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News & Buzz
Grasshopper is everywhere
Doing spot-on code reviews with remote teams
It's hard enough to run an effective code review when everyone is in the same room. But when developers work at home, contribute to open-source projects, or telecommute from outsourced suppliers, the challenges are intensified. Making a code review work in those circumstances requires a bit of extra effort. Technology can help, but it's not the only way to create a collaborative team that gets the job done.
Christopher Buchino, director of software engineering at GotVMail Communications, has engineering teams in two offices, thousands of miles apart. Yet, he says, the code review process has continued to flourish. "This is more due to the importance we place on the process rather than tools, but tools have certainly helped," Buchino says.
Desktop sharing tools are the first tools that developers and their managers reach for. "We make extensive use of GotoMeeting to allow for people participating in the review to view each other's screens," explains Buchino.
"Software helps a lot," admits Paddy Sreenivasan, the co-founder and vice president of engineering for Zmanda, an open-source backup and recovery software provider whose developers are geographically dispersed across time zones. "We use an issue tracking tool as well as chat rooms to do code review."
Atlassian's Crucible is among the recommended tools for distributed teams. "It allows code reviews to be done offline," says Buchino. Crucible lets him do code reviews on his own time, entering comments right in line with the code. The tool automatically sends notifications when comments are added, so developers can take action as necessary. "This also has the added benefit that all code reviews are saved along with their comments for viewing later," he points out.
But don't go nuts with technology. E. William Horne, systems architect at William Warren Consulting says, "Don't ever try to use cute techno-aids like electronic whiteboards or video conferencing to solve the 'split-team' problem. Always provide documentation and FAQs that can be read, printed and used by any team member no matter where they are, and always take extraordinary steps to make sure that every team member has all the material several days in advance."
As much as tools can help (and for more specific recommendations, see Making Code Review Software Tools Help, Not Hinder), non-collocated teams can't always arrange regular meetings, because finding a mutually acceptable time is so difficult. There are two options, says Sreenivasan: Do multiple one-on-one reviews or give up on "meetings" altogether. In the latter case, code reviews can happen using alternate communications media, such as e-mail, telephone or issue tracking tools.
"Generally an e-mail is good enough, otherwise [we have] a phone conversation where both parties are looking at the code," says James Pitts, VP of development and program management at Embarcadero Technologies. In his company, desktop sharing is rare for code reviews; it is easier for the reviewer to fix the code and send the changes back to the originator if e-mail or phone doesn't work, Pitts says.
Cole gets full agreement from Alex Russell, the mastermind behind the open-source Ajax Dojo toolkit, who is now at Google working on the Chrome Web browser. Code reviews have to be expected, he says. "Everyone needs to know that someone else will be reading their code and have realistic expectations about what that means," Russell says.
Is e-mail good enough? Some think so.
Meetings? Feh! Who Needs Meetings?
Some are down on the concept of in-person meetings in any case. Jason Cohen, SmartBear Software's founder doesn't feel that meetings are required at all. "The meeting is where the most time is wasted!" he says. " Meetings waste time in planning/scheduling, people arriving late, distractions, people who really need to be involved for 15 minutes of it but end up staying for two hours and delaying the completion of the review because of physicality." And that's worse when some people are in India and some are in Boston.
If you have to have meetings, set strict time limits, strict start times and a dedicated place where all the hookups are ready, Cohen says. "Maybe make it more fun with ice cream. (Fun counts!) Alternately, use e-mail or a code review tool or even desktop sharing to do meetings from workstations where people can work on it when it's convenient for them."
Pitts says, "Do not do code reviews in a meeting setting unless you also write the code in a meeting setting. If you want to instill a repeatable code review practice, you need to let people review the code on their own and provide feedback to the originator."
For some, the solution is to avoid distributed teams altogether. Marc Carkeek, VP of development and support at UC4 Software, a provider of workload automation and IT process optimization solutions, has had issues with having two development teams separated by the Atlantic Ocean. "We've found that tightly coupled projects, meaning ones that require high team cohesion and communication, are very challenging in these situations." Carkeek's new rule of thumb is, "Any project that requires more than two one-hour meetings per week shouldn't be split between development houses." Even loosely coupled projects need face-to-face meetings occasionally, he says, usually once per quarter, to keep communication operating smoothly." (For more on making telecommuting work, see Getting Clueful: Seven Things the CIO Should Know About Telecommuting.)
That's not always an option-particularly in open source development, which by its nature has people contributing code from all around the world. Manoranjan (Mano) Paul, the software assurance advisor for (ISC)2, which specializes in information security education and certification, points out that reviewing open-source code needs a little extra attention. "The control over open source developers is limited, if at all existent," he says. "Where open source software is to be implemented within the organizational computing ecosystem, special attention needs to be given to the code portions that will be used. In such cases, a manual code review should not only be conducted statically (where lines/blocks of code is reviewed) but also dynamically (where APIs, protocols and formats are tested using random inputs to determine the behavior of the software code). Fuzzing or fuzz testing is an example of dynamic code review."
That's not just about arranging for appropriate meeting times, he says, or technology substitutions for in-person meetings. It also applies to the code review itself. "At a bare minimum, checks for security should be performed," he says (belying his personal focus). "Code review must be performed with special attention to maintenance hooks, backdoors, impersonation constructs, Easter eggs, canonicalization issues and logic bombs (difficult to detect in code review automatically and so manual review is necessary) to ensure code quality and security."
While these situations are somewhat exceptional, most of the process in conducting effective code reviews applies equally-or perhaps more so, with all the difficulties of distance communication.


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Film: Hootenanny A Go-Go (1965)
Director: Shepard Traube
Also known as: Once Upon A Coffeehouse
Plot: Jerry Newby, the scheming owner of a Miami coffee house creatively called The Coffee House, lays it out shortly into the film: "This cat [Curtis Taylor] has flipped over this chick [Karen Thorsell], right? Every week, he spends a fortune to fly down from New York just to drool over her. But he doesn't make out, right? Now, let's get this picture in focus: Don't you think a rich cat like this might just buy our establishment just to be the boss-man and have [Thorsell] work for him… so she's gonna come on strong for the boss-man?"
So Newby, a glib weasel with a Paul Lynde smile, tells the clean-cut square Taylor that buying the coffee house will help him "score" with Thorsell, one of the coffee house's popular folksingers. Taylor bursts into incredulous laughter, but one Gilligan cut later, he's resignedly forking over a check for $15,000—and immediately heading over to Thorsell to give her the good news. The way her face falls says an awful lot about how she feels about the plan, and about him. As he well knows, she already has a boyfriend, band frontman Vince Martin.
But Taylor doesn't give up. Over the course of Hootenanny A Go-Go, he tries repeatedly to score with Thorsell, by picking up the slang, goatee, and tight pants of a hipster folknik. Eventually, charmed by his devotion, his desperation, or the wealth that allows him to take her out on his boat and ply her with endless champagne, she comes around—especially when a local artist hangs a tasteful nude painting of a woman with a guitar on the coffee house's wall, and Martin thinks Thorsell posed for it, and starts treating her like crap and threatening Taylor with violence if he doesn't take it down.
Key scenes: Most of Hootenanny's scenes are extended musical performances. Director Shepard Traube was inspired by the endless bitching of a friend who owned a coffee house, so he imported some mildly popular New York acts and staged his own swinging '60s folk scene; the Taylor-and-Thorsell plot is a thin connective tissue around a series of acts performing folk, gospel-folk, and comedy-folk.
That said, there are a few memorable sequences, like the folk-centric beach party where the singers and their fans all huddle up together in a tight wad, facing in one direction, surrounded by sparklers, and singing plaintively. They look as if they've been shipwrecked and are hoping for rescue, or like they're in a horror movie, facing a nightmare out in the darkness.
And then there's the slapstick sequence where Newby, still helpfully trying to get Taylor laid, brings him some skinny hipster pants so he'll fit into the coffee-house groove better. This leads to a lot of Taylor flopping around shirtlessly, unable to bend his knees.
But the movie's big climax comes when some toughs, presumably acting at Martin's behest, come around and demand the nude painting. When Taylor stonewalls them, they menace him with the scariest weapon the '60s had to offer: a single switchblade. Fortunately, a few flung pizzas thoroughly defeat them. They flee in pizza-sauce-smeared terror, but Thorsell and the coffee-house employees have their blood up, so they manage to pizza Taylor, his cartoon-aristocrat mom, and Newby as well.
And finally, there's a memorably weird dream sequence where Taylor, on all fours and dressed like a dog, pants around after Thorsell in a fog-shrouded, vaguely swampish set, while she does a few vague ballet moves with Newby, and Martin and his buddies tease Taylor and pull his costume ears. It ends with him being menaced by the coffee house's espresso machine, which looks like a strange, flapping robot.
Can easily be distinguished by: A couple of songs performed by comedy act Jim, Jake & Joan. The Joan is Joan Rivers in her first film role, looking peppy and caffeinated as she brays out counterpoint lines to the more tuneful guys. Their initial number, riffing on the day's news, seems inspired by Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner's routines, but less funny.
Sign that it was made in 1965: It treats folkniks as way-cool cats who really know how to have a good time with a swingin', finger-snappin', acoustic-guitar-driven sing-along.
Timeless message: Love can be bought with patience, devotion, $15,000, and a boat.
Memorable quotes: Eventually, the nude-portrait artist turns up again with a woman in a slouchy, smock-ish oversized blouse and big sunglasses, and reveals that this is actually her model. Then she orders her to strip down to the tight blouse underneath, fix her hair, and remove her glasses. When Martin sees the fox underneath the layers, he instantly loses interest in Thorsell, saying "Wow, Corinne, you're a girl! Why didn't you tell me you were hiding all this delicious femininity?"

subset: commoncrawl


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Mental Narcissist
Review of The Mentalist, by Stefan Stenudd
The crime stories are retro skipping the CSI lab procedures, going back to the whodunit of writers like Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. Solving the mystery by contemplating and observing the people involved. That's a nice renaissance.
But chasing villains is not what makes the series magnetic. It's the mentalist, solving crimes by old deduction and by playing tricks, flashing an irresistible smile while bending the laws as much as any criminal. He behaves like a sociopath, not the least bit inhibited by justice or police ethics.
He's obviously very fond of himself, even when depression hits him. He behaves as if he's the only real human being in the world, and the rest of us are mere spectators of a lesser species. That's narcissism.
That's what the show is really all about. Narcissism, being intoxicated by the admiration of oneself. Patrick Jane is full of it, albeit in a very charming way, like a rascal boy reminding us that life is but a game. But he is a time bomb.
Narcissism may seem like a joke, but it's a mental condition with distinct hazards, especially when combined with a dose of paranoia. Jane's arch enemy Red John makes sure of that.
The secretive, unseen super villain is also evidently a narcissist, tremendously fond of himself and of forcing his impression on everybody especially the one to whom he feels akin. He should, since they suffer from the same delusion.
So, the only proper ending, when ratings drop and the series approaches its unavoidable cancellation, is to reveal that they are both the same person, Patrick Jane and Red John. Maybe a split personality thing, or just a delusion gone haywire. He's chasing himself, because in his narcissistic universe, it's the only one worth the effort.
Although the creator of the series, Bruno Heller, is equipped with some guts, as can be seen in his former series Rome, I wonder if he dares to let The Mentalist reach that natural conclusion.
He might chicken out by revealing Red John as the twin brother of Patrick Jane or some compromise of that kind, but what he really should do is to go out with the bang of exposing Jane as the serial killer. The obsession of a narcissist, creating an alias of no less brilliance than his self-image.
In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy the series, although I'm frequently irritated by sloppiness in making the plot plausible, and some side-stories that are far too conventional to fit in this setting. Side-stories must relate to the basic theme of the show, or they're nothing but distractions.
At length, maybe what remains the most attractive in the series is the acting by Simon Baker. His smile is so genuinely devilish in all its charm, his posture and attitude fit the character so well, it's hard to imagine that it's not 100% typecasting. That's good acting.
And it's mesmerizing how his face turns from that careless rascal into the despair of someone who has lost everything, in spite of all his superior competence, at moments when he is harshly reminded of the tragedy in his past.
I can see a few more seasons of that before getting bored.
Stefan Stenudd
August 7, 2012
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Celebrity News March 05, 2014
Ashton and Mila Together Onscreen? It's Like Kelso and Jackie All Over Again!
It's a "That '70s Show" reunion! Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis are getting back together onscreen.
CBS has announced that Mila will join Ashton on "Two and a Half Men" in a guest role as a new love interest. It's not quite Jackie and Kelso, but close enough!
Her character is described as a world traveler that Kutcher's Walden instantly connects with. He knows she's "the one," but he's already involved with someone else.
No word yet on when Mila's episodes will begin airing. This is the pair's first scripted onscreen reunion since the "That '70s Show" finale in 2006.
The newly engaged couple appear to be happier than ever these days. While attending a L.A. Lakers home game Tuesday night, they were spotted sharing romantic courtside kisses!


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Panasonic Lumix G9 Camera Body
Panasonic Lumix G9 Camera Body
€1,269.00 €1,149.00 €120.00
EAN / UPC : 5025232873630 | Brand : Panasonic | SKU : DC-G9EB-K
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The highest image quality along with the fastest performance and most intuitive operability LUMIX has every offered — all in a compact body. When nature offers only a split second to get the perfect shot, LUMIX G9 is the ideal partner. Designed especially for wildlife photographers, this is one camera you truly deserve to own.
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In Stock
|Digital Single Lens Mirrorless camera
|Recording media
|SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card (Compatible with UHS-I / UHS-II UHS Speed Class 3 standard SDHC / SDXC Memory Cards)
|Image sensor size
|17.3 x 13.0 mm (in 4:3 aspect ratio)
|Lens mount
|Micro Four Thirds mount
|Live MOS Sensor
|Total pixels
|21.77 Megapixels
|Camera effective pixels
|20.33 Megapixels
|Color filter
|Primary color filter
|Dust reduction system
|Supersonic wave filter
|Image sensor shift type (5-axis / 6.5-stop), Dual I.S. (Dual I.S. 2 compatible) Based on the CIPA standard [Yaw/Pitch direction: focusing distance f60mm (35mm camera equivalent f120mm), when H-ES12060 is used.
|Recording file format
|Still image
|JPEG (DCF, Exif 2.31), RAW
|6K PHOTO: MP4 (H.265/HEVC, Audio format: AAC (2ch)) 4K PHOTO: MP4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, Audio format: AAC (2ch))
|Motion picture
|MP4: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (Audio format: LPCM (2ch 48kHz/16-bit), AAC (2ch)) AVCHD Progressive, AVCHD (Audio format: Dolby Audio 2ch)
|Aspect ratio
|4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1:1
|Image quality
|RAW, RAW+Fine, RAW+Standard, Fine, Standard
|Color Space
|sRGB, AdobeRGB
|File size(Pixels) -Still Image
|5184x3888(L) / 3712x2784(M) / 2624x1968(S) / 10368x7776(XL) / 7296x5472(LL) / 4992x3744(6K PHOTO) / 3328x2496(4K PHOTO) High Resolution Mode.
|5184x3456(L) / 3712x2480(M) / 2624x1752(S) / 10368x6912(XL) / 7296x4864(LL) / 5184x3456(6K PHOTO) / 3504x2336(4K PHOTO) High Resolution Mode.
|5184x2920(L) / 3840x2160(M) / 1920x1080(S) / 10368x5832(XL) / 7296x4104(LL) / 3840x2160(4K PHOTO) High Resolution Mode.
|3888x3888(L) / 2784x2784(M) / 1968x1968(S) / 7776x7776(XL) / 5472x5472(LL) / 2880x2880(4K PHOTO) High Resolution Mode.
|High speed video When Creative Video Mode is selected.
|MP4[4K] 3840x2160
|30p, 100Mbps (Sensor output is 60fps / 50fps / 48fps)
|MP4[Full HD] 1920x1080
|30p, 20Mbps (Sensor output is 180fps / 150fps)
|Continuous recordable time (Motion picture)
|AVCHD [FHD/50p]: Approx. 130 min (rear monitor), 120 min (LVF) with H-FS12060, Approx. 120 min (rear monitor), 110 min (LVF) with H-ES12060 AVCHD [FHD/50i]: Approx. 130 min (rear monitor), 120 min (LVF) with H-FS12060, Approx. 120 min (rear monitor), 120 min (LVF) with H-ES12060 MP4 [4K/60p, 4K/50p]: Approx. 120 min (rear monitor), 110 min (LVF) with H-FS12060, Approx. 110 min (rear monitor), 110 min (LVF) with H-ES12060 MP4 [4K/30p, 4K/25p]: Approx. 130 min (rear monitor), 120 min (LVF) with H-FS12060, Approx. 130 min (rear monitor), 120 min (LVF) with H-ES12060
|Actual recordable time (Motion picture)
|AVCHD [FHD/50p]: Approx. 65 min (rear monitor), 60 min (LVF) with H-FS12060, Approx. 60 min (rear monitor), 55 min (LVF) with H-ES12060 AVCHD [FHD/50i]: Approx. 65 min (rear monitor), 60 min (LVF) with H-FS12060, Approx. 60 min (rear monitor), 60 min (LVF) with H-ES12060 MP4 [4K/60p, 4K/50p]: Approx. 60 min (rear monitor), 55 min (LVF) with H-FS12060, Approx. 55 min (rear monitor), 55 min (LVF) with H-ES12060 MP4 [4K/30p, 4K/25p]: Approx. 65 min (rear monitor), 60 min (LVF) with H-FS12060, Approx. 65 min (rear monitor), 60 min (LVF) with H-ES12060
|Wi-Fi2.4GHz (STA/AP) (IEEE802.11b/g/n) Wi-Fi5GHz (STA) (IEEE 802.11a/n/ac) 5GHz Wi-Fi is not available in some countries. 1-13, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140 ch
|Bluetooth v4.2 (Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE))
|QR code connection / Password-less connection
|Yes / Yes (ON / OFF selectable)
|OLED Live View Finder (3,680k dots)
|Field of view
|Approx. 100
|Approx. 1.66x / 0.83x (35mm camera equivalent) with 50 mm lens at infinity; -1.0 m-1
|Eye point
|Approx. 21 mm from eyepiece lens
|Diopter adjustment
|-4.0 - +3.0 (dpt)
|Eye sensor
|Display speed
|120fps / 60fps
|Contrast AF system
|DFD technology
|Post Focus
|Focus Stacking
|Focus mode
|AFS (Single) / AFF (Flexible) / AFC (Continuous) / MF
|AF mode
|Face/Eye Detection / Tracking / 225-Area / Custom Multi / 1-Area / Pinpoint (Full area touch is available) (Scalable AF frame size and flexible AF position)
|AF detective range
|EV -4 - 18 (ISO100 equivalent)
|AF assist lamp
|AF lock
|Yes (AF/AE LOCK button)
|AF custom setting
|AF Sensitivity, AF Area Switching Sensitivity, Moving Object Prediction
|One Shot AF, Shutter AF, Half Press Release, Quick AF, Continuous AF (during motion picture recording), Eye Sensor AF, AF-Point Scope Setting, AF+MF, MF Assist, Touch MF Assist, Focus Peaking, Touch AF/AE Function, Touch Pad AF, Touch Shutter
|Light metering system
|1,728-zone multi-pattern sensing system
|Light metering mode
|Multiple / Center Weighted / Spot
|Metering range
|EV 0 - 18 (F2.0 lens, ISO100 equivalent)
|Exposure mode
|Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual
|ISO sensitivity (Standard Output Sensitivity)
|Still image: Auto / Intelligent ISO / 100 (Extended) / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400 / 12800 / 25600 (Changeable to 1/3 EV step) Creative Video Mode: Auto / 100 (Extended) / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 / 6400 / 12800 (Changeable to 1/3 EV step)
|Exposure compensation
|1/3 EV step 5EV (3EV for motion picture)
|AE lock
|Yes (AF/AE LOCK button)
|White balance
|AWB / AWBc / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Incandescent / Flash / White Set 1, 2, 3, 4 / Color temperature setting 1, 2, 3, 4
|White balance adjustment
|Blue/Amber bias, Magenta/Green bias
|Color temperature setting
|2500-10000K in 100K
|Focal-plane shutter
|Shutter speed
|Still image: Bulb (Max. 30 minutes), 1/8,000 - 60 Electronic first curtain shutter: Bulb (Max. 30 minutes), 1/2,000 - 60 Electronic shutter: 1/32,000 - 1 Motion picture: 1/16,000 - 1/25
|Shutter life
|Approx. 200,000 images
|Self timer
|10sec, 3 images / 2sec / 10sec
|Remote control
|Remote control with Bulb function by DMW-RSL1 (sold separately)
|AE bracket
|3, 5, 7 images in 1/3, 2/3 or 1 EV step, max. 3 EV, single/burst
|Aperture Bracket
|3, 5 or all positions in 1 EV step
|Focus Bracket
|1 to 999 images, focus steps can be set in 10 levels
|White balance bracket
|3 exposures in blue/amber axis or in magenta/green axis, color temperature setting
|Burst speed
|[Mechanical shutter / Electronic first curtain shutter]AFS/MF: H: 12 frames/sec, M: 7 frames/sec (with Live View), L: 2 frames/sec (with Live View) When H-ES12060 is used. [Mechanical shutter / Electronic first curtain shutter]AFF/AFC: H: 9 frames/sec (with Live View), M: 7 frames/sec (with Live View), L: 2 frames/sec (with Live View) When H-ES12060 is used. [Electronic shutter]AFS/MF: SH: 60 frames/sec, H: 12 frames/sec, M: 7 frames/sec (with Live View), L: 2 frames/sec (with Live View) [Electronic shutter]AFF/AFC: SH: 20 frames/sec, H: 9 frames/sec (with Live View), M: 7 frames/sec (with Live View), L: 2 frames/sec (with Live View)
|Number of recordable images
|[H/M/L] More than approx. 60 images (when there are RAW files with the particular speed.) [H/M/L] More than approx. 600 images (when there are no RAW files and using a card with SD Speed Class with ""UHS-II UHS Speed Class 3 (U3)"".) (depending on memory card size, battery power, picture size, and compression) [SH] More than approx. 50 images (depending on memory card size, battery power, picture size, and compression)
|Burst speed
|[6K PHOTO] 30 frames/sec [4K PHOTO] 60 frames/sec, 30 frames/sec
|Exif information
|Yes (Each JPEG image cropped out of the 6K/4K burst file complies with EXIF.)
|Marking function
|Yes (in 6K/4K Burst (S/S) mode)
|Time Lapse Shot
|Flash type
|TTL External Flash (sold separately)
|Flash Mode
|Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync., Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off For iA, iA+ only.
|Synchronization speed
|Less than 1/250 second
|Flash output adjustment
|1/3EV step 3EV
|Flash synchronization
|1st Curtain Sync., 2nd Curtain Sync.
|Synchronization for flash dimming and exposure compensation
|Wireless control
|Yes (When using DMW-FL200L / FL360L / FL580L (sold separately)), Wireless Channel: 1ch/2ch/3ch/4ch
|Flash sync socket
|TFT LCD monitor with static touch control
|Monitor size
|Free-angle 7.5cm (3.0-inch) / 3:2 aspect
|Approx. 1,040k dots
|Filed of view
|Approx. 100
|Monitor adjustment
|Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Red-Green, Blue-Yellow
|Digital zoom
|2x, 4x
|Extra Tele Conversion
|Still image: Max. 2x 4K PHOTO: 1.6x (4:3), 1.5x (3:2), 1.4x (16:9, 1:1) Motion picture: 2.7x (FHD), 1.4x (4K)
|Other functions
|Level Gauge, Real-time Histogram, Guide Lines (3 patterns), Center Marker, Highlight display (Still image / motion picture), Zebra pattern (Still image / motion picture)
|Wi-Fi / Q.MENU / Video Record / LVF/Monitor Switch / LVF/Monitor Disp. Style / AF-Point Scope / AF/AE LOCK / AF-ON / Preview / One Push AE / Touch AE / Level Gauge / Focus Area Set / Zoom Control / 1 Shot RAW+JPG / 1 Shot Spot Metering / 1 Shot 6K/4K PHOTO / Operation Lock / Dial Operation Switch / Destination Slot / Photo Style / Filter Select / Aspect Ratio / Picture Size / Quality / AFS/AFF / Metering Mode / Burst Shot Setting / 6K/4K PHOTO / Self Timer / High Resolution Mode / Bracket / Highlight Shadow / i. Dynamic / i. Resolution / Min. Shtr Speed / Post Focus / HDR / Shutter Type / Flash Mode / Flash Adjust. / Wireless Flash Setup / Ex. Tele Conv. / Digital Zoom / Stabilizer / I.S. Lock (Video) / 4K Live Cropping / Motion Pic. Set / Picture Mode in Rec. / Mic Level Adj. / Mic. Directivity Adjust / Silent Mode / Peaking / Histogram / Guide Line / Zebra Pattern / Monochrome Live View / Constant Preview / Rec Area / Step Zoom / Zoom Speed / Night Mode / ON/OFF of each item in White Balance / ON/OFF of each item in Photo Style / AF Mode/MF / Rec/Playback Switch / Off / Restore to Default
|Wi-Fi / LVF/Monitor Switch / Rec/Playback Switch / Slot Change / 6K/4K Photo Play / Delete Single / Protect / Rating 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 / RAW Processing / 6K/4K PHOTO Bulk Saving / Copy / Night Mode / Off / Restore to Default
|Fn LEVER
|AF Mode / Quality / Photo Style / Long Shtr NR / Stabilizer / 6K/4K PHOTO (Pre-Burst) / Self Timer / Silent Mode / Shutter Type / Bracket / Touch Screen / Touch Pad AF / Auto Review (Photo) / Peaking / Night Mode / Front/Rear/Control Dial Lock / Off / Restore to Default
|Standard / Vivid / Natural / Monochrome / L. Monochrome / Scenery / Portrait / Custom 1, 2, 3, 4 / Cinelike D / Cinelike V
|Expressive / Retro / Old Days / High Key / Low Key / Sepia / Monochrome / Dynamic Monochrome / Rough Monochrome / Silky Monochrome / Impressive Art / High Dynamic / Cross Process / Toy Effect / Toy Pop / Bleach Bypass / Miniature Effect / Soft Focus / Fantasy / Star Filter / One Point Color / Sunshine For photos only.
|Playback mode
|30-thumbnail display, 12-thumbnail display, Calendar display, Zoomed playback (Max. 16x), Slideshow (All / Picture Only / Video Only, duration & effect is selectable), Playback Mode (Normal / Picture Only / Video Only), Protect, Rating, Title Edit, Face Recognition Edit, RAW Processing, 6K/4K PHOTO Bulk Saving, 6K/4K PHOTO Noise Reduction, Light Composition, Clear Retouch, Text Stamp, Copy, Resize, Cropping, Rotate, Video Divide, Time Lapse Video, Stop Motion Video, Rotation Display, Picture Sort, Delete Confirmation, Creating Still Pictures from a Motion Picture
|Single / Multi or Cancel
|Single / Multi / All / Except Rating
|Direct Print
|PictBridge compatible
|USB 3.0 Micro-B, SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Gen 1
|HDMI TypeA / VIERA Link Video: Auto / 4K/50p / 4K/25p / 1080p / 1080i / 720p / 576p Audio: Stereo Monitor-through: 4:2:2 8bit (Except for [4K/60p]/[4K/50p]) / 4:2:0 8bit
|Audio video output
|Remote input
|f2.5mm for remote
|External microphone input
|f3.5mm for external microphone Stereo/Lens Auto/Shotgun/Super Shotgun/Manual is selectable when attaching DMW-MS2 (sold separately).
|Headphone output
|f3.5mm for headphone
|Stereo, Wind Noise Canceller: OFF / Low / Standard / High When attaching DMW-MS2 (sold separately).
|SD card slot
|Slot 1, Slot 2
|OSD language
|Japanese, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish
|Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 1860mAh, 14Wh) (included) USB power supply, USB power charging
|Battery life (CIPA standard)
|Approx. 400 images (rear monitor), 380 images (LVF), 920 images (Power Save LVF mode) with H-FS12060 Approx. 380 images (rear monitor), 360 images (LVF), 890 images (Power Save LVF mode) with H-ES12060 Under the test conditions specified by Panasonic based on CIPA standard. When the time to get in the sleep mode is set to 1 sec.
|Battery grip
|DMW-BGG9 (sold separately)
|Dimensions (W x H x D)
|136.9 x 97.3 x 91.6 mm / 5.39 x 3.83 x 3.61 inch (excluding protrusions)
|Approx. 658g / 1.45 lb (SD card x 1, Battery, Body) Approx. 586g / 1.30 lb (Body only) Approx. 868g / 1.91 lb (SD card x 1, Battery, H-FS12060 lens included) Approx. 978g / 2.16 lb (SD card x 1, Battery, H-ES12060 lens included)
|Operating temperature
|-10oC to 40oC (14oF to 104oF)
|Operating humidity
|10RH to 80RH
|The software to edit and playback images on computer is not bundled with this camera. To do this, PHOTOfunSTUDIO 10.0PE is available for download at Panasonic website using computer connected to the Internet. http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/soft/download/d_pfs99pe.html (For Windows) The software to process RAW file on computer is not bundled with this camera. To do this, SILKYPIX Developer Studio is available for download at Ichikawa Soft Laboratorys website using computer connected to the Internet. http://www.isl.co.jp/SILKYPIX/english/p/ (For Windows / Mac)
|Standard accessories
|DC-G9Kit: Battery Charger (AC Adaptor, USB connection Cable included), Battery Pack, Body Cap, Hot Shoe Cover, Eye Cup, Flash Syncro Socket Cap, Cover for the Battery Grip Connector, USB Connection Cable, Shoulder Strap The DC-G9 Operating Instructions for advanced features is available for downloaded at Panasonic LUMIX Customer Support Site using PC, smartphone or tablet connected to the Internet.
- Audio
- Bags / Cases / Straps
- Batteries / Chargers
- Cables
- Camera Accessories
- Camera Lenses
- Flashguns / Lighting
- Lens Accessories
- Lighting Accessories
- Memory + Film
- Tripods / Monopods / Supports
- Video Equipment
Showcased Accessories
8 found, displaying 1 to 8.
8 found, displaying 1 to 8.


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- Beautiful and easy to use
- Natural ingredients that contain a blend of wax's, oils and butters with no preservatives.
- For a air-tight seal ensure the lid is on tightly.
- Ensure the tin lid is on tightly to ensure an air-tight seal.
Condition : Brand new
Net WT: 30ml beard oil & 60g beard balm
Quantity : 2PCS
Color of cream: light yellow
Storage condition: Keep fresh in dry & cool area
Directions : APPLY DAILY AM & PM
Wash & Clean the growing area.
Apply the cream by gradually massaging it over the area you want to grow hair and smoothly massage until the cream is absorbed through the skin and the black cream is faded away (until black cream does not appear on skin)
Normally, the results can be seen around the 3rd week. Small hair will appear and you can continually use for thicken facial hair.
Ingredients(beard balm): Argan oil,Mango butter,Jojoba oil, Grapeseed oil, Beeswax,Sweet orange oil
Ingredients(beard oil): A perfect,fragrance-free blend of 100% pure,organic cold pressed,unrefined Golden Jojoba oil,100% Pure,organic cold pressed,unrefined Moroccan Argan oil
Package included:
Option 1:1PCS Beard oil
Option 2:1PCS Beard Balm
Option 3:1PCS Beard Brush
Option 4:1PCS Beard Comb
Option 5:1PCS Beard oil + 1PCS Beard Balm
Option 6:1PCS Beard Brush+1PCS Beard Comb


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Hyello friend
Well, I hear you're getting used to being a female character. My character has a female Captain in his backstory, and the Royal Guard will have to be addressed at some point... So I suppose I'm more requesting the spot as your VC with Akira as Captain, only for her (and eventually my character as well) to move on to the Royal Guard. I think we could craft an interesting dynamic moving toward me picking up an antagonist role.
I like this Shinoda Akira of yours. I have a proposition for you involving her, if you're interested in hearing it.
Hai hai~ happy to help :3
Yeah, it's no problem. I still like helping out from time to time~
anime-pictures.net <---- that's the site. It's a pretty good one. Though I think it comes up as like greek or something initially. It's one of my favorites though.
Lawls, alright no problem.
As a person who occasionally writes characters of my opposite given gender, I can say my biggest tip, is to not try and force the character into a specific way of being. I don't know if that makes sense, but in general, I'd say just let the character have a few moments in writing before you try, and force a personality on it. Specifically with characters of the opposite gender it will likely make it easier for you to be them, without trying to force their responses. Sometimes, it's easier to figure out who a character is, if you let the character tell you. I'd say to try and avoid stereotypes as far as making your first female character. I found that it is really easy to take a stereotype personality and let it completely fuck over a character and sometimes you will really like it, but sometimes it will go horribly wrong, and you'll hate the character, then you'll have to kill it, or try and fix it. (All of which can be done in plot and is a fun way to write, just so you know XD)
As for my character look preferences, I generally just go with really high quality images. Most of the really good artists online like half naked hot girls with big eyes and long hair, so I end up with a lot of characters that fit that general description. It is also a lot easier to write a character if I can imagine them doing stuff physically. And it's a lot easier to imagine them doing stuff, if their images are good~ Beyond that I usually decide a lot about a character based on the image, including its powers and abilities and sometimes even its personality. Or sometimes I do that the opposite way around, and go looking for an image which I can use with a specific set of abilities I have in mind. Male characters are in general a bit harder to come across. I could like you to one of the image sites I use, it has a lot of good quality stuff on it, including a reasonable amount of male characters~
Thank you~
We do like our RPs, without rules, and on a massive scale. That is pretty much what this site is at this point. Have fun with it~ And let me know if I can help ya' out with anything :3
Yeah, it is one of the bigger things. We got used to it a while ago, it's kind of fun that way though, getting into making new characters with different stuff to flesh out a single story line~
:3 International Studies~ That's awesome, good luck with that~
Oh that's pretty cool. I've been seeing posting around here not done by myself or the other~
I might have a look and see what you're doing with your character. I do just enjoy RP in general.
And going to grad school, that's awesome, what are you going to study?
Yep, that'd be me~ How's it going?
管理者様 | 白い閃光


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REAL ID Is Coming To Mass. Here's What You Need To Know
Renewing a Massachusetts driver's license will become a more paper-intensive process starting next week for anyone who wants to use the ID for domestic air travel years into the future.
Starting Oct. 1, 2020, regular Massachusetts driver's licenses will no longer suffice for people trying to fly domestically, enter federal buildings or access nuclear facilities. Only licenses compliant with REAL ID will grant people access to those flights and facilities.
As the Registry of Motor Vehicles gears up to comply with the federal REAL ID law, top transportation officials want to make it clear to the 5.3 million people with state-issued IDs that they will need to bring much more documentation than normal to gain the full benefits of an identification card.
"Getting your license for the first time has been a bigger deal and renewing your license has been much less onerous. We're sort of resetting everyone to: We're not sure who you are," Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack explained to reporters on Monday.
While the state will continue offering standard IDs, starting next Monday, March 26, it plans to issue cards that comply with the REAL ID law, which will grant people that additional federally controlled access beyond October 2020.
To obtain a REAL ID, state residents will need to bring a Social Security card, or pay stub or tax form; along with a passport or birth certificate or immigration form; and two proofs of Massachusetts residency, such as a utility bill.
People who have experienced homelessness, incarceration or domestic violence might not have those documents readily available, Pollack acknowledged.
"We do not have any discretion. The federal government has established those standards," Registrar of Motor Vehicles Erin Deveney told reporters.
The 2005 law was intended to address the situation that enabled terrorists to fraudulently obtain identification to carry out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
State officials do not know how many people will be deterred by the extra requirements from obtaining a REAL ID nor how many people will opt for the more-secure identity card, Pollack said. The standard ID, which has fewer requirements, remains an option, Pollack said. Both REAL ID and standard licenses require people to prove their lawful presence in the United States, according to state officials.
To prepare for REAL ID compliant licenses, the Registry will close down all of its services, except for public safety services, from Thursday at 7 p.m. to Monday at 8 a.m. There will be no vehicle inspections this weekend.
The RMV is also launching a new mainframe computer system, a major technological undertaking that is being done in conjunction with the switch to REAL-ID licenses.
Pollack described the shift from the old ALARS system to the ATLAS system as "leap-frogging generations of technology," and Deveney said it will benefit many people and businesses who exchange information with the registry.
Editor's Note: This story had included an online form that asked for your questions about REAL ID in Massachusetts, and you had plenty! We answered many of them here.


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Memorial Weekend is just about over. I spent time online doing a bit of unplanned research using the new Michigan vital records collections on the FamilySearch.org site and I made a trip to Belle Isle to visit the Dossin Great Lakes Museum. I learned a lot more than I expected to from both sources.
I rarely get excited over new online resources. It seems like they never have information of interest to me. I mean, who's putting databases online from the little villages in Poland where my families are from? Sure, sure, I'm third generation American so there are some domestic records of interest to me, but not a whole lot. Even the subscription databases that offer old newspapers don't include the Detroit News or Detroit Free Press. I'm not whining here, just stating the facts. My areas of research are very limited and all 4 of my grandparental lines overlap in time and place so much that just a few pertinent resources can give me new information for all 4 lines and entire websites like WorldVitalRecords will give me nothing at all (last I checked).
I was practically giddy when I went online to visit the new Michigan vital records collections at FamilySearch.org and was able to find some new information about my family members. Mostly what I was able to add was a missing birth date or marriage location, that sort of stuff. I did unveil a mystery of sorts though. That was my big discovery of the weekend.
My dad's godmother (who he was named for) was Josephine Lipa. She was one of my paternal grandmother's 10 siblings. I heard several stories that included "Auntie Josie" over the years. I probably met her when I was young but I don't remember her. When I started doing genealogy research I was told by at least 3 people in my dad's family that Auntie Josie never married or had kids. She always came to family events alone and relatives often dropped in on Auntie Josie to check on her "because she had no one else". She lived until 1992 so people didn't have to remember back all that far to remember her. Anyway, I was able to find birth and baptismal records for Auntie Josie but I never found any death or burial records. I figured it was just one of those things and that they would turn up one of these days.
So this weekend I do a search for "Lipa" using the new FamilySearch.org site and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a marriage license entry for a Josephine Lipa (from 1917), same birth date as Auntie Josie and the names of my great grandparents were listed as names of the bride's mother and father. Hmm. I check the record and it gives the name of the groom as Bronislaw Ronowski. That's a new surname to me. So then I'm thinking maybe Auntie Josie was only married for a brief time, maybe she became a widow shortly after she married and just never remarried. I checked the SSDI database and discovered that Bronislaw Ronowski lived until 1976. Hmm. This is getting more and more interesting. I checked the SSDI for a Josphine Ronowski and bingo, there she is with the correct birth and death years. Well, this explains why I was never able to find her death certificate. I was looking for Josephine Lipa not Josephine Ronowski.
So what ever happened to Bronislaw? How come no one in the family ever mentioned him? Did they get a divorce? (Can't imagine that in this strict Catholic family.) Did Bronislaw and Josie separate early on in their marriage? I checked Heritage Quest for the 1920 Census and there they are with a 2 month old daughter! This is getting curiouser and curiouser. Unfortunately, Heritage Quest doesn't have the complete 1930 Census in their collection so I'll have to wait until I can get to the public library tomorrow where I can access Ancestry. I hate to leave you hanging... no I don't! LOL! If I've got to hang, you can hang with me!
So, about that trip to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum. I went there hoping to learn more about the Great Lakes steamships that carried passengers on the Detroit - Buffalo route, the one my parents took on their honeymoon. And I hit the jackpot! As it turns out, that ship I used on my digi-scrap page (City of Detroit III) was dismantled in 1956 and some of the interior was sold to a private collector. He later sold it to the Dossin Museum. So just as you enter the museum you see the authentic "Gothic Room" from the City of Detroit III (it was the lounge on the top deck). It consists of tons of beautifully carved oak, a stunning chandelier, and a stained glass window to rival that of any church. It's hard to capture in words the beauty and elegance of this room. Fortunately, I have photos to share with you. :-)
It's not that I was unaware of how lavishly some ships of this era were decorated but I thought this sort of extravagance would be reserved for cross-Atlantic ships not local "day trippers" and "overnighters" on the Great Lakes. I was just blown away with the beauty of this ship. The sketches of the private quarters and dining areas show an equally lavish style. I learned that if someone in Detroit was Buffalo bound, they would board the ship at the dock on the Detroit River at 5:30 p.m. Then the ship would sail all through the night and arrive at the port of Buffalo first thing the next morning, hence the term "overnighter". There were photos of other ships that traveled this route during this same era (1900-1950s) and they appeared to be equally lavish.
Wouldn't it be cool to be able to take a trip on one of these steamers?! Unfortunately, there are none of these beauties still sailing the Great Lakes as far as I can determine. Some of these passenger ships were commandeered by the U.S. Navy during WWII and refitted for troop transport. Those that continued to sail throughout the war years (like the City of Detroit III) were scrapped in the early to mid 1950s. After the war people wanted to buy automobiles and vacations were planned using that mode of transportation. The auto industry grew at the expense of the Great Lakes steamers.
Sunday was a great day to spend on Belle Isle and I learned a lot (including that the casino is still intact and being used as a conference/banquet center). I have lots more photos, perhaps I'll share them another day. I just love when I can immerse myself in history!


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Thanks to its inherent versatility, Shine is the perfect furnishing element for indoor/outdoor settings.
A complete line with an essential design, the Shine range in aluminium and teak can transfer indoor furniture outdoors.
Certified for outdoor use only.
"Design is an uncontrolled muscle" according to Arik Levy (born 1963).
Designer, technician, artist, photographer, filmmaker, Levy's skills are multi-disciplinary and his work can be seen in prestigious galleries and museums worldwide. Best known publicly for his furniture design for global companies, installations and limited editions, Levy nevertheless feels "The world is about people, not tables and chairs." Hailing originally from Israel and moving to Europe in 1988, Levy currently works in Paris with his 20-strong team of designers and graphic artists forming L design.
Under the vision of Levy and his associate, Pippo Lionni, the firm also produces brand identities, packaging, signage, exhibition and interior design… His formation was unconventional where surfing and his graphic design studio took up much of his time back home. However, following studies at the Art Center Europe in Switzerland where he gained a distinction in Industrial Design in 1991, Levy's first international success was winning the Seiko Epson Inc. competition, which jettisoned him into the public consciousness as a "thinking" designer. After a stint in Japan where Levy consolidated his ideas producing products and pieces for exhibitions, the designer returned to Europe where he contributed his artistry to another field – contemporary dance and opera by way of set design. The creation of his firm then meant a foray back to his first love, Art and industrial design, as well as other branches of his talents. Respected for his furniture and light designs on all continents, Levy also creates hi-tech clothing lines and accessories for firms in the Far East.
Considering himself now more of a "feeling" designer, Arik Levy continues to contribute substantially to our interior and exterior milieu, his work including public sculpture – his signature Rock pieces – as well as complete environments that can be adapted for multi use. "Life is a system of signs and symbols," he says, "where nothing is quite as it seems."
Emu began in 1951 in Marsciano, Umbria, and during the 60s found its natural vocation in the manufacture of outdoor furniture, in which it could best express the technology, cultural heritage and local know-how gained from experience of working with metal.


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Guys, I know we've all been trying very hard to get the Packard account finished by the end of the month, but I'm sensing that a lot of our efforts are being wasted by working in isolation rather than in tandem. And, if I may offer a constructive criticism, I'm beginning to think our time would be much better spent if we all stopped working alone, put our heads together, and combined resources so we can more effectively cover for my complete and utter lack of ability for the task at hand.
Yes, now is the time for us to combine our collective mental resources and work as a team in order to hide the fact that I'm bad at my job and don't really know what the fuck I'm doing.
Look, we've all given it our best shot individually. And each of us—other than myself, obviously—is both very hardworking and extremely talented. However, I am a firm believer in the axiom that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Or, in this case, that the whole is great enough to mask the utter ineptitude of one specific part, namely me.
The way I see it, everyone in this department is working toward a common goal. Why should any of us have to face this alone? Why shouldn't we realize that there is strength in numbers? Why shouldn't we work in perfect harmony as a group? Why shouldn't we all just combine our individual efforts to create the illusion that I'm anywhere near as competent and skilled as the rest of you?
Now, I understand that some people like to receive individual credit. They like to feel personally recognized for shouldering the lion's share of a project and for really making it their own. But teamwork isn't about who did this or who did that or who did absolutely nothing because he is a total idiot who can't be trusted with anything important. Teamwork is about sharing both the credit and the blame, specifically your credit and my blame in this instance.
For it is only as a team that we can all equally shoulder the burden of making me look like anything other than a bumbling hack who brings absolutely nothing to the table. Only as a team can we overcome the many obstacles I'll probably create because of being so bad at literally everything. And only as a team can all of my mistakes somehow end up seeming reflective of our department as a whole as opposed to just me on my own being a talentless fuckup.
We can do this, you guys. You, I should say, can do this. I can't do anything.
Of course, pulling together as a unified group won't be easy. Everyone needs to pitch in, and hopefully, when all is said and done, you guys will correct all of my stupid mistakes, do the vast majority of my workload for me, ignore the fact that I do not deserve to be a paid employee of this company, and maybe even let me slide right by when we all get equal credit and compensation for a job well done.
And look, each and every person in this department has their own strengths. Janet's great with the numbers. Todd's great with the projections. Mark's great with the cost-benefit analysis. I'm a useless dipshit. The list goes on and on. But just imagine how much stronger we would be if we all chipped in together and completely glossed over the fact that I actively frustrated and impeded the process every step of the way.
Sure, we could do the individual parts on our own. But wouldn't it feel so much more rewarding to know that each person played in a role in the final product? Wouldn't you feel better knowing that our manager wouldn't have to look at my final work with simmering rage and legitimate confusion as to how I was ever even hired?
So, I think it's time now that we all find a conference room, lay our thoughts out on the table, and finally get to work on really covering my ass.
Are you guys ready? Then let's go 'em! I'm going to go get some lunch. Call if you need me.


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Return to: Programs, Minors and Certificates
The Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. Additionally, there are six possible areas of emphasis within this chemical engineering program major. These are: biochemical engineering (133 units); environmental engineering (136 units); nanotechnology (132 units); petroleum engineering (137 units); polymer/materials science (137 units); and sustainable energy (128 units). An area of emphasis appears in parentheses after the primary major name on the transcript.
Sample student schedules are located on the department Web page (chems.usc.edu).
See also common requirements for undergraduate degrees .
General Education Units: 24
The requirement for the degree with an emphasis in nanotechnology is 133 units. A cumulative grade point average of C (2.0) is required for all upper division courses applied toward the major, regardless of the department in which the courses are taken. In addition to the previously listed common requirements, students must also take the following courses:


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Only a Year After its Introduction, the Simbionix ANGIO Mentor Provides Physicians All Over the World with Safe Endovascular Interventions Expert Training.
During the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) symposium, which was held in Chicago IL, on June 16, Simbionix, together with Cordis Endovascular, organized hands-on carotid educational sessions on its ANGIO Mentor™ systems.
With the available 12 systems, a large number of participants had access to practice on the most advanced virtual-reality training systems of carotid stenting. Attendees were offered CME credits through SVS.
The educational sessions were a success. All the sessions were fully booked, and attendees were impressed with the system's capabilities.


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Juneau Icefield Lab, UAS Faculty Leads Fieldwork: Study on effects on food chain of fossil fuel remnants in glaciers
Juneau, Alaska
The Juneau Icefield is the laboratory for a study revealing that the remnants of fossil fuels in glaciers may be changing the source of food for marine life down the food chain. University of Alaska Southeast Associate Professor Eran Hood is the second author of the study, to be published in the international journal Nature Geoscience in March 2012 and published on-line this week.
"When we look at the marine food webs today, we may be seeing a picture that is significantly different from what existed before the late-18th century," said first author Aron Stubbins of the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography. "It is unknown how this manmade carbon has influenced the coastal food webs of Alaska and the fisheries they support."
Hood led the fieldwork at the Mendenhall and Herbert Glaciers where visiting scholar-scientists from throughout the Lower 48 sampled snow, ice melt, and glacier runoff. The organic carbon from these water and snow samples was isolated and carbon dated. "We analyzed its molecular chemical structure," said Hood. "The carbon fingerprint we found indicated aerosols derived from the combustion of fossil fuels are an important source of organic matter on glacier surfaces and also in glacier outflow streams."
The scientists said glaciers like the Mendenhall offer ideal evidence of soot from carbon emissions. This "black carbon," darkens glacier surfaces and increases their absorption of light and heat. The carbon can also be exported to ecosystems downstream from glaciers where it can be metabolized and become part of the food web.
"These findings show that glaciers like Mendenhall can provide us with novel information about how humans are altering the composition of the atmosphere as a result of burning biomass and fossil fuels" said Hood. "The fact that we see this human-derived carbon signature in Alaskan glaciers also indicates that we still do not fully appreciate the post-industrial changes in the earth's surface biogeochemical cycles."
Glaciers and ice sheets together represent the second largest reservoir of water on the planet, and glacier ecosystems cover ten percent of the Earth, yet the carbon dynamics underpinning those ecosystems remain poorly understood. "Improving our understanding of glacier biogeochemistry is of great urgency, as glacier environments are among the most sensitive to climate change and the effects of industrial pollution," emphasized Rob Spencer of the Woods Hole Research Center, another author on the study.
A warming climate will increase the outflow of the glaciers and the accompanying input of dissolved organic material into the coastal ocean. This will be most keenly felt in glacial coastal regions with the highest levels of ice loss including the Gulf of Alaska, Greenland and Patagonia.
The title of the study is "Anthropogenic aerosols as a source of ancient dissolved organic matter in glaciers." In addition to Stubbins and Spencer, Hood's fellow collaborators on the project were Andrew Vermilyea from the University of Alaska Southeast; Peter Raymond and David Butman from Yale University; George Aiken, Robert Striegl and Paul Schuster from the U.S. Geological Survey; Rachel Sleighter, Hussain Abdulla and Patrick Hatcher from Old Dominion University; Peter Hernes from the University of California-Davis; Durelle Scott from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
More information and a slideshow of photographs by Hood can be found in the U.S. National Science Foundation on-line article, "Scientists Unlock Record of Ecosystem Changes Frozen in World's Glaciers": http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=123154 and on the Skidaway Institute of Oceonography website:http://www.skio.usg.edu/?p=research/chem/biogeochem/glaciers.php.notyet
Press Release Contact
Associate Professor, Department Chair Environmental Science & Geography Program
(907) 796-6244


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Main Page
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Welcome to the TSG-Wiki page.
Welcome to the TSG Wiki.
On this wiki you will find documentation for the Hardware, Software and Research Equipment used in the lab environments of the research facilities of the Faculty of Social Sciences, as well as other useful information.
Technical Support Group
Hardware Documentation
Software Documentation
- Audio Recording Settings
Lab Setups
- Interaction Lab
- BalanceBoard Lab


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Iran is in the middle of celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Iranian revolution that ousted Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and with him, the extraordinary influence the United States had on Iranian life. According to many right-wing pundits, the revolution was the start of an era of hostility between the United States and the Muslim world — an era that they see as still underway.
President Barack Obama, however, has inaugurated a new rhetoric on Iran. The United States doesn't assume an automatically hostile posture toward Iran or the Muslim world but will base its actions and reactions on deeds rather than perceptions of ideology. That Obama's mere willingness to talk to Iran comes across as earth-shattering in some quarters reveals the depths of our past mutual hostility.
After the Revolution
The Iranian Revolution wasn't anti-American, but an anti-colonial revolution directed at all outside control of Iranian affairs. Americans forget one of the great slogans of the revolution: "Neither East nor West." The United States unfortunately inherited the mantle of Great Britain and Russia, who oppressed the Iranian state for more than 150 years before Ayatollah Khomeini began to rail against the Shah. Iran was just as upset with those powers as with the United States, and still remains distrustful of all European influence in its affairs.
Even after 1979, Iran sought not simply to oppose the United States, but rather to chart its own course as a regional power, an industrial leader, an economic force in the region, and a diplomatic broker for its neighbors. Although its revolutionary ideals drove many of its early policies — such as the founding support for Hezbollah in Lebanon — these ideals soon proved to have little currency in an Islamic world that viewed the Iranian Shi'a with suspicion.
The original revolutionary ideals, initially hailed throughout the Islamic world, now have little practical force, and Iran has changed in turn. Today Iran's politics are less ideological and religious than practical. It has good diplomatic relations with all of its neighbors, and despite the fiery pronouncements of its largely powerless president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, operates with caution in the region. It no longer has any effective control over Hezbollah and never had much direct influence over Hamas or other regional oppositionist groups.
Better Weather Ahead?
There are now many possibilities for building ties with the United States if Americans can only wake up to them. The United States has common cause with Iran on many fronts. In political terms, the United States and Iran both oppose Islamic extremists like al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Despite attempts by the Bush administration to tie Iran to these groups to frighten the American public, Iranians oppose these extremist groups because the latter utterly reject Shi'ism — even to the point of sanctioning the murder of Shi'a believers, such as the Hazara minority in Afghanistan.
Like the United States, Iran favors stability in the region. Contrary to the Bush-era accusations, Tehran's leaders aren't pleased with the militarism of individuals like Muqtada al-Sadr in Iraq, and have worked to quiet his opposition groups in Iraq in the name of a more comprehensive stability for the Shi'a community, which will eventually rule Iraq. Tehran's leaders also want stability in Afghanistan. Iran hosts millions of Afghan refugees. It would like most of them to go home, and that can't happen until Afghanistan is quiet once again.
Other areas of potential cooperation include prevention of drug trafficking, environmental protection, health care, trade stabilization, and international transport. Iran also has a strong stake in culture and tourism. The whole world travels to Iran to see the astonishing historical and archaeological sites — except for Americans.
It's no paradox that Iranians love Americans and American culture. Iranians prioritize independence and nationalist sentiment over opposition to the West. As long as the United States doesn't try to dominate Iran, treating the Islamic Republic with "mutual respect" (to quote Obama), Iranians have no problem with Washington. Iran's youthful population now has a majority of citizens who have no experience of the original revolution, or remembrance of Ayatollah Khomeini or other revolutionary leaders.
Washington won't likely offer Iran congratulations on the anniversary of its revolution. But stopping the U.S. invective will be congratulations enough. It's time to realize that a generation has passed since the hostile U.S. reception of the revolution. With a new generation comes a new opportunity. With luck we'll see the mood of Washington change. It was always permissible to denigrate Iran in American politics. A good first step toward a "breakthrough with Iran" would be for the Obama administration to declare such cheap political rhetoric no longer acceptable.


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I created a screencast using recordmydesktop which produced an .ogv file. I believe this is an OGG file encoded using the Theora codec. I'm wondering how can I convert this to MPEG4/H.264? I've tried to use FFmpeg in a naive way, as follows:
ffmpeg -i demo.ogv -f mp4 demo.mp4
However this produces an evil blob of dark greens and grays when trying to play it again in MPlayer. I then tried to get more sophisticated, using the command-line flags specified here:
ffmpeg -i demo.ogv \
-s 352x288 -vcodec libx264 -vpre default \
-acodec libmp3lame -ab 192k -ac 2 -ar 44100 -f mp4 \
But, the result was the same.
If anyone has any insight into what might be the best way to accomplish this task, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know.


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'Indian '24' Will Change the Look of TV'
New Delhi: The Indian adaptation of American TV series "24" will change the look of TV in the country, given its "radically different" production values which make it look like "cinema on television", says its director Abhinay Deo.
" '24' will change the look of TV for sure. We have shot it like a feature film. It is more like cinema on television," Deo, who has treaded a creatively successful journey of being an ad filmmaker, Bollywood director and now a TV series director, said.
"24" is an award-winning American TV series. An espionage thriller, its Indian version
has Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor playing Jai Singh Rathod, the lead role of his American counterpart, Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. It is essayed by Kiefer Sutherland in the original version.
Anil had played a part in the eighth season of the international version and it is after his first-hand experience that the idea of this Indian adaptation struck the actor-producer.
The show, to be aired on Colors in October, also has a host of other Bollywood names like Shabana Azmi, Anupam Kher, Mandira Bedi and Tisca Chopra associated with it.
Roping in these names was a challenge for the director.
"It was very difficult. I think it was the goodwill that both Anil (Kapoor) and I have in the industry which helped us to rope in these big names. We worked around their schedules so that they could do the show. We are lucky that we have managed to put together such a cast," he said.
But what will make the show bigger is the way it has been shot, says Deo, who helmed films like "Game" and "Delhi Belly" for the big screen.
"The show '24' doesn't have those close-ups which are shown on TV. We don't zoom in on people's faces. It will be radically different from what we have seen so far.
"We have shot it in a stylised way, but we have not moved away from the drama of the show. Everything (on the show) is very relatable to the Indian audience," said Deo, who is the son of veteran actors Mahesh and Seema Deo.
Backed by a talented creative team, its unique narrative, sets, slick editing and high-definition recording are likely to create a superlative experience for Indian viewers.
Deo has admitted that he had to modify the script and the rough and tough characterisation of Anil Kapoor's role to make it more Indian viewer-friendly. But isn't it a risk to bring out such a major show at a time when a chunk of the idiot box buffs in the country are used to a certain kind of shows?
"It is important to push the envelope," said Deo. "If we don't do it, then who else will? We can't wait for other people to do new stuff and for us to follow."
Risks make his job exciting and interesting.
"I don't need to make films to make money. Making films is my passion. If I had to make money, then I would have just stuck to advertising. You have to push yourself and take some risks to make something happen. Only then can a radical change take place," he said.
Nevertheless, he hopes people will look at "24" and then start making similar shows.
"I don't think it is a good idea for people to say 'let's make something like '24' '. It is important for them to make something different," he said.
Deo also believes the current state of the TV industry in the country provides ample room for various genres of fiction and non-fiction content and so producers and directors must invest time and money only in innovative projects.
"As a country, we have so many people watching TV every day. There is place for an 'Uttaran' as well as '24'. It is time we started giving viewers different stuff. I hope people come up with shows, which are risky and push the envelope and take the next step as far as TV or storytelling is concerned," he said.


text: Up to a year ago, most phishing emails were all about tricking users into clicking on malicious links that led to malware downloads. Starting last fall, however, the use of attachments increased eight-fold, and that increase has persisted to this day, according to a new report from Proofpoint.Attachments were barely on the radar at the start of 2014, but began slowly picking up in the spring, with growth accelerating in the fall. By the end of the year, phishing emails were evenly divided between URLs and attachments. Then URL use declined at the start of this year, and the use of attachments continued to climb, to the point where they were outnumbering URLs four-to-one by April.And the trend seems to be accelerating. According to Proofpoint, there were 56 different campaigns that used macros to deliver the Dridex Trojan, sometimes delivering several million malicious emails in a single day.There were two reasons for this, according to Kevin Epstein, vice president, advanced security and governance at Proofpoint. Macro writers got better at evading security mechanisms, and drive-by downloads became harder to do.To successfully deploy malware via a browser download, the criminals has to discover a bug in the browser and write code to take advantage of that bug."It's not cheap or easy to find these flaws," Epstein said.Plus, once the first malware campaign hits, everyone learns about the flaw, it gets fixed, people install the patches or updates, and the window of opportunity for the criminals narrows dramatically.That's not the case with macros, however.Despite all the training efforts, users continue to open phishing emails and click on attachments.According to a Proofpoint report, users open 10 to 20 percent of all phishing emails, and click on one out of every 25 phishing attachments they receive. That's a success rate of around 4 percent -- double the success rates of legitimate advertising campaigns, said Epstein. That's because criminals have more tricks they can use than real companies.[ USER ERROR: The things end users do that drive security teams crazy ]"They're not bound by ethical constraints. they can spoof your friend's email address, or have an enticing subject line," he said.Plus, attackers typically don't respect anti-spam legislation and will send out millions of emails at a time. With a 4 percent success rate, that translates into 40,000 downloads per million emails."If I initiate one successful bank transfer out of that, I'll have paid for my campaign times 10," he said. "The math works in their favor."The attackers carefully track both their download rates and their attachment open rates, he said, and continually adapt their email content for maximum effectiveness.Most recently, he said, those are very straightforward emails pretending to be from an electronic fax or email system, followed by invoices or financial transfer instructions.When opened, the macros only activate when the user clicks on something in the document -- to see an enlarged version of a table, for example. That way, Epstein explained, they evade sandbox-based security.Even if the user has macros disabled, they will regularly approve an override out of habit, he said."The weakest link, again, is us," he said.The macro then installs a new piece of malware, usually the Dridex trojan, which quietly monitors the user's browsing history and steals banking credentials.To battle this threat, Epstein recommends upgrading to the latest gateway security technology if the current system was installed more than a couple of years ago. And, in addition to initial protection, invest in targeted attack protection and threat response technologies, he added, for when malware does slip through.


text:
New classic three-in-one winter North Face 3 In 1 Jacket is constructed with a waterproof, breathable HyVent exterior shell and paired with a lightweight TKA 100 fleece liner jacket that provides versatile protection. Wear each Cheap North Face Men's Triclimate 3 In 1 Jacket Black Dark Gary as separates, or combined when weather is at its worst.
* Waterproof, breathable, seam sealed * Zip-in compatible integration with complementing garments * Self fabric adjustable cuff tabs * Center front stormflap with zip and Velcro closure * Vented hand pockets * Adjustable removable hood * Hem cinch-cord *Core vents *Pit-zips * Brushed chin guard * Two secure zip hand pockets * Napoleon vented chest pockets *Cuff tabs * Brushed chinguard* Gender: Men* Size Available: S,M,L,XL,XXL* Manufacturer Warranty: Lifetime* Recommend Use: Cold Weather


text: Cybercriminals are using compromised Twitter accounts to distribute messages disguised as coming from friends who suggest recipients click on a link to see themselves on a Facebook video.Sophos reported the trick after receiving a number of reports from readers of the vendor's blog. The link carried in the direct messages to Twitter users points to a website that tries to install malware onto a PC.Sophos described two types of messages used by the spammers. One carried the note "your (sic) in this (link to page on Facebook.com) LoL," and the other read: "you even see him taping u (link to page) thats (sic) awful."People who click on the link see what looks like a video player warning them that an "update to YouTube player is needed." The page goes on to say that it will install an update to Flash Player 10.1.What the page actually does is install a backdoor Trojan that Sophos calls Troj\/Mdrop-EML. How the criminals have hijacked Twitter accounts is unclear, Sophos said. People who find that their accounts have been compromised should change their password immediately and revoke permissions to any suspicious applications with access to their accounts.The widespread use of social networks, particularly Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, has made them prime targets for cybercriminals. IBM reported in March a surge in phishing emails impersonating social media sites.Many people offer a wealth of information on their personal and professional lives on the sites, giving criminals lots of fodder for crafting an email to lure recipients to a malicious Web page.[In depth:\u00a0Seven deadly sins of social networking security]The threat to businesses is also increasing, as more companies give employees access to social networks to interact with customers and launch and manage marketing campaigns.This trend includes even highly regulated industries, such as financial services. A survey by Socialware found that 84% of financial advisers used social networks for business in 2011, up from 60% in 2010.The need to consider security in the use of social networks is reflected in the numerous examples of companies having their accounts hacked. In 2011, hackers compromised Microsoft's YouTube channel, defaced Pfizer's Facebook page and swapped content on Sesame Street's YouTube channel with pornography, a recent Sophos report said.On Twitter, hackers took over NBC News' account and sent fake tweets reporting an attack on Ground Zero on the anniversary weekend of 9\/11.A major reason hackers are successful on social networks is sloppy password security, Sophos said. In addition, social networks need to beef up the security offered to accounts that represent brand names.Facebook has acknowledged in regulatory filings that it has millions of "undesirable" user accounts, which are likely to be spewing spam. The disclosure in August highlighted the need for caution when using the site.Data released last December by Barracuda Networks research scientist Daniel Peck showed that 1 in 100 posts on Twitter are spam or malicious.


text:
DEMANDING BOSS – Funny Jokes
February 8, 2008 · Print This Article
For thirty years, Johnston had arrived at work at 9 AM on the dot. He had never missed a day and was never late.
Consequently, when on one particular day 9 AM passed without Johnston's arrival, it caused a sensation. All work ceased, and the boss himself, looking at his watch and muttering, came out into the corridor.
Finally, precisely at ten, Johnston showed up, clothes dusty and torn, his face scratched and bruised, his glasses bent. He limped painfully to the time clock, punched in, and explained, aware that all eyes were upon him, "I tripped and rolled down two flights of stairs in the subway. Nearly killed myself."
And the boss said, "And to roll down two flights of stairs took you a whole hour?"


text:
A new study offers evidence that simple and inexpensive changes to existing courses can help students learn more effectively.
The study from Rice University and Duke University found that making a few changes to homework assignments in an upper-level undergraduate engineering course at Rice led to improved scores on exams. The study appears this week in the journal Educational Psychology Review.
The findings by a team from Rice's Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship and Duke's Department of Psychology and Neuroscience demonstrate how technology and cognitive science can be combined to develop inexpensive but effective educational changes that required no changes to course curriculum.
"Based on laboratory studies, we know a lot about how people learn," said lead author Andrew Butler, a postdoctoral researcher at Duke. "To test how well some of those cognitive science principles worked in a classroom, we made subtle changes to standard homework practice."
"The results exceeded everyone's expectations," said Rice co-author Richard Baraniuk, the instructor of the upper-level "signals and systems" engineering course where the experiment took place. "These simple changes produced a larger effect than the average improvement for classroom interventions that require a complete overhaul of curricula and/or teaching methods."
In the study, students switched back and forth from week to week between two different styles of homework. One style, which followed the standard practice that Baraniuk has used for years, consisted of one homework assignment per week, which was graded and returned the following week. The second style, which was called the "intervention," incorporated three principles from cognitive science that have been shown to promote learning and increase long-term retention.
The principles were implemented in the following way:
1. Repeated retrieval practice – In addition to receiving the standard homework assignment, students were given follow-up problems on the same topic in two additional assignments that counted only toward their course participation grade.
2. Spacing -- Rather than giving all the problem sets for a week's lectures in one assignment, the researchers spaced the problems over three weeks of assignments.
3. Feedback -- Rather than waiting one week to learn how they did, students received immediate feedback on intervention homework, and they were required to view the feedback to get credit for the assignment.
"Giving students multiple opportunities to practice retrieving and applying their knowledge on new problems is a very powerful way to promote learning, especially when this practice is spaced out over time," said study co-author Elizabeth Marsh, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke. "Feedback also is critical to learning, and previous studies have shown that students will often skip looking at feedback."
To alleviate any concerns that individual differences in ability might skew the study results, the researchers split the class into two groups and assigned each group standard homework and intervention homework during alternating weeks; in any given week, half of the students were assigned to the intervention and half to the standard practice homework.
The course covered 11 broad topics and approximately five core concepts per topic. Questions on the midterm and final exams covered specific concepts and topics, so by comparing how the two groups fared on those questions, the research team could compare whether students learned more doing one style of homework or the other. The research showed that students scored about 7 percent higher on the portions of the final exams that were taught with the intervention.
"In any experiment, it's important to try to minimize the random sources of variance that might undermine the ability to detect whether an intervention had a significant effect," said Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Engineering in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of Rice's RDLS. "In signal processing, we refer to this as 'noise,' and classrooms are inherently 'noisy' because each student will engage with the material in many different ways.
"Besides homework assignments, students can also learn from lectures, do extra reading, go to review sessions and the like," he said. "In general, the 'noise' created by all this outside learning would be expected to reduce or eliminate the kind of positive effects that we measured, so it's noteworthy that we did not control for noise and still saw a significant effect."
The study showed that the combination of repeated retrieval practice, spacing and immediate, required feedback had a powerful effect on student learning of complex engineering material.
Marsh said further research is needed to determine whether the results are broadly applicable across disciplines and grade levels, but the researchers made a conscious effort to design the study using broadly applicable methods.
"We aimed for changes that could easily be applied across disciplines and grade levels with minimal cost and disruption," she said.
The software used in the test was developed in Baraniuk's lab and is an academic research tool that has many of the same features as powerful learning aids that are currently on the market. These tools, which are sometimes called "digital tutors," can be used as study aids or as platforms for administering homework and tests. In addition to collecting metrics that instructors can use to evaluate individual students or entire course sections, the most sophisticated tutors are "intelligent" in that they learn about each student and tailor instruction for each individual.
"We could have implemented these same principles in the classroom without technology, but the digital tutor made it much easier," Butler said. "Moreover, technology has the potential to implement these principles in a more powerful way by providing personalized instruction to each student."
Marsh, Butler and Baraniuk will present details of the study at Rice's second annual Personalized Learning Workshop April 2 in Houston. The workshop will focus on how the science of learning can inform the development of personalized learning systems and transform learning in dynamic and complicated educational environments. The scope of the workshop will encompass all levels of learning from pre-K to postcollege. For webcast details, visit http://conference.cnx.org/.
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and by Google's Faculty Research Award program. Rice research engineer J.P. Slavinsky was a co-author.
High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at:
CAPTION: A study from Rice University and Duke University has found intriguing evidence that simple and inexpensive changes to existing courses can help students learn more effectively.
CREDIT: Rice University
CAPTION: Rich Baraniuk
CREDIT: Rice University
CAPTION: Elizabeth Marsh
CREDIT: Duke University
CAPTION: Andrew Butler
CREDIT: Duke University
A copy of the Educational Psychology Review paper is available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-014-9256-4
This release can be found online at news.rice.edu.
Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews
Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,920 undergraduates and 2,567 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6.3-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice has been ranked No. 1 for best quality of life multiple times by the Princeton Review and No. 2 for "best value" among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
Educational Psychology Review


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That means Żmurko is known to me mostly by images found on the Internet. There is a fairly large number of those, which makes it surprising that there is so little in the way of biographical information about the man. His Wikipedia entry in English is here. It's skimpy, but the entry in Polish is almost as brief. Nothing is mentioned in English about his personal life or why he died at the comparatively young age of 51.
Żmurko was born in the Russian Empire and spent much of his career there, mostly in Warsaw. But he was trained largely in the Austrian Empire (Kraków and Vienna) and in Munich. The result was an ability to paint in the "finished" academic style, though he also did more freely painted works. He was prolific, and most of the images found on the Web are of attractive women. I find the paintings and their subjects impressive.
One of Żmurko's early (and apparently unfinished) paintings. If the date is correct, he showed plenty of potential at age 20.
He included some Orientalist subjects, popular during the late 19th century.
I wonder if the actual painting is as spectacular as this small image found on the Web.
Notes about this painting in my National Gallery guide suggest that the subject was someone he encountered while visiting Florence.
If this digital image is any guide, the original painting has a nice mix of detailed and free brushwork.
Another seemingly unfinished painting -- parts are sketchy and it is unsigned. From its looks, it might be a late painting.
This was painted the year he died. The subject appears to be the same as in the image immediately above it.


text:
Baylor approves $250M new football stadium
WACO, Texas (AP) -- Baylor regents have given their approval to building a $250 million on-campus football stadium along the Brazos River.
University regents Thursday unanimously approved the plan, contingent on the Waco City Council approving $35 million in public funds.
City officials scheduled an Aug. 7 final vote on a measure to use tax increment financing zone funds.
Baylor hopes to have the 45,000-seat facility ready for the 2014 season. The Bears currently play at Floyd Casey Stadium, which was built in 1950 and has maintenance issues.
Baylor football drew intense attention last season as quarterback Robert Griffin III went on to win the Heisman Trophy. Griffin on Wednesday signed a four-year, $21 million contract with the Washington Redskins.


text:
Lychee Rose Cupcakes26.8.09
this recipe. sure, its gordon ramsay's but i just wanted something simple and to boil 500ml vinegar until it reduces by half + complicated steps thereafter isn't my idea of simple. so i turned to one of my trusted sites, epicurious and settled for this instead.
Mushroom Risotto16.8.09
Coffee Macarons9.8.09
coffee & chicory macarons that helen of tartelette made and toyed with the idea of doing the same too. of late i find myself being very fascinated with brush stroke patterns on plates/food etc. my first "encounter" was at 7atenine, where almost all the dishes were swiped with squid ink. then when i bought johnny iuzzini's dessert fourplay, i was even more amazed at the fluid gels on the plated desserts. i vowed to do the same. and my first attempt is with these macarons. since i was doing my macaron orders, i thought no harm making an additional batch to try out :p seriously, i think they look MUCH better than piped lines & flowers. piping is so passé. i wish i hv a dehydrator so i can make my own dehydrated fruits and then grind them into powders. a sprinkle of raspberry/strawberry powder on macarons will look darn cool too.
Matcha Tiramisu1.8.09
recipe from here and i simply replaced the coffee & liqueur with 1 cup boiling water + macha powder + sugar (to taste).


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CIOs and IT directors tracking the barrage of major upgrades for Windows and Office also need to stay tuned to the refresh cycle for Microsoft's servers and tools, including Windows Server 2012, SQL Server 2012, System Center 2012 and Visual Studio 11.
The 2012 version of Windows Server, the version of Windows that runs on enterprise and data center servers, is "quite possibly the most significant release of Windows Server ever," packing hundreds of new and improved features in areas like virtualization, networking, storage, user experience and scripting, according to Microsoft.
IDC analyst Al Gillen believes it will be "a dynamite product."
"We don't normally use superlatives like that, but from what we've seen, based on what's going to be included, such as the new release of Hyper-V, and together with System Center 2012, Microsoft has a very attractive package," Gillen said. Windows Server 2012 is in beta, while System Center 2012 became generally available in April.
Gillen foresees a popular scenario in which customers choose Windows Server 2012 as a virtualization host for their Windows software infrastructure.
"That scenario allows customers to get Windows Server 2012 and its benefits into their organizations very quickly, and it also keeps them from having to deal with a lot of porting, migration and testing of the apps, because they can take these apps, whatever they are, and virtualize them in the Windows Server 2012 environment," he said.
There will also be take-up of the product, albeit at a slower pace, as a formal migration upgrade for Windows Server 2003 and 2008, which will require more time-consuming compatibility testing, he said.
On the enterprise database front, SQL Server 2012, which was released in final form at the beginning of April, features improvements in application availability, in data warehouse and data analysis performance, in data visualization and presentation, in data integration and management, and in tools for application and database developers, according to Microsoft.
Industry analyst Curt Monash from Monash Research calls SQL Server 2012 "basically adequate" for a variety of scenarios especially for organizations where the Microsoft database is already the primary one, and a "good choice" in particular for OLTP (online transaction processing) jobs.
"If you just want to put up a little database for a small project that depends a lot on your organization's Microsoft skillset, it might be easier to use SQL Server," he said.
However, if a company isn't tied to the Microsoft software stack, there are better choices for analytics, like Sybase IQ; data warehousing, like Teradata; and website tasks, like MySQL and NoSQL, he said.
Equitable Life of Canada uses SQL Server for all of its databases except for one. It mostly uses SQL Server 2000, but it also has SQL Server 2008.
When asked about upgrade plans, Equitable Life CIO Cam Crosby said: "We'll definitely upgrade anything on SQL Server 2000. Right now our target version of SQL Server is 2008 R2."
According to Microsoft, SQL Server 2012 is already deployed in production at "hundreds" of global companies, including Volvo, Revlon and LG Chemical.
The upgrade wheels are also churning for Microsoft's Dynamics enterprise software.
Microsoft's first cloud-enabled Dynamics ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications will be rolled out in the fourth quarter of this year.
The company's plan to port its four Dynamics ERP lines to the Azure cloud platform will begin in the fourth quarter with the release of NAV 2013 and GP 2013, Microsoft said.
Also due in the fourth-quarter is the release of AX 2012 R2, an update that will include new BI (business intelligence) capabilities geared for the needs of individual users.
AX and Dynamics SL will also end up on Azure later on.
All Dynamics ERP products will continue to be available in on-premises form and through traditional hosting partners after the Azure launch. Microsoft expects there will still be a strong market for both scenarios, as well as hybrid deployments.
Several years ago, Microsoft aborted Project Green, an attempt to bring together its four ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications under a single codebase.
Now the vendor seems to have settled on a strategy that will keep each product's core functionality separate, while providing a modern user experience that can be tweaked to better serve various types of workers, integration with Office and SharePoint, and eventually, support for cloud-based deployments on Azure.
"All the parts are finally coming together," said analyst Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research. "Where Dynamics used to be an entity off on its own, now we're starting to see them take advantages of some synergies."
The strategy makes sense for the smaller and mid-size companies that constitute Dynamics' installed base, Wang said. "As a customer in the midmarket you do want to bet on one vendor, because you don't have the money or time to worry about all these integrations."
Microsoft's approach is working well for GPS (global positioning satellite) equipment seller Western Data Systems, said Robb Delprado, chief operating officer.
"I can have a sales guy who takes his smartphone out on the road, he can set up a follow-up appointment, get that in his Outlook and then we can sync that up with [Dynamics NAV]," Delprado said.
Western Data went live on NAV in 2006. Previously, the company did everything on paper, according to Delprado.
"The CEO, at the time, said 'You guys can use it, but don't expect me to be a part of that,' " Delprado said. But NAV's ease of use won over the CEO. "Now he uses the executive dashboard on a daily basis."
Western Data is currently running its server at an off-site hosting facility. It has no plans right now to shift to a cloud-style deployment, something that is possible now with some Dynamics partners and will be for NAV on Azure later this year.
But the reason isn't security or other oft-cited concerns expressed toward the cloud.
Instead, Delprado is worried he'd have to pay more money for NAV. Right now, Western Data has 15 concurrent user licenses that are shared over about 40 total users, who are on and off the system at different times.
"I'm sure there'd be a cost for licensing each one of them [on the cloud]," although over time the costs should come down, he said.
Today, Western Data's main problem is getting as much out of NAV as the system has to offer, according to Delprado. "There's a lot out there that I know we're not using."
Meanwhile, the next version of Microsoft's enterprise application development environment, Visual Studio 11, is now in beta and features a simplified user interface that has fewer toolbar commands, making the "work area" larger and cleaner.
Visual Studio 11 also has an improved search capability, new "workflow hubs" that consolidate tasks on a single window and preview tabs to reduce the number of open documents on the developer's workspace.
The tool also provides broad application lifecycle management (ALM) features, including architecture and UI design, writing of code, analysis, deployment, testing and validation.
Visual Studio 11 also lets developers build Windows 8 Metro-style applications, cloud-hosted Windows Azure applications, mobile applications and web applications.
CIOs whose organizations have adopted the Microsoft development platform and tools should definitely keep an eye on what's coming in Visual Studio 11, said Al Hilwa, an IDC analyst.
Significant features include the ability to build Windows 8 applications, and the extension of the ALM cycle features, he said.
The cleaner UI also "should be more productive to use and it supports agile principles of development that are increasingly being adopted in enterprises," Hilwa said.
It would be good if Microsoft invests in additional functionality for requirements gathering, analysis and tracking in future versions of Visual Studio, he said.
In addition, he'd also like to see "a more streamlined and productive way to handle the migration from Windows Phone applications to Windows 8, or providing the ability to co-deliver to both platforms from the same code."
Asked whether Visual Studio 11 should be an automatic upgrade for enterprises, Hilwa said that decision depends on their portfolio of projects.
"Generally, the bigger the portfolio and the more new projects being started, then the more enterprises should look at incorporating the new tools in the team, at least partially," he said.
Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.


text:
Align business strategy, reduce compliance risk, and deploy the workforce with greater control through a fully integrated HR solution that links time, labor, and leave management with payroll, financial, and personnel data.
Solve for AI-boosted employee experiences.
Manage absences globally while enabling local customization and best practices.
Easily configure rules, policies, accrual definitions, and absences without modifying the application code.
Enable real-time visibility with a unified solution across absence, HR, payroll, and time and labor.
Reduce costs by tracking absence trends and areas of low productivity for optimization.
Enter data through a daily, weekly, or monthly calendar, with full drag-and-drop capabilities.
Use with all types of workers—including exempt, nonexempt, contingent, and project-based.
Account for meals, breaks, premiums (for example, consecutive shifts), penalties, schedules, and holiday pay.
Plan for static schedules, holiday calendars, and rotating, split, or dynamic shifts.
Avoid data latency with your primary HR system, and ensure data integrity with unification across HR processes.
Alert HR and key stakeholders of illness to react quickly and minimize exposure.
Easily report incidents from any device, with prebuilt templates and autocompleted fields based on the worker's role.
Prevent potentially costly incidents with data captured on near misses, unsafe conditions, or unsafe acts.
Gain better visibility on the attainment of safety objectives and take action on detected incident trends or patterns.
Oracle Cloud HCM helps you give deskless workers the experience they deserve.
Enable easy data entry for all types of workers and varying schedules with a comprehensive set of time tools.
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Discover how our customers in a wide variety of industries use Oracle Workforce Management in their business.
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