text: Socialite and stay-at-home mom, Angela Newnam created a product for an unmentionable subject to many women, a product that addressed odor and wetness protection for their panties. Knock Out! panties are created with NO TRACE technology, originally used for those wanting to protect their scent while hunting. NO TRACE technology has both odor absorbing power and wick fibers built in to absorb moisture while absorbing odor. The panties are durable as the technology is built deep into the fibers so it will not wash out over time. With this innovation, Knock Out! panties are thin, breathable and natural. Women can now go to the gym and work long days without worrying about odor protection from their panties. Each panty in the six styles of Knock Out! garments is made with 100% cotton liner for all-day protection and comfort. The liner absorbs up to 0.75 teaspoon of fluid while most drips or spots are less than 0.25 teaspoon. Knock Out! provides the answer to women who are too busy to worry about little things like spotting when they should be out conquering the world. Knock Out! knows these women deserve better than the basic panty liners without much protection.


text:
Newport News Sheriff's Office First Agency in Virginia to Deploy New TASER X2 ECDs
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., - TASER International, Inc. (NASDAQ: TASR), a global provider of safety technologies that prevent conflict, protect life, and resolve disputes, today announced an order for 77 TASER® X2™ electronic control devices (ECDs) and related accessories for the Newport News Sheriff's Office in Virginia. The X2 is the latest ECD model from TASER with a dual-shot semi-automatic capability.
The order provides the Newport News Sheriff's Office with 77 TASER X2 ECDs with 77 TASER Cam HD units, and related accessories. This TASERE X2 ECDs are expected to ship in the second quarter and the TASER Cam HD units are expected to ship in the second half of 2011.
"We are excited to announce the first deployment of X2 ECDs in Virginia and welcome the Newport News Sheriff's Office as a first time customer of our technology," said Rick Smith, CEO of TASER International. "We just began shipping the X2 last week and are encouraged to see agencies such as Newport News selecting the X2 as their primary ECD platform."
The TASER® Cam™ HD units are the first high definition color TASER camera units in our company history. These units have 720p resolution and record 30 frames per second. The HD cameras will begin shipping in the second half of 2011.
To learn more about the X2 please visit: http://www.TASER.com/x2
Request more product info from Axon Enterprise
Thank You!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Unlock features of your DSC PowerSeries or Honeywell Vista home security system with the EVL-3 Envisalink Internet Alert module. Your home security system is powerful and was meant to be able to communicate and alert you no matter where you are in the world, but it takes this one of a kind module to gain remote access to your home monitoring system. This internet module is only compatible with hardwired DSC PowerSeries & Honeywell Vista alarm systems.
Through a standard web browser, this module uses internet monitoring and internet alarm reporting to give you full remote control of your alarm system even if you're a traveler. Detect intruder activity, respond to alerts immediately and use the web monitoring technology that allows arm, disarm, zone bypass and PGM control directly to your system.
Capabilities expand even further. Now take control of your home or business from PCs, tablets, smartphones or other mobile devices including: iPad, iPhone, Blackberry and Android Smartphones; local and remote access to any web enabled device!
With a web enabled interface, receive instant notifications via email, text message or SMS when your alarm is triggered. It also includes a "time-since-triggered" feature that gives you up to the minute information on what is happening with your system.
This add-on module comes with a built-in web server and html user-interface. From your PC or mobile device (if capable of internet connection), change your alarm settings, view real-time zone status and use event logging to keep a tight grasp on your home and your family's protection.Say you live in Los Angeles, but you're currently in New York- you can program your module to allow e-mail and text message notifications to an unlimited number of addresses and phone numbers, so if sight-seeing or a business meeting has kept you from getting to an alert immediately, another trusted family member or neighbor will receive the same notification and can investigate a disturbance for you- if you've allowed them to also receive alerts.
Astonishingly, this tiny module that hooks right into your current DSC system travels the lengths of the earth to put you in much more control of your home alarm system.
- Simple to hook-up
- Built-in web server and html user-interface
- 128-bit encryption
- Real-time zone status with "time-since-tripped" feature
- Local and Remote Arm/Disarm/Zone Bypass/PGM Control
- Event Logging
- Receive Alerts by e-mail or SMS with an unlimited contact list.
- See at a glance system status on a map in ESP interface
- View cameras remotely from your PC, tablet or smartphone
- Compatible with most IP network cameras.
Compatibility: This module is only compatible with hardwired DSC PowerSeries & Honeywell Vista alarm systems.
DSC Powerseries Systems:
- 1616
- 1832
- 1864
- 1555
- 1575
- 5010 (832)
- 5020 (864)
Honeywell Vista Systems:
Additional Info
Additional Info
|Part Number
|What's in the box
(1) EVL-3 Module
Write Your Own Review
|Power Draw
|65 mA
|RJ45, 4-Terminal Srewdown
|10.5 cm (4-3/16") x 4.2 cm (1-11/16")


text:
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- Jared Dunn is Tennessee Tech's individual
leader and the Golden Eagles are tied for seventh place among 17
teams after the first two rounds of the 54-hole F&M Bank
Intercollegiate hosted by Austin Peay.
Host Austin Peay holds the team lead following play Monday, while Tech is in a four-way tie for seventh place along with Morehead State, Dayton and Eastern Illinois. The four are just five shots out of fifth place.
The Golden Eagles opened with a 298 in the first round, then improved by nine shots to post a 298 in the second go-round at the Links at Novadell. The Links at Novadell are set up as a par-72, 6,841-yard layout for the tournament.
Dunn is in 15h place after shooting rounds of 71 and 72 on Monday for a 143. Wesley Korth is next for the Golden Eagles, holding 27th place with a 75-71--146 total. Jake Heatherly (75-72--147) is tied for 31st, Blake Garrison (77-76--153) is tied for 66th place, and Joshua Simer (81-74--155) is tied for 75th place.


text:
Let $p:A \times B \to \mathbb{R}$ be a nonnegative real-valued function on $A \times B$, where $A$ and $B$ are arbitrary set. Assume $f:A \to B$ and $g:B \to A$ are such that \begin{align*} f(a) &= \operatorname*{arg\,min}_b~p(a,b) \\ g(b) &= \operatorname*{arg\,max}_a~p(a,b) \end{align*}
Does the map $f \circ g:B \to B$ have a fixed point?
Which conditions are necessary for this fixed point to exists?
This question arised while searching an equilibrium point for a game. For my game, I empirically noticed that repeated iteration of the map $f \circ g$ eventually gives me a fixed point. So I start looking for some theoretical justification of this observation. I dig hard, but I couldn't really find one.
My game is the fair pricing of an insurance product.
The set $A$ is a convex subset of $\mathbb{R}^n$, and is the set of action of the policyholder. While the set $B=[0,1]$ is the set of premium of the insurer.
The function $f$ represents the objective function of a fair insurer who wants the price to be zero. While the function $g$ is the objective function of a rational policyholder who wants to arbitrage the insurer.
The function $p$ is such that $p(a,b)=\operatorname{E}(X \mid \text{Action=a, Premium=b})$ where $X=|\text{claim}-\text{premium}|$ is the random variable of the product cash flow.
I looked into Banach fixed point theorem, Nash equilibrium existence theorem and Kakutani's fixed point theorem.
Any help or pointer appreciated.


text:
February 2003
Introduction: A Modern Day Trojan Horse
Although the envelope resembled a letter from a fourth grade student, the contents addressed to U.S. Senator Tom Daschle were life threatening. Laced within the envelope was a form of the bacteria known as Bacillus Anthracis, bacteria more commonly known as anthrax. When exposed to humans, an anthrax infection leads to the release of toxins, which if not properly treated are fatal.1 Around the same time of Senator Daschle's threat, other cases of anthrax exposure were publicized. Through these events, the public was introduced to a new terror — chemical and biological weapons.
Some call such weaponry "the poor man's atomic bomb" — its construction is cheaper and its effects are potentially as far-reaching and devastating. The ability to manufacture chemical or biological threats is relatively much easier and its availability more widespread that nuclear weapons. Because of this, many believe any future terrorist attacks might include biological/chemical weapons similar to anthrax. Though seemingly a new threat, similar weaponry has been the subject of debate for decades.
1) The organism, called _Bacillus Anthracis,_ is grown in the lab. 2) Removed from a nutrient-rich environment, the bacteria turns into spores, which naturally clump together. 3) Spores are purified, separated, and concentrated. 4) Spores are combined with fine dust particles to maintain separation and increase time they can suspend in the air. 5) The powdery mixture is put into an envelope. 6) When released into the air, a high concentration of spores can be drawn deep into the lungs. The spores return to their bacteria state and a rapidly developing anthrax infection releases deadly toxins. (cnn.com)
Biological/chemical weaponry overview
"Biological warfare is the intentional use of disease-causing microorganisms or other entities that can replicate themselves (e.g., viruses, infectious nucleic acids and prions) against humans, animals or plants for hostile purposes. It may also involve the use of toxins: poisonous substances produced by living organisms…plants…and animals. If they are utilized for warfare purpose, the synthetically manufactured counterparts of these toxins are biological weapons."2
Delivery of such substances can be as easy as sending it via mail, as in the anthrax example, or as sophisticated as mounting a chemical warhead onto a missile. Other possible means of delivery include introducing a substance to a water supply or through air dispersal in the form of gas.
As far back as the 6th century BC, warring nations have been involved with the use of biological weaponry.3 Despite its long history, it is perhaps best to look at more recent events.
- With the better understanding of disease in the 20th century, various forms of chemical and biological weaponry emerged. For example, during World War I, poisonous gases were used4 in addition to anthrax applications by German operatives.2
- Even more recently, radical groups have implemented various chemical agents with the intent of mass destruction. For example, in addition to the anthrax threat, in March of 1995, a nerve gas called sarin was released in a subway system of Japan.5
In such cases, it is clear that the endangerment of human life is wrong. However, stopping such activity is becoming increasingly more difficult with the continued development of chemical and biological weaponry by rogue parties and states.
Legal Issues: The Chemical Weapons Convention
In 1992, in order to curb the proliferation of chemical and biological war agents, members of the United Nations agreed upon the text of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction — more simply, the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). It is, most simply put, an extension of the Geneva Protocol of 1925 and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972 (BTWC).
- The Geneva Protocol called for the prohibition of the use of chemical and biological weapons in war.6
- The BTWC outlawed biological and toxin weapons altogether and required their destruction.7
- What the CWC added was more specific information regarding actual chemicals as well as provisions for assistance if chemical weapons are used on a cooperating state.8
The CWC and like-minded protocols have given an outline for cooperating states to follow. However, it is difficult to contend with groups who do not adhere to the CWC. Because the development and use of biological weapons continue throughout rogue states, the question arises on how to deal with the situation. Under the guidelines of the CWC, cooperating nations such as the United States are not allowed to develop, produce, or use chemical weapons. As such, the use of weapons by a cooperating state should not be an issue. In order to deal with the possible use of toxins against a nation under the CWC, research for vaccines is allowed.
A Code of Ethics
Most people and nations agree that the use of biological or chemical weapons is unethical and morally wrong. So why are such weapons produced? One significant reason is that most biotechnology is dual-use, that is, it has both peaceful and harmful purposes. The same technology that gives us genetically engineered medicine can also give us military weapons.
A 2001 research study illustrates the dual-use dilemma:
In an effort to develop a contraceptive vaccine for purposes of pest control, scientists inadvertently created a potential bioweapon. Early this year, Australian researchers hypothesized that introducing a gene that creates large amounts of interleukin-4 (IL-4) into mice would stimulate antibodies against mouse eggs and render the animals infertile. IL-4 occurs naturally in the body, but an overabundance triggers an immune response. The researchers working on this study needed a vehicle to get the new gene incorporated into the mouse DNA. The scientists chose a benign mousepox virus as their vector and, to their surprise, the virus killed all of the mice in the study. IL-4 suppressed the immune system, making it unable to fight the mousepox virus. With no defensive launched by the immune system the virus was 100 percent lethal. The virus was significantly lethal even in mice vaccinated against this particular strain of mousepox. Mousepox is a virus equivalent to human smallpox. "It would be safe to assume that if some idiot did put human IL-4 into human smallpox they'd increase the lethality quite dramatically," said Ronald J. Jackson in the Jan. 10, 2001 issue of theNew Scientist. Jackson is one of the researchers on the Australian study.9
When the conventions to ban such weapons were formulated, the world did not think these weapons had major military uses. Now, recent terrorist and scientific developments require stronger measures. For example:
- Especially controversial is the Human Genome Diversity Project, begun in 1993 to study the genetic variation across different human populations. The project could contribute to the understanding of human genetics and the improvement of human health. However, some critics of the project fear the information may be used to create weapons to target a particular racial or ethnic group. Although many researchers conclude that ethnic biological warfare is not a practical possibility today, they nevertheless caution that it cannot be ruled out in the future.
- Weapons targeting specific varieties of plants and animals are a real possibility today. In regions where monoculture (large acreage of genetically-identical crops) is the norm, such weapons could destroy a nation's agricultural output.
One of the proposals put forth by some nations, including the U.S., is to institutionalize a code of ethics for scientists working with potentially dangerous pathogens and toxins. Scientists would be required to foresee potential dangerous applications of their work and to either discontinue the research or redirect their work. In 2002, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) conducted an online survey (English-only sites) of how many scientific organizations worldwide had a code of ethics. The Institute discovered a code of ethics for the following:10
- 11% of 71 international scientific organizations
- 12% of 267 national or regional scientific organizations
Ethics is about recognizing that there are some things we cannot and will not support or do. Codes of ethics have been around for a long time in the sciences. Perhaps the best-known one is the doctor's Hippocratic Oath, which states "I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect." The Stimson Center, a security think-tank organization, offers some of the reasons why ethics codes in the sciences are not well established:11
- codes are not particularly well publicized
- science students are not sufficiently educated in such codes at universities
- codes that are already in place vary in form from good to poor among scientific organizations
Another consideration for a code that prohibits scientists from working on dangerous substances with potential military applications — How can scientists know in advance the outcome of their experiments or all future applications of their work? Einstein had no idea that his work would lead to the atomic bomb.
In addition to ethical codes, there are other ways to increase ethical awareness:10
- inclusion of ethical content and decision-making instruction in scientific curricula
- online ethical resources
- ethical awareness campaigns conducted by professional science organizations
- workshops for industry, academia, and scientists on the interface between research and business ethics
- ongoing discussion in scientific journals and the mainstream press
- accountability mechanisms and public oversight of research
- provision of confidential ethical mentoring services
- protection for whistle-blowers
With the current evolution of potential threats, the issue of biological and chemical weaponry is a very important one. Ethical issues regarding war in general are a paper in and of itself. The use of weapons comes down to whether or not it is morally acceptable and ethically responsible to do harm to another person. And essentially, the destruction of human life is unacceptable in most areas of the world. Just like nuclear weapons, the potential for mass destruction using biological/toxin weapons is too great a threat. The CWC is right in imposing its guidelines. However, because the threat of biotechnological attacks exist, it is also important to develop and implement a global scientific code of conduct to curb the proliferation of such weaponry.
One organization, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), believes that the education of young scientists is an important step in the elimination of weapons of mass destruction. FAS would like to see first-year science graduate students taking at least one course on the essentials of treaties, laws, regulations, and other programs designed to control biological warfare. This, FAS believes, would "raise the ethical consciousness of bioscientists, increase their awareness of the potential for hostile or dangerous exploitation of biotechnology, and persuade them of their responsibility to take action whenever possible to prevent it."12
© 2003, Daniel Reyes. Originally written in the winter of 2002 as an ethics course research paper at Santa Clara University, and modified and updated for this web site. See reprint policy.


text:
Having a child this past September has completely changed the way I watch Teen Mom. When my daughter was three weeks old and I hadn't slept more than two hours in a row in her entire lifetime, I remember walking like a zombie out to my living room at 5 AM to get something to clean up the shit smear she got all over my sheets when I tried to change her diaper and I thought, "This is the hardest fucking thing I've ever done in my life. How do idiots do this? How did Amber and Gary do this!?"
Initially, Jenelle Evans' parenting techniques, or lack thereof, were shocking to me and I couldn't believe that she would just unload her human baby off onto her mom like it was a puppy that was only tolerable when it was being cute. But when you become the parent of a newborn, it's really easy to see how someone who isn't mentally and emotionally equipped to deal with a baby could, and probably should, bail. If I were 18, I'd definitely want to smoke weed and hang out with a guy that my mother referred to as "Mr. Disrespectful" instead of breastfeeding all night long, changing dirty diapers, and cringing at an infant's incessant wailing.
That's not to say that Jenelle is inculpable. Watching her bother people to bail her loser boyfriend out of jail is kind of infuriating. But at least her baby is safe with Barb and is wearing shoes and socks in December, unlike Jenelle's friend's baby in the clip above.


text:
Admitted child abductor Randall Hopley "made the bogeyman real," a British Columbia judge said Thursday as she ordered a psychiatric assessment for the man.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes ordered a 60-day assessment to determine whether Mr. Hopley should be labelled a dangerous or long-term offender.
Mr. Hopley abducted three-year-old Kienan Hebert from his home in Sparwood, B.C., last September, only to return him unharmed several days later.
Judge Holmes said Kienan and his family appear to have moved on from the ordeal, but she said the impact of Mr. Hopley's crimes could have been far worse.
"In my view, common experience tells us there's nothing more frightening to parents than to lose a child," Judge Holmes told a court.
"Mr. Hopley made the bogeyman real in their home. It seems like victims of such an event will never feel safe in their home again."
The judge noted the Hebert family decided not to file a victim impact statement.
"Mr. Hopley was lucky in his choice of victims," said Judge Holmes. "The family was able to cope and move forward."
Mr. Hopley, who is now 47, pleaded guilty to breaking into the Hebert's home in the middle of the night last September before taking the boy to a cabin at a nearby bible camp.
Kienan was returned to his home four days after he was taken. Mr. Hopley was later arrested at the camp.
Mr. Hopley, who once again pulled his shirt up to cover his face while entering the courthouse, has insisted he never harmed or sexually assaulted the boy, and the Crown has presented no evidence that he did.
The Crown pointed out during a sentencing hearing last month that Mr. Hopley has a criminal history, including a sexual assault on a five-year-old boy in 1985 and an attempted abduction in 2007.
"It is an unusual case. The facts are very unique," prosecutor Lynal Doerksen told reporters after the case had wrapped up.
"Despite the fact there was no physical harm caused here or serious psychological damage, nonetheless this is the kind of case that normally would cause that kind of harm and damage."
Mr. Doerksen said he is pleased with the ruling but was quick to point out this is only the first step in the process.
Mr. Hopley has been transferred to the care of forensic psychiatric services, which will provide the court with a report. After that, a date for a dangerous offender will have to be set.
Mr. Hopley's lawyer, who had argued his client was a "simple man who did a stupid thing," told reporters he's disappointed but not really surprised at the judge's ruling.
"It's important to note that he has not been found to be a dangerous offender. All that happened was the court decided that the first step of that process has been met. He's to be considered as a possible dangerous offender," explained William Thorne.
Mr. Thorne said his client was prepared for the possibility of the judge ruling against him on the dangerous offender application.
"I think he's disappointed. We both are. We would much prefer to have this matter over and done with and have him sentenced to an appropriate sentence in custody and he'd like to get on with his life," Mr. Thorne added.
Mr. Hopley will be back in front of the judge via video on Oct. 15 to set a date for a dangerous offender hearing. If the assessment isn't done, the matter will likely be set over for another month.


text:
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Peeling Back the Layers
It is this process of recording your findings and citing your sources with explanations as necessary that allows the work to progress past mere name collecting. Just as with geological formations, the genealogical past consists of layers of information. Again, unfortunately, many researchers never get beyond the superficial look at the outside of the layers. It is as if they wanted to make all their theories about how these rocks in the photo above were formed by merely looking at the photograph and never digging in to examine the reality of the actual site. How many of us could tell where this photo was taken and what it shows, without the experience of seeing it ourselves? Unless, and this is a big unless, who ever took the photo (me in this case) told us when and where it was taken. Likewise, we would know nothing about the rock layers and how they came to be, unless we did the work ourselves or unless I provided an explanation of when, where, how and what the photo shows.
The millions of undocumented names in online family trees are like the rock layers in this photo. They may make a pretty picture, but the information is useless without the source citations and explanation.
No, I am not going to tell you where the photo was taken. If I did, it would not be a good example of the lack of citations accompanying the online family trees.
What do I mean by documentation? I mean writing down the places where you found your information and if necessary, explaining why you think the source is correct or not. In this process adding documentation is the key. Here is an example:
Presently, FamilySearch.org's Family Tree provides as common workplace for everyone to share automatically any information they have substantiating the family connections. As I have said before, this may be the first time this has been successfully attempted. One interesting fact is that despite this program which has been online now for going on two years, very, very few people have been adding sources even when the process of adding a source is so simple. Adding sources is not just a nice thing to do, it is essential to the integrity of the information and to making progress in identifying our ancestors.
I decided to show how this process works or doesn't work. In just a few minutes, by going back in my own family, I was able to find someone without any sources. This is despite the fact that I have been working on adding sources now for over a year. What is significant is that going back four generations, when I have thousands of cousins alive today, I find almost no evidence of anyone else adding or correcting information. This points out the importance of what we, as individual genealogists, are doing. My example is Shepherd LeRoy Tanner (b. 12 April 1859, d. 22 December 1934), my Great-great Uncle, who I am partly named after when they named my Grandfather LeRoy Parkinson Tanner. My middle name is LeRoy.
This Great-great Uncle lived during a time when there are literally hundreds of records of his life. In fact, there are entire books (without citations to authority) about his family. Despite all this, there is not yet one citation to a source in Family Tree for him. I have been systematically working through the names but have not yet gotten to this generation. What is the significance of not having any sources? Well, for one thing, there were about twenty different variations of his name on his individual page. There was also an entry showing him with a living wife. Note that he died in 1934, 79 years ago. None of this would matter if it were not for the fact that this shows that the information is easily correctable and very inadequately wrong. How can anyone have confidence in the accuracy of the information if there are so many obvious errors? The only way to break this cycle is to add sources, notes, histories, stories, photographs and everything else available.
I am not just picking on FamilySearch Family Tree. Family Tree is the solution to the problem, not the problem. If I go to Ancestry.com and look at the Public Member Trees, I found 9 different trees, only five of which had any substantial (more than 2) sources. But in Ancestry.com there is no way to reconcile the differences between the trees other than trying to contact all of those people directly.
In a future post, I will discuss the process of adding sources by layers.
2 comments:
Thank you for this post, what a great analogy! I think the sourcing will start when we can actually get more church members into the FamilySearch Libraries. We work in Oakland and a relatively small number of our patrons are members.ReplyDelete
On another note I was just looking at your Pinterest photos and I saw several with the name Godfrey attached. As an example: Mystery Photo from Margaret Godfrey Jarvis Overson, Photographer.
I heard you speak in Sacramento a few weeks ago and between classes we spoke briefly about the Mayflower. Do you know if this Margaret Godfrey has any roots in Massachusetts? I have a long string of ancestors from the Barstable County area.(Eastham)that tie into Stephen Hopkins and Francis Cooke. I don't know if any of that line landed up in Arizona or if anything I have might be of help but thought I'd mention it.
James, I think this is by far the first column I've read of yours in the past few weeks where it adequately says what I want to say without coming across as whining about the quality of the trees online or just being as my nephews and nieces would say, old. There's a difference between work that is sourced and work that is not.ReplyDelete
The other outstanding issue with the sourcing on Ancestry, for example, is the quality of the source. There are SO many trees that cite other trees, OneWorldTree, AGBI, Millenium File, "Family Records", etc. on them. They look on the surface to be "well-sourced" trees but when you really look at them, you might find only one or two real sources on them like censuses, scanned family documents/letters, certificates, etc.
But getting back to your main point about very few people adding sources to the FamilySearch family tree - do you think it is because people just aren't doing it from lack of knowledge/training or from lack of interest or are they not doing it because their habit is to enter without this (i.e. the Ancestral File, Geni, etc.)? I would be curious to hear your thoughts . In my own family, I've found that the people are mostly interested in names, dates, and photos, and less interested in the newspaper, census, and other fun sources to research.


text:
Mary Jo White and the Revolving Door
- Order Reprints
- Print Article
In my piece last week about President Obama's nominee for Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, I mentioned Mary Jo White's recent past as a white collar defense lawyer in passing, but it's something I wish I'd spent more time writing about.
Thankfully, Matt Taibbi was around to more than make up for my omission. Highlighting one incident from her career at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, that of squelching a possible insider trading case against future Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO John Mack, Tabbi writes:
If Barack Obama wanted to send a signal that he's getting tougher on Wall Street, he sure picked a funny way to do it, nominating the woman who helped John Mack get off on the slam-dunkiest insider trading case ever to cross an SEC investigator's desk.
When I contacted Gary [Aguirre, former SEC investigator] today, his take on it was simple. "Obama is not going to clean up financial corruption," he said, "by pinning a sheriff's badge on Wall Street's protector-in-chief."
Of course, some readers may argue that if anyone was going to take issue with White's nomination it'd be Taibbi -- he even acknowledges that many people dispute his characterization of her.
True enough, but what about Andrew Ross Sorkin? The New York Times reporter/editor and CNBC personality is about the farthest thing you can find from a Wall Street critic these days, but even he airs some reservations:
While Ms. White is a decorated prosecutor, she has spent the last decade vigorously defending — and billing by the hour — Wall Street's biggest banks, as a rainmaking partner at the white-shoe law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. The average partner at the firm was paid $2.1 million a year, according to American Lawyer; but she was no average partner, very likely being paid at least double that. Her husband, John W. White, is a corporate partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. He counts JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse and UBS as clients. The average partner at Cravath makes $3.1 million. He, too, was a former official at the S.E.C. — he left Cravath to run the corporate division of the S.E.C. starting in 2006 just in time for the run-up to the financial crisis. He left in November 2008, a month after the bank bailouts, to return to Cravath.
It seems Mr. and Ms. White have made a fine art of the revolving door between government and private practice.
Sorkin goes on to list many of White's former clients, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America's (BAC) former CEO Ken Lewis; he notes she may have to recuse herself from some SEC cases.
As I wrote last week, it could be that White's experience as a prosecutor and her background in litigation will help push the SEC into taking more cases to trial rather than settling in so many instances. And whatever her recent past, it's a fact that she was a highly-respected and effective public prosecutor, a role and a responsibility she likely hasn't forgotten.
"I believe she is one of those people who will understand that her public role will be very, very different than her role as a defense lawyer," Dennis M. Kelleher of Better Markets, a watchdog group, told me. "I don't think she's going to be like so many others who don't get that they have a very different role when they hold high public office.
I hope Kelleher's right, but as I wrote in a different context, I can't believe that the Obama administration couldn't find a nominee who hasn't been on Wall Street's payroll. I'm not sure what's worse: Whether White's nomination says something damning about the President and his advisers, or if it simply reflects the incestuous nature of our financial, political and regulatory systems.


text:
The Fanny Pack is Making a ComebackBrace yourself, I've got some horrible news.
The fanny pack is making a comeback.
New York Fashion Week starts this week, and as I was listening to an NPR news report, they announced that the bulky butt backpack usually worn by the tragically unhip was making a comeback after 20 years as a fashion punchline.
But the fashionistas in New York don't want you to call it a fanny pack, because that would make it seem stupid.
Instead, they want you to call it a "hands free bag" or "bum bag," which they believe is decidedly less stupid. (It's not.)
According to the Wall Street Journal, designer Yvan Mispelaere wanted to bring them back, saying they "represented motion, dancing, and celebrating the sun." I suppose if you're a famous fashion designer, you need to say things like "represents motion, dancing, and celebrating the sun" when you charge $325 for something you could originally get for $9.95 at a gas station.
The other reason designers wish you called it a bum bag instead of a fanny pack is because of the British slang term for fanny. I can't say what it is, except to say only women have fannies.
These new "hands free bags" are no longer the utilitarian butt backpacks worn by pudgy, balding insurance salesmen wearing button-down short sleeve shirts, shorts, and mid-calf white socks, being screamed at by his bratty kids at Six Flags.
Now they're a high fashion accessory more suited for holding an ID and credit card, a cell phone, and a tube of lipstick.
Mispelaere says that calling them a hands-free bag conveys "a functional shape, but with a touch of glamour, a touch of luxury, and a touch of seriousness."
Actually, I don't think the term "hands free bag" conveys any of that. It conveys utility, convenience, and the ability to fight off bears should the need arise. For $325, it had better come with a year's worth of free hamburgers and a model to feed them to me. Drop the price to $275, and it can be a hand model.
I've carried a hands-free bag for years. It's called a backpack. I can put my laptop in it, four books, several electronics connector cords, a computer mouse, two Moleskine notebooks, a digital camera, and an iPod. There's even a place to stick a water bottle. Best of all, it only cost $25, or 92 percent less than Mispelaere's bag.
Not so surprisingly, designers hate the old-fashioned fanny grannies we're so used to seeing. TV presenter and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi despises fanny packs.
They are forever associated with "scary American tourists at the Louvre," Mizrahi, an American, told the Wall Street Journal. "You either love them and make them part of your life, or you fight them until the end," he said. Then he snickered and said, "until the 'end,' get it?!"
This year's designers are serious about shedding the old fuddy-duddy image, because they can't sell them to people with more money than sense (way more money) if they're called fanny packs. If we use the same term for these new accessories that we used for butt purses, then designers like Sang A Im-Propp can't sell an alligator version of her "belt bag" for $1,995.
"The term 'fanny pack' is just eww, so cheesy, so tacky, so horrible," she said, oblivious to the the cheesy, tacky, horribleness of using the skin of a dead reptile so some bubble-headed model has some place to stick her lipstick and coke vial.
It gets worse: Hermès has a fanny pack that costs $4,675 and will hit stores in the Spring. You could buy a 2004 Ford Mustang for that much, secure in the knowledge that "Mustang" is not a British slang word for things we're not allowed to say in a newspaper.
But apparently, these new fanny packs are useful for more than just carrying stuff. LA fashion designer Lizz Wasserman says she has more than 20 different fanny packs, and they come in handy when she's in the clubs.
"If you go out dancing, a fanny pack is very necessary," said Lizz. "Especially if you don't want other people dancing with you."
Umm, okay sure, Lizz. The fanny packs are why people aren't dancing with you.
I don't care what the fashionistas demand that we call these bags in some desperate attempt to hide the fact that they're nothing more than ridiculously priced, slimmed down butt backpacks.
They'll always be fanny packs to me. Painfully small, seriously undernourished fanny packs.
My book, Branding Yourself: How to Use Social Media to Invent or Reinvent Yourself (affiliate link), is available on Amazon.com, as well as at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores. I wrote it with my good friend, Kyle Lacy.
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Mi SciELO
Servicios Personalizados
Revista Brasileira de Ciências Sociais
versión impresa ISSN 0102-6909
FREIRE-MEDEIROS, Bianca. Selling the favela: thoughts and polemics about a tourist destination.Traducido porBianca Freire-Medeiros. Rev. bras. ciênc. soc. [online]. 2008, vol.4Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0102-6909.
The article discusses the development of the favela into a tourist attraction, examining how promoters in four different favelas attempted to actually place them in the tourist market. The development of the favela into a tourist destination is seen as part of the so-called reality tours phenomenon and of the global circulation of the favela as a trademark. The methodology included different strategies: long interviews with qualified informants, field observation, and participant observation in different tours. The article concludes with some thoughts on my own research experience on such a polemic field of investigation.
Palabras clave : Tourism; Favela; Globalization; Rio de Janeiro; Poverty.


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A Total Joint Program That's Second to None
Living with joint pain is a serious and debilitating condition. It can cause you to stop participating in the activities you enjoy, lessen mobility and diminish your quality of life. But you don't have to let the pain slow you down, thanks to Gwinnett Medical Center's Total Joint Program.
With two state-of-the-art orthopedic facilities conveniently located in Lawrenceville and Duluth, we provide metro Atlanta with the highest standard of orthopedic care. We specialize in pain-relieving treatments, groundbreaking resurfacing procedures and highly advanced total joint replacement surgeries. And our board-certified orthopedic surgeons, highly skilled staff, nationally accredited facilities, cutting-edge technologies and patient-focused approach are unrivaled.
Our goal is to get you back to your life and the things you enjoy more quickly with the education and assistance that you deserve.
Total Joint Replacement Surgery Options
Total joint surgery is the replacement of an arthritic or damaged joint with an artificial joint or prosthesis. At Gwinnett Medical Center, we perform a full range of total joint procedures and image-guided techniques, including:
- Total knee replacement
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What Causes Joint Pain?
In general, arthritis is the cause of joint pain. If you experience regular joint pain, you may suffer from osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis or even arthritis caused by a traumatic joint injury. Read more about the causes of joint pain and what you can do about it in our Patient Education section.
Total Joint Replacement Links
- Learn more about our dedicated orthopedic surgeons and staff on our About Us page.
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- Find out if joint surgery is right for you by taking our Total Joint Quiz.
- Get in touch or get directions at our Contact Us page.
If you would like to speak with someone or receive a referral, please call 678-312-5000 today.


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Forbes: Ideas like the cloud and infrastructure as a service are all very abstract. But for you, they're extremely concrete. You literally build the bricks and mortar around these transactions. Tell me about that.
Stephen Smith: The cloud as you mentioned is made up of lots of different fancy offerings. It's software, it's infrastructures, platforms all sold as a service. The cloud computing model is evolving around the world today. There are billions of dollars going into it. In our data centers around the world, we are experiencing many public cloud deployments and private cloud deployments coming from enterprises that are putting their infrastructure, servers, storage arrays, and networking gear, which is the guts of what makes up a cloud offering.
Whether it's sold as software off those boxes or you're selling the cycle time of the actual platform or the infrastructure, that's all it is underneath. And clouds sit inside of data centers. Our play in the cloud business is to attract as many of these managed and dedicated hosting companies that are selling the cloud offerings to put their cloud infrastructure into our data centers. When a customer looks inside of one of these data centers, no matter what market it is in the world, they can look in and see how many networks are sitting inside of that data center.
They can say, "I need to put my company's infrastructure in there, because then I can just buy a cross-connect or a port and connect directly to these and avoid huge network costs."
For you, the cloud is not a bubble on a PowerPoint slide, it's a data center with networks coming in, with servers on top of those networks, with business moving information from one network to another. We're talking about things that your employees can literally touch and feel.
We're a data center business, but all data centers are not the same. We have 87 of these data centers around the world, in 35 cities and 11 or 12 countries. These data centers have more network connectivity into them than any other data centers in the world.
The reason people get attracted to
The reason they do that is they get access to all this network density. They can move applications very quickly. They can get them to the Internet very quickly. They can get really reliable throughput on these networks.
That's the big attraction point.
So, your business is literally a manifestation of Metcalfe's Law--where a network grows more valuable as more nodes are added ... But for you, those nodes aren't abstract. They're your customers. Tell me about these companies.
Sure. The way to think about what's accumulated here over the last 11 years is it all started with the networks coming into these data centers. It started in the U.S, and then this company acquired an asset in Asia. Then we started to build the same business environment there. Two years ago, we bought an asset in Europe. We've cobbled together a global asset.
It's attracted several kinds of ecosystems. An ecosystem generally follows the line of thinking of Metcalfe's Law. Once you have a core magnetic engine, a deployment of infrastructure like a key exchange, all the members need to come connect to it. Electronic trading is a great example. Over the last three years, this company has accumulated many buy side, sell side exchange and market data companies. Once you get the key access node or key matching engine from one of those companies, all the partners need to come in to connect to it.
To put it simply, if I'm a customer and I know Google is there and I know AT&T's network is there, I know that makes you more valuable for me, because I can connect to them more quickly. So, because you have two, four, five customers, that makes you much more valuable to me as a customer.
Well, it again all starts with the network density. There are over 575 networks connected into these 87 data centers around the world. Every big content company or big content distribution network is a customer at Equinix. We've accumulated most of the content companies that sit inside these data centers and have access to these networks to move their content around the Internet. These are digital media content companies.
Metcalfe's Law manifested. The more people in your ecosystem, the more valuable it becomes. And the more defensible it all is.
The content digital media companies would represent one ecosystem. Another ecosystem might be the mobile data. Whether it's a Research In Motion device or an Apple device or Motorola, it doesn't matter. If you want to go download a YouTube video, a lot of that has a ton of infrastructure behind it.
When YouTube started, it started with Equinix, and still resides inside Equinix today. If you download a YouTube video today, that's happening somewhere in an Equinix data center. Big content companies like that push a lot of volume through these data centers.
Financial services is another one. Big banks needs this kind of space and network density to run their business. We accumulated financial services companies, in particular electronic trading specialists. And then recently mobile data's been very exciting, as well as cloud computing.
A common denominator here is the disruption you're bringing to the market. Because so many of your customers are deciding, "I don't want to run a data center. I want to take my service to a place with these things already in place." How are people moving past the idea of doing it all themselves?
Many CIOs or CTOs or heads of infrastructure are getting to the point where they're either running out of power or running out of space with their current data center inventory. Or they don't have a desire to spend the capital to go build. It's not their core competence. It all starts there. I'd say 60%-70% percent of the data centers around the world are owned by businesses such as pharmaceutical companies or airlines or transportation companies.
The 30% to 40% of the business that's been sourced to [outside] suppliers either gets sourced to the big outsources or to the hosters or to what we're doing. Today, there's a big supply/demand imbalance of CIOs and CTOs around the world that just don't want to run data centers.
This "co-lo" [co-location] model has become very trustworthy. It's been around for 10-11 years. CIOs around the world today know that they can go park a bunch of their servers and storage and networking gear and know that it's going to run 24 by 7.
Let's talk about latency. I can't just park a server anywhere in the world and because it's on the Internet, expect that service to be available to my customers quickly. Tell me about how you walk customers through the business of making those services more available and with better latency.
The best example here would be the electronic trading venues. These venues deal most times in milliseconds in latency. Sometimes even microseconds. Trades go very quickly. The reason they're able to get that is we can actually show them and measure latency from point A to point B on each of the networks. We enable it.
So, the networks come into our data centers. We enable those electronic trading venues to use any of those networks via cross connects. So, we sell them the cross connect. Or a port on a switch that could be a larger throughput device, where they could pump a lot of video or up to 10 gig of data through one of these ports. We're the enabler.
Because they're physically closer, they're actually able to make that trade happen more quickly.
That translates into huge amounts of money for them.
They're all about two things: proximity and latency. So, they've got to be close to the matching engine or close to the core node. If you get those core nodes to come in and deploy, all the members have to come in and connect to it. That's the proximity portion of it. This is going on in Singapore, Frankfurt, Chicago, New York, London--all the big high-trading markets in the world. It'll eventually go to more.
We happen to have data centers in these markets where the highest Internet capacity on all the infrastructure, the undersea cabling that drives the Internet is connected into. Our data centers aren't up in the middle of the state of Washington on a power dam where power is cheap. Our data centers are in the downtown markets of the biggest cities in the world where the Internet capacity is the highest.
Many companies build data centers where labor is cheaper, where power is cheaper. Google and IBM and Microsoft spend lots of money when they build these data centers out away from big population centers. We do just the opposite.
What do you think will surprise people about your business over the next five years?
There's more demand for data center space around the world than there is supply of data centers. We are spending more capital than most of the providers out there today, building capacity. We have space for all the growing companies out there.
Many of our customers deploy with us and then continue to grow with us. So 78% of our bookings in a quarter come from our existing customers. If it's a high-growth company, they'll continue to grow and spend more with you. It's hard to envision that anybody could come in and create what we've created in terms of the network density that we have.
See Also:
Sharing Control At Equinix
It's Not Just About Command And Control
When A Deal Makes A Career


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February 14, 2013
Williamsburg Regional Library (WRL) is honored to be a finalist for the 19th annual National Medal for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The National Medal is the nation's highest honor conferred on museums and libraries by the IMLS in recognition of service to the community and for making a difference in the lives of individuals, families, and communities.
"Museums and libraries serve as community gathering places and centers for lifelong learning, and we are very proud to announce Williamsburg Regional Library as a finalist for the 2013 National Medal," said Susan Hildreth, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services. "People of all ages seek out institutions like Williamsburg Regional Library for opportunities to advance their education, to learn new skills for the 21st century, for cultural connections and for civic engagement."
"WRL has been recognized for our programs and services that contribute positively to the Greater Williamsburg area," said WRL Director John A. Moorman. "Library staff are grateful for the community's support and are honored to be recognized as a finalist for the 2013 National Medal for Museum and Library Service."
Because the National Medal celebrates institutions that are committed to community service, IMLS will feature this year's finalists on social media platforms and provide an opportunity for people to "Share Your Story" on the impact of WRL on their lives on the IMLS Facebook page: www.facebook.com/USIMLS
WRL is one of 33 museum and library finalists, from which 10 winners will be selected in April. Representatives from winning institutions will be honored at the National Medal award ceremony in Washington, D.C. Winning institutions also receive a visit from StoryCorps, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to recording, preserving and sharing the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs.
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Their mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning and cultural and civic engagement. Their grant making, policy development and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
About Williamsburg Regional Library
Williamsburg Regional Library (WRL) consists of the James City County Library, Mobile Library Services and the Williamsburg Library and serves a population of 85,000 in southeastern Virginia. For the past five years WRL was named as one of the best public libraries in the nation, and, most recently, the only four-star library in Virginia in the "Library Journal" Index of Public Library Service.


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Cooking on a Himalayan Salt Plate
How would you like a piece of cookware that is 300 million years old? These Himalayan Salt Plates are cut from ancient salt deposits and are considered the purest form of salt. They are becoming very popular right now to cook on and for good reason - they impart a rich flavor to anything you cook on them and not just a salty flavor. The plates contain mineral deposits that add a richness that you can't get with just salt.
There are a few ways you can use your salt plates. You can either cook on them, chill them, or serve foods on them at room temperature. I have done all three and I suggest that if you find you like doing that, buy two salt plates - one to keep "pretty" for serving cold foods and one on which to cook. Cooking on a salt plate will eventually change the appearance of the plate and discolor it, so having one that is reserved just for serving is kind of nice.
Cooking asparagus, thinly sliced beef and snap peas
On a trip to Oregon last year, I stopped by The Meadow and picked up a salt plate from Mark Bitterman. I love that store. He has an enormous, beautiful selection of salt plates and probably knows more about salt than just about anyone. In fact, he's coming out this year with a new book called "Salted". You can buy salt plates from many sources now, including Sur la Table and Dean and DeLuca. Everyone is selling them, it seems. But The Meadow is the only place I know of that categorizes their salt plates into two groups - Cookware Grade and Tableware Grade. I think that's important.
Salt Plates at The Meadow in Portland, Oregon
I have cooked several things on my salt plate and the possibilities are endless. You can cook vegetables, seafood, thinly sliced meat and even eggs on them. You can serve cheeses, cold mozzarella slices or fruit on them. You can chill your slab and even serve ice cream. The Meadow sells a little salt bowl that you can heat up and serve chocolate fondue out of. If your salt plate eventually breaks, you can save the pieces and salt your food by grating the salt pieces on a microplane.
Mozarella slices with a little olive oil and basil leaves
When preparing food for cooking on the salt plate, don't even season it. I sliced beef thinly and cooked it without any seasoning except pepper and I couldn't believe the richness of flavor it had. I was prepared to sprinkle a little soy sauce or something on it, but it did not need a thing.
Remember that the more moist the food is, the more salty the food will become. Mozzarella slices served on my salt plate were much more salty than the shrimp or asparagus I cooked on it.
You can heat your salt plate on your stove or grill. The Meadow recommends not heating it in the oven, although most other sources say you can. I personally take Mark Bitterman's advice and only heat mine on my stovetop or grill. To heat on the stove, just place right on your gas burner (for an electric stove, you will need something that will prevent it from laying directly on the burner, like a wok ring) and heat on low heat for 15 minutes and then increase the heat to medium-low for another 15 minutes. The salt plate can get extremely hot - they withstand temperatures up to 700 degrees! Lay the food directly on the salt plate.
When we went to Chicago last year, one of my boys ordered an appetizer that was meant to be cooked at the table on a hot rock. My son had a lot of fun with that - cooking his thinly sliced beef right at the table on this very hot rock. You can use your salt plate that way, also. They retain their heat for a good 20 minutes, enough to cook on, and stay warm for quite a while.
To clean, let the salt plate cool completely. Brush off any food residue and then rinse under warm water, scrub off any remaining food residue and rinse briefly again. Do not use soap on your salt plate - the salt plates are naturally anti-microbial. Allow to completely dry before using again. The plates should last for many uses.
Have fun!


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SO many of these shots are just divine - 29, 70, 117. But then there's the Hemorrhoid shots. I found them very distracting, almost to the point of looking like that was the focus of the photo shoot. 50, 51, 52, 53, 77-82, 103 - 111, it just kept going... I found it much too distracting..
Really beautiful model, sweet smile, super sexy mouth, gorgeous hair, love her slender feminine frame, nice little ass too.
I have no trouble giving 10 ++++++ all around, Catherine for great use of color to set off the evolving beauty of Charmane
My past critiques have been well addressed in this very fine set of photos. Beautiful curly hair gives Charmane a softer look, and those standing full body shots show off her fantastic curves.
Charmane is well presented here. Great job from both model and photographer.
What a beautiful woman and photo set! I'm hoping for more photo sets like this from her in the future.
Another set of perfection by Catherine! Charmane is so gorgeous. Thank you for the standing ass shots!
Charmaine is an exceedingly lovely model with a pretty face, beautiful figure and superb legs. Catherine really knows how to make the most of such a model with superb poses and, like DeeDee, I love simple shots of models standing full length from both the front and even better the rear. Sheer bliss.
I love Charmane's new hairstyle for this set, and the pink headband really sets it off well, IMO. She's got a lovely sweet, warm, friendly expression, and her body is simply delightful. What a perfectly shaped bottom which she displays so nicely, and long but perfectly proportioned legs. In short, quite yummy. (:
Thanks, Charmane and Catherine, this is a set full of sweetness.
Pretty baby... so cute, so sweet... excellent pictures...
Catherine we have to castling in the midst of your very beautiful photos
to escape the invasive hairs.
Not even change you.
You never answered my question to you in another set recently, so I'll ask it here, again. Maybe this time, you'll favor me /us with a response.
And let it be said now that I'm not at all trying to bait you... just trying to understand why you keep posting the same almost repetitive comments.
With your anti-hair passion, how do you stand on the overall appearance of body hair? You are quite vocal about genital hair on a woman, but what about armpits? Eyebrows? Head hair?
For all your decrying about the "invasive hairs" I would think that, for your position to hold any weight, a woman must be de-nuded of any and all bodily hair. Ever see anyone without eyebrows? It's quite startling and not the least bit unnerving until you realize what's going on (or off that is).
I'm curious because, as I understand it , the removal of female genital hair is, relatively speaking, a recent trend in human history. Yes, there are records from days as far back as the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians of women shaving their "southern parts" but that wasn't the norm.
Change your position ever?
I love the beauty of the woman in its entirety.
I do not like fetishes.
I do not love fetishists
Fetishes IMO are :.
Hair must be unkempt, loose not collected in a nice hairstyle even when covering the breasts or the shoulders of the model
As if the hair are most beautiful of the breast.
Pubic hairs, pubic hairs, as if the woman were only pubic hairs...
Not the woman but woods and groves where the model has to walk barefoot on a rough and even dangerous ground.
Not the woman but the sand that must dirtying his body.
I invite you to look at photos of the brothels of the end of the nineteenth century.
All girls are scantily dressed and disheveled, proudly display the hair under the armpits, very thick on the pubis but also on the legs and arms.
So I think that many are not looking for a beautiful woman and of art but they seek a whore on which fornicating
I guess that you have noticed that on all erotic sites on the Internet (less than those explicitly dedicated to the hairs) 99.99% of the models is shaved.
There is a reason.
To better understand what I mean by pictures of Erotic Art I list a few that come to mind:
Hanna Kay, Nalina, etc. Catherine
Milagres A, Jo A Antonio Clemens
Izolda A, Jo A Ingret
Mercedes, Ambre, Enna Sweet etc. Albert Varin
Olwen, Sade Sea, Nikia A etc. of Rylsky
Irina J-ESMORA etc.
Barbara D-DEIGARRA, Blomma etc.
I think that Sienne is adorable.
Forgive my English is the fault of the translators
I for one appreciate your opinion. I agree the translator programs are terrible.
So if 99.99% of the models are shaved, why can't you graciously let the .01% be? Why can't you just live and let live?
I think he feels too strongly about the shaved/not shaved problem Since Ms. K must keep everyone happy,he should probably quit Met and join ALS instead.
Thank you all guys:) pleasure to work for you
Catherine, I think everyone agrees that you are the Gold Standard for photographers. Every other photographer is compared to you because of your consistent excellent work. Bravo once again. All hail the Queen. 👏👏👏
Charmane is a very pretty young woman. Like her hair done with the gentle curls. I am so pleased to see Catherine's models are experimenting with different hair styles. It is clear that Catherine has taken our comments to heart. She and her models are really trying to please us. It seems that Charmane is a little more at ease and comfortable in this set. I hope Charmane will make many more visits with us.
Charmane is very good, and I have noticed that she seems to work better ANATT. A good talent for a model, to carry a set ANATT is not as easy as it looks. Few models besides Lorena b and Antea/Altea can do it well.
So it seems long wavy hair is a thing for me! I find it so alluring. Would love to caress Charmane's curls - and curves :-)
Hi Rose Your care package of (((hugs))) and sunshine gratfuly received and much appreciated.I agree on the hair ,I think Charmane looks better in curls.She also seems to model better ANATT. Since she is a blonde with dark eyebrows, natural yourself came immediately came to mind.
I assure you you are not alone in that. The curls give the girls a pleasing accessible look. So soft and feminine. Such a demure classic look! I really like what it does for the girls!
I tend to agree about hair with a bid of body, rather than the overall straight-haired look. Don't get me wrong, straight hair on a woman CAN be very sexy, but there's just something about soft gentle curls cascading down on a woman's shoulders and back that sets it apart from straight hair.
The other thing that does it any better for me is short hair on a woman. The old paige-boy haircut styles from some of the Beatle's-era years were absolute knockouts on some women - especially the dark-haired ones.
And, I've said it before, but I'll say it again. When a woman wears her hair "up", that, for me, many times helps to define a "classic" look as Lorena in tarkasis.
I agree in general, and Lorena CAN be very sexy with her hair up, but I prefer "Espuma"of her early work with Luca Helios
Charmane is Beautiful Beyond Words! I Really like The Fuller Body Hairstyle. In Any Event Catherine has Found Another Muse. I Look Forward to Many More Sets from The Catherine-Charmane Team. This Beauty gets Better and Better with Each New Set.
Catherine, my Catherine.
Lovely model, lovely set.
Sometimes you can make the model sing.
Charmane seems to be enjoying herself.
I hope you were, as well.
Charmane is absolutely charming! A Russian beauty, as she can be not breathtaking. It's only the third photo-set and Charmane will be nicer and nicer. Where should it end only?
In any case in my heart. It jumps for joy, when it sees the beautiful face and stunning body of Charmane.
Thanks to Catherine for this sensational model.
Total agreement duely noted


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The PS3 may not have enjoyed a price drop at E3, but today you can pick up the system for a little bit less money with Amazon's Deal of the Day. The 80GB PS3 is $350. The systems are new, there is no gimmick, just a nice $50 savings.
With God of War 3, Heavy Rain, Uncharted 2, and inFamous either already here or on the way, this is a not a bad time to grab a PS3.


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Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource ManagementSM Seminar
Las Vegas, Nevada | October 21 - 25, 2019
Presented for more than 27 years, The Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management Seminar provides comprehensive and practical coverage of many important aspects of human resource work. The objective of the program is to help participants immediately become more effective on the job, while helping them prepare for greater responsibilities.
All instruction and reference materials are developed so they can be applied in the everyday workplace. Participants learn the essentials of employment law, compensation program design and planning, key training techniques to develop a performance based evaluation program, HR decision metrics, and HR strategies.
- Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (discrimination and retaliation)
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (including reasonable accommodation and undue hardship)
- The 1991 Civil Rights Act
- The Equal Pay Act
- Executive Order 11246/Affirmative Action
- The Rehabilitation Act
- State discrimination laws
Kinds of Discrimination
- Disparate treatment
- Disparate impact
- Harassment (including sexual harassment)
How Discrimination is Proven
- Direct evidence ("smoking guns")
- Circumstantial evidence
- Statistical/numerical evidence
Specific Laws/Rules Regarding Employment Termination
- "Employment at-will"
- Public policy discharge
- Implied contracts
- Whistle-blower laws
Labor Standards Laws
- Fair Labor Standard Act (wage-hour, overtime, child labor)
- Occupational Safety & Health Act
- Family & Medical Leave Act
Labor Law - The National Labor Relations Act
- Worker's Compensation
Potential Personal/Individual Liability of the Manager/Supervisor
Safety and Security Issues in Today's Workplace
Employee Selection: Hiring and Interviewing Employees
- How to avoid costly hiring mistakes
- What to look for
- What not to ask
- Negligent hiring
- Objective vs. subjective criteria
- Workplace diversity issues
- Employee orientation
- Drug testing/medical evaluations
Managing, Training and Supervising Employees
- What is/is not "harassment" on the job
- The importance of good communication
- Negligent retention/supervision
- Job assignments/onerous work/overtime
- Employee safety
- Job accommodation/pregnancy/family-medical leaves
- Employee privacy/electronic monitoring
- Drug and alcohol policies/practice
- Investigating/reporting employee complaints
- The supervisor or manager who keeps notes, a diary, or a notebook about his/her employees
Evaluating/Appraising Employees
- Importance of the evaluation in litigation/employee relations
- The biggest obstacles to honest, accurate evaluations
- How to correct performance/conduct problems
- The self-appraisal as an important management tool
- How to say what you mean on an evaluation
Employee Discharge and Discipline
- A detailed checklist for supervisors and managers to reduce the likelihood of "wrongful discharge" and/or claims of discrimination
- Unemployment claims
- Requests for a job reference/defamation risks
Strategic HR Management — is concerned with maintaining organizational competitiveness by achieving HR effectiveness through the use of HR measurement and HR technology. Through HR planning, managers must anticipate the future supply and demand for employees. An additional strategic HR concern is employee retention. Learn about what the HR Strategic Role entails and how to leverage them at your organization. We will review HR roles, competencies, and current challenges such as: The globalization of business; economic and technological changes; occupational shifts; workforce availability and demographics; and organizational costs. Learn the value of HR Effectiveness and Financial Performance by determining the ROI of all resources and expenditures. Learn about the HR scorecard, measurement and benchmarks and how to show value to your organization.
Staffing and Retention — emphasizes the need to provide an adequate supply of qualified individuals to fill the jobs in an organization. Job analysis serves as the foundation for achieving this goal. Learn how to choose the proper job analysis strategy and the difference between job task analysis and competency based job analysis:
- Learn what the steps of the job analysis process are.
- Learn to develop proper job descriptions.
- Understand that recruiting applicants and selection are required to procure a workforce.
- Learn about the employee psychological contract; job satisfaction; individual performance factors; motivation strategies; retention interventions; and cost of employee turnover.
- What is employment branding and how your organization should do it.
- What are the internal and external recruiting sources you should tap?
- How do you properly select and place candidates?
- What is the selection process and should you test?
Talent Management, Performance Management and Development — encompasses:
- Orientation of new employees
- Training
- HR development of all employees and managers to meet future challenges
- Career planning
- Performance management which focuses on how employees perform their jobs
- Succession planning
- Workforce realignment
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Types of training deliveries, assessments, and learning styles
- Training metrics
- Benchmarking
- ROI analysis
- Effective Performance Management Systems should do the following:
- Clarify what the organization expects
- Provide performance information to employees
- Identify areas of success and needed development
- Document performance for personnel records
- Learn about the different types of performance appraisals and how to maximize them for your company
Compensation and Benefits — compensation in the form of pay, incentives, and benefits rewards people for performing organizational work. Employers must develop and refine compensation systems and may use variable pay programs. Because so many organizational funds are spent on total reward systems for employees, a number of important decisions must be made to achieve the following objectives:
- Legal compliance with all appropriate laws and regulations
- Cost effectiveness for the organization
- Internal, external and individual equity for employees
- Performance enhancement for the organization
- Performance recognition and talent management for employees
Learn how to:
- Job price
- Make market comparisons
- Pros and cons of job evaluations
- Different pay structures
- Compliance issues that should be evaluated.
- Consider compensation trends, projections and strategies
- Learn the Benefits Strategy, design and measurement for your organization
- Learn about the different types of benefits such as government mandated, voluntary, security, retirement and health benefits.
Risk Management and Worker Protection — for decades, employers have been required to meet legal requirements and be responsive to concerns for workplace health and safety. In addition, workplace security has grown in importance along with disaster and recovery planning. Learn the nature of Health, Safety and Security. Learn the legal compliance organizations must adhere to such as OSHA, PPE, Blood-borne Pathogens, Ergonomics and Workplace Air Quality.
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
October 25, 2019
8:00 am - 12:00 pm
*We reserve the right to change instructors when such changes are advisable for academic reasons or when circumstances are beyond our control.
Planet Hollywood is filled with star attractions—and not just the movie kind. Dozens of restaurants and nightspots. The best live music on the Strip. The expansive Spa by Mandara. And not one, but two enormous swimming pools. Everything is spectacular at Planet Hollywood. Go on an all-out, Las Vegas shopping spree at Miracle Mile Shops, featuring the glitz and glam of Hollywood. Located inside Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, the 1.2 mile retail mecca is beyond amazing. Here, you can have your retail therapy and a workout. Dining options include Buffalo Wild Wings, Cabo Wabo® Cantina, PBR Rock Bar & Grill, Pampas Brazilian Grill and more great Las Vegas restaurants. The Planet Hollywood Pools have changed the Las Vegas scene with the addition of the Strip's first-everFlowRider Wave-in-a-Box Double. Beyond what most waterparks typically offer, the FlowRider Wave-in-a-Box Double sharpens a variety of board-sport skills – surfing, snowboarding, wakeboarding, skimboarding, skateboarding. In no time, riders go from bodyboards to standing up on flowboards to doing kickflips, aerials and other tricks.
- By phone: 866-317-1829, reference Group SMIAL9 (please note that the hotel will charge you a $15 + tax fee if you make your reservation by phone)
- Online: Click here to book your reservation online
*We reserve the right to change seminar venue when such changes are advisable for academic reasons or when circumstances are beyond our control.
Credit hours (except for CLE credit) are based on attendance in the full 4½ day seminar. For credit information for partial program attendance or if you don't see what you're looking for, please contact Cara Adams at firstname.lastname@example.com or 949-344-2333.
HR Certification Institute (HRCI)
This seminar has been approved for 29.75 HR recertification credit hours toward PHR and SPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute (HRCI).
Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)
The Institute for Applied Management & Law, Inc. is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP. This seminar has been approved for 29.75 PDCs.
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP)
Earn 36.0 Continuing Education Credits towards CEBS recertification through the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP) by attending this 4½-day program.
American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA)
This 4½-day program is eligible for CHHR recertification credit.
State Boards of Accountancy
Individual State Boards of Accountancy may accept IAML courses for continuing education.
National Association of Legal Assistants
CP's can receive credit for attending any IAML program that has been approved for Continuing Legal Education (see list below.)
National Federation of Paralegal Associations
PACE Registered Paralegals and CORE Registered Paralegals can receive credit for attending any IAML program that has been approved for Continuing Legal Education (see list below.)
American Alliance of Paralegals
AACP's can receive credit for attending any IAML program that has been approved for Continuing Legal Education (see list below.)
Continuing Legal Education
Only Block I (Legal Aspects of HR Management) is eligible for CLE credit. Additional fees for CLE application and/or reporting fees may apply.
The State Bar of Arizona does not approve or accredit CLE activities for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirement. This activity may qualify for up to 13 hours toward your annual CLE requirement for the State Bar of Arizona.
Block I of thisactivity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credits by the State Bar of California in the amount of 13 credit hours. IAML certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of California governing minimum, continuing legal education.
Florida Bar members may claim credit for attendance at CLE programs offered in or from other jurisdictions if the program has been accredited by another MCLE jurisdiction (which includes California.) Block I of this seminar has been approved by the State Bar of California for 13 hours. Florida credits are based on a 50-minute hour; therefore, this course is eligible for 15.5 MCLE credit hours.
Attorneys licensed in Hawaii who attend a course that has been approved for credit by a Hawaii State Bar approved jurisdiction (which includes California) may claim the CLE credits from the course or activity without seeking prior Board approval for the course or activity. This program has been approved by the State Bar of California for 13 hours.
Maine attorneys are eligible to receive 13 credit hours for this program through Maine's reciprocity provision that allows credit hours for courses or activities approved by another MCLE state (which includes California) and certified by that state's CLE regulatory authority will be accepted for identical credit by the Board of Overseers of the Bar in Maine.
Block I of this seminar has been approved by the Missouri State Bar for 15.9 hours.
New Hampshire
NHMCLE does not approve or accredit CLE activities for the New Hampshire MCLE requirement. IAML believes this course meets the requirements of New Hampshire Supreme Court Rule 53 and may qualify for 780 minutes (13 hours) toward the annual NHMCLE requirement. New Hampshire attendees must self-determine whether a program is eligible for credit, and self-report their attendance.
New Jersey
Attorneys licensed in New Jersey who attend an out-of-state CLE course that has been approved for credit by a New Jersey State Bar approved jurisdiction (which includes California) may claim the CLE credits from the course or activity without seeking prior Board approval for the course or activity. Block I of this program has been approved by the State Bar of California for 13 hours.
New York
An attorney completing an eligible Approved Jurisdiction course (which includes California) may claim 15.5 hours of New York CLE credit in accordance with the requirements of the Program Rules, Regulations and Guidelines. This program has been approved by the State Bar of California.
North Carolina
Block I of this course has been submitted to the North Carolina State Bar Board of Continuing Legal Education for 13 hours.
Block I of this seminar has been approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio Commission on Continuing Legal Education for 13 hours.
Block I of this seminarhas been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of Pennsylvania in the amount of 13 credit hours. IAML certifies that this activity conforms to the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules and regulations of the State Bar of Pennsylvania governing minimum continuing legal education.
The fee for the full 4½ day Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management Seminar is $2,375.00, which includes all seminar materials, coffee breaks and a reception the first day. (Breakfast/lunch/dinner are on your own.) Registration fees for those wishing to enroll in only portions of the program are:
- Block I (Monday and Tuesday):
$1,050.00 (2 days)
- Block II (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday):
$1,475.00 (2½ days)
Once an organization has registered a representative for any full 4½ day Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management Seminar in 2019, subsequent registrants from the same organization who attend the 2019 Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management Seminar are entitled to a discount for attendance. A $100.00 discount will be given for each subsequent 4½ day registrant. A $50.00 discount will be given for each subsequent partial registrant. Participants need not attend the same location or date, but must attend during the specified time period and discounts must be requested at the time of registration and other not combinable with other discount offers.
Very attractive discounts are available to organizations which send 5 or more participants to IAML seminars in any 12 month period. Participants do not necessarily need to attend the seminar at the same location or time.
A minimum of one half of the total fees due to IAML should accompany your registration, or a Purchase Order Number should be provided. The total fees payable should be received by IAML at least two weeks prior to the seminar. Arrangements such as deferred billing can be made to accommodate special circumstances by contacting us. IAML accepts payment by check, EFT or credit card (American Express, MasterCard, Discover, Visa.)
While registrations may be accepted within the two weeks prior to the beginning of the seminar, we suggest that you call IAML to confirm space availability.
Participants will receive a full refund if IAML receives written notification that they will be unable to attend at least two weeks prior to their program's starting date. Otherwise, participants are liable for the entire fee. Registrants requesting a transfer to another program within this two week period will be charged an additional fee of $150.00. You may substitute an associate at any time.
Registrants are responsible for making their own hotel reservations. IAML has made arrangements for participants to receive a special group rate at the hotels where the seminars will be held. To ensure that you will receive a room at the special group rate, please make your hotel reservations at least four weeks in advance of the seminar and mention that you are participating in an Institute for Applied Management & Law seminar.
Please note: If you experience any difficulty in making your hotel reservation, even within the four weeks prior to the seminar you wish to attend, please call IAML. Through IAML's contacts, there is a good possibility that we can help you secure a reservation at the seminar hotel.


text:
No apartment, Fair credit, Music Resource Center
* Last week's cover story, "Flooded House," mistakenly added a basement apartment to Ken and Heidi Vanderford's duplex.
* A photo illustrating an article on the Albemarle County Fair in the August 22 Walkabout section was actually taken at the Nelson County Summer Festival, and it was shot by Serelda Elliot.
* In one of the stories last week on the outcome of the Rock Starr Showdown, the benefiting charity was misidentified. It's the Music Resource Center.


text:
Not Available For Sale
The most consistent and effective way to lose weight and unwanted body fat is by consuming a high protein/low carbohydrate diet (with moderate dietary fat intake). This is primarily due to the fact that protein has a spectacular three-phase assault on body fat: 1) protein causes the body to release a hormone called glucagon that frees up stored body fat to be used as energy, 2) protein builds muscle tissue - the site at which fat is burned; consequently, more muscle equals greater fat burning capacity, and 3) to digest protein, the body has to expend a great deal of energy; this process is called the "thermic effect" of dietary protein. Protein produces by far the greatest thermic effect of any food.
While it is true that one of the keys to losing weight is to expend more calories than we consume, the most important secret for long term fat and weight loss is to control the amount and/or type of carbohydrates we consume. However, if we control insulin with we maintain a low carbohydrate diet, we can also reduce our body weight and body fat. Syngex Protein is a synergistic blend of Whey Protein Isolate and Concentrate and can be utilized to supplement any type of low-carbohydrate diet. Protein is unquestionably the single most important nutrient for dramatically redefining and improving your physique. Do what many of the greatest professional athletes, fitness athletes and movie stars have done - make VPX an integral part of your supplementation program today.
VPX is proud to bring you a cutting edge new whey protein isolate called, SpiroFuse Reverse Osmosis or SFRO. This invention is whey protein isolate by Reverse Osmosis SpiroFuse Filtration or SFRO. Roughly 10 years ago VPX was the first company ever to release a ceramic filtered Whey Protein Isolate supplement called, cross flow microfiltration. This created quite a stir in the supplement industry because until this time, only whey protein concentrate (WPC) or low grade Ion Exchange WPI was available. As you can imagine there have been significant improvements in whey protein technology over the past 10 years. As a result of these superior scientific advancements, VPX is utilizing super high tech new membrane systems that produce isolated proteins that are 99% pure and are ultra rich in potent low molecular weight micro-fractions (LMWF). VPX is also using a new Whey Protein Concentrate that is designed to keep the fat globule portion of the protein intact which preserves the integrity of the naturally occurring IGF-1 and IGF-2. Consequently, Syngex was born - a synergistic blend of the world's most cutting edge whey protein isolate and concentrate.*


text:
When discussing the marshland with Joe, Jaggers uses "solitary" and "lonely" several times. However, several images presented by Jaggers contradict the idea of the marshland's isolated existence.
"Aha!" said the stranger, quickly, and cocking his eye at me. "The lonely church, right out on the marshes, with graves round it!"
"That's it," said Joe.
The stranger, with a comfortable kind of grunt over his pipe, put his legs up on the settle that he had to himself. He wore a flapping broad-brimmed traveller's hat, and under it a handkerchief tied over his head in the manner of a cap: so that he showed no hair. As he looked at the fire, I thought I saw a cunning expression, followed by a half-laugh, come into his face.
"I am not acquainted with this country, gentlemen, but it seems a solitary country towards the river."
"Most marshes is solitary," said Joe. [p. 58]
Wearing a "broad-brimmed travelller's hat" Jaggers's presence conflicts with the idea of the marshland's solitary and "unfrequented" nature. His knowledge of the location of the church also conflicts with his tourist image. Its "lonely" description should ensure that a simple passer through would not notice it unless they deliberately sought it out. Additionally, Jaggers's description of the "lonely church" seems to contradict the fact that it has many "graves round it" where the dead residents of the marshland forever accompany the little church.
1. Pip state's that Jaggers was "cocking his eye at [him]" in a way reminiscent of aiming a gun. What does the use of such violent language suggest about Jaggers's character and about Pip's emotional state at this time?
2. Ultimately which location proves more solitary and lonely for Pip, London or the marshland?
3. Bronte frequently described the countryside within Jane Eyre. Did she emphasize the isolated nature of the country or did she highlight its welcoming nature?
4. Jaggers's description of the marshland suggests that the area has few residents. How densely populated would the area have been in Pip's time?
5. What does it say about Joe's character that he finds the marshes solitary? Is he only commenting on the population density or is it a possible reference to his own feelings of isolation?
Last modified 27 February 2008


text:
Businesses 'bury heads in sand' over downturn
Research by KPMG claims that many firms are failing to plan ahead in difficult times
Firms are burying their heads in the sand over the downturn, KPMG claims A large proportion of firms are burying their heads in the sand when it comes to the economic slowdown according to research from...
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