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GOATWHORE will release their new studio album, entitled Blood For The Master, on February 14th in North America via Metal Blade Records. The album was recorded at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, FL with Erik Rutan who produced the band's previous two albums.
Washington D.C. based metallers DARKEST HOUR have posted the following lineup news:
"Yes it is true, Darkest Hour has parted ways with drummer Ryan Parrish. We wish him well (you will see him rocking in many projects no doubt please check them out, they will all rip!).
For now his duties have been filled by drummer Timothy Java (DEAD TO FALL). Tim did an amazing job on our recent European tour with MACHINE HEAD.
As for the future that's open for discussion - no permanent decisions have been made in any way."
Sweden's NAGLFAR has now revealed some additional news on the current status of the band and their upcoming studio album, Téras:
"So...It's been quite some time since our last update, and there have been some changes that need to be addressed. For various reasons we won't discuss in public, NAGLFAR is today a three-piece band. The current line-up is as follows:
Kristoffer W. Olivius - Vocals
Marcus E. Norman - Guitars
Andreas Nilsson - Guitars
Due to this, the writing and recording process had been delayed. We have however finally completed a new album entitled Téras. Drums have been recorded by Dirk Verbeuren (Soilwork). Téras will be released on Century Media Records in March 2012. More info about this beast will follow soon."
In anticipation of Téras' release, NAGLFAR is now giving fans a preview of their new album with the debut of its first single, "Pale Horse". To listen to the track, please head over to the band's official Facebook
Cleveland, Ohio metallers CHIMAIRA have released a free digital EP, "The Age Of Remix Hell", via Reckoning Hour
The track listing for the effort which, as the title suggests, contains remixed versions of songs from CHIMAIRA's latest album, "The Age Of Hell" is as follows:
01. Year Of The Snake (Dubba Jonny Mix)
02. Clockwork (Hunter Mix)
03. Year Of The Snake (Allinaline Mix)
04. Losing My Mind (Allinaline Mix).
Finnish melancholic rockers AMORPHIS - who have just released the retrospective "Magic & Mayhem - Tales from the Early Years" - are in the studio again to record the follow-up to 2009`s "Skyforger"! The release of the yet untitled tenth
AMORPHIS album is planned for May 2011.
DROID singer James Eason has announced that he has left the band and is currently exploring other projects in the music world. His statement on his departure can be read below.
I have spent the last 10+ years in the band DROID so this is no easy decision for me. To make it simple the past 10 years in DROID have had their great and memorable moments and their not so memorable moments.
I have chosen to move on in positive direction... This being said, my # 1 Priority has and always will be to make music and give 100% commitment of myself to my music. Music is my #1 priority and always has been...I stand strong in my commitment. My #1 regret is that the DROID fans have had to wait soooooooooooooo long for a 2nd record, and then receive this news. Where ever I end up I promise to make up for their super long wait. You can count on that, I will always stay true to my word&
I am looking for musicians who are driven, focused and hungry - these are the kinds of musicians I am looking for to play with as of now&
Any interested musicians or bands please feel free to contact me; I can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.
As you may have noticed, we've experienced serious problems with our former host in the past few months. Despite our numerous complaints about the site's performance, they wouldn't do diddly squat and blamed us for having too much traffic and content for their puny "servers", so it became apparent that we had to move on.
Unfortunately, the douchebags made it as hard as possible for us to switch smoothly, and we are still recovering. Thankfully, we have a full backup, and everything should be back to normal shortly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.
Just when it seemed time to sheath the long sword and nurse your tender livers back to health, JB's in Dudley are set to host the inagural Dudley Metalfest.
Running from September 25th - 27th, the indoor event is to be headlined by such prestigious acts as former Iron Maiden vocalist Blaze Bayley (Solo), German power metal overlords Primal Fear and Swedish progresters Evergrey.
The complete festival line up is - Touchstone, Eastern Front, Hellfighter, Warpath, Brainstorm, Marshall Law, Circus Maximus, Power Quest, Xandria, Swallow The Sun, Primordial, E-Force, Northland, Kalmah, Dragonland, Elvenking, Omnium Gathering, Vision Divine, Holy Moses, Fairyland, Hanging Doll and Metalfest competition winners Ascension.
Tickets are on sale now, with Friday tickets are priced at £10, Saturday and Sunday tickets are £30 each and weekend tickets cost only £50. Tickets can be purchased from , the venue directly or their website jbsdudley.co.uk.
Doors open at 6pm Friday and 12pm Saturday and Sunday. JB's can be found at 15 Castle Hill, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4QF For directions, check the website or contact the venue.


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Professional pollsters think they've got their finger on the pulse of the nation's presidential preference.
But with Halloween approaching, there may be another way to predict the election outcome: the popularity of Democrat President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney masks.
Sales of both have been brisk at BuyFun.com. And perhaps telling, though it is not known if the masks are being purchased because of candidate preference or scariness.
"Our mask sales have reflected an interesting pattern lately," said spokeswoman Aleksandra Sobic. "Overall, Obama masks have outsold Romney masks.
"However, whereas in September Obama masks were selling 35 percent more than Romney masks, to date in October, Romney masks are selling 200 percent more than Obama masks."
Another costume seller, Buycostumes.com, has what it calls "The Official Presidential Mask Poll 2012," which features a state-by-state tally of which candidate is winning. The company's website boasts that its mask sales have correctly predicted the election winner since 2000 when Republican George W. Bush narrowly defeated Democrat Al Gore.
So far, the company said, Obama masks are outselling Romney masks by 51 to 49 percent.
It's not just presidential masks that spike Halloween costume sales. BuyFun's "Joe the Plumber" costumes were popular four years ago.
The big seller this election year?
"Big Bird costumes," Sobic said. "Within just three days following the (first) presidential debate (at which Romney said he'd cut or eliminate the federal subsidy for public television) we sold out of all of our traditional style Big Bird costumes."
But don't worry, fellas. They've still got plenty of the "Sexy Big Bird" costumes in stock.
Details for this story were provided by The Free Press in Mankato, Minn.

subset: commoncrawl


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What are the Risk Factors for Prostate Cancer?
Posted on: May 31, 2017
Taken from: http://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/detailedguide/prostate-cancer-risk-factors
A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors, like smoking, can be changed. Others, like a person's age or family history, can't be changed.
But risk factors don't tell us everything. Many people with one or more risk factors never get cancer, while others who get cancer may have had few or no known risk factors.
We don't yet completely understand the causes of prostate cancer, but researchers have found several factors that might affect a man's risk of getting it.
Prostate cancer is very rare in men younger than 40, but the chance of having prostate cancer rises rapidly after age 50. About 6 in 10 cases of prostate cancer are found in men over the age of 65.
Prostate cancer occurs more often in African-American men and in Caribbean men of African ancestry than in men of other races. African-American men are also more than twice as likely to die of prostate cancer as white men. Prostate cancer occurs less often in Asian-American and Hispanic/Latino men than in non-Hispanic whites. The reasons for these racial and ethnic differences are not clear.
Prostate cancer is most common in North America, northwestern Europe, Australia, and on Caribbean islands. It is less common in Asia, Africa, Central America, and South America.
The reasons for this are not clear. More intensive screening in some developed countries probably accounts for at least part of this difference, but other factors such as lifestyle differences (diet, etc.) are likely to be important as well. For example, men of Asian descent living in the United States have a lower risk of prostate cancer than white Americans, but their risk is higher than that of men of similar backgrounds living in Asia.
Family History
Prostate cancer seems to run in some families, which suggests that in some cases there may be an inherited or genetic factor. Having a father or brother with prostate cancer more than doubles a man's risk of developing this disease. (The risk is higher for men who have a brother with the disease than for those with an affected father.) The risk is much higher for men with several affected relatives, particularly if their relatives were young when the cancer was found.
Gene Changes
Scientists have found several inherited gene changes that seem to raise prostate cancer risk, but they probably account for only a small percentage of cases overall. For example:
- Inherited mutations of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes raise the risk of breast and ovarian cancers in some families. Mutations in these genes may also increase prostate cancer risk in some men.
- Men with Lynch syndrome (also known as hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, or HNPCC), a condition caused by inherited gene changes, have an increased risk for a number of cancers, including prostate cancer.
- Other inherited gene changes can also raise a man's risk of prostate cancer.
Recently, some common gene variations have been linked to a higher risk of prostate cancer. Studies to confirm this are needed to see if testing for the gene variants will be useful in predicting prostate cancer risk.
The exact role of diet in prostate cancer is not clear, but several factors have been studied.
Men who eat a lot of red meat or high-fat dairy products appear to have a slightly higher chance of getting prostate cancer. These men also tend to eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Doctors aren't sure which of these factors is responsible for raising the risk.
Some studies have suggested that men who consume a lot of calcium (through food or supplements) may have a higher risk of developing prostate cancer. Dairy foods (which are often high in calcium) might also increase risk. But most studies have not found such a link with the levels of calcium found in the average diet, and it's important to note that calcium is known to have other important health benefits.
Most studies have not found that being obese (very overweight) is linked with a higher overall risk of getting prostate cancer.
Some studies have found that obese men have a lower risk of getting a low-grade (less dangerous) form of the disease, but a higher risk of getting more aggressive prostate cancer. The reasons for this are not clear.
Some studies have also found that obese men may be at greater risk for having more advanced prostate cancer and of dying from prostate cancer, but not all studies have found this.
Most studies have not found a link between smoking and prostate cancer risk. Some research has linked smoking to a possible small increase in the risk of death from prostate cancer, but this finding will need to be confirmed by other studies.
Workplace Exposures
There is some evidence that firefighters are exposed to substances (toxic combustion products) that may increase their risk of prostate cancer.
Inflammation of the Prostate
Some studies have suggested that prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland) may be linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer, but other studies have not found such a link. Inflammation is often seen in samples of prostate tissue that also contain cancer. The link between the two is not yet clear, but this is an active area of research.
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Researchers have looked to see if sexually transmitted infections (like gonorrhea or chlamydia) might increase the risk of prostate cancer, because they can lead to inflammation of the prostate. So far, studies have not agreed, and no firm conclusions have been reached.
Some studies have suggested that men who have had a vasectomy (minor surgery to make men infertile) have a slightly increased risk for prostate cancer. But other studies have not found an increased risk among men who have had this operation. Research on this possible link is still under way.


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Learning Puppet at your own pace
The Puppet Learning VM is an interactive tutorial and learning environment to get you started with Puppet or level up the skills you already have. Explore the technology in depth with a series of detailed multi-step quests. Working through the Puppet Enterprise console GUI and Linux command-line, you'll learn the building block concepts of Puppet such as resources, manifests, classes and modules, then move on to more advanced topics including defined resource types and application orchestration.
Ready to get started?
- Complete the registration form to download the Learning VM.
- Download the zip file containing the Learning VM open virtualization archive (OVA) and setup instructions.
- Follow the steps in the instructions to import the Learning VM OVA into your virtualization software and get started with the Quest Guide.
Minimum requirements
- Internet-enabled Windows, OS X, or Linux computer with 10GB free space and a VT-x/AMD-V enabled processor.
- 4GB free memory
- 2 Core 2.5 Ghz (or better) CPU with 64-bit architecture
- Up-to-date VirtualBox or VMware desktop virtualization software
How to setup the Puppet Learning VM
Our video tutorial walks you through the steps to download, install, and troubleshoot the Learning VM.
Evaluating Puppet Enterprise for the first time?
The Learning VM comes with Puppet Enterprise already installed to help you learn its features and capabilities. If you want to evaluate Puppet Enterprise in your existing infrastructure, you can download and try it out for free on up to 10 nodes.


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onions wrote:no. rule one states only official licensed lines. Pirates of the Caribbean is the only line that hasn't been released yet, hence it being in the future. there is no such LEGO Hobbit or LEGO Flintstones line.
Mister Ed wrote:onions wrote:Mister Ed wrote:Does the pilot NEED to be in the pod? I ask because I was thinking of seeing if I could come up with a Toy Story RC-themed Pod, and ideally the pilot would be controlling it with a remote.
RC was able to move about on his own. he would be the pilot.
Hnh. I guess that's true. I still have a mental picture of Buzz standing by with a remote. Would it be kosher to include that?
badgerboy wrote:Sorry for being a pain, but I think this stands clarification or jurisdiction...
There are some products that could be said to be a licensed product but haven't actually got their own theme. A very good example of this would be Maersk (Sealand). There is also a long history of TLC making models for corporations like Shell that couldn't be said to have had their own 'line' but were licensed none the less.
It probably wouldn't draw many votes if I just just built a blocky yellow Podracer and added a Shell flag on the back or a Nesquik Bunny in the cockpit, but I wouldn't want to be disqualified either.
Where do you stand on what could be considered as 'loop-holes' with regard to licensed product? Do promotional sets qualify or is it strictly themes that have spawned more than one set at a time in a true retail product line sense?
cplego7 wrote:So let me get this right, the pod racer is required to be a themed pod racer?
In the rules Ace wrote:- Your task is to build any non-Star Wars, licensed themed podracer.
Joedward wrote:cplego7 wrote:So let me get this right, the pod racer is required to be a themed pod racer?
Really?In the rules Ace wrote:- Your task is to build any non-Star Wars, licensed themed podracer.
- The only image editing allowed is the removal of backgrounds and adding energy binders to the twin engines. Your photos cannot be altered in any other way. No composite views, no added text, no additional graphics or enhancements.
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A.L.S. September 1860. �R.E.� [Roxana Chapin Gerdine] to �Dear Sister Em� [Emily McKinstry Chapin]. 4pp. Note: Part of the last page continues onto the front of the first page.)
I keep her sewing a good deal and her father will not let her sleep as she did in Chicopee. well night is coming on and I must close- give my love to all. tell home folks I will write them soon tell William How-dye & write soon to your sister R.E.)
Plantation Sep. 1860"
Dear Sister Em-"
at last I have found a few moments time for writing to you but really since my return there has not been many such- two nurses for two babies takes away a good deal of my help so for the present I am stitching away after the old sort Baby No. 1 (alias Tom) has been terribly afflicted with sores on his head and now he has one on his neck and this morning the one under his arm broke. it was as large as a goose egg and the most angry looking sore I ever saw. he has not worn any thing but a skirt for a week but to day he is dancing around, he is the [illegible word], worst spoiled child you ever saw, he speaks several words very


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1. "We track a lot more than just your credit."
Credit bureaus are well known for tracking consumers' credit history, including tabulating such details as whether they pay their bills on time and how much debt they carry. And as evidenced by the recent case of Julie Miller, who was awarded $18 million after she sued Equifax — one of the three main credit reporting bureaus — for failing to correct major mistakes in her credit report, the information they compile can sometimes be riddled with errors.
But the bureaus also maintain information that has nothing to do with credit, from consumers' home addresses to their employment records. While that data isn't used to calculate credit scores, lenders can access this personal information and use it to help evaluate borrowers who are applying for credit — even to justify denying them a loan altogether. Individuals who change addresses often, for instance, may be presumed less financially stable and harder to track down if unpaid debts ever need to be collected, says Louis Hyman, a consumer-credit historian and assistant professor at Cornell University. Similarly, those who change jobs every few months could be viewed as more likely to miss payments, he says.
The credit bureau industry says it needs this identifying information to develop accurate credit report databases. Norm Magnuson, a spokesman for the Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents credit bureaus, says storing consumers' addresses helps bureaus identify the correct credit report to give lenders when a consumer applies for credit. (Questions to the three main bureaus about industry practices were directed to the CDIA.) Social Security numbers by themselves often won't suffice, he says, because some consumers apply for credit without providing that information. He says the CDIA cannot speak to such lender underwriting practices though they are regulated by laws that protect consumers.
Consumers' salary information can also be up for grabs. Equifax, one of the three national credit bureaus, maintains a private database of salary records on more than 33% of U.S. adults — information it acquired when it purchased a data-mining company in 2007 — and it can sell this data to eligible lenders, including mortgage and car finance companies, that are trying to gauge a consumer's ability to repay a loan. This year, seven members of Congress sent a letter to Equifax asking for proof that its subsidiary isn't breaking laws that protect personal privacy. (The other two major bureaus, Experian and TransUnion, say they don't collect salary information.)
Timothy Klein, a spokesman for Equifax, says the company provides salary information only when permissible under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which went into effect in 1970 and regulates how consumer information can be distributed. A company statement to congressional members stated that it's in "compliance with all applicable consumer protection laws." Also, he says, the company will only provide this data to lenders if the consumers first agree to it.
Lenders have to ask consumers for permission to verify their employment or income, typically by including language authorizing that disclosure in the loan application, says Klein. If the consumer declines, he says, it's up to the lender to determine whether to offer a loan without income information.


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REAL ESTATE- ON THE BLOCK- Let it be: Get a '60s fix downtown
ADDRESS: 708 Park Street
NEIGHBORHOOD: Downtown
SIZE: 2,891 fin. sq. ft.
LAND: 0.27 acres
CURB APPEAL: 7 out of 10
LISTED BY: Loring Woodruff McLean Faulconer 295-1131
People who've traveled Park Street over the years no doubt remember the most striking thing about this house at the corner of Lyons Court. It's not the fact that it's a quintessential 1950s "split foyer" rancher that sticks out– thanks to its two-tone yellow-white paint job– like a sore thumb among its classic brick neighbors.
It's the glorious rose garden– alas, long since demolished– that old-timers are likely to think of when this house is mentioned. The row of rose bushes marching along Park Street in a straight line perfectly complemented the house.
And while the new landscaping that has taken their place– shrubs, and what the agent calls "hardscaping" (seemingly random low brick walls and a Brazilian walnut deck)– is fine, somehow it just doesn't match as perfectly.
The inside has been gussied up a bit, too. In the back of the house, behind a paneled den, the owner has added a large master bedroom and adjacent sitting area or studio. We say "studio" because the space, which leads to the new deck through solid-pane French doors matching an original set in the den, has windows on all sides.
The windows would make this the brightest room in the otherwise surprisingly dark house, except for large "plantation shutters" that block a lot of the light. (Although they're obviously new and are certainly au courant, a new owner might consider deep-sixing them throughout the house since they weigh down an already oppressive interior.)
Apart from this large addition and a little garden shed out back, the owner has not altered the place. That means that original '60s bathrooms, with wonderful almost Deco-ish tiling, are intact. The tiny bathroom off the new bedroom addition, compact and well-designed, is all anyone needs– a square tiled shower with WC and sink in a separate little alcove-like room. Instead of a swanky new show-off Jacuzzi and marble sink, etc., etc., the owner, obviously a sensible sort, installed a laundry room.
Apart from the addition– which, like the original paneled den has wall-to-wall carpet– the house is just as the façade leads one to expect. Four steps up from the square entry foyer are a living room with picture window and fireplace, adjoining smallish dining room, and basic kitchen with laminate counters, maple cabinets, and what must be the teeniest dishwasher in town.
Down a step or two from the kitchen is a pass-through to the new laundry room past a large pantry that the owner, an artist, is using to store paints instead of provisions. (As we know, man does not live by bread alone.) That's it for the first floor– which has oak flooring everywhere except the den, entry, and addition.
Upstairs are three surprisingly large (and light) bedrooms and two more full baths, with more original tile– pink in one and an unusual aqua/slate blue combo in the other. With imaginative paint to spiff them up, these bathrooms could be wonderful retro showplaces, and we dare to hope that a new owner will capitalize on that fact. A large hall linen closet and sliding- or louver-door closets in each bedroom– all also with hardwood floors– round out the upstairs.
Mechanicals are new– the agent is particularly keen on the gas-fired radiant heat (as opposed to baseboard electric, which it looks like) and the new AC and standing-seam metal roof, although the latter seems an anachronism in a house built in 1965.
The price of the house seems reasonable considering its almost 3,000 square feet and location so close to Downtown and the By-pass. Off-street parking is another plus, as well as an enormous oak tree in the yard (but it can't make up for the roses).
Prospective buyers will no doubt immediately start thinking how they can upgrade and re-do things about the house that are obviously dated and/or out of fashion. But, taking our cue from the landscaping, we'd counsel moderation.
Sure, the kitchen can use some new counters and flooring. And maybe taking down the wall between the kitchen and the living room would help with light and flow.
But the rest of the house has its own charm, and we'd hope a new buyer would respect it. Even the big new bedroom– beautiful and all that– seems to sound a discordant note amid the old-school character of the place. It would be nice to think a new owner would be satisfied with that nod to modernity and flash, and leave the rest pretty much as it is.
There's something to be said, after all, for just letting a place be what it was meant to be.


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Adam Weymouth
Adam Weymouth is a freelance writer, living on a boat on the River Lea. His work has appeared in a wide variety of publications, including the Guardian, the Atlantic and Lacuna. His first book Kings of the Yukon is the winner of the Sunday Times / Peters Fraser + Dunlop Young Writer of the Year Award in association with the University of Warwick. www.adamweymouth.com


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Tackling Abbreviations Used in Cryptic Crossword Clues
Abbreviations are widely used in cryptic clues, and many clue devices use them. You will come across abbreviations in charade, container, reversion and deletion clues in particular, and in some anagram clues.
Cryptic abbreviations can often trip up new solvers, so gaining some familiarity with these is a great way to improve your cryptic solving skills. There are hundreds of possible abbreviations, so reference lists are definitely handy.
Many cryptic abbreviations are quite straightforward and in common use. For example: north = N, left = L, oxygen = O, and that is = IE. The phonetic alphabet is often used (foxtrot = F, sierra = S, etc), as well as musical symbols (soft = P, for piano, loud = F, for forte, soprano = S etc) and cricketing terms (duck = O, from a score of 0, run out = RO etc).
However, there are a bunch of abbreviations that are decidedly odd, and which you really need to be told about to understand. These can really present stumbling blocks to the uninitiated! A lot of these are British, and come from an earlier time when cryptics were first developed (in the 1940s and 1950s). Many of these abbreviations stem from British divisions in the World Wars, or from school boy slang.
As an example of this, meal ticket = LV (luncheon voucher, part of a WWII scheme in the UK), main road = MI (looks like M1), lines = BR (British Rail), and beware = CAVE (from the Latin word for "beware", which was used as schoolboy slang).
The best way to spot abbreviations in cryptic clues is to look at each word of a clue in turn, and see if it might lead to a common abbreviation. Looking up single letter entries in any dictionary will provide you with good lists of the common abbreviations. For the more specialised cryptic abbreviations, try using a cryptic crossword dictionary such as Chambers or Bradford's, or looking for lists online.


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Quote: "The study was done on amateures and pro's, not much of a diffrence in punching power, although alot of difference in terms of stamina ( makes sense).
Night club fight footage and street fights captured
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Advance Health Care Directives
From ConsumerWiki
California law provides consumers a way to have their health care wishes known if they are unable to make decisions themselves. The California Medical Association publishes an Advance Health Care Directive kit which includes forms and wallet cards. Details on the kit are available online or by phone,
California Medical Association
1201 J St STE 200
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916)551-2036 fax
Directory of State Agencies Directory of Federal Agencies Return to DCA Home Page


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Usually, at this time of year, I write my "Stanta" column, complete with a mug of me decked in a red Santa suit and hat — and giving good-natured, gift-giving jabs at some notable Nutmeggers.
It's meant to end the year with a little merriment and frivolity. "Stanta" is not feeling up to it this year; not when our state is mourning the 20 children and six women massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown last week.
Humor, like recalling memorable anecdotes from a young child's life, can be an important part of the healing process. But, with so many bodies still being buried, we are still grieving.
I spent a significant chunk of my life in the Danbury area, which borders Newtown.
As Elaine Zimmerman, executive director of the Connecticut Commission on Children told me this week, there are four circles of people impacted by this tragedy — those who live in Newtown, those who live (or have lived) near Newtown, residents of Connecticut and folks across the country.
There are so many random thoughts as we all reflect. First, of course, is trying to figure out why. The increasing reality that we may never know what depths of pain and depravity triggered such a monstrous reaction from a 20-year-old. The best we can do is piece evidence together and engage in conjecture. We do know that mass killings have increased in frequency in America in recent years. The "why" question is always the one that perplexes; particularly when young people become victims.
With Newtown, I implore my media brethren to be very careful about misguidedly linking autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger's syndrome as a possible contributor to this slaughter.
There is simply no evidence to make such a correlation. Far too many journalists have gotten sloppy in their reporting and in subtly suggesting that autism is the "ah-ha" reason for the Newtown slaughters. Stop it!
Autism, for the most part, is a neurologically based development disorder that influences communication, social interaction and sensory issues. It can result in repetitive behaviors. Autism is not a "mental illness" or a "personality disorder" such as schizophrenia.
There is no body of work, and you would be hard-pressed to find any reputable development or behavior specialist, who would associate autism to planned acts of violence. Again, uttering any such notion is irresponsible and reckless. Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the country. It is highly likely that most of you reading this have a relative or close friend who has a child on the spectrum. So, conjure up an image of this person you know on the autism spectrum and ask yourself if you have seen any behaviors that indicate this individual is capable of becoming a mass murderer.
Autism has as much relevance to the Newtown tragedy, as if we learned the suspect had muscular dystrophy or diabetes. I'm not saying the suspect's condition should not be reported, as part of his overall personal profile; just put in its proper context.
As a father of a playful, engaging, mischievous and non-verbal 9-year-old autistic boy, who does not have the high-functioning Asperger's disorder, I'm offended when — in our haste to answer the "Why" question — we rush to conclusions.
What we know is that the suspect at some point became a deeply disturbed man, not unlike the NFL football player who killed his girlfriend and himself this month, or the shooters in Aurora and Columbine. The Christian Science Monitor notes that America's deadliest school violence incident occurred in Bath, Mich., in 1927, when a local farmer used an explosive to blow up a school in the small town, killing 45 people, including 38 children.
In March of 1996 in Dublane, Scotland, a 43-year-old shot up a school gym killing 16 5- and 6-year-old children and injuring 16 others.
The "why" questions in Bath and Dublane were never answered.
So, let's redirect our energy and anger away from "why" and instead to "how.''
How can we make our communities safer places to live, without turning our schools into prison-like fortresses? How can we get more information about early detection of mental illness — and how can we become more educated about the distinction between a mental illness and a developmental disorder.
Stan Simpson is host of "The Stan Simpson Show'' (www.ctnow.com/stan and Saturdays, 6:30 a.m., on FOX CT).


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Should I use just one type of filter media or are multiple types better?
Jason – Brooklyn, NY
When it comes to filter media, your pond – and the fish and plants that call it home – benefit from variety. Because each type of filter media provides different benefits to your pond's water quality, each one plays a vital role, and none should be overlooked.
The characteristics of different filter media say a lot about the roles they play. For sheer durability, you'll appreciate the performance of our Matala® Filter Media Pads and our The Pond Guy® BioBalls™ Filter Media. Our Matala® Pads are available in multiple densities – from porous to fine – and they're designed for easy cutting to fit the dimensions of your filter. These filters perform well for the long haul, with the most porous Black Matala® Filters designed to remove larger particulate, ranging to our Grey Matala® Filter Pads, which filter small particles. With a careful mix of Matala® Filter Pads, you'll achieve both mechanical and biological filtration, and your pond water will be cleaner, clearer, and healthier for all of your pond's inhabitants.
Our BioBalls™ provide excellent secondary filtration by providing a home for beneficial bacteria. These bacteria perform vital biological filtration functions, and their unique design is well suited to fit filter boxes. They're easy to clean, and they last virtually forever.
Our ReUsable Filter Media Pads, which are available for purchase by the foot, allow for maximum water pass-through without sacrificing durability. Because of their unique design, they're exceptionally clog-resistant, and they're easy to cut to suit the needs of your filter.
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Pond Talk: What type of filter media do you use for your pond?
Filed under: Aeration - WG, Algae Control, Oxygen Depletion, Pea-Green Algae, Pond Cleanouts, Season-Long Control, Seasonal Care, Uncategorized, Water Gardens & Features | Tagged: filter, filter media, filter pad, matala, matala filter pad, media, pad |


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Any science fiction aficionado has seen it all before: beaming through walls, riding in starships that move faster than light, or traveling instantly to distant places in space and time. These ideas aren't just creative fantasies, though; they emerge from theoretical physics, especially the work of Albert Einstein, whose vision included a universe that curves back on itself in three dimensions of space and a fourth, invisible dimension of time. If Einstein's version of the universe is correct—and experiments done over the last century suggest that essentially it is—then the fictionalized feats based on his theories might be possible as well. The potential has become so tantalizing that serious physicists now regularly comment on Einstein-based technologies in the most august journals of their field.
One of the most insightful of such speculators is Michio Kaku, a physicist at the City University of New York. Einstein's scientific legacy, Kaku points out, has already formed the basis of many incredible inventions, including the laser and the global positioning system. But what would it take to reach the next level, developing such extrapolations of Einstein's genius as the means to journey through wormholes, teleport through space, or travel back and forth in time? Scientists have already begun the work, and Kaku reports on their progress here.
In science fiction movies like Stargate and Contact, wormholes connect distant points in the universe, allowing people to travel from one spot to another in far less time than the hundreds or millions of years required to make the trip at the speed of light, the greatest conventional velocity. Einstein's general theory of relativity suggests the possibility of wormholes—literal shortcuts through space-time caused by the curvature of the universe itself. But do wormholes really exist, or are they figments of mathematics?
There are several major problems to face. Many solutions result in "nontraversable wormholes." As with a black hole, once you pass the event horizon of such a wormhole, you can never leave it. In 1988, Kip Thorne and his colleagues at Caltech found a possible way out: a traversable wormhole, one through which you could pass freely back and forth. In fact, for one solution, the trip through a wormhole would be no worse than riding in a plane.
There was a catch, though, that made such a wormhole impractical. Gravity would crush the throat of the wormhole, destroying any travelers trying to reach the other side. To stabilize the throat of the wormhole, scientists would need the repulsive force of perhaps the most exotic and speculative entities in the universe: negative mass and negative energy. Conceivably, using either could keep the throat open sufficiently long to allow astronauts a clear passage.
Scientists have looked for negative matter in nature, so far without success. One should note here that antimatter and negative matter are two entirely different things. The first exists and has positive energy but reversed charge. Negative matter has not been proved to exist. Negative matter is quite peculiar because it is lighter than nothing. In fact, it floats. Unlike meteors that come crashing into planets, drawn by the planets' gravity, negative matter would shun large bodies like stars and planets. It would be repelled, not attracted. Hence, although negative matter might exist, we'd expect to find it only in deep space, certainly not on Earth.
Even if we could locate or create negative energy or matter, there is still a big problem: getting and manipulating enough of the stuff. Matthew Visser of Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, estimates that the amount of negative energy needed to open up a one-meter-wide wormhole would be comparable to the mass of Jupiter, except that it would be negative. He says, "You need about minus-one Jupiter mass to do the job. Just manipulating a positive Jupiter mass of energy is already pretty freaky, well beyond our capabilities into the foreseeable future." It might be millennia before we can even think about harnessing power on this scale.
Yet, if we ever do create them, wormholes could open the door to traveling not just in space but in time as well.
From the perspective of science, time travel was impossible in Newton's universe, where time was seen as an arrow. Once released, it could never deviate from its past. One second on Earth was one second throughout the universe. This concept was overthrown by Einstein, who showed that time is more like a river that meanders across the universe, speeding up and slowing down as it snakes across stars and galaxies. So one second is not absolute; it varies as we move around the universe.
Physicists hope to teleport complex molecules in the coming years. After that, a DNA molecule or virus could be teleported within decades.
Once considered to be fringe science, time travel has suddenly become a playground for theoretical physicists. As Thorne has written: "Time travel was once solely the province of science fiction writers. How times have changed! One now finds scholarly analyses of time travel in serious scientific journals, written by eminent theoretical physicists…. Why the change? Because we physicists have realized that the nature of time is too important an issue to be left solely in the hands of science fiction writers."
The reason for all the excitement is that Einstein's equations allow for many kinds of time machines. The most promising design is based on a traversable wormhole. This wormhole is constructed with both of its ends initially located close together. Two clocks, one at each end, tick in synchronization. Now take one end of the wormhole and its clock and send them into space at near-light speed. Time slows at that end due to an effect in Einstein's theory of special relativity known as time dilation: Relative to a stationary observer on the ground, time aboard a spacecraft appears to slow down; relative to the spacecraft, time for the observer on the ground seems to speed up.
Since the two clocks at the ends of the wormhole are no longer in sync, a wormhole traveler passing from one end to the other can move back and forth in time. There is a limit to how much time traveling he can do, though—he is able to go back in time only to the point at which the time machine was built.
When it comes to the potential for time travel, there is still fierce debate. In 1997 Bernard Kay and Marek Radzikowski of the University of York in England and Robert Wald of the University of Chicago showed that time travel was consistent with all the known laws of physics, except in one place—near the wormhole entrance. This is just where we would expect Einstein's theory to break down and quantum effects, which work at the subatomic level, to take over. The problem is that when we try to calculate radiation effects as we enter a time machine, we have to come up with a theory that combines Einstein's general relativity with the quantum theory of radiation. Yet when we naively try to do so, the resulting theory makes no sense. It yields a series of infinite answers, which are meaningless.
This is where a theory of everything takes over. All the problems of traveling through a wormhole that have bedeviled physicists (the stability of the wormhole, the radiation that might kill you, the closing of the wormhole as you enter it) are concentrated at the horizon, precisely where Einstein's theory makes no sense.
Thus the key to understanding time travel is to understand the physics of the horizon, and only a theory of everything that unites Einstein's relativity and the quantum realm can explain this. So the final resolution to whether all these science fiction devices are possible will have to wait until physicists can finally develop a theory of the universe that transcends even Einstein's.
Perhaps the most tangible of the far-out technologies suggested by Einstein's theories is teleportation. The key lies in a celebrated 1935 paper by Einstein and his colleagues Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen. Ironically, in their paper they proposed an experiment—the so-called EPR experiment, named for the three authors—to kill off, once and for all, quantum theory's introduction of probability into physics. Quantum theory requires probability because its formulas do not directly describe things like the precise position of particles. Instead, the formulas describe waves, known as Schrödinger waves. The amplitude of the waves at a particular location translates to the probability that a particle will be found at that point.
As the EPR experiment pointed out, according to quantum theory, if two particles—electrons, for example—are initially vibrating in unison (a state called coherence), they can remain in wavelike synchronization even if they are separated by a large distance. Two electrons may be trillions of miles apart, but there is still an invisible Schrödinger wave connecting them, like an umbilical cord. If something happens to one electron, some of that information is immediately transmitted to the other, faster than the speed of light. This concept—that particles vibrating in coherence have some kind of deep connection—is called quantum entanglement. Einstein derisively called this "spooky action at a distance," and he took it to "prove" that quantum theory was wrong, since nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.
But in the 1980s, Alain Aspect and his colleagues in France performed the EPR experiment using entangled photons emitted from calcium atoms and two detectors placed 13 meters (40 feet) apart. The results agreed precisely with quantum theory. Was Einstein wrong, then, about the speed of light's being the speed limit of the universe? Not really. In Aspect's experiment, information did travel faster than the speed of light, but the information was random, hence useless.
Yet it is entanglement that opens the door to teleportation. In 1993 scientists at IBM, led by Charles Bennett, showed that it was physically possible to teleport objects, at least at the atomic level, using the EPR experiment. Precisely speaking, they showed that you could teleport all the information contained within a particle. Two particles with the same information are identical, so teleporting the information is essentially the same as teleporting the particle itself. Since then, physicists have been able to teleport photons and entire cesium atoms. Within a few decades, scientists may be able to teleport a DNA molecule or even a virus.
If we ever do create them, wormholes could open the door to traveling not just in space but in time as well.
In these teleportation experiments, physicists start with, say, two atoms, A and C. Suppose we wish to teleport information from atom A to atom C. We begin by having a third atom, B, that starts out entangled with C. Now atom A comes in contact with atom B, so that the information content of atom A is transferred to atom B. Because B and C were originally entangled, A's information has now been transferred to atom C; someone examining atom C would be unable to tell any difference between it and the original atom A.
The entanglement destroys the information within atom A (so we don't have two copies after teleportation). This means that anyone being teleported in this way would die in the process. But the information content of his body would instantly appear somewhere else. In other words, he would die in one place but be reborn in another.
In 2007 Ashton Bradley of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics in Brisbane proposed another teleportation method, tapping another Einstein insight, a state of matter called a Bose-Einstein condensate, or BEC, which is one of the coldest substances in the entire universe. A BEC is one-millionth to one-billionth of a degree above absolute zero, a temperature found only in the laboratory. When certain forms of matter are cooled to near absolute zero, their atoms all tumble down to the lowest energy state, so all of them vibrate in unison. The quantum waves of all the atoms overlap so that, in some sense, a BEC is like a gigantic superatom. Einstein and Satyendra Nath Bose predicted this bizarre state of matter in 1925, but not until 1995 was it finally created in the lab.
Here's how the Australian teleportation device works. Start with a collection of supercold rubidium atoms in a BEC state. Apply a beam of matter, also made of rubidium atoms, to the BEC. These atoms also want to tumble down to the lowest energy state, shedding their excess energy in the form of a pulse of light. This light beam is then sent down a fiber-optic cable. Remarkably, it contains all the quantum information necessary to describe the original matter beam (for instance, the location and velocity of all its atoms). The light beam hits another BEC, which converts it into the original matter beam.
Given this progress, when might we be able to teleport ourselves? Physicists hope to teleport complex molecules in the coming years. After that, perhaps a DNA molecule or even a virus could be teleported within decades. There is nothing in principle to prevent us from teleporting an actual person (assuming we accept the risks), but the technical problems are staggering. It takes some of the finest physics laboratories in the world to create coherence between tiny photons of light and individual atoms. In fact, it could be centuries or longer before everyday objects are teleported, if it's possible at all.
Discover Magazine


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Jennifer Lopez has inked a deal with RedOne's 2101 Records for her eighth studio album, the label announced Wednesday.
Lopez's deal marks the first under the label's new exclusive multiyear worldwide agreement with Capitol Records.
The new partnership shouldn't come as a surprise. RedOne, the Moroccan-born producer/songwriter who has crafted smashes for Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga and Enrique Iglesias, has played a critical role in reviving Lopez's previously lukewarm music career after the multi-hyphenate superstar was dropped from longtime label Sony.
Her massive comeback single, 2011's "On the Floor" was the first of a handful of collaborations between her and RedOne, who executive-produced her last album, "Love?" "On the Floor" went No. 1 in more than 30 countries, sold nearly 4 million copies, and its video is one of the most watched of all time. The success of "On the Floor" and her stint as a judge on "American Idol" helped the disc bow in the top five on Billboard's 200 charts -- something Lopez hadn't accomplished since 2005's "Rebirth."
Ahead of the album, which RedOne will again executive-produce, Lopez premiered her new single, "Live It Up" early Wednesday.
Produced by RedOne, Lopez once again teams with Pitbull, who lent himself to "On the Floor" and last year's "Dance Again" for the club-ready anthem. "Live It Up" is the typical Euro-pop jam that RedOne probably weaves in his sleep with heavy synths, a shouty chorus, and a fist-pumping breakdown that sounds perfect for summer.
Lopez will perform the new single live on the "American Idol" finale (there have been rumors that producers want her to replace Mariah Carey) and the upcoming Billboard Music Awards.
Before her new deal, Lopez issued music through Island Def Jam. RedOne's 2101 Records will be distributed by Universal Music Group's Capitol Records and its operations based at the Capitol Records Tower in Hollywood.
Listen to "Live It Up" below:


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Geological Sequestration of CO2
Course Description
This popular course introduces various aspects of the geological storage or "sequestration" of CO2, an important tool for combating global warming. Although much of the technology is similar to that of CO2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR), there are important differences. This course draws upon the instructors extensive practical experiences in CO2 EOR projects and the development of CO2 storage projects.
Learning Level
Course Length
1 Day
Why Attend
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), another name for CO2 sequestration, is an emerging technology that is important for the future of the industry. The environmental aspects of CO2 make this a 21st century skill. If you like to stay ahead of the curve, you'll enjoy this course.
Who Attends
This course is designed for petroleum and reservoir engineers, production and facilities engineers, managers and government officials and others who need to know the basics of CO2 sequestration.
Special Requirements
Attendees must bring a laptop to class.
0.8 CEUs (Continuing Education Units) are awarded for this 1-day course.
Cancellation Policy
All cancellations must be received no later than 14 days prior to the course start date. Cancellations made after the 14 day window will not be refunded. Refunds will not be given due to no show situations.
Training sessions attached to SPE conferences and workshops follow the cancellation policies stated on the event information page. Please check that page for specific cancellation information.
SPE reserves the right to cancel or re-schedule courses at will. Notification of changes will be made as quickly as possible; please keep this in mind when arranging travel, as SPE is not responsible for any fees charged for cancelling or changing travel arrangements.
We reserve the right to substitute course instructors as necessary.
Full regional cancellation policies can be found at the Cancellation Policy page within the SPE Training Course Catalog.
Charles E. (Chuck) Fox is the founder and president of Windy Cove Energy, LLC, which invests in oil and gas projects. Previously, he was the vice president of operations and engineering for Kinder Morgan CO2 Company, where in addition to managing operations of the McElmo Dome CO2 source field and 1,000 miles of CO2 pipelines, he was responsible for the company's oil and gas CO2 EOR operations, which included the 5 billion barrel original-oil-in-place (OOIP) Yates field, the 3 billion barrel OOIP SACROC field, and the Snyder Gasoline Plant.
Fox is a co-instructor of two popular courses taught under the auspicious of SPE, Practical Aspects of CO2 Flooding EOR and Geological Sequestration of CO2. He is one of the co-authors of the SPE Monograph Volume 22, Practical Aspects of CO2 Flooding, published in 2002, on which the Practical Aspects of CO2 Flooding EOR course is based. He was an instructor for several short-courses held at the annual CO2 conferences in Midland, Texas, which were sponsored by the University of Texas of the Permian Basin and SPE. He was a SPE Distinguished Lecturer, during 2012–2013, and in this role he lectured, at the SPE chapters around the world, on the topic of Carbon Capture and Storage SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis: Will We Implement the CCS Solution?
He was chairman of the program committee of the SPE/DOE Fourteenth Symposium on Improved Oil Recovery, held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, during April 2004. He holds an MS in petroleum engineering from Stanford University, and a BS in mechanical engineering from Rice University. He is a registered professional engineer (P.E.) in Texas and New Mexico, and a long-standing member of SPE.
S. M. (Sam) Avasthi, PE, PhD, is chairman and CEO, and director of engineering and EOR/IOR, at Avasthi & Associates, Inc., a worldwide energy consulting company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. In addition to providing strategic direction and leadership to the company, that he founded in 1990, and that now provides full-service integrated consulting services to the worldwide oil and gas industry for onshore and offshore, conventional and unconventional/shale, oil, gas, gas-condensate/volatile oil, and heavy (and extra heavy) oil field evaluation, development and optimization (to maximize oil and gas recovery and project profitability), he is active in consulting and training in his areas of technical expertise.
Avasthi is an engineering alumnus of the Indian School of Mines, Imperial College London, and Texas A&M University (where he earned a PhD in petroleum engineering). He was a research fellow in chemical engineering at Rice University, and worked for several years in senior-level petroleum engineering and consulting positions with major global integrated oil and gas producing and consulting companies before founding Avasthi & Associates, Inc. in 1990.
J. M. (Jay) Avasthi, PhD, is president and COO, and director of geoservices (geomechanics, geosciences and CO2 geosequestration) and unconventional/shale resources development and optimization at Avasthi & Associates, Inc., a worldwide energy consulting company headquartered in Houston, Texas. In addition to managing the worldwide consulting and training operations of the company, which he joined in 2003, he is active in consulting and training in his areas of technical expertise.
Avasthi has extensive worldwide oil & gas industry experience, including several years with Chevron Corporation in geomechanics, well stimulation/fracturing, rock properties, wellbore stability, and sand production prediction research, engineering and supervision. His expertise includes acquisition, calibration and use of the in situ stress data for oil & gas well construction and production, and for waterflood improved oil recovery (IOR) and CO2 flood enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project optimization; and solving fracturing stimulation, waste disposal through injection, wellbore stability, wellbore mechanics, and sand production prediction problems. He has authored/co-authored numerous technical publications on geomechanics, fracturing and related topics, including a US patent. He has taught several short course and conducted hands on training workshop in his areas of technical expertise, around the world. He is a co-instructor of three popular SPE training courses: 'Practical Aspects of CO2 Flooding EOR', 'Geological Sequestration of CO2', and 'Optimizing Gas Fields using Integrated Asset Modeling (IAM), and Introduction to Optimizing Shale Gas and Tight Oil Fields'.
Avasthi is an engineering and geosciences alumnus of the Indian School of Mines, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (where he earned a PhD in mining engineering, with specialization in Rock Mechanics). He worked in senior-level research, engineering and supervisory positions at Chevron Corporation for 24 years, before joining Avasthi & Associates, Inc. He is a long-standing member of SPE, a Technical Editor of the 'SPE Reservoir Evaluation & Engineering Journal', and has served as the SPE Los Angeles Basin Section Director and Program Chairman.
Other Courses by Instructors
- Optimizing Gas Fields using Integrated Asset Modeling (S.M. Avasthi, Luiz C. Amado, J.M. Avasthi)
- Practical Aspects of CO2 Flooding EOR (Charles E. Fox, S.M. Avasthi, J.M. Avasthi)
- Practical Aspects of CO2 Flooding EOR and CO2 Geosequestration (Charles E. Fox, S. M. Avasthi, J. M. Avasthi)
- Practical Aspects of Thermal EOR (Ashok K. Singhal, Paul L. Bondor, S.M. Avasthi)
- Practical Reservoir Surveillance and Management Techniques for Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Oil Recovery Projects (Ashok K. Singhal, Paul L. Bondor, S.M. Avasthi)
- Practical Techniques for Screening Deepwater Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration Prospects (Luiz C. Amado, S.M. Avasthi)


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Keeping a well-organized budget is a lot like flossing your teeth. You know you should do it, and you have the best of intentions, but you just never seem to get it done.
There's a reason for that when it comes to budgeting: Keeping tabs on all of your income and expenses can be a lot of work. If it already takes you a long time to balance your checkbook each month, imagine how much longer you would spend assessing each of your purchases.
Software products and electronic banking and finance have made tracking expenses a lot easier than it used to be. Before technology changed the way people do business, tracking expenses required keeping piles of receipts and reconciling them regularly. Now, with software programs like Quicken and tracking websites like Mint.com, your computer can do much of the work for you.
If you have Internet access to your bank accounts and credit cards, then you can generally download your transactions directly to your computer. Based on the information merchants provide, the downloaded transactions may even include the category of expense for particular items. The reports these programs generate can give you a good idea of where you stand and identify the areas where you can improve.
However, these programs are only as good as the information they receive. Few people have simplified their finances to the point that they use a credit or debit card for every purchase they make. Often, it's the small cash items you're tempted to dismiss that add up to a significant drain on your finances. Because those cash purchases don't show up on any bank or credit card statement, your budget software won't provide accurate reports -- unless you enter those expenses manually.
Because a firm understanding of your income and expenses is the No. 1 step in forming a personal financial plan, it's best to have as much detailed information as possible. But if you've tried without success to track your expenses, here are a few tips that may help you on the road to financial self-knowledge.
Going all-cash
The simplest way to budget is to use cash for all your financial transactions. You can do this in several ways. One way is to cash your paychecks and then keep cash on hand -- but having a large amount of cash around isn't the most secure way to handle things. Another way is to deposit your paychecks and make regular withdrawals of cash that will last a few days to a week at a time.
You may find that no matter how hard you try, it's impossible to use only cash. Many banks require customers to make mortgage payments by automatic withdrawal from a bank account. Utilities and other companies that bill on a regular cycle have pushed customers to move to automatic billing because it saves time and expense for both the utility company and the customers. Although automatic deductions require some separate tracking, moving the bulk of your transactions to cash will still make clearer to you how you stand.
At the end of each month, look at how much cash you have left, if any. This will tell you whether your expenses match your income. Although this method doesn't give you detailed information about exactly where your money is going, it does catch all the small cash transactions that sometimes escape tracking programs.
The envelope method
A variant of the cash method, the envelope method involves a bit more planning. You cash your paycheck as in the cash method, but then divide the cash into categories. For instance, if you get paid $3,000 each month, you might put $1,000 in an envelope representing your rent or mortgage payment, $250 for groceries, $200 for gas, $300 for utilities, and so on. You can divide your money into as many categories as you care to track.
This method gives you more information about how you spend your money. If your grocery envelope has money at the end of the month but your eating-out envelope runs out early, then you know that you're not eating at home as much as you had planned. Also, depending on how many envelopes you have, the method can really point out areas that represent holes in your finances.
The hybrid method
These methods work even if you don't have any tracking software. However, in conjunction with such software, these methods can help close the information gap that software programs usually encounter.
For example, your software may tell you that you earn an average of $500 per month more than you are spending on tracked categories. But a quick look shows that your checking account hasn't gone up by $500 each month. It's likely that the difference is reflected in the cash transactions that you aren't picking up on the software. By using either the cash or envelope method for that $500, you can get a more accurate picture of where that extra money is going, thereby giving you a more complete picture of your overall expenses.
Budgeting may seem like a large time commitment. Yet that investment of effort can provide huge returns in the form of cost savings and a reduction or elimination of unnecessary expenses. A good budget can help you identify how much money you have available to save and invest, as well as give you an idea of how much leeway you have if an emergency arises. With these simple methods, even the busiest people can find out how they stand.


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Alta Planning + Design, Inc. is an international consulting firm with a mission to create active communities. We plan, design, and implement infrastructure and programs that improve community and individual health, safety, mobility, and livability, such as bicycle, pedestrian, trail, park, green-way, and roadway planning, design, and implementation, as well as outreach and education. We are looking for a talented Engineer I to join our Oakland, CA office.
This position is responsible for contributing to the production of high-quality materials, reports and other deliverables in support of project objectives.
A general understanding of the field of non-motorized transportation, the ability to collaborate across discipline boundaries to support the delivery of solutions which meet client expectations is required in order to successfully meet the requirements of this position.
The essential priorities of this exempt, salaried position are to:
Additional responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to:
This position requires a combination of skills, experience and education including, but not limited to:
There are a number of additional skills, experience and education that would be beneficial to this position including, but not limited to:
To apply, please visit and upload your resume and cover letter, telling us why you're interested in Alta and why you'd be a good fit. Due to the high volume of applicants we will not be able to respond to email or phone inquiries.
Alta is an Equal Opportunity EmployerAlta Planning + Design, Inc. is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants. It is our policy that decisions involving people are made on the basis of job-related criteria, independent of an individual's gender, race, color, national origin, age, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, physical or mental disability for which reasonable accommodation is available, and any other status protected by law. This includes decisions involving hiring, job placement, transfer, promotion, compensation, benefits, training and company-sponsored programs. Alta Planning + Design maintains formal employment policies, available on online and by request.
Affirmative Action PlanAlta Planning + Design, Inc. is a federal contractor subject to affirmative action regulations requiring written Affirmative Action Plans (AAP's) for minorities and women, and for covered veterans and individuals with disabilities. We worked intensively with a local firm who specializes in Affirmative Action Plans to develop a program for our company that will not only satisfy our federal obligations, but will be a living document. This means the plan is integrated into our recruiting and evaluation procedures, and is revisited often in order to ensure we're doing everything we can to embrace and promote diversity within our company.


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Mark Quinn has been with the U.S. Small Business Administration for over 26 years, starting in September 1986. Mark is an experienced District Director who is particularly skilled in translating the process, complexity, and terminology of small business lending and technical business training into the common sense terms a small business owner and the public needs.
In 2007, Mark spent a year in Washington, DC working as the Deputy Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development. Prior to his appointment as District Director, Mark served as Deputy District Director for the San Francisco District Office. Before that he supervised the San Francisco District's Portfolio Management Division, handling the servicing of SBA lending throughout Northern California.
Preceding his time at the SBA, Mark held positions as a Regional Economist and Economic Development Specialist with the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in San Francisco and Philadelphia Regions.


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Go behind the scenes to get a backstage look at what it takes to present the legendary band Rush during the 2008 Snakes & Arrows Concert Tour. It may appear to be one of the most exciting and glamorous jobs in the world – but being a roadie with a top-rated world-famous rock and roll band can be a grueling marathon of 18 hour work days, on an easy day. A bad is actually a couple of days, 40 hours spent hauling gear, assembling huge stacks of speakers, lifting them a hundred feet in the air, tuning instruments for demanding musicians and being cut off from every lover, friend and relative you have. This series takes you to the show you never see when you take your seat for a concert by the legendary band Rush. All the backstage secrets are revealed.
|Backstage Secrets: On the Road with the Rock Band Rush
|Release Date
|Music Documentary
|Production Companies
|Production Countries


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You Belong @ Your Library
National Library Week honors libraries, librarians, and library staff all across the country, and is celebrated the week of April 9-14.
This special event will be observed by the Jasper County Public Library located in Rensselaer, DeMotte and Wheatfield, with a Daily Prize Giveaway, during which prizes will randomly be given out to patrons each day of the week, and a Coloring Contest, open to ages 3-11.
To enter, pick up a coloring sheet at any branch of JCPL and return it by April 14. Coloring pages will be judged by age category.
In addition, make plans to attend these special programs, planned in honor of National Library Week!
- DeMotte Library invites families to kick back and relax by watching a family-oriented movie on Monday, April 9 @ 6 pm. Registration is required. Sign up online or call the library to register and for movie title.
- DeMotte Library invites kids of all ages and families to our annual Spring Festival, held on Friday, April 13 from 5-7 pm. This festival, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, will offer fun and entertainment for all ages!
- Wheatfield Library invites all ages to visit with local author, P. Alan Richards as he reads his book, Be My Friend on Thursday, April 12 form 5-6 pm. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing by the author.
For more information about National Library Week and special programs held in conjunction with this special occasion, visit or call the Rensselaer Library, 866-5881, the DeMotte Library, 987-2221 or the Wheatfield Library, 956-3774.


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Value Line is regarded as the best independent research available. More than just recommendations, Value Line provides the rationale behind its picks for greater understanding.
Among the many features found in each week's edition of Value Line's Selection & Opinion service is a list of the seven best and worst performing industries over the past six weeks. These rankings can be found on the inside back cover of Selection & Opinion. The roughly 1,700 stocks in the Value Line universe are currently divided among about 100 industries. Notably, for the purposes of calculating these results, the performance of each stock is equally weighted to the others in its industry (i.e., irrespective of market capitalization).
The six-week period covered in our latest Industry Price Performance rankings was a challenging time for the equity markets. The tech-heavy NASDAQ had a particularly tough time, declining about 5%, though the S&P 500 Index actually managed to eke out a modest gain.
From an industry perspective, a very distinct theme was evident during this stretch. Specifically, energy-related groups dominated. The Petroleum Producing Industry took the top spot on our best-performing list, advancing 8.5% over the past six weeks. Right behind it was Petroleum Integrated and Natural Gas (Diversified), which rose 7.8% and 7.6%, respectively. Not surprisingly, energy prices, particularly for natural gas, have gained ground during this stretch. Rounding out the top seven were Pipeline MLPs (6.9%), Oilfield Services (6.4%), Electric Utility-East (6.3%), and Oil / Gas Distribution (3.3%).
The market, on the other hand, looked to take profits in some of its recent favorites. Most notably, biotechnology stocks soared throughout much of 2013 and early in 2014, but have given back some of these gains recently, dropping 17.3% on average over the past six weeks. Heavy losses in Healthcare Information (14.9%), Internet (13.6%), and Entertainment (10.7%) also stand in stark contrast to the market-beating share-price advances produced in the year leading up to the latest six-week measurement period.
In looking for investment ideas, we are focusing our attention on the Petroleum Producers. Among these stocks, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (APC) and Ultra Petroleum (UPL) were the best performers in the group over the past six weeks, with both rising roughly 20% in price. (Notably, the former's advance was driven in large part by the market's favorable reaction to the news of a $5.15 billion settlement regarding the company's role in a bankruptcy case.) The share price of Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) was up a more-modest 13% during this stretch, but we think this equity's prospects for healthy long-term price appreciation and rising dividend payments make it worthy of a closer look by investors seeking to increase their exposure to the energy sector.
Canadian Natural Resources produces and sells oil, natural gas, and natural-gas liquids. The company's efforts are currently focused primarily on western Canada, which accounted for over 90% of its total production in 2013. CNQ also has sizable holdings in the North Sea and offshore Africa, though most of this (nearly 80% of proved reserves) is still undeveloped.
Canadian Natural produced an average of 671,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2013, a modest increase of 3% from the prior year. As is the case at many energy companies, growth is being driven by oil and liquids, while management limits spending on lower-return natural gas projects. This will likely be the case again in 2014, as CNQ aims to accelerate overall production growth to 7%-14%. In particular, the company has big plans for oil sands operations, where volumes are likely to climb 25%-40%.
Notably, these gains exclude contributions from a recent addition to the portfolio. In April, the company spent C$3.125 billion to purchase various assets in western Canada from Devon Energy. The deal includes properties producing about 87,000 boe per day and should be accretive to earnings this year, while also providing the potential for sizable cost savings down the road. The transaction will push up debt levels, but the company's strong balance sheet should be able to easily handle the additional leverage, with debt-to-total-capital likely finishing 2014 well within management's 25% to 40% comfort zone.
Meanwhile, CNQ appears to be getting more confident in its cash-flow capabilities of its long-life, low-decline holdings. The company has increased its dividend in each of the past two quarters. The April payout of $0.225 a share represents an 80% increase since the October distribution. The rate of growth will undoubtedly moderate from this pace, though we think cash generation will improve enough to allow for dividends to nearly double again by 2017-2019. Solid operational execution, particularly at CNQ's unconventional assets, will be critical to making this promising outlook a reality. The Horizon project, for instance, has endured its share of setbacks, most notably a 2011 fire that shut down production for a substantial chunk of that year. These operations now produce roughly 110,000 boe per day (about 15% of the company's total output), and capacity is expected to reach 250,000 boe per day in 2017. Capital spending, on the other hand, should ease later in the decade, as development at Horizon, which now accounts for more than one-third of the company's outlays, winds down.
Canadian Natural stock is a timely selection for the year ahead. It also provides a decent measure of current income, with a dividend yield of 2.2%, versus a median of 2.0% for all dividend paying equities in the Value Line universe. We like it, as well, as a long-term holding. Assuming commodity prices cooperate, the increases in production we envision over the next 3 to 5 years should support healthy price appreciation to 2017-2019, while also producing the cash flow necessary to increase the payout at a double-digit clip each year.
At the time of this article's writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.


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Zurich Dec. 4-10
Zurich Dec. 4-10
Uh, Brian, I believere that is 'tees off'. :>}
you are about right:
Dec. 3 was exclusive for Reservation Holders.
Dec. 4-10th for public.
I checked it out on 3rd. it is the same vehicle spotted in Munich they actually have 3 in EU now for display.
confirmation for EU models:
3-phase charging up to 22kW (in D/A/CH we are limited to 16A single phase)
no info on super chargers in EU
strong evidence for proximity sensors
power folding mirrors not so much :-(
we could check everything out but no test drives.
This car is revolutionary and beautiful. can't wait to test drive.
Never felt a down payment invested so well!
Hi Brian
As a Reservation holder I was there on the 3rd! (Sig. 147)
The Signature there was much closer to European Standards than the car at the Geneva Motor Show!
Even my wife thinks now that it is a car worth buying.
If we only knew the pricing and the mirrors would fold motorised!
(Please forgif all possible typos; the german spellchecker on my iPad is driving me nuts! Allmost every word here is underlined red)
Or enable the English keyboard and switch to it when writing English words.
Or spell phonetically and get on with life :)
Brian H and nickjhowe
Sometimes you do not see what is directly under your nose. It is a lot mor fun this way!
Now it comes down to my English skills. I promise not to argue to often with this new autocorrect. It probably knows more than I!
Thanks :-)
It was a nice event Dec 3,
- 3-phase charging confirmed
- Pricings for europe this month, should be near US price + shipping & tax
- The shown european model s has yellow direction indicators...
- ..and tail foglights
- Planned production starts in march, deliveries of Sig in april, production series in july
- the Internet connection is _maybe_ included (because it was a big maybe, I didn't ask if it would be bound to the car or to the service contract)
... aaand test drives are coming soon... :)
They are actually showing a European model? That's great news! :-)
- Yellow blinkers - Check.
- Rear fog lights - Check.
- 3-phase charging promised/confirmed - has anyone seen a Model S charging with 22kW (380 V, 32 A, 3 phases)?
- How about front light washers?
I started a European Delivery Punch List here:
I braved the snow and went in yesterday lunchtime. After reading so much about it and seeing so many pictures, it was great to finally see it in the flesh.
I did indeed check the fog lights and yellow blinkers, all present and correct. Didn't check for light washers I'm afraid.
Had a quick look around the car and panel fit was fine, though you'd hope they would get that right for a display car.(I don't know why but I was worried about that.)
The main positive impressions I got were:
- The luggage space is even better than I expected, tons of room in the back. The front trunk could have been designed specifically for Swiss grocery bags, perfect!
- Driver controls and the screen were top notch, I imagine every manufacturer is now scrambling to get the same screen into their high-end vehicles. Smart touches like the mechanical button to open the glove box positioned as near as possible to the driver.
- The back seat is a true three-seater with the middle person very comfortable thanks to the perfectly flat floor. The headroom for adults was disappointing, but fine for kids of course. The price of a sloping rear line I guess.
My main disappointments were the following:
- Front seats. Not to the standard of some lesser cars in my opinion. Relatively shallow lateral support, especially for a performance model. The headrest is maybe a matter of taste, but I wondered how effective it would be in an accident. It certainly looks less robust than the standard safety headrests in European cars.
- Storage space. Glove box is on the small side for a car of this size. The open tray between the front seats will have to take pretty much everything the driver wants to have within reach, which means it will be a magnet for all kinds of crap, with no way to hide it from view. A rollaway cover a la VW would have been nice. The armrest would have been better designed to slide over a storage box than two drink holders. No pockets on the front seat backs. In fact no storage option at all in the back as far as I could see.
Minor quibbles:
- would prefer the parcel shelf be attached to the inside of the trunk so it lifts with the tailgate.
- the floor covering did not look particularly hard-wearing, time will tell I guess. No anchors for floor mats either?
- no fold-down access to the trunk via the back seat? I guess skis fit in the back diagonally?
Small things perhaps but if you're commuting they make the car a little less easy to live with.
I know I will be kicking myself if I buy the 2013 model and they offer AWD on the next version.
I love the car and will definitely buy, but a little voice is telling me to wait for the first facelift.
Volker, front light washers are a must by law for xenon lights. but i don't know if also for the standard lights
Any pictures of the rear amber/yellow turn signals or rear fog lights?


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Thirty years ago this month, a 17-year-old Cedaredge High School student rode the bus to school, put his books in locker 191, and vanished.
Roger Ellison's disappearance has never been solved.
"It's still an open case in our files," said Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee, who admitted no one in his department is actively working a case in which leads ran cold long ago.
Ellison's disappearance officially has been listed as a non-family abduction in national missing persons' databases. Ellison, a straight-A student and stand-out athlete, vanished the morning of Feb. 10, 1981, with $3 in cash and a backpack full of books. He left behind all his clothing, a motorcycle, his car, his skis and the money in his bank account. He had been accepted at Western State College and had already picked out his dorm room. He was looking forward to an upcoming ski race.


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Kevin Garnett had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Rajon Rondo scored 21 points with 10 assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 101-91 victory over the Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Friday night, cutting Miami's lead in the series to 2-1.
Game 4 is Sunday night in Boston.
LeBron James scored 34 points but the NBA MVP and the rest of the Heat went cold during a 7-minute stretch at the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second, when Boston outscored them 15-0 to turn a six-point deficit into a nine-point lead.
Paul Pierce scored 23 points for Boston.


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Jason Elrod sits down with Advisory Board Member, Gerald Whillhite.
Jason M Elrod Interview with Gerald Willhite
by Troy Dooly
Troy Dooly
Troy Dooly is recognized internationally as an influencer in the areas of personal branding, leadership development, marketing campaigns, organizational expansion, and corporate launch strategies. Dooly is a speaker, results coach, and radio host. He is a founding member, show host (Beachside CEO) and News Director of the Home Business Radio Network. He is a founding member, and currently serves on the Board of the Association of Network Marketing Professionals
Posted onCategory: MLM Training
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."


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Spawn of Qaddafi
For many of the folks who formulate America's foreign policy in the halls of Washington, plotting the downfall of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in October 2011 was an easy decision.
Mr. Qaddafi was not much liked by fellow leaders in the Arab League or by fellow leaders of the African Union. This may have been because Qaddafi tended to see himself as the only true leader of both Arab nationalism and of a unified African continent. Qaddafi also funded, armed, and trained numerous rebel groups – from Darfur rebels to Malian Tuaregs – to help destabilize neighbors he either disliked, or simply wanted to overthrow.
One could see how that would get old, fast.
Yet overthrowing Qaddafi, and scattering all those armed, funded, and trained rebel groups to the four winds has also had its consequences – most notably in the West African nation of Mali. In April, Tuareg fighters of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad and their Islamist allies from Ansar Dine swept through all of the cities of northern Mali and effectively declared their own republic. The weapons they used – with the exception of the ones taken from fleeing Malian soldiers – mainly came from Libya.
In Foreign Affairs, Yahia Zoubir lays out the recent history of Qaddafi's downfall, and what the unintended consequences of military intervention could be for other conflict zones, such as Syria.
Self-described realists would say, "fair enough, the Libyan intervention was messy," but now that Islamists have taken control of two-thirds of Mali – a vast region of rock and sand in the north that is larger than France – it is time to organize another military intervention to ensure that Mali doesn't become terrorist haven, like Afghanistan, Yemen, or Somalia.
The Islamists, Ansar Dine and Al Qaeda of the Islamic Maghreb, are a dangerous lot, and tens of thousands of Malians have fled to other countries to avoid them. The Islamists have declared sharia law, and set about destroying ancient Tuareg and Arabic monuments, including the tombs of Muslim saints.
But, as Gregory Mann writes in this week's Foreign Policy, there is no evidence that the Islamists have a larger agenda than northern Mali. Foreign intervention, as in Libya, may simply make matters worse.
Ultimately, Malians themselves will have to take the lead in resolving a crisis that has endangered their neighbors. Outside actors can only help all sides seek an honorable way to make the Malian north safe again, partly by working to get Bamako to accept the assistance of its neighbors. At the moment, foreign military intervention, whether it comes from ECOWAS or elsewhere, will be viewed as an invasion in both the south and the north. That has to change, which means that politics has to come first. A political solution will be harder to achieve than a military one, but you get what you pay for.
Jobless in the USA
In the US, it's sometimes hard to understand why so much energy is spent solving problems overseas when there are serious problems – like chronic high unemployment – at home. Some folks blame US factory owners for shipping all the good jobs overseas, while employers themselves say they simply can't find the qualified people they need.
Economists call this a "skills shortage," but Barbara Kiviat writes in The Atlantic magazine that new studies by Manpower, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and two top universities show that the problem may not be a lack of skills but rather a different expectation for what those skills are worth.
When firms were asked why they have difficulty hiring, 55% picked "lack of available applicants," but essentially the same percentage, 54%, said candidates are "looking for more pay than is offered" (many more than the 40% selecting lack of "hard" skill). This is an important reminder that the labor market is a market. The U.S. conversation revolves around whether workers have the right skills. Whether firms are willing to pay enough to compensate workers for having acquired those skills is rarely mentioned. When firms post job openings at a certain wage and no one comes forward, we call this a skills mismatch. In a different universe, we might call it a pay mismatch.
Multitasking, a case for intervention
Finally, a few words about multitasking. Clearly, it's the bane of our modern existence, and when your dinner-party guests break out their iPhones to check on the Red Sox score or the spot-price of sorghum, you know you've lost their attention.
But Daniel Gulati, writing in Harvard Business Review, argues that while most studies focus on the deleterious effects of multi-tasking on the modern professional – the increased stress, the impact on sleep patterns, poor work quality – the greater effect is on the people around the multi-tasker: the ignored spouse or child, the fellow diner who must listen to a heated phone negotiation over his tapas.
Here may be the one case where an intervention may be justifiable (although probably not one that requires the use of military drones). Mr. Gulati offers three handy tips for getting the multitasker to put down that mobile device and Just. Pay. Attention: call out the multitasker mid-task; reschedule for an uniterrupted time; or just walk away.


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Views: 301
This is something that has been in the back of my mind for awhile. After attending my husband's father's funeral last weekend, I decided that defiantly do not want the type of funeral that he had. (The preacher, instead of speaking of his life, tried to make sure everyone in the room was saved- I saved the congregation some time and did not speak up unfortunately.) I'd rather everyone just party in my honor!
Any who, a few years back, I visited the Human Body Exhibit while it was in Charlotte, NC. I was amazed at all the different ways they were able to "display" the human body. I would really like to be a part of that when I die. I've not been able to find a way to make this happen. If any one has any info, it would be greatly appreciated.
I don't think I would want someone outside of my family (much less a preacher) performing the ceremony when my parents pass. We are the ones that truly know them and are able to speak of them the way they would want to be spoken of.
Thank you very much for your comment. It's greatly appreciated. :)
Controversy about the writer Orson Scott Card aside, I thought his book Speaker for the Dead illustrated this concept brilliantly: the person making the speech before a group of mourners should at least know/research who s/he is referencing and speak to all (good and bad) of that person's life.
I recently read Mkes' Ways of Dying (fiction, South African novelist). The main character is a professional mourner. This goes in the other direction: someone there to wail, moan, and weep to rouse the intensity of the grieving. Strangely enough, I liked this idea too.
Wikipedia: All the eyewitness accounts remarked on the fact that the rogyapas did not perform their task with gravity or ceremony, but rather talked and laughed as during any other type of physical labor.
While dismembering the body for consumption, people. Awesome.
That reminds me of the old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, where the graves are literally stacked on top of each other. There's around 12,000 tombstones there. Crazy people.
Death has never been a big thing for me, In the end I'm not really bothered what happens to my body after I die, as long as it's put to some good use.
I have only one stipulation tho; absolutely no religious involvement.
Ultimately we'll all eventually return to be part of the universe, 'stardust' so to speak.
I want to be cremated and have my ashes buried in the soil where a tree is planted. this way I will be "one with the tree" so to speak. not in a reincarnation way, but in a symbolic way where my descendants/family can come to visit me, instead of a cement tomb stone.
if not a tree, something of that nature. know what I mean?
I find it interesting that virtually every person on this thread said they wanted to donate whatever they could. Can you imagine if this was just as common amongst theists? We wouldn't have the horrific organ donor shortages as we do now.
Anyway, at death I would also like to donate whatever organs and body parts are still usable. And while donating the rest to science for med school studies is a good thing, I learned after my mother died that it also means being 'preserved' with all of the chemicals, similar to what is done in preparation for burial.
Likewise, cremation is harder on the environment than one would think.
I am encouraged by the rising popularity of "green" burials, some version of natural decomp, and have expressed a preference for this if available.
More than anything, though, I've told my family I do not want them spending a bunch of money disposing of my remains. Whatever is the least expensive method is fine by me.


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Chugach is led by a nine-member Board of Directors. Members are elected by the shareholders from among their own ranks and serve three-year terms.
Sheri Buretta
Chairman of the Board
Sheri has served as Chugach's Chairman since 1998. In addition Sheri serves as a board director for the Alaska Federation of Natives, Native American Contractors Association, Tatitlek Corporation, University of Alaska Anchorage Board of Regents, and ROSSIA (Russian Orthodox Sacred Sites in Alaska). Sheri was born in Anchorage, Alaska, and her family is from the Native Village of Tatitlek located in the Prince William Sound.
Sheri holds an accounting degree from the University of Alaska and a business degree from Gulf Coast Community College in Florida. She has previously served on the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council, the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Public Advisory Group, and Anchorage's Sister City Commission, as well as co-chaired the transition team for former Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.
Sheri and her husband Gary have two beautiful children, Anastasia and Bo.


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Founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A is headquartered in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy, where it manufactures elite luxury sports cars. The Lamborghini Diablo, capable of exceeding 200 mph, held the title of the world's fastest production car from its initial release in 1991 throughout its eleven-year history. In 2012, the one of a kind Aventador J received worldwide acclaim when presented at the Geneva Motor Show. This super sports car was named "Best of Show" by Autoweek magazine, set a new visitor traffic record at the Automobili Lamborghini website and was immediately sold to one lucky customer.
The Automobili Lamborghini website was hosted on an outdated infrastructure at the end of its lifecycle. Bandwidth was not optimized and the company recognized that the maintenance costs were no longer sustainable. Furthermore, the old website infrastructure was not scalable, preventing the company from supporting new online initiatives as well as the increasing number of visitors to the website. Lamborghini wanted to be online with an updated website in a very short time.
Prior to working with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Automobili Lamborghini considered three possible scenarios: (1) an on-premise data center, which was costly; (2) a local hosting provider, which did not offer scalability; or (3) cloud computing. The company decided it wanted the scalability, flexibility, and cost benefits of cloud computing, and chose AWS because it was considered by business analysts to have the best-in-class IaaS platform on the market.
Lamborghini was able to take advantage of the AWS self-service approach to quickly design and implement a new architecture that could scale up or down to meet workload demands. The company uses Elastic Load Balancing (ELB), Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Amazon CloudFront, and Amazon CloudWatch. The site is integrated with TYPO3 on a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) infrastructure. Lamborghini found that AWS provided all the tools it needed to build a highly available, secure, and scalable infrastructure, and used the AWS Architecture Center for implementation guidance and best practices.
It only took Lamborghini a couple of days to prepare the development and test environment. The website went online in less than one month and was able to support peak traffic— a 250% burst in visitors—related to a new product launch.
Lamborghini is planning to use Amazon CloudFront for dynamic content and Amazon Route 53 to improve DNS readability. The company is also considering the use of Adobe Flash Media Server running on AWS.
Roberto Ciacci, Digital Marketing Manager at Automobili Lamborghini, describes the benefits of using AWS like this: "We reduced the cost of our infrastructure by 50%, while at the same time achieving better performance and scalability. Today our time-to-market is close to zero."
To learn more about how AWS can help support your digital marketing needs, visit: http://aws.amazon.com/digital-marketing/.


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In this week's Outshot, Jesse talks about the function on "the game" in a comedy sketch, and how it works in one of his favorite sketches.