text:
(pimp): all we want is the money
(pimp 2): I keep em bro. Wake up one morning, and, with some money
To spend, they go crazy.
I'm going to tell you a story in stereo,
About the pimping game, that you should know.
But if you don't, its alright.
Cause Ill be spittin this game to you all damn night.
When I was 3 years old,
Straight pimp game I was told.
My daddy sent me to pimp school.
In this mans world, you can't be no fool.
If a pimp is what you wanna be,
Youre gonna have to learn pimpology.
Pimpology: a pimps profession.
Can't be effected by the great depression.
So if you want to be giant sized,
Come to my school. Get pimp-matized.
In your school, what do they teach?
English, math, and history.
Pimpin game, you can learn.
And if you do, you will earn
A pimp diploma, just for you
For learning what youre taught when you come to school.
Lesson 1, you should know:
Never fall in love, with your ho.
Lesson 2 tells you to do only one thing:
Act cool.
Lesson 3:
Don't be a trick. If shes poor, if shes rich,
If your game is soft or hard,
It shouldnt take long to break the broad.
Lesson 4:
Keep ya ho. Its the most important thing to know.
Cause I pimp or die. I'm like the mack:
Riding around oakland in a cadillac.
But on the other hand, if you can't pimp
And the hos keep treating you like a simp,
I don't know what to say about you boys.
You better go to the store and buy some toys.
Cause you can't play this game.
(pimp talking):
Next time you hear grown folks talking, shut the fuck up y hear?
[Verse 2:]:
Now you heard my story in stereo:
About the pimpin game, that you should know.
And if you don't, its alright,
Cause Ill be spittin this game to ya all damn night.
I'm short dog. Aint nothing nice.
I never rap fake when I'm on the mic.
I ride around town in a clean benz.
Never ever frontin on my real cool friends.
My zodiac sign is a taurus the bull.
I drink old english, and I do get full.
If youre wondering why I don't stop my rap,
Cause other mcs can't rock like that.
My music flows like dominos.
I pimp these hoes that's how it goes.
Tenders on my beeper all day and night.
I'm a true blue player homeboy. That's right.
That's where I rain, top dog mc.
Too short, baby, on the microphone.
I work more tails. I don't take freaks home.
Man, they start trippin when they think your rich.
Met her yesterday. All on my tip.
Its not hard to believe. But that's how it goes.
I'm burning rubber on these hoes like vogues.
Check out my style. Baby don't stop.
If you can't call me short, just call me dog.
Black is my color. I have no other. Nothing else will do.
I've got a black car, black bed, black tv.
I've even got a silk black suit.
Dangerous music, and the dangerous crew,
Oakland, ca, and the playboy too.
West coast rapping al over the place.
Too short, baby, all in your face.
I rap so hardyou can't stop me.
My last album sold a million copies.
Me and the maestro, laying the beat.
Dj scratches from my homeboy pete.
Dangerous music is what you hear.
A new lp, every year.
You know we rolling. Can't be faking.
We come through, and all your girls, were taking.
You know were rolling. Don't do no simpin.
Oaktown players, strictly pimpin, baby.
My name is short. Just what youve been looking for.
Sending young tenders on a wild goose chase.
Up in the hills, trying to find my place.
Getting lost, getting tossed, getting found and clowned.
Every time you see short baby, you get down.
Cause the raps I make are the raps you like.
The way sir too short rocks the mic.
Its a one of a kind, rapping style.
Have the freaks in the crowd, going wild.
For when I spit my rhyme, I just don't quit.
Grab the microphone, and just make me rich.
(pimp 1): it was $35, 000.
(pimp 2): $35, 000 cash money?
(pimp 1): no. I get 1. $35, 000 plus 1, right?
(pimp 2): the one I gave you?
(pimp 1): no, I gave you 6 alright. I had 1. Now $35, 000 plus 6
Now $35, 000 plus 1, plus 6 makes 7.
$35, 000 plus 7, right. Motha fucka, can you buy that?


text:
You can certify your participation in this micro-course, Digital skills for online learning (LiDA101), by completing a basic knowledge test online. There are two options:
- A personalized LiDA101 Certificate of Participation in PDF format that you can print out, together with a verification code for employers. This option also includes a digital badge. (Cost is NZ$10), or
- A digital LiDA101 Participant Badge (Free)
How does it work?
To certify your participation in this micro-course, you must successfully complete a basic knowledge test online. This knowledge test covers selected concepts in this course. Learners who have worked through the course resources, activities, and quizzes on the course site will have all the learning materials they need to be able to pass the test.
The online test is hosted on our moodle.oeru.org website (see links below).
Can I prepare for the test?
Yes! At the end of each learning pathway, you will find several True-False and Multiple Choice questions, together with feedback on correct and incorrect answers. These are the same questions that are used in the knowledge test to certify your participation. You can review the knowledge test questions for each learning pathway by visiting the following links:
- Establish a personal learning environment
- Introduction to digital literacies
- Find and select open resources
- Learning in a digital age
Can I trial the technology before I take the knowledge test?
Yes! If you have not taken an online test before, or have not used the Moodle platform, we have created a practice test for you to familiarise yourself with the online test environment. Try it!
- Log in to our Moodle site, How to take an online test:
- If you are a new user and don't have an account, click on the "Create new account" button on the bottom of the page. Follow the instructions to verify your account in the email we send (check your spam folder if you don't receive this email.)
- For existing OERu Moodle users, log in with your username and password for this site. (You can retrieve log-in credentials by clicking on the "Forgotten your username or password?" link.)
- Click on the course: How to take an online test, and follow the instructions on screen.
What can I expect in the test?
The following table summarizes the basic information of a typical OERu knowledge test to certify participation:
|Number of True-False questions
|16 – 20
|Number of Multiple Choice questions
|16 – 20
|Estimated time required
|20 – 30 minutes
|Pass mark to earn the certification
|Minimum of 50% of answers correct
What are the certification options?
There are two options to certify your participation:
|PDF Certificate plus digital badge
|Digital badge only
Certificate of participation plus digital badge
|10 New Zealand Dollars (Approximate cost in: US$, GBP and EUR)
|Payment options:
|Credit card only
|Test link:
|Preview example certificate (1.1MB)
|Number of test attempts:
On successful completion of the knowledge test, we will send you an email with the PDF version of the Certificate of participation for this micro-course as an attachment.
As a charitable organization, the OERu offers unrestricted access to all our open online courses for free. By choosing to purchase a Certificate of Participation, your payment will help to cover the costs of administration and also contribute to the global technology infrastructure costs to continue providing free access to learning opportunities for all.
Digital participant badge
|Number of test attempts
|Maximum of two free attempts*
|Test link:
*At OERu, we want you to succeed. Although you can only have two attempts at the test on the Moodle site if you are trying for a free badge, you can still practise as many times as you like by using the quizzes at the end of each learning pathway of the relevant micro-course.
What can I do with a certificate of participation?
You can:
- download a copy of your certificate from our site at any time,
- print a copy of the certificate for display or inclusion in your CV, and
- share the unique code printed on the certificate with employers (and other interested persons) to verify that your certificate was issued by the OERu, using the verification link.
What can I do with a digital badge?
You can:
- display OERu badges that you earn on your profile page on our moodle.oeru.org site,
- download a copy of the badge, and
- share a unique link with employers and other interested people, to verify that the badge was issued by the OERu site. This unique link provides access to a webpage that publishes the details of the issuer and criteria used to issue the badge.
Please note: If you are planning to purchase the Certificate of Participation at a later date, you will need to re-take the knowledge test, even if you previously achieved the free digital badge for participation.
Honour pledge for test takers
We expect learners taking an OERu knowledge participation test to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity.
All questions are published on the OERu course sites, which you can review and practise before taking the test. If you are unsuccessful in the test attempt, you will be able to re-sit the test in accordance with the number of permissible attempts published on this page. However, while taking the test, you should not receive help. (This does not prohibit help required by learners with a disability, such as using a human or automated reader.)
All test takers will be required to affirm the following statement before attempting the test:
- "I affirm that I have not given or received any unauthorised help while taking the test, and that this work is my own."
In the event that the OER Foundation identifies breaches of this honour code, we reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to withdraw any badges or certificates that have been issued to you and/or to ban your user account on all websites maintained by the OER Foundation.
Need help?
The OERu support website provides instructions on how to:
- Register a new account on moodle.oeru.org
- Log in to moodle.oeru.org for existing account holders
- Enrol for a Participant Badge test on moodle.oeru.org (free)
- Pay for a PDF certificate of participation
- Verify that the OERu issued a PDF Certificate of Participation

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I hate to say it but as you've probably already noticed, the vendors are offline and no fish are being delivered. You'll get a notice that your rod can't connect. I advise you to stop fishing until we're able to resolve that... Most of our developer team is at work, so I'm not sure how long it will take.
You can watch group notices or this thread for news.
EDIT: We've "unclogged" the servers. They're currently delivering 5+ hours of backlogged fish and purchase requests, so if you caught/bought something, please wait an hour to see if it arrives -- if it still doesn't, then contact 7Seas Sass with an IM requesting a replacement delivery.
Normal fish deliveries will also be delayed until the backlog clears, so we recommend holding off on fishing for awhile! Thanks for your patience.


text:
Shopping Cart [more]
Index of Products
- 9PTK Titration Instructional Videos
- Automatic Rinse Tank Controls
- Boiler and Cooling Towers
- Circuit Board Cleanliness Testing
- Deionized Water
- Environmental Applications
- Fountain Solutions
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Glossary of Terms
- Hemodialysis Applications
- Horticulture
- Hydroponics
- Material Safety Data Sheets
- Operation Manuals / Instructions
- Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP)/Redox
- Pool and Spa
- Product Data Sheets
- Reverse Osmosis
- Technical Reference: Handheld pH Instruments
- Textile Manufacturing
Boiler and Cooling Towers
Boilers and cooling towers share two major water related problems: deposits and corrosion. As steam is generated by a boiler or water evaporating from a cooling tower, dissolved minerals are left behind, increasing the concentration of these minerals. Additional minerals are introduced via the water added to makeup the water lost to steam/evaporation. Eventually, the minerals reach a level (or cycle) of concentration that will cause either loss of efficiency due to scale or damage from corrosion. This level can be determined by the Ryznar or Langlier indices and correlated to a conductivity or TDS range. Most people recognize problems associated with corrosion. Effects from scale deposits, however, are equally important. For example, as little as 1/8" of scale can reduce the efficiency of a boiler by 18% or a cooling tower heat exchanger by 40%!
A variety of water treatment methods are employed in an effort to control these problems. Even with water treatment, it is still necessary to regularly blow down or bleed off part of the concentrated water and make up with lower salinity water to reduce the overall mineral concentration.
To conserve water and treatment chemicals, it is desirable to allow the dissolved minerals to reach a maximum cycle of concentration while still avoiding problems. Because feed water/make-up waters vary in the types and amounts of minerals present, the allowable cycles of concentration will vary. As a result, regular testing of boiler and cooling waters is essential to optimize water treatment programs and blow down schedules. Tests commonly performed include conductivity or TDS, pH and ORP. Myron L® Company instrumentation provides you with a simple, fast, and accurate means of testing these parameters.
Many cooling towers and boilers have inline controllers used to release water from the tower or boiler and feed chemical(s) into the system. The controllers must be calibrated regularly to ensure fouling or drift of the sensor has not occurred. Our portable instruments in conjunction with NIST traceable standard solutions provide rapid verification of the accuracy of inline controllers. This method reduces manpower and the likelihood of disturbing or damaging sensors.
Conductivity is the measurement of a solution's ability to transmit an electrical current. It is usually expressed in microsiemens/cm (micromhos/cm). Pure water is actually a poor electrical conductor (18,200,000 ohms/cm of resistance). It is the amount of ionized substances (or salts) dissolved in water which determines the conductivity. Because the vast majority of the dissolved minerals in water are these conductive inorganic impurities, conductivity measurement is an excellent indicator of mineral concentration.
The Myron L® Instruments were developed for just this purpose. Models are available which display conductivity and/or ppm of TDS. For detailed information regarding the relationship between conductivity and TDS, please see the Myron L® Application Bulletin: Standard Solutions and Buffers.
pH, the measurement of acidity or basicity, is one of the most important factors affecting scale formation or corrosion in a boiler or cooling system. The types of impurities comprising the mineral concentration behave differently at various pHs. Low pH waters have a tendency to cause corrosion, while high pH waters may cause scale formation.
Boiler water requirements can range from very pure to more than 6500 microsiemens, depending on size, pressure, application, and feed water. Once the maximum cycles of concentration has been established, a conductivity instrument can conveniently help you to determine if the blow down schedule is adequate. Samples should be cooled to at least 160°F/71°C to ensure accurate temperature compensated readings.
Boiler condensate samples are often tested to determine if there area any carry over of boiler water solids or contaminants entering from outside the system. Condensate is relatively pure water, and values of 2-100 microsiemens are common. Because of these low values, a multiple-range instrument is recommended to increase the resolution and accuracy of the reading. Monitoring the pH of condensate is also important since condensate is very corrosive at low pHs. Treatment additives are often added to elevate the pH to minimize corrosion in condensate lines.
Cooling tower water has become more challenging since the reduced use of acid and the elimination of chromate. Monitoring conductivity and pH has become imperative to maintain a proper treatment program. Although many systems have controls on these parameters, the possibility of a system upset is always present. Even slight upsets can cause rapid scaling of heat exchangers.
Biological growth is another extremely important facet to proper cooling water management. Microbes can cause corrosion, fouling, and disease. Oxidizing biocides (chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone and bromine) have been employed to keep bacteria under control. Monitoring of the ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential)/redox is very useful in its ability to correlate millivolt readings to sanitization strength of the water. The ULTRAMETER II™ 6P includes this parameter for quick on-site determinations.
The following tables list recommended Myron L® instruments for boilers and cooling towers.
Other products and companies referred to herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
**Prices, images and specifications subject to change without notice.**
For your convenience, we accept these credit cards:


text:
The Oplontis Project
The mission of the Oplontis Project is to conduct a systematic, multidisciplinary study of Villa A ("of Poppaea") and Villa B ("of Lucius Crassius Tertius") at Oplontis (Torre Annunziata, Italy). Under the direction of John R. Clarke and Michael L. Thomas of the University of Texas at Austin and in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei, an international team of scholars is working to publish a definitive studies of all aspects of these sites. Publication will be "born digital" within the Humanities E-Book Series of the American Council of Learned Societies. Further documentation, in the form of fully navigable 3D models and a comprehensive database will be available for further study.
See the December 2014 newscast featuring the new excavations and plans for the future of the site.


text:
Worcester County Maritime Lawyers
Find Worcester County Maritime Attorneys by City
Jack D. Lebowitz
(800) 654-1949
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of LawCollege of William and MaryMaryland and District of ColumbiaNational Association of Distinguished Counsel and Super LawyersAmerican Association for Justice, Maryland Association for Justice...
Benjamin Boscolo
(888) 591-4008
American University Washington College of Law and Lafayette CollegeMaryland, District of Columbia and VirginiaMartindale Hubbell, Super Lawyers, Maryland Association for Justice and Litigation Counsel of AmericaProfessional Hockey Players' Association Panel of Workers' Compensation Attorneys, Maryland Bar Foundation..."Professional Athletes and the Law of Workers' Compensation : Rights and Remedies". Law of Professional and Amateur Sports
Charles E. Iliff Jr.
(410) 685-1166
University of Virginia School of LawWilliams College4th Circuit, U.S. Court of Claims, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, U.S. Supreme Court and MarylandMaryland Super LawyersAircraft Owners & Pilots Association, Experimental Aircraft Association...
James Dirk Schwenk
(410) 775-6805
University of Maryland - Baltimore and University of Maryland - BaltimoreMaryland and MarylandMarine Trades Association of Maryland and University of Maryland School of LawYacht Brokers Association of America and Mid Atlantic Mariners Club
Thomas C. Valkenet
(410) 323-0900
University of Baltimore School of LawSaint Anselm CollegeMaryland, District of Columbia and U.S. Supreme CourtMaryland Professionalism Center, Inc.Bow-riding, a reckless practice and already illegal in Maryland. and Trial Reporter, "The Limited Appearance in Maryland Civil Litigation"
Vadim A. Mzhen
(800) 654-1949
University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of LawUniversity of PennsylvaniaMarylandMaryland State Bar and Maryland Trial Lawyers Association
George Tankard III
(410) 783-5795
University of Virginia School of LawCollege of William and MaryMaryland, District of Columbia, Texas, Pennsylvania and MassachusettsBar Association of Baltimore City Senior Legal Services CommitteeTaxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund, American Association for Justice...
John Michael Singleton
(410) 902-0073
UDC David A. Clarke School of LawCity University of New York - Hunter CollegeFederal Circuit, Maryland, 4th Circuit, D.C. Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court
The LII Lawyer Directory contains lawyers who have claimed their profiles and are actively seeking clients. Find more Worcester County Maritime Lawyers in the Justia Legal Services and Lawyers Directory which includes profiles of more than one million lawyers licensed to practice in the United States, in addition to profiles of legal aid, pro bono and legal service organizations.
Researching Attorney Discipline


text:
RESTful services as intelligent websites
Thinking of RESTful services as intelligent websites helps drive our architecture decisions towards simplicity, discoverability and maximum use of the HTTP protocol. That should help us design services that are easier to use, debug, evolve and maintain.
In this post I'll try to address a few important aspects of RESTful services, considering them as intelligent websites. We might need more formal specifications in some cases, but this is hopefully a good start.
Discoverability and service homepage
Having a descriptive homepage for your service helps search engines and people discover it, and the base service URL should "never" change. Service-specific subdomains come to mind.
The service homepage includes all the necessary information such as service owner's contact information, links to source code, etc.
News about service updates live right here on the service homepage, ideally as full content for the most recent news, but at least as links.
The key idea is that I shouldn't have to tell you more than the service homepage's URL for you to be able to use the service.
Even if your service is a company-internal one that's not meant to become public, having a decent-looking homepage, or at least one that's well organized and well readable, won't hurt.
In my pragmatic view Hypermedia as the Engine of Application State basically means links tell you where to go next.
In a website meant for humans, the meaning of a link is often expressed by logical groups: navigation links at the top left, "more info" links in a smaller font at the bottom of a page, etc.
For machines, adding
rel attributes to
<link> elements (in HTML, or the equivalents in other formats) tells us what we can do next. A client should be able to first try a link with non-destructive results, and get a response the supplies details about how the specified interaction is supposed to work. If those details are too involved to be expressed in a simple HTTP request/response (which should be a "maybe this is too complex" warning), links to explanations can be provided in the HTML content of our intelligent website.
Self-explaining services
The service documentation, if any is needed, is also provided on the service homepage, or linked from it.
Service interactions are designed to be as obvious as possible to minimize the need for documentation, and readable automated tests (hosted on the service website of course, or linked from it) can help document the details.
HTML forms describe service parameters
HTML forms are best way to document the service parameters: provide a form that humans can use to play with the service, with enough information such as lists and ranges of values so that users can figure out by themselves what the service expects.
The idea is that a human user will play with your service from the HTML form, then move on to implementing a client in the language of their choice.
action attribute of
<form> elements also contributes to HATEOAS - intelligent clients can discover that if needed, and it's obvious for human users.
And of course, speaking of parameters, be liberal in what you accept, and conservative in what you send.
Speaking in URLs
Like humans, RESTful services need to be precise when they speak about something important.
If your service response says invalid input format for example, it's not hard to include in that response an URL that points to a description of the correct input format. That makes all the difference between a frustrating and a useful error message, and is part of HATEOAS as well.
Web-friendly responses
Readable response formats will help people make sense of your service. The HTTP protocol does provide standard ways of compressing responses to avoid using more bandwidth than needed, so optimizing the response for wire efficiency does not make much sense unless you're really expecting measuring huge traffic. And even if you need an optimized binary response format, there's probably a way to make that optional.
HTTP status codes
Thou shalt not abuse HTTP status codes - or you might be suddenly transformed into a teapot.
Returning a
200 OK status code with content that describes an error is a no-no: if something went wrong, the HTTP status code needs to express that.
Website authentication and authorization mechanisms and secure connections work for machine clients as well, no need to reinvent that wheel.
HTTP sessions are a bad idea in a RESTful context of course, state is driven by hypertext as discussed above.
Character encodings
The issues are the same for human users as for machine clients: you need to play by the HTTP protocol rules when it comes to character encodings, and using UTF-8 as the default is usually the best option.
Stable service URLs
As with good websites, once a service has been published at a given URL, it should continue working in the same way "forever".
A substantially different new version of the service should get its own different URL - at least a different path containing a version number, or maybe a new subdomain name.
Long-running jobs
Regardless of human or machine clients, you usually don't want HTTP requests to last more than a few seconds. Long-running jobs should initially create a new resource that describes the job's progress and lets the client know when the output is available. We've had an interesting discussion about this in Apache Stanbol recently, about long-running jobs for semantic reasoners.
Service metadata
Non-trivial services often have interesting metadata to provide, which can have both static and dynamic parts, like configuration values and usage statistics for example.
Here again, the website view helps: that metadata is just made accessible from the service homepage via links, ideally with both human (
a href) and machine (
link rel) variants.
Designing your RESTful service as an intelligent website should help people make good use of it, and will probably also help you make its interactions simpler and clearer.
If your service can't be presented as a website, it might mean that your interaction design is not optimal, or not really RESTful.
I'm happy to see these opinions challenged, of course, if someone has any counter-examples.
Update: I should have mentioned that this post, and especially the "intelligent websites" concept, was inspired by conversations with Roy Fielding, in the early days of Apache Sling. I haven't asked him to review it, so this doesn't mean he would endorse the whole thing...I'm giving credit for inspiration but still liable for any mistakes ;-)
Update #2: See also my REST reading list, a regularly updated collection of links to articles that I've found useful in understanding and explaining REST..


text:
(Note: The Ann Arbor Film Festival is hosting a fundraiser for its annual event. The author wishes them well in this endeavor. Unfortunately, in describing a controversy surrounding the loss of state subsidies for the festival, the AAFF Web site erroneously reports that the following essay equates government funding of the arts with "funding 'pornography.'" This is simply untrue. The following essay contains no reference to pornography and never has.)
On Feb. 7, state Sen. Shirley Johnson, R-Royal Oak, proposed legislation to impose a 5 percent tax on entertainment-related event tickets or admission fees. The legislation is designed to generate millions of dollars annually for the arts.
The tax would be placed on a wide array of entertainment options, and the revenue would accrue to a new "entertainment and cultural events fund," the first $30 million of which would be spent by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
There are at least four significant shortcomings to the Johnson proposal. First, it is unfair. Far more people prefer baseball to Bach or watching Detroit's Lions to Puccini's La Boheme. Yet under this proposal sports fans will, in all likelihood, disproportionately carry the financial burden of new state arts and culture funding.
Second, Michigan's economy is sputtering relative to the rest of the nation. Raising taxes may only make the Great Lakes State's employment problems worse.
Third, the program hurts artists. The arts are too important to depend on politics and politicians for their sustenance. Time spent by artists writing grant requests is time not spent honing their respective crafts. Moreover, "with the shekels come the shackles"; government may mandate tax-dollar spending restrictions that limit the artistic license people or groups may take.
Lastly, art is a highly subjective enterprise. One person's highpoint of artistic achievement may be deemed a cesspool of silliness by another. But when government intervenes in the market for culture, one person is forced to subsidize the preferences of another.
Let us consider just one example of state spending on the arts. The state of Michigan has for years subsidized the Ann Arbor Film Festival through the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. MCACA's line item in the fiscal year 2005 budget was $11,771,300 according to the state's House Fiscal Agency.
Last year's AAFF event, according to the festival's site and related materials, featured, among other works:
"Chests," an experimental short film showing two men repeatedly bumping their bare chests together. The two-and-a-half-minute film is shot from the waists up and the necks down. Click here to see still photos from "Chests."
"No American Dream," a longer feature and autobiographical in nature. It was a video diary of the director's months in the United States while marketing a previous documentary called, "Sexjunkie." The filmmaker notes that "the desperate search for the American Dream increasingly turns into a race against time to get at least one good [expletive deleted] in New York." See a clip of Ann Arbor's "Billy" (presumably a University of Michigan student) explaining why there is No American Dream. The filmmaker, Julia Ostertag, graciously permitted this author to place the clip on the Mackinac Center Web site.
"What is it?" is a movie by Crispin Hellion Glover. Glover is best known for his portrayal of George McFly in the 1985 blockbuster movie, "Back to the Future." "What is it?" is described in the AAFF brochure as a "film (which contains graphic sexuality) [that] flows between controversial imagery and story lines: a minstrel in blackface who aspires to be an invertebrate by injecting nail enzymes into his cheek; a Shirley Temple dictator in Nazi garb; a naked man with cerebral palsy lying on a giant seashell, being fondled by a naked woman wearing a monkey mask; talking snails getting repeatedly salted; and watching over all, an enthroned Glover in a full-length fur coat."
See a clip by clicking here. WARNING: This film clip contains graphic images and may be deemed offensive by the viewer. It may also violate school and corporate policies against viewing such material.
The "Sex Workers Art Show" included live performances from people who work in the sex industry, including, among other performers, "Miss Exotic World 2003 and Diva of Danger Miss Satanica." For more on the Sex Workers Art Show, visit the official web site. WARNING: This site contains images that may be deemed offensive by the viewer. It may also violate school and corporate policies against viewing such material.
Author's note: On August 1, 2006, during a radio fundraiser for the Ann Arbor Film Festival, an on-air guest mentioned Mackinac Center research related to the "Sex Workers' Art Show," which resulted in a false charge of poor research by an in-studio host.
The Sex Workers' Art Show guest noted that the Center's essay mentions performers that were listed in the complaint "that were supposed to be part of the Sex Workers' Art Show, but neither one of those performers named was present."
Another guest used the opportunity to drive home the point:
"… about the Mackinac Center's report about the Sex Workers' Art Show … it is completely inaccurate and you know that they didn't do much research because the two, you know, the two artists, [unintelligible] the performers they said were there weren't there."
"America's Biggest *ick" featuring Dick Cheney speaking at the Republican National Convention. The film short lays an audio track from Al Pacino's Scarface over Cheney's actual words. "Say hello to my little friend ..." by clicking here. This film was last year's "Tio's Red Hot & Spicy Award" winner, an honor worth $500. WARNING: This video contains graphic language and may be deemed offensive by the viewer. It may also violate school and corporate policies against viewing such material.
Films shown in previous years at the AAFF included such titles as "The Arousing Adventures of Sailor Boy," "Soggy Penis Syndrome" and "Boobie Girl." For a more complete listing of previous AAFF films, along with a description of each, download the following PDF document. WARNING: This document contains graphic language that may be deemed offensive by the viewer. It may also violate school and corporate policies against viewing such material.
In fiscal year 2005, the AAFF received $17,400 in state tax funding; this amount dropped to $13,300 for the 2006 festival, which begins March 21. Relative to the state's $40 billion budget, such appropriations are small, but the principle is significant: Legislators have no business reaching into the pockets of Michigan citizens without first squeezing questionable expenditures from the state budget. Sen. Johnson's legislation reaches deeper and takes more.
Several AAFF subsidies were approved during the same budget cycles that saw state legislators raise cigarette and property taxes, and Lansing officials claimed there were simply no more cuts to make.
One possible reason legislators may have approved such arts spending is because they may have been unaware of its existence. During the appropriations process, legislators frequently don't vote for a particular line item within a department's budget. The grant to AAFF is just one of about 300 doled out to arts- and culture-related organizations across the state. It is even possible that Department of History, Arts, and Library bureaucrats overseeing the program don't know how the money is used. The AAFF grant application, for example, speaks only of "avant-garde" and experimental films, not cinematic themes that include gay rodeos and the "Warhol Transvestite Superstar Jackie Curtis."
It would appear that both grants and entire budgets are often designed for obfuscation — that is, to disguise the true nature of spending — in order to preserve it. The appetite for government arts programs among legislators might be quashed if the public knew precisely how their money was being spent. The difficulty in exposing such expenditures lies in the size and complexity of the budget. Indeed, identifying precisely how this single $17,000 art grant was used took Mackinac Center scholars about 20 hours and hundreds of dollars in research. Most voters just don't have the resources to play spending watchdog and government over-spenders probably prefer it that way.
Using tax dollars to fund artistic pursuits is not in the best interest of Michigan citizens. It is unfair for those who prefer not to patronize the arts voluntarily; it hurts artists by encouraging them to be wards of a state that may ultimately dictate what type of art they can produce; and it hurts economic growth by redistributing wealth to uses that are probably less productive than others on which the money could be spent.
For more on government funding of the arts, see "Ernest Hemingway and Arts Subsidies: A Farewell to Alms" and "Show Me the Monet! Why Not Privatize the Arts?"
Did your legislator vote for or against these funds by approving the History, Arts and Library budget? Visit https://www.michiganvotes.org/2005-SB-274 to find out.
Michael D. LaFaive is director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute headquartered in Midland, Mich.Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the author and the Center are properly cited.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy is a nonprofit research and educational institute that advances the principles of free markets and limited government. Through our research and education programs, we challenge government overreach and advocate for a free-market approach to public policy that frees people to realize their potential and dreams.
Please consider contributing to our work to advance a freer and more prosperous state.


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Del Mar, California (PRWEB) January 14, 2013
Inspired by her Mexican heritage and memories of her grandmothers calming herbal baths, April Sevilla-Kohnen announced today the launch of her new company, Montes Botanicals Bath & Body. Her company manufactures organic and natural spa-grade artisan bath soaps and body scrubs designed to pamper the modern woman. Montes Botanicals Bath & Body also carries craftsman bath accessories from around the world. Its products are immediately available through its online store: http://www.montesbotanicals.com.
Whenever I was stressed or upset, says April, my grandmother would prepare an herbal bath for me using a generations-old Mexican recipe that would soothe my mind and dissolve away all my worries. She taught me an appreciation for botanicals and their healing, calming properties. I started Montes Botanicals Bath & Body with the purpose of delivering bath and beauty products that would give women that same wonderful feeling of complete mind-body relaxation. Our namesake montes stems not from the literal translation of mountains, but from the centuries-old practice of carefully selecting bundles of medicinal plants to cleanse the body and spirit.
Montes Botanicals Bath & Body artisan soaps and body scrubs are designed specifically for the modern multitasking woman who is seeking the finest environmentally friendly products that are free from harsh chemicals, animal fats, synthetic colors, and fragrances.
Wanting her new company to adopt an eco-conscious philosophy, April forged a partnership with Carbonfund.org to purchase carbon offset credits to counter the greenhouse gases produced during the shipment of orders. As a member of 1% for the Planet.org, the company donates 1% of all sales to environmental organizations that work to preserve the Earths fragile ecosystems.
All Montes Botanicals Bath & Body products are available for immediate purchase through its website: http://www.montesbotanicals.com. Wholesalers should contact +1 (866) 601-2093.
About Montes Botanicals Bath & Body
Montes Botanicals Bath & Body is a Chicana-owned business that creates spa-grade bath and beauty products inspired by the aromatic flora and folkloric traditions of Mexico. Based in Del Mar, California, the company is committed to sourcing the most natural ingredients, prioritizing local growers and indigenous cooperatives. To learn more about our natural and organic products, go to: http://www.montesbotanicals.com.
If you would like more information about the company or its products, or to schedule an interview with April Sevilla-Kohnen, please call her at +1 (866) 601-2093 or email her at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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BICOB 2011 : 3rd International Conference on Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
Conference Series : Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
|Link: http://sce.uhcl.edu/bicob11
Call For Papers
BICoB-2011 - Call for Papers
3rd International Conference on
Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BICoB)
March 23- 25, 2011
Holiday Inn Downtown-Superdome, New Orleans, LA, USA
Paper Submission Deadline: ........October 22, 2010
Notification of Acceptance: ........ December 11, 2010
The 3rd international conference in bioinformatics and computational biology (BICoB) will provide an excellent venue for researchers and practitioners in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology to present and publish their research results and techniques. The BICoB conference seeks original and high quality papers in the fields of bioinformatics, computational biology, systems biology, medical informatics and the related disciplines. We also encourage work in progress and research results in the emerging and evolutionary computational areas. Computational techniques have already enabled unprecedented advances in modern biology and medicine. This continues to be a vibrant research area with broadening of computational techniques and new emerging challenges. Work in the computational methods related to, or with application in, bioinformatics is also encouraged including: data mining, text mining, machine learning, modeling and simulation, pattern recognition, data visualization, biostatistics, .etc. The topics of interest include (and are not limited to):
• Genome analysis: Genome assembly, genome and chromosome annotation,
gene finding, alternative splicing, EST analysis and comparative genomics.
• Sequence analysis: Multiple sequence alignment, sequence search and clustering,
function prediction, motif discovery, functional site recognition in protein, RNA and
DNA sequences.
• Phylogenetics: Phylogeny estimation, models of evolution, comparative biological
methods, population genetics.
• Structural Bioinformatics: Structure matching, prediction, analysis and comparison;
methods and tools for docking; protein design
• Analysis of high-throughput biological data: Microarrays (nucleic acid, protein,
array CGH, genome tiling, and other arrays), EST, SAGE, MPSS, proteomics, mass
• Genetics and population analysis: Linkage analysis, association analysis, population
simulation, haplotyping, marker discovery, genotype calling.
• Systems biology: Systems approaches to molecular biology, multiscale modeling,
pathways,gene networks.
BICoB welcomes submissions in all areas of computing with impact on life sciences including (but not limited to) algorithms, databases, languages, systems, and high performance computing. For example:
- Parallel and high-performance techniques
- Unifying computational techniques
- Data and image mining techniques
- Approximation and randomized algorithms and systems
- Computational biology on emerging architectures and hardware accelerators
Papers will be accepted only by electronic submission (PDF only). A full paper, including
title, author's name(s) and affiliation, mailing address, telephone, fax and email of the
principal author, should be submitted by October 22, 2010 at the following web site:
The submitted manuscript should closely reflect the final paper as it will appear in
the Proceedings which will be a maximum of 6 pages (+2 pages with additional page
charge). ISCA double-column format will be used.
See:See http://www.isca-hq.org/sample-isca-manuscript-format.pdf .
If you encounter any difficulties during submission or if you require further information,
please contact: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Authors wishing to have their papers reviewed for possible publication in the ISCA
Journal of Computers and Applications should send by postal mail or email expanded
versions of their papers directly tto the Editor, Dr. Qiang Zhu.
(See Instructions to Authors at: http://www.isca-hq.org/j-authr.htm ) .
(See Instructions to Authors at: http://www.isca-hq.org/j-authr.htm )
Full paper Submission Deadline: ..........................................October 22, 2010
Notification of Acceptance: ............................................... December 11, 2010
Pre-registration and Camera-ready paper due:..................... January 7, 2011
George Karypis
University of Minnesota
Hisham Al-Mubaid
University of Houston-Clear Lake


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Creativity in the workplace.
I remember hearing that phrase for the first time and wondering, how can that be? It seemed a conundrum.
At the time I believed that creativity could only be expressed in the work of artistic people. Creativity was the expression of unique ideas and the workplace was a place to do as one was told—no ideas or uniqueness please. Singers, dancers, painters, and poets were the creative people. They weren't found in the everyday workplace. Why would they be?
I am happy to report that I have since learned better—and it's changed my life.
Today I am a jazz singer/songwriter and Saybrook Ph.D. student who has held a "day job" for most of my adult life. My "day job" for the past several years has been in human services, and recently I have come to realize all the ways in which I use the same creative problem-solving approaches in both my human services and artistic work.
In order to improvise a jazz tune, I allow myself to hear and try something new. I come to the work with a well-developed technical facility and courage to trust the resources of the moment. Similarly, as I craft a new solution for a problem of my human services work, I bring skill and courage to bear following the same process.
In 1971, Abraham Maslow described "The creative attitude…as a fusion with the reality being observed…a seeing of formerly hidden truth…a revelation in the strict sense, a stripping away of veils…." Some researchers have identified differences between creativity and innovation, suggesting that creativity is the creation of something new while innovation is the process of putting existing products, process or procedures to new uses or combining them in new ways. I would argue that this is a matter of semantics. Both require what Maslow described as "a seeing of formerly hidden truth" and are the results of human creativity.
Business and society both can only benefit if we celebrate and even participate in fostering the presence and expression of creativity in the workplace. I appreciate that creativity is not only found in people described as artistic and the products they produce but that everyone is in some way creative. And further, that the workplace is no less an environment for the expression of creativity than an artist's studio. In 1998, Mort Meyerson, former vice chairman of EDS wrote, "Let us create an environment which is good for…people and watch what will happen…[as we]…tap into the experiences, the creativity, and the power of everyone in the organization."
The good news is that the importance of creativity in the workplace is becomming more widely accepted. A recent special issue of the American Psychological Association journal, Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts was devoted entirely to research studies of creativity in the workplace. In her introductory 2011 article for the journal, Roni Reiter-Palmon wrote, "This recent emergence of interest [in the study of creativity] is a result of the recognition that creativity and innovation are necessary for organizational adaptation and survival. I would add that the opportunity to express our creativity is what keeps us interested in and challenged by work of any kind and that our organizations and our world are better places for it.
Read other posts by Jan Spencer
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The majority of 18 to 24-year-olds believe that things are heading in the right direction in the Netherlands. They do not consider social issues such as crime, a multicultural society, population density and mentality in the Netherlands to be a major problem. Environmental pollution, on the other hand, is relatively often seen as a major problem. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of the 2019 Annual Report of the National Youth Monitor.Read publication
The Annual Report Youth Monitor 2019 Summary presents an outline of the life situation of Dutch youth at both national and local level. At local level, a description of youth in the Caribbean Netherlands is included.Read publication
In 2018, most of the children living at home in the Caribbean Netherlands had working parents. Of the nearly 5.2 thousand children up to the age of 25 living at home on Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba, 92 percent have at least one working parent.Read publication
In 2017, the average age of young people leaving the parental home was 23.5 years, versus 22.8 years in 2012. The shift was strongest among students, who in 2016 started living independently on average one year later than in 2012. Working young people moved out of home 0.7 years later.Read publication
At the end of 2017, nearly 7 percent (228 thousand) of all minor children were living in a family claiming income support, down by nearly 3 thousand on 2016. It was the first drop in the number of children from such families since 2009.Read publication
The Annual Report Youth Monitor 2018 Summary presents an outline of the life situation of Dutch youth at both national and local level. At local level, a description of youth in the Caribbean Netherlands is included. The report focuses on all ages, from very young children to older youth.Read publication
For eight months now, unemployment among youth has fallen below the lowest point before the economic crisis in 2008. At European level, the Netherlands is in the top three of countries with the lowest youth unemployment rate.Read publication
In 2017, 4 percent of young people in the Netherlands aged 15 to 24 years were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET). This is equivalent to 84 thousand young people.Read publication
In 2016, 1,492 teenage girls gave birth to a child in the Netherlands. This number was again slightly lower than one year previously. The share of Dutch teenage mothers per one thousand 15 to 19-year-old girls was the lowest of all EU countries.Read publication
In 2016, most young people in the Caribbean Netherlands between the ages of 15 and 24 were enrolled in education. This share was highest on Saba: 72 percent. On Bonaire, one-third of this age group are no longer enrolled in education but are in work. They are often full-time workers, similar to the group aged 25 and over.Read publication