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Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, November 2, 2012, 8:51 AM
Town Square
On the trail of an imaginary flu epidemic
Original post made on Nov 2, 2012
Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, November 2, 2012, 8:51 AM
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Nov 2, 2012 at 9:46 am
> "It's good to build in some skepticism and criticism of modeling,"
> he said. "The 2008 financial crisis was built on faulty
> asset-pricing models ... so having young students
> criticize models makes me excited."
To some extent. The collapse was systemic, resulting from the ultimate consequences of banks being forced to issue loans (often called "liars loans) to far too many people who could not afford the properties they purchased. As these mortgage defaults began to accumulate, there was a ripple effect that washed through the whole system. Wall Street had "hedged" its position, relative to a 1%-2% failure rate of these so-called "sub-prime" mortgages, but the failure rate was closer to 8%, at one point. The modeling had not considered this possibility. However, that was not what caused the meltdown. Since all of these mortgages had been bought up and resold as "Mortgage Backed Securities" (MBS), these MBSs had been "insured" by Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) which were supposed to provide "insurance" in case of defaults of significant numbers of individual mortgage owners. As it turned out, thanks to people like Anna Eshoo, CDSs had been allowed to function outside the normal regulatory arm of the US government—and so these financial instruments that looked like "insurance" were actually nothing more than smoke-and-mirrors, since the sellers of these instruments were not required to maintain sufficient capital in reserve to pay off a abnormal situation, like the one that occurred in 2006. Ultimately, the main holders of these CDSs ended up going bankrupt, or seeing the massive bailout from the taxpayers.
Blaming modeling for the meltdown is not fair, or accurate. Yes, it played a part, but there this meltdown revealed massive fraud and corruption at every level of government, the housing industry up through Wall Street.
> Kauffman said computer modeling is a financially sustainable
> way to bring real-life science into classrooms across the country,
> not just the wealthy ones.
Absolutely! And with these sorts of education software packages being installed "on the cloud", the costs become virtually free—given enough time.
Wonder if anyone at the PAUSD is paying attention to what is going on in the local private schools to address the ever-expanding costs of education?
a resident of Fairmeadow
on Nov 2, 2012 at 11:57 am
You have probably conviently forgotten that Clinton in 1994 deregulated the mortgage busines so that "The disadvantaged and poor could realize the American dream of home ownership "without the nasty conservative roadblocks thrown in to discriminate against them". The result was a feeding frenzy of real estate "salespersons", loan brokers and lenders cashing in on the wonderful new cash flow provided by naive buyers. Real estate "salespersons" made their commission immediately, brokers collected their fees up front and lenders bundled the shaky loans into the infamous instruments called "derivatives" and sold them immediately at steep discounts to the greedy, getting their spoils up front also.
Perfect setup to provide a nasty domino effect at the first ripple in the economy.
Good work Castilleja!
a resident of Woodside
on Nov 2, 2012 at 1:36 pm
AndyNash is a registered user.
In a very odd Stanford connection, so far as I've googled, one of the most constructive critiques of the 2008-09 collapse in terms of grievous errors in financial risk models... is actually written by a very eloquent Stanford aerospace engineer who is concerned with modeling a different kind of risk entirely.
Web Link
Of course, the failures in the practice of modeling alone did not topple the economy. Like most catastrophes, the financial crisis is complex, and we all can agree many parties behaved poorly.
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Nov 2, 2012 at 2:33 pm
"It's good to build in some skepticism and criticism of modeling," he
said. "The 2008 financial crisis was built on faulty asset-pricing
models ... so having young students criticize models makes me excited."
Wonder if this teacher is going to be able to focus on modeling errors in the software they are using .. rather than something that is too complex for most people to understand--such as the 2008 meltdown?
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Nov 3, 2012 at 7:43 pm
[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]


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African American Islam
Herbert Berg
The first Muslims arrived in the American colonies and later in the United States as African slaves. Although a few and noteworthy Muslim American slaves left written records of their lives, Islam was largely extinguished by the white slave owners. Sectarian and racial forms of Islam were introduced into the United States, particularly within urban African American communities, by Ahmadiyya missionaries and the Moorish Science Temple. The rise of the Nation of Islam under Wali Fard Muhammad and Elijah Muhammad and its bifurcation under the latter's son, Warith Deen Mohammed, and Louis Farrakhan deserve special attention, as do the initial appeal of the Nation of Islam's racial formulation of Islam and, decades later, the willingness of most of its members to move to Sunni orthodoxy after Elijah Muhammad's death. The second major, though not entirely separate, strand of Islam in the United States, though often interacting or competing with the first, comes from Muslim immigrants. This group brings unique issues, such as living in a largely Christian society, competing with the Nation of Islam, refuting stereotypes in the media and popular culture, finding a political voice, and coping with post-9/11 Islamophobia, all leading to the consideration of the prospects for a uniquely "American Islam" that reflects U.S. pluralism and (supposed) separation of "church and state."
African Americans and Religion
Sylvester A. Johnson
Beginning with trans-Atlantic slavery, which forced hundreds of thousands of people into what is presently the United States, religion among African Americans consistently featured a complex of efforts toward innovation, preservation, and agential intervention rooted in efforts toward survival against structures of racial domination. Social factors including slavery, black responses to a range of political conflicts, influences of immigration, and the varieties of genealogies that have constituted religious formations among African Americans contributed to the creation of formal Christian denominations, intentional communities of Orisha, and transnational movements of Islam. Also important are the insurgent challenges that African Americans have proffered as a rejoinder to social oppression. But this progressive tendency has been paralleled by sharply conservative religious formations that check any easy generalization of African American religions as being predisposed toward social justice movements. Also important are social sources of autonomous church formation, the role of Black Nationalism, anticolonial forms of religion, and Yoruba revivalism of the mid-20th century.
Afterlife in American Religion
Kathryn Gin Lum
Heaven and hell have survived in the United States beyond scientific critiques of the supernatural. For many Americans, the promise of eternal rewards and the threat of everlasting punishments shaped how they lived their lives in the here-and-now, and how they interacted with others. Oppressed groups used the afterlife to turn the tables on their oppressors, while others used the threat of the afterlife to try to keep people in line.
The afterlife, after all, was never just after life. Heaven, hell, and their inhabitants could impinge on this life. Time and again, Americans have labeled various places or situations as hells on earth, from America itself (in the eyes of European colonizers), to the slaveholding South, to the battlefields of the Civil War, to the inner city. Reformers have sought to bring heaven to earth, even while hoping for heaven in the life to come.
Meanwhile, discomfort with predestinarian teachings on salvation and damnation led to theological innovations and revisions of traditional Christian teachings on hell. Over time, the stark hell and theocentric heaven of the early colonists waned in many pulpits, with the symbols and figures of the afterlife migrating to fill the pages and TV screens of American popular culture productions. That said, the driving threat of hell remains significant in conservative American Christianity as a political tool in the early 21st century, just as in times past.
Agency, Voluntarism, and Predestination in American Religion
Peter J. Thuesen
In the free marketplace of religious ideas that is the United States, Americans have disagreed over many things. The form of church government, the proper way to worship, the extent of the scriptural canon, and the limits of racial and gender inclusion are but a few of the questions on which the nation's majority Christians have erected boundaries among themselves, to say nothing of their differences with non-Christians. Yet an equally important source of denominational divisions has been the nexus of issues surrounding agency (humans' freedom to act as they choose), voluntarism (defined here as the quest for salvation through this-worldly action), and predestination (the otherworldly question of whether God predetermines each person's eternal destiny). Particularly contentious has been the question of predestination, especially the problem of whether God elects persons for salvation conditionally (based on their foreseen faith or merit) or unconditionally (based solely on his inscrutable wisdom). In the 16th and 17th centuries, this debate cut across the Reformation divide, with each position represented among both Catholic and Protestant scholastics. The New England Puritan clergy were the first major bearers of this scholastic tradition, which abounded with paradox and logical distinctions. The intensity of Puritanism's predestinarian psychology generated a widespread anti-Calvinist backlash in the 19th century and contributed to the growth of a number of upstart denominations, including Methodists, Universalists, Restoration Movement "Christians," Mormons, Adventists, and Christian Scientists. Debates over free will and predestination also bred factionalism and even threatened schism in several denominations, including the Congregationalists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Baptists. Less frequently, non-Christians weighed in, occasionally embracing the trope of anti-Calvinism as a way to demonstrate their own traditions' compatibility with American freedom. By the early 21st century, though the rise of nondenominational megachurches and an increase in "nones" (people with no religious identification) had weakened the hold of traditional doctrines on many Americans, the tension between voluntarism and predestination remained basic to theism as it has been for millennia.
Alternative Religious Movements and Race in America
Emily Suzanne Clark
Alternative religious movements have played a significant role in American history. There is no easy definition for these types of groups; their ideas and practices vary. One clear commonality, though, is their development on the sociocultural margins. Thus, inherent in alternative religious movements is a critique of dominant culture, and this offers a powerful means of engaging issues of race in America. Other groups, however, choose to echo prevailing racial ideas as a means of making themselves mainstream. The typical narrative of American religious history is white and Protestant, and alternative religious movements have provided both criticism and approval of that story.
While a close look at every alternative religious movement would be impossible, even an abbreviated exploration is revealing. During the antebellum period the question of slavery and the white supremacy that supported it prompted alternative religious movements to ask questions about equality. While many Shakers and Spiritualists recognized value in all, other groups, like the Mormons, encoded contemporary racial assumptions in their early theology. Throughout the 19th and into the 20th century, African Americans and Native Americans criticized white supremacy by offering alternative explanations of humanity's history and destiny. The 1890s Ghost Dance movement envisioned an Indian paradise devoid of whites, and in the early 20th century black alternative movements in northern cities emphasized the religious significance of their blackness. Though these groups criticized the white supremacy surrounding them, others continued to emphasize the superiority of whiteness. In the latter part of the 20th century, many Americans associated racialized alternative religious movements, such as the Nation of Islam, the International Society of Krishna Consciousness, and the Peoples Temple, with fear or brainwashing. In examining how alternative religious movements engage racial assumptions, articulate racial discourse, or create religio-racial identities, a study of these movements illuminates the interplay between religion and culture in American history.
American Narratives of Sin and Salvation
W. Clark Gilpin
Sin and salvation, as an interconnected pair of ideas, imply that human life as it is ordinarily lived has been diverted from its true good or distorted from its proper form. Taken together, these paired ideas thus imply a narrative of human transformation, a redemptive process that recovers human life from erroneous ways and reorients it toward an ultimate goal or a transcendent power through which life is fulfilled. Narratives of redemption from sin have taken many forms in the course of American history, but in considering any specific example it is useful to recognize its relationship to two especially common patterns. In some cases, the redemptive narrative is organized around a decisive personal experience, and autobiographical accounts of "conversion" that describe such transformative events are common in American religious literature. In other cases, the redemptive narrative accentuates the gradual process of shaping a way of life that incorporates an individual into the ongoing social practice of a community, through spiritual disciplines ranging from meditation and prayer to acts of public witness and compassion. In either of these versions, redemptive narratives frequently hinge on the reconciling work of a transcendent power, in which salvation represents the event or process that incorporates individual persons into a society or a natural order of existence that is itself the subject of a larger, even cosmic history of redemption. In all of these variations, American narratives of redemption have interacted with broader cultural ideas of human nature and the possibilities for human psychological and societal change.
Apocalypticism in U.S. History
Matthew Avery Sutton
Apocalypticism has had a powerful impact on American life. It has fostered among adherents a strong sense of purpose and personal identity, it has helped them interpret the challenges they face all around them, and it has provided them with a triumphant vision of the future. Although there are many kinds of apocalypticism, in the United States, Christian forms have dominated. The Bible's focus on a coming millennium has offered Americans the promise of transformation and redemption in a world that sometimes seems void of both. When Christians have emphasized the Bible's apocalyptic and millennial visions, they have acted in new and important ways. Apocalyptic visions, rather than fostering a sense of indifference to the coming of the end of days, have served as a call to battle. God, millennialists insist, has given them much to do and very little time in which to do it. Positive that Jesus is coming soon, they have preached revival and engaged directly and aggressively with their culture. Sometimes their actions have served to reinforce the status quo, and at other times they have sparked revolutions. The uses of apocalypticism and millennialism are almost as diverse as their adherents.
Asian American Religions
Tony Carnes
Asian American religions have dramatically increased their presence in the United States. Partly, this is a function of the increasing population of Asian Americans since 1965.
Asian American is a name given to the United States residents who trace their ancestry back to the area of Asia from Pakistan in the west to the Pacific islands east of the Asian landmass. There are over 18 million Asian Americans in the United States (about 6 percent of the national population), and Asians are immigrating to the country at rates that far exceed those for any other group.
Other names have been taken, given, or forced upon Asian Americans. Such terms as "Chinese or Japanese imperial subjects" heightened a unity of political and religious obedience to a divine emperor. "Oriental" started as a French idealization of the Confucian state before descending to the level of being an epithet for backwardness.
Immigrants come with nationalities like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and so forth that often intervene into religious discourses (see an example of this process in the Chinese American experience as described by Fenggang Yang (Chinese Christians in America. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999). In the 1970s the name Asian American was popularized by West Coast intellectuals in order to gather forces at the barricades of political and racial movements. Some scholars like Michael Omi and Howard Winant (Racial Formation in the United States. From the 1960s to the 1990s. New York: Routledge, 1994) claimed "Asian American" as a racialized reality, which was the result of racial conflicts innate to American society. Others saw the identity as an ethnic claim to assimilation into American cultural reality.
Asian immigrants and their progeny find ways to balance out the religious, national, ethnic, racial, and other identities from their homeland, new nation, and religion. "Asian American" has also become a common-sense meaning that was institutionalized by the U.S. census. But one should remember that many layers of names sit upon Asian American houses of worship as so many barnacles telling tales of ancestral honors, woes, and self-reflections.
Over three-quarters of Asian Americans profess a religious faith. About a quarter say that they are "religious nones," that is, either having no particular religious faith or identifying as agnostic or atheist. About half of the "nones" actually have religious beliefs and ethics and practice them as an intrinsic part of Asian American culture, not as something that is "religious."
Two-thirds of religious Asian Americans are Christians. This is not surprising when we take into account the rapid growth of Christianity in the non-European world. Asian Americans are contributing to the "de-Europeanization" of American Christianity and signal the increasingly religious direction of the 21st century.
Other Asian American religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism, Jainism, Zoroasterism, new Japanese religions, and many more.
The history of Asian American religions involves a dynamic interplay of the United States and Asia, global politics, democratic revolutions, persecution in Asia, racism in the United States, Supreme Court cases, and religious innovation.
The largest Asian American groups, those with 1–4 million people each, trace their ancestry back to Japan, China, Philippines, Vietnam, India, and Korea. Seven smaller groups have over 100,000 people each: Bangladeshis, Burmese, Cambodians, Hmong, Laotians, Pakistanis, and Thais. And there are many more smaller groups.
The diverse ethnic and national origins of Asian Americans means that their religions have a kaleidoscope of religious styles and cultures.
Bibles and Tracts in Print Culture in America
Lincoln A. Mullen
Since the first printing presses were established in Britain's North American colonies, print was a ubiquitous feature of American religion. Print was a powerful means of communicating religious ideas, both to the faithful and to people whom religious groups wished to persuade. One common form of religious communication was the pamphlet or, by the 19th century, the tract. These tracts were a way of catechizing people who were already a member of different denominational groups, and tracts provided them with inexpensive collections of religious reading material, such as hymns or psalms. Tracts become a primary feature of evangelism in the United States, as did Bible distribution. In the 19th century the American Tract Society and the American Bible Society managed to exert a long reach into the interior of the United States, with distribution channels that were more far flung than those of any other institution except perhaps the postal service.
Print also functioned as a means of creating institutional loyalties. The American Tract Society created a network of tract distribution and funding which linked together large numbers of affiliate societies. While the American Bible Society preferred a different organizational structure, it brought together a wide array of denominations to make common cause for Bible distribution. In the 20th century, trans-denominational periodical publishers managed to unite various wings of Protestantism, as periodicals staked out positions in debates between fundamentalists and modernists, or later between evangelicals and liberal or mainline denominations. Yet smaller publications also functioned to establish denominational loyalties.
The Bible was by far the most important printed text in American Christianity. One of the earliest imprints in North America was a translation of the Bible into the Algonquian language, and later missionary groups sometimes made it a priority to translate the Bible into Indian languages. Printing of the English Bible proliferated for a number of reasons. One was the repeated efforts of the American Bible Society to supply the United States with a Bible for every household. Another was the development of various editions of the Bible, containing different qualities of paper and typography, or distinguishing themselves by the purpose of the text, such as study Bibles rich in notes, maps, and other explanatory features. A third reason was the proliferation of Bible translations, beginning with the late-19th-century Revised Version. These Bible versions were aimed at improving the scholarly reliability of the text, but they were matters of intense interest and debate among Christians more generally. Bible translations came to be a key marker of group identity and a contested source of religious authority, even as they were sponsored by trans-denominational groups like the National Association of Evangelicals or the National Council of Churches.
In short, print culture was a primary means of establishing group loyalty, for various Protestant groups as well as for Jews and Catholics, yet it also represented a key attempt at Christian unity and ecumenism. Print culture was both a proxy for many other ways of being religious and a powerful religious force in its own right.
Christian Fundamentalism in America
Margaret Bendroth
Fundamentalism has a very specific meaning in the history of American Christianity, as the name taken by a coalition of mostly white, mostly northern Protestants who, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, united in opposition to theological liberalism. Though the movement lost the public spotlight after the 1920s, it remained robust, building a network of separate churches, denominations, and schools that would become instrumental in the resurgence of conservative evangelicalism after the 1960s. In a larger sense, fundamentalism is a form of militant opposition to the modern world, used by some scholars to identify morally absolutist religious and political movements in Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and even Hinduism and Buddhism. While the core concerns of the movement that emerged within American Protestantism—defending the authority of the Bible and both separating from and saving their sinful world—do not entirely mesh with this analytical framework, they do reflect the broad and complex challenge posed by modernity to people of faith.

subset: commoncrawl


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Button-down Collar Gingham Cotton Shirt
€225.00 €225.00
- A cotton poplin shirt with a button-down collar, cut in a modern fit for ease. A style staple in classic gingham, for casual work days and weekends.
- 100% cotton
- Buttons: mother-of-pearl
- Single-button cuffs
- Button-down collar
- Curved hem
- Embroidered Equestrian Knight motif at the chest
- Machine wash
- Imported
Wear this with
Slim Fit Over-dyed Stretch Jeans


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I want to add a set of auxiliary driving light to my '02 GS. I live in a relatively rural area with lots of critters roaming the roads at night. I really want something that will reach well out in front and light up the road as well as the shoulders. I know there have been a lot of advances in LED technology. Any suggestions for light sets you are happy with? The previous owner of my bike (7 years ago) had a set of PIAA's mounted, but took them off when he sold the bike to me. The wiring and switch are still in place however. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Jim N.


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Volquez walks six but minimizes damage in loss
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Ryan Ludwick's three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh broke up a tie game and led the Reds to a 7-3 win over the Padres on Wednesday afternoon.
It was a 1-1 game in the seventh when Padres lefty Tommy Layne gave up Shin-Soo Choo's second hit, a one-out single grounded up the middle. Joey Votto lined a two-out double into the right-field corner, and Choo was held up at third base before Ludwick came to the plate.
On a 0-1 pitch, Ludwick hit his first homer of spring, a liner that landed on the grassy berm in left field.
The Padres' Opening Day starter, Edinson Volquez allowed just one run and two hits in his five-plus-inning start. But in typical Volquez fashion, he labored with a lot of pitches throughout his final spring outing and walked six while striking out one.
"He had a no-hitter into the fifth," Padres manager Bud Black said. "His stuff was good, but his command got away from him a little. But he came back to get the out when he needed to. I think he's ready for Monday."
Mike Leake, the Reds' No. 5 starter, completed six innings and allowed one run and five hits with no walks and four strikeouts.
With two outs in the top of the second against Leake, Cameron Maybin hit a single to center field and scored on Kyle Blanks' RBI double off of the wall in right-center field for a 1-0 lead.
Facing Volquez in the fifth with one out, Choo became the first Reds batter to notch a hit with his second homer of the spring, a solo shot the opposite way to left field.
The Reds added three runs in the eighth with a run-scoring single from Brandon Phillips and a two-run homer by Votto.
Padres Up Next: The Padres play their final Cactus League game at 12:05 p.m. PT on Thursday against the Indians at the Peoria Sports Complex, available on Gameday Audio. Clayton Richard, the No. 2 starter in the rotation, makes his final exhibition appearance. He will most likely work in upward of seven innings. The next time Richard pitches in a game will be April 3 against the Mets at Citi Field in the second game of the regular season. So far this spring, Richard has a 6.59 ERA in 13 2/3 innings.
Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Personal computing discussed
Moderators: Dposcorp, SpotTheCat
If you can turn the flash into a soft fill light, it's ok - but it's PITA, otherwise it sucks.
liquidsquid wrote:
Now I hope I am still posting useful data for the OP, I think I have stolen this thread...
hat isn't to say that it's been written off – I will definitely get one
SPOOFE wrote:Right now Adorama has a Nikon-refurb'd D90 for $700. I own one and I'm a Nikon guy, so I know my point of view has that bias thing going on, but I know for sure that it's a great tool for the money. A slew of caveats apply: For example, I'm a sucker for the wireless flash control in the D90, but if that's not an important feature for you then the value is a little less.
I also know that the Canon T1i or T2i can also take excellent pictures for the money. These days it's getting difficult to go wrong.
You'll usually have to spend slightly more for Nikon gear than for comparable Canon gear
SPOOFE wrote:You'll usually have to spend slightly more for Nikon gear than for comparable Canon gear
Every time this comes up I feel compelled to observe: There's no "comparable gear" in the Canikon world. The two companies play the leapfrog game, never quite pitting models against one another in price or features. 'Course, this offset diminishes with older/used/refurbed gear as prices start to drop; and there's no question that Canon's cameras also kick some ass. Heck, every once and again I find myself shooting my buddy's original Digital Rebel and enjoy the experience, even with the different ergonomics.
While this is true for bodies, the same can't be said for lenses.
Welch wrote:I'm looking forward to your photos from Sweden (possibly the Aurora since you were talking low light). If you are in Denmark anytime soon as your profile suggests, snap some shots for me I've got family over there and would love to see how the country looks since last I visited (1997 IIRC)


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About This Organizer
The Musical Offering is a musical home for beginners to bloom and for more experienced musicians to explore their craft. We are proud of our process-oriented teaching philosophy, professional and friendly faculty, investments in local schools, and partnerships with arts organizations equally committed to making music more accessible to all.
Organizer Info
The Musical Offering


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I have 19 service merits and 9 speaker merits. Do I qualify to apply for a Craftsman degree?
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I have 19 service merits and 9 speaker merits. Do I qualify to apply for a Craftsman degree?
Karen, To get the Craftsman degree at least 13 must be speaking merits, so you need 4 more speaking merits to qualify. But then all the leftover service merits can start adding up to your Master's.
Do you earn merits attending classes at Imaging USA?
You will receive one service merit for attending IUSA.
Additional merits are possible if you take the pre-convention classes (you pay extra for those.)
Or..you could volunteer and I believe you can earn a service merit for that as well.
Yes, the year I attended I had scheduled to help put up the print display. While there, I offered to take down, also. I did not expect a second merit but got one so....got three for that week.
I've had a hard time finding information about the degrees on the website. How are the degrees awarded? Do you apply after meeting some requirements or is it automatic after you complete the requirements?
I'm interested in the Master of Photography degree but I don't know what it entails entirely. Where can I find more detailed information about the degrees, their requirements, how merits are awarded and for what?
Marc, when you have received all the proper merits for your degree, PPA will notify you that you qualify and will send you the proper papers to fill out to receive your degree. You need, for the Masters, 13 Exhibition merits and 12 additional merits, such as attending Imaging USA, attending Super Mondays, speaking, attending affiliate schools, and volunteering for PPA events, just to name a very few. Once you reach the 25 merits, Cristel's office will contact you.
Then, once you accept/confirm your degree, your name will show up for voting at the council meeting during IUSA and you're in!
For more information, go to the top of this web page, click on Benefits and select Merits and Degrees.
Once you have met the requirments and are eligible for the degree, you will recieve a letter from PPA. It's been awhile since I got my last degree so I don't remember exactly but I do believe there is a sort of application - but it's more just a registration that you are attending the ceremony or not - how your name should be written on the certificate, who your sponsor is etc. The PPA council does vote on the list of degree recipients each year. The actual degree is presented at an awards ceremony at IUSA. Your sponsor accompanies you on stage and actually hangs the ribbon around your neck. The sponsor is traditionally someone you feel has been instrumental in your reaching your degree. It does NOT have to be a PPA member but it is required to be an adult - no children.
To be eligible, you must have 13 print merits and 12 other merits. It used to be a challenge to earn those 12 other merits but now they practically give them away for attending certain seminars etc. I think you also have to have been a member for 2 or 3 years. You can earn those extra 12 merits by service, speaking, education or additional print merits. Print merits are received from having prints accepted for the exhibition at IUSA. Judging for that takes place in June or July every year. Each accepted print earns one merit. A print selected for Loan collection gets 2 merits.
Hope this helps. If you have more questions just ask.


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It was ten years ago today that Laridian was incorporated. Time flies!
I started working on Bible software for Windows CE in April of 1998 while I was still at Parsons Technology. Parsons had decided it wasn't interested in software for PDAs. That didn't really matter since the sale of Parsons to Broderbund in 1997 had accidentally left me under no non-compete nor any intellectual property agreement of any kind. So I was free to launch a Bible software company even though it looked a little questionable.
(Interestingly, this would get tested in 2002 when the stockholders of Mattel sued Mattel and its executives over the lack of due diligence in the purchase of The Learning Company, which at the time was the owner of Parsons Technology. I was a witness for the plaintiffs (the shareholders) and was deposed for a day and a half. A team of lawyers went through my notebooks and phone logs covering the last couple years I was at Parsons. When they discovered I had started Laridian before leaving Parsons they really dug in — looking for a way to discredit my testimony. They were unable to find any evidence of any wrong-doing on my part, and eventually the shareholders won the suit and received several million dollars from Mattel.)
We incorporated on October 21, 1998 and our first sale was on November 28, 1998. I resigned from Parsons on December 11. Jeff Wheeler and Jim VanDuzer followed me in January.
The product now known as PocketBible for Windows Mobile was our first product. At the time it was called PalmBible and Windows Mobile was called Windows CE. Sometime in 1999 or 2000 some idiot at the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Palm, Inc. a trademark on the word "Palm" pretty much in any imaginable context. Palm started flexing its newly found power and threatened everyone using the word "Palm" in the title of their software. We received a letter saying we needed to change the name of our product. Microsoft had just come out with a new type of device it was calling "Pocket PC" and promised not to trademark the word "Pocket", so PalmBible became PocketBible.
We didn't know anything about electronic commerce at the time. Parsons sold a lot of products through its Web site but none of us were involved in the technical implementation of online sales so we didn't know where to start. Fortunately Bob Parsons had started a Web hosting company in Phoenix by then so we called him up and had his company implement our Web store. As is normal with such things they did about 90% of it and called it good. We had to finish up a number of things, but that ended up being a good thing because it forced me to learn how the site worked and how to write VBScript and SQL.
Laridian was then and has remained a virtual company. We've never had office space; we all work from home. For a long time we sold our products only through the Web site, and only by download. So there wasn't any inventory. We even provided our own computers for the first couple years (and worked without a salary), so the company didn't even have any physical assets.
Over time that has changed a little bit. For a long time we distributed our physical products through distribution partners but we got burned three times by three different companies. So now that's all handled in-house. Our "warehouse" is a storage garage, and we make trips there as necessary to replenish the stock of products one of us keeps at home for direct orders, or to put together larger orders for stores. (We sell our iPocketBible audio Bibles through Christian bookstores. Right now those are our only physical products.)
We've all had to make adjustments in our homes to work full-time from home. I had a small 9′ x 12′ office off our family room when the company first started, but I quickly outgrew it and needed more storage and work space. We ended up building an addition on the house so I could have a bigger space (and better sound-proofing). Now I have about a 14′ x 20′ office with a small storage room attached. This works great as I'm completely isolated from the rest of the house. This is important because we taught our five kids at home so there was always a lot of activity during the day. The kids were good about letting me work, but they still made a lot of noise. (My oldest three are married and out of the house now; the youngest two go to the Christian school run by our church.)
I worked ten years and two months for Parsons Technology, and that was my longest time at one job. In March I'll have been working full-time for Laridian for that long. I think we've accomplished a lot and hope to keep doing it for another ten or more. We all appreciate those of you who have made us your PDA Bible software source over the years. You're a big part of what makes it fun to do this job. Thanks for ten great years!


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Free shipping on orders $39+*
Sixth in the Collector's Request® Collection, this Barbie® doll is a vinyl reproduction wearing a re-creation of the original 1959 fashion Gay Parisienne®. Barbie® looks chic in her classic dark blue bubble dress with tiny white polka-dots. Around her shoulders is a fabulous faux fur stole, and sitting atop her head is a sophisticated veiled headband hat. Accessories include a faux pearl necklace, golden velvety clutch, and navy open-toe shoes. Barbie® doll's demure vintage look is captured with lovely side-glancing eyes, red lipstick, painted finger and toenails, and a brunette ponytail with curled bangs.


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Broxton feels healthy after taking liner off hand
By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com
CINCINNATI -- Reliever Jonathan Broxton felt like he was good to go if the Reds needed him Tuesday. On Monday in the eighth inning vs. the Cubs, Broxton took a Nate Schierholtz line drive off of his pitching hand and exited immediately.
X-rays were negative.
"When it hit me, it went numb," Broxton said. "In two or three minutes, it was fine. I tried to stay in there. [Manager] Dusty [Baker] wouldn't let me. He wanted me to get X-rays and stuff, which was the smart thing to do in case it was a fracture."
Marshall to get second start in Triple-A rehab stint
CINCINNATI -- It wasn't enough that lefty Sean Marshall threw his scoreless inning in a rehab assignment game for Triple-A Louisville on Monday night. Marshall had to feel good Tuesday as well.
"I feel great," Marshall said Tuesday afternoon. "My arm bounced back good and I'm ready to pitch tomorrow."
Marshall, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 10 (retroactive to April 8) because of tendinitis in his left shoulder, will make another appearance on Wednesday when the Bats host Gwinnett.
"I will be in the mix with the relievers tomorrow. Instead of starting a game, I will come in in relief like I usually would do," Marshall said.
When Marshall started for Louisville at Indianapolis on Monday, he threw 12 pitches -- including eight strikes -- in his lone inning.
"It felt like my starting pitcher days. I got to throw in the first inning," Marshall said. "It's been a while since I've done that. I treated it like a relief appearance. I was warming up at about 6:57 [p.m.] and while the other pitcher was throwing in the top of the inning, I pretty much went from the bullpen to the mound.
"Everything felt good. I took it like it was a real game. I threw all of my pitches -- curveballs, sliders and fastballs. Everything felt good coming out of my hand."
What happens after Wednesday remains unknown. Marshall became eligible for activation on Tuesday.
Miller gets start to catch Cingrani
CINCINNATI -- Called up from Triple-A Louisville on Sunday when catcher Ryan Hanigan went on the disabled list, Corky Miller started behind the plate for the Reds on Tuesday vs. the Cubs. It was the 37-year-old Miller's first start in the big leagues for Cincinnati since Sept. 29, 2010.
Devin Mesoraco has caught the last three games, totaling 35 innings because of two extra-innings marathons.
"I'm fine. I feel like I can catch as many as we play, no matter when it is," Mesoraco said. "It's different in the big leagues, I think, because the stakes are much higher. I feel like I trained for this in the offseason, to play every day and catch as many innings as they want."
Tony Cingrani, who was called up from Louisville to replace injured ace Johnny Cueto in the rotation, was paired with Miller.
"[Miller] is catching Cingrani tonight because he knows Cingrani," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "Mesoraco had to call him to ask advice about how to catch Cingrani. Now we have the advice-giver in house."
When Miller came up, Mesoraco invited him to stay at his place. He has looked to the veteran for advice on working with pitchers and dealing with various situations.
"I've got an extra bedroom. I figured if he wanted to stay with me instead of at a hotel, come on over," Mesoraco said. "He's a good buddy. He's always available to talk to and he's been around for so long. I feel like we get along. We don't really talk about baseball much after games."
Berry undergoing cancer treatment; visits clubhouse
CINCINNATI -- Reds third-base coach Mark Berry visited the clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon for the first time in a couple of weeks. Berry has been undergoing treatment for throat cancer, which was diagnosed last month.
Being treated at University Hospital, Berry is three weeks into a seven-week program of chemotherapy and radiation. Bench coach Chris Speier has been in his place on the coaching line at third base while Miguel Cairo has served as bench coach, which was to be Berry's role if he could have remained on the job during treatment.
"He's not looking as good as he's feeling," Reds manager Dusty Baker said of Berry. "The chemo affects people in different ways. He's not close to [returning to] the bench. We're just happy he has the energy to come around.
"Hopefully in a month when it's over with, he'll be fine. In the meantime, we're lucky we have Miggy, and Chris Speier at third base."
Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Cubs rally in ninth with help from Giants' error
SAN FRANCISCO -- Before Friday's game, Cubs manager Dale Sveum talked about how Anthony Rizzo needed to deliver with runners on. The first baseman did that in the ninth, with an assist from Giants first baseman Brandon Belt.
Two runs scored on an error by Belt with two outs in the ninth to give the Cubs a 3-2 victory over the Giants.Full Game Coverage
SAN FRANCISCO -- Before Friday's game, Cubs manager Dale Sveum talked about how Anthony Rizzo needed to deliver with runners on. The first baseman did that in the ninth, with an assist from Giants first baseman Brandon Belt.
Two runs scored on an error by Belt with two outs in the ninth to give the Cubs a 3-2 victory over the Giants.Full Game Coverage
Trailing, 2-1, against Sergio Romo, pinch-hitter Julio Borbon singled and pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro walked. One out later, Junior Lake reached on a fielder's choice, forcing Navarro at second. Rizzo then lined the ball to right, between Belt's legs, for an error. Borbon and Lake scored.
"It's just a routine ground ball," Belt said. "I did what I've always done in that situation. ... That wasn't the only mistake I made. Looking back on it, it cost us the game."
The other blip came in the seventh. More on that later.
"[Rizzo] had a good at-bat and hit a missile down the line," Sveum said. "We were fortunate it went through [Belt's] legs. It was a good at-bat and he hit the ball as hard as you're going to hit it. We had some good at-bats that last inning."
The Cubs picked up their 24th win on the road, one more than they won all last season away from Wrigley Field.
"Yes," Sveum said emphatically. "And a lot more west of the Mississippi."
The Cubs were 1-19 on the road against National League West teams last year and now have won four games away from Wrigley against the division so far this year.
Edwin Jackson did not get a decision but continued his much improved second half. He struck out five and did not walk a batter in the first six innings. Second baseman Darwin Barney made a great diving stop on Buster Posey's hard-hit grounder and threw him out to begin the seventh. Jackson then walked Pablo Sandoval, and Hunter Pence doubled down the left-field line.
Belt was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Jeff Francoeur blooped a single to right, driving in Sandoval and Pence. That's when Belt's other mistake occurred. He thought about scoring, but Jackson, who had his back to the action on the field, got a break as the throw went past him, bounced off the wall and back to the pitcher, who made the tag.
"Jackson wasn't even looking," Belt said. "He had no idea where the ball was."
Sometimes, things do work in the Cubs' favor.
"I think he was frustrated," Sveum said of Jackson. "The ball fell in, and he might have lost concentration there. You saw where the ball was and he ended up making the play."
Catcher Welington Castillo yelled at his pitcher to get his attention but probably couldn't be heard over the sellout crowd at AT&T Park. What happened?
"I stopped to not run into Sandoval," Jackson said. "When I stopped to not run into him, I went around him. By the time I could turn around, the ball was coming at me and right in front of me. Sometimes the ball bounces in your favor, and sometimes it doesn't. ... It's a crazy game. That was something that worked in our favor."
It's not a good idea to run into Sandoval.
"He's a big man," Jackson said. "Nobody wants that collision at home like that."
Jackson now has a 3.42 ERA in his last nine starts and has won three of his last five in which he's posted a 2.51 ERA.
"Statistically, I've always been a second-half guy," Jackson said, "but sometimes the ball rolls in your favor, sometimes it doesn't. I don't feel like I've made any huge changes. I'm just trying to attack the strike zone."
He's kept the defense involved, gotten in a better groove with Castillo and pitched with more conviction. Sveum said they've noticed better fastball command. It also helps when ground balls are being snatched by infielders and not finding holes.
"At the beginning, we saw 88 to 90 [mph] in the first couple innings [by Jackson], and now we're seeing 93, 94 from the get-go," he said.
The Cubs started the game well as David DeJesus singled and Lake reached on an error by Sandoval. But Matt Cain, who has struggled at home, struck out the next three batters to snuff the threat.
The Cubs went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Losing Alfonso Soriano won't help those numbers. Sveum is hoping Rizzo, who leads the team with 58 RBIs, can pick up the slack.
"I think he's at that stage where he understands people's jobs in the 3-4-5 hole," Sveum said. "Some people get carried away thinking about the home runs. That's your job, driving runs in and taking walks and keeping the line moving."
The Cubs were 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position Friday before Nate Schierholtz doubled with one out in the sixth and Starlin Castro followed with an RBI single. For the record, they went 1-for-11 with RISP in the game.
As long as the pitching continues, they have a chance. The Cubs lost starters Scott Feldman and Matt Garza, both traded this month. Jackson doesn't think the remaining pitchers need to do more to make up for their absence.
"We just have to continue doing what we've been doing," Jackson said. "Pretty much, I was the only one who started out slow. The starters have been doing a great job the whole season. i was the weakest link earlier. Everybody else, they were pitching great, and they're still pitching great. When you have pitching and great defense, everything will come around."
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com. She writes a blog, Muskat Ramblings, and you can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat.


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Summaries of EU Legislation
Summaries of EU legislation: direct access to the main summaries page.
- Archived: true
Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010
This is the first triennial Work Plan adopted under the European Agenda for Culture. The Work Plan defines the initiatives to be carried out in the culture field at national and Community level for the period 2008-2010. The focus is on mobility of artists, access to culture, development of cultural statistics, promotion of cultural and creative industries, and implementation of the Unesco Convention on Cultural Expressions. These are the priority areas for action defined as suitable for the open method of coordination in line with the objectives of the European Agenda for Culture.
Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010 [Official Journal C 143 of 10.6.2008].
The Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010 sets out the activities to be pursued under five priority areas of action defined in the Council Resolution of 16 November 2007 on a European Agenda for Culture. The implementation of the Work Plan is based on the open method of coordination, the new working method among Member States in the field of culture. To this end, working groups consisting of national experts will be created for considering, reporting and making recommendations under some of the priority areas.
Priority 1: Improving the conditions for the mobility of artists and other professionals in the culture field
A working group is set up by the Member States, with the mandate to:
- map current national practices in view of proposing improvements to the regulatory and administrative framework for mobility;
- propose means to include mobility in the professional training curricula at national and Community levels;
- ensure the collection of and access to information on the provisions for mobility in Europe;
- strengthen support mechanisms for mobility at regional, national and Community levels.
In parallel, the Commission will carry out a study on the mobility of cultural workers in Europe. Providing a typology of existing mobility schemes, this study will make recommendations for strengthening mobility support mechanisms at EU level, as appropriate. In addition, the Commission will carry out a feasibility study for the creation of a comprehensive European level system of information on mobility in the cultural field.
Priority 2: Promoting access to culture, in particular through the promotion of cultural heritage, multilingualism, digitisation, cultural tourism, synergies with education, especially art education, and greater mobility of collections
Two working groups are set up by Member States under this priority. A working group on mobility of collections and activities of museums will be tasked to:
- propose incentive mechanisms for the mobility of collections;
- research ways in which persisting barriers to the mobility of collections could be abolished;
- compare national legislations relating to museums in view of enhancing access to culture;
- exchange best practices with regard to protecting collections against criminal acts (i.e. theft, illicit trafficking) and promoting access to museums.
A working group on promoting synergies between culture and education is set up. Its focus will be on policy work, in particular concerning the implementation of the key competence 'cultural awareness and expression' and the exchange of best practices with regard to the promotion of arts and cultural education (formal, non-formal or informal).
Ongoing work will continue on digitisation, online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation. The objective is to set up a European digital library , which would provide a single, multilingual point of access to the collections of Member States' libraries, archives and museums.
On multilingualism, the initiatives include a Communication on a European strategy for multilingualism and a study on the contribution multilingualism may make to creativity, which will provide input to the debate on the European Year of Creativity 2009.
With regard to intercultural dialogue, the objective is to continue with the implementation of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 and a follow-up to the Year as part of a sustainable strategy to intercultural dialogue, including the development of a cross-sectoral approach to intercultural competences.
In the framework of sustainable and competitive European tourism, the Member States are to realise multilateral projects in the field of cultural tourism to promote cultural heritage.
The Commission will conduct a study on young people's access to culture with the aim of determining obstacles and identifying best practices for facilitating access of youth to culture.
Priority 3: Developing data, statistics and methodologies in the cultural sector and improving their comparability
Eurostat will re-launch the activities of the statistical working group on culture.
Priority 4: Maximising the potential of cultural and creative industries, in particular that of SMEs
A working group is set up by the Member States, with the mandate to:
- identify national strategies and measures used to create a favourable environment for creative and cultural industries;
- address training needs of cultural professionals;
- study the impact of cultural and creative industries on local and regional development;
- study the impact of measures and instruments used for capacity building and entrepreneurship;
- suggest Community-level means for the furthering of the sector.
In parallel, the Commission will conduct studies on: (i) the effect of culture on creativity and innovation, (ii) the entrepreneurial dimension of cultural and creative industries, in particular SMEs, and (iii) the socio-economic impact of culture on the local and regional level. In addition, the Commission will produce a Green Paper on cultural and creative industries to spur debate on the potential and future of the sector.
Priority 5: Promoting and implementing the Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression
Implementation of the Unesco Convention will continue through coordinated EU positions and mainstreaming of the objectives of the Convention in policies at national and Community level (inter-service group on culture). Member States and the Commission will also continue to systematically promote the ratification of the Convention and its objectives in their relations with third countries. In addition, an exchange of views on experiences with cultural cooperation with third countries will be pursued through meetings of senior government officials in the field of culture.
Resolution of the Council of 16 November 2007 on a European Agenda for Culture [Official Journal C 287 of 29.11.2007].
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 10 May 2007 on a European agenda for culture in a globalizing world [COM(2007) 242 final – Not published in the Official Journal].
Last updated: 25.07.2008


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Nicole Scherzinger: Pretty Little Pussycat
Singer, Nicole Scherzinger has one of the tightest bodies in the business. She started dropping jaws as the lead singer of The Pussycat Dolls and will continue to make guys drool replacing Cheryl Cole as a judge on The X Factor. Nicole's dancer's body is one of the reasons the thirty-two year old singer won the 2010 season of Dancing With the Stars. After checking out her gallery below, we can answer the question that Nicole posed to us in her Pussy Cat Doll's song with certainty. Yes, we do wish our girlfriends where hot like you. You can follow Nicole Scherzinger on Twitter, and check out her photos below:


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PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Planners are envisioning a sleeker, taller structure to replace the aging Sarah Mildred Long Bridge between New Hampshire and Maine.
The Portsmouth Herald reports stakeholders want to keep the name for the $160 million project. They met Thursday to discuss plans, including three different proposed designs for the four bridge towers to give the structure a more modern look.
Work is expected to begin on the new bridge by fall 2014, and be finished in 2017.
The 73-year-old bridge connecting Portsmouth to Kittery, Maine, was shut down for a few days earlier this year after its center span got stuck during a routine test. It was shut down for several weeks after the tanker accident.


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When Windows XP finds that there are new Windows updates and it starts downloding and installing them, I get continously alerts like that. Windows Service Pack Setup is trying to modify an existing driver or service: SENS. Application update.exe" Thery are many diffrent similar Alerts like this. I looked in the ZA options "alerts" but I dont know which alert/event is this to
uncheck it so that I dont get that alerts.
Can someone help me?
Operating System:
Windows XP Pro
Product Name:
ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite
Software Version:
Message Edited by cska on 01-03-200703:26 PM
Operating System:Windows XP Pro
Product Name:ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite
Software Version:6.5


text: Are the key German tennis players all underachievers? Just looking at the names: Boris Becker- 6 slams is an amazing career, but when he burst on the scene winning those Wimbledons so early I think everyone expected he would do even more. Michael Stich- 1 slam. He seems like a huge underachiever given his talent. He could play well on every surface, he made a major final or won a major title on all surfaces including clay (96 French Open finalist) and carpet (93 ATP World Championship winner over Sampras). Anke Huber- Generally regarded an underachiever, was expected to be a future slam winner in her youth. Tommy Haas and Nicholas Kiefer- Major underachievers. Kohde Kilsh, Hanika, and Bunge- it seems the general consensus is people were expecting each to last a bit longer near the top and do a bit more than they did. Is there any noteable German player who wasnt an underachiever.


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Celebrating 50 Years of Norwalk!
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 28 March 2013 09:04
It's our 50th anniversary and we're celebrating in true Bader fashion at this year's Auto Plus Night Under Fire, presented by Kelly's Services, complete with Pyro, Fuel, and Fire!
One of the traditions that have become just as popular as the Fuel Funny Cars, Jets and the Bader Family Signature Fireworks is our John Force/Bader Family Die-cast program.
This year's die-cast commemorates our golden anniversary (1963-2013) and is the 11th car in the John Force/Bader Family Series of Die-casts. This "must have" 50th Anniversary car is decorated with a premium gold finish to signify our 50th anniversary! The National Flag and our red, white and blue team colors complete with stars and stripes are included to exemplify our patriotism and pride for this great Country! Our special 50th anniversary logo completes the theme of the car.
Only 1,500-1/24th scale Liquid Gold Premium Finish cars will be produced, each selling for $100 plus shipping.
For the serious John Force collector, we're offering fifty (50) White Gold Premium Finish 1/24th scale cars for $500/each plus shipping. These very special limited-edition cars will also include the following extras:
- Certificate of Authenticity!
- John Force Autographed Picture!
- Special "Meet & Greet" during the 50th Anniversary Celebration Night Under Fire with John Force!
- Special Commemorative Cloisonné Pin, 50th Anniversary Night Under Fire T-Shirt and More...!
The 50th Anniversary Car is on sale NOW! Cars can be picked up on-site August 10, 2013 during the Auto Plus Night Under Fire or will be mailed after the show. To order this car, please call the office at 419-668-5555 Monday through Friday during business hours.


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Podcast: Is U.S. Soccer Boise State?
On the latest Sports Retort, as the World Cup draw approaches, is it fair to equate the U.S. men's soccer team with Boise State football? Or is that unfair to the Broncos, who arguably have won more big games? We break down the four World Cup pots, and the relatively few rosy scenarios that lead to the Yanks ending up in a friendly group in Brazil. Jim Chairusmi suggests an innovative way to make group selection more entertaining. (Hint: It involves a snake draft.)
Plus: How does one Jets fan who feels he's been wronged tie his situation to "Cape Fear"? What happened to the swaggering sports prognosticator in the booth who couldn't go five minutes without proclaiming, "I'm an expert"? If Florida State players appeared to take the time to play Hangman during a league win last weekend, which game will the Seminoles entertain themselves with during the second half of their date with Idaho? Also, our weekly NFL upset and college picks, with a debate about whether it's time to stop picking the Big Ten so much.


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Mostly Cloudy
(CNN) -- (CNN) -- Christians tweet from the heart, atheists from the head, according to a new study.
The study conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign tapped Twitter as a research tool and compared the messages of Christians and atheists.
The conclusion: When they are limited to 140 characters or less, these researchers say, believers are happier than their counterparts.
Two doctoral students in social psychology and an adviser analyzed the casual language of nearly 2 million tweets from more than 16,000 active users to come up with their findings, which were published in Social Psychological and Personality Science.
The team identified subjects by finding Twitter users who followed the feeds of five prominent public figures. In the case of Christians, those select five were Pope Benedict XVI, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, conservative political commentator Dinesh D'Souza and Joyce Meyer, an evangelical author and speaker.
In the case of atheists, the five followed feeds included Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Monica Salcedo and Michael Shermer - the latter two respectively being a self-described "fiercely outspoken atheist" blogger, and a science writer who founded The Skeptics Society.
With the help of a text analysis program, the researchers found that Christians tweet with higher frequency words reflecting positive emotions, social relationships and an intuitive style of thinking -- the sort that's gut-driven.
This isn't to say that atheists don't use these words, too, but they out-tweet Christians when it comes to analytic words and words associated with negative emotions.
Christians, they found, are more likely to use words like "love," "happy" and "great"; "family," "friend" and "team."
Atheists win when it comes to using words like "bad," "wrong," and "awful" or "think," "reason" and "question," said Ryan Ritter, one of the students behind the study.
While not perfect -- for example, this sort of word examination can't account for sarcasm -- word choices, Ritter and his colleagues argue, reflect something about a person's mindset.
An analytical thinker (atheist) is more likely to be skeptical or critical, for example, whereas an intuitive thinker (Christian) is guided by emotion and certainty.
Based on previous studies cited by these researchers, analytical thinking may "diminish the capacity for optimism and positive self-illusions that typify good mental health."
Likewise, mentions of social connections, which they say are often provided in a "tight-knit moral community," suggest stronger relationships among Christian tweeters and are, they add, often an indicator of happiness.
The takeaway, Ritter wrote in an e-mail, is "not that religion is associated with more happiness, per se, but why?"
"If we can understand the factors that facilitate happiness (e.g., increased social support), ideally we can use these insights to increase well-being for believers and nonbelievers alike," Ritter said.
But the Twitter study doesn't fly with everyone.
After reading an article about the study on Pacific Standard magazine's website, Richard Wade, an advice columnist for the blog Friendly Atheist, called it "useless and misleading" and based on "sloppy research."
He wrote, "The take away for most lay people is 'Atheists are unhappy people.' ... How do you quantify 'happiness'? How do you quantify 'analytical thinking'?"
"Even in their acknowledgments about the possible biases in their study, the authors still use absurd and meaningless terms like 'militant atheist,'" he added. "This study suffers from the same negative stereotypes about atheists that most of society has, and it has simply reinforced that prejudice with more muddled thinking."
Ritter, who happens to describe himself as a happy atheist, said in hindsight he wishes they hadn't used the word "militant" and that no ill will was intended. They simply wanted to describe those who have "extremely negative attitudes" when it comes to religion.
"I am a friend of the atheists! My response to Richard would be that he should apply the 'principle of charity' when interpreting other's research (i.e., that it's possible we're NOT incompetent," he wrote in an e-mail.
"This is not an assumption; this is the pattern we observed in the data."
™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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OCEAN CITY — Newly opened Bluewater Paddleboard is letting water enthusiasts in West Ocean City experience Herring Creek in a unique way — standing up.
"You have a bird's eye view," said Bluewater co-owner Wendy Nash.
Along with husband Todd, Wendy Nash has been operating Bluewater on Herring Creek, off eastbound Route 50 in the Ocean Plaza, since June 15. The company specializes in paddleboard tours and rentals and is planning on expanding what people can do in the water over the next couple of months.
"We want to keep it diverse so it doesn't get boring," said Todd Nash.
For the uninitiated, a paddleboard is similar in design and construction to a common surfboard. However, paddle boards are wider and built for stability, with the models Bluewater uses clocking in at 31 inches wide and 12 feet long. Even with all of that size, most paddle boards only weigh about 30 pounds.
The stability of the board coupled with the use of a paddle means paddle boarding is incredibly easy to pick up for beginners, according to Todd Nash.
"It's a nice, entry level thing," he said. "It's something to do with the girlfriend if the girlfriend doesn't surf."
Wendy Nash agreed and revealed that before she got her first board (a gift from Todd) four years ago, she didn't have surfing experience. But the paddle board was intuitive and addictive, she explained.
"When Todd got me the board, it was very liberating," said Wendy Nash.
Todd Nash, who did jump into paddle boarding with prior surfing experience, noted that the sport isn't just for beginners.
"We're trying to create a movement," he said of paddle boarding, which he likened more to kayaking than surfing, though much less restrictive and more comfortable.
Even for someone well-versed in watersports, Todd Nash promised that paddle boarding can still be a tough workout and a challenging activity.
The fitness aspect is something others are noticing as well, said Wendy Nash, with health trainers including paddle boarding in lessons or incorporating the boards and the water around established workout routines. There's also the option for more intensive tours in the future, which she called "excursions," that would likely include all day paddling on the creek.
Currently, though, the most common option that Wendy Nash said people are looking for, especially beginners, is a simple hour paddle.
"It's a perfect little trip … an hour is perfect for a first-timer," she said.
Besides providing a workout and a chance to get out on the water, boarding through Herring Creek allows paddlers to experience a significant dose of Eastern Shore natural life.
"There are eagles that we always see down there," said Wendy Nash.
Beyond the basic tours, the couple confirmed they hope to build their business by working with others in the community. Todd Nash mentioned upcoming "Growl at the Moon," full-moon paddle tours that will tie-in with offers from Burley Oak Brewery in Berlin on Aug. 2 and Aug. 31. The paddle will involve glow sticks at dusk as well as drinks after dark at Burley Oak.
He also remarked on a working with community organizations for water activities.
"We're doing a kid's scavenger hunt with the Boy Scouts," said Todd Nash.
Wendy Nash spoke about the potential for more nature efforts, including birding tours and a desire to expand services by adding watercraft into the mix.
"I love the creek, but eventually I'd like to get a boat involved," she said.
Todd Nash asserted that paddle boarding as a sport and water recreation is only set to grow, both in Maryland and nationwide.
"I feel that, eventually, it will become main stream," he said.
While the activity continues to evolve, Todd Nash said that Bluewater hopes to work with and alongside other paddle board locations on the Eastern Shore and is certain that there will be more than enough business to go around.
Bluewater is open seven days a week for the remainder of the summer, though Todd and Wendy Nash suggest calling ahead of time before visiting to guarantee hours and board availability. She added that Bluewater is willing to deliver and pick up boards for those looking to rent longer term.
"We'll meet you anywhere, anytime," she said.
For more information on Bluewater Paddle Board, call 410-603-9502 or visit www.bluewaterpaddleboard.com


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Update: 7:00 a.m.: Parts of Snohomish County woke up to a dusting of snow Tuesday morning, but not enough to cause trouble on the roads. Most local schools were on regular schedules. (Check yours at schoolreport.org.)
A winter weather advisory remains in effect for the Puget Sound region until noon today.
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EVERETT — People could wake up Tuesday morning to as much as three inches of snow on the ground in Everett and other towns around Snohomish County, according to the National Weather Service.
A weather system was expected to hit the Northwest on Monday night, bringing hit-and-miss snowfall, said Art Gaebel, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Seattle.
"Precipitation that falls late this evening through Tuesday morning will most likely be in the form of snow," according to an advisory issued by the weather service Monday.
How much snow falls depends partly on the strength of an anticipated convergence zone, Gaebel said. This weather condition, in which air moving up through Puget Sound meets air currents traveling down the Strait of Juan de Fuca, typically sets up over Snohomish County and produces rain or snow.
The higher the elevation, the greater the chance of snow and the greater the amount, Gaebel said.
Still, "one block could get a bunch and the next block could get nothing," he said.
If snow does come, how long it sticks around will depend on how much falls, Gaebel said. A high temperature of 38 degrees is forecast for Tuesday in Everett.
A similar scenario is forecast for Wednesday. Neither episode is expected to be a large snow dump that blankets the area, Gaebel said.
Shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, what was initially believed to be a hailstorm hit south Everett and started depositing ice along I-5, said Greg Phipps, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
"One of our engineers said it's actually graupel," he said, referring to wet snow pellets common to Western Washington.
Traffic was snarled in both directions in south Everett.
"There've been some stalls. The offramp to 41st, people have been taking it slowly, to say the least," Phipps said. "Some people have been sliding around a little bit."
A storm that came in late Sunday dropped 16 inches of snow on Stevens Pass, according to the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center.
Three minor one-car accidents had occurred as of early Monday afternoon on the pass, said Trooper Mark Francis of the State Patrol. Six other cars and trucks were disabled, presumably from having slipped off the road, he said.
The strong winds that contributed to some power outages in north Snohomish County early Monday are expected to die down, according to weather forecasts.
Roughly 1,000 homes were without power Monday morning, according to the Snohomish County PUD. Areas affected included Lake Goodwin, north Camano Island and Getchell Road near Marysville.
Some minor flooding was reported on the north end of Camano Island, but no major issues.
High tides mixed with heavy rains caused problems in the Davis Slough area between Camano Island and Stanwood on Monday morning.
A breached dike caused flooding on farmland north of Highway 532 and threatened to run over the highway on the west side of the bridge. Stanwood City Administrator Deborah Knight said officials were keeping an eye on the water.
No major flooding is expected for the next couple of days, said Gaebel of the weather service.
The transportation department provides several ways for drivers to check the latest conditions. Winter weather tips are located at www.wsdot.wa.gov/winter; traffic alerts at www.wsdot.com/traffic/trafficalerts, and the transportation department's Twitter feed is at twitter.com/wsdot_traffic.
Herald reporters Rikki King and Gale Fiege contributed to this story.
Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; email@example.com.


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ORLANDO, Fla. - This week's ClickOrlando.com High School Game of the Week was the Braves from Boone traveling to district foe Freedom.
Boone scored on their first drive. Quarterback Calvin Smith called his own number and scampered for the 30-yard touchdown, putting the Braves up 7-0 early.
Freedom would respond on their first possession. Quarterback Jimmy Kealy hooked up with his tight end Luke Fielder, but Fielder would get stripped on the 5 yard line. Luckily, Jonathan Boone was there to take the fumble an extra 5 yards, tying the game at 7 going into the 2nd quarter.
The Patriots kept the passing game going throughout the 2nd quarter. Kealy tossed a 25-yard touchdown to wide out Jonathan Boone and after the extra point, Freedom was up 14-7.
After a 1-yard touchdown run by Smith, it was Braves running back Darnell Burton's turn to show what he can do with the ball. Burton took the rock 32 yards to pay dirt, putting the Braves on top 21-14.
But Kealy drove his Patriot offense down the field their next drive, tying the game up at 21 with a 1-yard touchdown run.
After another Brave touchdown that gave them a 7 point lead in the 4th quarter, Kealy and Boone hooked up for their second touchdown of the night, but Freedom did not convert the 2-point conversion.
Boone would go on to milk the clock and get their first win of the season topping Freedom 28-27.
Make sure you vote for next week's ClickOrlando.com High School Game of the Week. Voting ends at 3 p.m. on Thursday.
Copyright 2013 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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By Mike Monroe
Point guard Tony Parker had led the Spurs to a 22-point lead in the third quarter of Tuesday's 120-111 victory over the Thunder in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals at the AT&T Center. But when crunch time threatened to flatten the lead, Parker found familiar help.
As he had when he scored 11 points in a decisive fourth quarter in Game 1, Manu Ginobili came off the bench to score 10 of his 20 points when the Spurs needed them most.
Entering the game with 8:10 remaining and the Thunder having sliced 14 points from the 22-point margin, Ginobili's first basket of the fourth was a piece of creative genius born of necessity.
Finding his path from the 3-point line to the basket blocked by Oklahoma City's 6-foot-10 Kevin Durant, Ginobili darted to his left, faded back to the point it appeared he was falling down and flipped up a one-handed shot an instant before touching down for what would have been a traveling violation.
It was a momentum-turning moment that re-established a double-digit lead and gave the Spurs just enough confidence to get to the finish with their 20th consecutive victory.
"I just tried to attack the rim, and I found Durant with his 6-10 length and long arms, so I just tried to avoid him," Ginobili said. "I jumped to my left, and I let it go right before I touched the floor, but it wasn't really a good shot. But I had no options because with his length, it is really hard to shoot over him."
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich again had Ginobili and Parker on the floor down the stretch, a combination of go-to players able to make choices difficult for the Thunder.
"He and Tony do a great job of that," Popovich said. "You can get tired working as hard as they do, and taking turns with it seems to work pretty well. There are times when they realize who should have the ball. I don't really tell them. They figure it out.
"They've been here a long time, and their decisions are usually better than what I'm going to tell them to do. So Tony carried it for a while, and Manu carried it for a while. But I think everybody spread the floor well, and they executed."
Ginobili made 3 of 6 shots, including a 3-pointer, and 3 of 4 free throws in the final period. He understood how important it was not to allow the Thunder to take the confidence they seemed to be gathering from their comeback all the way back to Oklahoma City with a victory.
"They played a great fourth quarter," he said. "They started to attack, attack, attack; put your head down and just try to draw fouls, and it worked for them in that fourth quarter. They were everywhere.
"I don't know if we got a little tired or stopped playing a little bit, but they were successful with what they wanted in the fourth. We just happened to make a couple tough shots that gave us a little fresh air."
Western Conference finals
(Spurs lead best-of-7 series 2-0)
Game 1: @Spurs 101, Thunder 98
Game 2: @Spurs 120, Thunder 111
Game 3: Thursday – Spurs @ Thunder, 8:00 p.m. TNT
Game 4: Saturday – Spurs @ Thunder, 7:30 p.m. TNT
*Game 5: Monday – Spurs vs. Thunder, 8:00 p.m. TNT
*Game 6: Wednesday June 6 – Spurs @ Thunder, 8:00 p.m. TNT
*Game 7: Friday June 8 – Spurs vs. Thunder, 8:00 p.m. TNT
– All times Central
*If necessary


text: Re: "Darmok" vs "Trials and Tribble-ations" better Trek trib I myself also liked Balance more than City, mainly because I have trouble believing Kirk would fall that much in love with someone in a few days to the point he'd damn the rest of the universe for her. Also, the original idea of him not doing anything would've destroyed his character in light of everything he did up to and after that episode. As for TNG and goofiness, Patrick Stewart himself, being a "Red Dwarf" fan, did wish that TNG had been willing to do genuine comedic stuff. Though "I am not a merry man" and the whole "prune juice, a warrior's drink" were great.


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For the past eight years, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity have unsuccessfully tried to adopt a protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) – an agreement that would secure fair, globally-regulated access to the earth's genetic diversity and equitable sharing of the benefits it offers us.
Genetic diversity held in plants, animals and microorganisms offers us innumerable benefits not least in the form of food, medicines and cosmetics. Accessing it and sharing in a fair way is one of the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Achieving this objective has been so complex and controversial that it has become the 'ugly duckling' of the Convention.The issue also turned out to be the 'ugly duckling' of the biodiversity summit in Nagoya. Negotiations on the protocol kept everyone in suspense till the very end of the meeting, with fierce debates between the providers of genetic resources – mostly biodiversity-rich, but financially-poor countries - and their users – the developed countries which host the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies and research institutions. This jeopardized the adoption of other issues discussed in Nagoya, as certain countries threatened blocking the negotiations unless sufficient progress was made on ABS. It was not surprising then to see an enthusiastic round of applause from the delegates once the protocol was finally adopted, in the early hours of the meeting's last day.
Although it has been criticized for its ambiguity and avoidance of many contentious elements, the Nagoya ABS Protocol was seen as a major success of the conference. It provides a useful framework to regulate access and benefit sharing of genetic resources both on a national and international level.
Sonia Peña Moreno, IUCN's Biodiversity Policy Officer explains what this means in practice:


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Mid-Atlantic FCU Awards $5,000 in Entrepreneur Competition for Women
Lisa Daly impressed everyone so much with the development of a sensory device for people with autism that she is on her way to starting a new business.
Daly was the first place winner of the Rockville Economic Development's annual StartRight! business plan competition. Now in its ninth year, the contest aims to foster women in business by investing in female entrepreneurs to pitch a detailed business plan, which are then put in the running for $20,000 in prize money.
Founder of Sensory Shield LLC in North Bethesda, Md., Daly designed a device for people who are highly sensitive to touch or have difficulty processing information from their senses. According to Daly, who said she is autistic herself, it is a condition common in people with autism.
The $268 million Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union in Germantown, Md., recently presented Daly with a $5,000 check for winning the StartRight! competition.
She said she will use the money to help further the development of an apparatus that creates a physical barrier between two people when seated in a crowded location as well as to continue her business.
All of the StartRight! winners were honored at REDI's recent Women Business Center Power Conference in at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel in Bethesda.
Based in Rockville, Md., REDI is a public-private partnership formed in 1997 to strengthen and broaden the city's economic base through business recruitment, retention, and expansion programs, according to the organization's website.
This is the second year that Mid-Atlantic FCU has supported the StartRight! competition, said Michael Richardson, vice president of community relations.


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The Assignment:
The assignment was to test out Bell Curves revolutionary test preparation techniques and evaluate how up-to-date our question pool is. While taking the GMAT he was required to answer incorrectly a portion of the quantitative section and guess blindly on a portion of the verbal section.
The Reporter: Ajani (Yanni) Burrell, Bell Curves teacher and developer
Current residence: Munich, Germany
Yanni now lives in Germany where he attends Ludwig Maximilians Universitaet in Munich and studies for a Master's Degree in Comparative Literature. He has worked in test preparation for the past 5 years, of which the last year has been as materials developer and teacher for Bell Curves.
The Report:
Let's start by saying that waking up at 6:30 a.m. to take a test is not my idea of a good time. However, the opportunity to test out methods and techniques that have the potential to be successfully applied to the test to increase scores makes the whole process bearable (even interesting some might say). I took my test at a location in the European theatre on a beautiful tree-lined thoroughfare in Munich, Germany. As with their cars and their beer (both some of the best in the world I can assure you) the Germans pay strict attention to the rules, the protocol, and the timeline (this is especially true for the beer). So it was with my test administration. As outlined in my registration email, I walked in exactly 30 minutes early (I'm half German so I know about this whole punctuality thing) to sign in. The sign in process was quick, efficient, clear and completely in English, though with a more-than-slightly-detectable German accent. I finished up with the sign in process by 8:05 am and thought to myself I'd like an early morning cigarette before the brutality begins so made a motion for the door. I was swiftly interrupted by the gentleman who signed me in (though in hindsight he wasn't so gentlemanly this time around), whereupon he told me that I couldn't leave the test center until the exam was completed and I had signed out for the last time. I looked him quizzically as though he was speaking German or something (he wasn't, still English) and thought about asking him what happens if a fire breaks out. I didn't, but filed the circumstance way for future reference (that future reference being now). Point being, beware you may not be allowed to leave the test area for a cigarette, drink of water, or any other such business.
In any event, I packed my things up in a locker (yes, I was a little put out by the situation, but such is life) save for my passport and well my passport. The passport is not necessary (unless you're taking the test in India or Bangladesh no comment from me about that, but it is true, even said so in the registration email I got) but you'd need a valid Identification Card from a European Union member state. So, I passed the time intermittently going over my plan of attack and reading the sports section of the day's paper (mostly soccer, no football news NFL or College, yes in German). Eventually I was called in to sign in for the computer I was to use and to take my picture. The woman conducting this business was also not so keen on me, so I kept my jokes to myself and went in and sat down. I donned the orange headphone/ear cover gadgets they use there, which look like what the people who work the runway at most international airports wear, and I got started. Here's how it went.
All jokes aside, the part about the test center is accurate, I couldn't leave. The guy almost didn't let me take my break outside the room because I spent too much time in the room before asking for my break. I got warning when I got back from the bathroom for taking more than five minutes. Guy was a real a****le. A very thorough and anal seemingly redundant, I know a****le.
The First 10:
Six Problem Solving and four Data Sufficiency.
1-4 and 9-10 were PS and 5-8 were DS.
Most of the math throughout the section was straightforward. Not nearly as much Geometry as on the test as I thought. The most common problem type was probably number properties. There were a couple simultaneous equation problems, several exponent problems, probably three geometry problems (one circle, two triangles), one probability, two pattern/sequence, one combination/permutation problem, a few algebra problems. Most of the DS were manageable. The harder/interesting problems came in the Problem solving. There were a couple ratio problems and a few other misc types.
There were about 6 interesting questions.
The first one, was a question almost directly from the Bell Curves workbook (Algebra Exponents and Roots the last one), it involved a something like 58 55 divided another similar expression where the answers also contained numbers with exponents. No so difficult, just interesting.
Second, there was a probability question involving the finding probability of 10 bulbs on a string going out at the same time
Third, also involved numbers with exponents in a fraction, but this time the exponents were the difference of two variables and it was a DS question, anyone who had completed the exponents problems in the Review section should have been well prepared for these questions.
Fourth: PS, geometry, triangles. A quadrilateral with perimeter was given inside a triangle and you were required to find the perimeter of the triangle.
Fifth: Problem Solving, patterns/sequences. The product of 50 fractions was asked for. Again this seemed right out of the Bell Curves GMAT Workbook (Basics Chapter Fractions Walkthroughs last problem). It was also similar to a couple of the problems from the Fractions Homework.
Sixth: PS. Combinations/permutations. A problem about selecting people from different groups and forming a new group. As I have told my students combinations show up at many different levels of difficulty and score levels and do not necessarily indicate how well you are doing.
The test went according to plan I think. The score on the math was a scaled score of 42, which was in the 66th percentile.
The verbal was interesting on the whole.
The First 10:
The first ten were 2 SC's, followed by two RC passages back to back for 7 questions, and then 1 CR. The next RC came in the mid-twenties, and the last RC came in the mid-30′s.
The first RC: Biology about liposomes and new research being done on them to see if they can transport drugs within the body better than traditional methods. The results were initially promising, but the end result is that they may not be able to get the job done.
The second RC: Competitive advantage of certain capitol investment policies and practices. Specifically the capital investment policies of the United States, businesses in particular, put them at a disadvantage. The passage describes how they invest in the States for the short term and for immediate returns and goes on to say how this isn't particularly effective or beneficial.
The third RC: A comparison of new scholarship on the Woman's suffrage movement versus older views on the subject. It was written in such a manner as to be confusing and difficult to extract which view/perspectives were attributed to which party (author, old scholarship, new scholarship).
The fourth RC: A biology passage the immune system.
There were several more Sentence Completions than Critical Reasoning. The sentence completions were particularly tricky in the sense that they were relatively atypical. Most did not fit nicely into one of the six major categories of errors. There were a couple of comparisons, one list, and several verb based questions. The others seemed a bit more obscure.
The CR was also relatively interesting. Most of the CR were either evaluate the argument types (i.e. what would help the best to understand or evaluate the argument) and the fill in the blank at the end of the argument. There was only one each of assumption, weaken and strengthen. Remarkably there were no categorically identifiable inference questions. Strange.
The Verbal didn't go as well as the Math. I think the guessing at the end thing (that was part of my assignment really shot the score in the foot, as it was a scaled score of 20 for the 21 percentile. This means that more of questions early on than were part of the original plan were probably incorrect (probably those atypical SCs as they made up the majority of the non-RC questions in the first 20 questions).
The total score was a 530, which is the 46th percentile.
The Lesson:
What a test-taker should gain from this test is
- The verbal scoring seems to be much less forgiving than the quantitative.
- Be prepared for everything. Any question type may dominate your test, the distribution of topics you see on practice test does not necessarily reflect what you will see on tests day. This is the second test this year we've seen where Assumption-Based questions were in the minority and evaluate questions played a large role.
- Don't believe the hype. This test, which was not the most difficult test based on score, had questions types that are often thought only show up when a test taker is scoring fairly high: Science Reading Comprehension, Probability, and Combinations/Permutations.
Hopefully this sheds additional insight on the administration and content of the GMAT.