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Crucial.com Takes Home the Bronze Stevie® for Customer Service Department of the Year
Crucial.com Takes Home the Bronze Stevie® for Customer Service Department of the Year
For the Second Year Running, Crucial.com is Honored for Outstanding Customer Service in the Computer Hardware Category
BOISE, Idaho--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leading computer memory (DRAM) and solid state drive (SSD) online retailer Crucial.com was honored with a Bronze Stevie® Award for Excellence in Customer Service by the Stevie® Awards Monday night at the 7th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service gala at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.
The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world's top sales awards, contact center awards, and customer service awards. The Stevie Awards organizes several of the world's leading business awards shows including the prestigious American Business AwardsSM and International Business AwardsSM. More than 1,100 entries from organizations worldwide were submitted to this year's competition for consideration in 30 customer service categories, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year. Following an intensive review by a judging committee that included many of the world's most respected executives, entrepreneurs, innovators, and business educators, Crucial.com was awarded the 2013 Bronze Stevie® Award for its outstanding customer service.
The 2013 award marks the company's third Stevie Award, having received the 2012 Silver Stevie Award for excellence in customer service and the 2012 Bronze Stevie Award for excellence in computer hardware websites.
"We are delighted and honored that the Stevie Awards have once again recognized Crucial.com as a leader in customer service," said Kathy Lansdowne, Crucial.com Senior Manager of Customer Relations. "It is part of our DNA to cultivate a culture of problem-solving, education, and the willingness to take the time that is needed to ensure all customers are supported with the right information, whether they are ordering online, chatting with a representative, or calling to speak directly with our team. It is an honor and testament to our outstanding people to win our third Stevie Award, and serves to bolster our commitment to continued excellence."
A leading online destination for do-it-yourself memory upgrades, Crucial.com was founded on the concept of making computer memory upgrades easy for the everyday consumer and has been providing the knowledge to do so for over 15 years. With helpful online forums, integrated online tools and a friendly customer service support staff, Crucial.com provides their customers with solutions for most of their computer needs.
Visit www.crucial.com for more information, follow Crucial.com on Twitter at @CrucialMemory, "LIKE" Crucial at www.facebook.com/CrucialMemory, and subscribe to Crucial.com videos at www.youtube.com/crucialmemory.
About Crucial.com
Crucial.com is a leading online retailer specializing in computer memory (RAM) upgrades and solid state drives (SSDs), and is an online destination of Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading manufacturers of computer memory products. Crucial.com offers more than 250,000 upgrades for nearly every computer system: home and business, old and new, PC and Mac® computers. Utilizing a suite of easy-to-use, free online tools, including the Crucial® System Scanner and the Crucial Memory Advisor™ tools, consumers are able to quickly assess, select, and purchase compatible memory upgrades to restore computer performance, improve system reliability and increase productivity. For more information, visit www.crucial.com.
About Micron
Micron Technology, Inc. is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets a full range of DRAM, NAND and NOR flash memory, as well as other innovative memory technologies, packaging solutions and semiconductor systems for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, embedded and mobile products. Micron's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ under the MU symbol. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc., visit www.micron.com.
About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more about The Stevie Awards at www.StevieAwards.com.
©2013 Micron Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Information is subject to change without notice. Crucial and the Crucial logo are trademarks of Micron Technology, Inc. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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PITTSBURGH — Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall wrote a "clarification" of his comments made Monday on Twitter regarding the death of Osama bin Laden.
In a tweet posted around 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, he linked to an in-depth blog post. In that entry, he wrote that he does not support bin Laden, and that he aimed clear things up, for not only himself, but also the Steelers.
On Monday, Pittsburgh's leading rusher caused enough of a stir with his tweets, that the Steelers felt compelled to release a statement.
Among Mendenhall's posts, the day after the bin Laden news broke, was: "What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side…" He also tweeted on the Sept. 11 attacks: "We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style."
Wednesday's offering, though, was a different story.
"I appreciate those of you who have decided to read this letter and attain a greater understanding of my recent Twitter posts. I see how they have gotten misconstrued, and wanted to use this outlet as a way to clear up all things that do not truthfully represent myself, what I stand for personally, and any organization that I am a part of.
"First, I want people to understand that I am not in support of Bin Laden, or against the USA. I understand how devastating 9/11 was to this country and to the people whose families were affected. Not just in the U.S., but families all over the world who had relatives in the World Trade Centers. My heart goes out to the troops who fight for our freedoms everyday, not being certain if they will have the opportunity to return home, and the families who watch their loved ones bravely go off to war. Last year, I was grateful enough to have the opportunity to travel overseas and participate in a football camp put on for the children of U.S. troops stationed in Germany. It was a special experience. These events have had a significant impact in my life."
Mendenhall also specifically pointed out the "celebrates death" tweet.
"This controversial statement was something I said in response to the amount of joy I saw in the event of a murder. I don't believe that this is an issue of politics or American pride; but one of religion, morality, and human ethics."
He also tried to bring closure to the situation.
"Nothing I said was meant to stir up controversy. It was my way to generate conversation. In looking at my timeline in its entirety, everything that I've said is with the intent of expressing a wide array of ideas and generating open and honest discussions, something I believe we as American citizens should be able to do. Most opinions will not be fully agreed upon and are not meant to be. However, I believe every opinion should be respected or at least given some thought. I apologize for the timing as such a sensitive matter, but it was not meant to do harm. I apologize to anyone I unintentionally harmed with anything that I said, or any hurtful interpretation that was made and put in my name."
On Tuesday, as Mendenhall's offerings became a national story, team president Art Rooney II made sure the Steelers were heard from.
"I have not spoken with Rashard, so it is hard to explain or even comprehend what he meant with his recent Twitter comments," he wrote in a statement. "The entire Steelers organization is very proud of the job our military personnel have done and we can only hope this leads to our troops coming home soon."
Mendenhall, who profiles himself as a "conversationalist and professional athlete" on his Twitter page, turned some heads in March, as well, when he supported a comment by Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson comparing the NFL to "modern-day slavery."
"Anyone with knowledge of the slave trade and the NFL could say that these two parallel eachother," Mendenhall posted at the time.
Mendenhall is coming off a tremendous season, as he led the AFC champions in carries (324), rushing yards (1,273) and rushing touchdowns (13). He has 2,439 yards in three seasons since being drafted in the 2008 first round out of Illinois.
In the 2010 postseason, Mendenhall ran for 230 yards on 61 carries in three games with four touchdowns, as Pittsburgh defeated the Baltimore Ravens (31-24) and New York Jets (24-19), before falling to the Green Bay Packers 31-25 in the Super Bowl.
As a result of the controversy, Mendenhall saw a spike in his followers on Twitter. On Tuesday afternoon, he had 13,631. On Wednesday afternoon, he had 36,914.
He personally follows 67 on Twitter. Included in the group he's following is the Dalai Lama, comedian Sarah Silverman and the Park Community Church in Chicago.
LaTosha Brown Is A Black Joy Blazer Who Has Dedicated Her Life To The Cause
Heart In Your Hands: Important Lifestyle Changes For Heart Failure Recovery
Life In Heart Failure Recovery
How To Support A Loved One Who Is Living With Heart Failure
Lawsuit Will 'Absolutely' Be Filed After Denny's Waitress Refused Serving Black Truckers In Viral Video: Lawyers
NJ Airport Restaurant That David Brooks Falsely Complained About Is Black-Owned
'African-American Muhammad': Did Marjorie Taylor Greene Make Up A Fake Black Trump Supporter?
Barbara Lee Reacts To Laphonza Butler's Appointment As Dianne Feinstein's 'Interim' US Senate Replacement

subset: commoncrawl


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Grilled Chicken And Ratatouille
Grilled Chicken And Ratatouille
- 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
- 1 medium Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch-wide strips
- 1 red onion, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch-wide wedges (leave root end intact)
- 2 medium tomatoes, halved crosswise
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 3 pounds)
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Drizzle oil over and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Grill vegetables until tender and slightly charred, about 4 minutes for peppers and 7 minutes for remaining vegetables. Transfer to cutting board. Place chicken breasts in same large bowl. Turn to coat with any remaining oil in bowl. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Grill chicken, covered, until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side. Let stand 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, coarsely chop vegetables and transfer to another large bowl. Add basil and vinegar and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Slice chicken crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices; serve with ratatouille.


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Canada has deported hundreds of people to countries designated too dangerous for civilians, with more than half of those people being sent back to Iraq, according to government data obtained by Reuters.
The spike in deportations comes as Canada faces a record number of migrants and is on track to have the most refugee claims in more than a decade. That has left the country scrambling to cope with the influx of asylum seekers, many crossing the U.S. border illegally.
WATCH: Canada rejects immigrants based on incomplete data
Between January 2014 and Sept. 6, 2017, Canada sent 249 people to 11 countries for which the government had suspended or deferred deportations because of dangers to civilians.
That includes 134 people to Iraq, 62 to the Democratic Republic of Congo and 43 to Afghanistan, the data shows.
The number of Iraq deportations increased from 22 in 2014 to 51 in 2016 and stands at 35 so far this year.
WATCH: 'It's a shame:' Lawyers fight to end indefinite detention of immigrants in Canada
"The decision to remove someone from Canada is not taken lightly," Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Patrizia Giolti wrote in an email.
"Everyone ordered removed from Canada is entitled to due process before the law, and all removal orders are subject to various levels of appeal."
The Canada Council for Refugees has said existing avenues of appeal are too limited, leaving little recourse for people facing deportation to dangerous countries.
Canada can deport anyone who is not a citizen, for reasons including criminality, exhausting attempts to obtain permanent residency and non-compliance with immigration laws.
The federal government has suspension or deferral designations for countries or regions deemed dangerous but may still deport people to them because of criminality, security risks or human rights violations.
The United Nations' High Commission on Refugees recommends states refrain from deporting people to Iraq because of the human rights situation and the conflict there, said Jean-Nicholas Beuze, the organization's Canadian representative. But some regions, such as Kurdistan, are safer, he added.
"The responsibility is on the state sending people back to those countries to make sure … that those people will not become internally displaced within their own country and dependent on humanitarian aid," Beuze said.
In July, a U.S. judge temporarily blocked the deportation of more than 1,400 Iraqis, many with criminal charges or convictions. They had claimed they would face death or persecution if they return to their home country because they belonged to minority groups, including Chaldean Catholics, Sunni Muslims or Iraqi Kurds.


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Indiana Divorce Attorneys
> Divorce Attorneys > Indiana
Related directory pages are highlighted below the Indiana divorce attorney listings on this page. Links to Divorce Attorney directory pages for adjacent States are provided at the bottom of the page. Indiana directory and map page links are also included there.
Related Indiana Page(s)
12 divorce attorneys listed in Indiana.
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Click "☎ & 🔍" for mobile-friendly phone link and locator map pages.
Indiana Divorce Attorneys


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Now showing items 1-1 of 1
What do Chilean and Costa Rican psychologists believe and advise about parenting?
¿Qué creen y aconsejan psicólogos(as) chilenos(as) y costarricenses sobre la crianza de los(as) hijos(as)?
This research investigates the subjective theories of 12 Chilean and Costa Rican psychologists who work with children, with the purpose of describing and interpreting their explanations about child rearing. Episodic ...


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The right office apps for the Android at work
If your company allows employees to use Android smartphones, here are the productivity apps you should install
In the mobile world, it used to be that "BlackBerry" was synonymous with "business." These days, though, more workers are trading in their RIM smartphones for more modern alternatives -- and given the shifting state of the smartphone market, that means devices based on Google's Android OS are increasingly suiting up for the job.
Android phones saw the largest jump in enterprise adoption among all smartphone platforms last year, according to a recent study released by Forrester Research. The report, which revolves around a survey of business executives in the United States and Europe, finds business use of Android growing by 550 percent from 2009 to 2010. Although Android's total is still relatively small, at 13 percent of the overall pie, its climbing figure shows the platform is no longer just for pleasure.
[ Also on InfoWorld.com: Android innovators -- see the devices that are leading the new generation. | Discover the best specialty Android business apps, and see how the iPhone's business apps and iPad's business apps compare. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with InfoWorld's Mobilize newsletter. ]
Of course, an Android smartphone straight out of the box doesn't have everything you need to stay productive on the road, and finding the right suite of Office-like applications can take some time-consuming trial and error. That's why I delved into the various options: to help find the best productivity suite for your Android smartphone.
I tested four Android office suites: DataViz's Documents to Go, which costs $15 for the full premium version (needed for most features), MobiSystems' $15 OfficeSuite Professional, Quickoffice's $10 QuickOffice Connect Mobile Suite, and ThinkFree Mobile's $15 ThinkFree Office Mobile. Note that prices are subject to change, and often do.
I also compared these suites to the Google Docs mobile Web app (Google has thus far not made Docs available as a native Android application). Microsoft's Office Web Apps suite doesn't support mobile-based editing of documents, so I didn't include it in this comparison.
For each tool, I broke down how each contender handled word processing, spreadsheet editing, and presentation management. I then considered what you'd need to accomplish other basic office tasks, such as dealing with PDF documents and Photoshop files. Finally, I put it all together to recommend the best overall package for your Android smartphone.


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My CNCCookbook blog is experiencing it's second outage so far this month. That's a cause for visitor unhappiness and potentially lost business. I use Page.ly, because I believe in SaaS services. CNCCookbook is bootstrapped, and I try not to spend any of my time at all doing something that I can easily have done for me by a SaaS provider, like hosting a WordPress blog. Page.ly has been pretty good in most respects, though far from perfect in terms of outages. Frankly, there have been too many outages and having two in one month is starting to be a bit much. Their story is that their hosting provider, FireHost, has created both of these problems.
It's even affected the Page.ly blog, as it did the last outage too. Ironically, I wouldn't be posting this blog except that Page.ly's blog went to the same screen I'm showing here when I attempted to comment that maybe it was time they thought about Firehost alternatives.
Whatever's going on at Firehost, and however much it saves Page.ly to use Firehost instead of some more reliable service, it's not worth it guys. It's making you look bad, and through extension, that makes my business using your service look bad. The good news is if it continues, it is very straightforward to migrate to Page.ly's competitors. I also have experience with WPEngine from a prior company, and found them to be more performant and a nicer service, but quite a bit more expensive. Perhaps some of that expense is going to a better hoster for their service. At CNCCookbook, we use Amazon for our own services and I can't remember the last time we had an outage. Maybe once have we had one, and it involved the simple expedient of rebooting our EC2 instance.
In the end, if I do move the CNCCookbook blog, I will be checking who the new provider uses as their hoster. If it's FireHost, there's not much point in moving. Some service should start aggregating up time data on the hosting services. It would be good to know who your SaaS provider uses–unless they're huge they probably don't have their own servers–and how reliable that provider has been over time. While it may not seem like it, it will be in every SaaS company's best interests to cooperate with such data collection simply because it shines a light on the hosting providers that will require them to rise to the next level of reliability. As it stands, they're a step removed and much harder to track.
Sorry Page.ly and Firehost–no links for you. Not happy today.


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Credit: UCLA.
Good chemists are passive-aggressive—they manipulate
molecules without actually touching them.
In a feat of manipulating substances at the nanoscale, UCLA
researchers and colleagues demonstrated a method for isolating two molecules
together on a substrate and controlling how those two molecules react when
excited with ultraviolet light, making detailed observations both before and
after the reaction.
Their research is published in Science.
"This is one step in measuring and understanding the
interactions between light and molecules, which we hope will eventually lead to
more efficient conversion of sunlight to electrical and other usable forms of
energy," said lead study author Paul S. Weiss, a distinguished professor
of chemistry and biochemistry who holds UCLA's Fred Kavli Chair in Nanosystems
Sciences. "Here, we used the energy from the light to induce a chemical
reaction in a way that would not happen for molecules free to move in solution;
they were held in place by their attachment to a surface and by the unreactive
matrix of molecules around them."
Controlling how molecules combine in order to study the
resulting reactions is called regioselectivity. It is important because there
are a variety of ways that molecules can combine, with varying chemical
products. One way to direct a reaction is to isolate molecules and to hold them
together to get regioselective reactions; this is the strategy used by enzymes
in many biochemical reactions.
"The specialized scanning tunneling microscope used for
these studies can also measure the absorption of light and charge separation in
molecules designed for solar cells," Weiss said. "This gives us a new
way to optimize these molecules, in collaboration with synthetic chemists. This
is what first brought us together with our collaborators at the Univ. of Washington, led by Prof. Alex Jen."
Alex K-Y. Jen holds the Boeing-Johnson Chair at the Univ. of Washington, where he is a professor of
materials science and engineering and of chemistry. The theoretical aspects of
the study were led by Kendall Houk, a UCLA professor of chemistry and
The study's first author, Moonhee Kim, a graduate student in
Weiss' lab, managed to isolate and control the reactions of pairs of molecules
by creating nanostructures tailored to allow only two molecules fit in place.
The molecules used in the study are photosensitive and are used in organic solar
cells; similar techniques could be used to study a wide variety of molecules.
Manipulating the way molecules in organic solar cells come together may also
ultimately lead to greater efficiency.
To isolate the two molecules and align them in the desired—but
unnatural—way, Kim utilized a concept similar to that of toddler's toys that
feature cutouts in which only certain shapes will fit.
Two molecules are placed in proximity in "cutouts" in self-assembled monolayers. When excited with ultraviolet light, they are constrained to react along a pathway different than they would if they could reorient in solution. Credit: UCLA
She created a defect, or cutout, in a self-assembled
monolayer, or SAM, a single layer of molecules on a flat surface—in this case,
gold. The defect in the SAM was sized so that only two organic reactant
molecules would fit and would only attach with the desired alignment. As a
guide to attach the molecules to the SAM in the correct orientation, sulfur was
attached to the bottoms of the molecules, as sulfur binds readily to gold.
"The standard procedure for this type of chemistry is
to combine a bunch of molecules in solution and let them react together, but
through random combinations, only 3% of molecules might react in this
way," UCLA's Houk said. "Our method is much more targeted. Instead of
doing one measurement on thousands of molecules, we are doing a range of
measurements on just two molecules."
After the molecules were isolated and trapped on the substrate,
they still needed to be excited with light to react. In this case, the energy
was supplied by ultraviolet light, which triggered the reaction. The
researchers were able to verify the proper alignment and the reaction of the
molecules using the special microscope developed by Kim and Weiss.


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For the second time in seven months, the U.S. embassy in Cairo got itself into Twitter trouble. The unusually combative Twitter feed on Tuesday criticized the Egyptian government's imprisonment of comedian Bassem Youssef for mocking President Mohamed Morsi, drawing a sharp rebuke from the Egyptian government.
The embassy linked to a clip of The Daily Show's Jon Stewart making fun of Morsi for the arrest, a tweet that Egyptian authorities immediately objected to, voicing their criticism – where else? – on Twitter. "It's inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda," Morsi's office tweeted. "Another undiplomatic & unwise move by @USEmbassyCairo, taking sides in an ongoing investigation & disregarding Egyptian law & culture," the Fredom and Justice Party, the political wing of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement, wrote.
The embassy's page was taken down over night and restored Wednesday morning sans the offending tweet. Foreign Policy Magazine's Josh Rogin reported that U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson made the decision to take down the feed unilaterally and that Washington later urged her to reinstate it lest it appear the U.S. was caving to political pressure.
The U.S. has repeatedly expressed concern that Morsi is infringing on freedoms of the press, women and minorities. The subject has been raised with Morsi in almost every meeting with U.S. officials since he took office. Morsi always pledges to work on the issues, but in practice the human rights situation has gotten worse as Morsi's hold on power has weakened in the face of growing opposition protests and violence.
Flying off the handle on Twitter is a risk for any high profile user and the staff at the U.S. embassy in Cairo knows this as well as anyone. On Sept. 11 last year as the Cairo embassy was under siege, the Twitter feed attempted to calm the crowds by apologizing for the California-made video mocking the Prophet Mohamed that set off the violence. Republican President nominee Mitt Romney latched onto those tweets and accused the Obama Administration of apologizing for freedom of speech to the Muslim world. The author of those tweets, Larry Schwartz, was recalled to Washington, but the aggressive tone of the embassy's Twitter feed continued.
Twitter snark and sarcasm in the diplomatic arena are especially perilous given the risk of causing an international incident, as the embassy has seen over the last 24 hours. Diplomacy has always been the art of politesse and subtly, two words that are virtually incompatible with Twitter.
Five years ago nary an embassy – U.S. or otherwise – was on Twitter. But after a big push by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to get her ambassadors and embassies tweeting, most U.S. embassies around the world now actively tweet, flickr, tumlr and facebook. Likewise, many foreign embassies and ambassadors have taken to social media, as the Washington Diplomat explored in this story. While most posts are bland reception photos, greetings and cultural exchanges, the downside to diplomacy by social media is it's harder to control the message.


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Eko Carpet Smart Geometric Design Machine Woven Carpet
Architect's Idea:
Machine weaving that offers the softness of acrylic chenille cotton and the durability of synthetic yarns together in its thin and light fabric that can be easily cleaned, and has the Oeko Tex Standard 100 certificate that it does not harm human health.
Washing and Care
Wipeable, Professional Wash
Although we do our best to convey the colors as they are during the photo shoot, we recommend that you consider that there may be tonal differences between the colors of the product at home and the colors on your screen, due to the light intensity of the space, the angle of incidence of the light, and the laying direction of the yarns on the carpet.
Pattern : Geometric
Color : Grey, Yellow, White
Design : Modern
Cleaning : Professional Washing
Yarn Types: Cotton, Acrylic, Synthetic
Production Place : Türkiye
Weaving Techniques: Machine Woven Carpet
I'm having trouble choosing, what can I do?
Our clerk app is just for those who have a hard time choosing, answer the questions and find your home carpet easily.Give it here!
After how many days will the carpet I order be delivered?
Orders placed until 15:00 are shipped on the same day, and you will receive them within 1-2 business days. We work with Yurtiçi Kargo to minimize the disruptions.
My carpet arrived, it was not quite as I imagined, can I return it?
You can return the carpet that does not fit you within 14 days without giving any reason, provided that you do not use it. After the checks are made on the day it reaches us, we process your refund, and the refund amount will be reflected on your account or card within a few working days.


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Services on Demand
Related links
- Cited by Google
- Similars in Google
South African Journal of Surgery
On-line version ISSN 2078-5151
Print version ISSN 0038-2361
S. Afr. j. surg. vol.51 n.2 Cape Town Jan. 2013
Bilateral blunt carotid artery injury: A case report and review of the literature
S CheddieI; B PillayII; R GogaIII
IMMed (Surg), FCS (SA). Department of General Surgery, Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
IIFCS (SA), Cert Vascular Surgery. Durban Metropolitan Vascular Services, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Cato Manor, Durban, South Africa
IIIFCS (SA). Durban Metropolitan Vascular Services, Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital, Cato Manor, Durban, South Africa
A 22-year-old man sustained a strangulation-type injury to the neck, with bilateral blunt carotid artery injuries detected on computed tomography (CT) angiography. His Glasgow Coma Score was 15/15, and he was managed conservatively with therapeutic low-molecular-weight heparin and antiplatelet therapy. A repeat CT angiogram 6 weeks later showed complete resolution of an intimal flap, and he demonstrated no neurological deterioration. There are no definitive management guidelines regarding this type of injury, and our report emphasises the role of conservative anticoagulation therapy in the management of this rare condition.
We report a case of bilateral internal carotid artery (ICA) injury due to strangulation. At presentation there was no neurological deficit and the diagnosis was made on computed tomography (CT) angiography (CTA). The patient was managed conservatively with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy, with no neurological sequelae. This approach merits consideration in carefully selected patients with such injuries.
Case report
A 22-year-old man had an accidental strangulation when a rope encircled his neck while he was riding a horse. At presentation he was haemodynamically stable with a Glasgow Coma Score of 15/15 and no focal neurological signs. The carotid pulses were palpable and equal with no bruits. He had neck crepitus and a non-expanding bilateral neck haematoma. A CT angiogram of the neck vessels (Fig. 1) showed total occlusion of the right ICA (grade IV injury) and a filling defect of the left ICA suggestive of an intimal flap (grade II injury). A CT scan of the brain showed no evidence of cerebral infarction. He was anticoagulated with LMWH and dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel and discharged 7 days after admission. At follow-up 1 month later he had no neurological sequelae, and a repeat CT angiogram (Fig. 2) showed resolution of the left ICA intimal flap with continued occlusion of the right ICA. Anticoagulation was stopped and he continued on dual antiplatelet therapy for a further 2 months.
Blunt carotid artery injury (BCI) is rare, with a reported incidence of 0.33% in some series.[1] Despite advances in imaging modalities and management options, the morbidity and mortality associated with BCI is over 30%, largely due to stroke.[1] Bilateral injuries to the ICA are exceptionally rare, with experience limited to case reports only.[2]
A high index of suspicion is essential in detecting this often clinically occult injury. Biffl et al.[3] have shown that aggressive screening using the Denver screening criteria (Table 1) to decide on the need for investigation[4] has increased the detection rate for BCI from 0.1% to 0.86%. In addition, they showed an improvement in neurological outcome in asymptomatic BCI patients who were anticoagulated.
Biffl's grading system based on investigative angiographic findings has management and prognostic implications outlined- in Table 2.[4] Grade I and II injuries are of particular concern and require follow-up angiography owing to the risk of pseudo-aneurysm formation despite heparin therapy.[5]
Catheter-directed angiography remains the gold standard investigation for the diagnosis of BCI. CTA has delineated this injury adequately. Despite having a sensitivity of 50 - 68%, it is a popular diagnostic screening modality because of fast scanning times, and has the added benefit of excluding multiple injuries in the polytrauma patient. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and CTA are equally sensitive in the detection of BCI. MRA has the advantage of detecting early cerebral ischaemia.[6] Duplex scanning has a limited role owing to its inability to accurately assess the distal ICA above the angle of the mandible.
The management of BCI remains controversial without any level I evidence to support clinical guidelines. A beneficial effect of anticoagulation therapy with unfractionated heparin has been demonstrated, with a reduction of the ischaemic stroke rate from 29.8% to 3.9%[7] in grade I - IV injuries. A small series by Wahl et al. showed a higher bleeding rate with heparin therapy compared with antiplatelet therapy, and the authors concluded that antiplatelet therapy should be used alone in patients at high risk of bleeding, especially with concomitant intracranial trauma.[8] The use of LMWH has not been described in the literature. With its excellent anticlotting properties and low bleeding complication profile, we believe that it may be the preferable anticoagulation method in these patients.
Open surgery still remains an option in the management of BCI and is indicated in patients with haemodynamic instability or neurological deterioration despite anticoagulation therapy, and in grade V injuries. Endovascular stenting is another option particularly useful for high extracranial ICA injuries and pseudo-aneurysms where operative access is impossible.[5] Neither of these options was employed in our patient, as there was no neurological progression with his medical therapy.
1. Fabian TC, Patton JH, Croce MA, Kudsk KA, Pritchard FE. Blunt carotid injury: Importance of early diagnosis and anticoagulant therapy. Ann Surg 1996;223(5):513-525. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00000658-199605000-00007] [ Links ]
2. Kerby J, May A, Gomez C, Rue L. Treatment of bilateral blunt carotid injury using percutaneous angioplasty and stenting: Case report and review of the literature.J Trauma 2000;49(4):784-787. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00005373-200010000-00036] [ Links ]
3. Biffl W, Moore EE, Ryu RK, et al. The unrecognized epidemic of blunt carotid arterial injuries: Early diagnosis improves neurologic outcome. Ann Surg 1998;228(4):462-470. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00000658-199810000-00003] [ Links ]
4. Cothren CC, Moore EE, Ray CE Jr, et al. Screening for blunt cerebrovascular injuries is cost-effective. Am J Surg 2005;190(6):849-854. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2005.08.007] [ Links ]
5. DuBose J, Recinos G, Teixeira PG, Inaba K, Demetriades D. Endovascular stenting for the treatment of traumatic internal carotid injuries: Expanding experience. J Trauma 2008;65(6):1561-1566. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/TA.0b013e31817fd954] [ Links ]
6. Provenzale JM, Sarikaya B. Comparison of test performance characteristics of MRI, MR angiography, and CT angiography in the diagnosis of carotid and vertebral artery dissection: A review of the medical literature. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2009;193(4):1167-1174. [http://dx.doi.org/10.2214/AJR.08.1688] [ Links ]
7. Biffl W, Ray CE, Moore EE, et al. Treatment related outcomes from blunt cerebrovascular injuries: Importance of routine follow up arteriography. Ann Surg 2002;235(5):699-707. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00000658-200205000-00012] [ Links ]
8. Wahl WL, Brandt MM, Thompson BG, Taheri PA, Greenfield LJ. Antiplatelet therapy: An alternative to heparin for blunt carotid injury. J Trauma 2002;52(5):896-901. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00005373-200205000-00012] [ Links ]
Corresponding author:
S Cheddie


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GCHP Hardware and Software Requirements
Next | Getting Started With GCHP | GCHP Main Page
- Hardware and Software Requirements
- Downloading Source Code and Data Directories
- Obtaining a Run Directory
- Setting Up the GCHP Environment
- Compiling
- Running GCHP: Basics
- Running GCHP: Configuration
- Output Data
- Developing GCHP
- Run Configuration Files
Hardware Requirements
The following is a short list of hardware requirements for GCHP and related information:
- GCHP requires a minimum of 6 cores to run, and beyond this the number of cores must be a multiple of 6.
- Most GCHP and GEOS-Chem Classic users use the Intel Fortran Compiler (ifort). Starting with version 12.5.0, GCHP also has compatibility with open-source GNU compilers. Regardless of whether you use an Intel compiler or not, we highly recommend that you use Intel CPUs, preferably Xeon. It is a known issue that ifort does not optimize well on AMD chips (this was actually intended). Don't worry too much about CPU speed if you can use Xeon CPUs.
- Most clusters are built upon nodes with 16 to 32 CPUs each. One node of 32 CPUs will provide sufficient resources for standard GCHP c48 runs. It will have the added benefit of not needing to use the network interconnect for MPI. In general, GCHP will have better performance with more cores per node due to how input handling is parallelized.
- GCHP can run with ~7 GB per CPU if using C24, the cubed sphere resolution equivalent to 4° x 5°. Higher resolutions will require more memory per core depending on how many cores you use for your run. We have found that the biggest bottleneck for running high resolution simulations is the amount of memory available per node since it limits the memory available per core. The best solution when running into memory per core limitations is to request more nodes, reserve all memory per node by requesting all cores, and use fewer cores per node than you have requested for your actual GCHP run.
- InfiniBand is recommended if you can afford it. If not, a 10 Gigabit Ethernet is a good alternative when using high-end interconnects like Cisco or high-end Hewlett-Packard (HP). A 1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet should also work if you get an optimized router like Cisco or HP, but it will be less speed-dependent and have more packet latency. This is minimized in the high-end network interconnects.
- If using an interconnect, it would be very helpful if the system had two: one interconnect for file transfer, log-in, etc, and the other interconnect for MPI-only communication. Using two interconnects in this way prevents problems such as file I/O interfering with MPI packet transfer. This is probably now standard on turn-key systems. Ask your local cluster administrator what is available for you to use.
Software Requirements
GCHP requires C and Fortran compilers, netCDF C and Fortran libraries, an implementation of a Message Passing Interface (MPI), git version control software, and C-preprocessor software. This software is standard on many primary HPC systems in use by academic and scientific institutions. If any of the required software is not available then you must acquire it to compile and run GCHP.
For systems with pre-installed packages, such as an institutional compute cluster, you must determine how each package was compiled to ensure that you will be able to build and run GCHP successfully. It is absolutely necessary to use MPI and netCDF libraries built with the same compiler you will use to build GEOS-Chem. If your pre-installed packages were not built with the same compilers then you will need to build them yourself or have them built for you by your organization's technical support staff.
Operating System
We are currently only supporting GCHP on Linux distributions.
You should acquire source code by cloning or forking the GEOS-Chem and GCHP repositories on GitHub using git. The GCHP Makefile assumes use of git version >1.8. Otherwise you will get an error that the -C option is not available. Check the default git version on your cluster by typing 'git --version' at the command line. If you have version 1.8 and prior then check with your system administrator on modules available with a more recent version of git, or download a newer version for free from the web.
If you are new to git then you should take time to get familiar with it. The UCAR CESM project has an excellent git guide, CIME Git Workflow, that is a great resource regardless of your skill level. The same basic workflow can be used for GEOS-Chem.
The Message Passing Interface (MPI) is the fundamental requirement for distributed memory computing. We currently support using GCHP with OpenMPI version 3.1. OpenMPI 3.0 will also work with GCHP, but versions prior to it will not.
Running very old versions of GCHP has also been successful with SGI MPT, MPICH, and MVAPICH2, a derivation of MPICH for use with the Infiniband interconnect. All tests were configured with Intel Fortran + Intel C, Intel Fortran + GNU C, or GNU Fortran + GNU C.
More recent versions of GCHP have only been tested with OpenMPI. We have had reports of diagnostic write problems when using MPICH and MVAPICH2 on some systems. Switching to OpenMPI version 3.0 or 3.1 appears to resolve the problems. We therefore recommend trying OpenMPI 3 before other implementations of MPI if possible. See the GCHP issues page on GitHub for more information.
You may test which compiler your version of MPI is using with:
$ mpif90 --version (for Fortran Compiler) $ mpicc --version (for C compiler)
Fortran Compiler
Starting in GCHP 12.5.0 we recommend using the Intel Fortran Compiler (ifort) 17.0.4 or above. Prior versions of GCHP are compatible with earlier versions of ifort but an update to the GMAO MAPL library in 12.5.0 requires 17.0.4 or later.
GCHP 12.5.0 also compiles and runs successfully with the GNU Compiler Collection fortran compiler (gfortran). GCHP versions prior 12.5.0 will compile successfully with gfortran but will not run due to a bug. See the wiki post on this issue for more information on this issue.
*** Important *** The NASA finite-volume cubed-sphere (FV3) dynamical core used for advection is at least 50% slower when compiled with gfortran. Only use gfortran is absolutely necessary or if you do not mind the performance hit.
A summary of past reported version compatibility is displayed in the table below. Our testing is not exhaustive so compilers not listed may be compatible with GCHP. If you are using GCHP version and compiler combination not listed below please contact the GEOS-Chem Support Team to have your information added.
|GCHP Versions Tested
|ifort 14
|Failed to compile prerequisite libraries
|ifort 13
|Relatively slow compared to more recent versions of ifort
|ifort 15
|ifort 16
|ifort 220.127.116.11
|Fail; use 17.0.4 or later
|ifort 18.1.163
|gfortran 8.2
|12.2.x, 12.3.x, 12.4.x
|Compilation successful, but run fails. See the wiki post on this issue for more information.
|ifort 17.0.4
|12.2.0 thru current version
|Success; earlier versions of ifort17 are buggy and should not be used
|gfortran 8.2
The Earth System Modeling Framework (ESMF) library provides a software infrastructure that allows different components of Earth System Models to communicate each other, using MPI parallelization. For more information about ESMF, please see: https://www.earthsystemcog.org/projects/esmf/. GCHP versions prior to 12.2.0 use ESMF v5.2.0rp2. 12.2.0 through 12.4.0 use ESMF v7.1.0r. GCHP 12.5.0 uses ESMF v8 beta snapshot 28.
NOTE: In GCHP 12.5.0 and prior versions, the ESMF installation is included within the GCHP repository. In the near future, GCHP will use ESMF as an external software dependency.
C/Fortran Pre-processor
To compile certain ESMF components in GCHP, a compatible C pre-processor (cpp) needs to be available. If you are having compilation errors in the GCHP/Shared directory, you may check your C pre-processor version with the following command:
$ cpp --version
cpp versions in the 4.x series (4.8.5) have been used to successfully build GCHP, while at least one version in the 5.x series (5.4.0) have failed to correctly process the Fortran sources in the Shared directories for compilation.
Goddard Fortran Template Libary (gFTL)
Starting GCHP 12.5.0, MAPL requires a fortran template library developed by NASA. The library can be cloned from https://github.com/nasa/gFTL. Complete instructions for download are provided during creation of a GCHP run directory. However, you can prepare in advance by doing the following to acquire the library locally on your system. Please note that building gFTL requires CMake build software.
- Navigate to directory where you want to download gFTL
- Type the following at the command prompt:
$ git clone https://github.com/Goddard-Fortran-Ecosystem/gFTL $ cd gFTL $ git checkout v1.0.0 $ cmake . -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=. $ make install
You should then verify success by checking that directories
include/templates and
include/types exist.
NetCDF Libraries
A netCDF library installation is required to run GCHP. If you are using GEOS-Chem on a shared computer system, chances are that your IT staff will have already installed one or more netCDF library versions that you can use. Please note that parallel reading and writing requires netCDF-4 and requires that it be compiled with parallel-enabled HDF5 libraries. NetCDF-3 does not have parallel capabilities.
Starting with netCDF-4.2, the Fortran netCDF library split off as an independent distribution to be built after building the C library. Prior to that version the Fortran netCDF library was bundled with the C library in a single distribution of netCDF. We have successfully built GCHP using versions of netCDF both before and after the split. The only difference to be aware of is that using netCDF-4.2 requires setting additional environment variables.
If you are using netCDF-4.2 and later versions then you will need to include the following in your bashrc (this example assumes you are using bash):
export GC_BIN="$NETCDF_HOME/bin" export GC_INCLUDE="$NETCDF_HOME/include" export GC_LIB="$NETCDF_HOME/lib" export GC_F_BIN="$NETCDF_FORTRAN_HOME/bin" export GC_F_INCLUDE="$NETCDF_FORTRAN_INCLUDE" export GC_F_LIB="$NETCDF_FORTRAN_LIB"
If using earlier versions of netCDF (prior to 4.2) then you should only include the following:
export GC_BIN="$NETCDF_HOME/bin" export GC_INCLUDE="$NETCDF_HOME/include" export GC_LIB="$NETCDF_HOME/lib"
For more information about netCDF libraries, please see the wiki Guide to netCDF in GEOS-Chem.
Next | Getting Started With GCHP | GCHP Main Page
--Lizzie Lundgren (talk) 16:52, 10 May 2019 (UTC)


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The Mel Kipers of the world thought the Seattle Seahawks reached when they took pass rusher Bruce Irvin in the first round. The Rex Ryans of the world thought it was a great pick. We'll trust the Ryans on this one.
After they took Irvin 15th overall, the Seahawks received a call from New York Jets headquarters. The Jets "good-naturedly" cursed at the Seahawks for taking the guy they planned to draft one pick later, according Len Pasquarelli of the SportsXchange. Irvin also was believed to be on the short list of candidates to be drafted in Chicago, Green Bay and San Francisco. One general manager called Irvin the "hottest player in the draft."
This is a case in which the draftnik industrial complex disagreed and didn't see a player's value the same way as the NFL did. This also happened with New England Patriots second-round pick Tavon Wilson. (And we know how Bill Belichick feels about that.)
Irvin might boom and he might bust, but don't tell us that he was a "reach." No one knows.


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Locations of the Audi Group
World wide key figures
locations in 13 countries
> 85,000
Deliveries to customers 2021
Locations world wide
The global network of Audi Group production sites includes the two German sites of Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm as well as production facilities in Hungary, Belgium and Mexico. Within the group network of parent company Volkswagen, Audi also manufactures cars at European production facilities in Slovakia and Spain, and worldwide in Brazil, India and China. In addition, there is Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of AUDI AG. The same maxim applies to all these sites: "one name, one standard, everywhere".
Audi worldwide
Models, products and services – switch to your country / sales region website and discover the regional diversity of Audi.


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PhotoFiltre Studio X is a complete image retouching program. It allows you to do simple or advanced adjustments to an image and apply a vast range of filters on it. It is simple and intuitive to use, and has an easy learning curve. PhotoFiltre comes with modern, well designed interface and is well suited for everything from simple resizing to advanced photo editing. The toolbar, giving you access to the standard filters with just a few clicks, gives PhotoFiltre Studio a robust look.
PhotoFiltre Studio X is a major evolution of the PhotoFiltre software. A lot of new functionality are proposed like layers support (standard, texts, adjustments and color), masks, nozzles, drawing tools, red-eye correction, and 8BF filters support. PhotoFiltre Studio X includes more than 100 filters and effects and supports many image files formats (PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PSD, PSP, etc.)
PhotoFiltre offers all the standard editing features (selection, clone brush, paint brush etc.) as well as a large selection of image effects, photo masks, image adjustments, thumbnail browser and much more. The program also supports batch processing to apply filters, sizing, adjustments and transformations to a large number of images at once. PhotoFiltre Studio also has layer manager (with Alpha channel), advanced brushes, nozzles (or tubes), red eye corrector, batch module and lot of other powerful tools.
Note: PhotoFiltre Studio X 10.14.0 changelog is not yet available.
Download: PhotoFiltre Studio X 10.14.0 | 10.6 MB (Shareware)
Download: Portable PhotoFiltre Studio X 10.14.0 | 11.0 MB
Links: PhotoFiltre Studio X Home Page | PhotoFiltre 7 (freeware)
Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware


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We share ideas on design with anyone interested in design and design thinking and how it can make a difference for business and society. Through events, videos, and interviews we present ideas, experience, skills, knowledge and opportunities to connect with design practitioners, business leaders and researchers who are experts across design disciplines and industry sectors in the application of design that makes a difference to standards of living, to productivity and to economic prosperity. The content here has been drawn from agIdeas events presented over 25 years in Melbourne Australia. agIdeas is one of the longest running and most well respected design programs in the world.
Join us for our 25th celebration with a stellar international line up at Melbourne International Design Week, May 11-17. Events for designers, business managers, marketing executives, educators, secondary school students, researchers and design enthusiasts.


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In a world of ambiguity, there's something comforting about the reliability of mathematics and science. While languages change, numbers stay the same, unifying us no matter where we are in the world.
This colour trend encourages us to look at our homes in an analytical way; to set objectives and identify tangible goals in order to live the best life we can. The hues that make up this trend are sophisticated and sleek: a carefully curated blend of masculine neutrals, such as putty, plaster and brick, and full bodied accent colours, like dark emerald, bright teal, scarlet and ochre.
If creating a thoughtful home appeals to you, why not try incorporating some of the key neutral colours of this trend into your existing interior? These measured and mature neutrals work well when paired with natural materials, such as dark wood, marble, oak and concrete. If you'd like to add a graphic edge, use a stencil to paint a meaningful number in a vivid accent shade, such as teal or scarlet, on any wall that you'd like to draw attention to.


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Washington Examiner – by Naomi Jagoda
A 10-year-old Alexandria boy was arrested after police said he brought a toy handgun to school on Tuesday, a day after he showed it to others on a school bus.
The boy, a fifth-grader at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School whose name is not being released, was charged as a juvenile with brandishing a weapon, police said.
He was also suspended from school, and Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Morton Sherman said further action is being considered, including expulsion.
On Monday, the boy showed the plastic gun to at least one other student during a bus ride home from the school. The 10-year-old did not point it at anyone or threaten to shoot it, but he neglected to mention that the weapon was fake, said Alexandria police spokeswoman Ashley Hildebrandt.
School officials said they learned about the incident Monday evening and immediately started investigating. Alexandria police spoke to school administrators Tuesday morning before the boy got to school.
When the boy arrived, authorities found the toy in his backpack. He was taken into custody, transported to a juvenile detention center for booking and then released to his parents, Hildebrandt said.
"The safety of our students is always our first concern," Sherman said. "We appreciate the quick response and action by our police."
The toy resembled a semi-automatic handgun, said police spokesman Jody Donaldson. It was silver and had a black handle. It also had a orange tip that went into the barrel, showing that no ammunition was coming out of it.
In light of current events involving schools and guns, Donaldson said police "do have a heightened sensitivity to any rumor or concern" about a student possibly having a firearm.
"Any time we get a call like this, we take it very seriously until we can determine the extent of the weapon — if it's real or not — and what the student intends to do with it," Donaldson said.
But some people said police and school administrators overreacted.
"A toy gun is no danger to anyone," said Liane Rozzell, executive director of Families & Allies of Virginia's Youth. "A 10-year-old is not a fully formed adult by any means. And that kind of situation should be dealt with outside the courts and the justice system."
Robin Ficker, a Bethesda attorney who represented a 6-year-old Montgomery County student who was suspended last month for pointing his finger and saying "pow," said the schools have become terror-stricken.
"That just shows a certain hysteria with the school administration," Ficker said Tuesday. "What is the point? To say that you don't like guns, you don't like the Second Amendment?"
A letter was sent home to parents of all MacArthur students about the incident.
Examiner Staff Writer Scott McCabe contributed to this report.


text:
- From: Maciej Stachowiak <firstname.lastname@example.com>
- Date: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:42:34 -0800
- To: Sam Ruby <firstname.lastname@example.com>
- Cc: HTML WG <email@example.com>
I personally support the publication of all six documents (including html4-diffs). - Maciej On Feb 10, 2010, at 8:26 AM, Sam Ruby wrote: > This is a Call for Consensus (CfC) to publish new revisions of the > following documents in accordance with the Working Group Heartbeat > requirements: > > HTML 5: http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/ > HTML+RDFa: http://dev.w3.org/html5/rdfa/ > > and to publish as a First Public Working Draft (FPWD) the following > documents: > > HTML Microdata: http://dev.w3.org/html5/md/ > HTML Canvas 2D Context: http://dev.w3.org/html5/2dcontext/ > HTML: The Markup Language: http://dev.w3.org/html5/markup/ > > Additionally, and as we have done with previous republications of the > HTML5 draft, the chairs would like to ask Anne to update the HTML5 > diffs > from HTML4 to reflect the latest changes. Given that HTML+RDFa has > been > introduced, and that Microdata and Canvas 2D Context have been split > out, since the last time this document was published, the chairs would > like to request that simple links to all three documents be provided. > > http://dev.w3.org/html5/html4-differences/ > > Silence will be taken to mean there is no objection, but positive > responses are encouraged. If there are no objections by Wednesday, > February 17th, this resolution will carry. > > Considerations to note: > > - As a First Public Working Draft, this publication will trigger > patent > policy review. > - As a Working Draft publication, the document does not need not be > complete, to meet all technical requirements, or to have consensus on > the contents. > - Objections may be made on specific documents but not on others. > Counting the differences document, there are effectively six different > documents under consideration at this time. > > - Sam Ruby > >
Received on Wednesday, 10 February 2010 23:43:07 UTC


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The Pentagon is planning to expand its cyber security force nearly five fold over the next several years in a bid to bolster its defensive and offensive computer capabilities.
The plan is to add about 4,000 more troops and civilians to the existing 900 personnel in the Defense Department's cyber Command, the Washington Post reported today citing several unnamed sources.
[ Also on InfoWorld: Unseen, all-out cyber war on the U.S. has begun. | Keep up on the day's tech news headlines with InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: Wrap Up newsletter. ]
The planned expansion is in response to growing threats against critical U.S. assets in cyber space, a defense official told Computerworld on Monday.
"As Secretary Panetta stated in his cyber speech last October, we are faced with an increasing threat of a cyber attack that could be as destructive as the terrorist attack on 9/11," the official said. "The department recognizes this growing danger and is working with a sense of urgency to put the right policies and structures in place to enable us to carry out our role."
The official said the Department of Defense (DoD) will work closely with U.S. Cyber Command and the Combatant Commands to develop an "optimum force structure" for dealing with emerging cyber threats.
The goal is to create three separate types of cyber forces each tasked with specific roles and responsibilities. The cyber force structure will include Cyber National Mission Forces, Cyber Combat Mission Forces and Cyber Protection Forces, the official noted.
The national force and cyber protect force will focus on addressing threats to critical infrastructure targets and DoD networks respectively. Meanwhile, the combat mission force will be responsible for planning and executing offensive operations and attacks in cyber space.
"While the basic cyber force structure model is clear, the implementation plan to achieve it is still being developed and is pre-decisional at this time," the official said.
The planned expansion comes amid heightening concerns about U.S. vulnerabilities in cyber space. Many believe that the U.S. is already in the midst of an undeclared and mostly unseen cyber war directed against it by unfriendly nation states and well-funded highly organized criminal gangs and hactivist groups.
Countries like China and Russia are well ahead of the U.S. in terms of having cyber forces of the kind that the Pentagon is trying to build up, said Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute. The challenge for the DoD will be to find enough qualified cyber security professionals to meet its ambitious expansion plans, he said.
"The key to putting the 4,000 in perspective is that every other critical part of the economy also needs the same people -- banks, power companies, telecom, defense contractors, civilian and state government and hospitals."
But while the hunger for cyber security professionals with advanced skills is very real, the supply line is near empty, he said. If the DoD wants to meet its expansion goals it will have to find innovative ways to find talent, Paller said.
He pointed to a recently launched program called Cyber Corps Challenge by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as an example of the kind of approach the DoD needs to take to find talent. Under the program, the state invited veterans of the U.S armed services and others to take part in a competition for spots in a community college-based cyber security program and six month residencies at banks, the FBI and other organizations.
"China has been running competitions and training programs that work well in every ... district since at least 2003," Paller said. "Russia set up its first advanced school in 1994. We are way behind in quantity and quality."
Jaikumar Vijayan covers data security and privacy issues, financial services security and e-voting for Computerworld. Follow Jaikumar on Twitter at @jaivijayan or subscribe to Jaikumar's RSS feed. His email address is email@example.com.
See more by Jaikumar Vijayan on Computerworld.com.
Read more about cyber crime and hacking in Computerworld's cyber crime and Hacking Topic Center.
This story, "Pentagon to add thousands of new cyber security jobs" was originally published by Computerworld.


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When the Italians name something after a bee, it's a cute little trucklet. But when the Russians do the same, it's the building block of the scariest rocket launcher in Eurasia.
Thermobaric weapons excite me. Some of it is the name—also written as fuel-air bomb or vacuum bomb—but mostly it's the sheer elegance of operation. They work by dispersing their fuel in a cloud of fine particulate, then lighting the cloud on fire. The resulting explosion creates a particularly devastating shockwave while sucking up all the oxygen in the area.
Among the many vacuum bombs in use by various armies is the Russian RPO-A Shmel, where shmel means bumblebee. It is a single-shot bazooka which fires a 4.6-pound thermobaric warhead. You can see it in action here.
Scary, yes. But what if you took the same principle and upped it a bit? By, say, using 220 mm fuel-air rockets and mounting 30 of them on a T-72 tank chassis? You would end up with the TOS-1 Buratino.
Buratino is a Russian derivative of Pinocchio and you can certainly see why it's a very appropriate nickname for the TOS-1, which has somehow escaped our list of the ten fiercest Russian military vehicles of all time. It is capable of firing its entire load of 30 warheads over 15 seconds, levelling 40 unfortunate acres in the process. The TOS-1 was put to crushing use against the Chechen capital of Grozny during its siege in December 1999. This is what remained of the city:
Which, come to think of it, is what my home would look like if the people of Hungary had delayed their 1956 revolution by a few decades, until the Buratino was developed in the late 80's.
Photo Credit: Militaryimages.net, Vyacheslav Fedorov, Freechechnya.org


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It's almost summer and love is in the air. Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and brides are registering. Abt is the premiere destination for anything in the home, from TVs to cool electronics to appliances for all budgets.
Instead of registering for the standard china and silver every bride registers for, check out the bridal registry at Abt or on Abt.com. Register for things you will use every day, like a new LED TV or Energy Star appliance.
It's not all about electronics and appliances at Abt. There is a gourmet shop full of incredible products like Le Creuset, small appliances like stand mixers and food processors. Abt also has a Time Watch Boutique with watches and Tumi wallets and tote bags—perfect for a honeymoon!
Abt's registry isn't just for brides and grooms. If you are celebrating a special occasion, housewarming, holiday, or anniversary, register at Abt. It's easy and our award winning customer service specialists are available everyday in the showroom, on the phone, or available via web-based live chat.
-Kelly B.


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The Secret Beyond Matter
Beauties for Life in the Qur'an
Good Character Traits Described in the Qur'an
In the Qur'an, Allah gives a detailed account of the behavior, superior morality, and state of mind unique to believers. The fear of Allah that believers harbor in their hearts, their unchallengeable faith and unflagging pursuit of Allah's good pleasure, the trust they place in Allah, as well as their commitment, zeal, reliability, and many similar superior qualities, are provided by the Qur'an. Moreover, in His Book Allah praises such moral qualities as justice, compassion, modesty, temperance, perseverance, submission to Him, and avoidance of worthless talk.
Along with giving a detailed account of the model believer, the Qur'an dwells upon the lives of past believers and tells us how they prayed, behaved, talked among themselves and with others, and reacted to events. Through these examples, Allah draws our attention to those manners and conduct that please Him.
Considered from the standpoint of a society far removed from the Qur'an's definition of morality (a society of ignorance), socially acceptable behavior may vary according to time, conditions, cultures, events, and people. However, the character of those who adhere to the Qur'an's commands remain the same regardless of changing conditions, time, or location. A person of faith always complies with the Qur'an's commands and admonitions, and thereby displays moral excellence.
In this section, we will provide examples of behavior that Allah considers praiseworthy. However, rather than analyzing all of the character traits of believers that are discussed extensively in the Qur'an, we will draw attention to the subtleties of moral excellence and the divine purposes hidden in these subtleties.
The Concept of Cleanliness
Allah tells believers to clean themselves, for such a condition suits their spiritual state and nature. Cleanliness, considered a form of worship by believers, is therefore a source of great relief and pleasure to them. In many verses, Allah draws attention to believers' spiritual and physical purity. Our Prophet (saas) also stressed the importance of being clean: "Cleanliness is half of faith" Muslim. Below are some of the details related to being clean:
Spiritual Purity
The Qur'anic understanding of cleanliness differs considerably from how it is understood in the society of ignorance. According to the Qur'an, being clean is a state experienced in one's soul. Such a cleanliness means that one has been entirely purified of his or her society's moral values, form of reasoning, and lifestyle that are in conflict with the Qur'an. In this way, the Qur'an provides spiritual relief to the believers.
This first step of being clean manifests itself in the mind's clarity. No doubt, this is a very important quality. The spiritual purity people experience in their souls manifests itself in all aspects of life, and thus makes such people's moral excellence obvious to everyone.
Spiritually pure people distance their minds from all forms of evil. They never experience malice, jealousy, cruelty, and selfishness, all of which are evil feelings adopted and displayed by those who are far from the Qur'an's concept of morality. Believers possess noble spirits, because they yearn for moral excellence. This is why, apart from their physical appearance, believers also pay attention to the purity of their souls, by deflecting from it all of the evil coming from ignorance, and encourage others to do likewise.
Physical Purity
In this world, believers seek to establish an environment similar to that of Paradise. They seek to experience in this world anything that Allah promises to grant them in Paradise. As we understand from the Qur'an, physical cleanliness is one of the qualities possessed by the people of Paradise. The verse, "youths like hidden pearls" Surat at-Tur: 24 is self-explanatory. In addition to this, Allah informs us in many verses that in Paradise there will be "spouses of perfect purity" Surat al-Baqara: 25
Another verse in which Allah draws attention to physical cleanliness is the one that refers to Prophet Yahya (as), "We gave him ... purity from Us" Surah Maryam: 13.
Clean Clothes
The Qur'an also refers to the importance of clean clothes, as in:
Purify your clothes. Shun all filth. Surat al-Muddaththir: 4-5
Furthermore, physical cleanliness is important because it shows one's respect for other people. Indeed, respecting other people requires taking care of one's physical appearance. Believers do not only abstain from filth, but also display subtleties that emphasize their profound respect for others. One way to show this respect is to wear clean clothes. Allah commands us in the Qur'an, as follows:
Children of Adam! Wear fine clothing in every mosque... Surat al-A'raf: 31
Thus, in this issue and others, being physically clean and well groomed and, in this sense, seeking for the best, are qualities that please Allah. Such qualities are unimportant to the people of ignorance. Also, our Prophet (saas) expressed Allah's approval of such qualities in the following hadith:
Someone asked: "How about a person who likes to wear beautiful clothes and shoes?" Allah's Messenger replied: "All of Allah's Affairs are Beautiful, and He likes beauty." Muslim
We should be aware of the following point: People generally tend to be at their best when meeting or trying to impress people they consider important. However, due to the Qur'an's morality, believers find such careful grooming essential because it fully accords with their desire to please Allah.
Believers are worthy of Paradise and, in this world too, they engage in a constant effort to keep their bodies and surroundings clean so that they may attain the purity and beauty of Paradise in this world.
Keeping One's Environment Clean
Muslims are meticulous when it comes to keeping their immediate surroundings clean. One example of this is given in the Surat al-Hajj, in which Allah commands the Prophet Ibrahim (as) to keep the Ka'abah clean for believers who worship in its vicinity:
And We located the position of the House for Ibrahim: "Do not associate anything with Me, and purify My House for those who circle it and for those who stand and bow and prostrate." Surat al-Hajj: 26
As the verse also maintains, such environmental cleanliness is maintained primarily for other believers who will perform their acts of worship to earn Allah's good pleasure. Thus, all believers who follow in Ibrahim (as)'s footsteps should keep their dwellings clean and tidy, for doing so gladdens a believer's heart.
The Qur'anic concept of cleanliness differs markedly from the one held by the societies of ignorance. Allah commands believers to be "clean and purified," in both the physical and the spiritual sense. In other words, this is not cleanliness in the classical sense; rather, it is an elaborate effort.
The Qur'an's depictions of life in Paradise are also instructive in this sense. Paradise's environment is purified of all forms of the dirt that we see around us. It is a blissful and perfectly clean place where each detail exists in perfect harmony with every other detail. In light of these illustrations, believers seek to keep their surroundings clean and turn them into places that remind them of Paradise. This endeavor is solely a manifestation of their aspiration for Paradise.
Eating Clean Food
Consuming clean food is a Divine command that is inherent in all believers:
Eat of the good things that We have provided for you... Surat al-Baqara: 57
Mankind! Eat of what is good and lawful on earth. Do not follow in the footsteps of Satan, (for) he truly is an outright enemy to you. Surat al-Baqara: 168
In addition, Allah relates the account of the People of the Cave to point out that believers tend toward clean food. As we read:
... They said: "Your Lord knows best how long you have been here. Send one of your number into the city with this silver that you have, so that he can see which food is purest and bring you some of it to eat..." Surat al-Kahf: 19
We will dwell on this topic in another chapter under the title "Beneficial Foods Mentioned in the Qur'an."
Exercising, Bathing, and Drinking Water
Another behavior mentioned in the Qur'an is conveyed in the verses related to the revelation received by the Prophet Ayyub (as):
Remember Our servant Ayyub when he called on his Lord: "Satan has afflicted me with exhaustion and suffering." (So he was told:) "Stamp your foot! Here is a cool bath and water to drink." Surah Sâd: 41-42
In response to his distress and suffering, Allah advised the Prophet Ayyub (as) to "stamp his foot." This advice may well be considered a sign concerning the benefits of physical activity and exercise.
Exercise, especially exercising such long muscles as those found in the leg muscles (e.g., isometric movements), improves the blood flow and thereby increases the amount of oxygen reaching the cells. Eliminating toxic materials from the body removes exhaustion, provides a feeling of relief and refreshment,1 and enables the body to enhance its resistance to microbes. Regular exercise also helps to keep the arteries clean and wide, both of which prevent clotting in the veins and thereby lowers the risk of coronary artery disease.2 Regular exercise also lowers the risk of diabetes by maintaining the blood sugar at a certain level and increasing the amount of "good" cholesterol in the liver.3
Besides, stamping one's bare foot on the ground is a very effective way to discharge the static electricity that has accumulated in the body, for it grounds the body.
In addition, as the above verse states, bathing is known to be the most effective method of discharging the body's static electricity. It also alleviates tension and distress, and provides physical cleanness. Therefore, it is an effective treatment for stress and many physical and psychological disorders.
The verse also draws our attention to the innumerable benefits of drinking water. Almost every bodily function is monitored and pegged to the efficient flow of water through our system. The functions of many bodily organs (i.e., the brain, sweat glands, stomach, intestines, kidneys, and skin) rely heavily upon an ample water supply. Making sure that the body has enough water not only makes it function more efficiently, but might even help one avoid many health problems. An increased level of water consumption has been shown to help relieve migraine headaches, high blood cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis pain, allergies, and high blood pressure. In addition to these benefits, it removes fatigue and sleepiness, since regular water intake helps discharge toxic materials from the body.
Complying with all of these recommendations, which are of vital importance for our physical and mental health, surely will deliver the best results.
Arrogant people think that arrogant manners earn other people's appreciation, and so resort to exaggerated manners of walking, speaking, and looking. The signs of such arrogance are especially evident in their manner of walking.
The verses related to the Prophet Luqman (as)'s advice to his son convey the reprehensible nature of swaggering:
Do not avert your face from people out of haughtiness, and do not strut about arrogantly on the earth. Allah does not love anyone who is vain or boastful. Surah Luqman: 18
In another verse, believers are advised to avoid walking in a pompous manner:
Do not strut arrogantly about the earth. You will certainly never split the earth apart, nor will you ever rival the mountains in height. Surat al-Isra': 37
With these verses, Allah informs us that He does not like those who are arrogant and reminds us to shun such behavior. We must keep in mind that Satan's arrogance, which was manifested by his claim of superiority to all other beings Allah created, caused him to be banished from Allah's sight. Believers who are aware of these evil qualities are unlikely to display any of them.
No one likes to be around arrogant people, for who can enjoy themselves around such people? Most people realize that a person who swaggers and claims to be superior is, in reality, just an ordinary person who has various imperfections and weaknesses. Consequently arrogant people, though suffering from pangs of being superior, can never attain the goal of enjoying prestige among the people and often are held in contempt.
The Qur'an also draws our attention to the fact that believers must adopt a manner of walking that is not ostentatious or exaggerated, as in: "Be moderate in your tread..." Surah Luqman: 19. In compliance with Allah's command, a modest person walks in a moderate manner and thus earns esteem in the sight of Allah and other believers.
The Tone of Voice
The tone of one's voice is an essential part of a reliable and positive disposition, for how it is used reflects the person's values. Even a pleasant voice may become irritating if the way in which one talks is inappropriate. Allah advises His followers through the words of Prophet Luqman (as):
... lower your voice. The most hateful voice is the donkey's bray. Surah Luqman: 19
As the verse maintains, one who talks in a loud voice or drowns out others does not create a favorable impression on other people. Besides, in most cases this becomes just as unbearable as listening to a donkey's braying.
In other words, the way people talk is important. One with bad manners may sound repulsive, although the tone of his or her voice, under normal circumstances, may sound nice to the ear. The reverse is also true, for a person with an unpleasant sounding voice may cause it to sound better by adopting the values praised in the Qur'an. A nice voice, on the other hand, may well be perceived as offensive and intolerable if the person is arrogant and irascible. Since such a person tends to complain and dispute, his or her voice reflects this negative disposition.
As well as the voice, those people with moral excellence always have a noble, polite, humble, peaceable, and constructive disposition. Owing to their positive outlook on life, they are lively, vigorous, vivacious, and cheerful. This perfect disposition, which ensues from living by the morals explained in the Qur'an, manifests itself in one's voice.
The Qur'an informs us that believers are extremely kind people. However, the Qur'anic concept of kindness is quite different from the one found in society in general. People inherit their sense of courtesy from their families or imbibe that of the surrounding society. Yet this understanding changes from one strata to another. The type of kindness based upon Qur'anic values, however, is over and above any of these understandings, for it does not change according to circumstances or people. Those who adopt the moral excellence described in the Qur'an see every human being as Allah's servants and thus treats them with great kindness, although their conduct may not be perfect. Such people shun tactless and unmannered behavior, secure in the knowledge that being kind earns Allah's Love, which is also stated in a prophetic hadith: "Allah is kind and loves kindness in all matters" Al–Bukhari and Muslim.
As the following verse indicates, Allah encourages people to be good and kind to others:
Remember when We made a covenant with the tribe of Israel: "Worship none but Allah, and be good to your parents, relatives, orphans, and the very poor. Speak good words to people. Establish prayer and pay alms." But then you turned away – except a few of you – you turned aside. Surat al-Baqara: 83
The Qur'an demands absolute kindness. In other words, believers cannot swerve from good conduct even if their surrounding conditions seem demanding and inconvenient. Physical weakness, exhaustion, or difficulties never prevent them from being kind. Meanwhile, whether they are well-off or poor, or enjoy a prestigious position or are being held as captives, believers treat everyone kindly, for they are aware that our Prophet (saas) stressed the need for every believer to do so in the following prophetic hadith: "Whenever kindness is added to something, it adorns it; whenever it is withdrawn from something, it leaves it defective." Muslim This noble morality is recommended in the following verse:
... be good to your parents, relatives, orphans, and the very poor. Speak good words to people... Surat al-Baqara: 83
Believers also must be very careful how they treat their parents. In the Qur'an, Allah commands kindness toward them:
Your Lord has decreed that you should worship none but Him, and that you should show kindness to your parents. Whether one or both of them reach old age with you, do not say "Ugh!" to them out of irritation and do not be harsh with them, but speak to them with gentleness and generosity. Surat al-Isra'': 23
An example given in Surah Yusuf stresses the importance respecting one's parents. The Prophet Yusuf (as) was separated from his family for a long time because his brothers threw him into a well. After a while, he was found by merchants who took him to Egypt and sold him into slavery. Then, due to false accusations, he spent many years in prison, only to be released and, by Allah's help, placed in authority over Egypt's national treasury. Yet after all of this, he brought his family to Egypt and greeted them as follows:
Then when they entered into Yusuf's presence, he drew his parents close to him and said: "Enter Egypt safe and sound, if Allah wills." He raised his parents up onto the throne... Surah Yusuf: 99-100
Thus we see that the Prophet Yusuf (as), despite his eminent status, behaved in an exceptionally modest manner toward his parents. Raising them up on his throne marked his respect and love for them, and also showed his good morals.
For believers who follow the Qur'an's morality, respecting one's guest is a way to observe one of Allah's commands as well as an opportunity to display high morality. Therefore, believers welcome their guests cordially.
In societies of ignorance, people generally consider a guest as a burden, both in the material and spiritual sense, for they cannot see such events as opportunities to earn Allah's good pleasure and display moral excellence. Rather, they regard treating their guest cordially as a social obligation. Only their expectation of an ensuing benefit makes them eager to show hospitality.
The Qur'an especially draws attention to the moral excellence shown to guests. Before all else, believers offer respect, love, peace, and cordiality to each guest. A welcome merely based on catering, without showing any love, respect, and peace, would not be pleasing. In the verse given below, Allah states that He favors spiritual beauty over anything else:
When you are greeted with a greeting, return the greeting or improve upon it. Allah takes account of everything. Surat an-Nisa': 86
As seen, the Qur'anic morality encourages believers to compete with one another in doing good. Even such a common act as greeting a guest is an example of this attitude.
The Qur'an also urges us to make the guest feel comfortable by identifying all of his or her possible needs so that they can be met before the guest mentions them. The way in which the Prophet Ibrahim (as) treated his guests is a good example of this and displays an important feature of hospitality:
Has the story reached you of the honored guests of Ibrahim? Behold, they entered his presence and said: "Peace!" He said: "Peace!" (and thought: "These seem) unusual people." Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a fattened calf, and placed it before them. He said: "Will you not eat?" Surat adh-Dhariyat: 24-27
One important point in these verses attracts our attention: It is better to offer a guest something before he or she has the chance to ask for it. This is because a courteous guest will hesitate to mention any need. Out of his or her thoughtfulness, such a guest would even try to prevent the host from offering anything. Asked whether he or she needs anything, such a guest would probably say "no" and thank the host for offering it. For this reason, the Qur'anic morality entails thinking about the guest's possible needs in advance.
Another favorable conduct indicated here is offering something without delay. Before all, such conduct reveals the host's pleasure at making the guest comfortable. As the verse mentions, offering something "quickly" (without delay) reveals the host's eagerness and modesty to serve his guest.
Another good behavior implied by these verses quoted is that although the Prophet Ibrahim (as) had never met his guests before, he tried to serve them in the best possible manner and thus quickly brought a "fattened calf," a type of meat known to be the most delicious, healthy, and nutritious. Thus we can deduce that while catering to a guest, one should do his or her best to prepare and then offer high-quality, fresh, and delicious food.
Apart from this, Allah also draws attention to meat as a favorable offering that can be served to guests.


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Generic Pin Converters and adapters that can be used with any microcontroller emulator or microcontroller device, independent of manufacturer.
Microcontroller specific pin adapters are listed under the applicable architecture/manufacturer main-categories, e.g. Dallas 8051 specific pin adapters can be found under: 8051->Emulators->Dallas8051.
SOIC, SSOP and QFP adapter kits typically contain two parts: a footer that is soldered onto the target board in place of the actual microcontroller and a DIP or PLCC tower that plugs on its bottom side into the footer and accepts on top an emulation header or microcontroller with a matching DIP/PLCC connector/package.


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The sun was shining and the day was perfect for a drive through the valley, passing wheat and corn fields, plus lots more. They don't call Route 1 "The Harvest Route" for nothing! The flowers for zucchini, squash and cucumbers, and first hint of apples on the perfectly lined orchards could all be seen from the road. But I digress. I was on a mission to see goats and learn about cheese making.
The goats are all so cute and so curious. One of these days, I must visit with my grandsons...of course, they'll want to take one home, I'm sure. My favorite buck (or as we used to call them in the olden days...billy goat) - top of post - has that very distinctive punk "just got out of bed" look. And did you know that each goat has his/her own special look?
This milking goat was so calm and regal, I just had to capture her. In all there are at least 150 goats on the farm - 72 milking, 10 bucks for breeding, and 70 kids. That's Randy, below, giving the kids an extra treat of hay. Most of them were too busy eating to check us out.
I arrived way too late to actually capture the milking process...that happens at around 7am. But I did get to see some of the cheese and yoghurt making. The process usually takes two days from start to finish...Here's the "recipe" for making my favorite soft goat cheese, just in case you want to make your own....
Have your own goats handy so that the milk to cheese process starts with very fresh milk (I'm talking about hours here) 1 batch: 200 liters/quarts of goat's milk makes 171 containers (170g/6oz). I didn't even ask about how much culture and rennet...sorry!
Pasteurize in giant stainless steel vats at 185 degrees F for about 1.5 hours;
Let it cool to 110 degrees F
Add culture and rennet and let it drain in special bags overnight and set
Two options...fill the circular molds or cut into squares, easier for mashing in ...oops, I'm getting ahead of myself.
Cut the tubular mold into circles and leave plain, (that's as much of Cheryl - Randy's better half, as I got)
or press them into a mixture of coarsely crushed peppercorns and garlic (this one is a favorite of many of the better restaurants in NS. In fact, one Halifax chef (who shall remain nameless) who spends some time in Newfoundland every year, brings a suitcase full whenever he heads up there.
Third option....mash up those squares of drained cheese and add some dried herbs and spices.
Here are some of my favorite uses for the creamy goat cheese....cayenne & garlic which is fantastic with pasta, like Spicy Sacchettini with Arugula & Pancetta or added to eggs as they're being scrambled.
Herbes de Provence and Italian Herbs served with a baguette, flipping through foodie magazines is a perfect Saturday afternoon. (Their gouda is pretty awesome too).
How about some crumbled feta on a simple green salad? I also thinly slice some of the spiced gouda for my Salade Nicoise.
And the yoghurt...obviously fantastic with fresh fruit (lots of U-pik opportunities in the valley), but what about Sharron's favorite...MUSH?
Not up for making your own cheese or yoghurt...you're not alone. But if you do happen to be around Nova Scotia, you can find some of Randy & Cheryl's awesome Ran-Cher Acres cheeses at several farmers' markets - in Halifax, Hubbards, Berwick, Middleton; lots of wonderful restaurants around the province and there's always Pete's Frootique in downtown Halifax and in Bedford. And if you don't happen to be lucky enough to live or visit in Nova Scotia, please support your local farmers and cheese makers.
This is this week's spotlight on fantastic local Nova Scotian food producers. To find out what's going on in your neck of the woods and how to do your part, visit the EatRealEatLocal website.
Hellmann's will donate 25 cents for every time you talk about real food on blogs, in emails, twitter or facebook. Just add #realfood . Hopefully they'll be donating $25,ooo to the Evergreen Foundation by the end of September.


text: Security firm Bit9 has admitted hackers were able to install malware on the networks of some of its customers after hijacking the company's digital code-signing certificate via unprotected internal servers. For a vendor that sells whitelisting software that Oks each application allowed to run, this is about as unpleasant an admission as it is possible to imagine.The attacker gained "temporary" use of the company's trusted certificate - i.e. broke in and stole the encrypted key - using it to sign malware that was distributed to three companies, Bit9 said in a blog post.According to security expert Brian Krebs who first reported the issue, the issue only came to light because customers started turning up malware that had been signed by the vendor's certificate, a realisation that must have been terrifying for all concerned."Due to an operational oversight within Bit9, we failed to install our own product on a handful of computers within our network," read an official Bit9 post.The number of victims represented only a tiny proportion of the company's sizable customer base, including a clutch of large, well-known US names."We simply did not follow the best practices we recommend to our customers by making certain our product was on all physical and virtual machines within Bit9," continued the post in a bleak understatement of the obvious.In a small but important mercy, the flaw had at least been in the security of the certificate servers, rather than the software itself, the firm said.As well as revoking the rogue certificate, Bit9 had applied the necessary security to the servers holding new keys and as an added protection planned to patch its software to detect the malware associated with the certificate compromise."The fact that this happened - even to us - shows that the threat from malicious actors is very real, extremely sophisticated, and that all of us must be vigilant. We are confident that the steps we have taken will address this incident while preventing a similar issue from occurring again," Bit9 said.The irony of whitelisting being compromised so embarrassingly by the back door at a time when traditional antivirus protection is increasingly being rubbished for its inadequacy against targeted attacks wasn't lost on others in the security community."When malicious software does get past the whitelisting application - and it eventually will, as witnessed by this incident - then it is the AV software that can tell you what the problem is," suggested Randy Abrams, research director of security testing outfit, NSS Labs."Whitelisting does not tell if software is benign, malicious, or even exploitable, it tells you that the application was approved. Mistakes happen and if you ditched 'Plan B' because of a slick sales pitch, you're going to pay the price," he said.Using stolen digital certificates of one ilk or another has become a major security worry in recent times.The most disturbing example was a piece of malware called Flame (widely assumed to be a state-sponsored cyberweapon) that successfully impersonated one of Microsoft's digital certificates in order to distribute itself under the cover of an official Windows Update.In a different context there have been a series of compromises of the digital certificates used to guarantee Internet domains as genuine.


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Like rare patches? How about one only 11 men have ever worn?
Today, we learned the identity of the next man to join the impressive fraternity of Chief Scout Executives that started with Scouting legend James E. West. (See the full list below.)
The Chief Scout Executive Selection Committee announced it has chosen Wayne Brock as the next Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America.
On Sept. 1, 2012, he'll take office and become just the 12th chief in the BSA's 102 years.
Brock, an Eagle Scout, currently serves as Deputy Chief Scout Executive/Chief Operating Officer.
He began his professional Scouting career in 1972 as a district executive in New Bern, N.C., and then served on the staff in Knoxville, Tenn.
Brock also served as Scout executive in Athens, Ga.; Scout executive in Orlando, Fla.; regional director of the Southern Region; and as assistant Chief Scout Executive.
Brock is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Order of the Arrow Distinguished Service Award, and received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from East Carolina University.
He and his wife, Ernestine, have a grown son and one granddaughter.
The Chief Scout Executive is the top paid professional in Scouting. He isn't the most-public face of Scouting — that distinction goes to the Scouts themselves — but he serves an invaluable role in guiding the massive Scouting movement into the future.
If the BSA were a corporation, the Chief Scout Executive would be our CEO.
His task is to work alongside his volunteer counterpart — the National President — to lead 1,100 National Council employees, 5,800 local council employees, and almost 1.2 million adult volunteers who serve more than 2.6 million youth across the nation.
The BSA already announced that another Wayne, Wayne Perry, a Silver Buffalo Award winner and member of the board of directors for the Seattle Mariners baseball team, will serve as the next National President. Perry will take over for current National President Rex Tillerson at this month's National Annual Meeting in Orlando.
Wayne Brock, Wayne Perry, and National Commissioner Tico Perez combine to make the National Key 3 — the three top national-level positions in Scouting.
Farewell to Mazzuca, the 11th Chief
Robert J. Mazzuca, the 11th CSE, concludes his five-year tenure with his retirement on Aug. 31.
Mazzuca, an Eagle Scout, a native of San Juan Bautista, Calif., and a graduate of California Polytechnic State University, served as a BSA professional for more than 40 years.
Take a minute to read Mazzuca's impressive Scouting resume:
Bob began his Scouting career in 1971 in Modesto, Calif., as a district executive and Exploring executive. He became the Exploring director in Sacramento in 1975 and served as a field director and director of field service. In 1983, Bob became Scout executive in Stockton, Calif.
In 1987, he advanced to become an area director in the Western Region. He was promoted to Scout executive of the Golden Empire Council in Sacramento in 1988. In 1992, he was named assistant regional director for the Southern Region, and in 1995, Scout executive in Pittsburgh, Pa.
In 2005, he was appointed national director, Development Group, and in 2006, he became assistant Chief Scout Executive. A year later, he was named Chief.
Many thanks to Mr. Mazzuca for the decades he spent guiding this movement we all love.
And my hearty congratulations to Mr. Brock as he leads us into the future!
List of Chief Scout Executives
- 1911–1943, James E. West
- 1943–1948, Elbert K. Fretwell
- 1948–1960, Arthur Schuck
- 1960–1967, Joseph A. Brunton Jr.
- 1967–1976, Alden G. Barber
- 1976–1979, Harvey L. Price
- 1979–1984, J. L. Tarr
- 1985–1993, Ben H. Love
- 1993–2000, Jere B. Ratcliffe
- 2000–2007, Roy Williams
- 2007–2012, Robert J. Mazzuca
- 2012– , Wayne Brock