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Official Press Release
IMAGE EXPO, the one-of-a-kind celebration commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Image Comics and celebrating creator-owned comics, is announcing many new guests! Joining the Image Comics partners Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino and Image founders Rob Liefeld and Whilce Portacio, are the following stars of creator-owned comics.
Blair Butler, the host of G4's Fresh Ink and 2011's break out writer of HEART, the comic that shows the human side of MMA, will be joining the line up, along with her co-creator Kevin Mellon (LOVESTRUCK). Writer John Layman and artist Rob Guillory, co-creators of CHEW, everyone's favorite Eisner Award winning gross-out detective comic will also be there. Add to that rising star Nick Spencer, the writer behind such hits as MORNING GLORIES, FORGETLESS, Ultimate Comics: X-Men, and soon Robert Kirkman's THIEF OF THIEVES, and IMAGE EXPO already has a solid line up!
But that's not all! Some of the other guests at IMAGE EXPO include:
Keu Cha (MAGDALENA)Joshua Fialkov (ECHOES, THE LAST OF THE GREATS, I, Vampire)Edwin Huang (SKULLKICKERS)Joe Keatinge (POPGUN, GLORY, HELL YEAH)Larry Marder (BEANWORLD)Jim McCann (Return of the Dapper Men, MIND THE GAP)Marat Mychaels (BLINDSIDE)Jimmie Robinson (BOMBQUEEN)Eric Shanower (AGE OF BRONZE)Kurtis Wiebe (INTREPIDS, GREEN WAKE, PETER PANZERFAUST)Jim Zubkavich (SKULLKICKERS)
Some of the other previously announced guests include:
Joe Casey (Ben 10, BUTCHER BAKER, THE RIGHTEOUS MAKER, HAUNT)Jay Faerber (Ringer, DYNAMO 5, NEAR DEATH)Jonathan Hickman (THE NIGHTLY NEWS, THE MANHATTAN PROJECTS)Ryan Ottley (INVINCIBLE)Fiona Staples (SAGA)Richard Starkings (Comicraft, ELEPHANTMEN)Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Runaways, SAGA)
IMAGE EXPO is a three-day celebration of creator-owned comics happening at the Oakland Convention Center, and Northern California's premier comic con experience in 2012. The Berkeley-based publisher will be filling the demand for a 2012 Bay Area comic book convention that was left unfulfilled when WonderCon announced their temporary relocation to Anaheim, California. The three-day event takes place at the Oakland Convention Center in the heart of the bustling nightlife and restaurant center of downtown Oakland, CA on February 24-25-26.
Experience the creativity of the men and women making the best creator owned comics in America at this one-of-a-kind celebration commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Image Comics!
There are still some opportunities to be part of IMAGE EXPO available, but space is going fast, so sign up for your exhibitor or artist alley space today! Contact firstname.lastname@example.com for more information about how to exhibit or sign up for press passes. For more information about the show, visit www.imagecomicexpo.com.
ABOUT AMAZING COMIC CONVENTIONSAmazing Comic Conventions is a leading promotional company operated by Jimmy S. Jay and Jay Company Comics. The Amazing Arizona Comic Con is their signature event, kicking off the Comic Con Season each January. The Amazing Arizona Comic Con is the premier destination for graphic novel pop culture in the Southwest. The 2012 Amazing Arizona Comic Con takes place January 6-7-8 at the Mesa Convention Center, in the Phoenix Metropolitan area. Guests for the upcoming event include Walking Dead creator/executive producer Robert Kirkman, legendary creator Rob Liefeld, Batman artist Greg Capullo, and many more. For more information, visit www.AmazingArizonaComicCon.com.
ABOUT IMAGE COMICS Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.


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DIY Magnetic Spice Tins
Happy April Fool's!! I tried to come up with a prank to play on you guys but I'm not very original. And it is hard to virtually switch out someone's sugar for salt or jump out and scare them. Did you guys have a good Easter? We had a wonderful church service and then got to relax at home.
I've been a very very busy bee recently! There has been tons of big stuff going on around here that I can't wait to tell you about… but it has all kept me insanely busy. Seriously. It has been crazy. All this busy-ness is leading to the desire and need to clean and organize and purge. Yes. Cleaning is my catharsis. One of the first things I tackled in my cleanization-palooza {why yes, I did just make that up…} was my spices. You see, our apartment has an itty-bitty kitchen. No seriously. I have a total of 5 cabinets and 5 drawers. And a grand total of about 3 feet of counter space. So counter and cabinet space is valuable real estate. I hated my spice rack taking up so much of that space, so I decided to get my spices off the counter by making my very own DIY Magnetic Spice Tins.
Of course, you could always buy magnetic spice tins. But what fun is that!? Plus, a set of 6 of those normally cost around $20. Ouch. Do you see how many spices I have?? That isn't even all of them! I have tons of spices. That would be a lot of money. Also, I don't use all of my spices that much. Some of them are just the occasional use and I don't need a giant tin full, smaller tins would be just fine. And as a DIY-er, you know I had to give making them a try.
A few tips on the spice purgcleanization-palooza:
1. Spices do expire. It isn't so much a safety issues as much as a flavoring issue. After a certain amount of time your spices will stop giving you the flavor you want from them. Boo. So here is a quick little guide to help you know how long your spices last:
- Whole Spices: 3-4 years
- Ground Spices: 2-3 years
- Dried Herbs: 1-3 years
- Extracts: 1 year… with the exception of pure vanilla extract which can last indefinitely
2. Heat, moisture, and direct sunlight can also damage your spices and make them expire sooner. So you either want to opt for a non-clear tin or make sure to keep your spices in a cabinet.
Okay. On to the fun part! Making your DIY tins! I got this great idea from here!
- Tins {I got mine from here for an ah-mazing price. I opted for the slip cover tins and I've never had a problem with them "slipping" off. Plus they are food safe.}
- Paper for labels
- Double-sided tape
- Scissors
- Earth Magnets {a special type of magnet that is very strong and doesn't lose its magnetism over time. I got mine here}
- E-6000 adhesive {found at your local craft store}
- Spices
First things first. You have to order your tins. Get larger tins for the spices you use more often and have a lot of. And let me give you a piece of advice… don't order sizes based on weight. Two ounces of weight does not equal 2 ounces of volume. I may or may not have learned this the hard way and had to order a bunch more tins. Oops. A majority of my tins were 4 ounces and 2 ounces. I had a few 1 ounces and even a couple of 8 ounces.
When you get your tins, start by washing and drying them thoroughly.
Whip up some labels. I chose to go with antique botanical prints for the images. I just searched on Google for "antique botanical prints ________", with the blank being whatever spice I wanted. But you could do just about any kind of label you want! Make them the correct size to fit the tin you got for your spices. Print them off and cut them out.
Use your double sided tape to affix the label to the cover of your tin.
Take the bases of your tins and lay them on a flat surface. Place magnets on the back of them and determine placement. Centered is always good. 😉 I used 2 magnets on my 4 ounce tins and one on the 2 ounce tins. If any of your spices are heavier {like peppercorns} you may even want 3 or 4 magnets.
Place a small dot of E-6000 on the back of your tin where you want to adhere the magnet. Place the magnet into the center of the glue. Be careful because that magnet will jump out of your hand if you aren't careful! Let your glue dry for about 30 minutes.
Pair up your tins with their lids and dump your spices into them! Don't forget to keep the label near so you don't accidentally mislabel your spices. That could be a problem.
Now you are done! So simple! You've got all your spices organized and all pretty!
Just a few glamour shots of some of my favorite spice tin covers. I'm seriously loving the ground ginger and cayenne pepper labels. They are just so cute! But I think my all time favorite is the nutmeg label. Seriously pretty! And, of course, I've got to give some love to my favorite spice… garlic powder. Mmmm… garlic.
Just slap them up on your fridge {front or side} and notice all the extra counter and cabinet space you have! Oooo! Ahhhh!! And all of your spices are right at your finger tips! Love!
How are your spices organized??

subset: commoncrawl


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Justin Timberlake + Selena Gomez Get Swatted
Hot on the heels of Rihanna being swatted, Justin Timberlake and Selena Gomez are the latest celebs to have law enforcement descend on their homes due to a 911 call about crimes being committed at the residences. The thing is the calls are fake, placed under the auspices of a hacking ring as a prank -- and we use that term on the loose.
The JT caller claimed four black men entered the home and two shots were fired as they left with a box boasting a blinking red light.
Selena Gomez was swatted while she and her mom were at home. Neither knew a 911 call had been placed and were therefore confused as to why the police were converged on the property. The Selena swatter said that Gomez's father killed her mother and was toting 20 weapons, as well as threatening to set the property ablaze.
This is getting out of hand...
It's costing taxpayers and it's wasting law enforcement's time from attending to real crimes and issues among citizens. It's distracting and crying wolf so much could cause real calls to be handled in more lax fashion.
Watch the Justin Timberlake 'Suit & Tie' Video


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Hope you all had a wonderful Easter and/or Spring break. Easter weekend was quite busy at church for our family. I just about vomited after the Baja California earthquake too. The rolling for about a minute made me nauseous. That was a big earthquake, 7.2, and I'm glad it was far enough way from our area to not cause any major damage. Just when I needed some rest from it all, the kids wanted to go to Disneyland and California Adventure for Spring Break. Now I fear that two long days waiting in lines and eating overpriced food have become an annual family tradition. At least my skin held up well through all the stress and travel!
I've been looking forward to this coming Monday for a few weeks now. I have my next dermatology appointment then. I talked with my dermatologist over the phone about a month ago about trying Stelara. At that time I did not feel confident about switching over. That's when I started rereading comments on the blog that many of you have left, researching as much as I could on the Internet, and discussing what I should do with my family members. I even asked for the information packet from the Stelara Web site and read the tiny, fine-print disclosure inserted at the end of the promotional packet. After much deliberation, I am ready to try Stelara.
I don't know if I will get the medicine this upcoming visit, but I would like to switch as soon as possible. I have some travel plans in the summer to Asia as well as a week-long class I registered to attend. I need something in my body working to suppress my psoriasis during these events in the upcoming summer months. I figure if I can start Stelara in the next couple weeks I will have time to evaluate the side effects and effectiveness of Stelara.
It feels like I'm taking a plunge into a deep pool where I can't see the bottom. I really don't know what to expect. I am definitely a bit anxious about switching from a regimen that's worked for me for so long. But it is time to take the dive to see what the water is like.


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via press release:
— Season Three Delivers 1M P2+ Viewers —
(Silver Spring, Md.) – This summer, kitty lovers and loathers who are fans of Animal Planet's MY CAT FROM HELL helped the series blaze hotter than a tin roof, delivering nearly 1M P2+ viewers (954K) in the series' third season. Today, Animal Planet announces a fourth season of the feline fan favorite with 17 one-hour episodes set to premiere in 2013.
MY CAT FROM HELL's steaming summer peaked with the September 1 episode, "Big Boi Ruins Our Social Life," which scored a series best performance across several key demos, including P2+ viewers (1.2M), HH (855K), P25-54 (576K), P18-49 (487K) and W25-54 (376K).
In addition, the series continued to resonate with female viewers, wrapping as the network's third-most watched series year to date with W25-54 (274K).
In MY CAT FROM HELL, cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy helps cat owners find the source of conflict with their furry friend by utilizing his more than 15 years of experience, a proven trainingprogram and his signature guitar case filled with cat toys.
MY CAT FROM HELL is produced for Animal Planet by 3 Ball Productions/Eyeworks USA. Melinda Toporoff is the executive producer for Animal Planet. JD Roth, Todd A. Nelson and Adam Kaloustian are executive producers and Chandrea Miller is the co-executive producer for 3 Ball/Eyeworks.
Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdomwith rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 96 million homes in the US; online assets http://www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for allthings animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; andother media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.


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Government and nonprofit groups working to protect you.
- USA.gov-Consumer Protection Information
From current scam information to to filing complaints, USA.gov has it covered.
- Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection
Consumer protection information from the FTC
- Online Reporting for Identity Theft from the Berkeley Police Department
The Berkeley Police Department's recommended procedure for handling identity theft and fraud
- Product Recalls
Official recalls issued by government agencies


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Business Education | SBDC | Small, Women, and Minority Owned Businesses Information
Small business is often referred to as the "Engine that moves America".
The SBA's Office of Advocacy defines a small business for research purposes as an independent business having fewer than 500 employees and these standards vary by industry.
Small firms:
• Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
• Employ just over half of all private sector employees.
• Pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
• Have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years.
• Create more than half of the nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP).
• Hire 40 percent of high tech workers (such as scientists, engineers, and computer programmers).
• Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises.
• Made up 97.3 percent of all identified exporters and produced 30.2 percent of the known export value in FY 2007.
• Produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms; these patents are twice as likely as large firm patents to be among the one percent most cited.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census and International Trade Admin.; Advocacy-funded research by Kathryn Kobe, 2007 (www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs299tot.pdf) and CHI Research, 2003 (www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs225tot.pdf); U.S. Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Small businesses employ just over half of U.S. workers! Of 119.9 million nonfarm private sector workers in 2006, small firms with fewer than 500 workers employed 60.2 million and large firms employed 59.7 million. Firms with fewer than 20 employees employed 21.6 million. While small firms create a majority of the net new jobs, their share of employment remains steady since some firms grow into large firms as they create new jobs. Small firms' share of part-time workers (21 percent) is similar to large firms' share (18 percent).
Source: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census: Statistics of U.S. Businesses, Current Population Survey.
Small businesses represent more than 80% of the Chamber's total membership.


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Landing Page Best Practices: The Definitive Guide (with Infographics)
Founder and Chairman of Wingify.
We (at VWO), in this post, talk about landing page best practices as shared by Oli Gardner, Co-founder of Unbounce.com – the DIY Landing Page Platform.
This interview is a part of a series on the blog where the experts in A/B testing, landing pages, conversion rate optimization will share everything they know about how to increase sales and conversions online.
Oli Gardner, Co-founder Unbounce, created the conversion blog to discuss a variety of marketing subjects such as landing pages, conversion centered design, social media conversion and ethical lead capture for business.
Editor's Note: While this post is all about landing page best practices, previously on this blog, I had analyzed 50+ landing pages and came up with some practical landing page optimization tips.
Importance of Landing Pages
How important are landing pages for paid marketing? Why can't a company simply redirect traffic to its homepage? What is the actual purpose of landing pages?
Landing pages are critical for any promotion specific marketing – but in particular for paid marketing where a measured ROI is essential to your success (and your ability to gain budgetary approval). The reason why you want to direct your paid traffic to a landing page vs. your homepage is that your homepage is often designed to be a generic entry point to your brand and business. It may contain references to many products or services – rendering the ability for a potential customer to find your intended conversion path amidst 40-70 links unlikely at best – impossible at worst. Which leads nicely into the third part of your question. The purpose of a landing page is to provide a hyper-focused experience that is designed to accomplish the singular conversion goal of your marketing campaign.
Usually landing pages look separate from the main website (due to different design, user flow). Do you recommend this distinction between landing pages and main website?
I wouldn't recommend making a stylistic or brand change to the design of your landing page. It's important to keep it consistent with what your main website represents and what people have experienced in the past (brand memory).
The most elemental conversion principle is what's known as message match. This is a two-way concept that applies to the information scent passing from ad to landing page (your Google AdWords ad talks about green apples, and so does your landing page), but it also applies to the next step in the conversion funnel, which is the visual brand connection from landing page to website. I'll explain both of these a bit more.
If you are doing an eCommerce based "click through" landing page – designed to warm up the prospect's interest in your offer before passing them onto your website/cart/registration page then you need to maintain "design match" where the visual and tonal brand guidelines are perpetuated on the destination site. If you don't do this you risk a trust interruption which can cause people to bail.
For a lead gen landing page (often called a squeeze page – although I don't really like the term or the negative segment of the industry typically associated with it) – the experience often ends on the landing page – which means the follow-up experience isn't quite as critical – but in the case of a big company – there will be a certain amount of brand memory where people expect a connection to their preconceived idea of how you present yourself. Again, without this design/brand match, you can lose people.
Landing Page Best Practices
What are the most important characteristics of highly converting landing pages?
Focus. Simple and obvious writing. Clean design with an eye for contrast, white space and clarity. A clear call-to-action that describes what will happen when it's clicked. Stick to those and you're halfway there.
If I had to distil it down to two points, I'd say a headline that you can read in 5 seconds and know what the page and offer is about and a brutally obvious call-to-action (CTA).
If you are asked to fix only one thing in a badly performing landing page, what would it be?
That's easy. The thing that was causing it to perform badly! Sadly, it's not really that simple.
The thing to fix will most often be "message match" – this is the part that most people get wrong. You sell someone on a promise with your ad, then when they get to the page, the first thing they read/see represents a different story. So in a generic sense I'd say fix your message match and you'll fix 80% of your problems.
But this is a bit of a trick question. What you need to do is spend some time walking in your customer's shoes to understand what they are experiencing when they arrive at your page.
Long vs. short controversy! How do you prevent making a landing page too sparse that users don't get motivated or too long so users get distracted?
Long vs. short is a classic debate and one that can only be proven through A/B testing so I won't harp on about any specific hypothesis here. Some higher priced items require more detail – but they also require more research – in which case a landing page may not suffice anyway. It depends on the page goal. If it's lead gen – then you *must* provide enough incentive to complete the form – whether that's a big long story or a sufficiently appropriate prize in exchange for the personal data.
Opinion on Landing Pages
What are your favorite landing pages on the web? (What about worst landing pages on the web?)
My favorite page (other than my own of course) tend to come from Webtrends. They just seem to nail it every time. #1 on this compilation and another great example here . Aside from them, Full Sail University does a consistently great job, particularly for lead gen.
Whatever is offered on a landing page (demo, trial, whitepaper, etc.), do you recommend putting it behind a small lead-gen form or should you give a direct link?
Yes and no. I personally think it's something you need to mix up from time to time.
Make it Free. Sometimes it's great to give away your expertise (particularly an ebook) without any barrier to entry. The goodwill marketing momentum you receive can be worth a lot more than a few leads. If you do this, just make sure you brand your ebook very well (every page should contain your logo and website URL) and a footer that states that you happily encourage the free sharing of your content. Many people don't know if they should be sharing it without feeling guilty, and a lot of people suffer from guilt issues – so don't let this prevent you from benefiting from your generosity. Also, there are a lot of old-school marketers out there who are STILL afraid to give content away – thinking it should be copyrighted and protected and locked in a vault.
Ask for Data. If you are doing classic lead gen, then you are going to be giving something to your visitors in exchange for their personal information. The key here is to balance the size of the barrier (how much personal data you are asking for) with the size of the prize (what you are offering in return).
A/B testing the length of your forms may point to an ideal form size to suit your needs. There are two kinds of barriers with forms – privacy and effort. Awkward or overly personal questions can put people off, or make them enter fake data (which helps no one), while super long forms just serve to make people sigh and hit the back button. If you must ask for a lot of information, make it worthwhile with a really valuable giveaway.
Editor's note: That's it for the interview! If you know someone whom I can interview or want to contribute a guest post yourself, please shoot me an email at firstname.lastname@example.com. Also, as mentioned at the top of the post, previously I had analyzed 50+ landing pages and came up with some practical landing page optimization tips. So, you may want to check out that post.


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BOSTON, March 29 (UPI) -- Brooks Laich scored in the fourth round of the shootout Thursday to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 decision over Boston.
The Capitals reached 86 points for the season, tying them with idle Buffalo for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Buffalo, however, has a game in hand on Washington.
Both the Sabres and Capitals are two points behind Ottawa.
Boston and Washington played two periods of scoreless hockey before the offenses took over.
Dennis Wideman and Marcus Johansson scored 2 minutes apart during the first half of the third period to give Washington a 2-0 lead.
The Capitals' two-goal advantage was then wiped out on goals by David Krejci and Andrew Ference in the final 3:10 of regulation.
Both teams produced two goals during the first three shootout rounds, but Laich beat Tim Thomas high to the glove side for the winning score.
Washington survived an early goaltending change to get the win. Tomas Vokoun returned from a six-game absence brought about by a groin injury, but he aggravated the injury and Michal Neuvirth came on as an emergency replacement.
Neuvirth stopped 19-of-21 shots to get the win. Thomas made 21 saves.
Boston would have clinched a playoff spot with a victory. It needs only one more point to do so.


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Check out the article here http://www.examiner.com/article/call-you-out
Have you seen the new generation of break dancers? Do you like watching b-boys and b-girls hit the beats on the dance floor flexing their athletic skills? If you like 70's and 80's music with some remixes, there is an event you will want to check out.
An event named "Call Out" will be held on August 18; a dance off calling for dancers to battle it out in the cyphers. This event is open to all dancers who are trying to expand their experiences, making names for themselves and to be acknowledged in the dance community. Most importantly, having a great time while doing it.
Ynot from the famous "Rocksteady crew", Mute from Supreme Beings Crew from New York City, and Seerius Black from New Jersey will be spinning in the DJ booth. Funk, soul, hiphop, and breaks will be played all night for everyone to enjoy.
Since the jam is being held in New Jersey, an exhibition battle will feature New Jersey b-boys and b-girls against the rest of the states. This exhibition encourages all b-boys and b-girls to show up and participate in the battle.
The event is hosted by Kid Glyde of "Dynamic Rockers" from New York and Rich Nyce of "True Aggressions Crew" from New Jersey. Event location will be at St Mary's Marian Hall in Downtown Jersey City. The church is the main sponsor of this event, demonstrating support of the hip hop community. All the proceeds will go to the Parish.
There will be two B-boying workshops taking place in the afternoon led by B-boy Ynot from 2pm to 3:30pm and followed by B-boy Jiggz from 4pm to 5pm.
Main event will begin at 6 pm and ends at midnight. Admission cost is ten dollars per person.


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Summary Meeting Notes: September 27, 2012 Watershed Health and Environment PEG
Watershed Health and Environment Policy Expert Group
September 27th, 2012 from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
PEG Attendees: Ann Beier, Judy Bluehorse Skelton, Claire Carder, Corky Collier, Sallie Edmunds (BPS), Don Hanson, Marla Harrison, Mike Houck, Roberta Jortner (BPS), Noelwah Netusil, Bob Sallinger, Jonathan Soll, Jennifer Thompson, Marie Johnson Walkiewicz (BES)
Other Attendees: Tom Armstrong (BPS), Shannon Buono (BPS), John Cole (BPS), Linda Dobson (BES), Joan Frederiksen (BPS), Barry Manning (BPS), Nan Stark (BPS), Mary Vogel
Facilitator: Dena Marshall, Solid Ground Consulting
View the original agenda, including materials, for this meeting.
Key Points and Outcomes
- Draft Policies. PEG members (1) urged the use of stronger, affirmative action language in the Draft Policies, (2) recommended explicitly rolling into the Comp Plan other framework policies including among others, the Parks Plan, Tree Plan, and Regional Conservation Strategy, and (3) suggested deeper integration of the concepts of carrying capacity (re State Goal 9), minimum daily requirements for nature, and resiliency.
- PEG members shared their enthusiasm for the Design with Nature approach that is being proposed for the Comprehensive Plan, and also discussed the significant costs that may be avoided by doing things in such a manner that aligns our built environments with nature.
- WHE PEG members reviewed several scenarios to help offset the industrial lands shortfall, including expanding and intensifying the current use of existing industrial lands, brownfields conversion, and other possible scenarios.
- Balance and integrate goals. Seeking to balance the need for development with the need to protect our natural spaces is a recurring theme, explored through discussion of ecosystem functions, equity considerations, and quality of life.
Introductions and Review Agenda
Presenter: Dena Marshall, Solid Ground Consulting
Summary: Dena welcomed the group, opened the floor up for any comments or questions on the August meeting, and then invited PEG members to share a little bit of information about themselves.
- Meeting handouts: August 23, 2012 Meeting Notes
Feedback on Draft Watershed Health and Environmental Goals and Policies and Presentation of the Design with Nature Discussion Paper
Presenter: Sallie Edmunds, Shannon Buono, and Roberta Jortner, BPS
Summary: Sallie and Shannon solicited input from PEG members on main concepts that might have been missed in this draft: "Now is not the time to worry about the why or how behind these policies, but rather the statement of what the policies should be."
- Anticipating the possibility of future conflicts between maintaining the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and improving natural habitat in an urban area, PEG members acknowledged the tension and expressed a willingness to engage in discussion where the issue is not currently addressed in the draft policies.
- Identifying a need for a Comp Plan vision statement, several PEG members volunteered to work on a vision statement that addresses aspirational goals for the Comprehensive Plan.
- PEG members noted that we need to go beyond Ian McHarg's approach which focused on where development should and shouldn't go, to how nature will be woven into development through out the city, highlighting the importance not only to watershed health but to human health and well being.
- PEG members expressed concern for terms that are open to a wide interpretation, such as "convenient" and "reasonable protection," and agreed that more detail and specificity in the language would provide an adequate basis for making findings and establishing legal standing. Specificity doesn't lock us in.
- PEG members suggested the policies were somewhat redundant and could be tightened up, while also clarifying general intention.
- PEG members expressed appreciation for the draft policies, especially those presented in Design with Nature draft policy discussion paper and Access to Nature section. They suggested incorporating goals from Portland Parks 2020 plan and better addressing the economic and cost-avoidance benefits of incorporating Design with Nature concepts into urban development schemes.
- PEG members noted that the intrinsic value of natural resources and systems needs to be recognized in policies as contributing to a healthy community and food access, and the costs of losing resources.
Meeting Handouts and Presentations:
Industrial Land Shortfall
Presenter: Tom Armstrong, BPS
Summary: Tom reviewed the Economic Opportunities Analysis (EOA) and the projected shortfall of 720 acres of industrial land in the city by 2025. The Economic Development PEG and an Industrial Lands subcommittee have both been reviewing this issue in greater detail. The Watershed and Environmental Health PEG is asked to weigh in on the tradeoffs related to industrial land and watershed health.
- PEG members immediately pointed out that our economy is directly related to the value of our natural resources, as evidenced byPortland's reputation for parks and outdoor recreation among tourism and commercial interests.
- PEG members identified several recent industrial land conversions (McCormick and Baxter site, South Waterfront, Zidell, and T1), noting concern for the heightened need to further expand the industrial land growth. In response, PEG members suggested increasing efficiency and intensity of use in existing lands, use of brownfields, and possible conversion of various golf course sites to industrial land. Members expressed openness for further consideration of golf course sites conversion to a mix of industrial land and protected open spaces. They also expressed interest in providing manufacturing jobs in neighborhoods, pointing at the Joinery onWoodstockas an example.
- Looking ahead, PEG members reflected general agreement to plan for 50 years in the future, considering long term projections before more industrial land is converted to other uses.
- WHE PEG members reiterated the need to incorporate environmental justice issues and equity considerations into the Comp Plan policies; noting that draft policies do not adequately address the issues.
Meeting Handouts and Presentations:
Public Comment
- Mary Vogel, Plan Green/Community Member – Appreciated the Design with Nature discussion paper; concerned that designers may not have proper training to adequately put in place the policy recommendations. Suggests that the City offers training in order to bridge that gap, similar to what was offered for the Stormwater Management Manual.
Flip Chart Notes
Draft Policies: Big Ideas / Issues Missed
Today: "what" not "how's" or "why's"
Oct. 1: Draft to BPS
December: Final Draft
- Role of commentary – explanation where/how policies were drafted
Comp Plan Vision Statement: aspirational, goals oriented. Some WHE PEG members will work off-line on this (Marie, Mike, Corky, Linda)
- Do not need a roadmap, priorities
- Prepare us for the conversation about conflicts over natural resource enhancement / industrial lands
- Integration is the reality
- Look out for repetition of unrefined concepts; provide more description, coherence
- Look out for "convenient", "reasonable protection", "all Portlanders" - clarify as guiding principles
- Pull the language back to reflect discussion papers
- Need more regional coordination - think at the landscape level
- Articulate all the costs, not just dollars
- Costs of loss of species as much as loss of roadways, wetlands, aquifers, lives, housing, generations (e.g.)
- Quantifiable and non-quantifiable
- Healthy natural systems leads to healthy economy, balance with how people operate in an urban environment.
- Need to evaluate the language – to what it means to our community
- Environmental justice, Food justice Equity
- Do not overlook FOOD. Integrate food into WHE policy, including salmon, not solely community gardens
Design with Nature
- Design with Nature: look to other countries, communities
- Make the case for the costs of loss of nature - quantify the commoditization of the natural world
- Watershed health and environment is the economy here; people come here for the quality of life, not for higher income.
- Carrying Capacity: Recall Goal 9 - development consistent with carrying capacity of air, land, water – what are regional solutions
- Be open to expanding the UGB
- Look at the entire river system
- Do not yet have a Goal 9 type policy
- Planning ahead to meet future needs of the growing population
- Forecasting demand on natural resource system
- Minimum daily requirement – incorporate into Comp Plan policy
- Health – relationship between community building, neighborhood cohesiveness, greenspace and nature - work into the Comp Plan
- Need reference to Portland Parks 2020
- Refer to Regional Conservation Strategy - gives regional context
- Cost avoidance of doing things right: "decrease burden on ratepayers by doing things right with respect to the environment."
- Push back on Metro – regional perspective, not just political boundaries.
- Use McHarg's Design with Nature concepts as basis and move beyond it.
- Resiliency with Design with Nature – what can we learn from nature to adapt and respond to unknowns – human resiliency
- Access to nature: intended as an equity policy – be more explicit about what we mean
- Green infrastructure – recall definition "sustainable future" to sustain activities of future generations
- Specificity / enforceability in Comp Plan: must be in the Comp Plan to be enforceable. However, specificity does not necessarily back us into a corner, not being able to do the better thing
- Upload into the Comp Plan: Parks Plan, Tree Plan
- Add meaning and depth – be more efficient
Economic Opportunity Analysis (EOA)
- Economic value of nature – need language in policy, in multiple chapters
- River Policy – related to economy, system-wide integration
- Ecosystem services – quality of the natural environment is key toPortland's long term economic prosperity
- Activities inPortlandalso impact fisheries in the region and other regional economies
- Tourism is also impacted – acknowledge
- Quality of life – needs to be explicit in policy
- Recall historically – watershed health and environment is the economy
- Address environmental justice issues: air quality, water, noise, etc.
- How to reconcile projected deficit with availability of industrial land opening up / conversion. E.g. McCormick and Baxter, Zidell, T1, South Waterfront
- Strategy – to use smaller industrial parcels to meet non-harbor needs
- Look for flexibility of use – office buildings / docks - to increase efficiency of use, so as not to tap into additional lands - consider specific needs for some facilities, ships
- Look for efficiency of use as well as intensity
- Flexibility of use as well as intensity
- Expand to think 20 – 50 years ahead
- Current harbor access availability – what is the percentage increase? 770-plus acres out of 12,000 total
- P.4 No. 5: how to address shortfall: stop living on the interest while drawing down the principal - find the land out of the existing 12,000 acres
- Where is Goal 9 analysis, "carrying capacity"?
- In the economic goals
- Aspirational goals – need more detail on environmental goals as in economic goals
- Need to address earthquake hazards in the Comp Plan
- Address climate change especially with regards to land within the 500 yr floodplain
- Does the EcDev provide…
- Guidelines for community partners among the business community
- Environmental justice considerations / conversation
- Base policy and incentives on behavior types rather than industry. (e.g. The Joinery, a good example of business partners concept – identify practices employed and attempt to set guidelines- draft policies and incentives to promote other business practices)
Public Comment
- Provide training for designers to design in concert with policy, goals
Draft Policy
|Protect, Enhance, Restore upland natural resources; how to prioritize and develop policies around natural resources inventory
Cultural, spiritual health, ecosystem service: insert "intrinsic value of nature"
|"Reasonable protection" definition? Policy for green systems and others - be more specific
|4.6, 11, 12, 13, 14
|Look out for redundancy, and focus on critical elemental changes, new policy
| Climate change impacts – what are we trying to anticipate?
"adapt" not "withstand"
|Goal 4.C
|Bring the intentional through – get more to the point, be more plainspoken
|Plans to Refer to / Upload
|Upload into the Comp Plan: Parks Plan, Tree Plan, Portland Parks 2020, Regional Conservation Strategy; Goal 9
|Concepts to incorporate
|Carrying Capacity; Cost avoidance of doing things right; Goal 9 type policies, minimum daily requirements; integration of community and human health with community building; intrinsic value of nature; quality of life; environmental justice and food justice; Equity; Earthquake hazards; climate change (especially regarding land within the 500 year floodplain)
- Tom A. EcDev will provide technical appendix (350 acres – 720 acres – 1100 acres) to WHE PEG and Noelwah N.
- Marie W., Mike H., Corky C., Linda S. will meet to discuss Comp Plan vision statement
Next Steps
For more information, please contact Sallie Edmunds, Bureau of Planning and Sustainability at 503-823-6950 or firstname.lastname@example.com or Dena Marshall, Facilitator at email@example.com.


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New iPhone Rumored with 4.6-inch Display
New iPhone Rumored with 4.6-inch Display
The rumor mill for Apple's new iPhone is starting up again. Besides a possible 4.6-inch display with a higher screen resolution, the new iPhone will supposedly be launched within Q2 2012.
An unnamed industry source spoke to Maeil Business Newspaper, stating that Apple has opted for a larger 4.6-inch display and has started placing orders with its suppliers. As of now, the supplier for its new iPhone hasn't been named.
However, two possible companies do come to mind. The first is LG, which has been the display supplier for Apple's previous generation iPads and its iPhones. Another potential supplier is Samsung, which is equipping Apple's latest iPad with its 9.7-inch and 2,048 x 1,536 pixels screen. Samsung is also tasked to manufacture Apple's new A5X dual-core processor.
Ironically, both Apple and Samsung are embroiled in a series of patent lawsuits over its smartphones and tablets, and it's not certain if the relationship between the American and Korean company will turn for the better or worse over the next few months. Further to that, Samsung is preparing for the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S III, and one of its key features for its Galaxy S series has been its display technology.
While Apple chose to go with Samsung because LG and Sharp were't able to meet their quality requirements for the new iPad, the requirements for the new iPhone could be different. Should that be the case, it's highly likely that Apple will diversify its display suppliers and rely less on Samsung's technology.
With the expected Q2 launch, we might see the new iPhone announced at Apple's annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June.
Source: Reuters


text: Charles Molele Charles Molele is a senior politics reporter at the Mail & Guardian. Charles joined the paper in 2011. He has covered general news, court and politics for the past 19 years, and also worked as a senior reporter for the Saturday Star, Sunday World, ThisDay, Sunday Times and is former politics editor of the New Age. Charles's other career highlights include covering Kenya's violent general elections (2007/08), Zimbabwe's sham general elections (2008), Mozambique's food riots (2010) and the historic re-election of US President Barack Obama (2012). Read more from Charles Molele @charles_molele


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Overconsuming: Mother Nature's Laws of Supply and Demand
Everything you consume comes at a cost to the planet — energy uses finite fossil fuels, even food depletes land, water, and light resources. Living a green lifestyle means looking at the resources you consume and trying to consume within your means — and the planet's.
Looking at overconsumption around the globe
Currently, the world's population requires 1.3 planets to support itself according to the Global Footprint Network. Some of the ways we're overtaxing planetary resources include:
Approximately 75 percent of oceanic fisheries are heavily overfished to the point where governments are setting catch quotas to help give the fish populations time to recover.
Farms in the United States are removing topsoil — the richest, most productive part of the soil — more than 18 times faster than it can be replenished.
Water resources are declining worldwide, and some politicians and scientists believe that future conflicts between countries may be based on competition for water.
Focusing on U.S. consumption
In 2006, the Center for Environment and Population reported the following figures:
The United States has approximately 5 percent of the world's population and uses 25 percent of the world's natural resources.
The United States uses three times more water per person than the world average.
The United States uses almost 25 percent of the world's energy.
The United States is the world's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels, with almost 25 percent of all global emissions. (Carbon dioxide is one of the major greenhouse gases linked to climate change.)
These numbers show a real need for action in the United States, but developed countries aren't solely to blame. Unrestricted garbage dumping and unlegislated greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries are just as much of an issue.


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Amalfi.com is coming soon
Enter your email to be notified.
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The Day of Judgement, for those amalfitans that will go to the Paradise, it will be a day like all the others.
A visit to the Amalfi Coast is an opportunity to travel the most idyllic and scenic hillsides in all of Italy, to drive winding coastal roads with unrivalled panoramas and explore romantic historic attractions which bring meaning to the locals in the area.
The magnificent views on the surrounding landscapes have earned their place on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Mediterranean panoramas of coastal mountains plunging into the sea with picturesque towns and lush forests is what you see when you smell notes of lemon while exploring the region by enjoying the Amalfi drive.
Head over to Ravello to discover the City of Music, nestled in a secluded place high above the Amalfi Coast and it's world-class attractions: Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone.
Positano, Praiano, Furore, Conca dei Marini, Amalfi Atrani, Ravello, Scala, Minori, Maiori, Tramonti, Cetara and Vietri sul Mare.
A fairy-tale land so rich in myths and legends.
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The hidden treasure of the Amalfi Coast.
"Twenty five years ago I was asked by an American magazine what was the most beautiful place that I had ever seen in all my travels and I said the view from the belvedere of the Villa Cimbrone on a bright winter's day when the sky and the sea were each so vividly blue that it was not possible to tell one from the other." Gore Vidal
The vertical city.
"Positano bites deep. It is a dream place that isn't quite real when you are there and becomes beckoningly real after you have gone." John Steinbeck
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Quaint, peaceful retreat right in the heart of the Amalfi Coast, between Positano and Amalfi.
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Picturesque, small town.
Atrani has a surface area 0.12 km2 making it the smallest community in all of Italy, and also the most densely populated city in the Salerno province.
If you have any questions, suggestions or comments we are ready for conversation.


text:
An Experiment With Job Naming Conventions
MartinPacker 11000094DH Visits (10702)
It may surprise you to know I hate asking questions to which I already know the answers. And I hate even more "leaving understanding on the table". Let me put it more positively: I love it when I can glean new insights into existing data. This post is about precisely that: An experiment in gleaning extra understanding... In Batch Architecture, Part Zero and follow-on posts I talked... [More]
Batch Architecture, Part Three
MartinPacker 11000094DH Visits (8672)
Up until now I haven't talked much about DB2, except perhaps to note it's a little different. But what is a DB2 Batch job anyway? It's important to note a DB2 job ISN'T necessarily exclusively DB2 - although some are. It's just a job that has some DB2 in it. The reason for writing a separate post, apart from breaking things up a little, is because batch jobs with DB2 in them present... [More]
Batch Architecture, Part One
MartinPacker 11000094DH Visits (11415)
First a word of thanks to Ferdy for his insightful comment on Batch Architecture, Part Zero . And also to my IBM colleague Torsten Michelmann for his offline note on the subject. As I indicated in Part Zero I hoped to talk about jobs in a subsequent post. And this is that post. In particular I want to discuss Viewing jobs as part of distinct applications, and Generating a high-level understanding... [More]
Batch Architecture, Part Zero
MartinPacker 11000094DH Comments (2) Visits (14122)
I'm not an architect. I don't even play one on TV. In fact real architects would probably say I'm in the babble phase, architecturewise . But I've been involved in a few situations over the past year or so (and I'm involved in a couple starting round about now) which have led me to the following simple conclusion: Many installations would benefit from drawing up a Batch Architecture . I don't... [More]


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What is Video & TV SideView and where can I get it?
Video & TV SideView is an app that works with certain Sony home devices such as BRAVIA TVs, Blu-ray Disc players, Blu-ray Disc Home Theater Systems, and Google TV devices. You can operate your Sony device from a portable Android device or portable Apple iOS device by using Video & TV SideView.
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- An Internet Video Device that supports Video & TV SideView.
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For details on Video & TV SideView , refer to the following URL:


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Monday, August 6, 2012
Long Weekend Observations, Opinions, and Sentiments
5 comments:
- Ty said...
With all of these prospecty types making premature debuts, I think the guy who has been quietly impressing me the most is David Cooper. He performed admirably when he was up earlier in the year, and that's been continuing this time around. Maybe I'm just a sucker for lefties who drive the ball the other way, but he's done enough to deserve something close to regular at-bats from the DH spot even after Jose returns.
- August 6, 2012 at 2:36 PM
This season has now come down to auditions and verification for management as to what they really have in house. As a result they will know what they need to acquire.
For instance the revamped pen seems to have found its groove and is retry much set for 2013 with: Jannsen, Delabar, Lincoln, Oliver (providing he does not retire), Loup with 2 of Cecil/ Jenkins/ Stroman and Santos (if the injury reports are true).
Its safe to say that barring injury the following positions are set: 3B (Lawrie),CF (Rasmus), RF(Bautista), 1B (EE), C (JPA or TDA), SS (Escobar). Offensively have needs at LF, DH and 2B. The way Gose plays in Bautista's absence will likely determine if he starts at the MLB or AAA level next year(LF). If we acquire a big bat for LF or DH then I project Hech as the opening day 2B.
The rotation needs some help. We have Morrow, Romero, Alvarez and Happ. Which means at least 1 front of the rotation starter must be acquired. I'm assuming Drabek is done and when he comes back he won't be a starter (2 TJ surguries and a lack of control previous does not build confidence). Plus by the time he is back and hitting his stride he will likely have the Big 3 nipping at him. Hutchinson could be fine for spring training but there will always be a worry and even if does come back he will likely be handled with kid gloves. Laffey/ Cecil should just be insurance or long men out of the pen. At this point Litsch and McGowan's careers are on life support.
With McGuire and Jenkins being question marks at best. I think it may well be prudent to go after a second (back of the rotation) starter as well or sign Villaneuva for that long man/ spot starter role. The gist of this is that this is a critical off season for AA. He can make this team pretty competitive with the acquisition of a front end starter ( JJ/ E Jax/ Masterson etc) and a big bat. The nice part is that with the pen as is and Teahan we save 12M over 2012. Add in another 6M by going with Hech over KJ and we now have a pretty big war chest which we can use for a free agent or a trade and sign candidate.
- August 6, 2012 at 6:50 PM
I pretty much agree with the above. 2b really needs to be addressed and if it's Hech, i'm just fine with that too. Johnson's 2nd in the AL strikeout total with very little production just can't be kept.
Lind's days as a Jay may be numbered even though he was hot upon call up. His nagging back and rollercoaster hitting aren't worth it.
For 2 season Villaneuva has been one of our better pitchers and i think deserving of the bottom of the rotation. A trade (because free agents cost too much) for a top starter and some luck with health, and think we'll sniff playoffs next year.
- August 6, 2012 at 7:03 PM
Romero's last start was a sign of regression, not progression. on July 30th he went 6 innings and struck out 7 while walking 2. On his last start he allowed 4 walks vs 5 K in 7 innings. That's a step backwards, not forwards.
His issue is his lack of control, and it showed up again in Oakland. It's great he didn't allow more than a run, but that's not what we should be focused on. It's his control that will determine whether or not Romero succeeds going forward.
- August 7, 2012 at 8:23 AM
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- November 13, 2012 at 4:28 AM


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January 17, 2013Fireside with Danny Glover
Actor/producer Danny Glover holds a fireside chat with members of the college's M.A.N. Initiative and Pono Learning Community after the annual Martin Luther King Day Celebration January 14. Glover gave the keynote speech at the celebration and stayed afterward to "chat" with the smaller group of students and employees. Kimberly Brazwell, manager of Diversity Initiatives, (background) coordinated the event. You can see a highlight video of the MLK Day Celebration produced by Mark Van Horn here:
Barnhart, student nominated for theater awards
To commemorate the historic 100-year anniversary of the tragic sinking of the Titanic, Columbus State theater instructor Frank Barnhart set out to create an original stage play about several passengers on board the ship. Titanic: A Retrospective was performed for the first time last February.
Barnhart and a Columbus State student are now being recognized with nominations for the annual Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable Awards. The play has been nominated for the Best Central Ohio Production of 2012. Barnhart was nominated for Best Director. Student Julie Flynn received a Best Design nomination for her costumes. Flynn is a sophomore Arts and Sciences major with a theater emphasis. Cate Blair-Wilhelm, a guest artist who was working at the college, received a Best Supporting Actress nomination.
The Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable Awards will take place at the Jewish Community Center in Columbus on Sunday, January 27, 2012 at 6 p.m.
Thanks for your survey responses!
Columbus State wishes to thank employees for their participation in two important assessments during 2012: the Great Colleges to Work For survey and the survey assessing Internal Communication.
The college has received the overall Topline Summary Report for the Great Colleges survey, which provides the overall response rates in fifteen workplace categories. The college was rated "Very Good to Excellent" in the Pride category with a favorable response rate of 76%. Ratings of "Good" were received in the areas of Professional Development (70%); Compensation, Benefits, Work/Life Balance (68%), Supervisors (68%), Teaching Environment (67%), and Job Satisfaction (66%). Among the areas indicated as "Warrants Attention" are Communication (49%), Shared Governance (50%), and Faculty, Administrator and Staff Relations (51%).
To learn more from this survey, the college has ordered detailed reports on our survey results. We have also ordered benchmark reports comparing us to similar institutions and highlighting effective practices. These will help us with continuous quality improvement in many areas.
The Internal Communication survey revealed that while we communicate successfully about some initiatives, we can communicate in a more timely and effective manner about others. As we move into 2013, look for more formal opportunities to learn and ask questions, and for improved online information about the work of various committees.
Employees can view the summary results of the Great Colleges to Work For survey, and detailed results of the Internal Communication survey, on the Intranet at: http://intranet.cscc.edu/commstudy/. (Intranet is not available off campus.)
Advising Services offers success workshops all semester
This Spring Semester, Columbus State Advising Services will again offer a wide variety of BLUEprint Success Workshops to students. The workshops are free and can help students build skills and obtain resources necessary to be successful in their personal, academic, and career-related pursuits. More than 30 workshops will be offered on topics including basic computer skills, balancing roles, campus resources, test-taking strategies, transfer planning, degree planning, workplace professionalism, money management, and more. Please have your students arrive early, as sessions may fill. A full calendar of the Spring Semester workshops is available online.
There is also a printable flyer available there. If you have any questions, please email firstname.lastname@example.com. Advising Services appreciates staff and faculty spreading the word to students by posting workshop information, handing out workshop information in class, or posting the workshop information on Blackboard!
Babette Money
Babette Money to retire
Babette Money
The Public Safety Department invites all to stop by and wish Babette Money best wishes on her retirement at a reception Wednesday, January 23, from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in Room 017 of Delaware Hall.
Babette has 30 years of service to the state of Ohio, many of them spent at Columbus State. Please come to Public Safety in Delaware Hall and share some memories, cake and refreshments with Babette and her Columbus State family! Questions can be forwarded to Tim Butcher or Vanessa Cummings.
"Ideas to Go!" offers informal conversation for employees
Ideas to Go! is an new conversation series inviting employees to share knowledge, skills and ideas with each other in an informal setting. A session host will start the discussion with a brief overview of the topic at hand before moving to open conversation. Participants are welcome to bring a lunch, a cup of coffee, news to share, and especially your own curiosity and expertise!
Want to host a discussion? Contact Rich James in Human Capacity Development at ext. 2175.
Here is what is coming up next:
MOOCs: Fad or Future of Education?
Tuesday, January 29 in WD-1094
The New York Times declared 2012 as the "Year of the MOOC." The involvement of many prestigious universities in several commercial start-ups of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) providers has many prognosticators declaring, yet again, that education as we know it will come to an end. What are the trends and forces at work? What possible futures are there for higher education and how do we prepare?
Meetings That Get Things Done
Tuesday, February 19, Location TBA
Do you dread going to or hosting a meeting? Do meetings, despite your best intentions, often fail to result in the outcome you hoped for? Meetings are effective when they are designed to serve a specific purpose and those who participate know how to prepare and contribute. Let's share what some best practice literature recommends and our own experience with well-designed meetings. Pre-registration is encouraged.
Local independent filmmaker stops by Columbus State for location shooting
Just before the holiday break ended, filmmaker Paul Levitt brought a small cast and crew onto campus for his latest project. They spent Saturday, January 12, inside the GA building where a patient bed from the nursing program was used for one scene. Later, they used an ambulance in a parking lot for another scene.
Levitt is president and CEO of "Unapologetic Entertainment," a local production company specializing in narrative storytelling. Their new short film is titled "Self-Diagnosed." Levitt describes it as, "A satirical 'dramedy.'" He says, "It revolves around contemporary society's eagerness to use online resources to, most often inaccurately, self-diagnose an illness, as opposed to seeking proper, professional medical attention."
Nursing teaching assistant Norm Jones helped coordinate with the crew while they were on campus. For use of the college nursing lab, Levitt's company made a small donation to The Columbus State Foundation to be used toward a nursing scholarship.
Production has now wrapped up and the film has a tentative release date of March 1. With an expected length of about 12 minutes, it will be entered in regional contests as a film short.
Adams presents at Education of Young Children conference
Melanie Adams, assistant professor in the Early Childhood Development and Education Program, recently presented at the National Association for the Education of Young Children in Atlanta, Georgia. The presentation was done jointly with the Columbus Museum of Art's Jen Gillette and was titled, "Early Childhood at the Art Museum: Creatively Connecting Educators, Preschool Teachers and Preschoolers."
Collaboration between the ECDE Program and the Museum has been an ongoing three-year endeavor and has grown to involve the sharing of classroom space, field trips by Columbus State students, internships and guest speaking by Museum staff to promote creativity and art appreciation as a curriculum component in classrooms for young children, as well as the sharing of expertise in the field by Columbus State faculty members.
SEaL Blood Drive Program places first with Red Cross
The American Red Cross recently held its annual Life Sharing Challenge Recognition Luncheon, naming Columbus State's Blood Drive Program No. 1 in the College Division. The Blood Drive Program, coordinated by Student Engagement and Leadership (SEaL), collected 707 productive units of blood last year and helped save the lives of many people.
SEaL invites college departments to get more involved in the Blood Drive Program on campus by taking part in the first annual Blood Drive Challenge! Numerous blood drives are scheduled for the Spring Semester. If your department accepts the challenge, your team will name a captain, encourage co-workers and others to donate, and assist with check-in at the Blood Drive. Be as creative as you wish--you are encouraged to get the word out through posters, emails, and more. The department or team who collects the most units of blood at "their" drive will win a prize, be highlighted on the SEaL website and be winners for Giving the Gift of Life!
Lives are changed because of blood donors. The stories of those affected can inspire and motivate everyone to give. Please watch this video to see how the Columbus State community can help save lives: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHsfi2fExuo.
To sponsor a Blood Drive, contact Heather Borland firstname.lastname@example.com for a Challenge Entry Form. Dates will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
Blood Drive Dates are January 17, February 5 and 18, March 6, April 11 and 22, May 28, June 26, August 20 and 28. All Blood Drives are held in Nestor Hall West Lounge.


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* Welch suggests data an attempt to recover from debate
* White House slams Welch tweet as "ludicrous"
* Investors point to his "black box" past with GE Capital
By Scott Malone and Lucia Mutikani
BOSTON/WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Jack Welch, the lionized former chairman of General Electric Co , provoked cries of outrage in Washington on Friday when he appeared to accuse the White House of manipulating September job figures for political gains.
White House officials dismissed as "ludicrous" a tweet Welch sent to his more than 1.3 million followers that suggested U.S. President Barack Obama's administration rigged the data as a way of recovering from a poor Wednesday night showing in a debate against Mitt Romney, his Republican challenger for the White House.
"Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers," Welch said in a posting on Twitter, apparently referring to Obama, who formerly served as a senator from Illinois.
The tweet was repeated more than 2,000 times, with many mocking posts comparing Welch to New York real estate tycoon Donald Trump - who during his failed bid for the presidency loudly argued that Obama was not born in the United States - and Clint Eastwood, who gave a widely panned speech to an empty chair at the Republican National Convention in August.
Officials in Washington quickly dismissed the idea that the Labor Department report - which showed U.S. unemployment falling to a four-year low of 7.8 percent - could be rigged.
"That's a ludicrous comment. No serious person believes that the bureau of labor statistics manipulates its statistics," said Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. "The jobs report and all of their other statistics are prepared by career employees. They use the same process every month. They use the same process for Republican and Democratic administrations."
The tweet was by no means Welch's first criticism of Obama on his Twitter feed, where he has regularly spoken out in favor of Romney, as well as weighing in on sports. During the presidential debate in Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday night, Welch tweeted: "HOW can anyone vote for Obama after this performance..he has demonstrated his incompetence."
Welch's comments drew particular fire from the financial community since during his 20-year tenure as GE CEO, which ended in 2001, he was accused of using the GE Capital finance unit as a "black box" where he could quickly sell assets such as real estate to ensure that the largest U.S. conglomerate regularly beat Wall Street profit estimates by a penny.
"This guy is the guy that's telling me the books are cooked? That's hilarious," said Barry Ritholtz, CEO and director of equity research at Fusion IQ in New York, which manages about $300 million in assets. Ritholtz was one of the first to respond to Welch's tweet.
Other tweets agreed with Welch's assertion. Welch is a frequent participant on the site and has more than 1.3 million followers.
"In regards to today's Jobs report---I agree with former GE CEO Jack Welch, Chicago style politics is at work here," said Florida Representative Allen West, a Republican, on Twitter.
GE Capital grew to generate about half of the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company's earnings under Welch. But the operation's vulnerabilities became all too clear during the financial crisis, when losses at GE Capital hammered the company's earnings and sent its stock below $6.
Welch's successor Jeff Immelt, who has been working to scale back GE Capital and make it less volatile, serves as top adviser to the Obama administration on jobs and the economy. GE officials declined to comment on Welch's words.
Welch, who with his wife Suzy Welch, writes a column for Reuters, could not be reached to comment further on his view.
Officials with the Bureau of Labor Statistics defended their methods and findings.
"We have done a monthly survey since 1940 and the methods have broadly not changed," said Karen Kosanovich, an economist with the bureau. "Fiddling with the numbers, I don't know how that would be possible."
U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told CNBC television that she was "insulted" by the remark.
Other economists said they regarded the idea that the monthly data - which is widely watched by Wall Street, particularly in the face of the United States' slow recovery - could be rigged as strange.
"Because we lost two-tenths (of a percentage point) last time and three-tenths this time, the conspiracy theorists would contend the BLS is cooking the numbers," said Ray Stone, an economist with Stone & McCarthy Research Associates in Princeton, New Jersey. "This just isn't true. They don't do that."
(Additional reporting by Aaron Pressman. Editing by Andre Grenon)
((email@example.com)(+1 617 856 4342)(Reuters Messaging: firstname.lastname@example.com))
Keywords: USA ECONOMY/JACKWELCH


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September 26, 2013, Langley, BC – Team Canada finished off pool play in style with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-12) win over Mexico on day three of the 2013 NORCECA Men's Volleyball Continental Championship. With the win Canada earned a bye to the semi-finals on Friday night (September 27).
The first set between Canada and Mexico was close from start to finish with Canada pulling away at the end. Gordon Perrin from Creston, BC, had a strong match for Canada registering a total of 15 kills as he led the way for Canada offensively. Perrin was a threat all night as Canada's setter Josh Howatson did a great job spreading the ball around, giving his teammates lots of easy kills.
After a close first set Canada really took over as their block again gave them momentum. Canada had 22 blocks against Guatemala in their first match of the tournament and followed it up with a 12 block night against Mexico. Perrin led the way in the block department as well with 5, followed closely by Calgary Alberta native Rudy Verhoeff who had 3. Dallas Soonias also had a strong game for Canada after having a bit of a slow start, he really stepped up in the later sets adding 12 kills for his team.
"They pushed us in the first two sets and had a very good defense and made us work for every point," said Canadian captain Fred Winters who celebrated his birthday on Wednesday.
Canada did exactly what they needed to do beating Mexico in straight sets and booking their ticket to the semi-finals. They almost earned the number one seed heading into the playoffs as it came down to points, they were only one point behind USA. Canada will enjoy another rest day as they face the winner of Cuba and the Dominican Republic in the semi-finals.
For a complete schedule and more details on the tournament visit http://www.langleyeventscentre.com/continentalvolleyball
Puerto Rico clinched a berth in the quarterfinals of the NORCECA Men's Continental Championship after winning against Bahamas in straight sets, 25-10, 25-17, 25-20. Roberto Muñiz finished with 15 points for Puerto Rico while Sequiel Sánchez scored 13 and Ezequiel Cruz 10. For Bahamas, captain Prince'Tanique Wilson was the top scorer with 12. Puerto Rico will face Mexico in the quarterfinals.
The Dominican Republic earned its first victory at the NORCECA Men's Continental Championship. The Dominicans who now are 1-1 defeated Saint Lucia 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-23). Last set was a challenge for the team coached by Osiel Vazquez, after Saint Lucia had a short advantage. However, Elvis Contreras tallied 15 points, while José Miguel Cáceres scored 9 points for the Dominican cause. For Saint Lucia, Joseph Clercent finished with 10. Dominican Republic will match Cuba in the quarterfinals.


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It has become a custom for me to talk at this premier event year-on-year and this will be my 5th year partnering with the Great Indian Developer Summit (GIDS 2014) folks. I am excited as ever because we get to meet a different set of audience and the expectations are completely different. I generally get exhausted by end of the day and this year I am super excited as I will be delivering close to 5 different sessions at different timings. If you are attending the event, you don't want to miss my sessions for sure :) …
If you are wondering where this event happens every single year –
Event Location: J. N. Tata Auditorium
National Science Symposium Complex (NSSC)
Sir C.V.Raman Avenue, Bangalore, India
The complete schedule is published here.
GIDS .NET Day – April 22nd
This day I am doing three sessions.
Time: 10:35 – 11:35
SQL Server Management Studio – Tips and Tricks
If you are a SQL Server developer or DBA there is no way you can hide away from working with SQL Server Management Studio from your daily life. This tool which was introduced with SQL Server 2005 replacing the old Enterprise Manager has come a long way in making productivity of our developers and DBA's to the next level. In this DEMO ONLY session we will look at this amazing tool and find out how this tool can be used effectively. There are a number of features like Object Explorer, Explorer Details, Template Explorer, Activity Monitor, Solution Explorer, Debugging, Tool bar and command enhancements that go unnoticed. We will look at each of these sections with loads of shortcut keys to play with SQL Server Management Studio. We assure you will go away with atleast 10 new things to do with the tool end of the sessions. 60+ tips in less than 60 mins.
Time: 11:45 – 12:45
Understanding Windows Better Using SysInternals
The Sysinternals utilities are vital tools for any computer professional on the Windows platform. This session focuses primarily on the utilities themselves, deep-diving into as many features as time will allow. Some of the popular utilities include Process Explorer, Process Monitor, Autoruns, VMMaps, PageDefrag, Desktops, Blue Screens and many more. It is humanly impossible to walk through each of these utilities at length with the tons of features loaded onto each one of them. We will take some of these lesser known tools to look at some common scenarios which everyone wants to use to troubleshoot in their daily life. This session will have a lot of demos and will question our very understanding of how Windows, Processes and threads work. Most of the session will dwell on the new and improved Sysinternals tool set. There is loads to learn and learning the basics can never be this much fun.
Time: 14:45 – 15:45
Architecting SQL Server HA and DR Solutions on Windows Azure
In the real life scenarios, SQL Server high-availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR) solutions are not simply cloud-based, on-premises solutions, internally facing or external solutions. They are mix of a little bit everything. This session is highlighted for blending two state-of-the-art technologies with key learning's: SQL Server AlwaysOn and Windows Azure. SQL Server AlwaysOn offers better availability, higher ROI and simplicity. With easy integration of SQL Server and Windows Azure technologies, customers can easily increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their solutions. SQL Server and Windows Azure can easily become the best HA & DR offering for customers on different segments for multiple aspects. The session highlights product capabilities, limitations, and trade-offs for various customer needs such as complex HA & DR scenarios. Cloud is the perfect solution to minimize CAPEX, why they are important to customers, how to implement them, and considerations to take. This session covers cloud, on premises and hybrid distributed geography solutions from technical perspective including lessons learned from real world deployments.
GIDS DATA Day – April 25th
This will be a marathon day sorts for me I think and the most anticipated as I will be doing a tango session with my friends.
Time: 14:05 – 14:50
Introduction to Microsoft Power BI
We use office tools in a number of ways and our day job involves in playing around with these tools. In this session we will focus on Microsoft Office Excel 2013 version and look at some of the new features introduced with Excel 2013. At the same time we will also look at some of the tips of using Excel for our daily use. Did you know the visual formatting, PowerPivot, Excel FlashFills introduced inside Excel? Did you know the tricks used for identifying invalid data using Excel as a powerful tool? Did you know the basic shortcuts to use when working with Microsoft Office Excel 2013? All these are interesting yet unexplored features of Excel. We will dwell deep into each of these features and will show how to use them effectively. It is a completely demo filled session with lot of interesting trivia in store for the attendees.
Time: 15:00 – 17:45
Hidden Secrets and Gems of SQL Server We Bet You Never Knew
It really amazes us every time when someone says SQL Server is an easy tool to handle and work with. Microsoft has done an amazing work in making working with complex relational database a breeze for developers and administrators alike. Though it looks like child's play for some, the realities are far away from this notion. The basics and fundamentals though are simple and uniform across databases, the behaviour and understanding the nuts and bolts of SQL Server is something we need to master over a period of time. With a collective experience of more than 30+ years amongst the speakers on databases, we will try to take a unique tour of various aspects of SQL Server and bring to you life lessons learnt from working with SQL Server. We will share some of the trade secrets of performance, configuration, new features, tuning, behaviours, T-SQL practices, common pitfalls, productivity tips on tools and more.
This is a highly demo filled session for practical use if you are a SQL Server developer or Administrator. The speakers will be able to stump you and give you answers on almost everything inside the Relational database called SQL Server.
Apart from this my good friend Pinal is also doing a number of sessions and a must go if you are interested in some serious fun filled learning. He also wrote a detailed post on his sessions. I will be meeting a number of friends on these two days as many are coming as speakers too at this event. So if you are around at the event – dont forget to say a "Hi" to me :).


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Williams proving a 'wild' success in second career
The way Mitch Williams remembers it, the next chapter of his life began with a happy accident.
Sure, on the 20th anniversary of the 1993 Phillies team that captivated the region, Williams is a prominent voice on MLB Network. Sure, it now seems clear that talking about baseball for a living is what he was meant to do after he retired. Sure, his wife Irene had told him over and over, while they sat and watched games together, that he had a natural talent for that line of work.
Back in 2007, though, Williams was still trying to figure out what to do. It was 10 years after "Wild Thing" threw his final big league pitch. Fourteen years after he saved 43 games -- relying more on a guile that few gave him credit for than the fastball he was known for -- and threw one of the most fateful pitches in franchise history, the one that Toronto's Joe Carter crushed for the home run that decided the World Series.
Williams had worked for a couple casinos, MGM and Trump, in Atlantic City, N.J. He had tended his 3 & 2 ranch in Texas, then moved to New Jersey, where he managed a bowling alley and bar. Williams sold a hot sauce of his own creation, Wild Thing Southpaw Salsa. He was pitching coach and manager for the Atlantic City Surf of the independent Atlantic League.
That all changed when Williams was asked to make a one-time appearance on "Daily News Live," a local sports talk show on Comcast SportsNet.
"And when I walked out after the show, they offered me the full-time pre- and postgame job there in Philly. Just like that," the 48-year-old said.
One thing quickly led to another. Soon Williams had a regular gig on WIP, a sports talk station. Then he had his own television pregame show on WPHT. Soon Williams had his own show on Sirius satellite radio. Then FOX and MLB Network.
For much of his career, Williams was known for bringing heat. His nickname came from the Charlie Sheen character in the movie "Major League." And Williams' broadcast persona is just an extension of his playing days. He is known for expressing strong opinions.
"I enjoy doing it as long as I never get to the point where I forget I played and forget how hard the game is," Williams said. "That's what I remember whenever I'm doing a game. You don't get too critical. You point out mistakes, but you don't get too critical of them. Because any mistake you point out, you've made a hundred times in your own career.
"I say what I think. But I don't ever make it personal. If I have an opinion, it's on a subject. It's very rarely of a person."
Looking back, picking his best memory of that magical '93 season is easy.
"Without question, Game 6 of the NLCS," Williams said.
That was the game that ended with Williams striking out Atlanta's Bill Pecota to finish off the upset of the heavily-favored Braves. His leap into the night air at Veterans Stadium is an image that remains imprinted on the collective civic memory.
The good feelings didn't last long. After blowing a save in the World Series, Williams received death threats. His house was egged. And that was before Carter's sudden-death home run. And that could have been the final memory Philadelphia had of Williams. Weeks after the season ended, he was traded to the Astros.
Even as Toronto celebrated, though, the rehabilitation of Williams' image was beginning. He didn't duck a question, even though waves of reporters asked him the same thing over and over. Williams didn't shirk responsibility. And the notoriously unforgiving Philadelphia fans forgave him.
"I'm not surprised, because all people in Philly want is honesty," Williams said. "They want an honest effort on the field and they don't want an excuse for why you [stink]."
Maybe getting that first chance to show what he could do in the air was a break, but Williams also was prepared to take advantage of it. And he may not be done yet. Williams' latest project is shopping a television show called "Big City, Big Country."
"The pilot came out good. It was comical," he said. "It's where me and my buddy from Texas go into big cities and basically tell the people of that city what their town used to be like when it was country and was a rural area. And basically how we do things in the country as opposed to how they do them in the city."
Williams has come a long way since Carter's homer. And it would seem that he still may have a few more chapters left to write.


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Nothing can stop a blog dead in it's tracks better than a poorly designed or default WordPress theme. If your readers dislike the theme, they probably aren't coming back. If you dislike the theme, you probably aren't going to care enough to update it. Do both you and your readers a favor by updating to a better looking blog.
Here are 15 free themes to help get the ball rolling.Read the full story »
Theme and plugin updates for the week of August 3rd, 2008.
Theme and plugin updates for the week of July 27th, 2008.
Theme and plugin updates for the week of July 20th, 2008.
Theme and plugin updates for the week of July 13th, 2008.
It's about time I did another income report seeing as it's been over six months since I did my last one. The blog is still consistently making money though affiliate sales and I see no signs of stopping. Look below.
July 2008
Commission Junction: $548.21
Adsense: $12.63
For a grand total of: $560.84!
As long as people keep following the free Start Blogging guide, I'll continually pull plenty of income from the blog.
Blogging for money
Do you blog for money and post your income reports? If so, I want to feature it here. Leave a comment below with a link to your blog's earning post and I'll add it to the list.
Top 3 New WordPress Themes of the Week
Top 3 New WordPress Plugins of the Week
Have a new theme, plugin, or blog you're working on? Contact me to have it featured for free.


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Create GREAT IMPRESSIONS in the lobby and dining areas. The New KAY® Lobby & Décor Programme makes cleaning fast, efficient and safe, taking the challenge out of cleaning multiple surfaces — from tiles to tabletops and laminate to lighting.
Kay, an Ecolab company, specializes in delivering programmes and services that meet the unique food safety and sanitation requirements of the QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) industries.
Havenlaan 4
B-3980, Tessenderlo, Belgium
Data Privacy Concerns? See our Privacy Policy.


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Published by Pleiades Press and distributed by LSU Press, Self-Portrait with Expletives won the Lena-Miles Wever Todd Poetry Series Book Competition.
Awarded a grant from the Academy of American Poets, In the Evening of No Warning (New Issues Poetry and Prose) was Kevin Clark's first full-length poetry collection.
The Mind's Eye: A Guide to Writing Poetry is designed to give university students fluency in the major aspects of contemporary poetry writing.
I like restraint—if doesn't go too far.
Poetry is a dream dreamed in the presence of reason.
A work of art is never completed, merely abandoned.
Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.
For me the initial delight is in the surprise of remembering something I didn't know I already knew.
There is only one plot: Things are not what they seem.
Let's play two.
In the midst of our happiness we were very pleased.
How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?
Poetry begins where certitude ends.
The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.
The art of running the mile consists, in essence, of reaching the threshold of consciousness at the instant of breasting the tape.
Keep your eye clear and hit 'em where they ain't.


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Securing critical data during migration from XP
Windows XP Migration: Protect and Secure Critical Data
As of April 8, 2014, Windows XP ceased to release additional security updates. Businesses must migrate to a new operating system or they'll face devastating security and compliance consequences. Has your organization made the switch?
This informative whitepaper explores strategies for protecting and securing your data when migrating from Windows XP to your new operating system. Read now for more information on:
- The impact of continuing to use Windows XP
- Efficient backup and recovery
- Centralized management
- And more.