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Also for whoever has a long battle history in the database now the PR for last ~1000 battles appears as well in the profile.
Update 5-Jan - Moved NoobMeter to new server.
New feature - Inputting two or three names (delimited by commas, spaces, whatever) brings up a comparison screen.
Update 23 Dec - scatter charts for clans.
Update 20-Dec: Added more kinds of server top lists.
Update 18-Dec: added graphs in player and recent result pages if enough data is available
Update 16-Dec: added initial support for viewing your recent results in slightly more detail (if it is available in database).
Update 12-Dec - Added viewing by clan (only for players in DB / viewed since clan viewing was added).
Update 11-Dec: New version in, fixes some issues with people's alt accounts getting to top of server list too easily. Should not have no impact whatsoever on most peoples ratings.
Update 01-Dec: Added "Server Top" feature (from players updated in the database).
Update 24-Nov: Now showing Performance Rating for recent battles for those players who have at least 25 of them in the database. Due to sample size, of course, results can vary.
Update 20-Nov: new version deployed with:
- Significantly lowered impact of winrate compared to damage
- Completely rewritten / improved / largely eliminated "penalties" mechanism
- Now showing rating descriptions in results screen (subject to change)
This is the official EU thread for NoobMeter - a World of Tanks statistics tracking website with all sorts of awesome features:
Q. What is this?
A. This site calculates the "performance rating" for the World of Tanks players you specify.
It is currently in alpha stage (early release).
Q. What is the performance rating?
A. It is a calculated value assessing the player skill, based on an assessment of the tanks the player is playing, the damage dealt (considering tanks played!) and the win rate.
Q. How is the performance rating better than efficiency rating?
A. It is a more accurate assessment of player skill, as it focuses on two values which are hard to boost together - damage dealt, and win rate (CW/TC can boost win rate but will lower damage dealt). A player generally cannot improve these two values without directly helping his team, thus there is no way to selfishly inflate the performance rating values.
Q. What are the issues with efficiency rating?
A. Efficiency rating is flawed in many ways and allows players to boost it if they focus on simply doing things which increase the efficiency rating.
In particular, it over-values capping and initial spotting, and players who mostly worry about efficiency rating ruin games for others by 'ninja-capping' or 'suicide-spotting'.
For example, a player on the EU server has the absurd efficiency rating of 16,505 attained in exactly one battle in a 'loltractor'. Such examples are plenty.
Q: Many players with high efficiency rating also have a high performance rating, so what is the point?
A: Good players that care for their team and help winning have both high efficiency rating and performance rating. Only players who artificially boost their efficiency without helping their team get a lower performance rating.
So for the majority of players these two values will indeed correlate.
Also note that the scales of ER and PR are different (see below)!
Q. Can you publish the exact formula for performance rating?
A. Not at this point. It is a complex algorithm, not a formula, so would involve publishing the source code.
However, the main things it looks at are:
- What damage have you done? This has the most impact, and is evaluated considering what tanks/tiers are played.
- What is your win-rate?
Q. I think the performance rating of player X is wrong, it should be higher/lower.
A. Please post the player name in this discussion thread and we will evaluate.
Q. What are some general guidelines for evaluating performance rating?
A. In general, although these may be reevaluated later:
- Less than 1150 - bad player
- 1150 to 1250 - below average player
- 1250 to 1450 - average player
- 1450 to 1750 - good player
- 1750 to 1950 - great player
- 1950 to 2000 - excellent player
- More than 2000 - "Unicum"
A. WarGaming only publishes a limited set of data to their web site, which limits the options. Of these, we have chosen the parameters that are the most relevant to evaluating player performance, and ignored others such as initial spotting, cap points and average experience as they are either too easy to boost or are too inconsistent (e.g., depend on presence of premium account).
Q. Why are you not including kills per battle?
A. Kills are sufficiently accounted for in damage and winrate. Any kill helpful to the battle effort will indirectly raise the winrate and any kill by definition increases damage.
It just introduces another variable to muddle things up for no great advantage. And it could encourage someone to actively kill-steal.
Q. Why are you not including defence points?
A. Any defence helpful to the battle effort will indirectly raise the winrate, and is thus already accounted for in the rating.
Including it could encourage people to "farm" defence points by waiting for enemy to cap longer before resetting if the situation permits doing it safely.
Q. Why are some people so angry in this thread and/or are trolling?
Usually, because their performance rating is lower than they believe they deserve. And usually that is because they have gamed / boosted their efficiency rating.
We'll be very interested to hear your comments!
Edit - recreating thread as original has disappeared, probably it was closed due to a few posters misbehaving.
Thread moved to more appropriate section of the forums. Please use appropriate forum sections when creating new topics.
Edited by NoobMeter, 21 October 2013 - 09:55 PM.


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Today Adobe announced that we have signed a definitive agreement to launch a public tender offer to acquire all of the publicly held registered shares of Day Software, a market leader in next-generation Web Content Management (WCM), based in Basel, Switzerland.
This acquisition represents a significant market opportunity for Adobe to help organizations transform themselves by enabling them to create, manage, distribute and monetize content while optimizing the web experience for their customers. With the addition of Day to our enterprise portfolio, we will now be able to deliver on our vision of the web as the hub of customer interaction and help our customers create greater differentiation and brand loyalty.
The combination of Day's next-generation WCM software with Adobe's enterprise solutions for delivering rich experiences, establishes a platform for our customers to transform their online experiences. The addition of Day's Web Content Management, Digital Asset Management and Social Collaboration solutions to our customer experience management portfolio (including LiveCycle, Adobe Connect and Flash Platform in the enterprise) will help customers realize the full potential of the web in acquiring, servicing and retaining their customers, without disrupting their existing IT infrastructures.
For more information see the press release and visit Adobe.com and Day.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Jean-Marc Berne, President/Talent914-420-3022 | [email protected]
Please enter your name and email address.
Thank you for subscribing - May "The Voice" be with you!
Hi, my name is Jean-Marc Berne, the founder of Berne Media Enterprises Inc., and also known as an international public speaker, voice over artist and coach, and world renowned voice trainer on the hit animated series "The Octonauts," which airs on The Disney Channel. I specialize in showing public speakers, serious actors and heart-centered entrepreneurs how to find their voice, save it from strain, so they can speak with ease, radiate more confidence, and evoke real emotion with every conversation.
I'm on a mission to connect people's hearts to their voices to create a love wave across the globe.
I've traveled to Dubai, Cairo, Bahrain, Canada and all over the USA giving workshops to some of the world's top bankers, doctors, lawyers and leaders.
For public speakers, I share with you how to masterfully use your voice to feel powerful, sound confident, command presence and create more impact every time you speak.
For voice actors, I teach Voice Acting technique, show you how to market your voice, and produce Voice Over Demos that support your Voice's brand. (Commercial, Corporate, Audiobooks, Medical Narrations and Animation)
I maintain the strength of your concepts for your bilingual English-Spanish Audio Productions.
I write and translate songs in both English and Spanish in a variety of styles and maintain the strength of your original lyrics.
Your Voice Is Your Brand. Make It Powerful.
I give one-on-one and group classes. You can also check out my workshops page to see when the next workshop will be.
[email protected]
No products found.
Please stay tuned for the upcoming B-Me Newsletter!


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Langhorne lifts Storm to 71-65 win over Stars
SEATTLE (AP) — Crystal Langhore and Sue Bird came through for the Seattle Storm with the type of big plays that had been absent during a seven-game losing streak.
Langhorne scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half to help the Storm beat the San Antonio Stars 71-65 on Sunday night. She scored seven and Bird added five in the final three minutes of the game after the Stars had rallied from an 18-point first half deficit to take a 59-57 lead.
Bird had a key steal and layup to give Seattle a 67-61 lead after Langhorne had delivered two three-point plays and Bird had hit a short jumper.
"Sue made a huge play defensively with the steal and the layup," said Storm coach Brian Agler, pleased to see a number of big plays by his team late in the game. "People that have watched us play over the years, that's what they're used to seeing down the stretch."
Camille Little added 15 points and Bird 10 for Seattle (10-20), which moved within 3 1/2 games of the Stars for the fourth and final playoff berth with just four games left.
"It was just a couple of consecutive plays that I was able to be a part of and able to make," Bird said about the fourth-quarter rally. "The first time was a look for myself. The second time they came to me so I found Crystal. And defensively we were able to do just enough to get a win."
Langhorne, in her first year with the Storm, downplayed her role.
"Actually, I still think I missed a lot of chippies,"said Langhorne, who also had 10 rebounds. "But I tried to be aggressive, going with the roll and trying to get to the high post and attack and not set up for jumpers but getting into the paint and finish looks."
Kayla McBride scored 17 and Danielle Adams 14 - all in the second half - to lead San Antonio (13-16), which fell a half game behind Los Angeles for third place in the west. The Stars have lost seven of nine but still are three up on Tulsa for the final playoff spot.
"We got back into it but we didn't finish some defensive plays," Stars coach Dan Hughes said. "Part of it was you have to expend so much energy coming back from 18 (points down)."
Agler remained confident his team would eventually end its long losing streak.
"The players at some point just get tired of losing," Agler said. "They either regain a sharper focus or get something back that drives them inside. I think several of those people that made plays showed that out there tonight."
The Storm took the season series from San Antonio 3-1.
"Hopefully, a taste of this can help propel us the rest of the season," Bird said. "I know that it doesn't look good for us but truth be told anything can happen and all we can do is take care of ourselves. We have four games left, three at home, so hopefully we can at least feel like we felt tonight in this building for us and our fans."


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Dried mushrooms give this rich red-wine sauce an almost meaty flavor. Look for them in the produce department of well-stocked supermarkets or specialty grocers. If you're not a fan of salmon, try the recipe with halibut instead. Serve with barley tossed with parsley and steamed broccolini. To double: Prepare a double batch of sauce in the large skillet, increasing reduction time as needed. Cook 2½ pounds of salmon in two batches, adding oil as necessary.
Ready In


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The Decompiculture Society promotes intimacy with and acceptance of the physical realities of decomposition as vehicles toward death acceptance. The Society seeks to advance knowledge and awareness of postmortem options through research, education, and decompiculture: the cultivation of organisms that assist in metabolic decay. Society members include funeral industry professionals, providers of green burial options, artists, designers, health-care workers, and curious individuals who seek to explore the relationship between human bodies and the environment from a secular perspective.
Join us on Facebook.


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Officials: Maine flu outbreak now epidemic
1 death reported this season
Maine health officials said the flu outbreak in the state is now an epidemic.
There have been 70 confirmed cases of the flu this season. That is quadruples the number of cases the state had last season.
Just last week, 27 cases were reported. Thirteen new cases have been reported this week.
A child died from the flu last month in Maine.
Those tracking the flu said it is getting worse and it hasn't even reached its peak yet.
They said flu shot clinics are being added and it's not too late to get vaccinated.
At VNA Home Health Care in South Portland, the clinic was open Friday and they have been inundated with people who want the flu shot.
Olivia Crupis is a healthy 22-year-old. She got the nasal mist to protect herself against the flu. She works directly with the public as a barista at a popular coffee shop.
"I see a thousand people a day or more. I actually had a woman sneeze on her card before she handed it to me a couple weeks ago. I'm a very busy girl. I'm too busy to get sick, so my mom made me come here," said Crupis.
Others like Teddy Houghton went to the clinic because he skipped the flu shot last year and lived to regret it.
"I was sick as dog. I was in bed for a week. I had the worst headache of my life and I don't want to do that again," said Houghton.
Nicole Burke is a registered nurse with VNA Home health. A big part of her job is to make home visits. She's spending a lot of her time these days with the elderly who have been hospitalized with the flue and are now home recuperating.
"For flu patients, I probably saw about two to three a day, versus last year maybe one every other day," said Burke.
The head of Maine's Center for Disease Control, Dr. Sheila Pinette, said this is the most severe flu outbreak in a decade.
She said the myths that Maine is running low on vaccines is just a perception because some pharmacies have been offering shots around the clock.
"Actually, we have an adequate supply of flu vaccine that covers the most prevalent strains of the influenza virus circulating in our state that have been documented. So the vaccine is available and if you go to your pharmacy and you find they don't have it available today, somebody in the next town over may have it," said Pinette.
Free flu shot clinics are still being offered even though during a normal year, all of the clinics would have been over by now.
VNA Home Health is offering free flu shots on Monday at its Foden Road location from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The city of Portland has also scheduled an additional clinic for next Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.


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Well, I believe that they are actually 34 in Earth years, but I am not bother by it at all :) And since this year my party has one more permanent guest I will be away a bit celebrating. I do hope though that you will also have a marvelous day :D
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
2 comments:
- Rabid Fox said...
Happy birthday, man. Cake, babay!
- March 30, 2011 at 4:50 PM
- Mihai (Dark Wolf) said...
Thank you very much! It was a delicious cake :D
- April 4, 2011 at 2:02 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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We've collected the top four reviews, roundups and how-to articles from across the AppStorm network in February. Whether you're interested in Mac, iPhone, Web, or Android apps, there's bound to be something you didn't spot over the course of the month. Now would be a good time to explore a part of the AppStorm Network you've never seen before!
Thanks for reading AppStorm, and I hope you enjoy looking over some of our favourite posts from last month!
Best of Android.AppStorm
Sync Your Life: Student Edition
The life of a student can be very chaotic at times. Luckily, there are some excellent apps that are perfect for keeping track of your daily life. While each app has its own benefit individually, theyíre even more powerful when used in combination with each other to achieve seamless organization of events, assignments, notes, and anything else you would like to keep track of.
To do this, I recommend centralizing your organization around a feature-packed note-taking application. In this demonstration, I will be using Springpad.
10 of the Best Photo-Sharing Apps for Android
This round-up aims to present an overview of arguably the best photo-sharing platforms available on Android. Now, this includes apps that focus most heavily on pictures, rather than the far larger social networks such as Google+, Facebook and Twitter which serve a wider purpose. These apps are more dedicated to sharing pictures, and make it as easy as possible to do so from your mobile phone. We haven't included purely photo-editing apps; apps like Pixlr-o-matic and BeFunky are very cool, but there is less focus on sharing and do not provide the same kind of platform to share pictures on.
Here youíll see some big names, some new names, and some names you might not have heard ofÖ until now. Read on for some truly excellent photo-sharing apps youíll want to check out!
The All-in-One Era of Android
Google and Samsung recently released their latest and greatest flagship phone, the Galaxy Nexus, running Android 4.0 (aka Ice Cream Sandwich). I watched a video review of the device and I was very impressed with Googleís latest offering because it represented some big changes to Android that are going to be fantastic.
I took to my own site and penned an article praising the new phone and OS. Being an Apple-focused site, I threw a bit of iPhone discussion in there, looking at Appleís ageing mobile interface compared to Googleís fresh, modern, almost Windows Phone-ish interface.
However, Ice Cream Sandwich is helping Google recognise some big improvements to Android that is going to edge them towards a level of customer satisfaction provided by companies like Apple and Amazon, with fully integrated devices and all-in-one solutions.
The Designerís Android Toolbox
Weíve reached a point in the evolution of computing technology where one canít deny the impact of mobile devices ñ phones, tablets and everything else to come ñ in our personal and work lives. For designers, this domain is typically governed by Apple products, be it the Mac desktops and laptops, or the range of iOS devices like iPhones, iPads or even iPod Touches. With the huge surge in adoption of the Android platform though, a lot of designers have also come onboard and are probably wondering how they can use these devices in their work context.
Being a designer myself, I went through that struggle and scoured the Android market to find all the tools I could use and benefit from. And this roundup is a culmination of that search. Letís take a look then, shall we?
Best of iPad.AppStorm
The Early Edition 2: RSS Feeds In Your Morning Newspaper
Let's face it. The app store is overflowing with RSS readers.
On the iPad it began with the highly publicized Flipboard and developers took off from there. While I'm quite an avid blog reader, all the reader apps can begin to blend together after awhile – to a point where I find myself not paying much attention anymore. However, there are a few, like Reeder, that find ways to stand out.
Typically what causes them to stand out is a wealth of features, a beautiful design that has visual appeal, and a twist on the basic concept of reader apps. I quickly found that The Early Edition 2 fits that mold and has quite a bit to offer.
The One and Only
Several weeks ago we run a poll that asked the very simple question; could you use the iPad as your only computer?
It made me wonder about whether I really could, what the toll on my productivity would be, and how it would change the way I did things. Could I truly ditch my MacBook and move over the the iPad permanently?
How to Turn Your iPad Into the Ultimate Writing Tool
Many consider the iPad to be a content-consumption device, with little to no possibility of creating something with the large screen and limited hardware capabilities. I'd like to say that, with all fairness, those people are out of their minds! The iPad makes it easy to do many things, and can replace laptops for a fair number of people.
Aside from the computer-illiterate, the iPad may be best for writers. How can you turn your iPad into the ultimate writing machine? Read on to find out.
Rock Out: 14 iPad Apps for Listening to & Discovering Music
If you are like me, you thrive on music to get you through the day. However, when you need new tunes most of us turn to word of mouth, and get our friends involved! But what if there was a better solution? What if your iPad could help you out! With these awesome apps we can discover, listen, and share these new tunes! In this roundup we have apps to help you discover and listen to new music!
So, if you are ready to rock out with new music, read this roundup and get inspired!
Best of Windows.AppStorm
Turn Your PC Into a Wifi Hot Spot
Ever had to stay at a hotel that only provided a single ethernet port for connectivity? Using a USB modem to connect to the internet maybe? Wouldn't it be great if you could share you internet connection without having to buy even more fiddly hardware?
Well, you're in luck because that's exactly what we're going to take a look at today!
Tidy Up Your Computer with CleanMyPC
While there are tons of PC optimization and file sweeping applications out there on the web, few offer a complete solution that gives you hard drive clean up, registry error fixing, and other ways of speeding up your computer. While programs like CCleaner and Revo Uninstaller can tackle one or a few of these features at a time, CleanMyPC by MacPaw has them all. But does it successfully pull it off? Keep reading to find out!
Sauerbraten: A Fast Paced First-Person Shooter
Today, I would like to go off the beaten path a little and share a little-known first person shooter with you that I have been enjoying for years. Sauerbraten is an arena-based first-person-shooter with many aspects that resemble the all-time classic Quake 3.
Being highly addictive and always impressive to play, Sauerbaten is an ideal combination of fun weapons and fast gameplay. Read on for my full review.
11 Terrific Cloud Backup Solutions for Your PC
Backing up files is the smartest thing a computer owner can do. Storing them in the cloud means less investment upfront and unlimited storage that can be accessed from any place. Thanks to the intense competition among the cloud backup services, you can get unlimited storage for just a few bucks.
But, it isn't like cloud backup services are the silver bullet. Some tend to revise their pricing plans, throttle upload bandwidth and so on. Still, given that the domain is in its infancy, things should improve over time. Follow me after the fold to check out some of the coolest cloud backup solutions available.
Best of iPhone.AppStorm
iCloud Is Broken and It Needs to Be Fixed
Many years ago, back before I was a convert to the world of Macs, I wanted to find a way to sync the contacts on my various computers, that way I always had the right phone number on hand. To do that, I used a new online service, which didn't really work the way I expected it to. I always found myself with doubles or missing contacts, which essentially defeated the purpose.
Today we have iCloud, which is supposed to be an improvement on the problems we had with MobileMe. But with those improvements comes a problem — relying on the system. And when it doesn't work, then there's a problem. A big one.
Orchestra: Everybody Plays a Part
There is no shortage of to-do apps in the App Store. There are apps that will sync across platforms, apps that only reside on your phone and apps that live primarily on the web. I would say that behind games and camera applications, to-do apps are the most popular in the store.
They all offer different features, and have their own strengths and weaknesses. Today we're going to take a look at Orchestra, the app that aims to be home for your own personal to-do list and the tasks that need to get done by, or are assigned by, the other people that you work with. It also has a companion app which we reviewed on our sister site, Web.AppStorm as well.
Meet The Developers: Emmanuel Crouvisier from Tagg
It's funny how small this world is. Take, for example, Emmanuel Crouvisier, the owner of Emcro and developer of Tagg, a new application that allows you to easily and quickly tag the pictures taken with your iPhone using facial recognition. I worked with him a few years back when we were both at a magazine in Arizona, and then I went my way and he went his, but we kept in touch. Flash to today, and not only has he built quite a few apps for other companies, but now he's branched out on his own and developed Tagg for the iPhone, and pushing iOS 5 to the max. With the launch of his new app, we figured it might be a good time to sit down and talk about development, what he's doing with Tagg and the future of app development. Enjoy.
Securely Store Anything With 1Password
I'm not a big fan of applications that store passwords and information like that, and it's for a very good reason: once you stop with the habit of remembering passwords yourself, you forget them, since you're relying on an app to do it. Apart from that, there's the security issue, since your passwords are being stored in a potentially insecure system.
That said, 1Password isn't any password management software. Like its name doesn't suggest, it can store almost any kind of information, not just passwords. This comes very handy in case you need to buy something online but don't carry your credit card around. Plus, it boasts hardware accelerated AES encryption, so even if you lost your device, someone would have to go through a tough time to gain access to your passwords.
Best of Web.AppStorm
6 Ways to Make the Web Easier to Read
Sometimes it seems that writing is more important today than it's ever been in history. From Facebook status updates to txt messages, we're all writing and reading almost more than we're talking and listening. And while the internet has hastened print media's troubles, many of us still read tons of text online weekly.
Whether you're reading news articles, a great longform story, or a review of a new app here at the AppStorm network, sometimes the internet just isn't the best place for thoughtful reading. From small font sizes to cluttered layouts, the web often takes the joy out of reading. Here's some of the best ways to make your online reading experience better no matter where you're reading.
Offline Gmail: A Neat HTML5 WebApp
Ever since Google killed off Google Gears, users were left without any way to access their Gmail accounts without internet. Google said they were ending Gears because they wanted to focus on implementing HTML5 to get a newer, more complete, and less plugin-based system for offline email.
Even though it's been a long time in the making, Google's finally kept their word: the Offline Gmail app is now available for free in the Chrome Web Store. Keep reading to see our overview of this iPad-inspired offline web app for Chrome.
Otixo: Access All Your Online Files in a Single Place
If you are using the Internet, there is absolutely no chance you aren't using cloud storage. Knowingly or unknowingly, your data is stored in a remote server waiting to be accessed from any device you choose to use. And if you are someone like me, you likely use a whole bunch of cloud services to do one thing or the other. From invoicing, email to getting things done and composing this very article, I depend on the cloud for a huge portion of my computing life.
It's a conscious choice, and over the couple of years I have willfully reduced my dependency on local storage. Over the course of the day, I have to open and close a lot of apps to get work done. I'd would love to avoid that. Otixo is a web app that creates a centralized place to access all files stored in the cloud across all of your storage services, letting you move files seamlessly between, say, Google Docs and Dropbox. That sounds like an app that most of us could use today, with a growing number of files saved on dozens of apps across the web.
Web Apps We're Thankful For in 2011
Happy Thanksgiving! For Americans around the globe (including your editor in Thailand), Thanksgiving a time of family and friends and football and more food. And, of course, it's the time we're supposed to take a few moments to think of all the things we're thankful for. Most of us have life far easier today than the original settlers and native Americans did back in the 1600′s, but there's still a lot to be thankful for.
Truth be told, almost every device and app we touch today would have seemed magical only a decade or two ago, and the internet itself is almost a modern miracle. Here's some of the biggest things in the world of web apps the AppStorm team is thankful for this year.
Best of Mac.AppStorm
Return of the King: Will Quicksilver Reign Once More?
Quicksilver. For seasoned Mac users that word instantly draws up fond memories of an app that was once at the top of every list of must have utilities. The beloved launcher has been out of the game for years though, an unceremoniously abandoned project that went before its time.
It seems though that the story doesn't end there. The open source Quicksilver project, housed at QSApp.com, is alive and kicking and recently released a major update for Lion users. Intrigued? Read on!
Upgrade Your MacBook With A Dual HD/SSD Setup
SSD's or Solid State Drives are a popular upgrade lately due to the very significant difference they can make to even an older Mac's performance in real world use. Unfortunately, SSD's are also still prohibitively expensive for those of us who wish to keep large quantities of media on an internal hard drive.
There are a few workarounds for this, but most rely on an external drive or cloud storage. Alternatively, the following guide will show you how to install an SSD and make use of a larger, standard hard drive in the SuperDrive bay. As far as non-standard upgrades go, it's not too difficult, but is perhaps not best suited for complete novices and may well void your warranty.
Stop the Presses: Sneak Preview of Alfred 1.0
Big news, our favorite launcher is finally about to hit version one! It's hard to believe that the app has received so much attention and good press while in a fairly experimental state but the simple truth is that Mac users simply can't get enough of Alfred's perfect combination of depth and simplicity.
Read on as we take a renewed look at what Alfred can do along with some awesome new features you can look forward to in the 1.0 release!
30 of the Best Calendar Apps and Utilities for Mac
We've scoured the Mac App Store and the web in search of the very best calendar apps for OS X. Some serve as full on iCal replacements while others are must have companion apps that extend iCal far beyond what it currently offers.
We found apps that put calendars on your desktop, in your menu bar, on a screensaver and just about everything else you could want. If you're in the market for a new calendar utility of any kind, this is the roundup for you. I'll even help you cut through the clutter by pointing out my favorite app of all!
Share Your Ideas
Is there something in particular you'd like to see on the site next month? We'd absolutely love to hear your suggestions for articles, topics and giveaways. Just let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading AppStorm!


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Advanced Search
Development | News
Java-COBOL integration tools provider Veryan has upgraded its flagship isCOBOL Application Platform Suite (isCOBOL APS). Release 2 of the 2010 APS adds new features to its integrated development environment (IDE), new data migration and file management utilities, and some updated resource management features.
The isCOBOL APS provides an environment that allows developers to program in COBOL, while generating pure Java output. It allows COBOL user-words to reference Java classes and automatically converts Java data types to the COBOL type that will work in a particular statement. Programs written in COBOL can be called directly from Java as though they had been written in Java. And the code gets deployed across multiple platforms in an open Java framework.
Among the most notable new features in Release 2 is the ability to set conditional breakpoints from within the IDE in which the debugger evaluates when a breakpoint is reached. As Veryant explained this feature, "if a condition is satisfied, then the debugger will stop at the designated line of code and allow a user to examine variables, step through the code, and take other actions."
In general, this release aims to provide greater customization and control of COBOL-friendly application development tasks, the Phoenix, AZ-based company said, including an update to the IDE that gives developers mode-setting options (Debug, Release, User-defined, etc.); a new, intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) for the data migration utility ISMIGRATE; a new file editor (the Veryant Graphical Indexed File Editor, or GIFE), which is designed to allow developers to read, modify, add or delete individual records stored in an indexed file instantly from a GUI interface; and enhanced thin client administration tools.
Veryant's isCOBOL pitch is a straightforward one: The software "blends the optimized, business-oriented nature of COBOL with the openness, portability, and power of Java, without retraining staff or rewriting code." Given that about 60 percent of the world's business applications were originally written in COBOL, it's a compelling proposition. COBOL is one of the oldest high-level programming languages; so many older enterprises have a big investment in this code, an estimated 200 billion-plus lines of which are currently running in companies around the world.
Earlier this year, Veryant added support for Eclipse Galileo in isCOBOL APS.
The isCOBOL APS, Release 2, is available now. For more information on this release, go here.
About the Author
John K. Waters is a freelance author and journalist based in Silicon Valley. His latest book is The Everything Guide to Social Media. Follow John on Twitter, read his blog on ADTmag.com, check out his author page on Amazon, or e-mail him at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Smartphones are making us dumber
From the way people behave on the MRT, on buses, at coffee shops, restaurants, in parks, or on sidewalks, one would think that Taiwan had been hit by a zombie infestation well before the release of summer zombie blockbuster World War Z. Everywhere one turns, they are there, walking about in a daze, sitting comatose, completely oblivious to their surroundings and absorbed in their smartphones, their insect-like fingers tapping and sliding furiously.
Hailed just a few years ago as a great technological advance, the smartphone has since turned into an instrument that has made the general population more dumb, less attentive, asocial and disconnected from reality.
Like gunpowder or nuclear energy, the device is not intrinsically evil and contains the potential for good, provided that it is used wisely. Unfortunately, with alarming frequency, the smartphone is used not to enhance intelligence or as a tool of convenience, but as a means of distraction that is rapidly turning a lot of people into mindless creatures.
Observe these smartphone zombies in action, see them ignore spouses and friends at restaurants, blithely occupy seats reserved for the elderly or pregnant women on the MRT, or stop abruptly at the top or bottom of escalators, making collisions all but inevitable. This sudden stopping happens so frequently now as to have become a national hazard, which perhaps calls for the passing of new regulations.
The majority of these zombies are mind-numbingly zapping alien creatures as they cascade down the touchscreen, growing batches of pixelated mushrooms, bursting multicolored bubbles, lobbing feathered balls at oinking piglets, or typing text messages to friends or lovers detailing what they had for lunch or relating the latest office gossip.
The long-term physical and psychological consequences of this mass addiction to tablets and smartphones cannot bode well for humanity. Fueled by the ceaseless launching of ever more powerful phones with larger screens, faster processors and alluring new features, this plague is further alienating people from each other and widening the space between the individual, the community and the external world.
People do not read books anymore, an activity that encourages development and fuels the imagination, nor do they engage in meaningful conversation, look at the stimulating environment around them, or engage in artistic creation. Their entire world seems contained in that rectangular screen from which they derive and learn nothing. These zombies are killing time, unaware that they are killing their brain cells and brain-limb coordination too. Aside from the exercising of fingers, no good comes from this slavish use of smartphones.
There are plenty of ways to pass time and while the brain does need rest, there are much more constructive ways of relaxing the mind than losing oneself in a small LCD screen. It would be interesting to see an image of a person's brain activity as they while away hours on these devices. In all likelihood, brain activity would be at a minimum and probably becomes less pronounced over long and sustained exposure to this technological opiate. In other words, using smartphones makes people stupid. How many hours, days, months is one willing to sacrifice to this evil electronic god, this bane of humanity?


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I think that having proven that small Mobo's and our small raggies can make it through the weather - maybe attendance next year will be more mixed rag / mobo .....
At moment Yarmouth HM is being difficult over deposits paid ... so makes one consider different tactic / booking strategy next time.
I like the idea of Yarmouth as venue - it has both good and bad weather capability - just a right s*d when wind over tide and weather turns to get there.
We are hoping that we can improve on this years with a few more prizes from others as well as IPC / YBW again. Discussion is underway at moment ref. the YBW connection - last meetings IPC/YBW contingent couldn't make it ...
I was disappointed that more Raggies didn't make it and also with the weather we couldn't have the kids / grown-ups games as planned ... still it went well and next year fingers crossed should be better.
Comment - It is always difficult to find a venue that can handle 30+ boats ... plus the berthing of such varied freeboards / boat styles ... a sigh of relief ran through me after this years .... but it did give rise to a bit of hair-pulling at times !!
Here's to next years ... lets see if we can really "push the boat out" !!!! [img]/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]


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Stonehenge, the iconic prehistoric monument on the edge of Salisbury plain, Wiltshire. The stones have been here for over 3500years and many of them were transported over 160 miles from the Preseli Hills in South West Wales.
This point on the path is about as close as you an actually get to the monument. There's that guy in yellow again...


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I have just finished FMQ on my Brother 1500 and I am pleased with the results but have some questions. I outlined everything that was gold with gold thread and you can't even tell! Should I have quilted the background in a light blue instead? Would it have made the peacocks stand out more? Then I quilted the border using blue thread instead of gold because I thought it would be too much gold. Now I wish I did. What do you think if I went over the blue in gold or just leave it alone? And finally - I sewed right on the GT tracing paper because I couldn't see the caulk markings. Now I have very small pieces of paper that I have to use a pair of twizzers to get it out of the stitches. Does that mean my FMQ stitches are to close to each other?
Here's my wall hanging


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According to Mustang fan site StangsUnleashed.com, this is the new 4.6-liter DOHC V8 that will power the higher performance-spec Mustang, whether Bullitt or Mach 1. According to a site's source, the uprated mill will produce in range of 400 hp — naturally aspirated — when it debuts in mid-2008. The Bullitt/Mach 1 will also reportedly come with a suspension tuned by Ford Racing and far better brakes than the push-and-pray setup currently offered. Could that new road-racing series be far behind?
2008 Bullitt Mustang Engine News [Stangsunleashed.com]
Barrett-Jackson: We Get A View Live From Stage, You See Shelby Give Away First-Born GT; Trans-Am Racing Could Make a Proper Comeback, Says C&D [internal]


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The plugin supports some of AppCode built-in refactorings Rename and Safe Delete for XSLT items such as templates, variables and parameters. It's also possible to create XSLT variables from selected XPath expressions with the well-known Introduce Variable shortcut. Inlining variables is possible with the Inline shortcut as well.
On this page:
- Renaming templates
- Rename variables and parameters
- Safe delete
- Introduce variable
- Introduce parameter
- Inline variable
Renaming templates
Named templates can be renamed in AppCode just like any other symbol. All
invocations that refer to this template will be updated accordingly.
Rename variables and parameters
Just as named templates, it is possible to rename XSLT variables and template parameters, either at a point of their use or at their declaration.
Safe delete
Named templates, parameters and variables can be deleted using AppCode Safe Delete feature, i.e. the item will be removed if there aren't any references left to it in other stylesheets across the project.
This is especially useful if the stylesheet may be included in other ones via
to make sure that nothing will be deleted that is still used somewhere else.
Introduce variable
It is possible to extract XPath-Expressions and turn them into an xsl:variable declaration. Check the Replace all occurrences check box to replace all other occurrences of the same expression.
Introduce parameter
This is similar to Introduce Variable, but it creates a new parameter instead of a variable. It also has an additional option Create with default value that determines if the selected expression should be added as the introduced parameter's default value or if all calls to the template should be updated to pass the selected expression. That option is only available when introducing parameters to named templates.
Inline variable
This is just the opposite of Introduce Variable, it replaces all usages of a variable with the expression that is specified in the variable's select-attribute. Variables that don't have such an attribute cannot be inlined. Inlining variable references that resolve to parameters is not possible as well.


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My assignment for class is to create a base class and a subclass, and each one has to have an equals method. Both equals methods are meant to iterate through the indices of an array, but the base class method is for integers and the derived class method is for strings. The equals method in the derived class is supposed to overload the equals method in the base class, but not override it. Right now, the equals method I have in my base class is:
public void equals(int[] equalsList) {
boolean found = false;
for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++) {
equalsList[i] = numbers[i];
for (int i = 0; i < equalsList.length; i++) {
for (int j = 1; j > i && j < equalsList.length; j++) {
if(Integer.toString(equalsList[i]).equalsIgnoreCase(Integer.toString(equalsList[j]))) {
found = true;
if (found) {
System.out.println("You entered a duplicate number. Please restart and only enter each number once.");
When I try to pass an array as a parameter in the derived class (ex. super.equals(priorities);, where priorities is an array containing a list of integers), it doesn't work and I still get duplicate numbers. I was able to make it work when I had no parameters at all for the base class equals method, but I need it to have a parameter so it can be overloaded by the equals method of the derived class. Does anyone have any suggestions?


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The area of Lake Como is enriched by 7 prestigious Golf Clubs. Here below a short description of the greens. Most of them are private; at their discretion non-members are allowed to play. Booking is necessary, an appropriate attire is required and at weekends/holidays or during competitions are open only to members.
MENAGGIO & CADENABBIA GOLF CLUB (www.menaggio.it)
Via Wyatt, 54 - 22017 Menaggio Fraz. Croce. Tel 0344/32103
The Menaggio&Cadenabbia Golf Club was founded in the early 20th century on the hills of Menaggio. This is a distinctive alpine hills course (18 holes, 5482 mt, par 70, altitude 455mt s.l.) Its difficulties are determinate by narrow and winding fairways and the steep inclines.
Open every day from March to November, from 08:30 to 18:00.
GOLF CLUB LECCO (www.golfclublecco.it)
fraz. Pizzighettone 1, 23841 Annone Brianza (LC). Tel. 0341/579525
It is situated in the heart of Brianza, between two lakes, Annone and Pusiano. The course (18 holes, 5672mt, par 71) is plain with some narrow holes with dogleg in a thick wood and some long ones wider with less vegetation. It is a technical path.
Open all year around, from 08:30 to 19:00. Closed on Tuesdays.
GOLF CLUB VILLA D'ESTE (www.golfvilladeste.com)
via per Cantù, 22030 Montorfano (CO). Tel 031/200200
The Villa d'Este Golf Club is set in the hills overlooking the lake of Montorfano. It was founded in 1926 and it is surrounded by a magnificent wood of more than 30.000 chestnut, pine and birch trees.
The course (18 holes, 5732 mt, par 69) is open from March to December, from 08:30 to 19:00. Closed on Tuesdays.
GOLF CLUB MONTICELLO (www.golfclubmonticello.it)
via Volta 63, 22070 Cassina Rizzardi (CO). Tel. 031/928055
The Monticello Golf Club was founded in 1974 on about 140 hectares. It has hosted 7 Italian Opens and with its two courses is the largest in Italy. The red course (18 holes, 6270mt, par 72) and the blue one (shorter but not less challenging – 18 holes, 5904mt, par 72) lie in a marvellous setting with 2 artificial lakes.
It is open from February to December from 08:30 to 18:30. Closed on Mondays.
GOLF CLUB CARIMATE (www.golfcarimate.it)
via Airoldi, 22060 Carimate (CO) Tel. 031 790226
The Golf Club Carimate was founded in 1961 on 60 hectares of the century-old park of the castle of Carimate. It's a varied course (18 holes, 6021 mt, par 71) with broad, well-lit fairways in a hilly setting. The first 9 holes are a bit steeper.
Open all year around from 8:30 to 18:30. Closed on Mondays.
LA PINETINA GOLF CLUB (www.golfpinetina.it)
via Al Golf 4, 22070 Appiano Gentile (CO) Tel. 031/933202.
The Pinetina Golf Club stretches over 70 hectares of magnificent countryside and is set within the Appiano Gentile and Tradate park with its pine, larch, oak and chestnut trees. The course (18 holes, 5528mt, par 70) winds over rolling terrain and offers a variety of challenging holes with magnificent panoramic views: Monte Rosa and the Lombardy Pre-Alps.
Open all year around from 8:30 to 18:30. Closed on Tuesdays.
GOLF CLUB LANZO (www.golflanzo.it)
Piano delle Noci, 22024 Lanzo Intelvi (CO). Tel. 031 839060.
The Golf Club Lanzo was founded in 1962 by the great architect Donald Harradine. The 9 holes course (double departures, 5094mt, par 68) is located at the height of 1000mt and wind across the woods of Piano delle Noci with view of the surrounding valleys and mountains.
Open from March to mid-November. Closed on Mondays.


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Feds Giveth Jobs & Cars, Then Taketh Away Again
The bad news this morning on the impact of both the federal stimulus and the Cash for Clunkers program should not come as a surprise to anyone who has paid attention to the history of government intervention in the economy.
New data that the jobs created by the stimulus have been overstated by thousands is compelling, but it's really a secondary issue. The primary issue is that the government cannot "create" anything without hurting something else. To "create" jobs, the government must first extract wealth from the economy via taxation, or raise the money by issuing debt. Regardless of whether the burden is borne by present or future taxpayers, the result is the same: job creation and economic growth are inhibited.
At the same time the government is taking undeserved credit for "creating jobs," a new analysis of the Cash for Clunkers program by Edmunds.com shows that most cars bought with taxpayer help would have been purchased anyhow. The same analysis finds the post-Clunker car sales would have been higher in the absence of the program, which proves that the program merely altered the timing of auto purchases.
Once again, the government claims to have "created" economic growth, but the reality is that Cash for Clunkers had no positive long-term effect and actually destroyed wealth in the process.
Right now businesses and entrepreneurs are hesitant to make investments or add new workers because they're worried about what Washington's interventions could mean for their bottom lines. The potential for higher taxes, health care mandates, and costly climate change legislation are all being cited by businesspeople as reasons why further investment or hiring is on hold. Unless this "regime uncertainty" subsides, the U.S. economy could be in for sluggish growth for a long time to come.
For more on the topic of regime uncertainty and economic growth, please see the Downsizing Government blog.


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Need Help? 925-685-4711
Explore innovative solid waste solutions for local residents.
Find safe, convenient disposal options for paint, oil, chemicals and other hazardous materials. Visit "Resources" section on the Home page for more information.
Republic Services provides a wheeled yard waste cart. Be certain to comply with volume and size specifications. Some areas have weekly or biweekly curbside service. Additional carts are also available. Check your city's Customer Guide for service details.
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Find programs to manage and beneficially reuse organic materials.
Toss approved paper, plastic, metal and glass recyclables into one container for easy recycling.
Explore details about curbside ewaste collection in your Customer Guide.
Safely dispose of batteries, pesticides, fluorescent light bulbs and other materials. Please check your Customer Guide for service details.
Your resource for the professional handling of non-hazardous, industrial special waste.
A convenient mail-back program for the safe disposal of needles, lancets, syringes and related medical waste
Republic Services provides recycling solutions that match the overall performance objectives of your construction and demolition projects.
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Available in multiple sizes with flexible delivery and pickup to meet your business needs
Design, education and implementation of single-stream and multi-stream recycling programs
Nearly 200 active landfills offer environmental disposal of solid and special waste with regulatory compliance
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text:
by Mark Garcia October 8, 2013
Removing Stains from a Vinyl Liner Pool
Vinyl pool liners are less prone to stains than plaster pools, but they can occur - metal stains, chemical stains and organic stains can occur on the vinyl or on plastic steps or ladders.
I find that pool owners generally fall into two groups, the stain averse - and those who don't seem to notice stains in their pool, or are not bothered by pool stains.
If you are in the 'stain averse' group, and would like to remove stains in a vinyl liner pool, read on ~
Metal Stains: Iron, Copper, Manganese can come out of solution if your pool water has high levels of metals. Heavy doses of copper algaecide can lead to a blue-green staining of pool liners. Maintaining proper pH in your pool is important to mineral stain prevention. High or low pH can lead to minerals coming out of solution, to stain your pool. Home test kits for metal and minerals are not readily available, nor very accurate, but a local pool store may be able to test for metals in a water sample.
Chemical Stains: Bleaching can be caused by corrosive granular pool chemicals laying directly on the surface. Chemicals such as pool shock, pH down, calcium increaser or chlorine tablets, can fade a liner and cause it to pucker. This is not really a 'stain', and unfortunately, although a light brown chemical stain will fade, the bleaching or puckering of the vinyl cannot be reversed.
Organic Stains: Leaves and twigs, acorns, berries. Worms or other dead animals. Bacteria and algae. Pollen and pollution. Your open pool absorbs and absorbs all sorts of organic matter every day. Cleaning, sanitation and filtration keep it under control, usually. Organic liner stains are often removable easily.
Stains on the vinyl can come from any of the sources above. You may know exactly what the stain is, based on evidence gathered at the site. Is it metals, or organics? Does it brush off, or rub off?
The first thing to do - is to clean. A clean pool and a clean filter is proper preparation for stain removal, and a good place to start. Skim, Vacuum and Brush.
The second thing to do - always with any vinyl liner stain, is to balance the water chemistry. Make sure (!) that the pH, alkalinity, calcium levels are spot on.
The third thing to do - always after balancing the water, is to shock the pool, using either non-chlorine shock, or diluted chlorine shock.
If this didn't remove the stain, no worries, it is part of the stain removal process. Vinyl liners can't be drained and acid washed, and draining and pressure washing doesn't usually do much. Vinyl pool stains need to be removed more gently.
If unsure of the source of the stain, buy Jack's Stain ID kit to identify the stain. This easy to use, $13 kit will tell you the next steps to take to remove the stains.
For many vinyl liner stains, the prescription from Dr. Jack will be Vinyl Liner Blue Stuff, a powerful sequestrant that prevents and removes stains on vinyl pools. For metal stains, either Stain Solution #1 or #2, may be indicated, depending on the metals discovered.
Another stain removal miracle for vinyl liner pools is ascorbic acid, sold under the name of Stain Free, the gentle acid is successful on step and vinyl liner stains.
To keep metal and mineral stains from returning, add a sequestering agent twice per year, to keep minerals 'sequestered', or locked in solution. Or, you can use the new product CuLator - the only product that actually removes minerals from your pool, by absorbing them in an easy to use pouch that you drop into your skimmer basket.
Some stains are actually behind the liner, in between the wall or floor and the liner. They start as a bacterial colony, or can be algae, or mineral crystals. If they are dark enough, and large enough, they may show through the somewhat opaque pool liner, and appear as a stain.
Short of pulling up the liner and treating or patching the floor, and foaming the walls, what can you do when the stain seems to be behind or underneath the liner?
Start with the methods above - good water balance, and give a heavy chlorine shock. This may only work temporarily. If the stains are near the waterline, or high on the wall, you can lower the pool water, and get at the wall with a scraper, and then place a barrier in between the wall and the liner.
For steps and ladder stains, which can sometimes turn an off-orange, or light brown color, usually from leaf tannins, but also from metals such as iron. Jack's Magic makes a product just for this, it's called the Step Stuff, and it's real easy to use.
Stain Free, mentioned above, can also work miracles with vinyl pool steps that have gradually or suddenly, changed their colors.
Stains at the water line can develop over time on a vinyl pool. They are a mixture of dirt, minerals, oils, pollen, etc., that sticks to the edge of the pool, and are usually easily removable. Use a pool tile and vinyl cleanser. Don't use any sort of kitchen or automotive cleaners on the pool.
Lower the water and use a kitchen sponge with a textured side. Squirt on a small amount of the Tile/Vinyl cleaner, or spray it on with the new Engage cleaner by Eclipse 3, and clean in rotating motions. Stains at the waterline have a greasy film, and require a little elbow grease to remove, but don't scrub too hard, or you may actually begin to rub off the printed pattern.
Adding a pool enzyme product can help to keep waterline stains from returning. Use Natural Chemistry's Pool Magic, or Pool Perfect, and stop scrubbing the pool or steps every month.
Thanks for Reading!
Mark Garcia


text:
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Delayed access to tertiary care associated with higher death rate from type of pulmonary fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)―scarring and thickening of the lungs from unknown causes―is the predominant condition leading to lung transplantation nationwide. Columbia University Medical Center researchers confirmed that delayed access to a tertiary care center for IPF is associated with a higher risk of death. The findings were published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine on June 30, 2011.
A group led by Columbia researcher David J. Lederer followed 129 IPF patients at an academic medical center. They looked at the length of time from the onset of shortness of breath to the first visit to the center. A longer delay was associated with increased risk of death, independent of age, gender, socioeconomic status, lung capacity, disease severity, type of health insurance, or education. The researchers also found no association between the length of delay and the likelihood of the patient's receiving a lung transplant.
IPF leads to respiratory failure and death, usually within three years. It is a relatively rare disease, which afflicts 100,000 Americans, almost all over the age of 50. Characterized by shortness of breath upon exertion, it is often misdiagnosed, especially in people with other ailments.
A delay in making a correct diagnosis can lead to ineffective, or even harmful, treatments. For example, doctors sometimes still treat IPF with steroids, because the disease was originally thought to have an inflammatory component. Now scientists know that steroids are counterproductive. A delay in diagnosis can also delay evaluation for a lung transplant. Although research is underway on potential drug therapies, currently lung transplantation is the only effective treatment.
"The initial symptoms of IPF are subtle, and accurate diagnosis may not be feasible for community-based pulmonologists," explains Lederer, Herbert Irving Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine and co-director of the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Interstitial Lung Disease Program and Lung Transplant Program.
For that reason, earlier access would be aided by improved methods of early detection. But until then, the recognition, or even suspicion, of IPF should prompt referral to a tertiary care center.
Explore further


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Some weeks ago I was making sure that the JMSJCA connector runs
properly on BEA Weblogic 9.1. Of course I ran into some issues: never
assume that your code is really portable until you try it out. I also
found some issues in Weblogic. Now I
don't want to make this into a bashing session of Weblogic: since I
work for Sun Microsystems, and Weblogic can be considered a competitor
or Glassfish, that would be in bad taste. However, there's one thing
that bugged me a lot and for which I want to share a solution: logging.
Dude, where's my log output?
At SeeBeyond (and of course at Sun) we standardized on the use of java.util.logging. You could
argue whether java.util.logging
is technically the best solution, but since it's a standard it's a lot
better if you use that package than it is to write your own or use
third party logging tools. Standardization gives portability! So,
JMSJCA, STCMS, etc all use java.util.logging.
When I started to run my test suite on Weblogic, I was surprised
that the log output from the tests did not end up in one of the
Weblogic log
files. Instead, output
appeared on the console. Surely there was a configuration option
somewhere in Weblogic to fix this, right? I couldn't find one. The
problem became even more annoying when I tried to enable debug logging.
In Glassfish you go to the logging configuration screen, and you simply
type the name of the logging category that you want to change, select
the level and that's it. Not so in Weblogic. What was going on? It was
time to look a little deeper into this.
How Weblogic uses java.util.logging.
I must admit that the Weblogic documentation is good, and very
easily accessible. I wish we had the same situation at SeeBeyond.
Anyway, from the documentation it appeared that Weblogic fully supports
java.util.logging: I quote
from the documentation:
To distribute messages, WebLogic Server supports Java based
logging by default. The LoggingHelper
class provides access to the java.util.logging.Logger
object used for server logging. [snip] If your application is
configured for Java Logging or Log4j, in
order to publish application events using WebLogic logging services,
create a custom handler or appender that relays the application events
to WebLogic logging services using the message catalogs or Commons API.
Eh, what do you mean... LoggingHelper
class? Can't I just use java.util.logging
without depending on any Weblogic classes? Do I have to write custom code?
And how do I change log levels dynamically? Isn't there an option in
the admin console to do that? An MBean perhaps? I was really surprised
to find this recommendation:
If you use the DEBUG severity level, BEA recommends that you
create a "debug mode" for your application. For example, your
application can create an object that contains a Boolean value. To
enable or disable the debug mode, you toggle the value of the Boolean.
Then, for each DEBUG message, you can create a wrapper that outputs the
message only if your application's debug mode is enabled.
For example, the following code can produce a debug message:
private static boolean debug = Boolean.getBoolean("my.debug.enabled");
if (debug) {
mylogger.debug("Something debuggy happened");
To enable your application to print this message, you include the following Java option when you start the application's JVM:
That was a good recommendation... TEN YEARS AGO!
A fix
Fortunately, things are not as grim as they look. It's quite easy to
write a little bit of code that is deployed globally independently of
your application, so that you can continue to use java.util.logging without
sprinkling Weblogic dependencies all over your application. First of
all, what's all this with this BEA logger? As it turns out, during
startup, Weblogic instantiates a java.util.logging.Logger
object and hooks a number of Handler
objects to it. So if you log to that particular logger, your log output
will appear in one of the Weblogic log files. Can't you get access
to this Logger using Logger.getLogger(name)? No you
cannot: Weblogic is not using the LogManager at all. That particular
logger is not registered in the LogManager.
That is the reason why you need to use the weblogic.logging.LoggingHelper.getServerLogger()
Once we have a reference to this special Logger object, we can get
a list of the Handler
objects. Next, we can assign this list to the root logger object. As a
result, whenever you use a Logger
object obtained through Logger.getLogger(),
the output will go to the Weblogic handlers. Problem solved!
Of course we want to centralize this code: afterall we don't want to
introduce this dependency in our application code. There are two ways
of doing this: we can write our own LogManager and set that as the
JVM's LogManager
singleton. We can do this because Weblogic doesn't set a LogManager. The other approach
is to write a Weblogic startup class. An instance of this class is
created at server startup and its startup()
method is called. This is the approach I've taken:
package com.sun.bealog;
import java.util.Hashtable;
import java.util.logging.Handler;
import java.util.logging.Level;
import java.util.logging.LogManager;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import javax.management.MBeanServer;
import javax.management.ObjectName;
import javax.naming.Context;
import javax.naming.InitialContext;
import javax.naming.NamingException;
import weblogic.common.T3ServicesDef;
import weblogic.common.T3StartupDef;
import weblogic.logging.LoggingHelper;
\* Allows logging by applications and components using the java.util.logging
\* package by sending output from java.util.logging.Logger-s to the
\* WebLogic trace file.
\* @author fkieviet
public class BeaLog implements T3StartupDef {
public String startup(String string, Hashtable hashtable) throws Exception {
String result = "";
Logger wllogger = LoggingHelper.getServerLogger();
Handler[] wlhandlers = wllogger.getHandlers();
// Change log level on log file handler
for (int i = 0; i < wlhandlers.length; i++) {
if (wlhandlers[i].getLevel().intValue() >= 530) {
result += "log level changed of " + wlhandlers[i] + "; ";
// Copy handlers from wllogger to rootlogger
Logger rootlogger = Logger. getLogger("");
Handler[] toremove = rootlogger.getHandlers();
for (int j = 0; j < toremove.length; j++) {
for (int i = 0; i < wlhandlers.length; i++) {
result += "root handler now has " + rootlogger.getHandlers().length + " handlers; ";
// Register wllogger so that it can be manipulated through the mbean
boolean alreadythere = !LogManager.getLogManager().addLogger(wllogger);
// Register mbean
InitialContext ctx = null;
String[] names = new String[] {"java:comp/jmx/runtime", "java:comp/env/jmx/runtime"};
for (int i = 0; i < names.length; i++) {
try {
ctx = new InitialContext();
MBeanServer mbeanServer = (MBeanServer) ctx.lookup(names[i]);
new ObjectName("java.util.logging:type=Logging"));
result += "mbean registered; ";
} catch (Exception e) {
// ignore
} finally {
// For Java CAPS: disable two commonly used loggers that are used to
// relay call context information
return this.getClass().getName() + result;
private void safeClose(Context ctx) {
if (ctx != null) {
try {
} catch (NamingException ignore) {
// ignore
public void setServices(T3ServicesDef t3ServicesDef) {
As you may have noticed, there's another problem that's solved in
the code snippet above: dynamice log level configuration. The JVM's
logging package ships with an MBean that allows you to set the log
levels dynamically. The only thing that needs to be done is to register
this MBean in Weblogic's MBeanServer
(Weblogic has an
unusual way to access its MBeanServer
as you can see in the code). From then on, you can use a tool like jmx-console to access the
logging mbean and set the log levels.


text:
Maddon unhappy about Longoria plunking
ST. PETERSBURG -- Indians reliever Cody Allen hit Evan Longoria with a pitch in his left buttocks in the seventh inning, prompting Rays manager Joe Maddon to cry foul.
Maddon did not actually see the pitch strike the Rays All-Star third baseman, but he had a pretty good idea about what happened.
"I was actually cleaning my glasses at the time, so I didn't see it first-hand," Maddon said. "So then I heard about it, and it's pretty much a consensus opinion that he did it intentionally. However, I'll say one thing, unequivocally, I know it did not come from Tito [Terry Francona]. He would not do that."
There was some question regarding whether the pitch had been in response to Desmond Jennings running over Indians catcher Lou Marson.
"I know that it was a clean baseball play that did not deserve that kind of retaliation," Maddon said. "The concern that they should have over there is that that's how you get players hurt on your team. For me, it had to come from one of the players, and I would absolutely point to their bullpen."


text:
The Algarve Resident of Portugal reported on March 26, 2008 that a car belonging to Praia da Luz resident Sergey Malinka was destroyed by burning on the night of March 20, 2008. On the sidewalk next to where the car was parked the word "fala" ["talk" in Portuguese] was written in large letters.
Who is Sergey Malinka?
Sergey Malinka is a Moldavian-Russian man who has been living in Praia da Luz for about seven [or more] years. He is considered to be an expert in computer-related stuff and as a result is well known and enjoys a high social profile. He also operates a computer store in Praia da Luz. On May 16, 2007 he was interviewed by the Portuguese police in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann on the night of May 3, 2007 from a room in an apartment at the Mark Warner Ocean Club in Praia de Luz. When the police arrived at his apartment to question him, he had already wiped clean the hard drive of his personal computer which contained hundreds of files known only to him. He denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and the police could not arrest nor charge him with anything for a lack of evidence. How did Malinka found out the police were going to his place to question him in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann? If he didn't have anything to hide why did he wipe clean the files on his computer? As a matter of record for anyone to verify, Sergey Malinka telephoned former suspect in the case Robert Murat on or about 10:30 pm on May 3, 2007 - just some 30 minutes after Madeleine McCann went missing. Phone records show that both men were in continuous contact during the crucial hours after her disappearance. In addition, Robert Murat's mother Jennifer who operates a bed-and-breakfast business in Praia da Luz confirmed that both men had met and talked lengthily before and after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. Also, in its edition dated August 7, 2007 the digital magazine Variedad published a report featuring information on Sergey Malinka and his relationship with Robert Murat. According to the report, Sergey Malinka has a criminal background related to paedophilia, and his relationship with Robert Murat is based on common business interests connected to child trafficking, on behalf of international organisations with presence in Portugal and involved in this highly lucrative criminal enterprise. Malinka mysteriously disappeared from Praia da Luz shortly after Madeleine McCann was snatched from the bed she was sleeping on. The report by Variedad also included information on a large number of child-porn videos and pictures that were found at Robert Murat's house during a search after the kidnapping of Madeleine McCann had occurred on the night of May 3, 2007.
Sergey Malinka was [or still is] employed as a trip organizer by the Corlett Lines Company who owns the yacht "Naomi Corlett" which was believed to be the vessel that left Portimao in the early afternoon hours of May 3, 2007 and headed towards the Marina in Lagos to be positioned near Praia da Luz. As a matter of record for anyone to verify, Malinka was [or still is] an organizer of expeditions to remote islands off the coast of Africa on behalf of the Corlett Lines Company, and was also involved in offering boat trips in the Mediterranean and to the North of Africa. These business activities show that he had access to sea vessels before May 3, 2007. Also, telephone communication records available confirm that Malinka called his wife that was on board the yacht after its arrival at the Marina in the early afternoon hours of May 3, 2007. All of these and other facts suggest that Sergey Malinka was either directly involved in or has vital information on the kidnapping and disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Sergey Malinka is also a man with different alias. According to reports published on the sergeant's inn website, Malinka is known also as "Nick Legaloff," "Nikolai Fedorenko," "Ivan Nikolayevich Petrov," and possibly other false names. Why so many fake names? What is he really up that requires him to use so many fake names? These and many more questions remained unanswered on an individual whose shadowy activities make him a subject of interest in connection with different events, including what links to the kidnapping of Madeleine McCann. But above all, the biggest unanswered question is: Why was his car destroyed, and the Portuguese word "fala" ["talk] written in large letters next to it? Who wants him to "talk" about what? Whoever burned Malinka's car must have valid reasons to demand of him to "talk" in such a violent way. What does Malinka know that you and I don't regarding the kidnapping of Madeleine McCann? May we suggest that investigators currently working on the case give consideration to this information?


text:
Watch Live Cyclone 'Mahasen' Video Updates, Live Tracker, Live CAM, Photos, Satellite Images and Warnings
Cylcone MAHASEN Signal:
MAHASEN Update (12:45pm BST – Thursday 16 May, 2013): The cyclonic storm MAHASEN over westcentral Bay of Bengal moved further northeastwards during past 12 hours at a speed of about 25 kmph and lay centred at 12:45pm BD Time of 16th May 2013 (NEAR LAT 21.50 N AND LONG 90.60 E) about 110 km southwest of Chittagong, 100km southwest of Cox's Bazar and 120km south of Mongla port.
The cylconic storm "Mahasen" started crossing the coast near Patuakhlai (Khapupara). It is likely to move northeasterly direction further and may take 3-5 hours to complete crossing Chittagong-Noakhali Coast near Meghna Eastuary.
Maximum sustained wind speed within 54km of the storm center is about 62km/hr, rising to 90km/hr in gusts and squalls. Sea will remain very rough near the storm center. Maritime ports of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar have been advised to kep hoisted Danger Signal Number 7 (Seven).
How far is Cyclone MAHASEN from your City Location?
Distance of Cyclone Center (km)
|110 km (Danger Signal 7)
|Cox's Bazar
|100 km (Danger Signal 7)
|120 km (Danger Signal 5)
|1050 km
|380 km
|350 km
Mahasen, the cyclonic storm brewing over the Bay of Bengal, is 1200 km from Bangladesh east coast and more than 1,000 km from India's eastern coast, but its outer reaches could bring rain and squalls to places as far away as Dhaka in the next two or three days, according to the forecast of the meteorological centre.
The cyclone 'MAHASEN', which developed on Saturday morning, is likely to intensify into a 'severe cyclonic storm' in the next 24 hours, according to a bulletin from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
The impact of the emerging cyclone, coupled with pre-monsoon thundershowers, brought heavy rainfall along with severe thunder and lightning to several parts of Bangladesh and India which will continue till Thursday, May 16.
Month of May is always known as a 'cyclone month' and 'Mahasen' is the first cyclone this season, generally two or three cyclone passes through the Indian Ocean or Bay of Bengal at this time.
On May 13, the cyclone 'MAHASEN' is heading more northwards, but might change its trajectory in the next 36 hours and move towards the north-east Bangladesh-Myanmar coast, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
Maritime ports in Bangladesh have been alerted and advised to take adequate precautionary measures as cyclone Mahasen originated in the southeast Bay of Bengal moved slightly towards the northwest Sunday.
"Depression which already turned into cyclonic storm would likely move initially northwestwards during the next 36 hours and recurve thereafter northeastwards towards the Bangladesh-Myanmar coast," said a meteorologist of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) which Sunday issued a special weather bulletin.
The BMD special bulletin said the cyclone was centered about 1, 300 km south-southwest of Bangladesh's premier Chittagong seaport, some 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, 1,230 km south-southwest of Cox's Bazar seaport, about 391 km southeast of Dhaka, and 1,220 km south of Mongla port, about 178 km south of Dhaka.
It said maximum sustained wind speed within 54 km of the storm center has risen from 62 kph to 88 kph in gusts/squalls.
It said under the cyclone's influence, squally weather may affect north bay, adjoining coastal area of Bangladesh and the maritime ports.
The meteorologist said cautionary signal No. 4 in a scale of 10 has been sounded for all ports when all fishing boats and trawlers over the north bay have been advised to remain close to the coast and proceed with caution till further notice.
They are also advised not to venture into the deep sea.
Sources say the South Asian country's government has already asked its local administrations to remain alert so that evacuation of thousands of people from Bangladesh's coastlines can be done in a short notice in an emergency situation.
Warning Details
Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD)
Live Special Weather Bulletin Updates
Live Tracker Cyclone MAHASEN
Live Satellite Images of Cyclone MAHASEN


text:
Happy Halloween!
Anybody else having a hard time believing that it's the last day of October already?! Man, this month went fast. Super fast!
As mentioned in my previous post, last weekend I was doing some decorating for a church Halloween party. It all went great. The hanging spiders looked cool and the bats added a nice touch to what would have been empty walls. The Giant haunted house silhouette wasn't so giant but that's ok, it was still big and looked good on the stage. Did I take any pictures of these things? NO! I can't believe I didn't take my camera along - ugh!
The good news though, I do have photos of the giant spider I made and I even have a little DIY tutorial too. I realize it's a little late for you to make your own for this year but you can always tuck this idea away or better yet, Pin it on Pinterest and then you'll have it for next year. And, when I say giant Spider, I really do mean GIANT. Just for comparison sake, my daughter is 5.5. Ya, it's kind of big. My younger daughters named it "Winter" after the dolphin in Dolphin Tale. I kinda thought Charlotte might be more appropriate but, you know, whatever... so here's how I made "Winter."
GIANT Spider Tutorial:
Supplies Needed:
- Two balls, I used a leftover big bouncy ball from our summer and then a paper mached balloon. If I had a smaller ball I would have just used that.
- Black Fabric
- Glue Gun
- String or Ribbon
- 4 black foam long pipe covers (found at Lowe's for $0.87 cents each)
- 8 elbow pipe connectors (found at Lowe's for, shoot! I can't remember. I think they were only like $0.35 cents each - they were cheap)
- Googlie eyes
Step 1: Glue your two balls together. I just used hot glue but you could probably tape them together instead.
Step 2: Wrap your fabric around the two balls and start securing it in place. You will need to "pull, fold, & secure, then repeat", the fabric as you go. You want it to keep the round shape as much as possible. Also, it will look better if you keep all the seams and folds on the underneath side as much as possible.
Step 3: After you get all the fabric wrapped around the form, tie the string or ribbon around the neck. This will help separate, visually, the head and the body. Plus, it looks kind of cute with a little bow (see photos of finished spider).
Step 4: I wasn't so great about taking pictures on this part but I think you can kind of figure it out by looking at the completed spider. Plus, I will try and explain it here. For the legs, take one foam pipe cover and cut it in half. Each pipe cover with make two legs, so one half is one leg. Next take one of the halves and cut it again. This time just cut it about 1/3 the way down. You want each leg to have a short piece that comes off the body and then a long piece that continues after the "bend". Does that make sense?
After you have your leg pieces cut, take one pipe elbow piece (the little gray things) and attach the short piece of foam to one side and the long piece of foam to the other. Then, glue each leg to your spider body. TIP: When you are attaching the legs the body, it does help if you cut the foam at a slight angle first. This way the legs kind of curve with the body instead of being glued on at a 90% angle.
Step 5: After all the legs are in place, just add eyes and your done. Pretty easy right?! This spider may just be the only kind of spider that we love. It's even kissable.
The only thing left to do is put it on display. Currently, "Winter" is hanging out on our porch! I think she is planning on scaring trick-or-treaters. Hehehe!
Happy Halloween Everyone!


text:
Kendrick gets a win for the Phillies at home vs. the Pirates
The Phillies came into tonight's game with a mission in mind. Keep winning! That is what they did tonight on a drizzly, rainy evening at Citizens Bank Park. The team they whipped was their cross state rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates fans must be a loyal group because this team has the makings of losing 100+ games this year. The Phillies opened up the powerhouse and produced 12 runs to the Pirates 2.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a team that has seen it's fair share of stars in the past few years. Every time they get a worthy player though, they trade him off to a contending team and then go quietly back to trying to find the next 'superstar'. That is all the Pirates seem to do lately, get a decent player and then trade them off for next to nothing.
Five players that played for the Pirates became stars and then left:
- Jason Bay
- Xavier Nady
- Nate McLouth
- Freddy Sanchez
There have been many more other than these recent players also. The question is why?
It doesn't get any better for the Pirates either, they face Roy Halladay in the last game of the series of 2 games in Philly with the Pirates. The moribund Cubbies move into town for Wednesday and Thursday for another short 2 game series just before Inter-League play starts up bringing the Red Sox into Philly for the weekend.
Welcome back Jimmy Rollins, the spark plug of this team! Ryan Howard with a Grand Slam tonight, the score was 8-2 when he hit this one, so it's good for his stats. I want to start seeing Howard start hitting more in the clutch when it makes a difference.
A big welcome to 'Chicks Dig the Longball' Phillies blog by the ladies as we feature them in our preferred blog roll. Find them at http://digphilly.wordpress.com