text:
Just as televisions have once evolved, the long-standing
monochromatic barcode could soon be getting the bump to color. Microsoft has
developed what it calls High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB) technology is
licensing it to the International Standard Audiovisual Number International
Agency (ISAN-IA). The HCCB technology will be used to assist in the
identification of commercial audiovisual works such as motion pictures, video
games, broadcasts, digital video recordings and other media.
"The capability of these new bar codes to store more
data in a smaller space should provide a rich resource for the industry and
consumers alike," said Gavin Jancke, director of engineering for Microsoft
Research and inventor of the HCCB format. "The new code offers several
advantages over existing black-and-white bar codes most people are accustomed
to seeing on product packages, enabling new consumer experiences, more visual
appeal where aesthetics are important and the ability to incorporate advanced
security features."
Current ISAN codes allow an audiovisual work to be uniquely distinguished
from other works through a simple identification system, but they do not allow
additional features or functions to be incorporated. For the consumer, such
features could be such as product versioning, ratings identification, parental
control, product availability, special releases, contests, pricing and
promotions. On the publisher side, new functionality could be detailed data
that can aid in royalty payments, anti-counterfeiting efforts and market
Microsoft said that consumers may soon be able to interact
with the new barcodes by scanning the code with webcams and camera phones to
extract the added information. Eventually, consumers should be able to scan the
new, smaller bar codes directly from television, PC screens, movie posters, DVD
and CD jewel cases, magazine ads and billboards to retrieve additional
The colored barcode will also involve physical measures
against counterfeiting by incorporating nanotechnology that is invisibly
embedded within the material and ink of the code and product packaging.
The new multicolor bar code is expected to start appearing
on DVD media toward the end of 2007.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
My biggest concern over my theoretical, non-existent daughter reading the Twilight Saga is not actually over the schmexy undertones or pillow-ripping, headboard-breaking hints of what sounds like it was a very good night -- TV is far more raunchy, and when you're 10 years old, you probably can't really fill in the smutty blanks that us corrupted adults did when we interpreted what happened on that honeymoon night, or how Edward was really feeling when he hitched Bella's leg up on page 168 of Eclipse (Hello David Slade -- Please read about my Schmexy Leg Hitch in Eclipse Campaign).
My greatest worry is actually over the implications of Bella's decision to prioritize a guy over going to college. Yeah, yeah, he's her hot, soulmate vampire. But most 17 y.o. high school senior boys are not. Here is what I shared with the Miami Books Examiner:
As big of a fan as I am of the series, I might have mixed feelings about my own daughter reading Twilight at a young age without the context of the real world. You know that I'm the ultimate TwiCrack Addict, but sometimes I don't always agree with the decisions that Bella makes.Am I the only one who had a beef with Bella's lack of interest in her education? You can read others opinions at Twilight Parent Examiner.
While it's great that Bella finds a guy who respects her and doesn't want to get in her pants, she gives up going to freakin' Dartmouth and plans to forsake her life and her family for a man. Perhaps I'm simplifying Bella's decision, but giving up a college education for a dude is not what I'd want my daughter to accept for herself. So, I think it's important for the youngest Twilight fans to balance their absorption of Twilight with other experiences and exposure to many different types of heroines.


text:
Age-by-Race Specific Crime Rates, 1965-1985: [United States] (ICPSR 9589)
Principal Investigator(s): Cohen, Jacqueline, Carnegie Mellon University; Rosenfeld, Richard, University of Missouri-St. Louis
These data examine the effects on total crime rates of changes in the demographic composition of the population and changes in criminality of specific age and race groups. The collection contains estimates from national data of annual age-by-race specific arrest rates and crime rates for murder, robbery, and burglary over the 21-year period 1965-1985. The data address the following questions: (1) Are the crime rates reported by the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) data series valid indicators of national crime trends? (2) How much of the change between 1965 and 1985 in total crime rates for murder, robbery, and burglary is attributable to changes in the age and race composition of the population, and how much is accounted for by changes in crime rates within age-by-race specific subgroups? (3) What are the effects of age and race on subgroup crime rates for murder, robbery, and burglary? (4) What is the effect of time period on subgroup crime rates for murder, robbery, and burglary? (5) What is the effect of birth cohort, particularly the effect of the very large (baby-boom) cohorts following World War II, on subgroup crime rates for murder, robbery, and burglary? (6) What is the effect of interactions among age, race, time period, and cohort on subgroup crime rates for murder, robbery, and burglary? (7) How do patterns of age-by-race specific crime rates for murder, robbery, and burglary compare for different demographic subgroups? The variables in this study fall into four categories. The first category includes variables that define the race-age cohort of the unit of observation. The values of these variables are directly available from UCR and include year of observation (from 1965-1985), age group, and race. The second category of variables were computed using UCR data pertaining to the first category of variables. These are period, birth cohort of age group in each year, and average cohort size for each single age within each single group. The third category includes variables that describe the annual age-by-race specific arrest rates for the different crime types. These variables were estimated for race, age, group, crime type, and year using data directly available from UCR and population estimates from Census publications. The fourth category includes variables similar to the third group. Data for estimating these variables were derived from available UCR data on the total number of offenses known to the police and total arrests in combination with the age-by-race specific arrest rates for the different crime types.
Access Notes
The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.
This dataset is maintained and distributed by the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), the criminal justice archive within ICPSR. NACJD is primarily sponsored by three agencies within the U.S. Department of Justice: the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
ASCII + SAS Setup SPSS Setup
ASCII + SAS Setup
Study Description
Cohen, Jacqueline, and Richard Rosenfeld. AGE-BY-RACE SPECIFIC CRIME RATES, 1965-1985: [UNITED STATES]. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University, Urban Systems Institute, School of Urban and Public Affairs, and St. Louis, MO: University of Missouri, Dept. of Criminology and Criminal Justice [producers], 1990. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1991. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09589.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09589.v1
Export Citation:
- RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
- EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)
This study was funded by:
- United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (86-IJ-CX-0083)
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: age, arrests, burglary, crime rates, demographic characteristics, murder, population characteristics, race, rape, robbery
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 1965--1985
- 1965--1985
Universe: All arrests and crimes reported to police in the United States during the period 1965-1985.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. UNIFORM CRIME REPORTS: CRIME IN THE UNITED STATES (Published Report).
Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Original ICPSR Release: 1991-10-23
- 2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable, and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to reflect these additions.
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text:
The term soft dollars describes an arrangement in which an RIA with discretionary authority receives brokerage and research services from a broker-dealer in exchange for credits generated by clients' commissions. As we discussed in Do's and Don'ts of Advisory Contracts, discretionary authority means that an RIA is authorized to decide which securities to buy, sell, or retain for a client's portfolio.
According to a June 2007 posting on PLANSPONSOR.com, "Soft dollars are the investment industry's answer to frequent-flyer miles. With mileage programs, you fly all around the country for business, rack up the miles, and can cash them in however you want. If you're an investment manager, you can pay your brokers with commissions that are above the rates for bare-bones executions, and spend the extra 'soft dollar' credits on investment research, Bloomberg terminals, or other portfolio management tools."
SEC Interpretive Release Governing Soft Dollars
On July 12, 2006, the SEC voted to publish an Interpretive Release providing guidance on RIAs' use of client commissions to pay for brokerage and research services under the safe harbor, which is set forth in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC's Interpretive Release used the term, "client commission practices," in place of the phrase, "soft dollars." For our purposes, however, we will refer to soft dollar practices, which is the familiar term to RIAs and broker-dealers.
Securities regulators view soft dollar arrangements with skepticism because they may affect the best execution of securities transactions and cause the client to pay more than the lowest available commission. Soft dollar credits raise questions about whether an RIA has breached its fiduciary duty. Because soft dollar credits are derived from commissions paid by the advisory client, they are viewed as assets of the client.
In 1975, Congress adopted Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) protecting RIAs from charges that they breached their fiduciary duty by accepting soft dollars. Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act established a safe harbor permitting RIAs to use soft dollar credits generated from clients' commissions to buy brokerage and research services for their managed accounts. The safe harbor is available only to persons who are exercising investment discretion as opposed to those RIAs that only have non-discretionary authority to manage a client's account.
There are actually two safe harbors found in Section 28(e). There is a research services safe harbor applying to eligible products and services used by an RIA to perform its investment decision-making responsibilities for discretionary accounts. This safe harbor typically applies to financial publications and research reports.
The second is a brokerage services safe harbor covering eligible products and services used in conjunction with activities required to effect securities transactions, as well as functions incidental to securities transactions and services required by regulatory rules. Communication services relating to the execution, clearing, and settlement of securities transactions would fall within the brokerage services safe harbor.
With both safe harbors, RIAs must act in good faith to determine that the amount of commissions paid is reasonable vis-à-vis the value of the products or services received. If the requirements of Section 28(e) are met, RIAs may accept soft dollars without breaching their fiduciary duties to clients. To rely on Section 28(e), an RIA must make a good faith determination that the amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of brokerage and research services provided by the broker-dealer. The SEC believes the burden is greater when an RIA enters into a soft dollar arrangement with an affiliated broker-dealer.
Section 28(e) is not a safe harbor from other anti-fraud provisions of federal and state securities laws. For example, it does not protect an RIA from claims based on fraud arising from churning and misrepresentation.
SEC's Guidance Relating to Soft Dollars
Because of the SEC's Interpretive Release, research services are restricted to advice, analyses, or reports within the meaning of Section 28(e)(3). The products or services must be an "expression of reasoning or knowledge." If they are not, they will not constitute advice, analyses, and reports, and won't qualify as research services under the safe harbor.
The SEC's Interpretive Release gives examples of products and services that are an expression of reasoning or knowledge. Physical items, such as computer hardware and accessories, cannot be classified as research services. Telecommunications lines, computer cables, and office equipment are among the other items that are not eligible for soft dollar credits under the research services safe harbor. Although physical items like hardware and T-1 lines assist in the delivery of research, they do not reflect substantive content related to investment decision-making. On the other hand, databases containing market, economic, and financial data, may qualify as research services protected by the safe harbor.
It is not enough that the research services fall within the statutory definition of advice, analyses or reports. A product or service must provide an RIA with "lawful and appropriate assistance" in making investment decisions. Whether a product or service provides "lawful and appropriate assistance" depends primarily on how it is used by the RIA.
Mixed-Use Items
A product or service received by an RIA in exchange for soft dollars may also have non-research uses. This is referred to as a mixed-use item and raises an additional conflict of interest for the RIA. If the product or service is used for purposes that fall within Section 28(e), as well as outside the safe harbor, the RIA must treat the product or service as a mixed-use item.
The SEC's Interpretive Release reiterates that mixed-use items must be reasonably allocated between eligible and ineligible uses. The allocation decision-making process must document how the RIA determined the reasonableness of commissions in relation to the value of research and brokerage services. The allocation must be made in good faith.
An RIA must memorialize its mixed-use allocation decisions. During a regulatory exam, examiners will review the documentation to determine if the RIA made the required good-faith showing that the allocation was reasonable. RIAs are obliged to create and retain adequate records to justify their allocation of mixed-use items.
Third-Party Research and Commission-Sharing Arrangements
Broker-dealers must be financially responsible for the brokerage and research products and services they provide to RIAs. Furthermore, the broker-dealer must be involved in effecting the trade. The SEC's 1996 Interpretive Release clarifies that the commission-sharing arrangement must be part of a normal and legitimate correspondent relationship in which each broker-dealer is engaged in activities going beyond the mere receipt of commissions.
At a minimum, the introducing broker-dealer must:
- be at risk to the clearing broker-dealer for its customers' failure to pay;
- make and/or maintain required records relating to its customer trades, including blotters and order memoranda;
- oversee and respond to customer comments regarding the trading process; and
- provide oversight of trades and settlements.
If the broker-dealer effecting the trade is not providing research and brokerage services directly, it must be legally bound to a third-party producer of research or brokerage services to pay for the products and services supplied to an RIA.
Temporal Standard for Brokerage Products and Services
In addition to research services, Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act states explicitly that brokerage products and services fall within the safe harbor if they are required to effectuate securities transactions. This safe harbor also applies to functions incidental to securities transactions, such as settlement, custody, and clearance, as well as services required by SEC or SRO rules.
The Interpretive Release established a "temporal standard" for brokerage services. This standard helps distinguish between brokerage services that fall within the safe harbor and those that fall outside of it. To qualify under the temporal safe harbor, the product or services must relate to the execution of a trade extending from the point at which the RIA communicates with the broker-dealer for the purpose of transmitting an order for execution to the point at which funds or securities are delivered or credited to the advisory account.
As a result of that temporal standard, eligible brokerage services include those that are provided between the time an order is transmitted to a broker-dealer and the time when the transaction is cleared and settled. Products and services must be an integral part of the execution of orders in order to qualify under the temporal standard for brokerage services. For example, trading software used to route orders is viewed as brokerage services, thus making it eligible for the Section 28(e) safe harbor. In contrast, order management systems are not eligible under Section 28(e). Error correction services do not fall within the scope of brokerage services, because they are not related to the initial trade and are separate transactions to correct mistakes made while managing the advisory account.
Interestingly, certain products and services not qualifying under the research services safe harbor may qualify under the brokerage services safe harbor if they are integral to the execution of orders by a broker-dealer. For instance, although computer hardware is not eligible for the research services safe harbor, it may qualify as brokerage services under the temporal standard.
Form ADV Disclosure of Soft Dollar Practices
As part of their fiduciary duty, RIAs must disclose whether they accept soft dollars and consequently, RIAs must disclose in plain English how this impacts the brokerage fees paid by clients. Current clients and prospective clients can find out the RIA's position regarding soft dollars in the firm's Form ADV disclosure brochure.
Disclosure of this information allows current clients and prospective clients the understanding that by accepting soft dollars, the RIA has a conflict of interest in recommending a particular broker-dealer. They are also advised that clients might not receive the lowest brokerage fees available.
The disclosure brochure should describe the types of products and services the RIA may receive from broker-dealers. The firm should also disclose that the products and services are not just used for those accounts which generated the commissions. Figure 16-1 is an example of the language used by some RIAs in their soft dollar disclosures:
Figure 16-1. Form ADV Example of Soft Dollar Disclosure Language
"In selecting or recommending a broker-dealer, we will consider the value of research and additional brokerage products and services a broker-dealer has provided or will provide to our clients and our firm. Receipt of these additional brokerage products and services are considered to have been paid for with 'soft dollars.' Because such services could be considered to provide a benefit to our firm, we may have a conflict of interest in directing your brokerage business. We could receive benefits by selecting a particular broker-dealer to execute your transactions, and the transaction compensation charged by that broker-dealer might not be the lowest compensation we might otherwise be able to negotiate.
The products and services we receive from broker-dealers will generally be used in servicing all of our clients' accounts. Our use of these products and services will not be limited to the accounts that paid commissions to the broker-dealer for such products and services. In addition, we may not allocate soft dollar benefits to your accounts proportionately to the soft dollar credits the accounts generate. As part of our fiduciary duties to you, we endeavor at all times to put your interests first. You should be aware that the receipt of economic benefits by our firm is considered to create a conflict of interest.
*Used with permission from National Compliance Services, Inc.
How Soft Dollars Can Be Misused
On September 28, 2011, the SEC charged a San Francisco-area RIA with fraud for lying to clients about how soft dollars were being used. The complaint alleged that the RIA also used fabricated documents in an attempt to cover up the fraud and avoid detection by the Commission.
The SEC's complaint alleged that the RIA and its principals misappropriated more than $178,000 in soft dollars, and that the firm's principals misrepresented that they were using the soft dollars to pay for legitimate investment research. According to the complaint, the RIA and the firm's principals were surreptitiously using the money for office equipment, rent, computer hardware and a relative's salary. The complaint alleged that principals of the firm instructed a research provider paid with soft dollars to inflate its invoices and kick-back money to the RIA to help pay for a new computer server.
In addition, the SEC charged a principal of the RIA with creating a shell research company to cover up the firm's improper use of soft dollars. Marc Fagel, director of the SEC's San Francisco regional office, summarized the Commission's position about the alleged cover-up:
"We take a particularly dim view of those who compound their fraud on investors by providing false information to our examiners."
The Big Picture
RIAs should always evaluate whether the products and services they receive from broker-dealers are appropriate. The SEC's interpretive release suggested that an RIA's failure to stay within the scope of the Section 28(e) safe harbor may violate the advisor's fiduciary duty to clients. RIAs must evaluate their soft dollar relationships on a regular basis to ensure they are disclosed properly and they do not negatively impact the best execution of clients' transactions.
Disclosure of soft dollar relationships is made in an RIA's Form ADV disclosure brochure. Many large broker-dealers, such as Schwab and TD Ameritrade, provide RIAs that use their trading platforms with soft dollar disclosure language. This approach ensures that RIAs make full and complete disclosure of how soft dollars are used by the investment advisor.
An RIA may claim in its advertisements that the firm is completely unbiased, but this may be disputed by an examiner if the RIA accepts soft dollars. In addition, there are RIAs that claim to be fee-only investment advisors. The fact that these firms accept soft dollars might undermine their claim of being fee-only advisory firms.


text:
Cactus tickets can be swapped for Classic tickets
By Andrew Simon / Special to MLB.com
Fans whose Spring Training plans might be foiled by inclement weather on Friday won't be out of luck.
With the forecast in Arizona looking ominous, those holding a ticket to one of Friday's Cactus League games will have the opportunity to purchase a $5 ticket to a World Baseball Classic contest instead. To take advantage of the offer, bring tickets for rained-out games to the box office at Phoenix's Chase Field.
Chase Field, the home of the D-backs, is hosting two Classic games on Friday. Italy will face Canada at 12 p.m. MT, and the U.S. will take on Mexico at 7 p.m.
Italy is coming off a dramatic 6-5 win over Mexico on Thursday; the U.S. and Canada will be playing their first games. The Americans will send reigning National League Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey to the mound against Mexico's Yovani Gallardo.
Tickets for those games also can be purchased at worldbaseballclassic.com or by calling the Chase Field box office at 602-514-8400.
Andrew Simon is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) – According to studies in the workplace and at home, we are a nation of yellers.
That's not because we are all at the game cheering our favorite team, only to wake up hoarse. We apparently are yelling in anger, in frustration, distressed as a way of communicating – and venting.
A few years ago, researchers asked a thousand families about yelling and found that 88 percent of parents admitted yelling, screaming or shouting at their children during the year. In families with 7-year-old kids, that number climbed to nearly 100 percent.
Yelling. Shouting. Screaming. Railing. Wailing. Howling.
Regardless of what we call it, raising our voices is exhausting. Especially if it becomes our reaction to stressors. Not only does it take a physical and emotional toll on the yeller, it affects those on the receiving end of this high-decibel stress.
Children's brains are so sensitive to yelling that a child who is yelled at regularly, say, at bedtime or before school (or at school) can become "immune" and start to "tune it out," says psychologist and researcher Myrna B. Shure, author of Raising a Thinking Child.
In her research, she found a troubling correlation between kindergartners whose parents disciplined through yelling and demands and the children's expression of aggression.
Why we yell
Relationships can be enormously resilient. But chronic yelling can create a kind of relational erosion, fraying the fabric of trust and security between us.
Because none of us sets out to intentionally squander our interpersonal and internal resources, we would do well to get curious about why we yell or retreat from yellers time and again.
John Armando, a licensed clinical social worker in practice in Cherry Hill, N.J., said the answer lies in acceptance, not of the yelling, but of our shared imperfections as human beings – and the beliefs that tend to drive our behaviors.
"That belief, that things should be the way we want them to be, tends to trigger that primitive behavior in us," Armando said.
"I think yelling would be an example. I'll increase my volume as a way of trying to solve this problem," he said. "But people get intimidated and push back. So what you get is more of the problem.
" ... (Yelling) almost never works, yet we continue to try it," Armando said. "And we continue to escalate."
There are some key triggers that tend to drive our yelling: stress, impatience, needing to be heard and feeling anxious.
Parent and teen brains
Teenagers are not, in fact, rebellious, but reactive.
Their brains will sense anger and fear more readily than adults. A teen might yell, sensing a threat to his emotional well-being.
Or a teen might experience an adult's yelling as intensely alarming and have a brain send "Mayday!" signals to bolt or debate or zone out.
Calm down
Armando said the best way to deal with relationship stress is to "defuse it, to get some distance from it and to accept that our minds produce lots of negative thoughts and distressing emotions.
"It's normal, and when we can notice those thoughts and feelings, and allow them to be there without struggling against them, we can live a life based on what our value system is," he said.
Armando said it's not about vowing to never yell again because taking a vow of yellibacy, so to speak, is not realistic or effective.
© 2012 USA TODAY. All rights reserved.


text:
Brin, an outspoken Russian-American computer scientist, gained fame and glory
as one of Google Inc.'s (GOOG)
"big three". He co-founded the search firm with Larry Page, who
recently took over for the departing Eric Schmidt at CEO.
In the wake of Google's unveil of Chrome OS (Operating System) PCs at
its annual I/O developers conference,
Mr. Brin unloaded on the world's leading operating systems maker, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).
At a Chrome OS launch event he began friendly enough, stating, "I don't
think there is anything inherently wrong with Windows. Windows 7 has some great
security features."
From there, though, his critique of his competitor grew more pointed.
"With Microsoft, and other operating system vendors, I think the
complexity of managing your computer is really torturing users. It's
torturing everyone in this room. It's a flawed model fundamentally. Chromebooks
are a new model that doesn't put the burden of managing the computer on
Brin's rhetoric seems more than a little confusing and contradictory.
He does get one thing right, though -- Chrome OS is certainly a unique take on
the operating system experience, though. The new OS starts off ordinary
enough, built on a stripped down Linux environment.
From there the experience veers from past designs, by funneling the user's
entire interactions with the system through a web browser -- Chrome -- to be
The technique offers certain challenges -- particularly the difficulty of
writing fast applications given that you have to deal with a secondary
interface layer (the browser). Modern web technologies, though, somewhat
mitigate these issues.
On the plus side putting applications in the browser allows them to be
sandboxed. This protects against system crashes and certain types of
security problems -- e.g. viruses (though some malicious programs like
keyloggers could, in theory still work, depending on the precise details of the
sandboxing scheme and how clever the malicious app's authors were).
The other unique aspect of the OS is that it will offer online backup of all
information on the computer. This cloud-based system means that if the
computer ever suffers physical damage or a malware attack, restoration can be
accomplished in a much easier fashion.
Google has partnered with Citrix Systems, Inc. (CTXS)
and VMware, Inc. (VMW)
to offer in-browser virtualization. This could eventually allow Chrome
users to access common Windows productivity tools like Microsoft Office.
Google claims that in a recent survey of 400 companies that it conducted,
75 percent said they would be able to switch from Windows, given the right mix
of internet apps, offline accessible apps, and virtualization.
Microsoft has toyed with the notion of a similar cloud-driven operating system,
releasing a test version of Windows dubbed
Windows Azure. While Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 offer
some cloud integration, they lack full, automatic backup to the extent of
Laptops with Chrome OS will be available June 15 from Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY)
and Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN).
Google has announced two models thus far -- a 11.6" from Acer with 6
hours of battery life ($349 for Wi-Fi only, more for the 3G version) and a
12.1" from Samsung with 8.5 hours of battery life ($429 for Wi-Fi only,
and $499 for a 3G version). Both laptops pack dual-core Atom CPUs from
Intel Corp. (INTC).
The laptops may be a bit pricy for the curious buyer. A smaller screen
version with an ARM CPU could possibly hit the $200 mark, but at present no
such option is available. Still, some may jump at the opportunity to
escape Microsoft's "torture".


text:
iPhone 4 had only been on the market for a few hours when some users
started to complain that the device
had poor reception. Part of the issue is the design of the
antenna, which is integrated into the phone and visible on the metal
band sandwiched between the front and back glass of the
smartphone.Shortly after the issues caught on in the media,
the subject of class action suits started being bandied about.
The first
of the suits has been filed and is seeking class action
status in the United States Court for the District of Maryland. The
two main plaintiffs in the case are Kevin McCaffrey of Nottingham,
Maryland and Linda Wrinn of Baltimore, Maryland. The suit seeks a
jury trial.A few of the major claims in the suit are general
negligence on behalf of Apple and AT&T, defect in design,
manufacture and assembly on behalf of Apple, breach of express
warranty and implied warranty by Apple and AT&T, deceptive trade
practices by both companies and intentional misrepresentation by both
companies. A total of nine claims are made.
The suit
documents don't offer a specific amount of money being
sought in the "Prayer for Relief" section and asks the
judge to award any such relief that may be just and proper.
early complaints allege that when the iPhone 4 is held just right the
iPhone drops from four or five bars when sitting on the table to one
bar or in some cases no service at all when held in the hand and much
of the antenna is covered by the palm. The solution to the problem
according to Steve Jobs is to simply not hold the smartphone that
has continued to maintain that there are no reception issues on the
phone and that the performance
users are seeing is normal.


text:
Silver State Schools Reports Another Profitable Quarter
Chalk up another profitable quarter for the recovering $644 million Silver State Schools Credit Union, which reported this week it had reported $1.18 million in net income for the first quarter.
One year ago, the Las Vegas credit union reported a $3.5 million net loss during the same period.
Loan delinquencies continued a declining trend, dropping to $17.7 million in the first quarter from $19 million at Dec. 31, 2012 and $37.1 million one year prior.
Although Silver State School's provision for loan losses increased to $2.1 million in the first quarter from the $1.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, provisions have dramatically improved from the $6.8 million loan loss provision reported in the first quarter of 2012.
CEO Andy Hunter said in Thursday's news release that the Nevada credit union has had a good start to 2012, and has generated approximately $4 million in cumulative net income in the past 12 months.
He acknowledged that the local Las Vegas economy is still recovering and still poses some risk, but Silver State School is ready for the opportunity to serve its members.
"As we regain our financial footing, we are optimistic that our progress will continue," Hunter said.
At one time Nevada's largest credit union with $1 billion in assets, Silver State Schools fell upon hard times when the housing market crashed and took the Las Vegas economy with it.
In February 2010, American Share Insurance, which solely insures the credit union's deposits, was forced to lend the 56,659-member institution $22 million to keep it afloat.


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Maybe this is just an add on to the mediocrity thread...
I like Demar. He seems like a great kid.
But he has been getting starters minutes on a terrible team for 3 years, and has not been an efficient scorer. His game has limitations which he may or may not overcome, and Colangelo just handed him a contract that he didnt need to at this time, which few other teams were likely to offer him.
For some time it has appeared to me that BC is trying to get us back into the playoffs at any cost, to secure himself a long term extension. Competing for a championship with this group seems very unlikely.
This summer Colangelo's first priority was to try to sign Steve Nash, who has probably got 2 - 3 good years left in the league.
With Demar, with Amir, Kleiza, and Fields the Raptors offered more money and more years than these players were likely to get elsewhere, in the hope that these players would develop into something more than they have showed in their respective careers so far.
Championship teams are not built on hope, on potential, or because their players are good guys. They are built around a core of elite players, with affordable role players, who are allowed to walk when their price becomes too high. Ultimately the Bulls needed MJ and Pippen, they didn't need Horace Grant.
Does anyone around here honestly believe that the Raptors with this core, will be any better than Atlanta has been this past few years? Unless Jonas grows into a top 20 player in this league I do not see it happening.
Credit Danny Ferry (gulp) with shedding the Joe Johnson contract this year because he seemed to realize that with that group, they still didnt have a chance in hell of beating the Heat in a 7 game series. He probably thinks they will have a better chance in the long run if they sign Howard or CP3 this coming off season. I doubt he signs either one, but at least he recognized that his club had hit their ceiling, and it wasnt good enough.
Starting next year we will be paying Joe Johnson money for Bargnani / DeRozan combined. And after 2 games (lol) it seems like Lowry will be in line for a max extension with this club, with this gm, compared to what the other players on the team will be earning.
So the starting 5 of our future is Lowry, DeRozan, Fields, Bargnani, and JV ? Do you guys see us hoisting any banners in the next few years? I don't.
I am kind of hoping this team shits the bed so Colangelo gets fired and we end up coughing up a late lottery pick this season to OKC for the Lowry deal. At this point I do not see Colangelo taking us to the promised land. I would like to see MLSE request from Denver to negotiate a deal with Masai Ujiri. Offer him the role of team President, I like what he has done in Denver.
I do want to mention that I am a Leafs fan, and my attitude towards Burke is quite similar. But last year, when the team started out well, I was just happy they were winning so I quit complaining and cheered with everybody else. But when the team completely colapsed and the season fell apart due to the same problems that had plagued the roster for several years I was not the least bit surprised. I am sick of feeling like this with Toronto sports teams. I would gladly root for a team with potential if it seemed like they were building toward something great. But with this Raptors squad, with this GM, I just don't see it.
I hope I am wrong. We'll see.


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Obamacare Fee to Add 1.5/1.7% to Health Insurance Plans: Analysis
The new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act health insurance fee could add about 1.7% to the cost of commercial coverage from a profit plan in 2014.
For coverage from a nonprofit plan, the fee could increase the cost an average of about 1.5%.
Mathieu Doucet and Julia Yahnke, actuaries at Milliman, have included those projections in analysis of the effects of the fee on the U.S. health insurance industry.
The drafters of PPACA included the industry fee in an effort to cover part of the cost of PPACA coverage expansion provisions.
The drafters also included the fee to compensate for what some thought might be dramatic increases in health insurance company revenue and profit totals as a result of PPACA "shared responsibility" provisions that will tax many individuals who fail to have what PPACA defines as being a responsible amount of health coverage.
The PPACA provision requires insurers – including nonprofit insurers, privately managed Medicaid plans and private Medicare plans, but not self-insured employer plans – to pay a total of $8 billion in PPACA fees in 2014.
The industry total is supposed to rise to $14.3 billion by 2018, then increase at a rate tied to the rate of premium growth, the actuaries said.
The impact will be greater on for-profit insurers than on nonprofit insurers, because a carrier cannot deduct the cost of the fee from its taxable income, the actuaries said.
"The application of the tax will encourage larger employers to consider self-insurance over fully insured products," the actuaries said.
This article was originally posted at BenefitsPro.com, a sister site of Credit Union Times.


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Fitbit's most affordable device yet, the $59.95 Zip, offers wireless syncing over Bluetooth with PCs and iPhones, something previous Fitbit gadgets could never do. It's water resistant as well, a feature found in many competing exercise products. Previous Fitbit users may miss the skills the Zip can't tackle, namely sleep tracking and recording stairs climbed. Other fancier gadgets, such as the Jawbone Up , and Fitbit's own Fitbit One and the upcoming Fitbit Flex , trump the Zip in terms of features, but are double the price. In a nutshell, the Fitbit Zip is a simple and less pricey way to get onboard the Fitbit training wagon.
Encased in its silicone sleeve, the Fitbit Zip is larger than both the original Tracker and Ultra devices. It also isn't a wristband-style like the popular Nike Fuelband or Jawbone Up . Even so, the Zip is still extremely portable, weighing a mere 8 grams (0.28-ounce), and it measures just 1.1 inches tall by 1.4 inches wide. At 0.38-inch thick, the pebble-shaped Zip also slips into tight pockets without much stress.
In fact, I was able to place the device into my jeans when it was still inside its silicone-and-metal clip. Of course, Fitbit says that while the Zip will function just fine resting free in pants pockets, it envisions that most people will fasten the device securely to belt loops or even clip it to their pocket linings.
Take care how you place the Zip on your person, however, since if it's not secured tightly it can become dislodged. This is especially true if it comes in contact often with heavy messenger bags or other large clothing items.
It seems that today's designers and marketers can't resist painting their product in various candy colors, and the Zip is no exception. The device itself comes in five hues: blue, magenta, white, charcoal, and lime. Fitbit also bundles a color-coordinated clip for each Zip flavor.
Aside from the stamp-size LCD screen and Fitbit logo on front, the device's smooth, curved surface is unadorned. Around back is a compartment housing the Zip's 3-volt lithium-ion battery, which Fitbit claims will last for four to six months. One big drawback to the monochrome LCD is that it lacks a backlight, making it all but useless in the dark.
The main purpose of the Fitbit Zip is identical to that of its predecessor: to log your activity level in terms of steps taken. It then uses this base figure to calculate total distance traveled and calories burned. The device also displays the current time plus a playful smiley icon if it detects you're moving around enough. If the Zip feels you're getting lazy, however, its smiley will rudely stick out its virtual tongue. Since there are no physical buttons on the Zip, you must tap it to cycle through its various screens.
One of the most useful new features included on the Fitbit Zip is its ability to sync wirelessly via Bluetooth connection. That's a big improvement over the company's previous devices, namely the Fitbit Ultra, which required an unwieldy USB base station, connected by a long cord to a PC, to transfer activity data up to the cloud. Of course, the old base stations talked to the Ultra wirelessly too, but the new arrangement is more portable.


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Heparin/Selected Salicylates Interactions
This information is generalized and not intended as specific medical advice. Consult your healthcare professional before taking or discontinuing any drug or commencing any course of treatment.
Medical warning:
Moderate. These medicines may cause some risk when taken together. Contact your healthcare professional (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) for more information.
How the interaction occurs:
When these two medicines are taken together, your pain medicine may increase the effects of heparin.
What might happen:
You may experience an increased chance for bleeding including bleeding from your gums, nosebleeds, unusual bruising, or dark stools.
What you should do about this interaction:
Contact your healthcare professionals (e.g. doctor or pharmacist) as soon as possible about taking these two medicines together. They may already be aware of this interaction and may be monitoring you for it. If your doctor prescribes these medicines together, it may be necessary to check your bleeding times more often. Do not start, stop, or change your dosage of any medicine before checking with them first.
- 1.Weiss HJ, Aledort LM, Kochwa S. The effect of salicylates on the hemostatic properties of platelets in man. J Clin Invest 1968 Sep; 47(9):2169-80.
- 2.Zucker MB, Peterson J. Effect of acetylsalicylic acid, other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, and dipyridamole on human blood platelets. J Lab Clin Med 1970 Jul;76(1):66-75.
- 3.Niklasson PM, Blomback M, Lundbergh P, Strandell T. Thrombocytopenia and bleeding complications in severe cases of meningococcal infection treated with heparin, dextran 70 and chlorpromazine. Scand J Infect Dis 1972; 4(3):183-91.
- 4.Schondorf TH, Hey D. Combined administration of low dose heparin and aspirin as prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis after hip joint surgery. Haemostasis 1976;5(4):250-7.
- 5.Rubenstein JJ. Letter: Aspirin, heparin and hemorrhage. N Engl J Med 1976 May 13;294(20):1122-3.
- 6.Yett HS, Skillman JJ, Salzman EW. The hazards of aspirin plus heparin. N Engl J Med 1978 May 11;298(19):1092.
- 7.Jick H, Porter J. Drug-induced gastrointestinal bleeding. Report from the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, Boston University Medical Center. Lancet 1978 Jul 8;2(8080):87-9.
- 8.Walker AM, Jick H. Predictors of bleeding during heparin therapy. JAMA 1980 Sep 12;244(11):1209-12.
- 9.Heiden D, Rodvien R, Mielke CH. Heparin bleeding, platelet dysfunction, and aspirin. JAMA 1981 Jul 24-31;246(4):330-1.
- 10.Theroux P, Ouimet H, McCans J, Latour JG, Joly P, Levy G, Pelletier E, Juneau M, Stasiak J, deGuise P, et al. Aspirin, heparin, or both to treat acute unstable angina. N Engl J Med 1988 Oct 27;319(17):1105-11.


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Lindberg Probiotic Defense 1 Billion is a combination of "friendly" probiotic bacteria, blended into a fermented whole food base. This broad spectrum of 13 active bacterial strains is designed to support gastrointestinal health and immune system function.* FOS is also included to assist the healthy growth of Acidophilus and Bifidobacterium organisms.*
Vegetarian Capsules. Suitable for lacto-vegetarians.
|Amount Per Serving
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|Probiotic Defense™ Blend of:
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[Barley Grass (Hordeum vulgaris), Oat Grass (Avena sativa), Wheat Grass (Triticum aestivum), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)]
|Freeze-Dried Probiotic Strains
(1 Billion Colony Forming Units) [Lactobacillus acidophilus (La-14), Bifidobacterium lactis (BI-04), Lactobacillus brevis (Lbr-35), Lactobacillus casei (Lc-11), Lactobacillus plantarum (Lp-115), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (Lr-32), Lactobacillus salivarius (Ls-33), Lactobacillus paracasei (Lpc-37), Bifidobacterium bifidum/Bifidobacterium lactis (Bb-02), Bifidobacterium breve (Bb-03), Bifidobacterium longum (Bl-05), Lactobacillus bulgaricus (Lb-87), Saccharomyces boulardii]
|Super Green Foods
[Alfalfa Juice Concentrate, Atlantic Kelp (Laminaria spp.)]
Suitable for lacto-vegetarians
Refrigeration recommended after opening.
For adults only. Consult a physician before use if pregnant, nursing, taking medication (especially immune-suppressing drugs), or have a medical condition (especially if immune system is compromised).
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Published: November 6, 2012 - 6:17 AM
FBI takes over investigation of former Canton brewing equipment manufacturer
Springfield Township officer fired for showing up to work under the influence of alcohol
Cleveland Browns 2018 NFL mock draft roundup: Wyoming's Josh Allen at No. 1 overall?
Browns plan to hire Amos Jones as special teams coordinator
Former pastor says Angley abused him
What happened to Roberta Bobby Snider? Hartville womans body missing after husband said she died during trip to Elvis Graceland
Firestone mansion catches fire
Browns notebook: After being fired by Titans, Mike Mularkey linked to Clevelands offensive coordinator job


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IBM developing 'electronic blood' for cooling
10 comments
PORTLAND, Ore.To achieve the exascale speeds necessary for the realtime analysis of the Big Data streaming in from the massive sensor networks of the futuresuch as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope to be completed in 2024IBM is exploring the use of "electronic blood" to not only cool but also to power the cognitive computers of the future.
"We are taking a new approach inspired by the brain," said IBM Research scientist Bruno Michel. "Neurons are both cooled and powered by the blood, and by copying this packaging technique in the brain we hope to achieve a 5,000-times energy efficiency improvement by compacting the volume of our devices by several million times."
IBM announced Monday (March 11) that the South African government's National Research Foundation is joining it and the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (NIRA) in the Dome collaborative research project to pioneer the technologies needed to perform realtime analytics on the exascale Big Data streams coming in from a massive array of radio telescope dishes being installed across a 1,824 mile swath of remote Australia desert.
The South African contribution to the project, called SKA South Africa, will be to host 64 prototype dishes there as well as to assist IBM and Astron in creating the computing infrastructure to analyze exabytes of streaming data in realtime. Working at the newly established Astron and IBM Center for Exascale Technology (Drenthe, the Netherlands) the Dome researchers are aiming for cognitive computing technologies that not only learn and reason like the human brain, but which likewise leverage its energy efficiency.
"If you analyze a typical microchip, only one part per million is used for transistors that perform its functions, while 98 percent is used for cooling. But in the brain, 40 percent of its volume is performing functions, 50 percent is interconnections, and only 10 percent is used for cooling," said Michel. "We want to produce computers closer to this ratio."
The liquid coolant used will also be the electrolyte of a flow-battery that provides charged ions to the 3-D chips. The coolant/electrolyte will flow in channels between each stacked die, whose fins will also serve as the electrodes of the flow battery. After flowing through the 3-D chip stack, the fluid will return to a central repository where it is cooled down and recharged before flowing back into chips.
The Dome team will be prototyping microservers using these liquid-cooled and -powered 3-D chip stacks in order to process signals from SKA's dishes with the aim of producing images of unparalleled resolution, hopefully enabling scientists to peer back in time to the faint signals still propagating from the Big Bang. And since the amount of data streaming in from SKA will exceed the total traffic on the Internet, the project aims to eventually provide the exascale data processing power for future cognitive computers processing all sorts of business, financial and healthcare data worldwide.
Related stories:
- Lattice unveils worlds smallest FPGA for miniature systems
- Xilinx showcases 400G apps for optical and wired OTN Markets at OFC 2013
- Blast from the past Practical Wireless mags circa 1972
- How do you show engineering can be cool?
- Un-compromising a compromised iPhone?


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Mistake 1:
You're building your team around a "star" player. You get the #1 draft pick. Your choices are:
1/ a close friend of your "star" player who has stated that he is willing to change his game to play alongside his pal.
2/ a perimeter player with lots of talent, good size, but has NEVER played Center.
When it becomes clear you were wrong you hold on to said player for 3 years longer than you should, losing all trade value.
Mistake 2:
You fire a "coach of the year" when he is a game below .500, and replace him with a coach with no head coaching experience. You then keep said coach in that position for an unusually long time when comparing that coach's results to the coach he replaced.
-- I can forgive most personnel mistakes made but I've often wondered why Toronto's scouting system can find people in Europe but can't sort junk from treasure when scouting end of bench vets, or D League players, etc., Some of the cheap available players we've missed is embarrassing. I've found myself hoping they would pick Person A from the D League every year, but instead of filling need, or picking talent every D League player they have ever given a contract during this regime was the top scorer in the league when called up. It's like they just look at pieces of paper, and cross their fingers.
D League games used to be streamed free online for heaven's sake.
The 47 win season was a fluke that caused him to get COTY, nothing more, and it caused him to get re-signed, which was a major mistake.
I don't think Smitch was a Phil Jackson, but he also wasn't a bad coach. You said yourself those were bad teams... so exactly why should resigning him have been a mistake? Clearly his firing and the failures the team had afterwards is evidence the teams failures weren't on him.
Smitch was a fine coach caught up in Colangelo flawed plan.
1. eye for talent
(bosh, bargani) what made him think they were franchise players
our small forwards kleiza, james johnson, sonny weems, turkoglu(downward turn of his career),shawn marion(downward turn of his career), jamario moon.
SG anthony parker, marco belinelli, demar derozan
center bargani, rasho nesterovic, jermaine o'neal (on his way into retirement)
someone show me where any combination of those name equals a good team.
His one biggest mistake, was saying yes to the Toronto job.
It's hard to say anything other than the Mitchell firing. While I believed it was starting to look like Mitchell would never be able to take that team far, as Matt said, it was definitely the start of the coddling Bargnani culture, and the end of accountability.
BUT....to make this more fun, and talk about players, I'm going to go with one name: Jason Kapono.
A lot of people like to pick on Hedo, but so many people supported that signing at the time after his run with Orlando. I, and others, always questioned it, especially after seeing the late season success that lineup had with Marion, an athletic, defensive-minded, versatile SF. It was so obviously going to be a bust signing.
So, I pick the Kapono signing. If I remember, we blew our whole mid level on Kapono the season after we broke out with Bosh and won the division. Now, we can debate how good that team actually was, but the way it was built, that should've been a major signing to help make the team better. As BC always does, he overvalued offense. On a team with Parker, Calderon, Bargnani, Bosh (even if he didn't take lots of 3s), and Deflino, he felt he needed more shooters, and a one-dimensional one at that. I honestly can't remember who else was available or what, but that seriously could not have been the best option, considering how much playing time was given to Jamario Moon and Delfino. He basically had more money than he paid Garbo to find his replacement and chose Kapono, when he probably could have found at least a solid glue guy at that price...sigh
Oh, not only did we lose Garbo to his injury, but Mo Pete left...so we lost two high-energy, solid defensive players who could both shoot well enough.
There have been a lot of mistakes, and some of this has been brought up already but for me it's essentially not having a proper vision. Building a contender is not easy especially in this market, but history clearly proves that there are some key ingredients in building one. You need a back to the basket center, a wing who can create his own shot, role players that know their role, a defensive mindset, and a team that loves to play with each other. And of course an all-star or two.
- The best center he ever got was JV which was a fluke since Cleveland passed on him.
- He never got a proper wing that could create his own shot.
- He did well with the role players but that should be the last step in building a contender, IMO.
- The defensive mindset lasted for one shortened season when they were tanking.
- With the constant losing, and Bargnani coddling I'm not sure if the team ever really liked each other. Bosh bailed as soon as he had a chance. Turk hated it here (he sucked, but still), and the team has not gotten much respect from anyone.
- The only all-star on the team was Bosh who was drafted by the previous GM and then left in free agency under his watch.
I'd like to think that the Toronto Raptors are still looking for an identity, but we obviously have one. Soft as feathers and pudding, throwing bricks when we need points, figuring how to choke in all the ways possible.
BC bet on Bosh staying, and lost everything. Bosh was an asset that could easily have been traded for some good young talent or a 1st round pick. Furthermore, he let the TPE go. That's unconscionable; and just poor GMing.
His worse mistake was Bargs. BC is a visionary, who has a vision....sticks to his vision....clings to his vision....dies with his vision...and brings down the fan base with him.
Bargs was supposed to be that silky smooth, floor stretching, 7 footer who would complement Bosh, and make us a contender.
After Chris left, Bargs was supposed to be the all-star, who would mesh with Derozan, Valanciunas, Lowry, stretch the floor and allow these others to get the room they need to thrive.
It all sounds so good, theoretically. But reality is what it is.
BC is a visionary, who can't get his head out of his arse to see the reality before his face. That's his problem.
Brian's biggest mistake is being himself.
Signing Jason Kapono instead of Mickael Pietrus. That simple signing could've been the difference in the summer of 2007. He totally misread why we lost the NJN series, and also failed to add a defensive big man to support Bosh.
7 years of bargnani.
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Observed in only 3 session(s)
Right ascension: 225.7537481911062°
Note: Cleaning is a simple outlier elimination algorithm to remove bad sessions. Points whose distance to the mean scaled by the error is larger than 3 are iteratively deleted. The cleaned rms are provided as is and should be taken with some care, especially if the number of sessions is small.


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The MirBSD Korn Shell (mksh) is an actively developed successor of pdksh (the Public Domain Korn Shell), aimed at producing a shell good for interactive use, but with the primary focus on scripting. It is intended to be portable to most *nix-like operating systems as long as they're not too obscure. mksh incorporates improvements from OpenBSD and Debian, as well as bugfixes and enhancements developed for the MirOS, FreeWRT, and MidnightBSD projects and Android. The emacs command line editing mode is UTF-8 capable, and Byte Order Marks are ignored in scripts. The shell supports large files, as well as all pdksh and some csh, AT&T ksh, zsh, and GNU bash features, is compatible with the Bourne shell and POSIX (within limits), has no limit on array sizes, and incorporates some other useful builtins and features. While being already fast and small (without losing functionality), flags to make it even smaller can be given at compile time. An interactive shell reads "~/.mkshrc" on startup.
hwloc provides command line tools and a C API to obtain the hierarchical map of key computing elements, such as: NUMA memory nodes, shared caches, processor sockets, processor cores, and processor "threads". hwloc also gathers various attributes such as cache and memory information, and is portable across a variety of different operating systems and platforms. hwloc primarily aims at helping high-performance computing (HPC) applications, but is also applicable to any project seeking to exploit code and/or data locality on modern computing platforms.
A command-line network analysis workbench.
A tool for comparing and merging files and directories.


text:
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With Blu-ray Disc now the clear
victor in the high-definition format war, those cautious about buying
hardware can spend with ease. Those with home theater PCs or laptops will be
pleased to learn that Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS) will be
soon releasing its first USB external BD-ROM drive in Q2 2008.
"Due to recent market developments we can expect an
increasing volume of movies to be released in high definition on Blu-ray Discs,"
said Jelmer Veldman, European Marketing Manager at PLDS. "The market adoption
of Blu-ray as the optical disc standard for High Definition content results in
a growing demand for Blu-ray playback solutions. The portable external Lite-On
BD-ROM drive allows users to playback their Blu-ray discs on any PC via a USB
2.0 cable."
The upcoming model, designated the Lite-On DX-4O1S can read
Blu-ray Disc media at 4X, single-layer DVD at 12X, dual-layer DVD at 8X, and CD
media at 32X maximum.
Those who prefer internal drives can find the Lite-On Blu-ray
Disc drives for around $150.
Alternatively, HTPC addicts may consider the Xbox 360 HD DVD
drive, now
on clearance for $50. While HD DVD may have limited future potential, the
Xbox 360 add-on, which works with natively with Windows Vista, is an affordable
option to view today's high-definition content.


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isn't looking for slow and steady gains with Windows Phone 7 (WP7); it's
looking to conquer the market. Much like it did with the Xbox 360,
Microsoft is looking to jump directly to second with a new
partnership with the world's leading phone-maker Nokia.
But whether it can attain that favorable position, as with its gaming console,
depends on how good the company's product is. Fortunately for Windows
Phone 7, the product is shaping up to improve dramatically in coming months.
At the Mobile World Conference 2011 in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft CEO Steve
Ballmer announced [video]
that WP7's first major update would be delivered in just weeks in "early
March". That update will most notably bring
copy and paste. It is also adds CDMA support, which means that Verizon and Sprint WP7 handsets should be
airing around the same time. And it also will reportedly improve the
performance of a number of key system pieces.
But that's not all. "Later this year" an update will land which
delivers a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9, complete with hardware
acceleration. Microsoft showed off the new browser smoking an iPhone 4's
Mobile Safari in a speed test. The only disappointment is that Flash
wasn't mentioned, indicating that Microsoft may opt to "follow in Apple's
line" and go HTML5-only. But Mr. Ballmer did promise the
"full" internet, so it's possible that Flash just was coincidently
not mentioned.
And another update is also in store. With that third update,
multi-tasking will at last be opened up to third party apps. The
implementation looks pretty intuitive -- press and hold the back arrow key to
get a card list of running apps. Games are paused briefly when you switch
back to them, to give you time to react. And Microsoft says that the
multi-tasking is all done without gobbling up battery-life.
Finally, for the Twitter lovers out there, Microsoft is working to integrate
the feature in its people hub, hence perpetuating the evil of micro-blogging.
Former Microsoft Canada executive and new Nokia CEO Stephen
Elop made a guest appearance at Ballmer's keynote. He gushed, "Microsoft
has a very modern collection of tools to help developers. Unquestionably the
most operator-friendly ecosystem today... Microsoft and Nokia together
represent a natural partnership. People are getting it."
Mr. Ballmer announced that the WP7 platform is now up to 8,000 apps, and that
it has 1 million active developers.
And Microsoft had a few tricks up its sleeve. It showed off a fourth slick
update to Windows Phone 7 that allows the device to interact with the Kinect
motion sensor for the Xbox 360. The new interface allows users to control
aspects of Kinect games, for new multiplayer challenges.
That update is coming this year as well.
So to recap on this flurry of updates to WP7 that are incoming this year we


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Do you know what makes someone a starter in the NBA?
They start.
Calderon starts, therefore he is a starter.
Does he deserve to be a starter? Yes, absolutely. If you were to list the top 30 point gaurds in the NBA, he is on the list. No question. I prefer him over lots of guys. Are there any backups that are better than him? I doubt it. (Don't say Jarrent Jack).
Now, he's pretty average as a starter, but he's still a starter.


text:
Running any company has its ups and downs. Every morning when you wake up, there may be something great, or not so great, waiting for your attention.
A few hours ago, we woke up and discovered a system glitch which inadvertently emailed some contacts in our database the same message several times.
Not so great.
We immediately found and fixed the glitch, so the issue was isolated to just a few hundred people. But this was still a very large inconvenience to many of our contacts, and nobody likes having their inbox filled with duplicate messages.
We would like to express our sincere apologies to those affected.
It will not happen again.
[System error image by Shutterstock]


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Seeing as the same names come up over and over for our lottery pick. I thought it might be interesting to see if anyone sees any diamonds in the rough, a legit second round pick that could be a significant role player 3 - 5 years out.
Interestingly enough this mock has Kabongo going to us in the second round. I must say though if we hold onto both second rounders I fully support going after Sacre and Kabongo for some legit basketball reasons as well as it would be nice to have some Canadians playing for Canada's team. I could see Kabongo developing into a strong backup PG and Sacre being a fourth big possibly scraping for 3rd big minutes.


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U.S. Nuclear reactors are not known for their fuel
efficiency. At a mere three to four percent burn-up, much of the uranium fuel
is wasted and current reactors produce large amounts of unsightly nuclear
waste. Advanced gas reactors may offer a better choice for the aging U.S.
nuclear power posse.
Working together with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Babcock &
Wilcox Company, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), with funding from the
Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Science, has produced a new fuel for
the high temperatures of advanced gas reactors. In tests conducted at the
Advanced Test Reactor at INL, the fuel reached a nine percent burn-up, a near
three-fold efficiency gain from traditional water-cooled nuclear plant fuel and
halfway to the targeted 16 to 18 percent.
The fuel, produced in the ORNL Materials Science and Technology Division, is
made up of thousands of tiny carbon and silicon carbide coated spheres of
uranium, which are compressed into fuel sticks and loaded into a graphite form.
With growing concerns about nuclear
reactor waste products, skeptical
outlooks for the future of nuclear power and foreign
companies selling mini-plants to U.S. customers, a new, more efficient fuel
made in America is a ray of hope for U.S. nuclear power advocates. Though it
will possibly never be without its own pollution problems, further refinement
and research into fission reactors may yield a very efficient and comparatively
clean energy generation model.


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Quality Rubber 4' x 6' Rubber Horse Mat 3/4" Thick$29.99
Dolco Packaging Poultry Chicken Egg Carton 2x6 Foam$0.39
Planetwise Equine Fresh Pellet Bedding 40lb-EQUINE FRESH 4$5.49
Country Road Midwestern Sweet Mix 12% 50 lb. 51582
Regular Price: $6.49
Special Price: $5.99
Country Road Whole Corn 50 Lbs. 1187
Regular Price: $5.99
Special Price: $5.49
32oz Rabbit Water Bottle BOT32OZ$3.99
Farm Innovators 3 gal. Plastic Heated Poultry Fountain HPF-100$29.98
Country Road Feeder w/Sifter for Rabbit Cage 7.5"$4.99
When you have livestock, there are so many items that you need just to care for them. They need proper food and feeding equipment. When they are sick, they need the proper medicine. Even when they aren't sick, you need to provide preventative medicine. Animals also need proper housing. There is just so much to think about. That is why our livestock category is so comprehensive.
Let's say you have rabbits. You will need the proper style cage, a drop pan to put at the bottom and bedding so your rabbits are safely housed. The last thing you want is a loose rabbit. There is too much danger out there for them to be running free. You'll also need the proper supplies to feed them, like hay and pellet food.
What if rabbits aren't your thing? How about if you are more into bees? Well, we can help you with that, too. We have frames and boxes. There are also entrance reducers and queen excluders, if you need them.
It really doesn't matter what type of livestock you have, from bees and rabbits to cows and chickens and even dogs and potbellied pigs, we have something for them all. This category offers a range of items that you will need to properly care for any animal you have.


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Toyota is just now finally getting some stiff competition in the hybrid market after holding on to the "High MPG Crown" for quite some time. On the lower end, the Prius is being assaulted by Honda's relatively affordable second generation Insight which starts below $20,000. That vehicle is rated at 40 MPG/43 MPG (city/highway).
On the other end of the spectrum, Ford's $27,270 Fusion Hybrid brings more conventional styling to the table and a vastly improved driving experience compared to the appliance-like Prius. In addition, the Fusion Hybrid still manages to maintain EPA ratings of 41 MPG/36 MPG (city/highway), although Autoblog editors were able to extract 43 MPG combined from their test vehicle.
With the stakes in the hybrid market getting higher, Toyota is ready to dazzle with its third-generation Prius. We first got a glimpse of the new model back in mid-October and the Toyota official announced the new Prius at the Detroit Auto Show in early January. Now, Edmunds has gotten a chance to fully track test the model ahead of its scheduled rollout for American consumers.
First and foremost, Toyota should be able to consolidate costs a bit with the new Prius as it no longer rides on its own platform. Instead, the vehicle is based on the current MC platform that underpins the Toyota Corolla, Matrix, and Scion xB -- presumably, the MC platform will also be used for the upcoming Lexus HS 250h hybrid sedan.
Toyota also addressed both power and NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness) with the upgrade to a larger 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine (up from the 1.5-liter unit used in the previous model). The new engine not only allowed Toyota to improve the Prius' acceleration and increase fuel economy, but it also reduces the cacophony inside the cabin when the gasoline engine is running.
Other improvements include a smoother ride, more natural steering and brake feel, and an even more advanced set of features and options. The Prius can now be equipped with such features as solar panels on the roof to power the A/C system and a self-parking system for those that either can't be bothered with or are inept at parallel parking.
Most importantly, the new Prius definitely puts up impressive numbers when it comes to fuel economy. The new vehicle is rated a 50 MPG combined (city + highway). However, Edmunds was able to achieve 52.2 MPG combined during 115 miles of driving with 60% weighted towards highway miles. Edmunds figures that the numbers would creep up a few more MPG if the percentages were reversed seeing as how the Prius excels in around town situations where the electric motor can handle more of the propulsion duties.
Toyota hasn't yet announced pricing for its third-generation Prius, but expect the new vehicle's base price to hover around or slightly higher than the current $22,000.
Updated 3/25/2009
Autoblog's road test of the 2010 Prius shows that the vehicle is capable of much more than just 52.2 MPG:
The Prius' chief engineer, Akihiko Otsuka, drove a 33-mile route in and around Napa and averaged 62.9 mpg. During the drive week, he levied a Beat-The-Chief challenge to anyone who wanted to take him on. AutoblogGreen was able to get the in-dash display to read in the mid- to low-70s for most of the route, but the last ten miles on a busy 55-mph road dropped that to 64.5 mpg. Not bad, but only good for a standing near the absolute bottom of the rankings among other journalists. Overall, the best score was 94.6 mpg, although that involved some less-than-real-world driving behaviors and conditions. The best "honest" score was 75.3 mpg. In all, about half of the journalists were able to get over 70 mpg, while the rest, save two, were able to get more than 66 mpg.


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Home > Homes
> Homes.com - Real Estate and Homes For Sale
Homes.com - Real Estate and Homes For Sale
Homes.com contains a wealth of information to help you learn more about real estate. As one of the nation's top online destinations for real estate listings, our database contains nearly four million homes for sale and rental homes. You can also search homes.com for new home construction, foreclosures, and homes for rent. Our real estate agent directory allows you to find Realtors from more than just one brokerage firm. So whether you are wondering what your home value is, looking for a real estate agent to help you buy or sell your home, or just looking to browse properties in your area, it's all right here.


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Unit Advancement Chair
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
|Troop Advancement Chair
The unit advancement chair is appointed by the committee chairman to ensure that the unit has at least monthly boards of review, quarterly courts of honor, and that the unit has goals of helping each Scout advance a rank each year and for new Scouts to reach First Class rank during their first year. The advancement chair is also responsible for record keeping and submitting advancement reports.
Unit committee position
- Troop Committee in a Boy Scout troop
- Team Committee in a Varsity Scout team
|Team Advancement Chair
Responsiblities set by BSA Advancement Policies
- Main: Boy Scout Advancement
- "A basic goal should be for each Scout to advance a rank during the year."
- "New Scouts should earn their First Class rank during their first year in the troop."
- Boards of Review - "When reviewed monthly by the troop committee, Scouts will recognize the importance of Scout advancement."
- "Troops should conduct boards of review for Scouts who are not advancing."
- "A minimum of four formal courts of honor a year (one every three months) should be held to formally recognize the Scouts in the troop."
- "Presentation of merit badges and rank badges should not await these courts of honor;"
- "...Awards and badges should be presented at the next meeting after they have been earned. Scouts are recognized again at a formal court of honor."
- "Each troop is responsible for keeping its own records and reporting advancement to the local council service center. This is done on an Advancement Report form."
- Encourage Scouts to advance in rank.
- Works with troop Scribe or Team Secretary to maintain all Scout advancement records.
- Arranges troop boards of review and quarterly courts of honor. (Varsity Scout team boards of reviews are conducted by the youth team secretary and courts of honor are conducted by the youth Captain.)
- Develop and maintain a merit badge counselor list.
- Make a prompt report on the correct form to the council service center when a troop/team board of review is held. Secure badges and certificates.
- Work with the troop/team librarian to build and maintain a troop/team library of merit badge pamphlets and other advancement literature.
- Report to the troop/team committee each month.
See also
|Varsity Scout portal
- Varsity Scouting
- Varsity Scout Program
- Varsity Scout Advancement
- Boy Scouting
- Boy Scout Uniform
- Merit Badges (Worksheets)
Varsity awards:
Team Advancement Leaders:
- Advancement Program Manager
- Advancement Program Adviser
- Unit Advancement Chair
|— Adult Application, No. 524-501A
PDF (420 KB) (Previous editions obsolete.)
|— BSA Youth Protection training policy
- 36 BSA Monthly Troop Programs with Troop Meeting Plans (free & online), Printed: Vol I - Vol II - Vol III - Resources
- Introduction to Leadership Skills for Troops (ILST) - Troop Meeting Planner - Campfire Planner - Resource Survey - Troop Committee Challenge
- Senior Patrol Leaders Handbook - Patrol Leaders Handbook - Scoutmaster Handbook - BSA Nameplates
- Applications: New Unit - Adult Application
- Fundraising, Popcorn, and the importance of Individual Youth Accounts
- Advancement - Advancement Report - First Class-First Year - Advancement Campout - Merit Badge Day - Individual Record
Online or classroom Leader Training
Youth protection (MANDATORY) – every registered adult must be re-certified every year at my.scouting.org, where they can also complete the following courses:
- Before the First Meeting
- First 30 Days
- Position Trained
- Other training opportunities: Roundtable – University of Scouting – Trainer's EDGE (formerly Trainer Development Conference)
Outdoor Leader Training
In addition to fulfilling other requirements, some unit leaders need outdoor-specific training.
- Cub Scout Pack: BALOO – To have a Pack camp-out, at least one unit leader must be BALOO trained.
- Webelos Den Leaders: Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders (OWL) – To have a Webelos Den camp-out.
- Scoutmaster & Assistants and Varsity Scout Coach & Assistants: Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills – To have a camp-out.
- Wood Badge – Advanced Leadership skills for Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Varsity Scout, Venturing, district and council Scouters.
- Seabadge – Advanced Leadership skills for unit, district and council Sea Scouters.
Other outdoor-related links
(Adult Leaders)
|Troop Committee Chairman
|Advancement Chair
|Equipment Coordinator
|Activities Chair
|Membership Chair
|Training Chair
|Fundraising Chair
|Public Relations Chair
|Friends of Scouting Chair
|Scouting for Food Chair
|ScoutParent Unit Coordinator
|Reports to: Chartered Organization Representative
|Advisers: Scoutmaster & Assistant Scoutmaster(s)
(Youth Positions)
|Official Boy Scout Forms & Resources
|Applications & Reports:
|Youth Application
|Adult Leader Application
|Advancement Report
|Uniform Inspections
|Training Materials:
|Youth Protection Training
|Safe Swim Defense
|Safety Afloat
|New Leader
|Online Training:
|Youth Protection Training
|Safe Swim Defense
|Safety Afloat
|New Leader
|Other Guides:
|Boy Scout Requirements
|Insignia Guide
|Scouting Terminology
|Leave No Trace
|Permit Applications:
|Permission Slip
|Local Tour Permit
|National Tour Permit
|Unit Money-Earning
|Medical Exam Forms:
|Annual Health and Medical Record 34605
|other forms…
|Reports to:
|Chartered Organization Representative
|Lead by:
|Team Committee Chairman
|Committee Secretary • Committee Treasurer • Advancement Chair • Equipment Coordinator • Activities Chair • Membership Chair • Training Chair • Public Relations Chair • Friends of Scouting Chair • Scouting for Food Chair • Fundraising Chair • ScoutParent Unit Coordinator • Chaplain
|Program Advisers:
|Advancement • High-Adventure/Sports • Personal Development • Service • Special Programs and Events
|Team Coach • Assistant Team Coach(es)
See: Advancement Committee Policies and Procedures #33088 © 1989, 2007 Printing


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NCUA Bans Two Managers Who Defrauded Small CUs
The NCUA on Thursday issued prohibition orders to two former small credit union managers who looted their institutions to the point of failure.
Cindy Dechant, the former manager and sole employee of the shuttered $270,000 Associated Blind of Oklahoma/Texas Federal Credit Union in Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty to the charge of bank fraud.
Dechant was sentenced to 42 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $194,297.94. ABOTFCU merged into the $2.9 billion Tinker Federal Credit Union in February 2009.
Theresa Portillo, the former manager and sole employee of the shuttered $3 million Women's Southwest FCU of Dallas consented to the issuance of a prohibition order to avoid the time, cost and expense of administrative litigation.
Portillo pled guilty Dec. 18 to embezzlement charges, admitting she stole $3.4 million from the credit union over an 11-year period. According to court documents, she sold 18 credit union-owned certificates to other institutions and pocketed the proceeds, using the cash to buy real estate, jewelry and a Mexican time share in Cabo San Lucas.
The two are permanently barred from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution.
NCUA enforcement orders are available online at http://go.usa.gov/4ReQ and for inspection at the NCUA's Office of General Counsel between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.


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Rayelan's Auction House
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Nationwide Business Insurance in Mansfield Center, Connecticut From Lemieux Insurance & Financial Services, LLC
Whether you operate a golf course, medical clinic, or auto repair shop, coverage from Nationwide can fulfill all the small business insurance requirements that apply to Mansfield Center, Connecticut companies. Let Lemieux Insurance & Financial Services, LLC help make sure that your customers and employees are protected, while also allowing your company to move forward when covered damages do occur.
The versatile risk management products from Nationwide are backed by strong value, attractive discounts, and the superior On Your Side ® Claims Service. Moreover, flexible billing helps meet your financial scheduling needs, while different payment options can prevent insurance from becoming another logistical hassle. From customized policies to good old fashioned customer service, it's all part of the package Lemieux Insurance & Financial Services, LLC offers our Mansfield Center business clients.
No matter how well you know your business, there always seems to be a few lingering questions about the right coverage for your company. Whether it's the location of your storefront, the size of your commercial fleet, or the feasibility of new employee benefits, let Lemieux Insurance & Financial Services, LLC answer any and all questions you might have. Give us a call at (860) 456-8522 to talk about your coverage or to schedule an office appointment at 119 Storrs Rd, Mansfield Center, Connecticut, 06250.
The Lemieux Insurance & Financial Services, LLC also offers products in Arizona, Maryland and Rhode Island. Please call for information on products in those states.


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WesCorp Losses Center of DOJ's Suit against S&P
Specifically citing losses experienced by the failed $23 billion Western Corporate FCU, the U.S. Department of Justice this week sued Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, alleging it defrauded investors in residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations.
The DOJ said in a release that WesCorp collapsed after suffering massive losses on RMBS and CDOs rated by S&P. The Justice Department said to date, federally insured financial institutions have suffered more than $5 billion in losses in connection with the failure of CDOs rated by S&P from March to October 2007.
The suit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
"Significant harm was caused by S&P's alleged conduct in the Central District of California," said U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. "Institutional investors located in my district, such as WesCorp, suffered massive losses after putting billions of dollars into RMBS and CDOs that received flawed and inflated ratings from S&P."
The lawsuit alleges that S&P issued inflated ratings that misrepresented the securities' true credit risks. The complaint also alleges that S&P falsely represented its ratings as objective, independent and uninfluenced by S&P's relationships with investment banks when, in actuality, S&P's desire for increased revenue and market share led it to favor the interests of these banks over investors.
"Put simply, this alleged conduct is egregious – and it goes to the very heart of the recent financial crisis," said U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. "Today's action is an important step forward in our ongoing efforts to investigate – and – punish the conduct that is believed to have contributed to the worst economic crisis in recent history. It is just the latest example of the critical work that the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force is making possible."
Joining the Justice Department were attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa and Mississippi, who have filed or said they will file civil fraud lawsuits against S&P alleging similar ratings misconduct.
After WesCorp was seized by the NCUA on March 20, 2009, WesCorp member credit unions were forced to write off all paid-in capital and member capital accounts which totaled $1.14 billion as of Jan. 31, 2009.
At the time, Director of Office of Examinations and Insurance Melinda Love said the WesCorp losses forced 90 member credit unions below 7% net worth.
Federally insured credit unions are still repaying the cost to securitize corporate legacy assets. In November 2012, the NCUA estimated the annual corporate assessments to total between $6 billion and $8.9 billion by the time the corporate stabilization fund expires in 2012. WesCorp accounted for a majority of corporate losses.


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LAS VEGAS, Nev. For the past 27 years, Las Vegas has gone country for 10 days in December.
Sin City plays host to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (WNFR), where world championships are decided.
This years rodeo is Dec. 615, and will feature 10 nights of the best contestants from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Womens Professional Rodeo Association.
Up for grabs is more than $6 million in prize money. Hoping to get a big share of that is bull rider Cody Samora from Cortez, who enters the competition in eighth-place with $80,593 in regular season earnings. This is his first qualification for rodeos championship event. Samora is one of four contestants from Colorado that will be competing.
Along with bull riding, the rodeo will crown champions in bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, saddle bronc riding, tie-down roping and womens barrel racing. To qualify for the WNFR, contestants had to be among the top 15 in the world standings.
Cowboys and cowgirls traveled across the United States paying their own entry fees and expenses, hoping to earn enough money to be among the elite athletes that advance to rodeos Super Bowl event.
The WNFR has seen continued growth in prize money and fan support since it moved to Las Vegas. Each contestant will compete in 10 individual rounds, which will pay the winner $18,257. On Saturday, Dec. 15, total scores and times will be added together for average placing. First-place in that category will win $46,820 and a saddle, as the WNFR champion.
World championships are determined by adding a contestants WNFR and regular season earnings together. Those champions have the esteemed honor of wearing the traditional gold buckle that signifies they are the worlds best in the sport of rodeo.