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Is Intuitive Surgical Wasting Your Money?
Stock buybacks are generally considered a bullish signal on Wall Street. They return capital to shareholders, while declaring management's belief that its own cheap shares are its best return on investment. As long as profits remain consistent, share repurchases can even increase earnings per share, by dividing the same amount of earnings among a smaller pool of shares outstanding.
But the market is at record highs these days, and, according to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, February was a record month for stock buybacks with companies authorizing the repurchase of $177.8 billion worth of stock. The bearish read on that is they're doing the opposite of "buy low, sell high." Worse, they're simply buying stock and not investing in their businesses, hiring new employees, or making acquisitions suggesting that despite having war chests filled to overflowing they don't see the economy as good enough to take a risk on.
So don't use the buyback announcement as a reason to buy the stock yourself -- rather, use it as a launching pad for additional research.
Returning value
Just yesterday, Intuitive Surgical announced a massive new $1 billion share purchase program on top of the $208 million that remains on its current buyback plan, equating to about 2 million shares at yesterday's closing price, or around 5% of its float. It plans to fund the repurchase program through cash and investments, and as of the end of 2012, the company had approximately $2.9 billion of cash, equivalents, and investments.
The stock has fallen about 20% in the past few weeks as concerns over a spike in device malfunction reports weighs heavily on its shares.
Mona Lisa's smile
The selloff began after it was reported the FDA was looking into whether Intuitive's da Vinci surgical robotics machines were causing complications for surgeons. Some 450,000 procedures were performed with the systems in 2012, up 25% from the year before, and the question being asked is whether the high cost of the equipment -- they run about $1.5 million each -- is worth the minimally invasive surgery they perform. The Journal of the American Medical Association charged the systems raised the cost of a hysterectomy, for example, but did little to improve safety. Gynecological surgery comprises 60% of the procedures performed in the U.S., and a hysterectomy is the most common operation using the devices.
Intuitive Surgical realized almost $2.2 billion in sales last year, of which $1.8 billion came from product sales generating $1.3 billion in gross profit.
The robotics maker did nothing to help itself when it tried to explain that the spike in problems reported with the da Vinci systems was because it changed how it reported them to the regulatory agency.
It began the new system last September and immediately began seeing a rise in the number of issues doctors were having, with a cable breaking being the most common problem reported, but rendering the machine non-functionable. Intuitive's stock fell again when it issued the rationale.
The human element
The Fool's Brenton Flynn believes although questions are being raised about the daVinci's efficacy, he says a lot of the problems stem from "operator error." When it comes to surgery, until the rise of SkyNet allows the robots to perform the operations themselves, we're going to need actual surgeons operating the equipment and that's going to introduce an element of risk.
Yet where Brenton sees that as something positive for Intuitive Surgical since it's just the manufacturer, I'm not so certain it won't face culpability since the health care professionals have to rely upon the device maker to instruct them appropriately on its usage. One of the charges being leveled against Intuitive is that its marketing is getting in the way of training.
Whether it's lack of training or a system malfunction, it poses problems for the medical device maker. Last year, MAKO Surgical had to recall a number of its RIO Systems because of software glitches and saw its stock stumble, while Johnson & Johnson and Stryker face legal liabilities for device recalls they effected.
A fair value
Despite a somewhat depressed stock price, Intuitive Surgical may see its shares fall further yet as it faces a raft of lawsuits over its devices. It could be the medical device maker is preparing itself to move in and scoop up a discounted stock with a lot of dry powder ready to fire.
Investors who find Intuitive Surgical stock weakened on news of such developments just might want to avail themselves of the resulting opportunity to acquire shares when offered and benefit as the medical device maker buys back its stock.
Are stories of Intuitive's demise greatly exaggerated?
Recently, some investors have questioned Intuitive Surgical's future. However, Intuitive Surgical expert Karl Thiel believes a visible path to long-term growth persists. Will Intuitive capitalize, or be crushed by unforeseen pitfalls? His report highlights all of the key opportunities and risks facing the company -- and includes a full year of ongoing updates as key new hits -- so be sure to claim your copy by clicking here now.
The article Is Intuitive Surgical Wasting Your Money? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Rich Duprey owns shares of Intuitive Surgical. The Motley Fool recommends Intuitive Surgical, Johnson & Johnson, and MAKO Surgical. The Motley Fool owns shares of Intuitive Surgical and Johnson & Johnson. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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New Boyz Trademark Infringement Lawsuit
New Boyz Trademark Infringement Lawsuit
The American rap group, New Boyz, has experienced large success in a short period of time. The New Boyz music capitalizes on catchy beats and lyrics like:
"You're a jerk! Jerk Jerk Jerk!" and "Tell all the homies she got bunz, bunz, bunz." Surprisingly, the group has yet to trademark its name "New Boyz."
In the polar opposite genre of music–Christian music, an Australian band called Newsboys has been around since 1985 and remains popular with Christian music listeners. The band registered the trademark "Newsboys" in 1994. The band recently filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the New Boyz for allegedly infringing on their trademark.
The Newsboys claim that the name "New Boyz" confuses consumers because of the similarity in sound between the two names and since the rap group also uses the name in relation to entertainment/music. Additionally, Newsboys says that the confusion created by the similar name damages the band's reputation. The New Boyz use explicit lyrics while the Newsboys obviously use wholesome lyrics in songs such as "He Reigns" and "In Christ Alone."
The lawsuit states that: "Plaintiff has already documented several instances of actual confusion among its customers, prospective customers and other outside observers who mistakenly assume a connection between Plaintiff and Defendant and the respective music they offer." If a court agrees that using the name "New Boyz" creates a likelihood of confusion with the registered trademark "Newsboys," then the rap group will have to find a new name, which may affect their recognition with fans. Then again, maybe the New Boyz are just "too cool to care."

subset: commoncrawl


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Events archive
Southeast Asia Seminar
Klara Christensen, Lauren Nishimura, Melyn McKay, Frances O'Morchoe
28 October 2015 - 2:00pm to 3:30pm
Deakin Room
Postgraduate students doing research on Southeast Asia present their work in progress for critical feedback. Klara Christensen (Social Policy and Intervention, St Antony's) Voices of the Myanmar... Read more
Southeast Asia Seminar
Pingtjin Thum (Research Associate, Centre for Global History; Coordinator, Project Southeast Asia)
21 October 2015 - 3:00pm to 4:30pm
Deakin Room, Founder's Building, St Antony's College
The outcome of the recent general elections in Singapore was a shock to observers, who had predicted a far tighter outcome. The unprecedented six seats (out of 87, plus a seventh seat won in a by-... Read more


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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA – The King of Pop is expected to make a special appearance on the anniversary of his "death."
Michael Jackson's "death" was mourned by millions around the world. The world lost an icon, an innovator and a legend that will never be replaced. As his anniversary approaches, special tributes will be appearing across the globe.
In his hometown of Gary, Indiana, Katherine Jackson will unveil a monument outside the house where the Jackson 5 began their singing career. A memorial and candlelight vigil will follow.
All nine Madame Tussauds wax museums – from Shanghai to Washington D.C. – are creating special tribute exhibits.
In New York, the Apollo Theater's marquee will feature a special MJ message, and Jonelle Procope, president and CEO of the Apollo Theater Foundation, will speak briefly on Friday morning about Michael Jackson to honor his memory and celebrate his lifetime of artistic achievement.
While all those memorials will certainly be wonderful and very special, Weekly World News has learned of perhaps the biggest celebration of them all. Our investigative team has discovered that the King of Pop, Micahel Jackson himself, will be holding a special celebration at Neverland Ranch.
WWN broke the story that it was widely believed that Michael Jackson may have faked his own death. Jackson, fed up and disheartened with the path his life had taken, felt as though the only way to get a breath of fresh air was to fake his own death. Rejuvenated and mentally refreshed, Jackson is believed to be organizing a special event back on his Neverland Ranch. Taking a one-year hiatus was exactly what the doctor ordered.
The event is believed to include everything imaginable. There will be a carnival available for the kids to enjoy, outdoor activities will entertain adults and there will be performances from various artists throughout the day. The King of Pop himself might even treat everyone to a performance.
"Our sources believe that Michael Jackson will host a special celebration at Neverland Ranch on Friday – a year after his 'death,'" said WWN correspondent Buzz Donovan. "While he feels terrible that he had to resort to such drastic measures, it was the best option at the time to allow him to continue as an entertainer in the future."
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA – The King of Pop is expected to make a special appearance on the anniversary of his "death."


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It takes a high IQ to evade the obvious, so it is not surprising that the intelligentsia are out in force, decrying those who criticize this calculated insult.
What may surprise some people is that the American taxpayer is currently financing a trip to the Middle East by the imam who is pushing this project, so that he can raise the money to build it. The State Department is subsidizing his travel.
The big talking point is that this is an issue about "religious freedom" and that Muslims have a "right" to build a mosque where they choose. But those who oppose this project are not claiming that there is no legal right to build a mosque near the site of the World Trade Center.
If anybody did, it would be a matter for the courts to decide -- and they would undoubtedly say that it is not illegal to build a mosque near the site of the World Trade Center attack.
The intelligentsia and others who are wrapping themselves in the Constitution are fighting a phony war against a straw man. Why create a false issue, except to evade the real issue?
Our betters are telling us that we need to be more "tolerant" and more "sensitive" to the feelings of Muslims. But if we are supposed to be sensitive to Muslims, why are Muslims not supposed to be sensitive to the feelings of millions of Americans, for whom 9/11 was the biggest national trauma since Pearl Harbor?
It would not be illegal for Japanese Americans to build a massive shinto shrine next to Pearl Harbor. But, in all these years, they have never sought to do it.
When Catholic authorities in Poland were planning to build an institution for nuns, years ago, and someone pointed out that it would be near the site of a concentration camp that carried out genocide, the Pope intervened to stop it.
He didn't say that the Catholic Church had a legal right to build there, as it undoubtedly did. Instead, he respected the painful feelings of other people. And he certainly did not denounce those who called attention to the concentration camp.
There is no question that Muslims have a right to build a mosque where they chose to. The real question is why they chose that particular location, in a country that covers more than 3 million square miles.
If we all did everything that we have a legal right to do, we could not even survive as individuals, much less as a society. So the question is whether those who are planning a Ground Zero mosque want to be part of American society or just to see how much they can get away with in American society?
Can anyone in his right mind believe that this was intended to show solidarity with Americans, rather than solidarity with those who attacked America? Does anyone imagine that the Middle East nations, including Iran, from whom financial contributions will be solicited, want to promote reconciliation between Americans and Muslims?
That the President of the United States has joined the chorus of those calling the Ground Zero mosque a religious freedom issue tells us a lot about the moral dry rot that is undermining this country from within.
In this, as in other things, Barack Obama is not so much the cause of our decline but the culmination of it. He had many predecessors and many contemporaries who represent the same mindset and the same malaise.
There are people for whom moral preening has become a way of life. They are out in force denouncing critics of the Ground Zero mosque.
There are others for whom a citizen of the world affectation puts them one-up on those of us who are grateful to be Americans, and to enjoy a freedom that is all too rare in other countries around the world, even at this late date in human history.
They think the United States is somehow on trial, and needs to prove itself to others by bending over backwards. But bending over backwards does not win friends. It loses respect, including self-respect.


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Vinyl Fence Colors Available for
Mountlake Terrace, Washington
Thinking about which color vinyl fence for your home in Mountlake Terrace, Washington?
You've come to the right place!
After reading this you'll be well prepared for your purchase.
#1 Thing you should know about getting a vinyl fence color.
Just because a company offers a vinyl fence other than white doesn't mean you should buy it.
I've personally seen many colored fences that drastically fade over time. (even though they carry a lifetime warranty).
It wouldn't be as bad if they faded uniformly but I've seen it where only 3 or 4 pickets per panel would fade leaving the fence looking unsightly.
I personally stick with Homeland Vinyl. They've been around for 30+ years and one of the leaders in the industry.
What colors do vinyl fences come in?
Let's just say the sky is the limit.
There's a company called Illusions Fence that offers 35 different colors across their product line. I haven't personally used their company so I can't comment about the longevity of their fences.
The 2 "safe" colors to choose from.
Again, you want to stick with a reputable manufacturer but almond and khaki fences are the two standard colors that you see most of the time.
What about wood grain vinyl?
This one you have to be SUPER careful with!
Although I trust Homeland for their regular vinyl colors I would not use them for their wood grain.
My only choice for woodgrain? Bufftech!
They have the best warranty by far and their product actually holds it color.
The only issue is the cost. Typically it's going to be 2-3x more expensive than your typical white vinyl. But you get what you pay for.


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Enter subhead content here
Alex Jones: The Answer to 1984 is 1776
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multiple stations across the country and has been called "an absolutely riveting television presence" by Patrick
Beech of the Austin American-Statesman. Mike Kelley, also of the Austin American-Statesman, said of Jones, "On television,
he exudes so much energy that a viewer might almost expect bits of flesh to start flying from the screen."
Activate the Ultimate Power
prayers and confessions of scripture are two of the most powerful weapons we have in life.
They connect us to God and allow his power to Flow To us in every situation.
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ELLIOT (Elliott), ADAM, Church of England clergyman; b. at Nicholforest, Cumberland, England, baptized 19 Dec. 1802, son of Adam Elliot and Margaret Little; d. at Grand River (Tuscarora) Reserve, Ont., 4 June 1878.
The Elliot family came to Upper Canada and settled in York (Toronto). Adam Elliot Jr presented himself to Archdeacon John Strachan* in 1828 asking for help in pursuing studies for the ministry. Strachan was impressed with Elliot's earnestness and directed his reading until his ordination to the diaconate in November 1832. Adam Elliot then immediately began a five-year term of service as a travelling missionary in the Home District north and east of York. He received financial support from a local missionary society in Upper Canada and from the Reverend William James Darley Waddilove in England.
Elliot's journals describe vividly the pioneer conditions of the time, and his registers of baptisms and marriages reflect the faithfulness and untiring energy of the young missionary. He ministered to the Ojibwa Indians, who had been concentrated in 1830 by the government at Coldwater and The Narrows (Orillia) under the charge of Captain Thomas Gummersall Anderson. A proposal by Anderson in 1835 to settle the scattered tribes of the north shore of Lake Huron on Manitoulin Island was approved by the lieutenant-governor, Sir John Colborne*, and Elliot obtained the consent of Bishop Charles James Stewart* of Quebec to be the resident missionary in the infant establishment in 1836. When the plan was temporarily shelved in 1837, Elliot returned to the Home District but was soon stationed for a short time at Beckwith in the Bathurst District (now in Lanark County).
Elliot accepted a request in 1838 to work at the New England Company station near Brantford. The company had begun to take an interest in the Six Nations Indians on the Grand River in 1827. They appointed Robert Lugger* their first missionary at Brantford in that year, and he was later joined by Abraham Nelles*. Lugger died in 1837 and in March 1838 Elliot took over at Tuscarora, where he carried on pastoral and educational work until his resignation in 1875. He died 4 June 1878 and was buried in the cemetery of Holy Trinity Church, Onondaga, Ontario.
Shortly after moving to the Tuscarora mission Adam Elliot married Eliza Beulah Howells. Four children were born to them but none survived their parents. Emily Susanna Howells, Eliza's sister, came to live with the Elliots in 1845 and helped to care for the children; that same year she married George Johnson*, Elliot's Indian interpreter who also lived at the parsonage. Their daughter was Pauline Johnson*, the poetess. Eliza Howells died in 1849 and Adam Elliot married Charlotte Racey in 1856.
Adam Elliot enjoyed the confidence of the New England Company throughout his long service with them. He retained the approving friendship of his former instructor John Strachan and was highly regarded by the first bishop of Huron, Benjamin Cronyn, in whose diocese the Tuscarora mission was located after 1857. His quiet and effective labours among the Indians never ceased to arouse interest among visitors, one of whom, James Beaven, wrote of Elliot in his Recreations of a long vacation: "I was gratified to observe his peculiar adaptation of character to the simple people amongst whom he dwells, and the entire confidence which subsists between him and his flock."
The Elliot family papers are in the possession of Mrs Lawrence Crumb, Nashotah, Wisconsin. James Beaven, Recreations of a long vacation; or a visit to Indian missions in Upper Canada (London, Toronto, 1846), 30–55. New England Company, Report, 1840 (London, 1840); Report, 1868 (1869); History and report, 1869–70 (1871) ; Report, 1871–72 (1874) ; Six years' summary, 1873–78 (1879). Dominion Churchman (Toronto), 23 June 1878. The Stewart missions; a series of letters and journals, calculated to exhibit to British Christians, the spiritual destitution of the emigrants settled in the remote parts of Upper Canada …, ed. W. J. D. Waddilove (London, 1838), 29–96. W. P. Bull, From Strachan to Owen; how the Church of England was planted and tended in British North America (Toronto, 1937). A sketch of the origin and the recent history of the New England Company by the senior member of the company (London, 1884). Dorothy Keen and Martha McKeon, "The story of Pauline Johnson, Canada's passionate poet," as told to Mollie Gillen, Chatelaine (Toronto), XXXIX (February, March 1966), 25f, 39f.
© 1972–2023 University of Toronto/Université Laval
Cite This Article
T. R. Millman, "ELLIOT, ADAM," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed October 2, 2023, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/elliot_adam_10E.html.
The citation above shows the format for footnotes and endnotes according to the Chicago manual of style (16th edition). Information to be used in other citation formats:
|Author of Article:
|T. R. Millman
|Title of Article:
|Publication Name:
|Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10
|University of Toronto/Université Laval
|Year of publication:
|Year of revision:
|Access Date:
|October 2, 2023


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Fatal Car Crashes Drop For 16-Year-Olds, Rise For Older Teens
Fatal Crashes Drop For 16-Year-Old Drivers
Terrified to see your teenager behind the wheel? You're not alone. But a new study finds tougher state licensing laws have led to a decrease in fatal accidents, at least among 16-year-olds. That's the good news.
But here's the rub. Some kids are waiting until they're 18-years-old to get their driver's licenses. At this point, they're considered adults, and they don't have to jump through the hoops required of younger teens. They can opt out of driver's ed. And they are not subject to nighttime driving restrictions or passenger restrictions.
"[Older teens] are saying, 'The heck with your more complicated process,'" says Justin McNaull, director of state relations for the American Automobile Association. At 18, teenagers can, in many cases, get their license in a matter of weeks.
It's one explanation for the latest findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers at the University of North Carolina and the California Department of Motor Vehicles analyzed more than 130,000 fatal teen crashes over 22 years.
They found that tougher licensing laws have led to 1,348 fewer fatal car crashes involving 16-year-old drivers. But during the same period, fatal crashes involving 18-year-old drivers increased. They were behind the wheel in 1,086 more fatal accidents.
States have made the licensing process more rigorous in many ways: longer permitting times, driver's ed requirements, and restrictions on nighttime driving and carrying fellow teenage passengers. Experts say all of these requirements help give teenagers the experience they need on the road. "In the last 15 years, we've made great strides in getting the licensing process to do a better job in helping teens get through it safely," says McNaull.
California has seen a big drop in 16-year-olds getting their driver's license. Back in 1986, 27 percent got licensed. By 2007, the figure dropped to 14 percent.
"We have more novices on the road at 18," says Scott Masten of the California DMV and an author of the study. And some of them may not have enough experience under their belts to face risky conditions. Masten says this may help explain the increase in fatal crashes.
It's not clear whether there are significantly fewer 16-year-olds behind the wheel in other states because there's no national database. But anecdotally, experts see this as a trend.
"There's a belief that graduated licensing has led to a delay," says Anne McCart, a senior vice president at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
A survey of teens conducted by the Allstate Foundation found that there are many reasons teens are delaying the process of getting a license. Some say they don't have a car or can't afford it. Others report that their parents are not available to help them, or that they're too busy with other activities.
But parents who do want to be more proactive can refer to the tips the AAA has compiled on how to keep teens behind the wheel safe. And they might also consider another recent study, which showed that starting the school day a little bit later seems to reduce the accident rate for teen drivers.


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You have a website bookmarked, or find it referenced, and when you try and go to it you get an error message. Frustrating. What do you do?
It may just be the site is temporarily down, perhaps owing to a power cut or maintenance. If so just wait until it returns, possibly only a few seconds, sometimes overnight.
It may be the site is, like the Python's Norwegian Blue Parrot "no more, ceased to be, expired and gone to meet it's maker, bereft of life it rests in peace. " It's an ex-website.
Fortunately there's a place to retrieve some websites bereft of life. It's called the Internet Archive, also known as the Wayback Machine. You can browse through 85 billion web pages archived from 1996 to a few months ago.
You enter the web address of a site or page where you would like to start, and press enter. Then select from the archived dates available. The resulting pages point to other archived pages at as close a date as possible. You may find some of the formatting, and sometimes images, are lost, but the basic content should remain. What you will not find is material from the hidden web, pages not accessible by a web spider, especially searcheable databases and the like.
Unfortunately keyword searching isn't supported. You need to know the web address, perhaps from a bookmark, published reference or dead link on an existing page.
If it looks like your goose is cooked the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine may just save your bacon!
27 April 2007
Find that lost genealogy website
You have a website bookmarked, or find it referenced, and when you try and go to it you get an error message. Frustrating. What do you do?
1 comment:
This another good reason to use online bookmarking systems such as Diigo and Yahoo! Bookmarks. These systems will capture a copy of the page you bookmark - preserving it even if the site disappears.
- 27 April, 2007 04:15


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On Tuesday Feb. 15, China reported its consumer prices (CPI) rose 4.9% year-over-year (yoy) in January, which came in less than expected. Economists were expecting 5.4% inflation, based on a Bloomberg survey.
However, after digesting the data, Asian markets closed mixed on that news, with China's Shanghai Composite staying flat after a choppy trading session.
Well, the reason why markets reacted that way is because the lower figure is partly the beneficiary of a previously announced change--effective January 2011--in the weight of items included the CPI basket calculation.
Index Calculation Change
Food previously accounted for a third of the index calculation and was the main driver of inflation last year. According to Bloomberg, National Statistics Bureau (NSB) said that a reweighting of the CPI, including cutting the contribution from food, boosted the headline rate by 0.024%.
Bloomberg quoted Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. Saying that the CPI calculation shift effect is more like 0.2%. That is, without the change, the CPI may have been 5.1%.
Meanwhile, NSB said the Producer Price Index (PPI) spiked 6.6% yoy in January after escalating at 5.9% in December. The component calculation of the PPI also has been revised, including an addition of about 2000 products to the basket and adjusting the weightings.
The change reduced January's yearly PPI inflation by 0.05%, which means the index would have seen an increase of 6.65% without the basket change.
Spilled Over to Non-food
Chinese statistic bureau did not disclose a breakdown of the basket for either index. So, the alterations made it quite impossible to directly compare the January data on an apple-to-apple basis to earlier months. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of clues.
First of all, it is evident that there's now a broadening escalations spilled over to non-food items as well. Core inflation, stripped of food, rose 2.6% yoy, the highest in at least a decade after rising 2.1% yoy in December.
For instance, residence costs jumped 6.8% from a year ago, the most since August 2008. Not to mention food prices soared 10.3% after rising 9.6% in December - Grain escalated 15.1%, fresh eggs climbed 20.2%, and fruit spiked 34.8% from a year ago, according to the official report.
Previous Tightening Not Enough
Regardless which way you calculate, January also marks the fourth straight month that the inflation has exceeded Beijing's 4% target. This clearly illustrates measures taken by the Chinese government, e.g., multiple interest rate hikes, raising bank reserves requirement, and letting Yuan appreciate, have not been enough to control surging prices.
Furthermore, I personally prefer PPI as an inflation predictor and indicator, as it shows the coming pricing pressure that could be passed down through the supply chain. And the current reading of 6.6% just further supports the view that China's inflation is far from being under control.
Feed the Inflation
China's inflation problem could be attributed mostly to the over abundant money supply, increasing domestic demand from a growing middle class, and bad weather hurting food supplies. On top of these existing culprits, China may also increase retail gasoline and diesel prices to reflect higher international crude prices, People's Daily said Feb. 11. China last increased fuel prices by around 4% on December 22.
Moreover, the worst drought in 60 years hitting China northern "wheat belt" will only putting more upward pressure on the already rampant food price inflation, although Beijing has so far has downplayed it.
Increasing Input Costs
China's money supply surged 48% in two years (which is not that different from the U.S. Fed's QE), the flood of liquidity has been used mostly to speculate on commodities/raw materials instead of stimulating consumption.
As traditional industries such as steel and textile are hurting from rising input costs, the most alarming sign is the widening gap between PPI and CPI. This suggests producers and manufacturers have not been able to pass through the cost increase.
Eat, Pass Through
So, eventually these companies most likely will eat some of the cost increase, which means shrinking margins, while exporting some more to their clients in Europe and the U.S. So the companies that import goods from China will face the same dilemma --absorb or pass through the price increase.
Since China's economy relies heavily on manufacturing and traditional industries, the implication of lower profitability could pose a serious problem for many companies, and China's economic growth.
No Way Out
The importing countries, meanwhile, will likely also suffer from lower corporate margins and high consumer inflation. The United States, a net importer with china in the supply chain of many corporations, will feel that inflationary pain all the way from this side of the Pacific Ocean.
Even if the U.S. switches to importing from other trading partners, it will not make much of a difference, as other emerging economies are also suffering from the similar inflation headache. For instance, India's benchmark wholesale-price index rose 8.23% in January, Indonesia's inflation is 7% and South Korea's is 4.1%.
Coming to a Wal-Mart Near You
Many economists predict that China will likely be forced to take stronger measures that could slow economic growth. Reuters reported China may increase the bank deposit reserve ratio to 23% from the current 19.5%, and the People's Bank of China is also expected to permit the yuan to rise further, according to a report by the State Information Centre under the National Development and Reform Commission. Japan's Mizuho Research Institute predicted in December that China may raise interest rates up to six times by the end of 2011 (two hikes in 2011 so far).
Regardless when or what China's doing to rein in inflation, it no doubt will put a brake on one of the very few bright spots in the world. And while China's busy tightening and dealing with the once in 60-year mass drought, consumer price inflation, and diminishing margins will likely crop up pretty much everywhere from mass retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, to high tech products from companies such as Apple, Hewlett Packard, and Dell.


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Futura is clean content focus Blogging Theme perfect for bloggers. It is responsive means it will fit in various device of different size. It supports all type of post format. It is simple and it's elegant. Theme options are directly incorporated with WordPress customizer itself.Futura is suitable for any kind of personal or travel, hobby, tutorial blog.
Installing and customizing this theme is very easy. All required informations are provided in documentation.
- Ready for latest version of WordPress.
- Widgetized sidebar and footer.
- 6 Custom Widget.
- Post format support :- Link, Audio ( Embedded & Self Hosted ), Video ( Embedded & Self Hosted ), Quote, Gallery ( Slider & Tiled ), Image, Status ( Twitter & Facebook ), Aside.
- 100% responsive
- Full support of Multilevel WordPress Menu.
- Custom Image logo.
- Custom favicon.
- Any color from a single setting.
- Code highlighter ( Helpful for article with code sample )
- Author info box below each article.
- Social share links.
- Sidebar left or right.
- Show or hide Footer widget.
- Custom 404 error page.
- Child theme supported.
- Translation Ready.
- Mailchimp subscription
- Nice Code Highlighting
- Cross-Browser Compatibility Chrome, FireFox, Safari, IE9, IE10, IE11
- Font Awesome icons (retina ready)
- Well commented and well structured coding
- Easy to customize
- HTML5 / CSS3 valid code
- LESS (CSS) file included
- table less design
- Image less design
- And more…
Attributions & Credits
For any help regarding this theme, please feel free to contact me through my profile page and I'll be glad to offer support.
If you like this theme then please don't forget to rate it at your download page.


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Rick Perry: California's bad on every front. Vote for me?
Just for the record, Texas Gov. Rick Perry said midway through a 27-minute criticism of California, he wasn't in Anaheim to criticize California.
That might have come off a tad hollow, given that Perry had already asserted that the state comes in a distant second to his by almost every measure imaginable -- tax rates, poverty levels, business growth, even freedom, by the governor's sights.
"The purpose of my visit is not to bash California," he said on the first day of the state Republican Party convention. "This is a wonderful state with great innovative people."
But, he said, the very "future of the nation" depended on a blunt conversation about which course was best: California's "big government, protectionist, nanny state" or Texas' "limited-government, unsubsidized, freedom state."
Perry's remarks centered on new jobs for his state's residents, but they seemed intended to enhance the chances of a new one for him. The governor already has announced that he will not seek reelection and is said to be pondering a second presidential bid.
The first one didn't end all that well -- entering the race as, essentially, the frontrunner, he stumbled badly and iced his own chances by being unable to remember parts of his own governing proposals during a candidate debate. "Oops" was the grave marker for his hopes.
A second try depends on Perry's ability to dramatically alter his image. To that end, the governor is coursing across the country with new hipster glasses and a more disciplined approach, taking on Democratic governors' policies, trying to swipe their state's jobs, and putting himself prominently in the public eye. A Texas group has aired ads in several areas that depict Perry. He has repeatedly courted gun manufacturers, and, by extension, their influential voter base.
The weekend's convention, at which Perry will deliver Saturday night's signature address, puts him in close contact with people who, even if the state is a goner for his party in presidential contests, remains a key source of primary votes, activists and, most especially, money.
His only criticism of Republicans came when he was asked about the party's regular inability to attract Latino voters nationally and in California. "The California Republican Party needs to take a look at their policies, the words that they use," he said. "I would suggest that that matters."
Asked why, if his broad assertions were correct, Californians appeared fairly happy with their Democratic governor and the state's economic revival, rising housing prices and dropping unemployment rate, Perry replied: "This isn't about Jerry Brown."
"The governor is not the issue here," Perry said. "It's the policies that are the issue."
Brown spokesman Evan Westrup took note of the location from which Perry spoke, less than a mile from Disneyland.
"It seems our friend from Texas took a detour to neighboring Fantasyland while in Anaheim today," Westrup said. "We hope his stay is pleasant. In case you missed it, while Gov. Perry spent his afternoon politicking, Gov. Brown was taking action to bolster the state's business climate. ... Also, a reminder that California has had 26 consecutive months of job growth."
Twitter: @cathleendecker
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Synthetic Biology/SB2Declaration
- Comments can be made directly online here.
- Comments can also be made by email via: firstname.lastname@example.com
- A permanent reference version of this document is available via DSpace: https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/18185
Declaration of the Second International Meeting on Synthetic Biology
Berkeley, California, USA
29 May 2006
Over the last several years, a diverse group of engineers and scientists has begun work to improve and apply technologies that support the formalized engineering of biological systems. This work – synthetic biology – builds directly upon past and ongoing research in genetic engineering and biomedical science. In general terms, the goals of synthetic biology include the better understanding of natural biological systems [1], the simplification of complex, evolved biological systems [2], and the design and construction of biological systems that solve pressing human needs, such as new and improved treatments for disease and sources of renewable energy [3, 4]. Because synthetic biology involves the intentional and direct manipulation of genetic material, synthetic biology research is subject to the existing social frameworks that both encourage and govern such work [5].
Recently, over 300 researchers, government representatives, independent policy analysts, bioethicists, lawyers, economists, administrators, educators, psychologists, anthropologists, philosophers, and members of the press and for-public-benefit organizations gathered for three days in Berkeley, California to discuss the current state of research and expected future developments [6]. Much of the meeting was spent sharing the latest advances and applications of the field, including bacteria that seek and invade tumor cells [7], yeast that produce the anti-malarial drug precursor artemisinic acid [3], DNA that can be programmed to fold into almost any two-dimensional pattern [8], and biological sources of renewable energy [9]. The third day of the conference was devoted to discussions of four non-technical topics including (i) biological safety and security, (ii) understanding and perception of synthetic biology, (iii) ownership, sharing, and innovation, and (iv) community organization [6, 10].
Selected Findings
The ability to construct gene and genome length DNA fragments from scratch is one technology that is being developed by synthetic biologists [11]. This technology – DNA synthesis – is important for many reasons. At the most basic level, DNA synthesis can provide rapid and reliable access to the genetic material that is needed to conduct experiments and synthesize useful products. Advances in DNA synthesis, such as reduced costs and improved speed and accuracy, are expected to result in direct and widespread improvements to the process of basic and applied biological research and, in turn, result in widespread public benefits.
DNA synthesis is already a relatively cheap technology that is widely distributed [12]; the technology is often provided as a service by commercial firms that accept orders via the internet. Unfortunately, despite several years of ad hoc encouragement and inquiries to different government agencies, not all DNA synthesis companies examine their orders for DNA sequences encoding hazardous biological systems. For example, a recent investigative survey found that only five of twelve DNA synthesis companies systematically check their orders to ensure that they are not unknowingly constructing and delivering the genetic material encoding hazardous biological systems, such as human pathogens [13]. Thus, DNA synthesis currently provides a plausible path for circumventing current best practice in biological safety, including institutional, peer, or government review of genetic research. Furthermore, because a small number of individuals, groups, or nations may continue to choose to intentionally misapply biological technologies, DNA synthesis, as currently practiced and given current biological security strategy, is likely to eventually facilitate the production of threats to human and environmental health [14].
The companies that already systematically check DNA synthesis orders rely on software tools for identifying the genetic sequences that encode hazardous biological systems. At least one tool, BlackWatch, is known to be in use at more than one company [15]. Importantly, the existing software tools have flaws that include an inability to identify novel hazardous systems and a high false alarm rate; the second flaw makes such tools impractical for use at high-volume DNA synthesis providers.
To begin to address the issues introduced above, we endorse the following [16]:
First, we support the organization of an open working group that will undertake the coordinated development of improved software tools that can be used to check DNA synthesis orders for DNA sequences encoding hazardous biological systems; we expect that such software tools will be made freely available.
Second, we support the adoption of best-practice sequence checking technology, including customer and order validation, by all commercial DNA synthesis companies; we encourage individuals and organizations to avoid patronizing companies that do not systematically check their DNA synthesis orders [17].
Third, we support ongoing and future discussions within international science and engineering research communities for the purpose of developing creative solutions and frameworks that directly address challenges arising from the ongoing advances in biological technology, in particular, challenges to biological security and biological justice [18].
Fourth, we support ongoing and future discussions with all stakeholders for the purpose of developing and analyzing inclusive governance options, including self-governance, that can be considered by policymakers and others such that the development and application of biological technology remains overwhelmingly constructive.
Immediate Next Steps
In support of the first and second resolutions, the open working group that will undertake the coordinated improvement of software tools for checking DNA sequences is being formed and should begin work no later than August of 2006. An announcement will be made when the initial organizational work is complete [19]. A publicly available technical progress report from this group will be expected at or before the Third International Meeting on Synthetic Biology [20].
In support of the third and fourth resolutions, an ongoing multi-stakeholder study sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop policy options that might be used to govern DNA synthesis technology will be completed [21]. All materials from this study will be presented to government representatives and made available to the public by November of 2006.
Finally, all interested parties are invited to work together to continue to identify and directly address societal issues associated with the development of synthetic biology [10].
- Reconstruction of genetic circuits. D. Sprinzak & M.B. Elowitz, Nature. 24 November 2005. v438 p443.
- Refactoring bacteriophage T7. L.Y. Chan et al., Molecular Systems Biology. 13 September 2005. doi:10.1038/msb4100025
- Production of the antimalarial drug precursor artemisinic acid in engineered yeast. D.K. Ro et al., Nature. 13 April 2006. v440 p940.
- Foundations for engineering biology. D. Endy., Nature. 24 November 2005. v438 p439.
- For example, in the United States, publicly funded research is subject to oversight via the National Institutes of Health Office of Biotechnology Activities. http://www4.od.nih.gov/oba/
- SB2.0, The Second International Meeting on Synthetic Biology. 20-22 May 2006. Berkeley, CA, USA. http://pbd.lbl.gov/sbconf/
- Environmentally controlled invasion of cancer cells by engineered bacteria. J.C. Anderson et al., Journal of Molecular Biology. 27 January 2006. v355 p619.
- Folding DNA to create nanoscale shapes and patterns. P.W. Rothemund, Nature. 16 March 2006. v440 p297.
- For example, Green Fuel Technologies Corporation, http://www.greenfuelonline.com/
- Synthetic Society Working Group, http://openwetware.org/wiki/Synthetic_Society
- Building a fab for biology. D. Baker et al., Scientific American. June 2006. p44.
- A genome shop near you. R. Carlson et al., WIRED. December 2005. v13.12.
- The bioweapon is in the post. P. Aldhous. New Scientist. 12 November 2005. p8.
- In search of biosecurity. D.A. Relman et al. Science. 31 March 2006. v311 p1835.
- BlackWatch, Hazardous Biological Agent Sequence Detection, http://biotech.craic.com/blackwatch/
- Here, "we" refers to the signatories of the declaration of the Second International Conference on Synthetic Biology. Conferees will be asked if they want to sign the declaration after final revisions are complete.
- Consistent with the first and second options from S.M. Maurer et al., From understanding to action: community-based options for improving safety and security in synthetic biology. Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley. April 2006.
- For example, Biotechnology research in an age of terrorism. G. Fink et al. The National Academies Press (2004). As a second example, Redesigning life: the worldwide challenge to genetic engineering. B. Tokar et al. Zed Books (2001).
- An announcement regarding the DNA sequence checking working group will be posted via http://www.syntheticbiology.org/
- SB3.0, The Third International Meeting on Synthetic Biology. June 2007. Zurich, Switzerland. http://www.syntheticbiology.ethz.ch/conf_2007/
- The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit institution. http://www.sloan.org/


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Staying Fit
Maybe your sex life is one breathless romp after another. But what about everyone else's?
In a survey that's still under way, more than 8,000 people over 50 have already revealed what happens in their relationships — and in their bedrooms. Now the creators of that survey — writer Chrisanna Northrup, AARP relationship expert Pepper Schwartz, Ph.D., and sociologist James Witte, Ph.D. — tell us what's typical of seasoned lovers.
Join AARP for $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP The Magazine.
Read on for a look at 14 survey questions, think about how you would answer and see how you stack up with the results thus far. Then take the larger survey yourself. (See the sidebar below to learn how.)
1. Do you kiss or hug your partner in public?
32 percent of men and 48 percent of women say no. But public displays of affection (PDAs, for short) are great for your relationship: 68 percent of those who keep hands off in public are unhappy or only slightly happy with their mates, while 73 percent of the happiest couples indulge in PDAs at least a couple of times a month.
Tip: Don't hold back — and don't worry what the neighbors might think. The sight of a lip-locked couple generally makes other people happy — and shows that deep affection and love can thrive in long relationships.
2. Have you given up an important part of yourself to keep your relationship together?
29.5 percent of people in a relationship for a year or less say yes, compared with 48.9 percent of people in a relationship for 21 years or more.
Tip: Happy partners encourage each other's ambitions and passions. If you're feeling shut down, plan together how to change your daily life to support your core hopes and needs.
3. Have you ever read your partner's email?
39 percent of people reported taking sneak peeks. Surprisingly, that percentage prevails in both happy and unhappy relationships.
Tip: Most partners feel violated when they learn their privacy has been breached. Are you sure you want to go there?
4. How often do you hold hands with your partner?
78 percent of couples say they hold hands at least sometimes. But it seems to be the newer pairs who are skewing the numbers: Among all couples who've been together 10 or more years, more than half say they no longer hold hands.
Tip: A squeeze of the hand can add a vital charge of connectivity to a well-worn partnership. Research shows that holding hands can even help settle arguments.


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Baltimore, Md., Feb 6, 2014 / 04:19 am
Catholic Relief Services' annual Rice Bowl Program has added a new mobile app and a social media-based photo challenge to help Catholics observe Lent and to boost participation in efforts to fight hunger.
Eric Clayton, a rice bowl program officer with Catholic Relief Services, told CNA that the app will "give people a new way to experience Lent in a more immediate sense and in a more interactive sense."
"It's really going to expand the horizon of who will use the rice bowl program," he added.
For nearly four decades, Catholic Relief Services' rice bowl program has encouraged Catholics to fast, pray and give alms during Lent, collecting donations in cardboard bowls to be distributed to various charitable initiatives.
For the first time this year, participants can use a mobile app to track and enhance their Lenten commitment to prayer, fasting and charitable giving.
"I think this is really going to help new people to latch on to the program," Clayton said, adding that the app and social media program will also help longtime rice bowl participants "go deeper."
The mobile app, released Feb. 5 on iOS and Android operating systems, allows users to track the alms they deposit in their rice bowls and donate the money to Catholic Relief Services at any time. It also includes a prayerful reflection for each day of Lent and meatless recipes for Fridays.
Catholic Relief Services has also created a Lenten Photo Challenge to allow the public to share how they participate in the rice bowl program. The challenge asks participants to post rice bowl-related photos – which might include prayer, fasting or charity – on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag "#VivaLent."
The participant who posts the best photo will be awarded a fair trade Easter basket.
Clayton said the social media campaign asks people to consider how they use the rice bowl.
"We're asking people to send in images of themselves with their rice bowl or using rice bowl materials in creative ways, maybe at the center of your family table or at the center of your prayer group meeting," he explained.
Last year, Catholic Relief Services distributed more than 4 million rice bowls to over 13,000 schools, parishes, diocesan offices and colleges – more organizations than McDonald's restaurants in the U.S., Clayton noted.
Seventy-five percent of the alms collected through the program support worldwide relief initiatives. These include agriculture projects to improve harvests, sanitation projects to provide communities with clean water, and microfinance projects to help small businesses. Supported global initiatives also include education projects and mother and child health projects that provide health and nutrition services.
The remaining 25 percent of the money raised goes to support hunger and poverty relief efforts within the contributor's local diocese.
Clayton said the new app will "really makes the Lenten sacrifices immediate."
"It's going to hold you accountable in a tangible sense," he explained. A person who gives up purchasing their morning coffee for Lent may record cost of the coffee in the app, as may a family that gives up an expensive meal.
Also included in the app is a collection of stories from people who have overcome hunger and poverty with aid from Catholic Relief Services, helping participants to understand how their contributions can touch lives.
Clayton said the rice bowl program helps U.S. families and communities "to live simply and to be in solidarity" with the people from different countries learn about.


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Read about this series of posts, regarding items in a box originally owned by Belle (Lamunion) Fellows Tinker here. The cast of characters is located here. And, there is an accounting of people about whom I have little information here.
The numbering of these posts had been modified to signify that I am posting items from my archival book two, hence the 2-xx numbering.
Christmas Wishes
Wishing you the joys
of the
Christmas Season
and a New Year
full of
Alice, Homer & Boys
Another group of mystery senders. If you can help, comment on this post, or send me an e-mail .


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U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said as many as 70 percent of federal agency regulations could be eliminated if he is elected in November, just hours after an adviser said the candidate would seek to cut 10 percent.
Trump, who blamed regulations for stifling business, told a crowd at a town hall event in New Hampshire on Thursday night that regulations for the environment and safety would remain.
"We are cutting the regulation at a tremendous clip. I would say 70 percent of regulations can go," Trump said. "It's just stopping businesses from growing."
Earlier in the day during an online discussion with Reuters, Trump campaign adviser Anthony Scaramucci, a Wall Street financier who has raised campaign money for Trump, said Trump would eliminate 10 percent of regulations.
"We need regulation but immediately every agency will be asked to rate the importance of their regulations and we will push to remove 10 percent of the least important," he said.
Another Trump campaign adviser reached by Reuters confirmed the 10 percent regulatory cut was part of their economic plan.
Jeff Holmstead, a former assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency under George W. Bush's presidency, said the goal was hard to comprehend.
"You could reduce the number of regulations by 10 percent without accomplishing very much," he said.
He added it would make more sense for Trump to try to reduce the cost of regulatory compliance by 10 percent.
"I think it probably would be possible for a new administration to make changes that would reduce the cost of these programs by at least 10 percent while still maintaining essentially the same level of environmental protection," he said.
Officials at the EPA and the U.S. Department of the Interior declined to comment, citing internal policies.
Scaramucci also said that Trump, a fierce critic of the Federal Reserve, would probably get along well with Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
Trump has repeatedly accused the Fed of serving as a political arm of the Obama White House. He says Yellen has put off raising interest rates in order to let President Barack Obama end his term in January without the economic shock that a rise in interest rates might entail.
Scaramucci, a founder of SkyBridge Capital, joined Reuters Global Markets Forum to discuss his views of the campaign. He said Trump would strive for a better balance in federal regulations.
Scaramucci was not as dismissive of Yellen as Trump is, saying he believes the New York property developer would warm to her eventually.
"There are many well-qualified candidates but I think Mr. Trump has to spend some time with chairwoman Yellen. I think knowing what I know about his personality he will like her," he said.
Trump would seek to streamline regulations as a way to generate economic growth and help the flow of capital, the adviser said. Trump has specifically singled out the energy industry as an area that he would look at for reducing regulations.
"Wall Street is not the devil," said Scaramucci. "In fact we are at our best when (there) is harmony between Main Street and Wall Street and we hope to restore that."
Scaramucci singled out several areas that Trump would look to for reforms:
―Labor Department rules expanding the fiduciary standard for financial brokers who sell retirement products would likely be stopped.
―Legislation similar to the former Glass-Steagall Act that limited the banking industry would be on the table for review.
― The Dodd-Frank banking reforms that emerged from the Great Recession of 2008-09 will be reviewed and "the worst anti-business parts of it will be gutted."
― The Volcker rule will be adjusted. Named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, it is part of the sweeping 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law. It aims to reduce risk-taking by preventing banks from using their own capital to make speculative bets.


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Blog of the Week:
Russ Williams is the Director of the North Carolina Zoological Society and, as far as I know, the only "director of a zoo" who blogs. And does he ever - Russ has been blogging up a storm ever since 2005 when Ed Cone taught him how (you may call me The Blogfather, but Ed Cone is the blogfather for many of us in North Carolina). On his blog Russlings, Russ covers plenty - what is new at the N.C.Zoo in Asheboro, what is new in other zoos around the country and the world, what is new in policy and politics of animal conservation, plus cool pictures and videos of wildlife. But where the value really comes up is at the times of natural disasters - Russ is "in the know" and often the first and/or the only person to blog about the status of zoos and aquaria, as well as farm animals, wildlife preserves etc, in the affected areas. During disasters, Russlings is the Go-To place for such coverage.
Top 10:
How Our Disinterest in 'The Environment' Signals the End of Nature by Christopher Mims:
No one reading this has the slightest fucking clue what "nature" is, and in 1995 fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly proved it. In the paper that introduced the term "shifting baselines," Pauly described how experts who determined how many fish should be caught often started with whatever the baseline state of the ecosystem was when they started their careers, instead of considering what a fishery might have looked like in the past, when it wasn't nearly as degraded....
Getting used to being in charge of the planet by David Roberts:
...Nonetheless, like evolution, the dominance of human beings on Spaceship Earth is a profound and terrifying threat to all sorts of traditional worldviews. If Darwin showed us that God is not our author, the Anthropocene shows that He is not our caretaker. There's no parent to supply us with endless resources and endless room to dispose of our waste. There's no one to protect us or prevent us from screwing it all up....
Walking the Line: How to Identify Safe Limits for Human Impacts on the Planet by David Biello:
Is preserving the general environmental conditions that allowed civilization to flourish—a moderate climate, a rich array of species, rivers that reach the sea—necessary to ensure humanity endures? Or is minimizing alterations to the global environment introduced by human activity—rising levels of CO2 from fossil-fuel burning, widespread extinction, dams that impound water—more important to our success? Choosing the right approach is vital as the scale of human impact on the planet becomes so large that scientists are calling this new epoch in Earth's history the Anthropocene (when human activity alters global climate and ecosystems)...
#GMOFAQ: Transferring genes from one species to another is neither unnatural nor dangerous by Michael Eisen:
Last week I wrote about the anti-science campaign being waged by opponents of the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture. In that post, I promised to address a series of questions/fears about GMOs that seem to underly peoples' objections to the technology. I'm not going to try to make this a comprehensive reference site about GMOs and the literature on their use and safety (I'm compiling some good general resources here.) I want to say a few things about myself too...
Sea level rise 101 by John Bruno:
Based on the NC legislature's decree about the science of sea level rise projections and some of the related propaganda we have seen from climate change deniers, I get the sense there is a lot of confusion about sea level rise. So here is a primer on what we know about sea level and climate change...
Dirty soil and diabetes: Anniston's toxic legacy by Brett Israel:
The Rev. Thomas Long doesn't have neighbors on Montrose Avenue anymore. Everyone is gone. Widespread chemical contamination from a Monsanto plant was discovered in this quiet city in the Appalachian foothills back in the 1990s. In West Anniston, behind Long's home, a church was fenced off, and men in "moon suits" cleaned the site for weeks. Nearby, boarded windows and sunken porches hang from abandoned shotgun houses. Stray dogs roam the narrow streets. A red "nuisance" sign peeks above the un-mowed lawn of one empty house. Bulldozers will be here soon...
Pollution, Poverty, People of Color: No beba el agua. Don't drink the water. by Liza Gross
Jessica Sanchez sits on the edge of her seat in her mother's kitchen, hands resting on her bulging belly. Eight months pregnant, she's excited about the imminent birth of her son. But she's scared too. A few feet away, her mother, Bertha Dias, scrubs potatoes with water she bought from a vending machine. She won't use the tap water because it's contaminated with nitrates...
The crayola-fication of the world: How we gave colors names, and it messed with our brains (part II) by Aatish Bhatia:
Lately, I've got colors on the brain. In part I of this post I talked about the common roads that different cultures travel down as they name the colors in their world. And I came across the idea that color names are, in some sense, culturally universal. The way that languages carve up the visual spectrum isn't arbitrary. Different cultures with independent histories often end up with the same colors in their vocabulary. Of course, the word that they use for red might be quite different – red, rouge, laal, whatever. Yet the concept of redness, that vivid region of the visual spectrum that we associate with fire, strawberries, blood or ketchup, is something that most cultures share....
How the Chicken Conquered the World by Jerry Adler and Andrew Lawler:
The chickens that saved Western civilization were discovered, according to legend, by the side of a road in Greece in the first decade of the fifth century B.C. The Athenian general Themistocles, on his way to confront the invading Persian forces, stopped to watch two cocks fighting and summoned his troops, saying: "Behold, these do not fight for their household gods, for the monuments of their ancestors, for glory, for liberty or the safety of their children, but only because one will not give way to the other." The tale does not describe what happened to the loser, nor explain why the soldiers found this display of instinctive aggression inspirational rather than pointless and depressing. But history records that the Greeks, thus heartened, went on to repel the invaders, preserving the civilization that today honors those same creatures by breading, frying and dipping them into one's choice of sauce. The descendants of those roosters might well think—if they were capable of such profound thought—that their ancient forebears have a lot to answer for....
'Sexual depravity' of penguins that Antarctic scientist dared not reveal by Robin McKie:
It was the sight of a young male Adélie penguin attempting to have sex with a dead female that particularly unnerved George Murray Levick, a scientist with the 1910-13 Scott Antarctic Expedition. No such observation had ever been recorded before, as far as he knew, and Levick, a typical Edwardian Englishman, was horrified. Blizzards and freezing cold were one thing. Penguin perversion was another....
Special topic #1: stimulants in school:
The Questions About ADHD Drugs The New York Times Didn't Ask by Matthew Herper
The labels change, the game remains the same by Vaughan Bell
The NY Times: When Stimulants Are Bad by Robert Whitaker
The Horror of Drug-Boosted Grades and SAT Scores by Jacob Sullum
Should Ritalin Be Distributed To Everyone Taking the SATs? by Gary Stix.
Special topic #2: Prometheus and science in the movies:
The biology of Prometheus by Zen Faulkes
The Science of Prometheus – a review, containing a lot of spoilers by Frank Swain
Prometheus: an archaeological perspective (sort of). by Henry Rothwell
Ridley Scott's Prometheus Examines the Roots of Alien's Mythology by Larry Greenemeier
'Prometheus' Offers a Creationist Indulgence for Science Geeks by James Gorman
Prometheus: what was that about? Ten key questions by Ben Walters
Stealing fire by Zen Faulkes
Space: The Science of Prometheus by Discovery News
What's Wrong With Prometheus (a Partial List) by Julian Sanchez
Best Videos:
Instant Egghead - What Causes Brain Freeze? by Ferris Jabr and Eric Olson
The Fabulab's Flame Challenge by Jeanne Garbarino, Perrin Ireland and Deborah Berebichez
Curly Haired Mafia - Prometheus SPOILERS!!! (video) by Lali DeRosier, DNLee and Dr.Rhubidium
Best Image:
UCD worker wins award for rare photo of bee sting in action by Andrea Gallo
Sensory Ecology of the Third Eye by Ashli Moore
Lovely Lysenko by Dominic Berry
Assuming the Doctor's a 'He' by Danielle Ofri, M.D.
Why We (Accidentally) Name Babies for Hurricanes by Elizabeth Preston
What is a vagina? by Emily Willingham
Imaginary Numbers are Real by Matthew Francis
Curious Experiments by Archbishop Marsh's Library. "'Curious Experiments' for 'The Amusement and Entertainment of Ladies, as well as Gentlemen' which took place before a paying audience in Dublin in 1743." recreated by high school students 270 years later.
Crowdfunding: A New Opportunity for Science and Innovation by John R. Platt
Old Books that Guided Science by Samuel Arbesman
Why you probably won't experience your own traumatic death by George Dvorsky
June Gloom by Cameron Walker
Dear Slate: America Needs More Artists by See Arr Oh
Negative results and dodgy papers: keep quiet or publish? by Tom W. Phillips
Our Animal Natures by Barbara Natterson-Horowitz and Kathryn Bowers
'I'm Not Your Wife!' A New Study Points to a Hidden Form of Sexism by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Achtman on Plague Evolution by Michelle Ziegler
Would You Call Me A Scientist? by Sheril Kirshenbaum
Visiting "Brains. The Mind as Matter" at the Wellcome Collection by The curious neuron
Food Trade Too Complex to Track Food Safety by Maryn McKenna
The Johannes Kepler Defense by Romeo Vitelli
Taking the colour out of light. by Thony C. "The man who didn't invent the achromatic lens" John Dollond born 9 June 1706.
Carnivorous plants respond to increased soil nitrogen, eco-news websites completely miss the point by Andrew Thaler
Virginia Lawmaker Says 'Sea Level Rise' Is A 'Left Wing Term,' Excises It From State Report On Coastal Flooding by Rebecca Leber
Teaching Neuroanatomy With A Showercap by Neuroskeptic
Fungus Inside Us: A New Health Frontier? by Brandon Keim
The Top Ten Strangest Self-Experiments Ever by Alex Boese
G r e a t e r / l e t t e r / s p a c i n g / helps reading in dyslexia by The Neurocritic
Dangerous Interventions: MMS and Autism by Emily Willingham
Cholera vaccine deployed to control African outbreak by Gozde Zorlu
Bath salts and… zombies? by Donna
You Don't Have What it Takes by Lucy E. Hornstein MD
What they didn't tell you about the transit of Venus by Rebekah Higgitt
Science Outreach: What Do You Need? by Matt Shipman
Double Xpression: Liz Neeley, Science Communicator Extraordinaire by Jeanne Garbarino
Overeating Makes Flies Obese, Diabetic, Dead by Elizabeth Preston
Creationism Uses Dinosaurs to Lure Kids Into Radical Ideas, But Scientists Should Not Care Too Much by Cameron English
No, America Does NOT Need More Scientists and Engineers by Derek Lowe
Plant uses chemical weapons to make mice spit out its seeds and To control cannibal toads, you just need the right bait and Fear of spiders changes bodies of grasshoppers and makes plants decay more slowly and Microbial Menagerie and Male spider castrates himself and gets more stamina by Ed Yong
Where have I been? Or, science outreach's place in science. by Lauren Meyer
The culinary adventures of a cuttlefish by Jonas
Science Communication: A sort-of-kind-of Carnival, and some more thoughts of mine by Scicurious
Scientists map 'Facebook for birds' by Alan Boyle
Double Xpression: Debbie Berebichez, PhD Physicist by Jeanne Garbarino
The anthropologist and the kurgans by John Hawks
Scientists Tackle The Geography Of Nature Vs. Nurture In Maps Of U.K. by Ted Burnham
Does Acceptance of Evolution Matter? by Ed Brayton
Did Neanderthals Produce Cave Paintings? by Sarah Everts
Media, Publishing, Technology and Society:
Sorry, Young Man, You're Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech by Alexis Madrigal
Online Seniors: Tech-Savvier Than You Think by Frederic Lardinois
Open access to research is inevitable, says Nature editor-in-chief by Alok Jha
A Serious Look at Funny Faces by Henry Adams - on the history of cartoons.
An Anarchist Constitution for Twitter by Rebecca Greenfield
Why Twitter Matters: Tomorrow's Knowledge Network by Nigel Cameron
Learning To Write From Chopin by Murr Brewster
An alternative to the college degree? by Amy Scott
From scrubbing floors to Ivy League: Homeless student to go to dream college by Vivian Kuo
11 dreams for the publishing debate — #1 fewer papers and 11 dreams for the publishing debate — #2 get real credit for surveys and exposition and 11 dreams for the publishing debate — #3 get real credit for refereeing and #4 get real credit for communicating and
#5 sharing all our work every way we can by Peter Krautzberger
All A'Twitter: How Social Media Aids in Science Outreach – Chapter 8: Talking with the Social Media Experts and Chapter 9: Gathering Survey Results, and Chapter 10: Coming to Conclusions by Caitlyn Zimmerman
Why the World's Most Perfect News Tweet Is Kind of Boring by Megan Garber
Do Journo Watchers Ignore Environmental Beat? by Keith Kloor
Exhausted With The Same by Erika Napoletano
Why you should be excited about vector-based maps in iOS 6 by Tim De Chant
Pitch Perfect – a primer for scientists reaching out to journalists by Liz Neeley
Social media and Google Analytics – who's interested in botany? by Alun Salt
Paying for information versus *access* to information: A key distinction for news publishers by Robert Niles
Please RT by n+1 editors


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Since it was first launched in 2007, CrunchBase has been an invaluable source of information about major companies, startups, investors and executives in the tech ecosystem.
Today we're proud to introduce CrunchBase 2.0 — a more beautiful, easier-to-use, and more powerful version of the database that the tech world has come to depend on.
Envisioning A New CrunchBase
The new CrunchBase is being launched after nearly a year of work and a drastic expansion of the team supporting it. While the site had grown to become one of the most comprehensive records of what's happening in the tech world, over the years it started to show a little rust. Worse, the back end wasn't always stable and it had a tough time keeping up with a rapidly changing tech ecosystem that required a more flexible architecture and data set.
According to TechCrunch COO and AOL Tech General Manager Ned Desmond, there are now 23 people working on the CrunchBase team, compared to a skeleton crew that was overseeing the site just a few years ago. That team was assembled to work on a major overhaul of the forward-facing design, as well as the underlying code base.
The fruits of their labor are finally being released to the public, as CrunchBase 2.0 is being launched today. The new site was built from the ground up to be easier to read, easier to use, and easier to contribute to.
A CrunchBase That's Easier To Use And Update
On the front end, that means a card-based design that is responsive and built to look just as good on a mobile screen as on a desktop. It's built to highlight new types of information that wasn't available on the old version of the site.
[gallery ids="991563,991564,991562,991525,991524"]
It's also meant to make adding information and editing entries a lot faster and more responsive. With CrunchBase 2.0, most updates will be recorded and posted almost immediately, compared to the old version, in which edits were required to be manually approved before they were posted.
In order to enable that, the new version has done away with the ability to edit pages anonymously. Those who wish to make changes are now required to log in with a social identity through Facebook, Twitter, Google, or LinkedIn. Like Wikipedia, CrunchBase will also log all edits to ensure they're correct and to keep track of who is entering what information.
Once logged in, visitors will be able to click an "edit" button on any of the cards and instantly add updated information. The hope is that the new editing flow, combined with near-instantaneous publishing of that information, will prompt more CrunchBase users to contribute to the platform.
"The primary thing we wanted to do was create a platform for capturing more information about what was going on in the startup world," CrunchBase president Matt Kaufman told me. "We had 65,000 people contributing last year, but we wanted to create a platform that would allow more people to contribute more information, and compel them to do so."
The Introduction Of The Business Graph
While most casual visitors will recognize the updated design and easier editing flow, the biggest overhaul is on the backend. There, the team rebuilt the CrunchBase system from scratch, creating what Kaufman calls a "business graph."
That graph will connect various bits of information that live in its database, so that individual entries will now be connected and dynamically updated as information is added.
For instance, if an executive joins a new company, that new information will be extended to her bio page, as well as the company's CrunchBase entry. Or when a startup raises a new round of funding, that information will be reflected on its own page, as well as its investors'.
The new CrunchBase database was built to be extensible, so that over time the platform could support new types of data. In the short term, that includes activities like funding rounds, but over time it could mean the addition of things like crowdfunding campaigns or enable accelerators to keep track of which startups graduated from which batch.
"We've created a platform that lets us evolve with the data that's out there," Kaufman said. "The first version of CrunchBase 2 doesn't have a bunch of new fields, but it does give us the ability to add new features to the platform."
More Data From More Partners
While rebuilding CrunchBase behind the scenes, the team has also been actively courting new content and API partners. That began with the introduction of the CrunchBase Venture Program nearly a year ago.
That initiative launched with just 10 venture firms, but there are now more than 850 partners contributing their data to CrunchBase. The site also benefits from a partnership with AngelList that allows anyone adding their startup to the crowdfunding site to instantly have their information also published to CrunchBase.
With an ever-growing data set, CrunchBase traffic also continues to increase. Page views were up 40 percent year-over-year, according to Kaufman.
And it's not just founders and investors that rely on CrunchBase. In fact, only 7 percent of all CrunchBase traffic comes from TechCrunch, while 20 percent of it is direct traffic.
"There's a myth that the traffic is just people from TechCrunch, and there's a myth that it's only something that matters to investors or people in the startup world," he said.
Furthermore, an increasing number of global consumer brands are using the data as a way to see what new technologies are emerging. And more than 7,000 API partners are taking advantage of the data set.
With all of that interest, it's becoming clear that CrunchBase isn't just about startups. It's about how software — or rather, technology in general — is eating the world.
"In our view, this shows us that the startup economy is not just about Silicon Valley… It's much broader than that," Desmond said.


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Car Seat Cover Stained Glass Airbag Compatible (Set of 2)
Type: One-Side Printing, Dirt-Resistant, Polyester Fabric 29.45 Oz. polyester fabric material, easy to clean and dry. The back is made from high-elastic milk fiber. Soft material keep hip and back comfortable in long time use. Keep your car seats from wear and stains and add your designs for a new look of your car's interior. Elastic strap with hooks on the bottom of the seat covers, easy to install and remove. Set of 2. Include two pieces of front seat cover. Universal-fit car seat covers will stretch to fit most car and SUV bucket style seats. Side airbag compatible. It will not block your side airbags from deploying.
FREE SHIPPING: We take about 5-7 business days to create products, bags and shoes, and 3-5 business days for non-apparel (Home Decor, Accessories etc.) products. That is our production time,then you should add 10-12 shipping days on top of that.


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So this is somewhat big news. Speculation has been running wild over whether or not the recent Anusara/John Friend situation and JF's consequent retreat would see him absent from the bill at Wanderlust Festival, or making his triumphant too-soon return. As it turns out, the team at Wanderlust seems to have made the decision for him. An official announcement from Wanderlust HQ (represented by Saeger Media, also Anusara's and JF's PR) comes after a long and grueling 6 weeks of accusations, revelations, confusion and acts of union. (see the Running Timeline of Anusara Controversy)
While we can't say we find this surprising, it is disappointing if JF did not take the initiative to remove himself from the lineup. As a major presence every year (see above photo) this may have a strong impact, it may not. It should also be noted that Anusara Yoga, Inc. has been a large sponsor of Wanderlust and has had its very own 'Anusara Village' consuming a sizable amount of real estate and attention. We're not sure JF's absence means any of that will change.
Official announcement via yoganonymous (did anyone get this via email? we didn't):
Over the past 6 weeks, we have closely observed the situation unfolding within the Anusara community. Both Anusara Yoga and John Friend personally have played a positive role at Wanderlust over the past couple of years, and our heart goes out to the entire Anusara community during this time. Throughout this period, we've tried to take what Buddhism calls "the middle path" — to look at the situation from all angles and draw mindful and reasoned conclusions.
Our mission at Wanderlust is to create community and it is our sincere hope that we can use our platform not only for joy and celebration but also healing. We feel Wanderlust has a unique ability to bring people together. This being said, we've mutually determined that it is best for John to not teach at Wanderlust festivals in 2012 as he focuses on personal reflection, retreat, and reconnecting through teachings with the Anusara yoga community.
The yoga experience at Wanderlust remains as rich and diverse as ever, and we offer the Anusara community our support.
For those who have already signed up for one or more of John's classes at our Colorado, California or Whistler events, you are free to choose a new class — but you do not have to. Our staff will reprogram each of John's classes with a top teacher and a new class name and description by Thursday, March 22, and you will automatically be enrolled in that new class. Of course, you also are free to use our scheduler to switch to any other class of your choice. You are always free change any of your class selections up until a week before each festival begins.
- Running Timeline of Anusara Controversy, Updates and Teacher Resignations
- UPDATE: Anusara Steering Committee Starts 'Kula Evolution', New CEO Steps Down


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Cyndy Fitzgerald, formerly dean of LIOS Graduate College, took over as Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Services at the beginning of November. Originally from Sacramento, California, she received her PhD in Applied Behavioral Science/Higher Education Leadership from Azusa Pacific University in 2007. We sat down with Cyndy for a few questions about her new role at Saybrook.
You took over as Dean of Enrollment Management & Student Services at the beginning of November. How is this position different than your previous one?
The scope of this role is extremely broad in terms of serving the students, staff, faculty, and alumni of the University beyond what was involved in my role as Dean of LIOS Graduate College of Saybrook University. With this expansion comes a significantly greater workload that includes far more travel, meeting time, and effort to care for and coordinate resource staff in their efforts to support students and to develop systems with clear policies and procedures in compliance with federal regulations. An additional component and challenge involves striving to assess and develop best practices to improve communication, and where appropriate, cross-train staff, in the midst of the restructuring and multiple adjustments and impact of those changes.
What does your average day look like?
Non-stop from morning to night—an average day would be an anomaly—just watch Dan Sewell and I spin as we strive to meet multiple ongoing needs and develop positive and helpful new procedures, draft policies, help define clear goals, and provide care and support for people. My colleagues suggest that I note, this includes weekends—Generally, I start the day with some yoga stretches and morning meditation time to focus before I head out the door, and then from early morning to often late at night I'm reading emails, listening to people, engaged in meetings, having phone consultations, writing proposals and editing documents, and responding to needs and concerns. At some point in the evening, I pause to paint and play the piano—or laugh with my family and friends before stretching out again to release tension and unwind before tucking in for the night.
What called you to this new position?
As the University restructuring process became a necessity, this position was offered as a way to assist and improve Saybrook on multiple levels and to apply my background and strengths to help Saybrook with the goal of improving support services for our students. My own passion and calling in education and health focuses on components that are in sync with those needs, and so I agreed to become Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Services, realizing that the tasks involved are enormous and that the development will be a process which will require not only my energy but the strengthening and support of all of our people over time.
What do you hope to get out of this position?
My hope is to foster a culture of care, social justice, integrity, and inclusion in the Saybrook system. In addition, my hope is that as I strive to actualize this way of living and being with colleagues we can collectively influence other systems along positive trajectories for growth and change.
What do you think of the changes taking place at Saybrook?
The challenges within the Saybrook system are enormous. As a systems thinker and compassionate person who strives to listen and care for others with integrity, I think the changes taking place call for great skill and mindful practices and the checking of intention and impact before taking action.
What are your goals for your new position and the school?
My goal is that Saybrook becomes a university that truly promotes healthy, just and sustainable systems in the universe and that Saybrook faculty, staff, students, and alumni from all four schools model integrity, care, and compassion in our practices with each other and those with whom we come in contact in our educational process and in the work we engage in throughout the world.


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Dad's Brilliant 'Taken' Note Threatens Kids to Clean Room…Or Else
Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills: he can get kids to clean their rooms.
Alright, that may be a bit of a stretch, but the actor, who made the famous "particular set of skills" speech in Taken, is at the center of this goofy and hilarious letter found on Reddit that a father left his kids for failing to clean up.
The dad chimed in on Reddit to explain that his kids aren't delinquent:
Actually, my kids have their [bleep] together. My oldest graduated high school a semester early and then got a 30 hour a week job to save money for college. My youngest has a 3.95 GPA in all IB classes and picked up a summer job for 30 hours a week. When it comes to the "big rocks" of life, they are squared away.
They're just [bleeping] slobs."
You can compare this note, which was left on their refrigerator, with the actual scene from which it is, ahem, taken:
Whoever this dad is joins some clever company. Remember the father who made sarcastic videos to get his kids to do simple chores around the house?


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Leyland likes Hunter for No. 2 spot in lineup
LAKELAND, Fla. -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland spends part of his offseason going through potential batting orders. He does the same at various points in Spring Training. He did it on Sunday night. Not surprisingly, he had Torii Hunter batting second in all of them.
So while Leyland isn't ready to finalize an order quite yet, he can end what's left of the speculation that Hunter could move down to the middle of the lineup behind the trio of Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez. Instead, he'll bat in front of them and support leadoff hitter Austin Jackson.
"I thought he was real comfortable in that two-hole," Leyland said Monday, "so I'm going to keep him there."
Hunter hit second for 381 of his 584 plate appearances with the Angels last season. He batted cleanup and hit fifth early in the season before settling in between two other great hitters, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. As a second hitter, Hunter batted .343 with a .376 on-base percentage, .854 OPS, 69 RBIs and 57 runs scored.


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In January 2013 I participated in a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation to help establish a 10 year vision to reconceptualize postsecondary learning. This past week our co-convenors, Chris Dede, Harvard University and Eric Grimson, MIT, released the 47 page report that captured the results of that meeting. Entitled New Technology-based Models for Postsecondary Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Research Agendas, this is a comprehensive overview of promises, opportunities and challenges that will keep all of we post-secondary learning stakeholders on our toes for the next decade.
You can download the working draft of this paper here.
The basic premises addressed include the following:
- Advances in technology and in knowledge about expertise, learning, and assessment have the potential to reshape the many forms of education and training past matriculation from high school.
- In the next decade, higher education, military and workplace training, and professional development must all transform to exploit the opportunities of a new era, leveraging emerging technology-based models that can make learning more efficient and possibly improve student support, all at lower cost for a broader range of learners.
- Potential risks must be managed, including those arising from the disruption of established delivery economics in our current learning institutions, the variable quality of learning outcomes these new models offer today, and the technical and conceptual challenges of better understanding how to design, develop, and implement innovative capabilities in ways that reliably deliver on their promise.
Workshop participants developed a framework for understanding this sea change and sketched steps towards a research agenda for realizing its benefits while avoiding pitfalls.
Contributors to this report include Daniel E. Atkins, W.K. Kellogg Professor of Community Information, and Professor of Information and Computer Science, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Lori Breslow, Director, Teaching and Learning Laboratory, MIT. John Cherniavsky, Senior Advisor, Division of Research on Learning, NSF. J.D. Fletcher, Senior Research Staff Member, Institute for Defense Analyses. Diana Oblinger, President and CEO, EDUCAUSE. Roy Pea, David Jacks Professor of Education and Learning Sciences, Stanford University. James W. Pellegrino, Distinguished Professor and Co-Director, Learning Sciences Research Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago. Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer, Kaplan, Inc. James H. Shelton III, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement,U.S. Department of Education. Russell Shilling, CAPT, MSC, USN, Program Manager, DARPA. Greg Tobin, President, English, Math, and Student Success, Pearson Higher Education and yours truly, Ellen Wagner, Executive Director, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education Cooperative for Educational Technologies. Arthur Josephson, Harvard Graduate School of Education, was our researcher.