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Karaoke party title Everyone Sing will be available through the PlayStation Network on Jan. 29, developer O-Games announced today in a post on the PlayStation Blog.
Everyone Sing will launch with 35 songs in its tracklist, including tunes from Nicki Minaj, Billy Ray Cyrus and Michael Bublé. Each song challenge supports up to four players using microphones, and challenges will differ based on the number of players participating. Players can multiply these challenge in Group Mode, which strings 10 songs together with gradually increasing difficulty.
In Everyone Party mode, up to eight players form teams and take part in five competitive minigames. Team Classic allows players to pick a song of their choosing and sing for the highest score. Last Man Standing grants two teams 10 lives each, and singing a line poorly will take away a life. Tug of War creates an on-screen rope that players can pull onto their side of the screen by singing well. In Party Mix, clips are mixed and matched from four different songs and strung together as a single tune, and Pass the Bomb requires players to sing flawlessly in order to pass a bomb to the opposite team before it goes off.
Everyone Sing supports USB connected and wireless microphones from singing game SingStar and Logitech Vantage USB Microphones, as well as microphones used with other PlayStation 3 titles. Check out the trailer above for a look at Everyone Sing in action.


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He described the conditions as "worrying".
Khademi said: "When I visited the school in this village, I saw two places used for keeping animals. I noticed that one of them was dedicated to being used as a classroom. This is worrying, the fact that after more than 30 years from the revolution we see such places used for education in the country."
He addressed the regime's Minister of Education to ask why children in Khuzestan province had to study in animal shelters and how far this problem went across Iran.
Khademi said that it wasn't as if Iran did not have the money to build a classroom, citing the widespread embezzlements across the country.
He said the villages were lacking amenities and being run inefficiently leading to deprived citizens.
He added: "There are many areas and villages that have these same problems while nothing has been done for them in recent years… I wonder where I should shout about this injustice. Why do the officials pay no attention to this town?"

subset: commoncrawl


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Number 636, September 11, 2011
"Change is coming. Peace is coming."
The Paradox of Government
Attribute to L. Neil Smith's The Libertarian Enterprise
Or, Why Can't We Seem To Get Rid Of 'Em?
Just about anyone reading this article will agree with the proposition that just about every government that now exists has major flaws. One of the more common proposals to deal with this problem is to simply get rid of government entirely, of politicians and their hangers-on, so that the non-politician general public can get on with their lives unhindered. Some variation of the above forms the background of several of the books by our host, El Neil. [see the main page of this journal for links to books by Our Mr. SmithEditor] Unfortunately, this seems to be an infeasible responsebut not for the most obvious objections, that nobody's done it yet, or has put forward sufficient evidence to support the feasibility of a plan with that end.
The problem of government isn't necessarily that it's evil in and of itself; it's at least conceivable that some branch of humanity would be able to create a non-evil government. What makes governments evil is that they do evilthat they cause harm to people, that they infringe on individuals' rights. Some people even say that a government is the greatest threat to peoples' rights there is, and it's hard to disagree with that.
Butand this is the important partgovernments aren't the only threats to peoples' rights. They aren't even the only organized threats. Mobsters, mongols, and mercantilists would all cheerfully violate large numbers of peoples' rights for their own gain. And as heroic as the image might be in fiction, in reality, when a rugged, lone individualist with right on his side comes into conflict with a bunch of people clever enough to increase their wealth at the expense of others by banding together... then, most often, that individual will lose. By targeting a series of individuals, such monsters could gain greater and greater power over a larger number of people in a larger areauntil, finally, they would have all the attributes of a government (whether or not they called themselves that). The only real difference between such a government and the ones we have today, is that the new one would not be set up to allow any rights of any of the large population to be respected; whoever was at the top of that gang wouldn't have any reason to respect the average person's rights. The difference is that of between a bloodthirsty mankiller of a beast; and a dangerous, potentially lethal, but at least partially tamed animal.
The only thing I can think of that would prevent such a tyranny to be formed is for the average people to organize themselves into a group, so that individuals couldn't be targeted and picked off one by one; to form a group that is at least as powerful in the defense as organized criminals are in the attack.
And this is the paradoxin order to fend off the formation of a tyranny, the only thing able to do the job is something that itself still has all the indicia of a government. The only choice that seems to be available is in trying to make arrangements to minimize the harm doneto tame the beast as much as possible.
Of course, I could be wrongand if I am, I want to be told I am, so that I can try to base my plans for trying to reduce the infringements of rights on how the universe actually works, rather than on how I think it works or would like it to work.
Was that worth reading?


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Hi Everyone
This is my first post for the newest DT I am on - Mema's Crafts. Mema's Crafts hosts a challenge each month. When you visit Mema's Crafts blog, just go to the current months challenge tab above the posts.
For the month of February there are two sponsors - Bugaboo and Stitchy Bears. I have made cards using a digital image from each of the sponsors.
Both of my projects are Valentine cards.
I made an easel card using the Bugaboo digi image.
Here is my card using Stitchy Bear image- Flutter My Heart digi is a 5"X7" card.
Please click here for more pictures and additional information for both cards.
Thanks for stopping by


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from the non-visionary dept.
A normally-sensible publication, The Economist has come out against life extension in an article titled "Who wants to live for ever?" Excerpts: "Average life expectancy has risen greatly. The span of individual life has not. Would it be a good thing if it did? No…If people were to live a lot longer, and everything else stayed the same, old people would soon end up a huge majority. Ugh…Who wants it anyway? A world of seen-it-all-before, weary crumblies would be a depressing place to live in."
The Economist vs. life extension
from the non-visionary dept.


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I learned the secret of mind control from a colleague of mind at a major university on the East Coast of the United States.
He used a form of this trick/Jedi Mind-Meld/Instant Hypnosis to get students to listen to him instead of just hearing him during lecture sessions.
My friend came up to me at a department party and spoke to me in a low voice I had to strain — nay, concentrate — to understand.
He said, "I'm nobody and I was never here."
I curiously looked at him. Was he talking to me?
He gazed into my eyes and spoke in an even quieter, calm, tone: "You're not seeing me."
"Okay," I said. "Then who am I talking to?"
"Nobody." He said. "You're talking to yourself."
As I nodded my head, my friend silently turned away and disappeared.
When I saw my friend the next day, I wondered why he hadn't shown up to the department party the day before.


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Sally :: Ultrasound 37 weeks
December 15th, 2000 37weeks
I arrive for the ultrasound at the hospital at 9pm. By 10:30pm, Dr.Shannon is able to see us. I am taken to a birthing suite and we start the ultrasound. Dr.Shannon sighs and tells us both babies are breech. I feel so disappointed :( Dr.Shannon says we can attempt a vaginal delivery and that he's willing to induce me! We can't believe it! He checks me and I'm 5cm. He does a stretch and sweep on my cervix and I go to 6cm. My husband runs to call the Heather and Sergey, the lawyers, and some family members. By 11pm my blood is taken and an IV line is started. I am started on antibiotics for group b strep and syntocin is started to induce labour.


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Sri Nala Narayana Perumal Temple :-
Sri Nala Narayana Perumal is described by Tamil scriptures as the Hinduist deity Vishnu. He is considered as the most popular among Tamils and in the Tamil diaspora.
After offering prayers to Loard Darbaranyeswara, Nala built the temple for Lord Vishnu. Hence the temple is called by Nala Narayana Perumal Temple.
Lord Vishnu has the character of the cool breeze .This Perumal Vishnu is in the hearts of his devotees and make them happy.
Temple is located on the main road itself, which is on the way to Nala Theertham after worship the Nalan Kali Theertha Vinayagar devotees can visit here to worship Nala Narayana Perumal with Thaayar, Sri Panjamuga Aanjineya Swami Sannithi is also here.


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Welcome Home
LEO at Augusta Commons
LEO at Augusta Commons
Instead, try the comfortable and balanced lifestyle you have always strived for at LEO at Augusta Commons. We offer a stunning selection of one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom single-family homes. Our residents enjoy the privacy and charm of a single-family home and the warmth of a genuine North Augusta, South Carolina neighborhood. At our North Augusta apartments, we pride ourselves in offering thoughtfully designed homes with attention to detail that will exceed your expectations. For the health-conscious, there is a nature trail with a small community garden.
Our location and single-home floor plans offer a convenient lifestyle and excellent amenities with quick access to Augusta, South Carolina. We are minutes away from fine dining, shopping, and entertainment options, including Salt & Marrow Kitchen, Divino Ristorante Italiano, and Pablo's Mexican Restaurant. We are situated near several area employers and schools in the Augusta Medical District, including University Hospital, Augusta University Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Mossy Creek Elementary School, North Augusta Middle School, and North Augusta High School. You'll also enjoy quick access to Edgefield Road and I-20, so leaving town will be a breeze!
In-Apartment Amenities
LEO at Augusta Commons offers convenient and comfortable in-apartment amenities to make you feel right at home. Every single-family home features stainless steel appliances, hardwood flooring, granite countertops, soft-close cabinets and drawers, vaulted ceilings, and a modern, open design, making your new home a place to both relax and entertain! Select units also include private garages.
Our apartments feature beautiful wood plank flooring and vaulted ceilings to open your home space and not feel crowded. Lastly, don't forget that if you have a cat or dog, our community is pet-friendly so that everyone in your family will feel right at home, even the furry ones.
Community Amenities
We invite you to browse our Photo Gallery, highlighting an array of luxury community amenities. Some highlights include lamppost-lined sidewalks, walking trails, a resort-style swimming pool, grilling and picnic areas, a neighborhood playground, and an on-site dog park for your four-legged friends! Our clubhouse also features a fully-equipped fitness and cardio center and a coffee lounge.
Finally, all residents can take care of rent in seconds with online payment options and resolve any issues in the home with on-site maintenance, which is ready when you need it.
All in Customer Service
We believe in "all-in customer service," where hospitality is always a given, each detail is worth a second thought, and every moment is an opportunity to exceed expectations. If you are looking for a new apartment home, we invite you to use our website to explore the community and view our floor plans from the comfort of your mobile device or computer. When you are ready to make your final selection, please get in touch with us to schedule a tour. Our convenient resident portal lets residents pay rent online, request maintenance, renew leases, and communicate with our office via text or email. In addition, because our residents are our priority, we offer a rental program where you can split your rent into smaller, stress-free payments. Unparalleled living fosters flexibility and a stress-free living experience.


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Apparently Sundays are not done right if no brunch is involved. Take your mothers out for brunch this Mother's Day at these brunch places in Bengaluru.
1. Shiro
For a chill dining experience filled with sushi, maki rolls and dimsums, Shiro is the perfect place to be at on a Sunday brunch. The cuisines served for brunch are Japanese, Korean and Thai. Stir fried dishes are made at the table and are one of the few items served as the appetizers. The main course includes dishes consisting chicken, prawns, beef, fish and fresh vegetables. End the elaborate meal with desserts such as chocolate sushi and their famous Japanese cheesakes. Parch your thirst with a set of unlimited drinks such as Red wine, White wine and other cocktails.
Also read: Indian Cuisine Gets A Twist In Bengaluru With Urban Tamaasha
Address: 222, 3rd floor, UB City Comet, Vittal Mallya Road, Bengaluru.
Timing: 12:30 pm to 4 pm
Cost: ₹2,599 (including Alcohol)
2. Biergarten
Expect this trendy spot to be packed during peak brunch hours, as Biergarten serves a good selection of world cuisines accompanied with fresh salads, breads, and appetizers. The main course menu is exactly what you would expect – western entrees, juicy roast, local favorite curries and biryanis and live pizza counters. Brunch at this place is not complete if it does not include their out of the world stoned ice cream.
Also read: 5 Pubs For The Best Happy Hours In Bengaluru
Address: 2, Doddenakundi Industrial Area, Graphite India Main Road, Doddanekundi, Bengaluru.
Timing: 12 PM to 4 PM
Cost: ₹950 (Excluding Alcohol)
₹1,450 onwards (Including Alcohol)
3.The Black Rabbit
You are not doing your Sunday brunch right if it does not include a collection of live counters and The Black Rabbit provides you with 7 of those. The counters comprise of waffles, burgers, sandwiches, pizzas and several other lip smacking food items. The cherry on the cake is that this offers some sumptuous desserts. Also for the booze lovers they have a perfect deal for you in place – buy any bottle of alcohol and get one free.
Address: 770, 12th Main Road, HAL 2nd Stage, Indiranagar, Bengaluru.
Timing: 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Cost: ₹1,000 (Excluding taxes and Alcohol)
4. Via Milano
There is something for every palate at Via Milano, their menu features grilled fish, bacon wrapped shrimps garnished with mustard dressing accompanied with a chicken salad. Also satisfy your Italian craving with their pizzas and pastas. Let's not forget the assorted dessert platter served at the end of the meal.
Also read: The Best Ever Party Spot At Bengaluru
Address: 4th Floor, No-8, Opposite Sony Center, 80 Feet Main Road,, Sony World Junction, 4th Block Koramangala, Landmark : Above GKB Opticals, Bengaluru.
Timing: 12 PM to 4 PM
Cost: ₹850 (Excluding Alcohol)
₹1300 (Including Alcohol)
5. Over the Top Terrace Lounge
Pasta for brunch is always a good idea especially when it is served to you sizzling hot on a platter. The meat lovers have live grills to drool over. Given that you probably won't eat till the next day, it's really quite a bargain.
Address: 2, 5th Block, 100 Feet Road, Koramangala, Bengaluru.
Timing: 12:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Cost: ₹600 (Excluding taxes and Alcohol)
₹1,300 (Including Alcohol)
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Top news stories for Episode 18 (November 9, 2017):
1) Voicebot.AI Story of the Week: Where Is The Love? Will.I.Am raises $117 million to build Omega Voice Assistant, a voice assistant designed for enterprise.
2) Bonus Voicebot.AI Story Of The Week: Google Home Max, Google's $399 behemoth designed to compete against the HomePod, goes on sale December 11 within the United States.
3) The BBC has released its Alexa-based interactive fiction experience "The Inspection Chamber." Meanwhile, a Stranger Things interactive audio game is now available on Google Home.
4) Fast Company: "The Future Of Alexa Is ... The End Of The Smartphone Era." (And look who is quoted in the piece: friend of This Week In Voice and VoiceFirst.FM Brian Roemmele!)
5) Mattel delays kids' voice assistant Hello Barbie Hologram through 2017 holiday season; now scheduled to release in 2018
This Week In Voice available via:
YouTube (+ closed captioning)
Panel for Episode 18 (November 9, 2017):
Brooke is a virtual assistant designer for Nuance Communications, putting her significant experience designing user experiences to work within the realm of voice technology.
Nick is a senior software engineer for Ford Motor Company, and also the founder of Invoked Apps, a leading developer of applications for Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant.
Bradley Metrock: [00:00:11] Hi, and welcome back to This Week In Voice, Episode 18, for Thursday November the 9th, 2017. My name is Bradley Metrock, I'm CEO of a company called Score Publishing based here in Nashville, Tennessee. Our sponsor for This Week In Voice is VoiceXP, blazing the trail in voice technology. VoiceXP is taking the lead in developing Alexa skills for some of the best brands in the world. With VoiceXP, all you have to do is say it, to revolutionize your marketing strategy. I say it every week, and it is true every week. You need to go check them out at www.voicexp.com. You'll be glad that you did. Our guests for today's show are phenomenal. I'm really pleased to have them. First, we have Brooke Hawkins. Brooke, say hello.
Brooke Hawkins: [00:01:01] Hello.
Bradley Metrock: [00:01:03] Brooke, thank you very much for joining us.
Brooke Hawkins: [00:01:06] No problem.
Bradley Metrock: [00:01:07] Brooke is a virtual assistant designer for Nuance Communications. Brooke, share with us a little bit about what you do.
Brooke Hawkins: [00:01:13] Yeah, sure. I currently work at Nuance, designing interactive virtual assistants, otherwise known as chat bots, for different Fortune 500 companies, making their customer experience more efficient, and conversational, and all that good stuff. And when I'm not doing that, I'm teaching a lot of different people about the kind of foundations of voice design. I recently helped co-author a course at CareerFoundry and continued to mentor students. I'm really excited about teaching people about this new burgeoning field as well.
Bradley Metrock: [00:01:44] Very cool. It's great to hear the passion in your voice on the topic and we certainly appreciate you joining us today. Our second guest is Nick Schwab. Nick, say hello.
Nick Schwab: [00:01:54] Hey Bradley, thanks for having me.
Bradley Metrock: [00:01:56] Nick is a senior software engineer for Ford Motor Company and also the founder of Invoked Apps, which is a leading developer of applications for Alexa, Cortana, and Google Assistant. Nick, share a little bit with us about both universes that you live in there.
Nick Schwab: [00:02:11] Yes. It's basically two full time jobs, to be honest. So at Ford, I work as a senior software engineer working on a platform that allows smart phone application developers to connect their applications into the vehicles, so that they can display the vehicles streams. And then when I get home, in my free time, I am the founder of Invoke Apps. You may have seen some of the skills that we offer, ranging from thunderstorm sounds and rain sounds to the deal or no deal game.
Bradley Metrock: [00:02:37] Very cool. And I've been meaning to download your rain sounds app. I've seen a lot of the tweets about it from different people. Congratulations on your success.
Nick Schwab: [00:02:46] Thank you.
Bradley Metrock: [00:02:47] So with that, we'll get to the news. There's a lot of interesting news stories this week as we head toward the end of the calendar year. And our first one is our VoiceBot.AI story of the week. As I mentioned before, on this show, we have a VoiceBot.AI story of the week. We think that VoiceBot.AI does a lot of great work reporting news in the voice technology realm. I'm happy to hold some of those up and share them. And this is the one for this week. Will.I.Am raises 117 million dollars to build a new voice assistant called Omega Voice Assistant designed for the enterprise, and Brook, we'll start with you on this. A theme of this show has been at times that we're starting to get saturated with voice assistants and we're starting to get a little saturated with smart speakers to be honest. At least that's my opinion. Do you share that opinion do you think this is going to find a home or what? What's your take?
Brooke Hawkins: [00:03:50] Yeah, I think it's really interesting. I know the article kind of pointed out the humor of celebrity is kind of taking on technology and being CEOs of these companies, but as we've seen with things like Beats and different companies that have been successfully run by celebrities, they do well and I think they kind of have a flair for designing for almost like the aesthetic or like kind of having a little bit more of a connection to what consumers might want sometimes more so than to what I sometimes see tech companies do on their own. Maybe that is a result of them being musicians and having to have a pulse and marketing and their audience.
Brooke Hawkins: I thought the product was really interesting. It's promising a lot in terms of functionality, but I'm not sure it will be able to deliver all of those things. It definitely seemed to focus primarily now on the kind of space that Nuance is actually in, which is that virtual assistant design for for enterprise solutions. But all of the promises that they're making, in terms of a slick and really engaging assistant for employees or businesses, were really exciting. Just simply working in a larger corporate company, there are a lot of disparate technologies that I use every day. But that's Microsoft Teams and Outlook, and different meeting connection tools. It's all very disparate and very not sleek and definitely clunky, so the vision of me moving through my day in a sleek way, interacting with this one interface that allows me to do a lot of different things....it's definitely exciting. That would be much easier than to use all the clunky different apps we have to use to share things. So I see some promise there, if they get it all together as well as they promised.
Bradley Metrock: [00:05:43] It's a really good point, that this thing from Will.I.Am by virtue of him being a celebrity and a musician and an entertainer may have a finger on the pulse, maybe more usable or maybe more approachable than something that some technology company may put together. That's actually very interesting and you don't get 117 million dollars given to you by being horrible, usually. So yeah, that's all very interesting. Nick, I want to get your take on this as well especially with you being an Alexa Champion and doing different aspects of your work with Amazon. What was your take from the article? And do you think that someone who doesn't work at a tech juggernaut can compete against a tech juggernaut?
Nick Schwab: [00:06:31] Yeah, I think it's really interesting that a celebrity's getting into this space. It's really important to bring awareness into this space, and to just get more consumers to experience these voice platforms, whether it's Omega, or Alexa, or Cortana. And with a celebrity like him coming on board and pushing the boundaries of natural language processing, I think that it's going to be a big advantage to the ecosystem, not just Omega. And as a developer, it's kind of off-putting to see yet another platform that developers may have to build for. But I do think that it's going to be, overall, an advantage for consumers and for the ecosystem in general.
Bradley Metrock: [00:07:11] Yeah, I definitely agree with you. While we're on this story....one of the things that the article points out are the use cases that are being sort of bandied about for what an "enterprise voice assistant" can do and it always seems to be the same stuff. It's like meeting notes, doing some reporting....I think everyone agrees that enterprise is a place where voice assistants are going to live and be very productive and a total game changer. But I want to ask both of you... Brooke, I'm going to start with you. What is the number one use case? What's the killer app use case for voice assistants in the enterprise that's going to blow the doors off....either in what Nuance is doing, or just what you would love to see happen.
Brooke Hawkins: [00:08:03] That's a good question. Just as I'm thinking of what would be really useful, I think any of these applications I can do really deep integrations with tools and data would be really helpful. I think the thing that's really interesting that you mentioned was the capability for reporting. So I think some kind of application that, through validation, through minimal interaction from the user you could kind of put together some data or reports that are deeply integrated to the actual data that you're using in your day-to-day work would be really exciting and interesting and take a lot of that fiddling around and Excel work out of my day, if I could get a voice assistant to do that. So I think some kind of voice application with deep integration into the actual data that I use day-to-day....it would really feel like I'm having an assistant of my own. That would be actual work that I would love to put on someone else, if I had a real assistant.
Bradley Metrock: [00:08:58] That's a great example. Nick, what what do you think? What's your number one use case?
Bradley Metrock: [00:09:03] I think Brooke makes a really good point. But also in addition to that, the scheduling in general. Booking a meeting with a co-worker or somebody you do business with is going to be a huge play there. It's interesting to see that Will.I.Am and Omega has come out and said that they want to approach the enterprise market, when Microsoft seems well positioned to do that as well.
Bradley Metrock: [00:09:26] Great analysis. Appreciate that. The only thing I would add....we've discussed, I believe last week on this show about Alexa and other voice assistants being able to help with e-mail and sort e-mail. And it was pointed out that the article that was being referred to didn't understand Alexa's capabilities but it would be nice, for me, in my opinion, if voice assistants in the enterprise, I should say, get to the point where they can help you with email. I wake up sometimes and say, "OK, did I forget to put something on my calendar?" It would be great to do a voice query, like you say, "Hey Omega, check my e-mail real quick and make sure I didn't miss an appointment for the day." Or, "Make sure I responded to all the e-mails that have a due date of today." Or something like that. But that's probably my number one use case. That was a great analysis on that and it'll be interesting to see how Will.I.Am's efforts move forward. But I definitely had to start with that story. Story number two is a bonus VoiceBot.AI story of the week. We included this because we couldn't find anyone else that mentioned the Google Home Max coming out on December 11th like Bret Kinsella did. So kudos to him for discovering that through the BestBuy website. So the story is exactly that. The Google Home Max, which is Google's $400 competitor to the HomePod, is coming out in December, which the VoiceBot.AI crew found. And Nick, I'm going to start with you on this. Does this product excite you? And between the Google Home Max and the HomePod, which do you think will be more successful?
Nick Schwab: [00:11:07] So the product in general excites me. I think it's going to be a huge competitor to the HomePod, especially because Google already has an ecosystem set up for developers to make actions for Google Assistant. And Apple hasn't really come out and said anything about Siri and how that's going to work with their assistant. And then in regard to the Max, as well, the price point seems a little too high. I watch the Keynote when the price was announced and I got really excited about it, at first, because I thought it would be a great set of speakers for a computer or a home entertainment center. And then the price was announced at $400. I was thinking, "Wow. All right, if you want two of these things, for good quality sound, they're going to be past basically a thousand dollars, after taxes." I think that for a lot of consumers, this is going to be out of reach.
Brooke Hawkins: [00:11:55] Yeah, I definitely agree. I think that just in terms of thinking about all these home products, the price point is something that is definitely really huge, and it definitely impacts the accessibility of these products are products. I think that's something that Amazon does really well with the kind of breadth of the products that they offer. Some are really affordable. I think that just thinking about household and Christmas time and all the different gifts that you could get your family, I think that getting something to try out voice assistants in your home that's less expensive before making that big leap is more appealing. I think the HomePod might be more successful, but I don't know. I guess I don't have as good of a pulse on the number of audio-philes that would want to get a voice assistant speaker versus going and just investing in a speaker that is really good without a voice assistant, without the....Google isn't in the vein of designing these home speaker systems yet. This is kind of the first. So I don't know. Maybe it'll take the first wave of adoption before they're known as the Invoke home speaker manufacturers and then maybe it'll catch on from there.
Bradley Metrock: [00:13:12] It will be interesting to see. I look at the Google Home Max and it looks like a car battery. To me, it's this big boxy thing. So it doesn't look visually appealing but it does look like it can deliver the audio. You know what I mean? It looks like a pretty serious product, with just the physicality of it. But I do find it curious that the HomePod has been discussed negatively from the standpoint of the cost of it. $350. And Google Home Max decided to go higher. I mean, they easily could have just said, "OK, we're going to match the price of the HomePod." But there was some discussion that took place on whether they were going to match the price of the HomePod or not, and they decided that they're not going to. I find that fascinating. I don't know really what it means. I guess it signals confidence in the product, but I don't know. I think both of them will do poorly, to be honest with you. But I think that the Google Home Max is the one that I think I would be more interested in, at least hearing and learning more about. But that's just me.
Bradley Metrock: Moving on to story number three. BBC has released its Alexa-based interactive fiction experience called The Inspection Chamber. So we talked about this on the show months ago when they first announced this and it's going to be very interesting to see how voice-first technology gets utilized and put to work for interactive storytelling. There's already some really great companies doing it. Novel Effect was just on Shark Tank and got a large investment. EarPlay is another one. Tellables is another one, who's a sponsor of the Alexa Conference coming up in January. Shameless plug. But it'll be interesting to see, and I'm looking forward to trying out this BBC game and then the other thing that was worth mentioning in the same breath is that there is a Stranger Things interactive audio game that is available in the Google Assistant ecosystem, not to be outdone. So Brooke, I'm going to start with you. What is your take away from these stories? And do interactive games and interactive storytelling like this, does it excite you or does it strike you as something that is a little bit before it's time right now?
Brooke Hawkins: [00:15:36] This definitely excites me. I think my original background is definitely in literature and writing and I think I just have a soft spot for seeing arts and all those kinds of softer disciplines making their way into this technology world. I think it's really fun, in a good way, to kind of make these technologies more approachable or more engaging or feel less caste-based and more just entertainment-based by getting into these different realms. What kind of intrigued me the most was....I think there's a really ripe capacity here for these to integrate as well with like virtual reality or augmented reality where you're kind of getting into this immersive story world. I think it's interesting to think about taking them one step further in feeling these stories in a more tactile way along with this really immersive audio. So I think it's cool. I think we're seeing the beginning parts of it and will continue to be more of a new entertainment channel for us to explore.
Bradley Metrock: [00:16:33] That's great. And I couldn't agree more as far as AR and perhaps down the road, VR are concerned. It's not necessarily voice technology, it's voice-first, right? And so that means that it can be combined with any number of other sensory aspects including augmented reality or whatever else. Nick, do you agree with Brook or do you see this differently and how did these article strike you?
Nick Schwab: [00:16:57] Yeah, I totally agree. I think that these interactive stories are going to be the next big wave of publishing. I think we're going to see a lot more more books and maybe even news articles start to happen through voice interfaces, and they'll be more interactive. Now I saw an article recently about a polling system. So imagine being able to poll your readers or listeners as they interact with the content or even changing the content as you go through the story. I grew up in the era of Goosebumps books where you choose your own path as you read the book. And that was a super interactive experience and it was really fun as a kid to read that book. And basically you'd read it over and over again choosing different paths each time, right? So having that experience in a voice application....I really think it's going to big over the next year or so.
Bradley Metrock: [00:17:45] That's a great example, and the Goosebumps books were sort of a spiritual successor from Choose Your Own Adventure books. You ever read those?
Brooke Hawkins: [00:17:56] Uh huh.
Bradley Metrock: [00:17:56] So yeah, there's many different ways that technology can be applied and I think we're actually starting to see some of that. You know the companies I mentioned....Novel Effect, Earplay, Tellables they're not cookie cutters of each other. They do very different types of things. It's interesting to me to see....I couldn't agree more, Nick, with your statement that we're looking at the future of publishing. There's no doubt about that. And it's interesting from where I sit....the rise of audio books and also podcasts for that matter. People want audio content and there's a lot of things driving it. Commute times, more free time that we have, there's a lot of different factors but people want audio content. And then you take that a step further and figure out how we can make this interactive and employ these voice-first technologies to add another layer to it. And it just opens up a lot of exciting possibilities. So yeah, I completely agree with both y'all's sentiments on this. So we will move on.
Bradley Metrock: Story number four is from Fast Company and this is a very interesting piece that echoes, in many ways, a thought process that has been discussed on this show several times and on other VoiceFirst FM podcasts. The article is called, "For Amazon, The Future Of Alexa Is ... About The End Of The Smartphone Era" and the article covers a lot of ground. But the overall theme of it is that voice technology and voice-first technology, whatever word you want to use, is the successor to the smartphone. It's what will replace the smartphone and that's the trajectory that we're on. And Nick, I'm going to start with you. Do you agree with that premise, number one? Number two, what else did you get out of the article? What did you take away?
Nick Schwab: [00:19:48] So I don't necessarily agree with the idea that it's going to kill the smartphone. I think the interactions that we have with smartphones, or tablets....they offer a more engaging experience than what someone can ultimately do with only a voice experience. You know, Amazon tried the Fire Phone to try the phone path and they just couldn't do it, because there's a lot of competition there. But they're really set up well for the voice space. I mean, they own about 75% of the market right now. So I think the path that they can take is going to be....simplifying the tasks that we do on our phones like scheduling or calling people but leaving the more engaging, more power hungry situations like high definition games, obviously you still need a phone for that - some kind of gaming system or portable device. So I think they're going to focus on the everyday tasks and be able to dominate that market. I think we'll see smartphones becoming very use case-based. You might not carry a smartphone if all you do is call people or text people but if you like to check your Twitter feed or play a game then you might have a smartphone.
Bradley Metrock: [00:20:57] That's a very interesting way to look at that, and I definitely agree. I think there's going to have to be something, something visual, right? I think the question is, is it this rectangle that you hold in your hand like I'm holding mine in my hand right now or through AR or some other....not voice technology, but voice-first technology. Does it work its way into some other form factor and Brooke, I'll ask you, do you share Nick's opinion on how the smartphone is going to be with us for the foreseeable future or do you think that voice technology is bringing that to an end sooner than we thought? What are your thoughts from this article?
Brooke Hawkins: [00:21:38] Yeah, I think I definitely agree with Nick's assessment. I think that as well, it's really interesting to think about the fact that data is showing how users are downloading less apps, so the things that users are doing with their phones are kind of set in stone or you get your routine with your smartphone day-to-day. And I also have people in my life that are finding that they're meeting their attention cap, so between working all day and being on the computer and between going home and having different devices that they interact with, sometimes a smartphone is just like an additional thing that they carry around thoroughly is kind of having their attention drawn away from.
Brooke Hawkins: I think another thing this article touched on was the fact that voice assistants at home might have this capability to kind of reduce the detrimental health effects of having that constant attention on. So yeah, I don't think that the smartphone will go away. But I think voice assistants are definitely allowing people to rethink how they're spending their attention and all the different screens they literally have with them all the time and maybe how the voice interface could mitigate some of that stuff or sync together some of those interfaces, so that maybe when you do use your smartphone app today, you're not glued to it or maybe you get something like I've been seeing advertisements for, the simple phone. A simple phone can just text and call. And then when you go home maybe play with your smartphone and your voice assistant, so it's definitely opening up a new landscape for people to to pick and choose what things they want to use their attention on rather than feeling like they have to have everything all the time.
Bradley Metrock: [00:23:16] There was a time a year or two ago where I did not have a smartphone. I've had an iPhone for the most part since they've come out and I stupidly got into the pool....we were down on a vacation and I didn't realize that my iPhone was in my pocket. And that was the end of that piece of hardware, despite a valiant effort to save it. And I went the next two or three weeks with a phone, a little flip phone, that was like nine dollars. And the phone really didn't receive texts. I had a lot of people afterward tell me they tried to text me. I got 10% of those texts. It was almost impossible to send a text that made any sense. The keyboard was like, nonexistent, and calls didn't really come through that well either. Sometimes they did and sometimes they didn't. I'm telling you, that was one of the most peaceful weeks that I have ever had. (all laugh) So the idea of the smartphone going away is a very romantic notion for a lot of people, including me.
Bradley Metrock: As a final note on this, I do find it fascinating as well that we're seeing a crop of articles being written, I almost included one in the news articles for this show. We're seeing a lot of people write about how they believe that the smart speaker is going to go away. The smart speaker is very much in vogue right now. You've got your Amazon hardware, your Google hardware, your HomePod, the Microsoft Harman/Karmon deal....but there's a lot of people writing right now about how they think smart speakers will have this "supernova" type of you know popularity and then vanish because they will get integrated into other hardware and they will cease that need to be their own hardware. And I find those articles very interesting in light of this discussion where....so the smart speaker can show up for a little bit and have its heyday and then it just goes away because it gets subsumed in other technology. But for some reason nobody seems to think that can go on with a smartphone or there's a less clear path to that. I find that very interesting as well, just as a side note to this.
Bradley Metrock: Story number five is an interesting one, to say the least. Mattel delays their kid's voice assistant, Hello Barbie Hologram, through this holiday season. It's now scheduled to release next year. I didn't quite know what to make of this, so Brooke, I'm going to start with you. What should I take away from this article? Is it something to be celebrated, that voice assistants have penetrated our culture to the point where we are learning that there is a Hello Barbie Hologram or is this something to raise the red flag and say, "Hold up. We're moving a little too quick. We may not be ready for this." What's your take?
Brooke Hawkins: [00:26:25] I don't know. There's so many issues with this. I think it's interesting that from an accessibility standpoint or lack of awareness standpoint....people know what holograms are and know what voice assistants are and there apparently is a market for this. But then in terms of the actual accessibility of these products, getting them into homes....I mean the price point is so big I can't imagine a lot of parents being excited about spending that much on one kind of standalone product. It's not an Xbox or any kind of other game console that you might spend that much on. But it can only do the one thing, and it's in that closed cloud that they mentioned. So that children's privacy is taken into account, but there's kind of a finite amount of things that this voice assistant would be able to do. It is interesting, but I think the main issue here, as well, is that it has the capability to kind of level the playing field and requires less different individual products and kind of allows a firmware-like, ubiquitous, flattened way to access technology across all different mediums and modalities and things like that and this kind of is like a disparate, another product you have to have in your home that can't really connect with all these other cool interfaces. So I don't know. From a functional standpoint, I probably won't get one in my home, but I mean it does show that people are paying attention to these things and there are markets for them, so that's probably a good thing.
Nick Schwab: [00:27:53] Yeah, when I saw this article, I actually had no idea that this product was even going to exist in the first place. So that can tell you something there. And as I read the article, I saw that they claim that they had a hundred pre-orders for the product and I was thinking, "Wow. That might be a reason why they postponed it. There's not very many pre-orders." And especially at $229 per unit. That's an expensive kid's toy. Thinking back as a kid and someone who grew up with a younger sister, this is kind of toy....I don't think it's something that would get a lot of use from a kid. And it says it's only voice-based and for a lot of kids, part of growing up is pretending. Having a physical toy that you can play with. The kind you talk to and have conversations with other toys with....I just don't see this being an engaging product for kids.
Bradley Metrock: [00:28:49] So you're saying that it sucks.
Nick Schwab: [00:28:52] Yeah! TL;DR. It sucks. (all laugh) I could be wrong. You never know.
Bradley Metrock: [00:28:59] No, it doesn't seem like you're wrong. I think you're absolutely right. The article just sort of drops real quietly in the second half of the piece that there is a 100 pre-orders and your response that was exactly what I was like, "Well, shoot. You didn't want to put that in the headline." (all laugh)
Nick Schwab: [00:29:15] Yeah, and that's a big sign that things aren't going to work out.
Bradley Metrock: [00:29:19] And I think even more telling than that was that this is not the first rodeo for this thing. They had a 2015 Hello Barbie deal where you talked to Barbie. And it's a conversational toy....a conversational gadget and this is sort of building off of that as opposed to doing something completely from scratch. I think that that probably makes the fact that they have 100 pre-orders worse. But the other thing I wanted to mention too in the article....it's just a fascinating article, fascinating product. I encourage people to read this. I'm going to read this paragraph verbatim. "Hello Barbie Hologram will be the first artificial intelligence paired with a hologram aimed at the toy market. According to the company, it's meant for children ages 6 and up." And then it says it will be priced $225, which is a lot of money. But it's like every company just wants to bandy about the words artificial intelligence. You know what I mean? There's nothing about this product that in any way should be using the words artificial intelligence. You know what I'm saying? (all laugh) I mean it could be a great product, I'm not taking anything away from it. But artificial intelligence....using those words is not your license to charge a large price premium or attempt to. But that's interesting. I'm glad to get y'all's take on that. I found this fascinating as well and that's why I wanted to include it.
Nick Schwab: [00:30:49] Part of me thinks it might just be a marketing ploy by Mattel to get the brand name out there a little bit.
Brooke Hawkins: [00:30:55] That definitely makes sense.
Bradley Metrock: [00:30:56] From that standpoint it really doesn't matter. If they're going to release something and 100 people buy it, it's probably better to just sort of shelve it and then get the press and the media talking about it. They probably got more out of that than anything else. Any other comments on any of the stories that we've covered today.
Nick Schwab: [00:31:12] Yeah. One quick thing. The article about having Alexa or Cortana, voice assistants replacing the smartphone. I think a big opportunity is going to appear as more and more businesses and homes have these voice assistance, these dedicated hardware voice assistants in their home. There's going to be a huge opportunity for people to just walk into a place in business or be invited over to someone else's home and then immediately you can start talking to their voice assistant under the context of your own profile. You know, Amazon has voice profiles right now where it can recognize who's talking, and so does Google. You know, imagine combining that with your phone, so that your phone, as you walk into a room, syncs with a dedicated hardware device like an Amazon Echo speaker or Google Assistant, and it knows that, "Hey, this person is in the room when I hear them talk because I know their voice profile. I can now customize everything to them even though that's not their device.
Bradley Metrock: [00:32:12] I'd be up for that. I would love that.
Nick Schwab: [00:32:16] I think definitely the next play for Amazon and Google is just having a universal voice profile that spans across devices, not just your own devices.
Bradley Metrock: [00:32:26] And in that sense, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have it tied to a smartphone or tied to something else that's on your person, because I always think back to that company....have y'all heard of this company Lyrebird? Y'all familiar with that?
Brooke Hawkins: [00:32:39] No.
Nick Schwab: [00:32:40] Yes.
Bradley Metrock: [00:32:41] Nick, did you say yes.
Nick Schwab: [00:32:44] Yes.
Bradley Metrock: [00:32:45] So Brooke, this company Lyrebird.AI, you should go to it. It's l-y-r-e-b-i-r-dot-a-i I think is what it is. But it is a company that has developed this technology that essentially allows mimicking of your voice. So if I understand the technology, and Nick, feel free to correct me if I don't. This company Lyrebird can take a 30 to 60 second clip of your voice and with that input alone can then make any sentence in the world, out of your voice and it can have your voice at that point. Nick, have I got that right?
Nick Schwab: [00:33:34] Yeah, that was my understanding of it and it's both cool, creepy and scary all at the same time.
Bradley Metrock: [00:33:39] It's super scary, and I think I may have mentioned this on this podcast or a different show before. When you go on a Web site and you're hit with this huge legal disclaimer at the top before you even figure out what the what the underlying product is....that's pretty telling and that's exactly what Lyrebird....appropriately that's exactly what you see on that website. But it's a very cool technology as well, if it's used the right way. Nick, you were mentioning what you just said about your voice following you and your context and everything just reminded me of that. Brooke and Nick, this has been great. Thank you very, very much for your time today. Thank you for joining us.
Brooke Hawkins: [00:34:24] Thank you.
Nick Schwab: [00:34:24] Thank you. It's been a pleasure.
Bradley Metrock: [00:34:28] This has been great. I appreciate both of y'all sharing your insight and your experience and your expertise with not just me, but the audience as well. For This Week In Voice, thank you for listening, and until next time.


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Last week, when the "while you wait" tailor told me it would take almost a week to alter my pants then motioned to the racks of satin and sparkly homecoming dresses off to the side, I realized I should have known.
The past two weeks at our house, there have been the telltale signs of ribbon and glue guns as Bethany has assembled garters and homecoming mums. Last weekend, she went with her high school friends to her own homecoming, then this week, she went with Caleb (and some of her middle school friends) to his.
Last night when the doorbell rang, Bethany was still scrambling to get ready with a "does he HAVE to always be on time?" as she dried her hair and sent me searching for earings.
Neither complained that I wanted to snap their picture as they went to join the others for dinner, more photos, and the homecoming dance. (She and Caleb went to the football game on Friday night--which is where they wore the mums/garters.)
Last night for date night, John and I went to Genghis Grill, where we encountered tons of other high school students all dressed up. (I snapped a few photos for a group I didn't know so they could all be in the photo.)
In a few weeks, Bethany will be transfering to a charter school (similar to a Science and Technology Magnet). I wonder if we will get to retire the glue gun for good.


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First it was Moon Pie.
She looks so innocent, doesn't she?
She knows how to cause trouble. She broke in through the barbed wire fence separating the back barnyard repeatedly last week. Repairs were no problem–she'd just break through again the next day. And the next day. Then–FINALLY. It was fixed! Moon Pie-proof.
And then–
Have something on your chest to confess, Glory Bee?
Don't even pretend you want to get back through that gate to come to the milking parlor and work!
How'd you get over there anyway?!
That's right. This time Glory Bee did the fence breaking. It was Moon Pie-proof, but not Glory Bee-proof, apparently. She can say she wants to work all she wants, but the facts say differently. She's giving her milk away, and not to me!
The barbed wire fence is coming down this week and a new fence with woven wire is going up.
Take that!
I don't think anybody's gonna be happy about it. Except me.


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Friday, August 14, 2009
U.S.A., North Dakota
Thunderstorm blowing in tonight. The passion comes blowing with it, but nothing to expend it on. Should drive somewhere directionless, or write.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
U.S.A., Oregon, Lake Oswego
I'm in Portland. There's so much stuff here: trees, hills, people.
I am a plainsman.
I am a plainsman.
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


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Brownie Pops
- 1 box (1 lb 6.25 oz) Betty Crocker Supreme original brownie mix
- Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on brownie mix box
- 24 craft sticks (flat wooden sticks with round ends)
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (9 oz)
- 1 tablespoon shortening
- Assorted Betty Crocker Decorating Decors candy sprinkles
- Heat oven to 350°F. (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Line 13×9-inch pan with foil so foil extends about 2 inches over sides of pan. Grease bottom only of foil with shortening or cooking spray. Make brownies as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Place brownies in freezer for 30 minutes. Remove brownies from pan by lifting foil; peel foil from sides of brownies. Cut brownies into 24 bars, 6 rows by 4 rows. Gently insert craft stick into end of each bar, peeling foil from bars. Place on cookie sheet; freeze 30 minutes.
- In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on High about 1 minute; stir until smooth. If necessary, microwave additional 5 seconds at a time. Dip top 1/3 to 1/2 of each brownie into chocolate; sprinkle with candy sprinkles. Lay flat on waxed paper or foil to dry.


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This coupon entitles you to 25% off all extensions.
We are excited to share with you that our "Summer Sale" has been extended to pass on great savings for our products. This past weekend we received lots of emails saying they missed out on our sale due to being on vacation. Well, some of us were also on vacation this weekend and so we decided to extend the sale to this coming Monday, August 13, 2012. That's right, we will be giving 25% off all of 'corePHP' extensions when you use the promo code: sizzlinheat. There is no better time to obtain your favorite 'corePHP' products.
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Michael Pignataro


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My friends at The Walk the Talk Company publish an on line daily motivation. You can subscribe by going to their website www.WalkTheTalk.com. Yesterday, they had a quote from George Washington Carver that get to the heart of what it takes to become an interpersonally competent person.
"How far you go in your life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and strong."
There are four great adjectives in that quote: tender, compassionate, sympathetic and tolerant. And they describe interpersonally competent people very well. For years I have been telling people that being nice – and the words tender, compassionate, sympathetic and tolerant are great descriptors of a nice person – is the way to become known as interpersonally competent.
Interpersonal competence is one of the keys to success that I discuss in Straight Talk for Success. If you want to become interpersonally competent, you need to do three things: 1) understand yourself, so you can better understand others; 2) build strong, lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with the people in your life; and 3) resolve conflict in positively. Being tender, compassionate, sympathetic and tolerant will help you build relationships and resolve conflict positively.
"Tender" is an interesting word. Dictionary.com defines it in a couple of very different ways. It can mean, "Weak or delicate in constitution; not strong or hardy; yielding readily to force or pressure." On the other hand, tender also means, "Easily moved to sympathy or compassion; affectionate or loving."
The first definition makes it sound as if a tender person is weak. The second makes it sound as if a tender person is caring. It's up to you to choose how you define this word for yourself. When I was younger, I would have defined tender as being weak. After 58 years of life experience, I no longer need to be a tough guy. I realize that being tender is not weak at all. It takes real strength to be a caring person.
I choose to be tender – to care about others and to do whatever I can to help whoever I can. That's why I write this blog. That's why I do the coaching and speaking work I do. That's why I do the volunteer work I do.
The common sense point here is clear. Interpersonal competence is a key to career and life success. Interpersonally competent people are tender, compassionate, sympathetic and tolerant. It takes a strong person to display these qualities in this tough, highly competitive world. But if you do, you'll build strong relationships with the people in your life. And strong relationships will help you become a success in your life and career.
That's my take on being tender, compassionate, sympathetic and tolerant. What's yours? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts on this with the rest of us. I really appreciate and value all of your comments. As always, thanks for reading.


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Press Release Immediate Wednesday July 2nd 2014
Archbishop Martin appoints new Head of Diocesan Curia
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin today appointed Mgr. Paul Callan as Moderator of the Dublin Diocesan Curia.
Mgr. Callan replaces Co. Clare native, Mgr. Lorcan O' Brien who has been appointed as Administrator to Donnybrook Parish. Mgr. O' Brien was the first person to serve as Moderator in Dublin and at a meeting of the Curia this morning, Archbishop Martin praised him for overseeing significant change over the past decade, and for his dedication and service to him personally.
Mgr. Callan is currently serving as private secretary to Archbishop Martin. Originally from Mount Merrion parish in Dublin he was a student in Holy Cross College and University College Dublin.
Ordained by Bishop Joseph Carroll in 1989, his first appointment was as Chaplain to Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin. He worked in the parishes of St. Brigid's, Cabinteely, the Sacred Heart Parish, Donnybrook and in St. John the Baptist Parish, Clontarf. He has had a number of other appointments including Chaplain to Cura Dublin and to Cunamh, South Anne Street, he was also a member of a team that supported the work of the Diocesan Vocations Centre. He has been a member of the Diocesan Priests Council and the Diocesan Council. He is currently Chaplain to the Religious Sisters of Charity in Stanhope Street.


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Telstra opened pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 edge at 12.01am on Friday, February 26. Customers pre-ordering these phones will receive a free Samsung Gear VR, while stocks last.
The water and dust resistant flagship phones also support category 9 LTE download speeds and next-generation voice calling (voice over LTE).
This means users get speeds of up to 450Mbps on Telstra's 4GX network in 4GX areas, and high-definition calling and faster call setup times with VoLTE.
Both smartphones are available on a range of standalone Go Mobile and Go Business Mobile plans as well as a great value package that bundles a Galaxy S7 with a new Samsung Tab A tablet for $99 per month on a Go Mobile Plan.
Full pricing details are on the images with this story
You can can pre-order at telstra.com/galaxys7.


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Описание: Everyone claims to make a premier helmet, but only ICON lays their shells bare to prove it. The Airframe Pro Construct showcases its hand-laid composite shell for the whole world to see. All the better to see the precision-designed Airframe Pro Construct silhouette.
Добави продукта в списък с желани


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Mississippi Train Accident Lawyer
Earlier this year, four people lost their lives and dozens more were critically injured when a train collided with a charter bus in Biloxi. Initial reports revealed that the bus was stopped on the tracks despite the presence of flashing lights and crossing gates. Unfortunately, these types of tragic accidents are not uncommon in Mississippi. In fact, there had been 16 accidents at the same crossing, the most recent of which occurred two months prior. Concerns have since been raised that the track itself, which is on an embankment and has low ground clearance poses serious safety risks. These types of crossing collisions are on the rise across the country and can have devastating consequences for victims and their families, so if you were injured in an accident, you should consider retaining an experienced train accident lawyer in Mississippi who can evaluate your case and explain your legal options.
What Causes Train Accidents?
Train accidents have a number of different causes, although the most common involve one or more of the following factors:
- Conductor error, such as traveling at unreasonably high speeds or ignoring safety signals;
- Mechanical failure caused by a defective part or a lack of maintenance and repair;
- Track defects, such as broken rails;
- Lack of visibility caused by overgrown foliage and shrubbery;
- Unsafe railroad crossings caused by a lack of warning signs, barriers, and signals;
- Vehicles stalling on the tracks at railroad crossings; and
- A lack of training provided to railway employees.
Although collisions between trains and vehicles, pedestrians, or other trains do occur, the most common train accidents fall under the category of derailments. Derailments, which occur when a train leaves the tracks, have a variety of causes, although most can be attributed to track defects, such as broken rails and welding. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has also revealed that the following problems also regularly cause derailments across the country:
- Problems with track geometry, including train alignment;
- Elevation and gauge issues;
- Bearing failure;
- Broken wheels;
- Obstructions;
- Buckled tracks;
- Axle defects; and
- Train handling.
Although all of these factors could potentially play a role in causing a train to derail, track failure accounted for almost a third of all train accidents.
Preventing Track Failure
Fortunately, track failure can be largely prevented through regular maintenance and inspections. In fact, federal law requires railroad companies to comply with a series of rules regarding track inspection and repair. For example, most railway companies must inspect track crossings, switches, and turnouts, on foot and at least once a month. These inspections can help catch minor problems, most of which are caused by regular wear and tear before they become dangerous safety issues. The most common examples of wear and tear that indicate a need for repair or replacement include:
- Flaking or chipped steel;
- Burned rails;
- Broken welding;
- Malfunctioning switches;
- Bolt hole cracks;
- Breaks and cracks in the base of rails;
- Fractures in the rail heads themselves; and
- Flattened rails.
Human Error
Human error is another of the most common causes of train collisions. Whether due to negligence, a lack of training, or a reckless disregard of the rules, mistakes can have deadly consequences. Most train accidents caused by human error involve the following problems:
- Improperly aligning railroad switches;
- Failing to comply with orders;
- Braking improperly;
- Failing to secure or release hand brakes;
- Giving improper instructions to the crew; and
- Falling asleep while operating the train.
When a train or railroad employee exhibits this type of negligence, he or she puts hundreds of people at risk. Fortunately, the at-fault parties can be held liable for damages, which could include compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses, including the cost of treatment and rehabilitation;
- Lost wages incurred as a result of the injured party's inability to work;
- Future loss of income if the injured party loses his or her life or is permanently disabled as a result of injuries sustained in the accident;
- Property damage sustained in the accident;
- Pain and suffering endured by the injured party as a result of the accident;
- Emotional distress suffered by the victim's loved ones; and
- Funeral services or burial costs if the injured party passes away from his or her injuries.
Although recovering damages cannot compensate someone for the loss of a loved one, it can go a long way towards helping victims and their families start the long road to recovery.
Call an Experienced Mississippi Train Accident Lawyer Today
To speak with a train accident attorney who can evaluate your case for free, please contact Pottroff & Karlin, LLC at 785-539-4656 today. We are eager to help you recover the compensation that you deserve.


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Our award winning books have received 16 major awards, book of the year, and countless thank you's from individuals and businesses for the easy to use "fill in the blanks" approach to teach you how things work. personal financial planning estate planning checklist financial planning help
My original book Plan Ahead - Protect Your Estate & Investments moved on to my 2nd book says it all "the procrastinators bible for financial success"
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My books originally came about as I used a workbook to collect information from potential clients which allowed our firm to make better decisions for their future.
Our proven method of marketing your business. Even though this book was written in 2002, it probably holds more true today for marketing techniques.
How many emails a day do you get? mailers? Flyers? Phone calls? Phishing schemes where you are afraid to open your email or attachment.
We text, we email, we call, we Instagram - it seems we have lost that one very key element-FACE to FACE interaction.
My seminars would fill up where I had to roll over from Tuesdays and add Thursdays, all RSVP only.
Back to basics...it works
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The Lumineers announced today the release of their second album Cleopatra via Dualtone, an Entertainment One company, on April 8th. In addition the Lumineers have announced the first leg of their World tour commencing April 14th in the UK. The band also shares their first single "Ophelia" which can be heard here. It took four years for The Lumineers (Wesley Schultz, Jeremiah Fraites and Neyla Pekarek) to follow up their platinum-plus, multi-Grammy-nominated, self-titled debut – which spent 46 weeks on the Billboard 200 and peaked at #2 — but Cleopatra is well worth the wait. After exploding onto the scene with their monster single, "Ho Hey" (which spent a staggering 62 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #3) and its follow-up, "Stubborn Love" (recently featured on President Barack Obama's Spotify playlist), The Lumineers spent a solid three years touring six of the seven continents. During that time, The Lumineers earned a pair of Grammy nominations (Best New Artist, Best Americana Album), contributed two songs to The Hunger Games franchise (including the hit Jennifer Lawrence/James Newton Howard collaboration, "The Hanging Tree") and sold an impressive 1.7 million albums in the U.S., and 3 million worldwide.
Cleopatra proves the band are neither taking their good fortune for granted, nor sitting back on their laurels. With the help of producer Simone Felice (The Felice Brothers, The Avett Brothers), the man Wesley calls "our shaman," the band ensconced themselves in Clubhouse, a recording studio high atop a hill in rural Rhinebeck, N.Y., not far from Woodstock.
"We took the same approach this time as we did with the first album, recording demos in a small house we rented in the original Denver neighborhood where we first moved," explains Wesley, contributing the lyrical ideas while collaborating on the music with Jer, who tackled a variety of instruments, including guitar, the very prominent piano and trademark tribal drums.
"The record is our greatest hits reflecting what's happened to us over the last three years," added Wesley. "We tried to come up with the best possible version of every song, so we recorded a lot of different iterations, changing the tempos, dressing 'em up, stripping 'em down. It took a lot of work to make them sound so easy. We're very passionate about the process. It was a very intense and beautiful experience. There was a lot of battling, a lot of tears, but some amazing stuff came out, and at the end, we were much better off. It transformed our relationship."
The Lumineers
Cleopatra World Tour 2016
14 Apr Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy
15 Apr Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands
18 Apr Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
19 Apr Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall
23 Apr London, UK @ O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
27 Apr Paris, France @ Le Trianon
28 Apr Brussels, Belgium @ Ancienne Belgique
29 Apr Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Melkweg
2 May Cologne, Germany @ E-Werk
4 May Hamburg, Germany @ Gross Freiheit 36
6 May Berlin, Germany @ Admiralspalast
8 May Stockholm, Sweden @ Berns
9 May Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller
10 May Copenhagen, Denmark @ Vega
21 May Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
22 May Dallas, TX @ The Bomb Factory
25 May Salt Lake City, UT @ Red Butte Garden
27 May San Diego, CA @ CalCoast Credit Union Open Air Theatre
28 May Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
29 May Napa Valley @ Bottle Rock Festival
31 May Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
1 Jun Vancouver, BC @ Orpheum Theatre
3 Jun Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheater
7 Jun Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre
10 Jun Kansas City, MO @ KC Live! @ Power & Light District
11 Jun Indianapolis, IN @ Murat Theatre
12 Jun St. Louis, MI @ Peabody Opera House
14 Jun St. Paul, MN @ Myth
15 Jun Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater
19 Jun Chicago, IL @ Chicago Theater
20 July Gardone Riviera, Italy @ Anfiteatro Del Vittoriale
21 July Sesto al Reghena, Italy @ Sexto 'NPlugged
Track list for Cleopatra:
1. Sleep On The Floor
2. Ophelia
3. Cleopatra
4. Gun Song
5. Angela
6. In The Light
7. Gale Song
8. Long Way From Home
9. Sick In The Head
10. My Eyes
11. Patience


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Trivia Under the Influence, Special Lesbians Who Tech Edition! Allies welcome!
Bear Paw Inn 3237 SE Milwaukie Ave Portland, OR 97202
Are you an insufferable know-it-all with no outlet for your boundless knowledge? Do you find yourself starting many sentences with "Well, actually...?" Are you unable to prevent yourself from correcting common misconceptions about the symbolism of Jenny Schecter's poetry? Then this may not be the trivia night for you.
However, if you are a chill queer lady or ally, and you would enjoy a rousing and entertaining evening of random tech and queer arcana, this is your night. Don't worry, we will make sure our trivia question scribe doesn't go too hard on us. Come hang out with us and make new friends and connections, enjoy a drink, and win awesome prizes! Teams will be blind draw, fun times will be mandatory.


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Download Iische51.dll and fix "dll not found" error!
What is Iische51.dll?
Iische51.dll - dll file called "ADs IIS Provider Schema Initialization DLL" is a part of Internet Information Services program developed by Microsoft Corporation.
Some applications or games may need this file to work properly. If iische51.dll is missing, whenever you start the application/game you may experience various kinds of errors. To fix those errors, please read the Recommended Solution below.
- File version: 5.1.2600.0 (xpclient.010817-1148)
- File size: 126.5 KB
- MD5 file sum: C9516C2C3CAC95CA5B2A87CF7247F1F1
- SHA1 file sum: CAA66ABD9663F49CBA67578EB763C7E1D537B981
Iische51.dll Error Screenshot
Possible error messages regarding this file:
- iische51.dll is missing
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You can read more information about iische51.dll on WikiDll.com


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Nicholas Samaras, poetry editor for The Adirondack Review, lives in West Nyack, N.Y.
Posts By This Author
Instructions to the Monastic or the Pilgrim
A poem.
Enter this room and call it a cell.
Fold yourself and put yourself away.
For your whole life, you will be an amateur.
But be an amateur striving.
Enter this room and call it vigilance.
Make your ego the threadbare rug you walk on.
Before your quiet face, hold
the fane of your folded hands.
Fold yourself and put yourself away.
Become the parent to your parents.
Cast their names on the wind of your breathing.
Enter this room and be alone with dialogue.
Take the name of silence and let it speak.
How the earth now
struggles into spring.
How the cold hangs on,
each morning cracking to begin.


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Oil slips as trade tensions weigh
Oil slipped toward $77 a barrel on Friday, under pressure from higher Saudi production and trade tensions between the United States and China, although oil supply disruptions lent support.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia told OPEC it raised oil output by almost 500,000 barrels per day last month, OPEC sources said, a sign Riyadh wants to make up for shortages elsewhere and dampen prices.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, was down 19 cents at $77.20 a barrel by 0910 GMT. U.S. crude <CLc1> slipped 2 cents to $72.92.
"On the bearish side both Saudi Arabia and Russia are living up to their promise to increase output," said Tamas Varga of oil broker PVM. "Looming U.S. sanctions on Iran, however, are causing serious concerns amongst market players."
U.S. tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports took effect as a deadline passed on Friday and Beijing has vowed to respond immediately in kind, setting the two world's biggest economies on a path toward a full-blown trade conflict.
"The oil market is in the hands of global politics," said Norbert Ruecker, head of macro and commodity research at Julius Baer. "China's reciprocation will in a first tranche include agricultural commodities and in a second tranche most likely oil products and crude oil."
A U.S. government report also weighed on prices this week, by crude stockpiles rose 1.3 million barrels and showing unexpectedly ample supplies after analysts had forecast a decline.
The potential trade war between the United States and China comes amid a tight oil market.
Oil output cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia since January 2017 have reduced a glut of crude.
Involuntary drops in supply in Venezuela, Angola and Libya have made the cutbacks even bigger, although OPEC has now started to ease those curbs with Saudi Arabia pumping more.
Even so, renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran against its oil exports look set to tighten supply further.
South Korea, a major buyer of Iranian oil, will not lift any in July for the first time since August 2012, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.
(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein and Meng Meng; Editing by Edmund Blair)


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Deck Railing Posts Inside or Outside Tips before DIY Installing
Deck Railing Posts Inside Or Outside – Iron DIY rail railing is a popular choice for exterior decks. Architects, builders, and homeowners are increasingly relying on galvanized or painted iron because the material is durable and attractive and offers a variety of traditional and contemporary style options. Iron is capable of holding a wide range of environmental conditions and can be very resistant to corrosion.
Check local building codes to find out the rules for your area. As wooden railings and balusters, deck railing posts inside or outside and newel posts must meet the building requirements code for rail height and maximum width between iron bars. Generally, the minimum height for lanes is 42 inches. The maximum space or width between the newels posts are 4 inches. Elaborate a plan for your DIY railroad project. Determine which components you need to purchase to complete the job. For longer railing runs, use handrails that are of the same length to maintain a uniform appearance.
24 Photos Gallery of: Deck Railing Posts Inside or Outside Tips before DIY Installing
The center point of the deck railing posts inside or outside, should be 3 or 4 inches from the edge. Start the installation on the ladder by mounting the flat columns at the top of the plateau. Secure a place for the ladder. Make sure you follow the directions for placing posts in the right ranges. In the long term, it is required to install a pole every four feet. DIY deck rail handrails plus iron are mounted on flanges. Secure columns to a platform with approved fasteners. You have to make some adjustments, so do not screw the fasteners on the cover or the tread. Make sure the columns and posts are straight and level. When mounting the iron railings of the deck, mount the flat columns or corner by the manufacturer's instructions. Deck handrails are fixed to columns with column adapters. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to cut the gate. Generally, a metal saw is needed to make cuts.


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So what's best to buy NOW? Well, as we approach "Turkey" day, I would think that one great deal item is obvious. (For my new and thus sleep-deprived moms...that would be turkey.) You can expect prices as low as 29¢/lb; depending on your area. We've already seen 59¢/lb here. And that's not even including the "Buy $100 in groceries per week for 4 weeks get a free turkey" deals.
What else is a good buy right now? Between now and Christmas, you can expect deals on the following items:
- Turkey
- Stuffing
- Baking Items
- Corn Starch
- Baking Soda
- Corn Syrup
- Sugar
- Flour
- Canned Gravies
- Green Beans
- Cranberries
- French Fried Onions
I'm curious...are you baking this holiday season? What are some of your favorite things to bake? I've got a ton of new things I want to try out saved over on my Pinterest page. Check them out if you haven't yet. I spend way too much time there!


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Ecclesiastical Tourism and the Paradox of Happiness
At the first glance the following two contributions look rather diverse – hardly related. Alfonso Casalini writes on the role of catholic and religious cultural heritage and the need for the implementation of modern management tools, especially in the organization of ecclesiastical museums. Timo Airaksinen writes on "Desire and the Socratic Paradox of Happiness" – a philosophic paper as its title clearly indicates. It is triggered by the observation that a lucky person will prefer his good circumstances regardless of the fact that he is and remains unhappy – which is in contrast, but not necessarily in contradiction, of Socrates' dictum that a virtuous person is always happy, regardless of his circumstances. Are desire and desiring the keys to unlock this paradox? Airaksinen's desire theory of happiness says that you are gratified and happy when you are able to satisfy your desires. As a consequence, he concludes, "life's conditions are crucial to the quality and value of happiness."
Alfonso Casalini would argue that, for many people, religion and ecclesiastical culture are essential dimensions of their life's conditions. He points out that there are between 300 and 330 million religious tourists, yearly, who generate an estimated turnover of 18 billion dollars worldwide. Do these numbers reflect a desire? Casalini's assumption is that the "Religious Cultural Institutions" of the Catholic Church are called upon to contribute to satisfy these desires – and his claim is that this has to be done in an efficient way. A precondition is the application of modern management technics. He focuses on ecclesiastical museums to illustrate the problem and demonstrate the need for reforms: "a more economic (but not necessarily monetary) approach is needed." There are still too many of these "ante-management" museums which "are devoid of website, do not have a social network activity and do not have revenues (or do not indicate them)."
Casalini observes that the growing need of a spiritual-but-not-religious cultural experience implies great opportunities for the ecclesiastical cultural institutions. But there is also the constraint that, e.g., ecclesiastical museums "should not disregard the statutory objectives that want these museums as a living-heritage of the Catholic religion." There are trade-offs. This brings us back to Timo Airaksinen's contribution in this issue and the observation that there are "desirable but impossible-to-get-objects."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License


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My Favorite Phone! Too bad it is discontinued.
i need phone lock coad
vezodus, 17 Feb 2011does it have organizer? such as calendar and to do list? Yes, calendar & to do list available. This handset is great for rough use. Battery is better.
Someone knows the SAR value for Europe? Thanks!
does it have organizer? such as calendar and to do list?
I prefer my motorola WX161 over my BB bold 9000,
This has a excellent battery life(about 1 & half weaks with regular usage)whereas blacberry claims only 1 DAY!
It's easy to carry, easy to text & wow! its got FM. And it's valuable for what you pay!
Doesn't have a good look compared to BB. lolz!
Nitesh , 03 May 2010Monochrome has it's advantages who are in the outdoor working field. Firstly, you can easily v... moreBrother can u tell me, is it a alarm clock? Plz reply quickly.
I just bought and do not know yet, howlong the bat last. EQV. US$18.85
Is this phone good for texting?
Nice Basic Cheeeep Mobile... it has flash lite and fm... grate for hard use...
This is the phone for people who hate busy life and love basic simple life.
Good competitor for NOKIA 1200 and 1202 ! I still love these basic monochrome phones. Ability to see the display in outdoors, long battery life, games, radio, torch...wow! Nokia doesn't have radio. But they have torch. Moto got both! I am planning to buy one for me. Not everybody loves smartphones and camera phones. Some people love simple life with simple things. Best wishes MOTOROLA ! How about introducing POCKET CARROM into these our simple friends? ;)
sms, calling, games and radio..who needs more..?
Does anyone have it? Please, tell me if the radio has a built-in antenna, or it is necessary to use the headphones to make the radio function!
This is a phone for people who purely need to stay in touch and don't want to spend a fortune, or for poor countries so that communication can be a reality for them.
Sori, 02 May 2010You are complaining about a monochrome phone? I love monochrome for its ability to easily be s... moreGood answer! Everyone was mocking Nokia 1100 when it was released a few years ago, yet they sold over 200 millions of them. I still have a Motorola F3 as my spare phone and love it.
I Agree...
I'll buy one of this for my little children
Nitesh , 03 May 2010Monochrome has it's advantages who are in the outdoor working field. Firstly, you can easily v... moreit's practical! about time more basic phones came out! definitely better to see if you're in the sunlight.


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Who doesn't love to swim in the nude?
AtGeorge Clooney's Lake Como house in Italy, skinny dipping is pretty much a rite of passage for all of his guests!
"[Skinny dipping] is a tradition at my house!" the 50-year-old told Us Weekly on Wednesday at the "Ides of March" premiere in NYC. "It's funny. Some people skinny dip, but I always go upstairs and put a suit on and then I jump in the lake."
Clooney's co-star Marisa Tomei told Conan O'Brien on Tuesday about skinny dipping in the lake at the actor's Italian estate. "Charlie Rose can be hot. [He, Evan Rachel Wood and I] had some hijinks over there," she said. "We would all end up skinny dipping!"
When Us asked Clooney about Tomei's comments, he quipped: "Let me tell you. First I got Walter Cronkite to jump in. Then I got David Gergen to jump in. And I used Walter Cronkite to get Gergen to jump in. And I used Marisa and Evan in the lake to get Charlie Rose to jump in."
So besides stripping down, what does the Oscar winner do to unwind? He joked playfully, "Drink!"
"The Ides of March" opens in theaters Friday.


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Instantly acclaimed as one of the most important documentaries of the year, Ava DuVernay's film about the mass incarceration of black men, "13th," wowed audiences at the New York Film Festival and looks like a leading Oscar contender as it premieres in theaters and on Netflix on Friday.
Disappointingly, given the importance of the underlying issues, the film is a morass of distortions, half-truths, calculated omissions, absurd hyperbole and outright falsehoods. Equating Donald Trump supporters with Deep South lynch mobs isn't even its most outlandish tactic.
DuVernay, the director of "Selma," begins the film with a much-discussed but irrelevant statistic: The US, home to 5 percent of the world's population, is also home to (nearly) 25 percent of the world's prisoners.
Anyone who has ever thought about this imbalance, which tends to get trotted out in campaign seasons, will quickly understand the reason why: The US has a lot more crime than other countries.
If you think judges should sentence criminals based not on what they've been convicted of, but based on international incarceration disparities, fine. Let's start with your neighborhood. Go ahead, lean on your local judges to let murderers and rapists off with a warning. It's all for the noble cause of leveling out our incarceration rate, right?
DuVernay constructs her film around the fatuous notion that the 13th Amendment, which outlawed slavery, was deliberately constructed with a loophole that was meant to continue the mass enslavement of black people using indirect means.
The "loophole"? Convicted criminals can still be deprived of liberty. But this isn't a loophole, it's just a restatement of common sense. The US, like every other country on Earth, can lock you up if you are convicted of a crime. If this were so controversial, why has no one thought to be outraged about it before?
Viewers (such as film critics) who don't pay especially close attention to the news pages are likely to be suckered by the misinformation in the movie. No, Woodrow Wilson didn't say "The Birth of a Nation" was "history written with lightning." No, Trayvon Martin didn't die because of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, which wasn't even cited by George Zimmerman's defenders. Martin died because Zimmerman exercised self-defense after Martin jumped on Zimmerman, punched him in the nose and pounded his head into the pavement. Zimmerman had injuries that backed up his story.
No, Walmart didn't back the American Legislative Executive Council because it was fantasizing about people buying more Walmart guns to defend themselves under Stand Your Ground. (Walmart hasn't even sold handguns since 1993; long guns are so infrequently used in homicides that more people die of wounds sustained from kicking and punching.)
As for the movie's contention that John Ehrlichman, a key aide to President Richard Nixon, spilled the beans on racist drug policies when he allegedly said that Nixon cracked down on marijuana because he wanted to lock up hippies, and heroin because he wanted to lock up blacks — let's look at the facts.
Ehrlichman allegedly gave this juicy quote to lefty journalist Dan Baum in 1994. Baum, who was writing a book on the drug wars that he published two years later, didn't use the quote then. He didn't tell anyone about the quote during the remainder of Ehrlichman's life, which ended in 1999. Not until 2012 did Baum suddenly remember he was sitting on the quote of the century when it came to drug policy, and finally published it.
Do you really believe a journalist would sit on a bombshell quote like that for 18 years?
"13th," which, especially in its final minutes, is unabashedly designed to motivate left-wing voters to get them to the polls, is purposefully vague during a strange tangent about Black Panthers and other Woodstock-era radicals. It avoids going into detail about, for instance, Assata Shakur, a convicted cop-killer who broke out of prison and fled to Cuba, who is portrayed as a hero here.
Van Jones, the ex-communist and 9/11 truther who appears repeatedly in the film as an expert witness, tells us that an entire generation of leaders was put in prison or forced to leave the country. "Leaders"? Tell that to all of the shooting and bombing victims of 1960s radicals. If your goal is to decrease the black prison population, extolling violent 1960s revolutionaries is a strange way to go about it.
Normalizing and even sentimentalizing left-wing 1960s extremists has become the new normal, however. Weren't the Black Panther uniforms cool? As recently as a decade ago, you'd have had to visit a college campus to encounter such gullibility.
Yet the film saves the worst for last, closing with the shocking contention that blacks have made so little progress in the last 50 years that we're still living in the Jim Crow era under a different name. This is an insult to the Civil Rights-era heroes who moved mountains in the cause of liberty and justice. It's an insult to Martin Luther King Jr., the hero of DuVernay's last film, "Selma."