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The Florida Bar News
April 1, 2013
Positions Available - Attorneys
THE FLORIDA BAR, Tampa Branch, Senior Attorney The Florida Bar's Tampa Branch seeks to hire experienced counsel to handle bar grievances at investigative, trial, and appellate levels. The qualified candidate must be a member in good standing of The Florida Bar with a minimum of three (3) years experience in effective case management, discovery and motion practice, and trial work. Excellent written and oral communication skills required. Position is hiring at $66,118, plus benefits. Send resume and writing sample to Human Resources, The Florida Bar, 651 East Jefferson Street, Tallahassee 32399-2300 or via email to: [email protected]. Open until filled. Please notify Human Resources, in advance, if you need reasonable accommodations to participate in the employment process. EOE.
Vernis & Bowling - Expanding "AV-RATED" law firm seeks aggressive attorneys with federal and/or state court experience in employment law, commercial litigation, personal injury, workers' compensation, and civil litigation defense for its Ft. Lauderdale, DeLand, Jacksonville, Ft. Myers, Clearwater, Pensacola, Florida Keys, N. Palm Beach, Miami, Atlanta, Mobile, and Birmingham, AL offices. Exceptional opportunity and benefits. Fax resume to: (305) 892-1260.
Established (50 Years) AV-rated Law Firm seeking experienced attorneys in the firm's Orlando and Ocala offices having the following practice: business, real estate, tax, construction, or commercial litigation. Candidates must have a portable book and ability to develop additional work. Excellent opportunity to join a growing mid-size firm with professional and highly qualified staff. Enjoy concentrating on law and practice development in a desirable firm culture. EOE. Reply to: [email protected].
COUNTY ATTORNEY: Indian River County Attorney's Office - The Indian River County Board of County Commissioners is seeking a County Attorney. The ideal candidate will have excellent legal, communication and office management skills. Minimum requirements include: graduation from an accredited law school; active membership in good standing with The Florida Bar; and a minimum of ten years experience as a practicing attorney, with at least five years experience in local government law. Download application and full job posting at: www.ircgov.com. Submit application (and attached resume) to Indian River County Human Resources, 1800 27th St., Vero Beach, FL 32960, or email to [email protected]. Application submittal deadline is April 15, 2013. All qualified attorneys, including women and minorities, are encouraged to apply. The County is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, and a drug-free workplace.
GENERAL COUNSEL - The School District of Palm Beach County is seeking highly qualified candidates for the position of General Counsel. As the 11th largest school district in the United States, the School District of Palm Beach County has a workforce of 21, 361 employees and a 2.3 billion dollar budget. The District serves 174,000 students in 187 public schools and is "A" rated. This position is a direct report to the School Board and has a department of eleven attorneys and staff. Qualifications: The successful candidate will have a law degree from an accredited law school and be a member in good standing of The Florida Bar for at least the past five years with five or more years of successful experience as an attorney for a public agency. The successful candidate must satisfy eligibility requirements, including background check as mandated by Florida State laws. Please review the Job Description for this position and apply online at www.palmbeachschools.org. Salary: Negotiable, Application Deadline: April 8, 2013, Start Date: July 1, 2013, To Apply Online: palmbeachschools.org/jobs, Job Opening ID: 131688, Job Code: 70870.
Boca Raton Insurance Defense Firm seeks associate with experience in construction and/or professional liability matters. Competitive pay/benefits. Forward cover letter and resume to [email protected].
Morrison & Mills, P.A. a Tampa AV-rated business law firm established in 1989 is expanding through addition of experienced associates. Minimum of 5 years experience in commercial transactions and litigation required. Reply in confidence to [email protected].
Foreclosure Attorney; 2-5 years experience Creditor Rights/Litigation, Full Time position available in our Tampa Office; Florida Bar license required; Competitive salary & comprehensive benefits package; Fax resume & salary requirements to (813) 880-8800 or e-mail [email protected].
The Bleakley Bavol Law Firm is seeking an attorney with 5-10 years of experience litigating commercial and employment related disputes. Competitive salary, bonus and benefits program for qualified candidates. Please submit cover letter and resume to [email protected].
Litigation Associate: Boutique Hollywood Firm seeks an associate with 5 plus years of experience in general commercial litigation in both Federal and State courts. Portable book of business preferred, but not required. Send resume and salary requirements to: [email protected].
LITIGATION ASSOCIATE – AV-rated trial litigation firm seeking attorney for our North Palm Beach office. Must possess 3+ yrs experience in Medical Malpractice Defense & General Liability Defense. Email resume and salary requirements to Pamela McBride, Bobo, Ciotoli, et al [email protected].
Positions Available: Associate attorney for statewide family law firm for Boca Raton office. Must be admitted to Bar for at least 2 years; no family law experience necessary. Email resume to COO John Vick at [email protected]. Go to www.kleighlaw.com for more information.
AV-rated Winter Park Medical Malpractice Defense Firm seeks Associate with 2-5 years' experience. Competitive salary and benefits. Send cover letter, resume and writing sample to Brian L. Smith, Hill, Adams, Hall & Schieffelin, P.O. Box 1090, Winter Park, FL 32790.
CONSTRUCTION LITIGATION ATTORNEY – Orlando/Tampa AV law firm seeks construction litigation attorney for Tampa and Orlando offices. Minimum 5yrs experience. Partial book of business a plus. Excellent growth opportunity/benefits. Send resume to Howard Allen, Railey Harding & Allen, P.A., 15 N. Eola Dr., Orlando, FL 32801, Email: [email protected].
Tallahassee Law Firm is seeking a 2 to 5 year associate attorney to join the firm's real estate and business law group. The person seeking this position must write well, be detail oriented, have excellent communication skills, have a strong work ethic, and work well with paralegals. Please email resumes to [email protected].
Litigation Associate for downtown Fort Lauderdale AV-rated community association law firm; association lien foreclosures; condominium arbitrations; rule enforcement; injunction lawsuits; general litigation representing associations. Salary commensurate with experience. Top 20% of law school class preferred. Refer to www.tuckertighe.com for info on firm. Please send resume, writing sample and grade transcript to [email protected].
Tampa AV-rated Civil Litigation Firm seeking litigation attorney with 3-6 years' experience in insurance defense, products liability and insurance disability. Competitive salary and generous benefits package. Please DO NOT respond unless you meet the years' experience requirement. Send resume to Hiring Partner, Ogden & Sullivan, PA, 113 S. Armenia Avenue, Tampa, FL 33609.
ATTORNEY - Insurance defense firm with statewide practice seeks experienced associates for PIP and Auto Defense practice group in their Orlando office. Applicants must be self-motivated, with a commitment to excellence and high ethical standards. An existing client base is a plus, but not necessary. Submit resumes and salary requirements to News Box #638.
Corporate Attorney (Palm Beach Gardens) - Growing AV-rated North Palm Beach County law firm seeks a corporate and transactional attorney to head up its corporate law department. Partial book of business a plus, but not required. Competitive salary and incentive structure with excellent benefits. All inquires kept in strictest confidence. Please fax resume for consideration to (561) 584-5858.
Walton Lantaff Schroeder & Carson, a Statewide AV-rated defense firm founded in 1934, seeks an associate attorney in its Miami Office with 2-3 years, or more, of experience handling first-party homeowner's and commercial property lawsuits. Excellent career opportunity with competitive salary and benefits offered. For consideration, please send cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to Michael Galex at [email protected].
Prestigious Clearwater law firm seeks associate attorney with 3+ years of experience handling commercial real estate transactions. Experience in land use, zoning, HOA would be a plus. Excellent compensation and benefits package. Great firm culture. Send resume with compensation history to Carol Hague, CEO, Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns, LLP: Fax (727)441-8617 or [email protected]. All submissions will be confidential.
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida – Established commercial real estate company seeks an attorney with 2-3 years of practice in real estate transactions including the examination of title insurance commitments, survey and loan documents. The Position is in-house legal counsel working with and for senior legal counsel. Send both resume and law school transcript to [email protected]. Must be in top quartile of applicant's law school class.
Mintzer Sarowitz Zeris Ledva & Meyers, LLP, a Philadelphia, PA based insurance defense firm is seeking an associate attorney for their Miami, Florida office. Candidates must have at least 2 to 5 years experience in insurance defense, premises liability and coverage. Must be admitted to FL Bar. Competitive salary and benefits. Immediate eligibility for 401K plan. Send cover letter and resume to Anita Acebo at [email protected].
Small AV-rated downtown Miami boutique commercial litigation law firm seeks motivated associate with 5-8 years experience in complex commercial litigation, general business litigation, construction litigation, business tort and contract litigation, in state, federal and bankruptcy courts - with the ability to effectively communicate with clients. Strong writing and advocacy skills required, bilingual (Spanish) preferred. Salary is commensurate with experience, with extensive benefits package. Please send resume to: [email protected].
MANAGEMENT LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW ASSOCIATE. Kunkel Miller & Hament, an AV-rated firm with a statewide practice in labor and employment law representing management, seeks associate with 3-5 years employment law experience for its Sarasota office. Must have experience in federal and state court employment litigation and be able to work independently. Excellent research, writing, and communication skills required. Competitive salary and benefits. Send resume in confidence to: [email protected].
INSURANCE DEFENSE ASSOCIATE AND LEGAL ASSISTANT- Associate and legal assistant needed for insurance defense firm in East Pompano Beach. We work with the best and the brightest in the field. If you want to work in an environment where your work matters, and is rewarded, this is the firm for you. We prefer a candidate with 3-5 years experience in BI, PIP, PI, and/or Property defense. Please email your resume to [email protected].
Prominent Law Firm is seeking to hire a PI ASSOCIATE. DUTIES INCLUDE: Reviewing medical records and case law, drafting demands and settlement negotiations. File lawsuits, engage in discovery, attend depositions and mediations, attend hearings and assist in trials. REQUIREMENTS: A Licensed member of The Florida Bar in good standing. Bilingual English-Spanish a plus. At least 2+ years of experience in litigation. EMAIL: [email protected] or FAX: 954-794-1212 your resume with references and salary request for consideration.
The Tampa Office of a prominent 859-attorney national law firm has immediate openings for attorneys with at least 3 years experience in the defense of doctors and hospitals, nursing homes, ALF's, general liability, employment, workers' compensation, commercial litigation, construction litigation, bad faith and coverage. The Tampa office is seeking associate level and partner level candidates with and without portable books of business. An excellent career opportunity in a family-oriented work environment. Please submit your resume in confidence to [email protected].
Top rated Tampa Firm specializing in complex litigation, mostly criminal, looking for experienced attorney to work on state and federal cases. The majority of the practice is white collar defense work, so experience with bankruptcy, tax or financial matters is a plus. Individual must be very hard working and committed to success, regardless of the hours or amount of work required. Individual must possess superior research and writing skills. Prior clerkship and/or trial experience are also pluses. Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications. Please email resumes and writing sample to [email protected].
To respond to a News Box- Mail required information to: The Florida Bar News, 651 E. Jefferson Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2300 Attn: News Box # ____
Positions Available - Other
Practice Wanted
Attorney Services
Expert Witness
Real Estate/Space Sharing
Tax & Estate Atty looking for atty to share offices at Brickell Key. Great 2 lawyer suite off elevator- fifth floor. Very large office (with large conference type desk) overlooking the bay-also secretarial station. Potential for referral of business. 305-371-9213.
Downtown Tampa Office building for sale 1010 N. Florida Avenue, 9,264 SF +/-. Upgraded Class A look, includes ample on-site parking. Currently a law office. Conference room features wall to ceiling glass on 2 sides and balcony. The Mahr Company lic. real estate broker, contact Amy Cox 813 205 2427 [email protected].
Estate Planning/Corporate/business - Transactions Attorney: Reduce your overhead and continue your practice in a convenient Clearwater law office. If you are an experienced estate planning, corporate and business transactions attorney, you can work independently with your own clients and in conjunction with attorneys in an established mid-size "AV"-rated north Pinellas full-service law firm. Immediate work referral commensurate with experience and/or potential lateral opportunity. Reply in strict confidence to: Donna Miller, 1253 Park Street, Suite 200, Clearwater, FL 33756 or email to: [email protected].
[Revised: 04-22-2017]


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First Financial FCU of Maryland Joins Billion Dollar Club
First Financial of Maryland Federal Credit Union marked two milestones in April: its 60th anniversary and joining the credit union billion dollar club.
The state's fourth largest credit union had $973 million assets at the end of 2012 before joining the list of 197 other credit unions that have moved into the 10-figure range, according to Callahan & Associates data.
The Lutherville, Md., credit union has achieved those milestones by sound business practices and member service that supports a strong membership base, said Frist Financial FCU's president/CEO, Rob Windsor.
"In today's competitive, financial marketplace, we are especially proud to have reached the $1 billion mark as we celebrate 60 years of service to our membership. Without the leadership of our Board of Directors, a dedicated professional staff and most importantly, a loyal membership, neither of these accomplishments could have been possible," Windsor said.
First Financial serves more than 58,000 members online and through nine branches and includes as its members employees, students and parents of the Baltimore and Carroll County Public School systems as well as the employees of many private schools, colleges, hospitals and businesses in Baltimore and Carroll counties.
Its public service activities include five student-run high school branches and the donation of more than $1 million to help children through its KidsFirst Fund, which is funded by a portion of member purchases made with a First Financial FCU Visa credit card.

subset: commoncrawl


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Nibbana/amata/buddha/arahant/bodhi refers to freedom from greed hatred, and delusion.kirk5a wrote:Nibbana does not refer to the five intact sense faculties (what we could point to as the monk, the person.) Those are the fuel remaining.tiltbillings wrote:"A monk?" Is that like "a person?" Actually, thanks for the quote; it supports my point.
This is the problem with words. You are the one who introduced "property" into this discussion and then you willfully refuse to discuss what it means. Nibbana is no thing.I can't really tell what your point is. Is it that nibbana is a property of a person like muteness?
Well, before I answer this question, you need to answer mine:Someone who cannot/does not speak is "mute." It would be silly to think of "muteness" as a self-existent property - it is simply a person who does not speak. Similarly, one could suppose that nibbana simply refers to a person who has no greed, hatred and delusion. Therefore it would be silly to suppose that nibbana was any kind of independent property, when it really is just a description of a person lacking certain psychological conditions. Is that your view?
- If "nibbana does exist" and there is at this time no ariyas, there is still a nibbana existing out there somewhere in some way? Where? What is its property? And what does it mean "nibbana does exist?"


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Welcome to The Allstate Blog! Life can surprise you with unexpected challenges. In an effort to help you manage the unpredictability of life, The Allstate Blog provides you with entertaining, educational information in the areas of preparation, prevention and protection to give you the peace of mind that comes with confidence.
Our pages are filled with helpful tips and information about the topics that most of us face in our everyday lives. We focus on safety and maintenance issues with regard to your home, auto, apartment, motorcycle, boat, small business, finances and more. This site is developed in conjunction with Allstate.com and The Allstate Insurance Company.


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The FCC is looking at many different methods of
getting wireless broadband into the homes of rural Americans. One of
the methods being considered is taking
some of the airwaves currently allocated to TV broadcasters and
giving them to wireless broadband providers. The term give is too
strong, the airwaves are worth billions of dollars, and auctions
would be held to sell the airwaves if they were taken from
broadcasters and used for wireless broadband services.
The FCC
is also looking at reallocating
the federal phone-subsidy program to allow some of the funds in
the program to be used to support wireless broadband services in
rural areas according to the Wall Street Journal. The fund in question is the Universal Service Fund
(USF), which is a federal program funded by consumers though a charge
on each phone bill. The funds are currently used to subsidize phone
service in rural areas and to provide service to low income homes.
Plans to revamp the USF in the past have been met with staunch
resistance by broadcasters and their supporters in Washington.
chairman Julius Genachowski said, "USF is a multibillion dollar
annual fund that continues to support yesterday's communications
infrastructure. We need to reorient the fund to support broadband
communications." The FCC is already working to identify airwaves
that could be reclaimed from broadcasters.
If the FCC moved
forward with the plan to take airwaves back from broadcasters,
estimates peg the cost of buying the airwaves back at $12 billion.
The estimated value of the airwaves when auctioned off to wireless
providers is estimated to be $64 billion.
Genachowski said,
"Much of what we see suggests that mobile broadband can be the
pre-eminent platform for innovation in the next decade. To be the
global leader in innovation 10 years from now, we need to lead the
world in wireless broadband. We will need to find ways to free up new
spectrum to mobile broadband. This will require examining old
allocation decisions."


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File this under "Bad Ideas 101."
An Arkansas man who planned a fake knife attack to impress his date was forced to confess to police after the plot massively backfired, Jonesboro TV station KAIT reported.
Jeffrey Tyler Siegel, 26, and his date were walking in a nature center after a night out when a man in black approached them and told Siegel, "You can go. But your girlfriend stays."
The woman screamed and ran off, while Siegel claimed he stayed and fought off the knife-wielding attacker, Yahoo! News reported.
Police and canine units combed the area for the suspect, but eventually called off the search.
When investigators contacted the woman several days later, she told them Siegel texted a lot and was acting oddly before the alleged attack.
Siegel eventually confessed after police told him they would not press charges if he fessed up, KAIT reported.
According to Siegel, the "attacker" was a friend and everything had been staged.
"He did not ever intend on it going this far and that he did not plan on the police being notified. He said it just really got out of hand very fast," the police report stated.
As for his date, she wasn't too impressed by the ruse, telling KAIT it was "not very heroic."
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Phil Allen has been hired as the new vice president of business lending at Columbia Credit Union, bringing with him 18 years of commercial financial industry experience.
The $891 million credit union in Vancouver, Wash., said Allen will focus on developing and maintaining business loan and deposit relationships, generating primary customer and prospect lists and assisting with commercial lending operations on behalf of Columbia CU.
Allen had been a commercial business banking officer for an area community bank. Other previous roles include business banking relationship manager, vice president/leasing manager and regional leasing manager, according to Columbia CU.
"Phil's sales and development background and experience as a small business owner make him a great asset to our team," said Alan Ludlow, vice president/manager of business lending, at Columbia CU.
"He clearly understands the growth needs of our local business community and will have an important role in expanding our lending portfolio."
Founded in 1952, Columbia CU serves more than 76,000 members.


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CGILua is a tool for developing dynamic HTML pages and manipulating input data from forms. It uses the interpreted language Lua for codifying its scripts. It has been on the road for almost 8 years now, being used in many Web products and sites. It is extensible through Lua libraries and dynamic loading of C/C++ libraries. Scripts can be written as Lua programs or HTML templates (HTML with Lua code embedded). Scripts are platform-independent.
SWIG is a software development tool that connects programs written in C and C++ with a variety of high-level programming languages. SWIG is primarily used with common scripting languages such as Perl, PHP, Python, Tcl/Tk, and Ruby, however the list of supported languages also includes non-scripting languages such as C#, Common Lisp (CLISP, Allegro CL, UFFI), Java, Modula-3, OCAML, Octave, and R. Also several interpreted and compiled Scheme implementations (Guile, MzScheme, Chicken) are supported. SWIG is most commonly used to create high-level interpreted or compiled programming environments, user interfaces, and as a tool for testing and prototyping C/C++ software. SWIG can also export its parse tree in the form of XML and Lisp s-expressions.
GraphicsMagick is a robust collection of tools and libraries which support reading, writing, and manipulating an image in over 90 major formats including popular formats like DPX, DICOM, BMP, GIF, JPEG, JPEG-2000, PDF, PNG, PNM, SVG, and TIFF. A high-quality 2D renderer is included, which provides a subset of SVG capabilities. C, C++, Perl, Tcl, and Ruby are supported. Originally based on ImageMagick, GraphicsMagick focuses on performance, minimizing bugs, and providing stable APIs and ABIs. It runs on all modern variants of Unix, Windows, and Mac OS X.
Xapian is a search engine library, scalable to collections containing hundreds of millions of documents. It's written in C++ with bindings for Perl, Python, PHP, Java, Tcl, C#, Ruby, and Lua. It is a highly adaptable toolkit that allows developers to easily add advanced indexing and search facilities to their own applications. It supports the Probabilistic Information Retrieval model and also a rich set of boolean query operators. Omega is a Web search application built upon the Xapian library. It can index a Web server's document tree (including HTML, PDF, OpenOffice, MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint/Works, WordPerfect, RTF, PS, etc.), or data exported from arbitrary sources (e.g. SQL databases).


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Chisholm via TSN:
Here's a thought..not one I'm certain about yet. Bargnani for Stoudemire
I've gotten flooded with trade scenarios for Andrea Bargnani since he's started the season so slowly, so really I'm using this question as a template to answer a lot of others.
First, the Raptors are not going to assume much risk in a return for Bargnani. After this season, Bargnani has only two seasons left on his deal, with the last being at Bargnani's discretion as he has the right to terminate the final year of his contract. As a result, the Raptors don't feel overburdened by having him around. They aren't desperate to get rid of him, and so a team is not going to be able to dump their trash on Toronto thinking that they club is eager to part with Bargnani.
Second, anyone they got to replace Bargnani at power forward has to, first and foremost, make sense alongside Valanciunas and DeRozan. That means that they have to land someone who can space the floor with his jump shot, opening up the paint for post-ups and drives. They need a guy who fits the personality that the team is trying to establish, which means effort and hustle are prerequisites. Also, if possible, they should see if they can land a solid passer at the position, too, as the club lacks facilitators and it has shown in the club's difficulties at the offensive end.
Lastly and most importantly, though, is that the club would need to be taking a step forward with any trade involving Bargnani. While fans can possess the snide attitude that any trade would be better than keeping Bargnani around, that isn't true. He isn't playing well right now, but he isn't dead weight, either. Bargnani still has supporters in the organization even if he isn't a great fit with the direction of the team. They aren't simply going to cut-and-run with him. They don't need a better player in return for Bargnani, just a better fit. They won't get Paul Millsap, but he's a perfect example of what the team needs: hard work, floor spacing and strong defensive fundamentals.


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Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, Fall 1963 (ICPSR 3623)
Principal Investigator(s): University of Michigan. Survey Research Center. Economic Behavior Program
This survey was undertaken to assess consumer sentiment and buying plans, as well as to gauge attitudes toward the atomic test ban treaty and its implication for the business environment, the tax reduction, the unemployment problem, and the automobile market, and to provide information about geographic mobility of adults of working age within different labor market areas. Open-ended questions were asked concerning evaluations and expectations about price changes, employment, recession, and the national business situation. Additional variables probe respondents' buying intentions for a house, automobiles, appliances, and other consumer durables, as well as respondents' appraisal of present market conditions for purchasing these items. Other variables probe respondents' opinions of the Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the West, the nuclear test ban treaty, the proposed government tax reduction, and the effect of all of these on business conditions, as well as their assessment of their financial status relative to the previous year. Also provided are respondents' psychological profiles, their reasons for moving within the different labor market areas, and their mode of transportation when they moved. Demographic variables provide information on age, place of birth, race, sex, religion, education, marital status, occupation, and family income.
Access Notes
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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.
This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.
Study Description
University of Michigan, Survey Research Center, Economic Behavior Program. SURVEY OF CONSUMER ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR, FALL 1963. ICPSR version. Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, Social Science Archive [producer], 1974. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1999. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03623.v1
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR03623.v1
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Scope of Study
Subject Terms: automobiles, Cold War, consumer attitudes, consumer behavior, consumer expectations, consumer expenditures, disposable income, domestic markets, durable goods, economic conditions, employment, housing costs, inflation, interest rates, labor markets, labor mobility, national economy, personal finances, price fluctuations, purchasing, recession, tax cuts, unemployment
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 1963-10--1963-12
Universe: All families living in continental United States dwelling units, exclusive of those on military reservations.
The codebook is provided by ICPSR as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. 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 on the ICPSR Web site.
Sample: One respondent from each family unit in the dwellings sampled, usually the head of the family, or the wife. The dwelling units were selected by area probability sampling from 74 primary sampling units. For each dwelling unit in the sample, an interview was sought with a respondent from the primary family and from each secondary family (if any). The head of the family (usually the husband) was the preferred respondent, but the wife could substitute if the head was not readily available.
personal interviews
Original ICPSR Release: 1984-05-11
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CFPB and FTC Crack Down on Misleading Mortgage Ads
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission Monday handed down more than 30 warning letters to mortgage lenders, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, home builders and others, warning them to clean up misleading advertisements targeted toward veterans and seniors. The recipients are accused of violating the 2011 Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule, which prohibits misleading claims concerning government affiliation, interest rates, fees, costs, payments associated with the loan, and the amount of cash or credit available to the consumer.
In addition, the CFPB also announced it has opened formal investigations into six companies that may have committed more serious violations of the law.
"Misrepresentations in mortgage products can deprive consumers of important information while making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "Baiting consumers with false ads to buy into mortgage products would be illegal. We will conduct a fair and rigorous investigation into these issues and will take appropriate action for any violations we find."
The two regulators identified the possible violations during a joint sweep of about 800 randomly selected mortgage-related ads across the country, including ads for mortgage loans, refinancing, and reverse mortgages. The agencies looked at public-facing ads in newspapers, on the Internet, and from mail solicitations; some came to the attention of the CFPB and the FTC from consumers who complained about them.


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Who watched last night's CMA awards? What did you all think? Right out of the gate, I have to ask which you liked better, the show's live performances, or the awards part? I was partial to the performances. Clearly the audience was too, although that's probably inevitable when you broadcast a show from an arena only marginally smaller than the state of Delaware.
Despite the fact that I don't know much about country music, just like everyone else who doesn't know much about country music we now all know exactly who Blake Shelton is, on account of The Voice. He was certainly charming and unsurprisingly, a big winner. And the goofball graciousness is undeniably appealing.
Plus, you gotta hand it to the country music crowd for putting on a show that's free of vulgarity/shock tactics, and for having the smarts to incorporate Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet into musical numbers.
I enjoyed it, but I'm still flummoxed: why, when you win an award, do you still have to keep a cowboy hat on, whose enormous brim completely obscures your face during your acceptance speech? At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, would it be too much to see their eyes? Maybe that's just me. Nor do I bring it up in the way that some people object to hats in church or restaurants – I couldn't care less about that. But when they're up there thanking their zillions of fans, the least they could do is let those fans catch the full mug. Right, Jason Aldean? Cowboy hats, while traditional, don't do these guys any favors in the recognition department. I suspect some of them might even see even more crossover success if they were bare-headed, because you could tell more of them apart.
Fortunately, someone obviously told Blake Shelton that he needn't wear another hat for the rest of his life – which was a very savvy move. Similarly, Keith Urban was advised against sporting a chapeau (or using a comb, for that matter) and he's all the better, cuter, and more recognizable for it. Scotty McCreery, now belting it out alongside the big dogs, was far more appealing because we got to behold his neonatal visage entirely. The Band Perry was – and is – predictably adorable and I suspect we will be hearing lots more from them; that girl's got pipes for days and here's hoping they have the same two-dudes-and-a-gal staying power of Lady Antebellum, who apparently cannot walk down a street without winning something. The Glen Campbell tribute was beautifully handled.
All in all I was impressed, although I haven't any idea why Lionel Richie was there, nor did I understand the positioning of the Jennifer Nettles / Matt Nathanson duet. The song was terrific, but I kept hoping they'd stop the weird guinea fowl mating ritual thing and turn to face us. Especially since neither had a hat on and both are easy on the eyes.
Maybe the Oscars – now that they have a brand new producer in old pro Brian Grazer – will take a page from the CMAs, who certainly know how to put on a big show and whip fans into a frenzy. Now, if they could just work on those hats.
Today's poll:
The 45th annual CMA Awards took place last night. Which of these performances was your favorite?
1) Taylor Swift
2) Glen Campbell tribute
3) The Band Perry
4) Miranda Lambert
For the latest pop culture news and voting, make sure to sign up for the People's Choice newsletter!


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iPad goes on sale this
Saturday in Wi-Fi form only, priced starting at $499 for a
16 GB model. In time for the release, some of the nation's top
newspapers have been lodging their opinions on the device. And
overall most who received hands-on iPad time seemed very enthused.
One editor called it "one of the best computers ever".Andy
Ihnatko of The
Chicago Sun-Times writes,
"The most compelling sign that Apple got this right is the fact
that despite the novelty of the iPad, the excitement slips away after
about ten seconds and you're completely focused on the task at hand
... whether it's reading a book, writing a report, or working on
clearing your Inbox. Second most compelling: in situation after
situation, I find that the iPad is the best computer in my household
and office menagerie. It's not a replacement for my notebook, mind
you. It feels more as if the iPad is filling a gap that's existed
for quite some time."The
Wall Street Journal's
Walter S. Mossberg writes,
"For the past week or so, I have been testing a sleek, light,
silver-and-black tablet computer called an iPad. After spending hours
and hours with it, I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device
from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly,
and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help,
eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface
ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for
decades."Tim Gideon, an editor at PC
was slightly more critical, but overall positive. He gave it 4
and 1/2 out of 5 stars and writes:
from Apple enthusiasts, many of us wondered who would drop hundreds
of dollars for this not-quite-computer. But having used the iPad for
some time, I can tell you that the device just makes sense. When you
combine basic-but-essential work tools with iWork, an improved
browser, e-mail, iPod, and photo applications, a well-executed e-Book
platform with iBooks, and throw in thousands of downloadable apps and
games, and package it all in a gorgeous, slim slate with a beautiful
9.7-inch touch screen, you have yourself a winner. Is the iPad cheap?
No. Is it flawless? Not at all. Omissions including support for
multitasking, a built-in camera for video chats, and Flash support in
Safari leave room for improvement, but otherwise, the Apple iPad is a
very convincing debut. And it will undoubtedly be a driving force in
shaping the emerging tablet landscape.
other iPhone news, Netflix
and ABC TV shows are both coming specially designed for the
iPad, in app form. The Netflix app promises to allow you to
manage your queue, download movies, and even includes the ability to
pick up where you left off in a particular movie at home. The
ABC app will offer free episodes of its most popular TV shows
like Lost and Desperate
And as we previously reported, CBS is going an alternate
route, streaming
HTML5-delivered TV episodes on a special version of its
homepage, designed for the iPad.About the only downside for
Apple in the media's iPad love-fest is the hit the iTunes Store will
likely take from all these free TV offerings. Apple will now
have to compete against free television episodes from ABC, CBS, and
likely others; thus it is unlikely to add a significant amount of
revenue from TV episode sales from the iTunes Store (of course we're
guessing iPad users will buy plenty of music and apps to more than
make up for it).


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This study is provided by ICPSR. ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for a diverse and expanding social science research community.
Census of Population, 1860 [United States]: Urban Household Sample (ICPSR 8930)
Principal Investigator(s): Moen, Jon
The Urban Household Sample of the 1860 United States Census was designed to supplement the Bateman-Foust rural sample with observations from urban areas. The sample covers both northern and southern towns and cities and permits examination of female occupations and labor force participation rates. Information on individuals includes occupation, city of residence, age, sex, race, dollar value of real and personal property owned, whether American or foreign born, and literacy. The second release of this collection adds nine constructed variables, including several weight variables, collapsed occupation, ICPSR state code, region, and unique internal family and household identifier numbers.
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.
ASCII + SAS Setup SPSS Setup Stata Setup
Study Description
Moen, Jon. Census of Population, 1860 [United States]: Urban Household Sample. ICPSR08930-v3. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2009-07-24. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08930.v3
Persistent URL: https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR08930.v3
Export Citation:
- RIS (generic format for RefWorks, EndNote, etc.)
- EndNote XML (EndNote X4.0.1 or higher)
This study was funded by:
- University of Chicago. Booth School of Business. Center for Population Economics
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: census data, demographic characteristics, females, labor force, occupations, urban areas
Geographic Coverage: United States
- 1860
- 1986
Universe: All individuals living in towns with populations of 3,000 or more who were enumerated in the 1860 Census of Population Manuscript Schedules.
Nathanial T. Wilcox of the University of Chicago collaborated with Jon Moen for the second release of the data collection.
Sample: Stratified random sample.
United States Bureau of the Census 1860 Manuscript Schedules
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:
- Created variable labels and/or value labels.
Original ICPSR Release: 1989-03-03
- 2009-07-24 SAS, SPSS, and Stata setups have been added to this data collection.
Related Publications
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If you're looking for collection-level metadata rather than an individual metadata record, please visit our Metadata Records page.


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Celebrate Good Times – The 80s
OK, as we're all feeling rather down about the Cardinals right now and awaiting the outcome of tonight's Reds game to know if we're sharing first place or clinging to our .5 game lead, I thought it was time to remember the good times. You remember the song – "Celebrate good times. Come on!" Being a Cardinal fan in the Whiteyball era was a lot of fun, especially if you were a kid. I remember the excitement of going to Busch Stadium with my free A student tickets and not caring that they were nosebleed seats. I'll never forget the day I happened to be in Lambert Airport coming back from a family vacation at the same time the team was coming back from a trip. Darrell Porter was my hero, and although I was too shy to talk to him, I was able to stare at him for a good ten minutes while he waited for his luggage. I waited in line at Johnny Londoff Chevrolet and got autographs from Willie McGee and Ozzie Smith. Somehow I missed the news that Andy Van Slyke was at an appliance store or surely I'd have been there. Fortunately, my friend Kristine attended, with her little brother and cabbage patch kid in tow. Check out their superfan ensembles and Andy's short shorts!


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Gardenhire in uncharted water as Twins eye rebound
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A pocket-size, laminated copy of the Minnesota Twins' Spring Training roster is affixed to a small bulletin board in the Spring Training office of the Twins' manager. From time to time, the manager must consult the roster so he can properly identify those auditioning before him. This spring, after significant turnover in player personnel, Ron Gardenhire needs the cheat sheet as he never has during his extended tour of duty with the club. A compliment for a player has a more positive effect if it's delivered with his name, rather than his uniform number. "Way to go, Johnny" is more readily accepted than "Hey, 62, nice play."
The set of Twins that has assembled at Hammond Stadium is decidedly different from the group that gathered a year ago in this congested and well-trimmed city that has been the club's spring home since 1991. The agenda is different as well. The 2012 team could look to the performance of the preceding summer, identify it as an aberration, dismiss it as that, muster up some resolve and move forward. The current reconfigured bunch, mindful of footprints left last summer, must move forward in a different sense and execute a U-turn at the same time.
Otherwise, the stability that has been a hallmark of the organization since Tom Kelly replaced Ray Miller in 1986 might be disturbed. And that would be troubling.
For a quarter century, the Twins have been poster children -- well, twins is a plural -- for constancy. Kelly was in the dugout from Sept. 12, 1986, through the end of the 2001 season. Gardenhire moved from the third-base coach's box to the dugout in 2002 and has been there since.
That at least one big league franchise has demonstrated patience is comforting, reassuring. For quite a while, the Twins were routinely characterized as a model franchise, one that accepted and understood the fickle nature of the game and found a means to succeed without writing huge checks or best-selling books or selling movie rights. They were the quiet, unassuming guys from the Midwest, so wholesome and likeable.
But now, two almost matching seasons of losing have rendered "aberration" an inappropriate term. In a world that considers two of anything a trend, the Twins now are in danger of -- good heavens! -- creating a calamity.
This is not an impulsive franchise. It thinks before it acts? (What a concept!) But its pragmatic general manager, Terry Ryan, has witnessed successive last-place finishes that were unrewarding, unhealthy and approaching the border of unacceptable.
And so he and Gardenhire, the most agreeable tandem of general manager and manager in the big leagues, enter the 2013 season without contracts for 2014. In the land of churches, lakes and baseball stability, those circumstances warrant an extra urgent "good heavens."
Gardenhire says he isn't concerned; Ryan says, "He shouldn't be," and notes that his colleague and friend does everything asked of him, and does it well. And at the same time, Ryan acknowledges the Twins lost 99 and 96 games the last two seasons and have made significant changes to their roster, their scouts, their coaches and their Minor League staffs.
But when Ryan said Thursday, "Sometimes, change is good," he wasn't referring to the 55-year-old manager whose 11-season resume includes eight winning records, seven first-place finishes, a 925-848 record and enough good will in the Twin Cities to fill Target Field, the Metrodome and Metropolitan Stadium 10 times each.
Gardenhire is ideally suited for Twins and their followers, as was Bobby Cox for the Braves and all of Dixie, as was Casey Stengel for the first-year Mets and the New Breed fans who were fully entertained by his bumbling team, as is Bruce Bochy for the Giants and the Golden Gate crowd. Ryan sees that.
"If he wasn't such a good manager, you'd want him for his relationships and community involvement," the general manager says. Ryan also said the club is proud of its stability and said, "No doubt, he's in a good spot."
But 195 losses over two seasons are the equivalent of needles in a pillow. Hence the personnel changes. Recasting in the big league staff constitutes a different kind of needles. Anytime a manager's staff is changed, his job security appears shaky, even if it's unchanged, even in the wholesome and likeable Midwest where the manager uses the word "peachy" to characterize his situation and means it.
No matter how his circumstance appears, Gardenhire has to find a way to make the Twins what they were before 2011 -- "a team that forces errors." He uses phrasing borrowed for Kirby Puckett. "We have to be the hyenas. Run in packs. Irritate the others."
It would be beneficial if the Twins could stop the exodus of talent that has siphoned off the caliber of players who can turn a game even when the hyenas are at rest. It would wise if the Twins recognized Gardenhire as talent, not merely as the man in charge of the players.
And it would be good if all concerned saw what the A's accomplished last season as another aberration and didn't expect that sort of surge from a team in recovery. The A's surge with unproven talent could have a place in Gardenhire's job security equation too, unfair as that would be. The dozen other managers unsigned for 2014 probably will be measured against the A's improbable push, too.
Losing unnerves Gardenhire. He's mostly unfamiliar with it. The 2012 season lingered with him until he arrived here and resumed the tutoring in fundamentals that always distinguished his successful Twins teams. But he still wonders, "How do we stop it?" The losing. "How do we get the confidence back?"
Gardenhire says the last two seasons have taught him.
"I think I'm a better manager now for having gone through it," he says. "But I'd like to start winning again so I can see how much better I am. Then I'll know."
The implication there may involve the need for more talent.
A winning record would do wonders. A new contract would be nice too. If the Twins are foolish enough to cast aside this man, there undoubtedly will be other clubs -- some with more talented personnel -- that would pursue him. Gardenhire would make an attractive candidate.
And "all the things he does that would make him attractive to other teams," Ryan said, "I hope they're the reasons we bring him back."
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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One of the country's most popular tourist destinations, Boston is a place of sleek skyscrapers and Revolutionary-era homes. In Boston, first class hotels sit astride pedestrian-friendly streets and lovely parks, and the city's relatively compact size makes it easy to cover good bit of ground in a day.
From the Celtics to the Symphony, there's something to suit everyone's taste here. The downtown Financial District is a playground for bankers lawyers, and it's also home to several popular stops on the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, including Faneuil Hall Marketplace, where Samuel Adams help stir Revolutionary fervor. This area also features some of Boston's top hotels, shopping, restaurants and bars.
For a taste of the upper crust, tree-lined Beacon Hill is one of the more elite neighborhoods in Boston. Here, stylish hotels put guests a stone's throw from Boston Common and the State House. Nearby Chinatown is known for its many eateries, and is where you'll find the Theatre District and Downtown Crossing, a premiere shopping destination.
In the Italian-flavored North End, Paul Revere's House and the Old North Church are among the historical standouts. And no trip to Boston is complete without crossing the Charles to visit the USS Constitution and, of course, historic Bunker Hill.
Your Stay: 1 Rooms, 1 Guests/room Edit
Marriott Rewards® members get our lowest rates when they book direct. See Details
Map View


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Photos: Chris Wellhausen
Video by Justin Gunson
TransWorld SNOWboarding's 'Nation', and Lucas Debari and friends 'Go Boardin' World Premiere
Friday night's double header world premiere at the TW office skatepark in Carlsbad, California went off without a hitch. Beers, babes, boardin' on the big screen. We're really proud of our fourth full film, Nation, and Go Boardin is sick, those guys absolutely rip. Download the movie Nation from iTunes right HERE and stay tuned for the Nation Rider Weeks here on TWSNOW.com.
Get the limited 100 page Photo Book & DVD combo pack at your local snowboard shop soon (check out the dealer locator HERE), or download a copy of the movie from iTunes right HERE!
About Nation:
Nation brings together a crew of mountain men, legends, rookies, contest kids, and street shredders from around the world. The goal: to showcase all aspects of snowboarding and put a time stamp on the current state of the nation.
Featuring: Austin Hironaka, Austen Sweetin, Chris Brewster, Dan Brisse, DCP, Dylan Thompson, Eiki Helgason,Forest Bailey, Gulli Gudmundsson, Jonah Owen, Stale Sandbech, and Xavier De Le Rue.
Nation is supported by GoPro, Adidas, Oakley, Bataleon, Ride, Monster, Zeal, Yes, DWD, The North Face, Sabotage, Rome, Capita, and Volcom.


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CUPS is a standards-based printing system for Mac OS X and other Unix-like operating systems. It provides the System V and Berkeley command line interfaces, and uses the Internet Printing Protocol ("IPP") as the basis for managing print jobs and queues. The Line Printer Daemon (LPD) Server Message Block (SMB), and AppSocket (a.k.a. JetDirect) protocols are also supported with reduced functionality. CUPS adds network printer browsing and PostScript Printer Description ("PPD") based printing options to support real world printing.
Converseen is an image converter and resizer written in C++ with the powerful Qt4 libraries. Thanks to the Magick++ image libraries, it supports more than 100 image formats like DPX, EXR, GIF, JPEG, JPEG-2000, PhotoCD, PNG, Postscript, SVG, TIFF, and many others. Converseen allows you to convert, resize, rotate, and automatically flip an unlimited number of images. It can save you time because it can process more than one image with one mouse click. It features a very simple user interface without strange options.
Aspose.Words for SharePoint allows you to convert documents within the Microsoft SharePoint applications. It supports multiple document formats like PDF, DOCX, DOC, RTF, MHT, TXT, XML, ODT, EPUB, and XPS. It is designed to be used with Windows SharePoint Services and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (standard and enterprise). You can also use different valuable options during conversion setup like converting files in subfolders or saving destination folder options.
The Big Faceless Java PDF Viewer is a Swing component that can display PDF documents. It is intended for developers who don't require the full API. The PDF Viewer can be installed as an applet, an application, via Java Web Start, or embedded in a Swing application. Printing, saving, text search, forms, digital signatures, and annotations are some of the many features available. The viewer can be tailored to include just the features you need, and is a cost-effective solution for those needing the features of Adobe Acrobat on a Java platform.
jPDFWriter is a Java class library to create PDF documents directly from Java programs without having to install any third party drivers or software. It emulates the standard Java classes to print and draw graphics to reduce the learning curve when using the library and reuse existing code. It can create PDF files in two ways: PDF files can be created directly using jPDFWriter's very simple API (simply create a PDFDocument object, create as many PDFPage objects as necessary, draw strings, graphics, or any other elements supported by Graphics2D to the pages, and save the document), or jPDFWriter can extend the standard Java PrinterJob to create PDF files as though printing to a physical printer. This allows reuse of existing printing code and lets an application decide, at runtime, whether to send the output to a printer or to a PDF file. PDF files can be saved to files on a disk, written to a java.io.OutputStream, or written directly to a javax.servlet.ServletOutputStream to show in a browser when working within a J2EE application server. jPDFWriter is written entirely in Java, so application portability and operating system independence are not compromised.
Aspose.Pdf is a .NET PDF component to write PDF documents without using Adobe Acrobat. It supports form field creation, document, text and page properties, color space, text, heading, and attachment settings. It lets you create PDF documents by using its API with XML templates and XSL-FO files. It also converts HTML, XSL-FO, and MS Word to PDF. Other features include image formats and security features, hyperlinks, the ability to add footnotes, automatic fitting to content in a table, decimal Tab stops, HTML tags, and keeping paragraphs together when breaking pages.
Aspose.Words is a word processing component that makes it possible for .NET applications to read, write, and modify Word documents without using Microsoft Word. Other useful features include document creation, content and formatting manipulation, mail merge abilities, reporting features, and support for DOCX, DOC, WordprocessingML, HTML, XHTML, TXT, and PDF formats (requires Aspose.Pdf). It supports both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.
jPDFProcess is a Java library to work with PDF documents which can be used to deliver customized PDF content to your users or to process and manipulate incoming PDF content. The library has a simple interface to work with PDF documents and is designed to be integrated easily and seamlessly into your PDF document workflow. jPDFProcess provides the functionality found in many other Qoppa Software libraries, including printing, setting permissions and security, creating and assembling documents, digital signing, working with form fields, extracting text, and more. It can work with PDF documents from files, URLs, and input streams, and can save documents to files and output streams, so it can serve documents from a J2EE application directly to a client browser without any temporary files. jPDFProcess is platform-independent, and can be used in any environment which supports Java.
jPDFText is a Java library to extract text from PDF documents. PDF documents can be processed to extract the textual content for archiving, storage, searching, or indexing. jPDFText is built on top of Qoppa's proprietary PDF technology, so there is no need for any third party software or drivers. Main Features: loading PDF documents from files, network drives, URLs, or input streams; extracting text; and extracting words as a vector of Strings. It is written entirely in Java, which allows your application to remain platform independent. There is no need to install or configure additional drivers or software when deploying.
A small, non-interactive, shell-like scripting language.
A fast C++ matrix library with an API similar to Matlab's.


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Some backgound on the Lithuanian team for the tourneyOlympic Qualifying Tournament Preview
Lithuania Despite finishing fifth on their home soil last summers Eurobasket, Lithuania has typically been a very strong international team, winning a bronze medal at the last World Championship, and coming in fourth place in the last Olympic tournament. Linas Kleiza appears set to become a leader on this squad, with his athleticism and energy level very difficult to match in this tournament. He is more of a role player and energy guy in the NBA, but on the national team, he will be expected to be one of the pieces that makes Lithuania go.
The Raptors 2011 first-round draft pick, Jonas Valanciunas, (a favorite of Miami rapper OGrime) looks to emerge from being up-and-coming contributor to a leader on the national team. His production on both sides of the ball and his tremendous length will prove as a major weapon that this veteran squad will need if it wants to not only qualify for the Olympics, but also make some noise.
The regulars, such as Sarunas Jasicevicius (known to Israelis as Sharas), Robertas Javtokas, Paulius Jankunas, Ramantas Kaukenas and Darius Songaila, give Lithuania a deep squad with a veteran presence. Add former Duke guard, Martynas Pocius, who emerged last summer as the teams starting point guard, and Lithuania appears to have a very likely chance of locking up one of the Olympic spots.
Sheridan Hoops


text:
Join the Library's knitting group!
The Library welcomes knitters of all ages and abilities to come to the Library's knitting group — Dewey KNIT. Registration is not required.
Meetings are the first Saturday of the month at 2:00 p.m.
For more information call Jane Nearing at 972-744-4350.
411 W. Arapaho Rd. Richardson, TX 75080-4551 PH# 972 -744-4100 | Mailing Address P.O. Box 830309 Richardson, TX 75083-0309
© 2018 City of Richardson, TX | Privacy Policy
| Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities call, 972-744-0908 or Email firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
viruses are not nearly as common on mobile devices as they are on
personal computers, security firms have warned
about the possibility of app attacks in the past, and we've
seen it in the form of an SMS
Trojan on the Android platform. Now, a second Trojan has
made its way to Android.
new malware is being distributed on adult-oriented Russian websites
that prompt only Android users to download the Trojan, while those
visiting the sites through other platforms are able to obtain the
desired content, a Kaspersky
Lab press release said.
with its predecessor, the latest Trojan –
Trojan-SMS.AndroidOS.FakePlayer.b – masquerades as a media player,"
said the U.K.-based security vendor. "Users of smartphones
running Android are asked to download the pornplayer.apk application
from an infected webpage in order to view adult content videos. The
installation file is only 16.4 KB and during installation the Trojan
seeks the user's consent to send SMS messages – a requirement that
a media player is very unlikely to need."
order to view the adult content, Android users are prompted to
download a 16.4 KB file named "pornplayer.apk" from the
infected websites. During installation, the Trojan gains consent to
send SMS messages -- a highly unlikely requirement for a typical
media player.
the app is launched, the Trojan sends SMS messages to a premium
number at a rate of $6 per message, and right into the hackers' bank
users should pay close attention to the services that an application
seeks permission to access," said Denis Maslennikov, a Kaspersky
rep said. "Automatically permitting a new application to access
every service that it says it needs to means you could end up with
malicious or unwanted applications doing all sorts of things without
requesting any additional information."
the code for the new Trojan is very similar to the first
one we saw a month ago, Kaspersky believes that it is very likely
to be authored by the same person or group of people.
week, an Austrian security testing lab released a study of four
comparative smartphone security products, PCMag reports.
The findings recommend that "nobody who uses a smartphone should
go without security software."
AV-Comparatives study, found
here in its entirety, compares ESET Mobile Security,
F-Secure Mobile Security, Kaspersky Mobile Security, and Trend Micro
Mobile Security, all of which support Windows Mobile 5.0-6.5 and
Symbian 9.1-9.4, while F-Secure also supports Android and Trend Micro
supports Android7, PCMag notes.
does not recommend one of the security suites over another, but
merely contends that each one has its values that should be
considered by smartphone users. Each of the products offers the
standard security protection you'd find in a PC suite -- namely
firewall protection and mobile virus detection.


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The hybrid price war between Honda and Toyota has been fierce, with both companies slashing prices on their 2010 flagship models. In the end Honda emerged the victor, boasting the cheaper price of $19,800 in the U.S. Now it has taken an early lead in sales as well, setting an unprecedented record in Japan.
The Honda Insight became Japan's top selling vehicle for the month of April. This marked the first time in Japan's automotive history a traditional hybrid has climbed to the top of the list.
The Honda Insight retails for 1.89 million yen ($19,000) in Japan. According to the Japan Automobile Dealers Association, approximately 10,481 Insights sold in April. Small hybrids with an engine size of up to 660 cubic centimeters (aka, minicars) have cracked the top of the sales list in Japan, but the Insight in the first traditional vehicle to do so.
A Honda spokesperson cheered the news, bragging, "The all-new Insight has been very well received by a wide range of customers due to its excellent environmental performance, easy-to-use packaging, light and comfortable driving and affordable pricing."
Toyota is set to release the 2010 Prius next week, with May offering the first taste of the vehicles' head-to-head sales figures. With Toyota aggressively pricing the established Prius, a larger vehicle, at only approximately $1,000 more than the Insight, it is expected to post strong sales as well.
While the sales of the Insight say less about the upcoming competition with the Prius, and more about the appeal of the Insight itself, they do also show that sales of hybrids are picking up again, despite a lag due to the poor economy. That's good news for Toyota and Honda, which make a lucrative $3,100 on each of the hybrids sold, according to recent reports.


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Mauer, Morneau deserve to stick together
Twins cornerstones could be playing final season together in Minnesota
By Richard Justice / MLB.com
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- They're back for a 10th season together, friends and teammates, the faces of the Minnesota Twins. For Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, this is a season of sweetness on a couple of levels. Both of them are healthy again, and both of them sense that the Twins are close to turning a corner after back-to-back last-place finishes.
Yet there's uncertainty, too, because there's the very real possibility that this could be their last season together. Morneau is eligible for free agency after this season, and even though he has said he'd like to stay, even though Mauer has lobbied for his buddy, the Twins are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
"I always say it'll take care of itself," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. "If Justin does those things he's capable of doing, that contract status will take care of itself."
Yes, but will that next contract come from the Twins?
"Why not?" Ryan asks.
For his part, Morneau has said exactly the right things.
"This is the only organization I've ever known and the only organization I want to know," he said. "But that's out of my hands."
Mauer is straightforward on the topic.
"I think everybody knows where I stand and what I would like to have happen," he said. "He's a good friend of mine."
Still, Ryan will face a decision. If Morneau is healthy and productive -- and every indication is that he will be -- Ryan probably will have contenders dangling packages of prospects for his services, especially should the Twins not be involved in a playoff race.
Here's to Morneau's exit not happening. They've been so good together for so long, joined at the hip in the hearts and minds of a generation of Twins fans, that the perfect ending would be to give them the opportunity to help finish the job of rebuilding their franchise.
Morneau finally is free of the concussion symptoms that shortened his 2010 and 2011 seasons, and he has recovered from surgical procedures on his neck, wrist, knee and foot.
For the first time in a while, he can play with a clear mind and a healthy body. He has learned to appreciate the game in a way he probably never did during all those days when he could not play.
"I think I appreciated it before," he said. "But when you're sitting at home and something is taken away from you, and when you feel you have an awful lot left to do in the game and contribute to a team, it makes it very difficult. My perspective on life has changed a little bit. I've learned to enjoy each day, because you don't know what's going to happen tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Mauer is coming off another monster season: a .416 on-base percentage, tops in the American League, along with 31 doubles, four triples, 10 home runs and 90 walks. Still only 29, he seems on his way to constructing a Hall of Fame resume. He, too, is healthy again after leg problems limited him to 82 games in 2011.
Once upon a time, it seemed inevitable that they would lead the Twins to a championship. In recent years, the challenge has been to keep them on the field.
"You appreciate the opportunity to play in the big leagues," Mauer said. "You love something and get to do it every single day. I don't think I ever took it for granted, but it makes you appreciate it more. Being out on the field with your teammates, we're pretty fortunate to do what we do."
When the Twins talk about Mauer and Morneau, they almost never begin with the obvious stuff. Plenty of what the pair has accomplished can be measured. In helping the Twins get to the playoffs four times in a seven-year stretch at the beginning of their careers, they've each won an AL Most Valuable Player Award and have a combined nine All-Star appearances and six Silver Slugger Awards.
To the Twins, though, to the people who are around them everyday and have seen them in good times and bad, there's something else about them almost as impressive.
"They're good people. They're good teammates. They're good in the community," Ryan said.
There it is. It's the way they handle their business away from the field. It's their dedication to doing things right, to being good role models and to representing their franchise the way they think it should be represented.
"They have a lot of respect for everything that's involved in a franchise," Ryan said. "They take that seriously."
Ryan sat in his team's Spring Training clubhouse Thursday morning and smiled as he thought about how the years have rolled by. Morneau is 31 and beginning his 11th season. Mauer is 29 and beginning his 10th.
Both are married, each participating in the other's wedding. Mauer just announced that he and his wife are expecting -- how perfect is this? -- twins in August.
"We've seen them grow from young men into mature men," Ryan said. "It's amazing. It doesn't seem all that long ago that we drafted them."
Both players say they've been so busy playing in the World Baseball Classic and preparing for a new season that they haven't had time to reflect on the possibility of this being their last rodeo together.
"We have this year to play, and that's what we're focused on," Mauer said.
So much has happened that both of us have learned to appreciate one day at a time.
"That's a pretty good player to be compared with," Mauer said.
Morneau smiled.
"It's been good so far," he said.
Let's hope for many more.
Richard Justice is a columnist for MLB.com. Read his blog, Justice4U. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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is always tweaking and unveiling new features to lure more users and encourage
them to use the social network more. One of the most common activities for
users of the network is the sharing of photos and video on the site. One thing
that is lacking on Facebook are filters to change those photos, but that will
soon change.
Facebook is planning to add a series of filters to its mobile
application in the coming months to compete with Instagram according to unnamed
engineers on the project. The NYT reports that the filters
feature has been ready for a while now. However, CEO and founder Mark
Zuckerberg has put the launch on hold until the engineers working on the
project can get more filters ready for the service according to the source.
According to those engineers on the project, Facebook will roll the features
out with almost a dozen photo filters. Some of them will reportedly be similar
to the old-fashioned looking filters that are popular with Instagram users.
These filters make the photos look like grainy film and like they were shot
with old lenses. The last new feature Facebook added was the new chat service.
One of the engineers that leaked the details on the filters also said that
Facebook tried to buy Instagram over the summer, but wasn't able to complete
the deal. The NYT reports that Instagram offered no comment on
the rumor. Facebook also offered no official comment. Apparently, Apple will
also be integrating photo filters directly into the next version of iOS
according to code found in the upcoming release. Instagram itself now has eight
million users and has recently raised $7 million in funding for expansion. Why
exactly Facebook was unable to purchase Instagram is unknown.


text:
Tomb Racer was inspired by one game and one game alone. All that claim otherwise are untrustworthy imposters!
In spite of its name, I wanted to make a game like Zelda: Four Swords Adventures on the GameCube. For a few lunchtimes, Mod James, Mod Laura W, Mod Chris E and myself set each other on fire, stole each other's heart containers and blew each other up, while apparently fighting some unspeakable evil in the Zelda universe.
Fun… Setting people on fire…
Anyway, I wanted to set people on fire - sorry, create a game which had a very similar feel to that specific Zelda game. A multiplayer adventure game! But, as you all know, the Internet is broken! (Sort of.) Lag makes it a nightmare to develop interactive games (this was in the days before Mod Zeph fixed this particular problem with his amazing network engine). An attacker could appear to hit another player in game, yet actually hit an empty space because the target's current location hadn't yet been properly transmitted across the globe to the attacker's PC. Such network lag issues are hard to fix, and in 2007 I was too lazy to take on such a huge task all on my lonesome.
So, the solution was to stick the players in different rooms. That solved the problem of lag. And sometimes a little constraint can really free the imagination - sometimes the restrictions help, rather than hinder. Realising that players couldn't interact, the next source of inspiration came from the Gladiators TV show. The last feat Gladiators contestants have to survive is the Gauntlet, an obstacle course each contestant has to run through while being bopped on the head by body builders.
But what if you replace body builders with flame throwers? And dart spitters? And rolling boulders? Well, then you got Tomb Racer! So, the idea was formed: players would race each other through a plethora of lethal traps. And get set on fire. Lots.
One of the early headaches that needed to be dealt with was to think about what happens when players die. In an old-skool game, the player might be booted back to the beginning of the race and have to start again. That's just about fine in a single player game (if a little unrefined by the standards of modern game design) but it's not fine in a multiplayer game. You make one mistake - get set on fire or something - and suddenly you're reduced from glorious pack leader to snivelling runt, effectively out of the race.
The thought initially had been to stick checkpoints in the course, so players who died would only be knocked back a few rooms. But that's still a bit cruel: one tough room placed at the furthest distance from the checkpoint would have a very similar effect to just knocking a player back to the start of the course.
Instead, we - in our magnanimous nature - deemed that the player would restart from the beginning of the room they were in. Our motives were mixed though, as we realised that by being so generous, we could also afford to set people on fire more. Much more. You'll forgive us if we give with one hand and take (or set fire to) with the other.
So, the name, eh? Tomb Racer - act of genius, or act of madness? Well, Tomb Racer is one of the few releases I've worked on that hasn't changed its name during development. Care to guess the original name for Miner Disturbance or Geoblox?
(Actually, the name was always supposed to be changed, but who was going to beat Tomb Racer? Except perhaps Tom Bracer and the Temple of Despair….)
Mod Crispy
FunOrb Developer


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You are here
About Sinai Health System
Located on the West and Southwest sides of Chicago, Sinai Health System is comprised of Mount Sinai Hospital, Holy Cross Hospital, Sinai Children's Hospital, Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, Sinai Medical Group, Sinai Community Institute and Sinai Urban Health Institute.
The member institutions of Sinai Health System collectively deliver a full range of high-quality outpatient and inpatient services, as well as a large number of innovative community-based health, research, and social service programs. We focus our collective depth of expertise and passion to improve the health of the 1.5 million people who live in our diverse service area. Sinai Health System, with our team of dedicated caregivers, is uniquely committed to building stronger, healthier communities.
A partner with the Jewish United Fund in serving our community


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Oil prices may be easing for a minute, but it's
fresh off new record highs, having reached $4.30 USD across many parts of the
U.S. Yet despite enthusiasm by industry
figures and the
government, there's still much debate about whether electrified vehicles
like hybrids, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles (PHEV) are really going to be viable. Some analysts and
customers say they are turning
the corner -- others say electrified vehicles still don't make sense [1]
FedEx Corp. (FDX)
joined the fray, when its Chairman, President, and CEO Frederick W.
Smith published an editorial in The Financial Times, which FedEx later reprinted on its
own site.
In the article Mr. Smith firmly throws FedEx's
support behind electrification, which he characterizes as vital for U.S.
security and financial stability.
Regarding the financial costs, he writes:
Every American recession over the past 35 years has been preceded
by – or occurred concurrently with – an oil-price spike. The last time this
happened, just a few years ago, the average retail price of gasoline in the US
increased from $1.46 to $3.27, costing typical households $2,115 a year in
increased fuel expenses. That price spike contributed greatly to the recession
and financial crisis which the world is still struggling to recover from.
And Mr. Smith, who served as a U.S. Marine from
1966 to 1970, also complains that America's "addiction" to foreign
oil is also costing the lives of servicemen:
This addiction has also led the US to commit its young men and
women in uniform to protecting the world's oil infrastructure. And it means
that western diplomacy is handicapped by the need to placate oil-producing
nations, including those that do not share America's views or values.
II. What Should be
Mr. Smith says that given that the U.S. spent
$260B USD last year on foreign oil, the "wisdom of producing more [oil]
domestically becomes clear". He praises stricter safety and
environmental standards regarding oil exploration, but complains that some
environmentalists and government bureaucrats are acting as obstructionists.
Fuel economy improvements are another vital
mechanism, according to Mr. Smith. The CEO praised former U.S. President
George W. Bush and current President Barrack Obama for passing
updates to the CAFE standards, which are actively forcing automakers to
improve fleet wide efficiency.
But he complains that oil drilling and fuel economy
improvements are only "interim measures". He comments that the
only real way to save the U.S. is through electrification, stating:
Only electricity can give the transport sector the flexibility to
switch fuels when one or more become too expensive. Electricity from homegrown
sources – wind or solar, coal or hydro, natural gas or nuclear – would free
America's mobile economy from dependence on a single source. And unlike some
alternatives, the infrastructure backbone for "refueling" electric vehicles
already exists in the US national grid, which offers significant spare
generating capacity at night, when it is needed for this purpose.
He says he's not one usually for government
intervention, but that the government must intervene to push electrification as
there's no free market on oil. He writes:
I am not someone who tends to advocate for increased government
involvement in the private sector. Free-market solutions to these economic
threats would be ideal. But there is no free market for oil. To the contrary,
today more than 90 per cent of proved conventional global oil reserves are held
by national oil companies that are either fully or partially controlled by
foreign governments, whose interests often have as much or more to do with
geopolitical considerations than free-market principles.
The issue is one that hits close to home for
FedEx. FedEx has attempted some
modest electrification projects, but the majority of its fleet runs on
gasoline. And as a business heavily driven by ground shipping, the
company is very vulnerable to gas price fluctuations.
The company's CEO remains optimistic that America
can electrify and kick America's "addiction" to foreign oil, but
warns, "The time to do so without truly calamitous consequences is rapidly
running out."
DailyTech has raised similar thoughts,
in some regard, in past
editorials about transition America's economy to an all-electric
infrastructure driven by clean nuclear power.


text:
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These flameless candles illuminate a Christmas tree using the same lighting technology as the candles found in attractions at the world's most renowned theme parks. An LED inside each 3" tall candle projects warm golden light onto a perpetually swaying plastic flame, creating the illusion of an actual flickering flame. The festive candles are rich with lifelike details including dribbles of "melted" wax and antique brass-finished metal holders, yet they are powered by safe and long-lasting LEDs. The five white candles are spaced 36" apart and each hangs on a tree branch with a 4 3/4" L metal S-hook that is counterweighted to keep the flame level. Use two to three strands to decorate a 7' tree, and up to five strands for trees up to 9 1/2' tall. The 6' USB cord plugs into the included USB/AC adapter. (1 1/2 lbs.)
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The Most Realistic Tree Candles come with The Hammacher Schlemmer Lifetime Guarantee. If this product ever disappoints you, for any reason, you may return your Hammacher Schlemmer purchase for exchange, credit, or refund.
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We're sorry, but gift wrap is not available. Please call 1-800-395-7006 for Premium or Express delivery rates.
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COPYRIGHT © 2018 HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER & COMPANY, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. W109147 E. 57th ST • NEW YORK, NY • 10022 • 1-800-_321-1484


text:
Link - Sources: Carmelo Anthony likely to go
As Bucher states (video, audio, article), the logical thinking is that Melo's going to work his way to the New York Knicks - not if, but when - given that there are too many hard links between he and the city.All signs continue to point toward the eventual divorce between Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets.
League sources say it is now a matter of when, not if, Anthony and the Nuggets will go their separate ways.
Anthony is weighing whether to sign a three-year, $65 million extension offered by the Nuggets. His dilemma, league sources say, is what affords him the best chance of continuing his career elsewhere. Anthony could sign with Denver and convince the team to then trade him. His other option would be to not sign the extension, thereby forcing the team to move him rather than risk losing him next summer as a free agent.
During his annual basketball camp in Colorado on Saturday, Anthony said he had no timetable on when he'll decide whether to sign the extension.
In either case, "he's going to make it real clear that he's not coming back," said one league source.
I have no doubt that by 2012, Melo and Paul will be playing alongside Amare with the Knicks.
This does not bode well for the future of our beloved Toronto Raptors.


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budget may
be cut, but that hasn't stopped the first international
organization to put a man on the Moon from dreaming big. One
key question the agency is looking at is what the next big thing in
space propulsion will be. NASA and foreign space agencies have
examined plasma
engines, ion
engines, nuclear-powered
designs, and solar
sails, but these technologies lack the impulse and thrust to
accelerate a launch vehicle into orbit. However,
NASA's latest
proposal may be the most creative idea of them all and has
the potential to be relatively affordable. The new proposal
starts by placing a sled on electric tracks -- NASA's sled needs to reach a whopping 600 mph (appr. 1,000
km/h).At the end of the track, the passenger vehicle, which
rests atop the sled, will be flung off, launching at extreme speed.
The passenger vehicle would be a wedge-shaped aircraft, with
scramjets aboard, which would activate upon launch. Those
scramjets would accelerate the aircraft to Mach 10.Wings
would gradually angle the craft into the Earth's upper atmosphere.
At the boundaries of the Earth's atmosphere, the scramjet would fire
the actual spacecraft -- a capsule. The maneuver would be akin
to firing a round out of a barrelBy using mechanical motion
to launch the craft, instead of expensive chemical boosters, the cost
of launches could dramatically decrease.NASA's Stan Starr,
branch chief of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Florida's Kennedy
Space Center, says the technology to achieve this type of launch
isn't that far away. In a released statement, he explains, "All
of these are technology components that have already been developed
or studied. We're just proposing to mature these technologies
to a useful level, well past the level they've already been taken.
Essentially you bring together parts of NASA that aren't usually
brought together."Engineers at NASA and the U.S. Air
Force have worked on a variety of scramjet projects thus far,
including the X-43A and X-51 (a
missile design). So far these programs have had a couple
of successful launches and tests under their belt, raising
hopes that the technology can soon be applied to projects like the
launcher.Mr. Starr and other NASA engineers have assembled a
proposal to build the system, which they're dubbing the Advanced
Space Launch System. They're seeking grants from a variety of
sources.Under the plan Langley Research Center in Virginia,
Glenn Research Center in Ohio, and Ames Research Center in California
would build and test the parts of the hypersonic aircraft.
Dryden Research Center in California, Goddard Space Flight Center in
Maryland and Marshall, along with the Kennedy Space Center would
engineer the rail track. The plan calls for an actual two-mile
long test track to be laid down parallel to the crawlway that the
Shuttle used to be transported along to Launch Pad 39A. Mr.
Starr comments, "I still see Kennedy's core role as a launch and
landing facility."The 10-year plan for the launch
platform calls for the program to begin with launching small drones
-- like those used by the Air Force -- into orbit. This would
be followed by satellite launches. If all goes according to
plan, the system could eventually be used for low-cost manned mission
launches, as well.


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ALL In: Reserve Methodology Considerations Under FASB's Current Proposal
Conversations about the Federal Accounting Standards Board's recent proposal to replace its current Allowance for Loan and Lease Loss model with one that includes "expected credit loss" measurement actually began in 2008.
In the intervening years, many credit unions found their credit loss forecasts to be inaccurate and saw loan loss reserves playing "catch-up" as actual loan loss experience tended to be a lagging metric. Moreover, when the tides turned on delinquencies and losses, the historical loan loss experience models suggested that credit unions continue to add to their reserves when in fact the reserves where already more than sufficient.
Irrespective of the final version of the FASB proposal that eventually comes to pass, the current conversation focused on "expected credit loss" provides a great opportunity for credit unions to begin the process of re-evaluating their loan loss reserve methodologies.
- RELATED ARTICLE: Proposed FASB Change to ALL Standards
Specific in this re-evaluation should be the inclusion of techniques and technologies that provide better forward focused loss forecast tools. To provide some perspective, a brief review of the techniques and technologies currently in use is warranted.
During the recent economic downturn, many organizations' loss forecasting models and reserve methodologies relied heavily upon historical loss experience and traditional (and prevalent) credit scoring models that use an individual's past payment habits as a predictor of future payment tendencies and, in turn, potential losses.
As economic conditions improved, organizations realized that depressed credit scores were not necessarily translating into losses requiring reserves. Because of this, some organizations began to incorporate other factors like change in unemployment rates, changes in real estate values, etc. as environmental factors to offset the "false high" being suggested by the existing credit scores.
The challenge embodied with this approach to loss forecasting and reserve methodology is that it is heavily dependent on historical loss experience and bureau credit scores that are backward indicators. These timing differences naturally introduce the opportunity to be under or over reserved depending on the portion of the economic cycle that presently exists.
Moreover, none of these metrics speak directly to a borrower's income and the stability of their income ‒ which are the true drivers of consumers' future ability to pay and creditworthiness. As was clearly demonstrated during the recent economic downturn, it is the presence of a steady income stream, and not credit scores, that repay a loan on a monthly basis.
To respond to these identified weaknesses, new innovative scoring models have been developed that are much more forward looking and include a measurement of a borrower's income stability. The genesis for these scores came from a relatively interesting but pretty straightforward observation that in a poor economy, unemployment increases and the affected borrowers tend to lose their income and their ability to pay, and consequently become delinquent (and cause losses) at a much higher rate.
While the final version of the FASB proposal concerning reserve methodology is still months away, with the required implementation date likely several months after that, introducing these new credit scores into your organization today makes a lot of sense. As an initial strategy, these scores could be applied to your overall portfolio and the results used instead of traditional credit scores when calculating credit losses and loan loss reserves.
Comparing the results of the traditional loan loss reserve calculation to the new score loan loss reserve calculation can help you size the risk or opportunity your organization faces from the proposed changes to FASB allowance methodology.
With this knowledge as a backdrop, the next opportunity for using these new scores relates to their use in the underwriting of new loan requests. Given the forward looking nature of these scores, using them to originate new loans today will help your organization to react to the opportunity/risk that it has previously identified.
For example, if the comparison of results from the traditional score versus new score allowance methodology suggests that your organization's reserve position will be more than adequate to absorb the "expected credit loss" requirements suggested by the proposed FASB revisions, using these new scores to help expand your organization's lending window may be appropriate.
Conversely, if the reserve analysis suggests that your organization may need to add to its reserves under the new FASB requirements, using these new scores to help contract your lending window will help your organization ease into the new reserve environment.
The comment period (which expires April 30, 2013) of the proposed FASB changes related to reserve methodology gives your organization a window of opportunity to evaluate the potential impact of these changes before they actually take effect.
Key to this evaluation will be the use of the new and innovative scores that help to prospectively size "expected credit loss". With the information provided through the use of these scores, the comments you choose to provide to FASB can be more relevant and can carry greater weight in attempting to change key aspects of the proposed revisions.
Jim Simon is the president of Akcelerant Advisors LLC in Malvern, Pa.


text:
After over a decade of waiting for a follow-up
to "Duke Nukem 3D", 2K Games has announced that
"Duke Nukem Forever" has gone
gold in time for its upcoming release date.
"Duke Nukem" is a video game series that
was originally released in 1991 for MS-DOS, and revolves around its
protagonist, Duke Nukem. In 1993, "Duke Nukem ll" was released for
MS-DOS and Game Boy Color, and in 1996, "Duke Nukem 3D" was released
for several different platforms like MS-DOS, Nintendo 64, Microsoft Windows,
Mac OS, PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
From 1998 to 2011, several spin-offs were created
for "Duke Nukem" from "Duke Nukem: Time to Kill" to
"Duke Nukem: Critical Mass."
For nearly two decades, different video game
developers have been working
on the sequel to the 1996 "Duke Nukem 3D," called "Duke
Nukem Forever." From 1997 to 2009, game developer 3D Realms worked on the
game, and from 2009 to present, Triptych Games and Gearbox Software have
collaborated on the newest Nukem release. The original publisher of the
"Duke Nukem" series was Apogee Software, but from 2010 to present, 2K
Games has taken over.
"Duke Nukem Forever" will be a
first-person shooter available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox
360. Screenshots
of the new game started to leak to the public in early 2007 after
several delays, and in 2009, 3D
Realms called it quits on the game. But in 2010, it was announced that plans
for the game were back
in action, and two months ago, yet another delay
postponed the game's development.
But now, 2K Games has announced that "Duke
Nukem Forever" has gone gold.
"Today marks an amazing day in the annals of
gaming lore, the day where the legend of 'Duke Nukem Forever' is finally
complete and it takes that final step towards becoming a reality," said
Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K Games.
"Duke Nukem Forever" will be released on
June 10 in Europe, Japan and Australia, and June 14 in North America.