text:
Last week, I mentioned that the trees may think that it is springtime and begin to bud, thinking that winter is over. Dont we wish! Well, not really, because we love the beauty of winter. Skiing is a wonderful sport; snowboarding is too, of course. It is all the fun things that go with skiing, etc., that makes it so much fun, especially when one is in good condition and not too old and I mean really old, like us! We enjoyed years of skiing, camping, fishing and all the fun sports. Some citizens ski when they are up in years, if they stay in decent shape. Some even into their 80s. Lucky.
Anyway, we are watching the temperature decline when the sun disappears behind Mt. Expectation around 4:30 at this time of the year. As you all know, we do not have sunsets with all the colors. Actually, we do enjoy a semblance of a sunset, but it is high up in the sky above the town with the mountains interfering. The saying goes that if one cannot have the mountains to live in, you must have the sea one or the other. We want the mountains and the sea and it seems that the majority rules mountains for most of the year, but when ski season ends and the slow season is in effect, where do all our friends go? To Mexico, or somewhere that has sun, sand, sea and seafood.
Thanksgiving is fast approaching. The annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner will be held at the courthouse this coming Sunday at 1 p.m. This is always a perfect time to see our friends and neighbors. Bring a side dish if possible, then just relax, enjoy a super dinner, and renew and discuss all the good times we have enjoyed through the years. The church will be preparing for the event on Saturday after lunch and if you want to make yourself useful, show up and help set up the tables and chairs for the dinner. I am not joshing, fellow citizens try it; you might enjoy helping out. Not that you havent done it before; many of you have been helpful throughout the years.
Because winter hours are setting in and our workforce arrives home after dark, everything slows down in our peaceful little town. When snow covers everything on our earth, we hear the laughter of youngsters mostly on weekends when they all take to the hills in town. During the week, it is sadly too dark to play outside.
Marlene Hazen has lived in Rico for two decades. An active member of the community, she participates in organizations such as the Rico Womens Club and Rico Historical Society.


text:
After trades, Blue Jays' system still full of prospects
Sanchez, Osuna, Norris highlight hurlers hoping to continue climb toward Toronto
By Paul Casella / MLB.com
The future success of every Major League team lies largely in its Minor League pipeline. With that in mind, MLB.com is looking at each team's farm system, from the Top 20 Prospects to the more under-the-radar types.
This offseason, the Blue Jays dipped into their wealth of prospects to make a pair of blockbuster trades that will help the team contend in the American League East in 2013.
And although those trades brought in R.A. Dickey from the Mets, as well as Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and company from the Marlins, they certainly took a toll on the farm system.
Toronto sent two players on the 2013 MLB.com Top 100 Prospect list -- Travis d'Arnaud (No. 6) and Noah Syndergaard (29) -- to New York in exchange for Dickey, and packaged three Top 100 prospects -- Jake Marisnick (70), Justin Nicolino (72) and Adeiny Hechavarria (82) -- in its deal with Miami.
"Well, I'm always very positive from the standpoint of where we're at, and I think we're in great shape," said Doug Davis, Minor League field coordinator. "Obviously, we lost a lot of key players, but I think also we've done a very good job, from a scouting standpoint, to bring in other young guys. Now the focus kind of goes back to some of the younger players, to continue to develop them and let them sort of fill the holes."
To Davis, this year's process is no different than if the top prospects simply broke through with the Major League club. Though such players as d'Arnaud and Syndergaard have never played a big league game in a Blue Jays uniform, their talent and development will still help Toronto put a much-improved product on the field in 2013.
"That's one of our goals, to try to create value in our players, whether they're going to help our own team or [general manager] Alex [Anthopoulos] is going to be able to use them to go out and get other players," Davis said. "So [the trades] were very positive from a player-development standpoint."
And even with all the movement this winter, Davis is confident that the Blue Jays still have a fair share of prospects who are ready to start filling those vacancies.
Top 20 prospects
At the top of the list is a trio of pitchers: right-handers Aaron Sanchez and Roberto Osuna, and left-hander Daniel Norris. None of them pitched above Class A last year, but all carry high expectations heading into 2013. They are joined on the top half of the list by five other hurlers: right-handers Marcus Stroman, John Stilson and Adonys Cardona, and left-handers Sean Nolin and Matthew Smoral.
Among all the pitchers is a pair of athletic outfielders, Anthony Alford and D.J. Davis; the latter is one of the fastest players to come out of the 2012 Draft. Another hitter who figures to help ease the blow of losing d'Arnaud is catcher A.J. Jimenez, fresh off Tommy John surgery in 2012.
As for the infield, offensive-minded middle infielder Christian Lopes impressed in his pro debut last year, but he is still a few years from contributing at the Major League level. Fellow infielder Ryan Goins, however, could bring his well-rounded game to the big leagues as soon as this season after spending all of last season at Double-A New Hampshire.
Under the radar
blue jays' top prospects
|Aaron Sanchez
|Roberto Osuna
|Daniel Norris
|D.J. Davis
|Marcus Stroman
Javier Avendano might not fit the typical bill of a high-end prospect -- he's 22 and hasn't pitched above Class A -- but he's coming off a dominant 2012 after Toronto claimed him in the Minor League portion of the Rule 5 Draft in December 2011. The crafty right-hander pitched his way to an 8-1 record and a 1.27 ERA in 16 games (14 starts) with Class A Vancouver last year. Over five seasons at rookie-level and Class A -- the first four of which were spent in the Cardinals system -- Avendano is a combined 19-10 with a 1.75 ERA in 85 appearances (48 starts).
Then there's the case of right-hander Marcus Walden, who was once very much on the radar but has fallen off in recent years. Walden, drafted in the ninth round in 2007, has been hampered by injuries in the early stages of his pro career. He underwent Tommy John surgery, which forced him to miss the entire 2010 season, but seemingly turned the corner in 2012, going 5-2 with a 3.10 ERA in 14 starts at Lansing before posting a 9-2 mark and 2.85 ERA in 13 games (12 starts) at Dunedin. In his first fully healthy season, Walden displayed a hard sinker, a hard slider and a low-to-mid-90s fastball that originally caught the Blue Jays' attention in the '07 Draft.
Hitter of the year
With d'Arnaud out of the picture, this category is wide open. Therefore, it's fitting to go with Jimenez, who is easily the biggest beneficiary of d'Arnaud's departure. Jimenez is known for defense, but he's proven he can also handle the bat. He hit .303 in 102 games with Dunedin in 2011 and .305 in 70 games at Lansing one year earlier. With d'Arnaud now no longer blocking his path to the Majors -- coupled with only playing 27 games before the surgery last year -- Jimenez has plenty of motivation for a big comeback season.
Pitcher of the year
It'd be hard to go wrong selecting Sanchez, but it's Nolin who gets the nod after not losing a single decision last year. Nolin went 9-0 with a 2.19 ERA in 17 appearances (15 starts) with Dunedin last year and didn't miss a beat after his promotion to New Hampshire. In his three starts with the Fisher Cats, he went 1-0 with a 1.20 ERA, allowing just two earned runs over 15 innings while striking out 18. Nolin doesn't necessarily overpower hitters; instead he relies on his superior feel for the game to consistently retire them.
Paul Casella is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @paul_casella. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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The End of William Higgins Newsletter


text:
Measuring sensors using RAW and testing lenses on cameras
Since DxOMark measurements are performed on RAW images, an imaging sensor is required to perform measurements.
While this statement is obvious, when talking about optical measurements, it is very common to refer to lens performance alone.
However, sensors significantly influence optical performance, so it makes a lot of sense to evaluate and compare lens-camera combinations, rather than just lenses alone.
Lens performance vs sensor physical dimension
Lenses can often be used on different sizes of sensors—for instance, most APS-C or APS-H cameras can mount lenses originally designed for 24x36mm cameras. In this case, the generated picture is a "crop" of the picture that a camera with a larger sensor would generate.
Obviously, if optical performance decreases from center to corners on a 24x36mm camera, the optical performance on a smaller sensor should be better, and this is true for distortion, chromatic aberration, vignetting and resolution.
In the case of resolution, since results are normalized (stretched in this instance) to a 24x36mm output, the resolution at the center of the field is lower, but is more homogeneous overall.
Lens performance vs pixel size
A digital imaging sensor is composed of many photosites, or pixels. The smaller the pixel size, the greater the sensor resolution. Resolution is highly influenced by both pixel size and sensor dimension.
Obviously both the sensor and the optics have an influence on resolution, and either one of them can be a limiting factor.
Influence of pixel design and microlenses
Each camera sensor model is designed carefully to maximize performance. The sensitive area of a pixel is an important factor that is often increased by using microlenses to focus more light on the sensitive area. This also has some influence on resolution.
Since microlenses are maximally effective only for certain lens apertures, microlens performance decreases as the difference from the ideal aperture increases, meaning that the full T-stop range of the camera is far from optimal.
All of these sensor-related factors have an impact on lens performance and cannot be ignored. The very same lens can show differences in image quality performance when coupled with different camera bodies, which is why DxOMark puts in the time and effort to test and publish the results for as many lens-camera combinations as possible.


text:
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.
Drug Use Forecasting in 24 Cities in the United States, 1987-1997 (ICPSR 9477)
Principal Investigator(s): United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice
The Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) Program measures levels of and trends in drug use among persons arrested and booked in the United States. The data address the following topics: (1) types of drugs used by arrestees (based on self-reports and urinalysis), (2) self-reported dependency on drugs, (3) self-reported need for alcohol/drug treatment, (4) the relationship between drug use and certain types of offenses, and (5) the relationship between self-reported indicators of drug use and indicators of drug use based on urinalysis. Participation in the project is voluntary, and all information collected from the arrestees is anonymous and confidential. The data include the arrestee's age, race, gender, educational attainment, marital status, and the charge at the time of booking. The recently modified DUF interview instrument (used for part of the 1995 data and all of the 1996 and 1997 data) also collected information about the arrestee's use of 15 drugs, including recent and past use (e.g., 3-day and 30-day drug use) of each of these drugs, age at first use, and whether the arrestee had ever been dependent on drugs. In the original DUF interview instrument (used for the 1987 to 1994 data and part of the 1995 data), the information collected was the same as above except that the use of 22 drugs was queried, and the age at which the arrestee first became dependent on the drug was included. Arrestees also were questioned in the original instrument about their history of intravenous drug use, whether the consideration of AIDS influenced whether they shared needles, history of drug and alcohol treatment, their past and current drug treatment needs, and how many persons they had sex with during the past 12 months. Finally, arrestees were asked to provide a urine specimen, which was screened for the presence of ten drugs, including marijuana, opiates, cocaine, PCP, methadone, benzodiazepines (Valium), methaqualone, propoxyphene (Darvon), barbiturates, and amphetamines (positive test results for amphetamines were confirmed by gas chromatography). The Gun Addendum Data (Parts 27, 35, and 37) contain variables on topics such as arrestees' encounters with guns, whether they agreed or disagreed with statements about guns, gun possession, how they obtained handgun(s), whether they were armed with a gun at their arrest or during crimes, and if they had ever used a gun against another person. The Heroin Addendum Data, 1995 (Part 29) contains information that was formerly covered in the main annual file in 1992-1994, but in 1995 was revised and prepared as a separate dataset.
Series: Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) Program/Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) Series
Access Notes
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions ; consult the restrictions note to learn more. You can apply online for access to the restricted-use data. A login is required to apply.
Access to these data is restricted. Users interested in obtaining these data must complete a Restricted Data Use Agreement, specify the reasons for the request, and obtain IRB approval or notice of exemption for their research.
Any 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.
WARNING: Because this study has many datasets, the download all files option has been suppressed, and you will need to download one dataset at a time.
Study Description
United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice. Drug Use Forecasting in 24 Cities in the United States, 1987-1997. ICPSR09477-v2. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1998-07-15. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09477.v2
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09477.v2
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 (OJP-89-C-008)
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: ADAM/DUF Program, alcohol abuse, criminal histories, crime patterns, demographic characteristics, drug dependence, drug law offenses, drug offenders, drug related crimes, drug testing, drug use, gun use, handguns, recidivism prediction, substance abuse, trends, urinalysis
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 1987-06--1997-12
- 1987-06--1997-12
Unit of Observation: Individual arrestees.
Universe: Booked arrestees in 24 sites in the United States.
(1) SPSS export files are available for all data files except Parts 3 and 6. (2) The codebooks for the 1996 and 1997 data and the data collection instruments for 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997 are provided as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The PDF file format was developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided in the README file on the diskette version of this study for the years 1987-1995 and through the ICPSR Website on the Internet. (3) The data collection instruments for 1987-1993 are available only in hardcopy form upon request from ICPSR. (4) In response to recommendations by the Government Accounting Office (GAO), significant modifications were made to the DUF survey instrument midway through 1995, resulting in two different survey instruments used that year. The new survey instrument (1995 Survey, Part 2) retains many of the variables from the original DUF questionnaire (1995 Survey, Part 1), as well as adding more detailed questions. (5) In efforts to make the DUF data more "user friendly," the coding scheme and formatting of the 1994 data and 1995 Survey, Part 1, data were changed slightly from previous years and, further, the coding scheme and formatting of the 1995 Survey, Part 2, data differ somewhat from the 1994 and 1995 Survey, Part 1, data.
Study Purpose: The Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) Program was designed to estimate the prevalence of drug use among persons in the United States who are arrested and booked, and to detect changes in trends in drug use among this population. Research addressing the prevalence of drug use typically does not include the population of offenders and therefore may underestimate levels of drug use in the United States. The DUF program makes an important contribution to research on the prevalence of drug use by sampling persons who are not sampled by other surveys of drug use. Moreover, the DUF data provide important information that may be used by law enforcement and drug treatment officials to allocate resources, design prevention strategies, and gauge the impact of local efforts to reduce drug use. The following is a sample of the questions addressed by the data: What types of drugs do arrestees use? Among arrestees reporting drug use, how many report that they are dependent on drugs? To what extent do arrestees report a need for alcohol/drug treatment? Is the likelihood of drug use greater for persons arrested for certain types of offenses? Finally, what is the relationship between self-reported drug use and indicators of drug use based on urinalysis?
Study Design: The DUF program is a nonexperimental survey of drug use among arrestees. In addition to supplying information on self-reported drug use, at the conclusion of the interview arrestees are asked to provide a urine specimen which is screened for the presence of ten illicit drugs. Between 1987 and 1997 the DUF program has collected information about drug use among arrestees in 24 sites across the United States, although the number of data collection sites varies slightly from year to year (see the description of the sample below). Samples of arrestees for the DUF program are drawn from booking facilities within each of the following sites and thus are limited to the types of arrestees booked at these facilities. In 11 sites (Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Kansas City, Omaha, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Washington, DC), the catchment area represents the central city (Kansas City ceased being a DUF site after 1992). In ten additional sites (Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Indianapolis, Miami, New Orleans, Manhattan [New York City], Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio, and San Jose), the catchment area is the county, parish, or borough. The city of Denver is Denver County and its entirety, and the city of St. Louis is also a county. The catchment area for Los Angeles includes part of the city and part of the county, and in Birmingham and San Diego the catchment area includes the entire central city and part of the county. Each quarter, trained local staff at these sites obtain voluntary and anonymous urine specimens from detained arrestees who have been in a booking facility for not more than 48 hours. The number of persons interviewed and the demographic composition of those interviewed varies somewhat across the 24 sites that have participated in the DUF program. On average, each site attempts to obtain a sample of 225 adult males per quarter. Data are collected from about 100 adult females each quarter at 21 of the 24 sites. Each quarter, 12 sites collect data from juvenile males and 8 collect data from juvenile females. Sites in which juveniles are interviewed attempt to obtain samples of 100 boys and 100 girls, although in many sites these quotas are not met due to the small number of juvenile arrestees from which to draw samples. The following procedures govern data collection in the DUF program. Male arrestees are selected by charge according to the following order of priority: (1) nondrug felony charges, (2) nondrug misdemeanor charges, (3) drug felony charges, and (4) drug misdemeanor charges. Males arrested for the following minor offenses are not sampled: vagrancy, loitering, or traffic violations (including driving while intoxicated). An exception to these general procedures is Omaha, where all arrestees are surveyed. In order to obtain a sufficient sample of adult female arrestees and juvenile arrestees, all adult female arrestees and all juvenile male and female arrestees are surveyed regardless of the nature of the crime for which they have been arrested. Individuals arrested on new charges who also have outstanding warrants are selected only on the basis of the new charge's position in the priority list, and the outstanding warrants are not considered. In addition to these selection criteria, sites are requested to survey no more than 20 percent of adult males arrested for drug offenses. To remain within the limit, the proportion of drug offenders interviewed is calculated each evening of data collection.
Sample: The data were collected from booked arrestees as follows. 1987 data: 2,993 males at 11 sites, 516 females at 5 sites. 1988 data: 10,554 males at 20 sites, 3,261 females at 14 sites. 1989 data: 16,186 males and 5,804 females at 21 sites. 1990 data: 20,556 males at 23 sites, 7,769 females at 21 sites. 1991 data: 22,335 adult males at 24 sites, 8,330 adult females at 21 sites. 1992 data: 22,265 adult males at 24 sites, 8,322 adult females at 21 sites. 1993 data: 20,551 adult males at 23 sites, 8,139 adult females at 21 sites. 1994 data: 20,015 adult males at 23 sites, 7,839 adult females at 21 sites, 4,558 juvenile males at 12 sites, 734 juvenile females at 8 sites. Part 1 Survey, 1995, data: 11,374 adult males at 23 sites, 4,474 adult females at 21 sites, 2,483 juvenile males at 12 sites, 412 juvenile females at 7 sites. Part 2 Survey, 1995, data: 9,364 adult males at 22 sites, 3,592 adult females at 20 sites, 1,810 juvenile males at 10 sites, 242 juvenile females at 5 sites. 1996 data: 19,835 adult males at 23 sites, 7,532 adult females at 21 sites, 4,145 juvenile males at 12 sites, 645 juvenile females at 7 sites. 1997 data: 19,736 adult males at 23 sites, 7,547 adult females at 21 sites, 3,686 juvenile males at 12 sites, 647 juvenile females at 8 sites.
arrest records, personal interviews, and urine specimens
Description of Variables: The data include the age, race, sex, educational attainment, marital status, employment status, and living circumstances of a sample of persons arrested and booked in the United States. The recently modified DUF interview instrument (used for part of the 1995 data and all of the 1996 and 1997 data), also included detailed questions about each arrestee's self-reported use of 15 drugs. The original DUF interview instrument (used for the 1987 to 1994 data and part of the 1995 data) elicited information about the use of 22 drugs and the age at which the arrestee first became dependent on the drug. For each drug type, arrestees were asked whether they had ever used the drug, the age at which they first used the drug, whether they had used the drug within the past three days, how many days they had used the drug with the past month, whether they had ever needed or felt dependent on the drug, and whether they were dependent on the drug at the time of the interview. Data from the new interview instrument also include information about whether arrestees had ever injected drugs and whether they were influenced by drugs when the police said they committed the crimes for which they were arrested. The data also include information about whether the arrestee had been to an emergency room for drug-related incidents and whether he or she had prior arrests in the last 12 months. Data from the DUF original interview instrument also include information about arrestees' preferred method for using cocaine, how much money arrestees spend on drugs in an average week, how many persons they had sex with during the past 12 months, whether they ever injected drugs, whether they injected drugs within the past six months, whether they ever shared needles, whether they shared needles within the past six months, and whether the consideration of AIDS influenced whether they shared needles. Data from both versions of the DUF interview provide information about each arrestee's history of drug/alcohol treatment, including whether they ever received drug/alcohol treatment and whether they needed drug/alcohol treatment. In addition to the survey, a urine specimen provided by the arrestee was screened (by the drug testing system EMIT) for the following ten drug types: marijuana, opiates, cocaine, PCP, methadone, benzodiazepines (Valium), methaqualone, propoxyphene (Darvon), barbiturates, and amphetamines. All positive results for amphetamines were confirmed by gas chromatography to eliminate positives that may be caused by over-the-counter drugs. Finally, the following variables included in the data were collected for use by local law enforcement officials at each site: precinct (precinct of arrest) and law (penal law code associated with the crime for which the subject was arrested). The Gun Addendum Data (Parts 27, 35, and 37) contain variables on topics such as arrestees' encounters with guns, whether they agreed or disagreed with statements about guns, gun possession, how they obtained handgun(s), whether they were armed with a gun at their arrest or during crimes, and if they had ever used a gun against another person. The Heroin Addendum Data, 1995 (Part 29), contains information that was formerly covered in the main annual file in 1992-1994, but in 1995 was revised and prepared as a separate dataset.
Response Rates: Approximately 90 percent of eligible arrestees agreed to be interviewed. Of those who consented to the interview, approximately 80 percent provided a urine specimen. The dataset includes only those persons who both agreed to be interviewed and provided a urine specimen.
Presence of Common Scales: None.
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: 1991-03-05
- 1998-07-15 Data for this collection have been transferred to the NACJD Private Use/Restricted Access Archive. Users interested in obtaining the data should refer to the RESTRICTIONS statement in this data collection description.
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text:
Hawk HPS Performance Street Compound Brake Pads HB449F.679
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- Lifetime Warranty against defects
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The key to the HPS Brake Pads' stopping force is their special ferro-carbon material. This uninque composite makes for less friction with a 20-40% increase in stopping power. This means much higher brake fade resistance, which in turn means better control and safety. HPS Brake Pads will last longer than the rest, and rotors will see much less warping. Your ears will thank you too - HPS Brakes are virtually silent.
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text:
The Florida Bar News
March 15, 2013
Positions Available - Attorneys
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
Positions Wanted
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Attorney Services
Expert Witness
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[Revised: 09-24-2017]


text:
Archetypes is a framework for developing new content types in Plone. The power of Archetypes is first in automatically generating forms, second in providing a library of stock field types, form widgets, and field validators, third in easily integrating custom fields, widgets, and validators, and fourth in automating transformations of rich content.
BabelKit is an interface to a universal multilingual database code table. It takes all of the programming work out of maintaining multiple database code definition sets in multiple languages. The code administration and translation page lets developers define new virtual code tables, new languages, enter all codes and their descriptions, and then translate them into all languages of interest. Perl and PHP classes retrieve the code descriptions and automatically generate HTML code selection elements in the user's language. This makes internationalization and localization of Web sites and database interfaces much easier.
EGroupware is a Web-based groupware suite. It contains many modules, including Calendar (personal calendar and group scheduling, notifications and alarms), Mail (IMAP only), InfoLog (todos, notes, and phone calls linked to contacts/CRM), Contacts (an address book for storing and sharing contact information), ProjectManager, Tracker (bug or incident tracking), TimeSheet, SyncML, CalDAV & CardDAV support, and SiteMgr content management
Eigenbase Resource Generator (ResGen) generates wrapper classes for Java resource bundles. The generated classes contain a 'get' method for every resource string, with parameters appropriate to the parameters embedded in the resource string. If the resource is some kind of exception, it also generates a 'new' method to create an instance of that exception. C++ generation is also supported.
An easy to use, but still quite capable firewall for Netfilter/iptables.
A public domain version of lzip.


text:
From GPS units to cell phones to SYNC
in-car infotainment systems, U.S. drivers have found new ways to
distract themselves while driving thanks to technology (not to
mention other favorites such as applying makeup, eating, reading the
newspaper, etc.). Texting while driving is the latest craze to infect
drivers and states around the country are swiftly implementing laws
to make such activities illegal. Texting is already banned in 19
states, and 23 states are currently prepping their own laws to tackle
the problem.
"Legislators are looking to see if
it (texting) is enough of a safety issue that they need to
intervene," said Anne Teigen told
the USA Today. Teigen is a transportation specialist for
the National Conference of State Legislatures. "They often get
involved because there's a high-profile accident that had to do with
texting. Also, because everybody has a cellphone now."
While states are currently going it
alone in drafting "no texting while driving" laws, there
are a few nationwide texting bans that drivers should heed. President
Obama issued
an executive order at the close of 2009 banning all federal
workers -- rather, those on the job -- from texting while driving.
The ban affects roughly four million federal workers.
Now a new, federal ban is coming down
from the U.S. government. The latest nationwide texting ban applies
to drivers of big rigs and buses. "We want the drivers of
big rigs and buses and those who share the roads with them to be
safe," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "This is
an important safety step and we will be taking more to eliminate the
threat of distracted driving."
Drivers that choose not to abide by the
new law face a fine of $2,750.
The bans from both the states and the
U.S. government come on the heels of numerous studies which point out
the dangerous consequences of texting and driving. A study by the
University of Utah showed that drivers that text behind the wheels
are six times more likely to be involved in a collision. The National
Security Council notes that roughly 200,000 accidents are caused each
drivers who text behind the wheel.
However, it's wishful thinking to
believe that nationwide texting bans are going to stop people from
partaking in America's favorite electronic pastime. Reuters
has previously reported that teens aren't
persuaded to stop their texting addictions just because there are
laws on the books to prohibit the act.
"What I would say is that texting
and cell phone devices have become such a component of life for teens
and for young people that it's hard for them to differentiate between
doing something normal and doing something wrong," remarked
Steven Bloch, a senior research associate for the Automobile Club.
Considering that texting while driving
isn't a habit that only affect teenagers, it's more than likely that
drivers in a more "advanced state of age" are reluctant to
stop the practice as well.
While the current nationwide texting
bans affect a relatively small portion of the entire U.S. driver
pool, Senator Chuck Schumer (Democrat, NY) is looking to change that.
Senator Schumer has introduced legislation that would call for a
federal ban on texting while driving. States that don't comply with
the legislation would be see a 25 percent cut in the federal highway
funds they receive.


text:
Welcome to Dhamma Wheel. When you get a moment, you might like to start a thread in the 'introductions' forum. You can either copy and paste what you've written here or write something a little different - its up to you. I wish you all the very best with reintegrating the basics and focusing on anapanasati.ba55i5t wrote:Hello all,
Maybe a little formal introduction would help. My name is James and I have been practicing Buddhism for about 7 months now. I'm rather eclectic - I've been to Vajrayana centres, Zen centres and had discussions with a Theravadin Monk. I had resolved to focus on Shikantaza meditation originally in this New Year, but recently have decided to get back to the basics with some Anapanasati. I do about 20 mins a day (excluding time on the bus), and attend a Zen Centre about once a week. I think I will suggest that from this day forward I will do 20 mins as part of my morning routine, as well as bus time, and atleast 5 minutes every night.
Edit: I'm not attached to missing a minute here or there, I'm just trying to get myself going.


text:
Writer Margaret Atwood to speak at Princeton
Author Margaret Atwood will deliver the Farnum Lecture on "Future Imperfect: The Clock Strikes Midnight" at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012, in McCosh Hall, Room 50, on the Princeton campus. Her talk will feature an investigation into horrid and near-horrid literary futures, beginning with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death" and continuing with a romp through various unsanitary corners of times to come, including the "zombie apocalypse." Why now, and what next?
The Farnum Lectures were founded in 1939 by a bequest of George L. Farnum, Class of 1894, in memory of his brother, J. Edward Farnum, Class of 1890.
Atwood is the author of more than 50 volumes of poetry, children's literature, fiction and nonfiction and is perhaps best known for her novels, which include "The Edible Woman" (1970), "The Handmaid's Tale" (1983), "The Robber Bride" (1994), "Alias Grace" (1996) and "The Blind Assassin," which won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2000. Atwood's dystopic novel, "Oryx and Crake," was published in 2003. "The Tent" (mini-fictions) and "Moral Disorder" (short stories) both appeared in 2006. Her most recent volume of poetry, "The Door," was published in 2007. Her nonfiction book "Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth" part of the Massey Lecture series, appeared in 2008, and her most recent novel, "The Year of the Flood," was published in 2009. Atwood's work has been published in more than 40 languages, including Farsi, Japanese, Turkish, Finnish, Korean, Icelandic and Estonian.
This event, sponsored by Princeton University Public Lectures, is free and open to the public.


text:
HP Slate first popped up at Microsoft's
CES 2010 keynote when CEO Steve Ballmer showed off the
device. Months went by and the status of the tablet became
increasingly unclear. Hewlett-Packard Co. acquired Palm, Inc.
in April leading some to believe that HP would scrap
the Windows 7 Slate in favor of a tablet packing Palm's
webOS.But at long last HP has clarified the
situation, officially
announcing that the Slate project never died and has just
launched as the HP Slate 500.The device retails for $799 (see
above link). The device offers perhaps the closest competitor
to the iPad yet, given its largish 8.9-inch screen (the iPad's screen
is 9.7-inch in diagonal).It gets handily beat by the iPad in
battery life, only getting approximately 5 hours to the 10 hour
lifespan of the device. And it doesn't come with a built in 3G
modem, despite the higher price. A single USB port is included,
which can be used for traditional USB modems, though.However,
in other departments it stacks up favorably against Apple's slab.
It packs a faster processor -- a 1.86 GHz single core Intel Atom Z540
processor (Apple's iPad packs a 1 GHz proprietary design, with a
Samsung core). And it has much more memory -- 2 GB -- versus
256 MB of RAM in the iPad. It also includes front and rear
cameras. An SD card reader is also included, as is Bluetooth
3.0 (the iPad has no expandable memory and only has Bluetooth
2.1)In addition to touch input, there's also pen-driven input
thanks to "active digitizer" from Wacom. Another perk
is that the device comes with a full copy of Microsoft Windows 7
Professional edition. The rest of the installed software is
thankfully slim -- HP Slate Camera, EVERNOTE, HP Support Assistant,
Adobe Reader, Adobe PDF. Microsoft Office is not included.
Of course, with Windows 7, the Slate 500 can handle Flash --
something not possible on the iPad. New software
can be installed by attaching an external CD/DVD drive to the USB
port. An important reminder, though, is that only 32 bit apps
work on the Atom processor.HD video is provided via a
Broadcom Crystal HD chip. The iPad and the Slate
500 share virtually the same graphics processor. The Slate 500 uses the
Intel GMA 500 which contains a licensed PowerVR SGX 535 core from
Imagination (not Intel) clocked at 200 MHz. This four pipeline
core is also used in Apple's A4 system-on-a-chip (SoC). The
screen resolution on the Slate 500 -- 1024x600 pixels -- is a
slightly different aspect ration than the iPad's 1024x768.The
tablet features metal edges and a rubberized back. It
measures 23.4 cm x 14.5 cm x 1.4 cm, compared to 24.3 cm x 19.0 cm x
1.34 cm. In other words, they're both about the same thickness,
but the iPad has a bigger footprint.Interestingly HP is
marketing the device exclusively to business customers, initially.
This is an interest tactic and perhaps a wise one given that Apple's
iPad hasn't really made serious inroads in the business sector.
However, it may be selling the device's commercial appeal short,
given that many non-business users might want a Windows 7 tablet as
well.Non-business customers can still head over to HP's
business site and order one when the device launches. The key
difference is that the device will not be advertised or widely
publicized to the mass market. Of course
non-business customers might prefer the Android-powered Samsung
Galaxy Tab, which has some superior features to the Slate 500 or
the iPad. In other words, customers will soon have three
options with the launch of the Slate 500 and a welcome break from
Apple's short-lived run of monopolizing
the tablet sector.


text: When you purchase a Gift Certificate, we process your order and release the funds into your MJM Magic account. You can then email any portion (or all of it) to anyone else by sending it to them electronically. They can then take their Gift Certificate money that you send them and use it as cash in our store!


text: Fangoria.com Managing Editor Samuel Zimmerman has been at FANGORIA since 2009, where fresh out of the Purchase College Cinema Studies program, he began as an editorial assistant. Since, he's honed both his writing and karaoke skills and been trusted with the responsibility of jury duty at Austin's incredible Fantastic Fest. Zimmerman lives in and hails from The Bronx, New York where his pants are too tight and he'll watch anything with witches.


text:
LSCU Touts Alabama, Florida Credit Union Growth
Credit unions in Alabama and Florida ended 2012 with a record number of assets for the third straight year, the League of Southeastern Credit Unions reports.
The 285 credit unions in the two states added $3.1 billion in assets. For Alabama, this equates to a 6% growth for the year and a record $17.7 billion in total assets, the league said. Alabama credit unions added just over $1 billion in new assets for the year, according to the LSCU.
For Florida, the growth rate in 2012 was just under 5% for a record $45.5 billion in assets. Florida credit unions added $2.1 billion in new assets for the year, the league said.
"A trend we've noticed for the past three years now is that credit unions are gaining a greater share of wallet from existing members," said LSCU & Affiliates President/CEO Patrick La Pine.
"While membership is rising most quarters, there are more assets being added than members. This shows existing credit union members are seeing the value and moving more of their money to the credit union," La Pine said.
Alabama credit unions added 6,000 new members for the fourth quarter of 2012 to end the year with a record 1.83 million members. This equates to a 3% membership growth rate, well above the national credit union average, the league said, and gives Alabama the 17th highest credit union growth rate in the country.
Florida credit unions membership numbers dipped in the fourth quarter, however, when financial institutions typically purge dormant accounts.
On the lending side, Alabama and Florida credit unions saw a positive growth rate for the first time in three years. Member business lending also continues to gain in both states, LSCU reported.
Alabama credit unions saw nearly a 13% gain, year over year, in member business loans. This is twice the national average and equates to $54 million in MBL growth.
What's more, Florida credit unions outpaced the national average by producing a 6.8% growth rate, adding $81 million in new MBL loans.
Alabama's overall lending jumped 3.4%, year over year, in the fourth quarter, stemming two years of no growth. Florida credit unions saw a 3.3% overall loan increase, year over year, in the fourth quarter, the league said.
This stops more than three years of no loan growth. Alabama and Florida credit unions continue to see good demand for automobile and first mortgage loans. Both are above the national credit union average, according to LSCU.
In a sign that the loans being made in each state are better quality, delinquencies and net charge offs continue to fall. Florida's delinquent loans to loans and net charge offs fell for the third year in a row. In Alabama, delinquent loans to loans remained consistently low, while net charge offs fell for the fourth straight year. The Alabama net charge off rate is lower than the national credit union average.
"For the first time in years, Alabama and Florida credit unions are seeing loan growth. This is a testament to an improving economy and more members purchasing homes and autos," said La Pine. "Credit unions typically have lower rates and more consumers are finding purchasing a home or vehicle from a credit union saves them significant money."


text:
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.
Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development [Great Britain], 1961-1981 (ICPSR 8488)
Principal Investigator(s): Farrington, David P.
This data collection effort, initiated by Dr. Donald J. West and continued by Dr. David Farrington, was undertaken to test several hypotheses about delinquency. The investigators examined socioeconomic conditions, schooling, friendship, parent-child relationships, extracurricular activities, school records, and criminal records. They also performed psychological tests to determine the causes of crime and delinquency. Information in the survey includes reports from peers, family size, child-rearing behavior, job histories, leisure habits, truancy, popularity, physical attributes, tendencies toward violence, sexual activity, and self-reported delinquency.
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.
ASCII + SAS Setup SPSS Setup Stata Setup
ASCII + SAS Setup
Study Description
Farrington, David P. Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development [Great Britain], 1961-1981. ICPSR08488-v2. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1994. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08488.v2
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08488.v2
Export Citation:
- RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
- EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)
This study was funded by:
- Home Office (United Kingdom)
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: aggression, arrests, children, crime, delinquent behavior, education, families, friendships, interpersonal relations, job history, leisure, quality of life, recreation, sexual attitudes, social attitudes, youths
Geographic Coverage: Global, Great Britain
- 1961--1981
- 1984
Universe: Population of young male children from a working-class urban area in Cambridge.
A knowledge of British criminal justice terminology would be helpful for those using the data. Various British governmental and law enforcement institutions are mentioned. Variables concerning the socioeconomic status of respondents, schools attended, and personality characteristics use code explanations that are not fully documented. The principal investigator has offered to consult with researchers on the use of the data. Contact Professor David Farrington, Institute of Criminology, 7 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DT, England.
Sample: The major part of the sample was chosen by taking all boys aged 8-9 who were on the registers of six state primary schools located within a one-mile radius of a research office that had been established.
personal interviews
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: 1986-08-18
- 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.
Related Publications
- List all ~241 citations associated with this study
Most Recent Publications
Metadata Exports
- Citations exports are provided above.
Export Study-level metadata (does not include variable-level metadata)
If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.


text:
Crime Factors and Neighborhood Decline in Chicago, 1979 (ICPSR 7952)
Principal Investigator(s): Taub, Richard; Taylor, D. Garth
This study explores the relationship between crime and neighborhood deterioration in eight neighborhoods in Chicago. The neighborhoods were selected on the basis of slowly or rapidly appreciating real estate values, stable or changing racial composition, and high or low crime rates. These data provide the results of a telephone survey administered to approximately 400 heads of households in each study neighborhood, a total of 3,310 completed interviews. The survey was designed to measure victimization experience, fear and perceptions of crime, protective measures taken, attitudes toward neighborhood quality and resources, attitudes toward the neighborhood as an investment, and density of community involvement. Each record includes appearance ratings for the block of the respondent's residence and aggregate figures on personal and property victimization for that city block. The aggregate appearance ratings were compiled from windshield surveys taken by trained personnel of the National Opinion Research Center. The criminal victimization figures came from Chicago City Police files.
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
Study Description
Taub, Richard, and D. Garth Taylor. Crime Factors and Neighborhood Decline in Chicago, 1979 . ICPSR07952-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1997. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07952.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR07952.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 (78-NI-AX-0131)
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: cities, communities, community participation, crime, criminal justice system, delinquent behavior, fear of crime, household composition, housing conditions, neighborhood characteristics, neighborhood conditions, neighborhoods, police protection, police response, property values, race relations, urban problems, victimization
Geographic Coverage: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- 1979
- 1979
Sample: Eight Chicago neighborhoods were selected for the study on the basis of high or low crime rates, stable or changing racial composition, and slowly or rapidly appreciating property values. Respondents from each of the eight neighborhoods were selected on the basis of random-digit dialing and screened for street name and block number.
personal interviews
Original ICPSR Release: 1984-03-18
- 1997-09-26 SAS and SPSS data definition statements have been added to this collection.
Related Publications
- List all ~11 citations associated with this study
Most Recent Publications
Export Options: RIS/EndNote
Metadata Exports
- Citations exports are provided above.
Export Study-level metadata (does not include variable-level metadata)
If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.


text:
|Norma Romero Vasquez receives applause from Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto, right, and Raul Plascencia, president of the National Human Rights Commission, after she was presented the 2013 National Human Rights Award in Mexico City Dec. 12. Romero leads a group of women known as Las Patronas, who feed Central American migrants traveling through Mexico atop northbound trains. (CNS photo)
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Mexico awarded its top human rights to Norma Romero Vasquez, the leader of a group of women known as Las Patronas, who feed Central American migrants traveling through the country atop northbound trains.
She collected the award Dec. 12, feast day for Our Lady of Guadalupe, often referred to as "La Patrona," or "Patroness," namesake of the women's group and of their village of coffee and cane farmers in Veracruz state.
"Our labor of humanitarian help started as something simple: feeding migrants, which we never thought or even imagined would bring us to this point," Romero said in remarks at the president's residence. "We thank God and Our Lady of Guadalupe, who have guided us in the work and for keeping us on our feet."
The award, presented by President Enrique Pena Nieto, highlighted the efforts of 14 self-described "women of faith," whose work started in 1995, a time when offering assistance to those without the proper papers was considered a crime and people were imprisoned for doing so.
Those rules have since been discarded, but other difficulties emerged as migrants are regularly robbed, kidnapped and extorted as they move through Mexico, often fleeing violence in Central America. Criminals now collect steep fees for allowing them to climb aboard the freight train known as "La Bestia" (The Beast) for its legacy of leaving migrants dismembered.
Migrants pay $100 to board "La Bestia" and continue paying criminal gangs as they roll northward toward the United States, said Franciscan Father Tomas Gonzalez Castillo, director of a migrant shelter on the Guatemalan border. "We notice an increase in violence toward migrants," he told Mexico's Reforma newspaper.
Las Patronas never set out to serve migrants, and Romero confessed she knew nothing about Central America until starting her humanitarian work. But she noticed people riding atop the trains passing by their property in La Patrona, some 185 miles southeast of Mexico City. A few arrived on foot and asked for food.
The women began bagging lunches of rice, beans, bread or whatever they could find — sometimes freshly picked fruit, when money was tight — and say they've never missed a day, not even Christmas. Trains started slowing down when passing La Patrona, allowing the women to lob the lunches to migrants on top.
As their notoriety increased, so did donations. Universities now collect food and clothes. Romero regularly speaks at events around the country, but said she would be fine if it were no longer necessary.
"While we love the work that God has called us to, we don't want to spend all our lives giving out food," she said. "We want that one day we're not needed. Then, we will know that we're advancing."
In 2012, the National Human Rights Commission awarded its human rights prize to Father Alejandro Solalinde for sheltering migrants in Oaxaca state.
The commission reported more than 11,300 migrants were kidnapped over a six-month period in 2010, the last time such figures were released.
Copyright (c) 2013 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Mexico awarded its top human rights to Norma Romero Vasquez, the leader of a group of women known as Las Patronas, who feed Central American migrants traveling through the country atop northbound trains.


text:
I suppose that's the clip, which was shown during Tor@Nets halftime on Sportsnet. They didn't show it on NBA.tv...
Clip From "Centred: The Jonas Valanciunas Story"
I suppose that's the clip, which was shown during Tor@Nets halftime on Sportsnet. They didn't show it on NBA.tv...
Clip From "Centred: The Jonas Valanciunas Story"
No way Biyombo ever becomes that, because the only way he'll be a starter on a contending team is if he is put with teammates who are well above average offensively in order to make up for his deficiencies.
On the other hand I think it's way too early to say that JV is a franchise center, but he's got a much better shot at it than Biyombo. He's got a very versatile skillset that would allow him to excel in a lot of different situations.
Ya people are already saying that JV is a franchise center. And those people are top notch analyists, coaches and scouts
Currently some Valančiūnas porn live at: http://tv.lrytas.lt/live
Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania) - Minsk-2006 (Belarus)
EDIT: JV has already got 13pts and 10reb at halftime (minutes played 15:16)
JV: 14pts, 14reb, 3blocks, 1steal, 0to, 2fouls, 3/6fg, 8/10ft
my work desk just raised 6 inches
I check this thread for every update, JV's statlines never cease to turn me on.
Fuck Kemba Walker. lol
Twitter: @ReubenJRD NBA, Raptors writer for Daily Hive Vancouver, Toronto.
Valanciunas' backup center, Predrag Samardziski, is out for 4weeks with a sprained ankle and JV is the only true center left in the line-up, so we'll see extended playing time by JV. This is a good time to watch how he'll control his fouls, one of his major weakneses in the past
Thanks for the great news Vykis!!!
Boxscore from this game.
Video from this game:
JV already has 80% (percentage made up by me, but a strong majority is my meaning) of post players in the NBA beat in one area of his game: he can go left in the post. See 2:35 of the video: he drop stepped to the left baseline.
Last edited by mcHAPPY; Sat Mar 17th, 2012 at 03:32 PM.
Not just because of this comment, but Alex Kennedy for me is the best and most trusted contributor at HoopsWorld.com. I find many of their contributors who offer rumours are full of poop *yes, I'm looking at you Ingram*. Anyways:
What do you think of Jonas Valanciunas? Is he the favorite to win ROY next season?
Alex Kennedy
I'm a huge fan of Jonas Valanciunas. If it weren't for his contract situation, he likely would've been picked even higher in last year's draft. By drafting him fifth overall, the Raptors got a steal. Scouts rave about him and say that he has the potential to be an elite player. I'm really looking forward to seeing him in the NBA and it's possible that he could win Rookie of the Year next season. He'll definitely have the opportunity to play right away, which means he'll have a shot.
Then wait till Valanciunas arrives
I wouldn't classify JV as skinny anymore. Pictures and video of him last year to now are showing significant gains in size, in my opinion. Also, while I agree he is thin, he does have noticeable muscle. His frame is very promising with very broad shoulders.
Well yes, actually I believe he will look like Chandler after 3/4 years:
I would say it's pretty similar:
This is the pic of Jonas you posted. It is from last year last year I believe.
Here is one from this summer:
And another from February 28th EuroCup competition:
There are currently 2 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 2 guests)


text:
It was discovered by an AVS Forum poster that Sony's Blu-ray Disc Player BDP-S1 has been pushed back to a target availability of "On or about December 4, 2006," marking the third delay for the product. This is small proof that Sony is indeed suspending shipments of blue diode lasers for Blu-ray movie players in favor of PlayStation 3 manufacturing (story), despite the fact that BDP-S1 will retail for a more profitable $999.95.
In another Sony delay, the company has postponed the release of its LocationFree TV Box LF-Box1, a device that will let you watch content on displays such as your TV, laptop and PSP. According a statement received by AP, the reason for delay is not due to manufacturing, but rather the need for more time to better adapt its remote controller to more models of DVD recorders and other machines the product will connect with. The delay applies to the Japanese release date, which has been pushed from October 27 to November 17. Sony still lists an October North American release for its LF-B20.
Industry onlookers are beginning to express concern over Sony's technical capabilities, especially after Ken Kutaragi's much publicized statement.
"What has become of the Sony known for its technology?" asked Akira Amari, Japan's trade minister and former Sony employee. "I hope it will solve its problems soon to quickly recover its brand image reputed for technological prowess."
When asked if Sony's reputation is suffering due to its numerous recent product delays, Sony spokeswoman Natsuki Eto said that the company decided a delay was better if the product will be compatible with more of the latest models.


text:
BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//http://www.nmt.edu//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.10.23// METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:JCal Pro Calendar X-WR-CALDESC:Your online events calendar X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20130117T200000UTC-60151a@http://www.nmt.edu/ DTSTAMP:20180122T174745Z DESCRIPTION:
Weekly Swing Dance held in the SAC hosted by the New Mexico Tech Ballroom Dance Club. Everyone is welcome. Lessons are held before the dance most nights. 8 to 10:30 p.m.DTSTART:20130418T000000Z SUMMARY:Swing Dance END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR


text:
I know.
Expectations were high in the offseason, and now we are hurting.
We have gone back and forth, attempting to pinpoint the issue holding us back from our promised playoff run. Is it Bargnani? Coach Casey? Landry Fields? Dominique McGuire? Bryan Colangelo? Referees? Matt Devlin?
Who knows, but it seems after every game we have a new name on our list.
I think we need to get a few facts straightened out, and I believe that when people take a step back from the emotions of the recent HEART wrenching losses, they will be able to recognize the reasons for optimism on this team.
Lets begin by listing our close games:
Indiana 90 vs Toronto 88
Dallas 109 vs Toronto 104
Utah 140 vs Toronto 133 (3OT)
Philadelphia 106 vs Toronto 98 [tied with less than 2 minutes to go]
Charlotte 98 vs Toronto 97 [NBA retracts no-call, by all practical purposes, this was a win]
Detroit 91 vs Toronto 90
All together,
3 games decided by 2 points or less (one shot/one call)
1 Triple Overtime, meaning it was tied by the games end (one shot/one call)
1 tied game with 2 minutes to go
1 5 point game (3 shots)
What needs to be gathered is that our 3-10 record is deceiving.
Charlotte I am going to chalk up as a win, because even the NBA agrees, it was. 4-9
Now besides Charlotte, I am not claiming that any of these games are wins, or should be considered potential wins. My point is that each one of these games couldve gone either way, and if one shot went in, the perception of the entire game all of a sudden becomes positive, where as if that shot does not go in, the perception of the entire game turns to complete crap and frustration.
I do not consider this performance by the raptors to be below expectations whatsoever. Very easily we could be at 6-7 (3 games decided by 1 shot/call), and if we were and all the performances were the same, the perception would be that the raptors are right on track to their development as a team, and frustration levels would be much lower.
Lets look at other factors that justify our crappy record:
-Rookie Starting Center
-Starting PG and arguably best player, hurt for multiple games
-Landry Fields nerve has missed enough shots to rightfully be accountable to some of those losses
-2 stretches of 4 games in 5 days
-5 back-backs (out of 13 total games)
Now that we have soften those losses, lets talk about positives, and why this team is exciting:
-JV is the real deal. Rookie mistakes and lack of experience still a factor, and will be for a while, but he has met my hype in the off-season and is right on track!
-Lowry came in with MVP numbers to start the season, before the injury. Before the game where he got hurt, he was tied with Harden at the top of the league in Eff. (Yet only Harden got any media attention for that stretch)
-Derozan has shown massive strides towards becoming a more complete player. He is right on track to developing into the player we all are hoping he can be!
-Calderon was the 2nd best PG in the LEAGUE during kyle lowrys injuries, including 1 triple double, an 18ast night, and 5 consecutive 10+ ast games. His numbers as a starter are incredible.
-Ed is showing an awareness and activity on the court Ive never seen before. Despite his minutes being shot in the arm, when he is on the floor, I feel it (whereas before, he did his work quietly) I love his development, and wish for him to get more minutes!
-Ross has the tools. A silky jumper + great defensive ability on the perimeter. From what I have seen, I consider him the best close-out defender + shot contester on this team. Wait for his nerves to cool, and for the game to slow down for him. He fits a much needed role and will succeed at it, but is currently failing to produce as a rookie.
Overall, not only do I see a stronger core than ever in a raptors uniform (JV - Derozan - Lowry), but I see the potential for others on the roster to join (Ross). Calderon, if he gets traded, will bring back sweeter fruits, and if he stays all the better!
Ages of our players going forward:
Lowry - 26/27
Derozan - 23
Ross - 21
Ed - 23
Amir - 25
Fields - 24
Seeing as how 3/5 of our starters are 24 and under, and our 'vets' are 27, I LOVE the room for improvement in this current squad.
I would love to hear of other reasons to maintain optimism that Ive missed. I hope it does not just sound like excuse making, I am not trying to excuse anyone! I am merely pointing out that our team is young, raw, and above-all, competitive (which is new). What's worse? A blow-out or a close loss? For a fans perspective, a close loss is MUCH more frustrating. From a practical perspective, close losses are the development we need. Im not sure if anyone remembers the days, of 40 point-losses (with bosh), or streaks of blow out losses, but I do.
Close losses are more frustrating and take their toll on fans
But let me just say this:
Growing is a frustrating process, but you cannot give up on it.


text:
About taking on bad contracts. Can you specify what is the maximum duration of a really bad contract you would take?
Also, you said Kyle Lowry as part of the core. Kyle Lowry, if he is to be part of the core after the blowup, needs a contract extension. How much is he worth in your opinion.
Same question of Ed Davis. I am really happy Ed Davis has developed a mid range shot. Last summer I wrote ED made strides in finding open spots in 2011-12 but never did I expect him to improve his mid range shooting so quickly. Kudos to him! I still don't project him as a quality-starter player but I like him better as 3rd big / spot starter.
The reasons I am asking is I don't understand what blowing it up is trying to accomplish other than a shuffling of the pieces until the Raptors are lucky enough to hit the jackpot on a pick. I'd rather not adopt such a strategy.
Take Cleveland for example. It's clear they position themselves to be competitive in 2014-15 when the accumulation of draft picks and cap space. There are also rumors LeBron will resign with the Cavaliers in summer 2014 but I am uncertain whether I am happy about that. I don't want him back if it is to go back to his Cleveland days when way, way too many decisions were made upon what LeBron wants, not what is good for the team. It is Kyrie's team now and he has a good chance to become something really special if he can learn to play even passable defense.
Lowry worth: Tough question but the answer is driven by the fact I don't perceive him to be a backup whereas many do. He is widely regarded as a value contract in the league (~$6M). Looking at Jameer Nelson getting $8.6M, Lin avg $8.3M, Dragic at $7.5M, Holiday at $10M..... I would think $8M is reasonable with anything over DeMar money ($9.5M) excessive.
ED worth: not sure. Ask me again next year. Right now he is worth his contract. Hopefully BC doesn't blow his load again and sign a huge contract before restricted free agency begins.
As for Cleveland's approach, yes, that is exactly what I want the Raptors to do. Irving was actually the Clippers pick. Was it probable? No. Did they have more of a chance getting a top talent acquiring Davis than by not? Yes. Had the balls feel as the percentages dictated, the Cavs still could have looked forward to Kemba, Knight, Leonard, Klay Thompson. The draft, especially it is probably the thing BC does best, is the way to go at this point. What I like about taking sh!t contracts for picks is that the contracts don't need to play and the Raps already have a young team. Those contracts can be traded in a year or two once the really punitive luxury tax kicks in or they can hit free agency before they have to start doling out their own extensions.
You might not like Cleveland's approach but as a Raptor fan, I'd love to see a roster of young talent headlined by Kyrie Irving be joined by someone with LBJ's skill via free agency.
Just a precision; I am very happy with Cleveland's approach with the possible exception of resigning LeBron. LeBron had way too much power and influence on decisions in his tenure in Cleveland, and that circus has hopefully moved on never to return.
Stuff like interrupting a coach's interview to tell reporters King James was now ready to receive them were common occurrences. His entourage had access to the locker room and other privileges never seen before. Just nuts.
On the one hand, you have a guy that the team has been trying to replace the whole time, who is good at running this team. But the reality of it is that this team sucks, and although if we keep playing at this level we might squeak out a playoff spot, we're not going anywhere. On the other hand you have this other guy who keeps getting replaced after injury, but is pretty talented and doesn't fit on this team. The team that needs to get blown up. So on that note I do understand Reinholdt and Matt's vision of keeping Lowry at least another year, even if I don't think he's that good to begin with.
To put it bluntly, I support keeping Lowry if and only if this team gets blown up.
If not and BC decides to keep a lot of these scraps, then to keep this a watchable team we should ask Jose politely if he'll sign a new contract before we trade him. And if he's willing to take it, trade Lowry because everyone seems to think he is (apparently a triple double threat) really good.
your pal,
I don't think Byron Scott would tolerate such behaviour.
Also, I can only hope that the last 3 years has taught him some valuable lessons in life and humility. Maybe I am naive and he has learned nothing, I don't know.
But the approach Cleveland is taking is exactly what I want to see the Raptors do. Take on sh!t contracts, draft-draft-draft, and hope the young talent become stars or hope the young talent can be traded in combination with trading of expiring contracts and free agency to acquire star talent.
I hope this makes sense. My 9 month old is whacking away at the keyboard.... time to go spend some none screen time with her.
Last edited by mcHAPPY; Tue Jan 15th, 2013 at 03:58 PM.
My notes:
1 - I agree that keeping Lowry necessitates blowing it up. The bigs that Toronto has probably play fine with him, but the wings are a desolate wasteland devoid of life, skill, or the ability to score points. With that said, that's true with Lowry or without, which is why I support blowing it up period, especially on the wings.
2 - Lowry was one of three players posting a 15/5/5. The other two were Westbrook and LeBron. I'm not saying he has the talent of either of those guys (he's actually similar to a poor man's Westbrook in some ways, though), but that's not chopped liver. There's nobody else on the Raptors that could get into a discussion with Westbrook and Lebron.
So if the goal is to barely compete for a playoff spot, keep JC. But if you want to try to build a contender, I think your only options are to keep KL, JV, ED, and maybe Ross and build off that, or even jettison KL alongside JC if you don't think he's the answer.
But that's basically it: if you want a team that is going to have a chance to be better than boringly mediocre, trading JC is a necessary first step.
I personally think that we should offer Jose a reasonable contract and if he says no, TRADE HIM before the deadline. I would personally trade Lowry as its clear from all the posts on RR that most thinks he's our best player.
I would consider keeping the youngsters (players under 25 years old). This will assure we lose enough to get something out of the future drafts. I would look to get a first round pick in 2013 or 2014 (at the very least) for Lowry.
I'll admit that i was also okay with going after a SF, but since that doesnt look like its going to happen.....we should likely take the BLOW IT UP approach....
p.s. I think the only way we blow this up is if BC gets his walking papers after the season. The fans and ownership will have the patience to allow a new GM to do it right this time.
From Alex Kennedy at HoopsWorld.com:
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors have been mentioned in trade rumors since the beginning of the season because they have several players that they're looking to move. Andrea Bargnani hasn't lived up to the hype and he failed to become the franchise player that Toronto expected him to be. In fact, the Raptors have played better at times when Bargnani wasn't on the court. Jose Calderon and Kyle Lowry are the other two players that the Raptors will likely shop. They'll likely trade one or the other before the deadline. Lowry has come back down to earth after playing extremely well early in the season and he has had trouble staying healthy. Calderon, on the other hand, is an unrestricted free agent after this season and will likely walk if he's not given the starting job. The Raptors will likely have to trade one or the other because their point-guard-by-committee plan hasn't worked. Trade Lowry and re-sign Calderon as the starter. Trade Calderon and insert Lowry back into the starting lineup. Either way, Toronto has to trade one because it doesn't make sense to have two starting-caliber point guards on the roster when they have many other holes that need to be filled. The Raptors are definitely a team to watch as the deadline approaches.
Read more at http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-pm-who...QM7m5rvyeHs.99
Shock: I am in the boat advocating trade Calderon.
Take a look at the 2013 free agents: http://www.hoopsworld.com/2013-nba-free-agents
Who is coming to Toronto? Jefferson? No. Smith? No. Millsap? I wish but he is going to Indiana: book it. And when I say they aren't coming to Toronto it is not because of any small market/blame Canada/no ESPN/funny money/metric system excuses. It is because Toronto is still not showing they are on the track of winning. Top free agents are looking for money and a chance to win. Toronto is not going to have a lot of money to throw around as of now and while things are looking better now that Casey is preaching some defense again, there is a long way to go to respectability. Toronto's free agent prospects are going to be guys looking for MLE action, players like Dorrell Wright or Corey Brewer.
This trade is a good example of what I am talking about when I say, "Blow it up!" and "Take other teams sh!t for prospects and picks!"
In doing a trade like this Toronto is taking themselves out of contention for the big free agent prizes but they are adding the type of assets I would be looking to acquire. Everyone's trades with Utah have Millsap or Jefferson coming back. I don't think that is going to happen. First off, Jefferson is going to be resigned. Secondly, Millsap is going to be in Indiana on a sign and trade for Granger (my 100% total speculation - both players fit the other teams like a glove right now, West is a FA and Millsap is 5 years younger than West who will fit beautifully with George at SF and Hibbert at C.... but back to the Raptors). Utah needs a PG right now so here goes:
Utah: Calderon, 2 second round picks over next 2 drafts
Toronto: Williams, Burks, 2013 1st round pick from GSW and UTA (top 3 protected).
Utah sheds $7.5M in an unspectacular wing who is going to pick up his player option for next year. This helps in resigning Jefferson and possibly resigning Millsap or taking on big salary in a trade (say, like, for Granger). They gain a starting PG and make a run at the playoffs which they are currently 0.5 games out of 8th and 2.5 games out of 6th.
Toronto gets a legit SF who can play PF in small ball in Williams. He isn't great but he is no worse than anything currently on the roster and a big step up from Kleiza (amnesty!). Williams will also be in a contract year which is always good for a 26/27 year old who does have talent. He is then another expiring contract next season when the more punitive luxury tax is going to kick in. Burks is a player who skill set is what Toronto lacks: a guy who can penetrate and get to the hole off the bounce. Utah is trying to make Burks a PG which I think is futile.
The draft picks are self explanatory. Maybe the 2 first round picks (13-18 and 20-25) are greedy but they are getting 2 fairly high 2nd round picks in return, shedding $7.5M off their books, and getting a starting PG.
Anyways, this is the type of trade I am hoping/expecting/looking for Toronto make. Bad contract, prospect, pick(s).
After last nights game against the Nets I have a few more thoughts:
I was never off the "its a talent issue" idea, bust just want to reiterate: THIS TEAM LACKS TALENT! IT IS A TALENT ISSUE!
The Raptors go 10 deep with 10 mediocre NBA players. When they show the starting lineups on tv, when do the Raps ever have the better player at even 1 position? Rarely.
I couldn't escape the fact that this team reminded me of the NY Knicks pre-Melo, and have states such. 10 players that together COULD gel and play well, but none really stand out. If you package a bunch of them, you could recieve 1 all-star or borderline all-star. Now however, I can't shake the idea that this team might be a combination of NY Knicks pre-Melo, and the Pacers pre-David West (A couple of keeper, complimentary pieces. Rarely a FA destination). If the Raps could trade Davis, one of the PGs, and Demar (or a package similar) for an above average wing player, I would definitely do it. Even if they traded that package for a bloated contract that has a #1 pick attached to it I'd be ok with that! Come to think of it, if the Raps traded for a good wing, then signed West as a FA, wouldn't that make them loads better? I just think there has to be changes. Staying static with what hasn't led to wins (Bargs, Calderon, and to a lesser extent Derozan) and a bunch of middling players isn't going to help.
The biggest change of all HAS to be getting rid of Colangelo too. Don't let the easy part of the schedule that gifted the Raps a 10-2 record fool you. I won't list his "accomplishments" here. Again, I point you to Matt52's avatar. It says almost everything you need to know.
And as for anyone thinking the Raptors can make the playoffs? Lets not be silly. I'm a FAN, I want them to make the playoffs. But it ain't happening. Right now they're 14-24, and they had to play 8 games over .500 to get to that. To get to the playoffs they'll need to be right around .500 at the finish. Anyone really think they'll be able to play another 10 games over .500 as the season gets a little harder again? Me neither.
The Raptors may have players they want to move, I'm just not sure they can get enough value in return for any of them.
I think last night's game against the Bulls really demonstrates Matt's earlier comment that Lowry is a better talent, while Jose works better with less.
Against the Bulls last night, Jose and most of the team was quite useless. They don't have the talent to compete against an elite team defence like the Bulls and so they struggled to do anything.
When Lowry was in the game, he was taking it at the Bulls and was the main reason they were in the game. (AA had a great game and was aggressive too) Lowry is a better talent and that is necessary to compete against the best.
One thing that drove me nuts last night, Lowry would drive to the hoop, even drawing double teams, and the rest of the Raps would stand around on the perimeter. Not a single player cut to the hoop, even though Lowry was getting doubled on the baseline. Anyone who cuts to the hoop gets hit with the pass and an easy dunk for 2 points, but the team just stood around and watched.
Heir, Prince of Cambridge
I must admit that Matt52 is on the right track (you too Nilanka - even though we disagree with your assesment of DD). We need to give Lowry more time as he's clearly the better talent and just needs more help (needs to be surrounded by more talent).
I am not the type of person to change my mind with each passing game....BUT I can't ignore the truth. Lowry's heart is incredible.....he's what we need moving forward.
Before this week i was fine with either....now i'm sticking with Lowry. This is not a slight on Jose, because i think he's a really good player for us. BUT...
I am extremely impressed with how Lowry has handled coming off the bench and I think he deserves to be the starting point guard from here on out. I just dont think THIS team can afford to have a talented player like him playing so-so minutes. He needs to play 30+ minutes a game and he should be setting the tone.
We need Jose to play great off the bench......NOT like he played earlier in the year off the bench. NO excuses!! Get it done.
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text:
CBS News Call-Back Poll, March 2008 (ICPSR 26145)
Principal Investigator(s): CBS News
Access Notes
Data in this collection are available only to users at ICPSR member institutions. Please log in so we can determine if you are with a member institution and have access to these data files.
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Study Description
CBS News. CBS News Call-Back Poll, March 2008. ICPSR26145-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2009-10-29. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26145.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR26145.v1
Export Citation:
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Scope of Study
Subject Terms: attitudes, baseball, Bonds, Barry, Bush Administration (George W., 2001-2009), Clinton, Hillary, Democratic National Convention, gender, Iraq War, McCain, John, national economy, national elections, news media, Obama, Barack, personal finances, political campaigns, presidency, presidential candidates, presidential elections, presidential performance, primaries, public opinion, race, race relations, racial attitudes, racism, sexism, steroid use, voter attitudes
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 2008-03
- 2008-03-20
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Universe: Registered voters aged 18 and over living in households with telephones in the contiguous 48 United States.
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The CASEID variable was reformatted in order to make it a unique identifier.
This call-back poll reinterviewed 542 registered voters who had participated in the CBS NEWS MONTHLY POLL #1, MARCH 2008 (ICPSR 26144). This data collection includes their responses to questions from the original poll as well as to the call-back questions. Original survey questions are identified with the prefix "Q", while call-back questions are identified as "RQ".
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Sample: This call-back poll re-interviewed registered voters who had participated in the original survey (March 15-18, 2008). In the original survey, a variation of random-digit dialing using primary sampling units (PSUs) was employed, consisting of blocks of 100 telephone numbers identical through the eighth digit and stratified by geographic region, area code, and size of place. Within households, respondents were selected using a method developed by Leslie Kish and modified by Charles Backstrom and Gerald Hursh (see Backstrom and Hursh, SURVEY RESEARCH. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1963). The original survey included an oversample of African Americans.
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text: To be honest, do we really hate Vince Carter that much anymore? I mean there are still people who hold a huge grudge against him for throwing out games, not playing 100% each games, quitting the Raptors and his attitude in genearl. I used to really hate Carter especially since he was my childhood hero when I was still in elementary school and I hated to see him go in such a way. But as I grow older (not that old but you get the point), the hatred sorta died off and I just don't really have much hatred for him as much as I used to. Booing Carter just doesn't have that satisfaction anymore. I guess you could say I forgive him or don't really care much about it anymore. Does anyone else feel this way? If so, do you think we should retire his jersey? Whether you like him or not, you can't deny that he's easily the best player to ever wear a Raptor uniform.


text:
Inc. (AAPL) is borrowing a play from
Monster Cables offering a cable that's almost as pricey as the peripherals it
plans to support. The new Thunderbolt cable will retail for $49 USD.
Plugging in to the Mini Display Port of new
MacBook Pros and iMacs,
the cable offers support for "Thunderbolt", a new high speed
communications standard from Intel Corp. (INTC). With the first
peripheral (a RAID drive bay from Pegasus)
launching, attention has turned to this pricey little number.
IFixIt tore the white cable
apart and found a pair of Gennum
GN2033 chips hiding beneath the sheathing, with one on each connector
of the cable. In total there were also 10 other smaller tiny chips and an
assortment of transistors, etc.
Gennum's webpage brags that its chip takes normal cables and offers
"sophisticated signal boosting and detection functions required to
transfer high-speed data without errors."
Of course nobody seems to know how much these chips cost so it's hard to say
exactly how much profit Apple is pulling in off the cables.
Adoption is expected to be slow for the standard. Like Apple's original
Firewire standard, the price of the communications band (in this case the
cable) offers a barrier for market entry. It doesn't help that
Hewlett-Packard, Company (HPQ) already abandoned plans for
Thunderbolt, or that Sony Corp. (TYO:6758) has released
a special version of the tech that relies on a modified
USB 3.0 optical port.
And there's the question of USB 3.0, which has already seen much more broad
adoption. USB 3.0 offers transfer speeds of up to 4 Gbit/s. While
only about half the speed of the current Thunderbolt implementation, that's
still pretty blazing fast so the question remains how many customers will
actually notice a difference.
To Monster Cables' credit, at least it only charges $29 for
its "gold-plated" USB 2.0 cables, which it brags "rejects
noise" and works to "maximize signal integrity." Sound


text:
Legacy Core Systems Often More Bang Than Whiz: Opinion
We've heard it all before – new technology trumps old "legacy" technology. But if credit unions regularly upgrade their software and hardware, why do so many credit unions still rely on technologies that were developed in the 1970s?
Many credit unions will argue that their technology is brand spanking new. They'll even prove it by calling up a slick loan origination system on their tablet. But dig a little deeper and you will discover that the credit union's whiz-bang functionality depends on ancient technology staggering around the basement. Too often, it's got more bang than whiz.
The Core is Dead, Long Live the Core
So what is the difference between legacy and new technology? Quite simply – the purpose of the system. Credit unions in the 1970s were based on member share accounts. Financial technology was designed to cash and deposit checks, and to process withdrawals. The bottom line: keep the teller line moving. It was a strategy to dispel the awful truth – banking almost always involved waiting in line.
Fast forward to 2013. One of the rarest things to find in a credit union lobby these days is a member. Fully 80-85% of all transactions don't involve a teller. Members use more channels than products, and they expect all those channels to work together, to reflect every transaction and update to their profile immediately, and to offer every credit union service.
The last time a MSR told a member of the Millennial generation to visit a branch and complete a particular paper form, people heard the poor Millennial screaming from Alabama to Wyoming.
So if the earth has moved under our feet, why haven't more legacy technologies moved with it? In a word – pain. Many credit unions regard the move to new technology as a huge drain on time and resources. In the face of big pain, credit unions do what everyone else does – they avoid it.
The trouble is, credit unions can't avoid pain forever. The only thing that trumps pain is bigger pain, which has landed in most credit unions' laps in the form of shrinking deposits, reduced loan volume, shriveling fee income and rising costs – particularly in regulatory compliance.
Credit unions that haven't traded up to new technology are feeling all of these pain points. The question is – do legacy credit unions believe that new technology can help them enough to endure the pain of conversion?
Many credit unions have said yes. Today they enjoy a 360o view of the member because they truly have a member information system that includes the member's photo, signature and fingerprint onscreen. Their marketing and risk management efforts key off of that MIS, simplifying new business development, regulatory compliance and service delivery.
When new technologies become available, the new MIS systems can literally "plug them in." That's because the new systems actually work like platforms – much like apps for smartphones and tablets. When credit unions want new functionality, they can shop for it in an online store, try it on their systems, and implement it immediately.
This approach to new functionality is a game-changer for credit unions. It gives them choice in selecting payments, business intelligence and MIS solutions. Because these solutions are fully integrated, they share data. They also share capabilities, so document management and e-signatures can be used in loan origination; fraud and anti-money laundering becomes part of member business deposits.
This is a far cry from legacy systems which require a separate interface for every new capability. With legacy systems, credit unions find the quality of service depends on the quality of the interface. No wonder much of the upgrade work for legacy systems revolves around interfaces.
In spite of all the benefits of new technology, many credit unions continue to avoid the inevitable core system conversion. We hear of institutions hunting for processes that can be shifted off of the core to separate systems. While that sounds brilliant in theory, it stumbles in practice.
Each separate system requires its own processes and database. Periodically, the data in these separate systems have to "synch up" to ensure consistency. Unfortunately, the time between synch ups open opportunities for fraud.
Separate processes present additional issues. For example, in most systems, Internet banking is a separate system that literally duplicates core processing transactions in order to present them on the Web. That may not be difficult for simpler transactions, like fund transfers or bill payments. But more complex activity – like paying down a loan balance – can take months to develop. Every time regulations change, the credit union has another system to track and fix.
New technologies are eliminating the "synch up" issue because their advanced integration enables them to use the core as the single source of record for all transactions. There are no discrepancies between debit, Internet banking and teller. Member information and account histories are accurate to the second.
New technologies are also eliminating the separate process issue, since the processes used on the teller line can also be used for Internet and mobile banking. Imagine how that can reduce the time spent explaining why some transactions are unavailable online. It also saves time when regulations change – fixes can be done once, not in each separate system.
Finally, we need to address the language issue in legacy systems. Since these ancient systems were written in equally ancient programming languages, interfaces to new systems have to be written on those languages as well – COBOL, PL1 and assembler. Today's brightest programming minds have never touched these dinosaurs, and the programmers who wrote those legacy systems didn't just scream from Alabama to Wyoming – they retired there and hope never to be called back for a credit union system emergency.
If a credit union is wondering why it takes so long to get new functions installed on a legacy system, or why only a few of the new features work as advertised, wonder no more. It's a long way to Wyoming, and most of the time, nobody's home.
Robert Bessel is public relations director for COCC Inc. in Avon, Conn.