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How to Switch From iPhone to Android
A Googler's Guide to Switching From iOS to Android
For those of you making the leap from iPhone to Android-landia, switching platforms can seem very intimidating. You've relied on iCloud, iMessage, and iTunes to make everything run smoothly, and now you'll need to start from scratch with a new platform. Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt wanted to lend a helping hand, so he penned a 900-word guide on how to make a smooth transition from iOS to Android.
What prompted the very busy Google exec to write such a thorough guide? "Many of my iPhone friends are converting to Android. The latest high-end phones from Samsung, Motorola, and the Nexus 5 have better screens, are faster, and have a much more intuitive interface," Eric said.
If you, like one of Eric's friends, are converting to Google-ism, we've condensed the Google executive chairman's guide to switching and added a few tips of our own.
Back Up Your iPhone or iPad
Before the transfer begins, ensure that all of the data on your iPhone — your contacts, music, photos, and notes — is properly backed up to iCloud or your computer. Download or update to the latest version of iOS 8; then, if you haven't already, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > then add your Gmail account.
Use iPhoto to import photos from your Camera Roll to your iPhoto Library or Image Capture to download your phone's photos directly to a folder on your computer.
Sync Contacts
In Settings > Mail, select your Gmail account, and slide Contacts and Calendars to "on." Once it's synced, go to your Google account on a desktop computer. In the upper left corner, click on "Mail" and select "Contacts" from the dropdown menu. You should see all of your phone contacts listed here. Once you link your Gmail account with your new Android device, these contacts will appear.
Sync Music
Download Google Music Manager for the Mac, and follow instructions for syncing iTunes libraries. This application will upload iTunes music to the cloud. Make sure that Google Music Manager is linked to the same Google account as above.
Set Up Your New Android Device
Power on your Android smartphone or tablet, connect the device to WiFi, and log in with your Gmail account. Find the apps you need in the Google Play store. You won't be able to find all of your favorite iOS apps in the Android app marketplace, but popular favorites like Facebook, Twitter, and Candy Crush Saga will be there.


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Subsidiary of State Auto Financial Closes on FHLB Loan
Subsidiary of State Auto Financial Closes on FHLB Loan
COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- State Auto Financial Corporation (NAS: STFC) reported that today one of its insurance subsidiaries, State Auto Property & Casualty Insurance Company, closed on a loan from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati. The FHLB loan is a 20-year term loan, callable after three years with no prepayment penalty thereafter, in the principal amount of $85.0 million. The FHLB loan provides for interest-only payments during its term, with principal due in full at maturity. The interest rate is fixed over the term of the loan at 5.03%, and the loan is fully secured by the pledge of investment securities.
Proceeds from the FHLB loan, along with cash on hand, will be used by the company to redeem all of its outstanding $100 million 6¼% Senior Notes due 2013. The redemption date for the Senior Notes is July 15, 2013. On the redemption date, the company anticipates paying a total redemption price of approximately $103.0 million, which includes interest through the redemption date and a make-whole amount due to the Senior Notes being redeemed prior to their Nov. 15, 2013 maturity date.
State Auto Financial Corporation, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, is a super regional property and casualty insurance holding company and is proud to be a Trusted Choice® company partner. STFC stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, which is a segment of the NASDAQ Global Market with the highest initial listing standards of any exchange in the world.
The insurance subsidiaries of State Auto Financial Corporation are part of the State Auto Group. The State Auto Group markets its insurance products throughout the United States, through independent insurance agencies, which include retail agencies and wholesale brokers. The State Auto Group is rated A (Excellent) by the A.M. Best Company and includes State Automobile Mutual, State Auto Property & Casualty, State Auto Ohio, State Auto Wisconsin, Milbank, Meridian Security, Meridian Citizens Mutual, Patrons Mutual, Rockhill Insurance, Plaza Insurance, American Compensation and Bloomington Compensation. Additional information on State Auto Financial Corporation and the State Auto Insurance Companies can be found online at http://www.StateAuto.com/STFC.
Except for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied. The most significant of these uncertainties are described in State Auto Financial's Form 10-K and Form 10-Q reports and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to) legislative changes at both the state and federal level, state and federal regulatory rule making promulgations and adjudications, class action litigation involving the insurance industry and judicial decisions affecting claims, policy coverages and the general costs of doing business, the impact of competition on products and pricing, inflation in the costs of the products and services insurance pays for, product development, geographic spread of risk, weather and weather-related events, and other types of catastrophic events. State Auto Financial undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.
State Auto Financial Corporation
Larry Adeleye, AVP/Director, Treasury and Finance, 614-917-5108
Kyle Anderson, AVP/Director of Corporate Communication, 614-917-5497
For additional information:
KEYWORDS: United States North America Indiana Kentucky Ohio
The article Subsidiary of State Auto Financial Closes on FHLB Loan originally appeared on Fool.com.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

subset: commoncrawl


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'S.H.I.E.L.D.' is up on ABC
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 8 p.m. Tuesday, ABC
There are a lot of reasons why "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." has been multiply anointed as the most promising new show of the fall season. And one of them is that it's not just for comic-book-loving fan-boys.
The fantasy superhero series, premiering Tuesday on ABC, was created by Joss Whedon, his brother Jed and Jed's wife, Maurissa Tancharoen, with the same kind of careful content balance Joss Whedon employed when he wrought "Buffy the Vampire Slayer": Just enough geeky insider stuff to keep the fan-boys from grousing too much, but an even bigger portion of well-written action, drama, humor and intricate plot details to hook viewers who gave up comic books before Steve Canyon was grounded.
Tuesday's premiere efficiently fulfills any pilot episode's prime directive: Tell the audience all about the main characters and set the tone for future episodes.
The series continues the story memorialized in Joss Whedon's hit 2012 film, "The Avengers." If you're among the millions who helped make that film one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, you know that Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), a member of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, died in the Battle of New York.
Well, that was then and this is TV: Only a few minutes into Tuesday's show, Coulson ambles out from a corner and suggests the reason no one could see him is that a lightbulb must need replacing. Coulson didn't die, but has been having a long vacation in Tahiti, or so he says.
But enough with the drinks with umbrellas: An evil and mysterious group known as the Rising Tide is out to wreak havoc on both humans and superheroes and the game's afoot all over again.
Coulson is back in action with a new team, including handsome alpha-male loner Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton, "Killing Lincoln"), weapons expert Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen, "ER"), computer genius and fan-girl Skye (Chloe Bennet, "Nashville"), techno expert Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker, "The Fades") and his colleague, Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge, "Hollyoaks"), an expert in human and alien biology. Cobie Smulders ("How I Met Your Mother") reprises her role as Maria Hill from "The Avengers."
The new team wants to get its hands on a new player on the superhuman field, an unemployed single dad named Mike Peterson (J. August Richards, "Angel"). to find out what makes him tick and to keep him out of the hands of the Rising Tide.
Well-crafted 'gotchas'
That's an overly simplistic summary of what the pilot episode is about. It's also about who's really on which side. Eventually, you'll figure that out, but not before a series of nicely crafted "gotchas" throughout the show.
The plot summary doesn't begin to do justice to why the show is so appealing. For one thing, you have to experience the dry humor that enlivens the dialogue and keeps it from tumbling over into the pseudo-pompous pronouncement style of lesser fantasy shows.
And then there's Clark Gregg. Yes, all the performances are terrific, but Gregg is perfect in the central role because he looks even less like a superhero than Robert Downey Jr. He looks like Everyman, a guy in an office, a car dealer, the nice dad married to the nice mom with a family of nice kids. His default facial expression is a reassuring smile, as if to say, "Everything's OK, move along, nothing to worry about, isn't it a nice day?"
Gregg has often been a supporting player in film and TV shows because he embodies a cool counterbalance to noisier actors, such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus on "The New Adventures of Old Christine." He was perfect as a special agent on "The West Wing" because he looks and acts like a special agent.
Hint of authority
At the same time, Gregg has often been much more than just a second banana. There is always a suggestion of power and authority behind his seemingly placid exterior, and because he's good at seeming centered, he can also go from zero to 60 in a surprising nanosecond. All of those qualities are used to full advantage in "Agents."
One other reason the show will do well: It doesn't feed off post-9/11 cultural unease as so many other dramas do. "Homeland," "Person of Interest," "Scandal" and others have the paranoia division well-covered. "S.H.I.E.L.D." is the anti-"Homeland," in a way: It's all about making TV fun again.
David Wiegand is The San Francisco Chronicle's executive features editor and TV critic. E-mail: email@example.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV


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NBC Sets Premiere for The Maya Rudolph Show Special
Apr 15, 2014 5:47 PM EDT
Maya Rudolph is returning to NBC! The network has set the premiere date for the comic's variety show The Maya Rudolph Show, which will debut on Monday, May 19 at 10/9c. The Saturday Night Live vet will headline the prime-time variety show, which will… Read more


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Got my advance copy of Gimme Something Better by Jack Boulware and Silke Tudor. It's a magnificent compendium of information and opinions, delivered in oral history form, covering 30+ years of the San Francisco Bay Area punk rock scene.
I'll have to admit that I preferred the original title, which was to have been Journey To The End Of The East Bay, but the project expanded beyond the authors' original imaginings to include the history of the West Bay scene as well.
Being the crazed egomaniac that I am, I immediately flipped to the pages featuring myself and my friends, and almost as quickly got caught up in the predictable cavils of "Oh no, he didn't say that about me, did he?" and "She's crazy; I was right there when that happened and it was nothing like the way she's describing it." The old saw about the committee of blind men attempting to describe an elephant comes to mind.
But once I took Aaron Cometbus's advice and tried reading the book from the beginning, it became far more compelling and fascinating. I'm only about a quarter of the way through, provided you don't count (and you probably shouldn't) the fairly intense skimming I gave to to the latter chapters covering the Gilman and Lookout scenes.
But speaking of Lookout, there is one glaring error that makes me very sad, and though it will probably seem like a minor detail to most of you, it bothers me every time I see it. And because this book will almost certainly become the definitive guide to Bay Area punk rock history, the error will - hell, it already pretty much is - become the accepted version, despite any and all efforts on my part to correct it.
I'm talking about - how would you say it? the misspelling? the mispunctuation? how about the misrepresentation? - the way Lookout Records, the company I co-founded and ran for ten years, is wrongly rendered as "Lookout! Records." There are not sufficient words to express how much I hate the sight of that usage. It looks really, really stupid, true, but more importantly, to me at least, is that it's just plain wrong.
Think I'm making a big deal about nothing? Suppose you started a magazine, or a business, or, for that matter, gave a name to your firstborn son. And then, despite all your protests to the contrary, people kept insisting on misspelling it. Would Aaron appreciate it if he kept reading about Cometbus! magazine? Although in their current circumstances they might be able to use the extra pizazz, I rather doubt GM would appreciate being renamed General! Motors. And neither you nor your son Jason! would likely be too fond of strangers inserting an exclamation point into the middle of his name.
But that's what's happened to Lookout Records. I'm not blaming Gimme Something Better for starting this trend; they're just following what has increasingly become established usage. If there's a real villain here, it might be Wikipedia. For about a year I fought a hopeless battle with them, going in regularly to edit their entry on Lookout Records by removing the offending punctuation mark, but each time, within days if not hours, it would be changed back, and finally they attached a note stating that "The exclamation point is part of the name and should not be changed."
Oh, really? I tried arguing back that I was the one who NAMED THE COMPANY IN THE FIRST PLACE, but to no avail. I suppose I could have forwarded them copies of our incorporation papers, our tax returns, hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles, all with the correct spelling, but at that point I gave up.
Which was probably a mistake, as I suspect that whoever did copy editing on Gimme Something Better used Wikipedia as a corroborating source, since they also let slide another Wikipedia-perpetrated error, the misspelling of Tre Cool's name as Tré (although I'm generally credited with naming him as well as Lookout Records, he actually was already nicknamed Tre from early childhood; I just added the Cool).
It's true that we often used an exclamation point in some of our logos, so perhaps the misunderstanding is, er, understandable. Also, the new owners of the label were apparently very keen on the exclamation point, and went to some lengths - apparently successful - to get it established in the public mind. To me, unfortunately, it tarnishes the legacy of a once great label almost as much as some of the crappy bands they signed (sorry if that sounds - is - intemperate; they signed some really good bands, too). Ah well, if I'd wanted things to stay the same, I guess I should have stayed there and run the label myself.
Ok, that's my bit of venting for today. If you're a copy editor or a journalist, please, PLEASE, at least consider dropping that hateful exclamation point next time you write about Lookout Records. For all the rest of you, please don't let my fit of dyspepsia discourage you from checking out Gimme Something Better. And while the book isn't officially out for a couple weeks yet, you can go to their website to read (and comment upon) excerpts, including some that had to be left out of the book because of space constraints. Lots of great photos, too.
I'll be back with more opinions once I've read the whole thing. In the meantime, bear in mind that despite what Jeff Ott says on page 329, I did not get caught "pouring gasoline all over" my school. It was my college, and seriously, there was no gasoline involved; otherwise it might actually have burned down.


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Max Mara Spring 2013 | Runway
Max Mara Spring 2013
Max Mara Spring 2013
Laura Lusuardi dispensed with this season's prevailing pastels and used leopard, plaid, khaki, and olive in her safari-themed Spring 2013 collection for Max Mara. The direction was obvious as soon as the first model came down the runway in a tone-on-tone khaki jacket with epaulets and plenty of pockets. Have pockets, will travel.
The journey continued with a variety of similarly militaristic looks (the multipocketed shirts continued, on occasion appearing in a cornflower-blue color that broke up the khaki and green well), but eventually spilled into ensembles that mixed prints: leopard mixed with plaid and with florals. Those materials appeared in alternating panels on skirts and in different sections of one wild trench coat. Just the sort of clothing the Max Mara woman will be hunting for come Spring.


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LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil supplies fell by 1.2 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 21, according to a report from the American Petroleum Institute late Thursday. Gasoline inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels and distillate stocks rose by 2.9 million barrels, the report from the trade group said. The API data arrived ahead of the more closely watched U.S. Energy Information Administration report due Friday. Analysts polled by Platts expect a 2 million-barrel decline in crude stockpiles. They forecast a rise of 250,000 barrels in gasoline inventories and a decline of 350,000 barrels in distillate supplies. Ahead of the API data, February crude CLG23, -51.01% slipped 11 cents, or 0.1%, to $90.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil supplies down 1.2 mln barrels last week: API
Quote References
-53.27 -51.01%


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Honors & Awards
- Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2013)
- Big 12 Commissioner's Fall Academic Honor Roll (2009)
Fifth-year senior Colby Starkebaum worked his way into a role on the Huskers' special teams units in his final season at Nebraska. Starkebaum was one of Nebraska's top performers on kickoff coverage, helping the Huskers field one of the Big Ten's top units in that area.
Starkebaum finished the year with six tackles, while playing in every game. Starkebaum was one of seven former walk-ons awarded a scholarship before the start of the 2013 season. He was one of 19 Nebraska seniors to play in the Gator Bowl as a graduate after earning his degree in December.
2013 (Senior)
Starkebaum played in every game on special teams while adding depth at linebacker. He made five of his six tackles on special teams, including two solo stops at Purdue. He added a tackle at linebacker against Southern Miss.
2012 (Junior)
Starkebaum played against Idaho State, but did not record a tackle.
2011 (Sophomore)
Starkebaum was a reserve linebacker, but did not see game action.
2010 (Redshirt Freshman)
Starkebaum added depth at linebacker, but did not appear in a game.
2009 (Redshirt)
Starkebaum redshirted and worked on the scout team.
Before Nebraska (Sterling HS)
Starkebaum was a standout two-way performer as a running back and linebacker for Coach Mark Bauder. Starkebaum's play earned him honorable-mention Class 3A all-state honors from the Rocky Mountain News. He was also a member of the wrestling team and a standout track performer in the long and triple jump. As a junior, Starkebaum finished eighth in the triple jump at the state championships and went on to claim fifth as a senior.
Colby is the son of John and Julia Starkebaum, and he was born on May 25, 1990. An agronomy major, he was named to the 2009 Big 12 Fall Academic Honor Roll.
» Games Played -- 14 (1 in 2012; 13 in 2013)
» Tackles -- 3 solo, 3 assisted, 6 total (all in 2013)


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IUCN Environmental Law Centre has published the first three volumes of the 'ABS Series' – a five-volume sub-series of the ELP's Environmental Policy and Law Papers. The Series provides intensively researched expert analysis by internationally respected authors and contributors on key issues of access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing under the CBD.
The books no. 1, 2 and 3 address the 'access' and the 'user side' of ABS as well as questions about tracking and monitoring the international flows of genetic resources. The ABS Series represents the centerpiece of The ABS Project, which has been carried out by the ELC since 2003, with the financial support of the German Federal Ministry for Development Cooperation (BMZ).
The third book of the ABS Series – A Moving Target: Genetic Resources and Options for Tracking and Monitoring their International Flows, edited by Manuel Ruiz Muller and Isabel Lapeña (in collaboration with the Sociedad Peruana del Derecho Ambiental (SPDA)) is now available in print and for download from the ELP website.
This book examines the question of how genetic resources can be tracked and monitored, an element or mechanism that has been indicated would be essential for ensuring that ABS rules and requirements are complied with. It focuses on a number of different perspectives on this issue, considering legal, practical, economic and scientific approaches and issues.
The first book of the Series – Addressing the Problems of Access: Protecting Sources, While Giving Users Certainty, by Jorge Cabrera Medaglia and Christian López-Silva, EPLP 67/1 – focuses on the aspect of access to genetic resources. Recognizing that all existing ABS legislation addresses only the "provider side" of the ABS issue, this book brings together a comprehensive analysis of that body of legislation, and considers the aspects that are still non-functional or have not yet been properly addressed.
The second book – Beyond Access: Exploring Implementation of the Fair and Equitable Sharing Commitment in the CBD, by Morten Walløe Tvedt and Tomme Young (in collaboration with the Fridtjof Nansen Institute), EPLP 67/2 – addresses the "user side" and the main questions surrounding the benefit sharing obligation of Article 15.7 of the CBD. It provides the first intensive analysis of national legislation addressing the user side of the ABS issue and examines the problem of "user measures" and the significant additional work that is needed by user countries as well as the negotiations of the international regime on ABS if the ABS regime is to become functional.
Book No. 4 of the ABS Series ("Contracting for ABS: The Legal and Scientific Implications of Bioprospecting Contracts") and book No. 5 ("Covering ABS: Addressing the Need for Sectoral, Geographical, Legal and International Integration in the ABS Regime") are being finalized and will be available soon.
Further relevant publications by the ELC include:
Explanatory Guide to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Gerald Moore and Witold Tymowski, 2005
Accessing Biodiversity and Sharing the Benefits: Lessons from Implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity, edited by Santiago Carrizosa, Stephen B. Brush, Brian D. Wright, Patrick E. McGuire, 2004 Available in English and Chinese.
ABS information brochure in German language
The ELC has also developed an information brochure on ABS in German, with support from the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. Published in September 2007, the brochure presents ABS issues in a nutshell and provides numerous links for further information. It is also available in electronic format.


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Certified Pre-Owned 2017 VolvoXC60 T6 AWD Dynamic SUV
- Stock: 319353A
- Odometer
- 43,989 miles
- Fuel Economy
- 19.0/27.0 mpg City/Hwy
- Exterior Color
- Magic Blue
- Interior Color
- Blonde Off-Black
- Body/Seating
- SUV/5 seats
- Transmission
- 8 speed automatic
- Drivetrain
- All-Wheel Drive
- Engine
- 2.0L I-4 cyl
Volvo XC60
Highlighted Features
- Navigation system
- Blind spot sensor
- Leather upholstery
- Automatic temperature control
- Emergency communication system
- Power moonroof
- Premium audio system
- Wireless phone connectivity
Dealer Notes
Sensus Navigation with Mapcare, Blind Spot Information System, Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Change Merge Aid, Rear Park Assist Camera, Front/Rear Park Assist, Laminated Panoramic Roof with Power Sunshade, Power Driver Seat with Memory including Exterior Rearview Mirrors, Power Passenger Seat, Power Lumbar Support, Heated Front Seats, Leather Seating Surfaces, Power Operated Tailgate with Programmable Memory Setting, Keyless Drive, City Safety Low Speed Collision Avoidance, Roll Stability Control, Corner Traction Control, HomeLink Integrated Garage Door Opener, Electric Folding Rear Headrests, High-Performance Audio System, Volvo On-Call, Sensus Connect, Bluetooth Integrated Interface including Audio Streaming, Sirius Satellite Radio, HD Radio, Adaptive Digital TFT Display, Rain-Sensing Windshield Wipers, LED Daytime Running Lights, Auto Dimming Rearview Mirror, Auto Dimming Exterior Mirrors, 3-Spoke Leather Steering Wheel, Linear Walnut Wood Inlay, Accent Lighting, 12-Volt Power Outlet in Cargo Area, Tinted Rear Glasses and more. Call us TODAY for complete details and to schedule your personal test drive.--732/248-0500.
Detailed Specifications
KBB.com Consumer Reviews
- 4.0
Great Entry Into the Luxury Market
By Woozard44 on Friday, June 03, 2016My wife and I traded in our 2007 Ford Edge for a 2016 XC60 R-Design Polestar. We looked at many other vehicles including the BMW x1, Volvo v60, Mercedes GLA, Lincoln MKC. To date, we could not be happier with our decision. The vehicle normally makes about 300 hp, but with the Polestar update it gets 325 HP and 350 lbft. It is much quicker than anything else we looked at. It is true that the infotainment system is dated, but in reality the number pad system is something you can use with your eyes on the road and is an interface most are used to and is simple to operate. The seats and leather are soft and comfortable and I have not noticed any quality issues yet. The car is no M or AMG, but it is exciting to see what Polestar can do with just a simple tune; I would imagine that their future with volvo is bright. The springs are a bit softer than I would like but firm enough to allow spirited driving without being crashy like the German competition. Based on reviews, I was worried about gas mileage but we are averaging around 22 with a lot of around town operation, on an engine that really hasn't been broken in yet, which is better than I expected. The luxury establishment (BMW, Mercedes) has its hold on peoples opinions but their entry levels are underpowered, loud and cheaply made once you really examine the interior quality. Out the door, the XC60 was significantly less than a used 2016 X1, despite being larger, faster and having more options. People really need to avert their eyes from the German manufacturers glare and look elsewhere. The domestics and lesser known european brands are making some hugely competitive vehicles.
- 5.0
awesome SUV!!!
By Lisa on Sunday, May 22, 2016I have aways wanted a Volvo and purchased the XC-60 AWD a year ago. Love, love, love it and recommend to anyone looking for an SUV. The safety especially in rainy weather is amazing. I feel so confident in heavy rains due to traction control, handling and weight of the SUV. During a recent ice/snow storm, yes in North Carolina, my husband drive it and there were no problems what so ever. We are getting ready to purchase a Volvo Sedan S60. Great on trips, love the confidence and reliability.
- 5.0
Great long-term car
By E.B. 96 on Monday, December 24, 2018I love my XC60 because my previous car ('11 VW Touareg TDI) was simply unreliable. Obscene repair costs, coupled with a diesel engine that ultimately resulted in a generous buyback made for an easy decision to trade it in. After much research, I ended up in my '17 XC60 for several reasons; chief among which is the low cost of operation. Midsized SUVs in this segment often run on premium fuel and still achieve underwhelming fuel economy - my car runs on regular and is averaging over 25 MPG in mostly city driving, yet can easily turn upwards of 30 MPG on longer highway stints. With high safety ratings, my insurance costs dropped as well, not to mention the fact that my particular car came with a 5-year free service contract because I was a former owner of a VW product... so I will have no out-of-pocket expenses related to my car until the early 2020s. The car is also extremely comfortable - the front seats are great, even for a tall (6'4") driver - there is ample cargo room and the audio system is extremely impressive, especially the levels of bass it can achieve. If I had to talk about a single gripe, it would be about the rear seat legroom - I sometimes have friends riding with me, and behind my seating position, it can be somewhat uncomfortable, but ultimately it is a small price (I don't even have to personally pay) to enjoy the car. I would absolutely recommend this car.


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Mark Lennihan / AP
Superstorm Sandy debris is seen in the parking lot of Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaway section of Queens on Wednesday.
NEW YORK -- Last summer it was packed with beachgoers, a parking lot where New Yorkers stashed their cars, applied sunscreen and dragged lawn chairs, coolers and umbrellas across the blacktop toward the shore.
Today it's an enormous waste collection site half a mile long and a quarter-mile wide, piled high with debris from the flooding caused by Superstorm Sandy.
Though the flow of debris has slowed a little, the cleanup job is far from over.
New York City officials have determined that around 350 homes in the city are beyond salvation, including 80 in Breezy Point alone, said Fred Strickland, the resident engineer from the Army Corps of Engineers, which is helping the New York Department of Sanitation with the cleanup.
If all goes according to plan, the city will condemn the houses and demolish them, and Strickland's team will help haul away the rubble.
Twisted steel, waterlogged wood, broken furniture and countless mattresses already fill the parking lot that normally serves one of New York's most popular ocean beaches.
Hundreds of trucks come and go around the clock bringing material collected from the streets of the Far Rockaways and Breezy Point, where water from Sandy's storm surge tore apart homes and buildings. Residents are still digging out.
The temporary garbage dump at Jacob Riis Park in Queens is one of several sites around the city being used this way. The size of the dump reflects the enormity of the damage caused by the storm. The debris just keeps coming.
"Our mission is to clear the right of way -- sidewalk to sidewalk," said Strickland.
Strickland said his collectors are making constant rounds of the hardest-hit neighborhoods, going back for more debris as homeowners clean out flood-damaged homes.
Strickland expects his assignment, paid for by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to take four months.
Residents of the Jersey Shore talk to Nightly News about surviving Hurricane Sandy as they search for pieces of their past amid the wreckage. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
"I'll probably get to see the ball drop in Times Square this year," said Strickland, who is from California.
Strickland works out of a high-tech trailer parked on the edge of the dump. Inside are maps of the New York area, tasks and reminders scribbled onto whiteboards, and several computers. He says by Saturday he expects to have a thousand vehicles and roughly four thousand people working on the cleanup.
Has Sandy left you in the lurch?
If you're in need of aid and not getting any, we'd like to hear from you via this link
The debris hauled to the site by the Army Corps is being combed over by workers for the Environmental Protection Agency, then trucked over to Staten Island, put on a barge and floated up the Hudson river to a landfill near Albany.
At the site, the EPA workers don full-body suits and gas masks and then scramble through the piles of debris to pick out hazardous materials like aerosol cans and electrical appliances.
Other EPA workers test the air for a range of hazards including bacteria, viruses and fungal agents, hazardous fumes, and lead paint. Workers on the site are drawing on experiences from Hurricane Katrina and the devastating tornado that hit Joplin, Mo., over a year ago.
The Army Corps said it has hauled 4,500 tons to Jacob Riis already; the sanitation department, which is also using the site, said it has cycled through ten times that amount.
Surveillance video from the New York-New Jersey Port Authority shows water from Superstorm Sandy gushing into a subway station in hard-hit Hoboken, N.J.
Instead of sending debris upstate via barge, the sanitation department has been moving it to landfills out of state, including one in Pennsylvania. Citywide, the department said it has collected a quarter of a million tons of debris.
"It's historic, the amount of tonnage," said Joe Hickey, assistant sanitation chief at the department. He added that if the debris piles were to be lined up end to end they would stretch for two miles.
Once the debris is gone, Hickey said the sanitation department will bring in street sweepers and other machines to scrub away the last traces of the dump.
"When the Department of Sanitation gets done with this, if you didn't know already that this is used the way it's been used, you would never know," he said.
More content from NBCNews.com:
- Oil rig explodes in Gulf of Mexico; 2 missing, others hospitalized
- 'Twilight' movie shooting plot foiled, police say
- Wounded vet dies saving wife on parade float in Texas train accident
- Woman pulls gun on flasher: 'I'm going to blow your brains out'
- Human waste still pouring into NY Harbor after Sandy
- Video: Feinstein: Susan Rice used approved CIA talking points on Benghazi


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This blog has been very quiet this year, not only because I have recently started running the development team at Paradise, but because I have returned to my teenage hobby – The Air Training Corps; after almost ten years of leaving!
Part of my return to the Air Cadets involves going back into uniform as a Royal Air Force VR(T) Officer; which is no easy task, so I have been dedicating a lot of my time to this, to make sure I pass with flying colours (no pun intended).
I fully intend in the next few months; well maybe after my wedding in July, to start blogging again; possibly giving a few stories and highlights of my journey to becoming a VR(T) Officer along the way.
Venture Adventure – Per Ardua Ad Astra
Tags: Coding, Backseat, VRT, ATC
Air Cadets
I just installed PHP 5.2.17 on our new web server running Windows Server 2008 R2 64bit and IIS 7.5 and created a phpinfo.php file in the wwwroot folder to test that PHP had installed correctly.
However, on running the file, I was hit in the face with this nasty error: "C:\Program Files (x86)\PHP\php-cgi.exe terminated unexpectedly".
After spending more than an hour trying to figure this out, I recall that I encountered this issue before on our previous web server; yes, making notes on previous gotchas is a must, there's only so much information that can fit in this forgetful head. So this will serve as a reminder to myself as well as help anyone else that comes across this error.
In the php.ini file make sure that you comment out the following sections to get past this error:
[PHP_OCI8] extension=php_oci8.dll
[PHP_PDO_OCI] extension=php_pdo_oci.dll [PHP_PDO_OCI8] extension=php_pdo_oci8.dll
[PHP_PDO_SQLITE] extension=php_pdo_sqlite.dll [PHP_PDO_SQLITE_EXTERNAL] extension=php_pdo_sqlite_external.dll
[PHP_PSPELL] extension=php_pspell.dll
[PHP_SYBASE_CT] extension=php_sybase_ct.dll
Hope this helps everyone!
Note to self: Remember that you wrote this post!
Tags: PHP, Windows Server 2008 R2, IIS 7.5
After spending the last day trying to figure out why; after upgrading from SQL Server 2008 to 2008 R2, my intellisense stopped working, it turns out that all you need to do is install SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 – Simples.
That is all
Tags: SQL Server 2008 R2, Intellisense
Well after taking two days to recover after The Critters (yep, I'm getting too old for this partying malarky), I thought it'd be a good idea to give a quick update on the antics of the night; as well as trying to help me piece the night back together again (I blame the White Russian that Martin bought me ).
The adventure started around half past four in the afternoon, myself and Andy boarded the train and headed towards the Big Smoke. Trust me, this is exciting because there hasn't been a train station in Corby for about 50 years. Excitement over.
After an hours journey and making ghost noises as we went through tunnels (we didn't really, but a part of me wanted to), we arrived in London. Now to find the hotel; which I wish we hadn't!
We found ourselves staying at probably the worst Travelodge in existence; Travelodge Kings Cross Royal Scot. Remember that name, DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT STAY THERE…EVER!! We arrived at the hotel, checked in, walked into the room (a twin room, before anyone says anything ), quite literally walked into the room; the door was broken (no card necessary, just pushed it right open). WARNING: PICTURES OF ROOM TO FOLLOW.
Broken draws
Kettle and Mugs for…just hot water (another broken draw)
A mouldy window
And some wonky lights
Well, after the initial shock and figuring out how to lock the door. We made our way to The Critters at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden. It has to be said that we probably walked past the club a few times, until we noticed the building number, I might be visually impaired, but I'm sure the sign in the window said Tabitha's. Anyhoo, we ventured inside and all the bad memories of the hotel disappeared.
What an amazing place (well done ubelly!). We all gathered upstairs (going through what I called the drinks corridor), one Stella for me thank you and had a quick scout about trying to put Tweeps to real faces.
My first brush with celebrity came when I met Sad Keanu , or was it Prince. I've no idea why he was so sad, he was accompanied by two lovely ladies (Alex and Sara), who managed to snap the picture of me with Keanu.
After a bit of mingling and chatting with PeteTheDev & Matt Ballantine, the awards ceremony began.
All votes were cast using smart phones and the brilliant app Screach, none of this paper ballot stuff, results of which can be found here. A huge congratulations to nominees and winners! All well deserved
It was then time (after a few more beers) to journey into the realm of the memetastic karaoke booth with Martin and sing Friday. I don't have a copy of the video yet, but I have been informed that the "performance" is disturbing .
Again some great chats with Simon, Dees & Rob Hawkes. Really inspirational guys!
It was soon after that I had a temporary lapse of memory, due to the White Russian (not the several glasses of wine) I always forget that Vodka doesn't agree with me. I have a vague recollection of singing Never gonna give you up (I assume there will be video evidence, I apologise in advance). It wasn't long after this, that we decided to depart.
My thanks have to go to the ubelly team for an amazing event and the invites, it was greatly appreciated. The event of the year for me so far. It was also great to finally put online faces to real faces, everyone I met was friendly, amazing and inspirational.
Let's hope for another event like this next year!
Tags: Ubelly, The Critters, Memes, Shindig
I've managed to get some time to look at a problem that started a while back after we upgraded a project to Visual Studio 2010, thankfully it was a relatively easy one to fix. But, I thought I'd post a resolution to it anyway, just in case.
During our daily build we kept getting the following error:
"error MSB4019: The imported project "C:\Program Files\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\Microsoft.WebApplication.targets" was not found. Confirm that the path in the <Import> declaration is correct, and that the file exists on disk."
To resolve the error, you need to create the folder structure (C:\Program Files\MSBuild\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v10.0\WebApplications\) on the build server and copy the Microsoft.WebApplication.Build.Task.dll and Microsoft.WebApplication.targets files from your development machine to the new directory on the build server.
You should now get a successful build
Tags: TFS, Build, Visual Studio 2010
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C# Senior .NET Developer with a passion for clean, maintainable and re-usable code. Loves to code and say a few words!


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As you can imagine, I possess a whole lot of recipes. Even if you took away my cookbooks, I could still cook a new recipe every night for at least a year — probably two — just from my recipe files.
I am always looking for recipes. I cut them out of the newspapers and magazines, I pick up recipe cards in the grocery store, and I am blessed to have friends who lovingly pass them on to me. In addition to all these outlets, I receive several emails a week from recipe sites, and now I'm into Pinterest, which always leads me to a new cooking blog with all these good recipes I have to print out! I'm on recipe overload ... and I'm loving every minute of it.
With this huge collection of recipes, if you were to tell me I could only hold on to a few, I would of course take my family recipes and then I would pull the recipes I've gotten off boxes, cans and other manufactured products through the years. The family recipes because I know what they taste like, and the manufacturer's recipes because I know that they have been tested and only the best ones have been chosen to put on the back of their products.
Big food manufacturers spend millions of dollars each year testing their products and developing recipes to highlight them so we, the consumer, will purchase their product on a repeated basis. One of the best examples of the value of test kitchens is probably the Campbell Soup Company. The Campbell "home economist," as they were referred to back then, changed the way the American housewife cooked in 1934 by creating recipes and showing how easy and economical it was to use Campbell's new soup, cream of mushroom. Some of their recipes, like green bean casserole and tuna casserole are still used today, and what well stocked pantry doesn't have a can or two of some type of cream soup in it?
The first pound cake I ever baked came from the side of a Swan's Down Cake Flour box, and I still use that recipe at Miss Sophie's. The best oatmeal cookie recipe I have ever made came from the top of a Quaker Oatmeal canister — and Baker's One Bowl Brownie is the simplest and most moist brown you can make. I have rarely gone wrong relying on a recipe on the back of a product.
So when you head off to the grocery store this week, schedule a little extra time in, and instead of rushing through the aisles, stop and read the recipes. Your next masterpiece may be on the back of an unassuming can.
Just in case you missed these on the back of the product — here's a keeper to file away in your recipe box.
Teri Bell is co-owner of Miss Sophie's Marketplace at the Mighty Eighth in Pooler. Go to sophiesmarketplace.com.


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Book News: Tom Clancy Remembered As The Father Of A Genre
Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.
- Tributes for writer Tom Clancy, who died on Tuesday at age 66, have poured in from other authors, who note that his fast-paced and technology-heavy thrillers redefined a genre. Bestselling author Brad Meltzer told NPR's Lynn Neary: "I, in my books, write thrillers that are full of government secrets, that are researched with people at the highest levels of that government. I wish I invented that genre. I didn't. Tom Clancy did." Meanwhile, Paranoia author Joseph Finder told Here & Now that Clancy "influenced a generation — a couple of generations — of thriller writers. He really launched the techno-thriller. Whether he invented it or not isn't important. He really created this genre, which was all about the power and the intrigue of weaponry." Or, as Clancy himself put it, "Remember, for every shot you fire, someone, somewhere, is making money."
- Dave Eggers has responded to Kate Losse's claim that he "ripped off" her memoir about working at Facebook for his new book, The Circle, which is also set in the tech world. In a statement emailed to various news organizations, Eggers wrote, "I want to make it clear that I have never read and have never heard of her book before today. ... Because The Circle has not been released, it's my understanding that Kate Losse has not read my novel yet, so I trust that when she does read it she'll understand that I have not read, and certainly never lifted anything from, her book."
- In an essay for The New Yorker's Page Turner blog, Adelle Waldman considers the problem of female beauty in novels, and argues that, unlike many other male novelists, Richard Yates and Jonathan Franzen are "clear-sighted and acute chroniclers of the male gaze."
- The Guardian is live-blogging the UK's National Poetry Day.
- Edward Mendelson makes an unexpectedly convincing comparison between Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. He writes: "Like all of Virginia Woolf's novels and, despite their misplaced reputation for high-tech cleverness, all of Thomas Pynchon's novels, including his latest one, both books point toward the kind of knowledge of the inner life that only poems and novels can convey, a knowledge that eludes all other techniques of understanding, and that the bureaucratic and collective world disdains or ignores. Yet for anyone who has ever known, even in a crowded room, the solitude and darkness that Clarissa and Oedipa enter for a few moments, that experience, however brief and elusive, is 'another mode of meaning behind the obvious' and, however obscured behind corruption, lies, and chatter, 'a thing there was that mattered.' "
- For The New York Times, William Grimes writes about the German crime author Jakob Arjouni: "George Bernard Shaw once remarked that there were two things that Germans have no talent for: revolution and crime novels. Jakob Arjouni proved him half wrong, at any rate."
- Jim Crace, whom the Evening Standard has called the favorite (I'm sorry — favourite) to win this year's Man Booker Prize, told the newspaper that, though he doesn't have a stance on whether the prize should be extended to Americans, he thinks that "as soon as you get a couple of years running in which the majority of people on that shortlist are Americans, it will seem less essential in England — and therefore they will have succeeded in turning something which is really focused and important into something that is semi-failing in two places."


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At Thanksgiving dinner with my (Anglo) family yesterday, I realized just how Latina-ish I've become.
The conversation turned to the children at the table, and how much they've grown. I said to my oldest son, "You were such a difficult baby. My God, you cried and cried and never shut up."
My oldest son said, "But I'm a good kid now, right?"
"Yes, now you're a great kid," I agreed.
My youngest son puffed out his chest. "I was a good baby, right Mommy?" he bragged.
"Oh yes, you were a very sweet baby. The sweetest!" The youngest son smiled in triumph.
"But, Mommy!" the oldest son said, "I was the cutest, wasn't I? You told me once I looked like a model baby!"
"Yes, when you weren't crying, you were absolutely gorgeous."
My oldest son smiled.
"What about me, Mommy?" the youngest son said, "was I cute?"
"Yeah, you were cute, but you had a big head… at least you grew into it," I said smiling and kissing his cabezón.
This is when I realized my entire family was looking on at this exchange in complete horror. The only person not looking horrified was Mr. López. My little sister mumbled, "Well, this will be the Thanksgiving they'll remember in therapy."
I felt a little embarrassed then, realizing what the conversation looked like through their eyes. I looked like a terrible mother, but these things I said to them are not things I haven't said to them before, and in this way, the boys are not Anglo at all. They don't take it personal, they are not traumatized. They take it in good humor, because this is the way Latino families lovingly joke with each other. It's not uncommon for a family member who hasn't seen you for a couple years to say, "Look at how fat you got!" and then to embrace you with a rib-crushing hug. No hurt feelings! (Admittedly, I can dish it out, but I can't always take it.)
But later on the way home in the car, I began to worry, what if my boys are more Anglicized than I think? What if they're harboring secret hurt feelings over my words? And so I asked them.
"Hey guys, what I said at the dinner table about you as babies, it didn't hurt your feelings did it?"
"No," they both said, bewildered.
"I was just joking around," I said, in case they weren't being honest.
"We know," my oldest son said.
"Yeah," the youngest son said, "it just means you love us."
"Right," I smiled.


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I was interviewed by Stefania from Italian magazine Subvertising last week. It was an interesting interview, that really made me think through my stance on brands and transmedia – the how, the why, and the why nots.
One point I feel the need to elaborate a little bit on is how I think brands and companies easily can benefit from applying transmedia storytelling methods for their products as well as for their brands and companies. Stefanie asked me if I saw a likeness between transmedia on the one hand and brand engagement on the other hand. My answer was:
Certainly. That's why I believe that brands can have so much use of transmedia storytelling methods; there is no need to go all out and throw iPad apps paired with graphic novels at people in order to market a cookie brand, but the cookie brand could make enormous use of the way transmedia projects are developed – building the story world the brand wants to exist in, planning narrative superstructures that fit the image of the brand and its products, developing entry points for the audience, things to collaborate on and share as well as a reason to do so and the tools to do so, and to share their creations with their friends… all in all, transmedia storytelling has a lot to offer brands.
To clarify the brief answer above, here are five points I believe matter for brands and companies when thinking about applying transmedia storytelling methods to their marketing and image building:
1. Building and strengthening foundations
One core trait of transmedia storytelling is the art of creating more. The art of either finding out a lot of background stuff that is not readily apparent, or creating new background stuff if needs be. A good example is the case of Avatar, where the team from Starlightrunner spent a lot of time interviewing all the creators, from James Cameron onwards, about life on Pandora, linguistics, flora and fauna etc. With this as a tome, a bible to refer to, creating new additional material becomes easier.
Looking at a brand, the same principles apply, whether you're a 100 year old Fortune 500 company or a startup fresh out of Y Combinator. By researching the background of the company, the key people from its' history and the key current people there, milestones in the history, accidents and events and successes, dreams and hopes and thrills and bellyaches, the foundation (or "story world" as it would be called in a transmedia setting) becomes that much stronger and can therefore support an increasingly greater number of stories, campaigns and intiatives.
The likeness of the story tunnel is a good one, told by Jeff Gomez; if your story is a tunnel leading from point A to point B, the walls of the tunnel are the story world. Whereever there are inconsistencies or something missing from the story world, cracks appear in the walls, spoiling the experience of your story. The solution is to build your story world, your foundations, solid enough not to let anything unwanted to shine through.
2. Finding new entry points and new routes of communication
When that foundation, that story world, is in place, there will be a deep well to turn to. This is a well filled with possibilities; dip your creative bucket in, haul it up and examine all the possible story lines, entry points and interactive elements you've just unearthed. Choose the ones that will fit your purposes the best this time and pour the remaining ones back into the well; they'll be there the next time you need new inspirational material.
Examples are difficult to tell, as there will be at least as many different possibilities / story worlds, as there are companies. But, for instance, imagine a 70 year old brand, unearthing in the process of working on the foundation, that the grandson of the company's co-founder has a charity running in Latin America. This would one way of engaging customers in a way that connects logically with the brand and achieves a lot of goodwill. Or perhaps there is an amateur theatre company working out of the brand's original headquarters, where a co-operation would be natural, or just about anything else you can think of. New entry points for the audience and the customers, new routes of communication to the audience, to the customers (and routes that do not feel like "advertising", but as natural parts of the company / brand).
3. Get closer to the audience / consumers
Now, this is what I would like to do as a brand; identify my target audience and become a natural part of their everyday life. Granted, this is easier said than done.
On our transmedia panel at Cross Video Days last week, one of the topics we talked about was the subject of approaching and building an audience. Starting from scratch is always an uphill struggle, unless you have some form of inroad; great, well known creative talent, big marketing budget etc. Another way is to approach an already existing community; a Facebook group, a discussion forum, a club or an organization of some kind, that correlates with your project and your content. Finding these can be hard, and approaching them can be even harder; just dropping a link or do a "hey! Look at what we've done!" smacks of shameless self promotion and is likely to achieve derision rather than appreciation.
But, having developed the project and the content according to transmedia storytelling principles, you have a greater chance of finding inroads into the community that will feel logical and compelling. This is helped by the fact that researching such communities and becoming a natural part of them should be one of the top priorities of your project during the development phase.
4. Creating spokespersons within the company
At times, I have had a hard time explaining exactly what my company does. I guess the same goes for a lot of other people, more so for the ones working in bigger companies. Many also struggle to find any reason to communicate about the company they work for themselves.
By utilizing transmedia storytelling methods in the context of a company, or a brand for that matter in cases when these two are not synonomous, anyone working in that company or with that brand will have a number of avenues to go down when it comes to acting as advocates for the company they're representing.
A good slogan or a good tagline is good, yes. But often it doesn't tell very much about the company or the brand. What passes for "About" pages on the web sites of many companies also make for pretty unimpressive reading. The gems that are unearthed when applying transmedia storytelling methods on the other hand, are stories. Stories that reflect the desired image of the company, stories that are coherent and sync with each other – stories that any employee can relate onwards, thereby strengthening the power and image of the company or brand. Furthermore, such stories will help employees arrive at the same view point when it comes to looking at the company. The question of "Who do I work for and what do we do?" becomes easier to answer if you can relate to the number of stories that form the mythology of the company or the brand.
5. Planning for the long haul
Many ad campaigns or brand awareness-raising campaigns have a beginning, a middle and an end. Some have a second campaign planned to build on the first one. Some might be connected to some other form of IP (movies, TV series, book etc) and thereby gain a form of longevity. Many, however, have not and are not.
When applying transmedia storytelling methods in the context of a company or a brand, this should be one of the great advantages. By researching thoroughly, creating more, laying the foundation, build the mythology and document it in a tome or bible, not only is it possible to achieve the things mentioned in the points above, it is also possible to create longer-lasting campaigns that follow each other in a logical way, each offering new unique insights and inroads to the brand. By creating a story arch that spans over several instances – with an added flexibility to adapt according to feedback and input from the audience – it is possible to discard the one-offs and create meaningful, long running stories that support the desired image of the brand (one case could be made for the way the Avengers brand has been handled, see Jeff Gomez' case study here).
This post became way longer than I had anticipated, sorry for that. If there are any comments anyone would like to add, please feel free to do so.


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In the german InStyle is a full Page of Fur-Bags and i was so happy that they are really trendy right now because i bought one a few Months ago at the H&M Online-Sale! So i wore it today with an all Black Outfit and my favourite Boots.
Add me on Facebook and lookbook.nu ;)
» Read More...


text:
Role Description:
The successful candidate will:
Essential Experience:
Essential Skills:
Desirable Skills and Experience:
Other Information:
Include a portfolio with examples of your work.
Our work is both challenging and rewarding. You'll need a positive attitude and the ability to work independently, to adapt your style and practices in order to respond to changing circumstances.
You will need to be highly flexible, including willingness to travel frequently and work away from your home base.
Kainos is a professional services organisation with clients spread across the globe and we deliver projects both from client site, and from our offices. While we will attempt to base you on projects near or at your contracted office location, you need to be willing to travel to client sites and spend time away during the week if it is required.
Given the range and nature of work that we carry out for our clients, all Kainos employees are required to possesses up to date security clearance (Basic Disclosure, Access NI etc.), if you do not already possess this, you will be asked to apply for it prior to joining Kainos.
We're an inclusive bunch at Kainos and we believe in equal opportunity. We welcome applications from all walks
of life, including those with criminal records. Everyone who is offered a position here undergoes a background
check, however no one is treated differently due to their background where it isn't relevant to the role. It's
important to note – failure to reveal information which is relevant to the position sought, could result in us
having to withdraw the conditional offer of employment.
In short: Having a criminal record will not exclude you from a career with Kainos. This depends entirely on the nature and requirements of the position, together with the circumstances and background of offences.


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Ambient Music Blog Podcast: Ambient Music for Blue Light and Snowfall
Photo by dasmart
Welcome to the first edition of the Ambient Music Blog podcast. The idea here is to provide mixes of music for specific contexts. This week the podcast track listing is:
1. All The Lighthouses by Last Days (00:23)
2. Vargtimme by Helios (03:42)
3. The Whole Town Is Against Us by Last Days (07:23)
4. San Solomon (Reprise) by Balmorhea (12:54)
5. The Ruined City by Janek Schaefer (15:46)
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General discussion about Dreamfall -- please do not post spoilers on this forum -- (speculation welcome though!)
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A front-page photograph in the Denver Post of House Speaker Mark Ferrandino kissing his partner has painted a thousand words all right, delivered via phone calls, e-mails, letters and tweets.
A sample:
Robert, from Bennet: What gives the Denver Post the right not only to print the pornographic picture on the front page of the paper, and then send it to my HOME AND MY FAMILY? … If I get one more piece of filth like that sent to me by the Denver Post, I will personally come down to the Post and in no uncertain term see to it that it stops.
@cenlaw: I'm saving today's @denverpost bc of the incredible front page photo. #coleg
Anonymous caller: "OK, but they might be gay but goddammit, don't stick it my face."
Even Ferrandino admits to being a little squeamish about the shot. "My first reaction when I saw it was 'Oh, no,'" the Denver Democrat said.


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Working in Regulatory Affairs is one of those "less well known but interesting career options", particularly if you want to combine technical knowledge with a commercial role.
Regulatory Affairs Officers, Executives and Managers are responsible for pulling together technical, development, quality and safety information on a product, and negotiating with licencing authorities for those products which are regulated. This is particularly associated with the pharmaceutical industry (where critical information needed will also include clinical trials results) but regulated products are also found in the medical devices and chemical industries. The TOPRA ("The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs") website has a good description of what Regulatory Professionals do.
One difficulty, however, is often: how do you get your first post*?
You don't often see "Regulatory Affairs Trainee" posts advertised, whether at graduate or postgraduate level. I have seen occasional "graduate trainee" posts advertised for the big pharma companies, but only sporadically.
Here are 3 strategies for finding your way into this career:
1. Start somewhere else and move sideways
This is the most common route into regulatory affairs. It's such a wide role that having an understanding of technical development, or quality, or safety, or clinical trials could give you an awareness of regulatory frameworks and a good foundation to make a sideways move.
For those aiming at the pharmaceutical industry, TOPRA surveyed its members, asking "Please indicate the area of work of your last NON-regulatory job in the pharmaceutical industry". It's a really revealing list showing the routes which have led regulatory professionals into their current role. This was a 2006 salary survey in which 127 people replied. At that stage around 17% had entered Regulatory Affairs directly from university, but most had come from research, QA, QC, safety and other regulatory roles before ending up in Regulatory Affairs. Another survey of 200 UK regulatory professionals with between 2 and 5 years experience shows only 10% going into the profession straight from university. (You can see the results on a pdf, from this page on the TOPRA website on career pathways – no date given unfortunately, but the pdf dates from 2010.)
I wouldn't be surprised if the number going straight from university to regulatory affairs roles continues to shrink. The organisations who traditionally could afford to take a chance and train up new graduates and postgraduates were the big pharmaceutical companies – and look what's happened to them over the last 10 years. There's still lots of employment in the pharmaceutical sector but the growth areas are in the smaller companies and contract research organisations who often want some sort of proven knowledge or experience of regulation before taking you on.
Another way of finding out how people got into their regulatory roles is to search LinkedIn profiles. You'll need your own LinkedIn account to get access to search, and you'll get more information on individuals' career paths if you have some sort of connection with them (1st or 2nd degree ie you know someone who knows them; or if you are in the same group). It doesn't mean you can randomly send out job requests to anyone you find but it could give you some ideas of alternative starting points.
2. Broaden your search terms
I searched the scientific and health jobs we've advertised through CareersLink over the past year, using the term "regulatory", and found we'd advertised more jobs related to scientific regulation than I'd expected. Most of the posts working within scientific product regulation weren't called "Regulatory Affairs Officers" or trainees. They were often safety, quality, technical or experimental officer roles – but when you read the descriptions, they could give you the experience you'll need to make the move into a purely regulatory role later.
3. Be prepared to start at the bottom
If you haven't got the experience needed to go straight into a regulatory affairs role, and someone else isn't prepared to invest to retrain you, you have to decide if you're prepared to invest in yourself.
Unless you've already got experience in a related role, you're essentially a career changer, and most career changers have to move backwards to ultimately move ahead in their new career. (I know a bit about this. When I moved from a senior management role in industry to a trainee careers adviser, it took me 7 years to get back to my original salary – but I have absolutely no regrets.)
Regulation involves a lot (and I mean a lot) of admin and documentation. You may feel your PhD prepared you for more than a job generating and organising quality or safety documentation relating to regulatory control, but when you're a senior Regulatory Consultant on ~£100K, responsible for Western Europe or Asean markets, you'll look back and realise that investment was worth it.
Further resources
Here are a few other online resources for would-be regulatory affairs professionals:
- Pathways to regulatory affairs careers – opinion pieces from the TOPRA website
- Regulatory affairs officer – career profile, including salaries, career development and further profiles from Prospects
- Delve Deeper – advice on regulatory affairs careers from Hays recruitment agency
- Advice for entry level candidates – from CK Regulatory, another recruitment agency specialising in regulatory posts
NB. I wouldn't recommend relying on either of these agencies (or others) for finding you an entry level post in regulation. Specialist agencies can be great once you've got experience. However, they're unlikely to be very interested in you if you're looking for a career change (why would a company want to pay an agency a fee to find someone with no relevant experience?!).
* This was partly in response to a question from "Weebz" on our Feedback page (thanks – hope it answers your query) but it's a question I've been asked by several scientific postgrads when they've discovered that this sort of career exists.


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5 Ways to Explore Kaikoura
If you planning to visit New Zealand and want to get 'up close and personal' with nature, ensure a few days are spent exploring beautiful Kaikoura.
If you planning to visit New Zealand and want to get 'up close and personal' with nature, ensure a few days are spent exploring beautiful Kaikoura.
There is plenty to see due to the large amount of marine life found just off shore, which is owing to the unique continent shelf and ocean currents. Here are 5 top ideas for exploring the Kaikoura region.
Whale watching
Whale watching is famous NZ attraction in Kaikoura and attracts thousands every year, hop on board a purpose built 'Whale Watch' catamaran and head out for an experience of a lifetime!
From the moment you set off there are a variety of whales and dolphins to be seen, as well as an abundance of other marine life.
The star of the show is definitely the giant sperm whales which the tour guides have fondly nicknamed. A truly magical event, so be sure to bring your camera.
The staff are helpful and provide plenty of information on sea currents, the landscape and marine life. They are also particularly helpful for those who aren't as 'in touch' with their 'sea legs' as they may have hoped.
Whale Watch Kaikoura also boasts a 95% success rate of seeing a whale and if you don't they happily refund 80% of your ticket price.
Kaikoura wilderness walk
This wilderness walk is like no other, choose from 1-3 day stays, which includes accommodation at the Shearwater Lodge for the night as well as unique kiwi cuisine.
The hikes themselves aren't too difficult with plenty of stops and an average walking distance of only 9km spread over the 6 - 7.5 hours each day.
An average level of fitness is needed and there are only a few 'steep' parts on the journey. The scenery in the Puhi Peaks Nature Reserve is just astounding and the tour guides provide lots of neat facts about the region too.
Albatross encounter
Kaikoura is visited by a huge variety of pelagic birds including 12 different species of albatross, yellow eyed and little blue penguins, shearwaters, petrel and too many more to name.
Hop on board a small vessel where you will head out to sea with buckets of fish bits in hope of attracting sea birds. The skippers know the area and bird species well so getting up close is never a problem - although I'm sure the fish bits help the situation!
Skydive Kaikoura
Take a break from the subdued nature of the wildlife encounters and gear up for an extreme adrenaline rush with a tandem skydive over Kaikoura's picturesque landscape.
Once in the air the views are absolutely jaw-dropping, with stunning mountains to one side and the ocean peninsula of Kaikoura on the other.
Skydive Kaikoura offers the most personal skydiving experience in New Zealand with Henk and Sarah really going out of their way to ensure you are as comfortable and informed about the skydive as possible.
They are supportive from start to finish and understand the varying confidence levels between visitors. You are guaranteed to have an awesome experience with Skydive Kaikoura.
Seal Kayaking tour
Seal kayaking is absolutely amazing and the trip offers excellent value for money. Everything you need is provided as well as a full safety run down before the tour commences, helpful for those feeling reserved about kayaking in the ocean.
Once the formalities are aside you hop into a kayak and paddle out into the Kaikoura Peninsula with your group.
The first thing you see is NZ fur seals bathing on the rocks and as you paddle closer watch as they swim about looking for dinner.
You will also see many different species of birds and friendly dolphins. The tours operate all year round and are suitable for all ages, definitely give it a go.
For more information contact Whale Watch Kaikoura.


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Today Zen Studios revealed that X-Men will be the latest entry in its Vengeance & Virtue series of Marvel-themed tables for Pinball FX2, joining Ghost Rider.
Pinball wizards will be tasked with assembling the X-Men, teaching them their powers, and overcoming the threat posed by Magneto — who tears up the floor of the machine, destroys ramps and manipulates the silver ball. (He does so, but subtly, in this trailer). Zen has built beautiful virtual pinball tables that take advantage of video game physics without shattering the game's structure, so it's a natural for them to impose magnetism — long the pinballer's nemesis, real or imagined — on this one.
A news release says:
The table features missions inspired by actual comic events, such as Magneto's destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge (NEW X-MEN #147) and a pinball version of the Dark Phoenix Saga that uses actual dialogue from classic issues of THE UNCANNY X-MEN. There is even a confrontation with the Juggernaut in which Cyclops, Iceman, Colossus and Psylocke exemplify good teamwork as they attempt to stop the unstoppable.
No specific release date was given with this launch trailer. These tables will be available as downloadable content for Pinball FX2 on the Xbox 360 and Marvel Pinball on the PlayStation 3. There are two more tables to be announced in the Vengeance & Virtue series.


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The joys and perils of motherhood, the hovering shadow of infant mortality, and the sting of loneliness and rejection merge as Mary Shelley creates her masterwork, Frankenstein. The Creature that Dr. Frankenstein produces, an assemblage of disparate elements, coalesces into a monster with a human soul. His horrific appearance conceals the gentlest heart. Through no fault of his own, he is forced to descend into evil deeds. Excerpts from the 1818 edition of Frankenstein, music, and dance interwoven with Mary Shelley's letters and diaries create parallel narratives as both dramas unfold. Featuring Bach-inspired music of the 19th century, from Liszt, Schubert and Bach.
Back to All Events
Later Event: December 22Mary Shelley's Frankenstein


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David Letterman was suffering from both a hoarse voice and a cold last night, and his main guest, comedian Chris Rock, saw that as an opportunity to mercilessly mock the talk show host's messy personal life:
"Dave, what the hell happened to your voice?" Rock asked. "You're still doing the show? You're a rich man, you could just go home!" Then Rock sniped, "Wife still mad at you, ain't she." Rock also joked that Letterman had "fired all the cute girls" that used to be backstage. Now it's just "a bunch of fat old guys," he lamented. Of course, Letterman had a comeback for that.


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If there's a recession, someone forgot to tell all the people who flocked to Gainesville in the middle of the day Friday.
I worked half day and then drove to the mall to pick up something that I can't get locally. Then I decided to travel over to Archer Road to the craft store to pick up my daughter some clay--her new medium of choice.
It took me 30 minutes to drive from one parking lot to another...a normal 10 minute trip. I spent 20 minutes of that 30 minute journey either stalled in bumper to bumper traffic or looking for a parking spot.
Where do these people come from? I wondered. Why aren't the children in school? Does everyone have a flexible job schedule that lets them shop in the middle of a work day? And where is all the money coming from?
People were shopping and spending like it was income tax refund time. And the restaurants! Goodness! Lines everywhere.
Recession? I'm having my doubts.
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1156 Wellington Rd., London, ON, Canada, N6E 1M3
Phone: (519) 685-9300 Fax: (519) 685-0081
Supports Green Practices
"Supports Green Initiatives" designates a hotel's participation in an optional environmental program that includes the use of energy-efficient lighting, guestroom towel/linen re-use, and on-premise recycling. "Supports Green Initiatives" does not represent an official certification of any kind.
Join free while you book
There is no catch. Join for free, and get access to exclusive perks!
Access to exclusive promotions and low, member-only pricing
10 points per dollar that add up fast... for free nights, gift cards or your dream getaway
Instant extra rewards for your weekday travel
Exclusive flexible rate for Choice Privileges members when you book direct at ChoiceHotels.ca or through the Choice Hotels Mobile App. Valid at most International and U.S. Choice Hotels locations. Must be or become a Choice Privileges member prior to making the booking. Discount rate is non-transferable or redeemable for cash, cannot be used for future stays or existing reservations and may not be combined with other promotions, offers or discounts. Unless otherwise stated, quoted rates are per room, per night, based on single/double occupancy and do not include taxes, gratuities or incidental charges. Early departure fees, deposit and cancellation restrictions may apply and will vary by hotel. Not valid at vacation rental properties.
This Comfort Inn® hotel is set near many of London's attractions, including White Oaks Mall, Storybook Gardens, the Budweiser Gardens hockey arena, the University of Western Ontario, Fanshawe College and the Western Fair raceway and casino.
This London hotel is also central to many local business and government offices including General Dynamic and 3M Canada.
Tastefully appointed rooms feature either two double beds or one queen-size bed. Amenities include hair dryers, coffee makers, ironing equipment, and cable television and 32" LCD flat screen TV's. Drive-up rooms with microwaves and refrigerators are also available and whirlpool bathtubs are featured in select rooms. Non-smoking and handicap accessible rooms are available. Business travellers enjoy the enhanced amenities of the hotel's business class guest rooms.
This hotel offers an outside picnic area with barbecue for guest convenience.
Guests of this Comfort Inn hotel enjoy many high value amenities, including:
Check-In Time: 15:00 Check-Out Time: 11:00 Guest Rooms: 77


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Law enforcement officials are forced to make split-second life or death decisions every day.
In the moments they have to make decisions to protect themselves and innocent bystanders, they must also figure out ways to effectively and safely subdue perpetrators. While experience gives officers valuable tools to deal with these uncertain situations, frequent, comprehensive training is a vital component in making sure good, safe decisions are made.
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Police say anyone giving out healthy treats can expect retaliation
Young children and maladjusted adults everywhere are making Halloween plans like there�s no tomorrow. In a related story, the U.S. government is threatening to cancel Fridays altogether to save money.
Nadine Hurley, 46, of Hookerton won�t be dressing up this year, but she is busy making Halloween plans for her two children.
�I�ve been doing some research and I�ve mapped out where the higher income families live in Lenoir, Greene and Jones counties,� Hurley said. �The current itinerary I have mapped out is a 58-mile loop that I believe will take around three hours. Based on the property taxes, these people are paying, they should be handing out your higher-end candies such as Snicker�s, Baby Ruth and Kit Kat.�
Hurley is not alone in her quest to acquire the most expensive carbohydrates this year. The P.U. Research Center estimates that roughly 43 percent of all families that participate in Halloween actively target richer neighborhoods.
Laura Palmer of Jenny Lind is an attorney who has seen the number of trick-or-treaters creep into triple digit numbers over the last few years.
�When I was a kid, my parents would take me to the homes of people we knew; it was totally out of the question to take food from a stranger,� Palmer said. �Nowadays, these kids are organized. Last year, a group from Goldsboro rented a bus and shook down the entire neighborhood in about 10 minutes. By the end of the night, I was giving out leftover meatloaf.�
Dr. Lawrence Jacoby is one of Palmer�s neighbors who have decided to fight back.
�I didn�t work my way through eight years of medical school to just give away everything I own,� Jacoby said. �To combat Halloween � which is the Latin term for socialism � I�ve drafted a seven-page candy application form that all trick-or-treaters must fill out before receiving any of my hard-earned candy.�
He continued: �I�m also going to require three forms of identification, fingerprints and a canceled check. And you teenagers who are already old enough to shave need not come around here looking for free candy. If you�re willing to rake a few leaves or wash my car, then we�ll talk about a Reece�s cup.
�Also, I�m in no mood for any smart alecs who just look depressed and say �my costume is misery�. If you TP my house, be forewarned: I�m a doctor; I know where all the important stuff is.�
Many residents of affluent neighborhoods have resorted to posting �No Trespassing� signs on their property on Halloween night. Others have decided to turn what has traditionally been a night of fun into a learning experience.
�We only hand out nutritional treats on Halloween,� said Shelley Johnson of Maysville. �My husband Leo and I make cucumber, celery and mint smoothies for the kids. If their Halloween masks prevent them from being able to drink, we�ll also have a large supply of rutabaga jerky and asparagus fritters on hand.�
On the other side of the tracks, families who are barely making ends meet are doing their best to take part in the Halloween tradition.
�We�re giving out M&Ms, but just one at a time,� said Robert Briggs of Seven Springs. �I work at a barbecue restaurant, so if we run out of candy, we�ll switch over to hushpuppies to finish out the night.�
While many people will be turning out the lights and hiding in the basement on Oct. 31, one resident of a well-to-do Kinston community has no problem with the disproportionate amount of foot traffic his neighborhood attracts.
�There is nothing better than handing out sugary treats to large groups of children,� said Dale Cooper, a local dentist. �I�ve already flown in cases of soft drinks from Mexico that are made with real sugar. My wife and I have already prepared 300 goody bags that include six-packs of sodas and boxes of Goobers, Junior Mints and Skittles.
�We�ve also got candy bars in there � Butterfinger, Mr. Goodbar � and I don�t mean the dopey �fun size� either; these suckers are the size of license plates.�
Jon Dawson�s columns appear every Tuesday and Thursday in the Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Purchase Jon�s book �Making Gravy In Public� at Amazon.com or jondawson.com.


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Independent expenditure committees — which have exhausted millions in the Texas Senate Republican runoff race that will draw to a close Tuesday— have spent $841,418 just since Friday.
Cruz, who has benefited most from the groups, saw $516,418 in expenditures to help him get to Washington by beating establishment-backed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The Club for Growth spent more than $505,000 of those funds on pro-Cruz television and Internet ad buys Friday. The limited-government group's Super PAC has shown Cruz a lot of love this election season — $5.6 million worth.
Freedomworks for America put more than $11,000 more into the race as the weekend was hitting toward Cruz campaign travel and overhead costs.
Dewhurst's sole helping hand from independent expenditure committees this weekend came from the Texas Conservatives Fund, led by Rob Johnson, the former campaign manager for Rick Perry's flopped presidential bid. That group put $325,000 into anti-Cruz ads Sunday.


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Murray says Senators are exploring trade market and 'available to make a deal'NHL.com @NHLdotcom
TORONTO - A stretch of six wins in eight games has the Ottawa Senators achingly close to a playoff spot.
And this recent run of success also has general manager Bryan Murray re-thinking his plans for the near future with the March 5 trade deadline not too far away. Murray, who on Monday agreed to a contract extension through the 2015-16 season, said his team probably needs another piece ? most likely a forward ? to make a run this spring.
Through Sunday's games, the Senators sat two points back of the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings, who hold the Eastern Conference's two wild-card spots.
"Just watching the progress in the last month and a little bit, I think that the objective now is certainly more than it was a month before," Murray said on a conference call. "We are available to make a deal."
As an example, Murray pointed to the July 5 trade with the Anaheim Ducks that landed the Senators Bobby Ryan. Ottawa gave up young forward Jakob Silfverberg and prospect Stefan Noesen to get the winger who filled a void left by Daniel Alfredsson's departure.
Again, the Senators would be willing to trade from their position of youth in the organization.
"We do have a number of players that probably are deserving of playing some games or playing in the NHL that may not get a chance because of our numbers up here that we would talk to teams about for a more veteran-type player," Murray said.
Earlier in the season, Murray expressed a desire to upgrade his team's mobility on the blue-line and talked to "a number of teams" about a puck-moving defenceman. That need has been eased by the recall of 20-year-old rookie Cody Ceci, who has been a mainstay since making his debut in mid-December.
"He's young, but we can't get him out of the lineup now that we've brought him up from Binghamton," Murray said. "He's been real good for us, real solid for us."
Like a lot of teams, Murray said the Senators could use a forward who could help in the scoring department or add a physical element.
"Either-or, and I think that would address a need on our hockey team.," he said.
Perhaps physicality and defensive responsibility should be priorities. The Senators have given up 146 goals in 46 games, which is third-worst in the league.
No matter the area of improvement, Murray has limits on how much he'll draw from Ottawa's prospect pool. Blue-chip centre Curtis Lazar, last year's first-round pick, had three goals and four assists for Canada during the world junior championship and is, at least for now, considered untouchable.
"We're not moving Curtis Lazar, I can tell you at this point in time," Murray said. "We would make the right common-sense trades if there was something there without robbing what would be our future."
The Senators' scouting staff is expected to meet soon to draw up a list of trade-deadline targets.
"We hope to have kind of an objective by the trading deadline, by the Olympic break, whatever the case may be, and then we'll see where we go," Murray said.
The playoffs appear to be back as the most immediate goal. Murray reiterated that "there are no guarantees in this business," and owner Eugene Melnyk understands that specifically applies to the post-season.
"Once the playoffs start, as we all know, anything goes," Melnyk said. "We have to get there first, and then after that, we just cross our fingers and hope for the best."
??? Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at @SWhyno.


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Most outdoors stores don't even stock merino wool underwear these days, but it is the hypereffective choice. Pure Merino wool provides a combination of softness and thermal regulation.
Wool insulates even when wet and helps regulate body temperature while absorbing and evaporating moisture to eliminate bacteria and odor.
A women's version is also available.
Available from: Campmor ($30)


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Our children will survive this disease
TERMINAL cancer patients with just weeks to live have been saved with a combination of vaccines and conventional methods, doctors say.
Now they are starting trials to see if the new technique, which one expert described as the missing link in cancer treatment, could save up to 50 per cent of cancer patients every year.
Professor Angus Dalgleish, lead researcher at the Cancer Vaccine Institute, south London, said: "I believe the cancer community has ignored this for too long and it could be the biggest missing link in cancer treatment that has not been properly addressed.
"We have seen some amazing results by stimulating the immune system while targeting the cancer with traditional techniques."
About a dozen immune boosting treatments or vaccines have been developed against different forms of cancer. One is ipilimumab, which helps the body's T-cells to battle the deadly skin cancer melanoma.
One patient successfully treated with vaccine is Michelle Blewett, 46, who had advanced melanoma in her stomach, lungs, liver, kidneys, bones, lymph nodes and lymph glands. Doctors believed she had only weeks to live.
In November 2005 Ms Blewett, from Maldon, near Chelmsford, Essex, complained of a lump near her hip. Although she had a melanoma tumour removed in 1993 doctors told her it was nothing to worry about.However, in April 2006 it was discovered the disease had spread and become terminal. The news came only months after the death of her father, also from cancer.
"I was riddled with it," she said. "I was in so much pain, it even affected my throat so it felt like I had a fish bone there all the time. I could barely walk."
The former fire control operator was 39 and did not expect to make it to her 40th birthday.
She was referred to Professor Dalgleish in June 2006 and given a course of chemotherapy followed by immune boosting jabs which prompted her body to recognise the cancer cells and destroy them.
In January 2007 a CT scan revealed she was clear of the cancer which has not returned. Now she is planning to marry.
Sarah Cook, 42, from Cambridge had three inoperable mel–anoma tumours on her chest and lungs. She had been diagnosed with cancer in 2008 after noticing a lump on her arm which had been growing.
By May 2009 the lump and surrounding tissue had been removed but in July 2010 a chest scan identified two tumours on her lungs and one on her sternum wall.
The mother of one was given a slim chance of survival but her husband, a private equity investor, researched possible treatments.
We have seen some amazing results by stimulating the immune system
He discovered the immune boosting techniques being used by Professor Dalgleish and booked an appointment for his wife.
One of Mrs Cook's lung tumours was given radiotherapy through a probe, then in November 2010 she was put on a three-month course of ipilimumab. By April 2011 the remaining tumours had spontaneously disappeared and she was declared disease-free.
Mrs Cook had her final scan in June last year, which showed the cancer had not returned.
She said: "When I was told about the tumours it was a very dark time, but I couldn't give up hope and when I started the treatment with Professor Dalgleish I felt this was the best treatment I could have.
"It seems so logical. I am so grateful for what he has done."