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This is the glow-in-the-dark construction kit that lets children build the frame for any fort, castle or playhouse they can imagine using just two simple components. The plastic spans fit snugly into the sockets of spherical, phosphorescent connectors, resulting in a structure so sturdy that children can throw a bed sheet (not included) over the roof to complete a private hideaway. Each glowing connector bears 18 sockets that make possible angles in 45-degree increments, so children can build imaginative structures on the fly. Easy-to-follow plans for more advanced structures like domes or even a spaceship can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. The lightweight components are portable to any playroom, and the spans disassemble easily to make tear-down simple and fast. Set includes 44 16"-long spans and 25 2 1/2" diameter spherical connectors that create up to a 27' cu. structure. Ages 5 and up. (4 lbs.)
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We stopped by Belt Salvage Thursday to admire the great new sculpture we'd heard about, and upon returning home found the Cortez Journal had arrived with a feature story on this fine piece of work. And to think this was accomplished by two local artists! Rose Russell and Bill Tetzel are to be congratulated! We hope to see more artwork of this type for Cortez.
Bill and Sue Hensler
Via email

subset: commoncrawl


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So, I'm throwing this idea out there selfishly because I'm always logging on here looking for something like it. I don't know about you guys, but I'm always browsing through the NBA boxscores checking the rookie stat lines. MKG had a pretty impressive first two games, followed by a one pointer in his third contest. Bradley Beal had a great game last night shooting something like 8 of 11..
Anyways, if you spot some young gun having a huge night post it here. This could likely turn into the case for ROY thread midseason..
I find this years rookie class really interesting and I'm pumped to see how they reshape the NBA landscape!


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Major League Baseball and its 30 Clubs have organized a charity auction benefiting Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), announced today as a part of the annual Baseball Winter Meetings. The initiative was inspired by the numerous cases of public relations officials in the sport who have been diagnosed with cancer in recent years.
The auction, which begins today and will be live on MLB.com until Thursday, December 6th at 11:59 p.m. (ET), features more than 70 unique experiences and items donated by the 30 MLB Clubs and Major League Baseball. Some of the experiences include:
* Be a Baltimore Orioles player for a day - eat with team, take batting practice and sit in the dugout during a Spring Training game.
* Ride on the Orioles' team bus to and from a road game in Washington D.C.
* Receive a visit from Washington Nationals pitchers Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard to your child's school and eat lunch with them in their cafeteria.
* Watch three innings of a Red Sox game behind the fabled Green Monster at Fenway Park.
* Receive a 30-minute guitar lesson from Cincinnati Reds All-Star pitcher Bronson Arroyo.
* Take batting practice at Progressive Field with the Cleveland Indians.
* Tour the Colorado Rockies clubhouse with All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
* Shoot a round of golf with Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Ian Kennedy.
* Breakfast with All-Star Hunter Pence of the 2012 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants.
* Spend Spring Training Photo Day with the St. Louis Cardinals.
* Eat lunch with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr., new Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell or Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda of the Dodgers.
* Watch batting practice from the field of one of 14 Clubs, including the D-backs, Braves, White Sox, Cubs, Rockies, Tigers, Astros, Royals, Twins, Mets, Athletics, Mariners, Pirates or Rays.
* Receive pitching lessons from any of five Major League pitching coaches, including Jim Hickey (Rays) Rick Honeycutt (Dodgers), Charles Nagy (D-backs), Bryan Price (Reds), or Carl Willis (Mariners).
* Receive hitting instructions from D-backs hitting coach Don Baylor, Rays hitting coach Derek Shelton or Angels hitting coach Jim Eppard.
* Work a one-day internship in the New York Yankees Media Relations Department.
* Receive a 2013 MLB All-Star package including two tickets to All-Star Fan Fest, Taco Bell All-Star Sunday, Home Run Derby and the 84th All-Star Game in New York, plus a meet and greet with Tony LaRussa and Joe Torre.
* Host a private party at your home with the Milwaukee Brewers Famous Racing Sausages.
* Attend meet-and-greets with past and present MLB players, managers and broadcasters, including Billy Beane, Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven, Yoenis Cespedes, Terry Collins, Ron Darling, Terry Francona, Kirk Gibson, Keith Hernandez, Tim Hudson, Craig Kimbrel, Evan Longoria, Joe Maddon, Brian McCann, Bob Melvin, David Price, Josh Reddick, Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, Hall of Famer Vin Scully and 2012 American League Rookie of the Year Mike Trout.
* Take a tour of the MLB Network Studio with the hosts and sit behind-the-scenes during a taping of a show of choice.
* Additional experiences offered include autographed memorabilia, private ballpark tours, suite tickets and more.
* A complete listing of the experiences and items in the auction can be found here.
"The PR executives of the 30 clubs have assembled a truly unprecedented collection of auction items," said Jacqueline Parkes, Major League Baseball's Chief Marketing Officer. "This auction gives fans the chance to have an unforgettable baseball experience while contributing to the critically important work of Stand Up To Cancer."
"Major League Baseball has consistently engaged fans in joining our movement, having them literally stand up by the tens of thousands in stadiums across the country to show their unity in fighting cancer," said Kathleen Lobb, Entertainment Industry Foundation Senior Vice President and Stand Up To Cancer co-founder. "Yet again, the 30 clubs have shown their deep commitment to this cause by creating these unbelievable experiences for the auction."
"With so many of our friends and colleagues recently affected by cancer, we felt it was time for us to stand up and the Winter Meetings present the only opportunity each year when all 30 managers, general managers and all of the media come together," said Josh Rawitch, Arizona Diamondbacks Senior Vice President of Communications and the Club PR official spearheading the charge. "With the unique access we are all fortunate to have to some of the game's greatest treasures, it's really our responsibility to do our part and we hope this is only the beginning."


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CUSO Urges Credit Unions Not Fear Realtors
A new white paper from CU Realty Services seeks to reassure credit unions about working with Realtors to build their purchase money loan business.
Purchase money loans are new loans that are made to buy real estate as opposed to refinancing a previously existing real estate loan.
CU Realty Services is a CUSO in Scottsdale, Ariz., which specializes in helping credit unions become better purchase money lenders.
The paper arose after the CUSO surveyed 200 employees at member credit unions about the perceived disadvantages and advantages of working with Realtors on real estate deals for their members.
Number one among more than a third of those answering was that Realtors "can refer members' purchase mortgage loans elsewhere." The next biggest fears were that agents "can provide poor service" and they "may not understand/work well using our processes."
Yet, the white paper notes, credit unions' concerns were not borne out in the survey data. When asked about the most relevant advantages to Realtor relations, 41.2% said they were "a great value-added resource for our members." Just as many said Realtors "can help us keep our members' purchase mortgage loans at the credit union." And another 17.6% percent continued that theme, stating real estate agents "can refer new business back to our credit union."
Mike Corn, president/CEO of CU Realty Services, said while some credit unions thought they might lose first mortgage loans by working with agents, just the opposite happens.
"Credit unions worry they'll lose first mortgage loans, but our client credit unions saw business grow," he said. And while some also are afraid members will receive poor service, members whose credit unions had strong real estate programs gained significant service benefits, Corn said.


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Convicted Fraudster Suing Credit Union He Ripped Off
A man convicted of defrauding the $2.8 billion, 202,000-member Lake Michigan Credit Union has sued the Grand Rapids, Mich., credit union, he says on behalf of the members, because the credit did not have policies in place to detect his fraud.
Michael Bruce Vorce pleaded guilty in October 2009 to two counts of a 15-count indictment alleging he and other conspirators had defrauded Lake Michigan Credit Union, the Michigan State University Federal Credit Union and 13 banks for a total of roughly $24 million.
Lake Michigan CU's part of the $24 million was $4.7 million and Vorce was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for his part in the scheme.
In his lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Vorce said he filed the suit on behalf of the credit union's members who, he argued, were victims of the credit union's failure to prevent the fraud.
"The members have been victimized by the LMCU defendant's' stunning failure to properly and lawfully operate a federally insured financial institution," Vorce wrote in his complaint, adding the members are "forced to bear the economic consequences of their misconduct which persists to this day."
According to the indictment, Vorce used fraudulent tax returns and other documents to obtain loans and lines of credit from the credit union and other financial entities and then used new fraudulently obtained loans to pay off the ones coming due.
His cover was to be running a business buying and selling boats. He alleged in his lawsuit that credit union staff did not check on whether he had ever filed the fraudulently filled out returns with the IRS, which he had not, even though he said he gave them permission to do so.
He also alleged that he used fake serial numbers to let him claim to have purchased boats that he had not purchased nor ever existed and these, too, he said, were never checked.
The credit union has not yet commented on the suit.


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Ray Allen is 36 and Steve Nash is 37.. yet these guys are still playing strong, and would probably play for a few more years.
When Battier is 35/36/37, we'll be contenders. In the meantime he's earning his keep by helping change the culture of our team into a gritty defensive team.. the kind you need to be a contender.
The age doesn't matter as much to me I guess.. considering the type of talent I'm getting back. I just think that the knowledge that a lot of NBA players (and athletes in general) have to help have a long lasting career shouldn't make someone who's 32 now going into his last contract a bad thing, especially one that seems to be one of the smartest players in the league.
Ray Allen and Steve Nash are exceptions to the rule. Is it best plan the future based on rare occurrences or is it best to plan the future based on the norm?
It's the risk takers that end up on top though, not the guys that do what everyone else does. Can you name me another player like Battier who is younger and worth about $5 million or less? Even in two years time, I can't think of someone like that - someone who wants to guard the Lebron's, Wade's, or Carmelo's of the league, do a heck of a job, not complain afterwards, and help train the young guys on the team how to do the same thing he just did.
Just like Nash would be a great mentor for a future PG.. Battier could be that mentor for our wings.
I'd need to see proof of that. There's a difference between collecting a pay cheque and playing at a high level. Steve Nash and Ray Allen have been playing at a high level... Well Allen was up to last season. He's regressing rapidly.
An important note that didn't immediately "click" is the Raptors can't offer five years.
Nash is a 2-x mvp, 7x allstar; Pierce is a finals mvp, 9x allstar; Allen is a 10x allstar. If you're that good, you can drop a level and still be better than a lot of other players. Battier has no allstar appearances; all he has is 2x all-defense 2nd team. What's worse, he relies heavily on defense for his game and defense gives way earlier because of the loss of athleticism.
Nevertheless I would not be opposed to getting Battier to help instilling a defensive mindset and on court coaching of the other players, but I would only want him on a short term contract so he won't be on the payroll when we need the flexibility and he won't bring much to the team anymore. Also, you seem to think he would want to play here for 5 mill or less, which I highly doubt.
One last note: is there any proof that Nash is a great mentor? He makes other players look better on the court with his play, but has he helped any pg becoming a better pg?
Source: Sun-SentinelMIAMI An expected windfall for NBA contending teams in search of affordable talent could wind up short-circuited by the league's soon-to-be-approved collective-bargaining agreement.
The Sun Sentinel confirmed Sunday that instead of players being released under the league's "amnesty" provision going directly to the open market, a bidding system has been put in place for teams operating below the league's salary cap to add such players at a deep discount.
"That's what the clause is in there for," a party familiar with the impending process Sunday told the Sun Sentinel. "It's so the Lakers can't go in and scoop up all the players."
Under the amnesty program, a team can waive a player in order to remove his salary from its salary cap and luxury tax, while still paying out the balance of that contract. It had been widely assumed that such players then would immediately hit the open market.
That could have positioned the Miami Heat to add players such as Baron Davis, Rashard Lewis, Brendan Haywood or Brandon Roy at the NBA salary minimum, with the players' previous teams still paying their full salaries. (Team-by-team decisions on specific players, if any, to receive amnesty releases will not be announced until after the CBA is ratified.)
However, in an outline of the proposed collective-bargaining agreement obtained by the Sun Sentinel, the NBA instead has instituted "a modified waiver process" that would allow teams operating below the salary cap to "submit competing offers to assume some but not all of the player's remaining contract."
For example, while Lewis has two years at $44 million total remaining on his contract, a team currently operating below the salary cap could bid to pay Lewis $3 million in each of those years (with the Washington Wizards, who are expected to make Lewis available, then paying the balance of his salary).
"Some of it is still not 100-percent worked out," a party familiar with the impending policy told the Sun Sentinel.
Under the about-to-be-rubber-stamped program, teams such as the Heat and Lakers that are operating well above the salary cap would therefore be precluded from bidding on such players, able to move only on amnesty players who receive no partial bids in the waiver process. For the Heat, it would be a blow in the bid to add depth around LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
For teams currently operating well below the cap, such as the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, New Jersey Nets, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Hornets, it could provide a pennies-on-the-dollar windfall.
"This just makes it more attractive or appealing for a team to pick up a contract on waivers, because they're obviously not paying the whole thing, they're only going to be paying the part that they bid on," another party involved in finalizing the process told the Sun Sentinel.
"The notion has been, unlike last time (after the 1998-99 lockout), where you have a Michael Finley, who picks the team of his choice, collects his money, and goes to the team of his choice for a million dollars, that there's going to be a secondary-bidding process. It's going to be no different than being traded."
Because of the revised process, players who had expected an amnesty release to lead to the ability to sign with the team of their choice -- with Heat forward Mike Miller possibly to be included in such a group -- could instead find themselves forced to join small-market, small-payroll teams who have ample available salary-cap space.
The next few weeks are going to be FANtastic.
Wow, this stipulation is going to make it really difficult for the high spenders to cash in big on the amnesty cuts. I like it.
This assumes he is cut of course.
This is HUGE news! And it completely opens the floodgates on what Colangelo can do to improve the roster now...rather than waiting another season.
I think that's a great idea on the nba's part, should really help increase parity.
On the other hand, I'm now completely terrified that BC is going to open the purse strings far too wide.
It may seem like more the norm because most of those older players are high profile, so you notice them more.
It's not that it won't be so bad in 3 or 4 years (although it very well might be if he's declined a lot) but the money you're spending on him might be better spent next summer on a younger free agent who will be productive longer or in a trade to bring in a bigger contract. By spending it on Battier, you're not using the money well because he's not going to have a big impact on the team when you need it most; when they're hopefully contending.
Now I am a huge fan of Battier and would have loved to have gotten him 5+ years ago, but not now. The amount of money it would take make him choose Toronto over one of the contenders that will be trying to get his services is not worth it. And the funny thing is that Kleiza, who you suggest amnesty-ing, will probably be more productive than Battier will in five years.
Read my blog, The Picket Fence. Guaranteed to make you think or your money back!
Follow me on Twitter.
Beck at NYTimes.com reporting few teams likely to avail of amnesty clause.
I disagree with this writer. Last round of amnesty teams didn't pull the trigger because the money still counted against the cap. Now this time around the money won't count against the cap. The amnesty clause isn't about getting rid of an obligation, it's about lessening the obligation and removing the obligation for the cap number. Teams won't have to pay a lump sum to the player. They will honor the contract as is, less any compensation the player gets should some team choose to claim him before he clears waivers. A team like the Blazers for example, who have a billionaire owner in Paul Allen, can afford to cut ties with Brandon Roy. Doing so would help revitalize their chances of getting back on track and avoiding tax penalties in the future. This is addition by subtraction.
Judging by the article Beck talked to one guy. Did this one guy survey the league?
What is the likelihood of a high IQ player who understands his role and does not depend on his athletism to remain effective as a 34 through 37 years old?
I would not bet against it.
Having said that, I doubt Toronto is a desirable destination for Battier at this stage of his career.
I don't think thats true at all. Older vets may not be at their peak athleticism any longer, but they make up for that in experience.What's worse, he relies heavily on defense for his game and defense gives way earlier because of the loss of athleticism.
Its those guys who's entire game was based on athleticism in the first place that give way the most at an older age (whether on D or O), not the guys whose game was based on IQ.
(this is not a statement that the Raps should sign Battier)
I would because he's not working out physics problems on a chalk board. He's playing basketball and a lot of what he does is on defense. You're selling his athletic abilities short in my opinion. I think you're understating the impact that has on his game. IQ is important but he's not just getting it done with brain power.
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Polymyositis is a rare disease of the muscles. It usually affects the muscles closest to the trunk of the body. However, it may affect muscles anywhere in the body.
Polymyositis may be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors that trigger an abnormal immune response.
Risk Factors
Polymyositis is more common in women and in people aged 31-60 years old. People with a family history of systemic lupus erythematosus are also at an increased risk.
Polymyositis causes muscles become inflamed or swollen. Symptoms may include:
- Muscle weakness that usually occurs in the hips, neck, and shoulders
- Muscle pain that increases over time
- Fatigue
- Great effort needed to climb stairs
- Trouble rising from a chair
- Difficulty reaching overhead
- Chronic dry cough
- Difficulty swallowing
Patients with polymyositis may have symptoms of:
You will be asked about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done.
Your bodily fluids and tissues may be tested. This can be done with:
- Blood tests
- Muscle biopsy
Your muscle activity may be measured. This can be done with an electromyogram (EMG).
Images may be taken of your bodily structures. This can be done with an MRI scan.
The disease is progressive and starts slowly. If left untreated, the muscles gradually become weaker. The pain in the muscles also increases. While there is no cure, treatment can improve your muscle strength and function. Talk with your doctor about the best plan for you. Options include:
Medications to treat polymyositis may include:
- Corticosteroids to reduce inflammation
- Other immunosuppressants
IV immunoglobulin therapy is another treatment option. It involves using an IV needle to inject extra immunoglobins (special proteins) into the body. This process may help the immune system function better and reduce inflammation.
Physical Therapy
Your doctor may recommend that you work with a physical therapist to prevent permanent muscle damage. Exercise may include:
- A regular stretching routine for weakened arms and legs
- Light strengthening as the pain lessens and function returns
Dietary Changes
Polymyositis can lead to problems with chewing and swallowing. By working with a registered dietitian, you can learn ways to adjust to these changes and get the nutrition that you need.
Speech Therapy
Polymyositis may also cause speech problems. A speech therapist can assess your condition and create a program for you.
Revision Information
- Reviewer: Michael Woods, MD
- Review Date: 05/2016 -
- Update Date: 05/11/2016 -


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morning SpaceX became the first private corporation to launch a large
capsule into Earth orbit, marking a landmark in the exploration of
space. At approximately 10:43 a.m. ET the
company's Dragon capsule launched from the U.S. National Aeronautics
and Space Administration's (NASA) Kennedy Space Center, aboard a
two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. The stages performed
flawlessly. The launch began with the first stage's nine
powerful Merlin 1C engines roaring to life. As they died, the
first stage dropped as planned, and the rocket soared through the
upper atmosphere. The second stage, which employs Merlin Vacuum
engine, then began firing, propelling the rocket towards orbit.
The second stage then successfully separated, and the protective
capsule cone fell away just as planned.The only remaining
objective is to test the capsule's heat shield for a successful
reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.A
Victory for Elon Musk and President ObamaThe
success thus far is a great validation for both U.S. President Barack
Obama and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Both men took great risks to
push the idea of commercial spaceflight from daydreams to
reality.Mr. Musk, a flashy billionaire who made his
fortune co-founding PayPal, lives much like his comic book equivalent
Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) whose movie he appeared in earlier this
year (in fact Iron Man director Jon Favreau cites musk as the
inspiration for Robert Downy Jr.'s take on Stark). Mr. Musk
turns notions of lackadaisical fortune barons on their head, betting
on outlandish endeavors and working slavishly to see them to
success.Mr. Musk co-founded Tesla Motors, America's first new
major automaker in 54 years. He spent $400M
USD of his fortune to advance SpaceX to its current point of
success. The entrepreneur serves as CEO for both companies,
frequently spending 100+ hours a week on his duties. He was on
hand personally supervising the launch, of course.Much like
with Tesla Motors, many sneered at Mr. Musk's claims -- and some
still do. Mr. Musk claims that by the end of 2011, SpaceX will
be delivering cargo to the International Space Station and within
three years his company will be able to deliver astronauts to it at a
cost $30M USD per astronaut less than his sole competitor -- the
Russian Federal Space Agency. Many doubt he will succeed.But
for all that doubt SpaceX was the first company to launch
a commercial rocket into low Earth orbit, and the only company in
world history to launch
a satellite aboard a commercial rocket. SpaceX did
what aerospace giants like Boeing could not -- develop a financially
feasible launch vehicle.SpaceX has secured a number of large
launch contracts from corporations and the U.S. government already
thanks to that success. So it might be folly to bet against its
next objective -- to become the first commercial entity to put
astronauts in space.The success is also a win for U.S.
President Barack Obama. Facing a large budget deficit, thanks
in part to his expensive stimulus measures, President Obama made the
painful decision of cutting back on NASA funding, deciding to turn
to commercial companies like SpaceX and rival startup
Orbital Sciences to provide its transportation needs.That was
a huge risk. While past Presidents and members of Congress had
long talked about offloading launch duties to commercial entities, no
one had been able to do it. President Obama's critics were
quick to blast the plan, labeling it the
end of spaceflight.What's
mentioned the capsule still has to complete a low-Earth orbit (LEO)
and successfully touch down. Assuming success, the
rocket should begin ferrying cargo to the ISS later next year.
It will have a capacity of 6,000 kg, with a return cargo capacity of
3,000 kg. The average cost per flight will be under $5,360
USD/kg. The previous
cheapest launch vehicle [PDF] was Russia's Rockot, a
converted ICBM, which delivered cargo for $7,297 USD/kg (the Russian
Sh'til was also rumored to be very cheap, but its launch was
subsidized at an undisclosed rate by the Russian Navy, rendering
valid comparison impossible). The U.S. Space Shuttle, the
primary U.S. workhorse, had costs of around $10,400 USD/kg.Then
in 2013 it is expected to carry astronauts to the ISS for the first
time. The passenger variant of the Dragon capsule can carry up
to seven people, or a mix of crew and cargo. It will be
competing with Boeing, who also
designing a passenger spacecraft.Given its reasonable
launch costs, it would be surprising if SpaceX didn't jump into the
burgeoning space tourism business. Currently Richard
Branson's Virgin Galactic enjoys reign over this sector, but
his Spaceships One & Two reaches only 100 km -- which while the
"edge of space" isn't true low earth orbit. LEO
begins at around 160 km. SpaceX would likely offer a pricier,
but more impressive tour of space.And it may be overly
forward looking, but it would not be surprising to see SpaceX compete
for contracts to send astronauts or potentially colonies to the Moon
or Mars. After all, as the U.S. showed, the critical advance is
being able to put astronauts
in space. Once you've accomplished that, the sky's the
This story will be updated to reflect the results of the re-entry,
when it gets them. You can follow NASA's live Twitter
feed here.
Updated Wed. Dec. 8, 2010 11:45 p.m.-
After orbiting the earth at over 17,000 mph, the Dragon capsule completed its three hour flight this afternoon, successfully landing in the Pacific Ocean at around 2 p.m. EST. The craft landed approximately 500 miles off the coast of California.
With the successful launch SpaceX becomes the first commercial entity to join the elite club of LEO victors, that was previously occupied by governments of global superpowers. Only the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India and the European Space Agency have reached LEO, but now SpaceX has officially joined that list.


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Minnesota CUs Meet With Senator as They Hike the Hill
During CUNA's Governmental Affairs Conference last week in Washington, nearly 100 credit union representatives from across Minnesota asked members of Congress to support raising the member business lending cap because it will help businesses grow and create new jobs.
"Minnesota credit unions are eager to fulfill the lending needs of their business-owning members. They want to do their part to help boost the economy," said Mara Humphrey, vice president for governmental affairs at the Minnesota Credit Union Network.
In Minnesota, credit unions could lend nearly $193 million in the first year if the MBL cap is raised to 27.5% of assets, creating more than 2,000 jobs in the state – at no cost to taxpayers, the MnCUN said.
Credit unions have a sound track record when it comes to business loans, and they specialize in smaller loan amounts, according to MnCUN. The average MBL loan in the state is $135,000.
In addition to the MBL issue, Minnesota's credit union representatives asked members of Congress to reduce regulatory burdens on credit unions. The CU grassroots group stressed that every dollar a credit union spends on regulatory compliance is a dollar that is not being used to benefit its members.
"We appreciate the participation of our credit unions in this important advocacy event," Humphrey said. "Personal interaction with our elected officials is the best way to keep credit unions at the forefront of our legislators' minds as they deliberate important issues. We appreciate the opportunity to remind them that credit unions are the preferred, trusted financial institutions for more than 1.5 million Minnesotans."
In preparation for legislative visits, Minnesota's credit union representatives attended a luncheon in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, with guest speaker Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).
Expressing her affinity for credit unions, Klobuchar thanked attendees for their recent and ongoing work to stabilize the economy.
"I understand the value that credit unions bring to the state of Minnesota," she told the group.


text:
With rising gas prices and the government's
keen eye on CAFE numbers, more and more fuel efficient vehicles are
starting to flood the market. Turbocharging was once relegated to performance
cars and diesels, but now manufacturers are starting to adopt the direct
injection and turbocharging for their mainstream gasoline engine vehicles.
Hyundai has found success by replacing its V6 engine on the Sonata with a 274
hp turbocharged inline-4. Likewise, Ford has found success with its
EcoBoost V6 engines in the Taurus SHO, Flex, and F-150.
Now, Ford is bringing a new 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder
to the recently revamped Explorer crossover. While the Explorer is currently
available with a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 that produces 283 hp (@6,500
rpm) and 252 lb-ft of torque (@4,100 rpm), the new EcoBoost generated 240 hp
(@5,500 rpm) and 272 lb-ft of torque (3,000 rpm). The new engine is paired with
a 6-speed automatic transmission and is only available with front-wheel drive models.
Many people would likely give up the 40 horses
for the added low-end grunt and the fuel economy increase. The V6 is rated at
17/25/20 (city/highway/combined) while the new EcoBoost four-cylinder is rated
at 20/28/25. Ford says that these numbers better segment rivals like the Toyota
Highlander and the Honda Pilot.
Much like the EcoBoost V6 engine option (which
is more expensive than the 5.0-liter V8), the EcoBoost four-cylinder in the
Explorer will command a $995 price premium versus the V6.
"Today's SUV buyers place a high priority
on miles per gallon, so Explorer has expanded its portfolio of fuel-efficient
engines with an all-new EcoBoost offering," said Amy Marentic, Ford group
marketing manager. "SUV buyers deserve efficiency with their capability,
so Explorer now offers best-in-class V6 and four-cylinder fuel
Ford has seen the sales of its V6-equipped
F-150s eclipse
those of the larger V8 engines as buyers flock to power and fuel economy --
the company is hoping that that same formula works for the Explorer which has
already sold more units in the first six months of 2011 than the old model did
in all of 2010.
Ford is also bringing an EcoBoost
three-cylinder engine to its subcompact Fiesta.


text:
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Many Americans who could buy long-term care insurance (LTCI) don't. Why?
Are the decisions a matter of taste, the result of confusion — or, perhaps, the result of a lack of understanding that LTCI exists?
The SCAN Foundation, a think tank that aims to study and improve senior care, recently tried to get answers by working with Gary Langer, the former ABC director of polling, to do a survey with a little more depth than many other long-term care (LTC) planning surveys.
The foundation commissioned a telephone survey of 1,019 U.S. adults ages 40 and older, then had Langer do a study that included a sometimes-biting review of other LTC planning survey efforts and a more detailed set of questions than insurers, insurance trade groups or even government agencies typically use.
Langer found, for example, that high-income consumers with at least some college education were much more likely to own private LTCI than other consumers.
Bruce Chernof (left), the president of the foundation and the chair of the federal Commission on Long-Term Care, took time recently to talk about what the study says about four things we know, and don't know, about LTC planning.
1. Confidence.
Langer and the foundation survey team thought hard about consumer confidence while doing and writing up the survey.
The researchers found, for example, that confidence may correlate with education and income but also seems to have a separate, positive influence on the likelihood that people will buy LTCI coverage.
Lack of confidence shaped the actions of two of the five groups the researchers came up with.
Some consumers were unaware of the need for LTC planning, and others were too busy to plan. Some had already bought private LTCI or made other arrangements for taking care of LTC needs.
But one group that was affected by lack of confidence consisted of people at a crossroads: "People who think they might need long-term care in the future, but are unsure."
Another group affected was pessimistic people: People who think it's too late to plan for Medicare and think that making plans is futile. "They are counting on Medicare to cover their costs," Langer said in the report.
In the interview, Chernof said confidence is an important independent variable that correlates with good performance, Chernof said.
"Confidence equates with planning," Chernof said. "Not just planning, but effective planning."
2. Awareness.
In the survey report, Langer noted that 65 percent of Americans ages 40 and older said they'd done little or no LTC planning, and that barely half were confident that they knew where to go for LTC planning information.
That lack of awareness suggests that simply giving people confidence about knowing where to go for information could help, Langer said. "The process of gaining information may produce greater awareness that, in turn, bolsters support for fresh approaches to long-term care policies and programs," he added.
Chernof said LTCI agents should recognize that simply helping people become aware enough that they know they ought to plan could help.
People "don't generally think this will happen to them," Chernof said. "The reality is that this is a common thing."
3. Words.
Chernof thinks, based on separate focus group research the foundation is conducting, that many people may be missing out on public and private LTC planning resources because the developers of the resources use the wrong words.
People like words like "independence," "choice" and "dignity" more then they like "nursing home," Chernof said.
The foundation created a "word cloud" based on the words used during the focus group discussions, and words like "active," "community" and "secure" were much more visible than most words having to do with medical care.
4. Products.
Chernof said he thinks one area for further research is how LTCI products and other LTC planning products could be made more attractive to consumers.
Cost may be one factor, but it's not clear that that's the only factor, he said.
See also:


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Your tax invoice can be downloaded on flysaa.com under Manage & Fly 72 hours after the e-ticket has been issued.
If a Tax Invoice has been successfully generated from the South African Airways Tax Invoice System, the onus rests on the recipient to ensure that his/her mailbox has enough space to receive an e-mail - with a PDF attachment; and that his//her service provider or exchange server allows for delivery of such e-mails. South African Airways, can not take responsibility for undelivered e-mails due to any other reasons beyond our control including the above.
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Cape Town, 4 November 2012 - South African Airways (SAA) today announced the winners of its competition for wines to be served on board its aircraft in 2013.
The winning wines will be served on all SAA domestic, regional and international flights and in the airline's business class lounges. South Africa's top wine producers submitted a total of 1030 local whites, reds, and dessert and sparkling wines to an international judging panel.
"South African wines are consistently rated amongst the best in the world, and as South Africa's international flag carrier, we are very proud to serve some of the best products our vintners have to offer," said Tlali Tlali, SAA's Group Corporate Affairs Executive. "Our annual on board wine competition gives South African winemakers the opportunity to have their wines profiled globally to SAA customers' discerning palates.
A distinguished panel of 12 judges tasted the submitted wines in Paarl earlier this year. Awards were presented to the winning wines last night in Somerset West.
SAA's 2013 Trophy Wines are:
White Wine: Stellenrust Chenin Blanc 2012
Red Wine: Cederberg Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
Methode Cap Classic: Anura Brut Chardonnay/Pinot Noir 2009
Port: KWV Tawny Port N/V
Two special awards for best vineyards were also announced:
SAA CEO's Award for best performance by a single vineyard: Anura Vineyards (Pty) Ltd
SAA Chairperson's Award for largest wine supplier to SAA: Anura Vineyards (Pty) Ltd
SAA has traditionally supported the South African wine industry, providing an opportunity to showcase the best wines to the world. The annual selection process for wines to be served on SAA flights gives local producers valuable feedback from an expert panel on the quality of their produce.
"Our passengers rightly expect fantastic wines as part of our outstanding service package," said Tlali. "The highly experienced panel of judges help us ensure that SAA procures the best and most suitable wines for inflight service South African wineries have to offer."
Further Information on the Judging Panel
A panel of internationally and locally recognised wine experts judged the wines, including:
• Bongi Sodladla - SAA's Sommelier and Global Food and Beverage Manager;
• Yegas Naidoo - SAA Voyager Lifetime Platinum member;
• Ntsiki Biyela - Winemaker at Stellekaya Wines;
• Sandra Lotz - former CEO of Paarl Vintners;
• Andrea Freeborough - Cellarmaster at Die Bergkelder;
• Carmen Steven - Winemaker at Amani Vineyards;
• Cathy Marston - UK wine writer;
• Francis Bayly - Chairman of the SA National Wine Show Association;
• Tariro Masayiti - Red wine maker at KWV;
• Annegret Gartner - Managing Director of Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt wine estate, Germany;
• Miguel Chan - Group Sommelier for Southern Sun hotels; and
• Alan Wong - advisor to Tuscan wine producer Ruffino, Schloss Vollrads in the Rheingau, and Ridge Vineyards in Northern California.
For more information contact:
SAA Group Corporate Affairs
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Head: Communication
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God is at work
World Vision U.S. president Rich Stearns and his wife, Reneé, released two new books last week! He Walks Among Us: Encounters With Christ in a Broken World is a book of devotionals, and God's Love For You is a Bible storybook for kids.
Today, Rich describes the journey of writing these books and his encounters with God during his travels all around the world with Reneé and World Vision.
* * *
When was the last time you experienced a holy moment? At our annual Day of Prayer, which begins our fiscal year, speaker and author Gordon McDonald asked us that question. We need to encounter God in those special ways.
One place where I can expect to discover God is when I visit World Vision projects around the world. One thing we learn about Jesus in the Gospels is that he identified with the poor and downtrodden. So, I guess it makes sense that if we want to find Jesus, we should look for him among the poor.
This week my wife Reneé and I published two books together, a devotional called He Walks Among Us and a children's book, God's Love for You Bible Storybook. Each book tells the stories of the holy moments we have experienced while visiting World Vision projects around the world. Together, Reneé and I have been to dozens of countries and seen how World Vision is working on behalf of children, their families, and their communities. We have learned that God is present, and he is at work in our world.
I think of Joel, a dentist on a boat traveling the Rio Negro in Brazil. Joel shared his infectious smile and his love for Jesus with children up and down the river. After Joel finished working on each child's teeth, they not only shared his smile, but Joel had helped to make it a beautiful one. The joy Joel shared with those children was a demonstration that God was there.
I think of Htun Htun (pronounced Tun Tun) Win from Myanmar. He was born with a deformed spine in a very poor family. His deformity led to paralysis, incontinence, and open wounds. Unable to care for him, Htun Htun's family abandoned him to the streets. It was there where a World Vision team caring for street children found him. After surgeries and care, Htun Htun joined the children's choir. As we watched them perform, the children wheeled this little boy, still a frail figure, to the front of the stage. And then he sang in the most hauntingly beautiful voice. We were in tears, and once again I saw that God was there, amid the pain of deformity and rejection.
He does indeed walk among us. We see him, as Mother Teresa said, "in the distressing disguise of the poor."
Day to day, we don't always see when God is present in our lives. We read stories in the Bible of how God rescued Noah or miraculously provided food during a famine, but we don't always see God at work in our lives in the same way.
As Reneé and I talked about writing this Bible storybook, I realized that God is as present and active in our world now as he ever was. Today, when communities are ravaged by flood, God is present. When famine strikes, God is there, often through the hands and feet of his people. As Gordon McDonald reminded us, we can discover those holy moments when God is with us.
As we look ahead to the Christmas season, we remember that God came in the "distressing disguise" of a poor little baby born in a manger. And he is still in this world. He is with us as the Holy Spirit. In a different way, he is in the face of the poor. And he is working through our hands when we provide a cup of water for the thirsty or a loaf of bread for the hungry.
I am thankful for World Vision supporters who are helping to make God present to a person in need. May God be with you.
You'll find He Walks Among Us and God's Love For You available for purchase through your favorite book vendors at Rich Stearns's website, along with his other books, Unfinished and The Hole In Our Gospel.


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SourceBack to the point guard issue, he wouldn't be suited to an offense where the point guard has the ball in his hands constantly. But he would be an ideal point guard to pair with someone like Tyreke Evans or Brandon Roy because he doesn't need the ball in his hands and will hit open perimeter shots and has enough handle and general basketball sense to trigger an offense.
Bradley is a very intelligent, alert and committed defender. Those three qualities sound simple to possess, but it is baffling to see how rare it is for so players at this age, and it is all you really need to be comptetent.
When you combine those three attributes, with his length, wingspan and lateral quickness, Bradley becomes a potential lock-down defender of opposing point guards and smaller wings.
I know most people think we need a big man, but Avery Bradley sounds like he would fit into the Raptors pretty well. He wouldn't need the ball in his hands, which would allow Hedo to be the primary ball handler. Also, as a lockdown defender at the point guard position, that would fix a primary weakness, plus indirectly help Bargnani as he wouldn't need to help on defense as much. If Bradley can stop a lot of penetration by opposing point guards, we would not have as much need for a shotblocker.
I'm not saying he would be the answer to all the Rap's problems, but he deserves a good long look.


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Konik provides an easy way to create, read, and validate ZUGFeRD invoices. It features an easy and understandable API, extensive documentation with examples, logical invoice validation with JSR303, validation of invoices against ZUGFeRD profiles, validation of invoices against specific country invoice regulations, easy invoice appending or extracting in and from PDFs, and multiple PDF Carriages from different vendors.
Bear is a lightweight remote automation tool for Groovy/Java/JVM. It allows you to deploy projects, setup your cluster, and install software to your remote machines. It differs from other existing tools in that it uses a programmatic approach - your deployment is a regular Java class. It also uses static types, chained method calls, FP, and fluent programming techniques.
Simple Workflow is a workflow engine. It is simple to use (you need to call only two methods and implement one interface), written in Java 7, uses a simple domain language to describe workflows, can be used with any storage backend (SQL, NoSQL, file, etc.), can be used with any frontend, and has a high level of backend/frontend abstraction.
Wenity is a multi-platform Zenity clone that helps (shell) script writers to interact with their users through various types of GUI dialogs. Scripts call Wenity and receive the user's selection in the exit code/response file. It supports any operating system with Java and a GUI installed, supports complex return types by using response files, and has a modular architecture supporting different functions: simple dialogs (user input, information, question, error/warning), progress indicator dialogs, system tray notifications, file choosers, and file viewers (text and HTML).
SwingTail is a small GUI implementation of the Unix tail command. It has a simple interface with tabs so that you can have multiple files open at the same time. Open files can be paused and resumed by clicking on the play/pause icon on the tab. There is also a bookmark feature that works just like boomarks in a Web browser.
The Arakhn�.org Foundation Classes (AFC) is a collection of Java libraries (based on Maven) that provides a collection of utilities that are not provided in the standard Java API. Many utility classes are provided: file filters, progress indicators, arrays, collections, VM utilities, text utilities, math tools (point, vector, matrix, shape, etc.), widgets for AWT, Swing, and Android, a platform-independent graphical API, and more.
TWSI is software that produces lexical substitutions in context for over 1000 frequent nouns. It processes English text. This functionality is realized by a supervised word sense disambiguation system, which is trained by sense-labeled occurrences of target words. A classification model is trained for each word, and used to decide which sense an unseen occurrence most likely belongs to. Associated with senses are lists of substitutions, which are injected into the text using inline annotation.


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In the first part of our post on my impressions of the recent T3 conference, we discussed the ongoing shift to the cloud, as well as the always interesting rise of the integrators. We now turn to challenges for emerging technology and the possible areas for growth at T3.
Emerging Technology Challenges
Seeing the cutting edge of technology at the T3 conference also served to highlight some of the challenges emerging about the pace and direction of technology development as well, underscored by the irony that several sessions themselves were plagued by Powerpoint and A/V problems (albeit to a very sympathetic technology-inclined audience).
One of the most notable emerging technology challenges was how some vendors are clearly struggling with decisions about their direction for supporting mobile devices. While the adoption rate of tablets has been rapid with advisors—the recent Financial Planning magazine Tech Survey showed upwards of half of all advisors already own one, despite the fact that iPads haven't even been out for three years yet—software companies are clearly struggling with deciding what platform to develop for, even as advisors struggling to figure out how best to efficiently use tablets will be a major theme for 2013 in the first place.
While the aforementioned Tech Survey indicated that more than 80% of advisors own iPads, a non-trivial number are using Android or Windows devices (RIA custodian TradePMR in particular demonstrated an impressive Windows 8 app), and the latter categories are growing, and for most firms it's a challenge to develop for all three environments simultaneously. Some have chosen to focus on one direction in particular, while others have decided to focus not on making apps but simply on having a quality web-based interface that can be utilized from a browser on any device and platform.
Similarly, another notable trend was the increasing number of platforms that are trying to create apps (e.g., the RetireLogix financial planning app or the Orion Advisor Services app) or privately branded "portals" or "vaults" for the clients of advisors built onto the back end of many software packages (e.g., from eMoney Advisor).
Yet at the same time, the proliferation of apps, portals and vaults itself may become problematic for some firms. To the extent that each software package has its own offering, suddenly clients may end up with a confusing array of overlapping apps and portals to use, eliminating much of the simplification benefit they were intended to bring. It remains to be seen if new providers will emerge that can integrate multiple software packages and platforms for a client portal in a similar manner to what's being built for advisors.
Overall, though, perhaps the greatest technology challenge apparent at the conference remains the simple fact that advisors are only moving in a wary, begrudging manner to the cloud.
Room For Further Growth
Notwithstanding the success of the T3 conference itself, it's notable that the event clearly still has more room to grow.
For instance, there are now only a few financial planning software providers remaining at all. MoneyGuidePro, NaviPlan, eMoney Advisor, and MoneyTree continue to dominate the marketplace, with IAS and Sungard lagging behind, although newcomer inStream Wealth is threatening to shake up the environment by demonstrating new ways that software can help change the delivery of financial planning to make it more proactive.
The number of popular CRM platforms is even fewer, and the core portfolio accounting software offerings are even fewer still. The software space for advisors is clearly still ripe for new disruptors, and the trend toward independence and cloud-based platforms appears to be making software innovation more appealing as it increases both the flexibility of software, the opportunities for integration and the potential number of advisor clients for new startup companies.
In addition, for a technology conference, there was a remarkable dearth of offerings for online/digital solutions for advisors themselves. For instance, RegEd was the only social media compliance tool that chose to participate in the conference—despite the thriving #T32013 conference hashtag on Twitter—and only AdvisorWebsites and Advisor Studios were offering state-of-the-art website design and supporting video and graphic design services for advisors.
Over all, the conference offering appeared to be disproportionately tilted toward the service needs of RIAs in particular—unique portfolio management (trading and rebalancing), accounting, and reporting tools. Notably, the tools for portfolio design are becoming more sophisticated as well, from old stalwarts like Morningstar to newer entrants like Hidden Levers (although competitor MacroRisk Analytics was nowhere to be seen) and conference newcomers StatPro and Riskalyze (the latter didn't even have a booth, but its CEO participated in the conference).
Nonetheless, the bottom line is that the Technology Tools for Today conference is clearly now a permanent fixture of the financial advisory world. As I've noted in the past, it is already one of the top 7 conferences for financial advisors, and the technology industry clearly thinks so as well, as last year MoneyGuidePro timed its latest G3 software release to the conference, and this year Envestnet used it as an opportunity to announce its new support for mobile devices. From its blend of technology solutions that can augment the efficiency of advisors and their practices, to the networking opportunities for companies that serve them, the T3 2014 conference will clearly be a can't miss event.


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I would assume Sacramento Charlotte Brooklyn
I'm guessing that the author had a minimum number of words that they needed to fill as they decided to extend the list fairly far, but either way, here is the order as they listed it:
1) Raptors
2) Sacramento
3) Charlotte
4) Lakers
5) Phoenix
6) Brooklyn
7) Washington
8) Philadelphia
9) Minnesota
10) Clippers
11) New York
I mainly posted it not due to anything groundbreaking, but mainly as it seems momentum is gaining despite the metaphor that says Phil would never consider the Raptors.
I particularly love reading about Jackson's true appreciation for Alex MeKechnie. For some reason that just warms my heart! I would love it if the penny-pinching the Lakers did during the lock-out (releasing MeKechnie to save a few dollars) not only leads Alex to the Raptors, but helps bring Jackson here as well.
Last edited by Shantz; Wed May 1st, 2013 at 05:15 PM.
- several good young players
- assuming 2013 1st round pick goes to OKC, they have full compliment of 1st round picks moving forward
- lots of expiring contract $$ over the next couple seasons
- amnesty still in play (Kleiza or Bargnani)
- team/ownership that is real about wanting to build a conteder, with deep pockets and willingness to spend
- passionate fan base in a sports-crazed city, with an entire country supporting Canada's team
- ability to pick his own GM and head coach
- of all the teams in that list, only Phoenix and the 3 California teams have better climates than Toronto (to somewhat help put that rumor to rest)
It may be a long shot, but why not? We do need to start thinking of the Raptors as a top-tier team... the culture/outlook change needs to include the fans too. The new President of MLSE and Phil Jackson as Raptors President would certainly go a long way toward establishing the credibilty of the Raptors franchise in the eyes of American basketball media/experts/players, etc...
Can these kind of signings be made now or does it have to happen after the playoffs are over?
So whats plan B???
Phil is with the Pistons as an advisor
He's going to be an advisor for the piston's.
Just posted this in the Phil for prez thread but cooool people have to know anyway I guess Raps were never really on his "list" Show us what you got Leiweke!
From reading that article, I get the impression his position with the Pistons is strictly as a consultant in regards to them hiring a new coach. I'm not sure its a permanent position.
This isn't like Flip Saunders new deal in Minnesota, where he assumes a minority Ownership role.
Jackson is just a consultant for the Pistons.
June 30th is when Leiwke assumes his position right? that week Im expecting some good Rap news. I dont think anything will be happening till around Canada day.
The article only mentions head coach search, so that will only last a handful of weeks at most. You guys can still keep your hopes up (lol)
This confirms to me that Phil Jackson has essentially agreed to a position with the Raptors. It creates a smokescreen which deflects additional deals, gives Jackson a payday while keeping his name in the news and just adds to his credibility when the Pistons choose their next great coach. Clearly a mastermind move by Leiweke to muddy the waters while he and Jackson work out the final details of Phils contract with MLSE. Book it!
Last edited by Puffer; Fri May 3rd, 2013 at 08:20 AM. Reason: spelling, gratuitous comment
Detroit? What? Why?
Totally baffled by this development.
I feel Detroit asked him to be a coach, he said no (probably has other plans.. Raptors?), and they responded 'well at least help us find one?'
He is not committed in any way shape or form. He is helping them to find a coach to suit their team. Thats it!
I actually think the fact that he is only advising for them a good sign that he is thinking seriously about joining the Raptors.
Taking a look at that list, the Raptors have a much more favorable situation than the top 5 likely choices.
I am starting to get excited.
The Baltic Beast is unstoppable!
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Submit News
IDF 2011: Intel Looks to Take a Bite Out of ARM, AMD With 3D FinFET Tech
Jason Mick
September 13, 2011 10:15 PM
Recipient E-mail
Sender E-mail
New technology drastically reduces power, greatly improves performance
We're live this week at the
2011 Intel Developer Forum
, which is being held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Calif.
I. Go 3D or Go Home
On Tuesday
Mark Bohr
, a senior research fellow at the world's biggest personal computer and server CPU maker, Intel Corp. (
), reviewed the
upcoming Tri-Gate transistor technology
. This technology is known by a few other names -- 3D metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (3D MOSFET) and Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET), a term coined by
University of California, Berkley
researchers in a 1999
on 3D transistors.
Now 3D transistors aren't terribly new in terms of a research and development concept, with over a decade of work behind the devices. The important thing here is that Intel is the first company to be bringing this technology to the market, and if its claims hold true this technology may essentially negate any
architectural advantages
that its competitors such as ARM chipmakers NVIDIA Corp. (
) and Qualcomm, Inc. (
) and x86 rival Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (
) may hold.
If there's one silver lining for Intel's competitors, it's that Mr. Bohr essentially admitted that yields weren't currently at production levels, though he insists that his company "is always surprised by how much yields improve at the last second."
In other words the first 3D transistor product from Intel (the 22 nm
Ivy Bridge
core) hasn't quite shipped yet. But if Intel can deliver, it's competitors may have cause for concern as the veteran chipmaker claims.
II. The Presentation
Ah, there's our speaker, Mr. Bohr.
So Mr. Bohr starts by refreshing our memory on how traditional MOSFET (transistor) scaling works. Basically, the rules of transistor scaling were pioneered by International Business Machines, Inc.'s (
) research fellow
Robert H. Dennard
in the 1970s. The idea is that all transistors share basically the same design, with key structural features such as a gate, a source, and a drain. With each die shrink, all of these features scale by some given fraction -- say 0.7 (the example Mr. Bohr used)
This scaling worked pretty well up until recently. Die shrinks slowly improved transistor performance and brought down costs to the level where consumers can today obtain a PC CPU with what was once supercomputer processing power for under $100.
However, at very small sizes (e.g. 90 nm or less) transistors begin to waste more and more power with each die shrink. This is due to two kinds of leakage current, gate oxide leakage and subthreshold leakage. The gate oxide leakage is present when the transistor is switched on; the subthreshold leakage is present when it's switched off.
It's here that the problems for Intel and it's rivals begin.
Intel's first solution to the problem of leakage was to create strained silicon transistors on the 90 nm node back in 2003.
In 2007 Intel introduced
, a line of 45 nm CPUs that brought another nifty trick -- hafnium based high-K dielectrics.
Between strained silicon and the high-K dielectrics (which Mr. Bohr would later say the competition is still "struggling to get right") Intel was able to sustain performance gains for a bit longer. But it would need a new trick to keep things going at the 22 nm node, where leakage was an even bigger issue than ever before.
So Intel turned to the Tri-Gate transistor. As early as 2002, Intel's R&D labs had been working on this type of complex device.
Mr. Bohr recalls that at IDF 2009, Intel CEO Paul Otellini showed off working 22 nm SRAM. He says that Mr. Otellini "didn't mention tri-gate in 2009" as Intel "didn't want to show its hand" to competitors.
Now Intel believes it can begin production on the complicated design by the end of the year -- Q4 2011.
So what is a 3D transistor? To understand here's what a normal transistor looks like. Note the source and drain are separated by a thin layer under the gate. Current flows along the surface of this layer based on the input to the gate.
In the FinFET, the source and drain are raised fin-like structures. Current now travels along all three protruding faces of the surface-to-drain moiety.
Multiple transistors can share a common gate and common contacts, for easy construction of dense logic circuits.
Intel shows off pictures of the 22 nm 3D transistors and how they appear starkly different from a visual perspective from their predecessor, the 32 nm planar transistor.
Mr. Bohr was unequivocal about Intel's decision to fully throw out the planar transistor in new chip designs. He states, "We have only tri-gate transistors, we have no planar transistors."
One way the tri-gate transistor reduces leakage is by using a fully-depleted fin. This differs from the standard planar transistor, in which there's typically a voltage between the substrate and the gate oxide, resulting in leakage current flow and power waste.
Tri-Gate transistors can reduce the channel current to next to nothing. But the better approach from a power savings perspective is to use the gains to stick with current channel current levels, but reduce the required gate voltage.
Intel's 22 nm FinFET are 37 percent faster (in terms of gate delay vs. 32 nm planar chips) when the operating voltage is held constant. In other words, in performance CPUs, you'll be able to use the same amount of power and see much faster performance. Intel was careful to note that this effect is more accentuated at the low voltage end (the 37 percent is for an operating voltage of 0.7 V) versus the high voltage end (Intel said at 1.0 V, the increase would be more like 18 percent).
The flip side of the coin is that you can keep the same time, but cut the power used by approximately 0.2V. When that adds up over billions of transistors, each using small rations of current, that can yield big power savings.
(Note: Intel included the gray line to show what 22 nm planar transistor performance would have looked like -- good, but not as good as the FinFETs.)
The chipmaker will now be offering its design team three separate kinds of transistors -- higher leakage (~100 nA/um), high power (HP) transistors, capable of the fastest frequency; moderately fast transistors -- standard power (SP) -- with relatively low leakage (~1 nA/um) and the very lowest power (LP) transistors (~0.02 nA/um), which will only be capable of supporting lower clock frequencies.
Intel sees the HP transistors predominately used in servers and desktops, the SP chips in ultrabooks/tablets, and the LP chips used in pocket devices (e.g. smartphones).
The company breaks down this strategy yet again...
Intel says it will offer chipmakers a "buffet" of options in terms of performance versus power consumption versus price. Presumably it's talking primarily about its internal chip design teams, but an exchange with Mr. Bohr led us to believe that very large partners may be able to sway Intel into producing specialized designs.
Some may find Intel's internal codenames for the 32 nm, 22 nm, and 14 nm nodes interesting. What's more interesting is that Intel plans to produce two different varieties of chip at each node -- a stand alone CPU (think traditional CPU) and a system-on-a-chip (complete with integrated graphics, RAM, etc.).
Intel emphasized that there were other differences between the CPU and SoC. For example the SoC uses high voltage I/O transistors, while the CPU does not. This higher voltage presumably allows for a lower peak current.
As we mentioned, the tri-gate transistors will launch with
Ivy Bridge
in H1 2012.
Intel plans to carry out the manufacturing of the chips at five fabs. Currently, only the D1D Oregon fab -- an R&D-heavy facility -- is capable of producing the complicated designs. Intel clearly has its work cut out for it.
States Mr. Bohr, "There were very clear challenges [to production] a year ago."
He says yields are still not at production-ready levels.
Intel blasted competitors in this slide. It says it beat them to strained silicon, it beat them to high-K dielectrics, and it's now beaten them to FinFETs. Intel says it's confident that its rivals won't release FinFET designs until at least 2015, giving it three years of unrivaled market time.
Intel singled out rivals
Electronics Comp., Ltd. (
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (
), and GlobalFoundries Inc. as being laggards.
Note GlobalFoundries makes AMD's CPU chips, while the other named parties make the majority of the ARM chips found in tablets and smartphones.
Intel says its competitors are falling farther behind with each new technology, using their planned deployment targets for strained silicon, high-K dielectrics, and FinFETs as evidence.
Mr. Bohr concluded stating, "Our competitors are still on a planar design at their 22 nm process, which will just not be able to keep up in power and performance."
III. Conclusions:
Mr. Bohr may be right. If Intel can get yields up, and if it's being forthcoming about how dramatic the power efficiency gains (via leakage reduction) are
Ivy Bridge
looks poised to dominate the personal computer market.
And once Intel can bring this technology to the Atom lineup -- which it hopes to do in 2013 -- it will have essentially nullified the ARM architecture's greatest advantage.
Of course even if Intel can deliver superior chips to ARM in the mobile space, it may still be at a disadvantage from a business perspective, given how entrenched ARM is. For example, 25 percent of smartphones currently sold and approximately 60 percent of the tablets currently sold are Apple, Inc. (AAPL) devices. Apple has shown no desire to switch from ARM to x86.
Thus Intel may find itself in a similar situation to AMD at the debut of the Opteron chip -- it may have the better product, but face trouble gaining ground in an entrenched market.
The real pity here is that Intel thus far refuses to consider -- at least publicly -- producing an ARM CPU. When it comes to mobile devices, which tend to be able to get by on a smaller instruction set, etc. there's certain inherent power efficiencies granted by adopting an ARM architecture. In short Intel is competing based on its process, while ARM is competing based on its architecture.
One can only hope that Intel might have a change of heart and find a way to license ARM core designs (either via an acquisition or a new licensing petition) and merge the Tri-Core technology with ARM ahead of its rivals. Now that would truly be the best of both worlds.
"If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." -- Scientology founder L. Ron. Hubbard
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The Florida Bar News
June 1, 2013
Positions Available - Attorneys
Vernis & Bowling - Expanding "AV-RATED" law firm seeks aggressive attorneys with federal and/or state court experience in employment law, commercial litigation, personal injury, workers' compensation, and civil litigation defense for its Ft. Lauderdale, DeLand, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, Clearwater, Pensacola, Florida Keys, N. Palm Beach, Miami, Atlanta, Mobile, and Birmingham, AL offices. Exceptional opportunity and benefits. Fax resume to: (305) 892-1260.
Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. - Attorneys At Law: A multi-office law firm seeking ATTORNEYS for its Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Ft. Myers, West Palm Beach, and Pensacola offices. Recruiting attorneys for Litigation and Corporate Law Departments. For Litigation Department: looking for attorneys with experience in the following practice areas: professional liability defense, general liability defense, insurance defense, commercial litigation, and workers compensation defense. Portable Book of Business a plus. For Corporate Law Department: looking for attorneys with experience handling securities and broker dealer matters, international and domestic taxation, bankruptcy, real estate, intellectual property, international law, corporate structure, asset protection, land use, and mergers and acquisitions. Portable book of business a plus. Also seeking 1-3 year associates in all offices. Email resume to [email protected].
The City of Miami is seeking a City Attorney to lead the in-house legal department of the City and supervise the services of all attorneys employed by the City and its agencies. The City Attorney is a charter officer of the City, responsible for all legal matters related to the City's municipal government and corporate affairs. Additionally, the City Attorney shall be a full-time government employee and shall not engage in the private practice of law. Job announcement and additional details: http://www.miamigov.com/cityattorney/employment.html. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: Graduation from an accredited college of law; must be an attorney-at-law admitted to the practice in the State of Florida; and have a minimum of ten (10) years progressively responsible legal experience. ADDITIONAL FACTORS THAT ARE DESIRABLE BUT ARE NOT PREREQUISITES: Significant expertise and experience of applicant representing state and local public sector entities in Florida; and City, County & Local Government Law Certification issued by the Florida Bar. COMPENSATION: The salary range is open and will be established by the City Commission. PURSUANT TO THE FLORIDA PUBLIC RECORDS LAW, APPLICATIONS AND RESUMES ARE SUBJECT TO DISCLOSURE. THE CITY OF MIAMI IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
Butler Pappas: AV-rated, civil litigation firm has an opening in its Tampa office for a third party coverage defense attorney with 2+ years experience. Strong academic credentials a must. Competitive compensation offered. Please submit resume to Hiring Partner, Butler Pappas Weihmuller Katz Craig, LLP, 777 S. Harbour Island Blvd., Suite 500, Tampa 33602, or fax to (813) 281-0900.
LUKS, SANTANIELLO, PETRILLO & JONES: Statewide firm with 7 locations has an opening in our Orlando Office for a 5 year Insurance Defense Attorney. Experience in General, Vehicular, Premises Liability, Wrongful Death, Construction and Commercial Litigation. For more info visit LS-LAW.COM, Resumes to [email protected], or fax 954-761-9940.
FDOT – Office of the General Counsel, Special Counsel in Tallahassee Office, Position Number: 55000777, Recruitment Salary Range: $75,000 - $95,000, Advertisement Deadline: June 15, 2013. The FDOT is seeking applicants for the position of Special Counsel in our Tallahassee office. This position is responsible for providing legal counsel and representation of the Department in the negotiation, drafting, and review of significant contracts and complex commercial transactions including, funding agreements, transportation development and project agreements, public-private transportation system agreements (P3), intergovernmental agreements, transit agreements, rail agreements, intermodal transportation system agreements, and agreements affecting the use of the Department right-of-way. Preference will be given to applicants with 5 years of experience. Additional information regarding this position is available on the PeopleFirst website http://peoplefirst.myflorida.com/. A criminal background check will be conducted on the successful applicant. State of Florida on-line applications are preferred and should be submitted through the website above. If you need assistance, call 1-877-562-7287 (TTY applicants call 1-866-221-0268). Current State of Florida applications may be faxed to PeopleFirst @ 1-904-636-2627. The FDOT is an EEO/AA/DFWP Employer.
Real Estate Attorney needed with 7 years experience, commercial bank and association work a plus. Fax resumes 561-842-0781 or email: [email protected].
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection in Tallahassee is seeking an experienced real estate attorney to represent trustees in the acquisition, disposition and management of real estate. The ideal candidate will possess a willingness to communicate, collaborate, and actively participate with team members in the consistent delivery of proactive service, to be responsive to client and co-worker queries, and to timely and effectively resolve such matters as title objections. The successful candidate will oversee closing personnel and provide title comments, read surveys and assess underwriting requirements, and be experienced in corporate transactions and general business contract drafting. Strong ethics and ability to handle high volume in a fast paced environment are required. Job Qualifications: • Law degree required • Minimum of 5 years' experience insuring and closing commercial transactions • Solid understanding of title standards • Demonstrated working knowledge real estate concepts and practices, including experience with condominiums and future interests • Demonstrated knowledge and comfort in making or crafting proactive decisions that protect the trustees' interests and simultaneously find solutions to allow transactions to proceed • Proven high level of communication skills necessary to work in a professional services team environment • Demonstrated confidence and comfort working under pressure and with deadlines • Proven superior organizational skills. Please submit your resume to Sandra Stockwell, Deputy General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., MS 35, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000 by June 15, 2013.
TWO ATTORNEYS needed for established bankruptcy, immigration, and foreclosure defense law firm in the Tampa Bay area. Please email resume to [email protected], or fax to 727-524-3850.
Thorne & Storey, P.A. – Downtown Orlando law firm seeking experienced workers' compensation defense attorney. Excellent work environment. Competitive salary and benefits. Please send resumes to [email protected] or fax to 407-488-1221.
Dunlap & Moran, P.A., an AV-Rated Lakewood Ranch firm, seeks attorney with corporate and transactional experience. Must have strong drafting skills, be organized and detail oriented. Salary based on experience. Reply in confidence to [email protected].
Boutique-size Family Law Firm in West Palm Beach looking for an Associate Attorney with a minimum of three (3) years experience. Looking for someone who is energetic, motivated, and driven to grow professionally. Please email your resume with a cover letter to [email protected].
Dunlap & Moran, P.A., an AV-Rated Sarasota firm, seeks estate planning attorney with 5+ years experience for its downtown office. Must be able to work independently and handle clients. An LLM in Tax is preferred. Salary based on experience. Reply in confidence to [email protected].
CONSTRUCTION LITIGATION ASSOCIATE – Orlando/Tampa AV law firm seeks construction litigation attorney for Tampa and Orlando offices. Top 10% of class, strong work ethic. Excellent growth opportunity/benefits. Send resume to Howard Allen, Railey Harding & Allen, P.A., 15 N. Eola Dr., Orlando, FL 32801, Email: [email protected].
Dan Newlin and Partners: Personal Injury Lawyer - 3+ year lawyer to work in growing Orlando personal injury law firm to handle pre-suit case load. Must be extremely hard working, organized and have great interpersonal skills. Salary 75-120k per year. Please send resume to [email protected].
Hearing Examiner – Lee County: Conducts public hearings on zoning, land-use, and code enforcement issues. Law degree from an ABA accredited law school and five years related experience practicing Florida law is required. View the full profile and submit an application through http://www.lee-county.com or email letter and resume to [email protected].
AV-rated Law Firm in North Palm Beach County, Associate Position avail. minimum 3-5 yrs. exp. Real estate development, transactional work, condo/HOA, commercial/corporate/business banking. Top 10% or equivalent; large firm experience preferred. Large firm salary proportionate to hours billed (1400 hrs. min). Great lifestyle/work balance. Please reply to News Box #646.
STUART, FL well known and established practice seeks litigator seeking career move with eye toward partnership. Min. 7 years medmal, PI, and tort experience required. Must be able to show competence in legal writing, academic and career success. Salary "PLUS" % opportunity for right person. Please reply to New Box #645.
Tampa AV-rated civil litigation firm seeking litigation attorney with 3-6 years of experience in insurance defense, products liability and insurance disability. Competitive salary and generous benefits package. Please DO NOT respond unless you meet the years' experience requirement. Send resume to Hiring Partner, Ogden & Sullivan, PA, 113 S. Armenia Avenue, Tampa, FL 33609.
Plaintiff's Multi-state mortgage foreclosure firm representing banks and loan servicers seeks Litigation Foreclosure Attorneys, Bankruptcy Attorneys, and Litigation Foreclosure Paralegals. All applicants need to be detail-oriented, self-starters, with ability to work independently and efficiently in a fast paced firm. Knowledge of various software programs relating to foreclosures preferred. Experience in Foreclosure is a plus. Please submit resume and salary history to [email protected].
Liberis Law Firm, P.A., with offices in Pensacola and Perdido Key, has opening in Tax and Commercial Transactions. Seeking associate with 4+ years experience in tax and commercial transactions, leases, and real estate. A tax background is desirable. This position offers significant growth opportunity with established client base. Salaries are commensurate with experience. Email resume and salary histories in confidence to: [email protected].
Director of Maritime Regulations & Compliance (Fort Lauderdale, FL) JD or foreign equivalent reqd & min. 5 yrs exp w/ int'l maritime regulations reqd. IACS & REG exp related to large yachts, exp & knowledge w/ implementation of Maritime Labor Convention 2006, exp in managing seafarer & crew complaints, int'l regulatory exp re to large yacht operations & construction. Email resumes to: Wright Maritime Group at [email protected].
Sarasota AV-rated commercial litigation law firm is seeking a lawyer with minimum of five years complex civil litigation experience. Candidate must have superior academic credentials, a successful employment history, and proven client relations skills. This is a long term opportunity. Salary commensurate with talent and experience. Medical, disability and 401k benefits provided. All inquiries will be treated with the utmost discretion and held in strict confidence. Email resume to: [email protected].
Small "AU" rated Pensacola Plaintiff Firm looking to hire a motivated Associate Lawyer with 1-2 years experience. $50-70K annually. CV to [email protected].
To respond to a News Box- Mail required information to: The Florida Bar News, 651 E. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300 Attn: News Box # ____
Positions Available - Other
Practice Wanted
Attorney Services
Expert Witness [email protected].
[Revised: 01-17-2018]


text:
[Guatemala bloggers] Egg for dinner
This week, our World Vision bloggers are in Guatemala to see firsthand how World Vision's work helps transform the lives of children, families, and communities through child sponsorship. Roo Ciambriello, one of our eight bloggers, shares why she decided to take this trip. The post below originally appeared on Roo's blog, Neon Fresh.
* * *
My mom was 5 years old when her father died. My grandmother became a widow at the age of 29 and the sole caretaker and provider of their five children, spanning the ages of newborn to 8 years old. This was the rural Philippines in 1960, where families in despair were not afforded the same assistance as someone in the United States present-day. There was no WIC or welfare or food stamps or state-provided childcare or life insurance. There was just my grandmother and her five small children. Two of them crying for food, three of them crying for their father. My mom doesn't talk about it much, and it took a little coercing on my part for her to allow me to write this story. I remember being a kid and sitting in our kitchen, eating a peanut butter sandwich while my mom would quietly tell me slivers of stories from her childhood. Most days, they shared a pot of water with a little bit of rice, overcooked so the starches would turn the water into soup, and that was their dinner. On the rare occasion that my grandmother could purchase an egg, it was one egg, hard boiled, and sliced into five pieces. One fifth of an egg for each of her children, and none for herself. Her children ate it slowly, savoring each bite, a welcome change from their usual rice porridge. With no help and little income, my grandmother had to do something that I'm not sure I as a mother could ever bear -- she sent her children off to live with different relatives, so she could live in the city and work and know that her children weren't going hungry. At the age of 6, my mom was working in fields, harvesting grains, getting paid in rice and corn. She'd go home and sleep in a small room with several people -- unroll her mat on the floor and cover herself with a thin sheet. Their bellies were full a little more of the time, but their hearts ached for their family. I could hardly bear to hear these stories when I was a child, well-fed and warm and wanting for nothing. I can hardly bear to write them now, remembering these stories as a grown-up, still well-fed and warm and wanting for nothing. I forget them when a new West Elm catalog comes in or when I make a face over ballet class tuition or when I lament over some house upgrade that I think we need. I forget that our tiny house and our postage stamp lawn and our modest income still make us some of the richest people in the world -- we who have shelter and clothing and clean water. We who eat three meals a day and own more than one pair of shoes. We who can visit the doctor when we're ill, we who have never faced a cold winter without a thick coat and a pair of gloves. I forget, sometimes. My mother doesn't forget. My mom who, despite incredible heartache and devastating circumstances, has worked incredibly hard her entire life. Growing up, I'd sit in the backseat and be witness to her pulling over and stopping for every hitchhiker, every homeless man with a sign, every car broken down on the side of the road. Her house has become a home to many over the years -- strangers and friends alike. If only someone could have done that for her when she was a child -- dropped off a dozen eggs on her mother's doorstep, a bag of rice, or a little money. If only someone could have stretched out a hand, shown an act of love, offered a little comfort to a grieving woman and her children. I'm going to Guatemala with World Vision to visit a child I sponsor and to tell the stories of the children and the families there. When I said yes to going, it was an uncomfortable, timid yes. Yes, but my children. Yes, but an entire week away from my family. Yes, but my girls are still so little. But then I think of the woman who raised me, and the woman who raised her. I think about how a sponsor would have been a game-changer in her life. And my mother's story, which wrecks me to my very core, is just one story among many, many stories that are happening now. As a family, we make the sacrifice. The only way I can leave my children, as so eloquently stated by Elizabeth Esther, is for the sake of all children. And so off I go, and I'm unsure of how to prepare myself for more stories, not told to me by my mother, but me as a mother -- told to me by children as young as my own. I'll be meeting the little girl I sponsor, but there are still many children in the village I will be visiting who are without a sponsor. I'd love for you to join me and sponsor one of them. My hope is one day that these children will tell their own children their stories, of how they not just endured, but thrived, with the help of the love of strangers. And maybe like my mom, they'll gratefully stand in their own kitchens in their own heated homes, boil two eggs, and eat them all by themselves.
Help a child in need. Consider sponsoring a child in Guatemala today. Follow the Guatemala bloggers this week as they gather firsthand stories of the children, families, and communities whose circumstances have been changed for the better by World Vision's sponsorship programs.


text:
When shopping for golf gloves, one of the most important things to consider is sizing.
Golf gloves are made in two types of sizes: standard or cadet. The standard glove sizes fit an "evenly proportioned" hand. If you have long or slender fingers, you should shop for gloves among the standard sizes. On the other hand, cadet gloves are designed for hands with shorter, wider fingers and wider palms.
Another consideration when getting a glove is your dexterity or dominant hand. You should wear a golf glove on the top hand when you're holding the club. So if you're right handed, you need to buy a glove for your left hand. If you're left handed, you need a glove for your right hand.
Manufacturers typically construct golf gloves using cabretta leather. This type of leather provides exceptionally soft feel for improved grip performance. Gloves may also be constructed with mesh, elastic, and synthetic leathers, particularly with inexpensive gloves.
And finally, the last thing to consider is weather conditions. Most gloves are meant to be played in fair conditions. But we also carry rain gloves for those rain showers in the middle of your round. Rain gloves provide superior grip in wet or humid conditions.
GlobalGolf.com offers a wide variety of golf gloves to choose from. We offer some of the finest golf gloves such as FootJoy golf gloves, Nike golf gloves, TaylorMade golf gloves, and more. And if you're looking for deals,
Be sure to check out our discount golf gloves page.


text:
NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR TAX DEED Notice is hereby given that Mercury 1, LLC., holder of tax certificate No. 914 issued June 1, 2005, has filed same in my office and has made application for a tax deed to be issued thereon. Said certificate embraces the following described property in the County of St. Johns, State of Florida, to-wit: PARCEL NUMBER 050620-1489 SEC 11 TWP 10 RGE 28 PART OF SE 1/4 165 X 449 FT (EX S 40 FT) OR TRACT 1489 UNIT 1 FLAGLER ESTATES UNRECORDED PLAT OR721/1485 The assessment of the said property under the said certificate issued was in the name of GRANT ALEXANDER ANDERSON. Unless said certificate shall be redeemed according to law, the property described therein will be sold to the highest bidder at the front door of the St. Johns County Judicial Building, 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, Florida, 32084, on DECEMBER 19, 2007 at 12:00 o'clock noon. Dated this Nov. 8, 2007. (OFFICIAL SEAL) Cheryl Strickland Clerk of Circuit Court of St. Johns County, Florida In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act persons needing a special accommodation to participate in this proceeding should contact the Clerk of Court at 4010 Lewis Speedway, St. Augustine, FL 32084 no later than seven days prior to the sale date. Telephone: (904) 819-3657; 1-800-955-8771 (TDD) or 1-800-955-8770 (V), via Florida Relay Service. L3174-7 Nov 14, 21, 28, Dec 5, 2007
Posted from 14-Nov-07 to 5-Dec-07
© 2018. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us


text:
netcf is a library and command line tool for configuring networking on Linux machines in a platform-independent way, using the platforms native configuration mechanisms. Supported are all the various ways in which physical interfaces, bridges, bonds, and VLANs can be combined. The configuration of a network connection is described in an XML format that emphasizes the logical relationship between the interfaces involved, e.g. a bridge connection describes the bridge interface itself and all the interfaces initially enslaved to it. Interoperability with existing network configuration tools is guaranteed since netcf relies only on native network configuration files, both for reading and writing them. Modifying network configuration with netcf has exactly the same effect as modifying the native configuration files directly, and netcf and other tools can be used interchangeably.
The ldNetManager.py tool gives you the ability to manage your network devices without having to purchase a product like Cisco's LMS or go through the planning phase of deploying a product like func. Such tools only have the ability to manage devices in their realm. Func supports Linux devices, and Cisco LMS supports only Cisco devices. This tool has one goal: to update your devices without deploying any software to your remote devices. All you need is either telnet or SSH access to your devices, and Python2.4 or better with Pexpect installed.
Siptrack is a project intended for automated, highly scriptable, and flexible device and IP address/network management. The siptrackd package includes the siptrack server, which is accessed via an XML-RPC interface. The other components of the siptrack system are siptrack and siptrackweb.
Siptrack is a project intended for automated, highly scriptable, and flexible device and IP address/network management. The siptrackweb package includes a Django Web application used to communicate with a siptrack server. The other components of the siptrack system are siptrack and siptrackd.
NTPmon is a Web-based monitor for (usually LAN-based) NTP servers. It provides a small number of health metrics that help to locate NTP configuration or operational trouble spots. It uses RRDtool as its storage and graphing engine, and provides a CGI script for viewing the results.