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CALGARY – Encana Corp. is spending US$3.1 billion to enter the oil-rich Eagle Ford shale in Texas, marking yet another big strategic shift under new CEO Doug Suttles.
"This acquisition, I think, represents a significant step towards repositioning the company for success," Suttles, who took the reins just under a year ago, told analysts during a conference call Wednesday.
Shares in Encana were up more than four per cent at $25.58 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The Calgary-based company (TSX:ECA) has long been known as a dominant North American natural gas producer, having spun off its oil operations to create Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE) in 2009.
The deal with Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas, a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., tilts Encana more towards oil, roughly doubling its output of the lucrative commodity.
Suttles said he believes Encana can improve performance on the newly acquired properties, which cover about 18,400 net hectares.
"One of the reasons we've acquired this position is we see the opportunity to apply our resource play expertise and extend the recoveries," he said.
Last fall, Suttles unveiled a new strategy for Encana, which had for years struggled with low natural gas prices, and juggled operations in dozens of different regions.
The company honed in on five core areas: the Montney and Duvernay in Western Canada; the DJ Basin in Colorado; the San Juan Basin in New Mexico and the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale in the southeastern United States.
Once the deal closes, the Eagle Ford becomes a sixth.
Encana could focus on up to eight core areas, Suttles said.
The Eagle Ford purchase is "fully aligned" with the new strategy laid out in November, he said.
"And, in fact, we believe it accelerates our plan that we laid out at that time."
The new strategy also involved Encana cutting 20 per cent of its staff and spinning off some of its Alberta land holdings into a separate publicly traded business called PrairieSky Royalty Ltd.
Encana also has recently sold dry gas assets in Wyoming and East Texas, which are less attractive than ones that produce oil and natural gas liquids.
"Fundamentally, what we've done here is exited a couple of dry gas positions and converted that into a significant oil position, which I think is completely consistent with our strategy," said Suttles.
Encana said the Texas property has an estimated drilling inventory of more than 400 locations in the heart of the Eagle Ford.
In the first quarter of 2014, production from the acreage to be acquired by Encana included approximately 46,000 barrels per day of total liquids production and 44 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, which generated an operating cash flow of US$327 million.
Suttles said there are enough pipelines in the Eagle Ford area to get the crude to market, adding that the oil fetches an attractive Light Louisiana Sweet price.
As for whether Encana would look to pick up more acreage in the area, Suttles said: "If the right opportunity were available, we'd clearly look at it."
Fellow Canadian oil and gas company Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM), also in the midst of a big restructuring, has been selling many of its assets. One of those was rumoured to be the Eagle Ford, but Talisman CEO Hal Kvisle said his company isn't actively looking for a buyer.
"It is one of the hottest and most active plays in the U.S. — there are always people inquiring and expressing interest in assets like that," he told reporters following Talisman's annual meeting. "We're not closer to a deal in the Eagle Ford today than we ever have been."
Freeport-McMoRan said about half of the proceeds from its Eagle Ford sale will go toward repaying debt, with the rest to be invested in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Our team built a solid position in the Eagle Ford, which will enable Encana to build on our success," CEO James Flores said in a release.
Follow @LaurenKrugel on Twitter


text: Many international students get an LLM because they went to law school in their home countries and obtaining an LLM allows them to practice here. I don't know all the details on that though. I work in tax law so I know many people get LLM's in that field, although most tell me that it is not necessary. I am still on the fence as to whether I should do it or not, I would really prefer not to. It is my understanding that an LLM in other areas is not really helpful. I think tax LLM's are so popular because tax is such a broad area that can be rather technical. It just shows people you have some specialized knowledge.

subset: commoncrawl


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City of Lincoln
Mayor's Office
2004 Media Releases
Latest water samples show no coliform bacteria
The Lincoln Water System (LWS) and the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department said drinking water precautions are no longer needed in Northeast Lincoln. Testing of water samples taken from northeast Lincoln show no signs of coliform bacteria that was detected last week.
Testing conducted last week revealed coliform bacteria within an area bordered by Adams Street on the south, 70th Street on the east and Cotner Boulevard on the northwest. The City had recommended residents in the affected area with infants or health problems boil their drinking water or use bottled water as a precaution until results from additional samples showed no presence of the bacteria. Upon discovering the coliform bacteria last week, LWS immediately flushed the affected areas and then began special water sampling efforts in the affected area.
Based on adequate flushing of the system and the results of confirmatory testing conducted this week, drinking water precautions in the affected area are no longer needed and residents should feel safe in drinking and using water for all purposes.
Coliform bacteria are very common in the environment and can be present in soil. However, the presence of coliform is an indication that other bacteria could be present and cause health problems.
The source of the problem was a construction area where two water service lines were damaged and repaired. Coliform bacteria can enter a home plumbing system through a damaged water service line especially if exposed to soil. Other sources of coliform bacteria in water can be from backflow if water pressure is lost in the system or from bacteria that are present on the inside walls of water pipes which may become dislodged during high water use.
The City of Lincoln uses appropriate methods for disinfection of water to guard against harmful bacteria in the water system. LWS also conducts routine sampling each week throughout the City, including the area near 70th and Adams, to monitor the quality of water supplied to Lincoln residents so that it meets or exceeds regulatory requirements.


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HALF MOON BAY, Calif. -- A grower from Oregon is the winner of this year's Half Moon Bay giant pumpkin contest with a gourd weighing in at 1,775 pounds.
Forty-five-year-old Thad Starr from Pleasant Hill, Ore., set a contest record with his pumpkin Monday, beating last year's winner by 71 pounds.
Starr, who has won the contest twice before, said he plans to use the $10,650 in prize money to take his family to Disneyland.
His pumpkin will be on display this weekend at the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival.
The runner-up came in at 1,521 pounds. That pumpkin is also expected to be on display this weekend.


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|This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title.
The following is a list of links to pages that might share the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
- Brutal Gladiator's Redemption intended for Holy Paladins.
- Brutal Gladiator's Vindication intended for Retribution Paladins.
- Brutal Gladiator's Aegis intended for Protection Paladins.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


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Posted by Terri Thornton on December 6, 2016 - 10:55am
Posted by Terri Thornton on November 14, 2016 - 12:51pm
Posted by Terri Thornton on November 9, 2016 - 2:45pm
Roberto de Leon and Ross Primmer take a native approach with their practice—no matter the location. David Sokol, "Locally Sourced," Cultured Magazine, June/July 2015
Roberto de Leon, FAIA, LEED AP, is partner and co-founder of de Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop (DPAW), based in Louisville, Kentucky. De Leon was at the Modern for Tuesday Evenings in conjunction with the Fort Worth AIA 2016 Design Awards, for which he was the lead juror.


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Species In-Depth
At the Aquarium
Our harbor seals are on view in the Seals and Sea Lions Habitat.
Geographic Distribution
Pacific Ocean from Hokkaido, Japan, north to the Kamchatka Peninsula, across the Aleutian Island chain, the southern coast of Alaska, the western coast of Canada and the United States to the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico. Also western Atlantic Ocean from the central U.S. coast north to Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and northern Europe.
Because of its wide distribution, this species habitat varies from one area to another and is dependent in large part on haul out facilities, access to deep water, food supply, and protection from weather. These seals occupy a variety of habitats including sandy, rock and boulder-strewn beaches and a substantial range of climatic temperatures. Preferred hauling out areas include shores of sand, mud, gravel, rocks, reefs, and in some cases, glacial ice and ice floes. They tend to prefer beaches and sand bars that are bare at low tides.
Physical Characteristics
The body of a harbor seal, often described as spindle-shaped, is fusiform in shape and round in cross section. Pectoral and pelvic limbs have been modified to become short flippers. The foreflippers end in five well developed claws. The head is round and relatively small. The muzzle is blunt when compared to the longer pointed snout of the California sea lion. The ear location is identified by a small hole on each side of the head. There is no external ear flap. Eyes are round and widely set on the front of the head. The hind flippers provide locomotion through the water and hide the short flat tail causing it to be almost invisible.
Harbor seals have a hairy coat consisting of stiff, heavy guard hairs, with a layer of finer, denser, hair underneath. The hair is not sufficient to provide temperature insulation, which is supplied by a thick layer of blubber.
Color and markings vary substantially from one animal to another and from latitude to latitude. They are unique to the individual seal just as fingerprints are in humans. Some show a light-colored background of almost white to silver or gray with darker circular or ring marks. Others may show a darker background with light-colored markings. In cold climates newborn pups are covered with a coat of white hair called lanugo, which is molted shortly after birth. In more temperate climates the lanugo is shed prior to birth.
Adult female harbor seals reach a length of 1.2 – 1.7 m (3.9 – 5.6 ft) and will weigh 50 to150 kg (110 to 331 lb). Males are larger with lengths of 1.4 – 2.0 m (4.6 – 6.6 ft) and weights from 70 to 170 kg (154 to 375 lb).
Harbor seals are opportunistic feeders and they are not fussy eaters. They require 5-6% of their body weight in food per day. They may spend up to 85 percent of the day diving for prey. Diet varies with geographic location and season. Primary food sources involve schooling and bottom dwelling fishes such as herring, various species of flatfish, surfperch, rockfish, salmon and hake. They are also partial to some invertebrates including cephalopods, other mollusks, and crustaceans. They fulfill their need for water from moisture in foods and if food supply is short, metabolism of fat aids in moisture production.
Reproductive activities of harbor seals are not well documented; however, strong bonds between a pup and its mother have been noted. Generally, females reach sexual maturity at a weight of about 50 kg (110.3 lb) at three to six years of age. Males become sexually mature at about 75 kg (165.3 lb) when they are three to seven years old.
Mating takes place in the water soon after pups have been weaned. Males generally mate with only one or a few females during the mating season of about one to nine weeks. Gestation is 9 to 11 months including a period of delayed implantation of one and a half to three months.
Pupping time varies with latitude and is mostly during the months of February through June. It is rare that a mother gives birth to more than one pup, but twinning does occur. (Troy, our youngest harbor seal, is a twin.). When there is a multiple birth, usually only the strongest pup survives as the mother cannot support two pups, and will not attempt to care for the weaker sibling. Surrogate mothers have been observed, but it is an extremely rare phenomenon. Pups are very precocious and most are able to crawl and even swim within an hour or two after birth.
The pups nurse for only about four to six weeks. They gain weight and strength at a rapid rate, more than doubling weight by the time they are weaned. Toward the end of the nursing period, pup and mother tend to lose interest in each other and weaning may be gradual or happen abruptly. After weaning, the mother abandons the pup abruptly. The pup usually does not stay in the natal area very long, leaving it to start exploring on its own, sometimes traveling fairly far from its birth place.
Most pinnipeds welcome the company of their own species or those that are closely related, but harbor seals are generally intolerant of close contact with other seals. Pups and juveniles commonly play and romp together, but away from the adults. As they increase in age they become more solitary in their behavior. During the molting period between spring and fall, depending on geographic location, they are more gregarious, hauling out in large numbers in the same area of beach or reef. When hauled out, they mostly sleep but remain aware of their surroundings and alert to possible dangers.
When in a group, they like a clear "living space" of about the length of their own bodies around them. If this space is impinged on, they will become agitated and vocalize by grunting, growling, and snorting. If these actions don't bring the desired change, they may resort to head butting or even biting. Actual fighting is rare except among males during the mating season. The least vocal of all the pinnipeds, harbor seals do not "bark" as their California sea lion relatives do.
Harbor seals are graceful and agile swimmers, but are very awkward when on land. They are unable to move their hind flippers forward under their body and therefore cannot "walk" as their sea lion cousins can. Their land movement is similar to that of caterpillars and inchworms. It is accomplished by an undulating movement of the body. In spite of this handicap they can reach a very respectable speed when properly motivated. Propulsion while swimming is accomplished by a sculling motion of the hind flippers. The fore flippers are used for steering, i.e., directional control.
Curious, but wary, harbor seals are constantly alert to perceived dangers and will quickly vacate an area they consider unsafe. Not nearly as social as the sea lion group, they dislike being disturbed, even by their own kind, and most commonly avoid body contact except during the breeding season.
Harbor seals are well adapted to their marine lifestyle. A thick layer of blubber aids in temperature control. Body shape permits ease of movement through the water and limb development to flippers makes for efficient propulsion. They have little if any color vision, but their black and white vision is keen and is better in the water than out. Their whiskers or vibrissae are very sensitive to vibration and water motion and are an important part of sensory input when the animal is swimming in constricted areas or hunting for food.
Harbor seals and other pinnipeds have a material called myoglobin in their muscle tissues that has the ability to store relatively large quantities of oxygen. This aids the animals in deep dives and long periods under water. The myglobin can supply oxygen when other sources are depleted. They have the ability to direct oxygen-rich blood to critical organs where it is most needed.
Harbor seals have a maximum lifespan of 25 to 30 years, while males tend to have shorter lives than females. This may be explained by the stresses placed on the males during the breeding season.
It is estimated that about 21% of harbor seal pups do not survive their first year. This can be due to a variety of factors including illness, predation, maternal abandonment, extreme weather conditions and accidental injuries. Pups are especially subject to some land-based predators such as foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and even eagles. Both pups and adults may become food for large sharks, killer whales, and in some areas, polar bears.
Harbor seals are very sensitive to human encroachment and may be forced to abandon an ideal habitat for one less suitable to their well-being. Along with human pressures come pollution and other types of habitat degradation that can have negative influence on species viability.
There is presently no commercial harvesting of harbor seals, but there is a limited amount of native subsistence hunting. Some commercial fishers object to having seals steal fish from their nets and kill them to avoid loss of their catch. Seals are on occasion accidentally caught in fishnets as bycatch and die by drowning.
The last few decades have seen population adjustments throughout their range from increase to decrease to stable. While in some areas harbor seals are hunted for meat, skins, and oil, the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 made it illegal to hunt or harass any marine mammal in US waters. The harbor seal is not listed by CITES. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Lower Risk – Least Concern.
Special Notes
Harbor seals are known to sometimes follow fish runs upstream for many miles. They may stay in fresh water rivers most of the summer, depending on food supply, returning to salt water in late summer or early fall. On October 23, 1805, Clark of Lewis and Clark fame observed "sea otters" in the narrows of the Columbia River, more than 161 km (100 mi) from the Pacific Ocean. He later corrected his mistake in his journal—the animals were not sea otters, they were harbor seals! Today NOAA reports: "It's common for seals and sea lions to follow prey species into fresh water upstream of Longview, Wash. (river mile 67), up to Willamette Falls (river mile129) and Bonneville Dam (river mile 145)".
The whiskers, or vibrissae, of seals are very sensitive to vibration and water motion and are an important part of sensory input when an animal is swimming in constricted areas or hunting for food. Blind seals and sea lions rely on their vibrissae to ovoid obstacles and find prey.
Harbor seals may spend days at sea without hauling out. When sleeping in the water they float vertically with just their heads above the surface, a behavior called "bottling".


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Liberty News
Liberty University proposes new training facility at airport
|The Liberty University School of Aeronautics graduated its inaugural class of the Aviation Maintenance Technician School (AMTS) Friday at its temporary facility at The Plaza shopping center in mid-town Lynchburg. Read the full story here.
Liberty University School of Aeronautics announced plans today to construct a new facility at Lynchburg Regional Airport, beside Falwell Aviation Jet Center, which was purchased by the university in February 2010 and now houses the flight school.
The new space will make it possible for Liberty's entire aeronautics program to be in one location, including its new aircraft mechanic training program, which has been operating in the old Rose's building at The Plaza shopping center in mid-town Lynchburg.
"Our existing facilities are fully utilized right now; we don't have any spare space," said Dave Young, dean of the School of Aeronautics and president of Falwell Aviation. "This is all being done to enhance our program to better serve our students."
He said an additional two-story building, proposed at 40,000 to 50,000 square feet, would house a new hangar and the flight school, doubling the space of Liberty's presence at the airport. The flight school is currently located on the second floor in the 55,000-square-foot Falwell Aviation complex, which includes three aircraft maintenance and storage hangars, maintenance workspace, flight operations, simulator training, classrooms, aircraft dispatch, student study areas and customer service facilities for charter passengers and transient aircraft.
"The Liberty University aviation program remains a vital and growing asset here at Lynchburg Regional Airport," said airport director Mark Courtney. "Without a doubt, Liberty's latest plans to expand its facilities in order to enhance its capabilities to serve both students and the flying public represent an exciting new addition to the airport. I look forward to working with school officials to make this expansion a reality."
The sale by Liberty of the old Rose's department store building to Centra Health earlier this week facilitates the expansion of two schools — Centra's School of Nursing at the Plaza and Liberty's School of Aeronautics at the airport, according to Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr.
"This is a win for Centra, a win for Liberty and a big win for the economy of the Lynchburg region," Falwell said.
Continued, rapid growth of Liberty's School of Aeronautics necessitates a new facility at the airport, Young said. The school, offering specializations in commercial/corporate aviation, military, missions and helicopter aviation, as well as aircraft mechanic, has grown from four students in 2002 to more than 300 enrolled in aviation courses for the Spring 2011 semester.
Young said the market demand for new pilots and the versatility of the program is attracting new students. The recent addition of new programs, including helicopter training, a flight attendant training program, unmanned aerial systems and an online degree completion program, make Liberty's aviation program one of the most unique in the country.
"I'm not aware of any university in the country that has all that we have in this program — and I know there is no other faith-based university that has what we have," Young said.
Liberty's School of Aeronautics is the largest flight school in Virginia and one of only four universities in the U.S. to offer both airplane and helicopter training. It is the only faith-based aviation school to offer helicopter training.
School of Aeronautics staff anticipated the growth, as initial plans called for a new 88,000-square-foot facility at a separate site at the airport. A dedication/prayer ceremony was held there in 2007 and the school kicked off a $10 million fundraising drive in April 2008 to finance a building, airplanes and support facilities, but when the opportunity arose to purchase the aviation business in late 2009, plans changed.
"We put it on hold because we bought the aviation company. It changed everything," Young said. (Money that was raised, over $200,000, was used to buy training equipment and convert part of the building into a flight school).
Even though Young knew the aviation company's facility would not meet all the school's needs, the purchase still propelled the program further in a much shorter time period, he said.
"We were praying for a ham sandwich and God gave us a whole banquet, because He opened doors we hadn't previously considered walking through."
Having a fully functioning aviation company at the flight school is an added benefit to students, he said. The company offers a chartered jet service, a full maintenance repair station, and fuel sales and aircraft rental.
"It expanded the scope of our operation beyond just being a flight school," Young said. "To actually have a full FAA-certified maintenance repair station here is a tremendous opportunity for our aircraft mechanic students to learn in a real environment."
Young hopes the new facility can be completed in 12 months.
"Our goal is to eventually have the whole school out here. I would love to see this be the 'Liberty University airport campus,' " he said.


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Nut allergy … Raymond Cho died after eating a walnut biscuit at school.A 16-year-old boy with a nut allergy who died after eating a walnut biscuit at a Sydney school was tragically let down by the NSW education department systems meant to protect him, an inquest has heard.
Raymond Cho went into anaphylactic shock after he ate the biscuit baked by other students in a cooking class at Ashfield Boys' High School on May 19, 2011.
He was taken to hospital, but died after he was taken off life support on May 24.
At the Glebe Coroner's Court on Monday, State Coroner Mary Jerram was told the education department and staff were aware that Raymond suffered from anaphylaxis and asthma.
But other students shared the biscuits they had baked in a cooking class, the inquest heard.
Raymond fell ill later in a maths class and went into anaphylactic shock. He was was treated by the use of two epipens, which are used to quickly inject a dose of adrenaline.
Michael Fordham SC, representing the NSW Department of Education and Communities, read Raymond's family an apology from the department's director-general, Michele Bruniges.
"Dr Michele Bruniges … was deeply saddened when she learnt of Raymond's tragic death. She wishes to unreservedly apologise on her own behalf and on behalf of the many people working in public education for the unimaginable hurt and anguish you and your family have suffered as a result of his loss," the statement from Dr Bruniges said.
"It was believed prior to Raymond's death that the department had in place proper systems to keep children with anaphylaxis safe, but this was wrong.
"These systems failed Raymond, the people at the school that day who tried to save him and yourselves.
"It will be small consolation to hear that the department has reviewed its systems and has made a number of significant changes since Raymond's death."
Those changes included compulsory training in anaphylaxis and emergency care for all school staff and a requirement that every school run CPR courses on an annual basis.
The department is also continuing to look at how it can improve safety and well-being of students with anaphylaxis.
"The director-general hopes that this inquest helps your family, and other families who have children with anaphylaxis, by identifying where things went wrong, examining what has been done to date in response and considering whether anything further can be done to reduce the chance of another tragedy like Raymond's death occurring in the future."
Raymond's family are at the inquest, holding pictures of the schoolboy.
The inquest, which will look into the school's policies and the use of epipens, continues.
The original release of this article first appeared on the website of Shanghai Night Net.


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Air Force Airman Timothy J. Adams graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Adams is the son of Joshua J. Adams of Lehigh Acres and Yvonne R. Sutterfield of Clewiston and step-son of Mark E. Sutterfield of Clewiston.
He is a 2013 graduate of Pahokee Middle Senior High School, Pahokee, Fla.


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PixelJunk Eden
Pixeljunk Eden Steam life-to-date income doubled during sale
Pixeljunk Eden went on sale for 99¢ during the Steam 2013 Holiday Sale, and despite this low price tag it managed to sell strongly enough to match its previous lifetime income.
PixelJunk Eden headlines
June Bug Bundle includes PixelJunk Eden, Escape Goat, more
Indie Royale has a new bundle available featuring PixelJunk Eden, Escape Goat, Noitu Love 2: Devolution, and Auditorium. The June Bug Bundle currently has a price minimum of $5.09 and if you pay over $7, you'll also get 8 Bit Weapon's full-length album 'Bits with Byte'. It also included an alpha preview of Iconoclasts. Other […]
PixelJunk Eden landing on Steam tonight
Q-Games boss Dylan Cuthbert has confirmed the PC version of PixelJunk Eden will arrive on Steam at 3am JPST or 10am PST. That equates to 6pm GMT in proper timezones. The PC version of Eden is a refined version of the PSN release that will cost $9.99. You should probably get this if you loved […]
PixelJunk Eden heading to Steam
Q-Games has announced that PixelJunk Eden, the third game in the PJ series, is coming to Steam.
PixelJunk Eden Tropies and YouTube system detailed
In a post on the US PlayStation Blog, Q-Games boss Dylan Cuthbert has outlined details of PixelJunk Eden's Trophies, and given a decent insight into how the game's YouTube uploading system will work. "The YouTube upload feature is going to revolutionize how people share tips," he said. "Up until now it has been limited to […]
PixelJunk Eden demo in July
According to this SixthAxis report, Q-Games boss Dylan Cuthbert has confirmed that a playable demo is planned for PixelJunk Eden in July. So there we are.
PixelJunk Eden to support YouTube uploads
According to this PS3F report, upcoming PSN RTS PixelJunk Eden will allow players to record video and upload it to YouTube. The game will also include three-player co-op as well as Trophies and Remote Play support. Looks funky. It's out this summer.
More PS3 "Trophies" talk emerges
Update: This PSU report says the Trophies mentioned here are 2D XMB things, not the 3D Home Trophies we've seen in shots. The site claims they're going to launch in June with Firmware 2.4. This Kotaku piece brings more evidence that Sony is to add a "Trophy" system to PSN, thought to be similar in […]
SCEE PlayStation Day: Last sets of screens from the asset disc
Just to add to this lot of screens and movies, here are the last shots we missed from the asset disc handed out at the SCEE PlayStation Day yesterday. MotorStorm Pacific Rift shots Siren: Blood Curse shots SingStar Vol. 2 shots SingStar PS3 shots PlayTV shots Elefunk shots PixelJunk Eden shots
GDC: PixelJunk Eden announced - trailer
Q-Games president Dylan Cuthbert has shown off PixelJunk Eden, the next game in the company's series of downloadable, 2D titles at GDC. Trailer below. Cuthbert said the game will be released via PSN this summer.
PixelJunk Eden latest
Pixeljunk Eden Steam life-to-date income doubled during sale
SCEE PlayStation Day: Last sets of screens from the asset disc


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When the Adobe Design Achievement Awards (ADAA) finalists were flown to NYC in November, they were met with a packed schedule for their days in the Big Apple. Along with the ADAA dinner and awards ceremony, which was held at the Hotel Affinia Manhattan, the students were pre-scheduled to meet with creative directors and design professionals in their studios, for an exciting window into the world of digital creativity.
The ADAA finalists each selected from 12 design studios within Manhattan. The group of finalists split into smaller groups, then set out, to visit and meet with three design studios per walking tour. Students were greeted by incredible creative's, saw amazing projects, and heard inspiring stories, told by luminaries of their prospective fields.
The studios that graciously welcomed the international group of students and faculty were:
212 Harakawa Inc.
Blue State Digital
Carbone Smolan Agency
Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv Studio
Doyle Partners
General Assembly West
Graham Hanson Design
Gretel Inc.
PS New York
"I think the idea of having such a diverse group of judges from both different cultures and different design disciplines, gives a real credence to the Awards. It's fascinating to see the breadth of work, the diversity, and largely, the quality of the entries," commented Harry Pearce, Partner at Pentagram U.K.
Students were able to visit the Behance offices, and meet directly with Matias Corea, Co-founder and Chief of Design at Behance. Corea had also participated in the 2013 ADAA contest, as an official judge.
Additionally, students were invited to visit the School of Visual Arts, for a presentation by MFA Design Co-chairs and faculty Lita Talarico, Ron Callahan, and Steve Heller, regarding artistic entrepreneurism.
The Adobe Create Now World Tour was held at SVA's theatre, and the ADAA finalists were invited to attend the event. Finalists and guests were treated to live demonstrations by Adobe Evangelists, Terry White, Paul Trani, and Jason Levine. Paul Trani congratulated the ADAA winners and finalists from among the crowd in attendance.
Coming soon – ADAA 2014:
The Adobe Design Achievement Awards are held in collaboration with Icograda (International Council of Communication Design). Adobe and Icograda have partnered for five consecutive years, to select an international panel of judges. Together, Adobe and Icograda are looking forward to a successful Adobe Design Achievement contest for 2014.
This year's contest will open the call for entries soon, so stay tuned! We'll keep you posted.
Watch the recorded winner announcements here.
Congratulate the winners, finalists and honorable mentions in the ADAA Online Gallery!


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4th of July Weekend Menu Planner
Aside from fireworks, the best part about the Fourth weekend is the grilling, right? If you're still brainstorming what to make, here's a slew of our favorite recipes, from the classic 'tato salad to the cherry pie for dessert, as well as some must-know grilling tips.
Dips and Salads
Guacamole »
Cheeseburger Dip »
Classic Potato Salad »
Roasted Corn Relish »
Watermelon with Chevre Salad »
Grilled Fennel and Orange Salad »
Chickpea Salad with Feta and Mint »
Pulled Pork »
Big Bud's Beer Can Chicken »
Wicked Good Lobster Rolls »
Taste Test: Hot Dogs »
Chili-Spiced Skirt Steak Tacos »
Steakhouse-Style Grilled Marinated Flank Steak »
Kansas City-Style Ribs »
Grilling Tips
A Guide to Grilling Tools »
6 Things Every Griller Needs to Know »
Grilling: The Gas vs. Charcoal Debate »
The Burger Lab's Top 10 Tips for Making a Better Burger »
Bobby Flay's Grilling Tips »
Lemon Basil Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches »
Simple Cherry Pie »
Orange Glazed Olive Oil Cake with Fleur de Sel »
Lemon Layer Cake with Summer Berries »
Rosemary Lemonade Cake »
Chocolate Cake with Cocoa Puffs Frosting
4 Great Sangria Recipes »
24 Summer Seasonal Beers »
Wine to Pair with Hot Dogs »
Taste Test: Ready to Drink Lemonade »
Best Wines for Grilling: Burgers »
Summer Cocktails »
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Tortola and Anegada - July-August, 2005
Limin' for a week at Shak-Shak, then a week on Anegada and a day in Ft. Lauderdale
|Brewer's Bay panorama.
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I can't believe I've finished CPD23! Well beyond the deadline, and not quite by my self-imposed end-of-year deadline either, but I made it anyway. I'm not always great at seeing things through, so I'm proud to have got this far. What am I going to blog about now?!
I've written a PDP for Chartership, so I've drawn on that as well as CPD23 for this exercise.
What have I learned?
CPD23 has been hugely helpful. I've said it before, but in a shrinking department with limited budget there aren't many opportunities for career development or discussions. The programme has introduced me to a new network of career-minded info pros, as well as tools and techniques I wouldn't have come across otherwise.
Gaps in my knowledge
- Digital skills (I have the basics but don't always know the best way to harness them, or the best tools for the job).
- Promoting the department (internally and externally – must do more).
- Getting involved in the profession more fully (through face-to-face groups and events, and online).
My main goal for this year is to charter. I'm in the process of compiling my portfolio, so there's a lot of work ahead but I'm hopeful!
Beyond that, I want to get involved in the profession and address some of the other gaps identified above. 2012 is going to be a year for career development!


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If you would like to help assure AWI's future through a provision in your will, this general form of bequest is suggested:
I give, devise and bequeath to the Animal Welfare Institute, located in Washington, D.C., the sum of $_______________________ and/or (specifically described property).
Donations to AWI, a not-for-profit corporation exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), are tax-deductible. We welcome any inquiries you may have. In cases in which you have specific wishes about the disposition of your bequest, we suggest you discuss such provisions with your attorney.


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The Apalachicola Area
Once the third largest port on the Gulf of Mexico, Apalachicola's diverse and colorful past remains visible today. There are over 200 historic homes and buildings on the National Register. Visitors are invited to stroll along the wide tree-lined streets where picturesque Victorian homes display the charm of years gone by. Apalachicola's rich history and a maritime culture are complimented by the area's bountiful natural resources.
The Apalachicola River and Bay provide great fishing opportunities for both fresh and salt water fishing buffs. Outdoor enthusiasts can explore the endless bays and waterways by kayak, canoe, riverboat or sailboat. Visitors can also spend time browsing through the City's unique galleries, stores and antique shops or touring the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve Center.
Apalachicola was established in 1831. Shipping cotton was Apalachicola's big industry and it soon became the third largest port on the Gulf of Mexico. By the 1850s, the waterfront was lined with brick warehouses and broad streets to handle the loading and unloading of cotton. Steamboats laden with cotton came down the River and were unloaded. Then small shallow draft schooners (lighters) shuttled the cargo to ships moored offshore.
As the railroads expanded throughout the United States, a new industry took shape in the city. Home to large cypress forests, Franklin County developed several big lumber mills in the late 1800s. Lumber magnates built many of the magnificent historic homes that line our streets.
By the end of the 19th century, oysters and seafood became an important industry. Today Franklin County harvests more than 90% of Florida's oysters and 10% of the oysters consumed in the nation. Shrimp, blue crab and finfish are also very important commercially, bringing in over $11 million worth of seafood to Franklin County docks annually.
Area Links:
Apalachicola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce
Richard Bickel - Photographer
www.HappyOursKayak.com Kayak and Canoe Rentals
Anna-Maria Cannatella - Realtor
Historic Apalachicola


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architecture - engineering - construction
Feelsafe Hurricane-Resistant Casement Window
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|Feb 13, 2016
For top-to-bottom unobstructed views and beautiful styling, you can't beat our casement windows. Feelsafe casements swing open a full 90 degrees for wide-open ventilation and easy cleaning. They come with our sleek, new Encore handle that folds out when you need it, but tucks out of the way of window treatments.
The clean lines and smooth operation of Hurd casement windows have made them a favorite across the country. But for the ultimate in coastal performance, Feelsafe casements come with nothing less than corrosion-resistant, 300 series stainless steel operators and dual arms. It's not an option, it's standard equipment.
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- Basic jamb width 4-9/16"
Performance GlazingAvailable with FeelSafe laminated or laminated Low-E glass (insulated or non-insulated).
- Perimeter weatherstrip on top of sash and frame.
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- Corrosion-resistant 300 series stainless steel gear operator and dual arms.
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OptionsDecorative glazing: Bronze, gray, white.
Grilles: Removable wood grilles or Hurd simulated divided lite. Grilles in airspace available only on units with insulated glass.
Screens: Aluminum frame with charcoal color fiberglass cloth standard, aluminum mesh optional.
Screen frame options: goldtone, white, bronze, champagne, oil-rubbed bronze, brushed chrome, bright brass, coppertone, antique brass and matching wood species.
Hardware: Encore folding handle standard in 11 designer finishes.
Other options: Structural nailing fin standard. Extruded aluminum drip cap. Exterior aluminum brickmould applied. Standard extension jambs available up to 8-1/8". Non-standard sizing to 1/16" available.
For other relevant searches, you might want to try:


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* UBS CEO seeks big cutbacks, meets opposition - sources
* UBS private bank head, Swiss chief said among opponents
* Second quarter earnings highlight need to act
* CEO Ermotti and chairman Weber seen having work cut out
By Katharina Bart
ZURICH, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Rifts among top UBS managers are hampering Chief Executive Sergio Ermotti's efforts to make big cutbacks, especially in investment banking, according to senior sources both inside and close to the bank.
While 52-year-old Ermotti has been scarcely visible outside the bank since taking over after Oswald Gruebel quit a year ago over a $2 billion trading scandal, sources in the bank say he is busy trying to marshal support for more forceful restructuring.
By contrast, while new UBS Chairman Axel Weber is a frequent public speaker on the eurozone, he is criticised within UBS for his absences at a time when senior figures are wrangling over tough strategic choices.
"Top management isn't unified at all, and that is now Weber and Ermotti's big challenge," one top UBS banker told Reuters.
Since his appointment, Ermotti removed risk head Maureen Miskovic but left investment banking head Carsten Kengeter in place while bringing in Andrea Orcel, a prominent merger and acquisitions specialist poached from Bank of America Merrill Lynch , to co-run the unit. Orcel is seen as a key Ermotti ally because the two, both native Italian speakers, were colleagues at Merrill Lynch.
A far more cooperative-style manager than predecessor Gruebel, the affable and well-dressed Ticino native Ermotti is struggling to unite top management behind him, ahead of what sources say could be far more dramatic restructuring moves than the 3,500 jobs the bank has until now said it will cut.
"Ermotti hasn't consolidated his hold on power and is by nature more collaborative than Gruebel was, which has inadvertently fostered infighting," another UBS top banker said.
Several sources say chief among Ermotti's critics are private banking head Juerg Zeltner, who jockeyed for the top job last September, and Switzerland Chief Executive Lukas Gaehwiler.
While Zeltner and Gaehwiler are not opposed to the need to make deeper cuts at UBS, infighting has emerged as the details are hammered out. Specifically, proposals for more centralisation, which would crimp the division heads' responsibility, are hotly contested.
"It is true that Sergio has ruffled some feathers, especially with people who fear their fiefdoms might be curtailed," the first UBS banker said.
Both Zeltner and Gaehwiler declined to comment to Reuters.
Some analysts expect UBS to disclose further restructuring steps as soon as with third-quarter earnings October 30, on top of planned cuts of 2 billion francs by end 2013, much like Deutsche Bank which is embarking on a crash diet amid a dearth of business.
"I believe UBS has been very busy trying to pull costs out of the business, especially investment banking, and wouldn't be surprised if we get a mini-strategy update around third-quarter results which gives more flesh to how much further they can go in cost-reduction", Nomura analyst Jon Peace said. He rates UBS stock at buy with a 17 franc target price.
Ermotti seemed to recently brace UBS employees and especially investment bankers for more blood-letting.
"I don't want to lull anybody into thinking better times are coming. Instead, I want to adjust our business model to the new reality," Ermotti told the Swiss Finanz und Wirtschaft newspaper mid-September, his most recent public comments.
"We want to earn a return on equity of 12 to 17 percent for our shareholders and be our clients' first choice. We will do everything necessary to reach that goal," Ermotti said. UBS's return on equity was a paltry 4.7 percent in the first half.
UBS's share price has edged more than 7 percent higher since Ermotti took over permanently in November, lagging the broader European sector , which has risen over 11 percent, though he has bolstered UBS's capital and overseen the bank's first dividend since 2008.
"Clearly, there still remains a lot for Weber and Ermotti to do," one of the UBS bankers said. Both men declined to comment.
A recent portrait by Swiss weekly Handelszeitung said Ermotti was a "part-time Chief Executive", distracted by dabbling in investments in his native Ticino including several luxury hotels and a local carrier, allegations which UBS denied.
"After becoming CEO of UBS Group, Sergio Ermotti abandoned all privately held mandates, as he has confirmed publicly on several occasions. His financial participations do not take up any of his time," UBS said in a statement.
This week, UBS's Chief Operating Officer Ulrich Koerner, an unsuccessful Ermotti challenger for the top job a year ago, was dubbed the "shadow CEO" of UBS by widely-read Swiss banking website Inside Paradeplatz, which referred to the COO's wide influence and Ermotti's lack of public profile in Switzerland.
UBS's second-quarter earnings highlighted the need for Ermotti to act. Net profit missed expectations by far, falling by more than half to 425 million Swiss francs amid a slide in investment banking income, including from UBS's traditionally strong equities unit. By contrast, 9.5 billion francs in fresh funds for UBS's flagship private banking arm for the wealthy underpinned that unit's health.
Ermotti said last year that his main aim was to restore UBS's past lustre following the trading scandal and near-collapse in 2008, arguing that the Swiss bank has the same potential for a rebirth as IBM or Apple, which both returned to their former glories following rocky patches.
But he has had limited success so far: while UBS might have bolstered its image in Switzerland by offering boat trip vouchers to celebrate its 150th year, the bank fell out of the top 100 worldwide brands this week after successive, sharp drops since 2008, in a ranking compiled by Interbrand.
Ermotti was careful to include the Swiss bank's employees in its 150th anniversary celebrations. UBS held a week-long series of parties for 1,000 staff last week in an edgy industrial venue in Oerlikon, old industrial lands in Zurich's northern suburbs which are undergoing a building boom.
Staff supped on Asian food, sausages and bread and Aelplermagronen, a frugal Swiss pasta and potato dish, making for an altogether lower-key affair than a February gala dinner for Switzerland's political and banking elite which featured caviar, truffles, wagyu beef, and langoustine prepared by renowned Michelin-starred Swiss chef Philippe Rochat.
UBS's reputation as an equities powerhouse was dented by the 349 million francs in losses linked to Facebook's botched U.S. market debut in May.
The ongoing trial of former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli over last year's scandal would seem to lend support to Ermotti's efforts to tame the investment bank because it has highlighted how the riskier business stands at odds with the bank's conservative, Swiss private banking roots he is playing up in its 150th anniversary year. Adoboli's defence team have argued that UBS turned a blind eye to rule-breaking as long as it made the bank money.
"I think Ermotti's managed to bring some calm back to UBS after it was hit by the trading turmoil, but the fact is the cost issue remains," said an external consultant to UBS who is not authorised to speak publicly.
(Editing by Emma Thomasson and Philippa Fletcher)
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Keywords: UBS/


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MicroNutrient Infusion
Services, AHC LLC4120 Ellison Rd NE Ste A Albuquerque, NM 87109 (505) 821-9609
Integrative/Functional Medicine &
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Welcome to Albuquerque's Premier IV Therapy and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) center!
This site is all about our clinic and how we can help you. If you don't live in NM, don't worry we offer 3 day long whole body boosting wellness programs for those flying in. Needing more than a short 3 day program, we often have patients stay for up to 8 weeks getting their health back using our unique IV Therapy and Oxygen/Ozone Therapy treatment plans.
Our clinic is located in the city best known for the beautiful Balloon Fiesta & the Sandia Mountains, Albuquerque, NM. We strive to provide quality service in all our therapies, as well as the most current nutritional IV therapies, accurate healthcare, diet and exercise information. We carry Neutraceutical Grade supplements which are only available to licensed healthcare practitioners, due to potency and purity. These supplements ensure that your health is protected from low quality and sometimes toxin contaminated supplements that are found in most health food stores.
We have a very high success rate and great reputation. We stay ahead of the curve by attending conferences presented by ACAM (American College for the Advancement in Medicine), IHA (International Hyperbaric's Association) and the IOA (International Ozone Association). We know more about the therapies we provide than most people in this country because our training comes from France, Germany and Italy, directly from the experts in their respective fields.
We provide you with as many options for treatment as possible, specifically for your condition. We know that your body is different from everyone else's and we listen to what your needs are, then we provide IV therapy, injections, dietary, lifestyle, and Oxygen/Ozone, IV or Liposomal Therapy suggestions based on the most effective, successful studies. We realize that there are "experts" all over the country and we let our clients and our results speak for us, which is why 70% of our business is from client referrals. Chances are that YOU have been referred to us by your Doctor or because one of your friends or family members has found us to be the right clinic for them and believes that we can help you too.
We are often amazed at how many people hear about a well-known clinic or treatment center in another state, when they actually have 2 of the best Alternative Medicine Practitioners right in their own back yard! We have therapies that you would normally have to travel to Europe to get & pay a fortune, or go to Mexico & risk getting an infection or worse by some untrained individual. We use the best therapies, we are extremely well trained and we offer very competitive pricing, right here in Albuquerque. Can't come here for treatment?? Don't worry, we can still help. Purchase a Hair/Saliva sample kit and have your body analyzed & a complete supplement program can be sent directly to your home!!!
Call us today to schedule your consultation to regain your health or to build on the health you already have!!!


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Helen Hoare is ready to move out of the home she shared with her late husband for 20 years. It's in Brick, on the Jersey Shore, with the bay just across the street out front and a lagoon with a dock the back.
"This is the happiest part of my life here," she said.
Hoare's damage during Superstorm Sandy last fall was minimal — mostly limited to a bit of water in the garage and the crawl space under her house — but it's still having an impact on her sale.
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Prior to the storm, the home might have listed for upwards of $700,000, says Hoare's real estate agent, Mary Jane Barretta with Weichert Realtors.
They're currently asking $599,000.
Additionally, Hoare has had an elevation certificate prepared, which is needed to get flood insurance. She also is offering to pay $25,000 towards the cost of elevating the home, if local building codes require it within a year of closing.
Barretta says the first thing any potential buyer on the shore does is inquire how much damage a property sustained during Sandy — even for homes that aren't on the water.
"People hear what happened, they might read what happened, but they haven't been here," said James R. Johnson, Jr., a broker who manages Weichert's Sea Girt office. "Sometimes what they hear sets them back a bit."
But Johnson says when out-of-town buyers do visit the area, they realize there's a range of homes available, from those unfazed by the storm to knock-downs where buyers can build whatever they want – provided it's elevated.
"We're trying to figure what things are worth again," explained Matt Schlosser, a realtor and the vice president of Schlosser Real Estate, a Lavallette-based agency his family's for over 70 years.
The storm's impact has varied by community, Schlosser says, but overall, the prices have fallen while the number of sales has risen.
Thanks to protective dunes, waterfront homes in Lavallette were spared the more dramatic damage of neighboring Ortley Beach, where prices have dropped significantly.
"We've seen anywhere from 30 to 40 percent drop from homes that had sold prior to the storm and some closing numbers that we're starting to see," said Schlosser.
But just across the border in Lavallette, he says prices have dipped as little as 5 percent for ocean-side properties that did not have as much damage and 15 to 20 percent for storm-damaged homes that were on the Bay side.
It's clear that some buyers see good investment opportunities in the storm. There's a sense that there deals to be had, but that the deals won't necessarily last. Schlosser says over half the 44 homes for sale in Lavallette are on under contract.
"The new buyers who are coming in and who want these $1.5 million houses are much different from the sellers," he said. "A lot of the sellers who are selling these knock-down homes are people that have been in the families for 40 years, they paid $30,000 for it back in '70s."
Many are one-story beach bungalows that sit on a concrete slab on the sand. Most of their value is in the land underneath. Despite the fact that they have a second home, many of these owners aren't particularly wealthy.
"The buyers are the wealthy ones," said Schlosser. "So we are seeing a change in who lives in these towns."
The landscape will change as well. When these new owners rebuild, they'll be significantly larger, higher homes. It's a demographic shift that's been happening on the Shore for years, but which will likely escalate due to Sandy.
This story was reported through a news coverage partnership between NBC10.com and NewsWorks.org


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It looks like dissolving ships aren't the only thing the Navy's only anxiety—even the proven stuff is starting to fall apart, Danger Room reports. According to a congressional report, over a fifth of the country's fleet fails inspections.
The findings, dispatched by Republican Rep. Randy Forbes, Chair of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, is potentially frightening. After all, one fifth is a large fraction, and the ships tasked with defending the country are something you want on the seaworthy side. But keep in mind that the Navy is still largely inflated by Cold War-era spending—ships built to face a foe that hasn't existed for decades. The fact that we're burning through lots and lots of money to develop tactically dubious things like deck lasers in the midst of this fleet rotting ought to raise another eyebrow. [Danger Room, Photo: Mr. Green/Shutterstock]


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|By Jeremy Geelan
Article Rating:
|September 8, 2009 06:00 AM EDT
Cloud computing, both private and public, will unquestionably make life easier for IT. That is the firm opinion of Jason Liu, CEO of Univa UD, expressed in this Exclusive Q&A with Jeremy Geelan of Cloud Computing Journal and conference chair of SYS-CON's market-leading International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo series. Liu also discusses many other aspects of Virtualization and Cloud Computing.
Cloud Computing Journal: How exactly is High-Performance Computing converging with Cloud and Virtualization-focused usage models?
Jason Liu: Let's talk about virtualization to begin with. Historically, HPC has taken the perspective that the infrastructure can never adopt virtualization because of performance degradation. Now, Univa is actually pioneering the use of virtualization in HPC – it's viable right now and ready for prime time. We've already started moving customers to virtualized environments (at their demand), and benchmarking has shown less than 5% performance degradation. So, you get the huge benefits of virtualization with essentially no changes in performance. That's why we'll see the majority of HPC environments moving to adopt virtualization in the next 12 months.
Now let's look at how cloud plays into this. Cloud environments have these 5 characteristics: Support for boundless applications, resource pooling, a virtualized infrastructure, a services approach to application delivery, and a metered usage-based payment model. Given this definition, it's clear that HPC is actually an early-adopting cloud market because HPC environments already use the majority of these capabilities and technologies. What's been missing has been the support for virtualization. But now, we're able to turn HPC environments into efficient private clouds where virtualization is supported and performance – as I discussed before, remains high. In fact, I'd say based on our work with users that technical computing is actually one of the faster adopters of private cloud technology.
Cloud Computing Journal: And how then specifically does Univa UD's cloud suite fit in, is it an evolution of your grid computing heritage?
Liu: Absolutely. Grid technology is a precursor to cloud, and Univa is of course one of the pioneers in grid computing. With our years of experience in grid and utility computing, our products are production-ready for internal, external and hybrid cloud scenarios. Unlike other vendors who are trying to retro-fit old technology into cloud or have developed brand-new tools from scratch, we're unique in that we've been dealing for years with the same technology challenges that cloud brings. Historically, our grid technologies have supported 4 of the 5 key capabilities that define cloud (as I outlined previously). Univa technology was built to meet these challenges and has done so for years. And now, our infrastructure products offer support for virtualization, the final component in cloud enablement. It's this heritage, along with our proven technology, that positions us well in the cloud enablement and management space.
You also asked about our product suite. Univa is the only company out there that is offering products to address all 3 of the top cloud use cases: public, private and hybrid. Not only that, but we address both infrastructure management and service governance – think of this as the muscles AND the brains of cloud. You can't get that range of proven technology anywhere else.
Cloud Computing Journal: Have advancements in Virtualization and Cloud Computing made managing an organization's IT resource inventory easier or harder?
Liu: Let's keep in mind that virtualization is only 1 component of cloud (along with resource pooling, metered payment and other criteria). To speak to Virtualization in particular, I'd say that Virtualization will definitely make IT easier in the long run. But the challenge right now is that many companies have deployed Virtualization without a proactive strategy, and they haven't instituted a manageable environment. As a result, they're dealing with virtual server sprawl without a plan to manage this. Over time, with the proper adoption of dynamic resource management technology and planning, companies will begin to see the true fruits of their virtualization efforts.
Cloud, both private and public, will unquestionably make life easer for IT. Private cloud technology, which is general will be the first major adoption area, will dramatically reduce the costs of internal IT and more importantly allow IT to measure the cost of delivery. That hasn't been possible in the past – and how can you evaluate or improve your performance if you can't measure it? Cloud computing allows this. Also, cloud lets internal IT groups compare their performance to external benchmarks like managed service provider offerings to determine the real value of their services. Additionally, cloud can drive efficiencies through the pooling of resources which means lower costs but also reduced management overhead – again, making life easier for IT.
As for public cloud computing, of course IT's life is made easier when computing can be effectively and securely outsourced. With today's products, on ramping to a public cloud can be done in hours and companies can very quickly gain enormous benefits with no more effort than they'd exert in a static internal compute environment (or even less).
Cloud Computing Journal: What real-life use cases of cloud computing saving time and money would you point to right now as examples from which other companies can learn?
Liu: We've got several users I can point to right away who are having great success. In the private cloud arena, I'd reference Corus, a leading global manufacturer of steel products and services who is optimizing their computational workload and making HPC simpler and more flexible for users via SaaS delivery of applications over the web. With our private cloud technology, Corus has created an internal environment for more easily submitting, executing, tracking, and monitoring HPC workload, providing their users all the necessary functionality to run their HPC applications over the web in a secure internal environment.
As a public cloud use case, I'd cite Pathwork Diagnostics as an early adopter who is doing cloud clustering in Amazon EC2. Pathwork was looking to avoid a large hardware investment, so they decided to implement cloud and chose Amazon EC2 for pay-per-use computing and Univa for building the HPC clusters in the cloud. It's been a fantastic solution for Pathwork – they're really the model user for a service like EC2 because the cloud is serving their peak needs and helping them avoid purchasing hardware that would go underutilized a majority of the time.
Cloud Computing Journal: So in your view Cloud Computing is definitely recession–relevant?
Liu: Oh, very. That goes for both private and public cloud computing. Private cloud is all about measuring usage in a service based metered approach, and also more efficient use of hardware resources. So yes, the recession is forcing IT accountability and thereby requiring proper measurement and reduction in costs thru better utilization of what you've already paid for. With a mature virtualized environment, we've seen customers go from a 10% server utilization mark to a ceiling of 50-60%. Now with cloud, we can take that to 70-80% while reducing their OPEX and CAPEX (operational and capital expenditures). This is a very compelling value proposition in today's economic climate.
With public cloud, the price points are dropping as we are increasingly seeing cost analyses demonstrate that you can save money by using public cloud. At the very least, a public cloud option gives businesses the flexibility to dynamical adjust their cost structure based on IT usage. It's not about cool technology – it's about the bottom line.
Cloud Computing Journal: And how about service governance, how does that help a company's IT organization optimize the resources they are utilizing in the cloud?
Liu: How would the body operate without a brain? That's the best analogy for what service governance does for a cloud environment. You may have tools in place for moving resources around and sending out workload, but unless there's some logic and intelligence to what's happening, there's no way to optimize utilization and make sure the right decisions are being made (and actions taken) to protect performance and SLAs. That's what products like Univa's Reliance do.
Cloud Computing Journal: So this can be managed on the fly and still meet user SLAs?
Liu: It certainly can be. Right now in most data centers, SLAs are managed manually – that is, a human has to notice that an SLA is being violated and proactively initiate the actions (let's hope it's the best action) to rectify the problem as soon as possible. I think it goes without saying that an automated approach is faster and smarter. Univa offers the most mature SLA automation product in Reliance, which comprehends both application and infrastructure SLAs to ensure application performance is optimal, and also provides content management to ensure high-value users or workloads get priority.
Cloud Computing Journal: So your contention then is that if you run your applications on precisely the right cloud resources, you'll not pay more than absolutely needed?
Liu: Part of the argument to manage toward application service levels is cost efficiency – users can reduce cost and increase utilization this way. But the biggest benefit is actually managing the business more efficiently. I'll give you two 2 examples: First, a company running a web application with no concept of queuing. This is like McDonalds operating a drive-thru with absolutely no sense of how long people are waiting or whether orders are being filled correctly. Managing SLAs lets businesses prioritize high-value customers ahead of low and make sure those customers don't wait too long for their work (where too long = whatever the customer defines). It takes 8 times more effort to gain a new customer than to retain an existing one. So shouldn't smart businesses make sure that happens, especially for their high value customers?
My other example is a Service Provider who can manage applications on a service level basis – so the provider can charge for services based on the SLA. This lets him prioritize customers and offer higher pricing (and service levels) to customers who will pay it, much like an airline does. It also lets the provider ensue that these customer with demanding SLAs actually get a higher level of service – automatically, guaranteed.
Cloud Computing Journal: How would you characterize the overall state of service governance technology today. Is Univa the sole pioneer of application-centric resource provisioning or are there competitors out there?
Liu: Well, there is certainly lots of confusion and misinformation out there. The reality is that no company is truly doing application service level management except Univa. The majority of others who claim this are either (a) only monitoring an environment that they can't automate – so they require manual processes to remediate issues, or (b) are offering infrastructure but not application SLAs – so actions are taken based on the needs of the infrastructure but not the application. This means for example that if a server goes down, it gets replaced right away (some IT guy gets a call to go fix it) – even if no application SLA is in jeopardy. Is that smart use of resources, both human and machine? Not if you can avoid this by automating the whole scenarios based on previously negotiated application SLAs. The bottom line is that users want to define good service based on how quickly they get the results they want, not on the % that some server is being utilized. Tools like our Reliance make that possible.
Cloud Computing Journal: There seems to be little doubt that lightweight infrastructure is The Shape of Things to Come, for Enterprise IT? When, though? Are we talking 2010 or more like 2020, for major enterprises?
Liu: Let's use the electricity market as a cloud analogy. Large enterprises went to private generators for 3-4 years before utilizing public services. Likewise, cloud will start internally (with private clouds) and enterprises will also start to experiment with public services. Then, after year 4, price points will be low enough and security concerns will abate enough so workloads can move to a public cloud, reducing the size and weight of the internal infrastructure.
Cloud Computing Journal: How big an issue is security for enterprises who wish to migrate toward Cloud-based infrastructure wholly or in part?
Liu: In private cloud environments, it's no different an issue than it is for their current data center. The bottom line is that large enterprises must move to this type of setup within the next few years. They will be getting calls from service providers who will be able to quote pricing in the single digit per hour range, and they simply must be able to react by either implementing a private cloud or going with a public service. This means understanding what their costs really are, having that data figured out, and then also being able to deliver more efficiently.
Private cloud is really the only hope for companies who want to optimize internally before computing externally . In public clouds, we're really dealing with 2 types of scenarios: (1) the consumer focused, Amazon EC2 type of cloud. Here, security concerns are being reduced due to requirements from the users, Amazon has a VPN tunnel to alleviate security concerns, for example. But our sense is that the majority of enterprises will go with (2) the long-term relationships the already have with service provider who can offer a semi-dedicated cloud, where they are fully aware of security, infrastructure and the like. This provides control and peace of mind while still delivering the benefits of a cloud environment.
Cloud Computing Journal: How big a part are standards going to play in the success of the Cloud?
Liu: In private cloud, and also in semi-dedicated clouds where I think the majority of enterprises will go, this is less relevant. For consumer-focused public clouds, there are benefits to standardization especially if you are an ISV who wants to port your applications to the cloud. The biggest problem right now is that applications must be written in a 3 tiered way to enable scaling in a cloud. That has to become standard. This offers complete portability of applications which will become a requirement in the public cloud.
Cloud Computing Journal: Which do you see as being the fastest-growing sector, Private Clouds or Public Clouds?
Liu: For smaller enterprises, I'd definitely say public. The value proposition is incredibly compelling, the technology is ready, and the barriers to adoption are being driven down. For larger enterprises, private cloud is where the growth is happening. This is being driven by competition from public clouds – meaning, large enterprises must go public or figure out a way to operate as efficiently as public clouds do.
Cloud Computing Journal: Finally, what's you top tip, as a seasoned software executive, to those other CEOs out there right now with respect to migrating (or not!) to the Cloud?
Liu: My top tip is: Know the landscape and pick your best approach based on who you are. Look at the cloud world as either private and public. For public, view the options as semi-dedicated public or fully public (consumer-focused) offerings. If you're an SMB, you should be looking at public cloud computing now. If you're a large company you should be experimenting with public offerings but at the same time moving rapidly toward private cloud transition within your own environment.
My other tip is: Beware! There are plenty of amateurs out there. Align yourself with seasoned experts who know what they're doing and have been working these types of environments for years. There are 2 types of misinformation out there: from startups who are just entering the space with new technology, and from client-server infrastructure software companies trying to convince you they can take their tools and apply them to cloud. Be sure you choose vendors to work with who are neither brand-new to the business or so entrenched in one area that they can't be agile enough to adjust to what cloud users need.
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text:
Partnering for Impact in the 829 Days to 2015
The power of partnership is the recipe for meeting the Millennium Development Goals and advancing beyond 2015, the UN Secretary General affirmed in an event bringing together players from a range of UN multi-stakeholder initiatives in New York on 23 September.
UNESCO's Director-General highlighted the Global Education First Initiative in a panel that included the principals of FAO and WHO, Water Aid and the Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Energy.
With 828 days left to the target date for achieving the MDGs, the Secretary-General stated that success is within our reach "because people working together all over the world have proven that transformational change is possible in an accelerated timeframe. The quantum leaps necessary for MDG success have come, and will come, from partnerships and coalitions among a broad range of stakeholders such as those here today. Multi-stakeholder partnerships are being increasingly recognized as development game-changers, fostering a race for results."
The message was made clear: no single entity can tackle the complex challenges of water, nutrition, education, energy and health alone. Government ownership and responsibility, however, is fundamental.
"We have to include to grow," stated President Humala of Peru, underlining his government's conviction that only inclusive policies could ensure sustainable economic growth.
UNESCO's Director-General emphasized that education was key to the success of many other initiatives, including improving child and maternal health. The Global Education First Initiative was about partnership involving governments, the private sector and civil society to increase access, improve quality, train teachers, foster shared values to cope with global challenges and build bridges between school and economic needs. "Education is a public good, and the success of any initiative," said Mrs Bokova, "starts with national ownership and accountability." Speakers agreed that national oversight and accountability mechanisms, combined with good systems to collect, analyze and use data properly, were "critical weapons" to increase the chances of reaching the MDGs. Mr da Silva, Director-General of FAO, noted the importance of building social protection, including access into education, into initiatives to reduce hunger, insisting on the need for effective governance.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon underscored that the two institutions they lead were working in close synergy driven by the conviction that "development, peace and security are inseparable." Mr Kim affirmed that partnerships had to build development knowledge, and address the "data deficit" because insufficient evidence is a serious obstacle to effective policymaking. He pledged the Bank's support to several of the Secretary-General's initiatives.
The private sector has a vested interested in partnering to achieve the MDGs "because business in the 21st century has to grow differently, respecting the limits of the planet's resources," said Unilever CEO Paul Polman. "We have to learn to do more with less, and responsible business is part of the solution. There is a new generation of business leaders who understand that they have to come up with business models to contribute to society in order to continue to operate."
Education was the focus of several events attended by the Director-General on the first day of the UN General Assembly. At the 2nd Bunengi STEM African First Ladies meeting, the Director-General affirmed that "to sustain Africa's renaissance, science, technology, engineering and mathematics education should lie at the heart of national development strategies." She drew attention to the role of partnerships to promote innovation, citing the UNESCO-L'Oréal for Women in Science programme, projects with the private sector and support to governments in building STEM into national development strategies.
Mrs Bokova also insisted on the role of partnership to rebuild education systems in the "Education Cannot Wait" side event, alongside Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, the UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown and UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. The event focused on planning, prioritizing and protection education in crisis and crisis-prone zones.
She emphasized the role of literacy, skills training and partnership during a roundtable on inclusive finance for development with UNDP Administrator Helen Clark and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, UN Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. "Financial inclusion is social inclusion," said Mrs Bokova, placing special focus on empowering women through the provision of basic literacy and accounting skills in community learning centres.
Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, the Director-General met with the President of its 68th session, Mr John Ashe. She pledged support for his agenda, including small island developing states, risk preparedness, water and south-south cooperation.


text:
Peach Blackberry Cobbler
Total TimePrep: 40 min. Bake: 40 min.
Makes12 servings
- 12 medium peaches, peeled and sliced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups fresh blackberries
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
- 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar
- In a large bowl, combine the peaches, flour, honey, lemon juice and salt; let stand for 15 minutes. Fold in blackberries. Transfer to a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray.
- For topping, in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until crumbly. Make a well in the center; pour in buttermilk. Stir just until a soft dough forms. Drop by tablespoonfuls over fruit mixture; sprinkle with coarse sugar.
- Bake at 400° for 40-45 minutes or until filling is bubbly and a toothpick inserted in topping comes out clean. Serve warm.
Nutrition Facts1 each: 263 calories, 6g fat (3g saturated fat), 15mg cholesterol, 286mg sodium, 51g carbohydrate (28g sugars, 5g fiber), 4g protein.
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Jul 10, 2019
Very tasty! I added some water to my berries since we like a juicy filling. The cake like topping was delicious! A pretty different cobbler, it's a keeper!
May 7, 2015
I made this recipe for the first time last summer using peaches that were almost over ripe and substituting blueberries for the blackberries. It was phenomenal! Took it to a church function and the pan came back almost licked clean!
Jul 19, 2013
Delicious! I enjoyed the recipe as written. It was my first time peeling fresh peaches, and even with blanching them it was a lot of work. It says that canned can be substituted, but how many cups/cans would that be?
Mar 27, 2012
I always have frozen peaches & Blackberries on hand and this cobbler is a delicious way to use the fruit. We like it warm topped with vanilla ice cream! One of our family favorites!!
Sep 14, 2009
I just made this for a gathering. It was delicious! I altered the honey with 3/4 c. Splenda with the fruit and used 1/2 c. Splenda for the batter. I also reduced to 2T lemon juice. Be sure to watch time for the topping to be completely cooked. I had never used buttermilk before, it was SO good!
Jul 27, 2008
This was good given my husband doesn't care for peaches or buttermilk, and he liked it. However, it was a bit tart. When I was making it I thought 3T of lemon juice sounded like a lot so if I make it again I will try it with less. Also, it would be helpful if the peaches could be given in cups, as I only had small ones which made it tricky to get the correct amount.


text: IMPORTANT! ComicbookDB.com will be closing its doors on December 16th, 2019 as we look towards creating a new and improved tool for collectors to utilize. We want to make sure everyone has a chance to download their data & collections by clicking on this link after logging in. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to contribute to the site and we look forward to seeing you again soon. If you have any questions, click here. ElfQuest (1985) #10 - Comic Book DB Free Services! Add New Content | Top Issues | Register | Marketplace | Forums | Request a Feature | Help | Mobile | Home Login Username: Password: Register for free Social Media: Search: Entire Site Title Creator Character Member Group Issue Name Story Arc Story Name Search by Cover Date Browse: Titles Creators Characters Groups Story Arcs Publishers Imprints TPBs/HCs Podcasts Awards Members Contributors Public Collections Public User Lists Last 10 titles added: 1. Powers Scriptbook (2001) 2. Venom 2099 (2020) 3. Ghost Rider 2099 (2020) 4. Conan: Serpent War (2020... 5. Annihilation - Scourge: ... 6. Annihilation - Scourge: ... 7. The Infected: Deathbring... 8. Crone (2019) 9. Absolute Carnage: Captai... 10. The Zombieful World of O... View All Last 10 creators added: 1. Bret Harte 2. Arthur Chapman 3. Carl Mayer 4. Hans Janowitz 5. Carlos Montezuma - 'Wassaja' 6. Roger Royal Eubanks 7. Daryl Talbot 8. John Rollin Ridge - 'Cheesquatalawny' 9. William Jones 10. Gilbert L. Wilson View All Last 10 characters added: 1. Maelstrom, Forever 2. Brother Jacob 3. Brother Philip (Firefly) 4. Benitez, Chang 5. Crash Ryan 6. Grud, J. Hoover 7. Sapiens, Homer 8. Candyfloss 9. von Kreesus, Wanda 10. Elid View All ElfQuest (1985) - #10"Return to the Holt"Epic Comics (Marvel) Change this coveror add a variant Writer(s):Wendy Pini Penciller(s):Wendy Pini Inker(s):Wendy Pini Colorist(s):Glynis Oliver Letterer(s):Janice ChiangWendy Pini Editor(s):Mary Jo Duffy - 'Jo Duffy'Archie GoodwinRichard Pini Cover Artist(s):Wendy Pini Rating (out of 10): 7 from 2 votesYou must be logged in to vote! Other members' collections This issue is in 73 collections. This issue is available for sale/trade Toolbox Edit this Issue Clone this Issue View this issue's contribution history Clone the creators of this issue Clone the characters of this issue Suggest a podcast for this issue Search for 'ElfQuest' on Amazon Cover Date: May 1986 Cover Price: US $ 0.75 Issue Tagline: None. Format: Color; Standard Comic Issue; 32 pagesThere are other versions of this issue in the database: ElfQuest (1985) #10 Newsstand EditionStory Arc(s): Add/remove story arcs to this issueSynopsis: None entered.Reprints/Collects:ElfQuest (1978) #6ElfQuest (1978) #7Reprinted/Collected in:Elfquest: The Grand Quest (2004) TPB vol. 13Characters: Add/remove characters to this issue Ahdri Aro Bearclaw Briersting Clearbrook Cutter Kinseeker Dart (Dyrr, EQ) Dewshine Dro Ember (ElfQuest) King Greymung King Guttlekraw Leetah Moonshade (ElfQuest) Mother of Memory Newstar Nightfall (Elfquest) Nightrunner (ElfQuest) Oddbit Old Maggoty One-Eye (ElfQuest) Picknose Pike (ElfQuest) Rainsong Redlance Scouter Shen-shen Skywise Starjumper Strongbow (ElfQuest) Suntop Thaya Treestump Two-Edge Wing (ElfQuest) Woodlock Groups: Add/remove groups to this issue Reviews: There are no reviews for this issue. - Add your review Multiple Stories in this Issue Add a story to this issue Multiple stories do not exist for this issue. © 2005-2019 ComicBookDB.com - Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy - DMCA Special thanks to Brian Wood for the ComicBookDB.com logo design


text:
--from the film "Easy Rider", 1969
I looked for America this past spring and summer and I couldn't find it anywhere.
It wasn't for lack of trying. Because of work and vacation plans, from April to August, I visited thirteen states and traveled more than 10,000 miles, by air and on the road. I flew in the skies over the United States and drove on its highways, from the west to the east coast, from the heartland to the heart of the northeast and I got to see a lot of America in the past five months.
And so I decided to look for America.
I tried to find it. Tried to figure out just what makes America, America. What makes America, at least for me, a precious and even sacred place, unlike any other country on the earth. My home. Our home. No: not in a triumphal way, with over the top flag waving or in your face chants of "USA! USA!" Instead, with a joyful and curious and grateful spirit, I tried to find America. I made this cross country pilgrimage at a time when it can seem as if America is coming apart at the seams, socially imploding somehow. America. Trapped in the midst of an often ugly and interminable national election, where politicians and pundits certainly seem oh self righteous about the America they claim that they've found.
So what better time to look for America?
Maybe America is in a specific place I visited. Like the wide and white sandy beaches of Santa Cruz, California, where wetsuit clad surfers frolicked in the waves among the seals and the sun, an endless summer. Or at a rural camp in suburban Connecticut, where a young couple made lifelong God-blessed promises to each other on the hottest day of the summer—100 degrees at 12 noon---then danced away to Grateful Dead tunes with family and friends cheering them on. Or is America in Rochester, Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic, one of the best hospitals in the world, where compassionate doctors and nurses worked to make sure one of my best friends can beat cancer?
I looked for Americans, too, on my trip.
Maybe America is embodied in some specific person or peoples I met. The leather clad Harley riding biker, with a "Make America Great Again" bumper sticker on the back of his jacket, who passed me on I-80 in deep woods Pennsylvania, and gave me a hearty wave and smile. The pink haired young women in a yellow Volkswagen Bug, dancing away in her car to a full volume song, a "Feel the Bern" bumper sticker on the back of her vehicle. She pulled up beside me on a sweltering stretch of highway near Akron, Ohio. Is America found in the faith of an earnest pastor in Cleveland, who drove me through the mean and hard streets of that inner city? He talked to me about how much he loved the folks he served, how determined he was that his church would make a difference for the better in his neighborhood.
Is America at the Starbucks in a trendy Minneapolis neighborhood, where a pony-tailed barista made me coffee? Or is it at a gritty truck stop in DuBois, Pennsylvania where the coffee was just ok but a tattoo covered clerk wished me a safe trip home. Her graceful benediction stayed with me for so many miles. Is America a so called red state or blue state or purple state or battleground state? I drove through them all. Is it small town Cooperstown, New York with the old school Baseball Hall of Fame? Or big city Oakland where I watched a ballgame on a muggy April Sunday afternoon with a fellow fan from Detroit.
I looked for America and I couldn't find it anywhere. Instead I found it everywhere.
In tiny tucked away villages and broad shouldered urban enclaves; seemingly abandoned towns far off the interstate and brand new McMansion developments, springing up like sunflowers, by the side of the road. There was nowhere where America was not evident on my journey.
I found America in every one I encountered too. All of them Americans and America: blue and white collar, black and white, all colors; gay, straight, families of all shapes and sizes too. Saw lots of faith. Houses of worship were every where. But I also saw lots of Sunday morning folks who "worshipped" at the Waffle House on the Sabbath. And here's the miraculous truth: every last person I met was an American. No one left out. No one uncounted. No one unseen.
I learned in my ultimate American road trip one lesson that America and Americans seem to forget and therefore need to relearn again and again and again. America is me. America is you. America is always all of us, together. That "E Pluribus Unum" thing. From many, one. Even if we don't always get that right. We are America: a beautiful and broken land, so wonderful and so hurting at times too. We have such great hopes for ourselves and our nation: that's why our disappointments and frustrations are so great as well.
But America? No worries. I looked for it. Then I found it. I just had to open my eyes and my heart. How about you? Have you found America?


text:
How Newspaper Apps Show Off the Windows 8 Interface
I've been spending lots of time with Windows 8 and Windows RT lately and one thing that intrigues me is how applications are adapting to fit in the new user interface. Some of these build off of similar applications designed for the iPad and maybe other tablets; others are meant to be Windows 8 versions of traditional desktop applications. In either case, the results are often notably different from how they started.
I don't think any are in a final state—just like Apple iPhone apps are now far from their 2008 versions and iPad apps are far from their 2010 versions—but the outlines of how they work are interesting. Since I read regularly on a tablet, I examined the top four newspaper apps, comparing the iPad versions with the Windows 8 ones to get a better idea of the differences.
The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and USA Today apps are all available for free; the first three require a subscription for the content (though the Times makes some of its top news free to all) and USA Today is currently free. (The same is true of their websites.) On Windows 8, they all make some use of the "charms" feature, using the share icon to email a link to a story or post it on Facebook or Twitter. Interestingly, the search charm only works with the Financial Times (actually, it searches the website); the other applications aren't searchable. That's certainly something I'd like to see addressed in future versions of the apps.
Take The New York Times. It certainly gets the new look, with section screens that scroll from side to side rather than trying to fit specifically to a single page. You can use this in portrait mode, but like almost all of the Windows 8 apps I've seen, it does feel more at home in landscape mode. You tap on a story to view it, or swipe up or down to see additional sections. In most cases, the stories you download are available offline.
The Windows 8 version looks less like a physical newspaper than the iPad version, which has both pros and cons. In general, I still find the iPad version a bit easier to navigate. I appreciate the iPad version's status bar to let you know when the application has completely downloaded content, but overall, the two versions are pretty much on par.
The Wall Street Journal's appearance is even more app-like on Windows 8 while it's even more newspaper-like on the iPad. Like the New York Times, it too has a scrolling interface that isn't designed to move page by page but rather as one continuous look. Again, that's not bad, just different.
Clicking on a story shows a larger view.
I do miss seeing the names of other stories in the sections, which you get in the iPad version. The Windows 8 version also lacks the division between the printed version and the "now" version that you get on the iPad, although it does have a WSJ Live feature to bring you to Web video content. Instead, it's pretty much up to date all the time. The big issue is more fundamental, however: As far as I can tell, you can't download content to read offline; all I ever get is a notice that I'm not connected. As such, I don't find the Windows 8 version nearly as efficient.
USA Today was just completely revamped on both platforms, so it looks even more like a news application than a physical paper. It only works in landscape mode, not portrait mode. On the iPad, this manifests itself as list of sections each with list of stories.
Windows 8 takes the new look to an extreme. The front page is a bit too light on content for me, while the section fronts show a lot more content, all with a very pronounced, tiled interface. There are some notable differences: For some reason, the Windows 8 version seems to lack the opinion section and the puzzles. Also, it separates out photos and videos by section, rather than grouping them under a single tab. I like the Windows 8 approach here better.
It's certainly very visual, with very little text appearing on the front page of each story but very large pictures. I can see where people might like that, but it's not how I normally think about reading newspapers. USA Today does work offline, and unlike the others, the content is free.
We then come to the Financial Times. It takes a very different approach from the other applications by choosing not to develop specific apps for each platform, but rather to create an HTML5 application that works well on multiple platforms. There do appear to be some minor modifications for each platform, though. For instance, the Windows 8 version supports search and share charms, while the iPad version adds the share feature (along with a clippings feature) to each story.
It's essentially identical on Windows 8 and the iPad, and for that matter, on Android. The FT looks a lot like a page-oriented newspaper and it resizes to match the orientation and screen size.
This gives it flexibility on platforms without seeming particularly tuned to any one in particular. Still, it works surprisingly well on all sorts of machines.
One of the big overall questions is going to be whether customers will want these kinds of tools optimized to look like the platform or whether they will want them to be consistent across media, whether multiple mobile platforms, Web, and even print. USA Today takes the most platform-specific view while FT is most consistent across platforms; the Times and Journal fall in between. As consumers' consumption patterns evolve over the next few years, it will be interesting to see how the news outlets change their goals.