text:
If you are saving for the future, it's nice to get a little help from the taxman. The Government offers tax breaks on both Isas and pension plans, but the two schemes work in very different ways. So how can you decide which is the better way to save?
Let's look in detail at the tax treatment of the two types of savings plan.
There are three stages at which the taxman can take a slice of savers' money. The first is before the money is put into a savings plan – in other words, when it is earned. The second is while the cash is within the plan, and the third is when the money is withdrawn from it.
Isas are taxed at the first stage only. So if, for example, you put a certain proportion of your net salary into an Isa, you cannot reclaim the tax that you have already paid. With a pension, on the other hand, you can reclaim this money.
Isas and pensions are alike in their treatment of your money while it is growing within the savings plan – in both cases your investment gains are exempt from tax.
At the final stage, when you come to take your money out of the scheme, it is a reverse of the position at the first stage. So withdrawals from Isas are not taxed, but money taken out of a pension is subject to tax.
At first sight, therefore, you might say that overall there is little to choose between Isas and pensions as far as tax relief is concerned – one is taxed on the way in, the other on the way out. In fact, things are a little more complicated.
First, pensions have a unique additional tax break: the facility to release a quarter of your pension fund as a tax-free lump sum when you reach the age of 55. This slice of your money is completely tax-free from the point you earn it to the time you spend it – a perk that, legally at least, only a pension can offer.
It's an incredibly good deal. "This is an amazing structure to find in our tax system. I think we have lost sight of how powerful it is," said Steve Bee, the head of JargonFreeBenefits, a pensions consultancy.
The second complication is that higher-rate taxpayers can expect to gain more from the tax relief on their pension contributions than they are likely to lose when they come to pay tax on their pension income in retirement. This is because very few people are higher-rate taxpayers after they retire.
Let's look at an example. Say you want to invest £10,000 to help fund your retirement and that the investments you choose, whether held in a pension or an Isa, will double in value between now and then. The Isa will simply grow to £20,000, which you can withdraw and spend without any liability to tax.
What about the pension?
The amount that actually gets invested in your pension plan depends on the rate of tax you pay. To end up with £10,000 in his pocket, a 20pc taxpayer will have paid £2,500 in tax on a total sum of £12,500. So when he or she puts £10,000 into a pension, that £2,500 is automatically added back to the investment by the pension plan provider. When your investments double, as we've assumed, your final pension pot will be worth £25,000.
You can take 25pc of this amount, or £6,250, as a tax-free lump sum, leaving £18,750. But any income you take from this residual pension pot is taxable, so the final amount you end up with after tax depends on your circumstances.
Imagine, for example, that your only other income is the basic state pension, currently £107.45 a week or £5,587 a year. This is well below the personal allowance, the amount of income you are allowed before any tax is due, which is currently set at £10,500 for people aged 65-74. As a result, your pension income would in practice be free of tax as well.
But someone with a top-up state pension, say, or a separate occupational pension, might have to pay tax on all of the income from the £18,750 remaining pension pot. If they did, the value of that sum would effectively fall by 20pc to £15,000. Adding back the £6,250 in tax-free cash gives a total after-tax value of £21,250, which is £1,250 more than the £20,000 achieved by saving in an Isa. This £1,250 represents the tax saved by the 25pc tax-free lump sum.
Things are different for a higher-rate taxpayer. To end up with £10,000 in his pocket, he will have earned £16,667 and paid £6,667 in tax. So if he invests £10,000, the value of his pension is £16,667 (basic-rate tax relief is added automatically; the remaining relief has to be claimed via his tax return).
After investment growth doubles his pension fund, he is left with £33,334. A quarter, or £8,334, can be taken as cash-free tax, leaving £25,000 to provide an income. Again, this will be taxable, but the actual tax paid will depend on his other income and circumstances. If he pays 20pc on the income, the value of his residual pot is £20,000. This is exactly the same as the value of the Isa, but he has tax-free cash of £8,334 into the bargain.
To summarise, the benefits of pensions relative to Isas are relatively modest for basic-rate taxpayers, assuming that they pay tax on the pension income in retirement, but are much greater for higher-rate taxpayers. It's important to note that these comparisons are based on tax rates, pension rules and state pension entitlements as they are now.
But the state pension is scheduled to rise to about £145 a week in 2015 under plans for a "single-tier" payment; this makes it more likely that your additional pension income will be taxed. More significantly, there is nothing to say that the tax-free lump sum won't be curtailed or even scrapped by a future government.
Pension rules have, after all, suffered repeated tinkering in recent years. Scrapping the lump sum would put pensions on a level playing field with Isas for basic-rate taxpayers and reduce their relative advantages for higher-rate taxpayers.
Isas, by comparison, have been left alone and you have all your tax relief "in the bank" from the outset; it is unlikely that a government would retrospectively impose a tax on Isa income.


text:
UK Now Seizing Music Blogs (With American Domains) Over Copyright Claims
from the how-nice deptLast year, we wrote about how the UK was following in the footsteps of the US's Homeland Security/ICE domain seizures. As we noted, the process there is even less rigorous than in the US -- often without a court being involved at all. Law enforcement just had to ask, and Nominet would take down the domain. Still, we hadn't heard about any specific domains that were seized -- and we hadn't heard of any non-Nominet (which handle .co.uk domains) being subject to UK claims.
Until now.
Dajaz1 -- who, of course, had its own issues with bogus domain seizures -- has a story up about how the site rnbxclusive.com appears to have been seized via UK law enforcement, who put up a splash page even more ridiculous (though with fewer eagles) than the ICE splash page:
- First and foremost, as mentioned, this is the first time we've heard of a foreign country seizing a .com -- which the US DOJ/DHS appear to claim as their own jurisdiction. While perhaps this was done in concert with US law enforcement, it seems pretty questionable that the US would allow what they insist are "domestic" domains to be seized by foreign countries. Think of the precedent that sets for... say... Iran. The operators of the site appear to have been in the UK, so that may be the reasoning behind this, but it still raises significant jurisdictional questions about just who can seize a .com.
- Second, the big red warning at the top is insane. Merely downloading music wouldn't be a criminal offense with a possibility of 10 years imprisonment. While I'm not as familiar with the differences between civil and criminal infringement when it comes to UK copyright law, I believe it's not that different than the US, where merely downloading is going to be civil, not criminal. A quick review of UK law suggests that it can only be a criminal issue if it's done at commercial scale, and doesn't seem to apply at all to personal downloads. In fact, the UK explicitly fought the idea of expanding criminal sanctions to file sharing. So, SOCA is basically lying.
- Next, the splash page claims that the music was "stolen" from artists. While the copies may be infringing, it's doubtful that the music was literally stolen.
- The scare tactic of displaying your IP address and pretending that this suggests they're coming after any visitor to the site. This is, again, insane. The RIAA tried this years ago when it got the Grokster site and it was just as silly then as it is now. Merely visiting a site is not breaking the law, and splashing your IP address next to a message suggesting visitors are about to be put in jail is insane hyperbole.
- Further, claiming that SOCA has the ability to "monitor" you is also an exaggeration. While it may be able to monitor certain transactions, it seems to be implying that it's watching your every move.
- Claiming that "young, emerging artists may have had their careers damaged" because of this site is pretty silly. Most young, emerging artists are actively leaking their works to such sites so they can emerge. They know that obscurity is a much bigger threat than piracy ever was or will be.
- Saying that downloading music means you have (absolutley) "damaged the future of the music industry" is again insane hyperbole. The music industry has continued to grow pretty consistently over the past decade. It's just one segment -- the direct sales of music -- that has stumbled, and that was the part that rarely pays artists very much anyway.
Filed Under: copyright, criminal infringement, domain seizures, domains, soca, uk, us
Companies: rnbxclusive

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Pageant Contestants:
Executive Director
International Pageants Inc.
P.O. Box 12426
Roanoke, VA. 24025
Attention: Director Candidates
The Directorship for the Mrs. International® Pageant for this state / country is currently available. If you are interested in joining one of the fastest growing, most exciting and rewarding pageant systems as a State or Country Director – please contact Mary Richardson, Executive Director at the link below:
Phone: 540-989-5992 --- Fax - 540-989-8571
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Episode 9
Season 6 Episode 9 | 1h 34m 18s
After six passionate and poignant seasons, the curtain comes down on "Downton Abbey." How will fate resolve the stories of Edith, Mary, Thomas, Anna, Robert, Cora, Daisy, Carson, Violet, Isobel and all the other occupants of this unforgettable house? Watch Downton Abbey online and across PBS streaming platforms.
Aired: 03/06/16
Expires: 06/30/20Video has closed captioning.


text:
Hiring the Domain Theatre
Featuring a large cinema-size screen and comfortable seating, the Domain Theatre is a fully equipped, tiered auditorium. Located on lower level 3, this venue is available for hire for evening and daytime functions.
Evening: Combine a presentation in the theatre with a networking experience in any of the Gallery's other venue areas, or with a viewing of one of the Gallery's exhibitions.
Daytime: Hold your conference for up to 250 people in the theatre, utilising the function space on ground level for morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea.
Note: no food or drinks allowed in the Domain Theatre.
Capacity: 339 seats
Domain Theatre floorplan (JPG 215.4 KB)


text:
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Did you say Butterfinger?????
We have a long love of the Butterfinger bar I hate to admit. I have been known to gobble down one with a Diet. Dr. Pepper while waiting for the kiddos at one of their activities. Anyway, this recipe is just as good as the store bought ones and so easy you will want to slap your moma! Just not me okay?? This is What's Cookin on Beaty's Creek today. Raven made this all by herself too! You know this is a great way to use up all the leftover candy corn and Hershey Bars your kiddos have left from Trick or Treating, that is if you have leftovers....
1 bag of candy corn
1 16 oz. jar of peanut butter
1 bag of milk chocolate chips
Place candy corn in a microwave safe glass bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute and stir. Now heat on high for 30 seconds and stir, repeat this 4 more times until candy corn is completely melted. When melted, pour in peanut butter and stir, stir, stir. Line an 8x8 cake pan with parchment paper and pour mixture in. Smooth and cover with plastic wrap. Place in freezer for 30 minutes.
Now while that is in the freezer, melt your chocolate chips in a double boiler. Remove pan from freezer and cut into little rectangle "bars", if you will. Dip each bar into melted chocolate and then place on a parchment lined cookie sheet until set up. Store in an air-tight container.
By What's Cookin Stacey?? at October 25, 2012 1 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Convicted of assault but maintaining their innocence
A fluffy white teddy bear sits on the couch in Margaret Rivera's living room.
"Cassie gave me that teddy bear right before she went in 11 years ago," Rivera said. "He hasn't moved since and I won't move him until she's out."
The bear has several more years on the couch.
While Cassandra Rivera, 35, and her three friends Kristie Mayhugh, 37, Anna Vasquez, 35, and Elizabeth Ramirez, 36, adjusted to life inside prison, their families did the same on the outside. The four women all remain in prison after their convictions in the late 1990s for sexually assaulting Ramirez's two nieces in 1994. Ramirez was sentenced to 37 ½ years and the others to 15 years.
They have always maintained their innocence.
For the Rivera family, Cassandra's imprisonment has meant her son and daughter were raised not by their mother but by their grandmother. Cassandra Rivera's father died in 1995, the year she and her friends were indicted.
"I didn't get to see a lot of things," Cassandra Rivera said during an interview at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Mountain View Unit in Gatesville. "I missed my son's first football game. That's just something you can never get back."
Her son Michael, 19, and daughter Ashley, 18, speak to their mom often but rarely get to visit. Michael Rivera said he remembers when she was taken away in 2000.
He and his sister had been living with their mom and Vasquez while the women were out on an appeals bond after getting convicted in 1998.
"I didn't understand what was going on," Michael Rivera said. "I remember I got into a couple of fights because someone would bring up the fact I didn't have a mother around."
Michael Rivera said he later learned to deal with his anger and found friends who were supportive. He said he still has hopes of opening a mechanic shop with his mom when she is released.
His mom, he said, was "the life of the party. She would just light up a room."
Margaret Rivera has become close friends with Vasquez's mom, Maria. Both women said they struggle with guilt over their difficulty accepting their daughters' relationship. Rivera and Vasquez began dating after Rivera's relationship with her children's father deteriorated.
All four women had either been in same-sex relationships previously or identified as lesbians at the time of the allegations. And all four women said their parents didn't understand or accept their sexuality.
Rivera was at Ramirez's apartment those couple of days in July 1994 because she had gotten into an argument with her parents over her relationship with Vasquez.
Maria Vasquez, a Catholic, said she was uncomfortable with the couple staying at her house. She said she knew Ramirez because her daughter played sports with Ramirez in high school.
"I didn't understand it," she said. "I tell Anna now that if I had been more understanding I could have had Cassie at the house."
For Anna Vasquez, hearing that her mom said she felt guilty over their imprisonment was one thing that brought her to tears during an interview at the Hobby Unit in Marlin.
"I know she says that, but I've told her to not think that way," she said. "I don't blame her and I don't hold that against her."
Vasquez and her friends said all four usually liked to hang out at the apartment all the time anyway, regardless of any family issues with their relationships.
Vasquez's work records showed she wasn't even at the apartment during one period of time when an assault was said to have occurred, according to trial transcripts.
"It verified everything I had told them," she said. "For those charges to come up just blew us away. The girls had so much fun. We took them swimming, took them to play basketball."
Ramirez said in an interview at the Hobby Unit that the accusations shocked her. She said that her nieces wanted to stay with her and Mayhugh longer than that week.
She said they had always had a good relationship, including when Ramirez lived with them as a teenager.
"We laughed, we danced and we listened to music. I can't say that I'm angry I just don't understand why," she said.
Gloria Herrera, the mother of Ramirez and Camarillo and grandmother of the two accusers, said her daughter's jail sentence has been difficult to accept and has put a strain on her relationship with Camarillo.
Now, all four women and their families are cautiously optimistic about the Innocence Project of Texas in Lubbock picking up their case. Mayhugh, who is up for parole after being denied before, said even after her release, she wants to continue to fight to clear her name, especially considering all four women will have to register as sex offenders.
If she hadn't been convicted, Mayhugh said she would have returned to Texas A&M to continue veterinary school. Now, she longs for simple things — having her own blankets, watching TV without having to take a vote and just being in a home she calls her own.
"I just want to know why," Mayhugh said. "I just wish the truth would come out."


text:
Gartner: rookie virtualization mistakes to avoid
What are the most common mistakes IT managers make when doing a server virtualization project? There are many, and they're easily avoidable, said a gaggle of Gartner analysts at the Gartner Data Center Conference in Las Vegas this week.
Most virtualization goofs center around lack of planning and forethought, they said.
For example, on the storage front, perhaps the biggest mistake is to start a virtualization project without already having a SAN or shared storage in place, said Robert Passmore, a Gartner research vice president. "They get 75% of the way through a virtualization project and they realize they need a SAN, but by that point they don't have the budget," he said. "It's a real disaster."
Similarly, most virtualization newbies don't anticipate the increase in demand that virtualization will place on their systems, nor the speed at which growth will occur.
"Virtualization introduces speed, and most processes aren't ready for speed," said Tom Bittman, another Gartner research VP. And because virtualization tends to remove artificial obstacles to provisioning new workloads, demand for services tends to double in highly virtualized environments, he said. To avoid being overwhelmed, newcomers to virtualization should consider implementing lifecycle management, as well as chargeback or showback.
Other rookie mistakes involve failing to treat the virtualization layer with enough gravitas.
In their enthusiasm for VMware, many IT managers make the mistake of moving too quickly to the latest and greatest release of the platform, said Passmore, oftentimes before ecosystem such as backup and management software are available.
And security of the virtualization layer is often overlooked, added Neil MacDonald, vice president and distinguished analyst. "These issues are overlooked because people say 'nothing's different,' when really, a lot is different," he said.
To avoid security problems, MacDonald suggested IT managers elevate virtualization to the same layer as the operating system. "Treat it like an OS," he said, with all the attending hardening, patch management and compliance processes.
Finally on the desktop front, an overarching mistake is to fail to fundamentally rethink desktop support, said Mark Margevicius, vice president and research director. When it comes to the desktop, most organizations are built around a distributed device, he said, but "everything changes when you virtualize the desktop," for instance, support processes, refresh rates, and budget allocation, to name a few. Without thinking desktop virtualization through up front, "you almost have more problems than the problems you solved with it."
Gartner: Converged infrastructure push will intensify, hide your wallet
This week at the Gartner Data Center conference in Las Vegas, analysts warned IT managers to avoid inadvertently backing into any vendor's integrated stack.
For converged infrastructure platforms, "it's too early, there are too many unknowns, and it will not serve you well over the long haul," said Gartner VP David Capuccio in the Monday morning keynote.
Gartner's Jeff Hewitt dubbed the converged infrastructure players The Big Five: Cisco, Dell, HP, IBM and Oracle. These vendors already have a piece of your data center budget, and are looking for more, acquiring companies or partnering to create an integrated stack.
Some IT managers are calling these converged systems the new mainframes: servers, storage, networking, operating systems, hypervisor, management tools and middleware all pre-integrated, and each layer of the stack is optimized with the vendor's secret sauce.
Examples include the Cisco UCS, Oracle's Exadata and Exalogic machines, HP's Bladesystem Matrix and VCE's vBlock.
These machines can put up impressive performance numbers, and make vendor management simpler, but analysts and IT managers are wary of vendor lock-in.
"When you reduce your number of suppliers, you inherently increase risk and make it harder to switch providers, and you reduce your negotiation strength," Hewitt said.
Gartner asked attendees: Which of the Big Five are you likely to buy from in 2011 that you're not buying from today?
Cisco dominated with 33%, followed by HP 18%, IBM 17%, Dell 9%, and Oracle with 8%. Also, 15% said they didn't plan to buy anything new from the big five.
"Cisco offering its network customers UCS is as easy of McDonalds offering fries with hamburger," Hewitt said.
Data center cost reduction strategies from Gartner
This week at the Gartner Data Center conference, at a session on reducing data center costs, IT managers filled both the primary and overflow rooms. Gartner analysts John Enck and Raymond Paquet laid out some tips for shrinking data center spending.
But you can't manage what you don't measure. According to an audience poll, about 20% of the audience had no IT cost accounting in place at all, and 32% only tracked costs on physical assets. Over half the attendees were basically flying blind on their IT budgets.
Gartner said data center managers need to start automating processes. Around 38% of IT costs are personnel. If you want to cut costs, you need to cut people, according to Gartner.
Data center managers should also take a hard look at IT asset management to see what costs can be eliminated. "This is not one of those tools you will spend money on and don't see ROI, you should see cost savings," Enck said.
Around 80% of the audience had some kind of asset management tool in place. The rest had no systems in place or did manual inventory.
Gartner also said IT shops should learn a few things from the cloud computing providers, organizations running IT on such small margins that they need to be efficient with cash as possible.
-Storage will grow 800% in five years, so invest in the cheapest you can get away with.
-Buy the cheapest x86 machines you can find, exclusively rack based, not blades. 1U skinless, x86 servers, last year's model where the cost is stripped out.
-Cloud providers primarily run Linux and open source systems management tools
-Power and cooling infrastructure are extremely efficient
-Delay purchasing the latest and greatest x86 procesors. The first six months of new Intel or AMD server has a premium price. Do you need that performance? Wait six months? Price drop. Another six months? Another drop.
A data center manager that works for a public entity in Southern California said his tactic for reducing data center operating costs is to put as much into capital expenses as possible. When he buys a server, he pays for five years of maintenance support up front, turning what would normally be considered Op-Ex in into Cap-Ex.
For more on data center cost reduction, check out our recent article on IT Cost analysis tools.
Fujitsu turns blade server on its head
In a twist on blade server design, Fujitsu announced a new blade server enclosure today that can, in a pinch, be turned 90 degrees and rolled under a desk.
The new PRIMERGY BX400 is the little brother to the 10U BX900, and is designed for two scenarios. Like most blade enclosures, the BX400 can be deployed in a traditional data center. Alternately, for organizations with limited space and a low tolerance for noise, the BX400 can be equipped with a floor stand kit that tips it on its side, and then placed in an office or retail location.
"It's extremely easy to use in existing environments, with no power or cooling modifications," said Manual Martull, Fujitsu senior director of marketing.
Characteristics of the BX400 that make it suitable outside of the data center include low power consumption and low noise emmissions (45 decibels) relative to other blades. The floor standing variant also comes with a top-mount LCD module, and a lockable front door.
In other respects, the BX4000 is a relatively normal blade enclosure designed for shops that want to centralize and simplify their IT resources. The 6U enclosure can up equipped with a total of eight two-socket Intel Xeon 5500 and 5600 server blades and ten-drive SX960 or SX940 storage blades. In addition, customers can opt for a centralized shared storage option in PRIMERGY VSX, a version of NetApp's Data ONTAP-v storage software that runs as a virtual appliance on a dedicated blade.
It's that combination — centralized shared storage plus suitability for non-data center environments – that Martull said Fujitsu hopes will help it penetrate small to medium businesses. He said these so-called SMBs represent the biggest growth area for blades.
But if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise? Fujitsu's presence in North America at least is tiny, Martull admitted, with about 1% of market share.
"Our challenge in North America has been brand awareness, and competing against other strong American brands," he said. In the coming year, look to Fujitsu to grow its North American sales team, and expand its midmarket channel presence through distributors like Tech Data and CDW.
Cfengine rolls out Nova 2.0, pushes users toward commercial offering
The commercial entity behind Cfengine, a popular open source data center automation and configuration tool, recently rolled out a new version of its proprietary offering Cfengine Nova 2.0.
Cfengine has been around since the early 1990s, and boasts some large customers, including companies such as eBay and Google, and is trying now to capitalize on its customer base by converting users to the pay-version.
Free open source systems management tools typically aren't as automated or easy to understand as their commercial counterparts, so companies need to have a fairly skilled systems admins on staff to make them work. Also many of the proprietary version of these tools include virtualization-specific features, not included in the free versions.
Open source systems management vendors have a lot of levers they can use to convince a data center manager to buy the proprietary or supported version of their software. But you might not think geography would factor into that decision making process.
That is, unless you're James Genus, System Administrator at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, located in coastal Maine.
The lab's primary research focus is on the biological productivity in the world's oceans and it supports genomic sequencing of single cell organisms, which requires some hefty compute power.
"The amount of data the scientists are producing is staggering," Genus said. "The systems run almost constantly. As this increases, we need to make sure the environment is as stable as possible."
Genus has been with the lab nearly a decade, and has used the open source version of CFengine for eight years. "I inherited an array of IT platforms and it was a headache," Genus said. "If I had not found CFengine, I would not be in IT. I want [the scientists] to be able to come in, sit down and work."
Bigelow recently moved from the open source version of CFengine to its commercial counterpart, CFengine Nova. And according to Genus, the lab's location was a big factor in that decision.
Researchers are drawn to remote locations like Maine's Boothbay Harbor, to get away from society and bureaucracy, to get things done, Genus said. But operating in a very isolated location has its risks. Power can go out for three weeks after an ice storm, and self-sufficiency is important.
"There are not many IT resources in Maine, as there are in New York, Massachusetts or San Francisco. Nobody I've talked to in this state is using CFengine," he said. "It baffled me, even going to Red Hat training sessions in Boston, I'd only met a few people who used it, a few people who understood it. Using CFengine Nova, it's easier for people to wrap their heads around and put it into action."
Bigelow is largely a Red Hat Linux shop, and Genus said his team uses some of the free open source tools like Satellite and Spacewalk, "but they weren't up to par with CFengine," Genus said. "They don't do the proactive fixing. We use CFengine to make sure services are up and running, make sure services are configured correctly. If something breaks, they recover automatically."
Genus said he's heard about CFengine's competitors in the open source space, Puppet and Chef, but has not looked at them in detail. He said he's happy about the tool's ability to scale well.
Which is a good thing, since the lab's environment is about to get a lot bigger in the next couple years. Genus said Bigelow has plans to build a new mobile data center pod: 22 racks at 50U each, which once virtualized will scale to 3,000 potential nodes.
Check out our Open Source Systems Management tool slideshow for more info.
Gartner: Data storage growth is the top challenge for IT organizations
According to Gartner's recent survey on data center infrastructure challenges and trends, the top three challenges for large enterprises are data growth, followed by system performance and scalability, and network congestion and connectivity architecture.
IT execs wave $50 billion budget purse to drive cloud computing standards
Intel and a group of high profile data center managers are banding together to drive cloud computing standards and interoperability. The organization, called the Open Data Center Alliance, boasts a handful of really big names, including BMW, Shell, JP Morgan Chase, and Lockheed Martin.
Andrew Feig, executive director in the infrastructure group at global financial services firm UBS is on the new organization's steering committee. He said his motivation to participate is to get better utilization out of IT infrastructure.
"Every six months we're getting more powerful servers and without a cloud model these efficiency gains will go out the window," Feig said. "If you have one app running on a four year old server, and move it to a brand new server, your utilization goes from 10% to 2% on the new machine. You have to virtualize, but that's only the first step.
"The cloud is that next evolution, completely abstracting the physical hardware from what's running on it," Feig said. "Virtualization is an enabler of that, but you need the intelligence to get the most out of the compute state. Virtualization is a halfway point. Getting virtualization working wasn't easy, and getting cloud working is even more complicated."
Feig said UBS is currently building out its internal private cloud capabilities, "But we don't want a big integration curve if we want to look outside." Feig said. "We're looking for more standards to allow us to consume [public cloud]. Right now it's a difficult meal to eat. Early adopters get locked in, and there is big pain switching later.
"There are a lot of big financial companies already using public cloud. Its not 20 years out," Feig said. "If someone is doing a marketing launch or needs to scale up a rapid capacity for something on the Internet, why wouldn't you do it on a public cloud?"
Cloud vendor interoperability is one of the major agenda items for the Open Data Center Alliance. Developing a standard to switch from one cloud vendor to another seamlessly isn't going to be easy. But money talks.
"The buying power of the membership is front and center — $50 billion and growing," Feig said. "This isn't going to take seven years to get a standard ratified. You're either compliant or your not. I want to have an erector set of choices."
Intel is the organizing force behind the group as a non-voting technical advisor. The Open Data Center Alliance will offer its first public roadmap in Q1 2011.
Converged infrastructure certifications come online
With Hewlett-Packard, Cisco and others preaching the benefits of converged data center infrastructure–packaging up compute server, networking and storage together–certifications for IT pros had to follow.
This week, HP announced what it claims is the first program dedicated to training IT pros specifically for running and maintaining converged infrastructure. The courses will be delivered at more than 150 learning centers, the company said. The HP ExpertONE converged infrastructure certification program requires "both business technology and process competencies and [is] the first architectural level certification for converged infrastructure," said Rebekah Harvey, HP's director of learning product management. Continued »
BMC improves inline software upgrade process, rolls out Control M v7
BMC recently released a new version of its job scheduler, Control-M 7, with new features to help manage IT workloads in the cloud. The software has come a long way from prioritizing and scheduling batch computing jobs on the mainframe a few decades ago.
Modern job scheduling tools run in the distributed, virtualized and now cloud computing environments. And vendors started rebranding job schedulers as "workload automation" to make it sound more exciting.
John Strege, director of capacity and enterprise software at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, said his organization has used Control-M for over a decade for mainframe batch processing. Today he's using Control M to start up and shut down the Unix boxes in CBOE's QA certification tier, which is basically a mirror of the exchange's production trading system.
Strege said CBOE is using Control M version 6.4. He's looked at Control M 7, and said his support services group is anxious to use the new features. Strege expects to upgrade in the January timeframe. "We try to stay current with our software, but we don't usually deploy something in the first few months it is released."
BMC execs said for this Control-M release, the company worked hard to streamline the inline install and upgrade process. According to BMC, users are reporting reduced time and effort by about 90%.
"In simple terms, the new version pulls the data out of the old version without any downtime," said Control M senior product manager Saar Schwartz. "What this means is that users can continue to work on the old release while the upgrade is taking place, with little to no downtime."
This is good news for users who have complained in the past about systems management software updates from the Big Four spanning months or even years, and requiring an army of professional services people to get the job done.
"IT management software is notoriously difficult to install," said Michael Cote, an analyst with Redmonk. "No one wants to manage their management software."
Strege said the simplified update process could be a driver for CBOE to upgrade sooner. But this update is going to be a bit more complex than previous projects.
"We've been running Control-M for Solaris 10 on SPARC servers, and we'll probably go to Linux on x86 for the next update," Strege said. "We've been planning to go with x86 servers for a lot of our applications for over a year now. And for some of them we're sticking with Solaris on x86. But in the case of a lot of BMC products, they don't support Solaris on x86, so Linux is our only choice for a lot of these packages.
"An OS change makes upgrade more difficult," Strege continued. "We haven't done it yet with BMC products, but we've done it with a couple of our other products. If the software migration tools are good, shouldn't make a big difference."
Data center services stocks take it on the chin
Comments from Equinix and Savvis spooked Wall Street late Tuesday and this morning, body-slamming those stocks as well as shares of companies selling similar services.


text:
|Home >> Course Descriptions >> College of Arts and Sciences
|Journalistic Writing
|Three semester hours.
An introduction to basic journalistic techniques, integrating the practices of news gathering, writing and editing through individual and class projects. In addition, this course will explore many of the common critiques made of news reporting. (Formerly COMM 3326)
Home - General Information - Student Services -
Academic Undergraduate Regulations -
Undergraduate Degrees - Academic Graduate Regulations -
Graduate Degrees - Course Descriptions - Faculty -
Appendix A - Appendix B - Appendix C - Appendix D


text:
photoguy necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
2 ganadores han sido elegidos entre 78 diseños de 26 diseñadores freelance.
New photography business requires logo for website and business cards.
Robert Kuciak Photography
Desired Color Scheme:
black, grey, white, orange
Desired Style:
clean, catchy, simple, bold, creative, fresh, professional, sleek, modern, contemporary, elegant
Accepted File Formats:
*** Please do NOT submit any more design unless you are: GuruBranding, PDesignStudio, PopArtArtist, Ulahts, Variathe, Wolv, BXL, GreenStar or Pixelised. I'm narrowing the entries, and I'm only interested in designs/redesigns from the above people. Thanx.
*** ***
I require a logo/business card for my photography website. The design doesnt require any specific graphics but it also could. The logo from the business card would be used on the web. On the web it would be on a black background, on the business card either white or slightly gray.
Would like to see a complete package: logo, business card and stationary.
*** I'm reconsidering the use of "camera" icon/graphic. If its unique I'd like to see it.
My website is at http://www.robertkuciakphotography.com
Currently the color scheme there is black/orange/grey/white. I think thats a pretty safe color scheme unless someone has a better one.
One side of the business card will have one of my wedding photos on, ( http://www.robertkuciak.com/cardphotoside.jpg ) so I just require my info on the other side. Perhaps the logo could have some wavy graphics which would recreate the couple dancing with each other (optional)
Robert Kuciak Photography
if you think that the website address is too long I could also use
As I have those registered as well.
PSD format would be great.
Here is some more ideas of what I'm looking for
Also do not merge R with K, it never looks good. Don't use R and K in logo. No shadow effects please.
If you have any questions please email me firstname.lastname@example.com Thanx to all.
This contest was originally listed in multiple categories:
- Logo Design
- Stationery Design
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
The US news media has been going bonkers lately over a Montreal restaurant with an all-bacon menu.
We understand their excitement — it swells our clogged hearts every time a bacon establishment opens, too — but please, settle down Americans. Bacon is a national treasure, but Bar Brutus, set to open soon, is hardly the first restaurant in Canada to feature cured pork in every dish. Vancouver's got Edible Canada, which ran an all-bacon menu a few summers back, while Toronto's Bacon Nation food trucks keep Hogtown satiated with salted hog.
That said, Bar Brutus may be Canada's first permanent, fixed-location all-bacon restaurant, and that's worth celebrating – perhaps with a bacon martini?
Check out their offerings below to see if you too will be squealing with delight over their porcine fare.
All-bacon restaurant set to open in Montreal
Le HOT PIG"I'm pretty confident to say [this] is the world's first 100 per cent bacon sausage," Bar Brutus owner Anthoni Jodoin told ABC News.Bar Brutus
La JägerpoutineA sumptuous dish made with bacon, caramelized red onion, fresh cheese curds and Jägermeister gravy.Bar Brutus
Bacon SushiGourmet sushi rolls made with chicken confit, omelette, dates and celery; seasoned with mayo, maple syrup and Dijon mustard and wrapped in bacon.Bar Brutus
Salad BrutusCaesar is dead. Long live the Salad Brutus, topped with bacon and served in a…Bar Brutus
Bacon BowlYes, a bacon bowl. Bar Brutus
Bacon Caramel DonutsThese delectable treats are perfect for capping off a bacon-y meal, or starting a bacon-y day.Bar Brutus
Bloody CaesarFor romantics, this classic cocktail gets decorated with a bacon rose. Bar Brutus


text:
Point Of Sales And Inventory System
While every software tool explained in this article explains the purpose and importance of each it is wise that any company interested in deploying such a tool should select the proper fit for them. The software helps you manage your inventory, customers and staff. 2. Bar POS Systems – There is software designed specifically for bars, most POS systems used by restaurants can also be used for a bar. We support a wide variety of payment systems, so you get the right POS system for your needs whether it's a standalone terminal or a POS system integrated with our payments.
POS software in these cases handles special orders, purchase orders, repair orders, service and rental programs as well as typical point of sale functions. This is due to the vast range of payment modes accepted by POS.A POS allows payment through Card, Cash, Gift Cards. Updates and patches are a real must, to ensure that your POS systems are up to date and running as they should- but relatively few people bother to take the time to perform these updates.
Mobile and wireless technology is a fairly new addition to POS systems and devices like tablets, iPhones, and Androids are starting to be used by more companies. Lower IT complexity and costs: Cloud-based restaurant POS enables you to lower upfront capital expenditure on software and hardware. Revel is great for the management team in charge of multiple locations because it offers real-time reporting from their POS platform straight to your smartphone.
[ic_bing_related keyword="pos systems"]


text:
Monday, May 11, 2009
no rain as usual
10 comments:
- Old Wise One said...
Let's hope Leon and his dog are safe. They are probably in town having a beer, waiting on Leon's wife to find them. Keep us posted.
- May 11, 2009 at 10:34 PM
How are you prepping the containers and what kind of paint are you using.
John in Gilbert, AZ
- May 11, 2009 at 11:27 PM
- Allen Hare said...
The mystery of the disapearing Leon. Man, I hope that cat's o.k., and finds his dog. The contaier looks good wearing a coat o' paint. That white paint will sure keep 'em cooler inside. It looks like you've started on the cinder block wall, as well, which you can see from the bottom right hand corner of the picture. Wish I could send you some of the rain we've been having up here in Dallas. Do you have any water left in those 3000 gal. tanks? Good luck with everything.
- May 11, 2009 at 11:37 PM
- neil said...
Assuming a coefficient of thermal expansion of 8 for mild steel and a 20 foot container. On a day like last Friday where the Low was 62 - High was 111.
dl = (8 10-6 in/in °F)(20 feet) (12 in/ft) ((111 °F) - (62 °F))
=.094 inches
Any evidence of you containers growing during the day, such as marks on their footings or strange groaning noises at night when it gets cool?
- May 12, 2009 at 4:31 AM
- John Wells said...
At 7:30AM, Leon showed up without the dog...it most likely was killed my coyotes overnight or heat stroke yesterday. Its a damn shame and Leon showed very poor judgement in bringing that dog out here without being totally prepared to take good care of him. The worst part is that he and his wife adopted her from the Humane Society after it had been abused for years...what a way to end a tortured life. More later.
- May 12, 2009 at 8:15 AM
- Ben in Texas said...
Dang shame about the dog, many years ago I had friend that had a place out there. He often left the front door cracked so dog could go out and in. Long story but short version, a cougar came into the house through the door and got the dog. We tracked it several miles and sadly found the remains. The cat had kits so it was somewhat understandably.
That area is real hard on city folks and pets!!
- May 12, 2009 at 9:13 AM
- Carl in Houston said...
really sorry to hear about leon's dog. brings to light just how harsh it is to live out there...
- May 12, 2009 at 11:18 AM
- MikeR said...
That's a wonderful photo of Benita.
- May 12, 2009 at 4:42 PM
- Bob O said...
Wow, sorry to hear about Leon's dog, but glad to hear about Leon arriving okay. You never know about a dog though, they're a lot tougher and smarter than you think sometimes. I often think that having a pack of dogs, rather than a dog alone, is a good idea, especially in a harsh environment. Dogs look on humans as a part of a pack, but sometimes we part ways on what to do next...if there are other dogs around, they can support each other when humans can't keep up. But when the defecations hit the whirling air circulating devices, we all end up on the same side and look out for one another. One dog is okay in the city or the suburbs, but you really need a smart pack in the outback, I think. Just my two cents.
Couple of things: do you have a built-in braking system in your windmills, or do you just rely on resistance? Second, about the containers:I concur with neil's math...let me think about what kind of effects this could have, negative and positive. They might start to "walk."
BTW--still saving up for the G10.
Thanks for your work.
- May 12, 2009 at 9:45 PM
- MsBelinda said...
I am so sorry to hear about Leon's dog but I am hopeful that he might still turn up.
It was very nice of you and your friends to help in the search, I guess that is why I love small commuties because there is still goodness and compassion in people...unlike in the big cities, where no one cares about their neighbors or for that matter even knows them.
The paint job looks great. Are you priming it with Killz?
Glad to hear that Benita came by for a visit.
- May 13, 2009 at 1:52 AM


text:
YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW) Drops 9.48% on January 13Equities Staff Follow |
YRC Worldwide Inc. (YRCW) was one of the Russell 2000's biggest losers for Wednesday January 13 as the stock slid 9.48% to $10.22, a loss of $-1.07 per share. Starting at an opening price of $11.29 a share, the stock traded between $10.14 and $11.57 over the course of the trading day. Volume was 640,148 shares over 4,517 trades, against an average daily volume of 689,889 shares and a total float of 32.62 million.
The losses send YRC Worldwide Inc. down to a market cap of $333.34 million. In the last year, YRC Worldwide Inc. has traded between $21.37 and $10.85, and its 50-day SMA is currently $15.39 and 200-day SMA is $15.35.
The stock has a P/E Ratio of 11.2.
YRC Worldwide Inc offers transportation services. It has a comprehensive less-than-truckload networks in North America with local, regional, national and international capabilities.
YRC Worldwide Inc. is based out of Overland Park, KS and has some 33,000 employees. Its CEO is James L. Welch.
For a complete fundamental analysis analysis of YRC Worldwide Inc., check out Equities.com's Stock Valuation Analysis report for YRCW. To see the latest independent stock recommendations from Equities.com's analysts, visit our Research section.
The Russell 2000 is one of the leading indices tracking small-cap companies in the United States. It's maintained by Russell Investments, an industry leader in creating and maintaining indices, and consists of the smallest 2000 stocks from the broader Russell 3000 index.
Russell's indices differ from traditional indices like the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) or S&P 500, whose members are selected by committee, because they base membership entirely on an objective, rules based methodology. The 3,000 largest companies by market cap make up the Russell 3000, with the 2,000 smaller companies making up the Russell 2000. It's a simple approach that gives a broad, unbiased look at the small-cap market as a whole.
For more news on the financial markets, go to Equities.com. Also, learn more about our independent proprietary equity research reports and our robust do-it-yourself Stock Valuation Analysis reports in our Research section.
All data provided by QuoteMedia and was accurate as of 4:30PM ET.
DISCLOSURE: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not represent the views of equities.com. Readers should not consider statements made by the author as formal recommendations and should consult their financial advisor before making any investment decisions. To read our full disclosure, please go to: http://www.equities.com/disclaimer


text:
I stumbled across the story of Hannah recently during my devotional time. I've read the story before, but that particular morning I saw it with fresh eyes.
You can find her prayer in 1 Samuel 1:10-11. Here are 3 things I learned from Hannah about waiting.
3 Things To Remember While Waiting
1. Don't turn away from God.
Verse 10 tells us Hannah was experiencing "deep anguish" and she "wept bitterly." But through all of her grief, she continued to pray. She never allowed her hurt or sense of loss and grief cause her to turn from God. She trusted Him and believed He would one day answer her prayer.
2. Be specific.
Verse 11 tells us Hannah was specific in her prayers. She prays "Oh Lord…give Your maidservant a male child." She did not pray for just any child…she prayed for a son. Only a son could take care of her after her husband died.
James 4:2b states "You do not have because you do not ask God." Even though God knows what we're thinking and what we desire, we demonstrate faith when we specifically ask for what we need.
3. Be prepared for any response.
The last thing Hannah teaches us in this prayer is a little tough to hear. Even though she prayed, trusted God to hear her and was specific, she was prepared to hear a response other than yes. In verse 10, she starts her prayer with "Lord Almighty, if …"
It's such a small word, but it packs a major punch. "IF" was Hannah's way of acknowledging that she trusted God regardless of the outcome.
We must remember that God is sovereign. We must trust His plan for our lives even IF we can't understand what He's doing.
Proverbs 13:12 tells us:
"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life."
"When" is not on our timeline. "When" is up to the Lord. "When" might look different than we expect. But "when" we trust in God, His plan will be our tree of life.
Hold fast to Him and know that He is with you…regardless of the outcome.
If you would like to dig deeper into the ways God answers prayer, feel free to check out my article "The 3 Ways God Answers Prayer" for more information.
Until next time…be well…be encouraged.
Let's meet our guest today:
Visit Lisa at her Blog at www.lisayjones.com/blog
And follow along in social media: FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER
Want to read more posts? FOR THE WOMAN WHO PRAYS FOR A CHILD
I'm sharing this post with Salt & Light LinkUp Party, want to join us? CLICK HERE!


text:
American Express Settles Charges Over Deceptive Practices
American Express on Tuesday announced a $76 million settlement with several banking regulators over charges subsidiaries of the credit card company used deceptive marketing and billing practices.
American Express (AXP) allegedly overstated some benefits available to cardholders and charged for benefits some cardholders didn't receive.
In a statement, American Express said it will pay fines totaling $16.2 million and $59.5 million in restitution to customers.
American Express said most of the costs associated with the settlements have been provided for in prior quarters, and most of the remediation has already been provided to customers.
The settlements were reached by American Express Travel Related Services Co., American Express Centurion Bank and American Express Bank, the company said.
The regulators involved included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and the Office of Comptroller of the Currency.
American Express said it "cooperated fully" with the investigation.
The banking regulators said American Express violated federal laws by misleading consumers about the benefits of so-called add-on products, %VIRTUAL-article-sponsoredlinks%or benefits provided to customers in addition to the use of the credit card.
For example, American Express allegedly misled consumers about the length of its "Account Protector" add-on product. Consumers were told the benefits would continue for up to 24 months but the majority of benefits lasted no more than three months, regulators said.
Consumers were also led to believe that if they purchased the product their monthly minimum payment would be cancelled under certain conditions such as if the card holder lost their job. But the benefit payment was limited to 2.5 percent of the card holder's outstanding balance, up to $500, which could be less than the minimum monthly payment.
Regulators said American Express also misled consumers about the terms and conditions of its "Lost Wallet" add-on product through telemarketing calls conducted in Spanish to card holders in Puerto Rico.
In addition, consumers were misled about the process for enrolling for identity theft products, according to regulators. The process required two steps but 85 percent of the card holders affected failed to complete the process and were billed anyway, according to the allegations.
The settlement requires American Express to take steps to fix its marketing and billing practices.
See Gallery


text:
Donkey Kong (Arcade) review
"The simplicity cannot be understated or overstated. But for the first time, an underdog hero seemed to emerge, someone with realistic means of disposing of obstacles and limited skill in a world then dominated by spaceships and yellow gobbling monsters. Hes a modest man; theres nothing super about Mario at this point. It is with wit and cunning that he perseveres, predicting when a barrel is coming, alert of their dangerous potential shortcuts down ladders, and in tune with all his hazardous surroundings. Enter randomness events cannot be predicted in Donkey Kong, and the hero must find his way out of dire situations with deftness like an action movies lead. The great ape tries to put the heros back against the wall, hurling beams that clatter down randomly and barrels with increased ferocity each round. Jumpmans mettle is put on trial during every ramp round, as he struggles uphill against a gargantuan competitor trying to keep him down."
Staff review by Winston Wolf (October 03, 2010)
A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.
More Reviews by Winston Wolf [+]
If you enjoyed this Donkey Kong review, you're encouraged to discuss it with the author and with other members of the site's community. If you don't already have an HonestGamers account, you can sign up for one in a snap. Thank you for reading!
User Help | Contact | Ethics | Sponsor Guide | Links


text:
A verdict is in: ceramic not only tastes better, it's more eco-friendly
Posted by TheShot on 11 Sep 2006 | Tagged as: Café Society, Consumer Trends, Quality Issues
Back in March I posted an article espousing the taste and espresso-drinking experience virtues of the ceramic cup: Green or not: lose the paper cup. I also poked a little fun at the inevitable "carbon footprint" debate that would follow — i.e., are disposable paper cups more environmentally friendly than a manufactured, regularly washed coffee mug?
Now I appreciate the spirit behind these debates to make ours a better and more sustainable world. But the woeful, agonizing analysis paralysis people can sometimes put themselves through for something as simple as what to floss with borders on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. And sometimes thwarting the whole effort, we can find that some of our assumptions were wrong after the first concensus offers us conventional wisdom — as in the case of paper vs. plastic grocery bags.
But if you've been up sleepless nights worrying about how many kilos of CO2 your choice of polyethylene dental floss adds to the atmophere over nylon floss, here's a post that should set your mind at ease for doing the right thing by the environment as well as your taste buds: Triple Pundit: Ask Pablo: The Coffee Mug Debacle.
1 Comment »
One Response to "A verdict is in: ceramic not only tastes better, it's more eco-friendly"
[…] Now we've written before about the importance of a good cup when drinking espresso. And we've written that there are times where what's right for flavor and what's right for the environment go hand-in-hand. The paper cup issue is the perfect example, and some governments are contributing to the cause: Taiwan to ban paper cups in offices, schools. […]


text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Who is your favorite singer? Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Who is your favorite singer? Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current News View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message Avril LeeJoined: 18 May 2009Posts: 3 Posted: Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:14 am Post subject: Who is your favorite singer? Who is your favorite singer? Back to top marmara34Joined: 09 Nov 2009Posts: 5 Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 3:05 am Post subject: Simon & Garfunkel Back to top pugachevVJoined: 16 Jan 2003Posts: 2295 Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:53 pm Post subject: Luciano Pavarotti Back to top Anuradha ChepurJoined: 20 May 2006Posts: 933 Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 9:39 am Post subject: M S Subbulaxmi (Indian classical) A R Rehman (Bollywood) Bhupen Hazarika (North-east Indian folk) Michael Jackson (Western) and many more. Back to top CPJoined: 12 Jun 2006Posts: 2875Location: California Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 11:47 pm Post subject: I love to hear the voices of Josh Grobin, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin, Mark Knopfler, Leann Rimes, Joni Mitchell, Kiri Te Kanawa, Nat "King" Cole, Natalie Merchant, the Beatles._________________You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb Back to top chai3720Joined: 04 Dec 2009Posts: 15 Posted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:38 am Post subject: Sarah bright man Back to top moveupjay13Joined: 23 Sep 2011Posts: 1 Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:41 pm Post subject: Wow many guys really loves many singers in the world. haha!! But I'm a little sad coz nobody likes Korean singers yet T_T Um, My favorite singer is...(I added my favorite songs. haha) Justin Bieber(Pray), Michael Jackson(Heal the world) and Westlife(My love). Specially, when I heard that songs, I can get a confidence in my mind. Thank you for that songs. haha. And..I want to recommend you K-POP. Many our singers also has a beautiful voice and can show a wonderful performance, too.^^ You can listen K-POP in Youtube! Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Current News All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


text:
You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page.
Skip Ribbon Commands
Skip to main content
Utility Links
IDNR Home
Governor JB Pritzker
DNR A to Z
Illinois DNR
Currently selected
Coastal Management
Comprehensive Environmental Review
Conservation Reserve Enhancement (CREP)
Conservation Stewardship
Endangered Species
Environmental Reporter
Historic Sites
IL Recreational Access (IRAP)
IL Wildlife Action Plan
Natural Heritage
Nature Preserves
Natural Resource Damage Assessment
State Historic Preservation Office
Water Resources
Wildlife Resources
State Parks
Historic Sites
Camping/Shelter Reservation
Concessions and Leases
Recreation Activities
Recreation Programs
Disabled Outdoor Opportunities
World Shooting Complex
Getting Started
Upland Game
Controlled Pheasant Hunting
Harvest Reporting
Hunter Fact Sheets
Hunt-Trap Digest
Licensed Hunting Preserves
Public Hunting Areas
Boating Digest
Boat Accident Reporting
Register Watercraft
Renew Registration
Tax Requirements
Title Search
Transaction Fees
Transfer Ownership
Watercraft Forms
Water Usage Stamps
Illinois Conservation Foundation
Interpretive Programs
Kids for Conservation™
Kids & Education
Natural Resources Advisory Board
Outdoor Illinois Archive
Plan Your Field Trip
State Historic Preservation Office
State Museum
Youth Events
Extractive Res.
Mines and Minerals
Oil and Gas
Law Enforcement/CPOs
Administrative Rules
Safety Education
Illinois DNR
White-Nose Syndrome Confirmed in Illinois Bats
Joe Kath - IDNR
Ann Froschauer - USFWS
White-Nose Syndrome Confirmed in Illinois Bats
Illinois becomes 20th state in U.S. to confirm deadly disease in bats
Springfield, IL - The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today confirmed the presence of White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), a disease fatal to several bat species, in four Illinois counties.
The University of Illinois- Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), the United States Forest Service (USFS)-Shawnee National Forest, the University of Illinois' Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (UIVDL), and the USGS National Wildlife Health Center-Madison, WI (NWHC) assisted in the discovery of WNS which was detected in LaSalle County in north-central Illinois, Monroe County in southwestern Illinois, and Hardin and Pope Counties in extreme southern Illinois.
Little brown bats and northern long-eared bats from these counties were submitted to the UIVDL and NWHC in early-to-mid February 2013. Both of these laboratories confirmed the disease, while the fungal pathogen was isolated directly from a LaSalle County bat and a Monroe County bat at the INHS.
With confirmation of WNS in Illinois, a total of 20 states, mostly in the eastern U.S., and five Canadian Provinces have now been confirmed infected. Currently seven hibernating bat species are affected by WNS: little brown bat, big brown bat, northern long-eared bat, tri-colored bat, eastern small-footed bat, the endangered Indiana bat, and the endangered gray bat. The disease continues to spread rapidly and has the potential to infect at least half of the bat species found in North America.
White-nose syndrome is not known to affect people, pets, or livestock but is harmful or lethal to hibernating bats, killing 90 percent or more of some species of bats in caves where the fungus has lasted for a year or longer, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. WNS is known to be transmitted primarily from bat to bat, but spores of Geomyces destructans, the non-native, cold-loving fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, may be inadvertently carried between caves and abandoned mines by humans on clothing, footwear, and caving gear. The name of the disease refers to the white fungal growth often found on the noses of infected bats.
White-nose syndrome was first detected in New York State in 2006 and has killed more than 5.7 million cave-dwelling bats in the eastern third of North America as it has spread south and west
across the landscape. A map of the current spread of white-nose syndrome can be found at http://whitenosesyndrome.org/resources/map.
Research has shown that WNS-infected bats are awaking from hibernation as often as every three to four days as opposed to the normal every 10-20 days. The fungus damages the connective tissues, muscles and skin of the bats while also disrupting their physiological functions. The bats wake up dehydrated and hungry during the cold winters when there are no insects to eat.
"Although its arrival was anticipated, the documented spread of WNS into Illinois is discouraging news, mainly because there is no known way to prevent or stop this disease in its tracks,� said Joe Kath, Endangered Species Manager for the IDNR.
�Pest-control services provided by insect-eating bats in the United States likely save the U.S. agricultural industry several billion dollars a year, and yet insectivorous bats are among the most overlooked, economically important, non-domesticated animals in North America.�
�Isolating the fungal pathogen directly from a bat is the �gold standard� for confirming this disease, and the Bat WNS team at the University of Illinois was able to do this in our laboratory,� said Andrew Miller, Mycologist at INHS.
�We are saddened by the discovery of WNS in Illinois,� said National WNS Coordinator Jeremy Coleman of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. �We will continue to work with our partners to address this devastating disease and work towards conservation of bat species in North America.�
Because Illinois and several other Midwestern states are home to many federally endangered bat species, as well as some of the largest hibernating bat populations in the country, the complete closure of all IDNR-owned and/or managed caves within the State of Illinois was enacted in 2010. In addition, all caves within the Shawnee National Forest, managed by the USFS, have been formally closed since 2009. Both the IDNR and USFS will be evaluating these caves on an annual basis and the closure orders will remain in effect for the benefits of bat conservation until further notice. Unfortunately, research indicates that the fungus that causes WNS remains in caves where bats hibernate even when bats are not present and the IDNR remains concerned that people may inadvertently carry WNS out of the caves with them.
�The IDNR recognizes that continued cave closures will require patience from the caving community and other citizens. However, the observed devastation to bat populations and the evidence for human-assisted spread justifies that we exercise an abundance of caution in managing activities that impact caves and bats,� Kath added. �We understand these measures will not be a cure for WNS, but they are necessary to help slow the spread of this affliction and to reduce the risks to surviving bat populations in North America.�
Bats are the only major predator of night-flying insects and play a crucial role in the environment. A single big brown bat can eat between 3,000 and 7,000 mosquitos in a night, with large populations of bats consuming thousands of tons of potentially harmful forest and agricultural pests annually. The bat conservation community is deeply concerned and involved with fighting the spread of WNS. Researchers in Illinois and across the U.S. are working diligently on finding a way to mitigate this fatal disease. Federal, state and local organizations continue to focus on conservation, containment, and education.
Follow IDNR on
News Home
Currently selected
PRs - current
PRs - recent
PRs - 2011-on
PRs - 2010
News Stories
About DNR
Contact Us
DNR Offices
Equal Opportunity
© 2020 Illinois DNR


text:
Did you know that your Internet Explorer is out of date?To get the best possible experience using our website we recommend that you upgrade to a newer version or download another web browser.
A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below. Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Google Chrome
Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Your browser will need to close to complete the installation and you will need to manually reload the site when finished
Search Results for Academic
|Job Title.
ConsultantLife Science Recruitment is a specialist recruitment agency with a focus on the recruitment and selection of professionals for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology
Location: Cork,
|Not Disclosed
Mechanical Design EngineerMechanical Design Engineer required to focus on the development of cutting edge medical devices in the Cardiac and Vascular space. Engineers are directly involved in the development of innovative products for use in medical procedures. Principal R&D Engineers are directly involved in all stages of the product development process from concept generation through to commercialization of cutting edge devices such as structural heart devices. Responsibilities: Support basic clinical need through opportunity assessment and device concept to prototype. You will participate in...
Location: Galway,
|Not Disclosed
QA Specialist (QC)This position is responsible for carrying out tasks and projects related to management of Quality Assurance activities at Janssen Biologics as required by Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). These activities include Incoming material release, Batch release, Change control, Event management, Supplier qualification, Annual product review and Validation compliance activities.Provide support and direction to all departments in respect of specific quality system elements to ensure business, quality and compliance goals are met. GENERAL SCOPE OF RESPONSIBILIT...
Location: Cork,
|Not Disclosed
Scientific Life Science Regulatory Affairs Medical Affairs Academic Supply Chain Contract Healthcare Engineering Pharmaceutical Chemistry Microbiology Engineering Connected Health Cork Supply Chain Clinical Research Contract Biopharmaceutical Quality Assurance Academic Biotechnology Food Scientist Life Science Medical Device


text:
Learn sailing fundamentals on this well rigged Vanguard 420. This boat is perfect for achieving the basics of sailing for up to 2 people.
Get paired up with a certified US sailing instructor and start your adventure!
instructor prices :
one person 35.00
two people 50.00
3 hour minimum
instruction cost are not included boat rental


text:
PC: Hold Ctrl-key. Press + to enlarge or - to reduce.
Mac: Hold Cmd-key (Command). Press + to enlarge or - to reduce.
Wether only the text will change or the whole view is dependent on your browser.
Norfund - The Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries
Fridtjof Nansens Plass 4
N-0160 Oslo


text:
New Hunter
Hello everyone I am new to the board here, I am getting ready to start my 4 boba fett and I was wondering what some of the favorite soft parts suppliers were. I am looking for as SA as possible I'm going for the ROTJ version. This is an amazing costume resource site and I am happy to be a part of it! I own and operate forgottenseastradingcompany.com we make pirate props, leather work, metal casting/ flintlocks and such. I am looking forward to getting to know everyone and get some feed back as the build goes. Cheers !


text:
Hire the Best Patent Analysts Talent from India directly through Borderless Mind. We offer experienced Patent Analysts, Consultants, project managers, experts, freelancers and specialists to work exclusively for you remotely. Small-Mid size businesses, agencies and start-ups choose Borderless Mind for local and offshore Patent Analysis resources. Our Patent Analysis resources are ready to start working with you in a short time.Hire Best Talent Top Talent Apply Here
We have exclusive network of top talent of designers, developers (software, mobile, web), digital marketing experts, back office skilled resources in the world. Top companies rely on BorderlessMind to establish their remote teams offshore in India.
We have a rigorous screening process to identify and hire the best and culture fit people. Top 5%.
We hire people who love what they do, do what they love.
Our people are master of their domains, constantly learn and keep their skills up to date.
We value seamless customer experience and are a true extension of our client teams.
We offer scalable and flexible model with total transparency.
We ease you off your pain and solve your problems for you.
Just like hiring resource In-house
Select desired skill
Fill the form
Project Kick Off
Borderless Mind offers a top 5% talent from India with a variety of software development languages, frameworks, technologies, experiences and skills. See the list below to find your desired skills.
If you are not able to decide what team will best for you? Our team consulatants are there to help


text: Blame Von Miller for this dirty hit that is an unfortunate coda to his otherwise spectacular season. But quick kicks always tend to result in some kind of craziness; like turnovers, they put players outside their comfort zone. In this case, it was reason for Miller to go on an assault mission, though in the end it looks like he took more than he dished out. [CBS]


text:
Stocks didn't even get a short-term boost from today's approval of a $700 billion financial rescue package, and the longer-term outlook isn't any better.
With continued weakness in the economy and still-tight credit, market watchers remain skeptical that the bailout will provide the balm that the stock market needs to stage a long-term recovery.
Instead, the bill's passage inspired little more than a sell-the-rally moment on Wall Street that left stocks mired in their current state.
After rallying on expectations the bill would pass, stocks quickly reversed courseafter Friday's vote and closed lower.
"We've still got the same credit crisis that exists, so we're still going to have to work our way out of that," says Richard Sparks, senior analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "We're in a hole that's been created by the credit crisis. Although the Fed and the government have lowered a ladder, it's still going to be hard to get out of that hole."
As the market pores its way through the final product that Congress approved, Wall Street will see some positives and some negatives, and those in turn will cause more gyrations in trading, Sparks says.
For Investors
- Protect Your Wealth in Turbulent Times
- Is This Really the Market Bottom?
- Five Ways to Play This Wild Market
- Jim Cramer's Web Exclusive: Pans
- Buffett's Three Rules for Crisis Investing
"I see the market continuing as it has with the swings in both directions," he says. "Until the market can see something six or nine moths out that looks like better days are ahead, it's still going to be a bumpy ride."
Economy Remains Big Concern
On the trading floor there's a pervading sense that the market will surge for a few days, then drop back into familiar territory as the concerns over unemployment and the broader economy continue.
On Friday, the US government reported a bigger-than-expected decline in September jobs while the services sector barely showed any growth. Both suggested that the weakening economy is headed for a recession.
That spells trouble for those looking to Wall Street for a prolonged push higher.
"Definitely sell-the-rally mentality," Dave Rovelli, managing director of US equity trading at Boston-based Canaccord Adams, says in describing the trading mood Friday. "The economy is in disarray to put it lightly. Unemployment wasn't that bad but the change in nonfarm payrolls was a disaster. We're definitely showing signs of a recession."
While long-term investors may find this a time to hunt for beaten-down stocks, those looking for a faster return will be hard-pressed.
"This (rescue plan) is going to hopefully prevent the credit markets from seizing up," Rovelli says. "But did it really change anything about the economy."
A number of observers, including bond manager Pimco's founder Bill Gross, see the bailout as helping banks shore up their balance sheets but coming up short in addressing credit concerns and getting institutions back in the lending business.
Some are calling for more aggressive action by the Treasury, perhaps through a government bond auction, to inject the needed liquidity into the market.
Economy is still weighing on Wall Street. See video at left.
"I think that would go a long way towards easing this," Andrew Busch, director of BMO Capital Markets, said on CNBC. "I don't think (stock gains are) going to last until they address the credit problem."
Aggressive action from global central banks combined with the liquidity the bailout could generate are seen as helping but primarily from a psychological standpoint.
"The market still has to deal with a host of issues," says Quincy Krosby, chief investment strategist at The Hartford. "If this can help open the credit markets and get money flowing again, in essence bringing back confidence, it will be a tremendous step forward."
Breaking Resistance the Key
But for the market to sustain a rally it will have to break through resistance levels posted after the July lows and hold them. That would generate confidence among investors.
"We're still in a bear market technically. It's a technical market and if you start to break through what's been resistance in the short run, I think you can say this market will have legs," says Michael Cohn, of Atlantis Asset Management. "If you can look ahead, we might see that there's real light at the end of the tunnel."
Options trading with a sentiment that the Volatility Index is headed lower while the Standard & Poor's 500 will move well above fair value by December have Cohn encouraged that the market is headed for better things over the long term even if things might be more tenuous until the Nov. 5 presidential election passes.
Cohn sees moving comfortably past the 11,500 to 11,600 level of the Dow Jones Industrial Average as a key to what will happen. He says he's going to be buying stocks and capitalizing on a post-election rally.
"After the election I think we could be off to the races, so I'm pretty bullish here," he says. "If they can come up with a package that doesn't go way beyond over-regulated, I think we can see some light at the end of the tunnel."