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In five years, might the Bitcoin market be little more than a smoking ruin?
That's the dystopian future facing crypto-currency traders, if the current pace of attacks against Bitcoin exchanges and holders continues. Both could see a never-ending onslaught of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), hacking, and malware attacks designed to drain their virtual currency coffers.
But the possibility that Bitcoin might burn is good news for anyone who cares about crypto currencies, as well as the future of our monetary system. In other words, just because one cryptographic currency gets pummeled, the odds are that the next "Satoshi Nakamoto" will build an even better one.
Beyond Bitcoin, which has the world's largest virtual currency market capitalization (nearly $8 billion), there are at least 100 other crypto currencies, ranging from Ripple ($1.4 billion) and Litecoin ($453 million) -- also at the high end -- to Deutsche eMark ($106,000) and Grumpycoin ($88,000) at the low end. Even criminals have begun to diversify into homemade crypto currencies, because they see Bitcoins as being too volatile for storing their ill-gotten gains. Meanwhile, a Lakota Indian named Payu Harris is even promoting a new crypto currency called Mazacoin, which he hopes will provide the Lakota nation with greater independence.
[Can new regulations be a good thing? See Snowden, Bitcoin, Data Breaches Foretell New Regulations.]
When it comes to the prospect of nations minting virtual money, Harris might be on to something. According to former Central Intelligence Agency CTO Gus Hunt, in the future, the dollar could well become a crypto currency. "Government's going to learn from Bitcoin, and all the official government currencies are going to become crypto currencies themselves," he said during a recent panel discussion in San Francisco hosted by information security firm eSentire, for which he sits on the board of advisers.
Eventually, however, Bitcoin itself may be supplanted. "I believe that Bitcoin is going to go the way of Napster: it ended up being a commercially viable idea that infringed upon very, very well-financed [music industry] organizations," said G. Mark Hardy, president of National Security Corporation, speaking at the same panel discussion as Hunt. "[That industry] did rent-seeking, they went to Washington, they got the DMCA [Digital Millennium Copyright Act], and a couple of other pieces of legal action to go ahead and smack down Napster, but then [resurrected] it as a profit-oriented thing called iTunes, which generates billions in revenue for Apple," Hardy said.
From an evolutionary standpoint, what crypto currencies can offer us, as well as how they must be improved to become safer to use, is being highlighted via people's embrace of Bitcoin. "The concept is great, [but] the execution has a couple of things -- the deflationary currency, there's no central bank to be able to regulate the amount of coins that are in there... that would be good to have in there," Hardy said. "As a result... my recommendation -- and this was back when [a] bitcoin was [worth] about 900 bucks -- was to sell-sell-sell because you're going to get the chance to buy-buy-buy something else that's going to offer stability. Right now, you're playing a casino game."
Accordingly, anyone who focuses on Bitcoin as the bellwether for the crypto-currency concept's success is ignoring how business uses of technology typically evolve. "All you've cited is the myth of the first-mover advantage, right?" said Hunt, the former CTO of the CIA. "The real advantage goes to the second-mover: AltaVista, Google; Napster, iTunes."
To use a medical analogy, battlefields -- whether during the Civil War, Vietnam War, or the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- typically produce major advances in emergency medicine and trauma surgery, because the quantity of casualties leads to new innovations. Might not the same be true for Bitcoin and future crypto-currency systems?
"I didn't realize Bitcoin is a land war in Asia," said Dan Kaminsky, chief scientist of White Ops, in response to that question. The expert penetration tester spent four months trying and -- surprisingly, he said -- failing to find exploitable weaknesses in the Bitcoin protocol.
While Kaminsky is neutral on Bitcoin itself, on the innovation front, he said, it's "fascinating technology that can inform a lot of future development," forMathew Schwartz served as the InformationWeek information security reporter from 2010 until mid-2014. View Full Bio


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Some people began to believe that the invincible Egyptian deep state is trying to burn ElBaradei and other reformists in the same way like the Muslim brotherhood. "Of course with the MB it was an easy mission"
Personally I wish Dr. ElBaradei all the luck and success for real because I believe he could be from the people who can break the cycle I spoke about it before.
Now we began to see the final formation of the "crisis" cabinet. Oh yes this is its name now "Crisis" cabinet and God knows it does not face a single crisis but a series of crises.
The cabinet is headed by the liberal economist and co-founder of Egyptian Social Democratic Party PM Hazem El Beblawi. Here are the names and short bios of the 33 ministers. "There problems regarding ministry of justice and ministry of transportation"
- Ziad Bahaa El Din as deputy PM and minister of International Cooperation: A co-founder of the Egyptian Social democratic party. An economist and lawyer. Very respectable man according to those who know him. "Yup it turned out that I got relatives and friends who know him personally"
- Nabil Ismail Fahmy as minister of foreign affairs : The former Egypt ambassador to Washington and founding dean of the school of public affairs in the AUC. He is the son of late minister of foreign affairs Ismail Fahmy. He is a member in the constitution party headed by ElBaradei.It is worth to mention that Dr. ElBaradei was Ismail Fahmy's aide and resigned with him in the mid 1970s. Now to the son I think he was chosen to amend the relations with D.C.
- Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour as minister of industry : The leading member of Al Wafd Party is returning back to cabinet as a minister of industry. The 1945 born former minister of tourism descends from a famous political Coptic Christian family. Abdel Nour is a businessman and he is the founder of the famous Vitrac for Jams company.
- Ahmed Galal as minister of finance : The World bank veteran and economist is chosen from this position after several names. He has been the managing director of the Economic Research Forum (ERF), a research institution covering the Middle East, since 2007. Galal worked in the bank for nearly 18 years in different positions : As industrial economist for Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, as economic advisor at the private sector development department, and finally as adviser on the Middle East and North Africa from 2006 to 2007
- Doria Sharf El Din as minister of information : The political sciences graduate is a famous critic , writer and TV host. Her TV show "Cinema Club" on Ch.1 of the Egyptian National TV continued for decades till it was stopped suddenly in 2009. She headed the arts censorship for some time. She is considered the first woman to hold this position. The revolutionaries in Maspero aka National TV do not welcome her as they accuse her of being a member in the NDP policies committee. Again we got a promise from the Presidency that the ministry of information will be cancelled and Sharf El Din would be her last minister.
- Kamal Abu Eita as minister of manpower : The 1953 born labor activist and icon has at last become the minister of manpower. According to some this is a victory for real for the 25 January revolution. Leftist Nasserite Abu Eita Abu is known for leading the formation of the first independent trade union, the Real Estate Tax Authority Independent General Union, in 2009 after leading the Tax Authority employees' national strike in 2007. A former MP in the 2012 parliament , Abu Eita a member of the Nasserite El Karma Party ran on the Freedom and Justice Party's electoral list. Amazingly Egypt Labor Union is protesting against Abu Eita.
- Hossam Eissa as minister of higher education : The co-founding member of the Constitution Party is a professor of the Constitutional law. He is also appointed as a deputy PM.
- Mohamed Amin Mahdy as minister of transitional justice and national reconciliation: The 1936 born minister of the newly founded ministry used to head the State council and the administrative court. Despite his impressive Wikipedia page and his history , the Judges Club does not approve his nomination to become the minister of Justice.Thus a new ministry came to life. I do not know why El Zend does not like him . Anyhow Mahdy's father was a member in the Old Wafd member. He was a member our legal team in Taba dispute as well and a former judge in the International tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Judge Mahdy was also a member in the first fact finding committee of 25 January revolution.
- Ahmed Emam as minister of electricity : In one of the mysteries of the universe the minister of electricity in the last Hisham Qandil's cabinet continues in his position despite the frequent blackout !!
- Ibrahim Mahlab as minister of housing : The former CEO of Arab contractors. He was a member in the NDP and its police committee. He also was appointed as a MP in the Shura council during the days of Mubarak. After serving as the CEO of Arab Contractors "appointed by Ibrahim Soliman" , he resigned in 2012.
- Ahmed El Borai as minister of social solidarity : The co-founder and leading member of Constitution Party. Dr. ElBorai served as minister of manpower during the first Essam Sharaf's cabinet.
- Hisham Zazou as minister of tourism : The 1954 born minister used to be the minister of tourism in Hisham Kandil cabinet.
- Adel Labib as minister of local development : The 1945 born was the former governor of Al Behaira and Alexandria as well Qena during the time of Mubarak. The former police general became the governor of Qena once again in August 2011 after the protests of the locals demanding him by name and rejecting the Christian governor appointed there. On the other hand Alexandrians do not welcome his appointments.
- Maha Rabat as minister of health : All what we know about Dr. Maha is that she is the head of the public health department in the faculty of medicine , Cairo university. She was nominated by the National Council of Woman. Some activists including Mamdouh Hamza accuse her of working in privatizing public hospitals with the help of the U.S. Aid program during the Mubarak era. Trivial info : She graduated from the faculty of medicine in 1982.
- Laila Iskander as minister of environment : Laila Iskander is renowned figure as social entrepreneur working in environmental development. I think it is one of the best choices n the cabinet.
- Ramzy George as minister of scientific research : Nothing much about except that he was graduated from the faculty of agriculture , Cairo university in 1963.
- Atef Helmy as minister of telecommunications : The former general manager of Oracle Egypt continued in his position as minister of telecommunication. Helmy was graduated from the military technical colleague in 1973 and took a diploma in computer science in 1979. He served in the army from 1973 to 1983 then he left it to work in the civilian telecommunications field and multinational companies till he joined Oracle Egypt in 1996. His CV is quite impressive for real.
- Mohamed Ibrahim as minister of Antiquities : He used to serve as the minister of antiquities in Hisham Qandil's cabinet. Archeologists in Egypt are extremely furious to find him again as minister. The archeologists are angry and are going to have a sit in against him tomorrow.
- Khaled Abdel Aziz as minister of youth : The member of Egypt Party was a former minister of youth before during Essam Sharaf Cabinet. I do no know what the need for this position is except it is something from the 1960s legacy. Egypt Party is founded by famous preacher Amr Khaled by the way. Khaled Talmiah , the member of popular current and famous activist recommended him to PM Beblawi.
- Tarek Abu Ziad as minister of Sports : The famous and popular ex-footballer born in 1962. Abu Ziad was the minister of this unneeded ministry during Essam Sharaf's cabinet. He is a member of Al Wafd Party and ran for parliament in 2010 and lost for the NDP.
- Mahmoud Abou El Nasr as minister of education : The current faculty member of Cairo University's mechanical engineering department was heading the mechanical education in the ministry of education.
- Sherif Ismail as minister of petroleum : He was the Chairman of Ganoub El-Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE)
- Abdel Aziz Fadel as minister of civil aviation : The former Air forces engineer joined Egypt Air in 2003.In 2004 he became the Vice President for Egypt Air.
- Mohamed Abdel Motaleb as minister of irrigation and water sources : Mohamed Abdel Motaleb was the chairman of the National Water Resource center since 2012. According to his profile at the National Water Research Center website Professor Abdel Motaleb has over 25 years of experience in the field of water resources management. The current minister of irrigation and water sources holds a Ph.D. from Colorado State University and is a member in the world water Council.
- Osama Saleh as minister of investment : The 1960 born was a minister of investment in the first Hisham Qandil's cabinet. Before that he was the chairman of chairman of Egypt's General Authority for Free Zones and Investment (GAFI). The graduate of the faculty of commerce ,Cairo University was appointed by former PM Nazif in 2009 as chairman of GAFI.
- Ashraf Al Arabi as minister of planning : Al Arabi was also a minister in the first Hisham Qandil's cabinet in August 2012. El-Arabi received his PhD in the subject from Kansas State University in the United States. From 2006 until the end of 2011 he headed the technical advisory office of the former planning minister, Fayza Abul-Naga.
- Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa as minister of religious affairs : The Sheikh works in the office of the grand Emam of Al Azhar as far as I have read.
- Mohamed Saber Arab as minister of Culture.
- Mohamed Abu Shady as minister of supply : A former police general.
- Ayman Abu Hadid as minister of Agriculture : The former head of the Agriculture researches center was a minister of agriculture in the first Essam Sharaf cabinet after the revolution.
There are 3 women in this cabinet : Doria Sharaf El Din , Laila Iskander and Maha Rabat
There are also there are three Christians : Ramzy George , Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour and Laila Iskander. We got two Wafd party members , two Constitution Party members , two Egyptian Social Democractic party members , One member from Egypt party and one member from El Karma Party.
There are 3 ministers from police : Supply, Local development and interior
I know someone is missing, tomorrow I will check them again
One of the most important demands Egyptians had been begging the Muslim brotherhood for a new cabinet. That demand if it were fulfilled in time , would have changed a lot.

subset: commoncrawl


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agustinvc needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 234 designs submitted by 76 freelance designers.
Impulsa Consultores
This is the second time I launch a project on 99designs, I will try to do my best rating and giving good feedback to all of you.
Impulsa Consultores is a small web agency placed in Spain, with more than 60 clients at the moment.
Youth people who are online buyers and want to have a new experience on their cities getting a good offer with great services.
Look more info on groupon.com and similar sites.
The brand name is "Descuentos Diarios"
Logo has to be shown with dark and light Background and with these variations:
- "Descuentos Diarios"
- "DescuentosDiarios"
- "DescuentosDiarios.com"
We need a logo that goes well on dark and light backgrounds.
The site will be with the same structure and philosophy of Groupon.com but offers only can be available for private members, who can invite other people like their friends.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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1) Script Title: Tip of the day for 365 days
2) Script URL (on DD): http://www.javascriptkit.com/script/...2/tipday.shtml
3) Describe problem: I am not a programmer, but only a web designer; but having the ordinary ability to configure the scripts to suit designs.
Some times before, Ive witnessed a Tip of the day javascript for 365 days revised by a moderator, presumably Mr. Jscheuer1 (thread reference not remembered, but the script enclosed herewith as txt) based on an identical script for 31 days found in url http://www.javascriptkit.com/script/...2/tipday.shtml
But when I structured it with 365 quotes (tips) to display a quote for each day and having tested, it displays only the seven quotes starting from tip No. 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 per day for a whole week without any problem and the same quotes are repeated for the next week and so on.
Therefore I shall be much thankful, if the accuracy of the script is rechecked and modified to suit the latest browsing platforms and to enable me to have it completed in my designs.
Thanking you so much in advance.
Enclosed: (1) Daytip.html (as txt) (2) Daytip.js (as txt)


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ESA and EUMETSAT sign GMES Framework Agreement
ESA and EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, signed on 20 July a Framework Agreement on the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Programme.
The Agreement was signed by EUMETSAT Director General Lars Prahm and ESA Director General Jean-Jacques Dordain.
"This Agreement is a major step in the implementation of the GMES Programme under the overall responsibility of the European Commission. It is based upon two decades of successful cooperation between ESA and EUMETSAT in meteorology and opens up avenues for delivering operational services in new areas such as Environment and Climate Change," Dordain said.
The roles and responsibilities of ESA and the EU with regard to GMES are defined in the Resolution on the European Space Policy of 28 September 2008, approved by the Space Council.
This Resolution states that GMES is a user-driven initiative that must aim to maximise the use of existing space and non-space observation capacities and services in Europe, including EUMETSAT.
In this context ESA's role is that of development and procurement Agency for the dedicated Sentinel GMES missions and coordinator of the overall GMES Space Component, including contributions from Member States and EUMETSAT.
EUMETSAT contributes to GMES core services with data from its satellites and will also contribute with data and products from its future missions. In addition it will operate some elements of the Sentinel satellites, such as the Sentinel-3 marine element.
The Framework Agreement was approved by the ESA Council on 10 June 2009 and by the EUMETSAT Council on 30 June / 1 July.


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- Premier League
AVB might rush Holtby debut
Andre Villas-Boas is considering handing Lewis Holtby a debut at Carrow Road on Wednesday night following his arrival from Schalke, even though he has only had one training session with his new Tottenham team-mates.
The player was due to join Tottenham on a free transfer in the summer but made the switch early for a fee believed to be in the region of €1.5 million after injury ruled out Sandro for the remainder of the season.
"We rate the player very highly and we managed to get him at a good price," Villas-Boas said. "It was always a question how much Schalke wanted for the player. There was a willingness to come early. We had a chance to bring him and we have added him to the squad.
"He is an extremely talented midfield player, used to playing in different positions and is an excellent addition. He has only had one training session, so we will decide wisely if it's appropriate for him to play."
Villas-Boas has confirmed that Defoe will play at Norwich on Wednesday night after he missed Sunday's FA Cup exit, but midfielder Tom Huddlestone will miss the trip to Carrow Road after picking up an injury in training.


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Anyways, we had taken the Express Pass so there wasn't much of a wait. I couldn't imagine standing in a narrow line waiting for tickets/elevator with "a restless 3-yr old whose idea of having fun was feeling up and down the legs of people in the front". LoL. Express Pass gets you to the front of line everywhere. Pricey but totally worth it. For the brief time we had to wait, I came across a screen that was flashing trivia/fun-facts about Empire state building. What caught my eye was its electricity/energy appetite -- The energy consumed to light up Empire State building for an hour equates to the same amount of energy that can light a bulb non-stop for 100 years. My jaw dropped, literally!
Being on the top of NYC felt like being on the top of the world. The narrow space where people were crammed like "cigarette butts in an ashtray" and everyone violating everyone's private space with perfume/perspiration smell and plenty of jostling around to get a better view did not put a dent on the happiness one feels when getting a "bird's eye view" of "The Concrete Jungle".
Black and White Wednesday @ Susan's Spot:: Coffee Mugs on a Shelf. At Empire State Building's Gift Shop. Where else?? ;)
Ingredients(For 6 Servings): For the Big Noodles:
- 2 Cups Finger Millet Flour "Ragi Flour"
- 2 Cups Rice Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 3 Cups "Boiling" Water + more as needed
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 Carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 Roma Tomato, finely chopped
- 3 Hot Green Chilies, vertically slit
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, cut into matchsticks
- 1/4 Cup Frozen/Fresh Green Peas
- 2 Tbsp Frozen/Fresh Grated Coconut
- 1 Tbsp Garam Masala
- 2 Medium Yellow Onion
- 2 Roma Tomato
- 20 Haricot Beans, halved and cut into sticks
- 3 Carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 4-5 Mini Yellow Peppers
- 1/2 Cup Fresh or Frozen Green Peas
- 1/8 Cup Mint, packed (Optional)
- 1/8 Cup Cilantro, packed
- 1 Stalk Curry leaves
- 3 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
- 4 Green Chilies
- 1" Ginger, finely chopped
- Olive Oil For Cooking
- Salt for taste
- Chakli/Murukku Maker (or) Spaghetti Maker
- Add all the ingredients under the "Noodles" in a big wide heat resistant bowl. Using the handle of a wooden spoon keep stirring until clumps are formed.Close the lid and let it sit for 10 minutes. When the clumpy dough is warm enough to handle with hands, give it a good knead to make it glossy and clump free.
- Divide the dough into small oblong portions(just enough to fit into the murukku/chakli mould or spaghetti maker) and squeeze the noodles. I usually squeeze them directly on greased flat plates that can then be steamed for 10 minutes to cook.
- Once they are squeezed out, transfer them to steamer basket or pressure pans and steam the noodles for 10 minutes. If using Indian pressure pan as a steamer basket remove the "cooker weight" and let the steam come out.
- Let the cooked noodles rest on a wide plate undisturbed for 5-10 minutes.
- Separate the strings and snips the noodles as lengthy as one desires.
- Make the ground masala: Start of by sauteing the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, curry leaves, turmeric powder and mint(if using) until the onions are translucent and the tomatoes lose the raw smell.
- Cool the contents before grinding them to a fine and smooth paste.
- In the same pan, add the chopped carrots, beans, peppers and saute them in 2 tbsp of oil until the tips are slightly browned.
- Add the ground masala paste and stir to combine.
- Throw in the frozen or fresh green peas and add salt. Check for taste. Add more salt or spice if needed.
- Transfer the noodles to the pan.
- Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
- Gently mix to combine.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and consume while its still hot with some hot tea. It tastes better that way.
- If you would rather use the Ragi string hoppers Or Rice String hoppers for making this dish the thin strings diminish and disintegrate. For Savory versions its better to use the big fat noodles.
- For the sweet version I prefer the thin strings. Remember this??


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News & Events
For the Media
Clarkson University Research Team to Test Cutting-Edge Eye-Reading Technology
It resembles the plot of a science fiction movie: criminals can conceal their identity by altering their eyes.
A team of Clarkson University researchers is playing a role in outsmarting those criminals by testing and identifying cutting-edge iris recognition technology.
Clarkson's Center of Identification Technology Research (CITeR), a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, is co-hosting the Liveness Detection – Iris Competition this summer.
Clarkson, along with the University of Notre Dame and Warsaw University of Technology, have invited developers of iris recognition technology worldwide to submit their devices for the competition. The researchers will test the effectiveness of each device over the next couple of months and present their findings at the IEEE conference on biometrics this fall.
The purpose of the competition is two-fold, according to Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Stephanie Schuckers, director of CITeR at Clarkson. The competition provides manufacturers of iris recognition technology with third-party validation of their work. It also gives government agencies and private-sector companies interested in purchasing the technology comprehensive data to make informed decisions.
Schuckers is one of America's top experts in biometric computer security. She recently testified before a U.S. House of Representatives Joint Hearing on the Current and Future Applications of Biometric Technologies.
"In this field, we are one of the very few around the world doing this kind of thing," Schuckers said. "We can get a good sense of how effective these emerging technologies are."
Each piece of iris-reading technology will take several hundred pictures of the researchers' eyes. The researchers will try to trick the technology by periodically slipping on patterned contact lenses that alter the eye.
Devices that measure, monitor, and identify humans and human intent are needed for a broad range of commercial and security applications. Biometric verifiers, like a fingerprint, voice, or iris are increasingly securing more and more of the electronic world. CITeR performs research on emerging technologies, interdisciplinary training of scientists and engineers, and technology transfer to the private and government sectors through its affiliates.
"We always try to be a step ahead of the criminal," said David Yambay, a Clarkson graduate student who is working on the project with Schuckers.
Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and health sciences, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.
A photograph for media use is available at http://clarkson.edu/news/photos/iristechnology.jpg
Photo caption: Clarkson University's Center of Identification Technology Research is hosting an iris-reading technology competition this summer. Above, CITER Director and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Stephanie Schuckers with graduate student David Yambay.


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The Sniper
I'm an 1800 player with better things to do than memorize long lines of opening theory - then I discovered the Sniper
and found a way to create unbalanced positions in which the more imaginative player will have the better chances.
I'm just wondering if anyone on this site has played this, and if so - has it improved your results? (And perhaps increased your enjoyment of the game!) Often my opponents are disappointed that I don't transpose into mainline theory and just defer castling for a long time. I first came across a detailed treatment of this opening ("defence" would be a misnomer)
in Charlie Storey's book The Sniper (published by Everyman last year.) It's a good introduction to the ideas underpinning this dynamic system and Raymond Keene recommended it in his column in The Times.
I've heard that there's such a thing as the White Sniper with 1.g3 - does anyone know where I can get any information about this? (Books or DVDs if any exist.)
I'd be interested to hear from other players about their experience with this opening.


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To promote my horror novel, AFRAID, which debuts March 31, I'm appearing on different blogs every single day in March.
Please follow my daily journey, and broaden your blog-reading horizons.
Today I'm visiting my friend, Greg Swanson, at his My Life With Dogs blog. I met Greg years ago while on the Rusty Nail 500 Tour. He's a bookseller at Waldenbooks in Peru, IL.
I like the guy so much, I made him a villain in Fuzzy Navel.
At Greg's place, we talk about JA Konrath vs. Jack Kilborn, being funny, and dead pets. But trust me; you'll love the dead pet talk.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
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Octane Fitness LLC hasn't let the recession stop its growth. Its revenue rose 15 percent in 2010 to $40 million. The company recently moved to a new building to accommodate new staff and its growing research and development efforts.
From 2009 to 2010, Octane Fitness, Brooklyn Park, MN, introduced nine new standing and seated elliptical cross trainers, hired nine new employees and moved to a new building that is double the size of its old building. This year, the company plans to hire seven to nine more employees and introduce six new products.
"Our exclusive focus on ellipticals drives our business," says Dennis Lee, Octane's president and CEO. "And our ability to deliver equipment attributes that people want and products that meet their needs has helped us thrive, despite widespread economic challenges."
Octane was founded in 2001 by Lee and Tim Porth in Lee's basement in suburban Minneapolis. The company now has 44 employees in the United States, seven international staff members, an office in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary in The Netherlands.
Initially, Lee and Porth focused mostly on the home equipment market but began adding commercial equipment later. As consumer sales began decreasing due to the recession, Lee and Porth, who is executive vice president of product development and marketing, accelerated their plans for growth in the commercial and international markets. Those markets accounted for 35 percent of Octane's revenue last year. Part of that growth came when Snap Fitness and Gold's Gym added Octane as a preferred vendor for their franchisees.
Some of the company's best-selling products are its Cross Circuit model, which allows users to do strength training along with cardio. This product was introduced at the Club Industry show last year. The xRide seated elliptical also is popular.
Despite Octane's growth, it still hasn't hit the same level as some of the larger commercial equipment manufacturers. Precor had 2010 sales of $276.7 million. Life Fitness had 2010 sales of $541.9 million. However, the increases for both these companies (6 percent and 9 percent, respectively) were less than Octane's 15 percent growth in 2010.


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The show of force by the Ravens defense on Sunday night was remarkable in its own right, but there was a greater perspective with which to glimpse the 34-17 demolition of the Jets.
History tells us the 2000 Ravens throttled teams every week with their unique brand of defensive mayhem en route to the NFL's 16-game record for fewest points allowed (165). That defense may well have been the best in NFL history.
This Ravens team likely won't challenge the Super Bowl champion's points record. But it already is showing that it has the same kind of flare for winning games.
It follows the theory of diminishing returns. First the Ravens stone the opponent's run game. Then they harass and sack the quarterback. Then they collect the spoils, which usually translate to turnovers and touchdowns. Along the way, the Ravens drained the opponent's will.
Four return touchdowns in four games is phenomenal. Three off fumbles is frightening (ask quarterbacks like Sam Bradford and Mark Sanchez).
The 2000 Ravens had three return touchdowns in the regular season and four in the postseason. The total of seven is a figure that might be matched or exceeded by this year's team.
Another common denominator: this defense is hungry, just like Ray Lewis, Rod Woodson, Peter Boulware, Rob Burnett and Tony Siragusa were in 2000.
Ed Reed has been a Pro Bowl safety here for 10 years, but he hasn't gotten to the Super Bowl in what will be a Hall of Fame career. Neither has Terrell Suggs or Jarret Johnson in their nine seasons. Those guys know time is running out. They know this is probably the best chance they'll get. They know the Ravens are that good this year.
And they know their history.
"When we talk about the Ravens defense and the history we have," Johnson said on Monday, "it all started with those guys. They set the bar, and they set it as high as you can set it. We're trying to match that … we're trying to beat that. It's tough to do. They had a lot of really good veteran players. They had some extremely physical guys and they had a great scheme to go along with it. You know, you never set out to match anybody. You want to be your own self, but you know, if we play anywhere near those guys, we're going to be a good defense."
History waits.


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Working mothers should be celebrated every day, all year around, but on Mother's Day they deserve a little something extra. Here are 10 ideas for something to give the working mom in your life:
1.) Keep it healthy. Instead of chocolates and gooey treats, consider a bright and beautiful basket of carved fruit from Edible Arrangements. Can't do without a little chocolate? The Berry Chocolate bouquet features chocolate-dipped strawberries, which are always a treat.
2.) Custom-made perfume. Stock up on a new scent, or design one especially for her.
3.) Motherhood jewelry that's sleek, not saccharine. Linda over at Milk and Cookies has some great suggestions for elegant jewelry for moms, and Red Envelope offers a wide selection at a variety of price points. (And you don't have to get her a necklace, you know; take a look at these cool stackable pearl-and-silver rings or check out the birthstone brooches and bracelets, too.
4.) Amazing frames. Set her up with snapshots for the office by slipping them into a set of gorgeous frames, like ones made from slices of agate, available at Uncommon Goods.
5.) A Supermom action figure. Let her know that she has the power to save your day, every day.
6.) A great book (or the means with which to get one). Combine two of her biggest wishes by giving her a gift certificate to her favorite bookstore and the time in which to shop -- alone.
7.) A great book (of your children's artwork). Artimus Art makes it easy to create a coffee-table quality book of your kid's coolest creations -- they send you a pre-paid box for the art, you load it up and send it back to them, and soon you have a hardcover book in your hands.
8.) A day at the spa. This turned out to be the working mothers' number one choice for a perfect mother's day gift. Find a spa near you and get her a gift certificate. Then, make her actually use it.
9.) Something fun and funky, like a cool scarf or caplet from Silvia66. If your working mom works from home, she'll appreciate the fact that you shopped at Etsy and supported other mothers like her.


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for Bski Magazine Issue #2
for Selfcontrol Magazine
How to navigatethrough my shootings
You can use your arrow keys to navigate through my shootings/pages.
Use the left arrow key to go to the previous shooting. Or just jump to the next by using the right arrow key. With the upper arrow key you can go a back to the category overview. Easy peasy.


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China is moving ahead to develop a sixth-generation stealth fighter after it finishes the fifth-generation J-20 and J-31, Igor Korotchenko, head of the Centre for Analysis of World Arms Trade, has told the Moscow-based Voice of Russia.
The United States is the first nation to forge plans for the design of a sixth-generation fighter. Several artist renditions have already been revealed by Lockheed Martin and Boeing. In an official statement, the US Navy claimed that a sixth-generation fighter — called FAXX — will replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler by 2030. A source from the US military said that the Department of Defense has already prepared a budget for the development of FAXX in 2015.
Russia has recently gotten on board with its own next generation fighter program, said Andrei Grigoryev, the head of the Foundation for Advanced Military Research. The real "secondnd place," however, has to go to China in the race, said Korotchenko. A research team was established in northeastern China's Shenyang much earlier than Russia for the country's 6th-gen program.
China is the only nation capable of designing two types of fifth-generation fighters in such a short period of time. With experience gained from the development of the J-20 and J-31, China has enough resources to carry out its next-gen program. China's next fighter is likely to be an unmanned aerial vehicle, said Korotchenko.
While the definition of "sixth-generation" is not clear yet, most believe such an aircraft must be equipped with a laser or railgun.


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The 2011-12 season was the team's best in over a decade. Will 2012-13 see the team improve upon it or fall back to the disappointing levels of previous seasons?
The Hitchcock Effect
Ken Hitchcock – who won the Jack Adams Award as the league's best coach last season – made an immediate difference in St. Louis. After a 6-7-0 start under Davis Payne, the Blues went 43-15-11 the rest of the way and ultimately made it to the second round of the playoffs.
Hitchcock is a superb coach, with a Stanley Cup ring and more than 1000 NHL games under his belt. There's little doubt that his abilities were a major asset to St. Louis last season. With that said, he's not made of magic, and he did benefit from some things (such as a hot run from goaltender Brian Elliott) that were outside his control. His system does seem to make goaltenders better, but not as good as the Blues' duo was last season.
Even so, the Blues can feel confident that their head coach compares well with virtually any in the game.
Photo: Johnmaxamena2/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0
Despite the lack of high-end, marquee talent, the Blues' forward corps is both deep and capable.
It starts with the top line of David Backes, T.J. Oshie and (usually) David Perron. That trio took on the thankless job of playing against the best opposition while also taking on the lion's share of defensive zone assignments, and they excelled. Despite Oshie and Backes topping out at 54 points the duo finished a combined plus-30 and did solid work as the team's top line.
A strong two-way line like that needs offensive support, and the Blues have a few options. The most important one is probably Andy McDonald, who was scoring at a point-per-game pace and led the team if playoff points; unfortunately he appeared in just 25 regular season games. If he's healthy, the Blues' offence gets a big boost. A pair of first round picks are also expected to have an immediate impact: Vladimir Tarasenko was a near point-per-game player in the KHL last year while Jaden Schwartz scored twice in a seven-game late-season cameo with the Blues.
The rest of the group is just as capable. Patrik Berglund (52 points in 2010-11), Chris Stewart (56 goals over the two seasons prior to 2011-12), Alex Steen (plus-24 in just 43 games), Jamie Langenbrunner (1105 career games, 61 points as recently as 2009-10) and Vladimir Sobotka give the team a core most clubs would be envious of.
Photo: Jaime4Jesus/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0
There probably isn't another team in the league that gets the same bang for buck out of its blue line as the St. Louis Blues.
The quartet of Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk, Barret Jackman and Roman Polak played a total of nearly 7,000 minutes last season. Their combined cap hit in 2012-13 is slated to be just $10.39 million. Their base salary is even lower, at just over $7 million. For the sake of contrast, thanks to Philadelphia's offer sheet Nashville will pay Shea Weber $14 million in salary this year and he will register a cap hit of $7.86 million.
(Aside: The Blues will also be one of the teams most damaged if the lockout extends for a full season, as of their key NHL contributors just two – Jackman and Polak – have contracts beyond the summer of 2013. Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk's entry-level deals will both expire next summer.)
The depth chart, with the exception of the departed Carlo Colaiacovo – who ranked fifth in total minutes played and fourth in ice-time/game – will likely be the same as last year. Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk serve as the anchors for two pairings; Jackman generally played with Shattenkirk last season while Roman Polak anchored an effective third pairing along-side Kris Russell. Ian Cole, a first round pick from 2007, will likely round out the top-six and may find himself paired with Pietrangelo.
Jeff Woywitka, on a two-way contract, is a decent bet for the seventh role.
In Net
Photo: Johnmaxamena2/Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0
The St. Louis Blues enjoyed a remarkable season from both of their goalies. How remarkable? We get an idea when we look at the team's 5-on-5 save percentage. Consider: – The worst 5-on-5 save percentage in the league last year belonged to Tampa Bay – 0.899 – The median save percentage was 0.919, with 23 of the league's 30 teams falling between 0.909 and 0.929. – Of the exceptions, four (T.B., NYI, PIT, TOR and CHI – please feel free to insert obligatory Marc-Andre Fleury joke) finished below that range – Phoenix, thanks to Mike Smith's incredible year, finished just a hair outside the range above, with a 0.930 save percentage – St. Louis finished first – with a 0.936 save percentage
The difference between a 0.919 save percentage and a 0.936 save percentage on the 1785 shots the Blues faced at even-strength is 31 goals. That's before we get into penalty-killing situations, where the Blues were also excellent.
The biggest reason was the goaltenders. Jaroslav Halak had an excellent season after a slow start – posting a 0.926 save percentage over 46 games, a shade better than the 0.924 save percentage he'd managed with the Canadiens in 2009-10. But with all due respect to Halak, the real revelation was Brian Elliott.
Between 2008-09 (when Elliott first became a full-time NHL'er) and 2010-11 (the season before he joined the Blues), 36 NHL goalies appeared in more than 100 games. Elliott was one of them, posting a 0.901 save percentage over 141 contests. By save percentage, the only goalie in that span that was worse was Peter Budaj (0.900 save percentage). Yet, somehow, in 2011-12 Elliott led the league with a 0.940 save percenatage.
It was an insane run, and it's hard to believe it was sustainable. Strange things happen over 40-game spans. It's probably a good idea to expect significant regression in St. Louis' save percentage number. Even so, they'll still likely get decent goaltending – Jaroslav Halak has a career 0.918 save percentage, and as long as Elliott can avoid sliding back to the sub-0.900 level of 2010-11 he should be a reliable backup.
Despite the fact that 2011-12 marked only the second time since the 2004-05 NHL lockout that the Blues managed to qualify for the post-season, there's little doubt that last season's run was for real. They dominated the possession game, they're deep and capable in all positions, and they're also superbly coached.
If there's a 2012-13 season, they should contend for the Stanley Cup.


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Alberto Seveso's high speed photographs of ink mixing with water are hypnotic and fascinating. Each shot depicts pushes of color twisting and bending with an emotive cadence, lulling itself into an ephemeral sculpture, detailed with sharp visceral attention.
Although such imagery is not new, per se, this specific collection feels intrinsically magnetic due to the captive nature of submerged color naturally bonding or relating before diluting. It's more about documenting the ease of abstraction than pushing a forced abstract agenda.


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Tooling Article
Tooling Up for High-Strength Steel
To examine AHSS forming from a coating perspective, MetalForming interviewed Bernard Janoss, segment manager for forming and molding at IonBond LLC, Madison Heights MI, a provider of thin-film PVD, PA-CVD and CVD coatings. Read on as Janoss details the factors that metalformers as well as tool designers and builders should consider.
Tool Material
Know the heattreat history of the tool, in particular the tempering temperature. Tempering temperature influences the type of coating that can be deposited on the tool. "In most cases, especially assuming a PVD coating, you don't want the coating temperature to exceed the tempering temperature of the tool steel," Janoss says. "That leads to tool softening and size change."
Also, the choice of substrate material influences coating choice.
"You must determine if the substrate can support the coating sufficiently," says Janoss. "For example, A2 tool material, even with a coating, cannot handle the pressure in forming DP 600. We would tell such tool users that, at a minimum they need to consider nitriding in addition to the coating. Just placing TiN on A2 to form DP 600 will just wear out the tooling almost right a, because the substrate cannot support the tooling."
Tool Tolerances
Tolerances play a role in choosing whether to employ a high-temperature coating process, as such a process can change tool size.
"Trends point to manufacturers, especially among manufacturers in Europe and Japan, and increasingly automakers in North America, not having the core capabilities, or interest, in refitting tools back into dies," explains Janoss. "Very simply, tolerances dictate whether you can use high-temperature coating processes such as CVD or thermal diffusion. Lower-temperature coating processes ease refitting."
Tool Function
Look at how tooling fails. Blanking or trim steels typically fail because cutting edges become dull, resulting in burring on parts. Draw steels tend toward friction-based failure: galling, scoring and tearing of the part due to inadequate material flow in the die.
"Harder coatings are ideal for trimteels as they will keep the tool edger sharper for a longer period," Janoss explains. "For draw steels, we would recommend a coating with greater toughness and lubricity. With draw steels, harder is not als better."
Tool Design
Without good tool alignment in the press, tool coating is not worth the cost, Janoss cautions. Address alignment first.
Tool clearance is a big issue. Does the tooling maintain enough punch-to-die clearance to make coating worthy of the investment?
"Stampers and tool builders may assume sufficient material clearance between the punch and die," says Janoss, "but forming can thicken parts in unanticipated areas. The result: less clearance than intended, leading to higher forming pressure. This places extreme lubricity and toughness demands on the coating so that it will not crack under the pressure. So we ask customers if they intended to iron material and understand why that occurred. If not, that issue must be addressed before a coating can be used successfully.
"We look at other tool attributes, too," he continues, "such as die radius, which provides an indication of relative pressure level. Very tight radii indicate the need for a tough coating due to high pressures as material has nowhere to flow except down the sides of the die."
|Factors that Affect Tool-Coating Choice
Material—Know the heattreat history of the tool; determine if the substrate can support the material.Tolerances—A high-temperature coating process changes tool dimensions, so refitting may be needed. Function—Look at how tooling fails. Design—Make sure tooling aligns properly in the press, and be aware of clearances and other tool attributes. Lubrication—Want to cut costs here? Don't
Optimize Coating Selection
Janoss summarizes tool-coating selection for high-strength steel work:
"Design the right clearances, use the right lubrication and choose the right mechanical support, referring to whether to nitride the substrate or select tool materials that can better handle compressive pressure. Such decisions allow a broader choice of tool coatings to meet your needs.
"Clearly in today's world," he continues, "economics plays a big role. With coatings comes a tradeoff of productivity versus expenditure."
A good coating solution costs money, but attention to detail in developing the tools and means of forming AHSS ensures that you'll get the best bang for the buck. MF
See also: IonBond, Inc.
Related Enterprise Zones: Lubrication, Materials/Coatings, Tool & Die
Reader Comments
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HTML and Foreign LanguagesJuly 29, 2003
This is an article I needed to find myself six months ago. Feel free to link gratuitously with phrases like "html translation" and "unicode web" and "foreign language web site" and any other appropriate search term you can think of so that others may benefit from it.
I've recently had to get my hands dirty with HTML in French, Greek characters, and English OS support for Asian languages, so I figured I'd pass on the results of my muddling creating the various translations of the Zen Garden. This is a short but sweet summary of what I know on the subject.
Don't Panic
First of all: How in the world do you even start with foreign character support, especially if you don't speak the language? If you receive a foreign-language document and get asked to put it on the web, this is about the point you start panicking.
Relax, it's actually surprisingly easy, given a fairly modern Operating System with decent language support. Here's what you need to know.
Operating System Support
You may not be able to see the document in its original character set, but depending on your OS, you might be able to copy and paste the characters between documents without damaging the data. I've had luck copying from Windows Notepad and pasting into my HTML editor.
Easiest way to tell is to try with a small amount of data — paste it into a properly-encoded document (see below), and view it in Mozilla or IE6. If it renders properly with the desired characters intact, you're good to go.
If it doesn't, you may not have the correct language pack installed — it should be possible to work with the data anyway (even if you can't view it — just make sure you test on a system that can), but it can't hurt to install any foreign language packs you can get your hands on, just in case. The 200MB of disk space is negligible in 2003.
File Formats
UTF-16 files are out. Do not try saving your .html, .asp, or.php as a double-byte Unicode file. Most modern browsers support it, but some older ones do not (IE5/Mac comes to mind). Not only that, but your file size doubles, and IIS and PHP alike have trouble with the files so unless you're serving up static HTML (not likely in 2003) you won't be able to use them anyway.
Feel free to save a properly-encoded or UTF-8 document as anything you wish though. It can be .html, .php, .asp and so on.
Document Encoding
It's all about character encoding, baby. Redundancy is the key; define your XML namespace if working with XHTML, and also (regardless if you're using HTML 4.01 or XHTML 1.x) add a
<meta> tag to specify your document's encoding.
XML Namespace:
It goes in your
<html> tag, and looks like this:
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
In this case, English is the language, designated by the
"en". (complete list of the ISO 639 character codes)
<meta> Tag Encoding:
On top of setting your XML language, 9.8 times out of 10 you'll also want to specify document encoding. I'm a little unclear on the difference between the two, but WaSP has a summary of the best way to encode a document. Syntax looks like this:
<meta http-equiv="content-type"
content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
charset (character set) is the key. For most western European languages based on Latin characters, you won't need to change this; just include it. For eastern European, Asian, and all other languages, there are different
charsets — lists are available but the best resource for this is in your Mozilla-based browser; hit View->Character Coding, and you should find a comprehensive list of all possibilites with their associated charset value. Use the code in brackets (
US-ASCII etc.) and not the full name.
Note that the WaSP article linked above has further information on server-side character encoding. This is beyond my current abilities, but is something highly recommended by the W3C. Worth a read, if you want to really do it properly.
Unicode character encoding works just fine, and in some cases is preferable. The difference here is that we're not saving the document as a double-byte Unicode file; we're instead merely setting the document's
charset to Unicode through the
meta tag. Sample Unicode encoding:
<meta http-equiv="content-type"
content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
As far as individual characters, you may want to try using HTML Character Entities for occurances of non-ASCII characters. That is, you might want to use Ü instead of just the character itself, Ü. This can be tedious and trying though, and given proper encoding as discussed above, may even be unnecessary.
Accessibility Concerns
One last thing to consider before we wrap up. WAI lists "identifying changes in language" as a priority 1 accessibility concern, which is to say, it's Really Important that you do this. If your HTML switches at any point from the main language to another, you must provide some cue for the browser that this is happening. See the WAI for more on this.
This document was written by an embarrassingly unilingual English speaker with extremely limited foreign language capability beyond grade-school French classes. If I've managed to wrangle over a dozen translations of a document using these techniques, chances are they're good enough for most cases. Inevitably I'll have made some errors and over-simplified, but hey — that's what the comments are for.
Further Reading:
- On the goodness of Unicode (ongoing)
- Characters vs. Bytes (ongoing)
- Walking Backwards: Supporting Non-Western Languages on the Web (A List Apart)
- Specifying Character Encoding (WaSP)
- On Multilingual Web Sites and CSS (J. Korpella)
Reader Comments
Re: UTF-8 editors: SC UniPad, an excellent tool.
Also remember that the character encoding may also be declared in the HTTP "Content-Type" header.
Great article. I often get asked to put foreign language information up at the hospital and until now figured PDF was the only realistic option. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out, but I plan on seeing if I can't do some of this myself.
Thanks for the article!
By the way! Have you done the russian translation of Zen Garden by yourself?
As I understand it, if you're writing XHTML you can't assume the character entities will be defined unless you specify a DTD: the simple presence of the namespace isn't enough. The safest bet if you don't want to use "binary" characters (Unicode or charset-specific) is to use the generic XML representation: — = —, etc.
Also regarding double-byte encoding, file sizes, etc., I've found two of Tim Bray's articles on Unicode (On the Goodness of Unicode and Characters vs. Bytes) to be real lifesavers.
Excellent, thanks for the links Peter.
I'm running translations both with HTML character entities (Norwegian) and without (Portuguese) — each passes XHTML 1.0 Strict validation without a hiccough.
So from my understanding of what you're saying, I should just use the characters as-is (Portugese) or go one step further and use XML representation instead of HTML character entities (Norwegian), just in case it so happens the user agent doesn't use the standard HTML character entities — correct?
One difficulty you may encounter if you find yourself actually working with large numbers of files saved as UTF-8 is finding an editing environment that is any better than notepad which preserves the encoding. Here at work (advoy.com) the front end team has been dragged kicking and screaming into using ultraedit, simply because it preserves the encoding type, doesn't munch the characters, and doesn't stick a couple bytes of garbage at the beginning of the file to remember how it is encoded. It auto-detects when you check the right Advanced -> Configuration..
Has anyone else found an editor that deals with UTF-8 files? Homesite, along with every other editor except notepad and ultraedit that we have tried are unable to auto detect UTF-8 and save as UTF-8 with out adding their own flags to the beginning of the file. Any thoughts? (btw our team has been in touch with Macromedia regarding Homesite, they acknowledged the problem and then it went nowhere).
At the Garden you're fine using character entities because you've got the doctype. Mozilla will handle the entities unless you omit the doctype and serve your pages as application/xhtml+xml, at which point the strict XML parser kicks in and you get "XML Parsing Error: undefined entity" for the HTML entities; I can't speak to the behaviour of other browsers that support a/x+x (are there any?).
I believe (though I can't find the reference) that if the encoding of an XML document is unspecified in the XML declaration — or if the XML declaration is missing altogether — it is assumed to be UTF-8.
Dave, great article.
Besides I just wanted to let you know, that the german translation identifies itself as dutch. xml:lang="nl".
…Sorry, wrong button… The 'translations' link takes me to an 'Directory Listing Denied' message.
Not exactly sure what you're getting at here. At one point, you write "Unicode files are out… Most modern browsers support it, but some older ones do not (IE5/Mac comes to mind)". Later your write "Unicode character encoding works just fine, and in some cases is preferable."
At any rate, I recommend UTF-8 for all non-Roman situations. IE5/Mac has no trouble with pages containing UTF-8-encoded Japanese.
You write "on top of setting your XML language, 9.8 times out of 10 you�ll also want to specify document encoding. I�m a little unclear on the difference between the two…". The XML language is the human language the document is written in. You know, like English. The encoding is the charset, like ISO-8859-1 (Latin-1). Japanese, for example, has 3 different possible Japanese-only encodings (shift-jis, iso-2022-jp, and EUC-JP), plus Unicode (similar situation for Chinese), so putting the correct coding in there can be the difference between the browser showing the page correctly and showing a page full of junk that requires a trip to the Encoding menu.
I'd say Vietnamese is another good example of the difference between encoding and human language. Vietnamese can be encoded in Unicode, TCVN, VIQR, VISCII, VNI, VNCII/VPS, and Windows-1258. None of these encodings are at all compatible with one another, except for VIQR, which is basically the lowest common denominator, being an ASCII representation of Vietnamese.
Heya Dave. You may also take a look at EmEditor at http://www.emurasoft.com/. I've worked with it for a couple of years and swear by it.
Adam - Unicode is a character encoding method. Unicode files, as I've poorly defined in the article, refer to double-byte files. That is, each character occupies 16 bits of space, versus the 8 that a regular plain-text file would normally require. Those are unusable.
Unicode document encoding is a completely different beast, however. Only by a simple tag, I can mark the file as UTF-8 and thus use any foreign characters I require. I am unfamiliar with the way the character data is stored though. Unicode is something I haven't dabbled with extensively, so if I am totally wrong here, I expect someone else can correct me.
With regards to your second point - that's about how I understood it, I just didn't want to take the leap into the deep end. The reason I say '9.8 times out of 10' is because in a lot of cases the character encoding is essential, in some it's not. If you fool around with western languages, you'll generally find the encoding doesn't make a difference.
Minz & Thijs - thanks. Brain dead errors on my part, I'll fix 'em.
alex - no, I had help with the Russian translation.
Jacob - any links to resources on configuring HTTP headers? It's assumed a company with a decent network admin would know this stuff, but not everyone has one of those.
Peter J. - Good to know, thanks.
The whole Unicode part appears to be a bit confusing. Unicode is _not_ a 'character encoding method', utf-8 and utf-16 are. The utf-16 encoding is what you wrongly refer to as 'Unicode files'.
Just 'tagging the file as utf-8' does not magically makes the encoding utf-8. Doing that probably worked for you because: 1) the data you were copying from notepad already _was_ encoded as utf-8, or 2) your html editor recognized the meta tag and made sure it encoded any characters your entered as utf-8.
I try to explain this at http://www.vandervossen.net/2003/07/do_not_fear_unicode
If your site is running on Apache, and you are allowed to change server settings using .htaccess files, you can set the Content-Type HTTP header for _all_ files with a .html extension in a directory by creating a .htaccess file with the following line:
AddCharset utf-8 .html
Make sure to test if this is working using the Mozilla 'live http headers' extension.
If you want to use utf-8 encoded php files, you need the following in your .htacces file:
php_value default_charset UTF-8
AddCharset utf-8 .php
That file is indeed encoded using UTF-8.
I don't know why IIS has problems with the other file. Could be because it is UTF-16, but I must admit I never been anywhere near an IIS installation ever, so I cannot help you there.
Thijs did an excellent job explaining all this. As a lagniappe, I'll recommend Ken Lunde's excellent book, Understanding CJKV Information Processing (O'Reilly, blowfish on the cover). Covers all the issues involved in multi-byte character sets (Unicode supports >2 bytes per character, if it ever needs it).
Thanks Thijs, that clears up a few things, but here's why I'm still confused on the file format issue:
This file was saved straight from Notepad as "UTF-8" (it's in the drop-down list) and uploaded. All the SSI's work, so it renders properly. (although ignore the character encoding, since it's buried in an include file)
This is the exact same file, saved as "Unicode" from the drop-down. IIS doesn't like it.
So I'd imagine the latter is actually UTF-16? What I was trying to get at was that in my experience there's a way to save a Unicode file that breaks IIS; UTF-16 looks to be that, if I'm now understanding better, but most editors don't make that differentiation - you kinda have to know ahead of time what the difference is.
Dave, the second link gives me a 500: Internal Server Error.
That's the point :)
The first file contains _no_ characters with a character code above 127. It indeed is encoded as UTF-8, but it is at the same time encoded as US_ASCII and at the same time also ISO-8859-1. All these encodings share the same first 127 characters at the same positions, so if you only use the first 127 characters in a file, there is no difference.
True — try this file — it contains an assortment of international characters. It is saved as UTF-8, and IIS handles it just fine.
So why did saving the previous file as 'Unicode' give IIS problems? Is that because it's UTF-16?
IIS probably assumes that you'll be using character encodings where one byte = one character. UTF-16 uses two bytes for each character (well, four bytes for some of the less-used parts of Unicode) .. so for normal everyday ASCII text a UTF-16 file will have alternating bytes containing 0x00 and the ASCII characters … the ASCII null characters (0x00) will confuse IIS, PHP, Perl, etc. So don't use UTF-16 for any file which is going to be interpreted by your web server (PHP, server-side includes, etc.)
UTF-8 is a variable-length encoding with some useful properties. it stores ASCII text unchanged .. an ASCII text file (which would include no characters with codes over 127) is unchanged if converted to UTF-8. As soon as you have any non-ASCII characters (such as accents over letters, or any non-Roman scripts, or any non-ASCII symbols such as curly quotes or em dashes, etc.) then the UTF-8 encoding is not going to match any other encodings. But … all your server-side include directives, PHP commands, etc. are plain ASCII so they'll be unchanged and therefore everything should work.
UTF-8 is a very cool encoding. (at least if you're writing in English.. it causes file sizes to be larger than otherwise necessary for Asian languages)


text:
|By Elizabeth White
Article Rating:
|December 13, 2013 10:30 AM EST
Click Here to View Video on YouTube
"Lanlogic has been around since 1995 and we focus on helping customers that are traditionally less technical and need someone who's an IT consultant, a trusted business adviser, to help them evaluate their needs," explained Joe Foos, Director of Sales & Marketing at Lanlogic, in this SYS-CON.tv interview at the 13th International Cloud Expo®, held Nov 4-7, 2013, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA.
A Rock Star Faculty, Top Keynotes, Sessions, and Top Delegates!
Cloud Expo® 2014 New York, June 10-12, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading Cloud industry players in the world.
The growth and success of Cloud Computing will be on display at the upcoming Cloud Expo® conference and exhibition at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, June 10-12, 2014.
All main layers of the Cloud ecosystem will be represented at the 14th International Cloud Expo® - the infrastructure players, the platform providers, and those offering applications, and they'll all be here to speak, sponsor, exhibit and network.
Sponsorship Opportunities
for Cloud Expo® 2014 New York
Cloud Expo® 2014 New York "show prospectus" has shipped. Sponsorship, exhibit, and keynote opportunities can be obtained from Carmen Gonzalez by email at events (at) sys-con.com, or by phone 201 802-3021.
About SYS-CON Media & Events
SYS-CON Media (www.sys-con.com) has since 1994 been connecting technology companies and customers through a comprehensive content stream at www.sys-con.com - featuring over forty focused subject areas, from Cloud Computing to Web Security - interwoven with market-leading full-scale conferences produced by SYS-CON Events. The company's internationally recognized brands include among others Cloud Expo® (www.CloudComputingExpo.com), Big Data Expo (http://BigDataExpo.net), SDN Expo (http://SDNexpo.co), Virtualization Conference & Expo (www.VirtualizationConference.com), WebRTC Summit (http://webrtcsummit.net), Government IT Conference & Expo (www.GovITExpo.com), and Cloud Computing Bootcamp (www.CloudComputingBootcamp.com).
Cloud Expo®, Cloud Expo® East, Cloud Expo® West, Cloud Expo® New York, Cloud Expo® Silicon Valley, Cloud Expo® Europe, Cloud Expo® Tokyo, Cloud Expo® Prague, Cloud Expo® Hong Kong, Cloud Expo® Sao Paolo are trademarks and /or registered trademarks (USPTO serial number 85633366, registration no. 4378577) of Cloud Expo, Inc.


text: Hello, the current API doesn't allow to create proforma invoice. Correct me if I'm wrong but using billing_invoice_add() function you can only create invoice - there is no option for $override_params variable. You can then change the type using billing_invoice_update() function. But in order to finalize the invoice you need to use the billing_invoice_finalize() function which only allows to assign $invoice_id variable for refund and invoice types. Is there any solution? SupuS


text:
We're in a strip joint in Tijuana. This wasn't part of the plan. One moment, I was flaked out in the back of a van fresh off a long-haul flight; the next, I have a Corona in my hand, an equally shell-shocked photographer at my side, and close-quarters writhing is happening, lit red and bouncing to a deep beat. A man with a cruel face squares up to me. "What ju here for? You want woman? We've got l-o-t-s of womaaan." He drags the syllables out.
"Um. No thank you, not at the moment." "Ju here for the Ba-ha, right? I got gurrrls from aaall over Meh-hee-co. Everyone here for the Ba-ha. Gurrrls here for Ba-ha." The Baja 1000 is legendary. Not because - ahem - related service industries expand to meet demand while the race is on, but because this is the world's longest and most gruelling non-stop off-road race, a southbound blast down the finger of land that marks much of Mexico's Pacific coast. It's the biggest sporting event in the country, with an estimated 1.5 million spectators lining this year's 1,121.55-mile route. And it's not even held on a weekend. Perhaps a national holiday has been declared.
Pics: Justin Leighton
This feature first appeared in Top Gear magazine


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Post-SDCC wrap-up: Hulk
And eventhough I wasn't there, I still had quite a few announcements come out of the con.
The biggest is probably that I'm the writer on a new INCREDIBLE HULK series that debuts in October. It's drawn by Marc Silvestri, first arc is titled "Hulk: Asunder" and it features a Hulk and Banner who have been split apart and set at odds. I've been wanting to tackle the Hulk for a while now, so I'm happy to finally be involved with this. Yes, along with everything else I'm doing, this means my schedule is awfully crazy right now, but that will be sorting itself out. Stay tuned.
And holy crap, I'm writing the Hulk!
Lots of interviews here and there:
3 comments :
- max "nekron" power at: 2:19 PM said...
looking forward to this series,i think is gonna be crazy fun, congrats for the new asigment
- Murdock204 at: 6:38 PM said...
I'm super excited for a new direction as a life-long Hulk reader. Congrats on the job!
If this were Christmas and i had to ask Santa what i'd want from a Hulk comic would be as follows:
- Kill off his kids.
- Either kill off Betty again or actually have her as Betty.
- Suck the A-Bomb out of Rick Jones.
- Sort out the personalities in a clear fashion, make each one have a different strength/weakness/purpose.
- And lastly, Fixit. Even though i'm sure he's on the backburner.
Just thought i'd list that stuff for the hell of it.
The trailer looks awesome! This seems to be a much needed freshening take on the character.
- vollsticks at: 3:18 PM said...
That Silvestri cover is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen. Kirby must be rolling in his grave.


text:
Check out the latest in the Gallery:Gallery
Halifax Rack & Screw
Quote from: awemawson on October 14, 2015, 10:23:07 AMHalifax Rack & Screw Can we Pre-book or do we have to queue up behind all the politicians and clergy ???Dave Very good.....OZ.
John,glad to see you got it sorted but also to add that I have made a couple of the acetal plastic Evanuts made by the hot forming process described a few posts further up the page.They are really good with zero backlash.You may wish to give the technique a try if you need another nut for a lead screw....OZ.
Page created in 0.031 seconds with 25 queries.


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All Ravens outside linebacker Paul Kruger thinks about nowadays is relentlessly chasing the quarterback. It is an aggressive pursuit fueled by power, speed and well-practiced pass-rushing moves.
The path to the quarterback is rarely twisted nowadays for Kruger, a direct route no longer encumbered by the frustrating obstacles of his scarred past.
Overpowering offensive tackles, Kruger has generated four sacks over the past three games heading into Sunday's AFC North showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Following a slow start to the season, Kruger has emerged as the Ravens' top pass rusher while being utilized primarily as a situational player on third downs.
"I love rushing the passer," said Kruger, a 2009 second-round draft pick from the University of Utah. "It's pure intensity. It takes a little bit of technique, but you basically just do whatever it takes to get to the quarterback. It takes a lot of energy and effort, so I go as hard as I can.
"I've been playing football since I was a little kid, and I love the game. I love the intensity of football. It's the only sport where you have to play 100 percent full-speed the entire time."
Leading the Ravens with 5.5 sacks despite starting only twice, Kruger has relied upon his athleticism, aggressiveness and a burgeoning understanding of how to leverage blockers.
During the first quarter of a 16-13 overtime victory last week over the San Diego Chargers, Kruger barreled into the backfield to sack quarterback Philip Rivers after delivering a powerful hand punch to the chest of offensive tackle Jeromey Clary. That created an opening for Kruger to deck Rivers.
"Kruger's the most natural healthy pass rusher the Ravens have," said former Ravens scout Daniel Jeremiah, who's currently an NFL Network analyst. "He's got every tool you want to get to the quarterback consistently."
A similar scenario unfolded against the Steelers earlier this month during a 13-10 win at Heinz Field.
Kruger overwhelmed rookie offensive tackle Mike Adams with his quickness, forcing him to lose his balance. Then, he shoved the first-round draft pick aside to sack quarterback Byron Leftwich.
"White lightning, man," strong safety Bernard Pollard said of Kruger. "He's able to shake you. He can use the bull-rush. It's kind of rare you see an athlete like that. When I say athlete, I mean white athlete like that. I told him he reminds me of [Minnesota Vikings star defensive end] Jared Allen.
"Jared is a bigger body than Kruger, but he's very similar with his hands, with his feet. He's a smart player. Krug' is capable of going out there and doing big things."
Discovering a purpose
Kruger overcame plenty of adversity to get to this point.
A gang attack nearly cost Kruger his life four years ago in Salt Lake City during his younger brother's recruiting visit to Utah, leaving him with a zigzag scar across his torso that resembles railroad tracks.
It provides a reminder of the stab wounds to his abdomen and ribs.
Kruger underwent four hours of surgery to repair his injuries, including a collapsed lung filled with blood. Surgeons removed portions of his stomach and intestines.
During the scary confrontation, Kruger, his younger brother, Dave, his sister, Jessica, and a Utah teammate were assaulted by an estimated 15 to 20 people. Kruger was stabbed twice, and his brother's cheekbone was fractured by brass knuckles in the melee that ensued after an argument near the Sundance Film Festival.
It wasn't the first time that Kruger ended up in a hospital for emergency surgery.
When Kruger was 13 years old, he was four-wheeling in a Jeep Wrangler when it flipped and rolled on top of him. His kidney and spleen were damaged so badly that they had to be removed.
"I'm extremely blessed," Kruger said. "I've been through a lot of different things. It's definitely been something I've been able to draw from in life. You go through hard things and you see yourself and what you're going through.
"You may have tough circumstances. I had times where I wasn't playing and I was frustrated by things. You see other people, little kids that have been injured or people with cancer, and there's no room for complaints in life." When Kruger was drafted 57th overall, he arrived in Baltimore with high expectations of building a formidable tandem with Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs. Kruger didn't make an immediate impact, though. He had just a dozen tackles and an interception as a rookie. His second season was nearly as quiet with just one tackle, his first NFL sack. By last year, the 6-foot-4, 270-pounder bulked up through diligent work in the weight room. And he put the added muscle to use, finishing the season with a career-high 5 ½ sacks.
But when Kruger entered the NFL, he admitted some of the problems he dealt with were because of his actions.
"I've matured a lot," said Kruger, who has a career-high 31 tackles. "I had never had money before in my life. You start being around a lot of different influences. I learned the hard way, being around bad agents, being around girls, being around parties.
"You start to realize, 'This is not the path I want to go down, this is not who I am.' A little bit of that stuff is OK, but you got to learn how to control it."
A Mormon, Kruger said he always maintained his religion throughout his growing pains. Kruger credits his large family for giving him needed stability. "I never lost touch," Kruger said. "I always held strong to and always had a passion for my faith and my family. They've been the biggest support and success in my life. That's who I am and what I'm all about."
Getting to the quarterback
Kruger only had 1.5 sacks through three games and went without a sack for four consecutive weeks prior to breaking out with two sacks against the Oakland Raiders.
Now, he's on a tear.
"Paul's playing really well," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "The last two, three weeks he's really, really played well. He's been a huge impact in our sub packages."
Against the Raiders, Kruger had a season-high six tackles and an interception.
One reason attriibuted to Kruger's success is simplifying his role to more of a pure pass-rushing approach.
"I think part of it is what we've done a little bit schematically is change some of our packages and put guys in roles that we think they can flourish in and also sometimes take a little bit off of their plate in terms of having to know so much," defensive coordinator Dean Pees said. "We're just trying to concentrate on here's what we can do, here's where we're going to put you. He's accepted that role very, very well, and really done a good job with it."
It hasn't gone unnoticed despite Kruger's desire to fly under the radar.
With Adams sidelined with an injury, Kelvin Beachum will start his first game at offensive tackle for Pittsburgh on Sunday and will undoubtedly receive some assistance when matched up with Kruger.
"He's a talented rusher," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Kruger during a conference call. "He has great skill, stop-and-start ability. He has a nice wiggle. He's also capable of running down the center of people. He's putting together a couple of nice rush combinations."
That skill set may pay dividends for Kruger, either in Baltimore or another NFL city as a free agent.
Kruger's in the final year of a $2.847 million rookie contract, and would prefer to stay in Baltimore.
"Absolutely, I love this team, I love my teammates," Kruger said. "There's nothing I want more than to remain a Raven, but I haven't really thought about it. Everything is great here, the way they treat us, the fans, it's an awesome place to play. I would love to be here."
Pollard is convinced that a major payday awaits Kruger.
Pass rushers are a valuable commodity.
"Paul's setting himself up for the future," Pollard said. "I think he has a good shot at breaking the bank because this league, this team, we want pass rushers. We want guys who can rush the quarterback and Paul is a heck of a guy to do that."


text:
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text:
"Midsummer" Tales: Meet the Fairies!
As Titania the Fairy Queen, Jacquelyn Ritz has a very clear idea of the role she plays in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Musical.
"I like to think of the fairies as Greek gods," she says.
Her fellow magical misfits agree with her. Occupying the forest throne alongside Jacquelyn sits David McBean as Oberon the Fairy King. Kevin Hafso-Koppman rounds out the fairy trifecta with his gymnastic portrayal of Puck in this Shakespearean classic, reimagined by Intrepid through the sounds of the 60s.
"They are super human beings with super human powers," elaborates David. "Since the fairies have such power, they seek destruction in a way that's different from humans. These things that occur in their lives become so much more important to them. And the results of their feelings affect the entire world."
The main source of fairy angst is Titania's adoption of a changeling boy, which infuriates Oberon. Titania's refusal to hand over the boy further stokes Oberon's fury, inspiring vengeance in the form of a flowery love potion forcing Titania to fall "head over wings" for a Bottom, a Mechanical metamorphosed into a donkey.
"Oberon has no power directly over her, so he can't change her," David explains.
"It's a very man/woman thing," says Jacquelyn to David. "You're constantly trying to tell me what to do and I'm constantly trying to work around you to get to your heart."
And where does trickster Puck fit into this struggle?
"Puck has his foot in both camps – the real world and the fairy world," says Kevin, elaborating on Puck's ability to maneuver and help manipulate both the fairy royals and the lost lovers running through the forest. "The whole story and the whole dream are Puck's flip of the world."
From this fairy's perspective, things are certainly topsy-turvy – the human lovers succumb to the magical spells of things supernatural, while the magical monarchs are reduced to petty humanlike spats and acts of retribution.
"I don't think it's petty," chimes in Jacquelyn. "But I'm Titania, so I have to feel that way," she adds with a smile.
Another topsy-turvy aspect of this Intrepid's Midsummer revival is the casting. Both David and Kevin were featured in the 2012 production, but in vastly different roles: David played the Mechanical Flute and garnered rave reviews for his "play-within-a-play" Thisbe, while Kevin soared from rope swings as the lover Lysander.
Opportunely, Kevin is able to incorporate this gymnastic ability into Puck.
"This time around we are getting a lot more physical with the role because we are discovering some different things," he says. "It's difficult because the last person did something that was so brilliant and so funny and you want to take those little things and put them into your performance, but also create your own thing."
For Kevin, that "thing" has translated into the construction of a trapeze atop Puck's perch center stage, from which he is able to incorporate his athletic approach to his heart's content.
"We've been working a lot with climbing and making this Puck acrobatic and supernatural," he elaborates. "Almost like in this dream world, gravity is less for the fairies."
For David, the return to Midsummer also included a role as musical director.
"This time around, I get to be a part of the moments where music adds to the storytelling," says David. "It's been a treat for me to be a part of the show in an intimate way and to help the new actors learn the songs. They are so clever and remarkable. It's been an honor to be directing them."
For Jacquelyn, who recently relocated from Chicago and is making her San Diego debut with Intrepid, the infusion of music into this play just makes sense.
"Music is a great bridge from this world to something higher," she says. "When you mix that with Shakespeare, which is another way of taking this world and elevating it through poetry, it just heightens it."
However, this "heightening" does not serve to exclude the audience from their understanding of the play. In fact, it does just the opposite.
"The music clarifies the relationships," explains Jacquelyn. "People who maybe don't know Shakespeare as well, still know music. We know songs, we know how we feel when we are singing to someone else or someone is singing to us. It makes more of a connection."
These fairies are in flight through August 18. Come see them rock the forest and find your own musical connection.
— Tiffany Tang
A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Musical plays through August 18 at the Clayton E. Liggett Theatre in Encinitas. Tickets available here.
(Photo credits: Daren Scott)


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It's a near certainty that your 401(k) plan's menu of investment options includes at least one stinker—a mutual fund that has lagged behind its peers and its benchmarks, year after year. But surprisingly enough, there's also a good chance that that fund has been hanging around in your plan, well, year after year. Researchers from the business schools at the University of Indiana and the University of Texas at Austin recently looked at some data to try to figure out why many 401(k) losers linger, and they identified one fairly clear explanation: A sub-par fund is much more likely to stay on the menu if it's managed by the mutual-fund company that's operating the plan.
(The report, titled "It Pays to Set the Menu," was published earlier this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research; the curious can download a copy for $5 here.)
The report covers 401(k) plans offered by about 1,850 companies, accounting for roughly a third of the nation's 401(k) assets, over the years 1998 to 2009. Within that data set, 77% of the plans were "trusteed" by mutual fund firms, meaning the fund companies held the assets in trust and helped the employers select the investment options.
Most 401(k) plans now employ "open architecture," which means that plan members have access to funds from multiple providers besides the trustee. Indeed, the share of plan assets invested in trustee funds has been steadily declining over the past decade, from 27% in 2009 from 38% in 2002. But as the authors point out, while the trustees are required to act in the best interest of plan investors, they also "have a competing interest to maximize investments in their own proprietary funds." And as the bad grades roll in, trustees seem to be less likely to purge their own funds from their plans.
Among funds whose trailing 3-year performance was in the lowest-ranking decile, "non-trustee" funds were almost three times as likely to be removed the following year (29.6%) as trustee funds (11.9%). Did the keeper funds reward their administrators' faith by rebounding? Not in the short run: The researchers found that, on average, those trustee funds went on to underperform their benchmarks by 3.6% in the year after they survived the cut.
What keeps slacker funds from getting expunged? As MarketWatch's Ian Salisbury has reported, many trustee firms offer employers pre-packaged rosters of funds, an arrangement that can keep individual funds from getting closer scrutiny; the trustees also often cut employers a break on administrative costs if the employers let the trustees have more leeway in picking funds.
But there's another factor in play: The bad funds don't seem to bother employee-investors that much. Plan members, of course, could vote with their feet and leave these funds behind (ideally, in favor of index funds where underperformance would be less of an issue). But according to the NBER study, while 401(k) investors tend to chase good performance and pour money into hot funds, they're less likely to pull their assets out of a poor performer—unless, of course, the trustees take it out of the plan. Evidently, inertia trumps disappointment.


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I'm not ashamed of my home, not in its appearance, upkeep, or conditions. But I would never allow my son's teacher to come to my house for such a visit. In my son's life, my place is at home and at school, but his teacher's place is at school.
I always thought home visits a bit paternalistic and judgemental, because I was told their reason was for the teacher to get an "understanding" of the child's home life. I viewed them as one link in the chain of soft bigotry of low expectations.
Here, however, is a justification I can live with and support:
The concept is simple: Students will do better in school if their teachers and parents get to know each other. The grants go to schools that predominantly serve children from low-income families.
Building a bridge is good. Acting like a social worker after a two-hour in-service on what to look for in a home visit is not.


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MHA Village is an adult integrated services recovery program of Mental Health America of Los Angeles. By focusing on the whole person, we assist our members as they journey toward recovery from mental illness. As a pioneer of the recovery movement we have been proudly serving the community of Long Beach since 1990.
NIMH Outreach Partnership Program
MHA is pleased to be part of the National Institute of Mental Health's Outreach Partnership Program, through which we help disseminate information and distribute materials on a variety of mental health topics.
We invite you to receive regular mental health education updates from us. Send an email to email@example.com, and we'll be sure to include you on our list.


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David Potash, president, Wilbur Wright College
David Potash has been named president of Wilbur Wright College, one of the seven City Colleges of Chicago, effective in July. Potash, 49, will bring more than 20 years of higher education administrative experience to the Northwest Side community college. Potash most recently was chief academic officer at Curry College, a four-year institution in Milton, Mass. Before that, he was an administrator for 10 years in the City University of New York system at Hunter College and Baruch College, and before that at New York University. Potash has a Ph.D. in history from the University of Cambridge.
Copyright © 2019, Chicago Tribune


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Health-care conglomerate Johnson & Johnson reported fourth-quarter earnings that came in ahead of analyst estimates, but a full-year forecast that some analysts believe might have been overly conservative cast the company's shares down in morning trades Tuesday.
J&J shares fell more than 2% to $93 in recent action after the company said full-year 2014 earnings should come in between $5.75 and $5.85 a share, compared to $5.52 in 2013. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected J&J to pull in profits of $5.86 a share.
Analysts said there may some dilution from the sale of J&J's diagnostics business and weak medical technology sales, but the company traditionally has been conservative with its earnings forecasts in an effort to under-promise and over-deliver.
"We believe this will set up management to beat and raise throughout the year. We continue to recommend [J&J] based on strong growth in pharmaceuticals and under-appreciated operating margins," RBC Capital Markets' Glenn Novarro said in a note to clients.
J&J said fourth-quarter earnings were $3.52 billion, or $1.23 a share, compared with $2.57 billion, or 91 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Sales were $18.36 billion against last year's $17.56 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $1.23 a share on sales of $17.98 billion. J&J's adjusted earnings were $1.24 a share, 4 cents ahead of forecasts.
Follow Russ Britt on Twitter @russbrittmktw
Follow Health Exchange on Twitter @MWHealthBlog
More health-care news from MarketWatch:
Forest Labs shares rise after drug maker reports surprise gain
Obamacare operations should have been centralized, expert says


text:
Audiologist Job, Birkenhead
- Recruiter
- Prospect Health
- Location
- England, Merseyside, Birkenhead
- Salary
- Up to £29000 per annum + Diverse benefits package
- Posted
- 25 Nov 2017
- Closes
- 23 Dec 2017
- Ref
- Contact
- Optical Support
- Job Role
- Audiologist
- Sector
- Multiple Practice
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full Time
Prospect Health's Hearcare Division is currently working on behalf of a successful practice that is looking to recruit a high calibre Hearing Aid Dispenser to become a pivotal part of the team. In return you can expect a rewarding role with a fantastic amount of support and a genuinely market-leading career development programme.
As a HAD with this business you have the chance to develop your skills both clinically and commercially, working with other qualified colleagues and sharing your experiences on a daily basis.
Location - Birkenhead
Key Information
- Flexible practice based role with excellent support team available
- You will have access to the latest testing facilities and diverse product offering
- Diverse patient base and consistent high customer footfall will provided for your benefit
Key Benefits
- Highly competitive remuneration scheme allowing you great financial freedom
- Diverse benefits package which is tailored to your requirements
- Professional training programme is superb, genuinely market-leading
- Recognition of excellence and reward their staff extremely well for outstanding achievement
Key Skills and Qualifications
- Possess the right to work in the United Kingdom
- Should enjoy working within an engaging team environment and dynamic management team and be passionate about Hearcare.
- Must be very well presented and have upbeat personable character capable of always generating lasting rapport
What Happens Next
If you would like to be considered, please use the 'Apply' button and attach your latest CV. Alternatively, talk to us in confidence about this opportunity and other suitable positions by contacting a member of the Audiology Division on 01423 813452.
Not the right job for you? Click here for more Audiology Jobs