text:
Split Screen: How safe is 3D TV?
May 21, 2010
Hollywood is convinced that 3D is its saviour. Consumer electronics companies are also thrilled that they have another marketing tool to sell high-end televisions.
Now game makers including Sony and Nintendo are jumping on the 3D bandwagon.
Unperturbed by the lacklustre reception to their 3D Avatar game last year, Ubisoft this week predicted that around 50 per cent of new games will be 3D enabled within two years.
As I experienced earlier this week, the 3D effect when playing the right game on a high-quality television is very impressive and convincing. But to me it also very quickly becomes uncomfortable, and I cannot imagine wearing 3D glasses for the entire duration of an epic gaming session without feeling very sick afterwards.
Today James "DexX" Dominguez takes a comprehensive look at how 3D technology works, and speaks to one expert who is very concerned at the impact that increasing use of 3D displays might have on our eyes.
Click below for this week's compelling Split Screen column.
How safe is 3D TV?
We cannot escape it: consumer 3D is the next big thing, at least in the opinion of the companies trying to sell it to us. Trade shows are crowded with huge 3D panels and punters in polarised glasses. Here on Screen Play, Jason wrote on Wednesday about Sony's publicity event for their upcoming technology, including the PlayStation 3 running games on their new 3D televisions. He was impressed with the effect, but found himself developing a headache after only a short gaming session.
Jason's experience is far from unique. Ever since the emergence of three-dimensional cinema technology in the 1950s, questions have been raised about what it does to our eyes. It was widely known that some viewers of 3D films would get headaches, tired eyes, nausea, dizziness, and some even more worrying symptoms. Here in 2010, excited executives will tell us that that was the old 3D, and the new digital 3D is far better for our eyes.
These claims are a little hard to believe when you remember that, essentially, all of these attempts to fool our eyes into seeing 3D are based on the same stereoscopic binocular imagery as they were sixty years ago. The technology may have progressed, but the basic technique is still the same: show each eye an image from a slightly different perspective.
Daniel Engber, writing in Slate last year after viewing Monsters vs. Aliens, expressed his concerns about the re-emergence of 3D filmmaking. He is convinced that what happened in the 1950s and the 1980s will repeat itself; audiences will flock to the exciting new medium and fall in love with its novelty, studio executives will dream of dollar signs and push for 3D everything, but in a short time the novelty will wear off and the pain will set in, once again ending the medium's popularity.
To understand the problem, we need to understand how we perceive 3D in the real world, and how stereoscopic 3D fools our brains. Depth perception, it turns out, is a lot more complicated than just seeing a slightly different image with each of our eyes, technically known as stereopsis. This is certainly an important element of how we perceive depth - anyone who has lost sight in one eye can attest to that - but it is one piece of a very complex system.
Several other factors, some physically within our eyes and some extrapolated from what we see, can give our brain extra clues as to how far away an object is. There is one in particular that is baffled by a stereoscopic 3D image: focal depth. In order to focus on objects at different distances from us, the lens in our eye, called the cornea, is flattened or rounded by tiny muscles. As it changes shape, the cornea focuses the light onto our retina to produce an in-focus image. The nerves of the eye can sense how tense these muscles are, and report back to the visual processing centre of the brain, a process known as accommodation.
When we watch a 3D movie or play a game on a 3D television, the depth of focus is fixed, but our eyes will still try to perform the same function they do in the real world. For example, we may have a character in focus in the foreground and try to look into the blurry background. Our eyes will attempt to change focal depth and bring the background into focus, but of course this is impossible; the blur is locked into the image and cannot be changed by our eyes.
This conflict - our eyes working hard to focus and being unable to do so - may be a primary cause of the headaches and other problems associated with 3D. University of California, Berkeley, recently published a report on their research into 3D-induced headaches and eye strain, including some good advice on how to minimise these negative effects.
Another industry expert who has expressed strong doubts about the safety of these technologies is Mark Pesce. He was there at the dawn of virtual reality in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when it seemed that head-mounted VR displays were the next big thing that would change how we consumed our media and entertainment. Pesce co-authored VRML, a language specifically built for creating interactive 3D worlds online, over a decade before Second Life, and he also worked on Sega's aborted attempt at a VR headset for the Mega Drive. When it comes to stereoscopic 3D, Pesce knows his stuff.
I contacted him to discuss a disturbing article he wrote for the ABC's The Drum. Up until now, public debate about the safety of 3D has centred around the health of our eyes, and for good reason. Pesce, however, is concerned with something even more alarming than sore eyes: damage to the visual processing centres of our brains.
"When you watch a 3D film," Pesce says, "your brain is getting some of the real-world cues that it gets when you're walking around the real world, and it's not getting some of the others. The brain starts ignoring the cues that it's not getting, and you'll leave the movie or turn away from the television, and your brain is still ignoring those cues for some period of time."
Exactly how long the brain takes to return to normal depth processing is different for every person; some will return to normal straight away, while other may take minutes or even hours. There are many anecdotal accounts of cinema-goers being involved in minor collisions in the carpark outside after seeing a 3D film because their brains are subtly misinterpreting what they are seeing. There have also been tabloid stories about far more serious accidents.
This is not the main problem, however. Pesce is concerned about the neurological development of children being brought up with 3D televisions in the home. "It's all about the amount of exposure," he says. "I'm not particularly worried about people going to see a 3D movie; they're going to get two hours of it a month. But two or three hours a night?" The advent of 3D video games is even more problematic, because gamers of all ages will be tempted to sit and play for far longer than the duration of a single film.
15 years ago when Pesce's company was working with Sega, their virtual reality headset - the Sega VR - was set to be a major product launch. Sega had shown their prototype technology at the huge Consumer Electronics Show and were drumming up a lot of hype in the lead-up to its release. Abruptly, the release was cancelled, and the product never reached retail shelves. "It would be as if the iPad had suddenly disappeared," Pesce recalls. "It was on the front cover of Popular Electronics Magazine; product of the year!"
Clearly, Sega had invested a lot of time and money developing the Sega VR, so what could have been serious enough to make them write off such a large investment? "We got it through the demos, and then through the pre-production, and we sent it off for testing after that, and that's when the folks at SRI, the testing lab that we used, came back and said, 'You cannot give this to children'. The product was basically quietly killed at that point." Sega did not release their test results, but Pesce explained that SRI were so concerned that they paid out of their own pocket for a second round of tests.
The implication of the tests seems to be that, if children's eyes are frequently given only one depth perception cue to work from - stereopsis - and their brains suppress the other cues, then their developing brains can get into the habit of only processing that one cue and always ignoring the others. There may be a danger that their depth perception may be permanently damaged as a result.
Pesce admits that, while the data is worrying, it is not yet conclusive. "I cannot prove to you that this is absolutely clearly a problem - hide your children! - but the data that we got fifteen years ago pointed that way, and there just hasn't been a lot of data since then."
The companies pushing these new products seem to be aware that there are some concerns with the technology. Pesce told me about Samsung's safety manual for their new 3D televisions. "Samsung has five pages of warnings. It's a document that only a lawyer could love," he jokes.
Ironically, the people recommending caution are often fans of 3D. Pesce was at the same Sony event as Jason Hill and he loved the displays. "It was a hell of a good time," he says. "I really want it to be safe... but I don't think it is." Engber also wrote in his Slate piece that "I love 3D, I really do."
I asked Pesce if perhaps there are ways in which the hardware could be tweaked to make it safer, but he was pessimistic. "It seems to be endemic to the display - stereoscopic 3D is a cheat, and there is a price you pay for the cheat." The only solution he can see is not to cheat at all: "When we get to full holographic projection or something like that, then you're producing a true three-dimensional image, and you're not taking it in halves."
It seems that only time will tell whether this round of 3D mania will stick, after it failed in the 1950s and again in the 1980s. Hopefully the companies advocating this technology will take the time to perform thorough, unbiased safety testing, and maybe the concerns of people like Mark Pesce will be proven to be unfounded.
Until then, however, it may be wise for early adopters to carefully monitor and limit their children's consumption of 3D media.
- James "DexX" Dominguez
Post a comment
Comments Terms & Conditions
When posting comments on our blogs, you agree to be bound by our terms and conditions. Comments that are offensive, defamatory, unsuitable or that breach any aspects of the terms and conditions will be deleted.
Recent comments
- Sam
- May 21, 2010
"Ubisoft this week predicted that around 50 per cent of new games will be 3D enabled within two years"
*sells Ubisoft shares*
- Paul
- May 21, 2010
This is a very good point about developing eyes. There's also issues beyond just the limits of the screen technology - I've been using NVidia 3D vision for the last five months, and by far the majority of games have glitching issues (wrong depths, mismatched images between eyes) that can cause massive eye-strain. Even 3D certified games can have issues - Resident Evil 5's pre-rendered cutscenes have a convergence setting that almost twists your eyes out of their sockets. There's only a handful of titles (like "Arkham Asylum" and "Dragon Age Origins") that work properly, the rest quickly cause headaches, even if (like me) you can normally watch 3D for hours without ill effects.
- Leigh
- May 21, 2010
Cast your mind back to movies like Final Fantasy Spirits Within and Beowulf and their synthetic stars - the two of them a decade apart but people didn't like the CGI zombies of the former and the latter's advanced technology and methods did little to inspire either.
We are still getting goofy cartoon caricatures playing second fiddle to ogres and balloon-lifted houses.
The 'GRRRR MOSHUN!!' mob on the internet didn't and still don't understand that just because a new technology is introduced into gaming, it isn't meant to destabilise but enhance the way we play.
- singo the dingo
- May 21, 2010
That was a nice in-depth piece DexX - though I'd like to have seen more about the risks of getting pregnant from 3D porn.
- Joka
- May 21, 2010
Thanks for the info DexX. There was a lot there that I didn't know about and at least now I feel like I know something so when someone discusses 3D with me next time, I can give a little bit of info.
I do hope that it falls flat, but I also hope that people are not quick to their wallets to buy into this technology early.
- Zammels
- May 21, 2010
I'm just not interested in 3D.
Went and watched Avatar and it really played with my eyes.
I love having the lastest and greatest TVs, but I won't be getting a 3D TV ever!
Same goes for games.
- Thom
- May 21, 2010
As I said earlier this week, I can't get excited about 3D gaming, because I already get terrible motion sickness. Is this really the future? The technology is basically 50 years old, and it's never really taken. It's more like a fad that comes and
goes, like yo yo's.
Does it damage the brain? I don't know, but it sure as hell can't be good for your eyesite. Movies, games and even reading have already increased vision problems across the community (I have glasses because I damaged my eyesite playing games and reading), and 3D just exacerbates the problem in a pervasive way.
- stubbo
- May 21, 2010
Dexx, I gotta say, THE most comprehensive, easy to read, in depth articles on 3D and how it works and the issues surrounding it. Very well done. It should be linked to the front page for more people to read.
After watching Avatar (my only 3D experience in recent years) twice, the second time round I tried to view background images, and found out the painful way, you have to focus on what James Cameron wants you to focus on. I like to take a full movie in, so look around at the background and what is happening, which you cant do, and is my main disapointment.
- smallfrogge
- May 21, 2010
Best article yet,DexX
- Butterman
- May 21, 2010
Here's a tip:
Go and watch a play instead of a 3D movie.
Serve in our nations armed forces instead of playing Modern Warfare in 3D.
And while you're at it, learn how to play a real guitar!
- Lucid Fugue
- May 21, 2010
Wow, very nice piece, DexX. I've opened up most of the hotlinked articles to read more, but one quick thought:
"For example, we may have a character in focus in the foreground and try to look into the blurry background... this is impossible; the blur is locked into the image and cannot be changed by our eyes."
I remember noting when we started to move from a completely sharp image to the kind of "tunnel vision" you see, most recently in Modern Warfare 2. It's a neat effect, but I always thought these blur effects were unnecessary due to the natural behaviour of our eyes. Motion blur? The image is moving, isn't it? Why do you need additional blur?
But when you look at the complexity involved in how our eyes process information, there's a whole lot more than just smoke and mirrors.
- death to nerds
- May 21, 2010
Never ever seen anything in 3D
- DexX
- May 21, 2010
Thom, I'm really not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg in the examples you give. I read a lot as a child, certainly, and my parents worried that I had actively damaged my eyesight.
However, I have never found any literature to support the view that this activity could have made me short-sighted. Myopia seems to be entirely genetic, as far as I can tell.
I think I showed a preference for things I could do up close because my eyesight was already terrible. I see photos of me at six or seven, and yes, there I am squinting at things in the distance. I could never have played ball sports because I couldn't see the ball.
So I read, sat very close to the TV (which my dad criticised me for, saying it would damage my eyes - chicken/egg again) and got into computers.
*shrug* That's my theory anyway. It's possible that accommodating the short-sightedness then encouraged my eyes to STAY short sighted... I dunno...
- Pylades
- May 21, 2010
I'm very sceptical about the current 3D trend in film, and I'm even more sceptical about 3D gaming.
For every Avatar we're also getting a Clash of the Titans, which was a bad film made horrible by the rush to upscale into 3D. It was poorly integrated, and the 3D effects were sloppy. Most of the other 3D films out there at the moment were just eye-rush gimmick feasts, as fun and entertaining as Monsters vs Aliens was, it loses nothing in 2D. Up similarly gained nothing from being in 3D. So far, only Avatar has really utilised the creative and story-telling power of 3D to build an entire world to immerse the audience in. Rushed 3D upgrades like CotT and gimmick-fests like this stupid new dance film in 3D are just going to burn the audience out on the technology. Since you have to pay extra to see a 3D film, and then pay for the frickin' glasses, the audience wants to feel that they're getting their money's worth.
Games are an even bigger issue. Games often feature fast movement and also rely on a simulated field of depth. Given the limitations of stereoscopic 3D, these games would just get harder and more disorienting. Can you imagine how awful a poorly upgraded FPS would be in 3D? Think about how clunky the depth effects were in CotT, even Avatar struggled with them at times! Headaches might be least of our worries, I suspect some games may just be plain unplayable.
No, I'm not confident about the future of 3D. At all. The real acid test will come in a few weeks when the 3D broadcast of the FIFA World Cup begins.
- Rebecca
- May 21, 2010
I recently participated in a research study at Melbourne Uni on VR goggles and the effects that usage had on the eyes. Such as the ability for the eyes to return to neutral position (ie not diverged or cross eyed), changes in ability to focus (near and far), tiredness and strain, as well as testers opinions of how they felt prior to, immediately after and 15 minutes after the VR session.
The goggles were standard - which means that they didn't fit anyone and had to be modified to be useful - extra padding put on the over ear pieces so that they sat at the right place, and a band to make sure they didn't fall off your head.
The researcher was testing the effects that just 30 minutes of use of these goggles actually had on the eyes. Participants watched 30 minutes of footage which included a mix of Pixar, Creature Comforts, part of a movie and a travel documentary.
Different light levels were also used to determine optimum lighting and whether or not this had any effect on the participant's eyes.
Just 30 minutes of these goggles made my eyes tired. My ability to focus immediately after was poorer than when I walked in, and sometimes 15 minutes later when we redid the eye tests, my test results were still not at the level as they were when I walked in.
After the first session I also had a killer headache. Over time I got more used to the goggles.
The thing that surprised me the most about the goggles was just how clunky they were. Big, heavy and made for someone who has ears on their jaw - well you'd have to have your ears there to have the image visible.
- Joe
- May 21, 2010
Focus is the only thing missing when sitting in a theater watching a movie. This article is not correct about missing depth cues. 2d video already has them so when a second video is added, why would the other cues go away.
On a side note, I make light field displays. Because of this, the viewer can focus correctly onto displayed 3d scenes.
Another side note, this article lost all its credit when it talked at the end about holograms. They cannot be projected like in Star Wars. Do some research.
- barrymoves
- May 21, 2010
Great piece! Bravo.
I second the motion to have this blog piece linked to the main Age/SMH/WAToday sites. Increasing traffic much?
I can't stand 3D movies - I've seen a number of them, but it hurts my eyes and I don't like looking at blurry images! I won't be getting a 3D enabled TV (or at least I won't be using the technology when inevitably I upgrade to a TV/media player that is 3D enabled).
@ Singo
Seen that email too have you? I thought that was hilarious. 3D pr0n made me pregnant.
- ajm
- May 21, 2010
Brilliant article DexX, read it twice already.
You see? This is why I would find it impossible to put into an article into Screen Play. I would be too ashamed to have my witter and babble sit alongside thoughtful, considered, well structured and meaningful contributions such as this.
That and I can't stretch lame jokes into 300 words.
@Topic, great to have the words to describe what has made my uncomfortable watching 3D. I watched the 2D version of Avatar on Blu-ray over the weekend and, while it lacked the "Wow" of the 3D images, I found the whole experience a lot more enjoyable. I mean, the movie is still vacuous pulp, but I didn't feel like I was fighting it the entire time. Now I know why.
Great work.
- freshflesh
- May 21, 2010
DexX, nice piece, as you mentioned the duration/frequency of movies is "okay" to lessen the effects of 3D, but the transition to 3D gaming with night on night playing will be more problematic.
"There may be a danger that their depth perception may be permanently damaged as a result."
Can you imagine teenagers with worse depth perception (than what they currently appear to exhibit) learning to drive!!
- Mr Ak
- May 21, 2010
Does anyone else think "witter and babble" sounds like a particular type of English dish?
@ DexX
Honours year (which, if you've not done one, is a year where you will be reading almost 24/7, probably in variable light conditions).
I've not tested it scientifically, but almost everyone I know who did honours either got new prescriptions or first-time glasses at the end of it.
I know I did.
- ajm
- May 21, 2010
@Joe, if there is some credible research or information that contradicts what DexX has contributed then, by all means, share it with us.
- 3D World
- May 21, 2010
I went and saw Avatar in 3D and it was an auspicious moment, I thought to myself; "This is amazing, the real life should be in 3D..."
- barrymoves
- May 21, 2010
@ Joe
"Another side note, this article lost all its credit when it talked at the end about holograms. They cannot be projected like in Star Wars. Do some research."
The article/interviewee talked about getting to 'full holographic projection, or something like that', i.e. in the future perhaps being able to display a full 3D holographic image (a la Star Wars). It was not talking about 'holograms'.
The credibility of your 'expert' commentary is now nil considering your failure to read the article correctly in the first instance.
- TheBean
- May 21, 2010
@Joe - do you feel lonely? How about a positive contribution instead of nit-picking? Notice how your trolling got ignored by everyone else?
@DexX - Fantastic article. Must add my thanks to the list.
I quite enjoy the occasional 3D cinema experience and we have a couple of pairs of Real3D glasses at home now (so we don't have to add extra dollars to the already expensive price of a ticket!). BUT, I don't believe this should be in the home yet for all the right reasons. DexX points out in the article that the tech hasn't really changed in over 50 years and there is some evidence for damage to children's eye-sight. Let's prove that (or not) before we rush this in to the home where kids do most of their viewing hey?!
Was at JB @ South Wharf (in Melbourne) yesterday around lunchtime and there were a few people trying out a 3D Samsung 50+" TV - scary and they only watched for a couple of minutes before whipping the googles off. Make a many $k decision based on that - I think not!
- luverly_5pam
- May 21, 2010
@ ajm
I wouldn't worry about writing 'witter and babble'. My sole Your Turn contribution has been an obituary for Duke Nukem. You can't get much more brainless than that! Plenty of us here enjoy gaming humour, and yours has been of a uniformly high quality in the comments of late. I guess what I am trying to say is that your views intrigue me and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
@ DexX
May I join the chorus of praise for another exceptionally written piece DexX? I believe I just did. A small favour. Part of my job involves training people in written communication skills. I have been looking for samples of writing to use in my learning materials toillustrate certain learning points. One of these points is how to explain technical information in laymans terms. Would you have any objection to me reproducing paragraphs 5,6 and 7 in the above piece (appropriately credited of course) in my personal learning materials? It won't be published or anything like that, it is purely for handouts to be given to my participants.
- Anthony the Gourmet Gamer
- May 21, 2010
DexX, an awesome article. I thought I had a fairly good grasp on the tech, but I've never seen the focus issue done in such detail and clarity. Definitely learnt something new, so very good job!
@Lucid Fugue May 21, 2010 09:13 AM
In this case, the motion blur isn't so much a vision tweak as a perception tweak. Adding additional blur makes it seem like it's something more urgent to pay attention to (I'd go as far as suggesting it appeals to a level of the fight or flight reflex.)
@DexX May 21, 2010 10:01 AM
Hmm, I think the logic still holds along the lines of RSI being a well established condition. But by the same token, mixing up focal distances has the same effect as breaking up repetitive tasks. I believe that is why OHS rules advise that you look at something off in the distance for 5 min in every hour you spend staring at the screen.
I know my short sightedness was genetic though (thanks mum for those genes!)
- ajm
- May 21, 2010
@Mr Ak "witter and babble" sounds like a particular type of English dish?
A pub?
A comedy duo?
A law firm?
A biography by Gordon Brown?
A cologne by Hugh Laurie?
A sex position?
now taking submissions.
- James
- May 21, 2010
I smell another gimmick with this push for 3D.
- DexX
- May 21, 2010
Joe, there are lots of cues missing in stereoscopic 3D. A well-designed head-mounted VR headset would provide some of them, most notably side-to-side head movement parallax if head-tracking is well-implemented, but not all.
You are wrong about focal depth, sorry, just completely wrong. The focal depth of any stereoscopic 3D display, whether projected like cinema or emissive like a television, is locked by the display. No matter how sharp or blurry the picture is, and no matter what distance the camera (real or virtual) is focussed on, our eyes focus onto a set distance - the distance of the screen from our eyes. If you're looking at a sharply in-focus character in the foreground set against a blurry background, your eyes cannot bring that background into focus.
This is where the biomechanical confusion comes from; we see something is out of focus, so our eyes try to focus on it, without being able to. Also, when the relative angle of our eyeballs (convergence) tells us an object is right in front of our noses, but the feedback from our corneas (accommodation) is telling us, no, it's several metres away, the brain has to ignore one signal or the other.
Light field displays sound like exactly the sort of this Mark Pesce was talking about. He was talking speculatively about future technologies that present us with a genuinely three dimensional image, and I think used "holographic" as a reference term since it's accessible to the lay reader. Any technology that can present our eyes with a genuine 3D scene, regardless of what it's called or how it works, would not trigger the dysphoria between depth perception cues.
- JackB
- May 21, 2010
I can say with certainty that the ophthamalogical profession (i.e. eye doctors) are very concerned about prolonged exposure to 3D video, especially in respect of young, growing brains.
Don't let your kids watch too much 3D.
- Joe
- May 21, 2010
Holographic projection. If holographic implies what it means, then it is about holograms. Because holograms are interference paterns recorded in film they can not be projected into midair.
Share information that proves I'm wrong. If one eye is closed, besides focus what is the difference between what you see or a tv screen infront of your eye showing the same image.
Positive thing to say... It's a fine article. I enjoyed reading it, even if I disagree with something or another. What is not mentioned is the fact that not all eyes are spaced the same distance. This could make some people have a worse viewing.
- TheBean
- May 21, 2010
Bravo DexX - execllent heckle response!
- DexX
- May 21, 2010
Rebecca's comment reminded me of something else that Mar and I talked about that was a bit too off-message to go into the article. Head-mounted displays, like the infamous Virtual Boy, are heavy. Mark referred to this as "the torque problem" - unless the unit is practically weightless, you are going to place stress on the neck. Stress on the neck is baaad...
I'm all for 3D, I really am. I love the tech and I'm all for more immersive visual experiences, but I think it's important to find out just how harmful long-term use of these TVs could be, especially for kids.
- Joe
- May 21, 2010
I agree with your post and do not see how we differ in our understandings about focus. About parallax, in a stationary viewing location, your mind would not notice the lack.
- stubbo
- May 21, 2010
@ajm, submissions for positions hey ;)
For a recipe, it could be a new take on Surf and Turf, as appears on tomorrow nights Master Chef...
How about Hale and Pace standup?
A new gourmet beer who's exclusiveness is only matched by how sh!t it is...
The new crime series on SBS from Kazakstahn featuring Inspektor Witter and Inspektor Babble, investigating series literary crimes in Librarys?
Ahem, yep definately a good article on 3D...
- DexX
- May 21, 2010
> If one eye is closed, besides focus what is the difference between what you see or a tv screen infront of your eye showing the same image.
What do mean "besides focus"? That's probably the core of the issue.
As I explained before, when the muscles that move your eyes tell your brain "We've converged at angle X, so that object is Y distance away." and the muscles that control your cornea are saying "We're contracted to Z degree, so that object is Q distance away." if Y and Q are very different - say when a cinema screen 40m away is showing an extreme close-up of somebody's face - then your brain gets confused.
It has to believe one set of data and discard any data that clashes. Since convergence gives a stronger indication than accommodation, accommodation gets thrown out, along with movement parallax and a handful of other cues.
Regarding parallax, we're human beings. There is no such thing as a fixed viewing position. Sitting there at your PC, just sit and look for a moment. Glance at objects around you and notice the parallax shift when you move your head slightly. Humans aren't made of stone - we're pretty much always moving a little bit, and those little parallax cues are just one set of the complex data our brains use for depth perception.
Incidentally, you said earlier, "This article is not correct about missing depth cues." Focus is one of those cues. Is it missing from stereoscopic 3D or not?
- ajm
- May 21, 2010
You're going to need to add some information about parallax for that to mean anything to the rest of us.
Forgive me for saying this but please, if you're going to contradict the information being given here, do us the courtesy of providing something more than simple neigh-saying.
(there is no punchline to this post)
- May 21, 2010
The concerns still don't stack up to me, as I've mentioned here before. Correct me if I've misunderstood.
1. Focal depth - an inability to focus on elements on screen causes headache. Why is this more of a problem in 3D visuals than it is in flat photograph or film (or the Mona Lisa) with a restricted depth of field? In any of these media, the eye might try to focus on something that is out of focus, and fail.
2. Visual processing - eyes are focussed at a set distance (to the screen) but are interpreting depth, leading to processor faults in the brain. Again, how is this different to any painting, photograph or film which shows perspective?
3. I notice the Berkely (lol UoC)study suggests possible problems are expected to be less in created, rather than photographed, visual environments. Unless Myst goes back to it's roots, that's going to include computer games.
4. As an aside, the big Singaporean study found the best correlating factor for development of short sightedness was time spent outdoors, with more time outdoors decreasing the risk of developing myopia. Oddly enough, the activities done in or outdoors didn't show an effect, just being in or out.
5. In summary - until proper population studies prove otherwise, I'm putting this in the "Won't somebody think of the children" basket. The effects may exist, but they haven't been demonstrated to be harmful.
- ajm
- May 21, 2010
@TSB - harmful enough for SEGA to shelf a product they'd spend considerable amounts of money building and marketing.
- DexX
- May 21, 2010
TSB, I think the key difference is that, as a species, we seem to have gotten used to processing flat, 2D information. Our eyes don't perceive a 2D image, even a moving one, as 3D - like the old terminology says, it's just a moving picture.
As I understand it, the problems occur when your eyes and brain start trying to interpret what are really just two slightly different 2D images as 3D. Our brains try to understand them as we would a real-world scene, and then the clashes happen.
Mark Pesce said he is preparing some kind of story for the ABC, so I figure if you keep an eye on Catalyst or 7:30 report and the like, you'll be able to see an actual expert discussing it, rather than me interpreting his words. :)
- Joe
- May 21, 2010
When the article talks about developing children, it states that they will learn to ignore the other clues in depth perception. What I mean is stereoscopic 3d has all the other clues, (shadows, perspective, size, etc) except focus. (motion parallax I agree is also missing but I believe not a major factor until others are perfected). This is why I disagree with the article because only focus should be considered missing. However, it is a major factor and is the most common reason people get dizzy and such from 3d.
On a side note, search YouTube for Holografika. Although it only has horizontal parallax, it is a great example of the direction 3d tv is headed.
- Thom
- May 21, 2010
I'm actually long sighted. I can't say I've read extensively on the subject, but both my optometrist and Dr. Karl have both referred to the need to take breaks when reading and gaming to stare at an object in the distance, or something close up (depending on what you've been doing.
From what I can gather, the eye muscles will strain themselves, and over time, the lens will warp slightly. I doubt my need for glasses is genetic, as I basically have typical old person long-sightedness.
- singo the dingo
- May 21, 2010
@barrymoves - I did read later that it was a hoax (go figure) but loved the story anyway
@ajm - my contributions so far have concerned great moustaches of gaming and poopsocking - the bar's not really so high :)
- Blurry
- May 21, 2010
I'm curious about the idea of long term effects on the visual cortex.
I would have thought there were issues with the eye itself in coping with 3D, due to its imperfections focally, but the cortical damage seems unlikely - the visual cortex is pretty malleable from memory - or perhaps that's my hippocampus playing tricks on me - it's been a while! :)
I seem to recall a study with the visual cortex and glasses that put the image upside down (or right way up, depending on frame of reference) and that the brain righted itself after a week or two. Anyone know this study?
I'd be very curious to see what cortical effects long term gaming had...
- ajm
- May 21, 2010
So, am I correct is saying there seem to be three schools of thought here?
1. That 3D may affect people's vision in ways that are detrimental.
2. That 3D affects people's vision but the effects are temporary or too minor to notice.
3. 3D is a marketing gimmick that is a bit like herpes and never seems to go away permanently.
Am I close?
- RealityCheck
- May 21, 2010
"A sex position"...
Gold ! :-)
- DexX
- May 21, 2010
So many interesting snippets to respond to...
re: short-sightedness, isn't this caused by the shape of your eyeball? I thought myopic people like me (I'm hopeless without my glasses) had eyeballs either too long or too short (forget which) so the retina is outside the normal focal range. I have terrible long vision, but I have abnormally good close vision - I can focus on things only 3cm or so from my eye, while my wife with near 20/20 vision needs things to be at least 10cm or so away. It can be corrected by re-shaping the cornea with a laser, but that doesn't fix the problem any more than an elevated shoe fixes a short leg.
@Blurry (how appropriate your nick is today) I did some Googling and found a reference to the experiments you were talking about:
Seems that LOTS of people have done similar studies.
@Joe, regarding missing depth cues, I would argue that focus, motion parallax, and peripheral vision are all missing from 3D movies and TV and therefore missing from the brain's depth perception cues when viewing stereoscopic 3D. I also think motion parallax is a lot more important than you think - it took me a while to notice the focal depth thing when watching 3D movies, but I noticed the fixed parallax straight away. It would be especially noticeable in games - I'm always ducking my head around while I play.
- Tony R
- May 21, 2010
I am one of those who have no trouble what so ever seeing a 3d movie. I can watch 2 3d movies back to back at the theater with no trouble. I can look around at things in the background and foreground with no problem and often do. I know right away if something is out of focus in the movie and can't be brought into focus or if my eyes need to adjust and focus it, which they do. Actually your never need to change focus because you are always focusing at the same distance, which my eye just do. Even converted 3d movies like Alice In Wonderland look great to me. Everything has depth and look far away behind the screen or popping out in front.
- tehkellays
- May 21, 2010
Great read, Dexx. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
This reminds me of when Rice Bubbles came with a pair of cardboard glasses covered in red and blue cellophane and '3D' images on the back of the cereal box.
- Anthony the Gourmet Gamer
- May 21, 2010
@TSB May 21, 2010 01:38 PM
1) 2D still imagery exists naturally already, the light cues are correct, and attempts to impersonate depth are usually spotted and accounted for by clearly standing out from it's environment. 2D Film and screen animation is actually known for causing eye/brain issues of it's own (migraines from the flickering for example)
2)This isn't really one of the concerns because that's what the tech is trying to do. The way it does it though is by actually providing two different perspectives in rapid succession, and your eyes focus as a set usually (unless you have a pre-existing condition.) Hence not 'a' perspective, but actually 2.
3)The weird side of Uncanny valley is a handy tool, make something fantastic enough and your brain seems to just assume that all rules are off. The Okami and the infamous Borderlands is a good example of that.
4)I'd be interested to know if that's due to light amount, light exposure or a lot bigger range of distances to focus on. Eye strain reduction, Vitamin D and 'Anti-RSI' exercise respectively
5)It's highlighted in the article that insufficient research has been done since the Sega shelving. The Sega shelving does speak volumes though, as they were hardly rolling in cash by that stage.
- Wall
- May 22, 2010
Barry, I think you have to give the internet to DexX now, he deserves it.
Awesome article DexX - I may have read it stupendously late, but I got here in the end.
Three cheers for internet arguments!
I've got nothing. Nothing else.
- Joe
- May 22, 2010
But focus is the only difference between 2d and 3d. All the other clues stay the same. Why would they be learned to ignore in 3d but not 2d? Focus is the only clue that must be adjusted when watching 3d content rather then 2d. This is why I believe it is the only rule needed to be broken and learned to be ignored when watching in 3d instead of 2d. (a bad movie could have tons of problems but I'm discussing the mechanics of stereoscopic 3d, not how well it's produced)
- optometrist
- May 22, 2010
cornea should have been "CRYSTALLINE LENS"
- May 22, 2010
A good article, thanks. One correction though, the lens which changes shape is within the eye and called the "lens". The cornea is at the front and does not change shape to accommodate focus.
- Smoolander
- May 22, 2010
Excellent article DexX. I think from all the comments that the main thing is that more research is needed into 3D TV's and gaming and the effects they have on the eye.
Having said that, I just see 3D movies/TV/games as the following conversation:
CEO: We need to make our movies and games better
Marketing: How about this 3D thing?
CEO: Brilliant. Go and make as many movies and games in 3D as possible. The public will lap it up
Designer: Um sir, shouldn't we focus on making better stories to improve our movies and games
CEO: You're fired
In my opinion, fad.
- nonickname
- May 22, 2010
By describing why it's not like 'reality 3D' you've also described why it doesn't feel right at the movies.
The notion people have that 3d does to movies what movies did to books is wrong.
Why wasn't this article in 3D?
- Aaron
- June 12, 2010
I wrote a recent article about this myself on about3dtv.com. I think that people who think thay had "no problem" watching movies like Avatar may find it a bit different on a rainy day at home.
- Best Toaster
- July 29, 2010
I remember when nintendo first released the virtual boy, that thing was dangerous. I think 3D has a long way to go before it's safe for use, it can be healthy when used for long periods of time
- dress up games
- February 23, 2011
As I said earlier this week, I can't get excited about 3D gaming, because I already get terrible motion sickness. Is this really the future? The technology is basically 50 years old, and it's never really taken. It's more like a fad that comes and
goes, like yo yo's.
Comments Terms & Conditions
When posting comments on our blogs, you agree to be bound by our terms and conditions. Comments that are offensive, defamatory, unsuitable or that breach any aspects of the terms and conditions will be deleted.
Video games are the new pop. Australians now spend more money on shooters and sims than hip hop and punk rock. Debate the latest news and trends in interactive entertainment with award-winning games writer Jason Hill.
Recent Entries
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006


text:
We're sorry your iPhone isn't working as it should.
After you've contacted Apple for a replacement, you'll receive a kit that contains a replacement iPhone with everything you need to return your defective iPhone to Apple.
Important: Be sure to return your defective iPhone so that Apple receives it within ten days of the day the replacement iPhone shipped (check your ship date). If Apple doesn't receive your iPhone within ten days, or if Apple technicians find that the iPhone has accidental damage or unauthorized modifications, you'll be charged up to the full value of the replacement iPhone. For more details, see terms and conditions.
Before you ship your iPhone
Follow these steps before you return your defective iPhone. If it won't turn on or respond, finish as many steps as possible:
- Back up your iPhone. To protect your data, follow the steps in the "Before you send" section of this article.
- Remove your device from Find my iPhone.
- If possible, charge your iPhone fully and turn it off.
- Remove the SIM card from your iPhone if it uses one and keep it in a safe place. If your iPhone doesn't use a SIM card, contact your wireless service provider to suspend service.
Pack your iPhone using the included packaging materials
- Place your iPhone in the bag. Do not include your stereo headset, USB cable, power adapter, or other accessories.
- Remove the shipping label from the box if you haven't already done so. Place the bag in the shipping box.
- Seal the box with the tape provided, making sure the red, black, and white battery sticker is clearly visible on the outside of the box.
Ship your iPhone to Apple
- Find the name of the courier on the shipping label (or elsewhere in the packing materials) and visit its website to arrange a collection or find a drop-off location.
- Ask the courier for proof of collection.
- Track your repair.
- In a few days, check that Apple has received your defective iPhone.
*Apple is not responsible for any damage during shipping if the package is not properly sealed or is delivered to the courier in poor condition.
Use your replacement iPhone
- Record the serial number of your replacement iPhone. Your replacement Apple product is covered by a 90-day service warranty, or the remainder of your original product warranty or AppleCare plan, whichever is longer.
- If your iPhone uses a SIM card, insert the SIM card into your iPhone.
- Restore your iPhone from an iCloud or iTunes backup.
© 2019 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, and iTunes are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. AppleCare and iCloud are service marks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – The Georgia College baseball program and head coach Tom Carty are set for a busy weekend, honoring both baseball alumni and local Military members Saturday, April 21 at 1 p.m.
All service members are invited to attend the doubleheader at as the Bobcats take on a conference rival, Columbus State University. Military members will receive free popcorn upon showing their Military I.D.
GC baseball will also host its annual Alumni Weekend, as all Bobcat and Colonial baseball alumni are welcome to join the team for an after-game cookout in the pavilion behind the field. GC will honor the 1992 Colonial baseball squad for its 20th anniversary.
Family, friends, and members of the community are encouraged to cheer on the Bobcats in one of their last regular season home games. The Bobcats are currently 25-17 and 15-8 in the Peach Belt Conference.
The event is free and open to the public, and sure to be fun for all.
The Georgia College Department of Athletics, two-time winners of the PBC Commissioner's Cup, sponsors 10 varsity athletic programs at the NCAA Division II level. As a Division II program, Bobcat Athletics prides itself on balancing the life of the student-athlete, evidenced by the teams' multiple appearances in post-season competition as well as documented academic success and community-service involvement. Sign up at www.twitter.com/BobcatSports and www.facebook.com/gcbobcats for up-to-the-minute reports, and visit www.GCBobcats.com for more information, and to nominate your favorite former Bobcats and Colonials to the GC Athletics Hall of Fame.


text:
SAN DIEGO -- If there was an award given for the "Most Appreciative PG All-American" following the annual visit to the pediatric cancer center at Rady Children's Hospital Friday morning, there would have been a unanimous, runaway winner. In fact, there would have been only one nominee.
Devin Smeltzer, a remarkable 17-year-old who calls Voorhees, N.J., home, is a lot of things to a lot of people. He is a 6-foot-2, 170-pound left-hander who will go to work for the East Team at Sunday's 11th annual Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings. He will enter the game as the No. 49-ranked national prospect in the high school class of 2014, and the No. 6-ranked left-hander (Nos. 2 and 1 in New Jersey).
But Smeltzer is much more than statistics and rankings. In the eyes of his family and friends, the most important title he carries is that of "Cancer Survivor". And it is that title that made Smeltzer so appreciative of the visit to Rady, even more so than his PG All-American counterparts, who were all deeply touched by the visit.
"When I was little, I was the kid in there," Smeltzer said shortly after the team bus arrived back at the Marriott Mission Valley Hotel from Rady Children's Hospital. "I know what it's like to have people you look up to come in, and how great it makes you feel. It just brightens your day and it gives you hope.
"When I was in (the hospital) and I wasn't a survivor yet, I was talking to survivors; it just gives you hope that no one else can really give you," he continued. "I do it all the time back home at my hospital when I can, and I enjoy doing that and I enjoy giving the kids hope."
In the summer of 2005, according to several published reports, then 9-year-old Devin began to experience constant urges to urinate, which over time became painful urges. His parents, Tim and Chris Smeltzer, were concerned and young Devin was submitted to several tests.
Those tests failed to turn up anything until Smeltzer's parents got him admitted to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. Doctors there discovered a grapefruit-sized mass attached to his prostate and Smeltzer was diagnosed with pelvic rhabdomysosarcoma. He was a little more than a month short of his 10th birthday.
During his treatment, Smeltzer lost between 30 and 35 pounds off his 80-pound frame simply because he was unable to hold food down, which didn't taste good to him anyway. He faced the threat of doctors inserting feeding tubes and if that happened his days of playing baseball were over.
"They started forcing me with food and I started eating," he told PG Friday. "I just forced myself to maintain eating so I could keep playing because that was my only real escape from the hospital world. I couldn't go to school because my immune system was so low, so playing baseball really got me through it."
His parents agreed. In an story published on the Philadelphia Enquirer website philly.com, Tim Smeltzer was quoted as saying, "Baseball was his only normalcy. It let him go outside and be a normal kid."
Smeltzer remained hospitalized for the first two months after his cancer diagnosis, but soon he was itching to get back at it, even while continuing with his treatments after he was released.
"It really didn't take much (to compete)," he said. "Just being able to get out (of the hospital) gave me the energy to be able to do it."
Smeltzer's rebound from a life-threatening illness to a top-50 national prospect has been nothing short of remarkable. While attending the Perfect Game National Showcase in Minneapolis in mid-June, he received the highest 10.0 PG grade after a performance where his fastball sat 85-88 mph (it was up to 91 mph a week later) with a 77 mph slider.
His scouting report from the event noted that Smeltzer showed "present pitchability and deception and (is) very projectable; just a matter of time before he gets stronger and blossoms."
He has played in four PG WWBA tournaments with Bob Barth and the New Jersey-based Tri-State Arsenal and will likely play in at least one more -- the PG WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla. in October -- before the fall gives way to winter.
"I've been with Bobby (Barth) for a lot of years now, and he's always been faithful and has given me some great opportunities," Smeltzer said.
He is certainly familiar with the success being enjoyed by fellow New Jersey left-hander Robert Kaminsky, a first round pick (28th overall) of the St. Louis Cardinals in June's amateur draft who signed with the Cards for a reported $1.78 million.
Smeltzer said he learned of Kaminsky's "Strikeouts for Cancer" campaign -- a fund-raising effort Kaminsky created after visiting Rady Children's Hospital last year -- and spoke with him about it because Smeltzer hopes to do something similar this spring.
"I've been talking to him here and there; he's a good kid," Smeltzer said of Kaminsky. "He's on the path that everybody wants to take and he's never let his head get big and he's really given back; I appreciate that a lot."
Smeltzer was afforded the opportunity to "give back" Friday morning thanks to his invitation to the Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings. He was truly at a loss for words when asked what his inclusion on the East Team All-American roster meant to him.
"It still hasn't really hit me, this honor," Smeltzer said. "Especially after being (at Rady) -- it feels like just yesterday that I was in (the hospital). So having this honor of being an All-American," he said, his voice trailing off, "there's really no words to describe it."
His mother, Chris, certainly wouldn't be surprised at the impact the Rady visit had on her son. He continues to the do the same thing at St. Christopher's, making visits whenever he has the time.
"Even though he was a kid himself, he wanted to help other kids," Chris Smeltzer told philly.com in the same article in which Tim was quoted.
Smeltzer has been totally cancer free for seven years now. He said he's feeling great -- "Couldn't be better" were his exact words -- and looks forward to continuing his baseball career at higher and higher levels; he has committed to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla.
"I've always wanted to get out of the north ever since I was little; no one wants to play baseball in the north," Smeltzer said. "I went down there and I had a good relationship with the coaches and fell in love with the campus and everything they had to offer."
Devin Smeltzer's courage and will were tested at a young age, when he was a youngster who only wanted to go to school and play ball with his pals. By his own admission, he was forced to grow up early and face challenges no 10-year-old should have to face. He feels like it only made him stronger.
"It really set my perspective straight," Smeltzer said. "It made me aware of my priorities and made me realize what's worth it and what's not. As much I love baseball and all, I understand that it's just a game and I'm lucky to be where I'm at today. I couldn't be happier, but I have a long road ahead of me. I have a lot more to do before I'm finished.
"I want to keep playing baseball for as long as I possibly can," he concluded. "Depending on if it's the college route or the professional route, I just want to play as long as I can. As long as I keep playing the game, I'm going to be happy."
The game, after all, may very well have saved him once already in his young lifetime.


text:
US economy unexpectedly contracted in Q4 – report
THE U.S. economy unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter, suffering its first decline since the 2007-09 recession as businesses scaled back on restocking and government spending plunged.
Gross domestic product fell at a 0.1pc annual rate after growing at a 3.1pc clip in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
That was the worst performance since the second quarter of 2009, when the recession ended, and showed the economy entering the new year with no momentum.
The contraction, coming against a backdrop of tightening fiscal policy, could spur fears of a new recession and create an urgency for policymakers to deal with outstanding budget issues.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected output to increase at a 1.1pc rate.
None of the economists surveyed had predicted a contraction.
A pick-up in consumer spending and a rebound in business investment, however, curbed the slide in output and offered some hope for the recovery, which will be severely tested as Washington tightens its belt.
The data was published as officials at the Federal Reserve wrap-up a two-day meeting. The report will likely provide ammunition for officials at the U.S. central bank to stay on their ultra-accommodative policy stance.
Economists say a growth pace in excess of 3pc would be needed over a sustained period to significantly lower high unemployment. The economy has struggled to hold above a 2pc growth pace.
For the whole of 2012 the economy grew 2.2 percent.
The economy was slammed by a monster storm in late October, which caused extensive damage along the East Coast, which was expected to have cut around 0.5 percentage point off fourth-quarter growth.
The recovery also had to deal with uncertainty over the so-called fiscal cliff of scheduled tax hikes and budget cuts, which hurt confidence even though data suggests that households and businesses largely shrugged off the worries.
Businesses, caught with too much inventory in their warehouses in the third quarter, slowed their stock building in the final three months of the year.
That slowdown sliced 1.27 percentage points from fourth-quarter GDP growth. That was the biggest drag in two years. Excluding inventories, the economy grew at a 1.1pc rate, slowing from the third quarter's 2.4pc.
Government spending tumbled at a 6.6pc rate, as defense outlays plunged at a 22.2pc pace, wiping out the previous quarter's gains. Government subtracted 1.33 percentage points from growth. The decline in defense spending was the largest since 1972.
Export weakness also weighed on growth. Exports have been hampered by a recession in Europe, a cooling Chinese economy and storm and strike-related port disruptions. Overall trade cut a quarter of a percentage point from GDP growth. Exports fell for the first time since the first quarter of 2009.
But not all the details in the report were bleak.
Importantly, consumer and business spending showed some strength, and income available to households after taxes and inflation increased substantially in the fourth quarter.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, rose at a 2.2pc rate, accelerating from the prior quarter's 1.6pc growth pace.
Business investment rebounded after its first drop in 1-1/2 years in the prior quarter. The housing market was another bright spot. Residential construction grew at a 15.3pc rate after notching a 13.5pc growth pace in the third quarter.
Homebuilding added to growth last year for the first time since 2005.


text:
Leadership Textbooks
Inspire. Motivate. Manage. Mentor. Heading toward management? Then you'll want to develop your team-building skills with this set of leadership textbooks. Typically focusing on managerial leadership within an organization, leadership textbooks are great resources for students studying business, MBA candidates, management trainees, and human resources. In these leadership textbooks, you'll find research and theory-based instruction on developing effective leadership skills to build, inspire, and manage a team.


text:
December 19, 2011
Finnish Christmas with a Twist: Rosolli - Christmas Salad
13 comments:
I LOVE this salad and it's honestly the best thing I've ever learned to make from Panu :D We still do it with soured cream, but no potato - just beetroot, carrot and gherkin. YUM!ReplyDelete
Yum, that sounds really good!ReplyDelete
A fabulous and colorful combo!ReplyDelete
oh this is just beautiful!ReplyDelete
Maria, this is just gorgeous. I'm saving this for the next time I get beets with my csa.ReplyDelete
i love how you come uo with simple, easy & healthy recipes...happy holidays !ReplyDelete
I feel like a terrible Finn for not liking beetroot, but this recipe just might change my mind. It is a feast for the eyes at the very least! Thanks for sharing, Maria.ReplyDelete
Maria...this salad is so gloriously red! Love it! And so fresh too!ReplyDelete
I love your colourful and healthy variation, but my Estonian 'rosolje' will still arrive on the table with ham, eggs, herring, sour cucumbers and a light sour cream/mustard sauce :) ! Oh, potato too! Sinful, but . . .ReplyDelete
- Anonymous20 December 2011 at 11:28
Great recipe as usual, thanks!ReplyDelete
Never apologize for more beetroot recipes! This looks gorgeous!ReplyDelete
Maria, love these Finnish Christmas recipes. The salad looks so vibrant and healthy and simple. Everything I love. Happy holidays!ReplyDelete
This must taste beautiful, lovelyReplyDelete


text:
Stabenow, Too, Admits ObamaCare Won't Work
The president's budget proposes to rescind ObamaCare's cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments in 2014. As I explain in a National Review Online op-ed, this proposal demonstrates that:
- ObamaCare is not likely to reduce uncompensated care in 2014.
- ObamaCare won't reduce the deficit.
- Hospitals can stop crying poverty.
- States don't need to expand Medicaid to protect hospitals.
Related to that, Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Roy Blunt (R-MO) have now introduced legislation (technically, an amendment) that would rescind those cuts, thereby increasing Medicaid spending. This reinforces the four points above, especially the part about states not needing to expand Medicaid.
Interestingly, both Stabenow and Blunt are flip-flopping and/or betraying their principles. Stabenow the Democrat is repealing part of ObamaCare, while Blunt the Republican is increasing government spending.


text:
- Electronic Investor
How to Switch Brokers -- Painlessly
- Order Reprints
- Print Article
IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO PULL your portfolio from your broker (and who hasn't thought about that in the past year?), what is the best way? These days most online brokers can open a new account electronically. You simply fill out a few pages of online forms and provide electronic signatures for several required agreements full of legalese.
That's the easy part.
Then comes the fun -- transferring your cash and various security positions from your old account to the new one. To make the account transfer go smoothly, be sure the name on the new account exactly matches the old one, and that both old and new accounts are the same type (sole owner, joint owners, IRA, etc.). If the title on the accounts isn't a match, you have created a problem for your new broker and yourself.
"THIS LACK OF STANDARDIZATION or automation is likely why 'account transfer' is consistently near the top of the list of investor complaints filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority," says Felix Davidson, TD Ameritrade's managing director of operations. Often seemingly small problems end up causing big delays, prompting investor disputes with brokers.
Some securities, such as options contracts nearing expiration, can't be transferred from broker to broker. If you are planning a transfer, study all your expiry dates and make sure they are at least a month (or more) away.
Moving cash can be relatively easy. Most of the brokers we talked with said the best way to transfer cash is to write a check or initiate a wire transfer from your old account to your new account. If you decide to let the cash be moved along with other securities when you initiate an ACAT (automated customer-account transfer) request, it can take longer.
Start the ACAT process with your new broker by filling out a form and sending her a copy of your most recent statement. The firm you are leaving is then given an opportunity to affirm or deny the transfer request. Some are denied when there are problems with a customer's margin balance or if there is an open order.
If there are no hurdles, a transfer should take five to 10 business days. But it will take longer if your paperwork is incomplete or incorrect, or if you have open orders at your old broker. In addition, your new broker might slow the process by requesting more information if you have a low equity-to-margin ratio at your old broker. A low figure can raise a flag that your risk profile is too high for your new broker.
Several brokers told us that the simplest way to transfer assets would be to liquidate all of your positions at your old broker, and send a wire transfer to the receiving firm. However, this seemingly straightforward solution could result in some unintended tax consequences, not to mention commission charges for closing positions at one firm, then opening them at the new firm. Besides, you will have to wait for the positions to settle once you have closed them, which can add another three days to the process.
A major hang up in account transfers -- and one I dealt with personally -- is the movement of proprietary mutual funds held at the broker you are leaving. I transferred an IRA several years ago from a large, full-service broker we will call Ferrill Mynch. It contained a couple of mutual-fund holdings that couldn't be moved to the new broker. If you hold proprietary mutual funds, check with the new firm in advance to see if it has agreements in place to carry them after you transfer. Some firms can't or won't hold proprietary mutual funds from other firms.
YOU MAY HAVE TO LIQUIDATE these assets and select a comparable product at your new firm. In my case, the Ferrill broker didn't cooperate initially with my requests to sell that mutual fund. It took three weeks for my new broker to complete the transfer.
Selling that position off at the new broker was a lot less expensive, even if I did have to wait almost a month. The one piece of good fortune was that the fund gained enough in value in that month to offset my expenses.
ACATs don't include the original acquisition date and cost of securities. Compounding the problem, securities are transferred as positions, not tax lots, which occurs when you buy the same security on different dates. (Tax lots include all of the relevant prices and dates needed for computing your capital gains or losses.) The investor then must break up the individual tax lots on his own and try to assign accurate costs for each of them. So hang onto any records that tell you your cost basis.
CAMERON ROUTH, SENIOR vice president of Strategic Products at Scivantage, the publisher of the Maxit tax accounting software used by several online brokers, notes that, for tax purposes, your activity spans both firms. An investor can trigger wash sales by buying a security at Firm B within 30 days of selling it for a loss at Firm A. These transactions are still linked even if they occur at different firms.
"Don't sell securities with the intention of taking losses for tax purposes and repurchasing at the new firm," says Routh. "Wash sales would defer the losses. Also, this maneuver would reset the holding period, losing any long-term tax advantages." (A wash sale occurs when you sell stock at a loss and then buy similar securities back as a replacement within 30 days. You can't take that sale as a loss for taxes.)
Online broker MB Trading (www.mbtrading.com) offers a helpful monthly webinar at its MBT University that walks you through the entire ACAT process. Other firms provide other kinds of assistance.
For instance, Tom Sosnoff of thinkorswim (www.thinkorswim.com) says his firm will reimburse you for any account-transfer fees charged by your old broker.
Just be prepared for all the complexities before you pull the trigger. Your new broker wants to make the process easy for you, so feel free to ask for help if you need it.


text:
GIGABYTE GA-X58-EXTREME Motherboard Preview
Motherboards/Intel S1366 by windwithme @ 2008-09-01
Gigabyte will one of the first on the market with their high end Nehalem motherboard when Intel launches their product. Their GA-X58-Extreme is set to be a dream platform for overclockers and enthusiasts alike. In this preview our eastern correspond takes a closer look at this upcoming Core i7 motherboard.


text:
By Brent Ferguson
Counsel, The Brennan Center for Justice
at NYU School of Law
Intriguingly, last week's Supreme Court argument over corporations' claims of religious rights unfolded without any mention of the last blockbuster case to touch on corporate constitutional rights—Citizens United. Yet whether and how the justices choose to incorporate the 2010 political speech case in resolving this term's religious dispute will matter a great deal to the place of corporations in American society.
In last week's consolidated cases, two companies, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties—and their religiously devout owners—challenged the Affordable Care Act's mandate that any employee health coverage they provide include access to certain forms of contraception. Use of these contraceptives, they claim, is religiously objectionable, and providing access amounts to complicity in the contraceptives' use. The challengers argue that the coverage mandate therefore violates their right to freely exercise their religion under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and under the First Amendment.
A key preliminary question is whether a for-profit corporation can exercise religion in the first place. Can a legal entity created for economic benefit acquire the ability and right to worship? The Supreme Court has never before answered this question directly. In the Hobby Lobby case, however, a federal appeals court said that the highest court indirectly did, when in Citizens United it held that the First Amendment required lifting limits on corporate spending in political campaigns. The lower court read Citizens United to be the sanctification of a corporate free speech right under the First Amendment, and reasoned that there was no sense in denying corporations a religious exercise right under the same amendment. Read more


text:
5 results
(Works with sketchup 2019) Click-Change 2 offers hundreds of free 3D models to design your 3D kitchens.
(Works with sketchup 2019) Click-Kitchen 2 is the best Plugin to draw your 3D kitchen simply and quickly! More than 5000 references of IKEA furniture with customize option!
This plugin offers a large number of products to finalize your kitchen projects. Each component is dynamic and can of change appearance with a simple click!
(Works with sketchup 2019) Design your IKEA kitchen and much more in a few clicks! More than a few months to enjoy the introductory offer
Click-Window 3D is the perfect tool to create 100% customizable windows and french doors. From hung, sliding, french, panoramic to crank windows, all of these 3D windows are available in PVC, wood and aluminium.


text:
The First Vending Machine (and other surprising firsts)
Neatorama's got this terrific post today on 5 Modern Technologies that Might Not Be So Modern. My favorite bit is about the first vending machine, used to dispense… that's right, Holy Water! From the piece:
"Hero rigged it so that when a coin was dropped into a slot, it fell on a pan, and the weight of it on the pan triggered a lever that opened up a valve that let some holy water flow out to the person who dropped the coin in. The pan kept tilting until the coin fell off of it, and when that happened the valve closed and the water would no longer dispense. The first modern-day vending machine came about in the 1880s, so you could say that Hero was well ahead of his time.
The other inventions are equally fascinating (a jet engine created in the first century? Electricity harnessed by the early Egyptians?). Be sure to visit the always terrific Neatorama for the rest of the article.


text:
Bob Lutz in his recent book Car Guys vs. Bean Counters makes the point that GM was doing fine until in the mid 1970s the MBA-trained finance guys took control of product development from the "car guys," who were engineers and designers. The result, he says, was inferior cars and a decline in the firm. He believes that CEOs and the top management should not be bean counters but rather should be a "product guys."
The poster child for his view was Roger Smith who was an MBA-trained accounting and finance specialist. During his ten year tenure as GE's CEO during the 80s, Smith made breathtaking strategic and operating blunders. He invested in robotics that did not work, created a disastrous reorganization that resulted in cars so similar they were a joke (remember the Cadillac Cimarron?), mismanaged some ill-conceived acquisitions, built up enormous debt, and on and on. GM's share went from 45% to 36% under his watch. A role model, on the other hand, was Steve Jobs, with no degree but deep computer expertise, who spawned a string of product successes brilliantly executed.
I think Bob is an impressive executive (ironically he does have an MBA although it was in the pre-quant MBA era; Berkeley-Haas is proud to claim him), but I disagree with his suggestion that background, product knowledge, or management style (he advocates an autocratic style) are predictors of CEO performance and behavior. Lou Gerstner did not know anything about computers when he brought IBM back from the near dead and Allan Mulally had no background in automobiles when he took over Ford. And I don't believe that having an MBA or being in finance necessarily means that you are short-term focused or insensitive to customer demands.
Instead, in my view, a gifted CEO needs two qualities, and I believe that these come with birth, and not training. They are executive talent and strategic judgment.
Executive talent. Executives need a broad range of talent; excelling on a few dimensions is rarely enough. A truly gifted CEO should have a good feel for selecting, motivating, and evaluating people; developing and selling a strategy; creating an inspiring culture; developing an organizational structure and management process that work for the strategy; fostering cooperation across silos; understanding and using financial measures; and an understanding of how marketing, branding, finance, production, distribution contribute to strategy. With the right talent and DNA, a CEO who is missing background in some of these areas will quickly pick it up.
Strategic judgment. Some people just have a flair for good judgment — whether it is an ability to identify issues, distill facts, or develop instincts to make sound strategic decisions — and others simply do not. This too, in my opinion, is something you are born with. In my field, I see many who have deep experience in branding but relatively few that have a strategic flair. It can be improved but it cannot be created.
There are many with the talent and judgment to be successful CEOs that never get the opportunity to learn, to have the right experience, or to prove themselves. But, in my view, those that lack those qualities will not be successful no matter what background, training, experience, or mentoring they might have.
David Aaker is the vice chairman of Prophet and the author of Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant. He writes the davidaaker.com blog on branding.


text:
MLK's children fight over his Bible, Nobel medal
ATLANTA — It was a startling development in the latest legal wrangling among Martin Luther King Jr.'s heirs.
Speaking from the pulpit of King's former church, his daughter, Rev. Bernice King, said she no longer wishes to be lumped together in the public mind with her brothers, Martin Luther King III and Dexter King.
"We are different people, with different minds, different ideologies," she said Thursday at Ebenezer Baptist Church. "So please, please, please do not put us in the same category."
Bernice King, who heads the King Center next door, was responding to a lawsuit filed Friday in which her brothers, as representatives of King's estate, are suing her to turn over their father's personal Bible — used by President Obama at his second inauguration — and his Nobel Peace Prize medal. She says her brothers want to sell the items to a private individual.
"This is not another King children battle and certainly not about money," she said. "This is about principle."
The complaint filed Friday in Fulton County Superior Court does not mention intent to sell the items. The King Estate's attorney, William Hill, Jr., did not comment on the suit Thursday afternoon.
The complaint says that in 1995, King's heirs, including Bernice King, assigned their rights to items they inherited from their father to the Estate of Martin Luther King Jr., which is controlled by Dexter and Martin III.
In that agreement, the King siblings and their mother, the late Coretta Scott King, each "assigns and grants exclusively to (the King Estate) all right, title and interest to property inherited through the estate of Dr. King," according to a copy of the agreement emailed by Hill late Thursday to USA Today.
The lawsuit says that Bernice King has hidden the Bible and the medal "in an undisclosed location."
At Ebenezer, Bernice King said the objects "are hidden in plain sight. They (her brothers) know where they are. " She refused to give a location.
The King Estate is already fighting with the King Center on another legal front: Last August, during 50th anniversary celebrations of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, the estate asked a judge to stop the King Center from using Martin Luther King Jr.'s image, likeness and memorabilia. The complaint maintained that the King Center was not properly caring for materials licensed to it by the estate.
King's children have famously fought among themselves and with outsiders for years over control of their father's legacy and intellectual property.
But the fight this time seems to have struck a nerve, with many here siding with Bernice King. She was flanked Thursday by about a dozen ministers, including civil rights icon C.T. Vivian, honored last year with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, and King relatives.
"This is not about money," Vivian said. "This is about dignity and worth. And the Nobel Peace Prize belongs to the American people.... It is given, but never to be sold and passed around like merchandise. Some things are sacred whether they are called that or not."
"When I learned of this lawsuit, something in me died," said Rev Timothy McDonald. "This is different. It's like selling his spiritual rights. We understand this is a spiritual issue. It's not an economic issue."


text:
Peer Software Facilitates CAD Collaboration10 Sep, 2009 By: Jimmy Tam
A medical-device design firm coordinates multiple-office AutoCAD use via collaboration software.
By definition, standard business collaboration is anything but standard — it is tricky and often fraught with unforeseen problems. Exchanging Word documents, spreadsheets, or PowerPoint files is seldom a serial, linear process. Any number of small factors — for example, two people at different locations working on the same document simultaneously — can interrupt workflow and throw a project off course and behind schedule.
As if that weren't bad enough, CAD collaboration is an order of magnitude more difficult, complex, and error-prone. First, CAD files typically are far more complex than even the most dizzying legal document; in most scenarios, project team members must follow standardized procedures for part naming in the creation and development of a CAD file, a process which by itself can derail the project. Second, CAD projects are by their very nature iterative, because engineers must make sure their designs work, are manufacturable, and meet customer requirements. Implementing a collaborative framework for design and engineering firms comes with a unique set of challenges.
Synergy with AutoCAD
Several months ago, Synergy Surgical Technologies, designers of orthopedic implants and instruments, was seeking to redesign and expand its network to support and connect its main office in Redlands, California, and its satellite office in Austin, Texas. The main challenge was to implement a collaborative framework to support 10 engineers, evenly distributed between both offices.
Synergy reached out to TeamAccent, a reseller also based in Southern California; TeamAccent was selected based on its previous work with a 150-person engineering firm that also had offices in Southern California and Texas. TeamAccent's Nedal Hamad, a senior network engineer, was assigned to head up the project — a logical choice because Hamad had worked on the previous project and was experienced with the challenges unique to CAD collaboration.
"Synergy needed a solution to facilitate efficient AutoCAD collaboration between these two locations, which can be a real bear if not handled right. Most design firms have very rigorous procedures in place — from naming conventions to directory structures. Going in, you need to understand that and build a solution that takes it into account," said Hamad.
Previously, Synergy's project teams shared files via e-mail, which is the case with an alarmingly large number of organizations. The problem with this approach is twofold: the files are very large, which puts a strain on network bandwidth and slows transfer times, and e-mail does not lend itself to the kind of fluid collaboration that is necessary for large-scale, interactive design projects.
"We run into this time and again, and described to Synergy the solution we implemented at that other firm, allowing it to collaborate on even the largest AutoCAD files without hiccups, interruptions, or problems," said Hamad.
IT administrators typically choose one of two distinct paths when implementing a collaborative framework for CAD work: distributing copies to each team member, or requiring team members to work off a centrally located version that is pulled off a server. Each path has significant drawbacks. The former is vulnerable to version conflict, and the latter (as is the case with the popular SharePoint application) introduces network bottlenecks.
Hamad installed Peer Software's Peer CAD Collaboration Package, which included a range of file-management features to simplify the backup and synchronization of even the largest CAD files, making collaboration seamless and transparent. The software offered server-to-server file mirroring between a company's office sites, with integrated file locking to prevent version conflicts. It also included a number of features beneficial to large CAD projects: the ability to transfer just the changed data in a file when synchronizing (instead of the entire file); multithreading, which allows for parallel processing of multiple file transfer events between the source machine(s) and the target machine(s); and, most important to Hamad, locking technology that ensures that when a user is modifying a file, no other user will be allowed to make changes to that file on any machine that the user has chosen to lock.
Synergy has four file servers — three at the company's central location and one at the satellite office — that are connected via a point-to-point VPN (virtual private network). "Synergy especially liked the file-locking mechanism," Hamad noted, "which completely avoids version conflict."
Peer Software's file-locking technology prevents users from unwittingly altering the same file simultaneously.
According to Hamad, Synergy was looking for a tool that easily scaled, as it anticipated expanding its operation in the coming years, including other satellite offices in other cities.
Synergy "embraced it right away," said Hamad. "It was a nightmare how [the company] was sharing files using e-mails, which would be only compounded as they grew. Now [Synergy] can truly collaborate on large AutoCAD files, without hogging network bandwidth. Additionally, [the software provided] built-in disaster recovery, as you now have the same files on both ends. It's just a great solution for firms whose business runs on CAD files — or any files, for that matter."
Bear in mind that Synergy's challenge was synchronizing project teams in two cities; often organizations find themselves with project teams at multiple locations, spanning multiple time zones. In implementing a CAD collaboration framework, it's important that the chosen solution has the flexibility, performance, and controls to accommodate all stakeholders — whether it's an internal project between two locations or an outside collaboration with business partners or manufacturers at multiple locations. The measure of a CAD collaboration tool is pretty straightforward: Does it allow you to work in an orderly, efficient fashion — irrespective of the barriers between and among project teams — and give you the ability to bring projects to satisfactory completion without the confusion, setbacks, and missed deadlines that can crop up and throw you off course? As the Synergy experience bears out, you can have unfettered, conflict-free CAD collaboration without compromising performance.


text:
In the post immediately below, Scott recaps some of the recent developments in the Petraeus scandal. I want to add one or two more, and also elaborate a bit on one of the items that Scott mentioned.
The most significant of the recent bombshells, I think, is the report that Eric Holder knew about the scandal as of late summer, when the FBI contacted his office to get permission to interview Petraeus and Paula Broadwell. Holder apparently claims that he never mentioned this potentially election-derailing news to his boss and good buddy, Barack Obama. I find this claim–that, while many others in Washington knew of the Petraeus investigation, including Congressmen like Eric Cantor, Obama himself was blissfully ignorant until three days after the election–wholly implausible, just as I find implausible the claim that it was sheer coincidence that the scandal didn't become public until then.
The least significant development, but one of the weirdest, is the replacement of the FBI agent who began the investigation on behalf of the bureau. The agent, whose name apparently has not been disclosed, was removed from the investigation after he "grew obsessed" with it, and specifically with Jill Kelley, to whom he sexted shirtless photos of himself.
The story I want to return to is the one involving another general, John Allen, who succeeded Petraeus as the commander of American and allied troops in Afghanistan. As a form of collateral damage, apparently, the FBI has found that General Allen, like the FBI agent, is obsessed with Jill Kelley. She must be quite a woman! Allen reportedly exchanged "20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails and other documents" with Mrs. Kelley. Ponder that for a moment: 20,000 to 30,000 pages? In Search of Lost Time is only 3,200 pages long. If you assume a standard 250 words to a page, you can fit the complete works of William Shakespeare into around 3,540 pages. The Bible can be printed, in most editions, in under 1,500 pages. So what on earth were General Allen and Mrs. Kelley writing so as to fill up 20,000 to 30,000 pages? Poetry? Love notes? The longest military treatise ever? Assume it took General Allen a mere five minutes to either read or write one page–no doubt a low estimate, when it comes to writing–and use the mid-point of 25,000 pages. That would mean that Allen devoted 125,000 minutes to his correspondence with Mrs. Kelley, or 2,083 hours–in other words, a full work year (40 hours times 52 weeks). No wonder we aren't winning in Afghanistan!
I used to think the armed forces were an oasis of sanity in an otherwise-crazy world, but that view obviously needs to be reconsidered.


text:
Soft tofu is a good choice for dishes in which it is crumbled, as in this veggie-filled, egg-free scramble. While this would certainly also make a good brunch or lunch dish, it also makes a wonderful light dinner with whole grain toast or sautéed potatoes, and some sliced oranges or other seasonal fresh fruit. Photos by Evan Atlas.
Serves: 3 to 4
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut into short, narrow strips
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups sliced white or crimini mushrooms
- 14- to 16-ounce tub firm or silken tofu, drained and crumbled
- 2 to 3 scallions, sliced
- 1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder, to taste
- 1 teaspoon all-purpose seasoning blend (such as Frontier or Mrs. Dash)
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the bell peppers and mushrooms and cook over medium heat until they are done to your liking, or about 6 to 8 minutes. Turn up the heat to cook away any liquid that has formed, if need be.
Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until everything is well heated through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve at once.
Here are more:


text:
I looked at the pictures posted on the first post in this message board, at link http://www.thefixx.com/STREET.shtml , and I had an idea, based on having previously purchased T-Shirts in bulk. Before I discuss further, remember that T-Shirt costs are driven by these factors:
1. Number of T-Shirts purchased (the obvious buy more pay less principle)
2. Number of colors used and number of sides printed. Each additional color increases the cost, because each color causes an additional run by the screening machine. If you want the back printed it will increase cost also. (my idea only uses one color, on one side)
3. Type of T-Shirt purchased. You can go cheap here, but I would not recommend cutting costs by choosing a light weight T-Shirt. Fans will be happy with a quality product. The heavier 6.1 ounce T-shirts are the better ones, and the Gildan Ultra T is the best selling screen print T-Shirt in this class. The Hanes Beefy-T would also be in this same range, but usually is more expensive. Also, white T-Shirts are cheaper than any other color.
Design proposal:
1. Use the logo "The Fixx" shown at the link http://www.thefixx.com/STREET.shtml - the picture in black writing with white background.
2. Use the following website to help you see my example on screen- go to http://www.customink.com and click on the link "For your group or event". Then, click on the link in the bottom left titled "Design Lab". Save the logo from the Fixx website to your hard drive, then upload it to the CustomInk site. Unlock the size parameters (you will see a "locked" box checked), then increase the logo size to 10" x 6.5" and click the "center" button.
3. Purchase 500 or more white T-Shirts with the Black logo on the front only. This keeps screening costs at a minimum, with cost per T-Shirt down to around $4 each.
4. These white T-Shirts could probably sell for $10 to $15, but even at $10 are a $6 profit. This would be an alternative to the higher line items normally sold, while still retaining a decent profit per item.
5. Possible memorabilia aspect: Since its white, with lots of "free" space, it could also be used by fans to get permanent marker signatures from band members along with Fixxtures that they run into at a particular concert. It is a way to capture a memory in Ink.
Possible alternatives: Red T-Shirt, with "The Fixx" logo in white. At that same customink website you can see what the different colors, both T-Shirt and logo, would look like. Cost per T-Shirt for colors other than white, for 500 purchased goes up to around $5 each ($1 more than plain white).
I didn't list all the pros/cons, but I hope this helps to bring in a lower cost clothing item to the band's merchandise table.


text:
Faced with its first serious competitor,
The alternative is to create a new service that has Pinterest in its crosshairs, rather than make any changes to the existing product. This is probably the best way for Facebook to head, with a separately branded "better Pinterest than Pinterest." I never liked the Pinterest name, anyway.
When I first read the headline, it didn't make sense. Why would Facebook spend a billion dollars on a photo-sharing anything? Why would Facebook promise to keep Instagram a separate service and invest in it? Then saw a screen grab of Instagram and all was clear: Pinterest and Instagram could easily be siblings, just make some minor changes and they could be almost identical.
(Update: I am very aware that many will disagree with this analysis. Maybe I am wrong, or maybe not. I am aware that today Pinterest and Instagram are very different. But, I don't see Pinterest as very defendable, either. We shall see what happens. As some point out, there is a strong mobile play here, too -- that Instagram does mobile photos better than Facebook. Maybe I call this bigger than it really is. But, I will stick with this analysis.)
By keeping the two services separate or creating a third, Facebook provides an option for the millions of users who like Pinterest's pinboard interface and simple feature set. By linking it to existing Facebook accounts, two logins become one, Instagram's pinboards can appear as part of a Facebook account and everybody gets what they want.
That makes the billion dollar investment look like absolute genius. Will it make Pinterest go away? Not real soon, but it gives Pinterest a huge competitor as quickly as the improved Instagram or new service can appear.
Having said how smart this is, I should mention that Facebook hasn't said this is the plan. But, if it isn't, Facebook would have thrown away a billion dollar opportunity to smite its most serious competitor so far.


text:
WILSON, N.C. – Chad Nader and Brinley Griffin were the leading hitters for the Cobras in their 6-4 loss to Barton College on Saturday afternoon. The loss drops the Cobras to seventh place in Conference Carolinas standings.
Nader was 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and an RBI, while Griffin was 2-for-2 with a run scored. Fico Kondla drove in a two runs as well for the Cobras.
Andrew Goot (6-6) was tagged with the loss. He allowed six runs on five hits with three strikeouts in three innings on the mound.
Both teams opened the game with two runs each, with Barton taking a 6-2 lead thanks to back-to-back two run innings in the third and fourth. Coker trimmed the lead to two with a run in the fifth and another in the seventh, but the Bulldogs held on for the win.
The Cobras finish the regular season with a record of 23-23 overall. Pending the results of the Erskine/Limestone series, Coker could still move to sixth place and advance to the Conference Carolinas Baseball Tournament next week at Barton College.


text:
Welcome to a holiday weekend edition of Noteworthy! This week I've got some new collections, a big sale, some eye candy, and some food for thought to share with you. That's a lot to cover, so let's get started!
The mid release announcements were still coming this week! Echo Park announced a total of 3 new collections for their June release: So Happy Together, Homemade, and School Days.
So Happy Together is a full collection designed by Deena Rutter, with 12 double-sided patterned papers, 3 double-sided solid papers, and two sheets of stickers. It is also available in a 6×6 paper pad.


text:
Clean heat still available for Taupo
Environment Waikato is looking for low income homeowners in Taupo to receive new clean heating appliances as part of its Waikato Clean Heat Programme.
Environment Waikato is looking for low income homeowners in Taupo to receive new clean heating appliances as part of its Waikato Clean Heat Programme.
Environment Waikato chief executive Bob Laing has this weekreceived a cheque for $12,010 from Ingham Motor Group general manager Chris Garland under an ongoing Honda scheme to promote native tree planting
The adoption of a new policy framework for managing the region's natural and physical resources is a key step toward securing government funding for the Waikato Expressway and other infrastructure development, says chief executive Bob Laing.
Environment Waikato is welcoming a new geothermal system which has replaced the coal-fired boiler at Taupo Hospital, saying it will contribute to improving air quality in the town.
Honda will on Wednesday 25 August at 3pm hand over a cheque for $12,010 to Environment Waikato CEO Bob Laing in the latest donation made under its ongoing programme to fund native tree planting in the Waikato.
An important new book on the Waikato River from Taupo to Port Waikato has been launched today at Turangawaewae marae during the fourth anniversary celebrations for the coronation of King Tuheitia.
Now is a great time to start thinking about buying firewood for next winter, so it's nice and dry by the time you use it, Environment Waikato says.
The Waikato Regional Transport Committee is urging Cabinet to reconsider the Government's decision not to lower blood alcohol limits for adult drivers.
Meridian Energy Limited's Te Uku wind farm project has won Environment Waikato's inaugural earthworks site of the year award.
The Whangamata community is better equipped to tackle rodent infestation problems in the harbour area as Environment Waikato has provided 40 rat traps and 30 bait stations to the Whangamata Harbour Care community group.
Cost savings and greater efficiencies in the 2009/10 financial year have helped Environment Waikato achieve a year-end surplus ahead of forecast that could be used to further trim next year's rates.
A proposed policy framework that sets the direction for managing the Waikato region's natural and physical resources is a step closer to public release.
Environment Waikato says it is very encouraged by the fact that compliance with earthworks rules is rising and that enforcement actions against people doing earthworks improperly have dropped significantly.


text: I made this quilt for my daughter a few year ago when we fell in love with this fabic by Henry Glass, I used the pattern out of the Sizzlin Sixties book by Anka's Treasures. I changed the pattern just a little. She wanted minkee on the the back, so I pieced the minkee for a queen size quilt, I will never do that again. The quilt is very heavy. I used hobbs 80-20 for batting and free motion quilted it on my longarm. Thanks for looking


text:
SCM Repository
CVS documentation is available here.
Developer CVS Access via SSH
Only project developers can access the CVS tree via this method. SSH must be installed on your client machine. Substitute modulename and developername with the proper values. Enter your site password when prompted.
export CVS_RSH=ssh
Repository History
Data about current and past states of the repository