, which stands for Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis. SPICE is a program most (all?) E.E.s are familiar with, which is used to simulator electrical circuits. I was looking for something simple to see the frequency response of a filter circuit and I ran across LTSpice IV, freely available from Linear Technology.
Many freely available SPICE programs will only support a limited number of nets or have other restrictions. LTSpice is fully functional with no limitations. Registration is asked for but not required to download the software. Even better, it comes with a large design library of parts, both from Linear Technology and from other manufacturers. It includes a schematic capture program so you don't have to enter a netlist in text format, and it can also display analysis results graphically.
In the photo (click to see the full size version) you can see a simple low pass circuit with a 3dB rolloff at 1.5kHz. The signal source is V1, and the filter is composed of Rext and Cext. This filter is attached to the ADC input of an NXP LPC1768 ARM based microcontroller, and the rest of the components model the input to the ADC circuitry, taken from the LPC1768 datasheet. I included them in the circuit to make the simulation more complete, although they have very little impact on the circuit. In the bottom of the photo is the frequency response, from 1 Hz to 5 kHz. Both the magnitude and the phase of the output are shown. Nets are added to the graph by clicking on them in the schematic. Voltages across two nets can be displayed, as can current through components. Analysis types include AC (frequency response), transient, and others.
Send in your gadget!
Design News is always looking for new gadets to feature in the print edition of the magazine. Mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, whatever. Believe me, if they'll run my hot rodded Billy Bass they'll run anything. If you've creating something clever and would like to see it in print, submit it to the Design News editors:
You'll get the thrill of seeing your product show up in a print magazine right in your mailbox, and you'll get a check for $500 as well.
Steve RavetDesign News Gadgeteer


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UPDATE Sept. 11, 12:20 GMT: Following the FBI's denials that an agent's laptop was breached to grab 12 million Apple UDIDs, a small app publisher in Florida has confirmed that it was the source of the device identifiers. The CEO of Blue Toad said his company had reported the breach, which reportedly occurred in the last two weeks, to law enforcement. "We're pretty apologetic to the people who relied on us to keep this information secure," Chief Executive Paul Hart told NBC. Read the full story and its privacy implications here. As for Anonymous, the revelation could mark a new dent on the network's credibility, despite its already-solid reputation for "trolling" via networks like 4chan and Twitter. Organizers have said on Twitter that "There is still no evidence. Stay tuned," but the appearance of lying in their earlier press release will make any future leaks by the subversive network much harder for anyone to believe.
UPDATE Sept. 4, 21:50 GMT: The FBI has denied that it ever had the 12 million Apple IDs in question: "Statement soon on reports that one of our laptops with personal info was hacked," it said on Twitter. "We never had info in question. Bottom Line: TOTALLY FALSE." It also said in an emailed statement: "The FBI is aware of published reports alleging that an FBI laptop was compromised and private data regarding Apple UDIDs was exposed. At this time, there is no evidence indicating that an FBI laptop was compromised or that the FBI either sought or obtained this data."
UPDATE Sept. 4, 19:00 GMT: There is some speculation that an app developer, not Apple, released the dataset of 12 million device IDs to the FBI. Marco Arment of Instapaper writes on his blog that, "all of this information could have been collected from an app transmitting data to a server... This is exactly the information that an ad network would want to collect. Apple and the carriers probably weren't involved at all." He adds that the "popular and free AllClear ID app, related to NCFTA, is a likely culprit," given the name of the dataset stolen by hackers (see below).
An AllClear spokeswoman denied the company's involvement, saying, "AllClear ID does not collect, nor has it ever collected, UDIDs. We have determined this incident is not linked to AllClear ID."
The NCFTA, or National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance, is a non-profit partner with the FBI whose legal arrangement with the government allows it to hand over information to the FBI. Forbes privacy writer Kashmir Hill writes that NCFTA is not allowed to share names or addresses of people affiliated with the scheme. AllClear ID a free iOS app that aims to protect a user's identity from fraud.
The inclusion of "Push Notification Tokens" in the data leak was another reason to believe the data had come from an app developer. Apple's Push Notification Service can decrypt these token using a key, according to its site for developers. This means that if an app developer (or developers) leaked the data, Apple could potentially identify them.
UPDATE Sept. 4, 17:50 GMT: Anonymous / Antisec supporters have posted a sample of 100 Apple mobile device identifiers from the breach, in plain text, viewable here. The data is in four columns 1) the Apple device unique device identifier 2) the Apple Push Notification Service DevToken 3) the device name 4) the device type. They say it lists the top 50 and bottom 50 UDIDs in the dataset. One source from Anonymous says supporters are currently working on uploading the full, unencrypted dataset of 1 million UDIDs to the web, as well as a searchable database.
Three years ago special agent Christopher Stangl appeared in a video calling on people with computer science degrees to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation, saying they were needed "more than ever." Last night, hackers with subversive online networks Anonymous and Antisec answered that call with nothing short of irreverence: they published what they claimed were more than 1 million unique device identifier numbers, (UDID) for Apple devices, stolen from Stangl's own laptop.
In total, the hackers say they were able to steal more than 12 million of these strings of numbers and letters, but, "we decided a million would be enough to release." They announced the hack through the widely-watched Twitter feed, @AnonymousIRC last night.
Forbes cyber security reporter Andy Greenberg has downloaded the encrypted file posted by Anonymous containing the identifiers, and decrypted it. "It does seem to be an enormous list of 40-character strings made up of numbers and the letters A through F, just like Apple UDIDs," he reports. The data is being analyzed by cyber security research firms like Denmark's CSIS, whose specialist Peter Kruse tweeted earlier today that three of his devices were in the leaked data.
The incident raises many questions, not only about the security of federal devices, but of why an agent might have (allegedly) been carrying a database of Apple UDIDs, which the hackers said also contained "user names, name of device, type of device, Apple Push Notification Service tokens, zipcodes, cellphone numbers, addresses, etc." of iPhone and iPad users. The hackers claim to have stripped this information for publication.
Developers use the UDID to track information about Apple's mobile devices, and sometimes ad companies will cross reference that information to target users with ads. If all the information out there was cross-referenced, it would be a huge web of user information. But as Gizmodo points out, that doesn't seem to be the case here: "What was leaked appears to be a list of users and information gathered from just one app, or a few—NOT a cross-section of the UDID on every single app you use," writes Kyle Wagner. "It's one or two stands of the spider web." In other words, don't freak out if your Apple device is on the list, aside from taking some basic precautions like changing some of your key passwords.
Stangl did not wish to comment when contacted by email earlier today, and an FBI spokeswoman declined to comment. Apple did not respond to emails and phone calls requesting comment. Anonymous supporters said in their Pastebin post on Monday evening that they were not giving further interviews on the matter, though one source in the network suggested more information on the matter could emerge soon.
Anonymous claimed they used the Atomic Reference Array vulnerability in Java to breach Stangl's laptop. (Link via Computer Weekly.) Here's where they claim to have hacked his device:
"During the second week of March 2012, a Dell Vostro notebook, used by Supervisor Special Agent Christopher K. Stangl from FBI Regional Cyber Action Team and New York FBI Office Evidence Response Team was breached using the AtomicReferenceArray vulnerability on Java, during the shell session some files were downloaded from his Desktop folder one of them with the name of 'NCFTA_iOS_devices_intel.csv' turned to be a list of 12,367,232 Apple iOS devices including Unique Device Identifiers (UDID), user names, name of device,type of device, Apple Push Notification Service tokens, zipcodes, cellphone numbers, addresses, etc.
"The personal details fields referring to people appears many times empty leaving the whole list incompleted on many parts. no other file on the same folder makes mention about this list or its purpose."
Stangl, who joined the FBI in 2003 after graduating from Monmouth University, has been with the agency for nine and a half years and won an award in 2010 for helping bust a cyber crime ring. He was also sucked into another Anonymous stunt earlier this year when at least one of their supporters breached an FBI conference call that had been discussing Anonymous and LulzSec. Stangl was listed among those invited into the call, in an e-mail that was posted on Pastebin.
In a video posted to Facebook in 2009 (and which will likely be getting a lot more views in the coming days), Stangl is shown wearing a dark suit and tie, speaking to the camera, and calling for "cyber security experts" to join the FBI.
"Hello. My name is special agent Chris Stangl of the New York city field office of the FBI," he says. "Today more than ever we need individuals with computer-science backgrounds to join the FBI. From a special agent that investigates cyber crime, or the computer scientist that is embedded in the cyber squad that analyzes malware."
Anonymous and Antisec have shown a variety of motivators, with a large undercurrent being the pursuit of "lulz" and revenge. Hence the FBI is a regular target, and the subject of long-time operations that vary in size and are known as "F*** FBI Fridays." This particular operation was wrapped into the weekly event (despite being released on a Monday) and aimed at causing maximum embarrassment to investigators who are trying to prevent attacks like these from spinning out of control. The fact that the hackers targeted someone who once called for computer savvy individuals to join the Feds, may have given them all the more reason to pounce.
Some will have seen this coming. Back in June 2012, supporters of Anonymous, aligning themselves with the disbanded splinter group LulzSec, published a video on YouTube claiming they had obtained three terabytes of data from sources including the U.S. State Department, the FBI, the U.S. military and the Syrian government. The video was granted some credibility when it was tweeted by the popular @AnonymousIRC Twitter feed, and a source with Anonymous now suggests that the UDID data dump may be linked. They added that it will likely have taken a few months for the hackers to sift through the data to figure out what was what.
UPDATE: If you own an Apple mobile device and are wondering if it got caught up in the UDID dump, TheNextWeb has set up a web tool that lets you type in part of your device number to check. They also promise to not store your identifier. Here's how how you can look it up in iTunes.
Follow me on Twitter: @Parmy
Or check out my book: "We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous and the Global Cyber Insurgency."


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(AP) -- A man who had been arrested for allegedly stalking an ex-girlfriend overpowered an officer inside a police station, grabbed her gun and shot her and two other officers before being killed by police early Friday, authorities said.
All three wounded officers were expected to recover.
Eddie Jones III, 39, of Willingboro, overpowered Officer Ruth Burns inside the station in Gloucester Township, a Philadelphia suburb, police said. He fired at her and two officers who had been in a nearby room and came rushing to aid their colleague. The two officers fired on Jones, killing him.
"This morning, the reality of a cruel world fell upon our doorstep," said Mayor David Mayer. "We thank God our officers are expected to fully recover."
Sgt. James Garber was shot multiple times and underwent emergency surgery for a gunshot wound to the abdomen; his life was saved by a bulletproof vest. He also suffered a graze wound to the head.
Sgt. Kevin Thine suffered a laceration to his abdomen and a graze wound to the chin. Burns was shot in the foot.
Jones, a civilian employee of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, had been arrested for stalking the home of a former girlfriend after a caller told police they saw a suspicious man lurking at about 1 a.m.
He was brought back to police headquarters and when his handcuffs were removed for a brief period during processing, he lunged at Burns, knocking her down and taking her weapon, police Chief Harry Earle said.
The suspect "unleashed a barrage of gunfire" at the officers, Earle said. Jones was struck multiple times by return fire and was pronounced dead at the scene, the chief said.
The shooting will be reviewed by the state attorney general, as is customary with all shootings involving police officers. But Camden County Prosecutor Warren Faulk said initial evidence shows that the officers responded to gunfire that was initiated by the suspect, and returned fire to save their lives and those of other officers in the building.


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In the 1960s and '70s, it was common practice at the BBC to reuse video tapes. Old recordings were taped over with new shows. Some Doctor Who episodes have been lost forever. Jimi Hendrix's unruly performance on Happening for Lulu would have also been lost if a music-loving engineer hadn't sequestered the tapes away, preventing them from being over-written.
Except - a VT engineer called Bob Pratt, who really ought to get a medal, was in the habit of saving stuff he liked. Even then, the BBC policy of wiping practically everything was notorious amongst those who'd made it. Bob had the job of changing the heads on 2" VT machines. He'd be in at 0600 before everyone else and have two hours to sort the equipment before anyone else came in. Rock music was his passion, and knowing everything would soon disappear, would spend some of that time dubbing off the thing he liked onto junk tapes, which would disappear under the VT department floor.
To be fair to the BBC, the tape-wiping policy wasn't entirely down to crazy internal politics—there were convoluted rights issues involving the actors' union, Equity.
Those issues have since been cleared up. I'm sure the BBC has learned from the past. I'm sure they wouldn't think of mindlessly throwing away content, when they have such an impressive archive.
And yet, when it comes to the web, the BBC is employing a slash-and-burn policy regarding online content. 172 websites are going to disappear down the memory hole.
Just to be clear, these sites aren't going to be archived. They are going to be deleted from the web. Server space is the new magnetic tape.
This callous attitude appears to be based entirely on the fact that these sites occupy URLs in top-level directories—repeatedly referred to incorrectly as top level domains on the BBC internet blog—a space that the decision-makers at the BBC are obsessed with.
Instead of moving the sites to, say, bbc.co.uk/archive and employing a little bit of
.htaccess redirection, the BBC (and their technology partner, Siemens) would rather just delete the lot.
Martin Belam is suitably flabbergasted by the vandalism of the BBC's online history:
I'm really not sure who benefits from deleting the Politics 97 site from the BBC's servers in 2011. It seems astonishing that for all the BBC's resources, it may well be my blog posts from 5 years ago that provide a more accurate picture of the BBC's early internet days than the Corporation does itself - and that it will have done so by choice.
Many of the 172 sites scheduled for deletion are currently labelled with a banner across the top indicating that the site hasn't been updated for a while. There's a link to a help page with the following questions and answers:
Why don't you just delete these pages when the programme has ended?
Our view is that these pages often contain a lot of information about the programme or event which may be of interest in the future. We don't want to delete pages which users may have bookmarked or linked to in other ways.
When do you delete pages from bbc.co.uk?
In general our policy is only to remove pages where the information provided has become so outdated that it may lead to actual harm or damage.
It'll be interesting to see how those answers will be updated to reflect change in policy. Presumably, the new answers will read something along the lines of "Fuck 'em."
- The website commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave act,
- The website for the summer of British film,
- The website chronicling composers of the year,
- The website documenting wildlife explorers on location,
- The website of last year's Electric Dreams, a programme all about the changes in technology over time…
Kiss them all goodbye. And perhaps most egregious of all, you can also kiss goodbye to WW2 People's War:
The BBC asked the public to contribute their memories of World War Two to a website between June 2003 and January 2006. This archive of 47,000 stories and 15,000 images is the result.
I'm very saddened to see the BBC join the ranks of online services that don't give a damn for posterity. That attitude might be understandable, if not forgivable, from a corporation like Yahoo or AOL, driven by short-term profits for shareholders, as summarised by Connor O'Brien in his superb piece on link rot:
We push our lives into the internet, expecting the web to function as a permanent and ever-expanding collective memory, only to discover the web exists only as a series of present moments, every one erasing the last. If your only photo album is Facebook, ask yourself: since when did a gratis web service ever demonstrate giving a flying fuck about holding onto the past?
I was naive enough to think that the BBC was above that kind of short-sighted approach. Looks like I was wrong.
Sad face.


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ison [-n] [-s] [-len <number>] [-oncmd <command>] [-offcmd <command>] [<nick> [<nick> …]]
This server query implements the underlying functionality for the NOTIFY command. Given a list of nicknames, it returns the subset of those nicknames that are currently on your network. If none of them are on the network, an empty list is returned.
If you don't provide a nickname, then your nickname is used as the default argument.
Suppressing the normal handling of the ISON reply (303 numeric) by way of an /on raw_irc will cause NOTIFY to stop working and corrupt the ison queue. Don't do this.
You cannot query a remote server with the ison command
|Prioritise this request, putting it onto the head of ISON queue
|Trigger sending next ISON message now, in case something gone bad with it
|-oncmd <command>
|Run given command, where $* is the users who are online
|-offcmd <command>
|Run given command where $* is the users who are offline
|-len <number>
|Specify your own maximum length of the ISON request, instead of default, being 500 characters.


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Can I trust email from the Microsoft account team?
If you get an email from Microsoft account team and the email address domain is @accountprotection.microsoft.com, it is safe to trust the message and open it. Microsoft uses this domain to send email notifications about your Microsoft account. These notifications can include security codes for two-step verification and account update information, such as password changes.


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Inside Notre Dame.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame (AD 1163) in Paris. Notre Dame is the second largest church in the world, second only to St. Peters in Rome.
The South Rose Window in Notre Dame.
One of the famous gargoyles at Notre Dame.
The city of Paris, from the top of Notre Dame.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame.
We ended up at the Eiffel Tower on our first night in Paris.
The Arc de Triomphe, built by Napolean in 1805 following his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz.
From the top of the Arc de Triomphe, looking west along the Champs-Elysees towards La Defense.
From the top of the Arc de Triomphe, looking east (into the sun) along the Champs-Elysees towards the Musee du Louvre.
The Champs-Elysees.
The Musee du Louvre with I.M. Pei's famous (and controversial) pyramid entrance. The pyramid was added in 1989.
One of the 15 stained glass panels at Sainte-Chappelle.
Another of the stained glass panels at Sainte-Chappelle.
The upper chapel at Sainte-Chappelle. The 15 stained glass windows are more than 50 feet high and depict more than 1,000 scenes from both the Old and New Testament.
The city of Paris, from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889 as part of the Paris World's Fair. It's a lot bigger than it looks -- in fact, it was the tallest structure in the world until the Empire State Building opened in 1931.
Inside the Palace of Versailles, in the Hall of Mirrors.
The gardens outside the Palace of Versailles.
The Palace of Versailles (home to King Louis XIV, XV, and XVI during the latter part of the 17th century).
Sacre-Couer in (Montmarte) Paris, France.
Little Orsino again...
Opera de Paris Garnier (The Paris Opera House, AD 1862), setting for the famous Phantom of the Opera.